Page 40 of Ignited

Boomer went to grab Karisma, but Thanatos was faster. This time when he put his hand up, she slid into the corner, slamming against the bookshelves. A curtain of shimmering light appeared diagonally across the corner, trapping her inside.

Boomer turned to Thanatos, growling. “Stop doing that! Trapping her only freaks her out more.”

Thanatos said, “Would you prefer that I let the men shoot her?”

Boomer realized that both guards had their guns trained on Karisma. His wolf snarled.

“Of course not. But you can’t keep her caged up—”

“No, I can’t.”

“—you heard what she just said. She was in a cage for years. She—” Then Thanatos’ words penetrated his brain. “What?”

Thanatos turned his hood towards the corner. Karisma was pushing at the forcefield—and it was starting to bend.

“Whoa,” he said. “Can she break out of there?”

“Eventually. Between the magic still running in her veins, and that which she has acquired in her travels—especially the jewel at her throat—she is able to penetrate or evade many types of magics. It’s why she has been successful so far, in her ‘mission.’ But even if she had my piece of the Orb, she would fail against Maximilian. He is much more formidable than any that have come before.”

“More formidable than you?”

Thanatos’ tone grew very dry. “No one is more formidable than I.”

Boomer would have thought he was kidding, except Thanatos didn’t have a sense of humor.

Thanatos leaned back in his chair. “I have my own reasons for wanting to take down the sorcerer currently known as Maximilian. I knew the tiger was collecting the pieces of the Orb, and I knew she would eventually come for mine.” His hood gazed at Boomer. “What I did not realize was that one of my wolves already had a connection with her. That… complicates matters.”

“You think?” Boomer said. “Because if you were planning on taking away her parts of the Orb and using them for yourself, you’re correct in believing I’m going to make that hella complicated for you. As in ‘no’.”

Thanatos pressed his clasped hands tightly together. Shit. For him, that was being majorly emotional. This must be big.

It was.

“Much as it pains me to admit it, in order to take down Maximilian, I will need her help. I’m willing to make her a deal.”

Karisma threw herself against the force field, snarling. It bent like a piece of plexiglass.

“But first, we need to find a way to control that damn tiger.”

Boomer sighed. “Good luck with that.”

Chapter 18

Karisma woke up mostly human, in a dungeon. She could smell it, feel the floor hard beneath her body. She had tiger paws instead of feet, furry arms, a tail, and what felt like the worst hangover of her life.

She also had her head in somebody’s lap.

Boomer. Who was balancing a plate full of sausage rolls on her shoulder.

“Hey!” he said. “You’re awake.” His voice was soft, but it reverberated in her head like a brass gong.

“Shut up,” she whispered. “You’re talking too loud.” She winced. “So am I.”

He put the plate down. “Sorry,” he whispered. “Can you sit up? There’s water. And more coffee. And breakfast.” He paused. “You’re not going to barf, are you? Because you should do that in a bowl and not on me.”

“No.” Maybe. Karisma allowed him to help her into a sitting position. She was pretty sure she was supposed to be killing someone right now, but she couldn’t remember why and her head hurt too bad.

She could always do it later, if she had to.