Temple of Flames

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  About the Author

  Temple of Flames

  Koven Chronicles Book Three

  Copyright © 2018 Andrea Pearson

  Book design and layout copyright © 2018 Andrea Pearson

  Cover copyright © 2018 Andrea Pearson

  Series by Andrea Pearson:

  Kilenya Chronicles

  Mosaic Chronicles

  Koven Chronicles

  Ranch City Academy Series

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction, and the views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author. Likewise, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are represented fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  To

  Heather Hejduk

  Chapter One

  The morning after the masquerade ball, I jerked awake, covered in sweat. My dream had been so vivid, so real. As I took deep breaths, trying to control the panic that lingered, I realized the nightmare wasn’t the only thing that had awakened me. What else had caught my attention, though?

  It took several minutes for my breathing to return to normal. I looked around my bedroom, trying to figure out what could have caused the stress. My 9mm CZ was on the nightstand next to me, the clothes I’d been wearing the day before on the floor where I’d dropped them, and my cat sleeping soundly next to me, her gentle purring floating on the air. The whole house was quiet, but still, I was on the verge of springing out of bed to defend myself against something.

  I put my feet on the plush rug by my bed, an overwhelming need to move, to run, to get going filling my soul, but I was unable to pinpoint why I felt that way. The pressure made me yawn and stretch my jaw, trying to get my ears to pop. I was still exhausted—I couldn’t tell if I’d even slept at all. A quick glance at the clock told me that yes, I had. It was six in the morning. That meant I’d gotten at least five hours.

  The day before had been absolutely insane. I still couldn’t believe the Shade Amulet wasn’t working. It was the one thing that was supposed to keep me alive, and I couldn’t help but feel betrayed. And the governor of my state was a hound, the very thing I’d been “hired” to kill. Not only that, but a guy I’d gone on a date with recently had been my best friend’s ex and was, in fact, a leader of said hounds.

  Even though it didn’t function completely, I’d worn the amulet while sleeping anyway—old habits are hard to break. I grabbed it, realizing for the first time that it was warm. Was that what had awakened me?

  The pressure continued to build all around me—the hair on my arms zinging with unseen electricity. I wasn’t imagining it. I blinked, trying to clear my still-fuzzy thoughts. Was the amulet warning me? What would it be warning me about? And why would it be helping me? The thing was broken—it refused to do anything. I petted Sia as I brained through the situation.

  “You’re overreacting,” I whispered. I had no reason to be worried—my house was protected against hounds. Still, I had to force myself not to go berserk.

  Sia meowed, looking up at me, then jumped to her feet, arching her back. She pressed up against me, her eyes huge and her ears facing straight forward as she looked around the room, completely alert. I wasn’t imagining the pressure. Sia felt it as well. Like me, she obviously couldn’t pinpoint where it came from, though.

  I gasped when it finally dawned on my tired brain. The hounds knew the amulet wasn’t working. If I were one of them, I would do everything in my power to prevent the magical device from getting fixed. If I were in charge, I would grab every single hound interested in destroying me and do all I could to break into the amulet owner’s house and kill her.

  The Shade Amulet might not be working correctly, but it was working well enough to sense if a hundred or so hounds were trying to reach and destroy me.

  In a split second, I flipped off my bed, freaking out Sia, who dashed into the closet, and pulled my suitcase from under my bed. Flinging the top up, I yanked drawers open and tossed random items and articles of clothing at the case. I needed to get up to Alaska, and fast.

  A noise from my living room reached my ears and I froze, my heart almost stopping, before remembering that Abel—a coworker of sorts—had spent the night on my couch.

  He rushed into my room, wearing only gym pants. I lost all thought as I stared at his perfectly sculpted pecs and abs. Holy Hannah, this man was hot. Did he even realize it? I doubted it.

  If he noticed me staring, he didn’t let on, instead joining me in shoving things in my suitcase.

  “Give me that,” I said, yanking the case from him and finishing the packing job.

  “Sorry. We’re in a hurry.”

  “Yes, I know.” I didn’t hide my frustration. I usually didn’t where Abel was concerned. He was super talented in that he could irritate me endlessly without really working at it. Maybe it was his pigheadedness. Or his perfect confidence.

  I flushed, realizing I was irritated now because I’d just ogled his chest and stomach. Even if he hadn’t noticed, it was still embarrassing.

  Regardless, he’d obviously sensed the building pressure. Was it because he was an Arete, or would it have been evident to anyone? It was so strong now, it pounded against my head and sternum. I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t think.

  A horn honked outside once, twice, then the driver really bore down. I glanced at my CZ regrettably—I wouldn’t have time to deal with it at the airport—and grabbed my phone, charger, and suitcase and started lugging everything out of my room until Abel took the suitcase from me. He snapped it shut, then slung it over his back, acting as if the hard shell didn’t bother him.

  He grabbed his jacket from the couch in the living room. I couldn’t see his shirt anywhere. Instead, I saw a shape appearing in the middle of smoke in a corner. Unsurprisingly, it was a hound. Before Abel or I could do anything, though, the hound shifted into a man and Alexander, a friend, stepped toward us.

  I put a hand on my heart. “You freaked us out!”

  Alexander grabbed my arm. “Get out of here! They’re coming—all of them. My devices won’t stand up to everyone!”

/>   I nodded, and Abel and I rushed outside. Chief O’Hare, Lehi’s police chief, released the horn when he saw us. He opened his door. “Eleanora called. She couldn’t reach you. Something’s coming, and you’re in danger.”

  I nodded. Eleanora was the previous Fire Impeder. She lived about fifteen minutes away and had always been a lot better than I was at sensing magical creatures. “I have to get to the airport—fast as possible.”

  Chief gave a curt nod. “I’ll take you.”

  He turned on his lights and siren and indicated for us to get in the car with him. I’d assumed we would take Abel’s car, but a glance at Abel showed that he was fine going with Chief. He pulled the door open, picked me up, and hopped in the back of the car, setting me and my suitcase next to him. We were already moving, tires flinging rocks everywhere, by the time he pulled the door shut.

  “Picking me up wasn’t necessary,” I murmured.

  “Too slow,” Abel responded.

  I rolled my eyes, but put my irritation aside.

  Chief was older, but his reflexes were still spot on. I looked behind us, hoping Alexander would be okay. Sia would be—the hounds weren’t looking for her, and she was hiding. But Alexander? I watched as he rushed around the yard, grabbing the magical devices he’d set up to protect me a long time ago. It looked like he was deactivating them—probably a good idea. Better to do that than let them get destroyed when the hounds broke through.

  I turned to Abel, feeling my panic rise again. “Alexander . . .” Crap. “Only a hound can kill a hound.”

  Abel gave a curt nod. “He’ll be fine.”

  “How do you know?”

  Chief glanced back at us. “He’s smart. He’ll get out of there before anything happens.”

  I knew Chief and Abel were right, but I still couldn’t help worrying. Needing something to distract me, I powered up my phone. It showed several calls from Eleanora and Chief. Why hadn’t I left it on as usual? I must’ve been so tired the night before that I’d been unable to think straight. My muscles and joints still ached from barely getting out of the mansion that had been rented for the governor’s ball.

  Speaking of which . . . “What are we going to do about the governor?”

  Chief frowned, gripping the steering wheel and looking at me in the rearview mirror. “Not a lot for now. We have no proof that he’s a hound, and we can’t exactly take down the governor of Utah.”

  He had a point. “We need to follow him,” I said.

  “Yes—Detective Cole volunteered to do that for the time being. Until you get your amulet fixed, anyway.”

  I nodded. “Okay.”

  I turned back to my phone and started shopping for a flight to Alaska for both myself and Abel. There was no way I was going alone.

  Chapter Two

  We hadn’t been on the freeway long when Chief said, “We’ve got company.”

  I looked behind us. A car was on our tail. I ducked down instinctively when I saw a gun in the front passenger’s hand.

  A faint pop sounded, and something struck the back window of the car, little lines erupting across the glass.

  “They’re seriously shooting at us?” I shrieked, covering my head.

  Abel produced a gun from his jacket, rolled down the window, and started doing some shooting of his own. I stared at him, mouth open, ears ringing, totally frozen before common sense hit me.

  “Stop it!” I said, grabbing his arm.

  He yanked me off him and began shooting out the window again.

  I grabbed him once more. “Dude, knock it off. Let me handle the guns. It’s my job!”

  It really was, and he knew it. He grumbled at me, obviously unhappy to be stopped, but pulled back inside. I lay on the seat, curling up next to him, needing to be as comfortable as possible before getting to work.

  I almost focused on the guns, but at the last second, I pushed my magic to the engine in their car instead. At the speed we were going, one spark plug misfiring wouldn’t be an issue. The pistons were moving too quickly. I’d have to stop as many of them as I could and for as long as possible in order for it to do anything.

  Eyes closed, I took a deep breath and mentally and magically grasped the spark plugs, sensing where the little explosions were taking place. And then I began preventing them from firing.

  I was only able to do it for a couple of seconds before almost losing consciousness from the exertion. At this speed, the spark plugs were sparking several thousand times a minute, which was well above my ability to handle for long, but a couple of seconds was enough for the engine to die. The car dropped away from us, and I glanced back to see it swerving to avoid losing control as the driver panicked.

  I gave Abel a satisfied smile. “I’m all for shooting bad guys when they deserve it, but if I can do something about it with magic, that’s much more efficient. It’ll save the bullets.”

  “But not your mind.” He put a hand on my arm, then glanced at my face. “How does that feel?”

  I shrugged. I couldn’t really tell it was him touching me without looking. “That’ll come back.”

  He didn’t respond, and Chief thanked me for the assistance. A couple moments later, Abel moved, and I finished buying the plane tickets. A part of me ached to take Abel’s hand, but the more dominant side of me said no, not now. Not while we were under so much stress and had an audience ’Course, the old me would have said that would make the perfect setting . . . I sighed inwardly, missing how flirtatious I used to be, but grateful I wasn’t there anymore.

  The rest of the drive was quiet, but I was a complete basket case in the airport. I knew it wasn’t my imagination when I sensed multiple people watching. Would they dare do something in a crowded place? I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to find out.

  Abel and I rushed through security and onto the terminal, ignoring the odd looks at our pajamas. Maybe I imagined the odd looks—people wear pajamas in public all the time. We barely made our flight. I knew the hounds couldn’t find us on planes, but I still struggled to relax while buckling up and waiting for takeoff.

  When the plane left the ground, I finally leaned back against the seat and shut my eyes, letting the stress drain from my system. The flight attendant came around, and Abel and I got as many snacks as possible, filling up on pretzels, nuts, and those little cookies they give out.

  ***

  We were only a half an hour from landing in Alaska when I realized I hadn’t used the bathroom since I’d woken up. I obviously wasn’t getting enough water if I hadn’t needed to use it until this point.

  “I’ll be back,” I told Abel before hopping out of my seat and hurrying down the aisle, wanting to return before the seatbelt light came on.

  Just as I was reaching the bathroom, the captain announced that we would start our descent soon and asked everyone to return to their seats. I sent the flight attendant an apologetic smile, stepped inside, shut the door, and took care of business. While washing my hands, though, I noticed a hound taking shape in the middle of smoke in the little corner above the toilet.

  Before I had a chance to react, the dog sprang at me, teeth aiming for my throat. I barely held it off—the space inside the bathroom was way too small for the two of us. It was too small for the one of us. The dog snarled, snapping at me, and I screamed.

  Someone knocked on the door. “You okay in there?”

  “Help!” I shrieked.

  The dog barked, growling as it continued snapping at me over and over again. It was so much stronger than I’d thought it would be. Up to this point, I hadn’t really had to engage in hand-to-hand—well, hand-to-paw—combat with one. Abel always did. I checked for its flame, but it wasn’t there. Stupid amulet.

  The flimsy door crumpled in half behind me, folding in on itself. The dog and I became wedged in the doorway, it growling and snapping while I grunted with the effort to keep those sharp teeth away from my face. Spittle landed on my cheeks, and horrible breath enveloped me. I was vaguely aware of screaming pass
engers behind me.

  “Lizzie, move!”

  “I’m trying,” I grumbled, leaning away from the beast.

  Abel reached around me, grabbing the creature by the throat and yanking it out of the bathroom. It landed in the little area where the flight attendants usually sit.

  Abel lurched at it, barely missing it as the thing sprang to its feet and snapped at the flight attendant who had somehow gotten between me and the dog. She screamed, jumping away. Abel grabbed the beast by the back leg, but it twisted out of reach.

  I hunted around, trying to find a weapon of sorts. The only thing I could get my fingers on, though, was a can of Coke. Yeah . . . If I had a couple of days, I might have been able to dissolve the dog to death like my teacher had done a student’s newly lost tooth back in elementary school. Time wasn’t on my side, though.

  Instead of the Coke can, I grabbed a bottle of water and swung it at the animal, knocking its jaw away as it again lurched at me. It was enough of a distraction that Abel could finally wrestle the beast to the floor, where he promptly snapped its neck.

  His chest heaved for several moments, and he didn’t get up, probably making sure the dog really was dead.

  Then he glanced at me. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes—it only freaked me out.” I looked at the flight attendant. “How are you?”

  She was examining the tear in her skirt where the hound’s teeth had snagged her. “I . . . I think I’m okay.” Her voice was quiet and shaky.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  She looked at me. “It’s not your fault. Right?”

  I closed my eyes. “Sort of.”

  “It’s not,” Abel said. “Without you, these sorts of things would be happening all the time. They’re drawn to you and are leaving other people alone. If they succeed in killing you, you can bet they won’t go home quietly.” He sighed. “We’re definitely not safe on planes.” He glanced at me. “Do you think the amulet will work well enough for you to destroy the hound?”