The Spark Ignites Pt. 03

"You're going to tell me what a member of The Order of the Argent Flame is doing here, because last I checked, I had a deal with your leader. He leaves me alone; I stop sending his flock back to him with burn scars."

The man froze, the prayer on his lips falling into silence as terror filled his eyes. After a few moments, I slammed him back into the ground.

"What happened to Joseph Hart!?"

I shouted at the man, and he started trembling, obviously scared for his life from 'the demon'. I picked him back up and pressed him against the wall, the flames leaking from my lips cascading down in streams.

"H-h-h-h-h-he went into seclusion! His son Tyler took over for him, and promised to rid us of your tyranny!"

As Twitchy spoke, he started slipping as his mind broke under the fear. I was the antithesis of his order, well, technically my powers were. Literally worse than the boogeyman and Satan combined, because I actually walked the earth, I was a tangible threat, I could turn them to ashes. At least, that's what they thought. The Order of the Argent Flame was a religious order that regarded fire as a holy and sacred object. They were good exorcists, and generally helped people, but where we started having problems was when they found that my fire wasn't a 'gift from God'. It was something from the underworld, and they decided I was another demon that needed purging. Unfortunately for them, my curse wasn't related to the Christian religion, it was older, a primordial force of punishment. Their methods for purging their demons didn't work, crosses didn't hurt me, I didn't burn in holy water, blessed silver? Might as well just use a steel blade, they had the same effect.

After sending well over a dozen of Hart's followers back to him with severe burns and no eyebrows, we came to an unspoken agreement. He leaves me alone, I don't interfere with his followers, not like I was in the first place. Now though, it looked like I might have to actually deal with this order, snuff out their flames before they could do the same to mine. Fuck, well I figured I had maybe two or three months before they tried to investigate where Twitchy had gone.

I knew if I could remove Tyler from the picture, or find Joseph, then maybe things could calm down again. Joseph and I had an understanding, Tyler was a shit trying to punch above his weight, and it would get a lot of people hurt. I dropped Twitchy back to the ground, ignoring his grunt of pain. My powers receded, and I felt even more tired than before.

"Well, guess I'll have to deal with that, eventually, but for now,"

I turned towards the group who had gathered to watch me do a quick interrogation of the idiot. Koa was nodding as Nereah murmured to him. Kari was stood between my family and myself, partially blocking the view, and also keeping them away from what was happening. Probably for the best, even if I was mostly in control of myself, there was always a chance that Twitchy would escalate things.

"Nereah, got some kind of plan for this moron, or are we just going to hand him over to that crazy bitch Katarina?"

Ah, Katarina, where to begin? She was from Russia, worked as another one of Nereah's 'off the books' guards, was another friend of my lover, and oh, she was an ice mage. She was fucking nuts though, and if I had to guess, she was ex-KGB. Katarina could be a cold, cruel bitch, but she had a soft layer, incredibly deep beneath that exterior. Deep enough that I had only seen it once, and she was half drunk that time. I wasn't sure I had really seen it, but Nereah vouched for her, so I somewhat trusted the dark haired Russian woman.

Nereah nodded slightly, letting me know we were going to pass this poor bastard off to miss icicle to deal with. Probably would be turned into the police next week, sans his pride, and maybe a toe or two. When it came to her people, my lover didn't fuck around, she made people find out, one way or another. Something I loved about her, she protected hers.

After typing up what I assume was a text message, she walked over to my still dumbstruck family, and gently started herding them towards the door.

"Come on, we can go pick up your things and we can go to my home, you're guests, I won't have you paying for anything. Besides, I doubt V here is in any mood for what we had planned before after this little incident. Kari, take him home please, he isn't cleared to drive until tomorrow."

I shook my head, she wasn't wrong, I just wanted to sleep, badly, before my headache came back. At this point, I didn't care, I was exhausted. Without any protest, I followed Kari back to my truck, unlocking the door and hopping into the passenger seat. Once she got it started, we were off, back home, where I collapsed into bed, still fully dressed.

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Chapter 14

I stood in the kitchen the next morning in only a pair of boxers. I felt much better than I had last night, and was showing off a talent I was quite proud of. I could cook an amazing breakfast, and with some musical help from small speaker, I moved around to the rapid beat. My hands moved quickly as I scrambled some eggs in a pan with some cheese, alongside a pan of bacon. I had literally no fear of the popping grease. It honestly felt kind of nice on my skin, if anything. I hummed along with the music, sparing the house from my awful singing, letting the rhythm carry me over to fridge, pulling out some cubed ham. Nereah was on the back porch, reading something on her phone as she sipped some coffee. It was the usual ritual for our days off.

I kept working as I felt a slight chill in the air. I knew who that was, but I ignored their presence, I was making food. They could wait, though in case they got annoyed with me, I did stay near the knife block. Always better to be prepared around them. Once I made sure the food wasn't going to burn while I talked, I turned fully. Sitting at the island, was a woman. She was average height, and with dark hair, black with a hint of purple. Her eyes were an icy blue, a fitting color for her.

"Katarina, I assume he talked."

She nodded, a sadistic grin on her lips as she stretched her back.

"Da, the little cyka sang like a bird after only two hours, and a few toes. Already dropped him off, should be in a hospital bed by now."

I shook my head, crazy bitch, if I didn't know it was all about business, I'd say she got off on that shit. She may have acted like a true sadist, but she wasn't, Nereah assured me of that. My lover didn't hire people like that, just people who were dedicated to their jobs. That didn't mean that Katarina wasn't kind of insane, at least I usually poked fun of her for it.

"You're a fucking psychopath, I hope you know that."

Before she could reply, a set of footsteps called our attention.

"Who's a psychopath? Oh, Katarina, I assume your work is done?"

Katarina nodded, tossing Nereah a flash drive.

"It's all on there, you want me to go find this cult leader? Our little friend was more than willing to give me where he should be."

As Katarina and Nereah walked out onto the back patio to talk shop, I heard the sound of feet moving down the stairs. I wasn't sure who it was, since everyone else in the house would be sleeping in. Kari loved to do that her days off, Steph was a heavy sleeper, and Bri was a lot like Kari, sleeping in whenever she could.

A surprised gasp told me it wasn't my fiery lover. I glanced around, and saw Bri, standing in a pair of sleeping shorts and a baggy t-shirt, one I recognized as one of my old ones. Her eyes were moving up and down my body, I guess taking in the notable changes from before. I had lost almost all of my fat, and all that was left with just lean, dense muscles. Along with the tattoos on my arms, and the new scars, lots of them. I guess she wanted to see the new look.

"Go ahead and sit down, breakfast will be ready soon."

Bri didn't move from her spot, but I shrugged it off, probably not fully awake yet. I turned to finish breakfast. Plating up some eggs and bacon, I set it down for her to have. She mechanically came and sat down at the island; her eyes still fixed on me. I left her to her food as I prepared plates for Nereah and Kari, since she'd be down before too long, the smell of bacon too enticing for her to stay asleep.

I was right, as the sound of rapid footsteps caught my ears. The dragon tore down the stairs and snatched up the plate I offered her. She crashed into a seat next to Bri, a piece of bacon already in her mouth as she moaned.

"I want to fuck you and have your babies; you make the best fucking bacon I've ever had."

Bri choked on her forkful of eggs as I gave Kari a deadpan.

"You say that every time, will you find some other way to word it?"

Kari shook her head before swallowing another hunk of meat. She had a lusty grin on her lips as she picked up some eggs.

"Nope, not until you fuck a hatchling into me."

Bri just stared at the two of us, a blush rising up her neck and onto her cheeks. She stuttered, but finally managed to get out.

"So lewd."

Kari and I glanced at her, and we both laughed lightly. It wasn't unusual for Kari to be brash, and I would get roped into it.

"Sorry Bri, not exactly used to having people around who I'm not, y'know..."

Still blushing, she nodded, she was taking this entire situation well enough. I know that if she suddenly came home, telling me she was in a relationship with two men, well I don't entirely know what I would think. I decided that it wasn't worth the time or effort to think about it. With that, I filled my own plate, and dug in.

Nereah rejoined us as Katarina left us in peace. The four of us quietly ate, Nereah keeping the business she was talking about with Katarina to herself for the moment. Once we had finished, my first lover leaned forward to address me.

"Katarina is going to dig up some more information about Joseph, because if he's decided to leave that life, I doubt we'll be able to get him back in charge. Then we'd have to deal with them."

I nodded, agreeing with her. If Joseph wouldn't take command again, then the Order would need to be ashed, like a burnt out cigarette. I didn't want those fanatics ruining a single part of my new life. I didn't really care about what would happen to them, they were a threat, had attacked me. It's odd how little care you have for someone after they've tried to kill you a few times. Nereah pulled me from the doom and gloom with her next words.

"V, why don't you take Bri and your cousin to Aurum tonight? I'm sure they'd like to see the more exciting part of your job, and certainly the better guarded one."

That, wasn't a half bad idea. Aurum was Nereah's club, and it was safer than the bar. Mostly because Nereah had runes carved into the doors that helped keep weapons out of it. Fights at Aurum were always fistfights. Those were the reason Koa and I had a reputation, brutal and unyielding. We'd beaten a few pervs who got handsy with the wrong person, and even several offended boyfriends. I nodded at Nereah.

"Not a bad idea, did you two bring something for a club?"

I turned my question to Bri, who looked at me with a bit of curiosity. She shook her head in response, but Nereah tittered lightly.

"No worries, I'm sure I can find something for you two to wear. If not, well we can go shopping then. Oh, I know a perfect outfit for you. I am going to spoil you."

Bri looked like a deer in the headlights now, surprised by Nereah's casual way of tossing around money. It was something Kari and I had grown used to so long ago, how little the elf cared for money, she really seemed to have endless amounts of it.

It took Bri a little, but she nodded before turning to me. Her cheeks were lightly dusted with a blush as she asked me a question I was waiting for.

"How are you still alive? I saw you shot in the head."

I sighed and held up a finger, a trickle of power making a tongue of blue-purple flame spring to life at the end of it.

"I discovered that trick a couple years ago, funnily enough also during an encounter with those same crazies. Tried to hit me with a truck, right before he could, something told me to just channel my powers throughout my body."

I rotated my hand, and the flame jumped and danced between my fingers. Bri watched it, transfixed by the seemingly harmless flame. I knew better, this little bit of power could easily spiral out of control if I let it. I clenched my hand into a fist, and the fire disappeared with a crackle.

"That, well for lack of a better term, converted my body into fire and ash, hard to kill fire and ash with anything but water. I mean, ever tried to put out a fire with a bullet? Good fucking luck."

I grumbled the last part before popping a piece of bacon into my mouth. Bri just stared at me as I chewed, letting the words sink in as I savored it. This wasn't bacon you got from the frozen section of a store; this was the real deal. Farm fresh, applewood smoked, just fucking perfect bacon. Bri just looked at me looking completely lost. She didn't seem to really understand how what I said translated fully into me surviving a bullet to the head.

"Essentially, it would be like trying to shoot a burning log. Ash and embers would be blown out from it, but the fire itself would keep burning. Your brother's life force is like the fire, still burning brightly, despite a new hole being put in it, and, just like a fire, more fuel can be added to make up for the loss."

Nereah, as usual, stepped in to help fill the gaps that I honestly either didn't know, or felt weren't important. I think trying to put out a fire with a gun summed up the issue fairly well. Can't put out a fire by shooting it, simple, straightforward, but Nereah's explanation seemed to satisfy my sister, as she nodded. I gave Nereah a deadpan look, she shrugged and sipped on her coffee. We went back to quietly eating until another set of feet coming down the stairs drew my eyes.

Steph half-stumbled down the stairs, rubbing her eyes. She obviously just woke up, and that was not the best time to bother her with anything other than food. I remembered several times she had reacted poorly to Mark trying to play jokes on her after she had just got up. It wasn't pretty, Steph got really loud and might throw things, hard. So, to disarm the ticking time bomb, I got up and made her a plate as well. Once that was done, and handed off, I turned to leave the kitchen. Even after having my brain rebooted, I was still annoyed at what she said last night.

As I moved to the stairs, Nereah called out to me.

"Don't forget you have an appointment with Alariel today. Kari, make sure he actually goes, I'm taking these two out shopping, they need some new outfits."

I heard a light gagging sound from what I assumed was Steph, as she hated shopping for anything but food, and even then, she would complain about it. I smirked and made my way upstairs to shower and get ready for my appointment. It was always good to see my lovely elf do that to literally anyone, it wasn't just Kari and me.

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Chapter 15

This was probably the oddest place for a psychiatric meeting I have ever heard of. We were on a private basketball court, just Alariel and I. She was wearing a pair of short gym shorts and a loose tank top while stretching out her legs. I was mostly successful in keeping my eyes off of her while she did that, but fuck me her ass looked great in damn near anything. I was in my own pair of gym shorts, but I was shirtless. She finally stopped, which was a relief to my libido, and faced me.

"Alright, you said during our first meeting that you used to play basketball a lot, so I want to try and see if this is a good way for you to relax. I've noticed your main coping methods are smoking and drinking, and I want to try replacing those with something healthier, at least mentally speaking."

She walked over to the side, where she had her bag and a ball. Alariel picked it up, and with her inhuman strength, she threw a chest pass from across the court directly at me. With a little more effort than I'd like to admit, I caught it. It felt good to have it in my hands again, I don't think I had held a basketball in over five years. I took a few test dribbles, bouncing it between each hand as I started doing some footwork. I was getting back into an old groove as I lost myself in the moment. Soon, I was making a drive to one of the baskets, twisting and juking imaginary players before I went for a layup. It was almost like fighting, the footwork was similar enough that it felt natural. But all this ended as I threw up a brick. Fuck, well, I knocked some rust off at least.

I turned to Alariel; she was watching me with a slight smirk on her lips as the ball bounced to her feet. With a quick movement, she picked it up and started imitating me, testing it out, getting a feel for how it bounced. Then, she shocked me by walking up to the three point line and draining it. I was not prepared for that, in any way at all. Though, it makes sense that she at least knew how to play, if she wanted to try this. Wouldn't do if I just ran circles around her. She turned around and gave me a satisfied smirk.

"Close your mouth, you'll catch flies if you don't, and step up to the top."

I did so with a light click, taking my place on the top of the three point line. She passed me the ball, bouncing it off the court.

"I am going to be asking you questions, and I expect honest answers. They will not be the most pleasant, but in turn I will answer questions you have. One for one, until this session ends, you may start."

I glanced to her, I certainly had questions for her. Things I was curious about, but felt it wasn't important, or taboo to ask. If she was giving me this option, I was going to take it. I dribbled the ball a few times before taking my first shot. I hit the rim, but it went it, not as pretty as I would like, but I'd take it.

"How did you fall? I know of other Fallen, and they aren't nearly as kind as you, more self-indulgent."

Alariel sighed as she bent over to pick up the ball, showing off her legs as she did. As she stood back up, she stayed facing away from me, not wanting to meet my eyes.

"Well first off, that is a bit of a stereotype, though one that I am sad to say is deserved. I fell for a variance on lust. I didn't lust for someone, I wanted to know more, see more than I was allowed to. It was wanderlust combined with a thirst for knowledge. Therefore, my fall was more, gentle, than some of my more, hedonistic brethren."

I nodded, taking a position a few steps on the line from where I was before. I was ready to take another shot whenever she passed me the ball again, which she did, just as she asked her question.

"Now time for mine, do you think you can ever forgive your father for what he did?"

That froze me in place, not moving until the ball drilled into my gut, knocking the wind out of me. I dropped, coughing as I struggled to regain my breath. My kneejerk reaction was to yell 'no', but she would tear that apart. I knew I could never forgive him, what he did, the things he said, they tore me apart inside. If I had to guess, it probably hurt the family, because Bri and Steph clearly still cared about me, even though my old man was too stubborn to change his mind on things. I knew him, he would stick to his guns until the day he died. At length, I stood back up, my eyes closed. Once I was back on my feet, I opened them, feeling my power humming lowly through my body.

"I can't, ever."

It was simple, but held as much conviction as I could muster, which wasn't insignificant. Alariel moved to stand a few feet from me. She hummed lightly at my answer before replying.

"I assumed that was the case, but I wanted to know if it was irrational, or maybe there was more to it. Your turn again."