Page 7 of Watch Me Burn (Sanctuary #1)

CHAPTER 6

SANCTUARY

T he cell door is open. There’s no sign of Jasper, but Celeste stands in the entrance, a curious look on her narrow face.

She steps further in. “When you said that you’d do anything… do you mean it?”

It’s not even a question. “Yes.”

“I’m glad to hear it. In that case, this won’t be as uncomfortable a conversation as I thought it might be. May I come in?”

After the way she said ‘uncomfortable’ like that, I’m thinking twice about agreeing, but what else can I do? It’s not like I can really refuse.

“Sure.”

“Thank you.”

Celeste sweeps in, and I wait for Jasper to appear to close her in with us. That doesn’t happen. I’m not sure if it’s because, as the head witch, Celeste has more status or if I’m really not a prisoner like Elise claims. Either way, I feel a tiny bit of hope when the cell remains open.

And then Celeste starts the uncomfortable conversation by saying, “As you must’ve already guessed, Thorn is firm in his refusal to allow you to stay in Clarity, “ and that sliver of hope dies an instant death.

I curse under my breath. “So that’s it. I’m being kicked out.”

“I’m sorry, but we’ve decided that it’s too dangerous for you to remain in Clarity. For the same reason, I don’t feel comfortable moving you to Ravenhill.”

Wow. Two for two. It’s a good thing that Aunt Maureen and Antonio have finished their six-month trek throughout Europe, settling down in Queens once more. At least I know that she won’t turn me away and make me homeless.

“But,” Celeste continues, and that hope resurrects just enough to be noticeable, “there’s a third option.”

I’m all ears. “Okay.”

“Sanctuary,” murmurs Elise.

Celeste looks at my best friend in approval. “That’s right. Thorn and I believe that, under the circumstances, the best place for a witch with abilities like Briget’s will be a supernatural sanctuary.”

Do I even want to know what one of those are?

Before I can ask, Celeste does her best to explain. Supe sanctuaries are small towns hidden all around the world where creatures like witches, shifters, vampires, and more can band together and form their own little communities apart from the human world. Unlike a Fang City which is vamp-only, a sanctuary welcomes those in need.

I’m a rare fire witch. If it gets out that my powers are active, I’ll have the whole witch hunter congregation coming after my ass.

She says it a lot more diplomatically than that. The gist is still that, with my rogue magic, I’m too much of a dangerous threat for Clarity. For Ravenhill.

For Queens.

Fuck.

I can’t go home. What if Aunt Maureen is a witch? I’d never forgive myself if I brought witch hunters to her door. What if I lost my temper? I’m a New Yorker. It happens. I’ll snap, light someone up, and blow my cover. The rest of the world will know that witches exist, and it’ll be all my fault.

No.

Sanctuary. I’m going to have to accept their offer, aren’t I?”

“Do I get to at least pick where I’m being shipped off to?”

Instead of answering me, Celeste moves until she’s standing directly in front of me. She holds out her hands the same way as she did before: palms down, fingers outstretched.

This time I know what she wants. I slip my hands into hers, completing the collection.

I wonder what she’s going to see this time.

Celeste closes her eyes. I have no idea how to control my magic, and I imagine it’s like a fart I have to hold in. Like, I could let it go, but everyone in the room will know that I did. Same with my fire. If I lose control now that I know that it’s possible, I’ll burn the hands of the witch willing to help me. Like unwanted toots, I have to keep it in, no matter what.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Celeste intones in a deep voice, “You’ll find what you seek there.”

There? Where?

And, more importantly?—

“What am I looking for?”

Right now, all I want is for this to be a nightmare. For witches not to exist, and for magic not to be real. Since that’s probably not going to happen, the least I can hope for is a little help before they boot me out the door.

In response to my question, Celeste’s eyes snap open. As I stare at her, her irises turn white. Pure, glowing, terrifying white. “You shall know when you find it.”

Okay, then. ‘Cause that helps.

It’s over almost immediately. Her eyes darken again, the black pupil surrounded by her deep brown iris. As she removes her hands from mine, she says two words: “Fire opal.”

“Fire opal?” Maybe that’s what I’m supposed to be looking for… “What’s that?”

“A crystal that’s usually mined in Mexico. It’s closely associated with passion and creativity, but there is a mystical vein that’s hidden underground… including up north. It takes a fire witch to find it, but if you possess some of the crystal, you won’t have to worry about your magic controlling you anymore.”

My lips part.

Fire opal. If I get my hands on a chunk of the stuff, the fire shooting out of my hands will stop. No more magic. No more witch.

I can go back to being normal.

“And it has to be this mystical kind?” I ask. “I can’t, like, go online and see if I can get any old fire opal?”

She shakes her head.

I didn’t think it would be that easy.

“Right now, your newly unleashed magic is a beacon for witch hunters. One found you, my dear, and his partner won’t be far behind.”

As if I need the reminder. “So, what? This is like witness protection for witches?”

“For supernaturals,” Celeste corrects. “There are twenty-five sanctuaries in the US. But only one of them is cold enough to conceal a fire witch. If you accept our offer to hide you from the witch hunters, you’ll be heading out to Alaska as soon as possible.”

“Wait. Where ?” I blink. “Did you just say Alaska?”

She nods. “Yes.”

“And I’m going with you.”

For the first time since Celeste entered the cell, Elise speaks up.

I glance over at her. She’s sitting next to me, her hands tucked in her lap, a defiant expression on her face. It’s as though she expects me to immediately refuse, and while that is my first instinct—just because I’m getting kicked out, doesn’t mean she has to leave her home for a woman she’s only known for six months out of seventy-two years—I keep my trap closed for a moment as I take in her body language.

Her expression is defiant. The hands in her lap tells me she’s nervous.

What’s going on here?

Celeste clears her throat. “I’ll leave you two to discuss matters. Between Thorn and I, we’ll arrange it so that you’ll both be welcome in the sanctuary city. When you’re done, feel free to join us in his office so we can pass on the details to you both.”

It seems as though the head witch thinks that I’ll take Elise up on her offer to join me. That’s interesting.

I wait for her to stride out of the cell. It’s annoying that Jasper closes the cell door after she goes, but since the blond vampire disappears out of sight after he does, I figure this is only another temporary imprisonment. Once we’re done here, he’ll let me out and I’ll be halfway on my way to freaking Alaska.

Alaska .

I turn to Elise. “You don’t have to go.”

“I want to.”

A lump lodges in my throat. “Elise. You’ve already done so much for me. It’s fine. The last thing I want is for you to get mixed up in this mess because of me.”

What if the witch hunters do come after me? I don’t want to see Aunt Maureen hurt, but I feel the same about Elise.

I don’t want anyone getting caught in the crosshairs all because of what I am…

“Bridge—”

“I mean it. You should stay here. And who knows? They’ve gotta have cell service up there. Or… or internet. We can keep in touch?—”

She worries her bottom lip with her fang while I bubble before blurting out, “I requested sanctuary, too.”

What?

“You did? Why?”

Elise exhales. “It’s Peter.”

My hands fist at my side. “What about him?”

“Same old story, I’m afraid. Remember how I had to end our arrangement because of Delilah?”

I remember that she explained to me how Peter started seeing another woman while they had an exclusive ‘arrangement’. All along, I thought it meant that he started sleeping around when Elise wanted a monogamous relationship with him. And maybe that’s true, since she did admit that feeding is usually a precursor to sex, but now that I know she’s a vampire, there’s got to be more to it.

There is.

“Delilah is another vampire. In order for our kind to create a mate bond with our beloveds, there must be a blood exchange. I take a male’s blood inside of me. If I want to pledge myself to him for the rest of my nearly immortal existence, I give him mine. We mate?—”

“Fuck?” I ask, just making sure I’m on the same page.

She nods. “Yes. We had intercourse, and then an unbreakable, supernatural bond is created between us. Peter wants that bond with me. He’s given me his blood enough that he feels like he’s owed my affection. There was a time, too, when I thought he might be a worthy enough forever mate. But when I wouldn’t give him my fang, showing all of Clarity I considered him to be mine , he accepted Delilah’s. He was trying to make me jealous.”

I knew that part. “Yeah, and all he did was make it so that you dumped his sorry ass.”

“I had to. He wore another vampire’s fang on a gold chain around his neck. In our world, that’s like getting her name tattooed to his forehead for all of the Fang City to see.”

I wince. “Ouch. It’s that blatant?”

She nods. “There was no way I could accept him as my beloved again after that. My donor, either. But he refuses to accept that even now. He’s convinced himself that he’s my beloved, no matter how often or how firmly he’s forced me to reject him. He won’t stop, Bridge. I thought he would, and I kept it to myself because I know how you feel about him, but Peter… he’s ambushed my last three dinner dates. At this rate, I won’t have any willing donors left in Clarity. So why should I even stay? And if I can help you, too… I’m going. Please don’t try to stop me.”

How could I? When she just told me how Peter keeps fucking with her even after she told him to leave her the hell alone?

If I got my hands on him now…

Elise’s brow furrows as she sniffs. “Do you smell smoke?”

Fuck .

The cell is getting a little hazy. It’s not black smoke, not like when the witch hunter was stalking me and some part of me recognized that he was a danger to me, but there’s no denying that the room we’re in is slowly filling up with hazy, grey smoke—and all because I got furious when I heard about how Peter is still harassing Elise.

Thorn was right. My temper is definitely a trigger.

I can’t stay here, either. And I don’t just mean the cell. Clarity. I have to go.

And if Elise wants to come with me…

“Do you really want to go to Alaska, though? It’s winter. Isn’t it, like, super dark there and really, really cold and snowy? You could probably find a better sanctuary.”

I’m a fire witch. Celeste thinks that Alaska is the only place for me to go, and now that she’s sure I’ll find what I’m looking for there—whether it’s the fire opal or not—I’m going.

But Elise… who knows? Maybe there’s a sanctuary town in California or something.

“I spoke about it with Thorn before I came down here. It makes sense if I go with you. If the point of going to one of the sanctuary towns is to keep you hidden from the witch hunters, the first step should be to go back to hiding the fact that you are a witch, Bridge. I can help with that. If I claim sanctuary because of Peter, I can take you with me. Pretend you’re my human donor. We can both hide out, and no one will be able to chase after us. What do you think?”

What do I think?

I throw my arm around Elise’s shoulder, giving her a sideways hug before resting my head against hers. “I think that, if I have to hide out in Alaska and go searching in caves for some mystical crystal that may or may not get rid of my witchy side, there isn’t anyone I’d rather go through it all with than you.”