Chapter 9

Of Fire and Fury

It had been three weeks since her rescue, and Athena was starting to feel restless. She hadn't been home, and she hadn't even set foot outside of the castle grounds. The few times she had tried, either Ysabeau, Marthe, or Baldwin had stopped her. The last time, Baldwin had grabbed her arm and she'd yelled at him, threatening to ignite her arm where he was holding it. He'd glared at her furiously, yanking his hand away and stalking off. She'd felt a little bad about her reaction, but she was still feeling claustrophobic when she returned to the sitting room, Diana and Matthew sitting at the table, talking to Ysabeau about the twins.

Baldwin was sat on the sofa, reading a financial paper, ignoring everyone. He didn't look up when she approached him.

"Sorry..." she said quietly, trying not to appear too sheepish.

Baldwin looked up at her slowly, his eyes cold.

"I don't like not being able to go where I choose." She shrugged her shoulders. "It's not in the nature of fire to be so controlled."

He folded his paper and stood up. "You realise this is all for you benefit?"

Her eyes flashed a moment, her irritation rising, but she took a breath and tried to calm down. "I do appreciate that, but I can't stay here forever. I have a life. Work. Dance. I still haven't been home. My sister is still on ice. I need to bury her, preferably before mum gets hold of her."

"Until we know anything more about who took you and why, it simply isn't safe," he replied.

"Then let me help. Let me do something. What about the two witches you found with me? I know they weren't very powerful, they were just there to keep me from escaping."

Baldwin looked at her with interest. "Had you tried? Before we found you?"

"Oh yes. Twice. The first time, I pretended to be unconscious when one of them came to drag me to where they were keeping Della. He head butted him, breaking his nose. He used a binding spell in retaliation to hold me in place so he could take a swing at my face." She tapped her eye where the bruise had previously been.

"The second time, I tried brute force. The other witch tried to subdue me, and covered my mouth as I was yelling. I bit him. Pretty sure I broke his hand," she recounted, smirking. "That's when Satu returned. The three of them dragged me to where Della was hanging upside down. They bound me and smashed my ankles. No escaping after that."

Diana looked horrified at her matter-of-fact explanation of her experiences, and Matthew had looked repeatedly at Diana, concerned that she might be triggered. Baldwin's expression was almost unreadable. Deeply thoughtful, as though he was trying to piece together a puzzle.

Athena paced a moment. "I had heard other voices down there, but I never saw anyone else. I don't know who darted us." She let out a frustrated breath. "If only Della hadn't been in the way... I'd have gotten the dart first... Maybe they'd have left her alone."

"You can't think like that. You can't know that it would have happened any differently. Sometimes fate has other ideas," Diana tried to reassure.

"Screw fate! Why did Della have to be directly in the w..." Athena froze at the realisation. "She was directly in the way... She moved in the way... She wasn't even meant to be there... She was supposed to meet me at the theatre after some errands, but she'd changed her mind at the last minute. She moved... Just before the dart hit..." Her eyes were wild and she was pacing erratically, her hands moving as she tried to make sense of it all.

She stopped and looked at them all in turn. "Oh gods... She saw it coming! She knew what was going to happen! She got in the way! To save me! I don't think they wanted her at all!" Her voice had increased in pitch and her heart was racing.

Baldwin had stepped closer, worried she was about to become overwhelmed, but before he could reach her, her hands ignited, her eyes glowing orange as her fury began to rise, her breathing heavy as her mind reeled at the prospect that her sister might simply been collateral damage.

When Baldwin stepped closer, she backed up, holding her arms away, her sleeves starting to burn as the flames licked higher.

"Dont! Keep away!" she cried, then quickly angled passed them all, running out towards the gardens and then out into the larger grounds, not stopping until she was a safe distance from the castle.

She dropped to her knees and screeched in rage, her fire exploding from her, surrounding her in an orange and blue cyclone, the grass beneath her burning away as she let her power vent. The others had gathered a short distance away, watching in both fascination and fear. None of them had ever seen such a display of fire power, and for the first time, Diana could appreciate why Athena had chosen to stay bound for the first week or so. Such power could destroy the castle and everyone in it.

After several minutes, the fire slowly died down, the cyclone reducing around her, her shape now visible to the others as she dropped forward onto her hands, panting hard. She felt a combination of anguish and fury. Fury won out as Baldwin approached. She looked up at him, her eyes still glowing as she sat back on her ankles.

"I'm going to kill them. I'm going to hunt them down, whoever the others are, and kill them." Her voice was hoarse as she spoke, and Baldwin had to stop himself from smiling in admiration.

This was not a woman who broke down in times of crisis. She blazed her way through them, scorching everything she touched. He was almost eager to see her fight. Nothing warmed his blood more than a battle.

Athena looked over to Diana, Matthew, and Ysabeau. The vampires were still regarding her curiously, but Diana had started up the hill towards the boundary of de Clermont land. As she looked to where Diana was headed to, her witch's eye opened of its own accord, and she could feel the presence of another witch. She recognised it instantly as Satu.

By now, the vampires had all smelled her presence, Matthew and Ysabeau had already joined Diana at the boundary. Athena jumped to her feet and tried to run after them, only to be grabbed by Baldwin.

"LET GO!" she screamed, her fingers glowing.

"Wait! Think about this! She deserves to get what's coming to her, but you have to do it right. Think, Athena. Think of why you were so named," he said, holding her fast, making her look at him.

She swallowed heavily, trying to think about his words. "Goddess of Wisdom."

"And of Battle Strategy. Be strategic about this. She won't expect it."

Athena was moving from foot to foot, focusing on his tie pin, thinking about her best move. Then she stopped ad looked into his eyes, a small, cold, smile erupting across her lips.

"I have a plan."

Baldwin hesitated in letting her go.

"Trust me," she said softly, and he slowly removed his hands, letting her head towards the others.

He followed closely, keeping his eyes on her. No matter what happened, he wasn't about to let anything happen to her. Not this time.

Satu was screaming angrily at Diana to unbind her, her fingers clenching and unclenching as she tried to will her power to life. Nothing happened.

"UNBIND ME!" she screamed again.

"Yes, Diana. Unbind her. Let's at least make this a fair fight," Athena said, her eyes never leaving Satu.

She moved across the boundary, standing several feet away from Satu, letting her fingers glow.

"You wanted to know my power. Know my secrets. Now is your chance."

Diana looked at Athena. "I don't think that's wise."

"Nonsense. Unless, you don't think you can match my fire power, Satu?"

"I'LL BURN YOU TO ASH!" she screeched. Her fury was familiar. She'd spent her time torturing her and Della purely out of anger, and now she knew why. Being spellbound had broken her.

"Maybe you will." She looked to Diana and nodded. "Do it."

Diana sighed and slowly worked her cords in sequence, performing the unbinding, Satu gasping in relief as she felt her magic flow through her. She grinned maniacally at Athena, igniting her own hands. She made a show of flicking them forward, sending a continuous stream of fire at Athena, who matched it with a precise one of her own.

The heat of the fire caused the other to step back slightly, even as the stream from Satu was beginning to gain strength, forcing Athena backwards as she attempted to hold it off.

She gasped as she strained, holding her hands close to her face to avoid being hit by Satu's fire. Satu was cackling, moving forward as her fire forced Athena onto her right knee, leaning back away from the flames starting to lick their way around her.

Baldwin made to rush to her aid, but Diana used her cords to stop him. "Not yet," she whispered.

Just as it seemed that Satu would completely overpower Athena, she leant back on her bended knee, making a smooth flicking motion with her right hand and sending a summoned tree root up from the ground and through Satu's chest. Satu's fire died instantly, and a look of pure shock had frozen on her face. She'd known about Athena's fire abilities, but had no idea about her ties with the earth. Neither did the others.

"Someone get her memories!" Athena yelled, snapping them out of their shock.

Baldwin had flashed to grasp Satu's hair, yanking her head back and biting down swiftly, his eyes on Athena as she held the root in place. Neither broke contact as Satu's blood rushed across his tongue, the jumble of discordant memories following, including everything that Satu had done to Athena and her sister. It would take time to sort through them, but they might now be able to piece together who had made the decision to come after her.

When he'd drained her, he pulled back, letting go of her hair as drops of blood ran down his chin. Athena moved her hand, the tree root disappearing back into the ground as Satu dropped, dead. Her eyes hadn't left Baldwin as she moved to him, lifting a finger to capture the stray drops. The gold of his amber eyes was heightened as he took her hand, moving her finger into his mouth. Her breath hitched slightly, as his heart pulsed strongly in response.

Diana and Matthew exchanged a look. Matthew had heard Baldwin's pulse quicken. He found it curious, but didn't mention it. Baldwin had dropped Athena's hand and had stepped back.

Athena cleared her throat. "Did you get them all?"

Baldwin nodded. "I think so. It's a lot to sort through, they came through in a jumble."

Athena nodded and looked down at Satu. "What do we do with her?"

Ysabeau stepped forward. "Marthe and I will get rid of her. Not to worry," she said, smiling as she went off in search of her friend.

"I had no idea you were an earth witch!" Diana exclaimed.

"No one did. I don't know why, but I always knew I had to keep it close." She looked to Baldwin. "Told you I had a plan," she smirked.

Baldwin was still stunned by the display. He was struggling to organise his thoughts and feelings, and now that he had seen just how capable she was during a fight, all of his conflicted feelings had surged to the surface. He needed time to process.

"It was an effective plan, I'll grant you that." He cleared his throat. "I need to organise all this. Make some notes." It was a feeble excuse to get some distance, but one he would take.

Athena watched him go, feeling strangely conflicted herself. The first week or so, she'd been so consumed with healing, she hadn't put much thought to the man who had rescued her. But, after three weeks, he was still here. He'd been there when she'd had a nightmare. He'd been to her home and gotten her possessions with thought, even bringing her the family grimoire. It made no sense. Diana had spoken about him whilst he was in New York, telling her of his hatred for witches, and of his need to control everyone and everything. She said that he'd relaxed slightly after his niece and nephew were born, but that he still ran the family as though he was the lord and commander and must be obeyed.

Why was he being so thoughtful with her? Why did she like it?