Scorch by Kaitlyn Davis Read Free Book Online

She stretched her arms to the side, flinging her power
in both directions, trapping each vampire inside of swirling
flames.
    Her fire licked their skin, teasing them with
the heat, searing their flesh and then retreating again. One yelled
out, growling a deep sound mixed with fear and anger. It was a
caged animal and Kira squeezed her fingers, letting the fire close
in and slowly suffocate it. The vampire fell, bursting into dust,
imploding from the inside out.
    On her left, the other vampire started to
panic. He pushed against the flames, trying to breakthrough but
retreating when puffy boils sprouted along his arms.
    Kira crushed him easily, still ready for more
fight.
    Then finally, the fifth and last vampire
entered the clearing. His movements were slow, as though he had no
fear. He confronted Kira openly, not trying to gain the element of
surprise.
    Almost curious, Kira pushed her fire out.
Immediately she sensed something different from his body, and her
power was met with resistance, almost like an invisible shell
encased his torso.
    Conduit blood, Kira thought at first, but
this shell was different. It wasn't a bubble around him that could
be popped—it was in him, part of him. But his hair was a ruddy
brown, his eyes the cold, icy blue of a vampire. Suddenly, Kira
realized that she had seen that hair before, on her younger sister.
He must be a half-conduit, a mix of human and maybe Punisher, one
that had been turned bad.
    Kira switched her strength, testing her
Protector flames, which sunk deeper into his skin, burning his
marbled flesh to a bright red.
    He kept coming closer, slowed by her powers
but not stopped by them. Kira pushed further, letting a sliver of
her killing Punisher powers seep out. Simmering with heat, they
sunk in, creeping closer to his heart, forcing their way through
every inch of his skin.
    But he kept approaching, getting closer and
closer to Kira's body, closer and closer to a place where he could
attack.
    His skin began to blacken and flake off where
the Punisher flames took hold. His features hardened into a grimace
as the pain of death took its toll and Kira smiled, pressing her
advantage. Finally, she felt like someone was paying for what had
happened to both of her mothers. His hurt was her strength. His
fear was her drug. And as he crept closer, the emotions fed into
Kira, every wince made her feel empowered.
    Then without her even realizing it, the
blackness crept out of Kira's heart, flowing into her flames rather
than pressing against them, and her fire darkened. The bright
orange, yellow and red flames became tainted. A river of black flew
with them, encircling the vampire in a mix of fire and shadow. The
hot lava flowing through her veins became slick and oily, a searing
tar that bubbled with a heat that came not from lightness but from
anger—a sea of cold fury that felt somehow hot enough to burn.
    Her flames wavered.
    The darkness pressed inwards, suffocating
her.
    Kira's fire winked out, fading quickly away,
and before she knew enough to fight, something else had taken over.
Something that welcomed the shadows, the evil. Something that
pushed her over the edge, made her fall, spiraling down, down,
down.
    The conduit was gone.
    The vampire hiding underneath her skin took
over.
    Kira's eyes shot up, locking on the dying man
before her. His fear pushed out in waves, and he retreated. Kira
stepped forward, closing in on her prey.
    And before she realized what she was doing,
Kira pounced, sinking her teeth into his burning flesh.
     
     
     
    Chapter Four

    His blood was dark, not filled with enough
light to satisfy, and Kira dropped his lifeless body to the ground.
Against the rough dirt, his frame finally combusted, but Kira
wasn’t paying attention. Her nose was filled with the scent of the
sun—a golden honey sweet enough to make her sigh.
    She wanted to taste it.
    So she ran, light on her feet, and almost
flew through the forest, following the sugary trail of conduit
blood,