Fire Kissed by Erin Kellison

head. Her face had gone white. “Grey sent them. I’m sure of it.”
    “The meeting went that badly?” Yes, she’d refused a dinner with the man, but it didn’t deserve an attacking army of wraiths.
    “No.” She straightened, hands covering her face. Stress tensed the long lines of her body.
    She was right to be scared, considering her history. She was right to be scared, regardless.
    Another screech filled the air. It sounded as if the wraiths were calling to one another, organizing.
    Kaye dropped her hands, but her expression was guarded. “No, the meeting went superfantastic, I’d say.”
    Jack flung a hand toward the door. “He sent wraiths to kill you!”
    “It’s an invitation,” Kaye said, with a sick and twisted smile. “An invitation to show off.”
    “I still don’t understand.”
    Kaye rolled her eyes at him. “Because you don’t understand mages. It’s a trial. I came to D.C. and went into business with Shadow, asked for a seat. Well, now he wants to see me do my thing. To prove myself.” She shook her head, and a light grew within her, the flame burning brightest in her palms. “He wants a demonstration of power.”
    “In public?” Jack was incredulous.
    “Wraiths are common knowledge already. The rest is up to me to control.”
    A shriek lifted just outside the door.
    Jack stared at Kaye, working it over in his mind. In the old days, the mages had required a difficult initiation in order for postulants to join their Councils. Only the most powerful joined that table. And hadn’t Grey mentioned some kind of trial at the coffeehouse? Times had changed, but the practice obviously hadn’t. What better test than to make Kaye face her demons?
    Jack’s throat constricted with the awful realization that this was no simple information-gathering mission, and for Kaye, it had probably never been. “What have I gotten you into?”
    He should have paid attention to his reservations, found another way. He should have gotten her away from this, in spite of The Order’s need.
    “Open the door.” Kaye’s hands were ablaze now. “And don’t forget you’re playing human, or we’re both dead.”
     
     
    A woman’s scream— Jodi? —brought Tom Peterman from his sofa to his feet, the newspaper sliding from his lap to the floor. He’d heard his daughter scream in fear as a child, but never as a grown woman.
    Heart in his throat, he strode to his town house door. While he unlocked the dead bolt, another woman’s scream ripped through him—Marianne, his wife. After thirty-two years of marriage, he was absolutely certain to whom that voice belonged.
    He flung open the door. Descended the short flight of stairs that led to the street. Searched left and right for any sign of them. “Marianne!” he called. “Jodi?!”
    They’d gone shopping. A girl’s night out while Jodi was on a rare break from her residency. Said they were going to spend his money on something extravagant. And he’d asked, “Why my money?” His wife made more . Which was a point of family pride—Marianne’s recent promotion to partner. Everything they’d worked for was finally coming through.
    He saw two slight figures and started running toward them. Oh, God, his girls. He moved to collect them in his arms. “What’s go—”
    Another figure, a man, appeared behind them, moving fast. He was half a block away, but Tom could see his elongating teeth. The man opened his mouth nightmare-wide and let out a monster shriek.
    Jesus.
    “Inside,” Tom said, dragging Marianne and Jodi.
    He’d seen news reports and screen captures of creatures like this, but not here. Not in his neighborhood. Not after his family.
    What was happening to the world? The explanations on the news were all bad, all unbelievable, all terrifying. But were they true?
    The three of them tripped up the steps to the house. Slammed themselves inside. Marianne and Jodi babbled through tears and broken breaths. “... came out of nowhere... almost got