From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4) (38 page)

“I’ll be fine. I can see a little out of this
eye now.” He brushed the hair off my face. “I’m really asking.”

“Basic answer is yes. You and Sprig are
alive.” I nibbled on my lip. With all the activity I had not told
him the other bad news.

“What? Just tell me.”

“Amara. She set us up again.”

Ryker lifted one eyebrow.

“That’s not the bad thing.” I inhaled. “She
knew. The stone. She took it.”

Ryker stared at me, his mouth opening to
respond when another voice spoke instead.

“Can’t ever trust a con artist.” Vadik
chuckled from where he sat against the wall. Ryker swiftly stepped
in front of me. “Got to admire a girl like that. She even fooled
me.”

Ryker didn’t respond, just pushed me farther
back behind him.

“She has the stone now, huh? That is
interesting.” A spark danced in Vadik’s eyes. Then he let his head
fall toward us, his lids tapered. “At least
she
stays true
to who she is.”

“Gee, I don’t have my father’s respect? I am
so crushed,” Ryker sneered.

“Aligning with the Unseelie King.” Vadik spat
like he swallowed something vile. “Why am I surprised? Too weak to
fight your own battles,
son
?”

The muscles along Ryker’s back twisted. He
stomped forward till his boots hit Vadik’s shoes. Anger pumped his
shoulders like a hot-air balloon. Ryker leaned over, clutching
Vadik’s neck. “I am
not
your son.”

“You can deny it, but my blood is in your
veins.
Demon
blood.”

“Shut up.” Ryker hit Vadik’s head against the
wall. “My father is the man who raised me. You were just a sperm
donor. Probably by force.”

“I made a deal with her father. She belonged
to me. So did you, until she hid you from me. I can do what I wish
with
my
property.”

“Oh. Noooo...” I seethed. I wanted to kick
the shit out of him, but Ryker blocked my path.

The “monster” as Ryker called it, now knowing
it was his demon side inside, flourished, pressing under his skin,
his eyes glowing with hate.

“There he is. My son. The demon.” Vadik
grinned sardonically. “Come on, son, kill me. Go ahead.”

The tension in the room pulled like a
strained violin string. I was ready for it to break, for Ryker’s
fist to pummel into Vadik till he became puree on the ground. Ryker
leaned farther over, his face inches from him. “It would be a favor
to the world if I killed you. Death would be easy compared to what
you will experience living in the Light.”

Vadik blinked; the smugness fell from his
face.

“I won’t be that kind to you,
Father
.”
Ryker patted his cheek, then stood up, learning over the man. “I.
Will.
Not.
Kill. You.” The moment Ryker said it Vadik howled
gut-wrenching shrieks. The hair on my arms stood up. Vadik
struggled to get to his feet, his arms clawing at his body, as
though trying to get rid of an invisible force.

Ryker retreated, showing him he would not be
there to help him.

The cry tearing from Vadik’s mouth filled me
with anxiety. “What is happening to him?”

“Because I declared I’d let him live, the
King’s curse is now taking over. He’s banned from Earth, so until
he finds a door and gets to the Light side of the Otherworld, he
will feel like his insides are being shredded. Which is like the
demon equivalent of tearing out pumpkin guts.”

I glanced at Ryker. He shrugged. “Or so I’ve
heard.”

“You will…” Vadik huffed, spit flying out of
his mouth. “Regret this.”

“Probably. I wanted to be the one to kill
you. But knowing you are still alive, slowly and painfully being
tortured to death will help me sleep better at night.” Ryker’s
expression and voice were stone cold and hard. “For what you did to
my mother, to me…you deserve worse. I do not have time or energy
for your pathetic self. You are nothing to me.”

Vadik frantically scratched at his neck and
face, his eyes growing black. He looked like he was debating. He
rocked back and forth on his feet as if he might come bowling for
Ryker.

Ryker stared back. “Do it. I dare you.” His
voice was low and harsh.

Vadik’s neck veins bulged. A piercing growl
tore from him and then he bolted from the room. The door to the
building slammed behind him, bringing silence.

Air I held in my lungs skated out in a quiet
exhale. Ryker and I stood in a sort of daze. So much had happened
in the last hour my brain struggled to keep up.

I ran my hand down Ryker’s bicep. “You
okay?”

“Yeah. I am.” He pivoted to me, grabbing my
hips. “I want to forget him.”

I nodded.

“Now about the stone...”

“Shit.” I blurted out. “Lars. What do we do
about him? He will come for it later, and I don’t have it.” I would
possibly die before he even could claim it, which was better than
what he would do to me when he found me empty handed. “Damn it! Why
can’t we get a break?”

“Hey.” Ryker grabbed my flaying arms. “Calm
down. Amara doesn’t have anything significant.”

“The stone is not significant?” My eyes
darted to his. “One of the most powerful weapons in the world is in
the hands of a lying, selfish bitch. That’s not important?”

Ryker had the audacity to grin at me.

“Why do you find this funny? She has the
stone. Lars will kill us,” I screeched.

“Breathe, Zoey.” His unruffled demeanor only
evoked another tirade from me. “Stop,” he said more firmly.
“Haven’t you notice you’ve been even more cranky, not feeling well,
and irritable the last couple of days.”

“
If
you say anything about me ‘being
on the rag,’ I. Will. Kill. You.”

He smirked, shaking his head.

“The morning after our all-nighter in the
garage, when you weren’t looking, I switched out the stone with a
fake.”

“Wh-what?” My jaw dropped, anger igniting my
brain .”Switched? Where is the real stone? What does Amara
have?”

“Amara has a fake.” He rubbed my arms. “It’s
been close so you wouldn’t feel the withdrawal too badly.”

Now I understood the reasons why I didn’t
feel any magic from it when she stole it. Why it had been so quiet
for the last couple of days. Why I had felt off and edgy.

“Wait. Is that the reason Lars didn’t sense
it on me? Because I didn’t have it?”

Ryker nodded.

“Where is it? If you have it, how did he not
sense it on you then?”

“I don’t have it either.”

“Where is it, Ryker?” A surge of possessive
rage fueled me. “It’s mine.”
I need it. I need it.
My hands
opened and closed desperate to have it back. “Tell me.”

Ryker frowned, folding his arms, his jaw
rolling. I could sense his apprehension, his displeasure at my
words, but knowing the stone was close fostered a frantic feeling
in me. Where could he have hidden it if not on himself?

A snore broke the silence, and I turned to
the sprite on the table—a monkey wearing a backpack. Neither had
been in the warehouse with the King.

“Oh. My. God.” I turned and walked over to
Sprig.

“Leave it, Zoey. It’s in safest place it can
be.” Ryker took a step up to Sprig, blocking my hand. “It doesn’t
seem to affect him like it does you.”

Zoey, I’m here. Please take me back. Claim
me.
I swore I heard the stone calling me, driving my hand to
reach again.

Ryker grabbed my hands, turning me to him.
“Amara figured out the stone’s location before I even went to DMG.
It was only a matter of time before she would try to take it from
you.” He let my arms drop. “When I realized he could hold it
without it influencing him, I knew he was the ideal carrier. He’s
always near you, which I hoped would help keep you from figuring
things out.”

“The deal he spoke of…” Comprehension settled
over me. So many confusing details suddenly made sense.

Ryker rolled his one working eye back,
turning to face Sprig. “That furball is set for life. He drives a
hard bargain.”

“Yeah, because you’re so tough when it comes
to him.”

Ryker shrugged, staring at the curled-up
monkey. “I knew Amara would betray us again. Did I see Arlo coming?
No. I regret she caused that. But I used her for what she could
give us as well. She will find out fast she has a phony and realize
with a gut-wrenching sickness she played her last hand and came up
short. We won. And no one will be chasing her.
Ever.
”

I should have felt relived. Happy. But a lash
of anger and betrayal strangled me. “It belonged to me. You had no
right to take it.”

“I have
every
right.” A nerve along
his jaw twitched. “You would never have given it to me freely. That
became clear the night at the garage.” He eyed me sternly. “I
thought it was best. With your attachment to it, knowing you would
never let it go, I had to steal it. I wasn’t going to let it hurt
you anymore. It was slowly killing you. So be mad at me. Fine. I’d
rather you pissed than dead.”

He was right. I wouldn’t have. Even now my
hands were shaking to take it back, to know it remained in my care.
I tucked my arms around each other, fighting the feeling it
physically pulled me toward. I understood his reasoning, but it was
still hard not to feel the duplicity. Though I would have done the
same.

“Why do you think the King didn’t feel it
this time?”

“I don’t know. There was so much magic in the
room already, and I also think Sprig neutralizes it. That’s
probably how it stayed hidden for so many centuries. Maybe lower
fae diffuse the power coming off it.”

His theory made sense. Even I didn’t know it
was gone, but I did now. I wanted it back. I wanted to see it. To
touch it.

Take it, Zoey. You need it
and it
needs you.

Ryker swung to me. “We ought to get
going.”

“Yeah.” I pulled air in through my nose,
rolling my shoulders back. “I’m ready.”

Ryker tucked a stand of loose hair behind my
ear.

A snort came from the desk. “No, Mother, I
want to wear the
pink
bloomers with lace,” Sprig whined,
then his head bolted off the table, and his bright eyes stared at
Ryker and me. “What? Huh? What were you saying?” He rubbed the lump
on his head. “It was something about dinner, right? Or dessert?
Both sound awesome to me.” He climbed to his feet.

“Sprig!” I gathered him up, nuzzling my face
to his. Utter joy coursed through my body at hearing his voice,
seeing his sweet animated face. “I am so happy you’re okay. I love
you, buddy.”

“Are you okay,
Bhean
? Your eyes are
leaking all over me.” He shifted under my smothering grip. “My head
and neck hurt. Did I drink too much mead again? I have a sensitive
system.”

“No.” I softly rubbed the mending wound. “I
wish it was the reason.”

He picked up his chin and looked over the
room. “Wh-what in the… dingle berry, nut-crusted, toad-stooled
biscuits happened?” Sprig exclaimed, his mouth hanging open.

“It’s over. That’s all you need to know.”

“Did we win this time?”

“We actually did.”

“Yay. Victory dinner then? I’m hungry. Aren’t
you guys? It’s been days, right?”

Ryker snorted, rubbing Sprig on his back.
“Food is going to have to wait. Right now we have two girls and a
pirate to save.”

“How about everything you said minus the
pirate and add dinner along the way, then I say we have a plan.”
Sprig crawled up onto my shoulder.

Ryker tilted his head, looking like he was
pondering the thought.

“Don’t even think about it.” I elbowed Ryker
in the stomach.

“What?” Ryker’s eyes widened. “The sprite has
some good ideas there. Be a shame to disregard them so quickly.” A
grin tugged at my mouth. Ryker was all talk. There would be no way
he’d leave Croygen there.

I turned around to face the Wanderer, my
smile fading. “This is going to be extremely dangerous. Especially
since none of our powers will even remotely work once we are down
in that hellhole.”

“Then we rely on our brains and brawn.” Ryker
grinned.

“We’re so screwed.” Sprig tossed up his arms
in defeat.

“Wow, for being such a heroic
warrior
,
you’re a pansy,” Ryker taunted.

“Did I say warrior?” Sprig pointed at
himself. “I meant guardian.”

“Guardian of what?”

“Did I say guardian? I meant caretaker.”

“Caretaker?”

“Part-time…” He twisted his hands together,
his gaze rolling to the ceiling. “Okay, I was fired!”

“Fired because?” I asked.

“Because I kept getting caught eating the
town’s supply of honey for the winter months.”

“You were a monitor of the honey supply?”
Ryker hands drifted down to my waist, pulling me closer to him.
“Which idiot decided that?”

“Uh…I did.”

“Yep, we’re screwed.” I stared up into
Ryker’s eyes with a smile.

“So screwed,” he muttered as he brushed his
lips over mine.

In an hour we all might be dead. I wanted to
enjoy these tiny moments. They might be all I had left.