The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) (17 page)

I wrenched around in my seat, ready to stand and
run. Ryker had yet to move from his chair, which was the only thing
anchoring me to my spot. I spotted the glow of aura, the fae at the
door, one I recognized from a few days ago. Croygen. But by then it
was too late. Spikes of adrenaline and fear rushed through my
veins. I slammed my lids together so I wouldn’t puke as wind
whipped at my ponytail.

My tender head and stomach did not respond to the
sudden trip. The second I opened my eyes and recognized the rumpled
unmade bed and spewed clothes on the floor, I ran for our bathroom.
My breakfast was coming back for a visit.

“What a waste. Those were amazing pancakes, and you
simply tossed them into the toilet.” Sprig wiggled free of my bag
and climbed out next to me.

My lids narrowed as I flashed him a glower.

“Oh, sprite spit, now you are bleeding.” Sprig
pointed at my face.

I touched my nose, and my fingers came away dripping
red. I squeezed my eyes, rubbing my temples. A part of me still
hoped Daniel was wrong, and the truth about seers was incorrect.
But the nosebleeds were getting worse.

The sensation of Sprig’s feet and hands on my leg
tickled my bare skin. I felt toilet paper being pushed against my
face. My lashes lifted as he shoved the wad unceremoniously up my
nose. I took the paper and dabbed it at the pooling blood.

“Thank you.”

Sprig nodded.

I waited a few moments, but like the last dozen
times, the nosebleed wasn’t followed by a blinding headache, for
which I was grateful. The change had to mean something, and it
probably wasn’t good. Whatever defect was in my brain had probably
grown past the headaches and was preparing me for death.

I pushed to my feet and went over to the sink,
brushing my teeth and splashing water on my face. Today felt
insufferably humid. Clouds were moving in, keeping the heat
stagnant over the town. Adjusting my tank top and shorts, I walked
out of the bathroom. I wanted to crawl back into bed, feeling
exhausted, but I pressed on.

“Where are you going?” Sprig sprinted after me.

“To find Ryker.”

“Right.” Sprig leaped onto the bed. “Where did we
leave him this time?”

“Izel’s.” I lifted my eyebrow. “Remember? Where you
practically had sex with the pastry dish?”

A blissful expression exploded over Sprig’s features.
Then he looked down and his features turned to horror. “Ugh!
Speaking of sex.” He hopped back and forth on each foot as if the
bed was burning him. “It reeks of you two. You are going to have to
burn this bed.” He jumped for the TV. He sat, frantically wiping at
his feet. “Oh, oak sap! I need to be disinfected now,” he
whimpered.

“This coming from the sprite who rolled in donkey
dung to cool himself off.”

“I thought it was mud.”

I smirked and went to the door. “You coming?”

“You think I want to sit here in this bordello all
day? Seriously, your night of passion has seeped into the
walls.”

My cheeks heated as another memory flickered through
my mind. “If you keep talking about it, I will wrap you in one of
the sheets and tie you to the bed.”

He chirped and ran for the closing door. Scaling my
body, he took a seat on my shoulder. “Poor Pam will have to suffer
in your stench all day.” He sighed.

I smiled. I had given up trying to convince him Pam
didn’t have emotions. Actually, I sometimes slipped and treated her
like she did. And really, who was I to judge?

The restaurant was only a block away, but I fought
with myself to turn back around and go back to bed. Ryker was a big
boy and could take care of himself.

My mistake was saying it out loud.

“Yeah, I’ll bet he’s a
big
boy.” Sprig tapped
the side of my face with his elbow in jest. “Oh, Ryker, you are
so
big.”

“I did not say that.”

“Oh, Viking, bang me with your large stick
again.”

“Sprig, shut up.”

He snickered and opened his mouth again to talk. I
snatched a banana off a seller’s cart and shoved it into his
mouth.

“Aaaacck!” He batted the fruit away, scraping the
taste off his tongue. “That was mean,
Bhean
. Dirty!”

“Then you stop being nasty.”

He tilted his soft head against my cheek. “But you
like it dirty.”

“Ahhhh!” I yelled and Sprig went sailing off my
shoulder and landed in the bushes.

He brushed himself off, scrambling out of the brush.
“Dirty and rough.”

I flipped him off and kept walking.

“With no sense of humor,” he shouted.

I stepped into Izel’s with Sprig tucked underneath
my loose ponytail. After turning his wide eyes up at me, I couldn’t
stay mad at him. Melosa’s youngest daughter, Raquel, was behind the
cash register. Her eyes widened at seeing me, and she shook her
head, calling for her mom.

Melosa bustled out of the kitchen, wiping her hands
on her apron. She took me in, a frown cut across her forehead.
“
¿A donde fuiste, senorita?
” Where did you go?

My eyes searched around pointlessly for Ryker. I knew
he wasn’t there, but my eyes still went to his vacated chair.

“You two disappeared,” she said in Spanish. I knew
she meant figuratively, but my shoulders still stiffened.

“I know. I am sorry. Please accept our apologies and
add the meal to our tab.” Fluent Spanish flowed out of my mouth.
“Did you happen to see where Ryker went?”

Melosa slanted her head. She wasn’t dumb. Melosa
picked up on the fact we weren’t quite right, but overlooked it. We
weren’t
normal. Superstition was extremely strong in these
parts, and they believed in the paranormal more here than Americans
did. If DMG was searching for more seers, they should check out
this area.

“He and another man were here, but I do not remember
seeing them leave or in what direction they went,” she
responded.

Great. Probably Croygen or Ryker glamouring their
exit so no one would remember seeing them depart.

Melosa pressed her lips together and placed her hand
on my arm, steering me back for the door. “Be. Careful,” she
emphasized, keeping her voice low. At first I wasn’t quite sure
what she meant, but her head tipped to the side, her eyes full of
unspoken awareness. My stomach rolled, knowing her warning was more
about what she wasn’t saying. Did she know what we were?

“And do not trust the man in black.” She spoke
sternly, almost commanding. Very unlike her normal cheerful
cadence.

“What?” I pulled back and heat rushed my veins,
turning acid around in my stomach.

“He is not genuine.” She glanced around warily. “His
soul is corrupt. He will trick and deceive. Neither of you are
safe.” She pressed her fingers into my arm again and nodded for the
door, telling me to go. Find Ryker. The way she talked made me
think she was a sensitive or possibly a seer. She understood what
we were or at least that we were different, and for some reason she
accepted Ryker and me. She nudged her head toward the door once
more. “Go. Now.”

I squeezed her hand. “
Gracias
.” I nodded to
her and Raquel before heading out. Raquel huffed, glaring at me.
She clearly did not feel the same as her mother about me. Ignoring
her, I hustled out the exit. Melosa’s warning clanged in my lungs.
I needed to find Ryker.

“Calm down,
Bhean
.” Sprig patted the side of
my face once we were out of the door.

“I have to locate Ryker.” He had known Croygen for a
long time. He knew him and what he was capable of more than anyone,
but the urgency to find Ryker didn’t lessen. I simply wanted to see
him, to know he was all right. What if Croygen turned him over to
Vadik or some other group willing to pay for the Wanderer and
information on the stone?

“Don’t worry about him. He can take care of
himself.”

“I know...” I took a deep breath, scanning the
streets for a six-foot-three Viking.

“Geez,
Bhean,
your shoulder is so tight it’s
like riding a Snathaid.”

“What’s a Snathaid?”

“A needle glider?”

“A what?”

“I think you guys call them dragonflies?” Sprig
rubbed at my shoulder. “Well, they are a little different in the
Otherworld. Snathaids are bony and uncomfortable to ride. It’s like
having a wedgie up your ass.”

Forcing my shoulders to relax, I walked to the main
part of town. My flip-flops trampled over beer bottles, confetti,
random bits of clothing, and who knows what else from the previous
night’s festivities. I didn’t want to think about the bra lying in
the gutter or the underwear on the telephone pole. If Ryker hadn’t
stopped me, mine would be in an alley.

Most people were still in bed, nursing hangovers and
wisely staying out of the heat. There were a few men at the far end
starting to sweep, but as slow as they were, it would take them
days to finish.

I walked from one end of each street to another with
no results, only escalating the increasing panic. The feeling
something was wrong or Ryker was in trouble stirred my legs and
chest in frantic movements.

Minutes, then hours, passed. Sprig eventually passed
out in the safety of my bag. Every step I took, the familiar
feeling rose in my chest. Fear. Abandonment. It was automatic and
predictable, but I still couldn’t seem to stop the panic clenching
at my lungs, restricting air from passing through. Sprig’s outline
against my leg was the only thing keeping me from huddling in a
ball and rocking.

“Dammit!” I yelled. I hated Ryker had brought out
such intense feelings in me. I kept them well hidden before. Not
even Daniel provoked this response in me. “Get it together, Zoey,
he is fine!” I berated myself. Melosa’s warning only provoked all
my other insecurities to surge along with the fear for his safety.
I knew he hadn’t left me, but he brought out the fear in me. I
didn’t really want to analyze why; it was there, and I needed to
acknowledge it and move on. Before I had been a Collector, a hunter
of fae, raising a preteen in a wheelchair, and getting myself
through school. I was capable on my own and didn’t need anyone
else. If he ever did leave, for Amara, or any other reason, I would
be all right. I was good before he came, and I would be fine after
he left.

My heart felt sad at the thought, but I knew I was
right. I would be okay.

I took in a deep breath, rolling back my shoulders.
The rain clouds trundled thicker in the sky, threatening rain and
rumbling with thunder.

The first splashes of raindrops hit my forehead when
I finally reached our lodging. I took two steps at a time up the
two flights of stairs to our floor. Key in hand, I went for the
lock when the door swung open, a large mass blocking the
doorway.