by J. L. Weil
“What are you doing?” Star asked. “Ryker said not to move.” What a rule follower.
“He says a lot of things, and ninety-nine percent of the time, I don’t listen. This is no different.”
She started chewing on her nails. “You have that look.”
“What look?” I replied as I glanced over the dash and winced at the charred spot.
“The one that is going to get us locked up in the dungeon.”
A grin curved my lips. “Maybe it just needs a jolt of power.”
Star’s brows drew together in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“This.” I jumped out of the ranger, jogged to the front, and placed my hand over the smoking thingamabob. Cars definitely hadn’t been my thing before the mist, unless it had involved taking a convertible to the mall.
I had been pretty shallow.
Harnessing the energy inside me, I kept the voltage to what I hoped was an appropriate level. The game plan was to jumpstart the engine, not disintegrate it. Little blue bolts of lightning expelled from my fingers. Come on. Give it some juice.
“Charlotte!” Star shrieked.
Getting back in the car, I gave her an uncertain look. “Please start,” I whispered under my breath.
“But Ryker said—”
“Star,” I growled. “Not now.” I turned the key. I didn’t know who was more shocked when the engine turned on, Star or me. “Holy shit.”
“You fixed it,” she said, beaming, but the smile slowly slipped as I shifted the ranger into gear.
How long had it been since I’d driven? A hundred years? But it was like riding a bike, right? Car, ATV, ranger—what was the difference? Four tires. An engine. No big deal. I got this.
My palms were sweaty as I gripped the steering wheel, and yet my skin felt ice cold. “Buckle up. Things are about to get bumpy,” I said, slamming my foot on the gas.
Star’s hands flew out to stop herself from being thrown forward. “You can’t do this. Ryker told us not to move. How is he going to find us?”
“Not my problem. We need to help Dash. I had another vision, and if we don’t go back, he’ll die.” I didn’t know that for a fact, but I knew I had to get to him.
Star chewed her fingernails raw as she contemplated what was right and wrong in this situation.
“Ryker will find us. He has some eerie ability to locate me. I mean, you saw him shift into a bird. Maybe his ability comes with kickass tracking power, and when he does find us—because trust me, he will—I’ll have him take you someplace safe. I promised not to let anything happen to you. I’m not about to break my vow.” Not ever. But Dash’s life was too important to risk. I had to go, and I only hoped she understood.
Keeping the sun in sight, I weaved my way through the woods. The vision haunted me the entire time. I couldn’t get it out of my head. My anger and worry for Dash hadn’t lessened. It grew with each passing second, and I didn’t know if I could forgive him for what he’d done.
Star grew more anxious as the sun fell lower and lower and still no Ryker. I hated to admit it, but I was worried too. He should have returned by now.
The last thing I needed was to stress about him as well.
My mind was churning. Dash. Ryker. Ember. Star.
Everyone I cared about was in jeopardy.
Was Cyan prepared for what might storm his doorstep? His refusal to abandon his home would cost Hurst dearly. Cyan had been both a friend and ally to Dash in his darker days, making Dash feel responsible for the people there, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
But Ember?
Why had she agreed to stay? Was it for me?
I found that hard to believe. Things might have been better between us, but we were both a long way from sacrificing our lives for each other.
Thud. Something landed on top of the ranger. I hit the brakes, and we came to a jolting halt.
It was Blink, or Ryker as Blink.
I watched him transform into a man—a naked man at that.
He crouched on the hood of the ATV, a fierce glower on his face that pinned me through the glass. “I thought I told you not to move.”
My hands fumbled with the steering wheel. “I, uh, fixed the ranger.”
“Charlotte!” he roared.
This routine of everyone biting my head off was getting tiresome. “I can’t talk to you with everything hanging out.” I kept my eyes on his face. If Ryker weren’t so angry with me, he would have found that statement entertaining.
Star hadn’t moved beside me. Her jaw hit the ground as she stared at Ryker in shell shock. I was tempted to reach over and close her mouth. It seemed like drool would drop any second, but who could blame her? Ryker was not a bad specimen. He had all the working parts and muscles for days. He just wasn’t Dash.
When Ryker didn’t react, I started barking orders. “Get in and find some clothes or shift back into your bird. You’re making Star break out in a rash.”
He slid off the hood, coming to my side of the ATV. “Is my nakedness bothering you?”
“Among other things,” I muttered under my breath, shifting the ranger into park.
Ryker joined us a few moments later, grabbing some clothes from a stash he kept in the back of the ATV. “Just where did you think you were going, Red?”
My shoulders shrugged. “I got bored waiting around for you.”
“I value my life. Keeping you out of trouble is how I stay alive, and unless my eyes are deceiving me, you’re getting into trouble.”
I snorted.
“She electrocuted the ranger again, which, by some miracle, fixed it. I told her we should wait for you, but she never listens,” Star said, spilling her guts. “We have to return to Hurst because she had a vision about Dash.”
“Remind me never to tell you my secrets,” I grumbled.
The gold flecks in Ryker’s eyes darkened. “You know I can’t let you go back there. I’m supposed to keep you away from danger, not head full force into the center of it.”
My hand shifted the ranger back into gear; my foot ready to release the brake. “I’m going with or without you.”
Ryker’s jaw clenched. “Everyone has the right to be stupid, but you’re really abusing the privilege. Move over. I’m taking control.”
I scowled, two seconds away from ejecting him from the ATV. “I have a plan.”
“Is it a good one?”
“I have a plan,” I repeated.
Ryker kept his eyes forward, not saying anything. I took that as a bad sign. “Okay,” he finally answered.
“Okay?” I echoed, as if Ryker had just been legally pronounced insane. “What do you mean ‘okay’?”
His intense gaze met mine without a trace of annoyance. “Operation save Dash’s dumb life is a go.”
I swiveled fully in my seat, grinning from ear to ear. “I could kiss you.”
A slow smile pulled at his lips. “You must really want to see me dead, but in this case, it might be worth it.”
“We’re not dying today.”
“If you get hurt, you realize he is going to kill me. One clean shot through the heart. And he never misses.” Ryker exhaled and shifted in his seat, making himself comfortable. He closed his eyes and started taking deep, even breaths as if meditating.
Yoga was not part of my save Dash plan. “What are you doing?”
“Mentally preparing myself for Dash’s wrath,” he mumbled, his eyes still closed.
I gave him a few more moments of silence—which was time we didn’t have—only because he’d agreed to help. Then I cleared my throat and slammed my foot on the gas.
Chapter Ten
Ryker hadn’t been kidding about Dash being mad. The expression on his face when he saw us way past mad; it was murderous. His eyes were as hard as diamonds and filled with an emotion bordering on cruel. If it were possible, smoke would have expelled from his ears.
His fuming eyes bypassed me and went straight to Ryker, who shifted beside me. He
spread his feet wide in a defensive stance. “Before you embed an arrow in my heart, give me sixty seconds to—”
Dash charged.
Crap. This had just escalated fast.
Dash slammed Ryker up against a building in the heart of Hurst. “What is she doing here?” he raged in Ryker’s face.
The shifter held up both his hands. “Hey, man, I’m just keeping my promise to you.”
“This was not our agreement.”
I stepped in between them, forcing Dash to look at me. “If you want to yell at someone, yell at me.”
A deep frown had taken over his striking features. “Oh, I’m getting to that.”
I shoved a finger into his chest. “You know, I have every right to be as pissed off as you. How dare you use a witch to put a spell on me! Don’t you respect me at all?”
We might have been drawing a crowd in the streets of Hurst, but neither of us cared. “For reasons I have yet to understand, you’re important to this fight, and if we have any chance of winning it, you need to be protected at all costs.”
A ring of truth vibrated in his statement, but it still didn’t justify his actions. “You aren’t immortal,” I reminded him. “I’ve seen you die.”
“Is that what this is about? One of your visions?” His voice had gone cold, and the iciness of it lashed through my heart.
“I couldn’t let you go up against them alone, not knowing what would happen to you.”
Dash dropped his hands to his sides. “You know the future isn’t set in stone.”
“I couldn’t take that chance.”
A bit of the hardness softened in his shoulders. “I should have Ryker fly your ass back to the Institute.”
My chin jutted forward in defiance. “I’d only sneak back out.”
“I know.” His eyes ran over my face. I kept my jaw set in a firm line as I waited for what he would say or do next. “Freckles.” My name was a sigh on his lips. He pulled me into his arms and buried his face in my neck. He inhaled, taking in the scent of me. “I’m still mad at you, but god, I missed you.”
“This being separated business doesn’t work for us,” I muttered, squeezing my arms around him, not wanting to ever let go.
Over my head, Dash glared at Ryker. “You and me… we’re not done yet.” With just one look at the guy, his body went rigid against mine. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t knock you into next week.”
Ryker’s expression became smug. “I’d like to keep my pretty face intact?”
“A pretty face won’t help you now,” Dash said.
“It’s not my fault you decided to date a suicidal girl.”
Wrong answer. “I am not suicidal. There are times in your life where you need to decide if you want to live as a coward or a hero. Today I want to be a hero.”
“About damn time, Red,” Ryker said approvingly.
Dash forked a hand through his hair. It looked as if he’d been doing a lot of that while I’d been gone. “Don’t encourage her.”
Ryker winked at me, even though Dash was still drilling him with a serious bout of scary eyes. Ryker put an arm around a shaking Star and whispered something to her I couldn’t hear.
Dash drew my attention back to him. “I’m not kidding when I say every bone in my body wants to send you as far from here as possible.”
I shook my head, feeling heartsick. “The world is in peril, and it means nothing if you’re not in it.”
The twilight glanced off a glimmer of apprehension in his eyes, but he blinked with control, and when he reopened them, they were normal.
What had that been about?
“Oh joy. Look who came to the rescue,” said a sneering voice to my right.
I wanted to pretend I hadn’t heard her.
Harper.
Slowly, I turned around with a sinister smirk on my lips and folded arms, curbing the urge to go crazy, jealous girlfriend on her. “That’s so sweet that you missed me.”
She sauntered over, disgust oozing from her pores. “Don’t you have some hole to fall in?”
I didn’t realize I’d summoned my powers until Dash said my name. I glanced over at him, seeing the apprehensive expressions on everyone’s faces. Energy tingled from my fingertips like sparklers on the Fourth of July.
The grin that curved Harper’s full lips had my fingers itching. I wanted to hit her with a blast so hard it would knock her on her ass, but luckily for Harper, our tense reunion was cut short.
Darn.
Hisssssss.
The sound wasn’t in my head. My eyes clashed with Dash’s. “They’re here.”
His expression turned downright lethal as he went into full commander mode. “Stay close,” he whispered to me before catching Ryker’s attention. “Get Star out of here, and then make yourself useful.”
Ryker nodded, grabbing Star’s hand and taking off back toward the ranger.
The wind whipped through the valley, tossing my hair back from my face. Goosebumps rose over my body as the air filled with the disturbing sound of zombies. Ember appeared with a crowd; the residents of Hurst were ready for a fight.
I put my tough girl face on, regardless of the uneasiness fluttering in my belly. A swift count tallied four Forsaken climbing over the east fence, and three more coming from the south.
Dash was used to fighting impossible odds without help, so he leaped into action, attacking the two nearest zombies now on our side of the fence. Arrows embedded in their upper chests, and soon he was close enough to grab them and use his blade. “Watch in wonder, Freckles.”
“Watching isn’t my style anymore.” Throwing my hand into the air, lightning cracked in the sky as I prepared to fight.
It only took minutes for the streets of Hurst to be overrun by zombies. Ember, Cyan, Gunner, and even Harper fought to save the settlement. The odd thing was, the zombies seemed to all be heading in the same direction. And I wasn’t the only one who took notice.
Dash became a formidable wall in front of me. Fear coated the inside of my mouth. “We need to get to the others. Isolating ourselves over here is going to get us in trouble.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Dash slashed, kicked, and clawed his way toward Cyan and Ember. A ball of fire came flying toward us, catching a zombie who was dumb enough to step in its path. I didn’t question how Ember could have anticipated such a maneuver, I was only grateful.
As if the Forsaken had been drenched in gasoline, it ignited, but then the flames extinguished as if he had been doused with water. Not a single burn mark marred its glowing body. In fact, the halo of green surrounding the zombie appeared to be more vibrant.
What the—
“Fireproof. You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dash muttered. “Charlotte!” he shouted, giving me the signal to unleash the storm building inside me.
I was happy to oblige. Throwing a continuous stream of lightning bolts at the advancing mob, a harsh reality set in. They seemed to be immune to my gifts as well, but not Dash’s.
He appeared to have come to the same conclusion.
“Dash, you can’t fight them all on your own. That’s madness!” I yelled, needing to make him see reason.
There were too many. Our circle broke, and in came a wave of chaos. I wasn’t even sure what was happening. I had been braced for a violent attack—nails, teeth, torn flesh, the usual gore—but it didn’t happen.
Instead, we found ourselves immersed in a dense fog so thick I couldn’t see two feet in front of me. The pale green mist separated me from the group, and as my blood turned cold, I was positive that had been their goal.
Who would have thought zombies could form calculated attacks. They weren’t just mindless undead looking to feed. There was more to them—more than we understood.
“Releassssse,” a raspy voice hissed in my left ear.
My head swung around as I turned my body toward the voice. Release? “I don’t understand. What do you want?” My feet kept backing up, my eyes rotating from
side to side.
“Charlotte!” Dash yelled, his voice carrying through the smoke, but it was impossible for me to tell which way it came from.
I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing happened.
“Releassssse,” it hissed again, followed by another and another voice until I was enclosed by Forsaken, a dozen black eyes staring at me from all directions.
The scream echoed in my head, or maybe I finally did let it loose, but my cry for help was cut off. A zombie reached out, its thin fingers grabbing my shoulder and shoving me to the ground. I raised my hands in front of my face to ward off an attack of teeth that was sure to follow. The seconds ticked by. I peeked through my fingers to find the zombies above me staring at me expectantly.
What do they want from me? I don’t understand.
“Eyessss,” the one who had me pinned down hissed.
Seriously? Even the zombies were enthralled by the rainbow colors of my eyes? It seemed highly unlikely. Maybe it wanted my eyes to gouge them out. I really wished I hadn’t thought of that gruesome outcome because now I couldn’t get it out of my head.
A whole new onslaught of fear tornadoed through me.
Dash chose that moment to break through the mist, peppering arrows and slaying zombies with his blade, one after another. It was like a demon had taken control of him. I’d never seen him like this. A cape of destruction shadowed his movements, and I knew this was the Slayer everyone in the Heights had spoken of—the ruthless killer. He had unlocked a deep power of darkness living inside him—the one he’d been suppressing since he left the Institute—to save me.
His power overtook everything. It was the first time I’d actually felt a vibration in the air from his ability to kill. Something changed between us. I couldn’t explain it. The energy inside me begged to reach out to his. It rose up like a wild whirlwind I couldn’t contain and burst. The rainbow energy collided with Dash’s darkness, giving his blade and arrows added power. Dash could now save us both, clearing out the zombies in one swoop.
The world stood still.
Nothing moved. The only sound was our harmonized breathing. My brain was too scrambled to think about what had just happened. I was just relieved we were both alive.