Ascension

by Sable Grace

  As he slashed through an overhanging tree that dusted his hair with moss, he forced himself to focus on the trek ahead. He still wasn’t a hundred percent sure they were even on the right island. Having never been here before, all he’d had to go on was the coordinates Artemis had given him, and it seemed the very vegetation was out to prevent them from finding even the smallest hint that those numbers had been accurate. Branches slapped their faces. Hidden roots reached out with gnarled fingers to trip them. Walls of vines and brambles blocked their path, forcing them to use their daggers to slice a way through.

  By the time they’d pushed through the last barrier and stumbled into a small clearing, the moon had risen high in the sky. A rock-ringed campfire lay cold and unused. By its lack of odor, and the grass that had woven its way between the rocks, threatening to overtake the pit, Ryker guessed it hadn’t been used in ages.

  Haven dropped her backpack. “I’m going to explore.”

  “Don’t go far,” Kyana and Ryker said together.

  “Yes, Mommies.” Haven rolled her eyes. “I’m here to provide puppy power because I don’t need a babysitter.”

  As Haven walked to the edge of the clearing, Ryker shook his head. “That kind of attitude gets people hurt.”

  “Or worse,” Kyana mumbled.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

  Satisfied that Haven wouldn’t let her guard down, Ryker turned back to the fire pit. “You think this is it?”

  “How am I supposed to know? You were the one who drove this crazy train.” Kyana pulled a clump of grass and held it in her hand as if it might speak up and answer the question. “It’s obvious someone had been on this island. And if they’d taken the time to ring their campfire, they were probably here for a long time. But there’s no telling who lit the fire.”

  “Well, I really don’t know,” Ryker said. “I don’t usually have such technical details like coordinates when I do this, so I’m hoping they were accurate. Either way, we have a whole day to explore the place and figure it out.”

  “I hope for your sake that this is the right destination.”

  “My sake?” Ryker glared. “Are you back to threatening me?”

  “It’s not a threat. If I have to go through that swirly, blinding, turn-your-insides-out light again, I really will punch you in the face.”

  Ryker grinned. He’d never seen the mighty, unstoppable Kyana rattled. He rather liked it. “I still have to get us home.”

  “Yeah, don’t remind me.”

  “I think you guys might want to check this out.” Haven pushed her way through some vines to wave at them.

  Ryker trailed after Kyana and Haven down what, at one time, might have been a path. They’d gone about a hundred feet when they entered another, smaller clearing. This one, however, housed a cave entrance instead of a campfire.

  Ryker nodded toward the entrance. “What’s in there?”

  “How would I know? No way was I going into a dark, deserted, most likely rat- and/or bat-infested cave alone without a flashlight. Some of us don’t have Spidey senses.” She crossed her arms and glared. “You know bat poo in confined places can kill those of us required to breathe.”

  “Would you like to wait here while we check it out?” Ryker asked.

  Kyana glared at him. There really was no pleasing her. He wanted to make sure her friend was safe, and all he got for the effort was attitude.

  “I’m not staying out here by myself. I watch scary movies. I know what happens to the blond girl in the woods.”

  “In that case, I’ll lead the way,” Kyana said.

  Haven jabbed a finger into Ryker’s chest. “I don’t mind being mauled by Dark Breeds. It’s the little things with tails, wings, or too many legs that I don’t deal with. So if you see one, you stomp it to death, got it?”

  Ryker wasn’t certain but he thought he saw a spark of jealousy in Kyana’s eyes as she watched them. He smiled and threw his arm blatantly over Haven’s shoulders. “You got it, Goldie.”

  Kyana’s scowl deepened. Oh yeah. She was jealous, all right.

  “You two ready, or would you rather wait here and chitchat while I check this out?”

  “Lead on. Just take it slow,” Ryker instructed.

  As Kyana entered the cave, she blocked out the image of Ryker’s arm draped over her best friend’s shoulders and forced herself to keep her pace slow, even though a small piece of her wouldn’t have minded if Haven tripped a little. Then again, Ryker apparently liked his damsels in distress, and she didn’t want to give them even more reason to cozy up. Though why she should care was beyond her. Getting Haven away from Drake would be a plus.

  But the thought of the diversion coming in the form of Ryker made Kyana’s stomach twist.

  Silently cursing her girly moment of jealousy, Kyana scanned the dark crevices and ceiling for anything that might be a threat. When she neared the back of the cave, she paused long enough to hold up her hand to silently instruct Ryker to keep Haven still before moving to the distant corner. She knelt among the scattered remains of animals and various clay and metal utensils.

  “Ow!”

  Kyana jumped at the sound of Haven’s holler and spun to find her friend bracing herself against the wall.

  “You let go of me and—oh my God. That is way grosser than bat poo!”

  She was backing away, her gaze locked on the corner by her feet. Kyana followed Haven’s attention and saw a skeleton wrapped in a thick layer of dust resting precariously against the rough stone wall.

  Kyana moved closer to the body. She rested her hands on her knees and scanned the time-whitened bones. When Ryker knelt beside her, she gently lifted the bony right hand in hers, cradling her left under it to keep it intact.

  “I’ll be damned,” he muttered.

  “What is it?” Haven fumbled in the darkness, and Ryker produced a small penlight and clicked it on to guide her to their side. “Don’t touch it, Kyana! That’s freaking disgusting.”

  “It can’t hurt you, and if it does come alive, we’ll feed Ryker to it while we make our escape.”

  “I’m not sure even I know how to take out bones,” Ryker mumbled.

  Kyana didn’t either. They’d probably need Haven’s witchery for that.

  “So who’s the bony guy?” Haven asked, keeping her distance.

  Ryker turned the tiny beam to Kyana’s hand. Not even time had stolen the luster of the large, golden ring still on the right hand of the skeleton. On the ruby red stone in the center, an engraved sickle.

  The mark of Cronos.

  “Definitely the right island.” Kyana moved to slide the ring off the fleshless finger when Ryker’s hand stopped her.

  “Don’t.”

  She shook free of Ryker’s warm touch. “Why not? We should take it. Maybe seeing it will bring some of his followers out of hiding.”

  Ryker shook his head, his blond hair falling over his eyes as he stared down at the corpse. “It’s his conduit. The equivalent of Zeus’s staff, Hades’s amulet—”

  “Oh, it’s one of those!” Haven’s sudden excitement had her apparently forgetting her disgust long enough to kneel and examine the ring herself. “Do you have any idea the kind of spells I could manage with that thing? Oh, Kyana! Astral projection! I could finally get it right.”

  She reached for it, but just as he had with Kyana, Ryker pushed Haven’s hand away. “Only the gods possess the ability to hold the Eyes of Power. If either of you touch it, it will kill you.”

  Kyana stood, suddenly unwilling to even breathe on the ring, just in case Ryker’s threat was true. “So we should leave it here? Risk it being taken by someone else?”

  “It’s probably safer here,” Ryker said. “Only two of us can even port here anymore.”

  “And yet, the key might have vanished from here, Ryker. Are you so confident that you’d risk it?”

  “Why would they take the key and leave the ring?” Haven asked. “Wait—never mind. Death to whoever to
uches it. Got it.”

  Kyana didn’t acknowledge Haven’s comment. Her staring match with Ryker was so heavy with tension, it filled the small cave like fog. Finally, Ryker closed his eyes and muttered, “Shit,” before reaching for the ring. “It shouldn’t affect me.”

  Kyana grabbed his hand. “You’re only half god. Shouldn’t doesn’t sit too well with me.”

  “It’s all we’ve got. Either I hold on to it, or it stays. Make the call, boss lady.”

  Kyana stared at the ring, debating their options. If they left it, then the chance of someone else getting her hands on it would gnaw at her. However, touching it could kill Ryker.

  If they left it, it might remain somewhat safe. After all, it had been here, untouched, for thousands of years. But she couldn’t bring herself to risk leaving it behind. She didn’t know what kind of power a conduit might hold, but it was enough to worry Ryker, and that was reason enough in her book to make sure it returned with them.

  “We take it.” She squeezed Ryker’s arm. “But don’t be macho. If it starts to affect you, get rid of it. I don’t care where you lose it, just don’t die on me.”

  “Ah.” Ryker smiled and squeezed her hand. “You’re worried about me.”

  Warmth spread up her arm. She snatched her hand away. “Without you, we spend the rest of our lives on this island. And I have a very long life expectancy, so don’t do anything stupid.”

  They held their collective breaths as Ryker reached for the ring, slid it slowly off the bones, and tucked it into his front pants pocket. When his leg didn’t fall off and he didn’t start screaming in pain, everyone exhaled. Poor Haven looked as though she was going to pass out.

  Kyana felt as if she already had.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Ryker said, not looking too good himself.

  “You’re okay, then?”

  He nodded, though Kyana noticed a small bead of perspiration forming at his hairline. “I will be once I get some air.”

  Kyana watched both Ryker and Haven climb safely out of the cave before leaning heavily against the rocky wall. She took a moment to collect herself, unwilling to delve into the reason her heart was still racing.

  “He isn’t yours to lose,” she whispered to the now lonely cave entrance. But even knowing that Ryker didn’t belong to her, she couldn’t help but feel weak in the knees at the thought of his death—and it had nothing to do with being trapped on this island.

  Chapter Eight

  They’d been on the isle for close to twelve hours and Ryker hadn’t seen, heard, or smelled anything. Not even a bird had chirped. It was kind of eerie in a peaceful way.

  Still, they had several more hours to kill before he could use his porting abilities again. Kyana wanted to explore the island further in hopes of finding a hint that someone else had been here. She had her mind so set on finding the key’s trail that he hadn’t been able to make her listen to reason. The chances of finding anything more than they had were slim. They would have picked up something by now.

  As they plowed their way through even more brush, daybreak was fast approaching. Kyana had refused to break even though Ryker had made the suggestion several times, worried that the human-born Witch wasn’t up to so much vigorous hiking. She’d impressed him, though. Hadn’t complained once, with the exception of the moment she’d walked through a spiderweb and had shrieked loud enough to wake Cronos from his permanent nap.

  Haven sat on a fallen log and pulled a bottle of water from her bag. “The sun’s going to be up in ten. We need to get you ready, I’m trying a new potion.” She stirred the pinkish brew with her finger. “It’s full of adaptogen herbs and Reishi mushrooms, and those little blue bits are Labradorite crystal flakes. You shouldn’t taste them, though. I put enough persimmons in this sucker to hide the metallic taste.”

  Curious, Ryker took a step closer, sniffed the now pink water. It didn’t smell like persimmons. In fact, skunk ass might be a closer description. “What’s that for?”

  “This should keep her strength up longer and keep her from being so drained tonight.”

  He was about to ask why she needed a potion for any of that, but Kyana took the bottle, toasted Haven with it, and downed the contents. “Nope, not enough persimmons,” she gasped, setting the bottle at her feet. “Why don’t I get any of the strawberry potions?”

  “Those are mine.” Haven grinned. “Besides, strawberry isn’t strong enough to hide the bitterness of those herbs. I was hoping persimmons would be.”

  “What about licorice?” When they both turned to stare at Ryker, he added, “Ky likes raki. Anise has a strong licorice taste. It could hide the taste of just about anything, I’d think.”

  Though Kyana didn’t look like she much appreciated his butting in, Haven offered a soft smile. “I’ll try that for her next time.”

  Kyana grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m going to change.” She walked toward the thick brush surrounding their clearing and offered one last glare from over her shoulder. “I’d tell you not to look, but I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem anyway.”

  He sighed. She still thought he wasn’t interested. Probably better that way, but irritating as hell with all her snide comments.

  He watched her make her way to a short bush that was only tall enough to hide her rear end. Great. He should really turn away, but as she pulled off her jacket and tank top, he couldn’t muster the strength to look away. Her pale white back glistened with the day’s perspiration, making her glow like an iridescent goddess. Slender, well-toned muscles rippled down her arms and back, her waist diving inward just where it was meant to, giving her an hourglass shape that had him growing hard in an instant.

  If she offered herself to him now as she had so long ago, would he be strong enough to refuse? Not likely. Not with the itch consuming his fingers as they begged to trace the path from her neck to the small of her back where the rise of her ass peeked out from the top of her hiding spot.

  “Want a napkin for your drool?”

  At the sound of Haven’s voice, Ryker jumped like a thirteen-year-old caught with a Playboy magazine and turned away. “Just guarding her back.”

  “Her backside more like.” Haven’s smile made Ryker’s cheeks burn. “You like her, but I won’t tell. Whatever it is about the two of you that makes you think you have to keep hating each other is hard to watch, though. You should just fornicate and get it out of your systems.”

  “Fornicate?” Ryker snorted. “No one’s used that word since Lincoln was president.” The sound of the bushes rustling caught his attention again, but he refused to look. “Besides, it’s not like that with us. She’s Vampyre. I’m . . . not.”

  “When was your last relationship, Ryker?”

  The question caught him so off-guard he answered without worrying about how personal it was. “Five years ago.”

  Simone had been lovely, patient, kind. But sadly, he hadn’t thought about her in years.

  “And how long did it last?”

  He shrugged. “Nearly two years.”

  Haven nodded. “I thought so.”

  “Thought what?”

  “You’re probably some sort of serial monogamist. That’s why you turned Kyana down. You know she’s not.”

  He raked his hand through his hair and narrowed his gaze on the spot Kyana had been standing moments ago. She was gone. “No, she certainly isn’t. She likes to play.”

  “Playing can be fun. You should consider trying it. Oh, here she comes.” Haven pointed at the bushes, which were twitching like they were having a seizure. “Try not to stare, okay? And remember, she’s not a big dog, she’s a wolf. Treat her like one.”

  Haven offered him a bright smile before heading toward Kyana. “I’m going to grab her clothes. Be right back.”

  He saw Kyana’s muzzle first. The long ebony snout peeked out of the brush, nostrils flaring as she breathed in the scents around her. As she eased into the open, Ryker sucked in his breath. She was beau
tiful. Glossy fur; clear, sharp eyes. Her legs moved in determined strides, flesh stretching over toned muscles, full of nothing but grace. He’d seen Lychen before and had never given them much thought. But Kyana . . . was stunning.

  “You’re staring,” Haven said, carrying a folded bundle of clothes and tucking them inside Kyana’s satchel.

  He cleared his throat and shifted his gaze so that he could watch her from the corner of his eye. Kyana sat on her haunches beside Haven. When Haven absentmindedly reached out to scratch behind Kyana’s ear, Kyana bared her teeth. “See. Wolf, not dog. Sorry, Kyana. Just give her a minute. Her eyes have to adjust.”

  Ryker nodded and tried to watch without staring. He couldn’t help but be curious, couldn’t help but wonder if it was painful for her to shift so drastically from one form to another. She wouldn’t appreciate his concern. He pulled a bottle of water from his bag and started for the woods. “I’ll give her a bit of space.”

  “She thanks you.”

  “You can understand her in this form?”

  Haven laughed. “Not even a little, but I speak woman no matter what form they’re in. She’d appreciate the privacy, I’m sure.”

  He moved toward the thicket they’d cut their way through earlier. “Ten minutes good?”

  Haven nodded.

  He felt Kyana’s stare and turned to see her eyeing his tattered bag. Would she dare? Judging by the way she watched him, yeah, she would. He went back into the clearing and slung the bag over his shoulder. “Just in case.”

  “Just in case what?” Haven called out.

  “Just in case she decides to express her dislike of me by relieving herself on my belongings.”