From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  “You know, I’m standing right here.” Amara folded her arms.

  The sound of her voice made me think of the old cliché “like nails on a chalkboard.” I swung around for her. Ryker immediately stepped back to me, but Croygen grabbed me first.

  “Amara, be smart for once and just shut up,” Ryker snapped.

  But of course she wasn’t wise. “Just think, if I didn’t turn you over, Zoey. You would never have known about your dear, sweet, living sister. You should thank me, actually.”

  “Oh fuck,” Croygen muttered, his arms squeezed around me, but his hold wasn’t tight enough to keep me back. I sprang for her like a wild animal. The power withheld from me vibrated in its case, begging for a way out. It was probably the only thing that kept her alive.

  I went into a haze, my fighter instincts taking over. Amara wasn’t a damsel in distress, and she fought back, landing slaps and punches to my face and body. But my love of the fight gave me drive she didn’t have. I could have easily beaten her, with more time.

  Once again, I was lifted off her like a hissing kitten. Ryker moved me back, shoving me once again into Croygen arms.

  “Jesus, Amara. Don’t be an idiot! Do you want her to kill you?” Ryker shouted, stepping away. “Keep your mouth closed for once…or leave. I’m struggling enough here.”

  I tracked Amara rolling to her side and spitting out blood.

  “She can’t kill me,” Amara mumbled, wiping her chin.

  “Yes, she could.” Ryker put his hands on his hips. “I told you not to underestimate her. Even when she was pure human, she could have put you down. Even more so now that she’s part fae.”

  “What?” Amara rose, grimacing in pain. “What are you talking about?”

  “Some of my magic chose to stay with her. It’s a part of her now.” His eyes flew over to meet mine.

  “Holy shit. You killed her?” Amara bent over her knees but stared up at Ryker in amazement.

  “Yes.”

  “But she lived.” Disappointment caked her words. “And some of the powers stayed?” Amara straightened. “She’s becoming one of us?”

  “Sort of. I can still feel her human side, but the fae is also strong. Maybe equivalent to a Druid or a human who eats fae food.” He folded his arms.

  “See? You didn’t need Regnus after all.” She smirked and cringed, her fingers tapping at her lip.

  “Regnus.” I forgot all about the man, the seer, whom Ryker wanted to save from Vadik. “Did you find him? Did he escape with you guys?”

  Ryker stared at Amara. “Go ahead, Mar, tell her.”

  “Tell me what?” My head turned to look at them.

  Amara’s lids narrowed on Ryker, her lip curling up. “Fine. But someone better have a hold on your little pet there.”

  A sardonic grin inched up Ryker’s lips.

  Amara sighed deeply. “Regnus is dead.”

  I stared at her.

  “And?” Ryker prompted.

  “He’s been dead for a couple of years. I lied and said he was alive to trap Ryker.” She propped her hands onto her hips. “There, are you happy now?”

  “Far from it,” Ryker retorted.

  I bit my lip. “Is there anything you didn’t lie about?”

  “Yes.” She cocked her head. “I’ve always been perfectly honest about how I feel about you.”

  Croygen’s fingers cinched down firmly on my arm.

  “Believe me, I thought about killing Amara many nights, but she did get me out.” Ryker kept his glare on Amara. “She risked her own life and took me to Elthia’s to heal—”

  “Elthia’s?” I whirled around to face him. “As in another ex-girlfriend who is also still in love with you?” I normally wasn’t a jealous person, but tonight I had hit the brink.

  Croygen’s sniggering cut the dense silence.

  “Zoey…” Ryker spoke through his teeth. Perspiration dampened his forehead, and his hands fisted. He seemed to be fighting the urge to hurt me, I could see it, especially in the tension along his shoulders. Even being this close to me had to be difficult for him, but my temper held no sympathy.

  “No. I get it.” I tried to force back my attitude. Didn’t work. “She’s the perfect person. She could heal you. She’d do anything to keep you safe.” My words didn’t match the tension in my voice.

  “Poor Ryker. So many women,” Croygen teased. “Is there a chance the three of you would duke it out in a ring? With mud…?”

  “Shut up, Croygen,” Ryker snarled.

  “Or Jell-O?”

  “How about both of you wres—” A deafening scream from inside the building cut me off.

  My heart dropped to the ground, pulling my soul with it. “Lexie!” I raced for the doorway.

  “Zoey, wait,” Ryker said from behind, but I disregarded his plea. He wanted to go first to see what or who the threat was, but my mind didn’t respond logically when it came to Lexie. I would fight whomever or whatever stood on the other side with my bare hands.

  I flung the door open, crashing it into the wall, and sprinted into the room. “Lexie?” My gaze roamed to where I left her, taking in the scene before me. My feet came to a sudden halt, everyone coming in behind me. I had to blink to make certain what I saw was real

  Lexie sat on the dirty mattress, her blanket wadded up in a ball a few feet away, like she had tossed it. Her gaze was locked on an object perched atop the crumpled fabric.

  Sprig held a coffee stirrer in his hand, wiggling it at Lexie, as if it were a sword. “Back, you feral Leanbh! Back!”

  My hand flew to my mouth as a choked laugh escaped. Both swung around to me.

  “Zoey!”

  “Bhean! I said hello and she threw me.”

  “Monkey. Talking,” Lexie sputtered. Her eyes still held a blurry confusion, not able to focus on me.

  I bent down. “Come here, Sprig.” He stuck out his tongue at her and darted for me, crawling up my arm to my shoulder.

  “Th-that thing talks,” Lexie repeated, fear making her stiff. I had forgotten she had never seen him before today. Even in Rapava’s house of horrors, Sprig was an oddity.

  “Thing? How dare you! I am a sprite.” Sprig huffed. “My name is Spriggan-Galchobhar.”

  Lexie blinked.

  “That is not going to help.” I chuckled. I took a step toward Lexie, and she leaned back. “I promise you are safe.” I held up my hands.

  “What is that thing?”

  “I’m a sprite.” Sprig shook his head, looking at me. “Doesn’t she understand English? Do I need to talk slower?”

  I glared at Sprig.

  “How are you feeling?” I returned to Lexie.

  Her head swiveled around the room, and she didn’t acknowledge me.

  “Lexie?” It took a couple more calls before she finally looked at me.

  “I-I know I need to tell you something…” Her brows crinkled on her forehead and she shook her head. “B-but I-I can’t remember anything.”

  “It’s okay. You just need to rest right now.”

  “No.” Her head moved back and forth violently. “There is something…” She drifted off again, staring into the void.

  “Hey.” I kneeled down at the edge of the bed, cupping her cheek. “It’s okay.”

  Her eyes flew to mine. “How did I get here? What happened?” She suddenly looked like the little girl I remembered. Emotion filled her features, bringing her to life.

  “What do you last remember?” I sat back on my heels.

  Her mouth opened and then she shut it. She took in a hasty breath. “Everything feels like a dream. I don’t know what is real and what is not.”

  “It’s probably the drugs DMG gave her. I’ll bet it makes her forget, so she wouldn’t be able to tell anyone,” Croygen spoke from behind me.

  Lexie peered around me, her gaze landing on Croygen, gaping at him with a dreamy surprise. “It’s you,” she whispered. Croygen looked around, then pointed to himself. Lexie nodded. “You’re the man fro
m my dreams who saved me.”

  I groaned as I saw Croygen’s face brighten. “Croygen, she’s twelve. If you say anything… Actually, do not say anything at all.”

  “What? I wasn’t…I didn’t… Oh, you guys are disgusting,” he grumbled. “I mean, who can blame her? I am in most girls’ dreams.”

  “Or restraining orders,” Amara muttered.

  “Hey, boot-humper? What did Bhean say? Zip it, Lord of the Flies.” Sprig pushed my hair away, to yell over at Croygen.

  “How about my boot meets your humper.”

  “Okay. Enough.” I held up my hands. “Jeez, it’s like I’m an animal wrangler at a circus.” I went back to Lexie. “I know this must be so confusing to you.” My train of thought stopped when I noticed she no longer listened to me. Her attention was on Sprig.

  “Lexie, this is Sprig. He was an experiment. Same as me.” I nuzzled his fur. “He was once a sprite, but Rapava forced him into this monkey form.”

  “That’s why he talks?”

  “Of course I talk! Do you think I’m uneducated or something?”

  “That’s not what she means, Sprig. You know monkeys on Earth don’t talk. It’s a little strange to see at first. Remember when I first met you?”

  “Oh right.” He sighed in my ear.

  “Come down and say hi.”

  “I only do tricks for food.”

  Lexie leaned in closer. “He is so little. And so cute.”

  “Cute? Cute?” Sprig exclaimed. “I’ll have you know, Leanbh, I was a fierce warrior sprite.”

  “No, you weren’t.” Croygen snorted.

  “Shush.” He continued down my arm, his chest puffed up. “I was hunter, a great champion, feared in the forest.”

  “Only by the beehives,” Croygen muttered.

  Ignoring Croygen, Sprig bowed and then reached out his hand for Lexie’s. She looked up at me, and I nodded encouragement. She giggled, taking his little hand with a finger and shook it.

  “Nice to meet you, Sprig.”

  “You too, Leanbh.”

  “What is a Leanbh?” Lexie let go of his hand.

  “It means child,” Croygen responded.

  Lexie frowned.

  “Don’t feel bad; he calls me girl.” I leaned in closer to her. “I don’t think he remembers my name.”

  “I know your name.” Sprig put his hands on his hips, affronted. “It’s... uh... it’s honey—”

  “If you say honey tits, I’m going to mash you up in banana pudding.”

  Sprig slapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide with horror.

  I smirked and motioned over my shoulder. “Behind me are Croygen, Ryker, and Amara.” She gave a little nod to them, then looked back at me. Confusion wrinkled her features.

  “Where’s Daniel?”

  Oh god.

  Her gaze loosely tracked me as I swallowed and stared down at my feet. She wouldn’t have known about his death unless Rapava told her. He clearly had not.

  “He died.” I exhaled, surprised at the pain I still felt recalling the moment of his murder. “The night of the big storm.”

  Lexie pressed her lips together. Her expression crumbled into a painful sadness.

  Her response startled me a bit. She had known Daniel but not well. From what I said and the few times he helped me take her to some of her appointments, she had grown attached. I had told her my dreams of the three of us moving away together, having a life we always dreamed about. I didn’t realize how much she also had counted on that fantasy. And Daniel.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. She nodded, shoulders sagging. Her lids fluttered, and her face suddenly looked drawn and tired. “I think you should get some sleep.”

  “Okay.” Sprig responded instead. His form stiffened and he toppled over, falling headfirst onto the bed.

  “Oh my god,” she shrieked. “Did I kill him? Is he dead?”

  I laughed and scooped him up. “No. Sprig is narcoleptic.”

  “He’s also a tremendous pain in the ass,” Ryker vocalized behind me.

  “And you adore him.” I craned my neck to look at him. Our eyes met, and for one brief moment I almost forgot there was anyone else in the room and we weren’t really speaking. Swiftly his gaze clouded over, he whirled around, and strode out of the room. The door slammed behind him.

  “And there goes the ultimate pain in the ass.” Croygen thumbed over his shoulder at the door where Ryker exited.

  I couldn’t disagree.

  Amara rolled her eyes and followed Ryker out.

  “And there’s the runner-up,” Croygen grumbled. “Sometimes they tie.” His crush on Amara seemed to have diminished some.

  Ryker might be a pain in the ass, but at least I knew I could trust him. Amara’s willingness to backstab anyone to protect herself and to get what she wanted frightened me. She wouldn’t think twice about turning on me. It was in her nature. What she was.

  I needed to find out why she was here, but right now Lexie stayed my priority.

  “You need to rest.” I eased my sister down on the mattress. “Your body is still trying to recover as the drugs leave your system.”

  Her gaze darted to mine, fear resonating deep in her brown eyes.

  “I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.”

  She sighed and laid back. I pulled the scratchy blanket up to her shoulders. “Wow, luxury.” She peered down, frowning at the soiled blanket. “Five stars for this place.”

  “Beggars can’t be choosers,” I replied.

  “This thing is probably infested with fleas and diseases.”

  “So dramatic.” I shook my head, smiling. She was getting back to the sassy girl I knew.

  “Dramatic?” She pointed at the blanket. “Look at it, Zoey. I think it just growled at me.”

  She was a tough kid, but then she’d had to grow up in our neighborhood. She came to Joanne’s at age three. Sometimes I forgot she never had to live on the streets or be without a bed or a meal, even after the big electrical storm. She had been tucked away underground with all her basic needs met. Unlike me.

  “Lex, you are just going to have to deal.” I stood, rubbing her head, making her dark wavy curls bounce around. “Now get some sleep.” I kissed her head and placed Sprig near her. She laid her head down on her arm as I strode away. Exhaustion beat out her abhorrence to our surroundings.

  Croygen watched her as I walked up to him. “Has she always been that skinny? The girl could use a burger.”

  I sighed heavily, glancing over my shoulder. “She’s always been petite boned, but this is way past that.”

  “Maybe feed her straight lard.” He folded his arms. Both of us watched the two sleeping forms on the makeshift bed. The moon shrank deeper into the horizon, providing little light into the building, hinting at the coming dawn.

  “How are you holding up?” Croygen nudged my arm.

  My automatic response of “fine” sat on my tongue ready to be used. But it would be a lie, and I was sick of lying. Instead, I leaned my head against his bicep.

  “Yeah.” Croygen curled his arm around my shoulder and drew me in. It felt so nice. In his company, I no longer felt alone in this. We could handle whatever threat came our way.

  The problem was threats came from everywhere…even from within our own group.

  FIVE

  When Ryker and Amara returned, I pulled them to the far end of the warehouse, away from the sleeping pair. Amara’s presence remained on my list of things to deal with.

  “I want you to leave.” The sheer hatred I felt seeing her cramped my hands, compressing them in fists. “There is no reason for you to be here.” I glowered at her. I kept my voice low as not to wake Lexie or Sprig. “None of us trust you, and I certainly don’t believe your reasons for being here are unselfish. Whatever the motives are, you can take them with you as you walk out of here. Run, actually.”

  Amara licked her bottom lip, and a slight smile toyed at her lips, which only invoked more anger in me. Ryke
r stood back, but his gaze tracked us, carefully watching every nuance of our movements. Croygen looked amused as usual. He always enjoyed when Amara and I battled. Maybe a little too much.

  “Do you think I’m here to turn you or your human sister back over to DMG?” She took a step toward me. “Or tell Vadik where Ryker is? Because risking my life to get him out the first time was great fun.”

  “I don’t believe you,” I countered.

  “You think I had a choice in turning you over to Vadik? I agreed to the job never believing I would fall for the guy I was supposed to be conning.” Amara let her gaze drift briefly over to Ryker before coolly sliding back to me. “You don’t just stop working for Vadik, Zoey. I did what I had to do in the circumstances given to me, but I got us out. I saved Ryker. So don’t look at me like a righteous bitch. You have no idea what I’ve had to do to survive.”

  I didn’t know what she had gone through in her life, but I still didn’t think she stayed here because she suddenly had a change of heart.

  “So what do you want?” My scuffed boots nudged the tips of her stylish low-heeled booties. She was awful for the ego. My scrubs and shoes fell flat at being intimidating, especially compared to her black skinny jeans, chic shoes, tight black tank top, and leather jacket. Her long hair was pulled up in a perfect messy ponytail. She looked like the epitome of sexy badass. I, on the other hand, was just an ass. “Let me guess. The stone? Is that why you are here? You think Ryker will tell you where—”

  “We all know you have it.” She cut me off. “Let’s not insult anyone’s intelligence and pretend otherwise.”

  “That’s it then. You came for the stone.”

  She sighed, and her lids closed briefly over her dark eyes. “Against everything you believe, Zoey, I’m not completely evil. Ask the two men behind me. Both seemed to be fine with me for decades…until you.”

  I tried to respond, but she continued speaking.

  “You want the real truth?” She paused, nibbling on her bottom lip. “I have nowhere to go.”

  My head jerked at her claim. I wasn’t ready for her to show me anything but attitude.

  “I lost Regnus, the man who was like a father to me. He was the only one who treated me with kindness growing up. I’m running from Vadik as you all are. All I have is Ryker. I’ve been with him far longer than you have. He has been my family. Someone who actually cares about me.”