From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  I pushed back the thought, picking up my pace to catch up with him. As I rounded a corner to follow him, I glanced over my shoulder. In the depths of the alley, a pair of black eyes stared back into mine, a faint glow of aura hinted at his skin, but I couldn’t tell if it was human or fae.

  Air caught in my throat.

  “Hurry up,” Ryker shouted, shattering my attention on the figure.

  “I’m coming,” I snapped at him and quickly looked back behind me. The eyes were gone, the alley empty. I blinked a few times.

  I wanted to believe my sight was playing tricks on me, my pounding head making me see things, but my intuition told me different. It was probably a homeless person or someone looking to score drugs, sex, or goods. With everything we had been through today, I pushed it away and followed Ryker back to the safe house, forgetting about it the moment we walked into the warehouse.

  EIGHT

  My attention went straight to the pair sitting on the floor. Lexie leaned against the wall, bundled up under the dirty blankets while Croygen sat on the ground facing her.

  Croygen didn’t even look up, but I knew he sensed our presence.

  “Full house.” He chuckled, placing some cards between them. “Beat that!”

  A sly smile curled up Lexie’s face, a look I knew well, as she spread her cards down. “Four of a kind.”

  “Seriously?” Croygen groaned. “No one can be this lucky.”

  “That’s seven in a row, pirate.” She snickered, then took a deep breath, her face pale and clammy. “You owe me fifty bucks.”

  Croygen turned to me. “I think I’m going to take this girl to a casino. She’s kicking my ass.”

  “She’s twelve.” I folded my arms, stepping farther into the room.

  “I’ll be thirteen in a week,” Lexie retorted.

  Jeez, was it already late September? I’d lost more time underground than I thought.

  “Still illegal.”

  “Well, kid, no matter your age, you are a freaking card shark.” Croygen shook his head admiringly.

  “She was gambling for kids’ lunch money at the age of seven.” I let my eyes roam proudly over her. She looked so frail and sickly, sweat beading her hairline, her usual creamy caramel skin a pallid color.

  “Six,” she corrected me.

  One guy I’d been “seeing” had taught Lexie cards and dice. She learned quickly. She gambled for objects she coveted, whereas I stole them. We were quite a pair in our neighborhood. Two sweet-looking girls, one disabled, who would rob you blind without you even realizing it. It was also another reason I picked up fighting.

  I had to fight us out of sticky situations when the loser wasn’t too keen about forfeiting the pot to a little girl. Many times it didn’t go in our favor, and I’d end up back in the hospital or the police station. People, especially men, did not like being beaten by a young girl over the table, while another one robbed him. Our ruse didn’t last long when they figured us out, but Lexie never stopped gaming with kids to win their Christmas gifts.

  “Where did you get the cards?” I asked.

  “Left in a drawer.” Croygen tipped his head toward the desk. “Probably from the last person who hid out here.”

  “Speaking of hiding,” Ryker huffed from behind me. “Glad you are keeping guard.”

  “Amara’s shift.” Croygen pointed over to the corner. Her lithe figure stood in the shadows, blending in so well I hadn’t seen her.

  “I knew you guys were coming.” Amara leaned against the wall, keeping her gaze out the window.

  “Fifty bucks, Hook.” Lexie held out her hand, her jaw set firmly as she looked at him.

  “Oh, were we playing for real money?” Croygen took a step back.

  “Pay up.”

  “Wouldn’t you rather have a doll or something?”

  “I decapitate dolls.”

  Croygen’s eyebrows shot up.

  “She does.” I moved in closer, realizing a smile was plastered on my face. It felt so good to have her back. She was alive! That in itself had been enough, but seeing the saucy tween I knew so well lightened my heart.

  “Oh, look. I think it’s my shift.” Croygen pointed over to the window.

  “No, it’s not.” Amara folded her arms.

  “Yes, it is,” Croygen replied.

  “Running scared from a twelve-year-old girl.” Amara rolled her eyes. “Pathetic, Croygen.”

  “She’s a hell of a lot more intimidating than most grown women I’ve met,” Croygen mumbled.

  “That’s because I’m already smarter than you.” Lexie’s smile was soft, and she struggled to keep it on her face. She sank down, exhausted and weak. “Still owe me my winnings.”

  “I’ll get back to you on that.”

  Hiding my amusement, I kneeled down in the empty spot he left. “Never trust a pirate.”

  “Tradesman!”

  “Dickhead. Assmuncher. All the same.” Sprig tugged himself out of the bag around my hip.

  Lexie went still, her eyes centering on Sprig.

  “I-I thought I dreamed him.”

  Sprig climbed out onto my knees. “I missed the card game? What was the bet? Honey? Or honey-filled doughnuts? Those are so good. Have you ever tried churros dipped in honey? Holy gnome ass!”

  Lexie eyes widened the faster he talked.

  I covered his mouth. “He can get a little excitable.”

  “Sprig,” Ryker called, walking over to the beat-up desk against the wall. His back stayed rigid, the fence between us locked firmly in place. “Come here, furball.”

  Sprig slipped off my lap, heading for Ryker. “How about addressing me as Captain? Or Master Sprig. Super Sprite works as well.”

  “The only thing you are a master at is licking your own balls.” Croygen sat back on the windowsill.

  “Only if they are coated with honey.” Sprig flipped his middle finger at him and climbed up Ryker’s leg, plopping on the desk.

  Ryker snorted. “Admit it, you’re kind of jealous, Croygen.”

  “Hell yeah. Would you leave the house if you could lick your own balls?”

  “Honey-dipped ones,” Sprig chirped.

  “Guys,” I growled, rubbing at my aching head again. My hands quaked against my forehead, the tremble growing steadier. Dropping them, I rolled my shoulders back, shoving aside my restless, yucky mood.

  Lexie watched the banter with an incredulous smile on her face. Sadly this wasn’t even close to the worse conversation she’d ever heard or participated in. She had quite a mouth on her thanks to life in our neighborhood.

  My hand reached up and cupped her face. Her flesh burned my skin. I didn’t need a thermometer to know she had a fever. My life had been so in tune to Lexie’s health I knew the signs.

  “I have missed you so much.”

  “I missed you too.” Lexie’s gaze darted to me.

  All the unsaid words weaved between us like cobwebs.

  “Here.” I took the bags off my shoulder, opening the one with water and food. “You need to get something in your system. I got the strongest painkillers I could.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Get out of there, furball,” Ryker’s voice ordered from the other side of the room. With the help of Sprig, Ryker tried to display the items we stole on the table.

  “Here.” Ryker picked up a plastic bear filled with honey, wiggling it between his fingers.

  “Honey! The deities love me,” Sprig cried out, bouncing on the table, his arms flailing in the air. “Oh sweet tasty bear, let me suck out your guts.” Sprig grabbed the bear from Ryker’s fingers, ripped off the safety top, and began chugging it.

  “Only half, Sprig.” I shot over my shoulder, knowing my request would be completely ignored. He made only a chirped moan as he guzzled the nectar.

  “I’m going to walk around and check to see if everything is okay.” Ryker’s voice sounded gruff like both heaven and hell at once. The distance between us made me feel like I had been banished. I
understood why he needed to. Twice tonight he had tried to kill me, but that didn’t ease my pain. His eyes went to me then he spun around and marched out the door. Amara quickly followed, slipping into the night.

  My molars ground together. Of course she’d go after him.

  “I see you two made up.” Croygen chuckled and headed for the table, picked through the clothes and food, and changed into the black cargo pants we got him.

  Ignoring him, I turned back to Lexie.

  “How are you feeling?” I put the back of my hand to Lexie’s forehead. Shit.

  “Still really out of it.”

  “Dizzy?”

  She nodded.

  “Cold and hot flashes?”

  “Yeah. Right now I’m freezing.”

  I drew the blankets tighter around her shoulders.

  “You need to eat something.” I put a power bar in her hand. It was one for bodybuilders, extremely high in calories and protein. “I got you other stuff, but I think you should start with this. We need to get as many calories into you as we can.”

  She scrunched her nose, sniffing it before taking a bite. “Eww.” She shook her head, gagging.

  “I know it doesn’t taste good, but you need to eat.”

  “But I’m not hungry.” She flinched, swallowing. “I want to throw up.”

  “I still need you to try.” I gently brushed her wild, knotted hair flatter to her head. “What did they feed you at DMG?”

  Her mouth opened to talk, but nothing came out. Her brows furrowed. “I-I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know what you ate?”

  She rubbed her temples and shivered hard.

  “I don’t remember.”

  My stomach plunged to my toes.

  Lexie bit down on her lip, her brow creasing. “It all feels like a faraway dream, as if it happened to someone else.”

  “Tell me anything you remember. When did they operate on your legs?”

  “A week, a month? I don’t…I don’t know.”

  “Can you remember anything?”

  “I remember Rapava and tons of people coming into my room all the time, but when I try to center on anything specific…” Her fingers began to rub violently over her brow. “Why can’t I remember? How can I not have even one memory of getting these legs? Or what I ate last…” Her eyes widened, filling with tears. “Oh god. Why don’t I remember anything?” Her voice grew high and agitated.

  “Shhh. It’s okay.” I pulled her against me, my hand running over her back, trying to soothe her. “Calm down.”

  “No.” Her head brushed back and forth against my shoulder. “It’s not all right.”

  “You’re right. None of what he did to you is okay.” I sucked on my bottom lip. It was what I feared. The mind control and all the drugs had messed with her memory. I hoped it was temporary, but I wouldn’t put it past Rapava to make sure it lasted. Just in case she did escape, she wouldn’t be able to clearly tell anyone anything. “Rapava drugged you to control your mind. This must be another effect of it so you wouldn’t be able to remember anything of your time in the lab.”

  She pulled away from me and licked her lips. “I let him drug me.”

  “What? You let him?” The words burst out of my mouth like a bomb.

  “He said the injections would help me. I didn’t know he would take away my memories.” Her lips quivered. “He told me I would be benefitting human lives, that my help was crucial. My aid could benefit every kid like me. He said I would walk again.”

  “What an asshole!” Croygen spoke, stepping back over to us. “Manipulating a little girl’s mind so he can run tests on her.”

  “Croygen.” I shook my head, telling him to shut up.

  Lexie slid her hands over her face, then dropped them to her lap. “Everything before the night of the storm is crystal clear.” A tear pushed from the corner of her eyes, trailing down her cheek. “I was so mad at you for lying to me. For knowing there could be a cure and not telling me. Letting me die…”

  Ice stabbed into my heart. Was that what she thought? I would let her die?

  “Lexie.” I gripped her hands in mine. “You have to know there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. They were still only testing. There was no cure.”

  “That’s not what Dr. Rapava told me. He said they had successful transplant cases and felt positive he could make me walk. That he could save my life, and I wouldn’t be sick anymore.”

  Hatred and disgust coated my throat, choking me.

  “He said he didn’t understand why you kept me from getting better.” Tears glided down her face. “There was no reason for me to live the rest of my life in a chair.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Croygen exclaimed, his voice booming behind me, his new shirt halfway over his head. “That evil, lying, deceitful fucker!”

  “He wanted to help me and convinced me not to tell you. He said you would be glad once I got better.” Lines ground into her forehead. “I am so sorry, Zoey. All I thought about was the fact I could possibly walk again and be healthy.”

  “I don’t blame you, Lex. Of course you’d want that.” I was livid that a grown man turned my sister’s mind against me, but hadn’t I also fallen under the spell of Rapava’s manipulating power? I could not fault a desperate, scared twelve-year-old for wanting to believe his words. “What happened the night they came for you?”

  “After the storm hit, they came to the house.” She wiped away the tears on her face, taking a deep breath. “Joanne tried to fight them with a bat, but they knocked her out. I think they must have injected me with something because everything after is jumbled. I don’t know what they did to Jo. But I do have this blurry memory of our house on fire as we drove off.”

  The fire they set was to kill Jo and to make it look like Lexie had died in the flames as well. Perfect cover.

  Her delicate hand rubbed her face roughly. She sighed, exhaustion drooping her shoulders. “I don’t even remember when I first saw you. It’s all bits and flashes, but nothing seems real.”

  “Don’t worry about it right now.”

  “I’m sorry, Zoey,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry for everything.”

  “Hey.” I put my hand up to her face. “You are safe and with me. That’s all that is important.”

  She nodded. A bead of sweat trickled down her face.

  “Take these and get some sleep.” I handed her some painkillers and bottled water. She downed both and lay back on the blanket.

  “I’m scared, Zoey,” she whispered.

  I squeezed my jaw together. I would not cry in front of her. “Go to sleep.” I leaned over and brushed my lips against her forehead. She exhaled and buried herself deeper into the covers.

  The moment I felt her slip into a slumber, I jumped up and marched over to the far side of the room. My palm pushed firmly on my chest so it wouldn’t crack open and spill all over the floor. I leaned my head into the wall, trying to breathe.

  Croygen’s hand touched my shoulder.

  “I can’t do this.” My voice broke. “I can’t go through losing her again.” Or losing any of them. Annabeth was never far from my mind either, her peril just as grave. The world seemed to be crashing onto my shoulders, determined to bury me under it.

  “We’ll figure it out.” Croygen rubbed my back.

  “Will we?” I could feel anger slowly absorbing my sadness.

  “Yes.”

  “How?” I whipped around, my hands on my hips. “DMG and Vadik are hunting us. We probably have a price on our heads. We aren’t even strong within ourselves. I don’t trust Amara. Ryker can’t be around me without trying to kill me. Lexie needs better care and medication…” I burst into tears. I couldn’t take care of her this time. Everything else I could deal with, but failing Lexie again was not among them. She was getting sicker, and I could do nothing to stop it. I only wanted to get her away from DMG, but what if that had been the precise thing keeping her alive?

  Croygen pulled me in,
wrapping his arms around me.

  “What if I made a mistake?” I sobbed into his chest. “Was she better there?”

  “No one is better there.”

  “Croygen…”

  “You are not alone. I’m here, Zoey. I’m not leaving. Even your dick of a boyfriend is here. Neither of us are going anywhere.” He kissed the top of my head. “I have known him a long, long time. Believe me when I say that man is not leaving your side. No matter how painful it is. And like me, he will do anything in his power to help your sister.”

  His words only caused more tears to flow down my face. I pushed deeper into his chest, my heart wanting to dissolve into him. I knew so little of love or trust. Even to depend on people. To have friends. A family.

  Somehow these two menacing fae had let me in. Brought me within their walls, protecting and loving me.

  “How did I get so lucky?” I muttered into Croygen’s damp shirt.

  “You and I have different versions of lucky.” He loosened his hold on me. “But if you want to try the whole face in my crotch again…”

  I snorted and pulled away from him. I wiped away my tears, letting a smile push at my lips.

  “Dangling bee nuts. You mole rats are frisky tonight,” Sprig muttered from the table. I leaned around Croygen. Sprig sprawled on his side, his new backpack facing me with Pam’s head sticking out. He cuddled the empty bottle against him.

  “Stop. That tickles.” He giggled, his feet kicking out.

  “And here I thought my mind was a scary place to be.” Croygen shuddered.

  I walked over to Sprig, took Pam out of his bag, and switched the bear bottle for her. I held up the hollow container. “We’re so going to pay for this.”

  “You still have a receipt, right? We can return him?”

  “Think the warranty is up. We’re stuck with the little bugger.”

  “But it came broken. There’s got to be a policy for that.” Croygen waved at Sprig.

  I turned around, wagging my head.

  “The zoo might take him.”

  Yeah, a talking, narcoleptic, ADD, honey-addicted sprite-monkey would go over well.