I glanced over my shoulder at the man on the bed. Confirming he was asleep, I continued with my task. My heart accelerated, sensing I was going to find something under the insole. The liner peeled away.
“Oh hell.”
Inside the cavern of the heel, I found a smooth stone, the size of a toddler’s fist. It appeared unassuming, like an ordinary rock you’d collect on a beach in the northwest.
I knew better. The night Ryker told me about it came flooding back.
“Have you ever heard of the Stone of Destiny? In fae mythology there are four magical artifacts: a sword, spear, cauldron, and the stone. Lia Fáil, Stone of Destiny. Most think they are merely legends because no one has seen any of these objects for centuries. Legends stem from truth. These items are so powerful, they can destroy the world if put in the wrong hands.”
The Stone of Destiny. This was the most powerful chunk of rock in the Otherworld.
And the fucker had it with him the whole time.
Ryker stirred, hitching up one of his legs. My focus was glued to him with painful anxiety until I saw his breath even out in a measured cadence. I exhaled and turned back to the boot. Tipping it, the stone rolled out into my palm.
The moment it touched my skin, energy slammed into me, throwing me back onto the wooden floor. Images of fae kings and gods winning every battle and ruling vast lands passed through my mind. Then the stone was lost and found its way into the human world. Here men and women came into contact with it, changing their destinies by receiving their every whim and desire. Happiness, success, dreams were granted. Generations and generations of the stone’s life passed through my head like flashes of light. The power of the stone pulsed and throbbed in my hand, telling me it could give me everything I’d ever wanted. The potential appeared unfathomable.
“Like what?” a curious voice asked. It was my voice, from deep inside. In my vision I saw myself freeing all the test subjects in DMG before it blew up. Behind me cops were arresting Dr. Rapava.
“You can stop it, Zoey. Honor Daniel’s dying wish,” the stone spoke, deep and smooth, every word soaked with ancient knowledge. “I can take all your pain away. No one will ever be able to hurt you again. I can help you show them the errors of their ways.”
Another image flashed in my head: The feel of a cold steel weapon weighing heavy in my hand. On his knees before me was the man who raped me. His face contorted in terror as tears spilled down his face. “Please, no,” he cried. Vehemence, rage, and disgust shook my body seeing his face, those hands and lips that had touched my skin many nights. But this time I was in control. He was at my mercy now. I had shot him before, but only in the leg. This time it was straight in the heart.
“I am sorry. Please forgive me,” he begged, holding his arms by his ears in surrender.
“Fuck you.” My finger pulled back and the gun boomed.
The moment the bullet left the weapon, the scene around me vanished. The man who had hurt me for so long evaporated into nothing.
“We can help others. Together.” A picture of me opening the doors to a research hospital for kids born with disabilities. A different flash showed orphaned kids running to me at a center where they could find safety, acceptance, and love.
“And you will never experience hunger or loneliness again.”
More visions of me, wealthy, in my backyard, with a large pool and patio. Me, draped in a long black silky off-the-shoulder wrap, with huge Armani sunglasses. A group of friends surrounding me at a table, food and cocktails lavishly adorning the tabletop in fancy china bowls. Kids running all over in the background, splashing in the pool—mine. Ones I’ve adopted.
“Zoey, where are the buns? Your father is about to barbeque the hamburgers.” A beautiful older woman resembling me stood on the steps, her hand shading her eyes. A large breathtaking colonial-style ranch house stretched behind her. A handsome gray-haired man joined her on the step, holding a tray of burgers. His green eyes, the exact same as mine, twinkle in the daylight. My parents.
Arms came around my waist. “Hey.” Daniel’s voice emerged from behind me. His lips skated over my shoulder. “Missed you.”
“Zoey, watch this.” Lexie waved at me from the diving board, her long, lean legs strong and defined, as she did a cannonball into the pool.
My heart exploded with happiness. Yes. This is what I want. What I’ve dreamed for years. She was the reason I made it out of my teens and got into college. Without Lexie I probably would have dissolved into the street life, quit school, and got money by stealing and street fighting till I was caught. I wanted more for her than the life we had lived. To get out of the mobile home park and far away from Joanna.
I looked over my shoulder at the man I loved. Daniel’s image wavered. “Every day your feelings grow more uncertain. Your heart is divided. Perhaps this is what you truly want.” The stone’s alluring words spoke into my head. Daniel faded out, and the man behind me turned into Ryker. His white eyes flashed as he grinned mischievously at me. He kissed the curve of my neck. “I can see your true most desires... even if you don’t want to see them,” the stone spoke again.
No. I love Daniel.
Ryker’s image dissolved back into Daniel.
“I love you,” Daniel mumbled into my ear.
“Good thing.” My hands go to my belly, feeling the small bump. Our baby. When I look back, Daniel’s eyes are white. A few scars run through his eyebrows.
“Don’t tell me this is not what you always dreamed of, Zoey,” the stone whispered.
Family, love, security, and a home—this is everything I’ve always wanted but never had. The stone tapped those secret desires. Dreams I’d never told anyone.
“And it is only the beginning. You can have so much more, Zoey. All you have to say is yes,” the stone murmured, enticing me to see and want more. “Say yes.”
“Ye—”
“Zoey!” My name sounded from far away. I looked around for the owner of the voice. “Zoey, let go!”
“No, Zoey. All you have to do is say you want this and all your pain and loss will be forgotten. You can have them back. Your sister. Daniel,” the stone cajoled. “Say it. Yes.”
“Y—”
A sharp sting sliced across my face, snapping me out of the dream.
The stone didn’t say anything, but I could feel it trying to hold me there, flashing more images of Lexie, of parents I never had. Of Daniel and me making love before the figure above me shifted to Ryker. Rocking deep into me, producing a moan to burst from my mouth. Intense desire gripping me, making me tremble.
“Zoey, wake up.” My body shook, breaking me of the stone’s hold. “Open your hand.”
My lids fluttered open. Ryker stood over me. His hands clasped my arms, shaking me.
“Drop it,” he demanded. His face contorted with wrath.
It took all my strength to uncurl my hand. Finally, the stone slipped from my grip and landed on the rug.
Air shot back into my chest, and I bolted into a sitting position with the need to fill my lungs. Ryker bent down, his arm sliding around my back and helping me stay upright.
“You all right?”
“Holy shit,” I mumbled, glancing at the innocent-looking stone on the floor.
Ryker’s brows furrowed, and the crease between his eyes deepened. He sat back on his butt, rubbing his forehead. “What were you doing, Zoey?”
“I was being nice and pulling off your boots so you could sleep.”
His frown inched down farther.
“Soooo.” I pulled my knees to me. “That’s the Stone of Destiny.”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve had it this whole time?”
He nodded. “Though I lead people to believe I hid it; I didn’t trust it wouldn’t be discovered by some spell or something. At least if I have it, I can protect it.”
“Is that what it does? Show people their deepest desires?”
“The stone is alive and extremely smart. It is quick to figure
out what makes you tick, finds your weakness, and controls you that way. It is exceptionally powerful and can give you what you want, but it comes at a cost. Eventually, the stone will overpower you and drain you into a shell, before it moves on to someone else and consumes their life essence.” He scowled at the rock. “It’s hard to resist. Most can’t fight it, and once you accept its offer, there’s no way out. It binds you.”
“What?” I cried out. “I was a breath away from saying yes to it.”
Ryker leaned back on his arms. “What did it show you?”
The vision of his chin on my shoulder, him kissing my neck, flashed back. His form over me, our bodies intertwined, rocking with passion.
The blush to my cheeks was automatic, and I glanced down into my lap. “I can’t tell you.”
“You can see why it is so dangerous... if it falls into the wrong hands.”
“You lied to me,” I said quietly, looking at him. “It was never about the right price or money. You were never going to sell it. You are protecting it from others.”
Ryker turned away, licking his bottom lip.
“You’re a good guy,” I said.
Ryker smirked, his eyes serious as they found mine. “Don’t tell anyone.”
We matched each other’s smile, our eyes locking. I dropped my gaze and focused on my feet. We were quiet for a few moments.
“Now you know my secret. The one thing Vadik will torture and kill you for.”
I set my chin on my knees. “He’ll have to get in line.”
Ryker snorted, his fingers playing with the fringe on the rug.
“I’m sorry. Curiosity killed the cat and all that,” I uttered, shifting uncomfortably. “But thank you for saving me. You were out cold. I’m surprised you even got to me in time.”
“Thank my bladder.”
I motioned to his lower stomach area. “Thank you.”
Ryker climbed back on his feet, holding out his hand he helped me up. He stepped back and peeled off his T-shirt.
Uh. My eyes didn’t know where to look. In the dream I could feel everything like it was really happening. The feel of his hands, of him inside me, seared my skin and mind.
He leaned down and wrapped the stone with the fabric and dropped it back in his boot.
“It doesn’t affect you having it close all the time?” I questioned.
“No. It’s when you touch it, then it will stick its claws in you and pull you in.” He tucked the insole of his boot back in tightly. “If there is ever a reason you have to retrieve it again, make sure you have gloves or some kind of barrier. If it even gets a wisp of bare skin, it will take hold of you.”
I nodded.
He lined his boots up and pushed them under the bed, then stretched to his full height.
“It feels strange knowing it’s there. Like it is goading me to touch it again. What if I can’t resist it?” The thought made me nervous.
“It feels like you won’t be able to withstand it now because it still has a piece of you. The stone has gotten into your psyche, but after a while it will lessen.”
“Speaking from experience?” I turned my head to look at him.
“Yeah.” He scratched his chin. “You’re the only one who knows its location. I can’t express enough the need to keep this secret.”
“Amara doesn’t know?”
Ryker shook his head. “No. I told her I buried it deep in the wilderness of Mongolia near the China border.”
He didn’t have much of a choice in telling me, but I felt honored. Even Amara didn’t get the truth. My gaze caught his. “I promise your secret is safe with me. You can trust me.”
“I do,” he said quietly before he strolled around me and disappeared into the bathroom.
FIVE
“What is wrong with you?” Ryker folded his arms, leaning back in the diner chair, staring at me critically.
It’s funny... after your brain has images of you having sex with someone, real or not, you can’t help but look at them different. The entire morning I could not look Ryker in the eye. It pissed me off because we were hardly friends, yet this nervousness stirred me, making it hard for me to sit still—like I had restless ass syndrome. Yes, recently there had been a few strange moments between us, but after they passed we both pretended they never happened. I liked it that way. Now I felt like I was sliding down a steep mountain not able to stop the momentum.
What bothered me most was how all this reminded me of when I first starting falling for Daniel. The giddy torture of my chest clenching and stomach twisting into knots when I saw him. To feel it again, so soon after Daniel’s death, made me disgusted with myself and angry at Ryker. It felt like a betrayal to Daniel, especially because Ryker was fae. He and Sprig were shifting my feelings on fae, but it didn’t mean my emotions would change overnight.
The images relentlessly played in my mind when he brushed by me this morning getting dressed, sending a flutter of drunken bats through my stomach. Now the sensations wouldn’t go away. His naked body on top of mine, feeling his hand slither up my thigh, his lips consuming mine.
“Nothing.” I shifted in my chair, staring at the menu in my hand. We had stopped for breakfast at a café called Izel’s so Sprig didn’t turn into a cannibal and start eating his own arm.
“That. One,” a voice whispered from the bag on my lap, before a long finger came up, tapping on the laminated menu.
“Yes. I got it the first ten times you told me.”
His finger kept poking at the picture of the crepes drizzled with honey and butter. I knew what I was going to order the first minute we sat down and I spotted the word honey, but the menu was a great distraction.
Ryker’s stare still burned into me from across the table. I sighed and set down my menu. “What?”
Ryker sat forward, his elbows on the table. “You’re being weird today.”
“Weird?” I laughed. “I am a lab experiment. This might be my normal.”
“You know what I mean.”
I tilted forward, mimicking his posture, placing my elbows on the table. “My weirdness also could be contributed to being taken hostage by a rock last night.”
His lids narrowed. “And whose fault was that?”
Mine. “Carrying one of the most powerful objects in the Otherworld in your boot is such a great plan.”
“It was until you found it.”
“Bhean?”
“It’s stupid.”
“Are you really in a place to judge me?” Ryker leaned farther toward me.
“The only thing I was stupid enough to do was get caught by you,” I seethed, irrational anger squeezing my shoulders to my ears.
A nerve jumped along Ryker’s jaw. It was his telltale sign he was angry.
Rage boiled between us.
“Bhean,” Sprig said a little louder.
“What?” I growled at my bag.
Sprig kept his eyes on me as he tapped the menu.
“I. Get. It. Sprig! You want the fucking pancakes,” I yelled. Silence filled the café, eyes turned to me.
Ryker jumped out of his chair, grabbed me by the arm, and wrenched me to my feet. “I think we need a little time-out,” he grumbled and hustled me out the door.
When we stepped outside, I yanked my arm from his hand.
“Fuck, Zoey. You want to completely expose us?” Ryker threw out his arms, stepping into my personal space.
“They’ll merely think I’m some crazy kook, talking to my bag. Really not far from the truth.” I pressed forward, his face only an inch away from mine. His nostrils flared, neither one of us willing to back down. We stood there, panting with heavy emotion.
His gaze dropped, landing on my mouth. Then he shifted back on his heels, licking his lips, and turned away from me. “Let’s start toward the Mandor Waterfalls and work back. There are a lot of fae in the area who might help us find the shaman, Dark and Light. But they will not be easy to find.” He cleared his throat. “We need to be on alert. Most won’
t come out, and if they do, they probably won’t be nice.”
Ryker turned and stalked off. My feet clung to the ground, not moving.
“I don’t get my pancakes this morning, huh?” Sprig stuck his head out of my bag, a huge sigh lowering his shoulders.
I rubbed the top of his head. “Sorry. I’ll get you some churros on the way.”
He exhaled dramatically again. “Okay, but they aren’t the same as honey pancakes.”
“I know, buddy.” I scratched behind his ear. “And I’m sorry for yelling at you.”
Huge dark eyes turned to me, his hand patting mine. “I understand. You’re sexually frustrated.”
I choked. “What?”
“Do you still have those condoms I gave you?”
“Sprig!”
“I’m a sprite. We sense these things.” He shook his finger at me. “It’s either you two need to have sex or you’re hungry. Lack of food makes me grumpy too... speaking of...”
“Yes, I will get you food.” I increased my pace, heading after Ryker. Embarrassment at the truth of his words flushed my entire body.
Please let it be hunger... please.
H
Sprig slept at the bottom of my bag, stuffed full of churros, papaya, and Inca Kola. The drink was way too sweet for me, but he had downed it, hopped out of my bag, and went crazy with the zoomies, until he passed out mid-climb up a tree, and fell asleep. He was narcoleptic, but sugar triggered episodes faster. Getting a sprite to stop eating sugar was like asking him not to breathe.
Venturing out of town, we followed the train tracks through a valley of trees and flowers that looked like they had been dipped in green, orange, and purple dyes. I had studied and looked on the Internet at pictures of this area, but nothing could describe actually being here. A café, Mama Angelica, across from the entrance of Mandor Gardens, was almost too quaint to be real. Plants wrapped up posts, draping their arbor in vivid blue and purple blooms, and shading patrons from the sun. It was almost too idyllic to eat there.
The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) Page 4