One of his eyebrows went up. “A deal?”
“We help you, and you help us. Scratch each other’s backs... and I’ve got an itch needing attention. If the gossip is true, you are exceptional in that area.” She pressed closer to him. She revealed not one ounce of shyness or doubt he would say no to her proposition.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mumbled, my nails digging trenches into my palms.
“What do you say, Wanderer?”
Ryker slid his hand down her face and pulled her body in line with his. His other hand pushed her ass into him so she could feel every part of him. The woman’s knees buckled; her eyes widening with desire.
Anger bristled up my neck till I thought my hair was standing straight.
He grasped her hair and yanked her head back. “I don’t make deals.” Then he turned away, moving toward me.
“Wait,” the blonde yelled. “I can’t give you a name, but you need to meet back here at sundown. I know someone you can talk to.”
A smile spread over Ryker’s face, his eyes on me.
“Tonight then.” He didn’t even look back as he grabbed my arm and tugged me back on the path.
“Bye,” a girl’s singsong voice rang out after us.
I yanked out of his grip, adjusting my bag on my hip. Sprig’s weight lopsided one end of the carrier.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Really?” One eyebrow cocked up.
“Yes.” I flicked my eyes to the side in annoyance. “But I mean, was that necessary?”
“What?”
I crossed my arms and tilted my head back to the women.
“Are you jealous?” Ryker snorted.
“Jealous of gorgeous women with Jessica Rabbit bodies and legs up to their temples? Please...” I kept moving forward, quickly.
“Jessica Rabbit?”
I waved it off. “I guess if you like them dumb as shit.” And beautiful and willing to do anything in bed.
Fuck.
I rubbed at my forehead. What man wouldn’t prefer a bunch of stunning, eager-to-please vixens?
Double fuck.
“You are jealous.” He slowed so much I had to stop walking and turn my body to look back.
“No, I am not.” The words rushed out of my mouth with force. I’m not. But whatever I felt, I did not like it.
“Really? So you wouldn’t care if I took one of them up on their offer? Or maybe all of them at once.”
I whirled around, picking up my stride. “Do what you want.”
“Zoey.”
I ignored him.
I heard his shoes crunch in the dirt as he jogged to me. “Zoey, you know I was only playing them to get what I wanted. I knew they wanted me, and I worked it.”
“Jeez. Ego big enough?”
“It’s a fact. Water fairies are not the brightest of fae and only want one thing.”
“Sounds like a man.”
He grasped my arm and stopped me. “Look at me.” I turned my head to his. “I don’t want any of them. I like women with a bit more depth and stubbornness to them.”
So many emotions exploded in my chest, and I glanced away. “Good thing for Amara then,” I mumbled.
He didn’t respond for a breath before replying, “Yeah.”
A deep plum color coated the steep peaks and valleys as we made our way back to the river later that evening.
I was glad Sprig stayed back in the room. The TV worked, although it only showed three channels. One of them was a Spanish soap opera channel. We handed him a bag of honey roasted cashews, and he didn’t even look up when we said goodbye.
Yes, I was using TV as a babysitter. A sitter for my narcoleptic, monkey-sprite who was ADD and had a honey addiction.
I was all right with that.
Ryker’s body was tense and on guard, clenching tighter the closer we got. My hand kept reaching for my fae gun, which no longer hung off my belt. I missed it. Though I didn’t want to collect fae anymore, I missed the rush the chase had given me. When I quit street fighting, becoming a Collector was a close substitute. I was trained to go in and expect the unexpected. But we went in knowledgeable of the fae we were hunting, the area we were in, and planned exit strategies and backups if we needed.
This was different. We were going in blind and unfamiliar with the area. Ryker and I did a little investigating, and he lent me two of his daggers. But those we were meeting and how many would be there were complete mysteries.
While traveling with Ryker during the last month, I noticed he didn’t seem to trust most fae and now seemed apprehensive about this meeting. Another thing we had in common, but we couldn’t pass up this chance.
The last bit of sunlight slipped below the horizon, shading everything in a purple hue. There were no streetlights and few buildings out here, intensifying the darkening sky.
Ryker reached over and swung his axe out of the holder. My legs scrambled to keep up with his strides, my boots striking the loose gravel. Flip-flops were never good when you needed to fight or run. He glanced over his shoulder, frowning at my trampling feet.
“What? I’ve got tiny legs compared to you.”
He didn’t turn back around, but his free hand found mine and pulled me to him as we walked. “Stay close to me tonight.”
I could protect myself, but I also wasn’t a fool. Daniel had drilled into me not to let my ego get the better of me. Or do anything stupid because I was trying to prove something. You worked as a team, highlighting each other’s strengths. This was Ryker’s lead, but I would have his back.
Hopefully, we were simply being paranoid, and it would not come to any kind of altercation. I mean, shamans were healers and usually known to be peaceful, herb-smoking spiritualists. If anything, we should have brought Cheetos.
We stepped off the path where we met with the river fairies earlier. The water was vacant of human or fae. Ryker kept his hand tight around mine but scanned the area continuously.
“She was speaking the truth. It really is you, Wanderer.” A man’s gruff voice came from the shadows, and a figure moved from behind a tree, followed by a trail of cigarette smoke billowing around his shape. “I thought there was no way the Wanderer would be caught in these parts again. Not after last time.”
Last time?
Ryker released my hand and took a slight step in front of me. “And I thought after last time, you’d be long gone, Arlo. Need another reminder?”
The figure wore black jeans and T-shirt, and it took everything I had not to retreat with a gasp. Arlo’s face was punctured with deep scars in a zigzag pattern from the middle of his head down his face. The injury puffed up like a long mountain range. Hair no longer grew from where the scar began, leaving a white discolored bald spot on top of his head trailing down to his forehead. His wide-set, beady black eyes glinted in the dark, and his upper jaw didn’t seem to line up with the lower one. He was frightening to look at. Not all fae were good looking, and he definitely fell at the far end of the spectrum. He was tall, but Ryker still towered over him, and his frame was thin, though he possessed a power I could not ignore.
“Except you were the one who ran like a coward,” Arlo said.
“Coward? I don’t think I’ve ever been called one before.” Ryker clenched his axe, his hand strangling the wood. “There were twenty of you and one of me. Didn’t feel the outcome was entirely on my side, but I still managed to mess up your pretty face.”
Ryker did that?
“What are you doing here, Arlo? Is this revenge?”
“It’s been eighty years. You think I would wait this long for payback?” Arlo took another puff of his cigarette and dropped it on the ground, his boot snuffing it out.
Ryker snorted. “Yes.”
Arlo shrugged and took a step forward. “In my line of work, you always keep an ear to the ground. Always know what is going on... and I heard you are looking for a shaman, which struck me as odd. Why would you need a shaman?
Especially one as powerful as Regnus? But then these astonishing claims floated my way...” Arlo took another casual step over, looking like he was conversing with an old friend. “A rumor you no longer have your magic.”
Ryker lifted his chin to the side, where the nerve along his mouth convulsed.
“You can see why I would find this interesting.”
Suddenly, I detected more fae around, their glamour skating over my arms. Lots of them. We were going to be ambushed.
“Ryker,” I mumbled to him, going on defense.
Only his eyes flicked over to me, and I could see he also sensed them.
“Is this why you have people on the lookout for me?” Ryker said. “And you say this has nothing to do with revenge.”
“Maybe a little.” Arlo bared his teeth in a sneer. “Water fairies are quite easy to persuade.”
I jerked my head around as I felt bodies moving closer around us.
Arlo tilted his head to see me, as if he only just noticed I was there. “I also heard your woman was being held by Vadik.”
“Guess you are wrong again.” Ryker pushed me farther behind him. It was too late.
Arlo’s laugh bounced off the mountains. “Like she could pass for Amara. The hair kind of gives it away.” Arlo motioned toward me. “A human. Wow. How low you have sunk. But this only makes the claims seem more like fact.”
“What do you want, Arlo?”
Arlo’s lips curled in a smirk. “The stone.”
Every muscle clenched across Ryker’s back, stretching his shirt. “I don’t have it. Nor would I give it to you if I did.”
Arlo sighed and shook his greasy brown hair. “I was hoping not to have to play this game with you.”
The jolt from the fae moving toward us sent panic thrumming into me. Heat ignited inside, and I felt the wind rush in my ears.
Oh hell.
In a blink I was standing in front of Ryker. The power inside me emerged in a growl, protecting its owner like a guard dog. I was really going to have to have a conversation with these abilities because instead of making me into some cool wolf, I looked more like a Pomeranian, puffed up and hopping all over.
Ryker’s anger crashed into my back. His body seemed to grow bigger, dwarfing me in his shadow. The rage wasn’t completely directed at me, but I could feel its impact like a punch in my back. In one involuntary action, I realized too late I’d showed them all our cards.
Arlo blinked, shock widened his eyes, then a sly smile grew on his mouth till it was forced to open in a hearty laugh. “Gods, this is perfect.” He continued to howl. “Oh, little human, you don’t know how happy you have made me.”
Arlo and his men now had proof I contained Ryker’s powers. He could no longer play it off as a false rumor. It rendered him vulnerable. To fae it meant death.
A growl erupted from Ryker. He took another step to me, his chest slamming my back. The fury seething in him clawed my neck.
Arlo’s chuckle faded into the night air, but a malicious smile took its place. “Is she your bodyguard, Wanderer? Should I call her that now?”
“Leave her out of this,” Ryker growled.
“I don’t think so.” Arlo smirked. “After you give me the stone, you will die and she will become my slave. A man is always on the lookout for a good thief.” Slave? Great, another Marcello. Was that all people wanted me for? “Get them!” Arlo’s voice called out past us.
Eight men dressed in dark clothing ran out from the shadows, charging Ryker. All had a red bandana tied around their heads. Ryker backed up, and I swiveled, putting my back against his. Most of the men went for the Viking, but a few advanced my way, leering grins on their faces.
The sound of Ryker’s axe reverberated off a sword and his body dove forward. He slammed back into me as he retracted and sprang to the side, knocking down several men heading for me. My dagger was an intimate type of weapon and required an assailant to get close. I really needed my gun or a longer sword, but my training never involved those old-fashioned weapons. DMG kept us modern and simple.
As a sword slashed at Ryker’s arm, his roar shook my chest. Then he was gone. I whipped around, watching a handful of men barrel into him, taking him down the bank into the river.
Shit.
A hand grasped my shoulder, and I swung around, my fist slamming into my attacker’s face.
“Fuck!” The man jumped back, his hand wiping the blood pooling on his mouth. A large mole protruded from his lip near the cut. He looked at his bloody fingers, and a leering smile broke over his face. “Feisty, aren’t we?”
He crouched lower, coming for me as another man came up behind. Arlo. Crap. Spinning, my blade sliced across Arlo’s chest, ripping open his black T-shirt. He stumbled back with a grunt.
“We got ourselves a spirited one here,” the mole man voiced. I spun back around as his hand broke across my face in an explosion of pain. Liquid slipped from my nose, and I stumbled to the side. Arlo’s arm hooked around my neck, pulling me into him.
“You need to behave, you little bitch,” Arlo seethed. Sharp metal scratched against my neck and I stilled. “That’s better,” he whispered into my ear. In front of me, mole man had stepped away, and I had a clear shot of Ryker fighting Arlo’s men.
“Hey, Wanderer. I have your pet.”
Arlo’s men pulled back on their attack when they heard their leader’s voice. Ryker glanced over his shoulder. He looked at the knife and back to me, his eyes wild and fierce.
“One more move and she dies, Wanderer.” Arlo held me tighter against him. “I wanted to keep her for the fun of it, but I don’t need her. If you’d like me to get rid of your human problem, I can do it for you. Say the word.”
Arlo’s blade dug into my skin, tearing a shallow cut near my jugular. Ryker went motionless. “Drop the axe.” Arlo’s voice vibrated into my chest. His knife went deeper, and I couldn’t stop the hiss of breath exiting through my teeth. Warm blood dripped down my tank top.
Ryker loosened his grip, and the axe tumbled to the dirt.
Instinct to fight, to dig my elbow into Arlo’s crotch, twitched my muscles. Normally I would have done it, but it was more than my risk to take. If the blade found its way through my neck, Ryker’s abilities were gone along with me. I never feared death, but now I wasn’t living solely for me.
“The stone, Wanderer.”
Ryker stared at Arlo, and I let out a chuckle. “You might as well kill me. You’re not going to get it.”
Arlo yanked me, his fingers now digging into my throat. “Oh, really? I think if it’s your life or the stone, he’ll choose you.”
“Then you’re an idiot.” I snorted, trying to swallow over his clutched fingers. “I’m human. I am the last person he’d sacrifice for the stone.” I was even willing to say he would choose the stone over getting his powers back, which I understood now. The stone, if put in the wrong hands, could destroy the world. Both his powers and I took second place to this.
“Zoey.” Ryker gave me a warning look, his voice rigid. His attention went to Arlo. “This is between you and me. Let her go and we can talk.”
“What?” I screeched, pushing against my captor. “No. Don’t do this.”
Ryker ignored me, his gaze fixed on Arlo. “We’ve got a deal?”
“Sorry, I don’t trust that if I release her you’ll be a good boy.” Arlo shook his head.
“You have my word.” Ryker took a step to us. “Let her go, and you and I can come to an arrangement about the stone.”
“Ryker!” I bellowed. Screw this. I was not going to let him sacrifice the stone for me. My head went forward, giving it more momentum as it slammed back into Arlo’s face at the same time my elbow went into his gut.
A scream echoed behind me, but as he stumbled back, falling, his blade slipped and sliced into the side of my neck. Hot, consuming pain tore out of my mouth, dropping me to my knees. Then everything went insane.
“Zoey!” I heard my name being called, my gaze catching Ryk
er bounding toward me at the same time Arlo’s men sprang for him.
Out of nowhere, a man dressed in all black jumped into the throng of fae, his sword swinging. It took me a moment to realize he was fighting against Arlo’s men. Someone was helping us? It had to be a hallucination.
My vision blurred. Ryker suddenly stood in front of me, holding my face, his mouth moving. I heard nothing. A man crashed into him, together they slid across the gravel into the river.
I curled over my knees, wanting to sleep. Get up, Zoey. You fight till the end. You don’t quit. But I was tired. And numb. I no longer felt pain. Only heat. So much heat I wanted to tear the fire right out of me. The glow spread up my spine and over to my neck. Get up now! Fight! I lifted my head, my vision still dim, but I noticed the blood from my wound was already congealing.
Ryker was out of the water, his axe slicing across one of our attackers. The man in black was near him, fighting another group of men with efficiency and a kind of beauty. Actually, he looked bored, parrying and lunging with several men at once. My first thought when I saw him was he looked like a pirate. He had shoulder-length dark hair that dangled in messy strands down to his shoulders and a thick black beard covering his face. Black leather pants, a black shirt, and a long velvet and leather coat completed his look.
He was extremely striking. His face was angular with a long nose, and his dark almond-shaped eyes suggested he had Asian ancestry somewhere. Compared to Ryker he was small, but he still was probably at least six feet. He was thin but defined. He and Ryker made a dramatic pair fighting side by side. The huge, blond, tattooed Viking next to the willowy, dark swashbuckler.
It was only an instant my thoughts wandered, but it was enough. Arms came from behind, scooping me off the ground. A hand covered my mouth. “Shut up, you stupid bitch,” Arlo snarled in my ear. From the corner of my eye I saw blood leaking from his broken nose. “You broke my nose... now I will break your neck. Seems fair.”
Wrath detonated in me, locking my jaw down on his fingers.
Arlo let out a wail, trying to shake free of my mouth. I rolled my jaw, and my teeth sawed even deeper into this skin. The tang of blood glided across my taste buds. The street fighter in me took over. Exhilaration replaced the burning in my lungs.
The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) Page 6