The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  Amara studied both of us. She kept her shoulders back, her head held high. The woman did not lack confidence. The way she watched me didn’t seem to hold jealousy or fear that something was going on between Ryker and me. More like I was a bug. A gross, disgusting insect that needed to be squashed. “Without the stone, you won’t get Regnus. My escape only made Vadik more cautious and guarded. Croygen can tell you it was almost impossible retrieving me.” Amara folded her arms. “But if you don’t want to get Regnus, there is another way.”

  “Another way for what?” I placed my hand on the warm spot on my bag. Feeling Sprig’s body heat comforted me.

  “To get your powers back.” Amara still faced Ryker, but shrugged over to me. “Get rid of her.”

  “What?” Ryker and I said in unison.

  “As soon as Croygen told me about your predicament, I recalled a memory from my childhood, and I found something that might help.” Amara sauntered over to a desk against the far wall of the yurt and picked up an ancient leather-bound book. Faded gold writing scrolled across the cover and spine. The aura of the book twinkled with deep golds and sparkling silvers. I once touched a fae book and almost passed out. Their history was alive between the pages, and it showed images along with words. Kind of like the stone. I could feel the book in her hands waiting to share its story. “I had Croygen bring me these books, and yesterday I found what I was looking for.” She flipped through the yellowed parchment pages of the book. “I remembered an ancient legend. It was a fable Regnus told me when I was a child about a boy who loses his powers to a witch and gets them back. I can’t believe you didn’t think of this yourself.”

  “I was raised by humans. I don’t know any fae legends or bedtime stories.” Ryker walked up next to her, peering at the pages held in her hands.

  “In the story, a witch steals the boy’s magic. Growing weaker and weaker, he continues to search for a way to retrieve his magic. Finally, one day he runs into a raven who tells him how to get them back from the witch.”

  “And how does he get them?” Ryker questioned.

  Amara’s head lifted up, her gaze falling on me. “He has to kill her.”

  FIFTEEN

  Kill her.

  Of course that was the answer.

  “What?” Ryker shuffled back, his gaze bouncing from me to Amara.

  “If the vessel of the thief dies, magic will be restored to the original possessor. If the magic familiarizes fully to the vessel, only death from the original possessor’s hand can undo the spell,” Amara read from the book.

  “What does that mean?” My voice came out in a croaking sound.

  “It means...” Amara cleared her throat and glowered at me. “If Ryker’s magic fully acclimates to you, the only way the powers will go back to him is if he is the one to murder you.”

  “What if I die before that?”

  “If they become fully yours and someone else kills you or you die, he will never get them back,” Amara replied.

  “But right now... if I die... he’ll get them back.”

  “Yes. But the moment they become fully yours, the only way for him to get them back is if he takes your life.”

  Ryker reached over, ripped the book from her hands, read the passage, and then slammed the book shut, searching its bindings and cover. “This is a fairy tale. Doesn’t mean it’s true.”

  Amara placed her hand on his arm. “Ryker, our fairy tales are real. They are stories passed from generation to generation, but they are based in fact. There is truth in all the fables you read. Only humans think they are made up.”

  Ryker looked back and forth between us. “No. No way.” He threw the book back on the table, like it was burning his hands.

  “The only other way is we find the stone and pretend to trade for Regnus. He is the only one with the power to possibly get your powers back with both of you unscathed.”

  “Then we get him,” Ryker stated. “Even if it’s a slim chance. It’s the only option.”

  “Ryker?” I stepped to him. It wasn’t the only one.

  His head jerked up. “No.”

  “Ryker...”

  “No. Stop right there.”

  “But—”

  “I said no, Zoey. There is only one route here.”

  “I’m already—”

  “I am done with this conversation.” He stomped for the door, whacked at the canvas entry, and stormed out.

  I stared after him, a lump choking my windpipe.

  Amara took several steps toward me. “He is in danger the longer he is without them.” Amara moved to my side. “You want to do the best for him? Either you help me convince him to get the stone, or he kills you. I am sorry it has to be this way; I really am. But this is bigger than you or me.” Her dark eyes challenged mine. “I was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for him. Are you?”

  My frozen toes sank into the snow, causing me to falter as I ran after Ryker. Even if I weren’t already dying, I probably would have been willing to sacrifice for him. Too many people had died because I couldn’t save them. I could help Ryker.

  “Ryker!” My screams pierced the high snowy peaks, bouncing back to me. His form in the distance stopped, but he kept his back to me. At least running warmed me a little. The high altitude rendered me breathless in no time, and I stumbled to him, gasping for air.

  “What are you doing out here? You’re going to get hypothermia.” He swung around, rage thumping off him. “Again.”

  “Needed...” I struggled to breathe. “Talk... to you.”

  “I told you I’m not discussing it. Now go back before you freeze to death.”

  I shook my head violently. “No, not till you...” I gulped in air. “Hear me out.”

  “Zoey!”

  “Ryker!”

  His hand crashed into his forehead, rubbing furiously. “You are so fucking stubborn.”

  “Yeah, and you’re so compliant.” I snorted. Then seriousness settled back in. “Before you start saying ‘no’ or tune me out completely, please listen to what I have to say.”

  “Not with you trembling like that.” He only had his T-shirt and cargo pants on, but he ripped off his shirt and shoved my head through the hole. The warmth of his body heat clinging to the shirt felt like heaven. It wasn’t much, but it was better than my thin tank top. But now I had to talk to his bare chest.

  “We both knew this was coming.”

  “Zoey,” he warned.

  My feet wiggled under the white ice covering them. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  He sighed, shifting to the side. “You couldn’t do anything about it. Why put extra pressure on you?”

  “That’s not the point.” Someone could write “hypocrite” on my forehead. I was hurt he’d kept this from me, but I was keeping the same sort of information from him. My tongue curled around the vowels, ready to confess my own secret, but nothing came out.

  “What is the point, Zoey?” he exclaimed; frustration crimped his face.

  “I want you to talk to me.”

  “You want to talk about the fact that you having my powers is slowly killing me? That when you take them completely, I will grow weak and be vulnerable to both human and fae deaths? Is this what you want to hear?” He shook his head. “No. There is no reason to dwell on something we can’t change.”

  He was right, I didn’t want to hear it, but I needed to. His declaration only solidified the reason I ran after him.

  “There’s no other choice. We have to barter the stone for Regnus.”

  “You don’t have to,” I declared.

  He opened his mouth to argue.

  “And what if he can’t help us, anyway?” My hand went up. “There is no good side or way out of this. I’m not saying kill me right this moment, but if we don’t get Regnus, promise me you will.” I took a quick breath before he interrupted. “We have a limited window of getting them back to you.”

  He put his hands on his hips. His lashes fluttered closed, and he squeezed his lid
s shut.

  “Ryker, you know it has to be this way.”

  His head tipped back and his eyes shot open. “Absolutely. Not.” Fire burned through his gaze as his lids narrowed. He took a step back, his pectoral muscles twitching. “No. And we are done talking about this.” He turned to leave.

  “Wait.” I grabbed his bicep. It tightened under my grip. I could feel the anger raging under the surface.

  “No!” A bellow hurled out of his mouth. “Do you grasp what you are asking of me? I am not going to kill you, Zoey.” He shoved my hand away from him and swung around, stomping through the thick snow. There were few times I had seen him yell or let his emotions come to the surface. Usually his fury was contained—rumbling underneath.

  “I am dying anyway,” I screamed at his back, desperate for him to understand, to hear me. I didn’t feel the cold any longer.

  He stopped dead in his tracks, his back still facing me. “What?”

  “I am dying, Ryker. There was more on the video Daniel left. Seers are immune to fae blood.”

  “But you are starting to heal faster, and you can jump.”

  “I know, but it did not affect my DNA. They tried it on us when we were babies. None of us responded to it, and all except two of us are dead.”

  His head shook back and forth. “No. My powers changed you.”

  “They definitely changed me. You changed me. But not the flaw in my genes.” My words hit his back. “Nothing you can say or do is going to stop it. You can’t pretend it away or deny it’s not happening. Because it is.”

  He lifted his hands to his face, rubbing it furiously. His shoulders curled forward. I could sense my words finding their way in. “How can you ask this of me?” he mumbled under his breath, slowly twisting back to face me.

  “What if roles were reversed?” I inquired. “Wouldn’t you want me to do the same for you?”

  A low growl rose from the depths of his chest. He knew I had a point. We both stood in silence, neither of us ready to give in.

  “I can’t...” His voice broke, and he blinked rapidly, shaking his head. “I don’t want to lose you. I won’t...”

  Without thought, my feet moved to him. I reached up, cupping his cheeks. “I don’t want to lose you either, but this is no longer about what we want.”

  A choking noise came from Ryker’s throat, his forehead knocked into mine, his hand skirting the back of my neck, holding me closer. We stayed like this, halting for a moment in time.

  “I want you to kill me, Ryker,” I whispered. I heard another sound come from him. “You have to promise me you will do it.”

  “A promise is binding. I will have to do it no matter what. I can’t... I won’t.”

  “You must. Before it’s too late. You heard her. If I died now, they go back to you. But if we wait and they become mine... Either way I won’t survive this. You need to get away, jump far from here, and protect yourself and the stone.”

  His head stayed still, but his grip on me constricted.

  “Promise me.”

  “No.” His head rubbed against mine. “Not yet. There is still the hope of getting Regnus.” His hands rubbed up and down the goose bumps on my arms. “Not giving up yet. Don’t you either, okay?”

  Breathing out a heavy sigh, my shoulders fell in agreement. “For now.”

  His only response was to bring me closer against him, crushing me to his chest. I tucked my head into him and for one moment let everything disappear. There was no one chasing us, no one trying to kill us, no DNA fuck-up, no magic stone, and no ex-girlfriends waiting back in a tent.

  Nothing but him and me.

  “Is it okay to come out now? Getting a little smooshed in here. Like a sandwich,” a voice came from my bag. “A peanut butter and honey sandwich or maybe a panini with melted cheese. Ohhh, a peanut butter and honey panini.” A giggle burst from me. Hell. I totally forgot about the little fuzzball. “Is it lunchtime yet? Please,” he begged.

  My happy place was right here with Ryker and Sprig. The rest of the world could disappear.

  Especially Amara.

  When we returned to the yurt, Croygen had joined Amara inside, and they were searching maps. Hiking gear sat in a pile on the rug near the stove.

  “What’s going on?” Ryker folded his arms, his torso probably only slightly chilled from the cold. On the other hand, I was beet red, stiff, and shivering. The heat of Peru sounded like heaven. Sprig stayed in the warmth of my bag with Pam. I could hear him jabbering to her.

  Amara glanced up from the table, her eyes darting back and forth from Ryker’s shirtless frame to me. His shirt was thin but covered a lot of my exposed legs. Her eyes narrowed, lips pressed, before peering at the map. I couldn’t blame her. As far as she knew, she and Ryker were still together and happy. She probably never imagined a human coming between them.

  “Good. You’re back. We don’t have a lot of time. We need to retrieve the stone as soon as possible.” She waved Ryker over. “You said in Mongolia close to the China border, right?”

  My head turned to Ryker. He kept facing Amara, but I saw his jaw twitch. “We are heading back to Peru first. We will devise a rescue plan there.”

  “What?” Amara placed both her hands on the table, gaping at Ryker. Croygen stayed quiet, but watched Ryker skeptically. “Why? We are in the perfect location to go get it. It’s why I picked this place. We need to go now. There is no reason to wait.”

  “There are plenty of reasons to delay.”

  Amara shook her head, coming around the table to the Viking. “I don’t understand. We need to get it before Vadik does.”

  “Believe me, it is safe.” He shifted when she placed her hands on his crossed arms, tugging them loose. When they fell to his sides, she laced her hands with his.

  “We are here. Now.” She squeezed his fingers. “If you had your powers, it wouldn’t matter, but you don’t. Do you want to risk coming through the doors again to get all the way back when we’re already here?”

  “Amara.” Ryker tugged away from her, his voice growing hard. He turned for the door. “We are going back. Zoey is not dressed for this climate, and we need more time to plan.”

  Why was he not telling her the truth? There was no reason to go traipsing through the countryside for this stone. It was always with him, located in the heel of his boot.

  “Do you understand the importance?” Amara threw up her arms.

  “Yes!” Ryker whirled around, bellowing. Amara stumbled back. “I get the urgency, Amara. Believe me, I do. You can stay here if you prefer, but we are going back.”

  She jerked back as though slapped, her face contorted into a shocked expression. “What?” she whispered.

  “That came out wrong.” He glanced at the ceiling.

  “No, it didn’t,” Sprig’s voice burst from my bag.

  Amara’s head whipped around, glaring at me. “What did you say?”

  Sprig’s head poked out of the top, waving. “It was me, Medusa.”

  Amara screamed and jumped back.

  “Now that was rude. A simple hello would have sufficed.” Sprig climbed the strap to my shoulder, his tail wrapping around my neck.

  “What is that?” Amara pointed at him.

  “Haven’t you ever seen a sprite-monkey before?” Sprig pointed back at her, mimicking.

  “No.”

  “Of course not. I am one of a kind. There is only one of me.”

  “Thank the gods,” Ryker scoffed.

  Sprig stuck his tongue out at the Wanderer.

  “We can discuss Sprig’s existence later. Right now we need to go. Before some of us get frostbite.” Ryker glanced over to me.

  Amara’s head snapped back to Ryker. The shock from Sprig now replaced by her earlier irritation. “Ryker, you are not thinking this through.”

  Croygen had been silent while observing, blending in with the background. I forgot he was there. “I’m with Amara. If we are going to get the stone, we should do it now.”

&nbs
p; Ryker stiffened, his eyes flickering over Amara’s head to Croygen with distrust. “That would be convenient for you wouldn’t it, Croygen? You’d love to have the stone. How many of your problems would disappear if you had it, huh?” Ryker challenged. “You are not part of this. Just go. You’re done with your obligation to me.”

  “If it could only be true.” Croygen’s boots met Ryker’s, and he leaned his head back to stare the few inches up at the Wanderer.

  “Still hovering around, waiting for scraps.” Ryker’s lip curled.

  “Yeah, and you’re such a catch. Leave one woman in a prison to be tortured and beaten while you’re getting your rocks off with another.”

  The moment before you move to attack someone holds a palpable pressure, like a drop in the barometer. I knew it well from fighting. I instantly grabbed for Ryker, pulling him back with little effect as Amara jumped in between them.

  “Stop!” She hit her hands on both their chests and turned to Ryker. “Croygen saved my life. And if she is a part of it, then so is he.” Amara jutted her chin to me.

  “Mar—”

  “No, Ryker.” Amara waved her arms. “He has as much right as her.”

  Ryker breathed in, his lungs expanding.

  “Either it’s only the two of us, or it’s the four of us.” Amara motioned to herself and Ryker. She leaned closer, expressing this was her real wish.

  Croygen’s annoyed glare flicked to the side, and he stepped back. Ryker’s face was expressionless.

  “Fine,” Ryker stated. “But we go back to Peru.”

  Amara observed him for a moment and swallowed. “As usual, it’s always by your rules.” She straightened her shoulders and clomped over to the table, rolling up the map. “Fine. Let’s go.” Her rage charged the air. So much magic rippled off her it blurred the edges of her body.

  “Medusa’s getting stone-cold mad,” Sprig said. Silence filled the area. “Get it? Stone-cold... You know, because Medusa—”

  All heads swung to the animal on my shoulder. “Sprig,” I warned. “Shut up now.”

  “Jeez, you guys have no sense of humor.”