STRAYED

by Amber Lynn Natusch

  Something was wrong.

  “I do not take kindly to being used, Ruby. It offends me. Deeply. And so I sat back and waited for the day when the one who would change his world―the one who would lift his light side from the shadows of his darkness―was born,” she explained. I stared at her blankly. When she realized I wasn't following, she sighed in the most put-upon way and rolled her eyes. “You, Ruby. I was waiting for the day you would come into existence and set the stage for me. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would find a way to exact my revenge. What I did not know was that the opportunity to do so would seek me out. Isn't it funny how the Universe works sometimes?”

  “Hilarious,” I mumbled under my breath. I already knew what she had planned for me, and I didn't find a damn thing funny about it. Judging by the burning intensity in Persephone's eyes, that plan hadn't changed.

  I suddenly found myself looking across the roaring river of the Underworld at Sean and wondering if it was the last time I would see him. There was so much I wanted to say. So much to apologize for. But, in that moment, all I could do was stare at him while tears slowly rolled down my cheeks. I had run out of time and I knew it.

  The clock had struck midnight

  The ball was over.

  “Bring her to me,” Persephone ordered harshly.

  Much to my surprise, Deimos did not move.

  A crack in Persephone's poised demeanor showed itself when her eyes raged at his disobedience. She took a step closer, hovering right at the edge of the rocky cliff. It would have been a long fall to take.

  “Bring. Her. To. Me,” she repeated, enunciating each word with such scathing precision that I could almost feel the words cutting through me like a knife. I looked up to see Deimos smiling back at her. The devil was in that smile.

  He was up to something.

  “Tell me something, my queen,” he started. “How am I to do this, precisely? Shall I just kill her and then leave the body for you to work your magic upon, allowing the red-eyed one to live within it freely?”

  “You know what you are to do,” she bit out, though she forced a smile when she did. “And I would very much like for you to get on with it.”

  “I had a very interesting encounter when I went to collect Ruby for the second time,” he said, shooting me a look that clearly displayed his annoyance with that fact. “Someone showed up and banished me back to the Underworld. He used magic...very, very old magic. Magic that the world has not seen for centuries.”

  “Yes, yes, this sounds extraordinarily interesting,” she replied dismissively. “Your point?”

  “This magic should not have existed, you see, because those who wield it have long been dead.” Her eyes narrowed slightly, though she remained silent. “This particular being was fey. The King of the Fey.”

  Her narrowed eyes shot open wide.

  “Now that is interesting, indeed.”

  “But there is more, my queen,” he rumbled. I could feel the amusement he felt rolling off of him. “This King of the Fey, he is not the only fey. There is another. Or there was before I killed her.”

  “Now why would you do such a wasteful thing!” she exclaimed. “You know how much I would love to have a pet fey.”

  He cocked his head to the side, unable to keep the smile from returning to his face any longer.

  “But you already do, my queen.”

  Confusion marred Persephone's carefully controlled features.

  “Explain yourself,” she demanded, no longer hiding the anger in her voice.

  His eyes fell upon me, then returned to her.

  “No,” she exhaled, clutching her chest. “She can't be. You lie!”

  “Ruby was born of fey, my queen. Her uncle and the dead fey are her family.”

  “No, no, no, no,” she muttered repeatedly while she paced the shoreline, wringing her hands in frustration.

  “So now you see my hesitation in carrying out your original request, my queen,” he said. There was no apology in his tone. “I may kill her, but you will have no soul to torment. The fey do not come to you upon death. Their magic—their essence, once dispatched—returns to the Earth, from whence their power is derived. Even if her essence remains intact, all you will be left with is a lifeless body that you cannot torment.”

  Persephone snapped her attention back to him. Her expression was positively feral.

  Ashes to ashes, Scarlet purred, the satisfaction in her energy and words impossible to ignore. Persephone's plan had been foiled. And, judging by the way her eyes were about to explode from her head, she wasn't accustomed to that outcome.

  “Kill her!” she screamed, slamming her foot down on the stone cliff beneath her feet. “You will kill her anyway! Do you understand me? I command you to!” Her sanity unraveling quickly, she stormed back to Sean, snatching his arm to drag him back to the rocky ledge. “And you! You will watch her die. You will watch her suffer, knowing that you can do nothing to stop it. Knowing that you yourself are the very reason for it. You will watch this, and I will drink in every painful moment of it while I watch you die inside, becoming the vile creature you used to be. Your worst nightmare come true again.”

  I could feel Deimos' blade press against my back, and I arched away from it reflexively.

  “He will forget, my queen. In doing this, you will lose whatever leverage you seek to hold over him. Your moment of satisfaction will fade. Your bloodlust will return, and you will have nothing left. You know this, do you not?”

  “You will do as I order,” she replied, barely maintaining any semblance of control.

  Deimos' grip on me tightened. I stared across at Sean, thinking that, once again, I would die while he looked on. And I did not think his mother could reach me in the Underworld. I couldn't imagine her lightness in such a dark place.

  The strain in his face was plain to me, even with such a vast river separating us. Then I saw his eyes glance down at Persephone. Her face reddened and expression wild, Persephone screamed; the shrill sound of her cry echoed off the rocky walls that hemmed us in.

  “Do it!”

  Then I watched her fall.

  Her screams continued while she plummeted toward the raging water below.

  “Scarlet!” Sean shouted while the mass of Underworld minions descended upon him. Taking his cue, Scarlet roared through my mind to the forefront, prepared to do any and all she could to fight Deimos.

  But she didn't have to.

  The second Deimos realized that the Queen of the Underworld was about to crash into the river, he disappeared, presumably to save her. Or maybe he just wanted a better vantage point to watch her die—providing that was even a possibility. He seemed like a bit of a wild card.

  “Run!” Sean grunted while he fought off the guards with more difficulty than I would have expected. Scarlet, however, did not obey him. Not right away. She hesitated, looking for a way to get across the monstrous river.

  She wished to come to his aid.

  “Get out of here! Now!”

  With one last moment of hesitation, she turned to what she assumed was the way out and took off in a flash, Changing in midstride. The speed with which she could move in wolf form was staggering. I'd almost forgotten. It had been a long time since I'd experienced it.

  At breakneck pace, she made her way through the orangey glow of the Underworld toward the light of the world. It was far in the distance, but she was gaining on it rapidly, the brightness increasing while her paws pounded the rocky floor. The rhythmic beat became the soundtrack to our escape.

  The end of the narrowing tunnel was bound by two massive metal doors―the proverbial gates of Hell. Undaunted by their imposing presence, Scarlet ran at them head on, jumping at the last second to drive through them with all four limbs extended. With a crash, she emerged from the Underworld, hitting the ground hard, as though the Underworld had spit her out. She shot to her feet to take in her surroundings quickly. Neither of us remembered anything of our travel to the Underworld afte
r Deimos had abducted us—nothing about how we came to stand across the river from Persephone.

  We had no idea where we were.

  “Scarlet,” a neutral voice called. I recognized it immediately. Scarlet wheeled around, head bowed low, teeth bared. The darkness of night was thick around us, but she could easily see who stood waiting. Trey's tall, lean frame stepped into a ray of moonlight, his hands spread wide in surrender. “We must go now,” he continued.

  Scarlet's chest rumbled louder in response.

  “Ruby may not be safe if we linger here. We must take her back home. Will you let me?” Her eyes narrowed and her hackles raised, but she made no move to attack. “Sean will be fine. I will return for him.”

  The hair on the back of her neck slowly lay flat. Cautiously, with her eyes firmly fixed on Trey, she stepped closer to him. Patient as he was, he waited for her, making no move to rush her. He knew she was a loose cannon.

  When she arrived at his side, he reached down slowly to touch the fur of her neck.

  “This will feel strange at first,” he explained. “Not many get to experience travel this way. Let us hope you are as resilient as Sean claims you are.”

  With that, a crushing pressure descended upon us as if we were in a compression chamber. Then, in a flash, the gates of the Underworld disappeared from sight. I awoke to the familiarity of my stairwell.

  Apparently Scarlet and I had just experienced the PC's fast way of traveling. I'd heard mention of it before, and it was impressive, to say the least.

  “I must go back,” Trey said flatly while Scarlet Changed before him. Standing naked on the small landing outside my apartment, she stared him down.

  “He was not faring well when I left.”

  “He will be fine.”

  “He did not seem himself. He appeared―”

  “Weaker,” Trey interrupted. His word was not a question but a statement of understanding. “The PC are not of the Underworld. Our strengths and powers are different there. But Sean will still not require my aid. His invincibility remains, whether he is Above or Below.”

  “And when Deimos challenges him?”

  “Deimos will not bother.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “Because I have seen their epic battles before. The result is always the same. A draw,” he said, looking at her curiously. “They have not fought for centuries. You should be far more concerned about him returning for Ruby.”

  Scarlet smiled widely.

  “I do not think that will be a problem any longer.” Trey assessed her for a moment then nodded once. His acceptance of her observation was rather refreshing. She hated explaining herself almost as much as I did. “Go then,” she ordered. “Go collect your brother.”

  Without a parting word, Trey disappeared from sight.

  “He is an odd one,” she said aloud, staring at the place where he'd just stood.

  Do you think he's right about Sean though? That he'll be okay?

  “Yes. I do.” She turned and strode into the apartment, making her way down the hall to my room. “I'm assuming you'd like me to put some clothes on before we go to see your beloved Cooper. You naked in front of him has never ended especially comfortably for either one of you in the past.”

  Her laughter echoed through the apartment before she let me take over.

  The first thing I did after dressing was find the home phone to call Sean, silently praying he was back and safe just as Trey had promised. Still, there was no answer. The second thing I did was call Cooper.

  He arrived home only minutes later.

  And he wasn't alone.

  Chapter 40

  Thank God I'd had time to throw on some clothes before the wave of werewolves descended upon me, literally knocking me onto the floor in a group love pile-up. If I'd been naked, it would have been horribly awkward, though I don't think the boys would have minded. Lyla, however, might have.

  “How many fucking lives do you have left?” Cooper asked, squeezing me so tightly I couldn't have answered him if I'd wanted to. I just squeezed him back instead.

  When I started wheezing, he took the hint and climbed off of me, pushing everyone else in the pile off too. When I sat myself up, I saw that everyone was there with the exception of Janner. For a second, my heart dropped. Cooper, seeing my instant change in mood, realized what my panic was about.

  “He's at Alan's, Ruby. He didn't want to leave them unguarded. He thought you'd understand.”

  And I did. That was his gift to me―peace of mind. It was the perfect welcome home present.

  “So the world didn't end while I was gone, I take it?” I asked, taking Cooper's offered hand. He pulled me off the floor, and I straightened my clothes before leaning into him for a proper, non-suffocating embrace.

  “Not yet. Something for you to look forward to, I guess.”

  “Sweet. Can I get some food before that happens? Or at least before your interrogation starts?” I asked, starting toward the bedroom door.

  “What can I make you?” Lyla asked, hovering off to the side of the group.

  “Grilled cheese? Extra cheesy, please.”

  “On it,” she replied before heading down the hall and disappearing into the kitchen.

  “So?” Cooper prompted, looking at me expectantly. “What the fuck happened?”

  “What happened to being able to eat before the interrogation?” I whined.

  “I never agreed to those terms,” he quipped, pushing me past Beckett and Alistair toward the living room.

  “Ugh,” I groaned. “You're harsh, you know that? I just got back from Hell. Literally. I'm sweaty and hungry. Cut a girl some slack.”

  He laughed loudly. It was a joyous sound.

  “Fine. Eat. But you will be explaining what happened down there. None of your evasive, leave-shit-out, Ruby bullshit. Not today.”

  “Deal,” I agreed, plopping down on the couch. I was quickly flanked by two rather cheerful Brits. “Food and full disclosure are on the menu tonight.”

  And they were.

  While I shoved sandwich after sandwich down, the four of them sat around listening to all the bizarre details of what happened. How Deimos attacked Arianna and me, resulting in her death. My stand-off with Persephone in the Underworld. How Sean was there, and how he'd appeared to be her prisoner. How my fey heritage foiled Persephone's plot. And how Scarlet had escaped the depths of Hell.

  “I'm so sorry, Ruby,” Cooper said softly. I knew he was talking about Arianna, but I didn't want to get into it. I was too overwhelmed by the reality that she was forever lost. When I said nothing, he smiled tightly and changed the subject. He really understood me. “So where is Sean now?” Cooper asked, a surprising look of concern on his face. “I mean, how does one escape the Underworld anyway?”

  “I don't know, Coop. Scarlet essentially ran out without issue, but she was on the near side of the river.”

  Lyla's ears perked up.

  “The Acheron,” she said, her voice distant, as though she were trying to remember something. “Persephone can't cross it. Not when it's her time to be in the Underworld.”

  “Well, that makes sense, given how she paced the shore of it like a caged dog. It also explains why she herself never came after me. Why she sent her minion, Deimos.” I paused for a second, allowing my brain to catch up to my thoughts. “Then how can Sean get across? If Deimos is required for that, he's fucked.”

  She shook her head, her expression still pensive.

  “There are those that can ferry souls and others to and from the Underworld. I think as long as he has one of those on his side, he can return,” she said with some measure of confidence.

  “Sean has connections everywhere, Ruby. He'll get out,” Cooper added.

  “You didn't see how he struggled during the fight that ensued,” I said, my chest tightening. “It was so unlike him.”

  “Call him.”

  “I already tried. No answer. I think he's still down there, Coop. That's
why you and I couldn't reach him before. He was in the Underworld with Persephone.”

  “He said he'd do what he could,” Cooper said softly.

  “I—I thought―” I said, cutting myself off. I didn't want to admit that I thought Sean had pretty much written me off when he had left that night. But he hadn't. Instead, he had traveled into an uncertain future and to a world where the strength of his powers―the pinnacle of his being―was compromised. He'd done that for me.

  “Go to his place, Ruby. Wait for him. You two need to fix this,” Cooper said soberly. “And we should go back to help Janner and let him know that you're okay.”

  I smiled weakly.

  “Thanks, Coop.”

  With leaden feet, I made my way to the door and down the stairs to the street outside. I'd never felt such conflicting emotions in all my life. Fear and hope. Sadness and joy. Trepidation and exhilaration. They all ran rampant through my body while I walked toward Sean's building, my emotions building with every step I took.

  When the massive structure came into view, I saw no signs of life through the windows of his apartment. The only light visible from the outside was the emergency light that illuminated the stairwell. With a heavy sigh, I strengthened my resolve and crossed the street, heading for the entrance. But I could sense someone approaching.

  I knew his energy well.

  “Has our relationship regressed back to the place where you don't listen to a word I say and I perpetually warn you of the dark-eyed one?” Gavin asked when he emerged from the nearby shadows. He was in his true form, the young, handsome man that had pulled me from the harbor. That memory seemed so long ago. So much had happened since then. “You were to stay in your apartment and wait for my return.”