But Zane didn’t retreat like Nick had expected. Instead, Zane’s hand came up, something shiny held in the curve of his palm. He slapped his hand over Nick’s wrist, clamping down.
Nick shook him off, but it was too late. He looked down at his wrist as his body started to shut down, no longer his to control. He sank to his knees, staring at the metal cuff. The power spilling into his skin from it could mean only one thing. A fae slave bracelet. The realization lit a hot, angry ember in his core.
Willa charged Zane, but Martin grabbed her and held her immobile. She kicked against him, but her efforts were wasted on the rock troll. “What did you do to him?”
Nick tried to come to her aid, but couldn’t move. The ember in his belly glowed red with rage.
“Shut her up,” Zane commanded.
Martin clamped a hand over Willa’s mouth as Zane stared down at Nick. “What I did to him is something you should have already done.”
He shook his head and gestured at Martin. “Put her in the van. I’ll deal with him.”
Martin dragged Willa away. Zane lifted a finger at Nick. “On your feet.”
Against his will, Nick stood. The magic from the bracelet weighed him down like a thick, wet blanket. He could lift small parts of it, but not the whole thing at once. Not enough to make a difference.
Zane pointed toward the side yard where a van was parked. “Walk.”
Nick put one foot ahead of the other, trudging silently. Inside, he was seething. The only saving grace was that he and Willa were going together. He just hoped she didn’t mind too much when he crushed her brother like a bug.
Willa’s wrists and ankles were secured with duct tape. Another strip sealed her mouth. As the van lurched forward, she braced her feet on the door to keep from sliding. If the rust spots were any indication, it was an old vehicle. The square windows on the back doors were painted over, and the inside carried the musty smell of dirt and oil and metal. Or maybe that was the crummy piece of carpet covering the van floor.
Nick lay beside her, staring up at the van’s stripped-down ceiling. Wires stuck out where a light had once been.
“Nick,” she whispered behind the tape. It didn’t come out like much more than a soft, unintelligible word, but he was smart enough to figure out she was trying to get his attention.
No response.
He’d been like that since Zane had told him to get in, lie down and shut up. It had to have something to do with the cuff bracelet Zane had clamped on him. It made her think of the one Sheriff Merrow had described finding on Martin Burnside, which made sense. Clearly, it was some kind of controlling device. So why not put one on her?
She thought it through. Martin was a rock troll. Nick was a gargoyle. Creatures whose true natures were born of stone.
They hadn’t put a bracelet on her because it would have no effect on any creature who wasn’t born of stone or metal. But a bracelet like that could have only been created by a fae with the same abilities she had. Another lapidus. Zane? Maybe. They shared the same parents. If he was telling the truth. He did look a little like her father if memory served her right.
She lifted her bound hands to touch Nick’s arm and mumbled his name again.
This time he looked at her.
Had touching him made the difference? She dug a fingernail under the edge of the duct tape covering her mouth and peeled the tape back enough so she could talk, then she wrapped her fingers around Nick’s forearm near his elbow, the same arm that wore the bracelet. It was like holding on to warm stone. “Are you okay?”
He shook his head that he wasn’t.
“In pain?”
Another silent no. She was glad he wasn’t hurt.
“The bracelet is doing this to you. Can you fight it?”
He shook his head, his gaze slanting toward his wrist, but not before she caught a distant spark of anger.
The van bumped over something, jostling her away from him. She wriggled back across the carpet remnant, getting close enough to make contact with him again. This time, she touched the bracelet. The second her fingers came into contact with it, magic vibrated off the cuff. The metal was doused with it, thicker and stronger than anything she’d felt before. She whispered the confirmation to Nick, although she was sure he already knew it too. “Fae magic.”
He nodded.
She pried at it, but it didn’t budge. Not that she had any kind of leverage. She tried again, unable to even get her fingers under it. She sighed but stayed in contact with him. “I have the feeling it can only be removed by whoever put it there.”
The muscles in Nick’s jaw twitched.
“Can you talk?”
He nodded.
“Let me guess, I have to tell you to talk?”
Another nod.
“Arn’ta rune,” she muttered softly, her anger building. “You can talk whenever you want.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. This shouldn’t have happened to you in the first place.”
“Is that really your brother? He doesn’t look anything like you.”
“No, but he looks like my father so I guess he could be.” She did a quick calculation in her head. If he’d been two or three when she’d run… “Looks about the right age.”
“Any idea what your sister wants with you?”
“Not a clue, but I doubt it has anything to do with my parents dying.”
He nodded. “I doubt that, too.”
She lifted her hands. “Can you get this tape off me?”
His hand jerked forward, then dropped. He frowned. “No. There must be some kind of command built into the bracelet to prevent me from helping you.”
“That sucks.”
His mouth hardened into a firm line, and he rolled his gaze toward the front of the van. “When I get my hands on him…”
She sensed that he’d left his vow unfinished because of the possibility that Zane was her brother. She snorted. “Family or not, he took me hostage and is obviously behind Burnside’s stalking me. Do whatever you need to.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“He’s got one of those bracelets on Burnside, too. That’s the other piece of jewelry Sheriff Merrow called about. I should have known.”
“How could you?”
If she had studied her history, that’s how, but when she’d run, she put all of that behind her. Refused to spend another moment giving it any more of her time. Decided her own way was all she needed. She sighed and stared at the ceiling, staying close enough that her arm was in contact with his. “My purse was in the beach bag and my cell phone was in my purse.”
“You already know my phone was in there, you checked for me.”
She groaned. “I really want to punch something.”
“I know the feeling.”
She thought for a moment, then tipped her head back and spoke loud enough to be heard over the van’s many noises. “Zane, please, we don’t have to do things this way. This is no way to treat family. I’d love to get to know you and Kyanna and see Mom and Dad again.”
His short bark of a laugh answered her. “Nice try. No more talking or I’ll stop this van and slap a fresh piece of duct tape over your mouth.”
She let out a long sigh. “So much for that.”
“Nice try, though.” Nick gave her a reassuring nod.
“We should probably get some rest.” She stared at the scratched windows.
“I’d rather stay awake. Be ready for when we stop.”
She looked over at him. “That might be a while.”
“You know where we’re going?”
“I think so. Back to the fae kingdom where I grew up, Rhoswynn. It’s in the mountains of Arkansas. Crap. I never connected Burnside being from Arkansas with the possibility he might be in league with my family.”
“Don’t worry about that now.” Nick squinted. “If we drive straight through, that might be…” He paused. “Close to nine or ten hours.”
“We’ll ha
ve to stop for gas at least once.”
He shook his head slowly. “This is diesel. I can tell by the growl of the engine. A van like this probably holds thirty-five gallons. It’ll be tight, but no, we won’t necessarily have to stop.”
“Crap.”
“Get some sleep. Anything happens, I’ll wake you.”
She let out a deep exhale and closed her eyes, leaning her head on his shoulder as best she could. She tried to think about things that made her happy. Like Nick. And Jasper.
She went stiff.
“What’s wrong?”
“Jasper,” she whispered back. “I know he’ll be okay for a day or two, but—”
“He’ll be fine for longer than that.”
“With his appetite? I don’t know.”
“I gave him a whole can of food and filled his dry food bowl to the top. Maybe over the top. There might have been some on the floor, actually.”
She almost laughed. “Which is exactly what I told you not to do.”
Nick nodded.
She exhaled some of the panic that had been coursing through her a second earlier. Jasper would be all right. Someone would figure out they were missing well before Jasper went hungry. “I love you.”
Nick’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. He looked a little stunned.
She swallowed, realizing what she’d said. Then she shrugged. “Well, I do. Get over it.”
Then she closed her eyes and snuggled up against him, praying that they lived through whatever happened next.
She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep until the pop and grind of gravel under the van’s tires woke her. The watery light of morning filtered in through a few scratches on the painted rear windows.
She looked over at Nick.
He gave her a half smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Morning.”
“Did you sleep?”
“No.”
“Anything new?”
“No. We should be close to wherever they’re taking us soon.”
As if on cue, the van slowed to a stop. The engine stayed running. A screech of metal rang out, then the van moved forward into darkness and stopped again. The metal sang out once more.
“We’re very close.” A tremor of nerves ran through her. “We’ve just entered the mountain.”
Since Willa had touched him, Nick had gained a slight amount of control over the bracelet. He was pretty sure that had more to do with his perception than reality. Either way, he didn’t mind her being the one in control of him. Especially not since she’d confessed she loved him. He wanted to think those words had come from her heart, but he couldn’t help wonder if they had been born out of the stress of the moment and her relief that Jasper would be okay. They’d still been a sweet surprise.
One that would sustain him for whatever lay ahead.
He didn’t have any real plan yet, but at least he was able to form his own thoughts now. It seemed that as long as she stayed in contact with him, the weight of the bracelet’s magic on his mental state decreased enough that he could manage some thinking. What was foremost on his mind right now was keeping her safe.
Zane hadn’t given much away, but common sense told Nick there were two possibilities as to why Willa’s siblings wanted her home. One, they saw her as a potential ally. Or two, they saw her as a potential threat. And if she wasn’t the first, she was definitely the latter.
Either way, he ran the risk of losing her. An unacceptable outcome. But one he was currently powerless to prevent.
She wouldn’t join them. Not after what she’d told him about her childhood. There was too much bad blood there for her to suddenly decide she was ready to become a tool of the fae court.
That meant she would reject them. And they would want to destroy her.
His own fate was fairly certain. Zane must know he was a gargoyle. Martin had seen Nick in gargoyle form at the park. Nick had stepped off the platform as Martin was being cuffed and taken away. Surely he’d told Zane. The fae didn’t strike Nick as the compassionate type. There was no chance Zane was going to let a leviathan-class fly free.
Nick would spend the rest of his life enslaved.
Even while his gut churned with the anger of that injustice, he knew he could live with it. If he could get Willa out. Make sure she was safe.
If that didn’t happen, if she was hurt or…worse, then he no longer cared what happened to himself. And he would act accordingly, taking out as many as he could however he could.
Dim light flickered through the scratches in the paint. Then it turned into strips of white sun. Then dimmed again and finally, total darkness. Like they’d passed through a shaft of daylight before returning underground.
The van stopped.
Willa tensed. Her fingers clutched at him, but with her hands bound she couldn’t get a real grip on him. He wanted to touch her back, but she hadn’t given him the go ahead. He welcomed the anger that produced, adding it to the growing pool in his belly. More fuel for the fire he would eventually set.
The back doors swung open.
Zane stood there, Martin at his side. He pointed at Willa. “Free her ankles so she can walk and get her out.” Then he looked at Nick. “Let’s go, gargoyle. Out. Follow me.”
The command didn’t hold the same amount of power it had earlier after Zane had touched him. It was still impossible to refuse, but not in a way that left him unable to form other thoughts. Had Willa’s touch counteracted it somehow? Maybe it was because she’d been the last one to touch him. Or the last fae to touch the bracelet. Or the most powerful of the two. He wasn’t quite sure how it worked, but this slight advantage might be enough to buy them a chance to escape.
Martin sliced through the duct tape on Willa’s ankles, then grabbed her bound wrists and pulled her to her feet.
The troll’s rough treatment of her made Nick want to smash a fist into him, but instead, he played along like nothing had changed, pushing out of the van to stand beside Zane. They were in a tall, narrow cave, most likely carved out with fae magic if the unnaturally smooth walls and symmetrical structure were any indication. There were other vehicles parked in the space and smaller, man-sized openings led off from both sides.
Nick shifted his attention to Zane. The fae was tall, like Willa, but Nick still had him by eight inches and probably seventy pounds. If—when there was a physical confrontation, Zane was going to get hurt.
A lot.
Zane took Willa by the elbow and started moving them down an off-shoot of the cave they were in. “Kyanna is going to be so happy to see you.”
“Why?” Willa asked.
“Because she’s never met you. She wants to get to know her long-lost sister.”
“I wasn’t lost,” Willa snapped back. “Why take me hostage? What’s this all about?”
“Hostage?” Zane shook his head. “That’s such an ugly word.”
“Then we’re free to go?”
Zane laughed. “Kyanna’s going to love you.”
The hall around them changed. Designs adorned the plain hewn walls, and the ground beneath them was now paved with large, square stones, perfectly fitted and smooth. Fist-sized crystal were set into the walls, glowing with enough light to mimic a cloudy day. More fae magic at work.
The corridor branched. They went right. Another ten yards, and the hall doubled in size and silver gilding showed up in the design work. More crystals, brighter light. The ambient sounds of others reached them. A few fae passed. They glanced at him and Willa, but quickly bent their heads in deference to Zane.
Whatever position he held, he had power.
A grand set of double doors appeared before them, flanked by fae guards in simple khaki uniforms. Zane waved his hand. They jumped to open the doors and Zane strode through, his own importance keeping his chin high.
Through a small foyer, they passed on into a large open room. Four long, padded leather benches formed a square in the middle. Tall peaked windows made up the outer wall and looked out ont
o the most amazing thing Nick had ever seen.
The fae kingdom.
A magnificent stone castle rose from the center of a ring of mountains. More buildings, all impressive, spiraled out from the castle, diminishing in size until they looked like simple outbuildings.
Nick knew what he was seeing was real, but he also knew it didn’t exist on any map he’d ever seen. He shook his head. “How is this possible?”
“Welcome to the kingdom of Rhoswynn.” Zane smiled. “We are an impressive people, aren’t we?”
In the distance, a lone gargoyle soared through the air. A rider on his back.
Nick’s lip curled. “Not when you still keep slaves.”
Zane backhanded Nick, his arm slashing through the air as his mouth contorted. “Watch your mouth, gargoyle.”
Willa jumped in front of Nick. “Keep your hands off him.” She was seething, but unable to do anything about it, which only made her angrier.
Zane’s eyes lit up. “Don’t tell me you care about him. Keeping a pet is one thing, falling for him is quite another. Oh, this does make things interesting.”
She narrowed her gaze. “I really hope we’re not related.”
He smirked and leaned in toward her. “Well, we are.” He straightened and pointed at Nick. “You stay put. And make sure Willa doesn’t go anywhere either.” He grinned like that little twist was his best play of the day.
Nick grimaced but already the magic was changing something inside him to fall in line with Zane’s order.
Zane tipped his head at the troll. “She leaves, it’s your head.”
Martin grunted.
Zane headed for the doors and pushed through backwards, giving them a little wave. “See you soon.”
As the doors closed, Willa glared at Martin. “Touch me and I’ll throw you out the windows, understand?”
He grunted again.
She turned to Nick and took his hand. “Are you okay?”
He nodded. There was some relief in that.
“Speak to me,” she said.
“I’m fine. Your brother’s not exactly a threat physically, but I wish there was a way to get this cuff off.”
The Gargoyle Gets His Girl Page 13