Ash and Ember: Book 2 of the Scorched Trilogy

by Lizzy Prince

  Theo wandered over to us looking dazed and scared. Lola went to his side and spoke to him so quietly that I couldn’t hear her words, but he nodded and she led him over to the chairs to sit down. Munro and I followed, sitting on one of the hard, plastic seats. Butch hesitated, looking at the receptionist like he was about to demand entry to the back. Instead he came over and sat heavily in a chair.

  Everyone’s posture was essentially an insight into their personality. Munro was leaning back with his arms crossed tightly over his chest, Theo was bent forward and jiggling his knee in non-stop nervous movements. Lola was perched on the edge of her chair, legs crossed, with her hands trapped between her legs. Butch was staring at the television, his leg crossed carelessly with his ankle over his knee, and I couldn’t seem to make myself sit. Instead, I paced around the room, looking at the peeling wallpaper and the four-year-old magazines that messily littered the tables interspersed between the seats.

  A television was playing some trashy talk show, but it was muted so I could only see that the people on the screen appeared to be arguing.

  Everyone’s heads whipped up as the door leading back to the emergency room swung open, and Munro jumped up in surprise when Ryan came walking out. I saw Theo straining his neck to peer around the doors that were swinging closed, hope shining in his eyes before it disappeared in a blink.

  Ryan looked okay, but his clothes were a mess. He was covered in dust and dirt, and there were streaks of blood and rips littering his pants and shirt.

  “Are you alright? What happened?” Munro asked, and there was an edge to his voice as he tried to keep his feelings in check. My whole body was tense as I waited to hear his answer.

  Ryan ushered everyone to the corner as far from the receptionist as we could manage. She wasn’t hiding her interest in our group and was straining her neck trying to keep her nosey eyes on us.

  “Hattie showed up, just outside the store.”

  “Why?” I hissed, not understanding why she would start targeting them now.

  Ryan just shook his head. “I think she’s desperate. She started screaming out a spell, and Mari and I were both frozen. Then the roof of the building collapsed on top of us.”

  “Where is Mari?” Theo asked, desperation clinging to each of his words.

  His shoulders were slumped and he looked beaten. I hated it, because that was not Theo. Theo was snark and assholary and sarcasm. He wasn’t supposed to be scared or passive. Damnit.

  “They’re still working on her. They had to take her into surgery.”

  Theo made an agonizing sound, and Lola wrapped her arm around his waist to comfort him. I realized then that all of us had suffered a loss of some kind. Theo was abandoned by his birth mother, and his father was dead. Lola lived with Butch for some reason, so I could only assume there was some story to her past as well. We’d all been beaten down by life’s unfairness in some way.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, taking in his battered, but obviously whole, appearance.

  There was anguish in Ryan’s eyes when he looked at Theo. “She healed me, but they took her away before I was able to do anything for her.”

  Theo released a ragged breath and slumped a little against Lola, who seemed to be holding him up without effort, despite how much larger he was than her. They stumbled back to the uncomfortable chairs, and Butch sat next to Theo, saying something softly to him that I couldn’t hear from where I was standing. Theo nodded, his head in his hands as Butch placed a hand on his back. Butch looked just as crushed and anger roared inside of me until my ears were buzzing and my hands were shaking.

  I didn’t even realize I’d stopped pacing until Munro came up beside me and ran his hand down my arm. “Are you okay?”

  Lifting my head, I looked into concerned gray eyes, and I wanted to pretend that we were somewhere else. I slowly shook my head, the spark of anger, the adrenaline, it was all starting to wear off, and I was only left with the after-effects of shaky exhausted limbs. “I’m tired of worrying all the time.”

  Letting the last barrier I’d set up between us collapse, I stepped closer to Munro and wrapped my arms around his waist, laying my head against his strong chest. His heartbeat thumped against my cheek as his hands tentatively slid up my arms before he pulled me in closer for a hug. He was holding me so tightly that it almost hurt, but I would never tell him to ease up. I needed the strength of his arms and the strength of his touch to fortify my fragile emotions.

  Munro’s fingers gently threaded through my hair, and it almost relaxed me until I remembered where we were, and why we were there. I didn’t want to move away from the comfort and security of Munro’s embrace, but I needed more answers from Ryan. Pulling my head back far enough to look up at Munro, I smiled, though I knew it was weak. His fingers trailed down the side of my face in a reverent caress, and I hated to step away, but I did with a heavy sigh.

  Walking back over to the others, I stopped in front of Ryan. “Why did Hattie do this? I don’t understand her motive in all of this?”

  Ryan was sagged down in his seat, and he was shaking his head as if the movement could sort out answers for him. “I don’t know, Annie. I wish I had answers.”

  The noise of the doors swinging open sounded, and I turned around to find a tired looking nurse walking out to speak with us. “Who’s with Mari O’Conner?”

  Everyone jumped up and rushed the nurse who stepped back with a surprised look on her face. Theo got there first and spoke loudly like he’d lost the ability to regulate the volume of his voice.

  “I’m her son. Is she okay?”

  The nurse’s eyes softened as she took in his frantic face. “She’s out of surgery and awake. They’ve taken her up to the 4th floor.” The nurse handed over a little slip of paper with a room number on it. “This is her room. You should be able to go see her now.”

  We scrambled to the elevators and impatiently waited to get to Mari. Theo was tapping his fingers incessantly against his thigh until Lola grabbed his hand and held it still in hers.

  I slowed once we got to the doorway of Mari’s room. Now that we were standing at the entrance of her room, I felt like an interloper. Who was I to be there? Mari was hurt because she’d come to Dubuque to help me. The people in my life just continued to get hurt. Sensing my hesitation, Munro grabbed my hand and pulled me in behind him, frown over his shoulder, telling me he’d interpreted the path of my thoughts. Shoving away the demons threatening to suck me down, I strode into Mari’s room.

  Mari was laying down on the bed, looking pale and tired. Her right leg was propped up with a bandage wrapped around her thigh and a cast on the lower half of her left arm. Her arms and face were covered with scratches and bruises, and I had to clamp down on my emotions, so I didn’t start crying. Munro was flush against my side, and he squeezed my hand. I let myself sag into him a little for support.

  Theo was already at Mari’s bedside by the time I got into the room, holding her uninjured hand. “Mom, are you okay?”

  Mari tried to smile up at him, but the effort must have been painful because it turned into a grimace. “I’ll be okay. Just a little banged up,” she croaked out, and Lola moved to get her a drink of water, picking up a glass from the side table and bringing it to Mari.

  “What happened?” Theo asked, and I moved a step forward to hear her response.

  “She just walked up behind us,” Mari croaked, and she took another drink of water. “She yelled my name and said we’d all pay for Caroline’s sins.”

  Mari’s eyes scanned the room until she found me. Releasing Munro’s hand, I went to stand next to Theo. Clasping my hands in front of me, I felt awkward and like I’d forgotten how to stand like a normal human being.

  “She’s coming for you, Annie. You have to protect yourself. Get somewhere safe, figure out a way to get your magic back.”

  “Okay, we will. I promise.” I reached out and placed a hand gently on her shoulder, afraid I would hurt her more than she already was. She look
ed so small in the bed and younger than she’d seemed to me before, with all makeup gone from her face and her hair in a messy tangle on the pillow behind her head.

  “Can someone heal you?” I asked. I didn’t want to see her in pain, and she didn’t have to be. I wished desperately that my magic wasn’t locked behind a frozen fortress, so I could help her.

  “Not right now. The doctors would freak out if I miraculously healed my bones and scrapes and cuts within minutes. I’ll be fine for now. I’m just sore and tired.”

  I saw the logic in her words, but I hated that we had to leave her in pain. “As soon as we get you home, we’ll fix this.”

  Mari smiled up at me, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yes, fine, but for now, you need to figure out how to get your magic back.” Her eyes darted over to Munro and Ryan. “Help her figure it out. Hattie is done waiting, Annie isn’t safe any longer.”

  “Are you safe here?” I asked, but the question I was really asking was could we keep Mari safe in a public place like a hospital?

  Butch came forward from where he’d been lingering by the door. “I’ll make sure she’s safe.” His eyes never left Mari’s face, and I sensed the relief in Mari’s posture. Even though she was already laying down, she eased back into the mattress and her whole body relaxed as the worry lifted from her.

  “Thank you, Butch.” She sighed and closed her eyes.

  I stood there uncertain what to do next when Theo turned to me. “You guys should go. Figure out what you need to do to get your magic back. And figure out a way to end this shit.”

  There was a fire in his eyes and a seriousness that I wasn’t used to seeing there. Theo was always so jovial and upbeat that it felt wrong to see him so somber.

  “We will,” I whispered, feeling defeated and anxious and scared that I wouldn’t be able to free my magic. I felt like I was going to not only disappoint everyone in the room, but also put their lives in danger. I walked back over to Munro. “Let’s go.”

  Ryan followed us as we left the room and headed back out to Munro’s truck. The entire way back to their house, I could feel the anger building inside me like I was stoking a fire and the flames were growing out of control and threatening to burn out all of the humanity inside of me. I could not let Hattie be responsible for hurting or killing any more people that I loved. Who was next? Maggie? Munro? It had to end.

  Sitting between two people that Hattie had hurt possibly more than anyone else, whose lives had been irrevocably changed because of the things she’d done, I felt my resolve strengthen. I was more determined than ever to end this.

  Chapter 18

  By the time we pulled up in front of the gray Victorian house, I was a boiling cauldron of rage. Fury and desperation rolled through me as I followed Ryan and Munro into their house. I wanted to scream, I wanted to throw something. I felt helpless, impotent, defeated.

  “Goddammit,” I whispered, tears threatening to sneak through my lashes. I willed them to dry up, not willing to let Hattie get one more tear out of me.

  I turned to Munro, nearly shaking with my frustration. He was pacing the room, pent up energy keeping him moving back and forth. I could sense his own frustration or maybe it was the misplaced guilt he felt because it was his mother who’d caused all of this pain. Take your pick. What a crappy grab bag.

  Ryan was sitting on the edge of the couch, rubbing a hand wearily over his stubble. As I took in all of the pain and uncertainty in the room a calmness washed over me, clarity about what I needed to do. I slowly removed my coat and hung it up on the hook before I walked into the living room, coming to stand behind the couch.

  Running my hands over the cushion in front of me, I spoke quietly, but with a firm determination, “I need my magic back.”

  Munro stopped his pacing and stared at me.

  “And I need your help.”

  Ryan went still as he looked at Munro to see his reaction. I could tell Ryan knew what I was talking about, but he didn’t say anything. He just stayed quiet and let things play out between me and Munro.

  “It’s a mistake,” Munro said, obviously understanding what I was asking.

  His accent was thick, his voice full of gravel, and it sent a shiver through me. It struck me like a punch to the stomach—I loved this man. I knew we would be connected by the blood magic I was asking him to perform, but it didn’t matter. I was already linked to him in ways I didn’t understand. He was a part of me just like my magic was, and I knew why he was resisting. Munro wasn’t scared that our lives would be intertwined permanently. He was scared for my soul and what the blood magic could do to me. Would I become addicted to magic like his mother? Would it change who I was?

  “Maybe, but we have no other choice. I can’t keep hiding while Hattie hurts the people in my life. What if Maggie was next? Or you?” The resolve in my voice was clear. I’d made up my mind and there was no turning back.

  This was the only choice we had. I was stronger than any magic, and together, Munro and I would be stronger than Hattie. I had to be, for Mari, for Maggie, for all of us.

  “Do you have everything you need?” I asked, remembering that Munro said I would need to be tattooed for this to work.

  “We need more time to think about this, to plan something else.” He started pacing again, thrusting his hand through his hair in agitation.

  “There is no other option. We have tried to unbind my magic, but it hasn’t worked. I can’t be helpless any longer. She will keep hurting people if we don’t stop her.” My voice was calm, logical.

  “There has to be another way.” Munro looked at his uncle pleadingly, his gray eyes begging him to provide another solution.

  “I’ll go get the machine,” Ryan said quietly as he pushed up off the couch.

  “What do you mean, machine?” Munro’s voice started to rise in anger.

  Ryan reached out and placed a hand on Munro’s arm. “I’ve had it with me since we moved here. Hattie’s too powerful, and I suspected it could come to this.”

  Munro shook his head in disgust and moved around his uncle stopping in front of me. “Annie, we will find another way.” He reached up his hand to touch my cheek. I let it linger for a moment but then backed away.

  “We don’t have time for that, and you know it. We can’t keep waiting around while Hattie makes all of the moves. We’re barely playing defense. It’s time to change the game.”

  Ryan came back into the room with the machine and an assortment of items that must have been necessary for the blood magic: a knife, a glass, towels. He paused in front of Munro. “I can do this if you don’t want to…” he trailed off.

  Munro’s mouth was tight with anger, but I could tell he’d resigned himself to my decision. “No, I’ll do it. Take it to my room.”

  He turned and reached out his hand toward me. I grasped it tightly, and his fingers squeezed around mine as he led us slowly up to his room, like he was walking us to the gallows.

  Ryan had set all the equipment on a nightstand next to the bed. He looked at us both and then backed out of the room. “I’ll leave you guys to it.” His voice was somber as he slowly shut the door behind him with a soft click.

  Munro let go of my hand and pointed to his bed.

  “Lay down,” he said softly.

  I could tell from his look, which was half-displeased half-longing, that he was wishing I was laying on his bed for a much more pleasant reason. He pulled the lone chair in the room up to the edge of the bed and laid out all the pieces of the machine. My shirt had crept up and Munro’s eyes trailed over the exposed skin of my stomach. I could see his strain as he looked away and began assembling the machine.

  “Where will you put it?” I asked, my voice almost embarrassingly husky. I realized I had no idea what the tattoo would be, how large, where it would go.

  “The best spot to do this is close to your heart on the left side.” I saw his throat work as he swallowed heavily. “Pull up your shirt.”

  I started to lay bac
k on his bed, toward the edge so he would have easy access to my left side and was surrounded by the familiar and comforting scent of him—sandalwood and rain. Trying to push aside any feelings of shyness, I pulled off my shirt and tossed it on the floor. Sitting there partially reclined, I tried to think of a non-embarrassing way to ask if I should take my bra off.

  I felt the blood creep up to my cheeks. “Um, do you need me to take off my…” I waved in the general direction of my chest.

  Munro cleared his throat and I couldn’t help smiling just a little. “No, that’s fine.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Fine?”

  Munro rolled his eyes, then made a growling noise in the back of his throat as his eyes took in the bared skin of my chest and stomach. “More than fine. Lay back.”

  I shifted back and closed my eyes.

  “What will it look like?” I whispered.

  I felt Munro’s hand travel up my arm to the scar seared into the skin just below the crook of my elbow. The long line cut with four shorter lines through the top half, the rune that matched my mother’s pendant.

  “This symbol is a representation of your power, the one on my hand is mine. Since I’m connecting you to my magic, my rune will give you the most strength. It won’t be large, less than an inch. If it’s too large it will overwhelm you with magic and you won’t be able to function. As it is you will feel things,” he cleared his throat, “strongly.”

  My ears were buzzing with a strange kind of excitement. There was something so incredibly intimate about the thought of his mark inked on my skin, and I had to drag in a ragged breath to try to calm my racing heart.

  Once I got myself under control, I wondered at his comment about feeling things strongly but was distracted when I heard him inhale a sharp breath. I opened my eyes and saw that Munro had cut his arm and was dripping blood into the glass beneath.

  Fear pulsed through me and worry that Munro had been right, and this was a mistake flared up. But we had no other option. I closed my eyes again and waited. Munro placed his left hand just below my breast, steadying me and to warn me he was about to start. I could feel the heat from him coming off in pulses from his hand and it set off a blaze inside of me. The machine started with a buzz, and I tensed in anticipation of the pain to come.