Across The Divide

by Stacey Marie Brown

  I turned to do what she said, catching myself in the mirror. My face was streaked with black soot and the top of my head was singed, blackening my blond hair. I had lost weight, sharpening my cheekbones. There was no longer a glint to my eyes. My fae magic was gone, creating a hollowed-out man.

  Human.

  “Canned carrots, soup, and an extremely out-of-date box of crackers okay?” Amara’s voice broke through my reverie.

  I looked away from the mirror. “Yeah.”

  “Oh, and there is some honey in here too,” she said. “It never goes bad, right?”

  Honey.

  Sprig.

  Memories came flooding back to me of every laugh, smile, and moment I had with Zoey and Sprig…the little bubble we had lived inside in Peru, even when we were on the run.

  My gaze went back to my reflection, staring at the man in the mirror.

  I was in love with her. I didn’t simply care for her, or want to be with, but completely in love. This idea was not easy for me to process. I had cut ties to people the day my adopted family, baby, and lover were killed.

  Zoey, and even the little furball, dragged emotions from the far depths of my heart. The feeling had been there for a long time, but I had never admitted to myself or acknowledged it.

  Now I had everything to lose.

  The same girl I loved was the one I had to track down and kill…because I promised her.

  And this was not a promise I could break.

  After the soup and canned carrots for dinner, we indulged in the stale crackers and honey for dessert. Amara and I sat around the fire, the only form of heat and light.

  “I think it’s time we talked.” I leaned back in the chair. “You told me a little about Vadik. When did you start working for him?”

  She looked up. “It was a year before he sent me to track you down. He paid extremely well and provided all I needed. He took sex as payment and indulged me in every luxury. I thought I had it made. Eventually I saw I would not be able to leave without repercussions. But it worked all right for me then.” She gazed at me through her lashes. I ignored the insinuation. It was hard to believe anything that came out of her mouth.

  Amara rubbed her leg, then tucked it underneath her. “I sensed more to his obsession than simply the stone—the way he talked about you, the anger and offense he displayed. If anyone else betrayed him, he would have them killed. You were different. I noticed mannerisms and expressions you both had. Also, there are some family... traits…” She stirred in her chair.

  I bent over, placing my face in my hands. “Not sure I want to know this.”

  “Then there was a night I caught him talking to your mother’s painting. He was drunk, and I didn’t understand most of it. He was cursing her for hiding you from him and angry her death kept him from being able to find you. Through her magic, she kept him from tracking you.”

  I blinked rapidly and sat back in my chair. This was why my mother killed herself. Her gift to me was to let me live a life without him in it.

  “I don’t know anything more than that.” We stayed quiet for a moment, the crackle and pop of the fire the only sounds before she spoke again. “Zoey has the stone, doesn’t she?”

  My chin jerked up in response before I could stop it.

  “I knew it.” A slow grin curved Amara’s mouth. “I suspected in Peru, after she returned, but when you tossed your boots in the doors I knew.”

  Ahhh. Now I was beginning to understand why Amara might have helped me escape with her. At least one of the reasons. The stone.

  “We have to get it. Vadik will figure it out eventually.”

  “We?” Whatever Amara wanted was only in her best interest.

  “You can’t do this alone. I will help you.”

  “Sure,” I scoffed.

  Her lids narrowed. “Did I not help you get away from Vadik? You’d still be rotting in the cell, bleeding to death if it weren’t for me.”

  I folded my arms over my chest and nodded solemnly. “You’re right.”

  She tilted her head, her eyes still tapered. “Really?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “I wouldn’t be here without you. And I need to find Zoey before Vadik does.”

  A glint flashed in Amara’s irises. “So we find where DMG is holding her and retrieve her?”

  “Sounds like a plan, but tonight we sleep.” I rose from the chair, snatched a blanket off the back, and threw it on the ground.

  “What? Right now? It’s still early.” Amara twisted in her seat, watching me. “Don’t we need to strategize?”

  “Get some rest. You’ll be better use to me.” I lowered myself onto the blanket, placing my weapon next to me. I laid back and threw one arm over my eyes, the other curled around the axe. On the run, I always slept with my boots on and one hand on my blade.

  She sat for a moment before I heard a loud sigh. The chair creaked as she stood, her feet padding across the room to the bed. “We still could share.” I heard the smile behind her words.

  “Go to sleep, Amara.”

  She huffed and flopped back on the pillows.

  After a while the only sound in the room was the crackling of the dying fire and Amara’s even breaths.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  I kept to the shadows, skating between untouched buildings and ones that were missing. The night defended me from being observed. I smiled to myself. It had been easy to sneak away from Amara. She wasn’t the only one who knew how to deceive and lie to get what they wanted. Not that I really lied. She was better use to me asleep. My years with her taught me that when she did fall asleep, she was out. I also knew her sounds, like when she was really asleep and when she was faking it. She tried to pretend she was slumbering for over an hour, until eventually she succumbed. I waited another hour.

  Slipping out unnoticed was effortless. Even if I didn’t have my powers, I was still good at moving around almost undetected.

  My memory wasn’t clear on the location where I had found Zoey crawling out of DMG’s air vent the night of the storm. My powers had led me to her the first time, now it would be the promise taking me to her. The oath was like a compass, moving me toward her. Before it had been something I could manage, almost ignore, because she was far enough away. Now every step I took forward challenged my control. My feet shuffled faster until I ran, like I’d been hooked on a fishing line and she was reeling me in.

  Zoey. Zoey. My boots pounded the pavement. Kill. Kill. I shook my head. I had to get her, but the closer I got, the more dangerous I became. Still, I would not leave her to be Rapava’s test subject or Vadik’s slave. I wouldn’t let that man take someone else from me. Zoey was dying, but I would not let Rapava touch her. And whatever it took, I would fight the killing impulse till the very end.

  I hobbled across the city, pain searing through the nerves in my body, even my axe felt heavy on my back. I tuned out the aching and pushed forward. Keep moving.

  Electricity seemed to be sporadic downtown, available for the less affected and wealthier areas, leaving the dark night to the homeless and gangs. Almost all of the rubble had been cleared away, but holes gaped where buildings should have been. The empty spaces felt like ghosts. Even though nothing was there, you could still feel their presence.

  Bonfires and makeshift settlements made from clothes, blankets, and parts of demolished buildings took over some of the vacant lots. But even with the growing homeless, the crumbling city I left was slowly rebuilding. Loss and devastation were giving way to hope and renewal.

  The strength of humans sometimes astounded me. Even in the face of complete despair, they fought back, rose from the ashes, and kept going.

  I had always put a division between humans and me, a barrier, thinking they were weak and simple. Zoey made me see them differently. Now I could see the communities they were creating and the intricate line between protecting, guarding, and depending on each other. This city would get back on its feet again, and even though they’d never forget, they’d m
ove on.

  Every nerve jumped and twisted the nearer I traveled to her... wanting her. My desire split down the middle between wanting to protect her and wanting to kill her. The yearning to wrap my body around hers and the feel of her heartbeat against my chest. The sensation of her hair sliding between my fingers and her breath against my neck. To touch her, know she was safe in my arms. These fought with the desire to slide my hands over her skin, cup her neck, and clamp down. Hearing air struggle to reach her lungs, the fight dying out of her body, before I snapped her neck. The crunch of bone, her body falling limp…

  Stop! I shook my head, flinging out my violent cravings. I focused on my feet moving across the pavement. My body already felt fatigued and sore.

  Finally the pull of her brought me to an area I recognized, where I last found her. The feel of her being near crawled over me like a dozen spiders.

  I was surveilling the block when a black van backed into the alley alongside a very nondescript building, immediately turning off its headlights. A car was suspicious enough, but a black windowless van near where I felt her? Didn’t take a genius. I slunk back and hid in dead brush. Burnt shrubs crackled underfoot as I slid down the side of the building.

  The connection to her was fire in my veins. A promise was unbreakable until you completed the vow. It was why I had never made one before. Ever. There were a lot of things I never did before I met Zoey. I thought I had been happy enough. Content. One tiny human completely unhinged my life, my rules, and my stability, making me see I had been walking around for centuries as a zombie.

  The love for others was cut off the moment I lost my family, the girl I loved, and my unborn child. I never imagined I would experience it again. It was easy with Amara. She didn’t ask anything more of me than I was willing to give. I was never in danger of losing myself to her. Amara was fierce and stubborn, but Zoey possessed a spark that ignited me. She awakened me and became the fire in my veins.

  I took a breath, ebbing back the surge of blood lust. The oath twitching my muscles along my arms and shoulders. The need to touch her, to be inside her, still overpowered the other, darker desires. But how long before they switched?

  I should have run the moment I locked eyes with the stubborn, green-eyed, feisty human girl. She challenged me and drove me insane from the first second. Most humans and fae had a natural fear of me and would not hesitate to do what I commanded. Normally, if someone didn’t, I would bend them under my authority. I tried with her. She would not break. She literally bit back.

  A door banging in the alley refocused me. I leaned over enough to peer down the lane. A man exited a pair of taupe doors, which blended in with the block-shaped structure almost seamlessly. Something you would never look at twice. A perfect front for a secret government agency. A security camera was bolted above the doors in the same color as the building and slightly behind an advertisement, cloaking it from notice unless you were looking for it.

  DMG was watching, whatever went in or out.

  The man strode toward the vehicle, two guns attached to either hip. Those I recognized from experience. One stun, one kill gun for fae. He waved at the two men slipping out the car, one tall and one short, and proceeded to the back of the van.

  “Had to sedate this one,” the tall man said as they unloaded a gurney. A sheet covered a form underneath. No doubt another fae subject to be examined. A growl rose in my throat at the thought of what they could be doing to her.

  “You going back out?” the man from the building asked.

  “Yeah, Peter and I are on a roll. Liam still thinks he can top us even by himself,” the short man scoffed.

  “All right, I’ll take this one to the lab.” The man grabbed the gurney and pushed it to the door. “And don’t forget to check in with Kate when you get back. Ever since Daniel’s death, she’s been fanatical about it.”

  “Yeah, I know. She bitched us out last time. See you, Hugo.” The short man waved and moved toward the passenger side door. The door to the building snapped shut, the man and the gurney disappearing.

  On my earlier investigation I found the air vent Zoey used to get away was since sealed, locked, and guarded with sensory triggers and goblin metal. They lost her once before, they would not let her or Sprig escape again, and they didn’t want anything or anyone coming to help her. For safety DMG probably had more than one entry, but they kept them well concealed. This secret branch of the government would be well protected—almost invisible and almost impossible to enter. My plan of sneaking in and breaking her out was dwindling before my eyes. It was my own arrogance to think it would be simple. With my powers gone I was even more useless against an assembly of guards.

  “Dammit,” I mumbled. I knew what I had to do. I rubbed my cheek and released a small sardonic chuckle from my throat. “God damn you, human.”

  The two men climbed into the van. The engine turned over and the alley blazed with light. The tires crackled and crunched over pieces of the building that had fallen during the big electrical storm. I exhaled before I stepped out of the shadows into the entry of the lane and blocked their way, my hands rose in surrender. My eyes squinted against the blinding glow of the headlights. The brakes squealed as the van came to a shuddering stop only a foot away from me. The front doors swung open, and outlines of the human men pointed guns at me. I recognized them. They were a part of the group that attacked Zoey and me outside the bank before we jumped to Peru.

  “Don’t move, fae,” the one on the passenger side said. In the light I could see he was short but fit, the only thing remarkable about him. With his average build, brown hair and brown eyes, he was the type you would barely remember meeting. The driver was much more substantial: buzzed blond hair, brown eyes, and over six foot. He had the ripped muscles of a guy who worked out every day, and there was something in his perfect posture and clipped words which conveyed a military background. In my time, I had run across a lot of military from different time periods, but they all had a similar way of holding themselves. A rigidness in their stance and a controlled way of holding a weapon.

  The driver unlatched the safety on his gun, sliding around the door to me.

  “You don’t need the weapon. I come willingly.” I raised my axe and placed it on the ground at my feet.

  “That’s what worries me. We’ve never had a fae surrender to us.” The driver walked toward me. His foot swiped at the axe, trying to kick it farther away from me. He grunted with pain when the axe didn’t budge. I tried not to laugh when he stepped over it, pushing me back with the threat of his gun. If it took three huge fae to move it, I would love to see how many it took for mere mortals to pick it up.

  “This doesn’t sit right with me; I know who you are. We’ve had the pleasure before,” the driver spoke again.

  “If you want to call it that.” It was hard to keep the snarl out of my voice.

  “You’re the Wanderer. The fae who kidnapped and polluted one of our seers.” He pointed the gun at my head.

  “Polluted?” I felt one of my eyebrows curve up.

  “Putting your foul powers in her and your fae dick.” His voice hitched with disgust. “I’m kind of glad my friend is dead, so he wouldn’t have to live with what you did to her. But then again, he would have sliced you into tiny bits the moment you stepped out. Maybe I should do it in his honor.”

  Daniel. Even from the grave the guy plagued my life.

  “Funny, she seemed to have no problem with my fae dick. Quite the opposite. She definitely enjoyed riding it,” I taunted. Why did the mention of Daniel’s name cause me to act like an asshole? Well, more of one.

  His partner looked over at him. “We have to take him to Rapava.”

  “Do we?” Peter took a step closer. The gun dug deeper into my temple. The glint in Blondie’s eyes told me he wanted nothing more than to shoot me in the head.

  “Peter. Don’t. He’s trying to provoke you.” The dark-haired guy shook his head.

  “Go ahead.” I pressed my head
harder into the barrel, knocking Peter back a step. “I could break your neck and your boyfriend’s before you pull the trigger.”

  “Peter, calm down. Daniel would not want you to avenge him like this.” The other guy put his hand on Peter’s shoulder.

  Peter took a breath, relinquishing the strain he held on the trigger. “Why are you giving yourself over to us?” he probed, flicking his chin at me. The dark-haired guy moved close, patting me down, searching for more weapons.

  “What the fuck does it matter?” I snarled at the passenger. His hands traveled along my inner thigh and over my ass. “All you need to know is you have one of the rarest faes on earth. I am sure your boss wouldn’t want to miss out on testing and dissecting me.”

  Peter didn’t look convinced.

  “He’s right.” The other fellow straightened and moved away from me. He grabbed for something on his belt and tugged off a walkie-talkie. “We need to let Rapava know.”

  “I don’t trust this asshole, Matt.” Peter stepped closer, pressing the gun into my head. The rage inside clenched, and I struggled to keep my breath even. “That you want to be captured makes me think you are coming for her. Let me assure you, not only will you not be able to break her out, but she will not want to go with you. She doesn’t have to pretend to care for you anymore.”

  My eyes darted to him. A smug grin etched on his face.

  “Zoey’s a survivor. She did what she needed to do to live and eventually get away from you. Now she is back with us. She’s happy not to have to act anymore, pretending to like fucking you.”

  I flashed on images of her naked body under and over mine, her groaning as I thrust in deeper, her nails skating down my back. “Sure.” A grin inched up the side of my mouth. Peter’s eyes narrowed as the knowing smile grew on my mouth.

  Peter glanced over his shoulder at Matt, a smirk sprouting over his own mouth. “This fae was played, and he didn’t even know it.” He turned back to me. “Zoey turned the tables and wrapped you around her finger. Now she has you under her spell, and you’re willing to turn yourself over to us for her.”