The Rise of Fortune and Fury

by Sawyer Bennett

  “Send her up,” Carrick instructed Zaid, who passed the information to the concierge.

  Moving from the kitchen to stand before the elevator, Carrick released the protection spells on the condo so Kymaris could enter. He then instructed his friend, “Go to my office and wait there. If you hear things go to hell, get down to the library and lock yourself in.”

  Zaid knew exactly what Carrick was suggesting. There was a distinct possibility this meeting would end in bloodshed, and Carrick didn’t want his friend anywhere near two powerful immortals if they clashed. “Understood,” he said before hurrying away.

  Carrick looked down at his outfit. He rarely wore business suits anymore. It was either workout clothes, jeans, or fatigues, and he couldn’t say he missed the formal attire.

  However, to match the Dark Fae who was currently on the way up in his private elevator, he waved a hand down his body and was immediately outfitted in a tailored suit with a silk tie. He didn’t want to appear too casual, nor did he want to look battle-ready. Carrick wanted to exude power. In the Earth realm, his money was what gave him that.

  In the immortal world, Kymaris already knew that he was one of the most powerful beings in the universe under his designer clothes. As such, he figured she wasn’t here to fight, but he was ready if she was. She still had to be smarting over the fact that he blew up her house the day before yesterday.

  Whatever her reason for visiting, Carrick wanted her gone as soon as possible before Rainey and Myles showed up, as they would be the most vulnerable should she decide to attack.

  The elevator doors whooshed slowly open, and Kymaris blinked in surprise to see Carrick standing before her. She quickly regained her composure and stepped into his foyer, looking around at the grandeur of his condo.

  “I thought you were putting this place up for sale,” she said as she moved to the left to better take in the massive living area.

  “I am,” Carrick replied as he turned to study her. He was a bit surprised she had healed so quickly from the explosion. Underneath her glamour, she only had pinkened skin left on her face from the burns. It spoke to the fact that her powers were far beyond a normal Dark Fae’s, even one who had managed to get a hold of a bit of stone magic. He might have underestimated whatever she received through the changeling ritual.

  “Hmm,” she murmured in a way that said she didn’t believe him one bit. Pivoting, she squared off to face him, hands clasped before her. “I’m here for the Blood Stone.”

  “What makes you think I’d give it to you?” Carrick replied blandly.

  The smile on Kymaris’ face didn’t bode well with Carrick. Her eyes flashed with victory. “Because I have something you want,” she purred.

  It was something Carrick had considered, but truly hadn’t thought it was possible. He could not control his jaw dropping. “Pyke is working with you,” he surmised.

  “Working for me,” she corrected haughtily. “Finley is currently tucked away in my new stronghold—no thanks to you for blowing up my other one—but I’m willing to make a fair trade. Her for the Blood Stone.”

  “How do I know she’s alive and well?” he asked, his heart hammering with fear that Kymaris was attempting to dupe him and Finley was already dead. He was also battling a volatile bubbling of fury that Pyke—his so-called friend—had betrayed him.

  Forsaking magic and embracing modern technology, Kymaris pulled out an iPhone and called someone. When the line connected, she merely said, “Put her on the phone.”

  When she handed the phone to Carrick, he took it and put it up to his ear. “Finley?”

  “Carrick,” she replied in a rush of relieved breath, but she spoke hurriedly. “I’m fine so please don’t worry about me.”

  “Where are you?” he asked, but it was that question that caused Kymaris to snatch the phone away from him.

  “There,” she said with a smirk. “She’s alive. She’ll remain that way as long as we can come to an agreement.”

  “I give you the Blood Stone and you give me Finley alive and well,” Carrick said, wanting to make sure the terms were clear.

  “I’m a fair woman,” Kymaris simpered. “I promise that not a hair on her head will be harmed, although I can’t keep that same promise come the new moon. But I’m willing to see what your little Finley could possibly bring to a fight that could attempt to stop me.”

  Carrick wanted to defend how amazing Finley was, but he wanted Kymaris to continue to think her an unworthy opponent. So he merely said, “Done.”

  “Tonight at nine,” Kymaris ordered as she moved past Carrick to the elevators.

  “Shall I come to you?” Carrick queried.

  Kymaris pushed the elevator button, but she turned to look at Carrick with a laugh. “And have you find my place to blow it up again? I think not. I’ll meet you in Waterfront Park. Come alone.”

  When Carrick gave her a curt nod, she moved into the elevator. They stared at each other, neither one blinking, until the doors shut. Carrick heaved out a frustrated sigh. Glancing at his watch, he saw he had seven hours until they were supposed to meet.

  Zaid came out of Carrick’s office, and they both went into the kitchen. Carrick didn’t need to repeat the conversation as Zaid had been able to hear it all.

  As he was want to do when times were stressful and people were coming over, Zaid started putting some food together. It was simple fare—sandwiches, chips, and cookies he’d made.

  While Zaid worked his magic in the kitchen, Carrick took out his phone and dialed Boral since he now knew the Dark Fae had not betrayed them to Kymaris. He answered on the second ring.

  Without greetings or courtesy, Carrick said, “I need you to get to my condo asap. Finley’s been kidnapped and Kymaris has her.”

  Up until the moment Kymaris stepped into his condo, Carrick and their entire group had thought Boral was the enemy when he clearly wasn’t.

  The Dark Fae’s response was simple before he disconnected. “On my way.”

  One by one, the crew started to arrive—Rainey, Myles, Maddox, Titus, and Boral. When they were all seated in the kitchen with Zaid’s simple feast laid out before them, Carrick took the opportunity to bring them all up to date on what had occurred.

  “So Pyke is working with Kymaris?” Titus asked on a low whistle. “Can’t say I saw that one coming.”

  Carrick nodded. “According to Kymaris, he’s working for her—not with her—but that’s semantics. The point is, he’s in deep and is responsible for kidnapping Finley. No matter what else happens when things go down, he’s mine to deal with.”

  A somber quiet fell among the group as they noted the barely controlled violence in Carrick’s tone. They all knew Pyke was a dead Light Fae.

  “I expect you all thought I was the one who tipped Kymaris off that you had the Blood Stone,” Boral said to break the silence. As gazes snapped his way, he merely grinned while chewing on a carrot stick. He shrugged. “Can’t say I blame you, though. None of you trust me.”

  “Finley does,” Zaid told his father, a pointed reminder that no one else did, but at least she gave him some credit.

  “You were the simplest answer,” Carrick told Boral without apology. “If it makes you feel any better, we assumed she tortured you for the information so you didn’t willingly betray us. We also assumed you were dead after giving up the information because of the binding.”

  “Warms my heart,” Boral muttered sarcastically.

  “What exactly have you been doing the last few days?” Carrick asked. “Because yesterday, I went to take out three of her original Fallen, but their homes were deserted.”

  Boral nodded. “After you blew up Kymaris’ house, they all went into hiding. Kaesar called to tell me only that he was getting out of town until the new moon.”

  “Which implies,” Titus intoned in his deep voice, “that they will be back in Seattle for the ritual.”

  “That’s how I took it,” Boral acknowledged with a nod. “But I don’t know fo
r sure.”

  Rainey cleared her throat, and all eyes shifted toward her. “So Kymaris and her eleven are in hiding, and we think she’ll bring another one through the veil to make the twelfth, or she may have already done so. We suspect they may come back to Seattle for the ritual, but we really don’t know that for sure, nor do we know where in Seattle it will occur or the time. Boral’s only contact within Kymaris’ network is also gone, so we don’t have an inside man anymore. Does that about sum up our dilemma?”

  “Other than the fact they have Finley and want the Blood Stone,” Carrick said dryly. “That pretty much sums it up.”

  “So how are we going to take Kymaris and Pyke out tonight when we get Finley back?” Maddox asked.

  “We’re not,” Carrick replied darkly. “We’re making the trade.”

  Titus frowned. “Is that really a good idea?”

  Carrick snapped his head toward Titus. “You’d rather we keep the Blood Stone and let Finley die?”

  “That’s not what I want at all,” Titus admonished. “I’m merely suggesting we consider alternatives. For example, what would Finley want you to do?”

  A low growl emanated from Carrick as he was forced to admit, “She’d tell me not to give up that Blood Stone for anything in the world, including her. But that doesn’t mean she’s right.”

  “Maybe we should consider just ending this at the park,” Titus continued, nodding his head toward Maddox in credit for the idea. “Get Finley safe, then destroy Kymaris and Pyke. We have the power to do it, especially with the Blood Stone in our possession.”

  “Deandra would help, I’m sure of it,” Maddox said. His meeting with Deandra had been short, but he’d quickly learned that she had no clue Pyke wanted the Blood Stone and no idea what he intended to do with it, but she was pissed about it. And she hadn’t even known about the Kymaris connection when Maddox met with her. Once she learned that, it would probably bring her firmly onto their side.

  Carrick hated to admit it, but it was the fact they had the Blood Stone that made it so he had to consider this idea. It was far more powerful than Kymaris and Pyke. It alone could probably destroy them.

  But the risks were great.

  Finley could get caught in the crossfire, and he wasn’t prepared to lose her yet.

  There was a bigger reason not to attack, though.

  “Kymaris chose a public place that will have a tremendous amount of human foot traffic,” Carrick pointed out in a low voice. “If we go in to end this with proverbial guns blazing, humans will get killed.”

  “And the oblivious throngs of humanity will come to know that immortal creatures exist,” Myles adds. “We can’t unleash that knowledge on the world. It would cause chaos and panic.”

  Carrick and Maddox exchanged a look. The other’s concern for humanity wasn’t their priority, but they both knew it would be for Finley.

  And Rainey and Myles, for that matter, and they cared about them.

  “We have to do the trade,” Carrick said, his voice bearing a confidence the rest didn’t acutely feel. “We’ll have to battle Kymaris another time.”

  “Most likely at the ritual,” Maddox added.

  “We should still go as backup to the trade.” This came from Titus, who was as good a strategist as Carrick and Maddox were. They both nodded their agreement.

  Plans were made as they ate sandwiches and Maddox availed himself of a beer. It was decided Carrick would take Maddox and Titus, leaving Boral and Zaid at the condo with Rainey and Myles. They agreed Deandra wasn’t needed at this point, but that they would bring her on board if she’d agree to it. They needed all the help they could get if the battle was going to occur at the new moon.

  While Carrick would make the actual trade, Maddox and Titus would blend into the background and watch, ready to move in if it so much as looked like Kymaris would go back on her word not to harm Finley.

  If that occurred, Carrick laid it out plain and simple. “If Finley goes down, we burn that motherfucking pier to ashes—Kymaris along with it.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Finley

  The sound of footsteps coming down the stone staircase rouses me from the half-doze I’d fallen into. With my hands chained in front of me, I roll to one hip, curl my legs in, and shift the other way to propel myself up. I stifle the groan that comes from the stiffness of my muscles, ignoring the fact my pants are wet and my ass is numb from the damp dungeon floor.

  Pyke comes into view, but I expected no other. Kymaris doesn’t think I’m worthy of her notice.

  “You’re looking no worse for the wear,” Pyke says genially with a smile. “Feeling okay? I really hope this hasn’t been too much of an inconvenience for you.”

  I glare, my spine straight so as to appear strong and unbreakable, but my back is actually killing me. “How can you do that? Act that way when you’ve sided with evil? Of course I’m not okay, you dolt.”

  Pyke’s smile doesn’t falter at the rebuke. It stays in place, his eyes shining with amusement as he waves his hand to make the chains disappear. His expression sobers slightly as I rub my wrists. “I hope you don’t take any of this personally. I mean… you’ll die and Kymaris will rise, but I actually do like you as a human.”

  “Gee, thanks,” I mutter. As he takes me by the elbow, I ask, “Where are we going?”

  “It appears your boyfriend has agreed to Kymaris’ request for a trade. You for the Blood Stone.”

  My stomach curdles as we start up the staircase, knowing how heavy a price this trade is going to cost us all. I’m grateful I’m alive and it appears I might be that way for the foreseeable future, but I hate that we’re giving up the Blood Stone. Part of me thinks that maybe my sacrifice is for us to not give up the stone, which will probably enrage Kymaris into killing me.

  Actually, she’d probably chop me up piece by piece and send them to Carrick to try to get him to relent, but if Carrick keeps the Blood Stone, the prophecy would be hard pressed to play out.

  Ultimately, though, I have to trust in Carrick’s wisdom. I’m no fool thinking he’s making this play because it’s what’s best for our collective end goal. No, he’s making a completely personal decision to give up the final thing Kymaris needs to bring down the veil so he doesn’t lose me just yet.

  Even though he’ll lose me eventually.

  And I thought it virtually impossible for me to love the man more, but it appears that ceiling has been broken. He’s not acting with a demi-god’s cool wisdom, but as a man whose heart will be broken without me.

  At the top of the staircase, Pyke leads me through hallways, up another flight of stairs, and finally into a richly appointed study that is decorated much the same as the bedroom that I was first brought to. The walls are done in a deep burgundy silk, the floors a gleaming parquet, while heavy tapestry covers the windows. There’s a large desk with ornately carved legs, a tall leather chair in dark chocolate, and a fireplace with dancing flames to help light the room.

  Kymaris stands before it—turned away from me—with her hands clasped behind her back.

  Quickly, I note her attire, actually stunned by how casually she’s dressed in tan corduroy pants, boots with fuzzy trim, and a thick sweater. I deduce we’re somewhere far colder than Seattle at this time of year, but still… I know from my one meeting with her at the gallery and the run-in that Carrick had with her that she prefers to dress in a sexually provocative way.

  Right now, she looks like she wants to curl up by the fire with a good book and relax.

  The juxtaposition from what I know her to be is confusing, to say the least.

  But when she turns to face me, her angled features enhanced by an over-application of makeup and that god-awful sloping beehive, I have to bite my tongue not to offer her some beauty advice.

  Which says something, because that’s about the last thing in the world I’d tell anyone I’m good at, but I could definitely give her some pointers.

  Kymaris eyes me shrewdly, as if trying to f
igure out something. “It appears you mean more to Carrick than I originally thought. I never thought he’d give up the Blood Stone for you.”

  I shrug carelessly. “I’m sure it has more to do with his own end game than with me. The gods are apparently going to favor him for his actions.”

  There… hopefully that was vague enough, with just a hint that Carrick might not be her complete adversary, to have her doubt his loyalty to me. The last thing I want is for her to think she has anything figured out.

  “And what exactly do you think your end game is?” Kymaris purrs as she saunters up to me.

  “I honestly have no clue,” I reply with my gaze pinned on hers. “I only know I’m to thwart the prophecy, not how it will happen.”

  “You think that means you’ll kill me?” she asks with a taunting laugh.

  “Maybe,” I hedge, because, deep down, I know that’s what I’m supposed to do.

  “Let’s test that theory,” she says in a tone that chills me to the bone. Before I can comprehend anything else, she moves so fast she’s nothing but a blur.

  I feel her near me, brushing me, my arm moving, my hand clasping, then another blur has her standing back in front of me.

  And I’m holding a sword in my hand, hilt gripped tightly and the pointed tip resting at her breastbone. The weapon is heavy. My arm immediately starts shaking, so I bring up my other hand to support it.

  Kymaris smirks. “All you have to do is drive it in, Finley. You can end this now.”

  The temptation is almost unbearable. Kymaris is no more than three feet from me with her arms held out to the sides in surrender while I hold a sword poised right at her heart.

  But my sense of reason and logic prevail over passion. Knowing she’d never make herself vulnerable to me, I lower the weapon.

  She raises an eyebrow, disappointment in her expression. “You’re a coward.”

  “I’m a pragmatist,” I reply, dropping the weapon. It clatters onto the hardwood floor. “The sword is most likely not iron, and I’d never be strong enough to push it through your sternum. And even if it is iron, by the time I repositioned it to slide in between your fourth and fifth rib so I could actually pierce your heart, you’d have snapped my neck. So no thank you to these silly games.”