From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  “No!” Both Ryker and I instantly refuted. Sprig’s digestion did not take kindly to fast food. It took me back to the night Ryker and I sat in the dark. It had been the first time I opened up to someone and talked about my past. Even with all our prejudices and aversions to each other, he held me. Listened.

  In that moment I realized Ryker was right. I was being rash. Getting Annabeth would be extremely difficult, and running off without thought or planning was stupid. It was hard to wait but necessary. But only for a day or so. My conscience wouldn’t let me leave her much longer than that.

  “What’s your plan for getting provisions?” I leaned my hip into the table.

  Ryker rapped his knuckles softly on the table. “You guys haven’t been out in the city lately, but Seattle is functioning again. People are returning, rebuilding. Most electricity is back on, stores are reopened. Places aren’t going to be as easy as before to sneak into or steal from.”

  Whatever Rapava injected us with took away the ability to glamour as well, which made stealing a lot harder. I used to do it all the time, but I didn’t like the thought of stealing from people who were barely getting back on their feet.

  “I miss money.” Croygen put his hand to his heart. “I used to roll around naked on the piles I inherited. Those were the days.”

  “Wow, I didn’t need that image in my head.” I rubbed at my temple with exaggeration. It was a complete lie. The idea of Croygen naked, rolling around on anything, wasn’t a bad thought at all.

  But his statement triggered something in my memory. “Wait.” I pushed off the table. “That’s right!”

  “What?” Ryker’s eyebrows knitted together.

  “Money. I have some.” Excitement bounced me on my toes. “Daniel opened an account for me. I’m also his beneficiary if anything happened to him.”

  “Like how much are we talking about here?” Croygen’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, but Ryker’s scowl grew more dominant. It appeared so slight I was sure I imagined it, but I could swear I saw his tattoo flicker.

  “I don’t know, but it had to be quite a bit to cover Lexie’s medical bills and for us to live on.”

  “Where is it?” Croygen leaned forward, his eyes dancing with dollar signs.

  “The one he opened for me?” I glanced at Ryker. “Bellevue.” It was in the bank we found the files and video Daniel had left for me. “The one I’m a beneficiary of is probably through a trust fund and will have to go through a lawyer or something.”

  “Then what are we waiting for? Bellevue, here we come.”

  “No.” Ryker’s response was immediate and ardent.

  “What?” Croygen’s head swung to the Wanderer. “Why the hell not?”

  “Because.” Ryker rolled his jaw, his expression severe.

  “There better be more to it than ‘because’ for not getting money,” Croygen replied.

  “Because I said so.”

  I pinched my lips together. “Because you said so?”

  Ryker’s gaze sprang to mine like a leopard, ready to attack. “Yes.”

  “You are not in charge here.” I slammed my palms on the table. “Nor are you the boss of me.”

  “Here we go again. Mommy and Daddy are fighting.” Sprig jumped off my shoulder, crawling down to the table. “Retreat! Retreat!”

  Ryker took no notice of Sprig. He placed his hands on the table, inclining forward, matching my pose. “Someone needs to be, especially when you are not thinking with your head.”

  “I think with my head.” Croygen grinned.

  “But neither of your heads actually holds a brain,” Sprig retorted. Sprig and Croygen began to quarrel back and forth, but I ignored them and focused on Ryker as we fought for dominance in a stare-down.

  “I’m going to retrieve the money, and I am going to get Annabeth,” I seethed. “You can either help or get out of my way.”

  “Then go.” Ryker folded his arms, straightening.

  This was a trick.

  “But this time I won’t follow you back to DMG.” His nose flared. “Because if you think they aren’t still watching that place, waiting for you, then you’re a fool.”

  Muscles along my back strained, and I could feel anger growing. I hated when he was right. Especially now.

  “I know you want to go after Annabeth. I know you want to get your money.” His voice softened and his shoulders dipped down, relaxing his stalwart stance. “But we are being hunted by a lot of smart, powerful people. DMG and Vadik will have groups scouring Seattle for us. They will not leave a stone unturned. They will expect us to go searching for resources or try to retrieve people we care about. We can’t make a move without a solid plan.”

  I grunted. I really detested when he made sense. It was so unlike me to act without thinking. I had always been levelheaded and smart. Lately I felt my emotions had taken over. My heart, finally let out of its protected box, threw itself around like a whore. Damn feelings.

  “Okay.” I breathed out through my teeth.

  “What?” Croygen spurted. “You mean we’re not recovering the money?”

  “No.” My jaw wanted to lock down at the next part. “He’s right.”

  “But it’s money,” Croygen whined.

  “We’re still getting dinner?” Sprig sat at the edge of the table. “Or breakfast…lunch…a snack…dessert. I’m really fine with any of them.”

  My regard ran from Sprig to Croygen. “You two really are alike.”

  “What?” both exclaimed in unison, flailing their arms, eyes wide.

  I burst into laughter watching them look at each other, shrugging their shoulders at the same time.

  Lexie groaned in her sleep, pulling my attention, watching the boney figure engulfed by the blanket.

  Sighing, I turned back to the guys. “Okay. No money and no powers mean we need to steal the old-fashioned way.” Food and water were necessities and not something we could go without. Clothes were also important. All of us, except Amara, were still in bloodstained scrubs. Quite noticeable.

  “You mean the tedious human way?” Croygen moved away from Sprig and came toward me.

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “Everything humans do is tedious.” Amara’s voice came from behind me. My back muscles automatically clenched. I didn’t bother to turn around. “What are you guys planning?” She walked up to Ryker, holding a large bottle of water and a bundle of bananas.

  “What is that?” Sprig pointed to the yellow fruit. “You, purple tart, you got bananas? They taste and look like dwarf droppings. You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”

  We all knew she did it intentionally, but the potassium would be good for Lexie.

  Amara winked at Sprig. “Oh, you don’t like bananas? I totally forgot.”

  “She’s trying to poison me.” Sprig stood on his hind legs.

  “Sprig, calm down,” I exclaimed.

  “Not with those things in the room. They will assassinate me in my sleep. Wrap their slimy peels around my neck and force me to eat them.”

  “What if they were coated in honey?”

  “You have honey?”

  “No.”

  “Ahhh, why, cruel world? Why?” He flopped on his back. “Is this the way I’m leaving this world? Death by banana?”

  “One could only hope.” Croygen grabbed one of the bananas and unpeeled it, tossing the skin onto Sprig as he stuffed the banana into his mouth. “Yum, so good.”

  “Ahhhhhhh!” Sprig scrambled out from under the skin.

  “Croygen, really?” I shoved my hands on my hips. He only smiled at my raised eyebrow. “It’s like having two five-year-olds.”

  “He started it!” Sprig stuck his tongue out at the pirate.

  “I started it? You did, gerbil.”

  “Did not.”

  “Did too.”

  “Both of you stop it,” Ryker shouted. “Now!”

  “Uh-oh. Daddy just put his foot down.” Croygen crossed his arms, sitting back on the desk.


  “I’m about to put my foot up your ass,” Ryker threatened, rotating his head back to Amara. “And to answer your question, we are figuring out how to get more supplies.”

  “I’ll go with you.” She placed her hand on Ryker’s bicep. “You and I always made a good team.”

  Breathe. Breathe. Breathe, I chanted to myself. “No,” I snarled. “I’m going.”

  “But you guys said you don’t have your powers. I do.” She nodded at Croygen and me with an impish smile. “Let them stay behind together. I think they want some alone time anyway.”

  “Hell. No,” Ryker growled, his expression hard. “Zoey’s the best thief even without magic.”

  “I’m going,” I affirmed. Since Lexie was still asleep, I was all right with leaving her for an hour or two. The argument switched to who would go with me.

  Ryker and I were firmly against Amara, so she was forced to stay back. Since I didn’t trust her alone with Lexie for a moment, Croygen begrudgingly accepted his role as babysitter. Ryker remained terrified to be alone with me, but stated adamantly he would not let me go out into the night by myself.

  “She won’t be alone. She has me.” Sprig ran for me.

  “Sprig, stay here. We’ll be back soon.”

  “Oh, masturbating garden gnomes. If there is food involved, I’m going.”

  “Masturbating garden gnomes?” My eyebrows lifted.

  “Not something you want to see.”

  I could see both Ryker and Croygen cringe in agreement. “Now you have me curious.”

  Ryker motioned me to the door. “I promise you, you don’t want to know. You will never look at a vegetable the same way again.”

  I groaned.

  “Told you.” Ryker smirked and held the door open for me. Even with his lightened mood, I could see the tension behind his eyes and in his shoulders. Fighting the desire to hurt me was probably worse than I could imagine. But he stayed at my side.

  Sprig settled on my shoulder, gripping my hair, now back to its original brown color. I missed the purple, but with Amara here, I wouldn’t dye it the same as hers again.

  “Croygen.” I turned back to the pirate and nodded at Lexie. “Guard her with your life.”

  His expression flushed solemn in a beat, his voice deep. “I will.”

  I knew then there was no one in the world my little sister was safer with. If you had told me in Peru not only would I see my sister again, but I would be entrusting her life without question to Croygen, I would have checked myself into an institution. But here I was. Not only did I trust my life with him, but I knew he would protect mine and Ryker’s, obligation or not.

  Life was seriously twisted.

  I gave Lexie one last look then disappeared through the door and followed Ryker into the night, where everything hunted me.

  Including him.

  SEVEN

  The Target store downtown was operating again, providing people with most of the essentials they lost in the storm but at gouging prices. Leave it to “the Man” to profit from the suffering, though it was nice to have so many things all in one place again. The security guards were always there, protecting the closed store from the gangs and the desperate. Ryker, Sprig, and I got in through the ventilation on the roof, moving through the ceiling ducts to the breakroom. The door was locked, but it didn’t take me long to open it.

  “You still have it,” Ryker said, waving me in.

  “Easy.” I brushed my hands together with a shrug.

  “No. What would be easy is if we could have jumped in here.”

  “Yeah, that would have been nice.” I missed that power in particular, and I only had it for a brief moment. Ryker finally got most of his back and still couldn’t use them.

  We gathered food and water with backpacks we “borrowed.” Next on our list were toiletry items, like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and soap. Oh boy, here’s to baby wipe “baths” again. Then we moved to the clothing department.

  “Should I feel bad I actually have money out there and am still sneaking in in the middle of the night robbing them blind?” I picked up a pair of soft, stretchy, skinny jeans and held them up to me.

  “They will be just fine without your money. I promise.” Ryker shredded off the scrub shirt and grabbed a black T-shirt. I watched him through my lashes, heat spiking up the back of my neck. No one should be that ripped. His body was the stuff of legends. Even more so because of his scars, which told a story of what he had been through in his life. I caused some of those. My eyes would not move away from him. I watched his tattoo ripple under his muscles as he slid his arms into the shirt.

  He looked up; our eyes caught in the mirror. He stopped. Both of us went still as we stared at each other. His gaze became intense, his white eyes burning into my soul. My heart thumped, thinning my breath.

  A flicker of light sparked in his eyes and down his neck, sucking the air from the room. It’s back. I had seen it earlier, a good sign. Maybe our powers would eventually return. I also knew what the flickering meant.

  Love or hate.

  Kill or fuck.

  It could be either, and in that moment I almost didn’t care. All I could feel was my skin tingling everywhere with need. I just wanted him to touch me. To feel his hands on my body.

  “Bhean?” Sprig exclaimed. I snapped my eyes away from Ryker back to the sprite on a shelf in the kids’ section. I gulped in air, my lungs twitching. When I peered back at Ryker, the shirt was on, and he was walking away. The moment was gone.

  “Yes?” I took another gulp of air and walked over to Sprig.

  “Look at this bear’s backpack. I have to have it!” He held up the toy, and I chuckled.

  “Winnie the Pooh.” A smile covered my mouth. The iconic bear had a honey jar-shaped backpack strapped to it. “Yes, you two have a lot in common. He loves his honey too.”

  “Winnie the poo? Like in poop?”

  “Pooh.”

  “Poo. That’s what I said.” Sprig yanked at the backpack straps. “Strange name. Did he poop a lot or something? I mean, honey can do that to you sometimes.” He banged the bear’s head against the wood. “Take it off, Mr. Poo. It’s mine. Mine!”

  “Here, let me help you.” I took the pack off the stuffed animal and handed it over to Sprig. He chirped excitedly and held it to his chest. “Try it on.”

  He slipped his arms through and fitted the honey jar on his back.

  “Perfect.” I nodded.

  He bounced on his legs with excitement and my grin reached my heart. Damn, this little guy made me so happy. I rubbed his head. “How did I ever live without you?”

  I left him prancing and posing in the small mirror as I grabbed an outfit for myself and got dressed: dark jeans, black V-neck T-shirt, a hoodie, underwear. Simple, but much needed and appreciated after being in gray scrubs the last few months.

  I laced up my old boots with the anchor inside the heel. It remained quiet right now, but most of the time I could feel it—the slight thumping of magic. Somedays it felt like it was screaming inside my head. I worried one day that anchor would pull me under.

  On my way to pick up some clothes for Lexie, I spotted a shelf of knickknacks and a sale sign: Half off zodiac animals. I quickly ran my finger to Capricorn and almost started to cry. There under the sign lay a tiny stuffed goat. It wasn’t the same as the first Pam, but it was adorable.

  “This backpack is a lie.” I heard Sprig screech from the other side of the room.

  “Hey, furball, keep your voice down,” Ryker grumbled from a dark corner.

  “But-but…it’s a lliiee.”

  I walked over to him. Sprig sat there staring down into the open bag.

  “What’s wrong?”

  His bottom lip drooped, and he held up the pack. “Look. It’s empty. No honey.”

  “Did you expect honey in there?”

  “Hoped.” He sniffed.

  I leaned over, dangling the object I held up in front of him. “Well, now there can be more
room for Pam.” I said her name tentatively.

  Sprig stared at the goat. Seconds ticked by and I swallowed nervously, ready to grovel and apologize, stating Pam could never be replaced. There was only one.

  “Pickled gargoyles,” he said evenly.

  Oh no.

  Sprig grabbed the goat from my fingers, holding it up, his eyes as wide as Izel’s pancakes. “Pam, baby! You’ve had work done!” He wiggled her around. “You. Look. Fabulous!”

  I clapped my hand to my mouth, trying to fight back the laughter. But Ryker’s chuckle from the depths of the room was too much.

  “What?” Sprig stared up at me innocently.

  “Nothing.” I kissed his head and turned away, giggles rocking my body. I went around the corner to see Ryker bent over his knees, laughing so hard no sound came out. Our gazes met each other, and we both burst into another fit.

  Laughter felt amazing. Sometimes I forgot how good. Lately, there wasn’t a lot to laugh about.

  ####

  Ryker moved to the camping-and-sports section, searching for Swiss army knives and anything we could use as weapons. I rummaged through the medicine area, stocking up on antiseptic, bandages, painkillers, a sewing kit, and tampons—the necessities.

  A thud from the level below broke the silence. I went still and swallowed back air, trying to listen. A door slammed shut.

  I tiptoed to the end of the aisle. “Ryker?” I whispered. “Sprig?”

  Only silence.

  “Hey, did you hear that?” a man’s voice called from the bottom of the stationary escalator. Two sets of boots pounded up the stairs.

  I darted back into the clothing department, sliding up to a stand draped with the new fall clothing line, shoving my body into a mass of thick scarves, hats, and sweaters.

  The two guards were dressed in uniforms: dark pants and tops, bulletproof vests and helmets, and matching automatic rifles. They bore more resemblance to SWAT team members than any security cop I’d ever seen. My gaze tracked their movements and the way they spread out and moved through the aisles, looking for burglars. These weren’t the normal rent-a-cops. Things were a lot more drastic in Seattle since the storm, and they were taking protection of goods seriously. I had no doubt break-ins had been a problem since they reopened.