From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  “Oh. My. God.” I turned and walked over to Sprig.

  “Leave it, Zoey. It’s in safest place it can be.” Ryker took a step up to Sprig, blocking my hand. “It doesn’t seem to affect him like it does you.”

  Zoey, I’m here. Please take me back. Claim me. I swore I heard the stone calling me, driving my hand to reach again.

  Ryker grabbed my hands, turning me to him. “Amara figured out the stone’s location before I even went to DMG. It was only a matter of time before she would try to take it from you.” He let my arms drop. “When I realized he could hold it without it influencing him, I knew he was the ideal carrier. He’s always near you, which I hoped would help keep you from figuring things out.”

  “The deal he spoke of…” Comprehension settled over me. So many confusing details suddenly made sense.

  Ryker rolled his one working eye back, turning to face Sprig. “That furball is set for life. He drives a hard bargain.”

  “Yeah, because you’re so tough when it comes to him.”

  Ryker shrugged, staring at the curled-up monkey. “I knew Amara would betray us again. Did I see Arlo coming? No. I regret she caused that. But I used her for what she could give us as well. She will find out fast she has a phony and realize with a gut-wrenching sickness she played her last hand and came up short. We won. And no one will be chasing her. Ever.”

  I should have felt relived. Happy. But a lash of anger and betrayal strangled me. “It belonged to me. You had no right to take it.”

  “I have every right.” A nerve along his jaw twitched. “You would never have given it to me freely. That became clear the night at the garage.” He eyed me sternly. “I thought it was best. With your attachment to it, knowing you would never let it go, I had to steal it. I wasn’t going to let it hurt you anymore. It was slowly killing you. So be mad at me. Fine. I’d rather you pissed than dead.”

  He was right. I wouldn’t have. Even now my hands were shaking to take it back, to know it remained in my care. I tucked my arms around each other, fighting the feeling it physically pulled me toward. I understood his reasoning, but it was still hard not to feel the duplicity. Though I would have done the same.

  “Why do you think the King didn’t feel it this time?”

  “I don’t know. There was so much magic in the room already, and I also think Sprig neutralizes it. That’s probably how it stayed hidden for so many centuries. Maybe lower fae diffuse the power coming off it.”

  His theory made sense. Even I didn’t know it was gone, but I did now. I wanted it back. I wanted to see it. To touch it.

  Take it, Zoey. You need it and it needs you.

  Ryker swung to me. “We ought to get going.”

  “Yeah.” I pulled air in through my nose, rolling my shoulders back. “I’m ready.”

  Ryker tucked a stand of loose hair behind my ear.

  A snort came from the desk. “No, Mother, I want to wear the pink bloomers with lace,” Sprig whined, then his head bolted off the table, and his bright eyes stared at Ryker and me. “What? Huh? What were you saying?” He rubbed the lump on his head. “It was something about dinner, right? Or dessert? Both sound awesome to me.” He climbed to his feet.

  “Sprig!” I gathered him up, nuzzling my face to his. Utter joy coursed through my body at hearing his voice, seeing his sweet animated face. “I am so happy you’re okay. I love you, buddy.”

  “Are you okay, Bhean? Your eyes are leaking all over me.” He shifted under my smothering grip. “My head and neck hurt. Did I drink too much mead again? I have a sensitive system.”

  “No.” I softly rubbed the mending wound. “I wish it was the reason.”

  He picked up his chin and looked over the room. “Wh-what in the… dingle berry, nut-crusted, toad-stooled biscuits happened?” Sprig exclaimed, his mouth hanging open.

  “It’s over. That’s all you need to know.”

  “Did we win this time?”

  “We actually did.”

  “Yay. Victory dinner then? I’m hungry. Aren’t you guys? It’s been days, right?”

  Ryker snorted, rubbing Sprig on his back. “Food is going to have to wait. Right now we have two girls and a pirate to save.”

  “How about everything you said minus the pirate and add dinner along the way, then I say we have a plan.” Sprig crawled up onto my shoulder.

  Ryker tilted his head, looking like he was pondering the thought.

  “Don’t even think about it.” I elbowed Ryker in the stomach.

  “What?” Ryker’s eyes widened. “The sprite has some good ideas there. Be a shame to disregard them so quickly.” A grin tugged at my mouth. Ryker was all talk. There would be no way he’d leave Croygen there.

  I turned around to face the Wanderer, my smile fading. “This is going to be extremely dangerous. Especially since none of our powers will even remotely work once we are down in that hellhole.”

  “Then we rely on our brains and brawn.” Ryker grinned.

  “We’re so screwed.” Sprig tossed up his arms in defeat.

  “Wow, for being such a heroic warrior, you’re a pansy,” Ryker taunted.

  “Did I say warrior?” Sprig pointed at himself. “I meant guardian.”

  “Guardian of what?”

  “Did I say guardian? I meant caretaker.”

  “Caretaker?”

  “Part-time…” He twisted his hands together, his gaze rolling to the ceiling. “Okay, I was fired!”

  “Fired because?” I asked.

  “Because I kept getting caught eating the town’s supply of honey for the winter months.”

  “You were a monitor of the honey supply?” Ryker hands drifted down to my waist, pulling me closer to him. “Which idiot decided that?”

  “Uh…I did.”

  “Yep, we’re screwed.” I stared up into Ryker’s eyes with a smile.

  “So screwed,” he muttered as he brushed his lips over mine.

  In an hour we all might be dead. I wanted to enjoy these tiny moments. They might be all I had left.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Ryker sent me out first. He stayed behind to be certain Maxen stayed dead. I figured Ryker would set fire to the place, clearing the building of any trace of the fae who ran it or what had been happening there. In an old building like this, an electrical fire would not seem strange. Sure enough, when he came out, smoke billowed after him.

  “Is everyone out?” I asked. The girls, Maria, and Carlos were gone when we exited the building.

  “I made sure,” Ryker confirmed, strolling up to my side.

  Goran gave him a nod of thanks. “I was about to send my men in to do that.” He handed us weapons from a pile on the ground, a gun and several knives we could tuck away. All the things we requested from Lars.

  “Wanted to be sure one person never got the chance to escape,” Ryker replied.

  I lifted an eyebrow.

  “I needed kindling to start a blaze,” he replied to my unvoiced question. “Maxen worked well.”

  I flicked my chin and turned to face the men milling around the lane. Sprig held on tightly against my neck. “All right.” I cleared my throat, pushing authority into my voice. “I know you are here on the request of your King, but I still appreciate each one of you for fighting next to me.

  “What we are doing is going to be difficult. Yes, these people we’ll face are human, but do not underestimate them. DMG is well secured, and the people who protect it are highly trained. Many are top elite in the military, and they know the terrain. Each one will have guns that can kill fae. And they will not hesitate.” All of Lars’s men were pinned on my every word. Not one condescending expression, like why is this little girl speaking to us like she is the authority?

  They all faced me like soldiers. My soldiers. “If it was only them, it would make our job easier, but a lot of innocent civilians are in the building.”

  “Innocent?” a man scoffed from deep in the group.

  “As much as you think all the human
s working there are evil, some don’t realize how far Rapava has gone. They think they are helping their country. They were given orders, and they are doing their duty.” I knew many of the innocent probably would not get out. The line between those who knew the evil truth and those who didn’t would be undistinguishable, especially to these bloodthirsty fae.

  A few lives to save the masses. I heard Rapava’s voice taunt me in my head. I pushed away the sick feeling. No. This wasn’t the same.

  “Focus on the ones who want to fight back. Once we get in, most of the scientists will try to flee. Let them. The ones trained for combat, the hunters, even the seers will not run. They have been waiting for this fight for a long time. They are your focus.” I rubbed my hands together. The weight in my voice echoed off the buildings around us. Fire crackled behind me. “This place is far more guarded than I was ever led to believe. There are not a lot of options to enter. The tunnel we have to use to enter will only give them more time to prepare for us. They are always watching. We have to attack immediately and fast. Once we have broken through the door, some of you will stay above ground and some will follow me down. Remember, the Collectors have caught many of your kind, so don’t let your guard down for a second.

  “Okay. Let’s do this.” I clapped my palms and turned down the lane. “Follow me.”

  They snapped to at my voice, turned with me, and quietly shadowed me without question. Hell. I had not expected them to take an order from me so easily.

  “We’re going through a drive-thru on the way, right?” Sprig said into my ear. “Like a last meal kind of thing?”

  I just patted his head.

  Lars’s men stayed close, following me every step of the way down into the pits of hell, from where none of us might crawl out again.

  ####

  “That’s the door?” Goran whispered next to me, nodding at the pair of taupe doors blending in with the structure. The nondescript doors on the side of a building down an alley were so unnoticeable your eye would naturally move on.

  “The hidden camera is there.” Ryker pointed behind an advertisement, where it blended in with the wall. “They’re going to know we’re here the moment we enter the alley.”

  “That’s why we need to strike fast.” I gripped the round object in my hand.

  “You want me to do it?” He tapped the device in my hand.

  “No. I need to do it.” My fingers clutched the detonator. The back side was already gummed up, ready to stick to a surface. Lars had provided us with grenades, smoke bombs, and a few low- and medium-grade detonators.

  Ryker and Goran crouched next to me in the bushes, the rest of Goran’s men close behind.

  Sprig had refused to stay back and remained perched on my shoulder. “This is my battle too, Bhean, after the things he’s done to me and my kind, I am not sitting out of this fight. Plus, you might need these magic fingers, remember?” As much as I wanted to refuse him, keep him in bubble wrap far away from here, he had every right to be involved, and I would not take that away from him.

  The door was bolted and made of thick steel. After we got through it, we still had a short tunnel then layers of doors and levels to move through to get to the center of DMG. The only staircase I knew to get down was from the first two levels. For safety there had to be more stairways hidden, but I never asked and no one showed me. I hadn’t ventured farther than those few levels when I worked as a Collector.

  “Once we are in, I will start dispersing my men so each level will be covered,” Goran stated.

  “But Rapava’s mine,” I said to both men.

  “I will try to honor your wish, but I will not guarantee it. I have been told to shoot him on sight.” Goran tipped back on his heels.

  “I understand.” I nodded.

  “And I can’t say if I see him I won’t cut off his head,” Ryker huffed.

  “All right. Are you ready?” Goran asked.

  I took in a deep breath. “Yes.” I stood and slid my finger softly over the button. One little slip or push and I would be blown into fragments.

  “Sprig, stay with Ryker,” I ordered.

  With one look at my face, he didn’t make a peep. He leaped over to the Viking and wrapped his tail around himself. I moved out from the brush, leaving our hiding place. Ryker grabbed my free hand as I moved around him. I met his gaze, his white eyes igniting the dark, staring intently into mine.

  “We’re going to get through this.” He squeezed my fingers. “Together.”

  I tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. I released his grip and turned back to the doors. I couldn’t think of anything but my target. It was finally here. The day. The moment. The fight I had talked about for so long.

  My heart thumped in my chest as I moved against the brick wall, slinking down the alley. The moonless night left no shadow behind me. I shut off my brain. I didn’t want to think about what lay ahead. How many of us might die? Would I find Lexie and Croygen alive? Would I be able to do what I set out to?

  The only thing I knew was in a few hours, when the sun kissed the earth, this would probably be over.

  The doors were in sight. I only had about five seconds to get away once I stabbed the button and only thirty to return and get through the doors before Rapava’s men responded. I sucked cool night air deep into my lungs, my hands shaking, sensing the hidden camera raking over me. Did they already know we were here?

  I slammed the bomb between the two doors, pressing the red key. Then I swiveled and ran, pumping my arms hard, though I felt like I was moving through quicksand.

  Five.

  Four. Move faster!

  Three.

  Two. Shit! I’m not even to the alley entrance yet.

  One.

  BOOM!

  My body flew into the air. Fire and heat curled behind me, licking my back. My arms windmilled through empty space and then I hit the ground, rolling over the rough concrete with painful thuds. When I stopped rolling, I looked back at the doors, which had exploded, were open and smoke wafted out.

  “Now!” I heard Goran yell, and in a blink, a horde of men headed for the doors.

  “Zoey?” Ryker raced up to me, helping me to my feet. “You all right?”

  “Yes.” I regained my footing though my head swam.

  “Damn, Bhean. You might need to borrow my cape. You went flying!” Sprig leaped back onto my shoulder, gripping strands of my hair.

  “You do need to work on the landing.” Ryker winked then grabbed the back of my head. His mouth crashed into me, his lips taking mine. Then he broke away, leaving me breathless. “Let’s do this.”

  I nodded, feeling dizzy. I grabbed the gun out of the back of my pants and both of us ran for the entry.

  Goran led his men, moving them through the fae detectors. We didn’t care about the blazing alarms ringing through the passage; we didn’t really care to keep our arrival a secret once we were in.

  I led them to the stairs that brought us to the first level. Boots thumped behind me, mimicking my heart, as we went down. A handful stayed in the passage watching it and the elevators, ready for those who would flood out of the rat trap.

  I swung the door open, my gun pointed. We entered an empty hallway. At this time of night, I hoped some of the nurses and lab technicians were home in bed. But I knew Rapava was here. He was always here.

  We moved out slowly, inching down the corridor. Corner after corner we were met with nothing. The silence felt unnerving. My skin crawled with intuition.

  Even when I had been here at three or four in the morning, this place was still more active than this. Twenty-four hours a day DMG was filled with employees. Rapava had a revolving staff that worked days, nights, and graveyard shifts.

  There were fewer workers at night, but this seemed epically silent. That’s when it hit me. I had no idea how he knew, but he did. Rapava knew we were coming.

  This was a trap.

  I had just opened my mouth to tell Goran, when a tin object rolled down t
he hallway toward us, sizzling with smoke. Then it detonated. My back hit the floor, Sprig tumbling off my shoulder with a cry. Haze consumed the air, obscuring our vision.

  “Sprig?” I bolted back up to my feet. Blurry figures and loud voices were coming straight for us. A lot of them. A bullet whizzed past my head. I dove back to the ground, keeping my gun pointed toward the hazy outlines approaching.

  “Zoey.” Ryker’s voice came from behind me. “I have Sprig.”

  Relief washed over me, my lungs hacking up the smoke, my eyes watering.

  “Come on.” He grabbed my ankle and tugged it toward him. He and I had to keep going lower. Rapava would hide like a coward in the belly of his creation. Take out the kingpin and his followers would follow.

  I wiggled back, the vapor slowly clearing, giving us less cover in which to hide.

  “Go! Go!” Goran waved us off and moved to the place I vacated. We shifted back until it was safe to stand.

  Ryker held Sprig, who was out cold, as we ran for the elevator on the other side of the hallway. Before we dealt with Rapava, we had to find my sister and Croygen. We stepped in, and I shoved in the key card Kate had given me. Please still work. The elevator dinged and the doors closed.

  “We split up. The floor is huge. They could be anywhere.” I bobbed up and down nervously as the elevator lowered us into the earth.

  “We need to release all the other fae he has down there.” Ryker placed Sprig’s sleeping body in my hoodie pocket.

  “I know. Not easy. Each room is locked, and the Plexiglas in each one will not break.”

  He rubbed his face with aggravation.

  “We take down Rapava, then we can go back and let them all free.”

  He nodded, pulling out his gun as the elevator came to a stop. Usually fae didn’t fight with guns, preferring swords or something that takes skill. But we weren’t playing with fae. Humans would shoot to kill us. We needed to shoot first.

  The doors slid open, and we both stepped out cautiously.

  The smells, the buzz of the lights overhead, the sound of my boots squeaking over the floor, it all inflicted me with memories, with trauma. My skin prickled; my lungs clenched.