“Did some of you already forget?” Stavros held up his arms, sending another wave of magic through the room. I groaned, bending over farther, clutching my head against the pain. He strolled between us, working his way through the room. “I am immune to all fae weakness. Goblin metal does nothing. I will always overpower you. I am a demon. The King! The more you fight, the more I hurt your loved ones, and the worse jobs I will force you to do.” He clutched the back of Ember’s head, yanking her ponytail, forcing her face to look at him. “Your dwellers were a nuisance before. A tiny distraction. But now?” He growled, getting close to her face. “How did they have the power to break through my barriers?”
Is that what happened? Did the bombs created by Fionna and Kennedy break through the shield? With Druid power, it was possible, but something in my gut said what we felt was far more powerful than a bomb.
“Huh?” He wrenched her head farther back. She didn’t so much as flinch. Was she smirking? Damn. I was starting to really like her.
“Well, why don’t we go upstairs and you can watch each one of them being torn apart and eaten? They would have been fun to have around, but I can do without feral kitty cats around the place.” Stavros hauled her to her feet by her hair. Her teeth sawed into her bottom lip, but she made no sound of distress.
The pressure in my head lifted, and I fell slightly backward, my muscles shaking from the tension of holding them taut.
“Bhean?” Sprig whispered from my bag. Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, I held in my relief at hearing Sprig’s voice. My hand went to the bag, patting him softly, telling him I was here. Please keep quiet and stay hidden.
“Get them up.” Stavros motioned to us but glared at his men. A few strighoul bodies didn’t rise when we did. They wouldn’t be missed.
Nails dug into the skin around my neck, and two strighoul moved me through the house. Ryker was in front of me; he turned his head, his gaze finding mine. I gave him a nod. I’m okay.
We stepped outside and my knees almost gave out again, magic was so thick it stifled the air, the barrier clinging to it in chunks. Kennedy said Druid magic could split holes into the protective shield, enough to get through, but it would pop it like a balloon, leaving scraps of it around similar to plastic. This was different.
Then a chill zigzagged down my spine.
“Come out, come out!” Stavros called out to the forest surrounding the house. “The game is over. I’ve won!”
Silence followed his claim, only the cracking from burning foliage sizzled the air.
“You are only making it worse.” A cackled laugh came from him. “They know!” He pointed back at us. “The more you fight me, the worse it is for others…”
Nothing.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Dark dwellers love death and blood. Family doesn’t mean as much as I thought it did to you.” He walked backward, finding Ember again. “Just imagine how good she’ll taste.” He grabbed for Rez. “Or a siren. Her blood has to be so sweet.”
The strighoul cheered, smacking their lips together.
A sudden growl emerged from the forest, loud enough to make the ground rumble beneath our feet again.
A huge grin engulfed Stavros’s face; he knew he was getting to them. He pushed Ember in front of him, pulled out a knife, and put it to her throat, digging the blade into her skin. “I think it’s time we get this little standoff going.” With one swift swipe, he sliced her throat. Ember gasped, blood spurting out.
A roar shredded the forest, booming over the land. Stavros shoved her down on the ground, his arms splayed wide as though he begged them to come and get him.
Giant black bodies leaped from the trees with a piercing explosion. Strighoul yelled, running for them.
For one second I watched Ember—one hand pressed to her throat, the other clawing the earth. Fae could heal quickly, but we were all coated in the goblin metal, which slowed that down immensely. I hoped enough of her powers could at least slow the bleeding.
But none of us would live if we didn’t fight.
Kennedy ran for Ember, but the rest of us turned on our enemy, attacking with everything we had. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ryker climb over a strighoul, heading for the burly one who held his axe.
Stavros stood in the center, untouched. He circled around, like he was enjoying a show from a comfortable living room.
That man had taken my baby. He needed to die. I took a step toward him, when another figure jumped into my path.
“I don’t think so.” Amara winked, pulling a sword from her waist. “Think you can still beat me now that you can’t jump and run away?”
Shucking the knife from my boot, I grinned back. “Without a doubt.”
“Wait. Wait. Wait.” A head pushed out of my bag. “Banana poop in my Honey Nut Cheerios, are you kidding me? Medusa is here?” Sprig’s face twisted into disgust. “This is a nightmare, right?”
“And I was hoping that thing had been stuffed with bananas and shipped off to a taxidermist.” Amara glared at Sprig.
“Hey, purple broomstick with a bob, why don’t you ever close that hole?” he sputtered back. “And I’m not talking about the one on your face.”
Rage flashed through her features. She rolled her shoulders back and brought her sword down toward me. Dipping, I slipped to the side, our blades clanging together. Mine was tiny compared to her sword, but it meant I could get a lot closer.
“Is that all you got, human?” Her waiflike figure might look fragile, but it was only an illusion. I had fought her before and nearly lost. But I was barely trained then. Over the years, I had honed my skills.
Stavros’s laugh crackled through the air. “It’s as though I’m back in the Roman times. I should bring the gladiator games back. They were so much fun.” This fight was entertainment for him, but it was a matter of time before he got bored and brought us all to our knees. We would lose. And some of us would die.
Dodging Amara’s swing, I felt the same chill from earlier flood over me, going straight into my palm. Flaming to life.
I’ve wasted enough time, Zoey. You promised me.
I stumbled back, my heart slamming into my chest, my eyes darting around. “No,” I whispered to myself. Everything around me went distant, as if I were on another plane. Then I understood, the dwellers didn’t break the barrier; the stone did. He came for me…
“Zoey!” I heard Ryker scream in the distance, felt Amara’s blade swipe so close to me that wind brushed against my cheek, but she didn’t hit me. I could see her pause, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
Now, Zoey. I am growing impatient, the deep voice said into my head.
My hand pulsed and then my feet moved without thought, walking past Amara and through the pandemonium of fighting bodies, completely untouched.
The shell of Lars leaned against a tree, his arms folded, as though he had been waiting there for hours. Air only grazed my lungs, every step bringing me closer to my nemesis. I had always known I would have to face it. I had called it. Now I had to deal with that decision.
“I said if you got us out, I would go with you.” I clamped down on the handle of my blade, still hanging from my fingers. “Us means all my friends. Not just me.”
It was eerie to watch the stone use Lars’s body, a grin curving unnaturally on his mouth.
“You certainly act like a fae. Constantly trying to use tricks and ambiguities.”
“I won’t go unless you help them.”
The stone sighed, pushing off the tree, gazing over my head. “Fine. But this is the last favor I do for you.”
“It’s not a favor. It’s part of the deal.”
“You have to go with me, Ms. Daniels. No loopholes.”
I swallowed. For a brief moment I felt Wyatt’s soft downy hair against my breast, Ryker’s lips warm on my throat, but I shoved it all away. They would live, and it was all that mattered. “That is what I said.”
The stone nodded at the group, and in an inst
ant Stavros and his men froze. My friends were now free to move. They all stumbled, glancing around, unsure of what was happening.
Hell. The stone could play with the High Demon King like a Barbie doll.
“I’m only holding the illusion for a moment. Tell them not to waste it.” The stone turned to walk away, the pull to follow him yanked on every muscle painfully. “Let us go.”
“Zoey?” Ryker called out.
“Run.” I glanced over my shoulder to stare into white eyes. “Now.” I lifted my bag from over my head.
“Bhean…what are you doing?” Sprig crawled out. “No, let me go with you.”
“No, little buddy. You stay with Ryker.” I gulped back the tears. “I won’t be myself anymore. Wyatt, Lexie, Annabeth, Ryker…even Croygen, they will need you. Please do this for me.”
He stared at me, his eyes wide, his hand reaching for me.
“Zoey! No!” Croygen bellowed, but none of them could get near me. The stone played with everyone’s mind, making them believe they had no control. The stone could give you all you desired or make you feel like you had nothing…the mind was a powerful weapon. Especially when it was used against itself.
Tears burned down my throat and I raised my chin, trying to blink them away, and started to walk.
“Zoey! Don’t do this. You can fight it,” Ryker howled, his voice moving around me. I took a few steps. “Human…you fight. That’s what you do. Do not give up on me.”
I glanced over my shoulder, feeling the tug to move clawing at my skin. Ryker stared at me, pain etched deep in his eyes.
“Get our son…tell him sometimes fighting is about protecting those you love.” My voice quaked. “I love you, Viking.” With that I ran into the forest.
“ZOEY!” My name shook and rattled through the trees, heartbreak dripping off every leaf like acid rain, burning into my soul.
I let one cry escape my lips before I shifted back into myself. The stone greedily took control of my body, feeling my withdrawal. I was still there, could see and understand, but I was a passenger. A ghost haunting my own body.
Time seemed to have lost meaning. I almost drifted a few times as my legs kept moving over terrain. My muscles quaked with fatigue, but I did not slow or falter keeping pace with the false Lars.
We ran on and on. Finally, the stone slowed, went down a ravine, and approached the entrance to a cave. Torches burned at the entrance. Fresh and old ash were piled on the ground, suggesting this place was used frequently.
We’re home, the false Lars said into my head.
I felt a spike of surprise inside me but almost laughed it off. This person looking at me wasn’t Lars. He wouldn’t need hotels or fancy dinners. This was an inanimate object, incapable of feeling things like fatigue or hunger.
He handed me the second torch, and I followed him without hesitation into the dark cave. But inside, I could feel the stone’s control growing like thorny weeds, circling and digging into my soul.
Hell. Hell. Hell.
Phantom chills ran down the spine I could no longer feel. It was strange to not feel your body but have all the same sensations, or the hallucination of them, comparable to people who had lost limbs. This wasn’t my limb, but an entire body.
My eyes tracked the passage as it led into a giant underground cave. Torches and a huge bonfire in the middle lit the space enough to reflect deep shadows off the walls.
The smell of cooking meat, dirt, and piss filtered around me. Obscure figures moved in the space, building or sharpening weapons, talking or eating. They looked human from what I could see, but something felt way off. Wrong. Some had heads too big for their bodies, others with crooked limbs. One looked as if it had a daggered tail.
Gazing over the cave, my heartbeat thumped against my ribs. Dread looped around, cinching tight. I felt the answer already skimming the surface.
Nononono. There was no way. They were dead.
“They’ve been waiting to be reunited with you for a long time.” The stone jumped on top of a large rock above the blazing fire. A tug in my brain, and my body joined him on the rock. “Look who is here, my creatures.”
Every one of them went still, their faces turning slowly to me.
Oh gods…
Green eyes, brown hair, some with heart-shaped faces, some looking identical to Sera.
No. This can’t be true.
But it is, Zoey. Aren’t you happy to see them? the stone responded to my thoughts.
Happy? These monsters should have died with Rapava.
Some are hurt that you abandoned them so easily, but I’m sure after spending time with your offspring your maternal instinct will kick in.
Fuck you, I seethed. Stavros took my eggs while I was unconsciousness and “created” them. I had no say.
Be nice, Zoey, or you will find yourself the same as Lars.
Why? I know you want your revenge. Is this what you had planned? Keeping these things alive?
Merely because they are not pretty doesn’t mean they’re not useful. I have found them exceptional. A new breed. A better, stronger species, but pliable, easy to control. Still willing to do another’s bidding.
The stone turned away from me, holding up his arms.
“Let us give a warm welcome to your mother. She has finally come home to you.”
As though he stung them with an electrical current, they all jumped to their feet, piercing roars filling the cave. Their weapons and feet stomped the ground, drumming along with my heart. It was not in excitement or joy, but pure hate. In their rage, a few stepped toward me, snapping at me, their mouths full of thousands of needlelike teeth.
The bubble I inhabited jerked back, but my actual body didn’t move a muscle, standing strong against the threat.
“Oh dear... guess some are going to take a little more time.” The stone quirked Lars’s mouth up.
My body moved to the edge of the boulder.
Stop. What are you doing to me? I yelled at the stone. False Lars’s smile lifted higher.
My mouth opened, words coming out without my say.
“Stop!” I held up my hand, my voice filling the room, hushing their cries. “I am your creator. Your master. Not only do you have a King to follow, but you have a Queen. My bidding is law. Now bow, my children.”
There was a tense moment before the throng of monsters went onto their knees.
“Our mother. Our master. Our Queen!” A half-strighoul called out, bending his head. I remembered him. The infant who had begun his life in an incubator at DMG was now a man. His green eyes flashed with hate as he peered at me from bended knee. But the rest followed his lead, repeating his mantra until the entire room chanted and pounded their weapons on the ground.
My head turned to the stone, and I felt a smile curl my own lips.
“You are master of them.” False Lars moved closer to me. “But do not forget, I am master of you. I own you now, Zoey.”
With a shove, I felt my grip on myself slip into the darkness.
Chapter 13
Kennedy
My grimy boots paced over the stone floor of the castle, drowning out the commotion around me. Absently I brushed back strands of hair from my face. Dried sweat, dirt, and blood crusted on my skin like ancient wallpaper, my skin still itching with the slivers of goblin metal. The desire to wash it all away caused me to skim my hands continuously over my hair and arms. But nothing would wash away the sickness in my stomach or the terror shaking my limbs. The black spell which had neutralized my magic was gone, but I felt weakened by the attack on my body. Drained.
“I won’t simply sit here. My son and mate have been taken,” a voice boomed through the room, fury riding it like a rodeo bronco. I looked toward its source. “You assholes may not care that thing has her, but…” Ryker’s chest inflated, several nerves along his cheek and temple twitched, and his white-blue eyes were fierce and glowing. A Viking about to attack, to battle against the world.
“Does it look as if we don’t
care?” Eli whipped around, growling, his pupils elongating. “The stone has one of ours too.”
Ryker took a step, his shoulders rolled forward, his hand reaching for his axe. “And you’ve done nothing to get him back.”
Eli and Lorcan both curled forward, rumbles vibrating the ground. Dammit by a thousand. This was going to go bad fast.
“Stop,” I yelled, none of the men heeding my warning.
“Watch yourself, Wanderer.” Eli tilted his head, almost daring him to make another move. “I just watched my mate’s throat being sliced in front of me. I’m not in a very good mood.”
Ember stood next to me, her neck still pink and healing from Stavros’s blade. The cut appeared deeper than it actually was, and she had been quick to use the earth’s energy to heal, but she still lost a lot of blood. She was sure Stavros wanted to cause a scene, chaos, get the dwellers to act, not kill her. Yet. We all knew with each one of us it was only a matter of time.
Ryker leaned into Eli’s face, his mouth twisting. “What would you do if it was your mate?” Veins in Ryker’s temple throbbed against his skin. “Don’t tell me to back down. I will not let that stone have her. Not before and not now.” He flipped around, barreling for the exit.
Lorcan inclined forward, but it was Eli who advanced. In a blink, his hand grasped Ryker’s throat, his claws digging into his skin, slamming him back in the wall with a vibrating thud. The ferocity of alpha energy discharged off them, hitting my chest so powerfully it knocked me back a step.
“You’re not doing her any favors, Wanderer.” Eli clamped down firmer on Ryker’s neck.
Bursting waves of anger shot off Ryker. “Get your fucking hands off me.” His nose flared.
“Then get hold of yourself.” Eli using his weight to push into him. “You think rushing out there without a plan is a good idea? It’s suicide. Do you think Zoey would want you to do that? Do you understand what you are up against?”
Ryker’s shoulders hunched up, his hands colliding with Eli’s chest, shoving him back.
“Ryker, stop!” Lexie tried to reach for him, but Croygen stopped her, pulling her back into him. Streaks of tears still lined her face from when Croygen told her and Annabeth what happened… that their sister was gone.
Rise From the Embers (Lightness Saga #4) Page 16
