Chase the Dark (42 page)

“But Samael hurts him,” Piper whispered. “Remember what the harpies told me? That Samael hurts Ash? That that’s why Ash obeys him? Why would he go back to that? Why wouldn’t he run away or hide?”

“I don’t know, Piper,” Lyre said heavily. “Ash isn’t a coward. He isn’t a pushover by any stretch. If he went back, it’s because he had to, not because he was afraid of the consequences of disobeying Samael. That Hades bastard has his chains wrapped around Ash but I can’t for the life of me figure out what those chains are made of. Ash would never tell me. He won’t talk about Samael at all.”

“But—” She swallowed back the quaver in her voice and tried again. “But Samael wants Ash dead. What if—what if—”

“I don’t know, Piper.” Lyre blinked rapidly. His face twisted. “I couldn’t get into the territory. They wouldn’t let me. All I could find out was Ash definitely went back. No one knew what happened then, or if he . . . if he’s still . . .” He pressed both hands to the quivering lump that was Zwi, unable to continue.

Piper pressed the heels of her hands to her temples, squeezing hard. “Is there anything we can do?” she choked. “Anything . . .?”

“We can wait,” Lyre whispered. “And hope he comes back. Either Samael will eventually send him out on another job, or . . . or he won’t.”

Because he’d killed Ash, she finished in her head. The words burned like a betrayal, like a forsaking of hope.

“I’ve been thinking,” Lyre said abruptly. Hate shone in his eyes, banishing grief. “About the choronzon. Remember what the harpies said? That Samael loaned the choronzon to the Gaians?”

She nodded slowly.

“Samael had to have known then, in advance, that the Gaians would try to steal the Sahar. Instead of stopping them, he lent them some of his lackeys, so if the Gaians managed to succeed, he was already in position to steal the Sahar from them in turn.” He clenched his teeth. “That bastard was stacking the deck in his favor. If Ash failed, he already had a backup plan in place. From his perspective, Ash must have screwed up
both
his plans.” He made a sound of disgust. “But what does it matter? The slimy bastard got the Sahar in the end. And we’re the only ones who know it.”

He lifted his gaze to hers. “Keep that in mind, Piper. We both need to be careful. Samael probably knows that we know. He could try to silence us.”

She nodded her agreement as she struggled to control her fear. Lyre didn’t know the half of it. He had no idea her true danger. Fighting to keep her expression blank, she drew in a shuddering breath and forced a smile. “Lyre, you must be exhausted. There are a couple bedrooms set up in the basement. Why don’t you go lie down?”

He nodded, his hateful anger subsiding into a numb blankness. After a brief hesitation, he lifted Zwi’s blanket bundle and set it in Piper’s lap. He rose to his feet, lightly touched her cheek, then walked around her chair. A moment later, the door closed softly.

Zwi poked her nose out again, dully observing Lyre’s absence. Piper lightly stroked the dragonet’s silky mane. Zwi mewled brokenly.

“Is he alive, Zwi?” she whispered. She gathered the little creature against her chest and hugged her gently. “Please let him be alive.”

If he was dead . . . if Samael had killed him . . . Piper couldn’t stand the thought. Ash had fought so hard for them. He had saved her life over and over and gotten them all through that mess alive. If he’d died at Samael’s hands, it was because Piper had failed him. She had let the Sahar be taken from her. If she’d managed to hold on to it, Ash could have fixed it so Samael would be satisfied. He would have let Ash live.

She’d failed him—in more ways than one.

But even after all that, she needed him. Needed his help and his advice. Desperately.

Lyre feared what Samael would do with the knowledge that Piper knew he had the Sahar. She feared far more what the Hades warlord would do if he knew what had happened when the harpies tried to take the Sahar from her.

She wasn’t sure herself. She didn’t understand what had happened. She only knew the results—and one scenario alone made sense.

She had used the power in the Sahar to kill the harpies.

Somehow, she had, without any magic of her own, tapped the power in the Sahar. She remembered the sudden duality of her thoughts like there was some other presence in her mind. She remembered the hot surge of power, the sudden flash of light coming from the Stone clutched in her fist.

The Sahar had killed the harpies. And Piper had wielded it.

The memory made her sick. The harpy’s exploding skull. The spray of blood, the gore. Pieces of rent bodies falling through the air.

The harpy that had finally gotten the Sahar from her had witnessed that attack. When the harpy had carried the Sahar back to Samael, there was no reason to believe she hadn’t also brought that tale of inexplicable power to Samael’s ears.

Samael would want to kill Piper for knowing he had the Sahar. What would he do with the knowledge that Piper was the first confirmed person to tap its power since its original creator had wielded it to level an entire town 500 years ago?

She had no idea how she’d done it, or if she could do it again, not when neither Ash nor a thousand other daemons and haemons had managed to bend the Sahar to their will. But if Samael put the pieces together and realized how the magic-less haemon girl had killed a band of harpies in midair, the danger would be beyond comprehension.

Maybe Samael wouldn’t care. Maybe he knew some obscure secret for wielding the Sahar.

She dared not hope.

A tear slipped down her cheek as she petted the abandoned, brokenhearted dragonet. Zwi made a soft trill before curling up and closing her eyes wearily. With a sigh, Piper cuddled the little creature closer. She would come up with some sort of plan. Lyre would help her. Maybe Miysis too, if he knew Samael had his Stone.

She lifted her chin, banishing despair. “Don’t give up, Ash,” she whispered. “I’m not giving up on you yet.”

To be continued in

Book 2 of the Steel & Stone series:

BIND THE SOUL

BIND THE SOUL is now available for pre-order!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ODOAOQO

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to start with you, the reader. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

Thank you to Breanna, for being my first reader, first sounding board, and first cheerleader. Your enthusiasm for my writing is priceless to me. I’m sorry about the cliffhangers. Really.

Thank you to Jillian, for your keen editing eye, your ability to poke holes in all my faulty logic, and your refusal to let me get away with anything, ever. And I’m sorry about the eye thing. Really.

Thank you to my mother, for getting me hooked on the written word and for supporting every decision I make. I learned from you how to work hard and I never would have made it this far without that.

Lastly, thank you to my fiancé, for not being intimidated by my creative obsessions, for remembering everything I forget, for ensuring I keep sight of the business side of writing, and, most importantly, for putting up with me every day. You’re the best.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Annette Marie lives in Western Canada with her fiancé. Someday she’d like to get a cat. Maybe two.