From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4) (37 page)

“You address me as King.” As Lars walked up
to him, the King’s fury made my knees bend. “You are a disgrace,
Valefor. You have always been a vile weasel. A man trying to wear
his father’s pants. And you know you never will.” Lars smirked as
Vadik gasped for breath. “You keep pretending you’re in the big
boys’ club, but you can’t play at our level. The inferiority
complex you struggle with will always be your downfall. I am
grateful to see your son has taken after his mother. She had
strength, true fire, and fierceness I respected.

“I may have become distracted, but I have
known every move you have made: trading fae and humans to that
human doctor, the little fight club, your secret dealings with the
Seelie Queen.”

Vadik gasped for air, his face a shade of
purple from the lack of air. “I am a demon. Dark!” Vadik struggled
to talk. “I do not deal with the Seelie.”

“No?” One eyebrow curved up elegantly on
Lars’s face. “Really?”

“No! I’ve never even seen her before. I would
never do that.” Vadik uselessly continued to struggle against
Lars’s hold.

“At every turn, Valefor, you make the wrong
choice.” Lars pressed his lips together. “I know you have never met
with her in person, because if she found out those letters
I
intercepted
were from a demon, she would not have been as
welcoming to your turncoat ways.”

“I swear. It was not m—” A strangled cry came
out of Vadik, and I could see his throat begin to crush inward.

“Enough. I am tired of you, Valefor.” Lars
clenched his hand tighter. Vadik’s legs kicked wildly where he
hung, his back ramming against the wall.

I hated Vadik. I wanted him to die. But it
was hard to watch his eyes bug out, vessels popping, saliva
trickling down his chin, his tongue darting out. I gripped Ryker’s
hand and turned my head slightly to the side.

Ryker’s body rocked next to me. “Wait!” he
called, letting go of my hand and stepping closer to Lars.

The Unseelie King’s eyebrows shot up.

“He is my father, my responsibility.”

Lars stared at Ryker for a couple of beats,
then Vadik fell to the floor. Vadik grabbed for his neck, hacking
and grappling for air.

“I will honor your request, Wanderer.” Lars
bobbed his head. “You may deal with him in whatever way you see fit
by the dark laws, but I can’t leave without him being punished. He
has gone too far. And I do not go soft on those who disrespect or
challenge me.”

Ryker nodded in agreement.

Lars turned back to the man on the floor.
Gone was the imposing man, the feared, cruel, ruthless demon. In
his place stood a bully, pathetic and stripped of his
dominance.

Vadik’s eyes were wide with fear as
realization of his situation set in. He held up his hands in plea,
as if he were waving the white flag. “No, my King. I promise. I
will not do anything against you. I will be your faithful
servant.”

Lars shook his head with disgust. “I would
have had more respect if you defied me to the end. No one likes a
coward.”

Glancing around the room at Vadik’s men, most
wore frowns of disdain at their pitiless leader, who was nothing
more than a sniveling child when roles were reversed.

“You open your mouth one more time, and I
will forgo your son’s request.” Lars leaned over him. “And I swear
to you, you will much rather him kill you than me.”

Vadik stupidly opened his mouth to speak, but
before he could say anything, Lars crumpled his hand into a fist.
Vadik put his hands up to his neck, his legs jerking out. It
unnerved me to watch someone fighting against nothing. I had
experienced it, so I knew something was there or at least in the
mind of the victim. But Vadik only clawed at air.

“As a trader of the dark, you are hereby
banned from Earth and the Dark side of the Otherworld, if your son
does not sympathetically end your life for you.” Lars spoke low,
but the words still boomed through the room. “You have challenged
the Unseelie King and lost. Your title has been stripped and
everything you own is now mine. Enjoy your fate with the Seelie,
old friend
. See how accommodating the Queen can be to
demons.”

In my studies of the fae, I remembered
reading something about how the Light and Dark couldn’t live on
each other’s sides without massive consequences. They would grow
weak and eventually die an especially painful death.

Lars straightened. Vadik’s struggle relented,
and he slumped over, his head slid to the floor, and he passed out
from the weight of Lars’s creed.

“To the rest of you,” Lars circled around,
speaking to Vadik’s minions, ignoring the monster on the floor.
Garrett and Cadoc were both back on their feet, dried blood coating
their heads and necks. “As law states, your fate would be the same
as the one you pledged your obedience to.”

I watched as Garrett swallowed, his forehead
wrinkling as if he tried to fight back the fear. Almost all the men
bore wide-eyed expressions of terror. Except Cadoc. He was the
picture of indifference. He held his chin high, accepting his
fate.

“However, situations are currently changing,
and I am in need of men willing to go into battle.”

Garrett’s head lifted, his green eyes
sparking with hope.

“I warn you. You will commit to me
completely. An oath bond. Your loyalty will be the only thing that
keeps you alive. If you break it, death will be more painful than
you ever imagined. For saving you, I own you and you are mine to
rule. Death is likely but not immediate, but if you choose not to
go with this option, you die here.” Lars stared at each man, each
of whom wiggled beneath his penetrating gaze. “I am being quite
generous. What do you choose?”

“My life is yours, sir.” Garrett licked his
lips, leaning forward.

Ryker snorted behind me. We both knew Garrett
would jump at this. His life was far more important than any belief
he had, if he actually had any. He went where the money and power
might trickle down to him.

One by one each of Garrett’s men pledged
themselves to the Unseelie King, except Cadoc.

Lars walked up to the burly man. Even though
he looked puny next to Rimmon, he was still big. “Will you follow
me?”

Cadoc’s eyes drifted to Vadik, then back to
Lars. “No. I swore my loyalty previously, sir.”

Lars lips turned down. “That is too bad. Your
size and skills would have been an asset. And your honor to duty is
exactly what I want.”

“Cadoc, don’t be an idiot. You don’t owe
Vadik anything. You follow me,” Garrett hissed at him. Cadoc’s chin
lifted in defiance, ignoring Garrett.

“I could force you, you know?” Lars took one
more step closer to Cadoc.

“I know, sir,” Cadoc replied.

“The one man here I actually want tells me
no.” Lars contemplated him. “Normally, I would honor your wish, but
I no longer have the luxury. I need every trained fighter I can
get.”

Cadoc’s head jerked to really take in Lars.
“You are going to force me, sir?”

“War is coming. I need soldiers.”

Cadoc shifted on his feet, turning his head
forward, his eyes full of hate, but he gave Lars a curt nod.

“Rimmon.” Lars only said his name, and the
large man gathered the new recruits and herded them toward the
door, emptying the tiny office of Vadik’s old followers.

Rimmon had just left the room when another
man entered, his sword against another man’s throat. “Sir, I found
this one creeping around the side. He’s
human
.” The
dark-haired fae stated, but his lip inched up at the last word.
“What do you want me to do with him?”

The prisoner held up his chin, but his hands
shook at his sides.

“Carlos!” His name flew out of my mouth. His
eyes went to mine, relief softening them.

“Kill him.” Lars waved turning back to
me.

“No.” I took a step to the Unseelie King,
keeping Sprig close to my chest. “Please, he only came here to
protect someone. He’s been under Vadik’s glamour.” Lars stared at
me, making me feel like a piece of paper in a stove.

Lars clasped his hands together and whirled
around, stepping up to Carlos till he leered over him. “Do you feel
I should allow you to live?”

The only true human in the room lifted his
chin, staring back in the demon’s eyes. “You can do what you want
with my life. I only ask you save Maria’s.”

Even Lars appeared taken back. “You will die
for this woman?”

“Yes.” Carlos didn’t even flinch.

Lars nodded, pressing his mouth, he wandered
away. “Where is this Maria?”

“She was recaptured and locked in the cell
below, in the hole.”

“The hole?” I repeated. “Are there more cells
in this building? Is Annabeth down there?”

Carlos shook his head. “No. Men came here and
took her away.”

I was in his face before I realized I moved.
“What men?”

“I didn’t know them, but I had seen the black
van here before.”

My throat wouldn’t let me swallow. “Black
van?”

“One with no windows and a government license
plate,” Carlos replied. “That’s all I know.”

Bile burned up my esophagus, and I stumbled
back. I set Sprig down on the desk so I could grip it and keep my
balance. My eyes drifted over to Vadik. His chin hung slack against
his chest.

“Was it DMG?” I stomped up to him, but he
didn’t move.

“Wake up! Answer me! Did you give her to
DMG?” I kicked Vadik’s leg, which only bobbled his head. My foot
dove into his shin over and over, but he never woke.

“Zoey.” Ryker grabbed me, pulling me back.
“Even unconscious he still can feed off your anger. It only gives
him strength.”

My nose flared. Ryker forced me to turn
around. Those in the room gaped at me. Lars was the only one who
looked amused.

Lars curved around to the human man. “You
understand what we are?” Lars asked, his voice icy.

“Yes.” Carlos nodded.

“You also understand why humans must not be
aware of us?”

“Yes.” Carlos’s hands continued to shake, but
his chin never wavered.

Lars watched Carlos intensely before a hint
of a smile lifted his lips. “You humans really do surprise me
sometimes.” He shifted his gaze to the fae holding him. “Take him
down to this Maria. If she is anything like him, they might be
helpful.”

The fae soldier nodded and led Carlos from
the room.

“What are you going to do with him?”

The King slowly turned to me, his lids
narrowed. “That is my business. Do not mistake our dealings as an
invitation to know about any of my other affairs.”

I really needed to learn to shut up.

“But to ease your curiosity, I will not kill
him.”

It shouldn’t have made me feel better because
he could do a lot worse to him, but it did.

“Now, for the last bit of our deal.” Lars
eyed both Ryker and me. “It looks as if you might need some time to
recuperate.”

“No.” I shook my head with desperation,
thinking about Annabeth. “Lives are in danger. And now I’m afraid
they have someone else I care about. We need to go as soon as
possible.”

Lars steepled his fingers at the bridge of
his nose, lowering his head in thought. He exhaled and drew up,
staring at us. “You may have my men as we talked about, but by the
end of the day, I will come for what is mine. No matter what.”

I gulped. That didn’t give us a lot of time
to break into a well-guarded lab protected from fae magic, save
Lexie, Croygen, and Annabeth, destroy the lab, take down Rapava,
and get the stone back from Amara.

“We are grateful for your help,” Ryker
replied, still struggling to talk without flinching. “But we might
need a few things…”

After our plans with Lars were confirmed, he
left with his newfound followers. Garrett’s men might come to
regret their choice, but they would at least live a little
longer.

Only a few of the King’s guards went with
their ruler. The rest waited outside for Ryker and me to join them.
We wanted to attack DMG with the least amount of people in the
building, the least defense, which was now. The night was waning,
and we needed to get there before dawn.

Our biggest battle still lay ahead of us.
Ryker and I already looked and felt like utter shit. Our bodies
demanded sleep to heal fully, but we couldn’t, which spread our
energy thinner.
Great start.

“Are you really ready for this?” Hands came
down on my arms, twisting me to face the man I loved. He stood in
front of me, one eye half-mast.

I laughed. “
You’re
asking
me
?”

His fingers roamed over my face, taking in
all the wounds with his fingers like he needed to be sure they
weren’t killing me.

“Are you?” I stared up into his swollen
face.