From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4) (46 page)

A knock sounded across the room, jolting my
eyes open. I glanced over my shoulder. Annabeth’s hand was
plastered against the glass, her eyes wide and full of hope. Her
stare bore into me. This teenage girl, her brain latched to a
patchwork ape, trapped in a tank, looked so strong. She showed no
sadness or fear…just a belief. In me.

I looked back at Sprig, his wide eyes full of
the same confidence in me. I reached deep, grappling for every bit
of strength I had.

NO!
I screamed in my head, forcing my
hand back. I curled it around my waist.
You will not have me.
Ever.

I released a deep anguished cry and pushed
against the stone’s power till I felt it crackle. Then it snapped,
throwing me back on my butt. There was a moment of silence. Every
ounce of magic dissipated from the room. Was that it? Did I
actually beat it at its own game?

Of course, deep down, I knew better. The
quiet before the storm.

A rumble started shaking the ground beneath
our feet. Fury spiked the air, stabbing into me like a million
pins. Magic filled back into the room, claiming ownership of the
air. The hair on my arms stood up as energy drilled into the space,
streaming down to a certain spot, like the rock was pulling life to
it. The sound of glass tubes clattered on the table, the floor
rattling harder. The lights swung, and my ears popped with
pressure. My lungs ached from lack of air. My insides wanted to
explode under the density.

You think you can betray me, little girl?
I am more powerful than you can possibly imagine. I own you. I
always will. Every time you look at your hand it will be a
reminder. I will always be there,
the stone seethed.

Pain slashed over my palm, burning so hot it
felt like it was set on fire. A shrill, guttural scream ripped from
my throat as lines began to form under the pooling blood. Agony
shredded my throat as I wailed. Holding my hand in horror, I
watched the cuts connect and create some kind of symbol. Magic
curled inside the wounds, scorching the skin to heal around the
cuts. Tears and sweat dripped down my face, acid slick in my
throat. Red liquid filled my palm, disguising what it was. Right
then it didn’t matter. The stone had marked me, entrenching into my
skin and making me connected to it. Forever.

I could have given you everything, Zoey. Now
I will take it! Including your friends. Say goodbye to your little
sub-fae mutant.

My mouth opened to scream for Sprig when a
sonic explosion blasted through the room, like an atomic bomb.

BOOM!

My body went up in the air.

A scream. Shattering glass. Metal
ripping.

Bones crunched as I slammed into the wall and
dropped. I went into shock, not able to contain any more pain, and
let myself go. Where I felt nothing. Saw nothing. Heard
nothing.

My lids opened to murkiness. Only the soft
glow from the exit signs lit the room. Hissing and crackling popped
around the dark space. Debris covered my body. Stabs of pain fizzed
through my nerves, my bones cracking as I tried to move from under
the wreckage.

“Sprig?” I pushed off the fragments and
ignored the throbbing covering every inch of my body, especially my
hand, which pulsated and beat with the rhythm of my accelerated
heart. I pushed aside the unbearable agony in my worry for my
friend. “Sprig?” Panic gurgled in my throat as I stood up searching
blindly for him.

A spark sizzled above my head, a chunk of the
ceiling fell to the floor with a crash.
Shit
. This place was
crumbling. If we didn’t get out of here soon, we would be buried
with it, eight stories below.

“Sprig, where are you, buddy? Please be okay,
please be okay,” I chanted as I climbed over rubble, stinging my
hand. I found a cloth and knotted it around the wound, guarding it
a little from being directly touched.

Liquid hissed out of the cracks in the tanks,
cascading onto the floor. A quick glance showed me a few of the
incubators had broken, letting the specimens slip out.

I felt a touch of sadness. It wasn’t their
fault they were monsters, but still, they were. Their creator’s
dreams would die along with them.

Seeing a few still trapped in their chamber,
I realized their end would come fast. The explosion cut off the
electrical power.

No electricity. No air.

Holy shit.

“Annabeth!” I stumbled, heading for the
blonde girl in the tank. Through the darkness I could see her eyes
wide, her fingers tearing at the window. The monkey bobbed
lifelessly up and down in the liquid next to her.

There was only a slight cut across her window
leaking water out slowly. She would die way before the water would
drain. With a strangled cry, I banged my fist against the cylinder,
to no avail. I searched around for anything I could use to break
the plastic. The ceiling sprinkled down chunks on my head that grew
larger and larger. I picked up a broken plastic office chair,
throwing it against the barrier. The chair bounced off, only
cracking the split farther across the window.

Shit!
I got this far and she was going
to drown.

A groan of metal came from overhead only
upping my panic. Annabeth’s fingers stopped clawing at the window
as her lids flickered.

“No! Stay with me,” I screamed. I picked up
the chair again, and using the wheels, I bashed the glass over and
over.

Crack! Swoosh!

Water pounded into me, shoving me backward as
the glass split. Her limp frame drifted on the current, sliding her
out of the prison along with her companion. The force separated
them and ripped the electrodes from her temple.

“Annabeth!” I pushed my way to her, diving to
my knees.

No air came in or out of her lungs.

“No!” I cried, pumping at her chest.

One. Two. Three.

Three breaths.

One. Two. Three.

Three breaths.

I continued to repeat the cycle, feeling only
an empty shell below me.

“Come on, Annabeth!” The pain in my chest
stole the air from my lungs. My hand thrust harder against her
ribs. I could feel hot tears spilling down my face. A bit of the
ceiling crashed next to us, stirring a tormented cry from me. “I
can’t lose you now.
Please
.”

One. Two. Three.

She remained lifeless.

“No! I won’t allow you to die!” Shaking her,
her body flopped around like a doll. A zap of electricity struck
overhead, raining down sparks. “No. Nononononono…don’t leave me.” I
leaned my head on her chest, anguish strangling my throat.

She was gone.

Dead.

Sounds of the room fell down around me and
echoed as they smashed, the hiss of voltage in the wiring. Water
from the ceiling and tanks inched up my legs. Despair struck me so
harshly I couldn’t control the sobs storming in my heart.

I had tried so hard and still failed her. Her
life was not supposed to be like this. Anger at myself for not
protecting her, for not saving her roared up my spine like a
bear.

The room glowed with another spark, blazing
close to my head. I sat back, my head falling back, fury raging, I
let out a bellow. Guttural, raw pain thundered from me. My fists
came down in primal anger, hitting Annabeth’s chest.

Her eyes burst open, water heaved from her
lungs, and sprayed out of her mouth in a violent surge onto the
floor.

“Oh my god! Annabeth!” I screamed, grabbing
for her, rotating her on her side.

More water hurled from her mouth, her body
curled as she convulsed and coughed up the liquid in her chest. A
whimper of happiness raced over my tongue, my hand drumming on her
back, getting the last of the water out. Coughing meant air was
getting to her lungs. My heart thumped in my chest with emotion.
She’s alive.
My hand continued to rub and pat her until the
shuddering and vomiting stopped.

Finally, after her body relaxed and her
breathing took on a more regular pattern, she turned up to look at
me, her voice weak. “You came for me.”

“Of course I did. I promised you. I wouldn’t
leave you.” Tears rolled down my face.

Her finely boned hand set on top of mine.
“Thank you.” Her eyes drifted closed.

Another spark flamed along the darkened
ceiling. Drops of water hit my head. Electricity and water were an
exceptionally bad combo. Of course. Nothing could be easy. The
pipes in the ceiling above had burst. The water would only weaken
the already fragile structure.

“Hey.” I nudged her. “You’re going to have to
be strong a little longer. We have to get out of here.”

Annabeth nodded and sat up, her face
wrinkling as another set of coughs caused her lungs to spasm.

“Sprig?” I called out while helping Annabeth
to her feet.
Please be okay. I can’t handle him being hurt…or
worse.
She put her arm around my shoulders, stumbling, trying
to keep up as I wound through the room. Water was already a few
inches deep as a continuous stream poured from the tanks and
ceiling.

If I could only jump.

“Sprig!” I bellowed, tripping over medical
equipment and fixtures. I moved closer to where I had fought Dr.
Rapava. Through the dim security lights I could make out a furry
figure wearing a honey-pot backpack curled on a piece of broken
furniture. In his hand he held the stone.

“Oh my god.” I leaned Annabeth against a
table and raced to him, my knees slicing as I crawled over a
twisted chunk of metal. Careful not to touch the stone, I snatched
up my friend in my arms, cuddling him.

The anger off the stone thumped into my skin.
I could feel the power and fury bashing around the tiny thing. It
was powerful, but it still had its limits. It couldn’t win against
a human/fae hybrid.

“Sprig, buddy, please wake up.” I stroked his
head. Nothing. “Please. I can’t be without you.”

He didn’t respond.

“Sprig, please wake up.” Tears burned down my
face, my fingers shaking as I tried to feel for his heartbeat.
“Don’t leave me. You aren’t allowed to leave me.” My hand pressed
against his chest, and I felt it lift slightly. A thankful cry
discharged from my mouth.

His eyes stayed shut, but a frown pulled down
his lips.

“Sprig?” I chirped excitedly.

“I think it’s pretty clear I’m not talking to
you right now.” He blinked a lid open. “Neither is Pam. She is
really pissed.”

“Oh thank god.” A relieved chuckle exploded
from me.

He poked my bra. “If any of the gods are
listening, tell them to fill that holder with endless packets of
sweet nectar.”

Annabeth came to my side, her eyes huge. I
forgot she had yet to meet my crazy, narcoleptic, talking
sprite-monkey.

“Did he just talk?”

“Why does everyone think I’m stupid?” He
picked up his head, staring at Annabeth. “Yes. Sprite. Talks.”

The floor above moaned and dropped more
portions down on us. “Sorry, your introduction is going to have to
wait.” I stared up, taking a step toward the exit.

“Turtle taco shells.” Sprig wormed out of my
tight hold. “We gotta go,
Bhean
.” I nodded in
compliance.

“Sprig, grab the stone and put it in my
pocket, please.”

“No,
Bhean
. The Viking asked me to
hold it.” Sprig waggled his head. “Plus, he said if I carried it,
he’d take me back to Izel’s. And he added churros and Inca soda for
dessert.”

“No wonder you didn’t tell me.” I laughed.
“Bribery at its finest.”

“And for post-dessert he said I could watch
my soap and have honey-covered mangos.”

“Damn him…always making me the mean one,” I
grumbled with a smile, then nodded at Sprig to grab it.

I knew he could handle it without problem.
There was no way I would touch it. I had no doubt it would probably
kill me, even more cruelly than it had the doctor. I betrayed it,
outsmarted it. It would never let that go. But I had an obligation
to Lars, and by fae law I had to fulfill it.

Sprig chirped and jumped down, picking up the
rock and tugging his backpack around to his front. I could see Pam
tucked inside as he stuffed the stone beside her, under his “cape.”
My lids briefly closed as I felt the stone’s emotions brush against
my mind. Torture. Hate. Death. Treachery. It promised me all. My
body shook, the temptation still too close for comfort.

“
Bhean!
”

“Zoey.”

Both Sprig and Annabeth shouted, my eyes
popping open. A large square of drywall smashed on the table beside
us, breaking into tiny pieces.

“Come on!” With the room crumbling around us,
we darted for the exit, leaving the body of Dr. Boris Rapava and
his experiments behind.

####

The door to the main area stood ajar from the
quake the stone caused. It was heavy, but with my adrenaline still
pumping through me, I slid it open enough for us to get through.
The shocks from the blast spread throughout the entire floor and
above. Water leaked through, crashing down on the computers and lab
rooms.