From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4) (49 page)

A burst of happiness erupted from me in
garbled words and tears.

“I think
Leanbh
needs some honey.
She’ll feel better then. It always helps me.”

She smiled weakly and nuzzled into him, then
her lids drifted closed. After all the battles we had fought, my
little sister was
still
dying. Those legs were poisoning her
system.

Kate grabbed my hand. “We will handle this. I
know a surgeon who doesn’t ask questions.”

“Then do it. Whatever it takes.” Lexie’s only
hope for survival was to remove the legs and probably a blood
transfusion. The chance of her dying on the table was too high for
me to think about, but her chance of dying without an operation was
a hundred percent.

Kate nodded. “I will contact Dunn. He will
get us there quickly.”

I placed my hand on top of Kate’s. “Thank
you.” I couldn’t fix or fight for Lexie anymore; Kate was my only
hope.

“You sure you’re all right?” Croygen twisted
me to face him, his attention going to my wrapped hand. “What
happened?”

Before I could get a word out or pull my arms
away, he unwrapped the cloth. The cool air stinging the tender
wounds.

“Holy shit.” He sucked through his teeth and
took a step back, his eyes glued on my hand.

“What?” Trepidation strung like lights
running across my shoulders.

“How did you get these?” His black eyes were
wide as he looked at me.

I swallowed nervously. “The stone. It got
really pissed at me.”

“Do you know what they mean?”

I shook my head, my gaze going to the two
etchings in my palm. The first one, still crusted by blood,
reminded me of the symbol pi but the vertical lines were more like
Js each facing out, the bar across lower and thicker with curved
edges. The second looked like a lowercase cursive R with a curled
end. I knew whatever they were, it was permanent. The scars too
deep. The magic in it strong.

Croygen cupped my hand again, pointing at the
top one. “This one is the symbol for remembrance, and the strength
of stones.” He moved to the one below. “This one means hatred or
vengeance. Not good, Zoey. Especially together.”

I bit down on my lip, pulling my hand back
and covering it up again. “Well, there is nothing I can do about it
now.” My voice sounded clipped, pushing away this news. “Have you
seen Ryker?”

It took Croygen a beat to pull his attention
from my hand. “What? No. He was with you.”

Dread tumbled into my stomach like an
avalanche. “You haven’t seen him? He hasn’t come up?”

“No.” He shook his head, worry flickering in
his eyes. Despite their petty arguments and bickering, I knew if
Ryker was really in trouble Croygen would be the first one to go
after him. Okay, the second. He’d have to get past me first.

I moved before I could think, screaming his
name. Then I remembered the vision of Ryker on the stairs. It
hadn’t been real, had it? My body felt weak with terror. If he were
here, he would have found us already. He would have found
me
. Fear quickly rolled into terror, and I could barely
breathe.

“Zoey, I’ve been watching, waiting for either
one of you to come out.” Croygen didn’t have to say more. Ryker had
never reached the surface.

“Did Liam come out?”

“No.” Croygen replied. “If he had, I would
have killed him myself. And any one of those hunters.”

I couldn’t stop searching or calling his
name.

“He’s not here, Zoey.”

Nononononono
. My brain and heart
cried, propelling me toward the entrance of DMG.
I have to find
him.

“Zoey, stop!” Croygen yelled, clutching my
arm. “You can’t go back in there. It’s too dangerous.”

“I don’t care! He’s still in there, Croygen.”
I ripped from his hold, darting for the alleyway.

“Zoey…” Croygen’s words were trampled by a
boom so loud, my hands went to my ears, covering them. The
explosions kept going off, like a cannon. The ground vibrated
underfoot and knocked us to the ground.

I felt frozen, my gaze locked on the
trembling structure in front of me.

“Zoey!” Croygen screamed.

The building crumpled, like a child kicking
down blocks. Slabs of concrete tumbled and smashed into the
street.

Arms came around me, pulling me back as the
ground gave way. Dust billowed around the base, as if the DMG was
built on clouds, pushing debris, smoke, and dirt in a wave over us.
Then in a whoosh it slipped below the surface. Gone. The ground
devoured it in a gulp. Croygen pressed me to the ground beneath
him. The dust cloud rained pieces of the building down on us,
clogging my lungs.

It was probably only seconds, but it felt
like eternity. Then everything went silent.

Croygen lifted off me, and I sat up, staring
at the empty lot through the haze.

“Noooooooo!” I wailed, getting to my feet.
Croygen didn’t stop me as I ran, stumbling, and then falling to my
knees close to the edge of the crater. A block-long hole sank deep
into the earth, showing nothing remained. Another guttural scream
tore out of me and shredded my throat.

Ryker had been five stories below. His axe
was eight. He was hard to kill, but even he couldn’t live through
that explosion.

Croygen wordlessly came to my side, wrapping
me in his arms. If Ryker was in there, he would be staying there.
My brain was blank of words, filled instead with a rushing agony,
white-hot sound and pain like a million tiny buzzing insects trying
to tear their way out of my chest and throat.

He rocked me back and forth, my body limp. My
head spun, and I felt overcome with a fatigue so powerful I almost
begged it to come, to take me away. I didn’t even realize I had
stopped crying or moving. I hunkered over my knees, making noises
that didn’t sound human.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

That even seemed like too much. I’d have to
be strong for my two sisters
.
But in that moment I just
wanted to join Ryker. I could not live without him.

“Please, Croygen,” I whispered. “Tell me he
isn’t dead.”

He held me tighter. “I’m sorry.”

My throat burned as I screamed up at the
morning sky. The sun mocked me. I needed night to swallow me up,
carry me away forever. I collapsed forward over my knees.

Time was irrelevant, but I knew it was
ticking by. Another moment I lived without him.

My mind latched on to his memory, feeling his
touch, seeing his face. I could even hear him call for me. After a
few seconds I heard my name again. My eyes opened. Did I imagine
that?

“
Zoey?
” a distant voice screamed
through the dense air.

My head popped up, looking over my
shoulder.

I wasn’t even sure if his voice existed only
in my head, but I scrambled to my feet.

“Ryker?” My heart pounded in my chest, air
struggling to move out of my lungs. “Ryker?” My throat was scraped
raw by anguish. I circled around, scanning every inch of space.

From the burning ashes a hazy outline of a
man appeared. Like a Norse god he strode out of the smoke, a
glistening axe strapped to his back
.
His hair hung loose and
covered one side of his face. His shirt and pants were shredded and
his body, his gorgeous, chiseled physique was covered in red burn
marks, weeping cuts, and flowering bruises. He locked on me and all
at once I felt alive again.

“Ryker!” I ran. My boots hit the pavement as
my heart soared. I flew into him, leaping into his arms. He crushed
me in his embrace, a guttural sound rumbling from his chest.

“You’re alive,” he whispered, his voice
breaking. He held me so tight I almost couldn’t breathe, but I
didn’t care. He buried his head into my neck, his voice cracking.
“You’re all right. I-I thought I lost you.”

I couldn’t speak.

Hearing his voice, the legendary Wanderer,
the feared Viking, terrified over losing me, my heart wanted to
explode with emotion—with the love I felt for him.

He gripped my chin, his gaze searching my
face with so much love. I didn’t even know I was crying until his
thumbs brushed the tears from underneath my eyes. A grin hooked the
side of his mouth.

“Human.”

“Viking.”

Sirens wailed in the background, but I
ignored them as I pulled his mouth to mine, telling him with my
kiss everything I couldn’t say in words.

He breathed me in, his hands tugging through
my hair, bringing me closer. His mouth moved over mine intensely.
Full of passion, love, and happiness.

I knew we would still have a lot of obstacles
ahead of us. But with this man by my side, I could handle them all.
There was nothing we wouldn’t fight or challenge. We could barrel
through anything, even if we had to lie, cheat, and steal. There
wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him or my family.

This was the life I had always yearned for.
This was the love I wanted.

A Viking, a monkey-sprite, a pirate, two
teenage girls, and a kooky aunt.

Nope, Disney had nothing on me.

(5 Years Later)

The uneven planks of the porch slid beneath
my bare feet, my steps lazy and heavy. I sighed deeply, inhaling
the thick air. You could feel a touch of chilliness as the season
shifted to fall. Suddenly, I missed Seattle. The knowledge that I
could be there any time to check on things eased the homesickness
as the leaves turned.

The sun dipped halfway behind the mountain
and ignited the hills and rooftops in unbelievable reds, purples,
and deep blues. This was home too.

I split my time between the Pacific Northwest
and Peru, sometimes in the same day. For practical reasons to be
close to the children’s shelter, we lived close to Lima in a pretty
village called Barranco. I also jumped to Machu Picchu to hike
quite often. That place would always hold a special place in my
heart.

I rubbed my arms, feeling the scarred symbols
rub against my skin on my arm. The stone’s mark. Everyone knew how
I got them, but no one knew sometimes I still felt them throb. It
was as if the stone was taunting me, telling me I would never be
too far from its reach. The scars it left on me went more than skin
deep. My hands trembled from time to time, the restless feeling
itching my soul, reminding me of the days of being an addict were
never far behind me. The weeks after handing it over to Lars had
been tough. Withdrawal had been even worse than death. Lots of late
nights with Ryker holding me in the shower as I vomited and cried.
I never wanted to go back to that again. But deep down, I felt it.
It owned me and someday it would come for me. Seeking its
revenge.

“Zoey?” My name rang out from inside the
two-story villa, causing me to jump.

“I’m outside,” I called back.

Movement followed my words. “We’re back from
the beach.” Lexie stuck her head out of the open sliding glass
door.

I swiveled around to see my eighteen-year-old
sister standing before me. Her wavy black hair had grown down her
back. She wore a bikini top and white, flowing cotton pants. She
had matured into an extremely smart and stunning woman.

“You girls heading over to Casa de la
Miel?”

Lexie took a step out, walking smoothly over
to me. It had taken a few years after the operation that removed
her false legs for her to heal, but she had been on her prosthetic
legs for more than two years now and was adapting well to them. We
almost lost her on the operating table, but the girl was a fighter.
She made it through.

“Yeah, Annabeth is just grabbing us something
to eat. We’re going to change and then head there.”

The moment the words left Lexie’s mouth,
Annabeth yelled from the kitchen. “Sprig, get out of there! And
stop double-dipping. Licking your fingers doesn’t count as them
being clean.”

“He will never learn.” Lexie chuckled.

“Oh, he knows. He just gives us those eyes,
and we let it go.”

“Yeah, not hard to see who rules this house.”
Lexie nudged me, throwing her arm around my shoulder. She had grown
taller than me, especially with her prosthetics. She goaded me
about it every chance she got.

“Zoey?” Annabeth came to the door. “Sprig is
now curled up in the honey peanut butter jar. Asleep.”

I snorted.

“I’m not eating that.” Annabeth’s nose
scrunched up. “Full of monkey hair now.”

“There’s another one in the pantry,” I told
Annabeth. She nodded and disappeared back into the house. Her
colorful swimsuit cover flittered after her.

After the battle with DMG, Annabeth chose to
come live with us instead of her maternal grandparents. I forced
her to at least contact them and let them know she was alive and
all right. They didn’t try to fight for custody rights, and I was
grateful.

Annabeth and Lexie bonded immediately. You
couldn’t separate the two. They looked nothing alike but identified
as sisters, through and through. The first couple years after
Rapava’s fall, we lived in Seattle during the school year and in
Peru the rest of the time. Travel was easy enough.