From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4) (3 page)

“Yes.”

“Do you want to die?”

“No.”

He threw back his head, his arms flailing at
his side. “Then why are you arguing with me?”

“Because…” I shifted awkwardly. I took a deep
breath and looked into his face. “We are survivors. We fight. We
live. No matter what it takes, it’s who we are. We don’t let things
beat us: DMG, an oath, Vadik. You and I are a team, and we will
fight against whatever comes our way. Good or bad, we claw, bite,
and battle our way out.” I moved to him, and he went rigid. “And
don’t assume I will be so easy to kill, Viking. I came back this
last time. Remember I’m the Avenging Angel,” I whispered hoarsely.
“Okay?”

He waited a beat before nodding. He remained
distant, keeping a wall between us, but at least he agreed.

“Wow. This is better than a Spanish soap
opera.” Sprig peered down from Ryker’s shoulder. “Does this make
anyone else hungry for a snack?”

Ryker actually snorted. “Some things never
change.”

“Can we get out of here now?” Croygen started
toward my sister. “Seriously, we’ve wasted too much time.”

“Still need to find my axe.”

“Really? I think getting out of here is the
first priority.”

“I agree. We have no idea where they put it.”
I reached for Sprig. He leaped to my shoulder, crawling under my
hair.

“I can feel it call to me.” Ryker grabbed the
blood-coated scrub shirt on the table, slipping it on. “Just need
to be close enough to know its exact location.”

“Come on.” Croygen bent over and lifted Lexie
into his arms, pressing her to his chest.

“You need to be silent, okay?” I whispered to
Sprig. He nodded in agreement, holding on to chunks of my loose
strands.

Ryker and I followed Croygen out. Nerves
flittered all over me.

“Okay. Let’s do this.” Croygen winked at me.
Ahead of us lay the impossible, and we had no choice but to
bulldoze straight into it.

Sink or swim.

Into a tank full of sharks and other deadly
predators.

The hallway was quiet other than the chirping
of computer noises and a low hum of electricity. It had only been
fifteen minutes since I came down this hall for Ryker, but it felt
like hours. The stillness unnerved me more than if a wall of men
awaited us.

Rapava had always been a step ahead. Even
when Croygen and I snuck down here the first time, somehow I sensed
that he’d missed none of my movements. I shoved down my anxiety as
we slunk through the passage, the elevator in sight. We were only
halfway when a chill latched on to my ankle and walked itself up to
my neck, plopping itself down next to Sprig.

I twisted to look behind me. No one except
for Ryker and Croygen in the shadows. Apprehension wrapped itself
around my throat like a scarf, strangling me till my skin prickled.
Then a crackling sound came overhead. My insides ran icy with
terror.

“Oh, Zoey. You have disappointed me greatly.
Although I can’t say I’m surprised.” Rapava’s accented voice
filtered down from a speaker in the ceiling, stopping all of us in
our tracks. “I am impressed with how far you have gotten on your
own. Daniel taught you well.”

My heart bucked against my ribs as I whirled
around, my gaze searching. He could see me. Where was he? Finally
my eyes landed on the camera by the elevator. It pointed straight
at me, a tiny red light on below it.

Oh hell.
The cameras did work—when he
wanted them to. At the time we came down here it had not been on,
but it was operating now. How many times did I pass one with no
knowledge that it was on? Watching. Spying.

“You are my test case for security. Every
move you make only renders this place more of a fortress.”

His words made me feel dirty. Used. What if
this whole time he let me get away crawling in the rafters and
vents only to point out their weaknesses?

All I could do was fight fire with fire.
Fearful he could hear as well as see me, I kept my voice to a
whisper. “Sprig, I need you to do your thing.”

“Put the camera to sleep?” He stroked my
earlobe like he was soothing it into slumber.

“Permanently,” I murmured. “Stick to the
darkness and move slowly. Rapava will be looking for you. Take the
key card from my hip and have the elevator ready. And please be
careful.”

His arms stretched around my neck and hugged
me before he used my ponytail to descend my back like a rock
climber. He hit my waist, the plastic card scratching against my
skin as he tugged it out, then he dropped to the ground.

“You are only harming your sister, Zoey,”
Rapava crooned. “She needs me. Needs to be here so she can continue
to get better. And you are only inflicting more pain and torture
for your accomplices.” He kept talking. I focused my eyes on the
camera but watched Sprig in my peripheral. He stayed against the
wall trying to stay undetected, traveling slow as the darkness
moved around him. He was so good a few times I lost sight of him.
Right when he reached the base of the elevator, it dinged.

Oh. Hell
. We had visitors.

The doors peeled apart.

Liam, Hugo, and Marv stood there, guns
pointed at us. My old Collector family coming to capture their
enemy. Me.

“Put your hands up.” Liam took the lead,
stepping out of the lift and heading for us.

“Kind of hard for me to do that,” Croygen
appeared from the shadows and replied derisively, tucking Lexie
firmer against him.

“Put the girl down.” Liam motioned with his
gun to the ground.

Croygen hesitated, but with three guns
pointed right at us,
fae
guns no less, he bent over, setting
her on the corner of the intersection of hallways, her back propped
against the wall.

“Take them to their new and much-improved
holding cells,” Rapava ordered over the speakers. “But if they
cause any trouble, including Zoey, kill them.”

My entire body tensed rigidly. The moment he
locked us up in these new digs, we were done. There would be no
chance of escape.

Ryker’s skin moved over his flexing muscles,
his eyes narrowing on Liam.

“Oh please, give me a reason to shoot you.”
Liam directed his gun at Ryker. “I only need one.”

Something showed in Liam’s crimped expression
I had never seen before. Fear. Ryker was stronger, bigger, faster,
and a better fighter than Liam could ever wish to be. Liam had
always been insecure around Daniel, but with Ryker he was
petrified.

Marv and Hugo kept their weapons aimed at us,
scouring us with hostile frowns. At one time their disgusted,
hateful looks would have upset me. Not anymore.

“Now, let’s be good little fae and head back
to the room.” Liam pressed his barrel into the Wanderer. A deep
threat ebbed out of Ryker’s throat. Liam clicked back the hammer,
his chin shoving up high, trying to look tough. “Last warning,
asshole. Now move!”

With one quick stride, Marv grabbed my bicep
and twisted me toward another hallway. I glanced over my shoulder
to see Sprig crawl under the lens of the camera. His tiny, deft
fingers clutched at the wires and pulled. A spark zapped the air.
The camera’s light blinked out. With another shove the camera
toppled to the tile with a crack.

Everyone swung around. It was our only
opportunity. Big Brother was no longer watching.

My boys did not need any prompting. Croygen
and Ryker struck out at their captors.

My elbow went back into Marv’s ribs before my
ankle curled around his and yanked. As he stumbled, I swung around,
my fist meeting his ear when he twisted away. His hand dove into my
gut. Biting back the pain, I gripped his wrist and rotated my body
till he stood behind me, his arm bent the wrong way. I flipped him
over on his back and kicked the gun out of his hand. It hit the
floor and glided far down the hallway, skating over the tile, out
of his reach, but out of mine too.

Shit.

“Zoey!” Croygen yelled. I spun, instantly
following his voice. Even though the three Collectors lay on the
ground, they were already scrambling back to their feet, reaching
for their guns. Ryker, Croygen, and I just made it back to the
hallway where we had left Lexie, diving behind the wall, when the
gunshots rang out.

The elevator was so close, but it was like
walking a bridge with no cover. We might as well have been wearing
shirts with huge neon targets on the backs. And they had guns.
Ryker only managed to get the dart gun from Liam.

“You are a fool. You just sealed your fate,
bitch,” Liam snarled from around the corner.

I ignored his taunts, my attention on Ryker.
He stared across the gulf to where the hallway continued its
path.

“My axe…it’s down there.” He took a step, his
bare feet set firmly, like nothing in the world could stop him.

“Ryker.” I grabbed for him just as a bullet
zigged past him, nicking a hole in his scrubs. I shrieked, yanking
him back. “What are you doing?”

“Getting it.” He jerked away.

I tried to grab him again, but he shoved me
to the side.

“The axe is down here. I can feel it calling
me.” He clenched his jaw, moving again. “I’m not leaving it
here.”

“Don’t be an idiot.” Croygen stepped around
me and rammed him back against the wall. “You want to risk your
life? Fine. But you know Zoey won’t leave here without you. Believe
me, I’ve tried to get her to. No matter how much of an asshole you
are, don’t risk her life, too. Not for an axe.” He rammed Ryker
again.

The clips of soles heading in our direction
echoed down the hall. “We have to go now.” Croygen reached down for
Lexie. For one second I saw her lids lift, a tiny smile ghosting on
her features, before they fluttered closed.

“You don’t understand. You don’t have a
connection to your sword.”

Croygen glared at him. “I understand being
connected to things more than you know.”

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.
Sprig twittered excitedly for us, wiggling the key card in his
hand. We only had a little ways to go before we would reach the
lift. Our only way out.

“Get that little freak,” Liam called to Marv
and Hugo.

A tranquilizer dart shot down the hall and
burrowed into Sprig’s chest. He made a squeak and looked down at
the object digging into his skin. “Whoa…that feels like I just
stepped into a tub of warm honey. My butt tingles. So do my
nuts...” He tipped over, crumpling onto the ground, the card
falling out of his hands.

“No!” I lurched forward, but hands grabbed
me, holding me in place. I turned to see Ryker, his eyes closed as
if he struggled being this close to me. He quickly let go at the
sound of boots shuffling toward us.

“You guys run for the elevator. I’ll cover
you.” He gripped the dart gun. As they came around the corner for
us, Ryker stepped out, elbowing Hugo in the face with a crack.
Hugo’s body flew back into Marv, knocking them both down. Marv
untangled himself and came barreling for Ryker.

My shoe hit his face with a resounding
crunch, and he fell back onto the ground.

“Go!” Ryker ordered as his finger pulled back
the trigger. It shot toward its intended. Liam roared with fury,
tugging the dart quickly out of his arm. It gave us just enough
time to run.

With Lexie in his arms, Croygen took off for
the elevator. I bolted for Sprig, scooping him up in my hands,
tugging out the dart. His mouth opened, soft snores sluggishly
coming from him.

“Hurry!” Croygen pounded a finger into the
door’s close button.

I looked up to see Ryker standing in the
middle of the hallway, staring down the path.

“Ryker, come on!” I screamed.

Torment flashed across his face as he looked
at me then the men blocking his way. The agony of leaving his axe
tore at him. It was as much part of him as his arm, but I’d rather
have him armless than dead.

Bullets zipped past him as Hugo got back on
his feet. It would only take one.

“Ryker!” My soul slashed up out of my
throat.

He hesitated one more moment, blurted an
anguished cry, and then turned, running for me. He slipped next to
Croygen in the elevator.

The doors shifted closed.

I grabbed the key card, shoved it in my hip
pocket, and bounded for them.

I took one second too long.

A form slammed into my back. In my forward
lurch, Sprig flew from my grasp, his body rolling into the corner
of the lift. I fell face-first halfway into the elevator, cracking
my chin on the floor. Ryker quickly seized under my arms and slid
me forward as Liam grabbed my boot, wrapping his hands around my
leg. He yanked on my heel, pulling my leg out of the shutting
doors.

I normally would have kicked it off, leaving
him with my shoe, like Cinderella, slipping away into the night
with my faithful mice and hound. But I couldn’t. This boot was no
ordinary glass slipper. It held the power of the world and
destruction and death in it. I wouldn’t let it slide off my foot
and let the Stone of Destiny fall into Rapava’s hands.