Priceless (39 page)

“
Eve?
”
I
didn
’
t
step any further into the room. As it was, I could leap out and slam the door if I had too. Alex
,
though
,
had no qualms. He trotted forward and stuck his nose under her chin.
“
Evie.
”

She fluttered awake, her eyes blinking slowly.
“
Hello
,
Tracker.
”

“
You can call me
,
Rylee
,
”
I said
, my hands itching for a weapon, even though she had claimed sanctuary with me. Harpy
’
s were not trusted for a reason
.

“
Rylee
,
then.
I chased away the pack that was here
;
it didn
’
t take much
.
”

That explained that. Maybe having a Harpy around wouldn
’
t be all bad.
I nodded my thanks. Alex
,
though
,
didn
’
t hold back, almost throwing himself at the young Harpy
;
she
brushed him off, but not in an unkind way
.

“
What are you going to do?
”
H
er voice
was
devoid of any emotion.

It hit me that she was depressed, which made sense. I
’
d lost my sister, I knew what it was to lose a beloved sibling and think you should have somehow saved them.

Breathing in the scent of hay and years of dust, I made my way over to her, sat down
,
and talk
ed
. About Berget, about my life, about how I wanted to save those kids who got snatched. Her eyes went wide as I opened up to
her
like I
’
d only ever done with Milly, and Eve seemed to sense it.

“
Why are you telling me all
of
this?
”

By now Alex was laying across my lap.

“
Because I know what it is to be lost, to want to find your own path, one that can maybe redeem the past
,
”
I said, my voice thick
with sorrow
even to my own ears.

She nodded slowly as she took it all in.
“
May I help you? Would you let me?
”

That was not expected
,
and it was my turn to nod slowly.
“
Yes, you could help me.
But I have to ask, Eve, how can you be so accepting of me? I killed both of your sisters.
”

Her feathers fluffed up.
“
In our culture, it is the strong who survive, the strong who are revered. You were able to kill my sisters
;
they were not strong enough. You outsmarted them. I would learn from you so that I do not follow in their footsteps. It is
often
our way to train with those who have killed our family members.
”

Wow. Shock filtered through me
.
T
hat was not what I expected, not at all.
“
Okay, y
ou have strengths I could only ever hope for
to tap into when searching for kids, b
ut don
’
t you want to go to your own kind?
”

Eve snorted and fluffed her body.
“
They kicked us out because we . . .
no, I cannot speak of it yet. They don
’
t like me, or my sisters.
”
Her throat caught
,
and I placed a hand, gingerly, on her wing, feeling the tremble of emotion ripple through her body. It seemed I was bound to pick up strays and outcasts.

Leaving her there, I went back inside the house,
passed on my usual routine for the first time in years,
showered, went to bed and
lay
there staring up at the ceiling, Alex stretched out across my legs. Thoughts of O
’
Shea, Milly, Eve, Alex, India
,
and Giselle ran through my mind until
,
finally exhausted, I fell
asleep, hoping the morning light would give me some guid
anc
e as to what would happen next.

A week later,
India and
her parents met me at the hotel
where I’d first met them.
While Maria and Don were grateful, they were reserved. India had no such qualms.

I stepped into the room and she ran toward me, arms outstretched. Scooping her up, I held her tight. Today
,
she smelled only like baby powder, no scent of blood.

“
How are you feeling
,
kid?
”
I put her back down and crouch
ed
so we were eye to eye.
I rubbed at the spot on my body where the demon
’
s scorpion tail had pierced my prone fo
r
m in the pentagram. Nothing seemed to have come from it, but there was a dull ache that wouldn
’
t go away
. It
was particularly bad at night. For now though, I
’
d
ignor
e
it. If it ain
’
t broke, don
’
t fix it and all that jazz.

“
Okay. I like Danny.
”
Danny was the therapist I
’
d set them up with. She also happened to be a true psychic who would be able to help India train her abilities.

“
That
’
s good. She
’
s a nice lady.
”

We visited for a few more minutes
before
I headed toward the door. India grabbed my hand, pulling me down to her level.
“
I have to tell you something.
”

Smiling
,
I tipped my head so she could whisper into my ear.

“
Berget says that Giselle is the key to finding her.
”

Her words, so simple
,
set me back on my heels
,
and I had to kneel down to catch my breath.
“
How?
”

India shrugged, keeping her voice low. A look over her shoulder, she waved off her parents
,
who had tensed at my apparent shock.
“
I can see them
, the spirits
.
Your sister, s
he st
ayed with me
. Told me things. She said that it wasn
’
t your fault. That she
’
s too far away
for you to find
. But
”
—
India twisted her hands around mine
—
“
Berget says that Giselle
can help you find her.
”

“
That doesn
’
t make any sense
,
”
I whispered.

She shrugged.
“
It
’
s what she told me. Will you still look for her?
”

I nodded.
“
I
’
ve never stopped.
”

“
That
’
s what I told her too.
”
India wrapped her arms around my neck.
“
I told her that you would always come for the missing children. Everyone knows that.
”

A lump formed hard in my throat, one that I couldn
’
t swallow past. India made me swear I
’
d stay
in touch. I could barely nod,
and
struggled to get out to my Jeep
,
where I laid my head on the steering wheel and finally let the tears flow.

Berget was still out there, and she didn
’
t blame me for not finding her. It took me a long time to pull myself together, but for the first time I felt . . .
free of the guilt.

*-*-*-*

Jake pulled through,
though
he was going to be in a wheelchair for a while
;
both of his legs had been broken and quite badly, but he was alive and had no memory of what had happened to him. I visited him in the hospital, only once, and while he was sleeping. He wouldn
’
t remember me anyway. From what the nurses told me, he already
wanted
to be just like his new hero, Agent O
’
Shea. Jake wanted to be an FBI Agent when he grew up. Boo
-
yah.

Milly moved out of the
Coven
and in with me
,
Alex
and Giselle
,
who
’
d come to live with us until we knew what would be best for her
. I was happy, yet I had no desire to hear
Milly
and O
’
Shea
“
knocking boots
”
in the room across from me
, so I implemented
a
“
No Sex at the House
”
rule, which she seemed to be fine with.

Two
week
s
after Agent Valley visited me, I got a phone call from him. I didn
’
t answer.
I still wasn
’
t ready to face that particular choice yet.
Worse yet, t
he stack of papers on the Arcane division of the FBI
had gone
missing
;
most likely it got grabbed in one or the other raids on my place, so I had no further knowledge than what Valley was willing to give me, which wasn
’
t enough to sway me.

All and all, life went back to as normal as it could, at least for me.

That is, until the phone rang and Dox
’
s voice came through on the other end
, his voice heavy with sorrow, his words telling me my time off was up
.

“
Rylee, we
’
ve got a problem.
”

Dark Waters, Celtic Legacy Book 1

The bond between sisters is stretched to the limit as they are thrown into the world of the Fae. As they learn their places in this new world, secrets and dangers from the past emerge setting them on a dangerous path; one that would see them face off not as sisters, but enemies. Add in a wicked love triangle and you have the start of a new twist on classic Irish lore.

Sundered, A Zombie-ish Apocalypse Book I

A single, miracle drug that will save the world from disease
and obesity. If the side effects are ignored.
A young married couple desperate to reach their dreams of
having a family. If they can pay the price.
Welcome to a new world that will test those who are still
human, pitting them against monsters who were once family, friends, and lovers.

Acknowledgements

“Priceless” has been sitting on my “To do” shelf for a LONG time. Several years in fact. I had the chance to read the first scene to my writers group and got some great feedback, enough that I thought, “Yes, I will finish this story!”

So a great “huzzah” to my writers group, WIP
(aka Writing In Progress)
, who without I might not have settled down to finish Rylee’s story or have realized that she was a character I couldn’t wait to know more about.