The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) (40 page)

“You ready?” I asked Sprig.

“Aye, matty.” He jumped on my shoulder. “Let’s go
capture a pirate.”

“It’s matey.” I rubbed my head. “Never mind.” He was
never going to get it.

Amara sprang for me, grabbing my arm. “You are being
a fool.”

“Sounds about right.” I tugged away from her and
seized the doorknob. Did I think I would merely go outside and find
Croygen? Not really, but if there was a chance, I would take it. I
would protect what was mine. “And why would you care what I
do?”

“I don’t.” Her nose wrinkled. “But you know Ryker
would not want you to go.”

“You going to tattle on me?”

Spitefulness curled her mouth.

I mirrored her grin. “Have fun finding me.” I jumped
from my spot and reappeared in the alley where Ryker and I made
out.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Sprig clung to my
neck.

“Sorry.” I hadn’t planned to jump. For a long time I
either couldn’t control it or I limited my use of the magic, so I
kept forgetting it was another available travel option.

I slunk to the opening of the passageway. The streets
were mostly empty; only a few hard-core people ventured to and fro.
Electricity was out through the village, and most shops and cafés
had closed early. The wind howled down the dark street, whipping at
the telephone wires, swinging them like giant jump ropes.

Sprig huddled close into my neck, hiding from the
onslaught of air blowing my hair around. My skin prickled with
apprehension as I slipped through the dark town. The same feeling
from earlier was growing, unsettling me, my attention on alert to
everything moving or tumbling down the streets.

Sprig kept quiet but clicked his tongue continuously.
If his nails clinging to my neck or the fact he hadn’t mentioned
food once were any indication, he felt the same unnerving energy
mounting. With the storm brewing around me, it took me back to the
night in Seattle when all our lives changed forever. The same
niggling swirled in my gut. Had I listened to it then, Daniel might
still be alive.

This reasoning should have turned my ass right
around, but it didn’t. Curiosity compelled me past reason or
welfare. I wouldn’t confront Croygen; I wasn’t
that
stupid.
I only want to see what he is doing then jump back and tell
Ryker
, I reasoned, knowing I would never have turned around, no
matter what I had told myself.

The silence in the village only swelled the flourish
of nerves bundling in my stomach. My boots cautiously stepped
forward, keeping to the darkest shadows. Far at the edge of town,
my eyes caught a glow. Several different fae auras circled the edge
of the forest. Fae were everywhere around here, but instinct told
me not all were trolls or water fairies.

Croygen was one of them.

I edged down, slinking along a fence, trying to get
closer to see the group better.

Baaamm!

Something hit the fence where I crouched, and a
choked cry stuck in my throat. A low-pitched shrieking of a cat
made me leap from my hiding place. I vaulted away as claws swiped
at the animal on my shoulder.

“Holy dingleberry nuggets!” Sprig moved in closer to
me, his free hand batting back at the feline. Sprig was three times
smaller than the normal monkeys around here. More like a mouse, or
maybe a rat. He would make a perfect meal for a cat. “Stay back,
you Chinese takeout dish.”

I clutched my chest, regaining my breath. Then I
glanced over my shoulder, searching the location for where the fae
had gathered. The spot was empty.

“Dammit,” I muttered.

Sprig hissed back at the growling cat. I kicked the
fence, sending the tabby running.

“Yeah, run like a pussy,” Sprig called after the
animal. “Scaredy cat!”

“Sprig!”

“What? Come on. That was funny. I can tell you want
to laugh.” He poked at the side of my mouth, trying to raise my
lip. After a while I couldn’t help but smile. “See? I knew it. What
would you do without me?”

“I don’t know.” I honestly didn’t anymore. Life
without Sprig was inconceivable. He had weaseled into my heart and
become my buddy. My best friend. I rubbed his head and turned
around to head back home.

My curiosity had ended at the edge of town. The fae
controlled the forests at night; things were out there I probably
never heard of. I wasn’t going to let my snooping convert me into a
blatant idiot. Too many things out there would look at
me
like Chinese takeaway.

Hoping to spot Croygen again, I didn’t jump, but
wandered back through town. As I drifted across the bridge, the
unsettled feeling didn’t ebb, sparking at the hairs at the back of
my neck. Sprig stirred under my hair.

“You feel it too?”

“Yeah,
Bhean
. There’s a lot of magic out here
tonight.”

Two streets away from our building I spotted a
cluster of glowing auras. Warning bells shrilled inside my head.
This was double the group I saw at the edge of town.

“What?” Sprig must have sensed the tension tighten my
body.

“The group there. They are all fae.”

“Can you see who they are?”

“No. Not this far away,” I whispered back and
pointed. “I’m going to get a little closer by jumping to the alley
over there, okay?”

Sprig wrapped his arms around my neck in
response.

I closed my eyes and jumped. We slammed into a
garbage can and tumbled to the ground, splaying across the lane.
The shrill sound of metal clanging echoed down the alleyway.

Fuck!

I scrambled back up. The instinct to jump home before
we were caught took hold, but I stopped myself.

Sprig!

I scanned fervently for the little sprite. My eyes
latched on to a lump of fur at the entrance of the alley. He was
out cold. The shock of our landing probably kicked in his
condition. My feet leaped over a crate, heading for my friend. I
reached down to grab Sprig, but another pair of hands snatched him
first.

My head jerked up, eyes landing on a beautiful
fair-haired fae. His eyes glinted as they looked back into
mine.

It felt like my chest collapsed, sending an avalanche
into my legs.

“You should keep your pets on a leash.” He held Sprig
by the neck. “So they can’t get away from you.”

“Maxen,” I uttered his name, more in trying to
believe he was in front of me than confirming who he was.

“You remember me?” Maxen grinned. “But really,
I
am
hard to forget.”

Maxen’s presence meant Garrett was here too, and they
all led back to Vadik. I wanted to jump, to get away from Maxen, to
warn Ryker. But I couldn’t leave Sprig. They would not hesitate to
kill him. To most fae he was unnatural and wrong. My presence kept
him alive, and I could never abandon him. He was my family.

“You killed my partner.” My teeth clenched
together.

“Right.” He nodded, his eyes sparking with pleasure.
“Good times.” He took a step, his finger pressing on Sprig’s
throat. “How about we keep up the tradition.”

“Stop!” I yelled. “Don’t hurt him. You want me. Take
me, but leave him out of this.”

“See, that’s the thing. We don’t really want you
either. You are merely leverage.” Maxen shook Sprig. His little
body swung limply. “Just like this thing.”

A noise came from the far end of the opposite alley
entrance, and I swung around to see more fae blocking my way. One
pushed his way in front and strolled down the alley to me. His red
hair and beard shone bright enough to make out in the darkness. A
large dark-haired fae walked next to him, his gun pointed at my
head. I recognized him from the night of the storm. The one who
grabbed Amara.

“Zoey. May I call you that?” Garrett feigned
politeness. His man came beside me and pressed the weapon to my
temple. “I feel a bond with you now. Like a long-lost
sister
.”

It was how he had searched for me in Seattle. Showing
people my picture and telling them I was his sister. Using his
Irish charm and fae glamour, he seduced people into telling him
anything they knew. I was almost caught the night at the Red Cross
by this tactic.

“This is how you treat a sister?” I lifted my eyes to
the gun.

Garrett shrugged. “I’m an only child.”

“And I killed
my
brothers,” said the fae
holding the gun to my head.

“Yes, Cadoc dispatched his siblings. Guess we’re not
good with family relations.” Garrett walked around me. “Now tell
me,
Zoey
. Where is the Wanderer?”

I pressed my lips together, folding my arms in
defiance.

“You really want to play it this way?” Garrett got
within an inch of my face. “We will find him no matter what,
especially when he hears your screams. It’s up to you if you want
to be tortured first.”

The threat of being beaten did not affect me like it
would others. Besides street fighting, I had experienced my fair
share of being tied and beaten by a few foster parents. Getting hit
was not enough to scare me into leaving Sprig or caving in about
Ryker’s whereabouts.

I gave Garrett a slow sneer.

I was ready for the hit and about to jump a couple
feet back. I wasn’t going to leave Sprig, but I also wasn’t going
to make it easy for Garrett. He was a slight man, and only a few
inches taller than me. The other fae were his muscle, but Garrett
was the brains, the leader. Before I could move, his hand cracked
across my face. His speed shocked me and so did the intensity of
the blow.

I flew into Cadoc, the barrel of his gun slipping and
ramming into my eye. Cadoc pushed me off him with disgust and
clubbed the back of my head with the pistol, taking me to my knees
with a grunt. I could feel warm blood seep along the back of my
neck.

My brain scrambled as I tried to get myself to
concentrate. “Keep a hand on her at all times in case she tries to
jump,” Garrett said to Cadoc. One hand landed on my neck as a fist
collided with my face with such force I went flying again. I could
tell this time the punches were packed with magic. The impact
seeped into my skin, slicing through my muscles, creating a burning
pain deep in my tissues, causing every nerve to spasm. Logic and
focus dashed away under the dizziness of the agony. My head was
yanked by my hair. My eyesight went spotty.

“I don’t like hitting girls, Zoey, but I’ve seen you
fight. I know your kind. This is the only way you know how to
communicate, to understand I mean business.” Garrett’s green eyes
flamed with anger. His voice sounded like he was in a well... or I
was. “I am tired of playing these games with you and Ryker. I am
getting what I came for this time.”

I didn’t feel him hit me again, but I felt the back
of my head hit the pavement before I blacked out.

“Ryker! Come out. We got your human.”

I lifted my aching neck as consciousness slowly
seeped back to me. I felt two pairs of hands clutching my sides,
holding me upright. Throbbing pain in my face and the back of my
head cracked my lids open. We now stood in the middle of the unlit
main drag. The glow from the moon from behind the clouds casted a
silvery gleam. Garrett’s arms were out as he circled, his thick
Irish accent rolled out into the wind. I struggled trying to
understand what was going on. Garrett’s dozen men filled the
street, all armed with swords and knives. I shifted my gaze to my
left then right. Cadoc was on one side of me, and another huge fae
on the other. Maxen and Sprig were not in my line of sight. My
worry for Sprig overrode my desire to getaway. Not that I really
could. With fae hands on me, there was no point in jumping, they
would only come with me.

“Come on, Wanderer. You spineless motherfucker!”
Garrett yelled. “You want your human to take your punishment for
you? I shouldn’t be surprised. You did with Amara. What kind of man
does that make you?”

Not one person looked out of their windows at the
commotion occurring in the street. Either they were extremely
afraid, or Garrett was glamouring us from human eyes, the latter
being the most likely. It seemed strange this could be happening
right in front of humans and they would have no idea.

“I know you hear me,” Garrett bellowed, walking
backward to me. “If you don’t come out now, I will start cutting.”
Garrett drew out a long, scary-ass dagger. The metal had a greenish
tinge, which made my belly tighten. Seers could tell the difference
between an earth-made weapon and a fae one. Their weapons had
auras. The green tint told me it was the highest of fae-metal.
Goblin made. Goblin metal was the most powerful and the most
poisonous if it got into your system. The pointy end would kill a
human, but the toxic metal was what destroyed fae. I was both.
“I’ll start with little slices along her wrists, next her neck,
then maybe I’ll take an ear or finger.”