Collector: City In Embers Part 7

"Not my problem."

My determination to struggle against him was nil. There was no point unless I wanted to gnaw my arm off, which I didn't. Not yet anyway.

The Capitol neighborhood of Seattle, above where DMG headquarters was stationed, survived only marginally better than downtown. Buildings still burned, and many were collapsed into piles but more sporadically here. Cl.u.s.ters of people roamed the streets, looking lost and terrified. A pregnant silence held an eerie absence of voices-the dead filling the vacancy with their silent screams.

The sound of helicopters came from above, their spotlights the only thing signaling their location, like the Bat-Signal. The smoke and debris clotted in a dome over Seattle.

My arms were jerked forward, tearing the skin at my wrist. "Hurry up, human," Ryker growled, glaring over his shoulder at me with glowing white judgments of hate. "You are testing my patience."

"You have patience?" I countered.

I tried to escape him when we came across others, but quickly I gave up screaming and fighting him. No one looked. No one cared. My energy was being wasted. There was so much yelling and commotion going on in the streets mine got lost in the sea of turmoil filling Seattle.

His scowl only intensified before he yanked harder on the rope, dragging me forward. A couple of choice words were mumbled under my breath, while my feet tried to speed up enough to keep up with his pace.

EIGHT.

Time wore on, and Ryker kept up his punis.h.i.+ng speed. My feet and body ached. The tiny bit of energy I had left kept one foot moving in front of the other but didn't stop me from stumbling and falling.

"Get up," Ryker barked, tugging on the cord linking us. "Or I swear I will kill you, human."

I swallowed, my throat dry and coated with the grime of the burning city. "Then do it." I crawled to my feet and peered up at him, with no fear or doubt. "I beg you. Do it. I have nothing left."

His lips pinched. His eyes searched mine, seeing the resolve behind my words. He breathed out methodically and looked up at the sky. He s.h.i.+fted his feet and turned and yanked me forward. "Keep moving."

"No." I stood my ground and almost went into the pavement when the line pulled up short. "I have to stop."

"Not yet." He faced me.

"Yes, now." I gritted my teeth, trying not to feel the intimidating way he loomed over me. He could snap me in pieces.

His chest puffed out as he drew in a huge gulp of air. Heat radiated off him, directed at me. We stared at each other for a good minute before he finally spoke. "We'll find a place to stay for the night, but you're gonna have to keep going until I find one."

I nodded.

We were far from the heart of the city in the north suburbs when Ryker finally found us a sketchy motel. Not as much was destroyed this far, but all electricity was off. I wondered how far the effects of the storm actually went.

There was no one at the desk, although I doubted it would make a difference to Ryker. He didn't seem like the pay for a room type. He carted me off to a room farthest from the street and office. He only nudged the door with his shoulder, and it cracked open.

d.a.m.n! He was either extremely strong or the quality of the building materials was poor. I voted for both. He towed me into the small, dingy bathroom. No lights made the room even more horror-movie ready.

He unwound his arm from the rope and marched me to the bathtub. "Get in."

I was beyond tired and only wanted to stop walking and sit. So I did. He tied my wrists together, then took another rope from the handle of his axe and tied my wrists to the metal spout. He tugged on it a few times, making sure it was secure before he walked to the bedroom. There was a sliding sound, like he was dragging a piece of furniture across the room. A bang on the door confirmed my theory as the dresser blocked the broken door-trapping us in.

Heavy boots stomped back to me. "Now, go to sleep. If you try and escape, I will tie the rope around your neck tomorrow and drag you."

"Like a slave." I frowned.

"No." He grabbed the k.n.o.b of the door. "Like livestock." He slammed the door, encasing me in darkness.

I called him a few names but very halfheartedly. My lids no longer wanted to cooperate nor listen to me. Most of my body was rejecting my orders. It demanded sleep and food. Food seemed out of the question for now. Leaning my head against the tile, I surrendered to the other demand before my body went on strike. It needed to shut down, to leave the trauma of the day behind for at least a moment.

Helicopter beams flashed through the bathroom window, forcing my lashes to rise. It felt as if I only closed my eyes an instant before. They burned with the need to shut and continue sleeping.

Another flash of light reflected through the frosted window. The low vibrating pattern of the rotors advanced close above the one-story rat-infested lodging. I figured they were out in response to the storm, but my paranoia fused a tiny flame in my brain. What if it was for me? The probability of someone or something out there hunting for one of us was high. I couldn't fathom I'd be worth enough for the DMG to get a search party so advanced looking for me, although the little voice in the back of my head still nibbled at the idea.

Sounds from the other room revealed the Viking was awake. The bathroom door squeaked open. His outline encompa.s.sed most of the doorway. I could not make out his face in the shadows, but his eyes glowed in the darkness. It seemed to be a fae trait-very bright, unnaturally colored eyes. I stayed silent as he continued farther into the room, fear spiking my adrenaline.

No fae would go out of his way to save humans if he were only going to kill them. Right? I really hoped so. At the moment, logic told me I would be all right-until he found out I didn't have what he was seeking. A part of me wished he would end the pain that strangled my heart and soul and stop the image of Daniel's dead body at my feet, his eyes staring blankly at me.

He had almost kissed me for the first time barely a few hours ago. So much should have been ahead of us. He wasn't supposed to die. He was the man I was meant to grow old with. My heart crushed under the weight of the knowledge we would never be. Then my mind tormented me more, creating Lexie's voice, calling my name as the flames overtook her.

"Stop," he said, his tone angry. I hadn't made a peep. "They'll be able to sense you a state away."

"Who?" I spit out. "I didn't say anything!" Sirens and helicopters howling through the streets muted my cries to nonexistent.

"I didn't say hear. I said feel. You humans broadcast your emotions like radio." He paused, his jaw clenching. He really hated humans, which was amusing since the feeling was mutual. He paced the tight box, his figure stiff and anxious.

"Are those guys still after you? The ones who took your girlfriend?" I asked. "Garrett, right?" A muscle twitched at his temple. His white eyes appeared turbulent with guarded rage. Tattoos down his neck flickered with sparks. Instinctively, I leaned back. He was a terrifying sight. "What the h.e.l.l? Your tattoos..."

Ryker gripped his fists tighter. "They are my birthmarks. I was born with them. They're attached to my fae magic. Or they used to be."

"Do they flicker when you use your powers?" My geek brain kicked in, fascinated by this new species of fae. Nothing like him was in our training books.

He moved to the window, ignoring my question. Finally, a deep grumble came from his throat. "You do not speak of Amara. Am I clear, human?"

"I have a name, you know."

"I don't care what your name is. All you humans are no more than a group of imps to me."

"A fae way of saying I'm sc.u.m?" Ire spewed from my lips.

He snapped his head to stare down at me. "Are fae anything more to you? You experiment and run tests on us. How many of my kin have died for your research?"

"At least we act for the greater good. What do you do it for?"

"Good for who?" he snapped at me with condescension.

"We are trying to define the DNA of faes and clone them. We are saving lives, fighting against diseases and disabilities. Children with cancer, people with severe disabilities. What we do is beneficial. If some fae die in the process, I am sorry."

"You're sorry?" He gripped the tub, leaning into my face. "How many of us died so one of you could live?" He took a long drag of air through his nose. "Don't get high and mighty with me, human. You think of fae no better than I think of humans."

A chill filled my belly. There was truth in his statement. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I did consider fae inferior. Testing on another species to help my own, even if it caused pain to one, benefited mine. Human life, especially with having a disabled sister, was worth more to me than a species I had been trained to despise. But we tested; we did not seek to kill. When we went on hunts, we packed stun guns. We only had guns loaded with fae bullets for backup. I used them several times but had never killed a fae. Daniel killed one, but it had been about to tear into my neck. The memory of Daniel clogged my throat. I pushed the incapacitating thought of never seeing him again deep inside.

My street reflexes wanted me to fight this jerk, but what I learned in my psychology cla.s.ses told me to familiarize myself with my kidnapper. Become more than a faceless target. Wasn't sure if this theory worked on fae, but I was willing to give it a try. "My name is Zoey. Zoey Daniels."

He pushed away from me, going to the sink area. "I don't give a f.u.c.k."

"You kidnapped me and say I have something of yours. It seems we're together in this. I'm a target now, too," I said. "It will help if I know what is after you. Why did they take Amara? What is it you have they want so badly?"

"Let's say I have something many people want. Desperately."

I s.h.i.+fted to face him, needles of numbness p.r.i.c.kled at my rear. Bits of conversation from my earlier encounter with him came back. "This stone... it's what you think I have, right?" He tilted his head as if I were the stupidest person on the planet. "So what is it you think I have if it's not the stone?"

A frustrated growl gurgled up from his throat. He squatted next to the bathtub. "I never said you had it." He rubbed at the loose hair on top of his head. "Let's see if you can keep up..."

My lashes lowered as I glowered at him.

"You understand I am fae, right?" he mocked.

My glare narrowed with more contempt.

"All right. We're together so far." His condescending tone made me want to slap him. Hard. "I am what you call a Wanderer. I have certain powers. Or at least I did till you took them."

"What? I-"

He held up his hand, interrupting me. "You recall lightning hitting me?"

A patronizing smile grew on my mouth. "Yeah. Best part of my day so far."

He did not find me amusing. "This." He tapped at the ropes holding me prisoner. "Is the best part of mine."

The raw hatred and disgust I felt for him shook me to my core.

A glint flickered in his eyes as my shoulders hunched tighter. "The lightning went through me and went into you, taking my powers with it." He nodded to where I was struck. "You carry them now."

"Excuse me?" This guy had lost his mind. "You're saying they were transferred into me?"

"Yes." He nodded, using the side of the tub to push himself up.

"You're crazy." A strange laugh erupted from my mouth. "I'm talking padded-walls loony."

"I can sense them. How do you think I was able to find you both times? I know my own magic. It calls to me."

My mouth opened and then shut. Was this even possible? Was it what Sera saw? Why Dr. Rapava claimed I was "carrying" a fae baby? And what about the fact I couldn't go through the fae-blocking door without the alarm going off? If I were human, I should have been able to walk through without a problem.

"I don't know how it's possible. I've never heard of anything like this happening. But it has. I first thought it was something your group did, but now I realized you humans aren't smart or skilled enough to pull something like this off." He began to walk in circles, his hands on his hips. "The storm was carried out by a fae. I have been around for a long time and never felt anything like the magic in that lightning."

I kept silent, wanting to hear what he thought about the storm, and if he knew more than the DMG did.

"It was not a storm from the Otherworld, but it was fae-made. Whatever or whoever created it possesses capabilities unheard of in our world. No fae should have the amount of magic it took to transfer powers to another, especially a human. It shouldn't be possible."

"Well, I've learned with fae never to doubt what they are capable of."

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What are these abilities I'm holding?" Not that I believed the insane man, but it was good to humor crazy people.

He pressed his mouth together. He didn't want to tell me.

"Look, if I have these powers, then I need to be aware of what they are and what I can do."

"Believe me. You would have used them already if you could."

"How do you know?"

"Fae's powers are instinctual. They are not always something you can control when you first start learning them. They tend to come out in extreme emotions. If you were able to use them, they would have gotten you out of the building... or out of here."

I glanced down at the rope binding me to the tub. Closing my eyes, I willed these powers to do something. Nothing happened. "Tell me what you... they can do."

He stared out the window for so long I thought he was ignoring my plea. "A Wanderer is a jumper. We can blink in and out of time and s.p.a.ce. Travel anywhere we want in the world in an instant."

Wow! Cool! "That would be handy about now." I tugged at my restraints. "So you think of somewhere, and it takes you there?"

Getting him to confirm or deny this was like pulling teeth. He didn't like talking about himself. "It works in many different ways." He rubbed at his chest. "It's all I'm telling you."

"But if I'm carrying these powers, I should know what they're capable of."

"Exactly the reason I don't want you to know."

"It's clear I can't use them, and I'm not foolish enough to think I can get away from you, especially if you can sense them. Untie me. I won't run." A notion came into my head, my shoulders drooping. "I have no place to go anyway."

He snorted. "I'm not stupid, human. You are staying tied until I find a way to get them back." He walked into the other room and came back with a pillow, tossing it in the tub next to me. "Sleep tight." He nodded down at my ropes, then closed the door and shut it firmly behind him, leaving me alone in the bathroom.

"You son of a b.i.t.c.h!" I screamed, thras.h.i.+ng against the sides of the tub. "You fae are all alike... narcissistic, cruel, deceitful a.s.sholes."

"Funny. Sounds like humans," he yelled through the door. I could hear the springs of the bed respond to his weight. b.a.s.t.a.r.d. He had a nice soft bed. I got a cold, hard tub too small to even lie in.

"I have to pee," I hollered.

"Good thing you're in the shower."

My life mostly consisted of rough circ.u.mstances, places where I needed to be on guard. This situation kicked in my defenses. My past was not clean, and I had my fair share of red marks on my record. I'd been in a knife fight with a gang of girls and shot one of my foster fathers in the thigh. I had been aiming for his b.a.l.l.s, but he'd moved. It was one of those homes I tried to block out, although it did remind me every day why I fought so hard to keep Lexie protected. Why I gushed about Joanne when a service agent would stop by to review our living situation. I never wanted Lexie to go through something like I had. Now she never would.

The moment I was loose, I was going to find the sharpest object and stab it into Ryker's throat. I would never be a victim again.