City In Embers Read online

  The fact I was below now sat wrong with me. We had a room upstairs where we got examined and mended by the doctors. Why didn’t they simply take me there? I tried to push myself up, but my arms and legs didn’t comply. What the hell? The pressure around my limbs took precedence. Thick leather straps circled my wrists and ankles, latching me to the bed.

  Panic shot up my chest like an arrow, and I fought against the restraints. My hands banged against the side rails as I tugged against the cuffs. The longer I struggled, the higher my anxiety mounted, sending me into a frenzy. Adrenaline spiked my blood stream, and with a hard wrench, the bounds around my wrists ripped from the bed. My fingers immediately went for my ankles, releasing myself.

  When I was free, I sat, my breath labored. They’d used medical restraints. They considered me a danger?

  “Damn impressive,” a small, high voice spoke.

  My body reacted first, jumping from the bed onto the floor. My gaze searched the room for the voice.

  “Especially for a human. The snarled grunt at the end was a very nice touch.”

  My head jerked around, still trying to locate who was talking. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Spriggan-Galchobhar,” the childlike voice replied. “My friends call me Sprig. Oh, right. I don’t have any of those anymore. We’ll, except Sussanna.” This time I could tell it was male.

  “Okay, Sprig whatever-the-hell-the-rest-of-your-name-is, where are you?”

  “Here,” he replied. I straightened, spinning to hone in on the sound. There was nothing but a few empty hospital beds, two examining tables, and a long lab table dressed with tubes, metal boxes, and beakers.

  “Where?” Irritation edged into my words. Why was this guy messing with me?

  I heard it sigh. “Okay. Let’s play a little game. You walk to the table until you hit it. Stop. Then look down. Game over. Now doesn’t it sound like fun?”

  My lips curled into a frown. I didn’t respond but walked to the counter. I scanned the room for anything which might suddenly jump at me. My fingers automatically reached for my gun. Gone. Of course. Even if I hadn’t left my gun back in the rubble, I was a threat, and they would take it away. My dart gun was empty anyway, having already used it on Ryker, but I longed for the security of it. My phone was still lodged deep in my pocket, but it was useless.

  My ribs tapped at the edge of the table as I came to a stop. Nothing sat directly in front of me. There were tubes to my left and a metal box to my right. “All right...” I was about to continue when I felt tiny hands grab my T-shirt, nails sinking into the fabric.

  “Holy hell!” I screamed, jumping back away from whatever had touched me. My stunned gaze followed the line of the fabric sticking straight out and fixed on the miniature claws poking out of the metal box. I hadn’t noticed the holes in the top. With another jerk, my shirt pulled free.

  Two brown, furry arms squeezed out of the holes. The shape, size, and color looked like they belonged to a small monkey. Then they did something I wasn’t expecting. They waved at me. “Hi, yeah, hello.” The little fingers wiggled around.

  My lids continued to blink, and I stared at the cage. I had seen a lot of crazy shit in my time. A lot of fae took on shapes of animals or people, but they had a glow around them, which told me it was glamour. There wasn’t any aura surrounding these arms. Also, when fae shifted into their alternate form, they took on the qualities of that animal. They could no longer talk, not with words anyway.

  Suddenly the hands disappeared, and a large eyeball popped into view. “Look at that. You’re much taller standing up.”

  A monkey was talking to me. Was I dreaming? Was I actually unconscious someplace, imagining all this? My hand went to my face, tapping at my puffy cheek. I hissed in pain. Nope, I was awake. I took a tentative step to the creature. “Y-you’re a monkey. How are you talking?”

  A small huff came from the box. “I am not a monkey. I’m a sprite!”

  I hadn’t seen a sprite in person. Most stayed in the Otherworld. But I knew what they looked like from the records DMG had us study. They were tiny, no more than four or five inches. They were long-eared, round-faced, adorable little things with wings. They were exceptional because they had the consistency of a ghost. Sprite is derived from the Latin word spirit, and they do appear more ghostly than a real being, but you could hold them and catch them like a solid organism.

  He didn’t appear to be a sprite. “You look kind of like a monkey to me.” There was silence from the crate. “Hello?” I bent over, closing one eye to see in.

  “I am not talking to you anymore.”

  Oops! I hurt little monkey-man’s feelings.

  I reached for the cage latch. This was probably a dumb move, but my curiosity to see this creature shattered my common sense. Slowly, I lifted the lid. Light streamed into the box, exposing the creature. Soft brown fur covered his entire body except for his face, ears, and the pads of his hands and feet. His little white face was in a heart shape, leaving his huge brown eyes even more endearing. He looked like a baby capuchin monkey, but even smaller than I remembered the breed. He was only as big as a sprite—four or five inches max. I immediately wanted to put him in my pocket and protect him.

  A water dish and a tiny stuffed toy sat in the far corner; Sprig sat opposite them. His arms crossed and his dark eyes glared into mine before he turned his back to me.

  “I’m sorry... Sprig was it?” Did I just apologize to a fae creature? “But you’re a monkey.”

  He swiveled around on his butt, facing me. “On the outside, but the inside is pure sprite.”

  “How is it possible?”

  “I was use—”

  He was cut off by the doorknob rattling. I whipped around to see Dr. Rapava enter the room. His eyes widened at the sight of me. “How are you awake?”

  The notion of me being awake hadn’t crossed my mind. I figured it had been hours since they sedated me.

  “There is no way you should be awake and standing.” His confusion trickled trepidation through me. “It’s only been twenty minutes. You should have been out for at least an hour.” He stepped farther into the room, his head turned toward the bed. The thick leather cuffs hung limply against the side. “How did you get free?”

  Deep warning bells went off again, but my legs stayed melded to the floor.

  “You are taking on its qualities.” He nodded, as if confirming whatever theory he had in mind.

  “I am not pregnant,” I finally whispered.

  Rapava glanced down at the files in his hand. “These tell me different, Zoey.”

  “What?” My back strummed as I over-straightened. “They say I’m pregnant?”

  The doctor stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. His restriction of my exit pumped more anxiety into me. “The pregnancy test came back inconclusive. Your general makeup is the same, except for a section in you, which has come back positive for fae DNA. I may not be able to hear a heartbeat, but I have no doubt you are carrying a fae offspring.”

  My whole world seemed to turn upside down. As sure as he was I was carrying fae spawn, I knew I wasn’t. I would never even touch a fae if I didn’t have to. The thought of having sex with one made me retch. The last time I had sex was more than a month ago after a very intense training session with Daniel. It ended with him driving me home and a platonic nod goodbye. Chaste and by the rules. He had me really riled up, and I didn’t want to be a good girl. After he dropped me off, I took out my frustration on some guy I picked up at the bar. A human man. We had been safe, and my monthly visitor four days later confirmed it.

  He looked down at his clipboard and became even more formal than he usually was. “When were you assaulted, Zoey?”

  “I-I wasn’t assaulted.” My mind spun, not able to grasp anything substantial.

  “I see.” Displeasure coated his words as he checked something on the form. “When was your last sexual encounter with a fae, then?”

  My head slowly shook back and f
orth. “No! You don’t understand.”

  Rapava’s hand came up, pen twined between his fingers. “I will not lie. I am greatly disappointed in you, Zoey, but in order to deal with this, I need you to be completely honest with me. We need to know all the facts, so I know how to handle it.” He cleared his throat. “Now, tell me when you last had intercourse with a fae. When were you penetrated?”

  I cringed at his words, feeling dirty and disgusted, but they did trigger a memory of the night. My hand grazed my stomach. It was still tender from where the lightning bolt went through. Penetrated. Duh, Zoey. “It was the lightning bolt!” I motioned frantically at my stomach. “The lightning did it.” Okay, now looking back, I can see how crazy it sounded.

  Dr. Rapava stared at me before his robotic voice filled with an emotion I had never heard from him.

  Disappointment and shame. “I think you should lie down.”

  “No! You don’t understand. The storm wa—”

  Rapava’s legs moved in the direction of the wall, stopping my words. He punched his finger into the intercom button. “Liam, can you and Sera get down here? She is awake.”

  Terror constricted my lungs. Threat. Enemy. The words pumped through my blood into my thoughts. My reaction was immediate. Like a trapped animal, I squatted lower, preparing myself to attack. I had been in a lot of predicaments in the past, and I had always gotten out. Whatever it took, my self-preservation dominated.

  Swiping up the closest thing, my fingers curled into the holes of Sprig’s cage. A squeak came from him as I dumped him out and tossed the metal box at Rapava. Adrenaline allowed me to heave the container with precision and speed, nailing Rapava’s head. He crashed to the floor under the force. He groaned and rolled to his side. I only had seconds before he would be back up, or Liam and Sera would enter the room. If they did—game over.

  “Take me with you,” Sprig chirped from the counter. It was a natural reflex to shake my head. I collected fae; I didn’t set them free. He leaped off the table, following me as I dashed for the exit. “Please, don’t leave me here with them. I can help you.”

  I swung the door open, and it crashed against the wall close to Rapava. I sprinted down the hallway.

  “You can’t go out this way. All exits are equipped with a fae alarm,” the monkey screeched as he scampered next to me.

  “Good thing I’m not fae, then.”

  Sprig’s tiny form silently kept up with surprising ease as the smooth floor squeaked under my boots. Muscles in my legs tightened as I veered around a corner, leading me to the exit. Instinct was all I had to go on because I had never been this deep in the DMG building. Natural deduction skills had me following a route as if I were on the floor I knew. Most likely, they had been set up similarly.

  My lungs throbbed under my ribs, more from panic than exertion. My eyes were set ahead, but I was aware of every door I passed, afraid something would leap out. I skidded, rounding another corner. Stairs. My exit leading up was in sight. A machine similar to the ones for airport security bordered the end of the corridor before reaching the stairs. The moment my toes crossed it, the buzzer sounded, belting a loud signal off the walls. What the hell?

  “Not fae, huh?” Sprig skidded into the back of my boot. “I told you the doorways are lined with anti-fae material. If we step over, it sets off a warning bell,” Sprig spouted nervously.

  But I wasn’t fae. Had he crossed it the same time I did? I had no time to wonder as shouts and the vibration of feet plummeting down the stairs whirled me around to head back across the scanner and into the depths of DMG.

  “Hurry, Liam.” Sera’s voice rang through the corridor.

  Sprig squeaked with fear, his body stiffened and toppled in a heap.

  “What the hell?” I bent over his little body. “Sprig?” His tiny chest moved up and down. He was still alive. I swept him up in my arms and took off in the opposite direction from Sera and Liam.

  I turned toward the closest door, twisting the knob. Locked. I tried a few more. All bolted. Sprig stirred in my arms. I searched behind me, then back at the stairs. Shit! I had nowhere to go. Liam and Sera were getting closer—only seconds from hitting the bottom of the steps. Soon they would see me.

  The last door opened for me, and I raced through, closing and locking it behind me. Liam’s and Sera’s shouts drilled through the wood.

  “She went in there,” Liam bellowed.

  Dread wrapped so tightly around my lungs it broke off my air supply. I only had a second to examine the room before Liam’s fist cracked into the panel. The space was another lab. There were different types of equipment and devices. Attached was a smaller room with windows, a room within a room. An operating table with chains hanging off the side was located in the side space. Whatever they put on the bed, they restrained and observed from this outer room. My insides constricted at the thought. But right then I didn’t have time to dwell on anything.

  Bam!

  The door shook again under Liam’s strength.

  Sprig perked his head up. “How did we get here?” He looked up at me studying me. “You saved me?”

  “I-uh.” I didn’t have a response to his question. Why did I save him?

  “I am indebted to you.” He jumped from my arms onto the counter.

  “What happened?”

  “I tend to fall asleep at the most inopportune moments.”

  “You’re a narcoleptic?”

  “In so many words.”

  “What words would you use?”

  His brown eyes stared blankly. “Those I guess.”

  A narcoleptic monkey-sprite. This was a new one for me.

  There were no windows since it was far below the surface, the only door being the one we came in. What the hell was I going to do? How would I escape? Think, Zoey. Think! The fan kicked on, pushing air down on me. My gaze went up, searching the air vent. “That’s it.”

  “What’s it?” Sprig replied.

  The air had to be pumped down here. My hope locked on the idea if the vent moved the air to all the rooms below, it would lead to the surface.

  “This way,” I shouted and leaped on the counter and pointed at the ceiling panels.

  “Ah, got it, bhean!” He clambered up the cupboard to the ceiling.

  I scaled after him. Slipping into people’s houses from an open top-floor window had once been my specialty. My tiny, limber nine-year-old frame could get into any snug or high place with no problem. My body had developed since then. My ass was a lot more rounded, my boobs more defined. I loved them, but it did make it a little harder to crawl into small spaces.

  “Zoey, come out now. You have nowhere to run,” Sera screamed.

  The door shuddered again as an impact hit lower. Sera’s foot. I had been on the receiving end of her kicks many times. Her legs were tiny but powerful. She bruised my ribs a lot during training. Don’t get me wrong—I had gotten her back—but deep down I knew I held back. When I would feel the blissful level of excitement pumping into my veins, when I wanted to tear her apart, I would walk away. This type of fighting was never allowed on DMG’s mats. Daniel would never have condoned it. And I had never wanted him to see the dark version of me.

  I pushed my foot off the last shelf of the cabinet and hit at a ceiling panel, exposing the open rafters. Sprig jumped up, gripping one of the metal braces. I crawled behind him, lifting myself to the supports. Wiring, metal beams, and insulation filled the space like an obstacle course. I had barely put the panel back in place when I heard the door splinter. Please, door, hold a little longer. I needed a bit more time to get out of this space before they figured where I went.

  Sprig bounced from beam to beam, chirping and chattering like I had seen monkeys do on the Discovery Channel when they got riled up. “Shut it,” I whispered hoarsely, following his lead toward the far wall.

  An opening cut into the wall went up to the surface, bringing fresh air to the underground sections. My trail to freedom. The metal vent stuck out of the wall en
ough so I didn’t have to go in where the fan circled around like blades of death. I unhooked a panel on the side, letting it fall open. Sprig’s nails dug into my jeans as he climbed to my shoulder and then leaped to the outlet. Fae of any kind had always been the “enemy,” but in a matter of minutes, I had come to feel an alliance with the monkey. It was nowhere near fondness or even compassion but more a convenience—we’re in this together kind of feeling. I assumed the moment we got through this predicament, things would change. We would go our separate ways, and he would deal with finding safety on his own.

  It took me a couple of tries before I jumped high enough to get the majority of my upper torso into the opening. The sharp metal stabbed into my abdomen. My fingers scratched for any kind of traction, and my legs swung violently underneath me. A trickle of sweat trailed down my forehead into my eye.

  “Come on. Hurry!” Sprig bobbed around me anxiously.

  I grunted and pulled myself up into the space. My legs slipped, and I crashed to the floor near the vent. All I wanted to do was lie there and pant like a dog, but I had no time. Sera and Liam were far from dumb. If they got into the room and figured out where I went, they would know where I was going. Even with all the work to get out, there was a good possibility in the end they would be standing by the ground flue and lead me right back to where I started.

  Rolling over, I got on all fours and crawled. It was pitch black, and my hands felt their way through the space, colliding with cobwebs and rats. I reached forward, my fingers sliding over something soft.

  “Hey,” Sprig yelped. “Stop grabbing my ass.”

  I jerked my hand back.

  “I mean, I don’t think we know each other well enough yet. At least you could buy me a few drinks or something first.”

  I snorted.

  “I am all for the incentive. I like a woman who goes for what she wants.”

  “Please, shut up now,” I groaned. Great. I had a chatty, frisky monkey-sprite on my hands.