Page 136 of Stone Seduction
What the actual hell?
I started crying, trying to reach Asher through the amulet. God knows why it was still there, feeling heavier than normal as if there were two of them. Not that it made any sort of connection to the gargoyle.
Was he okay? Would I feel him being hurt like last time? Oh, God. Did he see me? Did he see what I’d done?
I licked my lips, managing a question. “Where are you taking me?”
“You’ll see.”
The wind picked up, a light snow falling. I didn’t understand. Surely, he’d want me dead after destroying his town. Why would he want to use me now? I was an abomination, death was too good for me.
He should make me suffer first. Stretch it across many, many years.
Finn…
I couldn’t think about him. No. No. No. Shut it down. Don’t let it in. Don’t let me ponder the great hero he would’ve been instead of this thief taking his place.
“I’ve always known what you did, Luke,” Seth said, dragging on his joint.
I stilled, my veins throbbing. “You… You…”
“I wanted to protect you because I cared. Believe or not, I like you. Really like you. I’ll miss our games of chess along with your beautiful face.”
“What—”
“Shut up and listen. The best thing you can do now is go with this.”
I listened, ready to puke and pass out again. How many more surprises were lined up for me?
“I never expected Ember to discover what you did. Sorry, I’m skipping ahead.” He blew smoke rings.
“I—” He stopped walking. “Hello?”
Silence, the shuffling of feet.
“I come with the key,” he said.
I swallowed, my heart clenching. “You’re giving me to Ember?”
My power stirred, crying out from the depths.
“Yes, Luke. I made a deal with her recently, offering you to spare the lives of many. She might be destined to destroy us, but she enjoys a bargain.”
My brain plopped into a swamp of confusion. “You did what?”
He carried on walking, Billy adjusting his grip on me. We passed five gas mask humans lining the path without the masks, their bald heads on show, orange flame tattoos almost flickering on their skulls.
“After the chimera attack on the tower,” Seth continued, “my team captured a gas mask human. I stopped her from killing herself, tortured her, and Luna here managed to form a connection to Ember with copious amounts of potions and charms. We talked, we came to an agreement. Certain gargoyles would be spared, along with Gula, and Brinecrest. Everyone else would be fair game. We’ve been keeping in touch since, trying towork out the best time to hand you over. Clearly, her impatience got the better of her several times.” His lips curled into a snarl. “Her black smoke charm almost ended our deal.”
My head stayed in the swamp, sinking into yucky silt.
“Please don’t vomit on me,” Billy pleaded gently.
I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t muster any sort of response. But the vomit stayed down.
“Ember warned me to get to safety after delighting in discovering your destiny theft,” Seth said. “I did, and here we are. Although the town is lost, I can still spare more lives with this deal.”
He’d been working with the enemy. He’d fucked us all by brokering this agreement.
