Page 137 of Stone Seduction
“Who is she?” I managed to ask.
“Hush now.”
We finished the journey in silence, coming to a stop inside a small cave inside a mountain. I think. Billy put me down, Seth sliding in behind me, holding me up by my sides.
Ember’s followers lit flaming torches, fixing them into sconces in the walls. Fire chased away the darkness, revealing a statue of a woman fixed into a curved wall. Carved from onyx, the left hand reaching out, her fingers splayed.
“Her power is great, Luke,” Seth whispered into my ear. “Her reach incredible, even locked away.”
A fizz in my ears, the amulet warming.
Hope fluttered everywhere.“Asher?”If I heard his voice, maybe things would get better for a few fleeting moments.
“It’s me,”Seth said in my head.
I squeaked, all eyes turning to me.
Seth growled at the humans. “Come on. I want to get out of here.”
What the hell was he doing in my head? I looked down, seeing a second amulet around my neck. Thinking there weretwo there hadn’t just been a feeling. A gold chain draped over the silver one, a red stone beside the green.
“Don’t react again,”Seth warned.“Everything I told you is true to a point. I wanted you to be taken to find her. To help you kill her.”
Pow. There he went again with the gut punches, the lurching twists.
“Brinecrest is gone because of her. Don’t blame yourself.”
How could he say that?“I summoned the wave. I killed my friends. I did… I did this…”
“But she put you in that position. In some ways, so did I for not serving you better from the beginning. I’m sorry.”
It didn’t matter what he said. The onus was on me.
Tom.
Maren.
Asher.
Everyone.
“Ember forced the trigger,”he added.
I rejected his words, gagging on them.“I did it. I murdered everyone.”
“Stop right now. I’m not telling you to move on, but you must unburden yourself from the guilt.”
I almost howled with laughter. Seriously? In what world was it so easy to kick grief down a well? The buck stopped with me. End of.
The ring slipped off my finger, hitting the cave floor with a gentle clang. A human came forward to claim it, taking it over to the statue.
Oh, God.
“This is it. Be ready.”Seth unclasped the left bracelet with extreme sleight of hand. The humans didn’t notice.
Billy and Luna stayed back, a pair of silent sentinels.
“The moment you see her, kill her.”Off came the right bracelet.
