Page 72 of Rose and Shadows
But I never made it.
A violent explosion of green lightning erupted a moment before a shockwave swept out, not harming Sylas, my mom, me, or my dad, but ripping Victor and his vampires off their feet, then snuffing out the power of all the magic-wielders.
And then, through the mammoth flare of power, Ryker Morgan came into view, positioned in the middle of the space in a deep crouch, his palm slapped to the ground, his magic radiating out and holding everyone at bay.
He swung his head toward my dad who had already re-applied his mask and flipped his hood back up.
He registered Sylas, then set his focus on Victor. “Word of advice: don’t call in aPuritascell to back you up when it’s one we’re actively tracking.”
Victor hissed at him, even as he was now on his knees, trying to fight against Ryker’s power keeping him down. He moved to speak, but shut his mouth again when Ryker twisted his handat the Dark Fae and started siphoning the Celestial magic out of them, golden streams pulling from them and being absorbed into Ryker himself.
Holy. Shit.
“Ry—” Sylas started, when he was done.
“Use my card. Call me in a couple of days. We’re due a conversation.” He caught Sylas’ look. “You’re currently granted amnesty. Don’t make that order I’ve invoked to safeguard you to keep you active be in vain.”
He looked out at my mom. “Now your son is safe, Jaxon expects your answer regarding Vyrn Hollow. Don’t keep him waiting any longer.”
“I’ll see to it,” my mom told him.
In the midst of it all, I saw Sylas and my dad discreetly gesturing to one another.
Then Sylas stepped right in front of Ryker, somehow knowing that Ryker’s still leapfrogging magic wouldn’t harm him. “Sorry, Ry.”
In the next second, my dad swept across the area, snagged Victor and spirited away with him.
I listened and heard Cassius’ voice—he’d returned. It must have been in the midst of Ryker’s entrance which had masked his power eruption as an Immortal. I heard Cassius take Victor with him, a moment before my dad returned and stood in front of me and my mom.
Ryker grasped Sylas’ wrist, holding him with his magic. “Careful,” he warned. “The more lines you cross, the heavier the burden becomes.”
Sylas jerked his hand free. “He has an army. A hybrid army. He’s the only source we have to tracking them down. Or we’ll have anotherPuritason our hands. But this one made of hybrids, which will reinforcePuritasrhetoric against hybrid kind that touts them as monstrous dangers. We can’t allow this.It’s just the sort of twist that Victor would have thought long and hard about creating.”
Ryker took his words in.
“Get the answers we need.Butloop me in.” He looked out at me and I saw him taking in the chains, the bed, the whole disturbing setup. Something flickered in his eyes, some sort of buried pain. And then he addressed my dad, “Do what you must with Halrow. But keep that off my radar. Keep it in the shadows as you do best,Remnant.”
My dad gave a nod.
Then Ryker let out a whistle, twenty-odd Guardians teleporting in within the next moment and beginning to conduct a cleanup.
Sylas started over to us, calling his power as he went to teleport us out, and through all the organized chaos, I saw Ryker stumble.
He couldn’t hold that Celestial power for long, then.
He’d said he and Ketheron were working on something. Had he used this takedown of aPuritascell toward making that happen, needing that Celestial magic he’d siphoned?
Damn,that was another level.
I looked away as Sylas reached us and reached out tentatively for my hand, not sure if I could handle it right now.
I smiled and threw my arms around him instead, holding him to me.
Even as he teleported us out.
Of course I could handle touch.
I could handle it all.
