The Beautiful Ashes. Jeaniene Frost

you knew the week I’d had, you’d realize that whatever you had planned could only make it better,” I heard myself reply, proving my vocal cords were in on the death wish.

      Then again, I wasn’t wrong. My sister? Missing without a trace after texting me “help” and “trapped!” last Monday. Parents? Died in a car accident two days after they arrived in Bennington trying to retrace Jasmine’s steps. Me? In addition to losing my whole family, I’d nearly gotten my head bashed in. By comparison, being robbed sounded like a vacation.

      A grin cocked the side of my intruder’s mouth. Whatever response he’d been expecting, it hadn’t been that.

      “If I win? Probably. If I lose, things are about to get much, much worse,” he assured me.

      “What’s the contest?” I asked, wondering why I was having a conversation with my intruder. Brain damage from the head wound?

      He rose. Despite my baffling lack of fear, I flinched as he came nearer. He had to be a foot taller than my five-six height, with shoulders that would fill a door frame and muscles no bulky overcoat could hide. The only thing more striking was his eyes: a deep blue rimmed with gray so light, it almost gleamed.

      “The contest is to see who walks out of here with you,” he replied, that silver-and-sapphire gaze sliding over me.

      “What if I don’t want to go anywhere?” I countered.

      “It’s too late for that,” he said softly, reaching out and drawing my attention to the fact that he wore leather gloves.

      I darted away. For some reason, I still wasn’t consumed with terror—wake up, survival instincts!—but I wasn’t about to let him grab me. He didn’t try to stop me as I ran past him into the bedroom. Then again, I realized with an inner groan, why would he? Now he stood between me and the room’s only door.

      He came toward me, and my heart started to hammer. Why hadn’t I left when I had the chance? And why wasn’t I screaming for help right now?

      Three hard raps on the door startled me. Then I couldn’t believe it when I recognized the voice.

      “Miss Jenkins, could you let me in? It’s Detective Kroger. We met this morning at the police station.”

      A cop when I needed one? Miracles did happen!

      To my shock, my intruder turned around and opened the door. The two men stared at each other, and though the intruder had his back to me, I saw Detective Kroger size him up.

      “He broke into my room,” I said, making a “do something” gesture.

      Kroger’s brow went up. “Is that so, mister?”

      “Guess you’d better take me in,” my intruder drawled.

      I expected Kroger to reach for his handcuffs. Instead, he came inside, shut the door, and turned off the lights.

      “What are you doing?” I gasped.

      “Move over to the couch,” Kroger said, and I didn’t know if he was talking to me or my enigmatic intruder.

      I wasn’t going to remain in the dark to find out. I felt around the bedroom until I reached the nightstand, then turned on the lamp. Light flooded the room, showing that my intruder was still in the mini lounge area with Kroger. In fact, it didn’t look like either man had moved an inch. What was going on?

      “Why aren’t you arresting me, Detective?” the intruder asked in his silky, accented voice.

      “Good question,” I added.

      “Shut up, bitch,” Kroger said harshly.

      My jaw dropped. Before I could respond, Kroger’s fist shot out, punching the bigger man in the shoulder. Then he frowned, as if surprised that it had no effect. The intruder caught Kroger’s fist when he swung at him again.

      Kroger stared, disbelief creasing his features as he tried to yank free and couldn’t. Then, understanding seemed to dawn.

      “You must be Adrian,” Kroger spat.

      “In the flesh,” my intruder responded lightly.

      I was about to ask what the hell was going on when shots rang out. I dropped down right as one of the men hurtled toward me, too fast to see who. I managed to leap away without getting flattened, though I took out the nightstand in my wild lunge.

      The room went dark as the lamp broke. My heart pounded at the instant blindness. I hadn’t been afraid before, but I was now, trapped in a room with two men who clearly wanted to kill each other. I began to feel my way around the bed again, and this time, stumbled on something big. That something grabbed me, and I freaked out, kicking, punching and clawing to get free.

      Then I was yanked away and shoved viciously into the wall. Pain exploded over me, and when I swallowed, I tasted blood. I started to fall, dazed, when a rough grip hauled me up.

      A beam of moonlight landed on my attacker’s face, and I recoiled. Shadows flickered like snake tongues across Kroger’s skin, turning his features into a sickening mask of evil. Worse, I knew I wasn’t hallucinating. The pain I felt was too real.

      “You want to know what happened to your sister?” Kroger’s voice was harsh. Guttural. “You’re about to find out.”

      Without thinking, I punched him as hard as I could. He looked surprised, but the blow didn’t even make him flinch.

      Suddenly, he was snatched backward and then flung straight up. As Kroger fell back down, Adrian kicked him hard enough to send him crashing through the bedroom window. Before I could even scream, Adrian leaped after him. Then all I heard were thumping noises and groans before a distinct snapping sound made something primal tense inside me.

      One of them had just died, I knew it. But which one?

      A dark form rose in the gaping hole where the window had been. I began to back away, every movement painful, when I saw something silvery gleam in the moonlight.

      Adrian’s eyes.

      “Looks like you’re coming with me after all,” he said while vaulting through the window.

      I wasn’t bothered by his casual tone or the fact that he’d just killed someone. I was too busy trying to absorb what I’d seen on Detective Kroger’s face, let alone what he’d said.

       You want to know what happened to your sister? You’re about to find out.

      Hope clawed through my reeling emotions. If the snakelike shadows on Kroger’s face were real, then maybe so was my vision of Jasmine at the bed-and-breakfast!

      “We need to...get Jasmine,” I managed to gasp, feeling something wet where I clutched my abdomen.

      Adrian pried my hands away and sighed.

      “You’re hurt. Sorry, he was one of Demetrius’s dogs, so he was harder to kill.”

      He picked me up. Despite Adrian’s touch being far gentler than Kroger’s, I couldn’t stop my pained moan.

      “Don’t worry, you’ll be better soon,” he said, carrying me toward the door.

      We need to get Jasmine! I wanted to insist, but my tongue seemed to have gone on strike. The tingling in my limbs and buzzing in my ears probably wasn’t a good sign, either.

      “What’s your name, anyway?” I heard Adrian ask, his voice now sounding very far away.

      I managed one word before everything went dark.

      “Ivy.”

chapter two

      A familiar song was playing, but I couldn’t remember the name. That bugged me enough to open my eyes. A wall of black met my gaze, slick and smooth like glass. I reached up to see what it was, and that’s when