Page 65 of Heir of Ashes

“They’re harmless,” came the low, nasal voice from behind us.

We both jumped, startled at the figure who appeared—literally—out of thin air only a few feet away.

***

If Remo Drammen had terrified me when I first met him back in Vegas, he petrified me even more now, in this land of death and darkness.

It was an ancient, primal fear, the kind that once drove our ancestors to cower in caves, passing down tales that would later be recorded in religious books. It was a feeling deep within my soul, in a place fear had never touched before. It was an unreasonable fear, given that the guy was just standing there doing nothing threatening, especially dressed in a ridiculous electric-blue suit and round plastic-rimmed glasses. He looked like the eccentric town character everyone gossiped about, a harmless recluse who preferred to keep to himself.

He was anything but harmless. He was one of the most dangerous beings I had the misfortune of meeting.

The guy didn’t have an aura, for crying out loud. One couldn’t even meet his gaze without looking away. And the power he exuded … I had never felt anything like it from any one person before.

And look at that. For all the hours I had spent in this dreadful land, darkness had reigned. Now there was about a fifty-foot radius of illumination around him. He wasn’t holdinganything to produce the light; it just was. The creatures that had been stalking us were now visible in stark detail, exactly as Dr. Dean’s penlight had shown.

There were about ten of them, one as close as an arm’s span behind Remo Drammen.

“They’re harmless,” Remo repeated reassuringly. “Until you get one to owe you a favor, they’re just annoying little pests. After that, they can be quite useful.” He then turned his attention to Dr. Dean, his expression flat, his tone lacking any inflection. “You weren’t supposed to bring anyone here. Your pass allowed for your travel through the paths alone. You were to secure her and come alone for us to conclude our bargain.”

Dr. Dean looked ill. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to disobey. I ran into some trouble, and it was either bring her or leave her behind. She’s a very elusive creature.” He gave a nervous laugh that abruptly cut off when Remo didn’t share his amusement.

“You are such an ignorant fool. You could have killed her in the Leeway.” Remo Drammen gave a resigned, nasal sigh as if he suffered ignorant fools every day. “I suppose I should thank you. At least now I won’t have to deal with you again.”

It was at that moment that I realized Remo Drammen was my buyer. “But you … you tried to kill me. You sent guardians after me.” I didn’t mean to sound indignant, but it came out that way nonetheless.

Remo’s gaze sharpened with interest. “You fought guardians, eh? And yet you’re here, alive and in one piece.” He gave me a calculating look, but I couldn’t hold it for more than two seconds. One, two, and my eyes looked away. “That reinforces my belief about your value.” He regarded me with clinical detachment, as if I were a horse he was considering buying.

Dread, deep and powerful, began gnawing at the pit of my stomach, quickening the beat of my heart and narrowing my vision. I had been sold like an animal to the most powerful black sorcerer on earth—probably the most powerful in all the worlds and dimensions combined.

Dr. Dean shifted beside me, and I focused on him. “You made a deal with a black sorcerer.” For some reason, this realization shocked me. Maybe it was because, despite everything, Dr. Dean was a researcher, someone handling the balance of the ordinary and the extraordinary. But here he was … with a black ring around his once plain blue aura, making a deal with the devil. I should have figured it out the moment I’d noticed the darkness in his aura, not that it would have made any difference.

“Absolutely,” he said without an ounce of shame. “And I’ll come out the winner. Mr. Drammen and I are both satisfied with the result, and no one will be the wiser. I’ve acquired a new addition to my dangerous species collection, rid myself of you, renewed a lucrative contract with ample funding, and come out on top.”

A sudden realization struck me like a sledgehammer. “You’re talking about Archer. Oh my God. You’re talking about Archer,” I repeated in disbelief.

“But of course. Mr. Drammen and Mr. Archer have been bitter rivals for a very long time. He has removed his arch-nemesis from the equation while acquiring a very beautiful, talented, and clever woman in the process. So, you see, we’re both winners here.”

Archer was a Rejected. I was a Rejected. And Logan had known what I was all along. If not from the beginning, then ever since I told him who my father was. I recalled Logan mentioning crossing paths with Remo Drammen before. Of course he did.Archer had been Logan’s mentor. Remo Drammen and Archer were enemies.

Was that what the unspoken question between Rafael and Logan had been about—the type of preternatural I was?

I’m Remo Drammen’s new toy.All those jumbled thoughts raced through my mind in a flash.

Unmoved, Remo Drammen stood, fingers laced together, just a few inches away from one of those nasty creatures. Maybe they were his pets.

“Why? Why do you want me?” I asked.

Remo’s gaze shifted from Dr. Dean back to me, and his expression was terrifying. My heart stumbled in its rhythm, leaving me light-headed. If I passed out now, I would never wake up again. Or sane, or my old self, at least. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to calm down.

Remo Drammen watched me, a fleeting glance showing his dark eyes gleaming with anticipation, the expression more frightening for its authenticity. A predator pleased with its prey.

I fixed my gaze on the bridge of his nose, stealing a few glances at his pitiless eyes. “Why?” I repeated.

“You’re very valuable, Poppet. Don’t undermine yourself. I need a disciple to teach my knowledge, and you are the best candidate. You’re untried, with untapped power you don’t even know you possess.” He cast Dr. Dean a sideways glance, a little awkward due to the height difference, and continued. “Eliminating Gerome Archer was the only way we could proceed uninterrupted. He wouldn’t have allowed this to happen. I will regret not having him on the field, providing me with exciting challenges. He’s a very formidable foe.” He sighed, his expression resigned as if he genuinely regretted it. Maybe in his own twisted way, he did. “I thought he would eventually bring down the facility, or at least that his people would come afterhim, but I’m afraid those fools will break him before then. It’s true that nothing is perfect.”

Dr. Dean shifted and cleared his throat. “Will you require anything else?”

“No. Our business is finished. You may go.”

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