The Rise of Fortune and Fury (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #5) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,75

her coat. I notice there’s a hole in the corner when her finger pokes though.

“You know that art gallery your sister had?” she asks.

Of course, I fucking do, I want to snarl, but I merely nod with a smile.

“She’s holding a human hostage there. Word on the street is that it’s some sort of sacrifice.”

My gaze moves from Zaid to Boral and back to Echo. The prophecy stated that she’d need twelve like creatures, which we determined were the original Fallen, and one unlike. I had thought that might mean me, but, in all honesty, it could mean any human.

We’d have to launch a mission to save this person, of course, but they are probably safe until the ritual.

Probably.

We need more information than that.

“How long has this human been held there?” I ask.

Her lips curl up, and her eyes sparkle with what might be malicious mischief. “Months. Soon after Kymaris came here.”

“And you’re just now telling us?” I grit out.

“I didn’t find out until about two weeks ago.”

“And why didn’t you come then?” I ask, wishing I had the physical strength to smack her around a little.

Echo shrugs. “Didn’t need the money then.”

I can’t help the sigh of frustration that comes out. “Tell me everything you know. Where in the gallery is this person being held and how many are guarding them? Are they just daemons or Dark Fae or both?”

“I’ll give you all of it,” she says smugly. “Even draw you a map. But aren’t you curious who they’re hiding?”

It’s at this moment I understand why Echo is emanating a gleeful vibe. She doesn’t like me at all, and something about her information is going to cause me some distress. She knows it, and now I know it.

“Who?” I whisper because my throat finally went dry. My mind races to all the human friends I have that Kymaris may have taken. It could be my manager at One Bean, Lisa, or maybe even Duane, my MMA instructor.

My blood chills as I consider Rich.

Could they have gotten to him?

“It’s that rich dude who was engaged to Fallon,” Echo says with a fangy smile. “The one who disappeared in Switzerland.”

“Blain,” I gasp in astonishment.

“Yeah,” she says with a nod. “Totally douchey name.”

There was a time I agreed with that sentiment, especially since his personality was douchey, too. I’m stunned to hear this news, but there’s a thrill of adrenaline that pumps through me that Blain is still alive. I had assumed Kymaris killed him when she took over Fallon’s body. It sucked that my sister’s memory was now fouled by the suspicion that she committed murder, but that was a cross I’d have to bear.

Hell, everyone knew Fallon, aka Kymaris, had something to do with it. The local police, the Swiss police, Blain’s parents.

Oh my God.

They were going to be thrilled.

I spin toward Zaid. “We have to go get him now.”

“You mean we have to call the police,” he counters. “You cannot go against Kymaris’ goons.”

I whip back to Echo. “How many are there?”

“Only one or two at any given time,” she says. “They have the dude tied up so he’s not hard to watch.”

Jesus. Blain’s been a hostage for—my mind whirls backward in time—for probably two months now.

“What kind of shape is he in?” I ask.

She shrugs. “I haven’t seen the dude, but I’ve heard some other daemons talking. Let’s put it this way… he’s alive.”

Damn it. He’s got to be in bad physical shape, not to mention mentally.

I look back to Zaid. “We have to go get him now.”

* * *

I paid Echo the two thousand and sent her on her way with a stern warning she better keep this information to herself or Carrick would be paying her a visit. As much as she dislikes me, she’s terrified of Carrick and she nodded effusively that she’d say nothing.

Next followed a very brief meeting where it was debated between Zora, Zaid, Boral, and me whether to call the police to rescue him or mount an offensive.

Zaid, ever the prudent one in our group, wanted to first wait for Carrick to return, but if I wouldn’t agree to that, then he felt should get the police involved. But that’s because he’s just trying to protect me. He’s my guardian in Carrick’s stead, and he takes it seriously.

Zora actually made a valid point. If the police went in there, there was a chance they’d be killed because they had no clue they were dealing with supernatural creatures. Those protecting a sacrifice