Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(82)

And then I shoved the rest of the arrow through my torso. I was surprised to find it hadn’t pierced my back yet since it felt like it had when I was lying down. I pushed it as far as I could and reached around and pulled it through and then I passed out again.

I knew immediately I hadn’t been out for as long this time. Everything in the room seemed the same. Dev managed to get to a seated position and was trying to scoot to where I was. I forced myself to sit up, and it was only with the greatest will that I managed to not throw up.

“Zoey, please,” Sarah begged. “Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t. It’s almost dark. If they didn’t kill Daniel, he’ll come for you. Just lay back down.”

My hands shook as I pushed my hair back. “So what, Sarah? Daniel comes for me and what? I get a few extra hours before Halfer drags our asses to Hell? I hope you’re right and Danny can’t be taken there, but Dev can be killed and the baby can be taken away, and I’m the only one who can stop it.”

“How are you going to do that, Zoey?” Dev winced as I managed to stand.

I steadied myself and decided to go ahead and see how much worse I’d made the situation. I lifted the hem of my blood-soaked T-shirt and was surprised to see the wound was trying to heal itself. It wasn’t doing a great job, but Daniel’s blood was giving a valiant effort.

I took a deep breath, grateful everything seemed to be functioning. “I’m going to use reason, Dev. Sweet reason.”

I walked toward the door that opened to the rest of the suite, and over the vigorous protests of my fellow prisoners, I shut it behind me. It was a short walk to the sitting area of the suite, but I needed to balance against the wall and kind of shuffle my way down the hall. Before turning the corner I called out, hoping to not surprise anyone who might have a nervous trigger finger.

“I’m coming out, and I’m not armed. I mean I still have arms, but…” I sighed and tried to collect my thoughts. I tend to go a little ADD when fighting for my life. “I don’t have any weapons.”

I took a step into the room and was confronted by the three faeries we robbed the day before. They had seemed so much less imposing when I had a gun, a werewolf, and a vampire with me. The baby was there as well, and she gurgled some nonsense words when she saw me.

They’d brought the box back as well. It sat on the table, exactly where it had been before. It was empty and no longer held much value. The faeries had also done a bang-up job on the body disposal. The suite was pristinely clean.

“Hello, my name is Zoey Wharton.” I hadn’t really had a chance to introduce myself before the whole arrow thing. I pointed to the chair closest to me. “Do you mind? I’m having a little trouble, what with the blood loss and internal damage.”

The female who was holding the child smiled wryly. “Please, I wouldn’t miss this particular conversation for the world. Are your friends going to attempt to escape?”

I let go of a deep breath I hadn’t realized I was holding in as I settled into the chair. The pain was starting to relent, and I thought perhaps it was because I’d pushed the arrow through. The vampire blood inside me was doing its best to heal my body, but it hadn’t been able to work around the arrow.

I gestured back toward the room I’d come from. “Please, feel free to check on them. You’ll find they are still tied up and completely unthreatening.”

The female nodded shortly to the smaller of the men. He jogged down the hall. She returned to studying me. “Why would you not try to escape? You have to know that we intend to take you back to our home. We will bring charges against you, and you will be executed.”

“Yeah, I got that.” If there was one thing I was damn certain of, it was my death. One way or another, that would happen, and sooner than I’d imagined.

Her mouth turned down, a deeply regal look. “You stole something sacred to us.”

There was no talking my way out of that one. “Yes, I did.”

The man came back and whispered something into his mistress’s ear. She nodded and turned her attention back to me. “Your friends are still there. It is going to be a very short trial if you just admit to everything.”

But that was kind of my plan. “I did it. It was me.”

A light went on in her eyes. “Ahh, you seek to take the blame on yourself and save your friends.”

“Except for the other girl. She was totally in on the plot. You should definitely torture her.” She shot me, and I wouldn’t mind having a cell mate. “As a matter of fact, you should force us to work for you for a really long time before our execution.” I didn’t know how much pull Halfer had on other planes, but if it bought me time not being raped, I would take it.

“You’re an odd girl.” She ran her hands soothingly across the baby’s head. “She likes you.”

“I like her, too.” I hated the tears that sprang to my eyes. “You have to get her out of here. I know you won’t believe me, but I really didn’t know what I was stealing. I was trying to bring her back when you found us.”

“You shot us,” the larger male said with a frown.

“Dude, I shot you with a tranquilizer dart. You put an arrow through me. The point goes to you. I think I can read a newspaper though my torso.”

“I did not like being shot,” he replied.