“Lery!” Farley blurted. “Wherehave you been?”
“Where is he?” I demanded.
Their desperate energy could only mean one thing… they also knew something had happened to Ryker.
“They took him!” Cryton blurted. “They took him and some of the others.”
I’d already known something bad had happened, but the confirmation of my worst fears caused me to sway. Ianto clapped his hand on my shoulder to steady me.
“They also took myfuckingdagger!”
Cryton sounded more upset about this than the fact that someone had taken Ryker and some of the others.
“Wheredid they take him?” the giant inquired.
“I don’t know; the palace, maybe,” Cryton said and pouted a little as he crossed his stubby arms over his blobby chest. “They took my dagger too.”
“Who…?” I had to pause to swallow the lump in my throat. “Whotook him?”
Apprehension and uncertainty flashed through Cryton’s eyes. That look caused me to take an involuntary step toward him. When he took too long to answer, I decided I’d find a way to choke a response from the specter if necessary.
“Who?” I practically bellowed.
“His father.”
The blood drained from my head as I swayed again. Ianto’s hand kept me from sinking to my knees as my legs wobbled.
“Where?” I choked out.
Cryton and Farley exchanged a look that clearly said they thought I’d lost my mind. “I already said I don’t know where,” Cryton replied.
“No, where did they take himfrom?” I demanded. “Take me there.”
“You don’t want to go there,” Cryton said.
Ianto’s hand tightened on my shoulder when I swayed again. Then I threw back my shoulders, lifted my chin, and glowered at the poltergeist.
Passing out, crying, or shrieking into the wild were tempting but not viable options. I had to learn everything I could about what happened, and then I had to form a plan to get Ryker back.
I could panic after I found him.
“Take me there,” I commanded.
The poltergeists exchanged a look before Cryton gave the poltergeist’s equivalent of a shrug. “This way.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Ellery
The sun had mostly fadedfrom the sky, the shadows had taken over, and the birds were settling into sleep when we arrived at the site of the blood-drenched woods. We’d only been a few hundred yards away when the poltergeists found us; Ryker wasn’t here anymore, but my pull to him had still been right.
Rage warred with sadness and horror as I walked between the bodies littering the forest floor. Ghosts hovered nearby in the trees, staring at the remnants; I recognized a few of them as some of the dead who surrounded me.
“There’s a couple of new poltergeists too,” Cryton said. “But they’ve moved on already.”
“Do ghosts always stay close by afterward?” Scarlet inquired.
“Not always,” Farley said. “I’m not sure how the ghosts feel when they rise, as they’re pretty mindless and useless, but for new poltergeists, it’s confusing to emerge from your body. Some are in denial about what happened and stick close by, others are disoriented and flee, and some are angry and looking to take it out somewhere.”
