Repairer of the Breach (Stones of Fire Book 4) by Sarah Ashwood (reading eggs books .TXT) 📗

They kidnapped Carter and me; used me to get to Carter. They wanted his blood to open the Stones.”

No change of expression. If Javier was shocked, he hid it well.

“It did not work,” was all he said.

“It did. Sort of. The Stones came alive and opened a…a…I don’t know what you’d call it. A portal, I guess. I know this sounds like science fiction,” I rushed on, seeing the dubious arch of his thick eyebrow. “But it’s true. Carter and I went through. We came back. Carter came here to tell Mr. Costas what his wife has been up to. I came after him in case—in case he was in danger.”

Javier laughed. I felt my cheeks heat when he chortled, “Carter in danger and needing help from you? You have seen the Talos, yes?”

“Hey, I got him out of a bad scrape once,” I reminded him, piqued. “That time they brought him here wounded. When I first met you, actually.”

That sobered him up a bit. “True.”

His humor died away and he stared out the windshield of the car, contemplative. His gnarled brown fingers drummed on the steering wheel. It was in me to speak up and say more to persuade him. Instead, I sat there quietly, letting him decide for himself, hoping he’d make the right choice.

At last, slowly, he said, “Miss Ellie, you seem like a nice girl. And Carter—I’ve known him since he came here as a boy. But…” Here, he turned to face me. “I do not know you well. I will not hurt you, but I do not know if I should believe you.”

Desperation bloomed in my soul.

“Call James,” I insisted. “He’ll back me up.”

Would he, though? At one point, I’d wondered if James was the traitor in the Costas household. Honestly, I didn’t know that he wasn’t—that he hadn’t been working for Mrs. Costas all along. If he was a traitor, he’d probably verify Mrs. Costas’ orders to detain me. On the other hand, if he wasn’t, he might take my side. And I desperately needed somebody to take my side.

Javier continued to look skeptical. “James is involved too?” He seemed to catch himself, shrug. “Of course he is. He knows everything that happens in this place.” He half-rolled his eyes as if in humor or frustration. Being Mr. Tech Savvy, James probably kept up with all of the goings-on in a way none of us had any idea.

Even so, Javier wasn’t convinced. He released a breath and said, “I am going to follow Mrs. Costas’ orders, for now. I will put you somewhere hidden. You will not be hurt. In fact, this is for your safety as well as theirs.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but as I did there was the boom of a loud explosion from the house. The car, parked close to the home, rocked from the reverberations. I let out a choked scream of surprise. Javier swore, twisting to look over his shoulder. Seizing the distraction, I opened the car door and bolted, running as fast as I could toward the smoldering Costas mansion.

Chapter Eighteen

I heard heavy, pounding footsteps and knew Javier was right behind me. It didn’t matter. I was determined to get to the scene, to check on Carter, no matter the cost. Compounding that need, that drive, was the knowledge that people could be hurt. I had medical training. Maybe I could help.

As I rounded the bend, my frantic run slowed to a walk, which, after a few paces, stopped altogether. Javier’s heavy breathing behind my shoulders said he’d stopped too. Together, we gazed in a mixture of awe and despair at the gaping hole in the front third of the mansion where pristine stone walls used to soar. Black smoke billowed up towards the sky. From inside, I could hear screams and cries, both of alarm and pain.

“This is not good,” Javier said at my elbow. I half-turned. Beneath his copper skin, his face had gone pale.

“No.” I blew out a breath. “This is really bad. Do you have a phone? Can you call 9-1-1?”

Without answering, he fished in his pocket for a phone. I also drew mine out, making a call to authorities, but to the two police officers with whom I’d ridden here. Detective Ewing answered. I heard the fright in her voice.

“Ellie, what’s happening? They wouldn’t let us through the gate. They were waiting on clearance. We heard the explosion. We can see smoke…”

“I don’t know,” I cut in. “Half the mansion’s blown up. I’m safe. I haven’t made it inside yet, but I’m fixing to go in and see what I can do to help.”

“Ellie, you might consider waiting—”

“I can’t wait. People could die waiting for an ambulance. I have to do something. I just wanted you to know I’m fine and say you better get here as quickly as you can. Something’s obviously gone down. We probably need back up.”

“Right. They’re pretty distracted right now at the guard shack.” A slight pause as if she’d leaned out the window to check. “I think we can get in.”

“Okay, see you in a minute.”

I hung up before she could argue any further, shoved my phone back into my pocket, and raced toward the house. I didn’t know what Javier was doing. He might still be on the phone with 9-1-1.

As I got closer, my heart sank. I couldn’t believe the beauty of the mansion had been instantly demolished like this. What could have caused it?

The front door stood open. People were running back and forth. There was shouting, screaming. Smoke. Despair. I figured if people were on their feet, they weren’t the ones in desperate need of attention, so I shoved past and kept going. It looked like the explosion had possibly occurred on the second floor. The central staircase appeared to be intact, so I raced up it, maneuvering past the people who were trying to come down. I reached the second landing and slowed my pace. Black scorch marks spread