The Hidden Gemstone

Chapter: 40

Alex's POV:

Ryan didn't come for me right away.

As I stood there in the middle of the woods, my heart beating loudly in my ears, the cold night air blew past me again, scattering the fallen autumn leaves on the forest floor. Fear was slowly creeping into my mind, climbing my nerves with all its might. The longer I waited, the more anxious I got, and I couldn't help but think that was Ryan's strategy.

I desperately wished my friends would come quickly, and though it was selfish to wish for such a thing when I was the one with power and they were too vulnerably human, I didn't care. I needed the invisible strength their presence lent me.

I kept rubbing the ring on my index finger for support, feeling the immense energy the stone radiated even through a cover. Now that I had the stone in my hand, I realized how irrational it was to hand this kind of power over to Ryan. I didn't know much about the supernatural world, but you didn't have to be a genius to know that bringing a soul back from the dead would come with a heavy price. A price that Ryan might be able to pay, but the world wasn't.

A couple of minutes later, I heard faint footsteps behind me. I didn't have to turn around to know they belonged to my friends. I stood still as a mountain, staring into the darkness ahead of me, unwilling to move until Ryan showed up.

"Hey, got the bullets," Cody gasped as he joined my side and handed me one of the bullets Ryan gave us, alongside a gun. Throughout our journey, we hadn't encountered anything that would require the use of these bullets, and I imagined the look on Ryan's face when he would realize that we were using his own weapons against him.

As soon as I pocketed the bullet and gun, another gust of wind blew in our direction. This time, it was stronger and carried a sort of black dust with it which marked Ryan's arrival. His silhouette suddenly appeared in the dark and began to cross the clearing, slowly making its way toward us. I resisted the urge to take a step back.

"Hello, Gray," Ryan said as he lifted his hood and then regarded Cody. "Castillo." He seemed to completely ignore Zoe and Elijah, but they weren't exactly upset about that.

Ryan stood still for a moment, his black cloak blending in with the darkness of the night. Tapping into my supernatural vision, I was able to make out his scarred face although I didn't strain too hard on my eyes; I didn't desire the red hue in my vision at the moment.

What happened next though, extinguished the need for my supernatural vision. Ryan raised his head and the branches of the trees around us lit up with flames on his command. The fire didn't catch, but it still put me on edge. As the flames illuminated our surroundings, Zoe snorted to my right.

"Did you ever consider getting a facial treatment?" She asked. "I mean, since you're going to bring back your dead girlfriend and all. Wouldn't want her to wake up from her slumber to... that, now would you?"

I swear, if anyone had the guts to poke a sleeping lion, it was Zoe.

Ryan narrowed his eyes at Zoe, before saying, "Some of you Mortals are interesting beings, you know."

"Oh, thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"It wasn't an insult either."

Ryan shook his head and muttered something about Mortals under his breath. I glanced sideways at Zoe and offered her a smile which she returned with a wink.

"Enough games." Ryan held out his hand. "Hand over the stone, Gray."

My heartbeat sped up again, but I willed myself to remain calm. I slowly took a few steps forward before stopping three feet away from Ryan.