Steal the Night (36 page)

In between the two men I loved more than anything in the world, I made my way into the prison of Myrddin Emrys.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Though we had walked into the pocket world at dusk, the sun was full and high in the sky in the prison. It made the crystal castle in the distance sparkle and shine like a jewel in the middle of a fertile field. The world here was so still and calm it felt quite unreal as Daniel and Dev lead me through the tear in the fabric of space and time and into the small world Nim had created to house the wizard.

I glanced behind me and saw Neil entering just after Lee. It was odd to see another entire world peeking through the small doorway the veil made. The veil shimmered and closed as though it had never been there at all.

“It looks like it goes on forever.” Neil put a hand over his eyes to block the sun as he gazed at the mountains to the north of the castle.

“That’s an illusion,” Nim explained. “It’s actually quite small. It took an enormous amount of energy for me to form this world. I’m still not sure I’ve recovered from it entirely. I should have been able to easily handle the Order, but they got the jump on me.”

“You were concentrating at the time,” Stewart allowed. “That spell wasn’t a simple one.”

“Still,” she said, frowning. “I remember how Arawn had to take me to the otherworld for several hundred years to recover even a part of my strength.” The otherworld was the Welsh place of the gods and the dead. It was Arawn’s kingdom.

“How is the wizard going to handle you showing up after all these years?” I asked as we walked toward the castle.

Nim sighed. “I probably should have told him what I needed to do, but he can be very unreasonable. The rest of us were selected for our duties. We knew the risks and the rewards and we chose to be here. Myrddin didn’t have a choice. He was and always will be a wild card, so to speak. He straddles two worlds. He’s both demon and human.”

“His demonic nature will always be the dominant of the two,” Stewart said, his voice all snooty and superior.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Nim replied. “He was excellent with Arthur.”

Stewart rolled his borrowed eyes. “Arthur failed in the end.”

“He didn’t,” Nim argued. “He set up an entire system that stood for years. He kept this part of the world strong. It wasn’t the wizard’s fault that he let the personal stuff get to him.”

Stewart turned back and his smile was slightly malicious. “But darling girl, the personal stuff, as you put it, is exactly where a demon would strike.”

Dev’s hand squeezed mine and I knew it was his way of telling me he wouldn’t let Stewart hit us there ever again. Stewart was right. Something fundamental had changed in Dev since we lay in that tiny bed together and made a choice to move forward with our lives. A sense of calm had come over him. He was content with us and, for the first time, with himself.

“We just need the wizard to fix my heart,” Daniel said. “I can take it from there.”

Nim’s violet eyes turned to Daniel. “Your Highness, you must listen to all the wizard has to say to you. He’s wise and excellent at prophecy. He’ll be able to guide you. I might have a difficult relationship with the man, but I can’t criticize his work. If he chooses to mentor you, it’s because you need him.”

Daniel sighed as we moved closer to the castle. Though it seemed to be made of crystal, I couldn’t see inside it. It protected its secrets.

“I will consider it,” Daniel allowed, but I heard that stubborn edge to his voice. Myrddin would find Daniel a difficult pupil.

“He mentored me,” Nim said as she contemplated her work. “I knew nothing of magic before I met the wizard.”

“Then how did you trap him?” Dev asked.

Stewart laughed. “How does a woman ever trap a man? For all his power, the wizard is also a man with a man’s desires. Nimue is a lovely woman. Even I can appreciate her on an aesthetic level. She got the wizard all hot and bothered and tricked him into her prison.”

Nim stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s not how it happened. Well, mostly not. He’s a horny old goat. He used to try to get his hands on anything with breasts and then he wants me to believe that he loves me. After all the women he went through, I’m supposed to believe he thought differently of me. I wasn’t buying it, not for a minute. He even tried to convince me he would be willing to share me with Arawn. He was just on the prowl. Like Arawn would ever agree to that. Besides, I needed him contained. I needed him locked away to wait for the new king. I couldn’t allow my emotions to engage.”

But it had been tempting. I could see that on Nim’s face. She’d felt something for the wizard. It might not have been love, but something about all of this made her feel guilty. She pushed forward, but I could see the tension in her eyes. She was nervous about seeing him again after all these years. When we finally stood at the door, she had to take a deep breath before moving on.

Nim pushed the heavy doors open but a hand locked on my wrist, pulling me back.

“Not on your life, darlin’,” Lee growled. He stood in front of Dev and Daniel. “I’ll check it out. She isn’t going anywhere until I make sure it’s safe. Neil, wait with Zoey. Don’t let her go in until I get back.”

Daniel waited but his eyes were on the wolf as he walked by. “Why do they call me the king if everyone tells me what to do?” He nodded at Zack, who was eagerly waiting his go-ahead to follow his brother. “Go on then.”

Zack ran to catch up.

“It’s perfectly safe.” Nim shook her head as though she didn’t understand the fuss.

“Lee takes his job very seriously,” Dev explained. “He really won’t believe you until he’s checked out the place for himself. Say, there aren’t any cool traps that might kill him in there, are there?”

“Dev!” I said, batting his arm because he sounded like that would be a good thing.

“Well, my goddess, he is very bossy,” Dev replied. “He thinks he’s ultimate authority when it comes to you.”

“You’re jealous,” I said, shocked. “You’re jealous of Lee?”

Daniel shrugged. “I told you he was ridiculously possessive. And we’re pretty much jealous of anyone who looks at you. I sometimes don’t like how much time you spend with Neil.”

Neil laughed heartily. “That’s ridiculous. The two of you spend more time together than you do with Z. What do you want her to do, sit somewhere and wait for the two of you to get home and pay attention to her?”

“Yes,” Dev replied, not sounding at all ashamed.

“Preferably she would wait naked,” Daniel added.

“Nice.” Dev’s hand came out for a low-five.

I rolled my eyes, thankful Lee was already on his way back. “Don’t expect that little fantasy to happen anytime soon.”

Dev hugged me from behind and pulled me into his chest. He bent down and dropped a little kiss on my cheek before whispering in my ear. “I’ll settle for barefoot and pregnant. Goddess, you’re going to be so fucking gorgeous pregnant. You’ll be so round and lovely. Daniel and I will have to take very good care of our sweet wife.”

Daniel pulled me out of Dev’s arms and kissed me himself. “He’s insane. He really thinks pregnancy will make you all soft and sweet. I know better, baby. I’m getting out of your way for those nine months. I’m going to hunker down and try to survive.”

I punched Daniel in the arm. I was sure he didn’t even feel it but it seemed like the thing to do. “Jerk,” I said affectionately.

I had to give the edge to Danny on this one, though. I doubted having two babies kick me from the inside, gaining fifty pounds, and having to go to the bathroom constantly was going to turn me into a sweet little woman.

Lee looked a bit disturbed as he walked back out. “I think it’s fine. We’re definitely alone but…”

Zack shook his head as he followed his brother. “That wizard dude looks gross, man. Damn, dude be old, if you know what I’m saying. I don’t think he’ll be trying to get your goodies anymore, Nim.”

Nim smiled briefly. “It should be amusing to see how the wizard handles today’s…youth.”

I was allowed to walk through the double doors and inside the castle. It looked as though the building had been sleeping for a thousand years. There was almost no light coming through the walls. Though they appeared crystal-like from the outside, they kept the light out from the inside. Nim walked around, throwing open windows and revealing the high, arched ceilings and magnificent stonework on the floor. There was very little in the way of furniture but books were piled high in shelves and stacked on the floor. There was a thick coat of dust over everything. When the light hit the great room, I could see that plants had tried to make their way in but the lack of light made them sad-looking creatures.

“This just won’t do.” Dev shook his head as he walked around. He placed his palm to the side of what looked like a stone wall. In an instant, we were surrounded with life. Vines popped out and flowers bloomed, and great sprigs of holly and ivy were everywhere.

“Beautiful,” Nim said with wonder, looking around at the roses suddenly blooming around all the doorways. The burst of color and life changed the gloomy building into a faery castle.

“Show off,” Daniel complained under his breath, but I caught the wink he sent Dev’s way.

“I sense the wizard.” Stewart’s eyes closed, rapture plain on his face. “He’s close.”

Nim walked to the back of the great room. She had found a torch and lit it. “He’s in the room below. Come now, Daniel, Stewart. The rest of you may make yourself at home. I don’t know how long this will take.”

“Like I’m staying here.” I moved toward the staircase that went down into the darkness. The wizard Merlin was sleeping in the floor below, and Daniel was about to wake him. I wasn’t hanging out upstairs, pruning roses. I turned and waited for Daniel. I wasn’t going to be left behind, but I knew the protocol. I was testing Daniel as it was. I certainly wasn’t going to go anywhere without him.

Dev was right behind me. “I’m with my goddess. I have no intentions of allowing Daniel to have all of the fun.”

“It could be dangerous, Your Highness,” Nim pointed out to Daniel.

He shook his head. “I got no scene control, Nim. They’ll just follow us anyway, and Z will probably find a way to make a dangerous situation into something truly insane.”

“Well, at least the wolves can…” Nim began.

Lee elbowed his way past them, followed by Neil, who wasn’t letting anyone leave him behind. Zack frowned and hung back. He watched Lee’s and Neil’s heads disappear down the spiral staircase and looked completely pitiful. Nim rolled her violet eyes and gave up the fight, following Neil down the dark stairs.

Daniel sighed. “Come on then, Zack. I’m not going to punish you for being the good one. I won’t leave you up here all by yourself.”

Zack scampered down the stairs like an eager puppy.

“You know you would miss all of us,” I teased Daniel as he began down the stairs.

“No one ever lets me miss them,” Daniel complained, but I could hear his affection. He loved his little crew even when we annoyed the hell out of him. Dev and I followed.

Nim and Lee were busy lighting torches as we entered the dungeons of the crystal castle. Down in the dungeon, even the air was heavy. There was a feeling of deep gloom in every aspect of my surroundings. It was a large room, but it somehow managed to feel cramped. I could hear the sound of rushing water. When there was enough light, I saw a large fountain in the back of the room. Upon really studying it, I found it was more like a small waterfall, and a man could probably stand beneath it and shower.

“He’s not happy,” Nim said under her breath.

“No, he is not,” Stewart concurred.

“How do the two of you know?” Neil walked to where Stewart stood looking down.

I joined him and caught my breath at the sight of the desiccated body in a glass coffin. The wizard lay there, still dressed in his deep purple robes. The garment seemed to be made of velvet, but the wizard had shrunk inside his clothes. They were obviously made for a much larger man. They hung off the corpse-like wizard, sliding from his shoulders like they wanted to escape the confines of the coffin.

I had to agree with Neil. The wizard looked like he would never feel anything again. His face was a thin sheet of papery skin over bones, his eyes sunk deep into his skull. In the low light of the dungeon, he was an ashen gray color.

“This isn’t the way I left this room.” There was a scowl on Nim’s face as she glanced around. “I left it in good shape. His own anger has made it so gloomy. Devinshea, could you please?”

My fertility god flicked his wrists negligently, and I heard a slithering sound. Rose vines from upstairs wound their way down. They snaked around the staircase and formed lovely patterns across the walls.

Nim took a deep breath as the place lost its musty scent. “Much more cheerful.”

All at once the roses withered and died on the vine. Dev’s eyes widened as he took in the scene. Flowers never died around Dev.

Nim walked up to the coffin and slapped it with the flat of her hand. “That was rude, Myrddin. He’s only trying to help. Leave those roses alone this time or I swear to the goddess, I will let you rot in here.”