Steal the Night (40 page)

I couldn’t get that fight out of my head. Myrddin had provoked the whole thing, but I didn’t understand why Daniel had reacted the way he had. Danny had anger issues, but he usually had better control. I didn’t like how easily Myrddin had pitted my men against each other.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean Danny was at Dev’s throat.”

She waved it off. “He was angry with Bris, not Devinshea.”

I felt my eyes narrow. “Myrddin played him like a damn guitar.”

Nim sighed and finally gave me her full attention. “How do I explain this? Myrddin and Daniel are connected in a way even I don’t fully understand. It’s always been this way between Myrddin and the king who wields the sword.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “So he’s doing some kind of mind control on Danny?”

“Nothing of the sort. He’s simply very charismatic. Daniel has free will. I think you’ll simply find Myrddin is very influential and there’s nothing wrong with that. He knows more about power and ruling a kingdom than anyone walking the planes. He doesn’t abuse the power.”

She hadn’t seen the whole fight. “I have to disagree with you on that one.”

“Zoey, you might not always like his methods, but he does have to very quickly figure out the relationships within the group,” Nim explained. “I fear the fact that Dev is an ascended god threw him for a loop. You’ll see as time passes that Daniel will get used to having a mentor. After a while Arthur stopped taking Myrddin’s counsel and that was when things went bad.”

“I don’t like a bit of this.”

“It’s necessary, Your Highness,” Nim said in all seriousness. “I can promise you that if it comes to it, I will handle the situation. I truly will. I believe that once Myrddin settles down, you’ll see that everything is fine.”

“I’ll handle the fucker if I have to.”

Nim’s smile was vibrant. “I don’t doubt it. You’re right. I think you will be an entirely different queen. You’re going to give Myrddin hell, aren’t you?”

“It depends on how he treats me and Dev and Danny,” I replied.

“Then I shall have to treat you well, my queen.” Myrddin entered the room, stopping to greet me with a small bow. “I find myself apologizing to everyone today. I just spent some time with Devinshea making certain he understood I was only attempting to feel out the relationship between Daniel and the god living inside him.”

I seriously doubted that. “Yes, that’s what you were doing. You weren’t testing Daniel in any way.”

I could see in Myrddin’s eyes that he was taking my measure. “Your Highness, if I’ve offended you, I apologize. I need to understand this world. It seems to have changed so much since the last time I was a meaningful part of something. Women have a different place than they did before. I’m far behind the times, and I must ask you to make allowances.”

“Z, come on, baby,” Daniel said as he walked in behind Myrddin. “I really want the two of you to get along.”

It took everything I had not to roll my eyes at Daniel’s eager statement. He really did want us to get along and that bothered me. He didn’t know this guy. My husband should have been much more wary. I had to hope that Nim was right and Daniel wouldn’t always feel Myrddin’s influence.

“Zoey, he comes from an entirely different time,” Daniel explained. “You can’t expect him to understand how a modern marriage works. He’ll get used to treating you as a woman expects to be treated these days.”

“Yes, we’ll have to make sure the wizard properly integrates into modern times,” Dev said, a set to his lips.

Daniel didn’t seem to notice how stiff Dev seemed. “We’ve already made plans. Dev is going to make sure he has a proper place to stay and that will help him integrate into this time. There’s no place quite like Ether to introduce Myrddin to the modern supernatural world.”

“Bris didn’t have any trouble.” No matter what that wizard said, I still counted Bris as one of the good guys. He wasn’t going to change my mind so easily.

The rest of the group crowded into the small room.

“Bris has all of Dev’s memories to call upon,” Daniel pointed out.

“I am alone in the world,” Myrddin said and again I felt the need to stop my eyes from rolling.

I wanted to argue. I wanted to point out that maybe we should listen to Bris, despite the fact that he may have hidden certain key facts from me. I had to go by his actions and they were above reproach. He defended me at every opportunity. He’d given up his host to save Daniel. If he was just trying to get to me, it would have been easier to do if he just let Daniel die. I wouldn’t have known he could help. I would have let him comfort me while I mourned. I would have drowned myself in his love and sympathy. He hurt his own cause by helping my husband. I had to believe he had our best interests at heart in this case as well. If he told me to think twice before trusting the wizard then I would. But it was obvious Daniel wasn’t willing to listen to me now.

“I’m sure you’ll find living in Dallas very amusing,” I murmured.

The wizard’s smile was infectious. “I’m looking forward to it. It sounds like a very interesting place, and I look forward to getting to know our little court. But first, we should fix your husband’s heart trouble. Nimue, have you finished the purgative?”

“Everything is ready,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I have all the before and after elixirs prepared. I also prepared the bed for Daniel and a recovery room, though he’ll be much more comfortable if we get him back to civilization as soon as possible.”

“Why? Daniel heals very quickly.” The idea of Danny struggling physically startled me. It wasn’t something I’d had to worry about since his turn. He’d never had so much as a cold. He’d been weak during my first pregnancy due to our connection, but other than that, anytime he was injured all he had required was blood to be back to fighting strength very quickly.

“This isn’t a traditional surgery, Zoey. This is a whole lot of magic to deal with, and it’s going to make Daniel very ill. He’s going to be weak for a while,” Nim explained, making my stomach churn. I didn’t like to think about a weak Daniel.

“How long?” Daniel asked, his voice tight.

Myrddin waved off the worry. “You’ll need a week or two to recover, Your Highness. A month at the most. That’s all. When you do recover, your heart will be as strong as it ever was.”

“We’ll consider it a small vacation, Dan,” Dev said reassuringly. He seemed to let go of the tension from before. “We’ll move into the Order’s headquarters where we’ll be perfectly safe. Justin and the others will join us there. I talked to Justin before we came here and he’s bringing along your emergency supply of blood so you can gorge on companion blood. That should quicken the process. We need time for our allies to gather anyway. It won’t hold us back. It will give us time to figure out exactly how we should use our forces.”

I saw Danny and Dev exchange a brief nod and knew what they were thinking. It would give them time to figure out if I was pregnant. If I was then I would be sitting out the last battle. I wouldn’t argue with them. I didn’t want to endanger our babies any more than they did. My reckless days were coming to an end.

“All right,” Daniel agreed. “Where do you need us?”

“Daniel, if you would take your place on the table.” Myrddin nodded toward the narrow but long table Nim had placed on the raised circle in the center of the room. I could see symbols painted on the circle and the matching ones on the ceiling. The circles were perfectly in line. “Unfortunately, Devinshea, I need you to take the purgative.”

Dev sighed as Nim passed him the small metal cup. He took a sniff, his nose wrinkling. “I suppose it does what the name implies.”

Nim nodded and handed him a bucket. “You’re going to need it. There’s a small room right over there, if you’d like some privacy.”

He stopped in front of me, pulling me close. “Everything is going to be fine, Zoey. We’ll fix Daniel’s heart and then we’ll figure out where to go from there.”

His eyes met mine and I knew he wasn’t going to allow the wizard to pull us apart. He would fight to keep Daniel. He kissed my forehead.

Dev already looked a little green as he walked into the room. I tried to follow because I could at least rub his back or put a cold rag on his neck, but he didn’t want any help. When he came back after what seemed like the longest time, he was shaky and his skin had turned a pale white. He had discarded his shirt and shoes.

“I believe I have sufficiently purged,” he stated quietly.

Nim handed him a second cup. “For strength.”

“Because you’ve just taken all of mine,” Dev replied sarcastically. He sniffed this one as well. “Do you make anything that tastes good, Nim?”

She thought about it for a moment. “I make a mean piña colada.”

Dev growled but downed the entire drink. I reached up and held his hand. After a moment he seemed steadier. “I’m ready.”

I was glad Dev was ready because I wasn’t. I followed him, his hand squeezing mine as we made our way to the platform. I walked onto it with him. Daniel lay on his back, but he smiled up as I came into view.

“Hey, baby.” Daniel took my other hand and placed it over his heart. “It’s going to be fine, Z. I love you.”

I leaned down and pressed my lips to his, fighting back tears the whole time. “It better be.”

I got back up and kissed Dev while he made me the same promise.

“Your Highness, it’s time,” Myrddin said quietly and I could almost believe he cared about us.

He held his hand out to help me down. I touched them both one last time before allowing the wizard to lead me away.

Lee, Neil, and Zack were crowded together.

“Lee,” I heard Dev say, “if anything goes wrong…”

“I know what to do, Dev,” Lee replied.

“Even if it’s both of us?”

“Especially if that happens,” Lee promised. “She’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it. We’ll disappear and no one will ever find us.”

Dev nodded and then Myrddin was staring at me. “I apologize, but this is too many people. Could we please bring it down to two? I understand that you need to be here and I’m willing to accommodate you.”

“Zack will stay as well,” I said, much to Neil and Lee’s surprise. “You won’t be able to get him away.”

“No, you won’t,” Zack said stubbornly.

Of the three wolves, Zack was the only one who truly loved the men on that table. Lee tolerated them. Neil was their friend, but Zack had a true connection. I wasn’t about to toss him out because Neil would be better comfort for me.

“Excellent,” Myrddin said. “I was going to suggest the same thing.”

I felt Lee press something cold into my hand. One of his semiautomatic pistols. I palmed it and liked the weight in my hand. I shoved it in the back of my jeans and pulled my shirt over it. He nodded as he left, and Neil made me promise to get him as soon as it was over.

Then there was nothing left to do except get to it. My stomach turned over as the wizard and Nim made their final preparations.

“Devinshea, you must keep your hands on Daniel,” Myrddin instructed Dev, who immediately pressed his palms on Daniel’s shoulders. “No matter what happens, you must stay in contact with the king. Do you understand?”

Dev kept his hands on Daniel’s shoulders. “I understand. I won’t fail.”

“No matter what,” Myrddin warned. “If you let go, even for a moment, he will die.”

“I will not let go.” Dev’s green eyes met mine and made me a promise. He would never let go. He would die before he failed.

“Where do you want me?” Nim asked.

Myrddin pointed to the other side of the circle. “You’re out of practice, Nimue. Are you sure you can handle this?”

Nim’s violet eyes flared. “I can handle anything you throw at me, wizard. Don’t forget who won the last fight we had.”

“I will never forget that, Nimue,” the wizard promised, his voice silky and smooth. “Then we begin.”

Simultaneously, both Nim and Myrddin threw their arms out as though they could embrace the circles, and I felt a strange wave of energy roll across me. Zack was suddenly at my back, his hands coming up on my shoulders. They were there for comfort but also to pull me back at the first sign of any danger. With Lee gone, Zack would consider me his first priority, even above Daniel. My safety would be paramount in his master’s mind, so Zack would make that his job. There was a loud hum and then a crackle in the air as a long tube of blue light seemed to advance from the bottom of the circle. It made its way slowly up toward the top, like water filling up a cylinder.

Myrddin was murmuring something, but I didn’t recognize the language. It wasn’t Latin. I suspected it was older than that. This was magic like I had never seen before. It filled the room and seemed to be searching for something. It flowed from the wizard and I could feel it move about like a living thing, seeking a place to strike. Zack pulled me back against his chest when I felt the tendrils brush against us. There was a tingle where it touched me, but it quickly realized I was not what it was looking for and moved on.

There was a crack and a pulse as that magic found what it wanted. It hit Nim with impressive force and I saw her stagger a bit on the impact. She breathed through what looked like no small amount of pain and her violet eyes went a deep purple as Myrddin’s magic invaded her body. The blue tube of light shot up the rest of the way to the ceiling and there was a sucking sound, like it had sealed itself off.

I suddenly heard the sound of rival thuds. One was quicker than the other but both kept a steady beat.

“Excellent. The stasis chamber is well established. I believe Nimue can hold it on her own.” Myrddin turned to us, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He reminded me of a child with a new toy. He walked to the basin and washed his hands carefully, like a surgeon. When he returned, he carried a tray that he placed on a table next to the stasis chamber.

“So this stasis chamber will help Dev keep Daniel alive?” My voice was shaky because it was all happening so fast.

The wizard’s head bent to his task while he answered me. “Yes, it takes the king and Devinshea out of this reality and into a more suitable one for the required surgery. It’s a small slice of a more magical plane that I keep in touch with. It makes certain things possible that wouldn’t be on this plane.”