Steal the Moon(78)

Declan snorted behind us where he had crawled forward to listen in like the sneaky bitch he was. “I could hit that with my eyes closed and the rest of my body engaged in a bit of fornication.”

It was time for my brother-in-law to stop talking and do a little walking because the minute they got that gate open, we were going to be surrounded.

“I am going to need a better perch than this, however.” Declan craned his neck to look around. “I would have a much better spot if I climb up a bit, but then I would be exposed.”

The three of us moved back in the cave so we could speak more freely and the others could hear us.

“If the prince climbs out of the cave, they will shoot him,” Padric pointed out because guarding the royal was his chief occupation in life.

“We need a diversion.” Dev ran his fingers through his hair. “This is where the grenades would have been helpful, John.”

“You really like blowing shit up, don’t you, Quinn?” McKenzie asked, rolling his eyes. He looked like a man who’d had to blow up too many things to think it was cool anymore.

He did, I acknowledged silently. Daniel had forced Dev to watch far too many action movies in the last couple of months. After exploring the oeuvre of Michael Bay, Dev had started buying all kinds of exotic explosives. He was now obsessed with big bangs. He sometimes forgot that small diversions could work just as well.

I suddenly had one of those awful ideas in my head. I get really dumb ideas from time to time. They usually end with me dying or getting my ass handed to me.

“So you want the faery to shoot the damn paw out of Halfer’s hand?” Lee asked, leaning against the cave wall. “What’s to stop Halfer from running back to get it?”

“Uhmm, the wolves who suddenly get their free will back,” I explained. “I think they might be pissed off and not at us.”

“This is a terrible plan,” Padric said, shaking his head.

“It’s the only one we have.” I really hated this rule-by-committee thing. It was easier when I was running my own damn crew. I just had to deal with Daniel’s objections because everyone else knew I was the boss. I hated having to justify everything. It was just about time to act and let the others follow my lead.

“The fact that everyone’s attention would suddenly be on Declan could give Zack the shot he needs at taking out the guard and getting to Daniel.” Dev stared out the cave, thinking.

“Nice, brother,” Declan said but even as he groused, he was snapping those imperious fingers. “So I am to be bait. That is a loving way to describe the man who shared a womb with you.” Reality twisted around a tall Fae with long blond hair. He handed Declan his bow and arrow with a deferential bow and gave Padric a long silver sword.

“Are we needed, Your Highness?” The guard asked the question with an academic tone.

Declan waved him off. “Not yet, Geary. The cave is too small for all of us. You may go.”

Neil’s eyes were wide as the Fae disappeared again. “That was cool.”

“Well,” Declan said with a small smile. “I suppose we will see now if I am faster than those bullets Zoey is so impressed with.”

But I had no intention of letting our only hope of getting out of this alive be a target. If they shot Declan, we had no one else who could do what we needed. If they saw him moving, then the wolves would be all over the cave and we were done.

Declan would need to move into position, set up his shot, and take it. He wouldn’t do that in one easy, fluid move no matter how good he was. The truth of the matter was we still needed bait. While I wasn’t sure exactly what Halfer’s orders were to the wolves, I did know I was his prime target. If we sent someone else out, say a McKenzie, there was no way to know if the wolves would go for him. I thought they would follow him until they got my scent and then chase me down in the cave, taking everyone out in the process. I had no doubt Halfer would let the wolves kill everyone, but he would make damn sure I went first.

When it comes to bait, shouldn’t you always go with the choicest morsel when trying to hook a big fish?

Dev sighed beside me and suddenly his hand was in mine. He leaned down and spoke quietly in my ear. “You’re the most obnoxious woman I’ve ever met. You are certain this is the path you want to take?”

My mouth was hanging open, and Dev laughed lightly. “How did you…?”

“I’ve been through enough of these little adventures to know what you will do, my wife,” Dev replied, a sparkle in his eyes. “I also know I can’t stop you. Besides, it really is the only thing that makes sense. Those wolves want you, sweetheart. They’ll come after you no matter where you are. But this time, I think, I will let them eat you first.”

I grinned up at him, the adrenaline already pumping through my system. Declan was at the edge of the cave now. He reached up and pulled himself over the cave ledge. Without a word to the others, Dev and I took off, leaping in the opposite direction, going down. I heard Padric yell behind me and Declan curse righteously from above, but there was nothing he could do now except the job.

Dev and I tumbled down a short hill. My husband pulled me to his chest and shielded me from the worst of the rocks and sticks with his big body. When we stopped, he was on his feet quickly, lifting me up with him.

Just in case the fuckers missed our little trip, Dev held up his gun and blasted two rounds in the air. The sound split the silence, cracking through the valley.

Every wolf in the area turned toward the sound, and Halfer’s head snapped around. Even from the distance, I could see the triumphant gleam in his eyes as he raised the paw over his head and the pack shifted as one great predator toward us.

“Shit, that’s a lot of wolves,” Dev said, shaking his head. “If we get out of this alive, I will be expecting payback for all the terror. I plan to take it out on your soft, sweet body.”

“I have no doubt.” I took his hand and began to run, but not before I saw that brown wolf taking his shot. As I turned, Zack was leaping onto the guard, his teeth at the man’s throat.

I ran as hard as I could, trying to keep up with my husband’s long legs. It wouldn’t be long before Daniel was awake. We just had to stay alive long enough for Declan to do his job or Danny to wrestle the paw away from Halfer.

“Follow me,” Dev yelled as he started to run even faster but not in a straight line.

He zigged and zagged across the field because the wolves were not our only problem. Already one of the humans with Halfer was beginning to take shots at us. He was at a disadvantage. We had rolled down the hill and into the valley so we were on flat ground. The man with the rifle needed a sniper position and he just didn’t have one. Dev was making us a hard-to-hit target by constantly changing our path.

My lungs started to hurt as we ran because I’ve lived most of my life at sea level and my body was sadly human. Dev wasn’t even breathing hard yet, but my chest was burning and I could hear the wolves behind us, thundering through the valley, desperate to finally get their teeth into me.

I made the mistake of looking behind me and they were eating the distance between us like a single ravenous beast. They were going to catch us before Declan or Danny could save us.

Dev scooped me into his arms in a graceful move. He never stopped running, simply held me to him and ran as fast as his long legs would carry him. I looked into his eyes and saw Bris there. He winked at me and Dev’s body started to move faster than I had ever seen him. He’d told me he could strengthen Dev. I thought he meant strengthening his magic. Now I understood he made Dev stronger in every way. He was faster, stronger, more capable.

I locked my arms around his neck and turned so I could see behind us. Declan had his bow taut, waiting for that perfect shot. We only needed a moment more. I watched Declan, so focused on his target and then suddenly, we were falling and blood bloomed across Dev’s shoulder.

We tumbled, Dev falling first to his knees, trying so hard to keep me safe even as the bullet lodged in his bones. Dev or Bris, I wasn’t sure which, seemed unsure of what had happened.

“Goddess?” he asked, and now I was pretty damn sure who it was. “What is this thing?”

“It’s a bullet,” I told the fertility god who probably had never been shot before. More than likely he’d never seen a gun. From what I understood, he’d been dormant since long before someone decided to use gunpowder as a propellant.

“It hurts,” he said. “I do not like it.”

It wasn’t going to hurt as much as being torn apart by wolves. I tried to scramble up and pull Dev with me. They were close now, too close to run from. They would catch us with no trouble. I could run as fast as possible and get pulled down anyway, or I could spend the last minute I had in his arms.

“I love you,” I said, throwing myself around him. I held him close not caring about the blood. I really wanted to get eaten first. I didn’t want to watch it happen to him.

“I am sorry, goddess,” Bris’s voice said sadly. “It doesn’t seem fair. I wanted more time with you. I don’t want to go back to the darkness.”

“Give me Dev,” I ordered as the wolves reached us. Like the wolves they were, they circled us, not content to just rip and tear. They liked the terror. “I want my husband.”