Steal the Moon(79)

Bris closed his eyes, acquiescing to my wishes, and when they opened again, Dev was there.

“Help me up, sweetheart,” Dev ordered.

I shook my head. “There’s nothing we can do now.”

He was looking, searching for anything he could use. The wolves were too close to throw up a barrier. We would get caught in it, too, and be torn apart by the vines and thorns. There were no trees within reach for Dev to command. His arm hung useless at his side anyway. Dev always used his hands when he called forth his magic. We were caught, and there was no way out.

I thought about Dev and Danny and the baby that might or might not be in my body. Could we have made it work? Could we have had that odd little family?

It didn’t matter now because the biggest wolf in the pack had broken from the circle. He charged forward, a locomotive of power and muscle and killing rage. I was in front of my husband, my back to his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me, an instinctive move, nothing that would stop the wolf. Dev shrank back from the teeth and claws, trying to take me with him.

I felt hot breath on my face and knew this was my last moment. I felt Dev’s warmth at my back and was glad that would be one of the last sensations I would feel. The wolf growled his triumph and opened his mouth to tear out my throat.

And stopped.

The enormous black wolf sat back on his haunches and surveyed the space around him as though trying to figure out just where he was and why he was about to eat these two people. He was calm now, and the confusion was obvious in his dark eyes. All around us the wolves were coming out of the artifact’s control. They stumbled and shook their mighty heads as though trying to clear the magic from their systems.

My eyes flew to the cave, and I watched as Declan swung down from his perch, a look of enormous superiority on his face. I watched as he called his guard, and ten Fae appeared at the cave’s entrance. Almost as one unit they turned to where Dev and I sat among the confused wolves. Declan pointed and I had no doubt it was me he wanted brought to him. If I let that guard take me, I would be held far from this fight and perhaps taken to Faery against my will. They were surely being ordered to stop me from doing something stupid.

The trouble was I still had stupid things to do, and I wasn’t about to let some royal guards stop me. I still had a job to do. I stood up and helped Dev. “We have to get that paw before Halfer takes it again.”

He nodded and despite what had to be the agonizing pain in his shoulder, he took my hand and started to run toward the camp where Halfer and that artifact lay.

Even as we ran, I could hear the gunfire and the screams of men.

I smiled fiercely because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt my Danny was awake.





Chapter Thirty-Three





I looked at Dev who was struggling now, his body so strong but he’d lost blood and the bullet was still lodged in his shoulder. Even as I watched, his body was trying to heal itself. Dev took Daniel’s blood, too, and the vampire blood didn’t think about the fact that no one had taken the bullet out. It simply healed. I wanted to wait, but that guard was making its way across the field and they weren’t heading into the important fight. They made a beeline for me.

“Dev,” I said, breathless as I ran back to help him.

“Go,” he said. “Get that paw. Daniel will keep Halfer busy. Take my gun.” He pressed the SIG Sauer into my hand. “It’s better than anything McKenzie had. Zoey, kill those followers of his. They would kill you. The guard is coming. They will aid me. Go.”

I didn’t think that was going to go the way Dev expected. He seemed to think they were coming to help us, and I knew for a fact that they weren’t. I kissed him with all my might and ran toward the gunfire.

I heard the shouting coming from across the field. Declan was screaming as I ran into the line of fire. The guard quickly changed course and they were moving to intercept me. Forcing my legs to pump as fast as I could, I broke for the valley. Even at a distance, I could hear Zack growl and then a mighty roar nearly shook the ground beneath me.

Daniel’s beast could be really loud. Daniel was calling to me. There was a burst of gunfire, but I wasn’t going to make it. The guard was so fast. I glanced to my right and they were rushing across the field to cut me off from the fight.

It was me versus ten big strong warriors of the sidhe. They had trained all of their lives to guard, protect, and hunt. I was a thief who almost never made it to the gym. What made me think I could win against that army? It was arrogant to even try, but I kept running.

Daniel needed me. It was Danny against Halfer and three men with high-powered rifles. Normally that wasn’t even the beginnings of a fair fight, but it was full daylight and no matter how much he fed on Dev’s powerful magic, daylight cut his strength way back. If Halfer or one of his men got that paw back in their grubby little hands, the balance would shift firmly into their corner. Right now, the wolves seemed to not know what to do. I wanted to keep it that way, but it looked like the royal guard was going to fuck up my plans.

The one Declan had called Geary broke from the rest, and it seemed like he was going to win the fastest asshole guard competition. His hands stretched out toward me, ready to pull me down to the ground. I had no doubt I was about to be taken into custody, hauled back to Declan and held against my will. If I was lucky, he might let me watch as Daniel was taken apart by the wolves. Perhaps he would try to save his brother, but I couldn’t be sure of that. The baby that might be in my belly was the only thing he cared about. Angry tears flooded my eyes as I tried to evade Geary’s arms. Just an inch more and he would have me. Just another step and I wouldn’t be able to help Danny. I wouldn’t be able to save Dev.

Alone. I was so alone as he reached for me to pull me down and take me out.

Just as his hand was about to touch my arm, Geary hit an invisible wall and flew back. I did a double take, looked to the caves, and I knew I wasn’t alone anymore.

Sarah stood behind Declan, who screamed at his guard. He and Padric watched in confusion, and Felix stood beside them doing his best to keep their eyes on the field. Declan yelled, but he didn’t turn around because he had no idea Sarah was a witch. It would never occur to him that the cute, funny girl with the electric blue bob and ready smile could render his guards completely useless. Neil stood behind her and I saw him put a hand on her shoulder, lending her his strength.

I smiled up at my friends as I gave Geary my happy middle finger and went about my business because my crew had my back.

I ran hard, getting a second wind from the adrenaline of winning that particular battle. I broke through the tree line that separated me from the campsite, and the first thing I saw was Daniel. He was standing among the tents and campsites, his body already covered in blood and unfortunately I was pretty sure a lot of it was his. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans, his boots, and a jacket he seemed to have slung on in lieu of a shirt. The jacket gaped open and blood covered his chest.

He’d taken several bullets, but two of Halfer’s men were down. They wouldn’t be getting back up again. Zack was at his master’s side. He didn’t have trouble with the daylight. He was at full power and on vampire blood.

I stopped at the edge of the valley before it ran into the field where Dev and I had been married. I flipped the safety off my gun and peered from behind a tree. Halfer shot Daniel again and he fell backward. I had to stifle a scream and force myself not to run for him. I had no doubt those were silver rounds. Halfer would use nothing less, but running in a panic wouldn’t help Danny.

Zack attacked, going for Halfer’s legs. Halfer screamed and used the butt of his rifle to hit the wolf squarely in the head. Now was the time to act. I took careful aim and squeezed the trigger, hitting Halfer in the back before he could shoot Daniel again.

It wasn’t enough. Halfer’s body tensed, but he didn’t go down. Halfer turned, looking for me. He yelled something at the last of his men and the henchman started searching the ground. I had no doubt we were looking for the same thing.

Halfer fired in my direction and I quickly shielded my back with a tree. I was about to try to move when the air was filled with pixies. They landed on me and I could tell from their fluttering wings that they were concerned. I remembered what Dev had told me about these tiny members of Faery. They were small but tough. They didn’t back off from a fight.

But what the hell could my army of butterflies do against an ex-demon and a bunch of AR-15s?

Though I didn’t actually need them to fight.

I held out my hand, hoping whoever was their leader would understand. A sapphire and amethyst pixie quickly landed in my palm. He, I thought of him as a he but I could be wrong, bowed and seemed to wait for me to speak.

“Do you know what a paw is?” I asked, cutting directly to the chase because I had no idea how much time I had. Declan could discover Sarah was working against him any minute. Halfer could come looking for me or his henchman could find the artifact.

The little pixie nodded his head vigorously.

“I need you to find a gray paw for me. It was being held by that man with the dark hair. The prince shot it out of his hand from the cave. It probably has an arrow in it.” I gave them all the information I had. “Please find it. It’s so important. I would be in your debt.”