Curled under the blankets, I put my head on his chest, the sound of his steady heartbeat lulling me to sleep.
Leaving Rylee curled up and sleeping soundly, he made his way to the library. Opening the door, he knew who he’d find there, could smell them clearly. Erik and Doran were leaning over….
“Shit, is that the Book of the Lost?”
Erik nodded, but didn’t lift his head. “Yes.”
Walking toward them, he lifted his hand and pointed at the book. “Does it tell us how to shut the doorway in the castle?”
Doran dropped into the chair closest to him. “Unfortunately, it does. You know the blood of a guardian can close a tear in the veil?”
He nodded, feeling his life tie into what Doran was about to say. The vampire flicked his hand at the book. “The guardian’s life, freely given, and taken by one who loves him, will seal all the doorways through the veil for a given time. Too bad Coyote doesn’t have any loved ones here.”
There it was, Liam felt the truth drop through him. This was what he’d been waiting for. Doran was right, Coyote had no one who could take his blood.
But Liam did.
“How long?”
Doran snorted. “We aren’t doing this. It isn’t a viable option.”
“Rylee would never let it happen.” Erik closed the book. “Never.”
Gritting his teeth, he took a slow breath before asking again. “How. Long.”
Doran grabbed his arm. “You don’t get it; she will never let it happen. We have to find another way.”
Liam wasn’t upset, even though Doran’s fingers dug into his bicep. “There isn’t another way, though, is there?”
Neither of the two men would look at him. He pried Doran’s hands from his arms. “Anything to keep them both safe. Do you understand? I would do anything to keep them both safe.”
Doran’s eyes widened and he fell backwards. “You’re shitting me.”
Erik let out a low groan. “That’s why Orion wants her alive. Fucking hell!” He threw the book across the room, and Liam smelled the grief on the older man, the pain of again losing someone he loved.
Liam blew out a breath, knowing this was it. This was his end, and he was okay with it. “I have a plan. She can’t know, but I think we can take out the packs and close the doorway at the same time. Will you help me?”
Erik’s shoulders slumped, at the same time that Doran dropped his chin to his chest. They would help; he knew they would. “We just need one more person, though I don’t want to include her, she’s the only one.”
“Sweet baby Zeus, Liam. She’s too young.”
Liam knew Erik was right. But what other choice did they have? There was only one person who could get him through the fire of the castle to the doorway, only one person he knew loved him as family other than Rylee.
Pamela.
Chapter 19
EVERY TIME I thought I’d get a good night’s sleep, something happened. Though, at least in this case, I wasn’t waking to someone screaming. Actually, I wasn’t really awake at all, at least, I didn’t think I was.
Giselle stood in the corner of the room, her figure clothed in armor, weapons peeking out from her back. She was young, younger than when I’d first met her, and her eyes were clear and bright. Fierce.
“Rylee, this is the last time I will be able to visit you. The war grows stronger on this side of the veil, even though we are doing our best to stem the flow of evil spirits coming through, with the new plague, it won’t be long before the demons can enter this world on their own.” She sounded tired, as tired as I felt.
“This is goodbye then? No more advice, no more midnight visits?” I was going for sassy, but the words were whispered and sounded like a little girl begging her mother to stay just a few more minutes.
“Goodbye is relative. One day you will be here, fighting beside me, keeping the world safe, just in a different way. It is the way with all of us who would stand between the world and the demons.”
I remembered what she had said before, that those who fought the darkness on this side of the veil continued to do so after they died.
“Any last words of advice?”
She smiled, but her lips trembled. “Not advice so much as information. Milly is not dead, though it may have looked that way. We were wrong about her; the darkness I felt was Orion clutching her close.” She shook her head and a tear slipped from her eye. “When it comes time, do it quickly, she deserves that much.”
I stared at her, my mind refusing to understand what she was saying at first. And then when it hit me, I balked.
“No,” I whispered. “You can’t ask that of me, it’s bad enough I have to kill my own sister, I can’t … not Milly too.”