Moonlight(Pact Arcanum 3) (8 page)

Nick’s eyes snapped open where he lay in Rory’s arms, and he took a shuddering breath.

Rory held him tightly. “Did it work?”

Nick mustered a weak answer. “Yes.”

Take leaned forward. “Then what did you find out?”

“Later,” he said, trying to sit up. “Takeshi, where is Toby right now?”

Take frowned. “He’s in England, with Andrea. Why?”

“He’s in danger,” Nick said, his voice full of dread. “I don’t know why, or when, but something bad is about to happen to him.”

CHAPTER 9

Oxford Botanic Garden, Oxford, England

Toby and Andrea walked silently down the path until they reached a park bench, while their Secret Service escort formed a perimeter around them at a discreet distance. She sat and looked at the overcast sky that blotted out the sunset.

“Storm’s coming.”

Toby snorted. “This is England. Rain is part of the scenery.”

She laughed at his tone of disdain. “You get used to it.” She looked at him with interest. “So where do you live when you’re not in Washington?”

Toby sat on the bench next to her. “San Francisco mostly, but my apartment is being, um, remodeled, so I’ve been crashing at my brother’s house in North Carolina.”

She leaned back against the bench. “I guess family is good for something after all.”

“Come on, Andrea,” said Toby. “Surely your dad has some redeeming qualities?”

Her expression turned sour. “Not lately. In the beginning, it wasn’t so bad. I enjoyed the campaigning, once I was old enough to understand what was going on. But when he hit the Oval Office, everything changed. The work took center stage, and he never had time for us. My mother was the only thing holding our family together. After she died, it seemed like there was nothing left of our relationship to rebuild. I went back to Washington for the funeral and the state functions, but he didn’t need me. He just pressed on as always. I’m surprised he noticed I was there at all.”

Toby took her hand gently. “Andrea, forgive me for saying so, but at least half of that was complete bullshit, and you know it.” He glanced at Jack Anderson, who leaned against a low stone wall, casually sharpening his sword with a whetstone while he watched the shadows for threats. “If your father didn’t care, then we wouldn’t be here.”

She grinned at him. “You know, Tobias, I was really building up a nice head of self-pity there. You’re ruining the whole effect by trying to inject perspective.” She cocked her head quizzically. “So when do you suppose you’re finally going to let me in on the big secret?”

Toby started to reply, but the voice of his AI interrupted him. “Tobias, Layla Magister Curallorn is trying to reach you on a high-priority secured channel.”

Toby sat there with his mouth open like a fish, then snapped his jaws together and stood from the bench. He gave Andrea a sheepish look. “Will you excuse me for a few minutes?”

She nodded. “Sure. I hope things work out better than your last conversation.”

“So do I.” He walked a short distance apart for privacy. “Put her through, Strings.”

A virtual screen opened in front of him, showing Layla with the Council Chamber in the background. Nick and Faith stood to either side of her.

Toby frowned at the presence of his siblings. “Layla, is this a business or a personal call?”

Layla stood straighter. “Both, actually. It seems our relationship is about to become an affair of state.”

Toby waited silently for a moment, then looked at Nick. “Is someone going to explain that remark?”

Nick and Layla looked furtively at each other, weighing which of them should speak. Faith shook her head in disgust. “Toby, you’re going to be a father. Congratulations.”

Toby just stared at her. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

Faith grimaced. “Do I look like I’m laughing, little brother? She’s between sixteen and twenty weeks along, and the fetus appears to be developing normally.”

“Whoa. Just wait a minute.” Toby tapped his hands together in a time-out sign. “Even if that were at all possible, we’ve only been going out since December.”

Faith gave him a hard look. “Then you must’ve got off to a fast start.” She shook her head in annoyance. “Typical.”

Toby swallowed and turned back to Layla, who watched him with a challenging gaze. He considered and discarded his next words several times.
It had to be true, or Faith wouldn’t go along with it. And Layla certainly wouldn’t be caught in such an obvious fabrication.
Finally, he simply asked, “Are you all right?”

Her expression softened slightly, and she allowed herself a small smile. “I am well, Tobias. Thank you for asking.”

Toby licked his lips. “How did it happen?”

“The Gift and Grace are mystically compatible,” Nick answered. “The White Wind apparently always meant for Daywalkers and Sentinels to start a new race while the Great Work progressed.”

Toby frowned at him. “And how do you know that?”

Nick shrugged. “They answered my questions when I asked.”

Toby’s eyes grew wide. “Pact Arcanum? How did you—” He broke off suddenly. “The higher powers never give up anything for free, Nick. What did you have to pay for the information?”

“They asked me to protect the child in your place, for as long as necessary.”

“In my place? It’s
my
kid,” Toby said hotly. “I can protect it!”

“They said you might not be around.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means you’re in danger.” Nick gave him a diamond-hard stare. “I want you to break off your assignment and come home. You’ll be safer here.”

“What about Andrea?” Toby protested. “You want me to throw her to the wolves?”

“She still has her security detail, including Anderson. We’ll send someone out to replace you when we can set up a suitable cover story. Set up whatever wards around her that you can, but hightail it back here as soon as possible.”

Toby was about to argue further, but Nick cut him off. “Just do it, little brother. Please. I don’t want to lose you.”

There wasn’t much Toby could say to that, so he just bowed his head. “Can I speak to Layla for a moment?”

Nick and Faith stepped away from the screen, leaving the two of them with a modicum of privacy.

Toby looked at her helplessly. “I’m sorry.”

Layla shook her head. “I am not. I have often wondered what it would mean to be a mother, although I have sired a legion of scions. I choose to view this as an opportunity. I might even learn something.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Toby murmured. He reached into his shirt and pulled out the gold charm so that it lay visible on his chest. “I’m sorry I got so angry.”

She sighed. “You had a right to be incensed. I should not have given it to you.”

“The gift didn’t piss me off, Layla,” Toby said in an earnest voice. “It was that you tricked me into accepting it. Why didn’t you just tell me the truth beforehand? I might even have welcomed the extra protection if I’d had a chance to think about it.”

Layla ran her fingers through her loosely braided hair in frustration. “We have always rushed into things, have we not? The relationship itself was ill-considered. Your brother has said it often enough.”

“I don’t regret being with you, Layla,” said Toby. “I just don’t know if we can make it work in the long term. This … this is just added pressure.”

She smiled at him. “Consider it a challenge, Tobias. You have never balked at any obstacle before. If we work together more often, who knows what we could accomplish?”

Toby grinned at her transparent attempt to push his buttons. She knew he was extremely competitive, and he didn’t like to back down.
But I know that you know, and you’re just doing it to make me feel better.
He appreciated the gesture of support, but she would just have denied it if he thanked her, so he said nothing.
When did we get to know each other so well? I never even noticed.
“I’ll see you when—”

At that moment, the virtual screen winked out and Toby staggered when a piercing squeal of static burst in his ears. Blinking away tears of pain, he spoke to his AI. “Strings, what the hell just happened?” Silence. “Strings?”

Toby manually activated the internal diagnostics routine for his implant network, but couldn’t even bring up a test pattern. He was offline. Turning to the security detail in suspicion, he saw the Sentinel bodyguard shrugging out of his jacket to free up his sword arm.

Jack dropped his jacket to the ground and spoke over his shoulder to Toby while he scanned the shadows. “My AI network is down. Can you jump her to safety?”

The other Secret Service agents started running toward Andrea. Toby opened his senses fully, detecting the jumper block as soon as it solidified. He moved to Andrea’s side in a blur, calling an ebony magician’s staff to his hand while he tapped his Gift for speed, reaching her ahead of the agents. He grabbed her wrist and immediately cast kinetic shields over the two of them, feeling the air ripple with magic all around them.

“Multiple teleports, incoming!” he yelled at the security detail. “Do what you can to keep them off us while we take them out!”

Jack shrouded himself in invisibility, and the first of the vampires appeared in flashes of white light. He cut them down from concealment as fast as he could reach them, but the Nightwalkers were jumping in on all sides.

Toby summoned fire to his fingertips and let go of Andrea’s arm. Around him, the agents had all drawn their guns and were picking targets. “Bullets won’t stop them!”

“Watch and learn, Sentinel,” said one of the agents, opening fire.

Toby stared with disbelief when the vampires went down screaming, some on fire and others with huge chucks of flesh blown away. “What the fuck?” he said, pushing Andrea behind him.

“Alternating explosive and white phosphorous rounds,” Andrea said in shock. “Standard issue for Nightwalker engagements.” She gritted her teeth as she hissed in his ear. “They already knew, didn’t they? What does the Court want with me?”

Toby didn’t answer, just leveled his own brand of fireball at the oncoming Nightwalkers while they regrouped. Then he probed the surroundings for the spellcaster who had cast the jumper block.

The Nightwalkers kept coming, swarming over the Secret Service agents one by one and tearing them to pieces, until only Jack and Toby were left, the magician casting a sea of fire in all directions while the swordsman cut down the ones who made it through the flames. Then, suddenly, a sphere of white light about two feet across flew out of the shadows and enveloped Jack’s head. The Earth Sentinel staggered and began to cough, then collapsed on the ground. Toby heard a weak telepathic burst just before the other Sentinel passed out, containing only one word. “Gas.”

Toby hardened his shields, and a second sphere flew out of the darkness toward him. As it wrapped around his head, he fired a bolt of white-hot light at the spellcaster he had detected and heard the Nightwalker scream while he burned. The sphere containing the gas dissipated, but Toby kept his shields impermeable. He knew he would soon run out of time, using up the air trapped within his shield, while his own magic quickly depleted itself. He had to end this now, or all three of them would die. He drew on his remaining reserves and tried to think of a spell that would save them.

The attacking vampires stopped, all at once, and stepped back from combat. Then Yvette dropped her shroud of invisibility and strode between the ranks of her remaining soldiers.

Toby’s eyes widened when he recognized her. He knew that he was no match for her in his weakened state.
Better to go down fighting,
he thought, and began to cast one final spell.
Radiant Burn
.
We’ll all fry together.
He might have just enough strength to complete the casting.

Yvette raised her sword and released a burst of power down her blade that shattered his shield and knocked him off his feet. The spell that he was trying to hold in his mind fragmented, and the magic he had left exploded outward as the mystical waveform collapsed, vaporizing the nearest Nightwalkers. Andrea went flying, but her kinetic shield absorbed most of the blast. Desperately, Toby reached for more power, but his Gift was exhausted. He was defenseless.

Yvette weathered the storm of energy behind her shields and then fired another burst of power at him that should have reduced him to ash, but the cross on his chest flared with bright blue light, and the magic of her attack fizzled out.

She raised her eyebrows at that, apparently taking an interest in him for the first time. Then she spoke to her soldiers. “Take the girl and the magician. Kill the other.” She turned around and walked away.

Toby got back on his feet when the vampires attacked again, but he couldn’t match them in hand-to-hand combat, and his magician’s staff was only a stick of wood again. He went down almost immediately, and the Nightwalkers beat him into unconsciousness. The last thing he heard was Andrea’s scream as they dragged her away.

PART II:  DEADLINE

CHAPTER 10

Oxford Botanic Garden, Oxford, England; Thirty minutes later

Nick stood over what was left of Jack’s body, ignoring the stench of blood and scorched flesh. He surveyed the burned and shredded bodies of the Nightwalkers, critically evaluating their numbers. He put his musings aside when he saw the white light of a teleport matrix form and six men appear: Lorcan Magister Diluthical, Huntmaster of the Court of Shadows, accompanied by five of his guards. Nick strode angrily to stand before the other Daywalker, ignoring the rest of the Armistice Security strike force that scattered about the battlefield, brightly lit by portable floodlights.

Lorcan studied the scene with icy detachment before turning his attention to Nick. “How many dead?” he asked.

“At least forty-nine,” said Nick. “We found Jack and all seven of Andrea’s Secret Service agents, along with forty-one other bodies. But Toby and Andrea aren’t here.” He faced Lorcan with naked hostility. “I don’t suppose you know where they are?”