The Paladins (31 page)

The vortex tilts, rising until vertical, like a penny standing on its side. Smooth gray stones form, lining the inner walls of a lengthening tunnel. Water gurgles along the floor, but none leaks outside the opening.

I strain against the willow limbs and catch a glimpse of a winding staircase. Steps curl around the walls and drown in the rising water.

A memory takes hold. I squint and see a door on the far wall—a green door.

My eyes widen. Rose’s tower! Okay, not upright, as it should be, the structure’s lying on its side, but that’s sure enough her tower. Damn it! Pan is taking her back to jail.

He grins and waves before sending his prisoner through the opening ahead of him. Another swirl and the entire tower folds into the vacuous hole and disappears without a trace.

The moment they’re gone, the trees release us and retreat into the ground. Good thing, or Ferdy might chop them to kindling with his ax.

A scream of frustration rips from me. The bull-man tosses his massive head in the air and trumpets. I stamp, and swear, and holler again. The Minotaur matches my tantrum yell for yell. I’m beginning to love this guy. No matter how miserable, it’s nice to have company. When I’m done venting, I feel a little better. Not that my big show did me any good. Weary and defeated, I slump against the hairy mountain of bull-man.

A beefy arm comes around my shoulder, pushing my face into his underarm. The musk of wet swamp-rat might be preferable, but I couldn’t care less. “Thanks, buddy,” I say, as he releases me.

The rabbit’s ears twitch. I’d forgotten about her. Or rather, I hoped she’d disappear, like her hideous rider.

Smashing rustles the palmetto bushes to our right.

What now, T-Rex, demon-possessed bulldozer, Jack the Ripper? Not that I’ll guess anything out loud.

Ferdy tenses. I’m sure he senses my anxiety, not that he isn’t shooting off waves of his own.

I squat, pick up the slat I dropped, and slowly straighten. Maybe three thousand pounds of rabbit will distract whatever’s coming.

Two dark shapes burst from the jungle. At the sight of the Pepto-Bismol-colored bunny, they turn in unison, flinching again when they spot me. Well, and Ferdy, too.

The bones in my legs liquefy, and I stagger like a drunkard. A sob chokes anything I might say.

It’s Gideon and Cole.

Gideon

My throat dries. Every breath is a controlled effort as Raven stands sandwiched between two monsters. Relief she’s still alive tag-teams with the fear she’ll be killed any minute. My fists are instant balls of flame. Cole gathers wind around us, and I pull oxygen from his stores to fuel my fires. I don’t know if it’s the sight of my hands or the smell of smoke, but the alien-rabbit bugles like an elephant and thunders past us into the jungle. Trees snap in half and crash to the ground in its wake.

As the noise fades, I pivot to face the other threat. He’s some kind of mythological hybrid of bull and man.

“A Minotaur,” Cole says. “I’ve met one before. They’re lethal.”

Cole and I must share the same thought, because we break into a jog, readying for battle.

Raven darts in front of the beast. Her back to his … chest? Both her arms stretch out on either side, warning us away, protecting him from attack.

Confused, I check my pace. Her lips are moving, but I can’t hear her. And God, how I want to hear her.

The bull paws the ground and snorts. His eyes are red neon. Blood turns molten in my veins as I calculate how close she is to those deadly-sharp horns. When the Minotaur lifts his ax, I draw back my hand, the ball of flame ready to launch.

“Gideon, don’t hurt him!” She gives me her profile and speaks low and steadily to the thing behind her.

Again, I slow my pace, keeping careful watch.

“Are you all right, Rae?” Cole expresses what I would say if I could find my tongue.

“Yes, fine. Sorry. He’s a friend. Come and meet him just … walk nice, okay? You’re scaring him.”

“We’re scaring him?”

My thoughts exactly.

We edge closer, moving slowly to honor her request.

My gaze sweeps the broad head of the bull, the arms and torso of a man that morph into animal legs with hooves. If the thing is Raven’s friend, and helped keep her safe, then he’s off my list to charbroil.

The ache I felt while she was missing amplifies now that we’re together again. A drink of water set before a man dying of thirst, yet kept out of reach. I let Cole worry about the Minotaur while I indulge a moment, absorbing the sight of her.

Wild hair snakes out in all directions, framing a face with both a busted lip and fading black eye. There’s a deep cut on her cheek and one through her eyebrow that will likely scar. Dried blood darkens the skin under her nose. Bruised knuckles, torn clothing, she reminds me of someone who’s survived a war.

She watches me with stormy eyes, the details of her journey written on her battered body. A haunted expression assures me of the suffering she’s endured and my will bleeds out with my heart.

In my mind, I’m on my knees before her in complete surrender, and then that’s where I am. Head down, hands limp at my sides, staring at her boots.

“Gideon, thank God you’re safe.” She kneels, but doesn’t touch me. Why would she? Her chin lifts. “Cole, sit down. You look ready to drop.”

Cole obeys, and together we form a small circle. His smile is weary and fleeting. “It’s good to see you, duck.” Leaning over, he drops a quick kiss on her forehead. I don’t miss the subtle wink he sends me as he straightens.

No spark of jealousy rekindles at their meeting. I feel nothing but gratitude everyone’s alive.

Raven’s hands tremble. As if she can’t contain herself any longer, she throws her arms around the both of us and pulls us in for a hug.

I’m not a group hug kind of guy, but if it means holding Raven, I’ll do it. My palm gently cradles her head. I lose count of the kisses I press to her temple.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she whispers.

I don’t know if she’s talking about me, or Cole, or both of us, and I don’t give a damn. “You, too,” I answer, words muffling against her hair. When I finally force some distance between us, I realize Cole has edged aside. He sits a little apart, pretending not to watch.

Rae studies my face. “What happened to you?” She glances at Cole, eyes narrowing over his shredded ear. “Tell me everything that happened.”

“Not
everything,
surely.” He pulls a face, but a smile leaks through.

“Yes, everything. I have news for you, too, and oh, wait … I have a surprise.”

She springs up, excitement in her smile. I don’t know where her strength comes from. She looks beat down, beat up, skin and bones, and she’s the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. When she stumbles, I’m halfway up to catch her.

“I’m okay, Gideon. Stay there.”

As I settle back down, I watch her search the ground a few feet away. She picks something up and stuffs it into her shirt.

Cole looks over, giving me one of his single shoulder shrugs.

The Minotaur waits near us, a formidable sentinel. One ear twitches at a fly. His nostrils leak an impressive string of snot onto the ground. His gaze tracks Rae’s every move. Instead of suspicion, I’m strangely relieved he’s around.

Cole, however, glares at him. “Oi, remember me, mate? You tried to take my arms off once. Don’t imagine I’ll be forgetting it either.”

Whether or not the bull remembers, he doesn’t respond with more than a bored huff.

“Here we go, guys!” Raven says, striding toward us. It’s so damn cute how happy she seems, dividing her treasure of apples between us, including the Minotaur. Her gaze keeps sliding to mine. Easily caught because I don’t even try to pretend I’m not staring at her.

I smile as her eyes snap forward, but her cheeks redden, giving her away.

We crunch on apples and take turns relaying what happened after the Draugar separated us in the swamp. Cole recounts our run-in with the witches (omitting our embarrassing display with the sirens, of course). I talk about our increasing power.

When its Rae’s turn, she folds up, resting her chin on her knees. My hands curl to fists hearing her story. Emotion weakens her brave front, and before long, her black lashes divide into wet, glistening spikes.

I need to hear this, even if the words flay my soul. I reach over and grip her forearm. The light pressure is meant to encourage. She laughs without humor and wipes her nose on her shirt.

After a pause, she shares how she traveled through the trees, and how some betrayed her. I marvel at her resourcefulness, but then, she’s had to be. We all have.

“And now for the best part … ” She calls to the Minotaur. Her
friend
lumbers over, and I’m forced aside to accommodate his mass. The animal drops to the ground between us, nudging her shoulder with his muzzle. Rae’s arm wraps his thick neck and she scratches his wide, flat face. A smile lights her eyes. “Isn’t he great? He loves it when you rub his head like this.”

I won’t be rubbing his head, no matter how great he is.

Cole shakes his head. “He’s not a lap dog, you know.” He slaps his thighs. “I can’t bloody well believe it. You’re mates with the thing that nearly tore my head off. He broke my leg!”

Rae frowns. “I’m sorry, but that was Pan’s doing. Ferdy isn’t like that. Not anymore.”

“Ferdy? You two chat, do you?”

“No. Not like you and I do, but I understand him, and his moods, and he seems to understand me. Like with the trees, I sense their meaning. It’s hard to explain.” She hesitates. “There’s something else. I’ve seen Rose.”

“Pardon?”

She rubs the back of her hand under her chin. “I found Rose. Ferdy got her out of her tower, by the way, so maybe you’ll like him better for that. Anyway … now don’t freak out, but Pan showed up right before you got here. I think I know where he took her, but—”

Cole is on his feet, and I’m not far behind. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah, no. That’s it exactly.” She grabs his hand and tugs. When he hesitates, she holds a shushing finger to her lips, then points to the ground.

Halfway between a sit and a stand, I lower my ass again, torn between ending our mission, and heeding the stubborn set of Rae’s jaw.

“What?” Cole peers both directions down the overgrown trail. A muscle in his cheek twitches, and I know exactly what he’s feeling.

“That! The whole going off half-cocked thing, we’ve done enough of that. We need rest and a plan.” She makes vague hand gestures in the air. I assume she means Pan, but she sucks at charades, and I’m really not sure. Cole seems as mystified as I am.

Blowing an impatient breath, she bends over, scraping mulch from the soil until the area is smooth. Pushing Ferdy aside, she tugs a stick from beneath his tree-trunk sized leg and starts scratching in the dirt. Cole and I crowd together reading Rae’s message.

Void is wired. Pan hears all.

Suddenly, everything seems a whole lot clearer.

After admitting he was “knackered” and was going for a “kip,” whatever the hell that means, Cole fell asleep. He lies on his side under a rubber tree leaf, snoring. I must have dozed off too, and I’m guessing for quite a while, because moonlight sifts beneath the rising sun, trimming purple clouds in gold.

Of the three of us, Rae got the least rest. She insisted on keeping watch, citing her new skill of leeching energy from the surrounding plant life does the same work as sleep.

I rise and head her direction. Bugs flit from my tramping steps, their wings little more than flashes in the meager light.

Raven’s arms rise over her head, back arching like a taut bowstring. Even here in the muck and chaos, her beauty punches a hole in my chest.

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself.” Her smile is quick, a fleeting spark and gone too soon. “Rested?” she asks, her tone overly polite.

“Yes. You?”

“I’m fine.”

Fine.
I gesture toward the pile of leaves at her feet. “Mind if I sit with you a while?”

She scoots over, though we have the whole jungle.

My ribs complain at the puncture site as I bend. The pain worsens every day, and I smother a grunt.