Dance of the Gods
Page 27

“It’s pure,” she agreed. “What they are can’t enter the ring, much less use it to go between worlds.”
“Okay, bigger problem.”
Cian acknowledged Blair’s comment with another lift of his glass. “Looks like I’ll be tossing that confetti after all.”
“That’s a kick in the arse, isn’t it. I’d forgotten.” Larkin pursed his lips before drinking again. “So we’ll find a way around it. As I understand it, we six must go, so there must be a way to do it. We just need to find it.”
“We go together,” Hoyt said and set his tea aside, “or we don’t go at all.”
“Aye.” Larkin nodded in agreement. “We leave no one behind. And we’re taking the horse this time.” He remembered himself, smiled easily at Cian. “If it’s all the same to you.”
“We work the problem. Any magical solutions spring to mind?” Blair asked Hoyt.
“The goddess must intercede. She must. If we attempt, Glenna and I, to open this ourselves to let Cian through, we could change it all, disrupt the power, close it altogether so no one gets through—or out again.”
“Every time you change the nature of something,” Glenna explained, “you risk repercussions. Magic has a lot in common with physics, really. The circle is a holy place, sacred ground, and we can’t mess with that. But at the same time, Cian’s meant to go, and at the goddess’s behest. So we’ll work on the loophole.”
“If there’s another way, another portal that Lilith needs to use, maybe Cian’s supposed to use that.” Blair frowned at him. “It’d be my second choice. I don’t like separating, especially on moving day.”
“Added to the fact,” he reminded her, “that I don’t know where in the bloody hell that portal or window might be.”
“Yeah, there’s that. But maybe we can find out.”
“Another search spell?” Glenna reached for Hoyt’s hand. “We can try.”
“No, I wasn’t thinking of spells. Not exactly.” Blair angled her head, studied Larkin. “Any living thing, right?”
He set down his beer, smiled slowly. “That’s the way of it. What do we have in mind?”
“Y ou’re sure you want to do this?” Blair stood in the tower with Larkin. “I know it was my idea, but—”
“And a fine one it is. Ah, now, are you worried for me, a stor?”
“Sending you out into a fortified vamp nest, one with magical shields—sending you unarmed. No. What’s to worry about?”
“I won’t need a weapon, and it wouldn’t be easy to carry one the way I’m going.”
“Anything seems off, you get out. Don’t be a hero.”
“I was born to be a hero.”
“I’m serious, Larkin, no grandstanding.” Her stomach was already jittering. “This is just for information. Any signs she’s getting ready to move, numbers if you can get a clear idea, a look at their arsenal—”
“Sure you’ve been over this with me already, a time or two. Do I strike you as being addle-brained?”
“We should wait for the morning, then we could drive you as far as the cliffs. We’d be there if you ran into trouble.”
“And it’s more likely than not they’ve got the caves blocked off again during the daylight hours, as you said yourself. They’d be less likely to expect anything like this at night. As I said so myself. If I’m to be a soldier in this war, Blair, I have to do what I can do.”
“Just don’t do anything stupid.” Giving in to the need, to the worry, she grabbed his hair with both hands, yanked his face to hers.
She kept her fear out of the kiss. It wasn’t fear she wanted to send with him. Instead she poured out hope and heat, and held on to him as the punch of the kiss vibrated down to her toes.
“Not so fast,” he said when she started to back away. And spun her around so her back was pressed to the tower wall. “Not all of us are done as yet.”
This was what he’d looked for, this fire. Like liquid flames that sparked from her to run into his blood. He let it scorch him as he gripped her hips, then ran his hands up her body, down again. So he could take the shape of her with him.
“Cian lured them to the front of the…” Moira stopped short, eyes going wide at the sight of her cousin and Blair locked in each other’s arms. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not a problem. Just getting myself a fine kiss goodbye.” He cupped Blair’s face in his hands. “I’ll be back by morning.” Then he turned, opened his arms to Moira.
She rushed into them. “Be careful. I couldn’t lose you, I couldn’t bear it, Larkin. Remember that, remember we’re all waiting for you, and come back safe.”
“By first light.” He kissed each one of her cheeks. “Keep a candle burning for me.”
“We’ll be watching.” Blair made herself turn and open the window. “In Glenna’s crystal, for as long as we can.”
“I wouldn’t mind having that French toast when I return.” He looked straight into her eyes.
They changed first. She hadn’t noticed that before, Blair realized. His eyes changed first, pupil and iris, then came the shimmer of light.
The hawk looked at her, as the man had. Then it flew into the night, silent as the air.
“He’ll be fine,” Blair said under her breath. “He’ll be fine.”
Moira reached for her hand, and together they watched until the hawk flew out of sight.
Chapter 7
H e soared. With his height and the hawk’s vision he could see the things that slunk around the house. He counted eight—a small party then, and likely just watchers as Blair had said. Regardless, he took another circle to be sure it was a scouting expedition and not an attack force.
Widening the circle, he spotted the van at the end of the lane, just beyond the turnoff. Of course, he thought, they would need a way to get back and forth from the caves, wouldn’t they? But it was nervy, and a bit insulting come to that, for them to leave their machine so close to the house.
He circled again, considering the situation, then dived for the ground.
He remembered what Glenna had said about how the van worked, how a key was needed to spark the—what was it? Ignition. Wasn’t it a shame they hadn’t left it hanging in there, in the lock of the thing.