Midnight Enchantment (33 page)

“FUCK,” Niall swore under his breath. Elizabeth had passed out, either from pain or blood loss. “She needs medical attention!”

“I’m going as fast as I can go. Hold on.” Kieran jerked the wheel to the left to avoid a group of fae battling soldiers.

Niall held on tight to Elizabeth’s limp body, looking out the back window to see the soldiers scattering the fae with bullets. If the soldiers were packing charmed iron bullets, those fae were dead. If not, the shots might not kill them, depending on what kind of fae they were, but it would hurt like a son of a bitch.

Kieran headed into the
ceantar dubh
and parked in front of a tall residential building that Niall didn’t recognize. “The book is here?” he asked as Kieran stopped the engine.

He nodded. “It’s a safe house, of sorts. Only a few of us know about it.”

“And you trust Elizabeth not to do something crazy?”

“Am I right to trust her, Niall?”

“Fuck yes.”

Kieran turned to look at him. “You love her, don’t you?”

Niall met his gaze. “Yes.”

“I trust that anyone
you
trust is okay.” He glanced at Elizabeth as Niall hefted her unconscious body into his arms. “Even someone who did something like what she did.”

“She did it for love.”

“A year ago, I wouldn’t have understood that, but now I do.”

They climbed out of the SUV and went into the building. It was dank-smelling, and the staircase was steep and narrow. Like most of the buildings in this part of town, it had been constructed during the early days of Piefferburg so it was very old and had been built small to be easier to heat.

Holding Elizabeth close to his chest and musing about how much she would hate the fact he had to carry her up the stairs, he followed Kieran upward, their passage lit by only a series of bare lightbulbs hanging from wires. Each of their shuffling footsteps echoed through the space.

They went all the way to the top—
of course
. Niall’s lungs were burning and his arms ached from Elizabeth’s weight by the time they reached the final flight of stairs. There, on the topmost landing, was a scuffed and dented metal door. Kieran knocked, and his wife, Charlotte, answered. “Thank god you’re safe,” she breathed, throwing herself into his arms.

After several long moments of standing there, listening to Charlotte and Kieran coo at each other, Niall cleared his voice. “I know she looks light, but…”

Charlotte moved, just then noticing him there. Her eyes traveled to Elizabeth, then to Kieran, recognition clear on her face. “Why have you brought her here?”

“Niall trusts her and that’s good enough for me. Plus, I watched her risk her life to save someone back at the tower.”

“Yes,” snapped Niall, “that’s how she got this injury that’s making her gush blood.” His tone made it clear he was losing patience.

Charlotte’s gaze moved down to Elizabeth’s leg and her eyes widened. “Of course, come in.” She moved to the side, and Niall carried her in.

The inside of the apartment was sparsely furnished, the few pieces of furniture occupied by the usual suspects—Aislinn’s advisors. Aeric O’Malley and his wife, Emmaline; Bella and Niall’s brother, Ronan Quinn; plus the rest of the
Wild Hunt, Melia, Aelfdane, and Bran, who had his pet crow, Lex, perched on his shoulder. An old fireplace stood along one wall, rusty fireplace tools leaning against the brick.

Bella and Ronan were sitting on the couch and immediately moved so he could lay Elizabeth down. Bella knelt next to her, pushing Elizabeth’s flame-colored hair to the side to reveal her pale face.

“She’s lost a lot of blood,” said Niall, ripping her pant leg up the side.

Bella didn’t say a word, just moved to get all the things he needed. He didn’t even have to open his mouth to ask. Lady, his brother had married an angel. A moment later and he was pressing a clean wad of material to Elizabeth’s wound.

She would need stitches if she remained in human form. If she regained consciousness, she could take water form and heal the wound instantly. Anxiety clenched his stomach.

What if she didn’t wake up?

GIDEON released the magick with a pop of power that tingled painfully through his body, as it did every time. The power arced toward Aislinn and Gabriel, but they dove out of the way at the last moment, and it made a crater in the floor instead. Bits of marble flew everywhere, exploding against his shield and hitting the roaming goblins and sluagh.

No matter. Aislinn and Gabriel weren’t getting away. He’d never really thought they’d willingly hand the book over to save the tower, anyway. Bringing it down—and killing them—had been on his agenda from the start.

He turned, targeting Aislinn. Kill her and he’d get rid of the goblins and sluagh. In the same moment, a blast of magick not unlike a lightning bolt struck his shield.

Gideon staggered backward, his shield vibrating like a tuning fork. If it hadn’t been there, he’d be a smoking heap of ash on the floor. His gaze swung to the Summer Queen, thinking she’d done it, but she was busy directing her magick toward a figure near the bank of elevators.

He was a huge man, ice-white skin blending with long, ice-white hair. Gideon recognized him and his unique power signature even after all these centuries.

So, the Shadow Queen had a champion.

Gideon swung his arms wide. “Kolbjorn! So good to see you after all these years. Still looking like a walking flake of dandruff, I see.”

“Can dandruff do this?” he growled. Another lightning bolt shot toward his shield, making the whole thing shudder, shake, and whine.

The magick wavered under the force of the strike, and Gideon had a moment of unease. He wasn’t sure how much trauma the shield could take, yet a glance behind him showed his loyal contingent of Phaendir behind him, heads bowed, not budging, feeding not only their shield, but his own.

He glanced at Caoilainn. It was time they stood together. His magick was twice as powerful joined with hers. Aislinn and Gabriel wanted a fight, he was willing to give them one. They wanted him to take this tower down? No problem.

Gideon and Caoilainn stepped toward each other at the same time. United, they moved toward Kolbjorn.

SOMEONE touched Niall’s shoulder, and he looked up from Elizabeth’s unconscious face to see Emmaline looking down at him. “That’s all you can do for her right now. We’ll have to hope she wakes up and can shift.”

He stared down into her pale face. “I know.” After a moment, he rubbed a hand over his face, pushed it through his hair, and stood. “What time is it?”

“Almost noon,” answered Aeric, walking to the window and gazing out over the city to the pillar of black in the distance. “I don’t know if Aislinn and Gabriel will make it in time.”

Niall went to stand beside him. “By the looks of things when we left the Black Tower, I’d say that’s a negative.”

“Yeah.” Aeric paused. “Fine, so we do it ourselves.”

“Where’s the book?”

“It’s safe,” came a belligerent voice from behind him. It was Melia.

He turned to look at the red-headed battle fae, who was standing near Bran and her husband, Aelfdane, and was glaring at Elizabeth lying unconscious on the couch. “Do you have something you need to say, Melia?”

Melia swung her gaze to his and spat out, “She shouldn’t be here.”

“But she is,” he snapped back, “so get over it.” He motioned at her. “It’s not like she can do a lot of damage, anyway.”

Melia narrowed her eyes and took a step toward her. Aelfdane put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Melia’s gaze snapped from Elizabeth to Niall’s face. “She’s already done her damage.”

Bran’s crow, Lex, flapped his wings from its perch on Bran’s shoulder and cawed at Melia, making her turn. “Shut up, Melia,” said Bran, who normally didn’t say anything at all. “I know you. You would have done it to protect someone
you
love, too. Leave the woman be.”

Melia glared at both of them, then turned and stalked out of the room. Aelfdane trailed behind.

Ignoring the outburst, Niall glanced around the dingy apartment. “Nice place.”

“It’s not the Plaza, but it’s got a good view of the Black Tower from the deck,” Ronan answered. He was standing near the patio doors, gazing out over the city. “Better yet, Gideon and the Summer Queen have no idea we’re here or that the book is here.”

A scratching sound on metal came from the other side of the door and all the hair rose on the back of Niall’s neck. Everyone turned to stare at the door, silent, as the creepy scratching echoed through the room.

Niall glanced at Ronan. “Are you sure about that?”

“I was until now.”

The scratching continued, but now a long, lonely howl accompanied it.

“What in the Netherworld is that?” Emmaline whispered, her hand going for a knife that was lying on the dining room table.

“Sounds like a dog,” Niall said as he, Aeric, and Ronan inched toward the door.

The scratching came again.

Niall took the opposite side of the door from Ronan and Aeric, a charm ready on his tongue that could wallop the piss out of just about anyone. He nodded at Aeric, who opened the door.

In bounded two sleek black hounds, Blix and Taliesin. They were the dogs who led the Wild Hunt every night. The hounds went to the center of the room and turned in circles, whining. Niall dropped his hands to his sides, staring, unbelieving that the hounds had come to them…and not to Gabriel, head of the Wild Hunt.

“But it’s broad daylight,” said Emmaline. “And why did they come here? Why didn’t they go to…” her voice trailed off, and she looked toward the Black Tower.

Aeric looked at Niall, his face grim. Clearly all of them had the same worry.

Lex cawed in agitation and lifted off from Bran’s shoulder to find a perch on a nearby bookshelf, leaving his wings spread to make himself look bigger in front of the dogs. Bran went to the hounds and knelt, cooing at them and rubbing them behind their ears. “They don’t know why they’re here and they’re confused. They sense something is amiss in the city, and they don’t know where their master is.” Bran looked up at them. “They shouldn’t be here now. Danu has her hand in this.”

The hounds both seemed to catch sight of Elizabeth at the same time and went to her, whining. They licked her face and pushed their noses under her arm, as if trying to wake her. Elizabeth roused, her eyes coming open, and Niall went to her side, kneeling.

“Elizabeth?”

Her eyes fluttered open and she winced. “Oh, sweet Lady, that hurts.”

Niall kissed her forehead. “Lots going on, love. Can you shift to your water self and heal?”

She hesitated, as if taking stock of her injury, then nodded. “I think so.” In a moment, she was gone. In the next moment, she was back, naked and gorgeous on the couch.

Niall glanced at the men. “Uh. Avert your eyes, please.”

Elizabeth pulled the blanket that lay over the back of the couch across her body. “Sorry! I didn’t know there was anyone else in the room.” Niall looked at her leg, bloody and wounded only moments ago, now smooth, unmarred, and beautiful.

He held her gaze for a long moment. “I thought maybe I’d lost you.”

She glanced away from him, as if unable to look him in the eye. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for your help.”

Bella brought Elizabeth a pair of jeans. “I packed a few things before I left the tower. I think we’re about the same size.”

Elizabeth stood with the blanket around her and took the jeans, thanking Bella. Then she gathered the rest of her clothes and ducked into the bathroom to change. When she emerged, she glanced at everyone in turn, clearly not quite sure of the welcome she was going to receive. She’d been knocked out cold and had woken in a room filled with people she probably thought hated her.

Blix and Taliesin trotted up to her, and she knelt, scratching them behind the ears. “I just want to tell everyone that I’m sorry I tried to keep you from gaining your freedom. It was selfish of me. Even my mother, the person I was trying to save, thinks so.” She paused, rubbing Blix behind a sleek black ear and not looking at any of them. “I was scared—I
am
scared—to lose someone I love, and I did a stupid thing to prevent it.”

The room plunged into silence. The muscles in Elizabeth’s shoulders tightened.

“I’ll leave right now,” she said, rising. “I need to find my mother before—Anyway, it’s better if I go.” She turned toward the door, and Niall’s stomach lurched. He didn’t want her go. Not now, not ever.

He took a step toward her, but Bran interrupted him.

“Anyone Blix and Taliesin likes, I like,” said Bran. “They’re excellent judges of character.”

Emmaline twined her hand with Aeric’s and smiled at her. “I get why you did it, Elizabeth. I think most everyone in this room gets it, except maybe Melia.”

Elizabeth spread her hands. “I won’t stand in your way any longer. My mother has accepted her fate, now I need to learn to do the same.”

“That sucks,” said Ronan.

“Yeah.” She gave a bitter laugh. “It really does.”

Just then something rocked the building, making everyone stumble to the side. Immediately the hunt hounds began to howl. The explosion quieted, but continued, sounding like a low growl in the distance.

“What the hell was that?” breathed Elizabeth at Niall.

Realization slammed into him. “The tower.” He raced to the patio door with everyone behind him. Back in the apartment, the hunt hounds lifted their noses to the sky and bayed.