“Sorry, Cara,” Strike said apologetically, “but we’re going to need to check out the others before we pass them through. New security protocols.”
She nodded. “Understood. We’ll wait.”
“Actually,” Strike said, “I think you should come with us.”
“Where to?”
“Dez wants us all up north. You might as well meet him face-to-face.”
Cara nodded and headed back to exchange a few words with Soldier Boy. When she started to follow the magi through the main gate, Sven caught her arm. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Why didn’t you tell me what you were up to?”
“Dad knew. If he didn’t tell you, then it must have slipped his mind.”
“Bullshit. He doesn’t forget anything.”
“Then he decided not to tell you. That’s between you two—leave me out of it.” She met his eyes with a reserve he didn’t recognize. “Look, let’s get one thing real straight: This doesn’t need to be weird. The past is in the past. Let’s leave it there and move on, okay? I’ve got a job to do, you’ve got a job to do, and they probably won’t intersect that much. I’d like to keep it that way. Deal?” She held out her hand.
He stared at her hand, at the unmarked forearm the move revealed. Then he blew out a breath that didn’t do much to settle his suddenly revving system. “Fine. Whatever.”
But when they all uplinked in the great room, the magic leaped through him with a wild surge that had Strike raising a brow in his direction. Instead of saying anything about it, Sven asked, “What does Dez want us in Denver for?”
“Beats the hell out of me.” Strike’s lips twitched. “But considering that he nearly killed me on the firing range at five this morning and walked away still looking gray around the edges, I think we can guarantee that whatever it is, it’s big.”
Denver
When Dez texted her to meet him back in the atrium, Reese had to tear herself away from the window perch she had found up near the roof, looking out over the neighborhood. She could see a handful of other construction projects, some new signs, different storefronts, a scattering of foot traffic, and only one surreptitious handoff of cash for illegals. The ’hood had come up in the world. Then again, so had she.
On my way
, she texted back, and headed down-level. Given where they were and what had happened the last time they had been there, she had a feeling Dez might’ve tried to arrange some sort of smooth-things-over meeting with Fallon. She wasn’t sure if she hoped that was it or not—things felt over for her on that front, and she didn’t think it would do them any good to pretend they were going to be friends, or even that he would forgive her. Unless he was seeing someone. That would make her smile. Especially if it was someone who didn’t mind that he showed love by quietly fussing, overprotecting.
She had finally figured out that she liked love that was expressed at top volume, usually mixed in with words like “pigheaded royal” and “stubborn ass of a king,” and that spilled over into the newly redecorated royal suite—or rather, into the bedroom of the royal suite, where one whole wall was taken up by a painted mural of a Montana skyline. It was another of Dez’s “surprises,” and one that had already seen some major makeup sex. And nonmakeup sex. And lovemaking.
She was grinning when she came out of the stairwell and swung around the corner to the atrium. Then she stopped dead, her grin fading when she saw the crowd that was waiting for her.
The full complement of magi and
winikin
hadn’t been in the same place since the battle atop Coatepec Mountain; for them all to be here now said there was something major going on. There were a couple of new faces, too—one was a vibrant young woman with a white skunk stripe. That would be Cara Liu, she knew. But the other guy—lean and red-cheeked, wearing a heavy coat and a scarf wrapped up past his mouth, with round glasses perched on his nose, was a stranger.
It wasn’t a reunion with Fallon, then, which was a relief. But what the hell
was
it? Some sort of dedication ceremony? Yeah, that was it. Maybe. Nerves stirred. Then the group shifted, parted, and she saw Dez at the far end. He was looking at her expectantly, those wary shadows still in place.
She moved toward him almost without volition, her body drawn into his orbit by a gravitational pull of rightness that said:
there you are
. Destined mates or love at first sight—how much of a difference was there, really?
Joining him up at the front of the room, aware that they were the center of attention—though as the king’s consort, she had gotten pretty used to that—she whispered, “What are we doing, naming this place or something?”
His lips curved up. “Or something.” He dipped into an inner pocket of his bomber, pulled out a jeweler’s box . . . and went down on one knee.
And Reese. Stopped. Breathing.
Time telescoped and a decade disappeared in an instant. They were standing almost exactly where they had been the last time, when everything had been so very wrong. But now, as he opened the box, everything was right. The ring was made of white gold, a serpent that curled around a central stone. But instead of a cobra guarding a black stone, this was a sleekly elegant serpent god that curved around a sparkling multicolored array of white diamond, red ruby, yellow chalcedony, and gleaming onyx arranged in a circle around an emerald that glowed, green and perfect, at the center.
Her eyes filmed, spilled over. And she didn’t swipe the tears away, didn’t mind being a girl. Because if she couldn’t be a girl when the man of her teenaged dreams and woman’s fantasies proposed to her, when could she?
“Oh, Dez . . .” she breathed. She wanted to tell him that it was beautiful, that it was perfect, the moment was perfect. But she couldn’t get any of that out. She could only stare at the ring as the past and present merged, finally finding their balance, becoming the whole of her life, and the anticipation of their future. They would wait until after the end-date, she knew. Just as the magi were resolved not to bring children into the world prior to the war, they were holding off on human-style marriages, some because they believed more strongly in the mated marks, others so they would have something to look forward to. She wanted to be one of those looking forward.
He cleared his throat. “I promised myself I wouldn’t fuck up proposing this time.”
“The lack of bodies is a good start,” she observed, then winced and bit her tongue when the guy standing beside Dez choked, his eyes going round behind his glasses.
But Dez’s eyes gleamed, as if that had given him the answer he needed. Suddenly, she realized the shadows she had seen in him came from wariness. Nerves. Did he really think she would turn him down? “Fuck the speech,” he said hoarsely. “I love you, Reese Montana. Marry me. Please marry me. By all that’s holy, I don’t want to do this without you at my side, wearing my ring.”
“Yes.” She caught his face between her hands and stepped into the lee of his legs to lean down and kiss him, feeling the stir of heat and magic they made together. “Of course I’ll marry you,” she said against his lips. “I love you. Oh, how I love you.”
He rose up into the kiss, then stood, still kissing her, until they were wrapped together, the heat spinning around them. Then he broke the kiss and stepped away from her to take the serpent ring from the box, which he tucked back into his jacket. He didn’t put the ring on her finger, though. Instead, he palmed it and took her hands in his, the ring forming a bump between their hands. Then he nodded to the stranger. “Go ahead.”
The guy smiled faintly, took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it.
Reese stared at him, blood suddenly rushing so loud in her ears that she couldn’t hear the guy when he started reading, could only see his lips moving. “Wait,” she interrupted. “What?”
“You said you would marry me.” Dez nodded to the others. “I’ve got witnesses.”
She didn’t look at them, couldn’t. Her heart raced, making her muscles tremble with the need to move, though there was nothing to flee from, nothing to fight. Her voice shook. “I thought . . .Don’t you want to wait until, you know. After?”
“That’s the one thing I
don’t
want to do. I waited too damn long before. I’m not making the same mistake again.” He tightened his fingers on hers. “I want to marry you right now,” he looked around, grinning, “and most definitely right here. I love you, and I don’t want to wait another minute.” A pause, a hint of wariness. “What do you say?”
They were standing in a half-rebuilt warehouse in near-frigid temperatures, both wearing jeans and leather, each with a knife in a pocket and a gun hidden somewhere within easy reach. There were no Barbie dresses and tuxes, no flowers, papier-mâché, or drippy music. And that made it exactly right. A smile split her face. “I say yes.”
The shadows fled, leaving only love behind. “Thank the gods for that.”
He tugged her into his arms and kissed her, long and deep, with an intensity that sent sweet heat roaring through her, turning the chill air suddenly tropical. She clutched him, clung to him, sank into him. They had made love in the shower that morning, twining slick and slippery together, but she wanted him again, here, now and—
“Ahem,” Strike said drily from behind Dez. “You skipped a couple of steps. Including the ‘I dos’ and the cake.”
She broke away. “There’s cake?”
Dez groaned, then laughed along with the others. “Guess I know where I stand.” But he was still chuckling as the stranger got going again, reading from a simple set of nondenominational vows and prompting them at the appropriate moments.
Her “I do” was a little shaky, his cracked as a single tear leaked down. Then he kissed her, and, as she leaned into him, trembling, he slipped the serpent ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. It curled around her finger, warming against her skin and shimmering with a faint prickle of magic that said she was done wandering, done being lost. She and Dez had finally, after all these years, come home to each other.
GLOSSARY
Note:
Most of these words sound the way they’re spelled, with two tricks: First, the letter “x” takes the “sh” sound. Second, the letter “i” should be read as the “ee” sound. Thus, for example, Xibalba becomes “Shee-bal-buh.” Hope that helps!
Entities
Banol Kax
—The lords of the underworld, Xibalba. Driven from the earth by the many times great-ancestors of the modern Nightkeepers, the
Banol Kax
seek to conquer Earth on the foretold day: December 21, 2012.
itza’at
—A female Nightkeeper with visionary powers; a seer. The
itza’at
talent is often associated with depression, mental instability, and suicide, because the seer can envision the future but not change it.
nahwal
—Humanoid spirit entities that exist in the barrier and hold within them all of the accumulated wisdom of each Nightkeeper bloodline. They can be asked for information, but cannot always be trusted.
Nightkeeper
—A member of an ancient race sworn to protect mankind from annihilation in the years leading up to December 21, 2012, when the barrier separating the earth and underworld will fall and the
Banol Kax
will seek to precipitate the apocalypse.
makol
—These demon souls are capable of reaching through the barrier to possess evil-natured human hosts. Recognized by their luminous green eyes, a
makol
-bound human retains his own thoughts and actions in direct proportion to the amount of evil in his soul.
Order of Xibalba
—Formed by renegade Nightkeepers around A.D. 600, the order was believed to have been destroyed in the 1520s. However, the order survives, and is now led by a powerful mage named Iago, who has bound his soul to that of the long-dead Aztec god-king, Moctezuma.
winikin
—Descended from the conquered Sumerian warriors who served the Nightkeepers back in ancient Egypt, the traditionally raised
winikin
are blood-bound to act as the servants, protectors, and counselors of the magi. However, some
winikin
—rebels who mutinied against the king—escaped prior to the massacre. Now, their return threatens to upset the fragile balance of power at Skywatch.
Places
Skywatch
—The Nightkeepers’ training compound is located in a box canyon in the Chaco Canyon region of New Mexico, and is protected by magical wards.
Xibalba
—The nine-layer underworld home of the
Banol Kax
,
boluntiku,
and
makol
. May be entered through a hellmouth located in the cloud forests of Ecuador, which Iago has hidden.
Things (spells, glyphs, prophecies, etc.)
barrier
—A force field of psi energy that separates the earth, sky, and underworld, and powers the Nightkeepers’ magic. The strength of the barrier is decreasing as the end-date approaches; the power of the magi becomes stronger as the barrier weakens.
cardinal days—
The Nightkeepers’ powers are strongest during the solstices and equinoxes . . . but so are those of their enemies.
compass artifacts
—When assembled together by a mage of the proper bloodline, these artifacts become a powerful—and potentially deadly—force.
hellmouth
—An underworld access point that opens only during the cardinal days.
jun tan
—The “beloved” glyph that signifies a Nightkeeper’s mated status.
library
—Created by far-seeing Nightkeeper leaders, this repository contains all the ancient artifacts and information the magi need to arm themselves for the end-time war. Once hidden deep within the barrier, the library now resides on Earth, within Skywatch’s box canyon.