Midnight Enchantment (35 page)

Aislinn scanned the text. After a moment, she began to read in a foreign language that none of them recognized. Tendrils of magick reached out and caught each of them, drew them closer and held them in thrall, like a tractor beam. Somewhere deep within Niall, a compulsion to join in with Aislinn tickled at him, growing more and more intense.

One by one, each of the fae circling the table joined in with Aislinn, chanting words that were strange to their minds and their tongues without even reading the text. Niall felt suddenly cemented in place, the tendrils curling around him, through him. He tried to move and found he couldn’t.

Just as all of them, except Elizabeth, were locked in and chanting, the door burst open, practically ripped from its hinges. The free fae, Liam, stood in the doorway in all his enormous glory, chest heaving, body, face, and hair black with soot, and looking pissed as hell.

Oh, good, and just when none of them could move to defend themselves or the book.

OUT of the corner of Niall’s eye, he watched Liam take a half second to orient himself and spot the book. Immediately the man seemed to realize the magick held all of them in thrall—and made them defenseless.

Now he understood why it was called the Book of Bindings.

In a heartbeat Liam was headed toward them, clearly intending to snatch the paper from Aislinn’s hands. Aislinn tensed, but she was locked in by the magick from the book and helpless to stop him.

Out of nowhere, Elizabeth grabbed the poker from the fireplace tools and swung with a battle cry, catching Liam in the head.

Liam bellowed in surprise and pain, staggering backward, blood gushing from a huge cut in his forehead. He stood for a moment, looking dazed, and pressed his hand to the wound that had bloomed like a red flower. Niall thought maybe he’d pass out, but his confusion cleared and his gaze focused on Elizabeth.

Brutal intention transforming his face, he lunged at her. “You bitch! I spared you back at the cabin!”

All of the muscles in Niall’s stomach tightened and he strained to free himself from the magick that held him, but it was like being caught in cement. Liam was ten times Elizabeth’s size. And even though Niall knew—better than anyone—how fast and how hard she was to catch, he feared for her with every fiber of his being.

Elizabeth darted away, coming around behind the bigger man quicker than he could track and whopped him in the back with the poker. Liam bellowed again, this time in rage more than pain and grabbed for her. She ducked out of the way just in time, looking like a rabbit avoiding the swipe of a bear’s paw.

As she squatted to avoid the sweep of his hand, she brought the poker around, right into the back of his knees. Liam went down with a grunt.

They were nearing the end of the spell; Niall could feel it in his bones. The tendrils of magick tightened harder, and soon he couldn’t even move his eyes. All he could hear was the sound of the fight between Elizabeth and Liam under the drone of the indecipherable words pouring from their mouths.

Out of the corner of his eye, Niall saw Liam grab Elizabeth from behind and try to pin her arms down, but she thrust her elbows back, catching him in the solar plexus, twisted free of him as he
ooofed
, and brought the poker around to smack him in the side of the head.

Liam collapsed to his knees, blood coating his face.

Lady, he was getting spanked. Niall guessed he shouldn’t be worrying for Elizabeth—he should be worried for Liam.

The building shook under a blast of power. The floor moved beneath their feet. Dust and drywall fell from the ceiling and walls.

Oh, goody, looked like Gideon had arrived.

THE floor lurched sickeningly under Elizabeth’s feet. She tried not to fall off balance, her gaze cemented on Liam, who’d collapsed to his knees, stunned from his latest bash to the head.
Stay down,
stay down,
she chanted in her head.

The metal of the poker felt hot in her hand as she gripped it tightly. Her muscles ached from moving so fast to avoid Liam, and her breath came in pants from the exertion.

Slowly Liam pushed to his feet, looking pissed as hell and creepy as anything with the blood running down his face, mixing with the soot. “Why are you doing this, Elizabeth? Help me.” He motioned toward the book. “This is our chance! We can save the people we love.”

Elizabeth hesitated, glancing toward the book. Suddenly the poker felt heavy in her hands. For one dark, dangerous moment, she almost put it down.

She shook her head, forcibly moving her gaze away from temptation. “No. What’s done is done. This is meant to be, for the good of all fae.”
Minus one.

Liam brought his meaty fist toward her head, but she darted away, bringing her poker around like a fighting staff and smacking him in the back. It made him grunt, but not much more. The man was a locomotive.

He advanced on her, and she backed toward the open patio doors. Liam wanted the book, the others were in no shape to prevent him from getting it, and her luck wasn’t going to hold out forever. She needed to get Liam gone
right now
. She was pretty sure Gideon was below them on the street, so luring Liam out onto the creaky, ancient deck was either stupid or brilliant, but one thing was for sure—it was her only shot.

“You and I want the same thing, Liam,” she said, holding the poker in her hand and backing up slowly. “I feel for you. I really,
really
do, but we can’t always get what we want.”

“Stop fighting me, Elizabeth. Help me get the book. There’s still time to stop this. We can save your mother.”

“And then what? Gideon gets the book? What happens then? Would my mother want that, your wife? Would they even survive if that happened? Maybe we’d all be dead.”

He shook his head. The blood from the gash in his head had slowed, but coated his face and his hair red. “I would never give that snake anything.”

Another blast of magick shook the building, making it sway. A crack sounded and two of the walls in the living room began to fracture. The place was going to go down just like the Black Tower…and soon.

Her heart lurched into her throat…
Niall
. She drew a steadying breath.
One thing at a time, Elizabeth.

She stumbled to the side, catching herself on the doorway
of the deck, then darted through, luring Liam out. The deck groaned under his additional weight, and Elizabeth noticed it had a slant it hadn’t had before.

Liam had heart, but he wasn’t all that smart. After righting himself from the most recent blast of power, he followed her.

Of course, seeing the scene in the street below, Elizabeth doubted her own powers of deduction. Gideon stood below with the Phaendir fanned out around him. Ranging the area were the sluagh and goblins, snapping their jaws and growling.

Dear Lady
, she was taking a huge chance.

Her stomach did a slow flip as Gideon’s brown eyes focused on her and Liam on the deck. “All the exits are guarded. You’re trapped. Throw the book out to me or I’ll level the building with everyone in it. You have exactly one minute.”

“Never, Gideon,” Elizabeth called. “We’ll die before we hand the book over to you!”

Gideon shrugged. “Fine. I’ll pick the book out of the rubble.” Then he raised his hand and sent a blast of magick at the already shaky deck.

Elizabeth had one moment to lock gazes with Liam. A part of her felt kindred to him, joined in mutual desire. A part of her regretted this deeply.

Liam’s eyes widened, the drying blood on his face cracking grotesquely.
“My wife.”

Then the deck gave way and they fell through space.

Right before she hit the ground, Elizabeth gave over to her water self. She collided with the cobblestones with a splash instead of a squish.

It took every ounce of her ability to draw in, gathering her water self from such a hard hit, and sink into the stone, finding a way to travel through the ground, away from Gideon and his bloodthirsty Phaendir.

Above her she sensed Liam—cold and broken on the street,
gone
.

This time for sure.

Deep within her normally detached water self, sorrow niggled. The tiny part of her that remained emotional wished it could have gone another way.

The rest of her focused on a man named Niall. Worry blossomed, growing more and more intense.

*   *   *

GIDEON’S body hummed as he released a shot of power toward the deck where Elizabeth and Liam stood with a lazy flick of his wrist. Neither of them was any good to him anymore.

The deck collapsed, and the sickening sound of Liam’s body thumping to the street could be heard along with the groan, creaks, and crashing of the metal and wood. The asrai transformed midair, leaving only her clothing to flutter to the street.

Oh, well, at least he’d gotten one of them.

Liam lay mangled in the wreckage, twisted in ways no human or fae body ever should be. He hadn’t escaped death this time.

Gideon turned his attention to the structure. He’d wanted the book, but it looked like the only way he was going to get it was by pulling it from the destroyed structure. So be it. He knew they were in there opening it. He’d seen the flash of light. He had no time to waste.

Channeling all his available power, sucking the cadre of brothers dry of their power—he drew a deep breath and savored it for just a moment. Then, smiling, he released it.

The building imploded.

THE screech and crash of the building exploding blew Niall’s eardrums. At the same time the deathly blast of magick hit the structure, the Book of Bindings flashed in another blinding display of power.

Deaf and blind, Niall hurtled backward.

He expected to hit things. Painfully. Bloodily. Bone-breakingly. But nothing stopped his dark, quiet fall into nothingness. Were the rest of them experiencing this strange plummeting sensation?

Was this what death was like?

Would he meet Elizabeth in the Netherworld, or had she escaped her fall from the apartment’s deck? Maybe in the Netherworld they could finally be together—there would be no
bosca fadbh
between them, no hard decisions, no putting anything before each other and their love.

Niall got no answers. He only continued to plummet.

LIGHT flashed just as the building exploded. Gideon’s heartbeat stuttered for a moment as he considered he may have been too late.

Too late.

He’d been too late eliminating Brother Maddoc. Too late discovering Emmaline’s treachery. Too late with his phone call to stop Charlotte.

Too fucking late.

Then the building collapsed in on itself with a horrible, deafening sound. Dust rose. All became quiet. In the wreckage, not a creature stirred. Nothing lived. No magickal book threatened.

Gideon let out a pent-up breath of relief.

He immediately checked within the recesses of his mind for the space he shared with his brothers. There he found strong magick, pulsing and bright. He also found the power that built the walls of Piefferburg; it remained impenetrable and unyielding. Gideon smiled, sweet satisfaction filling him.

Not too late.
He’d won.

Labrai had been with him. He turned, joy pouring through his body, pumping his fist in the air at the hooded Phaendir behind him. “All praise Him!”

Their circumspect demeanor broke, and they cheered. “All praise Him!”

The book was under the rubble among the bodies, theirs for the taking. The Shadow Queen was dead. The…

Gideon’s smile faded. If the Shadow Queen was dead, the sluagh should be gone and the goblins should be leaving him and his brothers alone. Yet the sluagh was still a slavering presence around him and the goblins roamed, snapping hungrily at all the Phaendir they couldn’t reach.

He turned and considered the rubble, cocking his head to one side. The Shadow Queen, somehow, some way, was still alive in all that mess.

Perhaps Labrai wasn’t with him at all.

Gideon blinked.

It was just a seed of an idea, like a tiny sliver under his skin, but it was poisonous seed, a
deadly
sliver. It spread infection. Gideon’s nostrils flared. He tried to put the tiny doubt from his mind, but it wouldn’t go. It was like trying to will a drop of poison from his bloodstream, but all it did was travel straight to his heart.