Shadowstorm (The Shadow World Book 6) (9 page)

Kai arrived last, sweeping in with his usual grandeur. He greeted Stella with a smile and took the other chair near the fire. He’d warmed up to the Witch considerably over the months, in no small part because Stella’s forthright, witty personality was so different from most Elven women. To most living in Avilon she would come off as brash, but to Kai she was adorable, and to Nico she was perfect.

The Queen turned the tiniest bit pink when the Bard smiled at her, but there was no real awkwardness in their demeanor upon greeting. Kai had related their conversation to Nico, and though Kai clearly thought the matter settled, Nico had to wonder how an empath of his caliber could be so blind to his own emotions. Everything the Bard had told the Queen was certainly true; it would never occur to Kai to be dishonest about that kind of thing. But Kai normally went through lovers like harp strings, and in the last year—by his own admission—that number had dwindled significantly. Kai said, and Nico knew he believed, that the change was due to splitting his time between Avilon and Austin…but did he truly believe that was
all?

Nico looked over at David, who was watching the two with an unreadable expression. It was his Prime face—perfectly neutral so that no one around could tell what he was thinking or feeling. David had told Nico more than once that he was fine with the idea of Miranda having a lover…but that was when it was just an idea. Nico fervently hoped he
would
be fine with it, because if not, it was a distinct possibility that David would terminate any romantic intentions toward Nico and the Pair would go back to the theoretical simplicity of monogamy. For very selfish reasons, Nico prayed it wouldn’t come to that. He had little enough to look forward to as it was.

“All right,” Miranda said. “I have an idea, but I need to know if it’s ludicrous, so I want to run it by the magic-workers of the household. My idea was that if we can find a way to connect you to one of us, Nico, we might be able to stabilize you—counteract some of the effects of all this. Up until now we’ve been looking at this like the only solution was to change the Signet bond, which we just don’t have the power to do. In this case I’m not talking a Signet bond, just an energy lifeline.”

“So it’s come to this,” Nico said, leaning back against the headboard and closing his eyes. “A year ago I was one of the most powerful Weavers among Elvenkind, and now I am an invalid who can’t even manage my own energy.”

“Do not be an ass,” Kai said. “You need help and we want to help you. It is not a reflection on you, it is a reflection on that self-loathing little ingrate you have been saddled with.”

Miranda’s eyebrows shot up, and Nico saw David tense up in his peripheral vision—it would seem the Pair was not previously aware of how Kai felt about Deven. David was angry at the Prime, but would hardly talk about it, and had never been quite so blunt about his feelings.

Kai, of course, could always be counted upon.

The Bard noticed their discomfort and said firmly, “I make no apology. You all had the luxury of knowing him before, when he was redeemable—all I know of him is what you see here. I have no reason whatsoever to make excuses as the rest of you do. It is absolutely right for him to mourn the loss of his beloved, but it is not right to make Nico suffer for it. He does not care if he hurts my brother, and thus I care nothing for him.”

Everyone was silent for a moment before David said quietly, “He’s right.”

The Queen gave her husband a look of astonishment—probably as much from the sentiment itself as hearing David agree with Kai.

“All I mean is,” David amended, “We can’t treat this problem as if Deven has anything to do with the solution.”

Miranda said, softly, “I thought you said you weren’t giving up on him.”

Nico saw the pain in David’s eyes. “It’s not a matter of giving up. It’s a matter of facing reality. Maybe there’s hope for him and maybe there’s not, but we have to move on and stop waiting. We could have done something months ago, but our fear of causing Deven more pain has caused Nico more pain—how is that better? It made absolutely no difference to Deven what we did. Nico, Stella—is Miranda’s idea feasible?”

Witch and Weaver exchanged a look. “Sure,” Stella said. “We’ve all been giving him energy when we could, just not in a steady dedicated stream. But it would have to be someone pretty damn powerful or they’d end up drained too, and we’d have two problems instead of one.”

“I volunteer,” Kai said immediately.

Nico smiled at his twin and said ruefully, “I’m afraid that wouldn’t work, brother. We have a psychic connection, yes, but you’ve seen how much weaker it is when you’re home. Unless you want to live here permanently, which I would not allow even if you claimed you did, you cannot provide the continuous support I would need.”

“As much as I’d love to do it, I don’t think I’m strong enough,” Stella said. “I’ve gotten a lot more powerful this year but I’m still human—I think if we want the best outcome for an immortal we need an immortal.”

Miranda nodded. She didn’t seem surprised. “The advantage of using one of us is that you won’t just be connected to one, but to the other indirectly. Believe me, we have all the energy you need.”

“No doubt,” Stella said. “Nico—do you think there’ll be a problem since you’re not the same sort of vampire?”

Nico thought about it a moment. “No. As long as it’s a superficial link the difference won’t matter—it’s only when dealing with something as profound as a Signet bond that it becomes an issue.”

“You’re about to leave town,” David said to the Queen. “We shouldn’t wait three weeks—I guess that leaves me.”

“It’s logical,” Stella told them. “You’ve already got an emotional connection; that can give us an advantage, like using a needle threader when you’re sewing. And since Nico’s not strong enough to actually do the work, and I’m the only person around with Weaving experience, that added link would be really helpful.”

“You’re sure you can do it?” Miranda asked. “It won’t hurt you?”

“It shouldn’t. It’s pretty straightforward, magically speaking. It’s not very risky for me, but it could be for you guys. A link like this always sets you up for nasty consequences if something goes wrong—look at what happened when you guys were a Trinity. This won’t be anywhere near that deep or strong, but with the Circle connection and your Pair bond, there are a lot of unknowns. I doubt any of your people have done this before. We can’t even be sure how much it will help.”

Nico looked at David, who was looking back at him. “He’s worth it,” the Prime said, and then glanced at his Queen.

“I agree,” she said with a smile.

“Are you sure?” Nico asked, lifting his eyes to the Prime. “You would be willing to link to me, possibly for a very long time, even without knowing what the side effects might be?”

Miranda rose from her chair and came over to the bed, sitting down beside him. “Nico,” she said, reaching out to take his hand, “We love you. All of us. And we will fight to the bitter end to keep you with us and make you well. Don’t forget that, okay?”

Nico started to nod and reply, but all that came out was a sob—the state of his life right now, the possibility that this really could help, knowing that they were all willing to do it for him…his damaged, worn-out heart couldn’t take it. He wept.

Arms began to wind around him: First Stella’s, then Miranda’s, then David’s, and Kai’s.

Miranda rested her forehead against his and said to him gently, “You are loved, silly Elf. You’re worth kingdoms to all of us.”

Unbidden, the memory arose of Miranda’s voice working its honeyed way through a haze of pain, giving him something beautiful to hold onto while Elven nature and vampire nature fought one another throughout his body. He could not doubt her words; he had felt their truth already.

“So when do we do it?” Kai asked.

Stella did math in her head, and replied, “Friday. It’s the Full Moon. I know you won’t be in town, Miranda, is that okay?”

“As long as you don’t need me for the work itself, it’ll be fine.”

“All right then. Friday night, we’ll meet in the ritual room. Be there or be square.”

The others left for their own quarters, except for Stella. The Witch gathered up the Codex and its associated research paraphernalia and moved it off the bed; neither spoke until she’d shucked her clothes, put on the tank top and cartoon-cat-festooned pants that she kept in his room, and climbed into bed beside him.

She settled into his arms with a sigh that turned into a yawn. “Do you really think it’s a good idea?” she asked. “You didn’t say much about it, but you didn’t contradict what I said, so…” The last word rose into a question.

Nico turned toward her, sliding one hand over her hip and up to her waist. He loved the landscape of her body—human curves rather than Elven angles. “I honestly don’t know,” he said. “I’ve done something similar back in Avilon, but those were Elves, not Thirdborn vampires. I don’t know if any of the usual rules apply to the two of them. You’ve seen their part of the Web.”

Stella nodded. “Scary as hell,” she affirmed. “The strands keep getting darker and stronger…I don’t even think they realize it’s happening. My main worry is that connecting you to them might…do things to you.”

He didn’t have the energy to feign ignorance. “It might. And it might do things to David. Such a small amount of power shouldn’t cause any measurable imbalance in the Pair, and I doubt any side effects will be truly dangerous in the short-term, but there could be long-term alterations in both of us, and even Miranda, if it goes on long enough.”

“Plus there’s the sex thing.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I sincerely hope the link gives me the wherewithal.”

She laughed. “That’s not what I mean. Do you remember when we first hooked up, and every time, I’d walk around in a bliss bubble for days? That wasn’t just the multiple orgasms—that Elf tantra you do is pretty intense magic. That scar on my knee disappeared, remember?”

“Yes…I admit I don’t really understand it. You’re the first non-Elf I’ve been with; I didn’t realize there would be such a difference.”

“Exactly. Whenever you and David finally get down to it, if you’re already linked, a bliss bubble might be the least of his worries.”

“We’ll just have to see,” he murmured, wriggling as close to her as he could, hoping to steal some of her warmth. He was so tired of being cold…David had promised to bring him something called an electric blanket that apparently generated heat. Nico would prefer just to sleep with him—he was like a very, very attractive furnace—but he did his best not to demand too much of David’s time, or anyone else’s.

“I hope it works,” Stella said softly, kissing his ear. “David’s right—whether there’s any hope for Deven or not, you need to move on. You need your life back.”

Nico wanted to feel hopeful at the prospect. It would be good to feel something besides exhaustion and sadness, to work magic, to muster more than the most anemic affection for those he loved. The thought of feeling like himself again was too cruel a hope to accept, so for now, he closed his eyes and listened to Stella’s breath even out, letting the sweet vanilla scent of her hair and the so very human sound of her heartbeat draw him along into another dreamless sleep.

*****

“Sire? We’ve arrived at the Haven.”

He started at the sound of her voice. He hadn’t intended to fall asleep. “Thank you, Chris.”

He was still trying to force his brain to wake up when Chris opened the door for him. He had to sit a moment, feet on the driveway but still sitting in the car, until the world stopped spinning; these long nights wandering from hospital to clinic to hospice all over town were taking their toll.

“Are you all right, Sire?”

“Fine,” he muttered. “Just give me a minute.”

She stepped back without comment. She’d been driving him for weeks, and working for Signets had gotten her used to odd requests from grumpy rich people. She was probably regretting that he’d picked her instead of the other secondary driver, even though he tipped in hundred dollar bills.

The Haven employed three drivers: Harlan, Chris, and a man whose name he could never remember. Harlan of course had a permanent assignment, so Deven was left to choose between Chris and the other one. Truth be told he didn’t really care who was behind the wheel as long as they kept their mouth shut about what he was doing. He had picked Chris over the other driver for one reason: her Adam’s apple.

Deviant solidarity, he thought irritably. The Haven was probably one of the most diverse workplaces in Texas, which wasn’t really saying much, but it was one of the few Havens he knew of that had a Muslim doctor, a Jewish near-Second, at least two transgendered employees he knew of, and a dazzling variety of other religions, ethnicities, sexualities, and now even species living under its roof, all on the payroll of the most powerful bisexual on the planet. It was well known, at least in Austin, that David hired anyone who fit a position regardless of demographics, so minorities of all types flocked to him, which pleased him just fine. California had been similar, once.

Despite his mood, the thought of Avishai Shavit in charge of the Southern Elite almost made Deven smile.

David’s suspicious eyes were on Carmine 2.3, a low-ranking warrior, as a spy—and quite rightly. She’d been in place since Lalita had been killed. But it had yet to occur to David that the Alpha might know Carmine was being watched. There was one Red Shadow operative in each Elite in most Signet territories; there had never been two at once. David kept track of most of them.

Bless his heart.

The main reason Deven had bothered keeping the Red Shadow running was that he felt an odd sense of obligation to his agents. He kept those on assignment in place, and as agents finished their work he put them on paid leave, the understanding being that they might be called back out again at any moment…though he hadn’t taken on any new contracts in several months. He didn’t know yet what he wanted to do with the Shadow, but he knew he couldn’t leave his agents hanging mid-mission with no further contact or instruction.