Chapter Twenty-Two

 

“I’m gonna kill those fuckers,” Daniel said, his head all the way back as he looked up at the ridiculously imposing mountain. It made Everest look like a baby hill. Someone might have mentioned that fact to us.

“How do they get up there?” Neil’s eyes were wide, his head thrown back as he looked up.

“They must be part goat,” Lee commented.

I shivered because it was damn cold. The wind whipped around something fierce. “At least goats have a nice coat of fur.”

I wrapped my arms around my chest and wished Declan had thought to put some parkas in the gear. I’d managed to sleep some during the day with Daniel’s arms around me, but I missed Dev’s warm heat mightily. He was like a furnace in bed sometimes, and Daniel and I both were missing his warmth.

“Here, baby, take my coat.” Danny took off the light jacket he was wearing and wrapped it around me. “I don’t even feel this.”

I knew he did but not as much as I did, so I accepted the gesture. The truth was even if he felt every degree of the cold, he would insist I take his coat. The wolves didn’t mind the cold at all.

Daniel looked up the mountain and made his decision. “I’m going to try to fly up. It would be a hell of a lot easier than climbing. Come on, Z.”

He hooked his arm under my knees and held me close to his chest. He took off faster than he normally would and I wove my fingers together around his neck so I had the tightest hold possible without choking him. I’d gotten somewhat used to flying with Daniel, but I still got a rush of adrenaline any time he launched us into the sky. The moon was almost full as he climbed higher and higher. I needed that parka now as the higher we went, the colder we got.

“Do you see it?” Daniel shouted the question because the winds were loud as we got closer to our destination. He nodded toward the mountain. Sure enough, there was the opening to a cave in the middle of the rocky face of the mountain. It wasn’t small, either. We would have no trouble getting in and out. Given that we were dealing with leprechauns, I’d been worried about small spaces.

“Let’s go,” I yelled. “We can check it out and you can go back and get the wolves if we need them.”

I was hoping we wouldn’t. We would only need Lee and Neil if there was some serious security. The leprechauns had chosen this site because the mountain was a security measure in and of itself. It was difficult to get to and unless you were up as high as Danny and I were, you couldn’t see the cave. It wasn’t visible from the ground. Someone would have to be looking for it to find it. Even if the leprechauns had locked their treasure in a chest, there wasn’t much Danny couldn’t get through.

Looking over Daniel’s shoulder, I noted that there was a castle in the distance. It was a pale ivory, much like the palace, but it looked even more medieval. There was a wall around what looked like a large village just outside the castle. Even from this distance, I could see the activities going on in the walled city. Like the palace, they were preparing for war.

Daniel’s arms tightened around me the higher we went, and I realized he was trying to stay in control. The wind whipped around us in a violent wave that sent my stomach flipping, and Danny had to correct his course three times before a mighty gust sent us flying back down. Daniel lost control and we tumbled through the air, twisting like an out-of-control kite. I saw the ground suddenly coming up at an alarming rate of speed. I clung to Daniel, my heart in my throat. I couldn’t scream, couldn’t do anything but hold on to Daniel and pray that the end was quick. I closed my eyes, waiting for impact.

Daniel pulled up at the last second, and I felt the ground just scrape my back as I was jerked up like I was riding a bungee cord. Daniel swore as he righted us and managed to float us lightly back to the ground.

My heart did a weird skippy thing, and I just managed to avoid vomiting.

“Jeez, Z, are you okay?” Neil asked, hurrying forward.

“What the hell happened?” Lee put his hands on his hips, staring up at the mountain as though he could see the threat.

Daniel ran his hands along my back, making sure I hadn’t taken any damage. “God, baby, I lost control. Those winds were hellacious. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” My voice was shaky and my legs even shakier. “I think I’ll walk from now on. Like forever.”

“I’m going to try again. Maybe I can handle it better without a passenger.” Daniel handed me off to Lee, who made sure I could stand up. “You rest, Z. I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and Neil sank down on a log, pulling me with him. I sat beside Neil and leaned into his warmth. Lee kept his eyes on the sky, watching as Daniel tried to break through that wall of wind.

Neil put his arm around me as I shivered. I’m not a cold-weather girl. I felt that cold in every damn bone. “I saw a castle while we were up there.”

“We’re close to the door between the sitheins,” Neil pointed out. “We’re on that duke person’s land.”

“The Duke of Ain?”

“Yes.” Lee cocked his head to keep his eye on Daniel. “His castle is supposedly well fortified since he’s so close to the Unseelie sithein. I overheard Declan talking about it. It’s the first line of defense. From what I overheard, the queen spends a lot of money making sure this part of the sithein has the best defenses.”

In the end, whenever you want to know who’s behind anything, whether it is an assassination plot, a theft, or who stuck gum in the lock on your locker, it’s necessary to ask one all-important question. Who profits most? At the heart of almost every crime is a dollar sign of some sort.

At first I’d thought someone was trying to start a war because they hated the other side. What if someone wanted to start a war for a much more mundane reason? Wars are profitable.

Daniel hit the ground with a resounding thud, leaving a crater in the dirt.

“Shit, that hurt,” he said, pushing himself up.

“So flying is a no-go.” Lee pointed out the obvious.

“Unless everyone wants to end up like that.” Daniel pointed to the indention in the ground.

“Pass,” Neil said.

Daniel sat down on the other side of me, and his big body did a wonderful job of shielding me from the wind. I moved my head from Neil’s shoulder to my husband’s and his arm went around me.

“Z, why don’t you stay in the tent? The wolves and I can take care of this,” Danny said. I gave him the look I always gave him when he said stupid stuff. “All right, baby. I was just trying to keep you warm. I’ll give you a minute and then we’ll go.”

“Danny,” I started as Lee came around and sat at my back. I was warming up rapidly now. “What do you know about the Duke of Ain?”

A long, slow smile spread across Daniel’s face. “I know that if I had a shred of evidence against him I would rip his throat out.”

“I couldn’t get Dev or Declan to listen to me.” They didn’t want to look past the obvious villain.

Daniel regarded me seriously. “I tried, too. I especially tried after I found out that the Duke of Ain makes all the war machines the Seelies use. His province is also known for their candles.”

“How is that not evidence?” Lee asked in a low growl. He’d wanted to kill something or someone for a long time now.

“Almost every province makes candles, Lee,” Daniel explained. “I got the whole lecture when I came in. Padric took me on a tour and gave me the rundown on who did what and how the economy works.”

I frowned up at him. “I was shown to the bedroom where I could fuck Dev.”

Danny laughed. “They’re not the most liberated of thinkers when it comes to women. I think Padric would tell you that’s your job. The Seelie women won’t be fighting in this war, not even the queen. She’ll be there but kept well away from the fight. In these times, she cedes her power to Padric or Declan, now that he’s of age to rule.”

Yet another reason I was happy to live on the Earth plane. “That’s shitty. I wouldn’t ever cede my power.”

“We know you wouldn’t, Z” Neil said as Daniel stood again.

Danny reached down and helped me up. “We’re climbing.”

I groaned but got my butt off the log. I looked down at my Nikes. They were good for running and supposedly something called cross training, but I doubted that included complex mountain climbing. I’d also noted the snow started about halfway up to where we needed to go. I doubted my jeans were going to prove a good barrier against that frigid white powder.

I was more of an urban thief.

Lee was already taking off his shirt and he gave me a frown. I turned around so I wouldn’t see anything I’d already seen in action. Neil didn’t care. He passed me his polo to fold and then his jeans. He never bothered with anything as silly as underwear. When he was ready, he smiled and waved and changed in the blink of an eye, his transition from man to wolf a smooth slide. He barked cheerfully and ran to Lee, whose brown wolf was enormous. Lee’s wolf seemed larger than his human body. When in wolf form, Lee could give the black dogs a run for their money.

“Go on ahead,” Daniel said. “We’ll wait for you on top of the first ridge then we’ll continue together.” Danny picked me up again. He started to float and I hung on. “I can at least spare us the first leg.”

He made it to the ridge quickly and set me down. We waited, watching the wolves make their way up the rocky incline. Daniel hugged me to him, but his body didn’t provide the warmth that a human’s would. Still, I huddled close.

“It’s going to be all right, Z,” Danny said, and I heard the smile in his voice. “If it gets too cold, I’ll slit Lee open like a tauntaun and slide you inside for warmth.”

“Dweeb,” I shot back. Only my husband would be making Star Wars references at a time like this.

He laughed as the wolves caught up. We started the rest of the climb together.

 

* * * *

 

I clung to Danny’s neck as he dug his claws into the rock face. He tried once to swing his leg over the cave’s ridge but couldn’t quite make it. After we had gone as far as Danny could safely fly us, he’d put me on his back and made quick work of the climb. The claws he could pop out of his hands helped enormously. He’d clawed and scratched his way to the top. I was sure my weight on his back held him up, but he convinced me it was the easiest way to get this done. So I held on for dear life, my arms around his neck and legs hooked around his waist.

I felt a warm presence underneath me, and Lee pushed his back against Daniel’s legs. Wordlessly communicating, the vampire and the wolf got on the same page. Daniel stepped as lightly as possible on Lee’s back and managed to swing us up over the final hurdle. We landed in a heap and had to scramble to get up. Daniel leaned over the rock face and helped pull the wolves.

“God, he’s heavier than he looks,” Danny groaned as he hauled Lee over the ridge. “And he looks heavy.” Neil he only had to use one hand on. The wolves stayed in their furry bodies as we entered the cave, padding cautiously across the cave floor.

My hands shook as we moved carefully. I let my eyes adjust to the dark of the cave before carefully pulling out the small flashlight I’d placed in my pocket. It was a penlight, illuminating only a few feet ahead of me.

“Keep that down, Z.” Danny shielded his eyes when the small light hit them. He didn’t need anything so technological as a flashlight to see in the dark. “My eyes already adjusted and I’m sure the wolves’ have, too.”

I held the light down, shining where I was walking because my eyes wouldn’t adjust to being able to see in this blackness. It wasn’t always easy being the only pitiful human in the group. I took inventory of the cave, careful to keep my light away from preternatural eyes.

From what I could see, the cave was large, though the ceiling seemed to taper down after roughly a hundred feet. I bet we would find what we were looking for in the back of this cave. I found my footing much firmer as we hit rock. The ground was even this far into the cave, and I caught a glimpse of something metallic shining. It was just a shimmer, but that was all I needed. Bingo. X marks the spot and all that. I tripped slightly and fell to my side, hitting something kind of soft and…furry.

“Danny.” I spoke slowly, not moving at all because whatever I had hit was breathing in and out.

“Z, what the fuck are you doing? Get up. We have work to do.” Daniel moved close, reaching out to me.

I scrambled up and away from the now shifting body.

“Shit,” Danny said as an enormous eye opened. Even in the dark I could tell it was red and angry. It glowed like a stoplight.

The leprechauns had neglected to mention their enormous guard.