Guardian (8 page)

It occurred to Liam rather belatedly that he should have specified that the entrance was accessible to those who would need to breathe.

Too late now.

Chapter Nine

I don’t know
what the hell Liam did, but that water dragon took us deep and then through a curling pitch-black passageway that opened into the basement of the castle. The pool where we broke the surface was warmer than the water outside, and I removed Val’s hand from the fire opal.

Moving as a unit, the three of us swam to the edge and we each pulled ourselves out of the water. Liam turned first.

“Do you have a name?”

She hissed at him, and for the first time I saw her eyes. Silver eyes. Shit, there would have been no way to stop her even if we’d brought weapons. Guardians couldn’t be killed, at least, not without chopping them up into little bitty pieces.

I give you nothing else, Wolf! I hope you die in this castle, but not before I eat your mate.

I scrambled backward, running into Val and taking us both down in a tumble. That was the best way to deal with a pissed off guardian. Run as fast as you could and hope to all that was holy they gave up.

“You will do no such thing. Ever. You will never harm Rylee. Is that understood?” I shuddered at the power in Liam’s voice and even Val let out a squeak. But the water dragon, she threw back her head, fangs wide as she fought whatever it was Liam was doing. The water around her swirled up and over the sides of the pool, washing over Liam’s boots. He didn’t move, just stood and waited, calm and full of strength.

Fucking hell, I’d never been so proud of him. I pushed myself back to my feet and blindly offered Val a hand up. He took it, his tremors rippling through into me. I didn’t know if they were from the cold or fear. Probably a combination.

“How does he control it?” Val asked, his voice more than a little awestruck.

I shook my head. “Not a fucking clue.” Okay, that wasn’t exactly right, I suspected this had something to do with them both being guardians, but why would Liam be the stronger of the two? He was certainly the newer guardian. Then again, he also wasn’t just a guardian; he was a werewolf, too. Could that be the difference?

The water dragon snapped her teeth several times and then slid down, her eyes the only thing visible as she shot one more blast of air at Liam, spraying him with water, but nothing else.

I have always hated you, Wolf.

And with that little gem, she disappeared under the water, leaving us in a large empty room. Liam backed away from the water, his eyes never leaving the surface. “Val, don’t go near the water. I didn’t think to make her swear to not hurt you.”

“I won’t go near it. What magic is that you used on her? Can I learn it?” Val stared at the pool of water, as if just by concentrating he could do what Liam had done.

“No, I don’t think you can learn it.” Liam wiped his hands over his face and I saw the slight tremble. Whatever he’d done had taken a lot out of him.

I touched his arm and he gave me a small smile. “See, you don’t need any weapons.”

Snorting, I stepped away and swung my gaze around the room. It was a domed room, completely circular, and made solidly of stone except for the doorway that I assumed led out and up into the rest of the castle. The walls were bare, but at least they weren’t dripping water, and a light source, either electric or solar, powered the three dimly buzzing bulbs illuminating the room. I was betting solar.

“What kind of weapons do you like?” Val asked and I turned to see him staring into an alcove. He lifted his hand and a small bloom of pale pink light lit up the darkness.

“Sweet baby Zeus!” I yelped and strode to Val. The alcove held a stash of weapons that made my mouth water.

Everything from swords, to bows, to pikes, lances and shields far too large for me to deal with, and even a full set of armor.

Though the scabbards wouldn’t work on my back, the swords would be just peachy and were the highlight of my day. I grabbed two that looked around the right weight and rolled them in my hands.

A few more practice swings and I was happy with the find. “Val, you rock.”

“I do my best,” he said as he picked out a short sword for himself. Even Liam leaned in to take a long pike, though I doubted he’d even use it. Always better to have a weapon and not need it, than need a weapon and curse yourself for not taking one.

Armed, finally, I led the way up the stairs, reaching out with my Tracking for Dimitri. Yet what I didn’t expect was the sudden ‘ping’ I got from Catya.

“Shit, the kid is here,” I whispered.

“What kid?” Val asked at the same time Liam said, “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Maybe the moat was deep enough to keep me from sensing her.” The moat had been briny, so it was possible there was an outflow to the North Sea. That would explain the sea monster water dragon business. But then, I’d been able to pick up on Dimitri without a problem, so that couldn’t be it. Something didn’t add up, but at that exact second I didn’t care.

“Doesn’t matter; she’s here, we get her out too.”

Dimitri’s threads led us up to the first floor. Val lit the way with his pale pink light, enough to see by, but not so big we would be spotted easily.

“The hunters, is there anything else you can add to their portfolio?” I asked Val as we came to an intersection.

He chewed his lower lip for a moment before answering. “Not much more than they are fanatics of the worst kind. They want very badly to believe they are not of the same ilk as those they kill. Meaning they are called of a higher power to do what they must to cleanse the world, at least in their own eyes. They steal coven members as young as they can and brainwash them, training them in the art of killing and chaos. Then the wolves of the forest, and any supernatural they deem ‘black’, are hunted down.”

“When I fought back”—I checked the corner and then slid around it—“they scattered.”

He shrugged. “They are weak, even if they are trained to a small degree. They don’t have the strength to do more than the basic spells. Even that can leave them drained. Not to mention, they aren’t used to anyone fighting back. The wolves they hunt are peaceful.”

Liam moved up ahead of me. “Then why don’t you help protect them?”

Val looked genuinely surprised. “The wolves? They have never asked for help.”

Oh my gods, were they all so damn thick? “No one likes to ask for help. Especially wolves.”

After that, we were silent as we stalked the hunters in their own castle. We found them at the windows, peering down into the water. Watching to see if we floated back to the surface in pieces, no doubt. Weren’t they going to get a fun surprise?

I motioned at Liam to take the left; I would take the right, and Val was to meet us in the middle. They nodded and we were off at a dead run. At the last second, the hunters seemed to sense they were in trouble; the first one I reached turned to face me. I didn’t think, just let the anger of Elena’s death, and that of her child’s, burn through me and into each swing.

The hunters fell, and I kept driving through them, vaguely aware that I was screaming at the same time I killed them. I wanted their attention on me, wanted them to throw their magic my way. And they obliged.

Their spells slid off me like water on an oil slick. The blades I had were weighted well, but not all that strong. The third head I tried to remove broke the blade in my right hand, snapping it off at the hilt. The hunter I’d been hacking at fell with the blade buried most of the way through his skull. That was the problem with using someone else’s weapons; it was easy to forget they weren’t as strong as my blades.

Down to one sword, I slowed a little, took in what was going on around me. Val had a boy at his feet, clinging to his legs, while Val shot bolt after bolt of magic at the hunters.

Liam had shifted into his wolf and mowed through the hunters like they were toothpicks. I saw an arm go flying off a hunter before I refocused on the one in front of me. He was on his knees, his hands up in surrender.

Shit. That didn’t happen very often.

“Please, I give!” He had his head bowed. Behind him, I felt Dimitri take a hit from Val, the shimmer of his life along the thread I held reminding me to let go. Holding someone’s threads while they died could knock me on my ass, and I didn’t need that in the middle of a fight.

“You going to keep killing the wolves?” I said, putting my blade to the man’s throat.

“No more, no more death, please!” His whimpers slowed his compatriots and I held up my hand to stop Val and Liam.

“Hang on.”

Of course, I should have known by then that the minute the bad guy starts begging for mercy and promising that they’ll be ‘good’ is the time to remove their head from their body.

The man in front of me lunged as I turned back to him, knocking my sword aside and driving a short dagger right above my heart, the blade catching on my collarbone.

Val and Liam reacted at the same time, running toward me. But Val was closer and had the longer-range weapon—his magic. He fired a shot of ice that blasted the man who’d stabbed me back, tumbling his body hard into the wall. I struggled to pull the dagger out, but I was really pissed by that point and barely felt the pain as it flared through my left shoulder when I yanked on the hilt.

I flicked the handle up into the air, caught it and threw the dagger with my right hand, pinning my would-be killer between the eyes. He slumped and what was left of the hunters scattered. They ran like rats jumping from a sinking ship, using pathways that opened up and closed behind them. The castle had its own set of spells ingrained in it, apparently. We couldn’t let them get away, though, and there was only one way out. Across the moat. The cranking of the drawbridge being lowered groaned up to us in time with my thoughts.

“Liam, you think your water dragon friend is still hungry?” I put a hand to my shoulder to stem the flow. Liam gave a tight, wolfy grimace and shifted before calling out the window to the rolling waters below. His words came to me kind of fuzzy and slurred as I slid to the floor, my knees hitting the stone. I realized, belatedly, I was blacking out.

With a nod, he shifted back to his human form, the cold not really bothering him much, even naked. “Guardian, would you mind feasting on the hunters as they flee?” He called down to the water dragon. “I can compel you, but I’d rather not.”

She snarled up at him, but did as he asked, snatching the hunters and throwing them into the water as they attempted to run across the drawbridge. Their own security system had turned on them, and the irony was rather sweet. Liam twisted around in time to see Rylee slump to the ground, her eyes rolling back in her head. He ran to her side and caught her before she hit her head on the ground.

“Woman, you will be the death of me yet.” He said the words and then cringed. No, not yet. “Val, do you have any strength in healing?”

“I can close the exterior of the wound, and that will stem the blood, but I can do no more than that. She will have to heal the rest on her own.”

Liam tapped her face lightly. “Rylee, you have to pull back your Immunity or you’re going to die.”

Her eyes didn’t open, and he could only hope she heard him somewhere in her passed out stated. Prayed that she heard him. Her eyelids fluttered and her lips moved in a silent, ‘Yes’.

The witch moved close enough to put his hands on Rylee’s face. Nothing changed, so Liam checked the cut through her coat. The skin was healed, but she was still passed out and he could see the throb of blood just under the skin. It would take time for the deeper tissues to pull back together. He did what he could to give her of his strength, to push his energy into her, hoping it would help.

Her eyelids fluttered.

“Liam?”

“I’m here.”

A sigh slipped past her lips. “Did we get them all?”

He wanted to squeeze her tight and never let her go. “Yeah, we got them all.”

She smiled, her eyes softening, showing just how damn vulnerable she could be. “Can we rest here tonight? I think hiking back through the forest is going to be too much. And Catya, she is here too.”

Now that was a change from her usual get up and go. Then again, she had just been stabbed.

“Val, do you think it’s safe?”

Val startled. “With the hunters gone, I believe it will be safe.” He touched the head of the young boy still clinging to his legs. The kid couldn’t have been more than five years old. “Pavel and I will see what we can find. We will look for this Catya too.”