AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Instead of arguing, Aric asked, "Can we reach this place with the fuel we have?"
"Ouais." Seeming to make a decision, Jack said, "Head north on this road."
Aric quickly started driving. He hid it well, but I sensed his relief.
"And then what happens when we run through those supplies?" I asked. "We're just delaying the inevitable: my battle against Paul."
"He is protected by Fauna, the Archangel, and his own sphere," Aric said. "Sieva, think of the baby."
Sick of hearing that! I whipped my head around so fast, my damp hair slapped my bruised face. "Like you thought of the baby when you threw your swords at me? You don't get to say that to me! You don't get a say in my existence."
The pain in his expression . . .
"Do I?" Jack squeezed my hand. "Tee comes first, Evie. You know this. I'm all for duking it out when there's no choice"--he cast me a significant look--"but let's not pick a fight either."
"Lark would rescue me if our situations were reversed. And Gabriel got trapped in the sphere because he saved my life. I won't repay him by doing nothing. At least Aric's not there anymore. I can handle three of them."
"Can you not wait?" Aric asked. "What is the rush?"
"Circe believes this kid is my shield against Paul's powers. Once I give birth, I could fall under his control."
"And will our child be a shield against other Arcana? Gabriel is stronger than ever before. Though Fauna is suffering, her predators would still be deadly."
"Why wouldn't Paul want me alive? Since he lost you, another Arcana would grow his sphere, right? And he has the cilice."
Aric admitted, "The Hanged Man did suggest we use it."
When I shuddered, Jack asked Aric, "That came from your armor, right? Neutralized her powers?"
"Yes. I forced her to wear it." A shadow crossed his expression. "Even if Paul wants you alive, Fauna might reach you before you ever get a chance to face him. Her hatred for you is nigh uncontrollable. If the Hanged Man's control slipped, your body would be eviscerated."
Jack said, "Which is why I will go in with the noose."
I glared at him. "Not happening. I'm not losing you again."
"Lots of confidence you got in me. I'm a good shot."
"I don't want Lark or Gabriel killed either. If I can manage spores, I can put them to sleep. The creatures too." Big if, Eves.
Aric pointed out, "You didn't manage spores when you were escaping the castle."
"I was taken off guard then. You're really going to remind me of that night?"
"If I must."
Jack asked me, "You expect me to sit with the Reaper while you go take care of business?"
"I expect you to keep him away from the sphere. To remind him what's at stake." My head was beginning to ache, fatigue taking its toll. "And I expect Aric to watch your back while I'm gone."
Jack folded his arms over his chest. "This solo plan ain't cutting it. What about Circe?"
Aric said, "The Priestess will be depleted from that show of power, whether she controlled it or not."
I added, "How would we contact her anyway? It took me weeks before she answered at the lake, and we can't return there or risk another face-off against Richter." I worried about Circe's well-being, but I also didn't see how I could help her. "Keep in mind that I only have so long before I . . . give birth." First time I'd ever said those words.
In all the excitement, I hadn't felt Tee flutter once. Had my run-in with the Cups been the final straw for this pregnancy?
No, I refused to believe that. "Look, I'm tired of debating something that's as good as done." The truck's heater blew a constant warm blast over me. Sleep called.
"Maybe the Reaper and I doan take you to the castle."
My glyphs began to glow. "Either help me--or get out of my way. I'll find it myself, if I have to. Somehow." To my utter irritation, Jack and Aric shared a look. Yes, I was directionally challenged, but screw them! "Wow. Haven't you two learned by now never to underestimate me? Why don't you ask the Hermit and the Hierophant and the Cups how that worked out for them? Oh--you can't." I stared straight ahead. "Because they're all dead."
43
The Hunter
Evie slept with her head against my chest, my arm around her.
As Dominija drove us in the direction of the cave, he glanced over yet again with that anguished look on his face. The guilt was killing the Grim Reaper.
"She needs more sleep these days," I said, as much to reassure myself as him. "'Specially after what happened to her today." Those assholes had bashed her head in and bled her. Her left eye was still black from the impact, nearly swollen shut.
I'd never forget the sight of her blood pouring, knowing the cost of every drop.
"I can imagine this pregnancy has been very . . . difficult for her." Dominija kept making these stoic understatements, like he didn't trust himself to say anything with emotion.
"Yeah, what with the starvation and danger and all. But things got better when I arrived." I couldn't help but add, "In Jubilee, she looked at me like I hung the moon when I found pickles for her." Pickle craving: not a myth.
I'd known our time there couldn't last forever--she'd been cooped up and I'd had dozens of close calls that she would never hear about--but we'd been out of options. Now she thought she was going to take on the world. Alone.
No chance I'd let that happen. Evie was ma fille, my future, my home.
And she felt the same way about me.
Memories from last night stole into my mind, until even I felt like blushing. Her cries, the way her hair had haloed around her head as I'd ridden between her thighs. The heat of her soft flesh. The trust in those blue eyes as she'd peered up at me, her sweet lips parted.
We'd had each other four times, and all she'd done was whet my appetite for more. Not surprising. When I'd been inside her, that same feeling had come over me: where I'm supposed to be. I pulled her even closer.
Under his breath, Dominija snapped, "Try to control your heart rate, mortal; that's my wife you're holding."
I shot him a killing look. The first time I'd been with Evie, the Reaper had stolen her from me. Now he was back in her life once more. How in the hell could I be expected to give her up again? Much less Tee? Kentarch had been right; I'd started thinking of that kid as mine. "I doan see a ring on her finger, Reap." Had she left it in the confusion this morning?
Shuttering his expression, he said, "Was it lost?"
"Are you hoping it slid off her finger when she was caught in an avalanche? Maybe that she had to barter it for food in Jubilee?" Frustration boiled over. "Non, I took it off her finger right before I slept with her the first time." Not a lie, though I'd made it sound like we'd been together for a lot longer than we actually were.
Evie stirred but didn't wake.
I expected words of anger from the Reaper, lashing out. I craved a dust-up. But he said nothing, just seemed to be grinding his molars.
After several miles of silence, he asked, "How far is this cave?"
"Took us days to get from there to the coast, but we had to wait for Kentarch to recharge his teleportation power. Vehicles block the way. Doan know how we're goan to get around them now."
No way Evie could go on foot. She didn't have gloves or a thick enough coat. I'd stored bug-out bags for her, me, and even Tee in the cave. But how to reach our gear?
"Leave the obstacles to me. We will drive directly to our destination."
Sure thing, Reaper. "You look whipped." Something told me he'd run farther than humanly possible. "I can take a stint at the wheel."
He gave a humorless laugh. "Concerned for me, mortal?"
"Last thing we need is a wreck." The further inland we drove, the more snow blanketed the ground.
"Despite my exhaustion, my reflexes are infinitely faster than yours. I will remain where I am, thank you."
I rolled my eyes, 'cause he had a point. He'd deflected a bullet with the tip of his sword. A bullet meant
for the back of my skull.
After another few miles, he said, "How did you survive Richter's massacre?"
I smirked at him. "I told you, I cheat Death."
He didn't respond to that, and goading him was no fun if he refused to go toe-to-toe. "Selena shoved me into a mine. I survived the lava and the flood, but then slavers nabbed me. Coo-yon rescued me from their salt mine right before they butchered me for food."
Dominija seemed to be assessing me. "The Fool has never showed such interest in a mortal before."
"What can I say? I'm special in every way."
"Didn't he tell you that you should go down to Louisiana?" Dominija and I had talked about that the last time we'd drunk together back in Fort Arcana. "Have you given up your dream of rebuilding Haven?"
No, but . . . "Kinda hard to think about that since Richter took out my army. Besides, you're not getting rid of me. If you think I'm bowing out again--"
"Again? Are you talking about when you left the fort?"
I'd marched out my troops while Evie slept to make it easier for her to go with Dominija, all the while praying she would read the letter I'd left her and come running. She had--and almost died in Richter's fire.
"After coo-yon saved me, we were on our way to your castle. He took me to the memorial Evie made for Selena and me. Through a vision, he showed me her grief. When I thought about all the things you could offer her, I told him to let Evie believe I died in those flames. Next thing I know, she's out in the Ash, starving, with little power and a kid on the way. Seems to me that you forfeited any right to her."
He swiped his hand over his face, that spiked gauntlet catching my eye. Not nearly as dangerous as the skin it covers. "I know that. I'm not asking you to bow out. All I expect is for you to work with me to make her safe. Then we will figure out the future."
Future? My gaze was drawn to Evie's pale face in the glow of the truck's electronics. She is my future.
I glanced over at the Reaper. Both of us had just been staring at her. Saps, one as bad as the other.
Clearing my throat, I said, "What happened when you shed Paul's control?"
"I believe I was very close to losing my mind. All at once, I went from zero doubt and confusion to more panic than I'd felt in two millennia--combined. I couldn't think. Couldn't reason." In a lower voice, he admitted, "I rode my warhorse into the ground."
While under the power of another Arcana, he'd had no control over himself. Could I continue to blame him? Could Evie?
