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“Will you be all right in here, Your Highness?” Rachel looked around the loft room. It was small, the floor covered in straw. There was a stove, a chair, a wooden closet, and a cot. Lach sat in the chair, leaving Shim no place to sit except the cot. “This is the place Max sleeps when he has a sick animal or when I get mad and kick him out of our bed. I can find some space in the house if you would rather. It’s a little rough out here.”
Shim shrugged. “We’ve been in worse. Sincerely, Mrs. Harper, we’re fine out here. After what happened earlier, I’m just happy you’ll let us stay on your land at all.”
Rachel opened the closet and pulled out a couple of woolen blankets, handing them to first Shim and then Lach. “I’m just glad the dead things are dead again. I heard they popped up all over the village. Our healer ended up having to knock the mayor out with a sleep spell. He was walking around with the hidden vamp tech we’ve been gathering for the rebellion shooting corpses and talking about something called the zombie apocalypse. None of us knows what that is. We’re just happy Caleb is damn good with that spell.”
Lach had turned a bright red and mumbled an apology.
Rachel turned to him. “It’s all right. The kids were happy to see Queenie again, even if they’re mad at their dads for lying about the whole dog dying story. It’s really not a terrible thing. It could be quite useful when you think about it.”
“I don’t see how, but we thank you for the accommodations.” Lach kept his voice polite, but Shim could feel the impatience coming off him. He would have to work to keep his brother from running the minute Rachel Harper walked out of the barn.
The sun had set. They’d eaten a small meal, but still Roan held fast to the after midnight rule. Hours and hours of waiting. Hours when they were supposed to get some rest for the hard night ahead. Hours neither of them intended to spend. But they couldn’t just make a mad dash for it. They had to play it cautiously. For all they knew, Roan was watching them.
“Let me know if I can do anything else to help you.” Rachel nodded as she stepped toward the ladder that led down to the barn floor. She stopped at the top, just as her feet hit the first rung. Her face turned down and her voice quieted. “Should I do anything for him?”
Shim held back a grin. Duffy was “patrolling” the barn, his axe on his shoulder. He’d sighed and gotten up from the dinner table when Roan had told them all to get a few hours of sleep before they headed out. He’d announced that he would watch over the princes. Shim would bet Duffy would be asleep in fifteen minutes. He’d always been able to sleep in the oddest of places, ever since they were children. If Duffy wasn’t moving with a manic animation, he was snoozing, often against his or Lach’s arm. “Don’t worry about Duff. He’s a tough one.”
Rachel nodded and disappeared. The minute Shim heard the door close, he turned to his brother.
Lach was already on his feet, a pack in his hand. “I took one of the vamps’ packs. He was already asleep. He won’t notice it’s gone until they’re ready to go. By then, it won’t matter. We’ll be gone. It’s got meal pills, a tablet, everything we could need. We’ll find solid food on the way, but the meal pills should work.”
It was exactly what he’d feared. Shim didn’t move. “Lach, give it an hour. Roan is still awake. The Harper kids are still running all over the place. And we need to get not only us but two horses out of here.”
There was a gentle nicker from down below. “Why two, Your Highness, when one would be easier and so much faster?”
There was a sound like the rushing of water and then a man with shaggy black hair climbed up the ladder. Shim did a double take because the man wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing. He was young and very fit, but his hair was a wild nest of darkness, his eyes an amber yellow.
This was the phooka in his human form—a rare sight.
“Are you planning on killing us now?” Lach asked, no real worry in his voice. He had an amused air of expectation around him. It was a fair question. Phookas tended to hide their true form from all, though they had been known to imprint on sidhe from time to time, usually as younglings.
“Which of the Harpers do you belong to?” Shim asked, his mind making the leap.
The phooka grinned, a flash of sharp teeth. “Max. The idiot doesn’t even know I’ve been around him most of his life. He saved me when I was just a child. Some nasty sidhe killed me ma. I took to dog form, and Max took me in. He fed me and healed me wounds. I stayed with him for many years as a dog. Then I took hawk form and finally this one. I take the form needed to protect him. I came to him in my horse form a few months back. It’s the first time I’ve talked to him.” He growled a little. “He doesn’t make it easy to repay my debt. He’s reckless and obnoxious, but he has a good heart. And the children.” He sighed. “I’ve come to care for the little buggers.”
Lach leaned forward, studying the phooka. “Or you’re a tricky bastard and you’re feeding us a huge line of crap in order to create chaos.”
The phooka shrugged. “Or that. I don’t care what you believe, but I’m your best bet to get out of here before those vamps shut you down. Poor little princes. No one ever lets you play. Do you really think you can rescue your princess without getting yourselves killed? You can’t even control your own powers. You’re just as likely to torch her, aren’t you, Shim. Don’t worry, your brother here can bring her back to life. Well, he can bring her corpse back. Do it quick, Lach, before she starts to stink.”
Lach stood, his massive hands clenched into fists. There was practically steam coming out his brother’s ears, and that was Shim’s job. “Get out.”
Shim held a hand out. “Don’t be so quick, Lach. It’s his nature. But it’s also his nature to help his master.”
Amber eyes rolled. “He ain’t me master. He’s me friend, and yes, I want to help him. I was just making a wee joke about the stinking corpses. Come on, man, it was funny. Like the dog today. Damn thing tried to wag half a tail.”
The phooka laughed, the sound a bit maniacal, but he was right. Not about the half-tailed dog, but he was fast in his horse form and phookas were known to be hard to see unless they wanted to be seen.
“You know where Tuathanas is?” Shim asked.
Lach moved to sit beside his brother, a scowl on his face. “I’m sure he knows where everything is.”
The phooka scratched at his scruffy head. “I do, indeed. And I swear on all that Danu’s given me, I’m not lying. I want Torin out as much as the rest of you. Probably more since I don’t have anywhere else to go. There’s no kingdom waiting for me. There’s only this farm and those Fae, and Torin will kill us all if something doesn’t change. We’ve been safe here in the mountains. He hasn’t had the inclination to attack, but he will eventually and we’ll fall. So I’m offering you a deal, one time only, Your Highnesses. I shall carry you to the princess. I will be your ally. Me word is me bond. And I expect that you’ll treat your ally with every due care.”
The phooka’s amber eyes burned in the dim light of the barn.
Lach looked at Shim and slowly nodded.
Shim took the phooka’s hand. “Allies.”
