Living Nightmare Part 27

He tucked her in, safe and sound, and simply stared down at her.

So pretty. So perfect. His chest ached just looking at her.

He wished there was more time to linger, but there was too much work to be done. It was time to face Joseph.

Madoc strapped his old, familiar sword around his hips and had just left his suite when he nearly ran into Nicholas.

The man's face was hard to read behind the network of fine scars, but his eyes said plenty. He stared at the s.p.a.ce where Madoc's necklace had once been, his hand idly sliding over his own luceria.

"I had to see for myself," he whispered. "It's true."

Madoc nodded, fighting down the odd mixture of pride, joy, and grief swelling inside him. "Yeah, it's true."

Nicholas clapped him on the shoulder. "You're one h.e.l.l of a lucky b.a.s.t.a.r.d. And I expect you to buy me a beer for playing matchmaker."

"Matchmaker?"

"Sure. I'm the one who kept opening up doors so the two of you could be together. And don't think I've forgotten what you did to my camera last year. You owe me."

Something warm opened up inside Madoc, but it wasn't entirely comfortable. He swallowed a couple of times to free his vocal cords of whatever had locked them up. "Thanks," he finally managed to get out. "You're a real friend."

"'Bout time you finally realized that. a.s.shole." Nicholas's face cracked around a smile. "Come on. Joseph just got in. He's going to need a briefing. Better it comes from the horse's mouth."

By the time they got to Joseph's office, it was already crowded with people. Drake and Helen sat quietly to one side. Gilda was huddled in the corner, crying. Angus stood near her, but hadn't offered her any sort of comfort, which was odd. He'd known those two for centuries and they could hardly keep their hands off of each other.

Angus's jaw was clenched so tight, Madoc wondered if the man's muscles wouldn't pop out of his jawline.

Joseph sat at his desk, rubbing his temples. His eyes were sunken, his shoulders slumped.

He looked up at Madoc. "What's the emergency?"

Madoc looked at Drake. "Didn't you tell him?"

"He just got back from delivering Chris to the Slayers. We thought we'd give him a minute," said Drake.

"Just tell me and get it over with," said Joseph. "I've already had to take a friend to his death. This day can't get any worse."

Joseph looked so tired, Madoc decided to take pity on the man and keep it short and sweet. He straightened his shoulders. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to kill me, too. I killed Tynan. I realize this means my life is forfeit, but I ask that you let me help Nika find another Theronai to take my place before you carry out my sentence."

"Tynan's not dead," said Nicholas, frowning. "I just saw him a while ago."

"As did I," said Angus.

Confused, Madoc said, "But I broke his neck. I felt it."

Joseph's face had darkened. "I will deal with this and you privately," he told Madoc. "The rest of you, out."

"Wait," said Drake to Joseph. "Madoc hasn't told you the rest. About Tori."

Madoc really wanted his sentencing to be over, but what he wanted now wasn't the issue. "Nika's younger sister, Tori, is alive. And pregnant."

The room fell into shocked silence.

"How do you know this?" asked Joseph. "Andra thinks she found her remains in that cave last year."

"Andra was wrong," said Madoc.

"How can you be sure?"

Madoc looked right into Joseph's eyes and said, "I saw her."

"Where? When?"

Madoc didn't like this part. Nika had a reputation of being crazy. She believed Tori was alive, which made the idea tainted. "Nika took me to see her. We, ah, visited her mind."

Everyone in the room stared at him like they were expecting a punch line. When it didn't come, they all started talking at once.

Crazy. Madoc heard the word several times, though he didn't know who had said it.

"Stop it!" he shouted.

From the direction of his suite, he felt Nika wake up. His agitation had caused it and he wanted to lash out at everyone in the room for daring to disturb her rest.

Nika's soothing presence cooled his anger, allowing him to pause before he did something he'd regret. She was getting closer, and by the time she got here, he wanted to be in full control.

"You've got to admit," said Joseph, "it sounds a little far-fetched."

"And killing things with magic isn't?" he demanded. "What about Tynan living after I nearly snapped his head off his neck?"

Joseph shook his head. "Tori was taken most of a decade ago by demons known for killing and eating children. The chances of her still being alive are next to zero. Couple that with the fact that Andra and Paul found a corpse wearing the same clothes as Tori when she was abducted, and it gets even harder to believe, even without the mind-visiting stuff."

"Nika does it all the time. h.e.l.l, she was in Helen's mind last night, learning how to channel magic."

Helen frowned. "I don't think so."

"Well, she was."

"Do you have any kind of proof?" asked Joseph. "If we're going to gear up for an a.s.sault, we need to be using good information, not the daydreams of a mentally challenged woman."

Madoc felt a flash of anger explode below the surface of his skin. He forced himself to keep his hand away from his sword, though he had no idea where he'd found that kind of control. The need to make Joseph pay for the insult in blood was pounding through him. Only the cooling presence of Nika in his mind stayed his hand. "You need to stop right there before you say something I can't ignore."

From the doorway, Madoc heard a faint intake of breath. He was compelled to turn toward the sound and saw Nika standing there.

"No, Madoc. Let him go on. It would be nice to know what he really thinks." She was breathing fast. Her cheeks were flushed, as if she'd run there. Her white hair was tousled from bed, and the imprint of a fold in the pillowcase creased her cheek. She came in and stood next to Madoc, and put her hands on her hips.

He could feel the hurt radiating out from her, making her tremble slightlya"not enough to see, but enough that he could feel the stirring of air between them.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Nika," said Joseph, as if talking to a child. "Really. I just need to know what's real here, and what isn't."

"I'll be happy to show you, but you're not going to enjoy it."

She glanced at Madoc, and he knew from that mischievous look in her eyes that he was not going to like what happened next. "Catch me?" she asked before she did that thing where she collapsed to the ground like someone had yanked the life from her body.

Madoc scooped her up before she hit the ground. She was limp, lifeless. Only the trickle of power being tugged out of him let him know she was safe and sound. That trickle grew, making him wonder whether Tori was fighting Nika's connection again.

"I really hate it when she does this," he muttered as he settled into a chair, cradling her in his lap.

"Does what?" asked Joseph. Then he went still. His face went blank. His eyes flared wide. Small, almost strangled sounds came out of his throat.

Angus stepped forward.

"Don't," said Madoc. "She's not going to hurt him."

"He looks like she is doing just that."

"If you'd seen Tori, you'd look like that, too. She's completely f.u.c.ked-up."

Suddenly, Joseph sucked in a long breath and bent double, as if trying not to throw up.

Nika's eyes opened, tears clinging at the corners.

The room was utterly silent. They looked at Nika with a newfound respecta"one bordering on fear. If it was that easy for her to slide inside Joseph's mind, he guessed they were each wondering who was next, and what Nika might see if she went poking around.

Madoc was certain that he was not the only man here with secrets to hide.

Which meant he was going to have to keep a close eye on her here, too. If one of the other men was hiding a barren lifemarka"or worsea"he was not going to want Nika to find out. Not only would she be in danger outside Dabyr, but she would be in danger here, too. And there was no way Iain was going to give up the names of the men in the Band. He was the only one who knew who they were. Madoc wasn't going to be able to trust any of the unbound men.

Madoc's grip on her tightened. What the h.e.l.l was he going to do with her? He had no business guarding such a precious gift. He was going to f.u.c.k up and get her killed. And the damage he would wreak once she was gone was not something he liked to think about.

Everyone was still too quiet. The silence was growing eerier by the second.

Madoc had to clear his throat before he could speak. "Do you believe her now, or do you need another display?"

"One was plenty." Joseph pushed himself upright, but he was still a little paler than normal. "What you showed me was real, right? Not some mind trick?"

"It was real," said Nika. "If I wasn't so tired, I could have kept us there long enough for you to talk to her. She doesn't want me near her anymore."

"We're going in after Tori. It's just a question of how we're going to get her out alive. How far away is she?"

"We're not sure. Nika and I are working on finding her. She put some pictures in my head that might show us where she is, but they're scrambled."

"We'll have them unscrambled today," said Nika, completely confident.

He loved that about hera"her absolute faith that he would come through. It never failed to awe him.

"Do you know anything else?" asked Joseph. "Any other clues that might tell us where she is, how many other humans there are with her, or how many of the Synestryn we'll need to take down to reach her?"

"All I know for sure is that some f.u.c.khead named Zillah has her."

Gilda's black eyes landed on Madoc, making him squirm.

She pushed herself to her feet. "Did you say Zillah?"

"Yeah. Know him?"

Gilda and Angus shared a look. He reached for her as if wanting to give or receive comfort, but Gilda ignored his outstretched hand.

"He's the one who convinced Maura to switch sides and work for him. He's a powerful Synestryn. All I really know is that he commands thousands."

"Tori has seen Maura. She might still be with him. Tori included him in that jumble of images she gave me. He looks almost human. When the f.u.c.k did they start looking like us?" asked Madoc.

Angus pulled in a deep breath. "We thought he was an anomaly."

"Angus, don't," said Gilda.

"No. It's time. They need to know," he told his wife.

"Know what?" demanded Joseph.

Angus turned back to the group. "We didn't tell anyone that the Synestryn were starting to look more human because we worried what the men close to the end of their time might do. How many humans would die because of mistaken ident.i.ty?"

Joseph stood, pressing his hands flat on the desk as he leaned toward Angus, his face red with barely controlled rage. "You told me their attempt to look more human had failed the night you killed that abominationa"that demon with a child's face. You should have told me about Zillah. As your leader, I should have known."

"We chose not to tell you what we learned. There was nothing you could have done with the knowledge," said Angus.

"How do you know? You never let me try."

Gilda's face twisted with rage. "We almost died trying to get Maura away from him. If he's strong enough to nearly kill a bonded pair of Theronai, there was no way you or any of the unbound men here could have stopped him with swords alone. You would have tried and you would have died. I couldn't let that happen."

Joseph's hands bunched into fists. "It was my decision to make. Not yours. Who knows what I might have been able to do. Maybe Tori would never have been taken at all. We'll never know now."

"It was my decision," said Gilda. "Don't punish Angus for something I did."

"He went along with it," stated Joseph, his voice as cold and final as a grave.

"And I'd do it again, too. We were upholding our vow to protect humans, Joseph. If that means keeping secrets, so be it."

This was going to get out of hand fast. Madoc couldn't let that happen. Too much was at stake. "Tori doesn't have time for us to argue about this right now. She's due any day and says that a lot of the girls there don't make it through labor."

"There's more than one girl there?" asked Helen, horrified.

Drake laid a hand on her knee.

Angus shook his head in regret. "Last year we found a demon that looked like a human child. It wasn't. It was venomous, fanged. It attacked us and tried to kill us, but I think it's clear now where it came from."

Joseph nodded. "That's why Andra has been so busy. Why so many blooded children have gone missing. They've been stealing them, using them for more than just food."

"How is that even possible?" asked Gilda. "Human and Synestryn can't interbreeda"they're too different."