Moonshadow (Moonshadow #1)

“Hey,” Sophie said in a soft voice. She spread her fingers over his chest, and he clamped his hands around her wrists. “I know what a serious trigger Morgan is for you, and I’m sorry for that. He was a pretty serious trigger for me too when I found out who he was. But it’s okay. For the moment, everything is okay.”

Nothing was okay. His head, his thinking, his emotions, they were all in shambles. Looking into her luminous gaze, he said telepathically, I would not be okay if you put yourself at risk and you came to harm because of it. You must take better care of yourself, my Sophie.

Her eyes widened, and she looked as vulnerable as he had ever seen her look. She told him, I have a terrible temper, and when I lose it, all sense flies out the window. I know it’s a flaw, and I will try to do better. I promise, Nik.

Her quiet words, along with her touch, soothed him, and the shaking fury eased. He gave her a curt nod.

She lingered, studying him, and said aloud, “Okay?”

“Okay.” Touching her felt too good, and he didn’t want to stop. Releasing her wrists, he stepped away, back to the counter to pour himself another brandy.

Sophie felt her way back to her seat and sank into it, while Gawain rubbed his face hard with one massive hand.

“Morgan may be a great many things, but he’s also a man of his word,” the other man said. “He said he meant you no harm for the moment, but he also gave you plenty of warning that will change. Are you sure he believed you when you said the dog disappeared?”

“Yeah,” Sophie said. She ran her fingers through her hair, turning it into even more of a wild, unruly mane. “I’m confident of that. You know the feeling when you’re sure you’ve gotten off a good shot or struck the right blow? I had that sense.”

“Good girl,” Gawain murmured. “That’s a help.”

She looked at the both of them. “But all he has to do is start thinking around the edges, and considering what Robin is capable of, and come up with a few more questions, and he will probably come out here to ask them. And if Isabeau finds out about me and orders him to do something like bring me to her for questioning, he made it very clear he would do it.” She frowned. “In fact, he said he must do it. It was almost like he was saying he would have no choice. Do you think—do you think she might have him under some sort of compulsion?”

Nikolas shook his head, rejecting that idea. “If Oberon ordered any of us to do something, we would be honor bound to do it too. And in any case, it’s beside the point whether or not Morgan is compelled or if he acts of his own volition. He will do it. He has always done it. He would tear Britain to pieces if Isabeau wanted him to. That’s the relevant point.”

She sighed. “In that case, I think we need to expect he will come here and sooner rather than later. He’s not going to find Robin otherwise, which means he will retrace his steps and look everywhere more thoroughly.”

As she spoke, the monkey climbed into her lap, and she put her arms around him, hugging him tight.

“We need to consider our choices,” Nikolas said, looking at Gawain.

Gawain blew out a breath. “One choice is, we scatter more widely again. We don’t converge here, like we had planned. We take Robin with us, like we had originally planned, and Sophie denies everything.”

Nikolas shook his head. “Unacceptable. Our scents are all over this property, and there’s no telling what Isabeau might order Morgan to do once she finds out about Sophie.”

“Yeah, I didn’t like that one either,” Sophie muttered. She put her face in the monkey’s fur while Robin slipped a skinny arm around her neck.

“Second choice,” Gawain said, giving her and the puck a troubled look. “We scatter, we don’t converge, and we take both Sophie and Robin with us. Lass, I’m sorry, but I think we’re past the point where separating will be of any benefit to you. I think you would be in more danger if we left you alone.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “I knew that the moment Morgan showed up and called me by name.”

“Taking both Sophie and Robin is a better option,” Nikolas said. “But it’s still not good enough. That won’t allow us to explore what the house might have to offer. If it can give us a way to access Lyonesse, we need to take that choice, no matter what the risk.”

“Agreed,” Gawain said.

Nikolas looked at Sophie. He told her, “I can still bargain with a Djinn, and Gawain can take you and Robin somewhere safe.”

She straightened. “Not acceptable. You don’t know what the Djinn might demand of you in return, whereas the worst thing that will happen with me is a bill for services, and you already agreed to pay that.”

That wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. She could be hurt. She could die. The better man he had used to be was trying to resurrect himself. He rubbed his eyes. “I don’t like the danger for you.”

She told him in a gentle, firm voice, “Nik, I’m not your pet. I’m not your property. I can assess the relative dangers for myself and make my own decisions.”

He looked over his hand at her. He said, “That doesn’t make it easier for us old-timey folk.”

Her expression lit with smiling warmth. Was that approval? Wonders never ceased. “I have faith in you,” she said. “I know you can handle it.”

She had more faith in him than he had in himself, because he knew if something happened to her, he wouldn’t handle it. Turning his back, he scowled at the view out the kitchen window.

That house. That ugly, monstrous, broken-down house. He was going to throw everything at it in the most insane gamble of his life. “We go in the house,” he said. “And we barricade ourselves in. Morgan can’t get inside, and we have reason to hope he can’t damage it either.”

“If he can do some damage,” Gawain said, “you and the lass are going to need help. We call the others in, and we converge, like we had planned—only we don’t space it out. They need to get here as quickly as possible, tonight.”

“Yes.” Nikolas turned back to them. He said to Sophie, “Thank you.”

“It’ll be the dirtiest, most unhygienic sleepover ever,” she told them with a lopsided grin. “It’ll be fun.”

Out of nowhere, humor bubbled up. It felt good to let it out in a laugh. “When we get inside, the first order of business will be to locate the privy chambers and hope there’s an internal water source, like a well. Chances are, it will have dried out long ago, so we’ll have to dig to hit water again. Failing that, pray there’s a courtyard. With the lake situated so close, I’m going to bet we can hit water somehow.”

Gawain dug out his phone. “I’ll contact the others and tell them to get here as soon as possible and prepare for a siege.”

“Tell Gareth and Cael to focus on weapons,” Nikolas said. “We need longbows and crossbows, and a good supply of arrows. We won’t be able to fire guns from the house.”

“Will do,” Gawain said. “Braden was going to gather camping gear. The rest can concentrate on food and fuel. We need as many supplies as they can lay their hands on. And firewood. Stacks and stacks of firewood.”

Nikolas moved to kneel by Sophie’s side. He looked into the monkey’s eyes. “Robin, do you think you’ve recovered enough that you can create a storm tonight to cover our scents?”