Moonshadow (Moonshadow #1)

His hands were reluctant to leave her. He clamped his fists in the blanket and drew her close. She didn’t resist him. Neither did Robin, as the puck turned his face away and laid it on her shoulder.

“You looked spent hours ago, and a lot has happened since then,” Nikolas muttered. “Let’s get you out of these wet clothes. Then will you please sit by the fire and warm up?”

Her teeth chattered. “I would l-love nothing more than to fall asleep by the fire, but Nik, we haven’t found the privies yet.”

He told her, “The men can piss in a jar for one night.”

She glowered at him. “I c-can’t.”

Unexpectedly, amusement welled up inside. Tucking the blanket higher around her neck, he said, “We’ll set up a chamber pot for you and a blanket for privacy. We can locate the privies in the morning.”

“Nikolas Sevigny, I am not going to pee in a chamber pot while I’m in the same room as the rest of you. Just wipe that concept out of your head.” She sniffed and rubbed her nose on the blanket. “I’ll feel better when I’m warm and dry. It’s not going to hurt if we look around a little bit.”

Heaving a sigh, he conceded. “All right, but only after we change into dry clothes.”

They changed quickly. First Nikolas held up a blanket in one of the two corners closest to the fire so that she could strip out of her wet clothes in relative privacy. When she was freshly dressed in jeans, a sweater, and her black boots, he changed too. Thanks to Sophie washing his clothes, he had exactly four changes of clothes with him from his go-bag. In many ways, no matter how much or little time it took, this was going to be a long siege.

While he dragged on clean clothes and settled the damp sword harness into place between his shoulders, he said to Gawain, “We’re going on a brief exploration, hopefully to find privies and a viable source of water without encountering a major shift between here and there.” Switching to telepathy, he added, When you set up pallets for tonight, be sure to put hers close by the fire, between yours and mine. She feels the cold more than we do, and we’re not leaving her unguarded for a moment.

You bet, Gawain said without a flicker in his expression. Aloud, he replied, “We’ll have hot soup and bread waiting for you when you return.”

“Thanks.” Sophie was still shivering when Nikolas turned to her, and she had wrapped the blanket around her again, but there was more color in her face. “Where’s Robin?”

She shrugged. “Hiding in the shadows. Pilfering the food. Your guess is as good as mine. He took off when I changed clothes.” She gave him the ghost of a tired grin. “He’s a bit prudish, I think.”

Nikolas dismissed Robin from his mind. The puck could look after himself, and he had a talent for disappearing when he wanted to. He took one of the nearby oil lanterns and lit it. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” She looked at the chaos around them. “Wait, did we get chalk or paint?”

Gawain said, “I saw that box. Hold on a second.” He rummaged between two stacks and lifted up a hand-labeled cardboard box. “Here it is—both chalk and paint and paper for drawing maps.”

Sophie peered inside and pulled out a plastic package filled with white chalk. “This will do for tonight. If we find any shifts, we can mark them more permanently tomorrow.”

Nikolas approved of that plan. He said, “Follow me.”

As tired as she looked, her expression was alive with interest. She fell into step beside him as he led her toward the huge fireplace. “Why are we going into the corner—oh!”

Her exclamation came as he took her hand and led her into the deep shadow at the side of the huge hearth. Only when they came close did the light from the oil lantern reveal a dark, narrow hall, cleverly designed to remain hidden by the massive bulk of the fireplace.

He grinned at the look in her wide eyes. “I found it when I was clearing the chimney. It’s not quite a hidden passageway, but it’s close. Servants would have used this, probably to carry food and drink to the high table and important guests, so it should lead back to the kitchen, buttery, and pantry.”

“And hopefully a water source,” she said.

“Exactly. Also, this house is big enough, I have my fingers crossed for an inner courtyard.”

The sounds of the men working faded as they went down the dark, narrow hall until black silence pressed at them on all sides. They could walk abreast of each other, but Nikolas’s sleeve brushed the wall on his side, and he could see that Sophie didn’t have much room on hers either.

She whispered gleefully, “This is creepy as hell.”

“It is, a bit.” Smiling slightly, he laced his fingers through hers. “Are you sensing any shifts?”

She shook her head. “Not at the moment. I’ll be sure to tell you when I do.” Her eyes gleamed as she glanced behind them. She shifted to telepathy. The man who tries to strangle me. You suspect Rhys, don’t you?

His brief amusement faded. He has pressed me for details at suspicious times. I look back at things he’s said and how I’ve sensed a certain antipathy in him from time to time. He knew about Gawain scenting Robin and me going to investigate Old Friars Lane. And tonight, not an hour after the men arrived, we got attacked by a large pack of Hounds. When we might have gotten information from the one you had spelled, he killed it. It’s all circumstantial, and none of it is definitive, but yes, I do suspect him.

She squeezed his fingers. I’m so sorry.

The warmth of her hand in his was a comfort he hadn’t expected to relish. He squeezed her fingers in reply. Thank you.

As they talked, they came to a heavy door, and he handed her the oil lantern before he set to pushing it open. The wood was swollen into place, and the hinges were rusty, so he had to throw his whole weight into the operation. The door screeched loudly as it finally gave and split into two pieces. The wood had rotted at the core.

He stumbled forward outside into the cool, wet night. Behind him, Sophie laughed and cheered. “You were right—there’s an inner courtyard!”

As he righted himself, she held the oil lantern high. It was impossible to see everything in the insufficient illumination, but he got the impression of tangled, overgrown greenery, knee-high grass, benches, and even a few fruit trees, all bordered by stone colonnades. It wasn’t by any means as grand as some courtyards he had seen, but still, it was a nice, spacious place.

His catlike eyes adjusted to the lighting, and he pointed across the courtyard. “There are your privy chambers, and in the opposite corner, there is my well. This house is part wealthy family home and part fortress. I suspected they would have wanted to keep their water supply guarded and to have privy chambers safe from outside interference. Nobody would want to get attacked while in such a vulnerable position. The kitchen, buttery, and pantry will be somewhere over there, by the well.”

“This is fantastic.” Her eyes shone.