Part 51 (1/2)

”Thank you. For everything. You gave me my family back.”Even as he let Archer go, the triangle had all but disappeared. Once again, Archer aimed, dove... and stayed in the cell where he'd been left to die. And would almost surely die now. But he didn't intend to go alone.

Baleweg was already on his knees, his expression revealing the pain being inflicted on him, even though Emrys was standing several feet away. ”How dare you interfere with my game!” he shrieked. ”I had plans for them, lovely plans. I could have toppled a monarchy.”

Archer knew Emrys could easily have followed them with a triangle of his own, but he remained to face Baleweg. The Old One had been right all along.

Ultimately, Emrys viewed this as a game between the two of them, and only them. Well, not if Archer had anything to say about it. ”Leave him be,” he demanded.

Emrys barely flicked his hand, but this time when Archer hit the wall he knocked his head and nearly pa.s.sed out. It took several moments just to clear his vision, but he could see well enough to see Emrys send Baleweg, who had been trying to stand, back to his knees.

Archer knew he was weak and would take little of this abuse before it did irreparable harm. He clawed his way back to his feet even as Baleweg once again raised his head.

”This is not the way to solve anything,” he rasped.

Emrys laughed and aimed at him again. Baleweg collapsed onto the floor and

lay unmoving as Archer staggered to him. He didn't care what Emrys did to him, he wasn't going to let Baleweg take this abuse uns.h.i.+elded.

Even before he got there, Baleweg was stirring. ”Don't,” Archer commanded.

He turned to Emrys.

”You think to thwart me?” Emrys shrieked. ”I think not!” He drove Archer to his knees right where he stood, and held him trapped there, unable to move, unable to do anything to escape. His muscles felt as if they were turning to stone.

”I don't care what you do to me,” Archer ground out. ”Just leave him alone.”

Emrys smirked. ”How touching. Yet I have a hard time believing you've developed any real feelings for this one. Hard to care for one so remote.” He abruptly released Archer from his invisible bonds, but his body merely collapsed, unable to bear its own weight. ”At least he has the one thing you don't,” he rasped.

”And what might that be? A conscience?” Archer tried to stand, but with the simple raising of Emrys's finger he felt a pressure that prevented him from moving. To look at Emrys you wouldn't know he was exerting such power. But the more time he spent torturing Archer, the more time Baleweg was given to recover. Could Archer be cunning enough to last long enough to allow Baleweg to save them? And how could he do it? Emrys was no doubt the stronger of the two by far. Archer had no illusions that they'd get away with opening a triangle right in front of Emrys again. And he'd only follow them anyway.

At the very least, the longer they kept him here, the less he could interfere with Catriona's possible medical intervention... and Talia's recovery in Connecticut.

Archer still didn't understand what had happened between Talia and her connection to both Catriona and himself. But he'd witnessed that time during childbirth when the queen seemed to have no pain and had delivered her child. Had Talia been instrumental in that? And if she'd taken on the queen's pain... dear G.o.d.

Emrys released him once again and turned to Baleweg. Archer felt as if he'd been crushed under a pile of stone, his body weak and sore. Physical force wasn't going to make things happen here and he wasn't going to hold out much longer.

So perhaps a different kind of battle had to be waged. ”No,” Archer said,

drawing his attention once again and bracing himself for another round. ”I wasn't referring to your conscience. What you lack is a heart.”

Emrys's wrath faded as his eyes widened in amus.e.m.e.nt. ”So sayeth the

mercenary? The royal bounty hunter? What do you know of the heart, Devin Archer?” Emrys circled him as he lay on the floor. ”Let me guess. Rutting about with that useless brat of the healer has made you think you understand love? How pathetic.”

Archer used what was left of his energy to lunge at him, but it was a weak effort that Emrys stopped easily. It took all of his will to grunt, as his body collapsed again, rather than moan.

”Big heart,” Emrys said, making a playful tsking sound. ”Small brain. Now you see why I value the size of the latter over the former.” He swung around to Baleweg. ”Now what to do about your ever so untimely little trick?”

Archer slowly moved toward the wall and used it to bear his weight as he

clawed to his feet.

”You can choose to do nothing,” Baleweg said, sounding only marginally stronger. ”Move on to other pursuits.”

”When I'm having so much fun with this one?” Emrys laughed gaily, all signs of his earlier rage gone. ”I don't think so.” He paced through the bars, then back again. ”I'm not very pleased with your meddling, Old One.”

”I could say the same of you.”

Emrys ignored him, tapping at his lips. ”I just have to decide which I'd rather do. Move forward and thwart the hopes and dreams of an entire kingdom by making sure that wretched little screamer and his dear mummy don't

survive...” He swung his malevolent gaze to Archer. ”Or trot off to the quaint Connecticut countryside and deal a little blow to that weak organ you're so fond of touting.” He strode off again. ”No heart,” he muttered. ”As if I had a use for one.”

Archer knew better than to charge him again, though it took considerable control not to say anything. Instead he looked over to Baleweg. ”Are you okay?” He stumbled over to him.

Emrys did nothing to stop him. Archer didn't much care what Emrys thought at this point. Baleweg nodded, but up close Archer could see that his skin was pale and his eyes were bloodshot. ”Let me take him on, so you can feed off his rage again.”

Baleweg looked to him then and Archer helped him to stand. ”Is that what you thought I was doing?”

”What else?”