Part 32 (1/2)

The monkey leaped onto Sophie's back, and she staggered. ”I can stand. I can't run, and I don't have another fight in me, but I can stand.”

”You've had your fight. This next one is ours.” Exasperated, Nikolas said, ”Robin, can't you go under your own steam?”

”We go together,” the monkey said, wrapping its arms around Sophie's neck. ”We go at the same time.”

The emphasis he put on the last word was a good reminder of how much time slippage there would be on the way back. Nikolas told Sophie, ”You and I are going at the same time too, and I'm in the forefront.”

She looked upward briefly, as if to ask for help from the heavens. ”I will deign to agree, but only because I dislike winter so much and my coffee is back on Earth. The fact that my decision coincides with your orders is purely coincidental.”

He took a deep, bracing breath and reached for patience. ”I'm well aware of that.”

He led the way back to the hole, where he found all his men except Braden waiting. He told all of them, ”You're relieved of duty too.”

Gawain shook his head. ”Not happening, mate.”

”Me neither,” Rowan said.

The rest of them shook their heads as well.

He was so d.a.m.n proud of them. So d.a.m.n proud.

Giving them a curt nod, he said, ”Let's go.”

After that, things appeared to happen quickly. The first wave of troops, including Nikolas, Sophie, the puck, and the rest of his team, went through the cramped tunnel to the oubliette.

”I did the math,” Rowan said almost cheerfully. ”A fortnight in Lyonesse roughly equals six months on Earth. It took four hours or so for Sophie to contact Annwyn and to bring the troops. That means it's been two and a half days on Earth. Not counting all the time slippages from when we ran around in the house, of course.”

Gawain growled, ”If you mean to be encouraging, you're not helping.”

Together they hoisted Cael up, then Rhys, who took a rope ladder with them. After a long, long-long-moment, they tossed one end of the ladder back down. The next man up carried another rope ladder, and the fourth man carried another, and then there wasn't any room for more.

Nikolas went up before Sophie, and when she climbed up with Robin on her back, he was waiting to lift her the rest of the way out. They strode down the corridor. Someone who had come before them had moved Ashe's body. Nikolas caught a glimpse of a still form lying in the armory, covered with a tapestry.

Cael met them in the courtyard. ”Watch yourself,” Cael warned. ”There's damage, and the b.a.s.t.a.r.d hasn't stopped.”

”Of course he hasn't,” Nikolas growled. He exchanged a look with Sophie, then they both hurried down the pa.s.sage that connected the courtyard to the great hall.

Once there, they turned in a circle, taking in the scene. It had changed drastically. Giant cracks marred the hall. The iron-bordered windows had warped, and the chimney over the large fireplace had broken in two. Stones had fallen out of the balcony floors, and timbers from the roof crisscrossed the open floor.

The monkey jumped off her shoulders and ran to the window. Sophie rested both hands on top of her head, her expression dismayed.

”My beautiful, spooky house.” Her mouth drooped. ”I don't have chimney or roof insurance for a house built on a broken crossover pa.s.sageway.”

”Don't think about that right now,” Nikolas told her. ”We're here, and we're not blocked off from Earth yet.”

”I know that's the most important thing,” she said bitterly. ”But I loved this place, and he's tearing it to pieces. If he's broken my jar of instant coffee, I'm going to have a meltdown.”

As she went rummaging in the grocery supplies, Nikolas joined Robin at the window to look through fractured panes of gla.s.s. A rumble began low in the distance and grew to vibrate through the building. He could feel the strain in the flagstones underneath his feet.

The interior of the house had taken serious damage, but outside, the scene looked downright apocalyptic. Trees had been downed, and wide, deep cracks ran in the earth across the clearing. Most of the gatekeeper's cottage had crumbled to rubble. The gate pillars themselves, at the border of the road, had toppled over.

Morgan knelt outside, hands planted flat on the ground, while Hounds kept watch in a circle around the house. Nikolas checked the sun's position. He guessed it was late morning. It looked like the b.a.s.t.a.r.d hadn't taken a break in three days.

Nikolas said over his shoulder to Sophie, ”You're not going to like what he's done to the rest of your property either.”

”G.o.ddammit! I haven't even gotten the t.i.tle doc.u.ments yet!” she wailed around a mouthful of food.

She joined him at the window, carrying a half-eaten protein bar in one hand and a bottle of black water in the other. She had changed her blood-soaked sweater for a clean, long-sleeved, gray cotton s.h.i.+rt. As he watched, she shook the bottle of water, uncapped it, and took a long swig while she glared out the window.

Distracted by the sight, he curled a lip in disgust. ”You're drinking cold, instant black coffee.”

”It's caffeine and hydration,” she muttered. ”I'm still on my feet, aren't I? Besides, I didn't feel comfortable lighting one of the propane stoves.”

”Good point.” Squeezing her arm, he turned to face the great hall.

Soldiers poured in.

”Archers to the front,” he said. Four women and three men stepped forward. He told them, ”We're not going to make the same mistake we made the last time we fought on this land. We concentrate everything we have on bringing Morgan down. The Hounds might be dangerous, but they're incidental.”

Cramming the last of the protein bar into her mouth, Sophie turned to listen. When he paused, she said telepathically, Every good magic user I've ever known has some version of an avert spell for defense. And clearly Morgan is one h.e.l.l of a magic user.

He raised an eyebrow. Your point?

Well, you don't want to just shoot at him, right? She drank the last of her coffee. You want to take out his magic too.

He said out loud, ”The null spell. We need the null spell on as many arrows as we can get. How much magic-sensitive silver do you have?”

”Not enough to spell all their arrows,” she said grimly, gesturing to the group. ”I was on vacation. Choose your best archers, and we'll go from there.”

While Nikolas prioritized the group, Sophie retrieved her luggage and pulled out a small package. She called out to the gathering crowd, ”Gawain?”

”Right here, la.s.s.” Gawain shouldered through to her.

”Did you get metal-making tools for me?”

”We didn't have time.”

Her shoulders drooped. ”Okay. Doesn't matter. This doesn't have to be pretty. We're going to need to light a propane stove after all and use one of the cooking pots. All we have to do is get the silver melted enough to dip the tips of the arrows in it, and then we can cast the spell.”

”Got it.”

As they set to work, Nikolas organized others to s.h.i.+ft the supplies, along with the fallen timbers and stones, into the side halls to make more room for arriving troops. They weren't going to get all four hundred and fifty into the great hall, but if the troops stood shoulder to shoulder, they could get most of them in. The rest would have to line up back in the courtyard.

”Watch out for the painted lines!” he called out to the workers. ”They mark time-s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+fts. There's a s.h.i.+ft along one side of the courtyard too-Rhys, go back there and make sure people know to avoid it.”

”I'm on it.” Rhys worked his way to the back.