“Well, you’re going to have to take me, or you’ll never get them home.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Jude would have happily ditched me, but even a stubborn wolf must acknowledge the inevitable.
“Fine, but just you. No gargoyle, no entourage.”
“No,” Gabriel said in that I-am-an-immovable-object way that he has. “How do we know you will not harm Madeline once she is outnumbered by your pack?”
“And what worth is your word when you have taken every opportunity to show just how much you despise Madeline?” Nathaniel challenged.
“Are you questioning my honor?” Jude asked, visibly bristling.
“Enough!” I shouted, rubbing my eyes. “Gods above and below. I know too many men. I need to get some girlfriends.”
Beezle snorted. “Yeah. I can totally see you drinking cosmos and talking shoes with a bunch of chicks.”
Okay. So maybe that was absurd. But the fact remained that there was far too much testosterone in my life.
“I am going to go with Jude and bring back the cubs. You,” I said, pointing to Nathaniel, “are going to go back to Azazel’s court.”
Nathaniel looked mutinous. “I would be remiss in my duties as your fiancé if I let you go alone.”
“You are no longer my fiancé,” I reminded him.
“Azazel has not publicly revoked the engagement,” he said stubbornly.
My anger broke. I was tired and pushed to the limit and in no mood to deal with Nathaniel.
“I have told you that I will not marry you, and you know the reason why. Don’t make me go into details in front of everyone here, because it will hardly present you in a good light.
“I am not a toy to be manipulated by Azazel. It is not his word that matters in this case, but mine.”
As I spoke I became aware that the clearing had filled with light, and that it was coming from me. But I was too angry to care.
“Now, you may not be my fiancé, but you are a member of my father’s court. As such, it would be politic for you to go the hell home when I say so,” I said.
I could feel a headache building behind my eyes, the pressure of the unreleased magical energy that was burning through me in concert with my temper.
Nathaniel pressed his lips together. “Yes, my lady.”
He turned stiffly away, opened a portal and stepped into it without another word. We all watched silently as it closed behind him.
A very small part of me knew that I had behaved badly, that Nathaniel had helped us rescue the cubs, and that he deserved better than to be berated by me in front of everyone. The larger part of me was just mad, and tired of being crossed at every turn by some fractious male who thought he knew better than me.
I turned on Gabriel and Samiel. Samiel’s eyes were the size of saucers. He’d never seen me in 100 percent full-on Morningstar mode before. Even when I’d opened the portal with Lucifer’s power it had been tempered by my own powers and inclinations.
My eyes didn’t always blaze with light, as I’m certain they were doing just then. Ever since I’d been marked by Lucifer’s sword this happened occasionally. “Lucifer” does mean “shining one,” after all.
“As for you two,” I said, pointing at the half brothers. “I want you to go home as well.”
“I will not allow you to go into harm alone,” Gabriel said.
“Yes, you will. Jude gave his word, and I trust him. He doesn’t want all of us there, and I don’t trust you not to follow me. So you and Samiel and Beezle are portaling it home before Jude and I take another step.”
“Why do I have to miss all the fun?” Beezle complained.
“Because I need you to make sure these two go home and stay home,” I said.
“If my lady orders it, then it shall be done,” Gabriel said angrily. There were meteors shooting across his black eyes, a sure sign that his own temper was rising.
“Don’t even think about giving me that passive-aggressive I-am-your-thrall shit,” I said. “I am not in the mood.”
“But I am your thrall,” Gabriel said tightly.
“Then follow my freaking orders and go home!” I shouted. “And stay there, so that we can have a proper argument about this later!”
Gabriel gave me a stony stare, then wordlessly opened a portal and went through it.
Beezle flew from my shoulder to Samiel’s. “Well, you just stepped in a giant pile of dragon dung. Have fun cleaning that up.”
I’m so glad that I’m not you, Samiel signed.
“You two are so supportive. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I muttered. I handed the bag of cameras to Samiel. “Take these home and put them in a safe place. Don’t let anyone mess with them, not even Gabriel or Beezle.”
Samiel gave me a two-fingered salute and turned toward the portal.
“And, Beezle, all that waffle stuff had better be cleaned up when I get home!” I shouted.
I saw Beezle’s shoulders sag just before the portal closed.
“Told you I wouldn’t forget about the dirty dishes,” I muttered.
6
THE LIGHT EMANATING FROM MY BODY SLOWLY FADED as my temper cooled. I became aware of how dark it was outside, and just how long it had been since we’d left the house. I’d gotten up at five a.m. to be shouted at by the instructor at the Y and hadn’t had a second of downtime since. Plus, that measly bowl of oatmeal was the last thing I’d eaten.
I sighed and faced Jude. He waited, staring at me like I was a circus performer. The cubs hadn’t moved a centimeter since I’d told them to stop.
“That’s the entertainment for the day. Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion,” I said.
Jude said nothing, only turned and moved through the woods again. I told the cubs to follow him and then I fell in at the end of the column.
I don’t know how long we tramped through the forest. I just know that I am not a particularly adept woodswoman even when I can actually see the tree roots. In the darkness my inability to avoid trippable objects was magnified about a thousandfold. I thought I heard Jude snickering a few times.
Jude stopped abruptly. I saw two shadowy figures emerge from behind trees ahead of us. I told the cubs to stop walking while Jude conferred for several minutes with his pack mates. After a while he came back to me, and the other wolves slid back into the trees.
“You can go no farther,” he said.
I quirked an eyebrow at him. I could barely make out his features in the starlight, but I knew he could see me as clear as day. Wolves have excellent night vision.
“And just how are you going to get the kids into your camp?” I asked. “This is the same problem that you had before.”
“My pack mates are collecting other wolves to help carry them in,” Jude said.
“And what will you do after that?” I persisted. “Are you going to pose them like statues? They won’t move; they won’t even eat unless I say so.”
“Do you think it comforts me to know that the children of my pack will respond only to you? Do you think I relish having to face their mothers and explain that we have returned their cubs to them broken? What are you going to do? Live with the pack? Spend your days caring for the cubs?”
“You wouldn’t even have the cubs back if it weren’t for me. You would never have been able to enter the portal. I am so sick of your attitude. It’s like you’re reminding yourself to dislike me.”
“I don’t have to remind myself to dislike anyone who shares blood with the Deceiver.”