“But . . .”
When she didn’t say anything else, just stood there looking scared and confused, he said softly, “I know I’ve put my duties ahead of you for way too long, that maybe it’s too late for us. But I’m asking you to let me come with you. This doesn’t have to mean we’re dating, or courting, or, hell, so fucking crazy about each other that we can’t keep our hands to ourselves.” A distinct gleam entered his eyes as he said the last part. “We can take our time. Whatever you want. Just say you’ll bring me with you. I can be a good winikin to the boys. I’ll teach them, protect them, love them like they’re my own. And I’ll put you equal to that, with nothing above you three, I swear it. I—” She launched herself at him and cut him off with a kiss. He rocked back under the impact, and his hands stayed out to his sides for a few seconds, as if it had been so long since he had kissed someone or been kissed that he couldn’t quite remember what to do with them.
Then his arms folded around her, and they merged, for a moment, into a single unit.
Carlos walked past them, back into the mansion, whistling tunelessly. Patience blew out a happy, relieved breath. “Well. That was a long time coming.”
“Really?” Brandt asked, looking honestly shocked at the turn of events. “Where have I been?”
When she glared at him, he held up both hands. “Don’t answer that.”
“Men,” she muttered, but she was grinning faintly, and her smile broadened as Hannah and Jox separated, both looking more than a little awestruck.
Then it was time for more good-byes; Patience climbed halfway into the Jeep to kiss and hug each of the boys again, and then hugged Jox, and then Hannah. As they parted, Hannah said, “Keep that card close to your heart, sweetling.”
Patience nodded. “I will. I promise.”
Brandt finished with the boys, kissed Hannah’s cheek, and did the manly handshake-backslap thing with Jox. “I owe you one,” Brandt said with a pointed look at the backseat.
Jox nodded. “I’ll collect in a couple of years, gods willing. I’m toying with the idea of rebuilding the garden shop that Rabbit torched; I never got around to putting the property up for sale right after the fire, and then the market tanked. So I still own it.” One corner of his mouth kicked up. “If I decide to rebuild, I’ll be looking for a good architect.”
“You’ve got one,” Brandt said firmly, then echoed, “Gods willing.” He waved them into the Jeep, and then joined Patience as she moved back toward the covered entryway.
As they crossed the drive, she caught several flashes of movement from various windows as the inhabitants of Skywatch waved to Jox, Hannah, and the boys. It was the single unmoving figure in an upper window of the royal quarters that caught her attention, though.
Strike stood staring down, his body etched with weary resignation. “He looks so sad,” she said softly.
Brandt followed her eyes. “I bet you never thought you’d feel bad about the idea of him being cut off from his winikin.”
“A lot has changed over the past week.”
“You’re telling me.” He went silent as the Jeep fired up.
They turned back, their hands twining together, as the vehicle rolled toward the gate in the perimeter fence surrounding Skywatch. Together, they lifted their free hands in a dual wave. Magic washed over her skin as someone inside the mansion dropped the blood-ward to let the Jeep through the perimeter. The vehicle cleared the main gate; brake lights flashed, and Jox tapped the horn in a cheery beep-beep . . . and then he drove away, following the dirt track that led away from the compound.
“See you in two years,” Patience whispered.
Brandt pressed a kiss to her temple, leaning into her hard enough to let her know that the kiss was as much for him as for her. “We’ll see them in two years.”
Neither of them said “gods willing.” It seemed too much like a lack of faith.
Instead, as they stood together, watching the Jeep dwindle to a dust cloud, he said, “What card was Hannah talking about?”
Patience’s heart lightened, just a touch. “I did a one-card reading, asking about the day after the zero date. I pulled the Kan card, which represents the iguana. It’s the one card in the entire star deck that I’ve never pulled before, ever, even though it should be my bloodline totem. It represents two things.” She paused, smiling softly. “The first one is hope.”
“I like that one.” He gave her a one-armed squeeze. “What’s the second?”
“Fertility.” Aware of the shiver that ran through his big frame, she grinned. “I was thinking . . .
Woodrow is a good name.”
“Yeah.” His voice went rough. “Yeah. It is.”
They stood like that a moment longer, even though the dust cloud was gone. Then, in unspoken consent, they turned and headed back into the mansion. Arm in arm. Together.
GLOSSARY
Below are some Nightkeeper terms and their meanings. Pronunciation-wise, most of these words sound the way they’re spelled, with two tricks: First, the letter “x” takes the “sh” sound. Second, the letter “i” should be read as the “ee” sound. Thus, for example, “Xibalba” becomes “Shee-bal-buh.” For more information on the Nightkeepers’ world, excerpts, deleted scenes, and more, please visit www.JessicaAndersen.com.
Entities Banol Kax—The lords of the underworld, Xibalba. Driven from the earth by the many-times-great-
ancestors of the modern Nightkeepers, the Banol Kax seek to return and subjugate mankind on the foretold day: December 21, 2012.
Kinich Ahau—The sun god of the ancient Maya. Each night at sunset, Kinich Ahau enters Xibalba.
With the aid of two huge black dogs called companions, the god must fight through the underworld to reach the dawn horizon each morning, beginning a new day. makol (ajaw-makol)—These demon souls are capable of reaching through the barrier to possess evil-
natured human hosts. Recognized by their luminous green eyes, a makol-bound human retains his own thoughts and actions in direct proportion to the amount of evil in his soul. An ajaw-makol, which is a ruling makol created through direct spell casting, can create lesser makol through blood sacrifice. nahwal—Humanoid spirit entities that exist in the barrier and hold within them all of the accumulated wisdom of each Nightkeeper bloodline. They can be asked for information, but cannot always be trusted.
Nightkeeper—A member of an ancient race sworn to protect mankind from annihilation in the years leading up to December 21, 2012, when the barrier separating the earth and underworld will fall and the Banol Kax will seek to precipitate the apocalypse.
Order of Xibalba—Formed by renegade Nightkeepers around 600 A.D., the order was believed to have been destroyed. However, the order survives, and is now led by a powerful mage named Iago. winikin—Descended from the conquered Sumerian warriors who served the Nightkeepers back in ancient Egypt, the winikin are blood-bound to act as the servants, protectors, and counselors of the magi.
Places El Rey—A small Mayan ruin located in the middle of the Cancún hotel district. Although not considered a “major” ruin by most Mayanists, it has deeply buried secrets.