“While I agree with you all,” Faelan said, “if Michael assigned Malek to Shay, then it’s for a reason.”
“What if it was Bree?” Cody asked. “Would you sit back and say ‘Michael knows best’ then? You told me when Bree was locked in a time vault, you considered having yourself locked in one so you could wake up when Bree did, and then you used your talisman to free her.”
Faelan blew out a hard sigh. “I don’t know what I’d do.”
Sean pursed his lips. “It’s a dilemma. Sometimes these things don’t make sense on the surface.”
“There’s only one thing to do,” Cody said. “I’ll kill him.”
“You can’t,” Duncan said. “You’ll die too.”
“What choice do I have? I won’t let Shay go up against him.” How could the archangel expect Shay to do it?
“Even if you somehow manage to kill Malek, you’ll die. Where does that leave Shay?” Sorcha asked.
“You can’t do it, Bro,” Lach added.
“I’ll do it,” Marcas said, quietly.
“No,” Cody said. “It has to be me.”
“No one’s killing him today,” Sean said. “Let’s think it through.”
“Excuse me,” Coira said from the doorway. Her face was flushed as if she’d been running. “Ronan just called. He’s tracked a bunch of vampires to Beauly Priory, and they have the Book of Battles.”
***
Someone knocked on Shay’s door, interrupting her turmoil. The whole castle was in an uproar over her dream. She opened the door. Cody stood there, hands in his pockets.
“How’d your meeting go?” she asked, her voice grating. She hadn’t been invited.
“I’m sorry, Shay, but I needed to discuss some things with the warriors in private.”
“Warriors? Michael seems to think I’m one. Stop protecting me, Cody. I’m a big girl, big enough to be assigned a demon of old.” The words swelled in her throat, choking her. Seeing the way he paled didn’t help, but she quickly got her emotions under control. “You’ve tried to protect me all my life. It’s time to let me go.”
“Let you go?”
“Let me live.”
He pulled her close. “If you go up against Malek alone, you might not live. I can’t lose you. I lost you once before, and I won’t do it again. Do you hear me? I won’t lose you again.” His face was inches from hers, the flecks of gold in his eyes nearly covering the hazel. His mouth was tight, with frustration, not anger; she had known him long enough to know the difference.
She touched his face, soothed the bunched muscle beside his full mouth, and stroked his jaw line, feeling the new growth of beard. “If you try to do what I think you’re planning, I’ll lose you.”
Some emotion worked behind his eyes. “We haven’t made any decisions yet. We’ll come up with something.”
“We? You’re still doing it. I’m the one assigned to destroy Malek, but you’re trying to solve the problem without me.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “You don’t know how to destroy him.” His chest rose and fell in a hard sigh. “Let’s not argue about it. I wanted to see you before I go.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Ronan tracked the vampires to Beauly Priory. He thinks they have our book with them. He’s waiting for us there.”
“Do you have to go? Who’s guarding the castle?”
“I have to help. Only a few of us are going. Most will stay here, and the warriors from Ireland have arrived to help. Still, I don’t want you to leave the castle. I’d prefer if you didn’t leave this room.” His eyes showed worry.
She smoothed down his hair and ran her hands over his neck and shoulders, feeling the solid strength of muscle and bone. He was a warrior, but he was also human; he could bleed. And he could die. Her hand moved down his arm, and his hand turned over, linking with hers. Cody lowered his head.
“Promise me you’ll be careful,” he said, his breath a whisper against her mouth.
She buried her face in his neck, the side that had the mate mark, her mark, feeling his pulse beating there. “You’re the one going after vampires.” He held her tight. Too tight. “What’s wrong?”
He leaned back, studying her face as if trying to memorize it. He kissed her, tender at first, then desperate.
Faelan appeared in the hallway behind Cody. “Ready?”
Cody pressed his lips to her hair for a long moment. “I have to go. I love you. I’ve loved you forever. Always know that.” With a look that made her knees weak, he turned and strode away.
***
The warriors parked behind Beauly Priory, near the river, where they had less chance of being seen. The priory had been built in the thirteenth century by monks. There wasn’t much left of it, other than a few walls and the north transept, which had been restored and used as a mausoleum for the Mackenzies. If the vampire legends were accurate, and the vampires needed to avoid daylight, that was where they would be, since the roof of the priory had long since been gone. It was almost dusk; they wouldn’t sleep much longer. Only ten warriors were here. They agreed not to pull more from guarding the castle. It should be enough to catch the vampires off guard and get the book. The warriors entered the priory grounds, moving stealthily, weapons hidden. So far, they hadn’t met any other visitors.
Cody slipped the dagger from his boot. Marcas and Lach were at his back, which gave some comfort, as did the others, whom he considered brothers.
“P-s-s-s-t.” Ronan stood behind one of the old walls motioning to them. “They’re in the mausoleum,” he said, when they reached him.
“How many?” Lach asked.
“Nine, maybe more. They must be using the mausoleum to rest during the day. They’re stronger at night. I don’t know why they’re staying so close to the castle, but it can’t be good.”
“Well, we’d better hurry before they wake up,” Brodie said, looking at the lengthening shadows. “We’re losing daylight.”
“You sure they’re vampires?” Shane asked.
Ronan nodded. “I saw that blond vampire. Nobody touches him. He’s mine.”
Duncan pulled out his dagger, which made a soft ring when he extended it into a sword. “Guess we take their heads, like we did in Druan’s castle.”
“Works every time,” Sorcha said, pulling her dagger from her boot.
“If the legends are right and they’re sleeping, we can grab the book and lop off their heads before they wake,” Niall said.
“Keep one,” Cody said. “We need to find out why they still want Shay.” Just speaking her name made him ache all the way to his bones.
“I’ll keep the blond,” Ronan said. “He should have more knowledge. Quiet now. We don’t know how sharp their hearing is, and we don’t want the neighbors getting nosy.”
“No battle cries, Brodie,” Sorcha said.
“One friggin’ mistake,” Brodie said.
“But outside the Sistine Chapel?” Sorcha said. “I thought that tourist would have a heart attack when you stabbed that old woman.”
“She wasn’t an old woman any more than I am.”
“Shut up, you two,” Ronan said. “Keep to the walls and stay out of sight. We don’t want an audience. Let’s go.” Ronan and Cody reached the door to the mausoleum first. Ronan put his ear to the door and shook his head, to show that he heard no sound. The warriors lined up, swords ready, and Ronan eased the door open. “Damn!”
A hiss came from inside. Ronan rushed in with Cody right behind him. Several vampires had been lounging on the floor and the crypts, not a one of them asleep. They leapt up and rushed toward the door.
Ronan took the head of the one closest, and the vampire fell to dust. Another rushed at him, slamming him against a wall. Cody picked off two trying to get out the door, clearing the path for the others to move inside. A short vampire leapt at him, teeth dangerously close to his neck. Niall batted the thing down, and Cody drove his sword through its heart. “Thanks.”