Morrigan's Cross
Page 81
“Bragging. That would be talking, wouldn’t it?” Larkin crouched into a fighting stance.
“It would be, in this case, stating the obvious.” He picked up the blunted stake, tossed it to Moira. “What you want to do here is anticipate each other’s moves, as well as mine. Then... So you decided to join the party.”
“I’ve been working on something. Making progress.” Glenna touched the hilt of the dagger she’d strapped to her waist. “I needed to step away from it awhile. What’s the drill here?”
“We’re going to kick Cian’s arse,” Larkin told her.
“Oh. I’ll play. Weapons?”
“Your choice.” Cian nodded toward the dagger. “You seem to have yours.”
“No, not for this.” She moved over, selected another blunted stake. “Rules?”
In answer, Cian shot over, flipped Larkin and sent him tumbling to a pad. “Win. That’s the only rule.”
When Hoyt moved on him, Cian took the blow, let the momentum of it carry him into the air. He kicked off the wall, revolved, and used his body to knock Hoyt into Moira. And took them both down.
“Anticipate,” he repeated, and kicked back almost idly to send Larkin into the air.
Glenna grabbed a cross, held it out as she stepped forward.
“Ah, smart.” His eyes went red, just at the rims. Outside the doors, thunder began to grumble. “Shield and weapon, put the enemy in retreat. Except... ” He lashed out, forearm to forearm and knocked the cross away. But when he spun to dispatch the stake, Glenna dived, going under him.
“Now this one’s clever.” Cian nodded approval, and for a moment, his face was illuminated by a ripple of lightning against the glass. “She uses her head, her instincts—at least when the stakes—haha—are low.”
They circled him now, which he considered a small improvement in their strategy. Not quite a team, not yet an oiled machine, but an improvement.
As they closed in, he could see the need to pounce in Larkin’s eyes.
Cian chose what he considered the weakest link, pivoted, and using one hand simply lifted Moira off her feet. When he tossed her, Larkin instinctively shifted to catch her. All Cian needed to do was sweep out a leg, take Larkin off his feet, and both of them went down in a tangle of limbs.
He spun to block his brother, gripped Hoyt’s shirt. The solid head butt had Hoyt stumbling back, giving Cian the instant he needed to wrench the stake from Glenna.
He had her back against him, his arm hooked tight around her neck.
“What now?” he asked the rest of them. “I’ve got your girl here. Do you back off, leave her to me? Do you come in, risk me snapping her in half? It’s a problem.”
“Or do they let me take care of myself?” Glenna gripped the chain around her neck, swung the cross back toward Cian’s face.
He released her, vaulted clear to the ceiling. He clung there a moment, a dangerous fly, then dropped lightly to his feet.
“Not bad. And still, the four of you have yet to put me down. And if I were to—” There was a burst of lightning as his hand shot out, snatched the flying stake an inch from his own heart. The end was honed to a killing point.
“We’d call that cheating,” he said mildly.
“Back away from him.”
They turned to see the woman step through the terrace doors as another flash of lightning ripped the sky behind her. She was slim in a black leather coat that hit her at the knees. Her dark hair was cut short, showcasing a high forehead and enormous eyes of vivid blue.
She dumped the large sack she carried on the floor, and with another stake in one hand, a two-edged knife in the other, she moved farther into the light.
“Who the hell are you?” Larkin demanded.
“Murphy. Blair Murphy. And I’ll be saving your lives tonight. How the hell’d you let one of them in the house?”
“It happens I own it,” Cian told her. “This is my place.”
“Nice. Your heirs should be celebrating really soon. I said keep back from him,” she snapped as both Larkin and Hoyt moved in front of Cian.
“I’d be his heir, as this is my brother.”
“He’s one of us,” Larkin said.
“No. He’s really not.”
“But he is.” Moira held up her hands to show they were empty, and moved slowly toward the intruder. “We can’t let you hurt him.”
“Looked to me like you were doing a piss-poor job of trying to hurt him when I came in.”
“We were training. He’s chosen to help us.”
“A vampire helping humans?” Those big eyes narrowed in interest, and what might have been humor. “Well, there’s always something new.” Slowly Blair lowered the stake.
Cian pushed his shields aside. “What are you doing here? How did you come here?”
“How? Aer Lingus. What? Killing as many of your kind as I can manage. Present company, temporarily, excluded.”
“How do you know about his kind?” Larkin asked her.
“Long story.” She paused to scan the room, eyebrows lifting thoughtfully at the stockpile of weapons. “Nice stash. There’s something about a battle-ax that warms my heart.”
“Morrigan. Morrigan said she’d come with the lightning.” Glenna touched a hand to Hoyt’s arm, then walked to Blair. “Morrigan sent you.”
“She said there’d be five. She didn’t mention any undead in the crew.” After a moment, she sheathed the knife, tucked the stake into her belt. “But that’s a god for you. Just gotta be cryptic. Look, it’s been a long trip.” She picked up her bag, slung the strap over her shoulder. “Got anything to eat around here?”
Chapter 19
“We have a lot of questions.”
Blair nodded at Glenna as she sampled stew. “Bet you do, and right back at you. This is good.” She took another spoonful. “Thanks, and compliments to the chef and all that.”
“You’re welcome. I’m going to start, if that’s okay.” Glenna scanned the faces of the rest of the group. “Where did you come from?”
“Lately? Chicago.”
“The Chicago in the here and now?”
A smile tugged at Blair’s wide mouth. She reached for the hunk of bread Glenna had set out, ripped it in two with nails painted a deep candy pink. “That’s the one. In the heartland, Planet Earth. You?”
“It would be, in this case, stating the obvious.” He picked up the blunted stake, tossed it to Moira. “What you want to do here is anticipate each other’s moves, as well as mine. Then... So you decided to join the party.”
“I’ve been working on something. Making progress.” Glenna touched the hilt of the dagger she’d strapped to her waist. “I needed to step away from it awhile. What’s the drill here?”
“We’re going to kick Cian’s arse,” Larkin told her.
“Oh. I’ll play. Weapons?”
“Your choice.” Cian nodded toward the dagger. “You seem to have yours.”
“No, not for this.” She moved over, selected another blunted stake. “Rules?”
In answer, Cian shot over, flipped Larkin and sent him tumbling to a pad. “Win. That’s the only rule.”
When Hoyt moved on him, Cian took the blow, let the momentum of it carry him into the air. He kicked off the wall, revolved, and used his body to knock Hoyt into Moira. And took them both down.
“Anticipate,” he repeated, and kicked back almost idly to send Larkin into the air.
Glenna grabbed a cross, held it out as she stepped forward.
“Ah, smart.” His eyes went red, just at the rims. Outside the doors, thunder began to grumble. “Shield and weapon, put the enemy in retreat. Except... ” He lashed out, forearm to forearm and knocked the cross away. But when he spun to dispatch the stake, Glenna dived, going under him.
“Now this one’s clever.” Cian nodded approval, and for a moment, his face was illuminated by a ripple of lightning against the glass. “She uses her head, her instincts—at least when the stakes—haha—are low.”
They circled him now, which he considered a small improvement in their strategy. Not quite a team, not yet an oiled machine, but an improvement.
As they closed in, he could see the need to pounce in Larkin’s eyes.
Cian chose what he considered the weakest link, pivoted, and using one hand simply lifted Moira off her feet. When he tossed her, Larkin instinctively shifted to catch her. All Cian needed to do was sweep out a leg, take Larkin off his feet, and both of them went down in a tangle of limbs.
He spun to block his brother, gripped Hoyt’s shirt. The solid head butt had Hoyt stumbling back, giving Cian the instant he needed to wrench the stake from Glenna.
He had her back against him, his arm hooked tight around her neck.
“What now?” he asked the rest of them. “I’ve got your girl here. Do you back off, leave her to me? Do you come in, risk me snapping her in half? It’s a problem.”
“Or do they let me take care of myself?” Glenna gripped the chain around her neck, swung the cross back toward Cian’s face.
He released her, vaulted clear to the ceiling. He clung there a moment, a dangerous fly, then dropped lightly to his feet.
“Not bad. And still, the four of you have yet to put me down. And if I were to—” There was a burst of lightning as his hand shot out, snatched the flying stake an inch from his own heart. The end was honed to a killing point.
“We’d call that cheating,” he said mildly.
“Back away from him.”
They turned to see the woman step through the terrace doors as another flash of lightning ripped the sky behind her. She was slim in a black leather coat that hit her at the knees. Her dark hair was cut short, showcasing a high forehead and enormous eyes of vivid blue.
She dumped the large sack she carried on the floor, and with another stake in one hand, a two-edged knife in the other, she moved farther into the light.
“Who the hell are you?” Larkin demanded.
“Murphy. Blair Murphy. And I’ll be saving your lives tonight. How the hell’d you let one of them in the house?”
“It happens I own it,” Cian told her. “This is my place.”
“Nice. Your heirs should be celebrating really soon. I said keep back from him,” she snapped as both Larkin and Hoyt moved in front of Cian.
“I’d be his heir, as this is my brother.”
“He’s one of us,” Larkin said.
“No. He’s really not.”
“But he is.” Moira held up her hands to show they were empty, and moved slowly toward the intruder. “We can’t let you hurt him.”
“Looked to me like you were doing a piss-poor job of trying to hurt him when I came in.”
“We were training. He’s chosen to help us.”
“A vampire helping humans?” Those big eyes narrowed in interest, and what might have been humor. “Well, there’s always something new.” Slowly Blair lowered the stake.
Cian pushed his shields aside. “What are you doing here? How did you come here?”
“How? Aer Lingus. What? Killing as many of your kind as I can manage. Present company, temporarily, excluded.”
“How do you know about his kind?” Larkin asked her.
“Long story.” She paused to scan the room, eyebrows lifting thoughtfully at the stockpile of weapons. “Nice stash. There’s something about a battle-ax that warms my heart.”
“Morrigan. Morrigan said she’d come with the lightning.” Glenna touched a hand to Hoyt’s arm, then walked to Blair. “Morrigan sent you.”
“She said there’d be five. She didn’t mention any undead in the crew.” After a moment, she sheathed the knife, tucked the stake into her belt. “But that’s a god for you. Just gotta be cryptic. Look, it’s been a long trip.” She picked up her bag, slung the strap over her shoulder. “Got anything to eat around here?”
Chapter 19
“We have a lot of questions.”
Blair nodded at Glenna as she sampled stew. “Bet you do, and right back at you. This is good.” She took another spoonful. “Thanks, and compliments to the chef and all that.”
“You’re welcome. I’m going to start, if that’s okay.” Glenna scanned the faces of the rest of the group. “Where did you come from?”
“Lately? Chicago.”
“The Chicago in the here and now?”
A smile tugged at Blair’s wide mouth. She reached for the hunk of bread Glenna had set out, ripped it in two with nails painted a deep candy pink. “That’s the one. In the heartland, Planet Earth. You?”
