Steal the Moon Read online

  He’d taken several bullets, but two of Halfer’s men were down. They wouldn’t be getting back up again. Zack was at his master’s side. He didn’t have trouble with the daylight. He was at full power and on vampire blood.

  I stopped at the edge of the valley before it ran into the field where Dev and I had been married. I flipped the safety off my gun and peered from behind a tree. Halfer shot Daniel again and he fell backward. I had to stifle a scream and force myself not to run for him. I had no doubt those were silver rounds. Halfer would use nothing less, but running in a panic wouldn’t help Danny.

  Zack attacked, going for Halfer’s legs. Halfer screamed and used the butt of his rifle to hit the wolf squarely in the head. Now was the time to act. I took careful aim and squeezed the trigger, hitting Halfer in the back before he could shoot Daniel again.

  It wasn’t enough. Halfer’s body tensed, but he didn’t go down. Halfer turned, looking for me. He yelled something at the last of his men and the henchman started searching the ground. I had no doubt we were looking for the same thing.

  Halfer fired in my direction and I quickly shielded my back with a tree. I was about to try to move when the air was filled with pixies. They landed on me and I could tell from their fluttering wings that they were concerned. I remembered what Dev had told me about these tiny members of Faery. They were small but tough. They didn’t back off from a fight.

  But what the hell could my army of butterflies do against an ex-demon and a bunch of AR-15s?

  Though I didn’t actually need them to fight.

  I held out my hand, hoping whoever was their leader would understand. A sapphire and amethyst pixie quickly landed in my palm. He, I thought of him as a he but I could be wrong, bowed and seemed to wait for me to speak.

  “Do you know what a paw is?” I asked, cutting directly to the chase because I had no idea how much time I had. Declan could discover Sarah was working against him any minute. Halfer could come looking for me or his henchman could find the artifact.

  The little pixie nodded his head vigorously.

  “I need you to find a gray paw for me. It was being held by that man with the dark hair. The prince shot it out of his hand from the cave. It probably has an arrow in it.” I gave them all the information I had. “Please find it. It’s so important. I would be in your debt.”

  The pixie bowed again and then the whole group took off. I watched as they spread out but no one paid any attention to them. I looked from behind my safe little perch and what I saw made my heart stop.

  Daniel was on the ground, blood pouring from his chest, and Halfer aimed at him ready to pump more silver into his body. Zack had been hit, too, but he stood over his master’s body, faithful to the end. If we got out of this, I was going to be nicer to Zack. I was going to carry around some treats in my pocket for when he did well.

  I took a deep breath and did the only thing I could do. I did something crazy.

  I walked from behind my nice, safe tree and strode toward the big-ass, high-powered demon with the rifle. I held the SIG with both hands and fired straight into that asshole’s body. I didn’t let up. I didn’t waver. I kept on course, ignoring everything else. When I felt my left arm burn as a bullet passed through it, I simply switched to a one-handed hold. It was harder, but nothing was harder than giving up Daniel for dead.

  I hit Halfer over and over because I might not be a fixture at the gym, but I did go to the shooting range.

  Lucas Halfer’s body bucked with the force of the bullets hitting him. His head turned my way and I saw the hate there. He forgot about the vampire on the ground and focused every ounce of his fading will on me. He raised the rifle and even as his chest became a mottled mess, he pointed that gun straight at me.

  Unfortunately, he also forgot about Zack, who took the opportunity to leap onto his back and throw off his aim. Halfer’s bullet went astray. Daniel got to his feet, struggling and fighting for every step.

  I had enough time now to turn and catch the jerk who had shot me. He was taking aim again, but obviously he hadn’t had as much practice as I had. His eyes were a little wild and it looked like this was his first rodeo. It wasn’t mine. He was panicking, and calm in these situations always wins the day. I didn’t hesitate. I aimed at his head and pulled the trigger. Before I could see the neat hole in his forehead start to bleed, I was back to my main target.

  Halfer hit Zack again and gained his feet. He looked down, shot Zack, and swung around to fire at me. I squeezed again, completely unwilling to give up my position just because the bastard was about to kill me, not when I was so close to getting him on the ground where Zack could finish him off. Even as we exchanged fire, that wolf was getting off the grass, preparing to take another hunk out of Halfer.

  I fired again and Halfer moved, throwing off my aim. He went down on one knee and aimed for my chest. Just as he was about to fire, I tripped and the blasted bullet missed, grazing my shoulder when it should have hit my heart.

  I glanced down and saw the vine that had tripped me up. It waved at me, and I turned to see Dev, bloody and battered but using his good hand to call all things green to our aid. He was limping but he’d made it to us.

  “Stay down,” he shouted as he lifted his hand and the earth began to rumble.

  I rolled out of his line of fire as the grass grew around Halfer’s feet and caught him in an embrace. He struggled against the tight binding, but it was useless.

  Daniel staggered up behind him. He shared a look with Dev across the field. Dev nodded and then Daniel’s hand became a wicked claw. He held Halfer’s head up by the hair and the former demon’s howl drew the eyes of everyone. Even Sarah’s concentration slipped and the Fae started to run across the field again.

  Halfer screamed his rage. Even as Daniel drew his hand back to deliver the final blow, Lucas Halfer, Brixalnax, the ancient lord of Hell, sought my eyes. I met them and I knew in that moment that if he could reach past death, if he could open that doorway, he would come for me.

  He would never stop.

  Daniel drew his claws across Lucas Halfer’s throat and it split. At first it was a simple, neat line, but then it gushed with life. His long life, his blood, his soul, spilled across the field.

  The green bindings that held him vanished back into the ground and my greatest enemy fell, never to rise again.

  I forced myself to my feet. The guards were almost on me, and Declan followed close behind. I moved toward Daniel, who was stumbling, making his way to me.

  I met him in the middle and took his shaking body into my arms. I knew what he needed and pulled his head toward my neck. His eyes were filled will love and gratitude as his fangs sought my vein. This was one of those times when I usually dealt with his beast, but that beast was quiet now because Daniel knew I would help. Daniel knew we could handle this.

  We sank to the ground and I held his head in place as he fed.

  Suddenly Dev was at my back. As I fed Daniel, he rested his head against my shoulder on the opposite side from Danny. The three of us were together and connected again. I let my hand pull Daniel close as the other drifted behind me to cup Dev’s face. Daniel’s hand reached around me to rest on Dev’s good arm, letting him know how happy he was we were all alive. I breathed in the sweetness of the moment.

  “Let her go, vampire,” the one called Geary commanded, breaking up my happy moment. The asshole.

  “Stand down.” Dev shifted away from us, looking to the guard, his voice firm even as his body showed his weariness.

  “Those are not my orders, Your Grace.” Geary was backed up by the rest of the guard. They surrounded us and all brandished weapons covered in silver. The last thing Danny needed was a silver arrow. “I am to take your wife into custody. I am to deliver her to the prince. I will say it again. Let her go, vampire.” He notched his arrow and aimed it at Daniel’s back. “Let her go or we will kill you.”

  “Daniel,” Dev said cautiously. “I believe they are serious. Please let Zoey
go. If you need more blood, I will be more than happy to provide it.”

  Daniel took one last drag from my neck and released the vein. He didn’t release me. He struggled to his feet, though his strength was coming back now. He helped me up and pushed me behind him, keeping me between him and Dev. We were surrounded by the guards, each brandishing a weapon that could take my vampire’s life in his weakened condition.

  “Dev, why is your brother’s guard trying to take our wife from us?” His question was hard and made no attempt to hide the fact that he would fight. Broken, bruised, and bloody, he wouldn’t let them take me.

  “I do not know,” Dev admitted. He was somewhere between shocked and enraged. “But I will find out.”

  Declan finally made it across the field with Padric hard behind him. “Stand down!”

  I let out a sigh of relief as they lowered their weapons.

  I waited to see just which way the prince was going to play this. He finally relaxed. “It is obvious the threat has passed. You may go.”

  Like the well-trained boys they were, the guard disappeared one by one to wait for the prince to call upon them again.

  Declan looked at his brother. His green eyes were deceptively innocent as he regarded us. “I was merely protecting your goddess, brother. That is what you requested. Was I wrong?”

  He was manipulating events, but I wasn’t about to point that out now. We needed to tend to our wounded and find that paw.

  Dev gave his brother a tired smile. “Of course I wanted her safe. You were only doing what you thought best. You do not know her as I do. She’s capable. And she needs no rescue from Daniel.”

  “The guard did not understand your ménage,” Declan lied smoothly. “They only knew a vampire was biting your goddess. I will, of course, bring them up to date.”

  “Zoey,” Neil said as he and Felix helped Lee across the field.

  Zack changed and immediately went to his brother’s aid. Despite the fact that Zack had been hit several times, his human body was back to perfect.

  Neil pointed behind me. “Look.”

  I turned and saw a cluster of brightly colored wings fluttering over the ground. They flew around and I could see they were trying their best to lift something out of the earth. Smart little pixies. They had achieved the goal I set.

  “Neil,” I yelled as I took off toward them. “Come with me.”

  Neil was at my back by the time I made it to the pixies. There in the ground a hundred yards from where Lucas Halfer had stood and wielded it against us, lay the Strong Arm of Remus, bisected by Declan’s silver arrow. It had buried itself in the ground but came out easily when I pulled it.

  “Thank you,” I said to the pixies. “You did a wonderful job. I couldn’t have asked for more.” I held the paw in my hand, the arrow springing from either side, and I could feel the magic pulsing through it. Even now, it sought a master. It wanted someone to wield it.

  I turned around and found an army of wolves staring at me. They had come from the field and now sat silently, waiting for my orders. It was a massive army of teeth and claws. This pack could ravage the world and all it needed was a single command. The artifact in my hand whispered seductively.

  They are yours. All those wolves are yours to command.

  “Zoey,” Dev said quietly as he walked forward. His emerald eyes were on the paw, and I realized it was talking to him, too. It spoke directly to the ambition in my husband. It told him all his plans could come to fruition if I gave up that one little paw. “That’s important. It could turn the tide of this war. Give it to Daniel, please. It belongs to Daniel.”

  I looked to Danny, who stood under the shade of a tree and was already looking battle-ready again. He glanced down at the corpse of his former enemy, and his face was lit with triumph. He strangely didn’t look at the artifact in my hands, but rather directly at me. His voice was oddly casual for so important a moment. “It would be helpful, Z. No one would threaten us ever again if we had this army at our backs.”

  “That belongs to me,” McKenzie yelled as he crossed quickly toward where I stood. Everything that was alpha in him wanted that paw. I lifted the gun with one hand and he stopped. “I am the alpha. It should go to me. They’re my wolves, and I’ll decide their fate.”

  Padric and Declan restrained the alpha. Declan had a silver knife at his throat. He struggled, but the threat kept him from breaking free.

  “Danny,” I started because I needed a little guidance and Daniel seemed like the only one not under the artifact’s sway. It was playing to my wants and needs, too. Now it was trying a different tactic with me. It whispered that I could keep the wolves safe. If I kept the paw, I could take care of them all. I needed someone to pull me out. “Would you use it?”

  His blue eyes caught mine and he smiled. “You know I would, Z. I would use it and I can’t promise you I would always use it for good. I’ll take it if you give it to me. If you don’t then we’ll find another way. This is your call, baby. Follow your heart. Do what Dev and I can’t do.”

  Dev’s face fell but he walked over to join Daniel. “It’s all right, Zoey. Do what you think is best.”

  This little object in my hand could save us so much trouble down the line. We needed the wolves and here they were, in my grasp and ripe for the taking. If I gave it to Danny, no wolf would ever deny he was their king. Daniel’s crown would be set and taking the Council down would be a silly little afterthought.

  And all these wolves would be mindless slaves. I looked across the crowd and saw Lee watching me silently. He was sick standing so close to it but his eyes implored me. Do the right thing.

  What did power or even safety mean if we lost sight of everything we fought for?

  The voice still whispered to me, but I consigned it to the background, unwilling to listen any longer. I found a small fire that was still burning in front of one of the tents. Neil and I walked over to it and he picked up a can of lighter fluid. He grinned at me as I tossed that ancient artifact on the fire. He poured the propellant on it and I swear the thing howled as it was consumed.

  The wolves came completely out of their daze now. Some changed and walked around, finding loved ones. Some ran, trying to make sense of what had happened to them. A small group circled Halfer’s corpse. The largest of the wolves grabbed the corpse’s leg and pulled it into the woods. I could hear the wolves howl as they took apart the man who had made them slaves.

  I ran to my husbands. I threw myself into Danny’s arms and they closed around me.

  “You did the right thing, Z,” he whispered.

  “Right is not always expedient,” Dev pointed out but kissed me anyway. He frowned at Daniel. “You’re going to have to dig this bullet out of my arm. The skin has healed around it and my poor faery body doesn’t spit out foreign objects the way yours does.”

  Daniel laughed and there was a little revenge in his eyes. “Well, now, I seem to remember an incident with some arrows a couple of weeks back. What did you say? Oh, yes, you told me to stop my whining as you carved them from my body. I would be delighted to help you with your current problem.”

  “I will do more than whine,” Dev promised. He would. He hated pain. He would whine and pout and beg me to distract him. He would probably have some creative ways for me to take his mind off the agony. I remembered something from earlier and turned to Daniel about my snoring. It had gotten lost in all the blood and fighting, but it was something we needed to clear up.

  “Water buffalo?” I asked, every bit of offended femininity in my accusation.

  Daniel glared at Dev. “You bastard. You told.”

  Dev shrugged. “That’s for ruining my wedding.”

  John McKenzie made his way toward us and I braced myself, waiting for his vitriol. He’d wanted that power, too. He stared at me for a moment as he held a woman in his arms. His mate, I guessed. She was shivering and wearing only her husband’s shirt.

  “You destroyed it,” he said, disbelief in his voice.
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  “Yes.” Had he believed I would keep it?

  McKenzie’s brown eyes searched mine. “Why? You would have had everything you wanted. These wolves would have done your bidding without question, without a fight. Why would you throw it all away?”

  “I don’t want to win that way. We can’t win that way,” I explained as I amended my statement, bringing my husbands in. “It wouldn’t be a win at all, John. It would just be exchanging one bad guy for another. We’re not the Council. Daniel won’t grind you under his boot. When he says he wants a fair system, he means it. No one should have that much power. Not you, not Daniel, and certainly not me.”

  Lee pushed past McKenzie, his focus on one thing. He moved to me and when I thought he was going to hug me or something, he fell to his knees. I leaned down, worried he was still sick, but his eyes were on Daniel now.

  “I told you when I found someone I believed in, I would make my oath,” Lee stated, his voice strong. His face was passionate and I knew he was filled with emotion and ready to pledge himself to the cause. I was going to miss having him to myself. “I’m ready now.”

  I looked at Daniel, prepared for him to start the small ritual that would make Lee his servant. He stared back.

  “He isn’t talking about me, Z.” Danny stepped forward and popped out his claws. He held my arm in his hand gently. “It’ll only hurt for a second.”

  I shook my head, not quite understanding. “My blood doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  “It does to him,” Daniel said quietly.

  “I will follow you, Your Highness. I will be your faithful guard,” Lee promised. “Your fight is my fight. Your fate is my fate. And your blood is my bond.”

  I nodded, not quite able to stop my eyes from welling with tears. Daniel drew his claw across my arm, drawing a thin line of blood. Lee took my arm in his hands and lowered his head to take the blood that was only a formality. It wouldn’t hold him to me. His own strong heart and loyalty would do that. Just before his mouth fastened on the small cut, his eyes stared up at me and my Lee was back.