Steal the Sun (45 page)

There’s a reason most people who choose to hike through the forest wear pants. Pants are helpful when tromping through the brush. When one wears pants, even lightweight pants, one’s legs tend to not get cut up and scraped by the aforementioned brush. Shoes are helpful as well. Shoes mean your feet don’t get cut up when your hungry vampire gets driven to distraction by the blood welling up on your legs from not wearing pants. When your now surly vampire has to get downwind of you so he no longer smells those little tiny cuts and scrapes, you’re left to walk along the forest floor without shoes.

I’m pretty sure Eve ate the apple so she could get a pair of boots.

“Are you okay, Z?” My surly vampire tossed back over his shoulder as he forced us through the forest at a brutal pace.

“I’m fine,” I assured him from the back of the pack.

Neil was just a little ahead of me, walking along with the red-eyed hell hounds. Arawn and Nim kept pace with Daniel so they could guide him to the house we were attempting to get to. Arawn kept praising Daniel for his strength and his ability to function on little blood. No one mentioned the fact that my tummy was growling, too. I’d gone just as long without food as the vamp, but no one complimented my stamina. It might have had something to do with the unholy amount of whining I’d been doing, but it was true.

“We are almost there, Your Grace,” Arawn announced and my hopes for a ham sandwich went up.

“That’s great,” I said with a happy smile.

“Just another hour or so.” Arawn proved he had no idea what the word “almost” meant.

I growled, causing Neil to giggle a little.

“Do you need a lift, Z?” he asked, offering me a piggyback ride.

“No.” Though I had new scrapes opening regularly, I would heal quickly. Daniel’s blood would see to it. I wanted Neil ready to jump into action if he had to. I didn’t want him to worry about me.

As we passed through a particularly thick part of the forest, I found another problem with my wardrobe. When a pissed-off ascended god plucks you from the forest floor and hauls your body up to his weird tree house, you don’t want to be going commando.

I was happy the sleeves to Arawn’s shirt were well made because one minute I was trudging along, grousing in my head about how much I hated nature, and the next I was hauled up by the neck of the shirt. Before I could scream, a hand covered my mouth and I felt cold iron at my neck.

“Keep quiet, Your Grace,” the Hunter’s voice demanded in my ear as he pulled me close to his body. He shifted, finding a better balance on the massive tree limb we were standing on. “I don’t have any problem using this on you.” He shoved his free hand into his pocket and dropped something that looked like sand to the ground where I had been. Then his arm wrapped underneath my breasts and he stood on the tree’s wide limb with far more surety than I would have had. “If you scream, I will gut you, do you understand? We can go to my place and settle our differences or I can kill you here. I’ve already been convicted of the crime, so I have no issues making that a reality. If you agree, nod.”

I wasn’t completely sure if I was agreeing to not scream or if I was giving the Hunter permission to horribly murder me. Either way, he was going to do what he wanted. I nodded and his hand left my mouth.

“I didn’t…” I began in a quiet voice.

The knife immediately went back at my throat. “Not a word.”

I nodded again even as I heard Neil call my name. The Hunter held me roughly against his body and began to climb up the tree with a strength that might have matched Daniel’s. He was graceful and agile as he moved through the tree, never once showing that my added weight slowed him down for an instant.

“Where the hell did she go?” Daniel asked, panic tingeing his voice.

“I don’t know.” Neil’s voice was starting to fade the higher we went. “She was right there.”

The Hunter moved silently, his weight making almost no movement as he sprang from branch to branch. I heard my husband and best friend frantically trying to find me but the sound was farther away now. The forest here was lush, with ancient trees that seemed to go on for miles. I was surrounded, my world doused in the blanket of leaves the trees made. I worried that the Hunter might be planning to take me high up in the canopy and then drop me on my head, but after a harrowing couple of minutes, we reached an odd structure.

It was a box in the air. As the Hunter hauled me into his little room in the trees, I saw that it was sparse but comfortable. There was a chair and a pallet and a single oil lamp providing a small amount of light. The only other things in the space were weapons and a canteen. I finally realized this wasn’t a tree house. This was a high hide. The Hunter used it to hunt.

I was tossed on the floor of the structure and the Hunter stood over me. I had to scramble so my hoo-ha wasn’t on full display. The man hadn’t liked to see my limbs. I didn’t want to find out what he thought of girls who didn’t wear panties.

“Whatever you are thinking I did, Hunter, think again.” I got to my knees because I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me.

He pushed me down again and I got my first real glimpse at the knife he had held to my throat. It was enormous and wicked sharp. I quickly rethought my stance on being intimidated. “I’ve been kicked from my home for treason, Your Grace. I’ve been told that I will be executed and the Seelie wish to use a spell to not only kill my host but to trap me.”

So they were serious about punishing him. I could bet Dev was behind that one. “I had nothing to do with that.”

“Oh, I disagree,” he returned flatly. “I was convicted of crimes against you.”

“I told Declan and my husband that I didn’t believe you had anything to do with it.”

“I’m sure you protested my innocence mightily.” He bit out his words with a sarcasm I hadn’t thought him capable of. “I’m sure that you cried out my innocence to all who could hear.”

“No,” I said, remembering those terrible days. “I told Dev what I believed and then I went back to bed because I didn’t care. I didn’t care about you, I didn’t care about him. I didn’t give a damn that the world was falling apart around me. I only cared that my child was gone. If that’s my crime then you should punish me for it because I admit to it willingly.”

My admission seemed to deflate a bit of the Hunter’s rage. “I was sorry to hear about your loss.” He was quiet for a moment and then finally went to sit in the chair. “Did you truly tell Devinshea I had nothing to do with this atrocity?”

“I did,” I replied, relaxing a little bit. “I told Declan as well, but he had a confession and that was all he needed. The man who gave me the tea confessed to being your accomplice.”

“It only proves that the Seelie know nothing about us.” Herne made his first appearance of the night and the minute the Hunter gave him the body, I knew the real threat had passed. “We wouldn’t stoop so low as to spike a pregnant woman’s tea with a curse. We would carve the babe from your belly.”

“Yes, that’s much better.”

“You take my meaning,” Herne said impatiently. “The Unseelie are a direct people. We would strike hard and with great violence. We would proclaim our crime. This has Seelie betrayal written all over it. They have put Angus in a terrible position. Now I hear that Arawn is wanted for questioning in your kidnapping.”

“Oh, that was Nim,” I corrected. “She bought me. She wanted a little girl-on-girl action.”

“Really?” Herne asked, his eyes lighting up. “Did she get some?” His eyes rolled and the Hunter looked at me, shaking his head. “Forgive my host. He thinks of only one thing. So the traitor has managed to force Angus’s greatest allies into hiding right before the war. It’s clever. How can I be sure that overindulged idiot Miria calls her heir isn’t behind this?”

It was a reasonable assumption. Declan, as far as the Unseelie knew, hated them and was capable of anything. “I have proof that the Duke of Ain is behind everything and is working with someone named Con.”

“Bastard,” the Hunter growled. “I should have known. Con has been plotting for years to move up in the court. He always speaks ill of Arawn and me to the king. He tried to convince the king that ascended gods couldn’t be trusted, that we would seek to overthrow him someday in order to rule as we did when we were corporeal.”

I nodded. “It’s a good play. I take it Angus hasn’t bitten until now.”

“He has no choice at this point,” the Hunter admitted. “If he wars with Miria, we most likely lose any chance we had at Devinshea performing his duties as our priest. The nobles over here will revolt. If he concedes, we come under Seelie domination and then the nobles revolt. We cannot win.”

“Why didn’t you call a hunt down on me?” If he had truly believed I’d called him a traitor, he could call for the hunt to execute me. It was his right. I was a royal and owed him honesty.

“It’s a good thing I did not. Do you think the Wild Hunt is to be used in this manner? It’s a serious thing. Had I called a hunt down on your head, I would have found it coming after me.”

“Because I didn’t commit the crime you accused me of,” I reasoned.

He nodded. “It’s a great responsibility. It’s not to be taken lightly.”

“Why not just call a hunt down on the duke?” I sat up straight. “I’ll call it. I have the right. I have no fears that the hunt will turn on me.”

He reached out and put a finger to my lips. “Hush, Your Grace. You have the right but this isn’t the time. You must stand in a space with both me and the Duke of Ain and look at him when you make your accusations. You must then request a hunt of me. It would be best, however, if you allow your husband to call the hunt or the queen herself. It is not right or fair, but the Seelie will be forced to accept the sentence of the hunt if it comes from them.”

I didn’t care who said the words as long the Duke of Ain and his daughter met with justice. I nodded my head in agreement. “Will calling a hunt stop the war?”

The Hunter sat back in his chair and took a long swill from his canteen. “It’s important to stop the war before it begins, Zoey. Once the battle is on, I can’t call the hunt until the fighting stops. It’s too confusing. I won’t risk everyone there. We must press on and take this information to the king. Perhaps with you in my custody, he’ll at least take the time to listen.” He leaned the chair back and pointed to the pallet on the floor. “Take the bed. We’ll sleep for an hour or two and then press on to the palace.”

My eyes widened. “I can’t do that. Danny and my wolf are down there waiting for me. So are Arawn and Nim. I need to get back to them and let them know what we’re doing.”

“No. We can move faster on our own. The vampire will slow us down. Don’t worry. They cannot find us here. I left a special powder that will mask our scent. To the werewolf’s senses, your trail will stop cold where I picked you up.”

Maybe that would work on Neil, but it wouldn’t with my husband. “Daniel won’t give up that easily and we share blood. He can sense me without his nose.”

Sure enough, even as I said the words, a clawed hand gained a hold on the floor of the high hide. Daniel pulled himself up with one arm. He crawled into the small room, and I suddenly knew I was dealing with that part of Daniel that was pure vampire. His hair was unruly and his eyes wild as he took in the scene.

I started to get up and go to him when I noticed another person climbing in, following Daniel’s ascent. Arawn pulled himself up and then leaned back to lend Nim a hand.

“How did you find us?” The Hunter got out of his chair. He looked at the hungry vampire, and for the first time I saw he had survival instincts as well as predatory ones. “Now, vampire, I have not harmed your mate.” His hands went behind him to his weapons cache and he felt around for something.

“It’s true, Danny. I’m fine.” Staying calm and even was the way to deal with Daniel when he was in this state. This was when he typically started throwing large objects around.

“He took you from me,” Daniel said in that low growl that let me know he was close to losing control.

“He just wanted to talk.”

“He tried to hide you from me.” He started to slowly move toward his quarry. I moved quickly to place myself between them. “Move, companion. I mean to kill him and you cannot stop me. He took what belongs to me and I won’t abide it.”

“You promised Dev,” I said quickly, hoping to appeal to his friendship with Dev. They were partners. They tried to always keep their promises. “You told Dev you wouldn’t jump the Hunter without him.”

“They were going to jump me?” The Hunter actually took a step back.

“The whole ogre bait thing,” I threw over my shoulder. “You don’t want to disappoint Devinshea. He belongs to you, too. You owe him.”

It was the way it worked for Daniel. Deep in his primitive heart he truly believed we belonged to him. We were his precious blood. We fed him and gave him love and companionship, but it was a two-way street. He owed us. He protected us with everything he had. He was honest and faithful to us.

“He will forgive me,” Daniel decided and his fangs were full as he started to move me out of the way.

Arawn placed a hand on his shoulder and Daniel ceased his movement. He stood still in the death god’s grip. “Your companion may not be able to stop you, vampire, but I can. You’re not thinking properly.”

“Let him go.” I hated the blank look on Daniel’s face. “Don’t do this to him.”

“He was going to kill the Hunter. We need him,” Arawn explained. “The vampire isn’t rational because he chose not to feed. He must correct that mistake or I shall have to deal with him. His stubbornness is jeopardizing all of us.”

“I can get him to feed.” I looked back at the Hunter. “Give me a knife.” He passed me one even as he watched Daniel warily. I looked over as Neil finally made an appearance. “Nice of you to join us.”

“It’s a long way up. Is Daniel all right?” Neil asked, concern stark on his face as he looked at Daniel’s blank eyes.

I shook my head and glared at Arawn. “If you kill him, I won’t help you. I’ll let you burn. Let him go and I’ll get my husband to feed.”

Before Arawn could take his hand off of him, I made a shallow cut across my chest, pulling the shirt open so Daniel wouldn’t be able to miss the sight.