The Hunt: A Custodes Noctis Book (33 page)

“No, Rob, not by choice,” he said, putting his hand on Rob’s chest. A tiny trickle of the healing slid into Rob before Galen stood.

“Whatever you’re doing, you might want to hurry, Galen,” Mike said, pressing his hands against Rob’s shoulder. “I have no idea how to help here.”

“Mike? How are you here?” Rob asked, confused. Rhiannon and his father were there as well.

“Ask your brother,” Mike grumbled.

“Later, Rob,” Galen said as he faced Stephen. “Rob needs a hospital, I can’t save him here.” Galen’s voice was calm and matter-of-fact, that was enough to worry Rob.

“Sorry,” Stephen said with a shrug. “Even if I wanted to fix it, I can’t.”

“What are you talking about, Stephen?” Guy asked.

“The spell I cast to free you and Robert, I can’t reverse it.”

“I thought it didn’t work,” Rob said, blinking slowly, the king was dying.

“It didn’t free them, but it created the groundwork for today,” Stephen said, his voice full of regret.

“What is going to happen today?” Guy looked at Stephen.

“You’ll be free of the Hunt.”

“My brother?” Guy whispered.

“No, he’s gone, I can’t reach him,” Stephen said. “I did try, even with the idiot’s contribution it’s not enough.”

“Me?” Flash said, surprised.

“Yes, you. It still wasn’t enough. I tried.”

“That’s why Flash joined us so quickly,” Galen said softly.

“No, that was all him. Once I realized his loyalty to you, however, I decided to draw on him as well.”

“When this is over I might kill you,” Galen growled.

“I don’t want to leave,” Guy said.

“What?” Stephen frowned at him.

“Not without my brother, Stephen, I would rather stay here and serve beside him, even if he’s never recovered. I am free, thanks to all that has happened, I can stay with the Hunt, remain myself and maybe guide them away from the deep dark.”

“It doesn’t matter, Guy, I can’t reverse it.”

“No! I’m not leaving the Hunt, you have to stop it,” Guy demanded.

“I can’t.” Stephen pushed away from Guy and stood, swaying a little.

“It’s hard to reverse a blood sacrifice,” Galen said grimly.

“Blood? Stephen, what did you do?”

“I promised I would bring you back,” Stephen said, hanging his head. “I kept my promise.”

“Stephen, my friend, I know you gave your word. It’s not your fault we were caught there.”

“But it was, wasn’t it?” Rob asked, suddenly sure of the answer. “Before it died the
feorhbealu
said you had betrayed them.”

“I did, in more ways than one. I’m sorry.” Stephen straightened his shoulders. “I can’t undo the spell, I am sorry for that, too.”

“Why are you sorry?” Flash frowned at him. “They’re going to die, aren’t they?” He waved at Galen and Rob. “I thought you said they would take their places, not die!”

“They will, and they can never leave the Hunt.”

“You slimy…”

“Flash!” Galen called him to order. “We don’t have time for this.”

“I just want to whack him a little, just a tiny bit.” Flash swung the heavy sword he was holding towards Stephen.

“The king, he’s almost gone. Galen…” Rob reached out blindly for his brother, Galen’s hand closed over his.

“He’s dying,” Mike said. “I think. I can’t be sure, because you both look pretty much dead.”

“We need to get him to a hospital long enough to stabilize him,” Galen said. “My healing will be drained. It’s bad enough as is.”

“Galen?” Rob tried to take a breath, it was getting hard to breathe, hard to focus.

“There’s nothing I can do,” Blake insisted.

“I figured as much. Hang on, Rob.” Galen squeezed Rob’s hand. “I have a plan.”

A raven croaked in the distance, his voice softly calling Rob’s name. “I… Galen…”

“Hang on,” Galen pleaded. “Dad? Emrys? I need you.”

“What is it, Galen Emrys?” the First Emrys said, coming up behind Galen. He nodded gravely at Rob.

“I need to draw on your Gifts for this.”

“What are you planning, Galen?” Parry asked.

“I can use the charm and something like Guy’s spell to override what Blake did and get Rob and Flash out of here.”

“You, too, Galen,” Rob said desperately.

“Me too, Brat,” Galen said gently. “We’re
Custodes Noctis.
”

“We are.” Rob smiled. “Keepers, together.” His heart made a skip that had nothing to do with the happy warmth flowing through him from Galen’s words. “You might need to hurry.”

“I know.”

“What do you need from us, Galen?” Bobby asked.

“Just lend me a little of your Gifts. I used up a lot of mine with the spell that broke the worlds.”

“Broke the…?” Rob shook his head, they could talk about it later, time was fast running out. “Galen.”

“It’s time, Rob.” Galen closed his other hand over Rob’s. “Flash? This might give you a headache.”

“Great, first I look like this and now a headache.”

“Shut up,” Galen said affectionately. “Ready?”

“You can’t break the spell,” Stephen insisted.

“Stephen, I don’t want to go,” Guy said.

“I promised you!” Blake said to Guy, then turned to Galen. “I won’t let you break the spell,” Stephen said, his voice low.

“I don’t care,” Galen said dangerously. He closed his eyes and began humming, then singing, ancient words flowing from his mouth as the song built around them. Rob felt a tug, the sky above his head wavered. Soft chiming began sounding in his mind and the king struggled against what Galen was doing. Rob let his eyes close as well, and felt the moment Galen began to pull on the other Keepers’ power, weaving their Gifts together. Fog began to fill Rob’s mind, tearing him away from Galen’s hold, but Galen wouldn’t let him go. He felt Galen’s focus, and tried to add his own feeble power, even though there wasn’t much left. The
feorhbealu
had taken most of it.

The fog moved away, the ground altering under his back as the scent of salt and fir trees began to drift into his awareness. The stench of the bog overlaid everything. The king moaned in agony and denial. There was a momentary pause, Rob was completely disconnected from everything, then slammed into his body, pain burning in his shoulder and along the other wounds he’d received in the battle.

“My god!” Mike’s hands were cold against Rob’s skin.

“Galen!” Flash’s shout made him open his eyes. His brother had dropped to his knees. The riders were gone from them, both Flash and Galen were human again. Flash caught Galen and lowered him to the ground.

“We need to get them to an ER,” Mike said, pressing against Rob’s shoulder. “How bad is Galen?”

“Bloody, I don’t know,” Rhiannon said, kneeling beside Galen.

“Dad?” Galen whispered. “Just a little more.”

“Galen?” Rob said, turning his head towards his brother.

“I’m going to put you out Rob, shock from those wounds will kill you.”

“You’ll be there?”

“Of course I will, Brat.” Galen shifted so he could lay a hand on Rob’s chest, the sound of a heartbeat filled Rob’s mind and then nothing.

It was only an instant later—or so it seemed—when there was bright light against his eyelids and a throb that would be pain except for the heaviness of drugs. He was on something soft, the smell of the bog had been replaced by the medicinal scent of oxygen and there was a steady beeping from behind his head. “Galen?” Rob’s Gift was still missing, and only the tiniest of whispers where his brother’s presence usually was, it was as if Galen were gone.

“He’s here,” Flash answered him quickly. “Wait a sec.” He heard movement and the sound of a door.

“What’s going on?” Rob asked. “Flash?” Rob struggled to get his eyes open, trying to push himself up from the bed at the same time.

“Lay back down!” Galen commanded, his voice sounding a little off. “Now!”

“Hey,” Rob said, relaxing and focusing on just getting his eyes opened.

“Hey, Brat.” Galen put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here, Mike’s being a pain in the ass.”

“Bite me, Galen,” Mike said.

Rob finally managed to win the fight with his eyelids and slid them open. Galen was beside the bed in a wheelchair. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ll be okay, Rob,” Galen said with a gentle smile.

“You don’t look okay.”

“I’m not right now.” He chuckled. “I will be.”

“Why haven’t you healed?”

The smile fell from Galen’s face. “I was actually on my way here when Flash came for me. My Gift only just started coming back, and you’re first.”

 
“I’m dying?” he asked, the look on his brother’s face gave him all the answer he needed.

“Pretty much,” Galen said, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “I tried to borrow the healing from Dad, but he’s drained too.”

“You’ll be okay?”

“Yeah, once you are.”

“I’ll be okay?”

“Yes.” Galen smiled again and put his hands on Rob’s forehead and over his heart. The warmth and light of the healing slid through his body, pushing feeling of the drugs out, cooling the fire in his shoulder and taking the pain away. Galen gently layered the healing in his body, guiding him into a soft, painless sleep.

Galen was caught in that moment between sleep and waking when the bed was perfectly warm and soft, pain hadn’t had a chance to return and the peace from a dream was still with him. He floated in that space for a moment, listening to the sounds of the hospital, the nurses’ quiet conversation and the hiss of the oxygen from the bed beside him. Opening his eyes, he glanced over at his brother. Rob was still asleep, it had been touch and go for awhile, and even after Galen was sure his brother would survive, Rob kept throwing off the healing, calling Galen’s name.

Galen stood and stretched. He’d been sleeping in the chair beside the bed since the night before when he’d finally managed to chase everyone out. Mike and Rhiannon had headed back to Tacoma, Mike to return to work and Rhiannon to watch the Apothecary until Galen and Rob came home. Mike made him promise to be careful, and demanded Flash keep an eye on him. Rhiannon had extracted a similar promise from Flash, but the words “if not, I’ll skin you” had been added to her version. Galen had to admit he was relieved. The Gift had been slow in returning, and he had to choose between focusing on Rob or blocking out the emotions of their friends. By the time Flash had reluctantly returned to the motel, Galen had a headache that throbbed behind his eyes. He’d even broken down and asked for some aspirin, not wanting anything stronger that might dull the healing.

The sun was bright against the curtains and Galen pulled them open, looking at the undeveloped area behind the hospital. Fog still hugged the ground, the gray mists wrapping around the trees’ gnarled, black trunks. He could hear the restless movement of horses, the sound far off, but there nonetheless. It would always be there, in the back of his head, he was sure of that. He hoped Rob would escape that continual pull, but he doubted it. They were part of the Hunt now, even when they weren’t riding through the empty fields and dark places of the Between World. They were brothers to the riders, and Rob was still their king.

Galen had been awakened the night before to a soft keening song—the
each uisge
mourning the passing of their kind, the other Fae joining the song. The sound had swelled through the night air, until even those not connected to the Hunt could hear it. Several nurses left the hospital and security had been on high alert, unable to find the source of the strange noise. Galen hadn’t even tried to explain what it was happening. It was rare when the two worlds crossed paths—the one he knew and accepted and the one most people functioned in—but occasionally they did, and he was torn between trying to explain and letting people stay in the safe bubbles they built that denied anything beyond what they could see. Sometimes it would be easier if the world was like it had been when Guy and Robert had served as Keepers. People had taken things in stride and accepted the presence of the Fae as easily as the existence of their neighbors. Galen sighed. At least the song had stopped at dawn and the hospital returned to their routine, albeit uneasily.

He wondered if it was actually over, if the
feorhbealu
had truly been defeated or if they’d merely been driven far enough over the Veil to cease to be a threat for the time being. The power that he’d drawn on for the spell had drained his Gift to the point that it was still not back full force. Of course, the whole incident left him wondering what
full force
actually entailed. Rob had been telling him for a year that he had power, that he was like the
Custodes Noctis
that had founded the line. Galen knew his brother had Gifts not present in Keepers for centuries, but had been unwilling to accept that as a truth about himself. He was still unsure, even though he’d seen what he’d done while facing the
feorhbealu
. It was terrifying, knowing he had that in himself, that he could accomplish something that huge. The small amulet that had been the focus of the spell was deformed now, melted by the power that he’d channeled through it. The design Rob had etched years before was still there, and Galen was contemplating asking his jeweler to include it in his Keepers bracelet somehow, it felt right that he should get that done.

Thinking of that, he pulled out his phone. There had been a time when the vassals of the
Custodes Noctis
wore bracelets similar to the ones Keepers wore. He wasn’t sure how his friends would feel about being vassals, the word didn’t have meaning the same meaning in the modern world. Galen hoped they’d understand, they had been standing beside him—and now Rob—for a long time. One in particular.

“Rose Jewelers.” As expected, Paul Doyle was in the shop early. His family had been jewelers to the Emrys family for a long time. Galen wasn’t even really sure when the association began.

“Hey, it’s Galen.”

“Galen! What can I do for you?”

“I need to have some bracelets made, like mine, but not as heavy, with a less elaborate fillial, but in the same basic design.”

“Vassals bracelets?”

“Yeah,” Galen said. “Three of those. The fourth…” He trailed off. “I’m not sure when the last one was made, or if you even have a design. It’s for Flash.”

“It’s for special service and loyalty?”

“Yeah.”

“Got it, give me a week.”

“Thanks.” Galen broke the connection, wondering how Flash would feel about receiving the fourth bracelet. In
Custodes Noctis
Tradition, it was the highest honor he could bestow on his friend.

“Galen!” Rob shouted, despair washing over Galen. He turned and raced to the bed, grabbing his brother’s shoulders and gently holding him still. “Let me go! Where’s Galen? Galen!” Rob shouted,
 
eyes open and wild. “Galen! Is he dead?”

“Rob!” Galen fought his way through the violent emotion coming off Rob. Galen sat on the edge of the bed, hoping to reach his brother. Rob struck out, landing a hard punch on his jaw, Galen grabbed Rob’s wrist holding it tightly, preventing another swing. “Rob! Rob, I’m here!” His brother still didn’t respond. In a desperate bid to reach him, Galen threw the bond wide open, hoping the things he’d been blocking from Rob wouldn’t overwhelm him and drive him further away, rather than pull him back. “
I’m here,”
Galen said, trying to soothe Rob’s struggles and the frantic beating of his heart.

Rob stopped fighting him, and focused his wild gaze on Galen’s face. “Galen?” Rob said, his voice raw with emotion. He leaned forward, resting his head against Galen’s shoulder, a sob soft escaping him. “It’s you?”

“Who else, Brat?” Galen said gently.

“Galen, gods.” Rob wrapped his arms around Galen, shaking violently.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

“Can’t sense you,” Rob said, desperation washing off of him.

“I’m sorry, I was so focused on the physical wounds,” Galen stopped, regret pounding through his veins, suddenly understanding why Rob kept waking. With the bond muted and Galen blocking all of his own pain from their connection, he hadn’t realized what was happening. He could still sense his brother, the wounds and emotions as Rob dreamed, so he hadn’t even considered the idea that the bond might be gone from Rob. Galen focused all of his healing into Rob, gently restoring their connection as much as he could. The
feorhbealu
had taken everything from Rob and it would take a long time for his brother to heal all the way. Galen felt the soft hum of their bond strengthen, and Rob sagged against him, the tremors wracking his body beginning to lessen. “I’m here,” Galen said, out loud and through the bond.

Rob stayed with his head on Galen’s shoulder for several minutes, then slowly pulled away so he could look at him. “My Sight is gone.” Rob closed his eyes, when he opened them his expression was bleak. “All of my Gift, Galen.”

“I know, the
feorhbealu
took it,” Galen said gently.

“No.” Rob was trembling again. “No, without that I can’t serve, we can’t be, oh, gods, Galen, I can’t.”

“Hey, listen to me,” Galen said, gripping Rob’s shoulder. “It’s not gone forever, Rob.”

“It’s not?” Rob sniffled, sounding young, broken.

“No, it’ll just take time to heal.” Galen forced a chuckle. “Of all people, you’d think you’d know that one.”

“What do you mean?” Rob frowned at him, tears flowing over his face.

“It’s in the
Saga of the West Wind
, quoted in the works of Trithemius.” When Rob still looked blank, Galen went on. “‘The deep dark can wound/the deep dark can take/but all heals in the light of time…’”

“‘All heals when faced with those that keep the night,’” Rob finished with a tremulous smile. “Are you okay?” He searched Galen’s eyes.

“Yeah, my Gift is returning.”

“Healing me drained you?”

“A little, and it took some time to recover from the spell.”

“Right.” Rob looked around the room. “Can we go?”

“You just woke up,” Galen said, taking a breath. He knew why Rob was asking. “Okay, Rob, let me go get the nurse to pull the IV and sign you out—against medical advise, I expect.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Rob said softly.

“No, it wouldn’t,” Galen agreed, gave Rob’s shoulder another squeeze and headed out to talk to the staff about springing his brother.

Flash was waiting at the curb an hour later when they walked out of the hospital. He shook his head, but opened the back door for Rob to get settled. A deep croak from behind them caused both Galen and Rob to look up. One of the ravens was perched on the edge of the roof, looking down at them. It cocked its head to the side and laughed softly before spreading its wings and jumping into the sky.

“Those birds freak me out,” Flash said as he got in and started the SUV. “One of them was hanging out on my balcony railing. I gave it part of my breakfast and I swear it said thank you. Creepy.”

“We need to go to the Great Altar,” Rob said suddenly. Galen’s heart clenched, he knew they had to go back, but he was hoping Rob would be a little stronger before they faced the Hunt. He had no idea what to say to divert his brother.

“Have you eaten?” Flash asked, glancing in the rear view mirror to frown at Rob. “I promised Rhiannon I’d make sure you ate. We’ll have breakfast.”

“We need to go back.”

“Listen to me,” Flash growled, sounding angrier than Galen had ever heard him. “You need to eat, you both look like shit and you will eat. That restaurant is right around the corner and I called ahead. Breakfast’ll be waiting.”

“I thought you said you ate breakfast,” Galen said, taken aback by his friend’s fierce tone.

“And you’ve known me to refuse food when?” Flash chuckled.

“No!” Rob snapped. “We need to go.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” Flash said with a grin. “You aren’t thinking straight.”

“What?” Rob whispered.

“You’re suffering from coffee withdrawal, you’re way behind on your intake.”

“It’s true, Brat, the coffee in your veins is probably being replaced with blood.” Galen laughed.

Rob glared at them for a moment, then relaxed with a soft laugh. “You’re right.”

“Damn straight,” Flash agreed, pulling into the restaurant parking lot. “We’ll need the coffee pot left on the table,” he said to the waitress as they sat down. She filled their cups and set it down before heading back to the kitchen.

“Is it time?” Rob asked, downing his first cup of coffee in three gulps and then grimacing. “Hot.”

“Time for what?” Flash said.