Wolves' Bane (The Order of the Wolf, #3)(79)
This is my fault. The etching, he must know about it. He must have seen me out there.
Morgan turned her eyes to Cal, her face set with determination. “He’s going to kill her if we don’t go. She needs me there. I don’t care if I have to drive myself, I will go to her.”
“Even if it’s a trap?” Andrew asked as he shot a questioning look at Cal.
“Of course it’s a trap. If I’m his bride, he’s going to do everything possible to get me, right?” She turned her hard glare from Cal to Andrew. “I’m not going to let my friend die because of this shit. I’m ready to fight, and you all have been training your whole lives for it, so it shouldn’t matter where it happens.”
Andrew shook his head. “This isn’t how it’s done.”
Morgan scoffed. “What? So Lazarus isn’t playing by your rules this time?” She turned her angry eyes on all of them, one at a time. “They know about Cal’s magic. Lazarus isn’t going to walk into a trap. You thought you had it all planned out but you don’t.” She settled her eyes on Cal. “You men are warriors. This is the first time in a long time that you’ve had a fighting chance to win against Lazarus, and you’re freaking out because he’s smarter than you?”
“He’s not smarter—”
Morgan spun to face Andrew, her finger raised, stabbing the air as she spoke. “He is smarter than you. He knows that you set a trap for him. He knows how to get me to go to him. He knows that he has the advantage now.”
Andrew stared at her, his eyes cold, all trace of his usual easy smile gone, his jaw clenching as he took in her words. Heartbeats of silence seemed to span for too long as they glared at each other.
“We’re going to have to go.” Cal’s words were quiet, barely audible, but both of them shifted their eyes in his direction. “We can’t let an innocent girl get tangled up in this. That’s what we vowed, Andrew. All of us. To protect the innocent. Morgan is right, we’re going to have to fight on his terms this time.”
Several moments of heavy silence passed before Andrew finally spoke. “Fine.” He motioned to the men at the table. “Three men stay here, the rest are coming. Lance, get the weapons.”
“Don’t you think you should stay here with Kelly?” Cal asked, his voice straining to remain calm.
Andrew pierced Cal with his cold glare again. “No, I don’t.”
“Well, shouldn’t you at least let her know what’s going on? See if she’s had another vision before we go?” The situation was out of Cal’s control, and his rising temper was testament to it.
“She doesn’t know anything more,” Andrew snapped as he snatched the keys for one of the SUVs from the rack and walked out of the house.
“I’m going to tell Candy what’s up,” Jeremy said as he loped up the stairs.
“She’s not coming with us,” Cal yelled after him.
“Yeah, I know, she’ll stay here with Kelly,” Jeremy called back.
The rest of the men scrambled to do as they were ordered.
Cal sighed as he turned to look at Morgan. Her expression still held a look of determination and anger. He walked over to the small table in the hall and picked up a leather case, opening it as he came back to her.
Her gaze fell on the contents and she sucked in a deep breath, her eyes growing wider as she scanned the blade within.
“It’s called a Huntress blade and it’s pure silver.” Cal angled the box so he could touch the hilt. He’d engraved it with symbols, spells, the same that he had used to create the cloak. “Can you feel the magic?” She nodded, her hand raised as if to touch it. “Lazarus won’t be able to detect it.” Cal removed it, along with the leather sheath it was holstered in, and laid the case on the floor. He stood and wrapped the band of the sheath around her waist and buckled it into place. “You don’t need to hide it. No one will be able to see it except for you and me. When he demands that you remove your weapons, you don’t have to worry. He doesn’t know about this one.”
She dropped her gaze to the blade and ran her fingers along the length of it encased in leather. “Thank you,” she breathed, her tone quiet, her anger lost.
“If you hit him with it, right where you trained to hit him, he’ll die immediately and you’ll be free.” Cal took a step toward her, his body almost touching hers. She didn’t flinch or move away as he expected. Instead, she stared up at him, her face tilted toward his. “You will succeed, Morgan. I know that you will. Even without all of our magic precautions.”
“There’s more at stake now. Now that Rach is involved.” A shudder passed through her and she took a step back, crossing her arms. “I can’t pretend that things are going to be okay. I can’t say what’s going to happen tonight. I can’t tell you that you’ll have no reason to kill me.”
Cal flinched at her words, his stomach clenching at the thought of her betraying him. “It won’t happen,” he growled, almost under his breath.
Morgan’s eyes were sorrowful as she shook her head. “You don’t know that, Cal. None of us do. Not even your Oracle.”
Cal took a step toward her, tilting her chin up with one finger so he could look into her eyes. “I know what will happen. You will succeed. You will because it can’t go any other way. I love you, Morgan. I believe in you.”