Moonshadow (Moonshadow #1)(94)

“That sounds amazing,” she said with such heartfelt fervency, a couple of the men grinned.

She slipped into the courtyard to take care of business and wash up, and she took a few minutes to wrestle her hair into a long, thick braid that fell down her back. When she returned, Cael slipped a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her, along with a cup of black coffee. He said, “The eggs will be good for a few days, so we should enjoy them while we can.”

“Thank you so much.” She glanced again at Nikolas and the other two men by the window, then turned her attention to the hot meal.

As she ate, Cael slipped a couple of pieces of toast on her plate. At first there was a lull in the conversation, but then, as the men grew used to her presence, the talk resumed.

They had a lot to say to one another after such a long, enforced solitude. From what she could glean, as she listened, they had only gathered at the solstices to raise the energies to contact home. Despite the danger of their situation and her own pessimistic outlook, they were relishing the chance to relax together, which made her smile.

As she finished the last of her breakfast, Nikolas stalked over. He was dressed in black again—she didn’t think he wore any other color—and while she couldn’t see his sword harness through the cloaking spell, she would bet good money he was wearing it. He looked leaner, darker, and harder than ever, and his dark eyes glittered with an expression she didn’t want to try to interpret.

He said, “Ready to get to work?”

Her jaw tightened. “Good morning to you,” she said. “How are you today, Sophie? I’m fine, thank you very much. I got a good night’s sleep. How are you, Nik? Oh, I’m suffering from a severe case of rudeness this morning, but other than that, I’m okay.”

Someone across the table made a strangled noise. She thought it might have been Gareth. Other than that, dead silence washed over the group. Nobody looked at Nikolas or at her although Rowan suddenly looked several shades redder than usual.

Nikolas gave her a dangerous smile. “Glad we have the pleasantries out of the way,” he said in a silken voice. “Are you ready to get to work? I packed supplies for us.”

Reaching close to the floor at one end of the table, he picked up two backpacks.

Oh God. She was going to have to spend the entire day with Mr. Sunshine. She glanced at Gawain for help, but he wasn’t looking at her either. With obvious reluctance, she said, “I guess so.”

“We’ve got a lot to do. Let’s go.”

She would not scowl. She would not give him the satisfaction of letting him know he got to her. Pushing back from the table, she said to Cael, “Thank you for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome,” he told her.

Nikolas said to the group, “We don’t know what’s going to happen when we encounter shifts. We’ll try to keep you posted, but don’t get too alarmed if we don’t show up in sync with the day as you know it. And set up a schedule of round-the-clock watches, two men for each shift.”

She joined him. “Watches?”

He told her grimly, “Morgan’s here.”

Her stomach clenched. “That’s why you were watching out the window?”

“Yes.”

She went over to the windows, murmuring, “Pardon me,” to Ashe, who moved to let her look out. The thick square windowpanes were small and dirty, and the view through the antique glass was wavery and distorted, but she could still see the familiar tall, broad-shouldered figure who stood on the lawn, about twenty yards away.

Morgan had his arms crossed, and he studied the house with his chin tucked down. On either side of him, both men and Hounds stretched as far as she could see. She didn’t have to see for herself to know they would have surrounded the entire house.

Ashe said, “He’s been out there like that since dawn. Trying to figure out a way in, I expect.”

Nikolas put a hand on her shoulder. Turning to him, she said, “I’m ready.”

He handed her a backpack. “Lead the way. Where do you want to start?”

Immediately she turned to walk down the hall where she had found the first shift. “We know this one is here. And we know of the one in the courtyard. Let’s get those marked first, then we’ll move on.” Telepathically she asked, Why did you set watches?

He said, The house might not be in alignment with the land outside, but once those front doors are open, anybody can pass through. They can either go in—or out. And anybody from the inside can open the doors. I tested it myself yesterday.

She frowned. You’re thinking the traitor might try to open them and let the enemy in—or get out?

I’d say that was a distinct possibility. As soon as that thought occurred to me, I got up and kept watch until the others woke up.

The heaviness that had weighed her down since waking lifted somewhat. I didn’t hear you leave.

Good. I didn’t want to disturb you. You needed the rest.

She was so focused on him she almost forgot to watch for the place where she had felt the shift until they had almost stepped over it.

“Wait!” she said, grabbing his arm. “We’re here.”

The hall looked the same in both directions. Nikolas frowned. “I can’t sense it.”

“Maybe this one is a smaller shift, and you’ll be able to sense a bigger one,” she said. She frowned. “How are we going to measure what happens on either side of a shift? We can see the hall clearly—just like we can see the house from outside—but there will be a difference once we step to the other side.”