Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(89)

Stewart’s eyes never left Neil. “But you’re not on the vampire’s blood anymore. Did he not offer it to you when you returned from your sojourn?”

I was silent because I’d wondered about that as well. For the longest time after we got Neil back, he and Daniel had danced around each other until they’d finally come to an understanding while we were in Faery. Daniel could handle more than one servant, but he and Neil had not renewed their oaths.

“I don’t need it anymore,” Neil replied. “Daniel offered, but I had to say no. I need to be me now. I’m strong enough. I can love and I can accept love without anyone else’s blood influencing me. I know I’m weak, but I’m Neil. I’m finally just me.”

I reached out and squeezed his hand because he should know that was more than enough for me.

Stewart’s eyes had softened. “Little puppy, that…”

“You promised,” Neil reminded him and Stewart fell silent. We walked along for a moment, our fingers tangled together. “See, that was totally worth it.”

Nim held her hand up. We stood in the middle of a flat, emerald green plain. There was nothing at all to see but grass, yet Nim stopped like she didn’t want to hit something. She motioned for Stewart to come forward. I stood there not sensing anything at all in the cool of dusk. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon, and I could see the Irish Sea. This island was so small. It seemed impossible that it held some sort of prison and no one had ever discovered it.

“Do you sense anything?” I asked Neil, who shook his head, just as lost as I was.

“I can’t describe it, but I know something’s wrong,” Lee said, coming up behind us. Zack had gone to stand with Daniel. “It’s like I can sense that something should be here, but it isn’t.”

Stewart scented the air. Perhaps in his normal body the gesture would seem natural, but it was odd in the human body he was riding. He walked around and the movements seemed jerky, like he couldn’t get the limbs to do exactly what he wanted and was forced to compromise.

After a long while, he went still and turned to us, and a long, satisfied smile crossed his face. “It’s here, Your Highness.”

Nimue went to stand next to the demon and gestured for Daniel to stand beside her. “We need the sword now.” She took it in her hand when Daniel passed it to her and frowned, looking the slightest bit nervous. “Now we find out if I did my job properly.”

“What do you mean?” Danny asked.

She tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth. “Well, there’s always a test with things like this.”

“Like the sword in the stone?” I remembered my Arthurian lore, or at least the Disney movie.

Nim nodded. “Yes, that was the test for the boy. I set up the test for this king a very long time ago. I didn’t know exactly why I chose this method because at the time it seemed odd, but something told me this was the proper challenge.”

“Why a test?” Neil asked. “You’re the Lady of the Lake. Don’t you just know who to give the sword to?”

“Think of it as a fail-safe,” the nymph replied. “Excalibur in the hands of the wrong person could prove very bad for us all.”

“But Daniel already has the sword,” Dev pointed out.

Stewart chirped up to answer that question. “Oh, he won’t for long if he doesn’t pass this test. If he fails, we all die. Well, all of you die. I just go back to the Hell plane and resume my former life. But I would mourn you all terribly.”

“What’s the test, Nim?” Daniel asked.

Nim smiled a secret little smile. “It’s simple, Daniel. I thought at the time it was too simple, but now it’s very fitting. I’m sure it will all work out. The world needed Arthur’s strength, so his test was one that proved it. The world needs something different from you.”

Daniel sighed. It always came back to that. “Where am I supposed to bleed this time?”

“Stand right here where the veil is the thinnest and the door can open.” Nim watched him, holding the sword easily.

Daniel did as instructed and the minute he was in place, Nim’s hand came back and she sent Excalibur straight into Daniel’s gut with a horrible twist.

All hell broke loose. Zack leapt forward, his semi pointed straight at the nymph’s head. Lee pulled me back even as I tried to run toward Daniel. Dev made it to our vampire first. Daniel had fallen to his knees, his blood spilling all over the green grass, but before Dev could reach down to haul him up, he put an arm out to stop him.

“I’m fine,” I heard Daniel growl, clutching his middle.

“She gutted you,” Dev yelled as he turned his face accusingly to Nim. His gun was on full display. “Give me one good reason I don’t put a bullet in your skull, Nimue or Vivienne or whatever the hell your name is.”

“If you’re going to shoot me, you should step back to do it, Devinshea,” Nim announced even as I felt a wave of energy flicker across my skin. Lee cursed softly and I knew he felt it, too.

“The veil is opening,” Stewart said. “Someone should get the king back unless he wants to be ripped in two.”

Dev put his arm under Daniel’s shoulder on one side and Zack took the other. They started to hurry him away from the site.