Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(110)

“I don’t know about the Hunter,” Neil said, his face concerned. “But what are we going to do about the army on its way here?”

Roarke pushed his way in so he had a view to the outside. There in the distance we could see a group walking in perfect lockstep, their heavy weapons held high on their meaty shoulders. Even from where I stood, I could see the way their caps glistened.

“Nim, pack a small bag,” Roarke said calmly but I could hear the fear in his voice. “King Angus has sent the red caps. They’re coming to execute us.”





Chapter Twenty-Six





“Why would the king want to execute you?” I wasn’t able to take my eyes off the sight of the red caps moving our way. They were still in the distance but moved closer every minute we stayed. It had taken us some time to get dressed and for Nim to deal with her servants and I was eager to put some distance between us and our executioners.

Red caps are a specialized type of goblin. They tend to guard things but didn’t mind a little execution duty. Like most goblins, the red caps were smallish with grotesque features and little hair on their heads. The red caps got their names from their unusual choice of head gear. On the top of each goblin head sat what looked like a red skull cap. It was the scalp of the red cap’s first victim. In the ritual that makes a goblin a red cap, the goblin kills, scalps his victim, and ceremoniously covers his head with the bloody scalp. The newly minted red cap must then kill to keep his cap covered with fresh blood. If the cap dries out, the red cap is executed for not keeping up his end of the bargain.

“Oh, I don’t know, Your Grace. It could be just about anything,” Roarke said, looking me up and down pointedly. He’d been short tempered since realizing he was about to be executed. Arawn seemed much calmer about the whole thing but that might have been a byproduct of his immortality. While Roarke was technically immortal, he could still be killed if someone, a red cap for example, cut his head off or chopped him into enough small pieces.

“How would they already know where I am? It can’t possibly have gotten back to the Seelie that I was taken prisoner yet.” It wasn’t like I’d updated my Facebook status. Zoey is…enjoying a little girl time with her new master.

Nim, who was hurrying about the room shoving items in a small pack, looked up with a fierce frown on her face. “It was that bastard Con. He’s always looking to make a quick buck and he’s the one who offered me use of your lovely body. I should never have trusted him. I should have known something was up. You would think after all the years I’ve lived, after all the things I’ve seen that I would be wary but no, Nim just keeps trucking on like no one ever betrayed her.”

Arawn made a sudden appearance at Nim’s side. He stopped her and forced her chin up. He leaned down briefly, placing a light kiss on her lips. “I would have you no other way, my love. Your nature gets us in trouble from time to time, but I wouldn’t change an inch of you.” He turned back to the rest of us, his calm manner somewhat reassuring. “We must assume that this is all a part of their plan and that Con is working with the duke. They would immediately give both palaces the information in an attempt to create utter chaos and move the war forward.”

“We knew he had to have help from this side to have gotten the ogre over,” I pointed out. While Nim had fluttered around getting ready to flee, I had told them everything we’d learned about the traitors. I hoped the Unseelie would be more open to the fact that someone on their side of the sithein might be corrupt.

Arawn nodded shortly. “Yes, it fits. Con is a close advisor to the king. He has many who are loyal to him. He would have been tasked with finding you and bringing you to the palace. Angus trusts him as much as he trusts anyone. I’m certain Angus intends to give you back to your husband in a show of cooperation he hopes would lead us away from war.”

“But we won’t make it to the palace,” Daniel said seriously as he looked out over the field.

“No,” Arawn agreed. “The red caps are guards, but they’re also killers. All Con had to do is buy one’s loyalty. The minute he kills, the rest will be pulled into bloodlust. We will all be dead and Angus will be blamed. The Seelies will attack without worry.”

“Well, all we have to do is evade the red caps for a little while.” I tried to put a positive spin on things. “My guard is already on his way to the Seelie palace to tell my husband what happened.”

There was no way Lee wouldn’t get to Dev.

Neil frowned from his comfortable seat on a chair. He was dressed in too-big clothes and looked even younger than his twenty-three years. The two C?n Annwn sat on either side of him, their enormous black tongues panting. “I don’t think that’s going to help the situation, Z. It wasn’t like we overheard the conversation with Gilliana. We stayed where we were until Lee could move safely. When he didn’t come, we climbed down and found the camp deserted and trashed. Your clothes were torn up. They left the Goddess Chain behind, I guess so there wouldn’t be any question who they had taken. Lee thought the worst. We tracked your scent straight to the door of the Unseelie sithein.”

“Why didn’t Lee come after us?” Daniel asked, his voice tight. He was getting ready for a fight and he was still feeling the tension from knowing Arawn had power over him. I know my husband. He didn’t like feeling vulnerable.