Evangeline nodded approval at them and continued, “Like the original casters of this spell, we are joined by our vassals and brave allies. A friend of the Pendragons sacrificed his life to the cause—”
“Brother,” Riley said abruptly. “Miller Owens was engaged to my sister. He was supposed to’ve been my brother.”
“Brother,” Evangeline repeated. Her voice wavered. “Your brother and my brother both died preserving the eighth day.”
“And Jax’s dad,” Riley added.
“Siblings, parents, and allies,” Evangeline said, lifting her face to the sky, “all committed to keeping the eighth day where it belongs—one isolated day, one shared world, one rotation of this planet around its sun in the span of a second. By their will and by ours—this shall be done.” Jax stared at the sky. It was purple and cracked like an egg.
“You will listen to us,” Riley shouted over the wind that whipped hair into his eyes. He yanked his and Evangeline’s clasped hands into the air. “I command the forces of the universe to obey—in the name of the heirs to Merlin Emrys and Arthur Pendragon!”
The forces of the universe had no answer for him. Riley glared at the sky and added a few swear words to his command, but his face reflected the glittery sheen of cracks that weren’t going anywhere.
“It’s not enough, son,” shouted Mr. Crandall. “You’ve got to give it something else!”
Give it something else? What else could the universe want? Jax shifted his feet uneasily. Wylit had wanted to enhance his spell with a human sacrifice. Riley had that corroded relic of an iron dagger in his hand, and Evangeline was standing there in that awful white dress, just perfect for . . .
Panic crossed Riley’s face, and he looked at Evangeline.
“Man up, Riley,” A.J. called out.
Evangeline stared at Riley, white lipped. “Do what you have to do,” she whispered.
“No!” Jax shouted, pulling his hands free and lunging forward.
A.J. tackled him, and Jax hit the cobblestones with almost two hundred pounds on his back.
Riley swung their joined hands down and around Evangeline’s back. The hand with Excalibur went behind her head, and he hooked the back of her neck in his elbow. Then he pulled her close and kissed her.
Jax would’ve gasped, but A.J.’s weight didn’t allow him any space to breathe.
Oh, right. Melinda said strong emotions would enhance magic, too.
When Riley let go of Evangeline, she staggered backward, bumping into the altar. Her eyes were wide and startled. She and Riley stared at each other a moment, and then looked up to see if the world was still ending.
A.J. eased off, and Jax sucked in air and rolled over. The cracks were already closing, fading to nothing in the normal purple of a Grunsday night sky.
“Dang, I think that did it!” Riley gave Evangeline the sappiest grin Jax had ever seen, still holding her hand.
She blushed pink.
And then she vanished.
Mr. Crandall looked at his watch. “Thursday. Right on time.”
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THE MEXICAN AUTHORITIES were on site within minutes, but they weren’t very interested in getting involved. When informed that the Morgans were a private security force foiling an act of terrorism by a drug cartel, the local police backed off, leaving the Morgans to clean up the casualties and haul away the survivors.
It took both Crandalls to get Riley off the pyramid. His legs failed him halfway, and he almost took a nosedive down a staircase. After that Mr. Crandall and A.J. kept their hands on him, and once they were on the ground, they forced him to sit on the stone steps while a Morgan vassal checked him over.
“Bruised, contused—and then he threw everything he had into one heck of a spell,” the healer concluded. “He’ll survive, but he should take it easy for a few days.”
“I’ll take a vacation in Mexico,” said Riley, in between gulps of water from a bottle. “I hear that’s restful.”
Michael Donovan cleared his throat loudly. “I hate to be bringin’ this up, Pendare,” he said. “After all, you just saved seven days of the week. But is there still an eighth day?” He looked worried. Without Grunsday, it would be a lot harder for the Donovans to conduct their family business—pilfering, safe cracking, and being a general nuisance.
Riley drained the water bottle before answering. “Yes.”
“How do you know?” demanded Thomas.
“Because she’s still up there.” Riley and Jax said it in unison, then turned to each other in surprise. Jax sensed Evangeline’s presence on the pyramid because he was her vassal, and Riley did too because . . . well, Jax wasn’t sure why, but he could guess.
Riley looked at Jax. “What was all that hollering about at the end? What’d you think I was going to do? Kill her?”
Jax felt his face flush. He should’ve known Riley would never hurt her. We’re the good guys. Right. I forgot. Even Miller hadn’t carried out his threat, and now that Jax realized who Miller was to Riley—and who Miller had lost—he understood why Riley had trusted him not to hurt Evangeline.
“Incoming!” A.J. shouted, and Riley jerked to his feet. Jax whirled, expecting an attack by one of Wylit’s stray vassals.
But it was Deidre.
She was dressed in combat gear and body armor with enough weaponry strapped to her torso, arms, and legs to take on a small army. Which, of course, she had just done. She stalked across the Avenue of the Dead, black hair flying in a ponytail behind her. “I need a word with you, Pendare,” she said, pointing him out.
“Uh,” said Riley eloquently, while everybody stepped away from him.
“I understand you almost got yourself killed on that pyramid tonight,” she snapped, “and then, as an encore, you saved the world with a kiss.”
“Well, um,” added Riley.
“The engagement’s off. I have no intention of being anyone’s second choice. I don’t care who you’re descended from.”
“She’s . . . not . . .”
Deidre put her hands on her hips. “If you didn’t have feelings for her, it wouldn’t have worked.”
Riley ran a hand through his hair and frowned, as if that hadn’t occurred to him. However, A.J. and his father exchanged knowing glances, and Jax guessed it was no surprise to them.
Deidre laughed at Riley’s expression. “You idiot. Don’t you get it? If I end the engagement, that lets you off the hook. You don’t owe my mother an oath of loyalty.”
Riley exhaled as her words penetrated through his exhaustion. “Your mother’s going to be furious with you.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll still blame you,” Deidre predicted. She turned to walk down the road toward the helicopter and shot back over her shoulder: “Stay out of her pistol range.”
Riley sank down on the stone step, looking like he’d just had a pardon from the governor. He covered his face with his hands wearily.
Mr. Crandall slapped A.J. on the back. “He’s cooked. Let’s arrange transport and get him someplace he can rest.”
Michael Donovan cleared his throat. “I happen to’ve recently acquired a number of Land Rovers,” he mentioned, pulling several rings of keys out of his pockets, “and I’d be willing to let one go for the right price.” Jax wondered when, amidst all the action, Donovan had found time to steal all the car keys.
“Take care of Miller first,” said Riley from behind his hands.
“All right, son,” said Mr. Crandall. “A.J. and I will get him down. Don’t worry.”
Everybody started moving at once. Tegan punched Jax in the arm and said, “Jerk,” as she left.
“Same to you,” Jax replied, knowing they both meant Glad you’re okay.
In less than a minute, Jax found himself alone with Riley, who lowered his hands. “Jax, we need to talk.”
Jax
nodded. His legs were rubbery, and his head was pounding, but some things needed to be said. “This was my fault. All of it. Evangeline was in danger, and billions of people almost died, and Miller is dead because of me.”
“Don’t be an idiot. Wylit’s been looking for her for years.”
“But I didn’t tell you about the Donovans, and they brought in Balin.”
“You didn’t know what was at stake,” Riley said. “I kept you in the dark too long. That’s on me.”
Jax couldn’t stand up a second longer. He dropped down on the step beside Riley and propped his head in his hands.
“You weren’t going to be around for very long,” Riley went on. “I didn’t want you to know too much. And . . . I didn’t want to end up liking you.”
“Well, I didn’t want to like you either,” Jax muttered.
“We can’t go back to that house,” Riley said. “Melinda’s going to get our stuff out of it, and then I have to take Evangeline somewhere else.”
“Is Melinda’s family really all right?” Jax asked.
“They lost their house, but they’re safe.” Riley sighed. “Melinda wants out. She asked me to release her from her vow. And it’s the right thing to do. She’s not cut out for this kind of life.”
Jax tried to imagine Melinda on the pyramid with them and nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s no hard feelings involved. Just the end of a certain kind of relationship. But I wanted you to know it was possible—to be released.”
Jax lifted his head.
“You’re really too young for this kind of oath,” Riley said. “Even someone born into a clan doesn’t pledge their loyalty until they’re sixteen. And—the Balin gang aside—it’s almost unheard of for Transitioners to swear to Kin.”
“But—”
“Your father didn’t want this,” Riley interrupted him. “He was pretty specific. He didn’t think you’d transition at all, but if you did, I was to give you the most basic training possible and send you back to your cousins. He didn’t want you being a vassal—not to me, not to anyone.”
Jax frowned. Dad wanted me ignorant and isolated and only partly trained. “Why?” he asked. His voice almost broke on it.
“I don’t know,” Riley admitted.
With a sickening feeling, Jax realized he’d probably never know.
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THEY WERE LATE getting to the top of the pyramid because Jax’s leg cramped halfway up. I hate pyramids, he thought, limping behind Riley. Never. Climbing. One. Again.
By the time they reached the summit, Evangeline was already there in that ruined white dress, still holding Riley’s dagger, looking lost and alone. Then, she spotted them mounting the final hill, and her face lit up. Her eyes darted to Riley first, but it was Jax she threw her arms around, nearly knocking him over.
“Are you all right?” she asked, hugging him tightly.
“You asked me that last week, too,” he reminded her. “I’m fine. But holy crap, Evangeline, look at you.” He let go of her and looked her up and down. She was still bleeding from the cuts Wylit had made on her arms. Eight days later, and it had been no time at all for her.
Good thing they’d come prepared. While Riley bound up her arms in gauze, Jax handed her a plastic water bottle. “Drink,” he said. “You’re probably dehydrated.”
Evangeline drained the whole bottle without stopping and looked like she wanted another. Riley tied off the bandages. She eyed him sideways, shyly. “Do you want . . .” She held his dagger out on her open palm, but her gaze fell to his waist, where he wore Excalibur now.
“No, I wasn’t going to ask for it back,” Riley said quietly.
That was his backward way of offering it as a gift, and Jax held his breath waiting to see if she’d accept. Niviane had given Excalibur to Arthur as a symbol of their alliance, and if Evangeline accepted Riley’s blade, Jax was pretty sure the meaning was similar.
Evangeline blushed and gave an embarrassed smile, then made a circle with her finger. Riley didn’t know what she meant, but Jax did. He grabbed Riley’s arm and made him turn around so Evangeline could reach under her dress and put the dagger away in its hidden sheath.
“We have to get you off this pyramid and away from this town. If you’re ready . . .” Riley glanced over his shoulder and apparently she was, because he turned and took her firmly by one arm. Jax took the other. “Don’t worry, we’ve got you, but let’s go.”
Evangeline started stumbling on the first set of stairs. “Sorry,” she gasped.
“It’s okay. I didn’t make it down on my own either,” Riley said, as he and Jax threw her arms over their shoulders and lifted her right off her feet. “It’s a wonder you can stand at all after casting that spell.”
Jax could only grunt his agreement. She wasn’t very heavy, but Jax was shorter than Riley and the stupid stairs were way too narrow and deep. This was hard.
“Is there some reason to hurry?”
“There is,” Riley admitted. “Can’t conduct the level of magical mayhem we did last week without attracting attention.”
There’d been Dulacs and Dulac vassals in Mexico this week, looking around the pyramid site, asking questions. They wanted to know if the threat to the Eighth Day Spell had been eliminated and how they could assist the Morgans. They were particularly interested in discovering the whereabouts of the Emrys heir involved, expressing their “concern” that she ought to be in “protective custody” for the safety of everyone. In fact, they volunteered for the job.
Deidre Morgan had diverted them as much as she could, claiming Evangeline had been killed during the attack on the pyramid. But some of Wylit’s vassals who might know better had gotten away, and no one liked the idea of the Dulacs catching up with them before the Morgans did.
“They suspect I’m lying,” Deidre had told Riley. “But my mother and their clan leader currently have a truce, so they’re playing nice for now. They probably think I have her, and if I act suspicious enough, I can lure them away from the pyramid at midnight on Wednesday. That’ll give you time to whisk her away from here. In the meantime”—here she’d included Jax in her intense gaze—“stay out of sight. Both of you.”
The Crandalls hadn’t liked that plan at all. They’d wanted Riley to leave Mexico on the first plane available, certain that if the Dulacs learned a Pendragon had survived their assassination attempt five years ago, they’d fix that mistake at once. But Riley wouldn’t leave without Evangeline, and neither would Jax.
So right now Deidre was leading the Dulacs on a wild goose chase, and all three Crandalls were circling the pyramid complex with binoculars and high-powered rifles.
Jax was panting hard and sweating by the time they reached the Avenue of the Dead. Evangeline stubbornly made them put her down so she could walk to the car herself, but she groaned when she saw it was the Balin brothers’ black Land Rover.
“Yeah, I know,” Riley said with sympathy. “But Donovan and I made a deal for it.” He threw open the back door for her. “Donovan handed over the keys, and I didn’t bust him in the nose.”
“Riley.” She looked up at him through her pale eyelashes, and he froze. “Thank you. For everything. Not just yesterday. But . . . everything.” Her cheeks were pink, which may have been from the stairs, except she hadn’t been doing most of the work.
Riley opened his mouth . . . and nothing came out.
Jax shook his head. Pitiful. The girl was finally willing to talk to him, and Riley had no idea what to say. Then Jax brightened. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you two get in the back and chat? I’ll drive.”
That snapped Riley out of his stupor. “You don’t know how to drive.”
“I’ll learn. It’s Grunsday. Who’s going to pull us over?”
“Get in the back, Jax,” Riley growled, walki
ng around the side of the car.
As they passed each other, switching places, Jax whispered, “Chicken.”
“Shut up.”
In the back of the Land Rover, while Riley peeled down the Avenue of the Dead at way too fast a speed, Jax opened up a cooler and offered Evangeline another water bottle. She took it, but she was looking at him so sadly, he stiffened.
“What?” he demanded.
“Jax,” she said, then paused as if reluctant to continue. “I took you on as my vassal under emergency circumstances. I thought it would save your life, and then you ended up saving mine.” Her gaze darted toward the front seat. “But I think you were probably meant for someone else.”
“Who, him?” Jax pointed a thumb at Riley. “I wouldn’t swear to him if he was the last liege lord on earth.”
“Wouldn’t want you, squirt,” Riley replied without taking his eyes from the road.
Evangeline looked back and forth between them with her brow crumpled, as if she couldn’t tell if they were joking or not. “I’m offering to release you,” she explained.
“I know.”
This was exactly what Riley had predicted she’d do. Here she was, exhausted and wounded, and all she was worried about was giving up something she thought she had no right to—Jax’s loyalty and friendship.
Riley had said he could have Jax back with Naomi in just a few days if Evangeline let him go. By fall, Jax would be enrolled in a new school. Kidnappings and pyramids and running away from homicidal Transitioner clans would be a distant memory.
He could take up trombone again. Join the astronomy club. Just like his father had wanted.
Too bad Dad never talked it over with me.
“Do you not want me around?” Jax asked Evangeline.
“It’s not that. It’s just—”
“Was I a bad vassal?”
“Of course not! You were brave and quick thinking—”
“Is it because I’m a Transitioner? Or a lousy cook?”
The Eighth Day Page 21
