by E. G. Foley
He hated her knowing, and he needed someone to know at the same time, but was too proud to say it.
Isabelle knew the truth, though she had only learned it by accident. In his own view, Janos had willingly become a monster, and that choice could never be undone.
Sometimes, she had seen, he even wished for death, but it would not come. Not to him.
Not anymore.
She’d felt sad for him, and that, perhaps, was why he had homed in on her with his melancholic, meaningless flirtation. Nobody ever felt sad for a monster.
Nobody ever cared what was in his heart.
But perhaps what had scared her was the thought that Janos might’ve seen just a little darkness in her, as she had seen a small light in him.
Maddox had been watching her the whole time, and snorted at whatever it was he thought he saw in the expression on her face. “If you’ll excuse me, my lady, this boat isn’t going to wax itself.”
And just like that, he shut her out again—a brick wall in the form of a boy.
She dropped her head in complete exasperation. “Why do I even try?” she muttered, turning to go.
“Beats me,” Maddox answered, with his sharp Guardian hearing.
“I was talking to myself! But if you’re going to eavesdrop, the whole reason I came over here was to remind you that Miss Helena put you and me in charge of the others while she’s gone. Well, right now, they’re all quite upset, frightened, and worried about tonight. It’s the full moon, you know. So, if it’s not too much trouble, Mr. Great Guardian Protector, maybe you could stop withdrawing like this, off sulking by yourself, and try to be part of the group. We’re the oldest, remember? We’re supposed to be setting the example!”
His dark eyes flickered and he clenched his jaw. The reminder of his duty finally seemed to get through to him. “Very well. I’ll finish up here and come join in. One big, happy family.”
His sarcastic comment was the last straw. “Is it so unpleasant for you to be around everybody?”
“No,” he said coolly, “just you.”
Isabelle stiffened with hurt. She blinked the threat of tears and steadied herself, clenching her fists by her sides.
“That…came out wrong,” Maddox started. “I didn’t—”
“You know what?” she interrupted calmly. “Never mind my request. Do as you please. I can look after the younger ones myself.”
She walked away then, fuming.
She had gone over to him with such good intentions, even willing to swallow her pride so they could reach a truce. But instead, he had attacked her. Well, enough is enough. Friendship was a two-way street, and she would not be treated this way. I’m done with this nonsense.
Maybe it was the reminder of how gallant Janos was to her by comparison that made her wash her hands of Maddox St. Trinian and all his tedious dismissals.
Why on earth was she so concerned about trying to figure out what this sullen lad was thinking all the time, when he clearly didn’t give one fig what she thought or felt about anything?
He never even asked.
All he really cared about was his future as a Guardian. So let him have it. Even if she won his affections, she saw now she’d never be the most important thing in his life. That was how she wanted to love the person she married someday, and how she wished to be loved in return. Completely.
“Isabelle?” he called, an uncertain note in his voice, as though he had just realized he had pushed her too far.
And he had.
The girl who had helped Jake defeat Garnock the Sorcerer deserved to be treated with a little more respect. Why, that twisted wraith had also underestimated her, thinking he could use her for some weak, helpless sacrifice. Instead, she had helped her cousin blow the brute to smithereens.
Frankly, she’d enjoyed it.
By heaven, she was the Keeper of the Unicorns, and she did not need Maddox St. Trinian or anybody else to give her their approval.
As she strode away, somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she swore she could hear the vampire prince applauding. Finally! the rebel Janos seemed to say. The little lamb stands up for herself.
And despite her hurt, a fierce smile curved Isabelle’s lips.
CHAPTER 24
Moonrise
Dani kept watching the color of the sky as the afternoon passed, dreading any signs of twilight.
Already the peaceful azure blue was showing a hint of pink sunset in the west. The thought of the coming night gnawed at her mind. But for now, there was nothing to be done but to try and stay brave.
Once again, she picked up the stick Teddy had found in the garden and threw it down the beach. Her dog chased after it merrily through the sand, while Liliana laughed, finding their whole game of fetch endlessly entertaining. Her seahorse, Wallace, looked on enviously from the waves.
The surf was high, the ocean as restless as they all were. Liliana had said that was because of the full moon.
The mermaid princess turned to her, looking like any ordinary, little, land-dwelling blond girl. “Do you think I’m ever going to be able to go home?” she asked wistfully.
“Sure you will,” Dani said. “You must be feeling homesick.”
“I miss Papa. I miss my room. I even miss Professor Pomodori and the palace…” Her blue eyes were wide with sorrow.
Fearing tears would soon follow, Dani put an arm around Lil’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, Lil. I know how you feel,” she offered. “I’m a little homesick, too. But pretty soon, this storm will blow over. You’ll be able to go back to Coral City and we’ll return to England.”
At least Dani hoped so. She missed the pretty yellow bedchamber at Bradford Park that she’d been given as her very own room ever since she had become lady’s companion to Isabelle.
Teddy came scampering back and dropped the stick at her feet, his little stub tail wagging. She picked it up and handed it to Lil. “You throw it this time.”
“Oh, can I?” Lil hurled the stick with all her might down the beach and then ran off behind Teddy to watch him fetch it.
Dani gazed after them, then glanced farther up the beach at where Jake still sat plotting with Sapphira. Oddly enough, she no longer felt even a slight twinge of jealousy.
She knew the two of them were merely trying to figure out what the best plan would be for tonight.
Of course, Davy Jones had no idea where they were, she quickly assured herself. So what if he could come ashore during the three nights of the full moon each month?
You couldn’t hurt someone if you didn’t know where they were hiding.
Everyone had been careful to stay out of the water so their whereabouts wouldn’t be discovered. Indeed, it had been quite a sacrifice to do so, when they had such a beautiful beach all to themselves.
Even so, she could not deny that she was worried…about so many things. Derek, Tex, the angel—whom she very much hoped was not dear, kind Dr. Celestus. She was worried about Miss Helena and Henry and Red. She was worried about the orb and this Lord Wyvern person, whoever he was. About the Nightstalkers that had come after Jake. If Janos had not been there to rescue him…
She shuddered at the thought. That boy just kept getting into more and more danger. Would it never end? That was the only bad part of being close to Jake. She cared about him more and more every day, but at the same time, the danger he was in seemed to grow by the hour. Surely it was only a matter of time before something serious happened to him, and then what?
She threw the stick violently when it was her turn, unwilling even to ponder the question. No, the Dark Druids might’ve figured out how to pin down an angel, but they’d never get her Jakey.
She’d make sure of that.
Then she turned to look as he stood up from the sand and beckoned to her, and then loudly called everybody over.
Her heart did a happy little dance inside her chest at the sight of him looking all beachy and sandy, his dark blond forelock now sun-streaked, his skin tanned, cheeks rosy wit
h sun, his eyes a darker and more serious blue than the outrageous aquamarine color of the waves.
He’s really cute, she thought, especially when he was like this—all business, giving orders, making battle plans like some boy general.
His bossiness in that mode used to drive her mad, but by now, he had proved his abilities, so she just accepted it nowadays as readily as Archie always had. He was going to be the best Lightrider the Order had ever had.
Hmm, where is Archie, anyway? she wondered absently, looking around as Isabelle walked down from the garden while Maddox joined them from farther down the beach. No sign of Nixie, either.
It seemed like Jake was calling a meeting, so she wondered if she should go and find the two geniuses. But first, cheerfully grabbing Lil’s hand and calling to Teddy, Dani ran over to him and delivered the little mermaid to her elder sister.
As Lil plopped down beside Sapphira, Dani offered to find Archie and Nix, and Jake gratefully accepted.
“They must be in the house. Thanks, carrot,” Jake added, and the playful wink he gave her sent Dani running on air all the way up the stone steps from the beach. She shouted into the house for Arch and Nixie, then returned to claim her place next to Jake on the sand.
Jake’s expression was as serious as she had ever seen it as he gathered everyone in a circle under the shade of a palm tree. “All right, you lot. We need to talk about tonight— Careful!” Arch and Nixie arrived last, and as they sat down, he scolded them not to step on the diagram he had drawn on the sand.
“Sorry,” Nixie said, while Maddox knelt down on one knee across from Jake, inspecting the drawing.
Dani noticed that Isabelle wore a faraway look on her face, but she gathered Teddy onto her lap and petted him.
Sapphira, by contrast, had a rather warlike gleam in her eyes as she surveyed the diagram; she reached out and adjusted a few of the small, random objects that she and Jake had placed around it to represent different things.
“All right, everybody, pay attention,” Jake ordered, now that everyone was there. “I hope you’re all well rested, because we’ll be posting sentries all night. We can take turns, but I want eyeballs on the beach for as long as this full moon lasts. Mind you, we have no reason to believe that Davy Jones has learned our location. But with our luck, well, you can never be too careful. Right, so this curve here is the beach…”
Watching him, listening to him explain his plan, Dani was almost grateful that they had the pirate threat hanging over their heads. It gave them something else to think about rather than worrying about the rescue mission that would also be taking place tonight.
“Moonrise, according to the atlas, is at exactly 8:32 P.M. tonight. Of course, at this time of year at this latitude, it doesn’t get fully dark until ten thirty. If they mean to strike, I imagine they’d wait for cover of nightfall. So, it’s after ten thirty that we’ll really have to be on our guard. Now, moonset is at 6:33 tomorrow morning,” Jake continued, “so that gives us ten hours total we need to worry about—for all three nights of the full moon.”
Sapphira nodded, glancing around at them. “According to the legend—at least the way I’ve always heard it—Jones and his men can’t set foot on shore until the moon peeks over the horizon, and they have to be back safely underwater by the time the moon sets, or they’ll die like fish stranded on dry land.”
“Here’s what I propose.” Studying the drawing, Jake lifted his head and pushed his hair out of his eyes. “We divide the beach into quarters. Maddox and I take the outer flanks; Izzy and Sapphira stand guard at the two middle sections. Nix, you’re on the terrace, looking farther out to sea than we’ll be able to view from the ground. You’re to watch the midrange, that section out past the boulders. Also, if you’d like to contribute any more protective spells that come to mind, have at it.”
She nodded. “I’ll give it some thought.”
“What’s my job?” Archie asked. “Shall I take the Turtle out and patrol the water?”
“Nah, too noisy. It’ll only attract their attention, if they’re out there. Besides, we don’t want them looking in the window of the sub and seeing you. That could be bad. No, you’re up here, in the villa’s little turret, watching the horizon. Use the telescope you gave me for my birthday.” He turned to Sapphira. “He put this ingenious lens coating on a telescope that lets you see in the dark.”
“Really,” she murmured, looking intrigued.
“Should we keep the beach lit, do you think, or watch for them in darkness?” Isabelle said, her tone taut. “Not all of us have heightened Guardian senses.”
Maddox just looked at her, but Jake shrugged. “I don’t think it matters. To be honest, all this is more a safety precaution than anything else. I figure we might as well keep watch and be ready, just in case. After all, I doubt any of us will be sleeping much anyway…until we get some news.”
They exchanged grim glances and nods.
Maddox squinted as he always did when he was thinking of some interesting strategy.
Jake looked at him in question. “Have you got something?”
“Just wondering… Couldn’t we rig up some sort of outer defenses, at least something to give us advance warning? Maybe run a long line of fishing nets through the water twenty yards or so from the shore—like shark-proofing a beach.”
Sapphira shook her head. “Except we’re not dealing with ordinary sharks. It wouldn’t stop them for long.”
“But if we could run a line up to a ship’s bell or something, it could ring and alert us—”
“No need,” Jake interrupted. “We have Izzy as our dolphin wrangler. I forgot to mention that part.” He turned to Isabelle. “Could you summon a couple of dolphins over to the edge of the water and see if they’d be willing to patrol out there, warn us if they see anything? We don’t want Sapphira talking to them because they might get so excited to see her they could accidentally give away the mermaids’ location, and then Jones could find us. But we could sure use their eyes and ears out there.”
Isabelle nodded. “Certainly, coz.”
“Wallace can keep watch, too!” Lil added.
“Well, if we’re going to be up all night, somebody had better be in charge of brewing us a steady supply of those delightful little Italian coffees,” Archie declared.
Jake smiled wryly at his cousin. “You and your espresso.”
“What? They keep you wide awake. And they’re delicious. Especially with biscuits.”
“Lil and I will be in charge of the snacks,” Dani said in amusement. It was a good enough job for someone without any special powers.
Archie grinned at her.
She smiled back, then looked at Jake. “What else can I do?”
“You can wrangle Aunt Ramona,” he replied, his stern gaze softening just a little when he glanced at her. “If she comes snooping about asking what we’re up to, you have to head her off somehow.”
“Oh, sure, give me the hardest job of all,” Dani said with mock indignation. “I’d rather fight the pirates.”
Jake flashed a quick smile at her, but his gaze turned serious again as it traveled over the others. “Now if we do run into any trouble, everyone retreats to the house and we make a stand there, got it? Whatever happens, we can’t let Jones get the orb.”
“I still say we should smash it,” Maddox muttered.
“Everybody—hush!” Nixie suddenly whispered. “Here comes Her Ladyship!”
Archie turned around to confirm this for himself. “I wonder what she wants. She never comes down to the beach.”
“I don’t know,” Isabelle answered, studying the baroness. “Her mood seems very grim.”
“Maybe she’s come to apologize,” Jake muttered.
“She already did, sort of,” Dani reminded him with a pointed glance that implored him to be fair. She knew how sensitive he was to any whiff of disloyalty, especially from an adult.
Mistrust of them was just one of the many scars left behind from his time
in the orphanage. From cruel apprentice masters who had beaten him to overzealous constables who’d arrested him when he hadn’t even done anything, he was wary of them all.
Next to Derek, Aunt Ramona was the one grownup he trusted most in the world. She really shouldn’t have kept Derek’s capture a secret, but it was obvious she had done it out of love.
Dani saw that quite clearly and did not like the way Jake had spoken to Her Ladyship last night, especially after all the things she had done for him, for both of them.
After all, it was the baroness who had hired Dani to serve as lady’s companion to Isabelle. Without her, she would still be in the rookery and Jake would have been torn out of her life forever.
Now, with the two of them at odds, she really did not want to be caught in the middle of it. She felt the urge to try to smooth things over between them, but no. Not this time. Lady Bradford was Jake’s kin, but her employer. This was one argument she was staying out of, even though it went against her nature to leave it alone.
Anyway, Jake didn’t need her solving his problems for him. She had to remind herself of that sometimes.
They all fell silent, but the boys stood politely as Lady Bradford marched out onto the beach in one of her beautiful, tailored lace gowns with a high throat and puffed sleeves.
Her bifocals dangled from a jeweled chain around her neck and her gray hair was pulled back in a tight bun.
As she approached, Jake stepped in front of the sand drawing to block it from her view.
Reaching the edge of their circle, Her Ladyship looked around at them all gathered together on the sand and instantly seemed to suspect that they were up to something. However, it was clear that she had larger matters on her mind.
“What are you all doing?” she inquired.
“Oh, nothing,” Dani said sweetly, remembering her role when Jake nudged her. “We’re just enjoying the evening air, my lady.”
“Hmm.” The firm pursing of her lips made her knife-hilt cheekbones seem all the sharper. “You are worried about the rescue mission, of course. That is understandable. I would recommend that you keep your thoughts elevated. Try to be peaceful. Anger and fear do nothing to advance the powers of Light.”
