“I don’t always, but it was worth trying. I can read the barrier better when I’m closer to it, so I thought it might also strengthen my other weak gifts.”
He nodded toward the stone. “I wouldn’t call that weak. I’d call it a miracle.”
His praise pleased her. “Let’s step inside the cave. I want to settle you and the children out of sight while I examine the barrier. If I can find a weak spot, perhaps I can weaken it further.”
She didn’t sound all that confident, but it was the only hope they had. They wearily entered the dim cave, the only light coming from the small blue stone and the barrier itself. It didn’t take long for Cullen’s eyes to adjust to the poor light. And unless he was mistaken, she was leading them in the opposite direction from where he’d crossed over.
“It is beautiful.” Bavi’s voice sounded reverent as he stared at the shimmering power of the barrier.
Maybe it was, but Cullen had learned to associate the barrier with blood and pain and too many deaths to appreciate the myriad colors that had Bavi so riveted.
“Make sure neither of you gets too close to the barrier. It may be pretty, but its touch can kill.”
Bavi clutched his little sister’s hand, positioning himself between her and the danger. The boy had all the right instincts. Maybe police work or even the military would suit him. Cullen would make damn sure the boy got to choose what he did with his life. Being born a Paladin had left Cullen no options other than to pick up a sword and learn to fight.
Lusahn herded them along. “Just ahead is a small room with an entrance that’s only one person wide. A narrow strip of the barrier runs across the back.”
Which meant Cullen could hold off any attackers while she worked on weakening the barrier. Without being asked, Bavi settled his sister away from the entrance and joined her on the floor, then talked to her in a soft voice as he peeled a piece of fruit to share with her. Cullen positioned himself near the entrance, listening for any sign of pursuit. Lusahn stripped off her pack and drew her sword before running through an abbreviated version of her usual warm-up routine, maybe to help her focus. When she was done, she faced the narrow band of the barrier, standing with her feet apart and holding her sword raised in front of her.
After some time passed, Cullen quietly asked, “Getting anything?”
She nodded slowly. “The energy feels stretched and thin.”
Despite the chill in the air, sweat had beaded on her face, the only sign of the strain she was under. Once again, she settled into silence. He didn’t push her, but time was their enemy. A few minutes later, she stepped back, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“I can’t bring it down. It’s definitely weaker, but not weak enough.”
Cullen wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “Why don’t you sit down with the kids for a few minutes and eat something?”
“I need to try again.”
“Not until you’ve had something to eat and drink. You need to keep up your strength.” Then he played his trump card. He nodded toward Bavi and Shiri. “They need you to keep up your strength.”
She gave him a weary nod. “All right—but only for a few minutes.”
A few minutes might be all they had. He returned to his post, wishing there was something else he could do besides listen for approaching footsteps.
As he stared out into the darkness outside the small cavern, he gradually became aware of a change in the barrier behind him. The colors hadn’t changed, but its normal soft buzzing sound had increased in volume several times over.
He looked back to find Lusahn already back at the barrier, standing with her feet braced and holding out one hand mere inches from the shimmering colors. The colors were changing, fading in and out, as she chanted under her breath. He couldn’t understand what she was saying, but all he cared about was that it was working. The barrier was weakening.
But not in time.
“Lusahn?” he whispered, drawing his sword. “They’re coming.”
She immediately stepped away from the barrier, joining him at the entrance after muting the glow of the blue stone. “How much time do we have?”
“Minutes at best. Get the kids closer to the barrier and pray that it goes down before Larem and the rest get here.”
She shook her head. “No, you go with the children.”
His temper flashed red-hot. “Like hell! I’m not leaving you to face those bastards alone!” No matter how good she was with a sword, she’d be one woman against who knew how many of her former friends.
Lusahn stood her ground, her pale eyes glaring at him. “If there’s time, we will all cross to your world. If they find us before that happens, either of us can hold them off long enough for the children to reach the safety of your world—but Shiri and Bavi won’t be safe if they arrive alone, or with just me. The Paladins will either kill us or shove us back across the barrier. You are the only one who can guarantee my children safe passage to my brother.”
He hated the convincing logic of her arguments. The Sworn Guardians and their Blades weren’t bothering to muffle their approach, meaning they had come in number. It was only a matter of time before Larem and his buddies found them, and then the fight would be on. He and Lusahn together could hold them off indefinitely, but that would leave the children on their own.
The barrier flickered, but then immediately stabilized. Son of a bitch! What were they going to do?
“Go try to bring it down again. If you succeed, we’ll send the children through first, then me, then you.”
Before she could respond, a group of her people passed by the narrow entrance to the cave. They hadn’t spotted the opening—the passage was narrow and hidden by several large rocks—but once they turned back, they couldn’t help but see it: the glow from the barrier would illuminate the entry. Cullen flexed his hand on his sword hilt, wishing he had a gun with him.
“I’ll try again.” Lusahn motioned for Bavi and Shiri to stand next to her. “Stay still until I tell you to move, and then hurry. Cullen will make sure you get to safety.”
Shiri asked, “Where will you be?”
Lusahn met Cullen’s gaze over the girl’s head. “I’ll be right here behind you, little one.” She hugged Shiri and then Bavi.
Fear for this brave, beautiful woman made Cullen’s heart ache. He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. “I love you, Lusahn q’Arc. Come share my world.”
Before she could answer, the Blade returned. A shout was all the warning they got that their hideaway had been discovered.
Cullen pushed Lusahn behind him as he prepared to fight. “Try the barrier!”
They stood back to back, each prepared to do battle: her with the gifts of her kind, him with all the skills of a Paladin. He prayed that their combined efforts would be enough to turn the tide. But if the fates decreed that this be his last battle, then he would gladly lay down his life for this woman and these children.
“If you cross without me, make sure they know you are Barak’s sister. Demand to see him and Devlin Bane—remember that name. It might make the difference between life and…” He let his words trail off when he looked at the two children. Huddled against Lusahn’s legs, Shiri had tears streaming down her face, her eyes wide with fear. And her brave brother, a child himself, had his thin arms wrapped around his sister, as always trying to shield her. The two of them already knew far too much of death and violence, and it made Cullen sick at heart.
Once he had them safe in his world, he would do his damnedest to make sure that neither of them ever had to fear for their lives again. But he had to get them there first, and barring that, he needed to make sure they knew who could be trusted.
“Devlin Bane will see that you find your brother. He’s a man of honor, one I’m proud to call friend.”
“Devlin Bane,” Lusahn repeated as she positioned herself to attack the barrier again.
The first Kalith suddenly stood in the entrance, and the Other shouted in surprised shock as Cullen knocked h
is sword aside and ran him through. The dying Blade looked impossibly young as he bled out. Cullen felt a mix of guilt and relief that the body made it that much harder for the next fighter to force his way into the cavern.
It didn’t slow him down for long, though. This one was older, more likely a Sworn Guardian. He approached Cullen with deadly intent, and the two of them locked blades.
“Lusahn, sometime soon would be good,” Cullen shouted as he fought to keep the Other away from Lusahn and the children.
“A few more seconds.” Her voice sounded tired but triumphant. “It’s almost down.”
That was good—it had been a long time since Cullen had faced a more skilled opponent. And as long as the bastard kept Cullen occupied, it left the entry wide open to more Other warriors to enter. He forced the Guardian to retreat a few precious steps, and with a quick lunge, he drew blood. The Other retreated with a jagged wound on his sword arm, cursing in his own language. Cullen was about to go for the kill when the barrier suddenly flashed and flared.
“It’s going down!” Lusahn yelled. “Get ready to change places—I’ll hold them back.”
Lusahn brought her sword up in time to force the Other to fight her, instead of Cullen. “Get the children across!”
Cullen reluctantly let her take his place. He urged Bavi and Shiri closer to the barrier, ready to shove them to safety as soon as the barrier failed. He tried to ignore the clash of metal on metal and the sound of Lusahn’s ragged breathing as she fought on.
When he couldn’t stand it any longer, Cullen rejoined the fight. Between the two of them, they drove the Guardian back out of the entrance just as the barrier flashed and then blinked out.
Cullen quickly pushed Bavi and Shiri closer to the opening, and shouted, “Lusahn, it’s time!”
She nodded and started toward them. But before she could reach them, Larem charged into the cavern with another Guardian and his three Blademates, all with swords drawn. Hatred had twisted her former friend’s face almost beyond recognition.
“Lusahn, surrender or die!” Larem never gave her a chance to comply before going on the attack. The Guardian and his men moved to surround her, cutting off her retreat to Cullen and the children.
“I don’t want to kill you, Larem!” She was the better swordsman, and they both knew it. But her reluctance to kill him hampered her, whereas he clearly had murder in mind.
She tried to draw the fight away from Cullen and the children, to give them time to escape to the safety of his world, but saw him starting to rejoin the fight.
“No! Cullen you have to cross!” She forced Larem back with a flurry of thrusts. “Go before it’s too late!”
“No!”
“You promised to keep the children safe! Leave before we both die.”
As three more of her kind pushed through the opening with death in their eyes, she met Cullen’s gaze one last time. “I love you, too, Cullen Finley. Never forget that.”
Then she screamed out a war cry and rushed into battle.
It felt as if his heart was being ripped out of his chest as he followed Bavi and Shiri to safety. He screamed his throat raw for Lusahn to follow, her image blurry through the tears streaming down his face.
Chapter 11
C ullen fell to his knees as the barrier snapped back in place. Bavi and Shiri stared in terror at the sight.
“Where’s Lusahn?” Bavi held Shiri in his arms, looking very young. He dragged his gaze from the shimmering wall of energy to Cullen. “Why isn’t she here?”
How could he answer that? He’d never run from a battle in his life, even against overwhelming odds, but that’s exactly what he’d just done. His stomach churned as he fought to catch his breath.
“She held back the Guardians and Blades so I could get you two to safety. She’ll follow as soon as she can.” If she could hold off her attackers until the barrier fell again. How likely was that?
“What do we do now?” The boy’s voice cracked.
A gruff voice answered the question. “You’ll explain where the hell you’ve been, and what these kids are doing here.”
Damn, he must be messed up if he hadn’t noticed Trahern and several other Paladins standing a few feet away. Instinctively, he stepped between them and the children.
“Get Devlin. I need him and Barak as soon as possible. Then I’ll explain everything.” He put his arm around Bavi’s shoulders. “I also need a safe place for my friends here.”
Trahern’s icy glare warmed up only fractionally when he looked at Shiri and then Bavi. He nodded and stepped over to a landline phone on the wall, then punched in a series of numbers.
“Devlin, our long-lost buddy Cullen just showed up, looking a little worse for the wear and with some interesting company. He says he wants to talk to you and Barak, if he’s up to it.” He held the phone away from his ear while Devlin yelled loud enough for Cullen to hear him from across the tunnel.
“Fine, Bane, I hear you. I’ll bring all of them.” Trahern hung up. “All right, Cullen, you heard the man. He’ll call Lacey and have her bring Barak in.” He glanced at the other Paladins. “The rest of you stand guard in case the barrier goes down again.”
Cullen cleared his throat. “Trahern?”
He glanced at Cullen. “You got something to say about that?”
Aware that he was crossing a boundary that would change his life forever, he nodded. “Barak’s sister, Lusahn, is on the other side. If it goes down, let her cross and call me.”
The big man rolled his eyes and shook his head. “This explanation of yours better be damned good. Okay, men, if a female crosses, don’t kill her unless you have to.”
Cullen wanted to protest, but Trahern was only doing his job. He and Lusahn hadn’t thought to make plans if they were separated, but she’d know to surrender to his friends. It was her own kind that had him worried. She couldn’t hold off multiple Guardians and Blades forever, and they could afford to keep sending in fresh opponents until she was too exhausted to fight. He could only pray that they would take her prisoner rather than execute her immediately.
He swung Shiri up in his arms and took off at a run, with Bavi and Trahern right behind him. The faster they got to Devlin, the faster they could form a plan to rescue his woman.
Devlin Bane was seriously pissed off, and clearly didn’t care who knew it. “Damn it, Cullen! You were where? Not here, where you were supposed to be. Oh, no! Instead, you went off on some self-appointed, harebrained mission to deliver the mail in an alien world! Goddamn it, what the hell were you thinking? We had a plan, you idiot!” He slammed his hands down on his desk. “Do you have any idea what an uproar you caused around here? We even had the police searching, and every Paladin in Seattle was pulling double duty trying to find you. All we knew was your car was left parked outside, and there was no sign of you anywhere.”
He stopped to draw another breath. “If Barak had died in that tunnel, we would never have guessed that you’d do something so damn—”
The phone rang, interrupting the tirade.
Devlin listened to the caller, then hung up. “Barak’s here.”
The door behind Cullen opened, and Barak limped into the room. For a man who’d been seriously hurt only days before, he looked pretty damn good.
“Cullen!” The normally reserved Kalith crossed the room and laid his hand on Cullen’s shoulder as if needing the physical touch to accept what he was seeing. “I am greatly relieved to see you alive and well.”
Cullen cut right to the chase. “Barak, the Guild captured Lusahn.”
Barak’s pale complexion went ashen. “Do you know that for certain?”
Cullen raked his fingers through his hair, his whole body aching with exhaustion and worry. “I don’t know much of anything for certain. The last I saw her, she was fighting Larem. She wouldn’t let me help because I had to protect her children.”
“Children? What children?” Barak sank down on a chair. “I haven’t been gone that long.”
“She adopted two orphans whose parents sought the light. They’re with Laurel and Brenna right now. Lusahn said Bavi and Shiri would need your help adjusting to this world.”
Devlin took control of the conversation again. “Enough of the warm, fuzzy family stuff. You owe us an explanation, Finley.”
The urge to get back to Lusahn was riding Cullen hard, but he couldn’t save her alone. To get the help he needed, he had to explain, to convince them there was no choice but to stage a rescue.
He leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs, weary to the bone. “Devlin, that female Other I fought that day in the tunnels with you turned out to be Barak’s sister, Lusahn. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. When Barak ran to save Lacey, I was left with a choice: toss his note across the barrier and hope that Lusahn wouldn’t ignore it, or take it across and hand it to her myself.”
Barak stared at Cullen as if he’d sprouted a second head. “And if she’d been waiting there with her Blade?”
“When the barrier failed, I could see that she was alone.” He smiled grimly, remembering that moment when he didn’t know if she’d kill him or not. Looking back, she might think her decision to spare him had been a monumental mistake.
“I told her what had happened to Barak, and that I was there to set up a meeting with her about the theft of the blue stones. The barrier popped right back up, cutting off my only escape route. She took me home with her because she knew it would stay up for at least several days.” He glanced at Barak. “She said her gift for reading the barrier wasn’t as strong as yours.”
“Tell me more about this gift.” Devlin glared at Barak, who ignored him.
Barak looked shocked. “She invited you into her home? That would be a betrayal of her oath as a Sworn Guardian.”
“She had no other place to stash me that would be safe. The next day, she took me to meet Joq.”
“Who is this Joq?” Devlin asked.
This time, Barak answered. “He was her Sworn Guardian before she became one herself.” He paused to formualte an answer that would make sense. “He would be a leader entrusted to train those who would then serve as his aides. Once Lusahn had proved herself in the service of the Guild, she took vows as a Sworn Guardian and headed her own Blade.”
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