Night Rune (Prof Croft Book 8) by Brad Magnarella (best e reader for academics txt) 📕

“I know a way that’s better hidden,” she said.

“How far away are we talking?” I asked.

“Within the half hour.”

Bree-yark’s brow furrowed. “That close?”

Given the vastness of Faerie, I shared the goblin’s skepticism.

“Not close,” Caroline said. “Soon. The portal works off the moon’s position.”

Instead of allaying my skepticism, her answer only deepened it.

“A lunar door?” I all but cried. “You have a lunar door?”

I’d heard rumors of the gems, but they were said to have all been destroyed, if they ever existed in the first place. That was why the portals in Upper and Lower Manhattan were so valuable to the kingdoms that controlled them. Hell, the portals were the reason Caroline’s mother had betrothed her to Angelus.

“Someone smuggled one to me, yes,” Caroline said.

I deduced that someone to be Osgood, maybe another reason to trust Caroline.

“If he gave you a lunar door ,” I said, “why can’t he help you into the time catch?”

“Because the kingdom expressly forbade him. They issued the order after learning he’d helped you and the others. He is magically bound by such orders, whether they are influenced by demonic powers or not.”

I had guessed rightly about that.

“And you were singled out for asking Osgood to help us?” I asked.

For the first time, her eyes glimmered with moisture. “Perhaps now you understand my situation.”

I did. She might have left of her own free will, but she was also in danger. Her only hope for restoring her kingdom, and her place in it, was to end Malphas’s menace. And that meant entering the time catch by the only means left. I could use her help, but I had to ensure we wouldn’t be working at cross purposes.

“I have friends to recover,” I said.

“I understand. What did you find when you went the last time?”

“Strangers. One each holding the half-fae and druids. Arnaud was there too, manipulating the ley lines around St. Martin’s Cathedral. Or the plot, at least. The church burned down in the Great Fire of 1776 along with half of downtown. I think he was working on a portal for Malphas to enter the time catch.”

“And from there, our world.”

Finally, someone who understands the situation and the stakes.

“That’s my guess too,” I said. “But I’m not sure how Malphas plans to follow through without Arnaud at the controls. He must have found a replacement. Probably why he’s being so protective of the time catch.”

“I can attempt to access Arnaud’s thoughts, understand what he was doing there.”

“That would help.” And it sure as hell beat attempting to finesse that info out of him.

“But I’ve little doubt the answer will be St. Martin’s,” she said.

“The power source.”

“If we can cap the well, Malphas will have nothing to draw from.”

“That should also restore stability to the domain.”

“Making it safer to recover your friends.”

For the first time, I smiled.

Bree-yark cleared his throat. “Hey, uh, mind if I have a word with you, Everson?”

“Oh, Caroline, this is Bree-yark,” I said, remembering myself. “Bree-yark, Caroline.”

The goblin hesitated before sheathing his blade and accepting her offered hand. “A pleasure,” he grunted.

She nodded before shifting her eyes back to mine. “I know you have much to consider, but our window for action is small.” She appeared to hesitate before adding, “You should know too that something hunts you.”

A charge went off in my chest. “What?”

“It comes from the realm of the dead. It wants you or something of yours. That’s all I can sense.” When a comma appeared between her eyebrows, it took a moment for me to understand why her earlier show of concern had bothered me—she’d sacrificed her feelings for me two years before.

“I’ll prepare the portal,” she said when I didn’t respond.

As she strode from the cottage, her glamour returned, darkening her hair and restoring the roguish male features from before. Bree-yark waited until she was out of earshot before turning back to me.

“I don’t trust her,” he whispered.

“Well, I didn’t either at first, but she stood up to my banishment attack without so much as a frown, so she can’t be carrying anything demonic. Plus, everything she said makes sense.”

“Of course it does. She’s fae.”

“Half-fae,” I corrected him.

He seized my arm and walked me to the far side of the cottage. “One of the things I’ve come to respect about you is your judgment. I mean, that whole thing with me and Gretchen? You’re no dummy. But fifteen minutes with this broad, and she’s convinced you to do the one thing you’ve been dead-set against? Sorry, Everson, but that doesn’t smell right.”

Even though goblins held an inherent distrust for the fae, I considered what he was saying. Was she manipulating me?

“Did you pick up any magic?” I asked him.

“Just her glamour and some items she’s carrying.”

“No enchantments, though?”

“No,” he admitted. “But there’s more than one way to charm a person. Didn’t you say you two had history?”

I pondered Caroline’s show of concern, comparing it to the last time I’d seen her. It had been after the big press conference when the mayor had restored my good name in the city. Our gazes met across the stage, hers showing a vanilla recognition but nothing deeper, all of her feelings for me wiped clean.

Including concern.

“All right,” I said, “maybe there’s a little bit of manipulation happening, but I still believe our goals align. I want to recover my friends and head off a demon apocalypse. Caroline wants to restore her kingdom. And if Arnaud is the only way, she’s going to need me to access him. She can’t penetrate the wards.”

“Is he the only way, or is she just telling you that?”

“Well, my magic’s not giving me a hard no.”

“Is it giving you a hard yes?”

The truth was, my magic was still in introspective mode.

“Maybe not, but she warned me about the death thing stalking me.”

“Sure she’s not behind that? Maybe as a way to rush your decision?”

Bree-yark was making a lot of good points, dammit. “All right, look. Before I agree to anything, I’ll consult with