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

I stood, accepted my sword, and embraced Malachi. “You son of a gun.”

“I told you I’d meet you.” He hugged me back in the awkward way of someone without much experience in human contact. “And look who I brought, I brought,” he said, turning and waving down the street.

A block away, Seay and the half-fae appeared. Everson was with them.

I shook my head, still dazed at our sudden reversal in fortune. “They glamoured you to look like me.”

“I felt that a holy blast would be more effective, more effective at close range,” he said. “We arrived at the castle after you’d left, but you—I mean, Everson—told us about the bus.” Spying on my future self sounded like something I would have done. “We took the most direct route until we reached the pileup, the pileup.”

“But how in the hell did you make it out of 1660?”

“There was a portal down in New Amsterdam, but from there it took a lot of detouring to arrive here.” He shook his head wearily. “A lot of detouring.”

I kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair. “Let me check on everyone.”

Freed from their confinement, the druids had begun helping the injured. Jordan and his wife looked to be all right. In fact, Delphine and another druid were assisting Gorgantha, while Bree-yark looked on in concern.

The five fae, dropped following Malachi’s holy blast, gained their feet. No longer under the influence of the demon twins, they made their way toward Caroline and Angelus. Upon arriving, they knelt around their prince, each placing a hand on his back. I was worried he had perished until Caroline spoke.

“He needs your strength,” she told Angelus’s loyalists.

Currents of energy flowed from their touch, encasing her husband in a corona of healing light.

“Is there anything the druids or I can do?” I asked.

Caroline’s eyes were puffy when she stood. “Anything done here can only sustain him. He needs elder fae magic and quickly. I’m so sorry, Everson, but we have to take him to Faerie. I’ll send Osgood back to help you.”

“Do you have a way of getting there?” I asked, still brooding on Arnaud’s disappearing act.

“The line they arrived by is still active. With our collective power, we’ll be able to traverse it, but it must be soon.”

Had we not been through so much together, I would have been deeply suspicious of what she was telling me. Now, I nodded without hesitation.

“I understand.”

She glanced past me. “The Upholders are reunited.”

“Thanks to you. With Malachi back, we can destroy the final demon and take down whatever Malphas has built at the St. Martin’s site. I’m thinking this was his last-ditch attempt to stop us before we got there.”

The fold between her brows deepened. “Where’s Arnaud?”

“He took off, but he’s still warded. He’ll be easy to track.”

Indeed, finding him was going to be a minor pain in the ass more than anything.

“Thank you for everything,” Caroline whispered, and pressed her lips firmly against my cheek.

I nodded and watched her kneel beside her husband and the other fae.

“I’ll send Osgood,” she repeated.

In an implosion of fae light, they disappeared.

44

“That wasn’t dramatic or anything,” a voice said at my shoulder.

Turning from the lingering point of light where the fae had just been, I found Seay and immediately pulled her into a hug. “You came.”

“The collapsing reality didn’t leave me much choice.” When we separated, she turned serious. “I took your potion.”

Crap, I’d all but forgotten about that. “And?” I asked carefully.

A shadow crossed her face as she cradled her belly. “He’s been quiet. Probably sleeping.”

I felt the brick in my stomach again, but before I could follow up, Gorgantha limped toward us. “Is that the prego?”

“Gigi!” Seay exclaimed, running over and throwing her arms around the mer.

Gorgantha was banged up from her encounter with the fae, but powerful druidic magic moved through her.

“They told me you were big, girl,” she said. “But dayam!”

Malachi looked as if he were trying to keep up with the rapid exchange that followed, but he was fidgeting with his Bible, anxious to get going, it seemed. I shared the sentiment. I was about to say something when Seay’s laughter cut out suddenly. I followed her pinched gaze to where Jordan was approaching.

He stopped several feet away, quarterstaff planted at his feet.

“Before you say anything about what happened in 1776,” he said, “I’m sorry.”

Seay stared at him another moment, then eased from her bowed stance and nodded. “In that case, get your stubborn ass over here.”

Jordan chuckled as he walked up and hugged her. “I am sorry.”

“It’s history,” she said. “Literally. It’s lovely to see you.”

“You too, and congratulations.”

The remaining druids and half-fae, who had all been encamped in 1776 Brooklyn together, took their cues from Jordan and Seay and began greeting one another. Hugs and a few kisses went around.

“Holy thunder,” Bree-yark said.

He was standing off to one side, staring between me and my time catch counterpart, who had stopped on the verge of the reunion. Everson looked as if he’d been debating whether to intrude or slip away.

“It’s all right,” I said, waving him over.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know the original plan was that I wouldn’t be involved beyond the park, but well…”

“Believe me, I understand. At least this way, I get a chance to thank you.” I gripped his hand and pulled him into a bro hug, clapping his back with my sword hand twice. “The disruption field worked to perfection.”

“Good,” he said.

Embracing ourselves seemed to make us both a little self-conscious, and we didn’t linger. When we moved apart, Everson’s eyes dipped to the street before looking up again. “Listen, I had some time to think while I was setting up the copper stations. And you can, you know, give it to me straight.” He squinted as if someone were about to throw a baseball past his head. “Is this a time catch?”

“You know about time catches?”

“I did some extra reading over the summer. In a tome on alternate planes, there’s a