Magic Rises (Kate Daniels, #6)

by Ilona Andrews

Barabas opened the glass door and stepped into the gym, his eyes tracking the movement of my swords. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but sometimes you scare me, Kate.” “Barabas, you grow two-inch claws and can bench-press a Shetland pony. And you find me scary?” He nodded. “And I work with some very scary people. That should tell you something. How do you not cut yourself?”

Judging by the number of parts, this smoker was more complicated than a nuclear reactor. “Did you read the instructions?” He shook his head. “Why, were you afraid they’d take your man card away?”

“It’s a trap.” “Oh, I know it’s a trap.” Curran bared his teeth. “They’ve baited it with something they know I can’t refuse and let the Pack know about it. I met the envoys yesterday, just me and Jim alone. When I came back from the meeting, the rats and the jackals had already left messages asking if they could assist me in any way.”

“We’ll have to cross the ocean in the middle of hurricane season, go to a foreign country filled with hostile shapeshifters, and babysit a pregnant woman, while everyone plots and waits for an opportunity to stab us in the back.” I shrugged. “Well, it sounds bad if you put it that way . . .”

“You’re sending some confusing signals.” Curran growled deep in his throat. “That’s impressive but not really informative, Your Furriness.”

“But I love you and I don’t want you to be hurt. I’m not going to ask you to come with me. That would be like stepping in front of a moving train and saying, ‘Hey, honey, come stand next to me.’” I hopped off the wall and stood next to him. “Anytime.” He just looked at me. “I’ve never killed a train before. It might be fun to try.”

“One time I was dying in a cage inside a palace that was flying over a magic jungle. And some idiot went in there, chased the palace down, fought his way through hundreds of rakshasas, and rescued me.” “I remember,” he said. “That’s when I realized you loved me,” I said. “I was in the cage and I heard you roar.”

Curran had the strangest look on his face. I realized I was hugging myself. Hey, baby, do you want to have my children? Here, let me curl into a fetal ball in response. Ugh. I was a moron.

“Enjoying my suffering?” I asked. “I find it hilarious that you’ll run into a gunfight with nothing but your sword, but paperwork makes you panic.”

“You should let Kate handle it,” Jim said. “You’ve never done a large-scale bodyguard detail. She has more experience and she’s decent at it.” I pointed a piece of bacon at him. “I’m not just decent. I’m damn good and you know it.” “We’ve talked it over,” Curran said. “She guards Desandra, I snarl and run interference with the packs, and when she tells me to push, I push. We’ve got this, Jim.”

“Oh, so your family is only on a need-to-know basis, huh?” He gave me a hard stare. “That’s right.” When a joke flies past a sulking werejaguar, does it make a sound? “Are you sure you want to send your sister off across the ocean with us? Since I don’t even rank high enough to meet her and all that.” “Keira is an Army vet,” Jim said. “She’s good and she won’t turn on you.” I tried to picture a female version of Jim and got Jim in a dress instead. The image was disturbing.

The point is, to them he has value. You, on the other hand, have no value at all. They don’t know you and they win nothing by making friends with you. To them you’re Curran’s passing amusement that has grown into an obsession. A hindrance that should be removed, because the easiest way to Curran is through a woman.”

“And Raphael will be joining us,” Andrea said. “So you get twice the backup. Nobody will be killing you on our watch.” So that was what this was all about. I got a cookie after all. “Aww. I had no idea you cared. I’m touched.” “You should be.” Andrea bit another bacon slice. “I’m willing to abandon the tender embrace of my future mother-in-law for your sake.” “About that,” Aunt B said. “I’m coming, too.” Dear God, the cookie was poisoned.

“She’s been a bit obsessed lately,” Andrea said. “Ever since I became a beta and then Raphael proposed, all she’s been talking about is how she’ll retire and spend her years cuddling grandchildren. These are theoretical grandchildren. Raphael and I aren’t in a hurry. She says she is tired.” “Does she seem tired to you?” “She’ll outlive me. I’ll be an old woman, and she’ll be still promising to retire. I know that look. She’s coming on this trip, whether we like it or not.”

You’ve seen me take on dangerous things before.” “You get hurt, Kate. A lot.”

“The clerk called and said Saiman was kidnapped. What the hell was I supposed to do, leave him there?” “Let me think . . . Yes!” “Well, I didn’t.” “He doesn’t care about you. If you died saving him, he wouldn’t give a shit. Nobody even knew where you went.” “Jim knew where I went.” Aaand I shouldn’t have said that. Curran stopped and stared at me. “I took backup,” I told him. “Like who?” “Grendel and Derek.” Curran’s eyebrows came together. He realized that Derek knew and hadn’t snitched. I shouldn’t have said that either.

In his neutral form, Saiman was a blank canvas: neither ugly nor handsome, average height, average features, average skin color, sparse frame. The sweater dress made him look completely ridiculous. I had a sudden urge to laugh and clamped down on it.

“You’ll regret this,” I told Curran. “I know. We don’t have a choice. We have to get the panacea.” He leaned over and kissed me. “I love you. Thank you for the ship. Thank you for doing this with me.” A little thrill ran through me. “I love you, too.”

“Please. I’m leaving the Pack in the care of five medmages based in a state-of-the-art facility. You will have only me.” Doolittle surveyed us. “I’ve brought half of the people here back from the brink of death. Left to your own devices, you lose what small drop of common sense you have and do things like running through fire, breaking your bones, and taking on creatures of much larger size. If you persist in this foolishness, I should be there to make sure at least some of you get home alive.”

But we do know several things.” Barabas held up a finger. “One, the alpha couple will be the most likely target.” Everyone looked in our direction. Curran smiled. “That’s how I would do it,” Mahon said. “Split the alphas and you split the pack. If you do it right, the pack will turn on itself.” Being a target didn’t thrill me, but it wouldn’t be the first time. Barabas held up two fingers. “Two, they’ll try to reduce our numbers.” “Buddy system,” Curran said. “Nobody goes anywhere without someone with them. Pick your buddy and stick with them.” “Three.” Barabas raised three fingers. “Trust no one. I don’t know where they’ll put us, but we’ll have no privacy. Even if your rooms are empty, you can be sure that someone is listening to you breathe. Don’t discuss anything important unless you’re outside and you can see a mile around you.” “And four,” Curran said. “We will be provoked on every turn.

“I think it’s clear what really occurred. Theseus led the invasion of Crete, destroyed their superweapon in the form of the minotaur, returned home, and made his bid for power by pushing his dear old father off a cliff. Everyone pretended it was a suicide, and Theseus went on to found Athens and unify Attica under its banner.” Barabas barked a short laugh. “He’s probably right.” “I prefer the other version,” I said.

“I had forgotten that talking to you is like trying to pet a cactus,” Saiman said dryly. “Thank you for reminding me.”

A weredolphin. Pinch me, somebody. Greek legends spoke of some pirates who’d captured the god Dionysus. They were planning to rape him and sell him into slavery. Furious, he transformed them into dolphins. Apparently, their descendants were alive and well and still in the family business.

“Leave this ship,” Curran said, his voice deepening. He was about to explode. “And you will survive. This is your only warning.” Saiman translated. The dolphin drew back and pointed at Curran. “First, I kill you. Then I rape your woman.” Gold drowned Curran’s eyes. I’ve seen people put their foot in their mouth. This was the first time I saw a fin jammed into one.

“You’re taking a nap? Come on, Kate, I need you for this fight. Stop lying around.” You sonovabitch. I rolled to my feet and grabbed my sword. “You must think you’re funny.” A weredolphin threw himself at us from the right. Curran tripped him and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back, and I sliced the pirate’s throat and punctured his heart with two quick strikes. “Just saying, you have to pull your own weight. A hot body and flirting will only get you so far.” Hot body and flirting, huh. When I’m done killing people . . . “Everything I do, I learned from you, boy toy.”

“How do you tempt the Beast Lord?” Barabas murmured. “Simple. Offer him a shapeshifter princess.” Aunt B reached over and gently popped him on the back of his head. “I hate her already,” Andrea told me. “George hates her too, right, George?” “I think she is adorable.” George volunteered next to me. “We should give her milk and cookies, and if she promises to be quiet, she can sit at the big people’s table.”

“You must be the human Consort.” Yes, that’s me, the human invalid. “My name is Kate.” “Kate,” she repeated, as if tasting the word. “It is an honor to meet you.” Curran was smiling at her, that handsome hot smile that usually made my day better. Pushing Lorelei into the ocean wouldn’t be diplomatic, even if I really wanted to do it.

Aunt B was next, smiling so bright, I needed shades. Her voice was sweet enough to spread on toast. “So you are Mike Wilson’s daughter. He must be so proud. What a beautiful girl you are.” “Thank you.” Lorelei almost glowed. Oh, you naive thing. When a bouda smiles at you, that’s not a good sign. Especially that particular bouda.

No, she wasn’t checking if I was okay. She was talking about me as if I weren’t even there. The way one would say, Is your little dog thirsty? Does she need a bowl of water? “Perhaps a mount could be brought . . . ?” Lorelei suggested. Out of a corner of my eye I saw both Barabas and George freeze. Yes, I know I’ve been insulted. Settle down.

Do not punch the pack princess; do not punch the pack princess . . . “We wouldn’t want you to struggle to keep up.” Okay, she went too far. I gave her a nice big smile. Curran’s face snapped into a neutral expression. “We just got here, baby. It’s too early for you to start killing people.”

“So this is what our European brothers and sisters have been reduced to,” she said, her voice carrying through the castle. “Brawling in the hallways like spoiled schoolchildren. No wonder you had to send for our help.”

“I told you so,” Aunt B said quietly. “Told me what?” “Please, Kate. The fresh young thing on the pier? She even wore white.” “And?” “Nothing at all, dear. Just reflecting on the color. How virginal and bridal.” Yes. I’d noticed. If they were trying to influence Curran by shoving Lorelei under his nose, they weren’t very subtle about it.

Barabas leaned over between Curran and me and cut a small piece from my meat. Okay. He ate it, cut a piece of the bread, scooped a couple seeds from the pomegranate, ate them and stood quietly, chewing slowly. Finally he leaned to me and said quietly. “It’s not poisoned.” “A weremongoose,” Hugh said. “Most prudent of you.” “We mean no offense,” Barabas said. Hugh waved at him. “Of course. Would’ve done the same in your place. Can never be too careful.”

Magic burned my side, as if someone had grabbed a handful of ice and thrust it straight into the cut. My blood recognized an invader and reacted, purging it from me. Lyc-V. This fucking thing was a shapeshifter.

“One word,” he whispered, his voice taut with suppressed anger. “Say one word, and I’ll rip him apart. He won’t see the sunrise.” I looked into his eyes and realized he would. He would step out of the shower, shift his shape, and fight Hugh until one of them stopped breathing. If I stood next to him, he would fight Hugh so I would be free, and if I chose to run, he would fight him so I could get away. Nobody in my entire life had loved me this much.

“It’s a shapeshifter. The blood reacts to silver and shows the presence of Lyc-V.” “Aha! So I’m not crazy.” “You are most definitely crazy,” Derek said. “But in a deranged, endearing way.”

One last thing: the most dangerous person in this castle isn’t Jarek Kral or any of the other pack alphas. It’s Megobari.” Keira raised her eyebrows. “You’ve seen me fight,” I said. “I can’t explain to you why now, because it’s complicated and we’re being listened to, but I say this with every ounce of credibility I have: he is extremely dangerous. He has the means and ability to murder every person in this room and he will do it without any hesitation. Do not underestimate him.”

“So,” Hugh said. “You never told me. Did you like the flowers I sent?”

“Tell me, what do you do if there is no throne handy? Do you carry a portable model with you, or do you just commandeer whatever is handy, like lawn chairs and bar stools?”

“I found his body.” “I’m sorry,” Hugh said. Either he was a spectacular actor or this was genuine regret. Probably both. Screw it. “You should be. You ended my childhood.” “Was it a good childhood?” “Does it matter? It was the only one I had, and he was the only father I ever knew.”

someone’s flesh. Go to the Black Sea, meet new people, see beautiful places, get killed by a mutant carnivorous kangaroo goat. One item off my bucket list.

“You’re not married, right? What is the term?” Oh, you bastard. “Consort.” Barabas rose behind Curran. “The term is ‘Consort.’” “How quaint.” Hugh winked at Curran. “No marriage, no division of property, and no strings attached. Well played, Lennart. Well played.” Curran’s eyes went gold. “Stay out of my business.” Hugh smiled. “Heaven forbid. Although you should know that if the hunt had a prize for the most elegant kill, she would’ve won it.”

Curran never did anything without a reason and he was so controlled, even his one-night stands were premeditated. Curran wouldn’t lose his head over Lorelei, no matter how pretty and fresh she looked. He had cooked up some sort of plot, and now he was implementing it in his methodical Curran fashion, and the fact that he didn’t tell me about his plan meant I really wouldn’t like it. And that was exactly what worried me.

“Curran never does anything without a reason,” Derek told me quietly. Well, well, the Beast Lord’s sudden breach of manners when it came to Lorelei hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“What’s your name?” I asked. “Christopher. Christopher. I am.” “Why did they put you into the cage?” Derek asked. “I stole. Very bad, very, very bad. Wrong. It was a book. I wanted the knowledge.” His gaze fixed on me. “Beautiful lady, kind lady. Thank you.”

“It doesn’t exist.” Christopher gave a sad smile. “Rocks and memories forgotten.” “What happened after the beast killed the guard?” “Then I died for a little while. I often die, but just for a minute or two. Death never stays. She only visits.” “Christopher, focus. What did the beast do after he attacked the woman?” “I will tell you. I will tell you all, but water.” Christopher held the canteen upside down, his face sad. “No more. All empty. Nothing left. Sonst nichts.” That last bit sounded German. “You give me more water and I will tell you. Everything.” Christopher nodded.

A shadow peeled itself from the wall and followed me. Derek, moving silently along the hall, like some lethal shadow on soft wolf paws. “This whole stealthy walking-behind-me thing you’re doing is making me feel stalked. Why don’t you catch up?” He trotted over. “Just trying to keep you safe.” Et tu, Brute? “First, Barabas tells me he’s got my back and now you’re shadowing me. Do the two of you know something I don’t?”

“This will help you not at all. You are being replaced, and you are so stupid, you don’t even realize it. When a shapeshifter loves a woman, he doesn’t let another woman hunt next to him, nor does he let her finish his kills. When Lennart throws you away, I will be waiting.”

“But he never does anything without a reason.” “When I asked you if you knew something I didn’t, you lied to me.” “I didn’t lie. I just didn’t volunteer information. I didn’t want you to worry.” I wasn’t worried. When Curran got here, I intended to trip him, sit on him, and shake him until he explained this thing to me. So far, he’d let her stand naked next to him, he’d let her hunt with him, he’d let her finish his kills—whatever the fuck that meant—and in the past twenty-four hours he’d spent more time listening to her than he had speaking to me.

“You—” Curran gathered me to him and kissed me. It was a long, lingering kiss, made from fading exasperation, relief, and happiness. He smiled at me, those eyes so warm and welcoming. “I wanted to do this all day.” Okay. Now I was officially bewildered. I waited to see if question marks would sprout all around me, but the air stayed clear.