Cullen picked up where Barak left off. “A Blade is made up of three trusted warriors whose job is to protect and fight for the Sworn Guardian. Joq trained Lusahn and then retired, so that she could replace him as a Sworn Guardian. The Guardians and their Blades patrol assigned areas to keep the peace.”
Devlin looked for confirmation to Barak, who nodded.
“Joq took us up to the hills to a cave that humans have been using as a campsite. I’m sorry to say that Joq turned out to be one of the traitors, although he tried to keep that from Lusahn. He wasn’t happy to see her with me.”
Devlin asked, “Why? Because you’re human, or did he have other reasons?”
Leave it to Devlin to see right to the heart of the matter. “He was in love with her himself, but she never saw him that way. In the end, he impaled himself on my sword to keep from being turned over to the Guild.” He shuddered at the memory. “He’d already killed two members of Lusahn’s Blade; the third one led the charge to capture us.”
Barak and Bane were so wired, they almost trembled with it. He’d certainly gotten their attention. “Lusahn and I had already realized that the only hope for us and the children was to come back here. She held off the attack long enough for me to get the children across, but the barrier was restored before I could get back to help her.”
“You left my sister to face the Guardians alone!” Barak’s words were deadly quiet, laced with anger.
Cullen met his gaze head-on. “Yes, because we had the children to protect. Now that they’re safe, I’m going back for her.”
No longer able to sit still, Devlin was up pacing the floor. “Like hell you are! You’re lucky you made it back alive. I won’t risk losing you again.”
Cullen played his trump card. He slowly rose to his feet and made sure he had Devlin’s and Barak’s undivided attention before speaking. “If it were Laurel and Lacey at risk, nothing short of death would keep you from going after them. You can’t deny that, because it’s exactly what you both did.”
“But she’s—”
Cullen closed the distance between himself and his leader and friend, fists clenched, ready to fight. “Watch what you say, Bane, or we’re going to have one of those ‘discussions’ of yours. Only this time, I’m going to be the one doing all the talking.”
The anger faded from Devlin’s green eyes. “Oh, hell, you love her.”
“I love her.” Cullen looked at Barak. “And she loves me. Once I get her safely to this side of the barrier, we plan to build a life together. She’ll want your blessing.”
Barak shook his head. “Lusahn will not forgive me for abandoning our people.”
“She didn’t hate you for abandoning your world, Barak. She hated you for abandoning her. She’ll get over that if you give her half a chance. But before that can happen, you’ve got to get me back across the barrier.”
“She may already be dead.” There was as much sympathy as truth in Devlin’s reminder.
It killed his heart to admit it. “Maybe she is, but I have to know the truth. And every minute we stand here talking is another one she’s in danger.”
When neither man responded, he drew the line. “Make up your minds now whether you two are going to help me, or get the hell out of my way—because nothing is going to stop me from going back. Barak, I’ll understand if you’re not up to coming, but you’ll have to bring down the barrier for me.”
“You can do that?” Devlin looked sick. “Why haven’t I known about this?”
Barak stood to meet Devlin head-on. “I refused to use my gift for my people. I wasn’t about to use it for yours.” He turned to Cullen. “I’ll need to get my sword. I didn’t expect to need it when Devlin called me to come.”
Cullen let out a long breath. “Are you sure you’re up to it? The terrain is pretty rough from where we cross, down to the town.”
“She’s my sister. I would crawl if I had to.”
Cullen understood the feeling. “Then change your clothes while you’re at it. You’ll stick out in those jeans, over there.” He grinned and slapped Barak gently on the shoulder.
Barak smiled back. “Fine, and you go shave. My people don’t wear beards.” He limped out of the office.
When Cullen turned around, Devlin was already taking his favorite sword down from the wall. “Will black pants and a shirt be good enough for me to pass?”
Ordinarily there was no one Cullen would rather go into battle with than Devlin Bane, but not this time. “I can’t let you do this, Devlin.”
“Why the hell not? You’re not going back there with only Barak as backup.”
“There’s no person I’d rather have with me than you, but your looks are too distinctive to pass for a Kalith male. There’s some variation in build among their people, but I didn’t see one of them your size.”
Devlin understood that sometimes the success of a plan hung on small details. “Okay, but you’re still not going alone. Do you want D.J. or Lonzo?”
“Lonzo would fit in better, but don’t tell D.J. I said so.”
“I’ll handle D.J. Is there anything else?”
“You know that if we’re captured, it’ll go hard for us.”
“So don’t get caught.” Devlin opened his office door and shouted, “Trahern, get your worthless ass in here.”
“Are you going to ask him to go?” Trahern was tall, but not quite as massive as Devlin. He wouldn’t stand out as much.
Devlin shrugged. “That would be the plan, but you know Trahern. He’s a loose cannon and will do what he damn well feels like.”
Trahern sauntered in. “What’s up?”
“Cullen’s in love with Barak’s sister. Someone has to go with him to break her out of an Other jail and bring her back here, or we’ll never hear the end of it.”
Trahern gave Cullen a curious look. “You sure like to play dangerous games. You’ll be lucky if Barak doesn’t slice and dice you for messing with his sister. I’d better come along to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Cullen’s eyes burned, and he quickly blinked the sting of tears away. These two men were the brothers he’d never had by birth. The three of them had fought together, bled together, and dragged each other back from death far too many times for them to leave him to face his worst nightmare alone.
But watching Trahern strap on his weapons, ready to risk everything for him…there were no words for that kind of friendship and loyalty.
Devlin checked his watch. “We’ll meet back here in an hour. That should give you time to get changed and bring Lonzo up to speed. I’ll get D.J. back here to keep an eye on things. I’d send more of the men with you, but we can’t leave the barrier undefended.”
Cullen nodded. “It will better with just four of us; we can pass for a Sworn Guardian and his Blade. As long as we keep our faces covered, we should be able to get close to the Guild without drawing attention.”
Trahern gave him a considering look. “What’s it like over there? I’ve always figured it must be hell itself, from the way they fight to get out.”
Cullen closed his eyes and pictured the desolate landscape. “It’s all cold and gray, everywhere, all day. Their star is dying, and not all of them adjust to the lack of light. Those two kids I had with me lost both of their parents to our swords.” He thought about Bavi’s staunch protection of his little sister. “The disorder sounds genetic. If Bavi and his sister had stayed in their world, we would have ended up killing them, too. I couldn’t let that happen.”
Trahern slipped one last knife into a sheath in his boot. “Why don’t you stretch out on the couch and catch some shut-eye until we get back? You look like hell—especially with that scruffy beard.”
Cullen shook his head. “I’ll head for the gym and take a quick shower and shave, first.”
“See you in a few, then.”
Devlin waited until Trahern was gone to give Cullen a considering look. “I don’t know how all of this is going to play out, Cullen. The Regents still
aren’t happy about Barak, although most of the Paladins are okay with him now. Even that hothead Penn Sebastian is all right about him and Lacey. But having a Paladin show up with an instant family of Others will likely be more than the organization will accept.”
Cullen would cross that bridge when he had to. Right now, all that mattered was rescuing Lusahn. Once he had her safe, they’d work out their future together, with or without the Regents’ approval.
Devlin was still waiting for some kind of response.
“I can’t breathe for wondering if she’s—” His throat choked up; he couldn’t get the words past the pain.
His friend’s big arm settled around his shoulders. “We’ll get her back, Cullen. Right now, that’s all that matters. The rest is small potatoes.”
“I’ve never known anyone like her. She’s as good with a sword as any Paladin, and I know it. But leaving her facing that bunch of crazies is ripping me apart.” He could still hear the clash of their swords and see the killing rage in their eyes.
If she was dead, so was his heart. It was that simple.
Larem prowled the small cell next to hers, his endless pacing driving Lusahn crazy. He was outraged that the Guildmaster had arrested him, but what had the fool expected? In one night, the Guild had lost two members of her Blade, a former Sworn Guardian, and numerous men in the caverns as they’d fought to capture her.
Did Larem really think that the Guildmaster would be satisfied with only her life in payment?
She still didn’t know if the Guildmaster was involved with Joq and the humans. If he was, anyone who’d had contact with Joq would be suspect. In that case, Larem would be lucky if his entire clan wasn’t declared forfeit. She wished with her whole heart that this whole nightmare would just disappear.
That wasn’t completely true. No matter what happened, she couldn’t bring herself to regret allowing Cullen to live when he’d crossed the barrier. Closing her eyes, she let the soft brown of his dark eyes and his bright smile chase the shadows from her thoughts.
Her warrior heart had found a kindred spirit in his. She would hate to have lived out her life without ever knowing the feel of his body against hers and inside hers, the warmth of his breath on her skin, or the joy of knowing that a man of such strength loved her. If the gods decreed that they share so few days together, at least they had been good ones.
She hurt for Bavi and Shiri. She hoped that they didn’t find their new world too frightening. They both trusted Cullen, and he would see that they were safe. She was sure Barak would help, too. Even though her brother had made choices she didn’t understand, his strength of character would not have changed. He would reach out to her children and hold them in his heart for her sake.
“Why are you smiling, Lusahn?” Larem pressed his face against the bars on his cell, distorting his features almost beyond recognition. “Do you want to die? Because if that’s what you wanted, you could have saved us all a lot of trouble and let Joq finish off you and your human lover.”
“Joq was the traitor, Larem. Not me.”
“So you say, but I’ve seen no proof of his betrayal. You, on the other hand, not only allowed a human to live, but you let him fuck you.”
She ignored him, not willing to let his anger tarnish her memories of what she and Cullen had shared.
“Your own kind wasn’t good enough for you.” Larem lunged against the bars, rattling the cage they were in. “Any one of us would have served you, had you been interested. Were you blind to how Joq felt about you?”
Yes, she had been, a fact she regretted. Love couldn’t be forced, but she should have been more sensitive to his feelings. But how was she supposed to have known that he thought of her as more than a favored member of his Blade? He never said a word. There was plenty of blame to go around, not all of it hers.
The door at the end of the passage creaked on its hinges. Larem immediately flopped back down on his cot, pretending a disinterest he certainly didn’t feel.
She remained where she was, staring at the blank wall and wondering if the order for her execution had come through. By force of will she kept her hands from shaking. Inside, though, her control fractured, the pieces all sharp edges and painful. Footsteps marching in unison passed Larem’s cell to come to a crisp stop outside hers.
Only after several seconds passed did she slowly raise her eyes to face the intruders. Had they drawn straws to see which of her former peers would have the dubious honor of escorting her? If so, was this the winner or the loser?
“Lusahn q’Arc, I am Sworn Guardian Berk. You will accompany us to the Guildmaster’s office.” He kept his eyes focused just over Lusahn’s head, obviously determined not to make eye contact.
“Tell him I’m busy this afternoon. Maybe I can fit him into my schedule tomorrow.”
One of the Blademates didn’t quite hide a quick grin before wiping his face clean of all expression. The small slip pleased her. But his youth reminded her of Kit, and once again her spirit sank through the rough floor.
“He will see you now.” This time there was more force behind the words, the Guardian determined to carry out his duty with force if necessary.
She’d had enough of fighting so she stood, staying clear of the door until they pushed it open wide. She fell into step with the group, marching smartly in their midst with her shoulders back and head held high. She had been one of them, willing to die to protect those in her care. That hadn’t changed.
The Blade halted outside the Guildmaster’s office, only the Sworn Guardian escorting her inside. The Guildmaster didn’t look up from the stack of paperwork on his desk—another move in the game to show who was controlling the situation. Finally, he set down his pen and moved the pile to one side. He folded his hands on top of his desk as he stared at Lusahn.
“Thank you for bringing her, Guardian. You may wait outside.”
“Do you want me to restrain her, sir?” The Guardian pulled a length of rope from the inside pocket of his cloak.
The Guildmaster stared at Lusahn’s rumpled appearance and shook his head. “I think we can trust her to behave for the moment.”
What choice did she have? If she attacked the Guildmaster, she was dead. Of course, chances were that her death was already scheduled. Her eyes burned, but she’d spilled all the tears she was going to. She would meet her executioner with dignity, even if she was no longer a Sworn Guardian of her people. They could strip away the title and trappings of the office, but not the training and strength that had made her good at her job.
When the Guardian left the room, the Guildmaster leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk, his fingers intertwined. “You’ve been busy, Lusahn. Adopting strays, smuggling a human into our world, and killing your mentor, not to mention your Blade.”
“I did not kill the members of my Blade. Joq did that. And in point of truth, I did not kill Joq.” Although it had been her sword, she had not administered that final blow. Cullen had saved her that much.
“But you don’t deny allowing a human to take refuge in your home, along with those strays you took in.”
Before, she would have honored this man’s position as head of her Guild and accepted his censure without a murmur, even if he was wrong. Not this time.
“Bavi and Shiri are not strays. They are children, our children. It is not their fault that their parents sought the light. I took an oath to protect the citizens of our world. There was nothing in that oath that allows me to pick and choose those whom I would serve.”
“Very noble, Lusahn,” her leader sneered, clapping his hands in a mock salute. “How convenient to stand behind your oath when it serves your purpose, but ignore it when you’d rather take a human to your bed than execute him.”
He was right, and they both knew it. But there was more to it than that. “Someone on this side is working with humans to steal the light from our world. The Paladins mean to put a stop to it, even if it means working with us, their sworn enemy.”
He swept his hand across the desk, scattering papers everywhere. “And how do we know this? Did you bring the messages they sent to me, your Guildmaster? No, you kept them secret. Did you report the human when he came across? No, you hid him for your own purposes. Whose word did you trust? Your brother, who it turns out did not die when he crossed the barrier, but has joined forces with the enemy?”
She remained quiet for the simple reason that he was right. All of those things were true, but they weren’t the truth as she knew it—not deep down inside, where it counted. Yes, she’d held on to the note because it was addressed to her, a private request from brother to sister. Barak had survived in the human world, but they’d both paid a terrible price for his decision. Telling the Guild that he’d survived would have accomplished nothing. He’d already been declared a traitor. Confessing his whereabouts would only confirm it.
But most of all, Cullen wasn’t just any human. From the time they first crossed swords, she’d known that. Even at the cost of her own life, she would not have betrayed him and what they’d found together.
The Guildmaster’s eyes narrowed. “Even now, you think of that human rather than your duty and your people. Yet here you sit, condemned to die, and where is he? Back home with the rest of his murdering kind, probably bragging to all his friends about what fools we all are. Considering all you have lost, Lusahn, I would say you struck a poor bargain in letting the human live.”
Her blood ran cold hearing that she’d been condemned before she’d even walked into this office, without a chance to defend herself or explain. She slowly rose to her feet, taking pride in the flicker of fear in the Guildmaster’s eyes. Did he really think she would attack?
“I am still a Sworn Guardian. As such, I cannot lift my hand against those weaker than I am. That includes you.” She placed her hands palm down on his desk and leaned forward, enjoying the effort it cost him not to back away. “But know this. If you were working with Joq to steal the light from our world, there will be a reckoning.”
Redeemed in Darkness Page 17