Chapter Eighteen

 

Declan was out of the transport ship the second it landed outside of the mountain in Alaska. He’d barely begun to run towards the entrance when he was lifted into the air and carried through the tunnel and deposited in front of the dark pyramid. He sent a “thanks” through the shengari’ to Tristan as he sized up the situation.

“Took you long enough,” Morgan growled as he faced off against a dozen daemons surrounding him, Nalini, Asha, Dizarion, and Amber.

Declan growled when he noted the primordial ore throwing daggers in Amber’s small hands and pulled out his new sword from the scabbard on his back, drawing the attention of the daemons. Two daemons tried to disappear through the energy net in the ceiling, but Tarona incinerated them before they got close.

The remaining daemons shifted nervously when Tiernan appeared beside Tristan, but they looked terrified as Declan’s brothers and Isabel came in behind him, each drawing their own weapons.

“The odds are a little more even now,” Shane said with a chuckle.

“Wait!” one of the daemons hissed as it moved tentatively closer to Tristan and Tiernan. “I have a message for the Light and Dark Warrior.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Tristan replied with a smile before he raised his hands and killed two daemons beside the one who’d spoken.

Tiernan did the same thing at almost the same second as Tristan and Declan immediately figured out what they were doing. He raised his sword and cut down another while Isabel, Asha, and Dizarion finished off the rest.

When only the one who’d spoken remained, Tristan stepped forward until he was inches from the hideous creature that was now shaking with fear. It looked at Tristan with wide eyes.

“The . . . queen,” the creature hesitated as it looked around at everyone. “Mastema requests your presence at a mutually acceptable location.”

“Why?” Tiernan demanded as he snarled at the daemon.

The creature blinked back and forth between its shadow form, and it’s physical one several times before it gained control of its fear.  

“She would like to discuss the recent situation,” the creature hissed.

“I can’t imagine what situation you could be referring to. Can you be more specific?” Tiernan baited the daemon intentionally.

Declan tried not to laugh at how frightened the daemon had become so quickly. When he’d first entered the mountain with Tristan, this same creature was sneering at Nalini. Now it acted like a cowed dog, and he couldn’t help but enjoy its discomfort.

He would never draw out another death sentence like he did with Jon but Declan would have no mercy for the daemons. Pure evil didn’t understand the concept of kindness or purity except for the rush they got from destroying it, and he was quickly learning that daemons were an almost mindless being.

The curse was proof of that. With only words of power uttered from their queen and they became driven to attack the cursed whenever they encountered them. They were soulless, and Declan would treat them as such. He raised his primordial ore sword, and the daemon shrieked in fear.

“Wait! Mastema would like to discuss the situation regarding the Dranovian’s mate and the curse on her!” the daemon rushed to say. “And the recent awakening of the Guardian of War and your weaponsmith.”

“Yeah, we’ve had a lot going on lately!” Tiernan said with a brilliant smile. “Go team good guys!”

Tristan sighed and rolled his eyes at Tiernan’s baiting of the daemon but couldn’t help but smile that Mastema was worried enough about recent events to seek them out for a meeting.

“What is Mastema’s suggestion for a mutually acceptable venue for this meeting?” Tristan demanded.

“The vortex in Sedona, Arizona,” the daemon replied nervously. “The queen wanted to ensure you had enough power to maintain your warrior form while you spoke.”

Declan wanted to kill the daemon for daring to assume his brother’s energy wasn’t stable enough, even if it was true but Tristan only chuckled.

“Sure. Sedona sounds fine. We will meet her there tomorrow at eight in the evening. Now go before our patience ends,” Tristan growled at the creature.

Within seconds the daemon turned to its shadow form, rushed upwards to the ceiling and disappeared.

“Is Sedona a safe place for you to meet her?” Declan asked Tristan even though he intended to be there.

“It’s more of a neutral place for everyone,” Tiernan replied with a grin.

Declan nodded as he watched Nalini usher Amber back to their pod and he was grateful that she’d thought to do so. He couldn’t be more proud of his new daughter and the way she’d stayed by Nalini’s side, ready to defend her with the primordial ore throwing knives. But the girl was exhausted and needed to be in bed. For a few days if he had anything to say about it.

“I’m going with you,” Declan said as he turned his attention back to his brother.

“All of you are! Except for Morgan of course,” Tiernan said with a grin. “Can’t have him start a real war. Not yet anyway.”

Morgan looked ready to explode. “I’m getting pretty damn sick of not being able to do anything!”

“You have training to conduct, and it must begin as soon as we come back from this meeting. Your guardians need you now, more than ever.” Tristan’s voice held a commanding edge that Declan was surprised to see worked to calm the Guardian of War.

“So how will this work? I can’t see Mastema removing the curse for nothing. Not when she knows I’m awakened and so are your Dranovian brothers. Add in Amber, our weaponsmith, and the queen is going to know we’re in a war even if it’s not been officially declared.” Morgan spoke calmly, but the primal power in him caused his eyes to flash red a few times as he tried to control his anger and frustration.

Declan could tell by the way Tristan and Tiernan were looking at one another silently, that they were talking privately. He only hoped they weren’t planning on hiding things from him. Not when it concerned his mate.

“Honestly, we have no idea how this is going to work. It’s kind of unprecedented. We’re going to wing it,” Tristan said with a grin as he fluffed his wings. No one was amused though it was kind of cute.

“Unprecedented how? Didn’t you meet with her once already and she led you to Tiernan’s relic?” Chris asked, sure that’s what he remembered being told.

“Yes, that did happen, but even that was unprecedented, so this is even more so.” Tristan shrugged his shoulders casually, but Declan could feel the cautious energy emanating from him.

“Should we call in some more brothers?” Chris wondered aloud as he paced in front of the Talunaha. “We don’t want to be outnumbered or take unnecessary chances.”

Declan liked that idea especially since Nalini would be expected to go if the curse were to be removed. The more back up the better.

“It won’t matter how many daemons she brings, the vortex will render all of us powerless the moment we step inside its range,” Tiernan explained.

“Not powerless,” Tristan argued as he shot a disapproving look at Tiernan. “We will be able to maintain our current forms and retain most of our power.”

“What about everyone else?” Chris asked, not liking the idea of going anywhere that would leave them powerless.

Tristan shot a ‘told you so’ look at Tiernan before he shook his head.

“The change only affects Tiernan, Mastema and I,” Tristan clarified. “It is a neutral ground for us only. Her daemons will also not be affected so you must be careful not to start killing everyone before we can speak to her.”

Morgan snorted in disapproval. “Perfect opportunity to cull a lot of her court and put her at a disadvantage that we could use to throw the court and Daemon Kyn into chaos. The infighting over the next ruler of the Kyn would cause mass murdering among their own to get rid of the competition for the throne.”

“Mastema’s death would also end any curses she placed on anyone. What a coincidence!” Tiernan rolled his eyes. “We’re going to get rid of the curse, you don’t have to turn this into a slaughter fest when this is one time we need as much information as we can get.”

Tristan nodded his head in agreement. “Like we said, all of this is unprecedented. We feel like we’re 10 steps behind in the game and we’ve been playing catch up. We need information that only Mastema can give us, but the curse will be removed no matter what. Even if we must kill the queen.”

Morgan nodded his head vigorously. He was all for starting this war so he could play too. The inability to use his skill in battle was driving him crazy and having to take a back seat while everyone tried to protect his baby was pissing him off.

“Morgan can stay here with Amber, but everyone else needs to come with us.” Tiernan made it clear he wasn’t asking.

“What of Nalini? She won’t be protected in the open,” Declan’s concern was evident in his voice and the tightening of his jaw.

“She will be in the vortex with Tiernan, Asha, Dizarion and me. I will let nothing happen to her,” Tristan promised as his eyes flashed with power and he exuded determination.

Declan couldn’t ask for anything more than his brother’s promise. He knew that Tristan would die to keep it.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Declan thought as he watched Nalini walk up to them.

“Is she OK?” Declan asked, referring to Amber.

Nalini smiled and nodded. “She’s doing well for a recently awakened child who just found out she’s pregnant and faced off against a dozen daemons.”

Declan winced at how that sounded and shook his head as Nalini put her hand on his arm and smiled up at him.

“Amber’s a fighter and a wonderful soul. She will be fine with time and love.” Nalini’s confident energy enveloped Declan, and he couldn’t help but smile back at her.

“Thank you for everything,” he whispered, trying to enjoy the private moment before someone ruined it.

“I’m starving! Let’s go make some food.” Chris slapped a hand on Declan’s shoulder as Nalini stepped back from him.

Declan wanted to kill Chris, and he looked apologetically at Nalini as Chris propelled him towards the dining hall. Nalini only smiled and blushed prettily, but it was enough to put a grin on his face and warm his heart. He turned to Chris.

“Get the damn replicators here yesterday,” he growled.

“Already ordered. Reign is porting supplies tomorrow morning. We should have everything set up and working way before the meeting with Mastema,” Chris replied.

Declan only grumbled as he went into the kitchen to see what he could scrape together to feed everyone.

“Let’s see what we have to work with for dinner.” Nalini scooted around Declan in the kitchen and went into the large walk-in freezer.

Declan watched in amusement as Nalini gracefully flitted around in the freezer picking up items until her arms were full. When he saw her shiver, he went inside and took everything out of her hands and placed them on the counter. He puzzled over the items as Nalini grabbed a few more and dumped them next to what Declan just put down.

He was more curious than ever as she moved around him and headed into the pantry. When Declan saw her arms again were full, he went to the door and held out his hands to her. Her smile melted his heart as she stacked him up with items. When he just stayed there and stared at her, Nalini playfully swatted at his shoulder.

“Put those down so you can get the rest,” she teased as she turned back around to look at the shelves.

Declan only grinned as he went back to the counter and dumped the new ingredients next to the frozen ones. He couldn’t fathom what Nalini was planning to make with the ingredients in front of him. Definitely nothing in his limited cooking wheelhouse.

He headed back to the pantry and sure enough Nalini was waiting with fully laden arms and a smile. Declan shook his head at her and relieved her of the items. He was just hoping the counter full of ingredients wouldn’t mean a ton of time in the kitchen cooking.

“You look confused.” Nalini laughed at the expression on his face.

“What can you possibly be making with all of this?” Declan waved his hand at the counter full of ingredients.

“We will be making chicken tikka masala, naan bread, papdi chaat, which is deep fried dough wafers, and palak paneer.” Nalini laughed at the frown on Declan’s face. “It’s going to be good. I’ll even go easy on the spices for you.”

Declan shrugged then rubbed his hands together. “What can I do?”

Nalini quickly measured ingredients into several bowls then pointed at them.

“I need you to mix them thoroughly for the bread,” she directed.

Declan looked into the first bowl and began to stir it while Nalini started tossing chicken pieces into a large pot with ginger.

“Did Amber get to sleep OK?” Declan moved to the next bowl and started to stir.

“The excitement made it take a little longer, but Amber was exhausted and couldn’t keep her eyes open. She’s such a sweet child. I left my mother to stay with her in case she wakes up,” Nalini’s smile was beautiful as she spoke of the girl and it only made Declan adore her more.

“Do you want kids?” Declan could have smacked himself for springing that on her like that.

He had no idea why he’d said it when things between them hadn’t had time to progress enough to even ask such a thing. Declan was still waiting on pins and needles for Nalini’s answer and breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled brightly and nodded.

“I love children and wouldn’t mind having a dozen of them. Amber is such a wonderful girl, I think she’d be a terrific big sister if we decided to have children.” Nalini looked up at him through her lashes, and Declan’s stomach clenched at how sensual she looked.

He had to look back at the bowl and stared at it for a moment as he struggled to remember what he was supposed to be doing. All he wanted to do was take Nalini somewhere private. It didn’t help when she came up behind him, and he felt her breasts against his back as she reached around, grabbed his hand and helped him stir.

“Like that,” she whispered and tried to back away from him.

Declan snatched her hand before she could move away, turned and swept her into his arms. The kiss he gave her sent the temperature in the room up 10 degrees as Nalini wrapped her arms around his neck and melted into him.

Her reaction spurred him on, and Declan set her bottom down on the counter and allowed his hands to learn her body the way his eyes had for days. Nalini’s moans and the way she moved against him was driving him wild, and he was just slipping his hands up the back of her shirt when a throat cleared loudly. Declan looked up and growled at Morgan.

“I don’t think what you’re currently cooking is what Chris had in mind,” Morgan said sarcastically.

“Father!” Nalini snapped as she hopped off the counter and blushed profusely. “I’m beyond the age of needing a chaperone!”

“Chaperone?” Chris laughed as he walked in behind Morgan. “Hell, you’re old enough to have babysat Jesus, why would you need a bodyguard?”

Morgan only crossed his arms over his chest and looked disapprovingly at Nalini as she glared at him. Declan moved in front of Nalini to hide her from her father.

“Chris, why don’t you stir what’s in these bowls while Nalini and I work on the rest of the dinner?” Declan knew Chris would understand what he was doing.

“Now that’s a job I can handle!” Chris sounded less than enthusiastic but went to the counter and began stirring what was in the bowl.

Nalini moved from behind Declan, shot a glare at Morgan then turned her back on him as she stirred the chicken marinating in the pot.

Declan remained facing off with Morgan for a few more minutes before the guardian finally left the kitchen.

“I can make enough noise in here for a while to hold him off if you guys want to slip out the back door. Maybe check on Amber or something,” Chris suggested without looking up from the bowl he was flipping flour out of periodically as he stirred.

Nalini blushed and shook her head. “Thanks, but he knows how long it takes to make this.”

The apologetic look she shot Declan made him want to go out in the dining room and beat the hell out of Morgan. He was more than a little tired of walking around on eggshells where his own mate was concerned.

“Have your parents always been so crazy over-protective?” Chris asked as he flipped a little more flour out of the bowl.

Nalini grinned and added a little more flour. “Mother and I remained hidden from the world because Father was afraid his enemies would use us as leverage against him. It wasn’t until the world had changed that they finally felt safe enough to leave me for another realm. I think they are still a little stuck in the past.”

Declan snorted at the way Nalini understated her parent’s protectiveness towards her.

“See that makes no sense to me!” Chris said with a laugh as he turned to Declan and dumped half the bowl of flour on the floor.

Nalini quickly took the bowl away from him and pushed him into a stool on the other side of the counter.

“Stay here,” she ordered as she dumped the remaining contents in the trash and added new ones to the bowl. “What makes no sense?”

“If they’re that worried about you, why’d they leave?” Chris winked at Declan as he asked. He knew his brother wanted to know as well.

Nalini sighed as she expertly stirred the contents of the bowl and added liquid to it. She quickly formed it into a dough.

“Their reasons for leaving are not for me to tell but I know they were ordered to go. By someone, they couldn’t argue with. They prepared me to live in the world on my own until they could return,” Nalini replied.

Her tone of voice indicated that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore and Declan wasn’t willing to push her. He glanced at Chris to make sure he realized it was better to let that line of questioning go for now and was grateful for his brother’s nod of acknowledgment.

“So, have you ever met this Mastema?” Chris asked, hoping for a more neutral topic.

Nalini shook her head. “No, in all my years and battles, I’ve never encountered her. In fact, I can only recall a handful of court members. I assume it’s because they’re powerful enough to ignore the compulsion.”

“Damn, how many of them did you kill over the years?” Chris admired Nalini’s skill. He couldn’t help it after watching Morgan’s impressive battle expertise.

Nalini puffed out her cheeks as she blew a heavy breath and thought about Chris’s question.

“Probably thousands,” Nalini admitted with a shrug. “I remember more than 50 in one night alone when I was in the Middle East a couple of hundred years ago. There was this one town I was passing through, and I think half the place attacked me that night.”

Chris' eyes widened in respect then whistled. “That’s pretty damn impressive. I can’t imagine going through that every night and staying sane. How did you do it?”

Nalini shrugged before turning back to the stove and stirring the chicken in the marinade and setting a pot of water on to boil.

“I kept myself busy and trained as much as I could.” It was apparent Nalini didn’t want to talk about it.

Chris raised his brows at her answer, and he looked at Declan who shook his head, signaling Chris to let it go.

“Did you travel much? I bet the changes in the world were incredible to witness.” Chris was hoping this would be a safer topic.

“I learned pretty quickly that traveling wasn’t a good idea. Neither was having friends. Too many innocent people died trying to protect me. So I chose to be alone.” Nalini’s voice cracked a little, and Declan’s heart broke for her, and the centuries of loneliness and pain she must have endured.

Chris visibly winced at the thought of what she’d had to suffer for so long and didn’t know what else to say that wouldn’t bring back painful memories. Declan had no qualms about changing the topic and getting Nalini’s mind out of the past.

“So what do we need to do next for this dinner?” Declan asked, nudging Nalini with his shoulder to get her attention.

She smiled up at him with sad eyes and grabbed a few bags of frozen spinach that she handed to him.

“You know how to make that?” Nalini asked.

“Yeah, boil it to death like all vegetables, right?” Declan teased.

It had the desired effect, and Nalini laughed, took the bags away from him and set them back on the counter.

“We’ll work on that later. Follow the directions on this and make the rice. The water is already boiling,” Nalini instructed as she handed him a couple of bags of basmati rice.

Declan looked at the bags and wrinkled his nose. Rice had never been one of the brother’s favorite foods and the only time they ate it was if they went to a restaurant. Unwilling to point that out and ruin the dinner she was making, he read the instructions on the back and quickly determined how much of the rice to add to the boiling water.

He added the rice to the water, put the lid on the pot and lowered the temperature like the bag said to do. Declan turned to watch Nalini and was amazed at the way her hands quickly worked to form the bread and place it on sheet pans.

“Did your mom teach you how to cook?” Declan asked, hoping to pull Nalini out of her quiet mood.