Page 116 of Shield of Fire

His voice came from the right of the clearing, in the area where the rocky outcrop that formed the viewing platform was. But a foul caress of energy lay to the left, and my gut twisted. I had a bad feeling he was using the ruby’s flames to cage Lugh, and if that cage had a top, I was in trouble. No matter how mighty my storm, it wouldn’t affect the ruby’s unearthly flames.

Hell, I wasn’t even certain the knives could. They might theoretically be able to kill certain gods, but did that mean they could also counter the powers raised by the deadly weapons of the gods?

Dare I risk destroying the knives in godly fire to find out?

If it meant saving Lugh’s life, fuck yeah.

“Has using the ruby’s power addled your senses?” My voice sounded remarkably calm given the turmoil that raged within. “Because if I had the fucking knives on board, I’d be busting through these shields of yours and attacking your ass right now.”

He laughed. “Had you attempted that, your brother’s life would have been forfeit.”

“It’ll be forfeit anyway, and we both know it. You can’t afford to let either of us out of this clearing, can you now?”

“A truth few would have realized so quickly. Strip down to your undergarments, Bethany. I want to be sure you’re not carrying anything you shouldn’t be.”

He wasn’t talking about weapons. He was talking about wires.

I quickly stripped everything off, even my underwear. I might have been addicted to the touch of a dark elf as a teen—and undoubtedly still was as an adult—but Halak’s appetite for sex was legendary. Even back then, he was nigh on insatiable. Nakedness would distract him. It always had.

I shoved my boots back on and then said, “I’ve done as you asked. Now let me see my brother.”

“Once I’ve done my check, I most certainly will.”

A brief break in the front wall of magic appeared. I stepped through, my gaze sweeping the clearing. I’d guessed right—Halak was standing on the stone outcrop, and his shield did encircle the entire clearing—but didn’t, I was relieved to see, arch over us.

I looked left, and sick fear twisted through me. Lugh was caged by a cylindrical tube of fire. I was too short to see if the fire enclosed the top, and the flames were too fierce to see if he stood within or not.

“Well, this is a delightful surprise,” Halak said. “And may I say, the skinny teenager has certainly filled out magnificently. Lift your hair, sweet Bethany, and turn slowly around.”

He was wearing a long coat that fell past his knees and a rather sad-looking woolen cap that should have shadowed his features but somehow didn’t. His face was angular, holding none of the perfection of Cynwrig’s or even Mkalkee’s, but his eyes were as entrancing as they’d ever been, shining with an almost otherworldly light.

I clenched my fists against the urge to cast him off that goddamn ledge and smash him to the ground below, and lifted my hair. But my fury reached upwards, and lightning speared the sky. It briefly illuminated the clearing and revealed the shadow standing within the flames.

Lugh. It had to be. There were few other men in Deva as big as him.

Relief hit so hard, my knees threatened to buckle. But the flash had also revealed something else. Not only were his hands and feet tied, but there was a rope wrapped around his neck, and it was leashed to the rope binding his arms. There could only be one reason for that—it was a noose, one that would tighten with any attempt to escape.

I slowly rotated as Halak had asked, and silently directed a sliver of wind toward my brother; it rolled over the ungodly flames and then bled down the cylinder’s inside. The cylinder wasn’t capped, and I could get Lugh out, as long as my reactions were faster than Halak’s.

Once the wind had skimmed Lugh’s body, it returned, thick with the scents of fury and blood. He was hurt but not badly.

I turned the rest of the way until I was facing Halak again. “Satisfied?”

“For the moment.” His gaze slowly toured down my length, and while the spark of anticipation lit his gaze, all I felt was revulsion. “Where is the shield, Bethany?”

His gaze was on my breasts rather than my face, and I clasped my hands behind my back, a move that not only emphasized their fullness but also hid the movement of my hands. Slowly, carefully, I reached for the wind again.

“It’s close by. Release my brother from his cage, and I’ll fetch it; not before.”

“That’s not how this works. I say, you do. Or your brother will be punished.”

He took a hand from his pocket, revealing the ruby. Just for a moment, light flared deep in its bloody heart, and the intensity of flames behind me increased. Lugh hissed, a sound that shot through my heart.

“Stop,” I said, and did two things.

Unleashed the wind, and called for the knives.

As the hilts thudded into my waiting hands, Lugh was ripped from his cage and snatched high into the air. I directed him across to Sgott, depositing him softly on the ground without releasing him. The minute I did, he’d come running straight back.

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