Page 67 of Incubus
Gabriel had nearly caught them each of those times, fully ready to kill them no matter their age. It made Nathan seethe that they had been running for so long.
The bar had gone silent. Sharing quick looks of agreement with Jim and Sasha, Nathan started down the stairs and the others followed, hurrying as quietly as they could. There was only one overhead light on in the main part of the bar, right over the bar’s counter. The otherwise dimness of the large room made every corner look like it was holding a hidden villain about to jump out at them.
Nathan gestured ahead toward the main doors. They had a clear shot to freedom.
“Wait!” Sasha called in a harsh whisper, grabbing Nathan by the shoulder to stop him. The incubus pulled Nathan and Jimdown close to the side of the bar, hiding them from view to the door into the lounge.
“I can get your bag. Just make yourself comfortable,” came Alex’s voice. She sounded calm, sensible, but Nathan knew her well enough to catch a tinge of panic.
Gabriel was heading back into the bar.
“I’ll get it. Really,” Alex tried again, but by the sound of her voice growing closer, Gabriel wasn’t listening.
Sasha motioned for them to move around the bar, remaining crouched and attempting to hobble forward without upsetting any of the stools. Nathan could see what must be Gabriel’s forgotten bag on the floor only a few feet from them. He could also hear the persistent sound of footsteps heading their direction.
“Here it is,” Alex said, and she was there, in plain sight, moving around the bar to claim the bag, and managing more nobly than Nathan would have at keeping an entirely straight face as she walked right past them.
Gabriel had to be as close as just the other side of the bar.
Alex walked back around the counter, making it easier for Nathan and the others to continue moving and keep ahead of wherever Gabriel might be. They paused at the sound of footsteps fading and shuffling out of the room again.
The kitchen door was closer than the double doors at the front, leading out to the back entrance. Sasha moved ahead of them in that direction and soon all three of them were scrambling into the small alcove hallway that lead to the kitchen.
The kitchen may have been closer than running for the front doors, but it also shared a wall with the downstairs lounge. They kept their tongues carefully held, gesturing silently that they needed to move. Once again Sasha took point, leading them silently over wooden floors and then linoleum as they crossed the kitchen threshold. The door out was only a few yards away.
“Nate!” Jim called out, glancing back at him—past himat the door they had come through. When Nathan looked back, he already knew what he would find standing in the doorway.
Gabriel looked just as Nathan had always remembered him. Older but still fit and more than formidable being a seal, with somewhat curled salt and pepper hair and a prominent snarl on his face. He was unremarkable in many ways, and yet the sight of him shook Nathan, even before the man started to pull a gun.
Jim tugged on Nathan’s arm, yelling, “Nate! Run!”
They were still crouched, practically crawling and, for a moment, Nathan was frozen in place with Gabriel staring down at him. Nathan had a gun too. Somewhere. He wasn’t defenseless. They had been running for so long from dark fae and seals, fromGabrielespecially, that part of Nathan wanted to stand and fight. But he couldn’t. A part of him always became a little boy again in Gabriel’s presence.
“Nathan, please! We can't fight here!”
But Gabriel wasn’t thinking about the Gatehouse wards. He had pulled his gun and was taking aim. Not at Nathan, closest to him. But atJim. There was no guarantee the wards could protect them at such close range, even if Gabriel was blasted backwards. Nathan readied himself to jump in front of the coming bullet.
“Stop!”
Then Nathan froze. Literally froze, not from nerves but from actual immobilization. Gabriel had frozen too.
Trying to shake his head to clear away whatever power had taken hold of them, Nathan found he couldn’t move at all. The power was all-encompassing, and all simply from the sound of Jim’s voice telling them to stop.
“Stop,” Jim said again, slow and calculating despite his surprise that whatever he was doing was actually working. “Put down your weapon.”
Those few feet from them, standing in the kitchen doorway, Gabriel listened, placing his gun neatly on the ground in front of him. He stood again only to remain frozen as Nathan was.
“I'm not what you think I am,” Jim said to the now motionless and unarmed Gabriel. "I don't have to be like other changelings. I don'thaveto be anything. I can make my own choices. I don’t want to be like them. I don't want to be likeyou."
Fury flashed in Gabriel’s eyes, but he couldn’t move or so much as flinch in response. Jim seemed to realize that Nathan had been affected by the power as well, because he lifted Nathan to stand upright beside him.
"You're going to listen to me now,” Jim went on, focused on Gabriel, while his hold was solid on Nathan. “You are never going to come after us again.Understand?"
Nathan trembled at the palpable power in his brother's voice. He could feel his limbs loosening as Jim’s power directed more on Gabriel alone.
"Wait!" Sasha called out from behind them, where Nathan couldn't turn to look. He had almost forgotten the incubus was with them. "He has a charm around his neck. Your power isn’t strong enough to hold him, Jim. Not in here."
Still mostly frozen, staring forward, Nathan could see a cord around Gabriel's neck with a small round pendant carved over its entire surface with protection runes. Slowly, Gabriel was regaining control of his arms, twitching. In another few minutes, he would be able to reach for his gun again. Changeling powers were not as suppressed as other fae in the Gatehouse, but they were still dulled, and with a charm on Gabriel's side, Jim's power wasn't enough.
