Page 110 of Sidhe
She actually made a sound like an honest to God—well maybe notGod—moan. “Why, Nathan, I thought you were above making deals for yourself,” she mocked him.
“This isn’t for me. It’s for them.” Nathan gestured back toward the door. He hated having to do this, having to please Malak so thoroughly by doing this, but he had to. “You said to me more than once that you wouldn’t let anything happen to the people I love. Youswearyou won’t hurt anyone inside these walls, that Jim and Sasha and the others will be safe?”
Now Malak was honestly intrigued. Her heels dug into the carpet as she walked closer, the snug black dress alluring as she moved, her mouth smiling but serious. “That will be up to you, Nathan. As I’ve told you, the power will be yours. I’ve never lied about that. We will be one, but you will be in complete control. So by all means, mold the world as you see fit,” she finished grandly, still mocking him, Nathan knew, still taunting him with how she had forced him into this choice.
Or so she thought.
“Yeah,” Nathan huffed, “I’ll be in control. With youpoisoningme from the inside to do things the way you want.”
Malak cocked her hip, one hand curved to rest on it. “Well, if you’d rather watch all the people here die…” she said warningly.
“No. I know what I have to do. But before I give you what you want, you have to promise me something else; promise me or the whole thing’s off.”
Now Malak wasreallyintrigued. “Anything,” she said, and Nathan knew she meant it.
“Good,” he said, turning back to the door and locking it swiftly. “Let’s make a deal.”
Chapter 39
Jim
Jimwasoutsidethemain doors of the Gatehouse with a line of people along the perimeter. He turned to Sasha with a wary expression. “Is everyone in position on the roof?”
Sasha nodded dismissively. “Where’s Nathan? It’s been almost half an hour. We’re ready, as ready as we can be, just sitting aroundwaiting. Jim—” But Jim didn’t hear if the incubus said anything more. He was too busy pitching to the side as a pulse of energy struck him hard.
A moment later the only thing keeping Jim upright was Sasha’s grip on his arm. Everything around him was blurry and spinning, as if he had been hit by some sort of shockwave. No one else seemed affected, but Jim knew something was wrong. He also knew without a doubt that it had something to do with Nathan.
“Something’s happened,” he managed to say to Sasha, and then jerked out of the incubus’ hold, running haphazardly toward the main stairs, pushing past anyone who got in his way.Jim knew Sasha was right on his heels, he just prayed everyone else stayed at their posts.
They reached the bedroom and found a closed door, Jim unable to comment more than casting Sasha a worried look. He tried the knob, only to find that Nathan had locked them out when the world was falling apart all around them.
“Nathan!” Jim pounded once on the door before stepping back and kicking hard enough to send the whole thing flying off its hinges into the room.
Then it hit him, as potent as he had felt downstairs: a shockwave, a soul-deep pulse from inside the room that spoke to Jim ofwrong, of dark and evil and everything going straight to Hell withNathanat its center. And there he was inside the room, facing away from them staring at his hands like he barely recognized them as his own.
Sasha was too impatient, maybe hadn’t felt it yet, maybe couldn’t, but Jim knew the truth too well to just let Sasha walk into this unprepared. Jim pulled him back before he could take a single step. He shook his head when Sasha looked to him questioningly, because this couldn’t be what he thought, what he felt and knew to be true, but it was.
That wasn’t his brother inside the room.
“Nathan…” Jim choked out mournfully.
The figure of Nathan cocked his head just slightly, as if Jim’s voice was what finally caught his attention, even though the door was a fine mess in front of the bed.
From behind, Nathan looked perfectly normal, still wearing jeans, a button down, and a T-shirt underneath. But when he turned, smirk already on his face, amusement and satisfaction lighting up every part of him, Jim felt his heart stop in his chest to seered on blackeyes.
“Jim…” Nathan’s voice said like a hiss, like he was hungry for the name.
“No…” Jim said. “I can’t believe you’d do this, Nathan.Why?” He trembled with disbelief and horror. Sasha did as well; trembled as he stared, shocked into silence.
Turning more fully, slowly and rigid like he didn’t quite know how to control his body, Nathan gave a delirious laugh as if it was all a big joke. “Why?” he repeated, looking at his own hands again, fascinated. “Had to save everyone, Jim. Had to buy time. Now we got all the time in the world.” He closed his eyes, breathed in as if something in the air was wonderfully sweet, and exhaled into a wider grin.
Those awful eyes centered on Jim as Nathan flexed his fingers.
“What’s wrong? It’s okay, Jim. You don’t have to worry anymore,” Nathan said as he began to walk assuredly toward them.
Jim pulled Sasha back, guarding him from Nathan—guarding himfrom Nathan—and blocked the doorway. “You tricked Nathan into this somehow, so you can…what? Wipe us out faster from the inside, no one the wiser ‘til it’s too late?”
That had to be it. Nathan fell for some sort of trap and now they were screwed. But how could Nathan have done that? Jim had believed so strongly that Nathan knew what he was doing, that he would get them through this. How could he have given Malak what he wanted?
