Page 123 of Sidhe
Maybe Puck looked a little scared. “That’s…that’s crazy. I just need incentive. Sort of the way I roll, ya know?”
“Oh, so I have to keep you happy?” Nathan eyed him with a patronizing stare.
“Beats making enemies,” Puck said.
With a shimmer that rippled over Nathan’s form, he suddenly wasn’t wearing dark jeans and a black button-down over a red T-shirt anymore. The pretense fell away and he was simply inMalak’s suit again. He pulled his iron ankle blade from his breast pocket. “Maybe there’s a third option I like better.”
“Nathan!” Walter called before he realized what a foolish thing it was to interfere. “You cannot kill him. You said…you said you wouldn’t hurt anyone.” His voice became smaller as Nathan looked over at him with a hard gaze. “You said no one would get hurt.”
Jim, Sasha, and Solrin all glared at Walter, but Nathan tilted his head, thoughtful.
“And here I thought you were smart. Had somesense,” Nathan said. “You think it best to let a creature like Puck go free? He’s known for lying and trickery.”
“It’s only a matter of time before he turns on us,” Jim bit out gruffly.
“Do not question Nathan so openly,” Solrin added in warning.
“Nathan, please,” Walter tried again, thinking of what the real Nathan would want, and he wouldn’t want senseless death, no matter the reasoning. “You don’t need to do this.”
There was a tense, static silence. Alex stood nearby merely looking on with wide eyes, waiting for how Nathan would react, what choice Nathan would make. Puck was not an evil thing. It would only be the first of many more justified murders to come if they allowed this to happen.
Laughter caught all of them off guard, trip-hammering Walter’s heart in his chest.
Puck’slaughter.
“Well, folks, it’s been fun,” he grinned at all of them as they turned to him with gauging expressions, “but I still got a few tricks up my sleeve. See ya around.” He winked, paused only a moment, then it was as if he merely slid out of Jim and Sasha’s hold, only he hadn’t because there was still a Puck in their arms. There were two Pucks, and the freed version turned and sprinted from the room.
“Him!” Nathan called after the one escaping.
It became clear his guess was correct when the Puck that Jim and Sasha were holding vanished into mist, the pair nearly falling into each other at the sudden unbalance. In seconds, everyone was running; Nathan first, followed by Jim and Sasha, then Alex, and finally Walter as well, leaving only Solrin to take up the rear.
They chased Puck out of the bar into the hallway that led to the cellar door, where Puck headed swiftlydown. This area of the Gatehouse was typically dank and dark, but strangely empty when most people used their basements for storage. Only it wasn’t as empty as Walter first thought when he glanced around at the bottom of the stairs, eventually seeing past everyone the startling sight of what looked like some sort of bomb shelter, its door open as Puck ran straight into it and then suddenly stopped, realizing he had trapped himself.
Nathan started laughing, and Jim and Sasha soon joined him.
“Thanks for the tip, Alex,” Sasha said without looking back at her, his voice a low growl despite his seemingly human appearance. “And here we thought it would be difficult to trick the clever trickster.”
Walter looked to Alex only to see her expression blank, numb.
“Nice, huh?” Jim came up beside Sasha, stroking a hand up the side of the open door. “Never knew about this thing until Alex told us, but apparently this…panic roomis great for keeping out fae.” He toed the area just in front of the door where runes drawn over the surface had been broken. “Break the lines first and close the door later, though, and it’s even better for keeping faein.”
The three of them laughed in chorus. It was a terrible sound in its unity.
Jim and Sasha parted so that Nathan could step up closer, taking point between them. Puck actually looked scared now,knowing he had no way out, nowhere to go, and no more clever tricks. Walter felt a great sympathy for him.
He noticed Solrin hanging back by the stairs, looking actually a bit affronted by all this, apparently not in on the trio’s ruse, and finally showing on his face how left out he felt now that Nathan had his true Generals at his side.
Nathan stood in front of the door to the metal cage they had prepared for Puck, his nice shoes pressed up against the hurdle he would have to step over in order to get inside. Jim and Sasha were close,veryclose behind him. So close, in fact, that Walter almost didn’t realize what was happening, didn’tbelievewhat was happening…until Nathan was suddenly inside the chamber too, having been pushed brutally hard by Jim and Sasha’s hands working in tandem.
The slam of the door made Walter gasp in disbelief. Jim and Sasha had shut Nathan inside with Puck. Puck, who was suddenly standing next toWalterand not in the panic room at all.
Chapter 44
Walter
Therewereimmediatepoundson the door.
“What are you doing!?” Nathan yelled from inside the chamber. “This isn’t a game! Open the door!”
