Page 131 of Changeling
There was a pained moan from Sasha. The two groups weren’t all that far apart, but Nathan wished they were closer so he could reach out and touch Sasha like he was touching Jim. Alex was with him though, crouched at his side, holding his chest and head up.
Jim turned to Nathan and smiled wearily. “I did it, Nathan.”
“Yeah, I know…you stopped yourself.”
“No.” Jim shook his head. His smile widened. “I banished themall.”
Chapter 50
JimandSashamadeit plain as soon as they were both on their feet and capable of walking that they needed to get away from the mine as soon as possible. There wasn’t time for apologies or explanations, which Nathan couldn’t have been more thankful for right then; they had to get back to Iain, get clear of the mine, and tell that poor bastard waiting for them that his mother wouldn’t be coming home.
If Nathan really was free of his mark, there would be time to celebrate later.
They couldn’t just leave the mine as it was though, not with the pull it would still have on anyone with strong enough fae blood. There was also the body of Iain’s mother lying inside that larger cavern.
It was decided that after telling Iain the bad news, the others would stay at the motel where they would no longer be able to feel the cave’s pull, and then Nathan would return to seal themine. Blowing it up wasn’t enough. They had to seal it off for good.
When they finally reached the motel, Nathan wanted nothing more than to pull Sasha to him, wanted to hold the incubus and banish that haunted look that would surely only get worse as what happened in the cave came back to him and Jim fully. But that had to wait.
Iain’s reaction to learning about his mother’s death was surprisingly calm. He didn’t break down crying, though Nathan certainly saw tears. The man just tensed, tightened his fists so hard they went white, and said, “I’m coming with you,” when Nathan mentioned having to go back for her body, even when Nathan said they’d have to burn it.
Iain’s resolve was heartbreakingly steadfast and in some ways so honorable that Nathan couldn’t bring himself to refuse the guy.
Alex promised to look after Jim and Sasha until they fell asleep, and that she’d call if anything happened. Nathan didn’t even get the chance to say anything substantial to any of them before they were all parting ways. He just patted Jim on the back and reached for a moment to grip Sasha’s hand. He hoped his eyes said everything they didn’t have time for in words.
They switched out the duffle bags of caving supplies for paint to draw runes, lighter fluid, and matches, and headed back to the mine. Finally the book Nathan had used to summon the Messenger when he freed Jim was useful again. It mainly contained spells for summoning fae and sidhe, but also had counter spells to banish similar power. It hadn’t had anything to help with the Animus House, but Nathan was confident that he had the right runes to draw to keep the mine from spilling out any more power.
Iain was dressed the same as he had been before, all comfortable earth tones beneath an equally earthy dark brownjacket. He shivered hard, however, against the quickly dropping temperature. It was below freezing, maybe even single digits which was abnormal for so late in the season in Colorado, like maybe it had saved itself just for them on that exact night. At the rate the cosmos usually screwed Nathan over, he wouldn’t be surprised if that was true. But his luck shouldn’t have to encompass others.
Nothing had been disturbed when they got back to the mine, but as soon as they reached the mouth, Iain stopped cold.
“It feels like it’s pulling me in…”
Nathan flinched. “Shit. Iain, you can’t go in there with me. I thought maybe you wouldn’t be affected since you hadn’t been before, but your mom was pulled here because…because there’s fae blood in your family and it was strong for her. That might mean the same for you. Maybe even—”
“I know what it means.”
Nathan gaped at him.
A small sad smile crossed Iain’s face. “Your brother’s a changeling, isn’t he? We can’t usually sense others like us, but I wondered if he was.”
Just when Nathan’s hand twitched for the gun in his jacket, Iain stepped back from the mouth of the cave.
“Get her for me, Nathan. Do what ya gotta do inside. I’ll be okay. Then we’ll burn this fucking place to the ground.”
Nathan had learned enough over the past several months that he wanted to trust Iain, wanted to believe that Jim wasn’t the only changeling who could be different. He nodded, and ducked into the cave, hard hat light on and flashlight ready too. As soon as he crossed the threshold, Walter was beside him.
“I tried to tell you in the library, Nathan,” he said. “I knew Iain was a changeling. I don’t know what that might mean. For you to come across one of the few others currently in the world…must mean something. He seems like a good man, but please be wary.”
“I know, Walt. Thanks. I guess we should have known better. I’ll tell Jim and Sasha when I get back.”
The way inside the cave was slow going. Nathan came upon nothing out of the ordinary, but he would swear he could feel the lingering presence of evil from all those dark things that had been gathered there. He covered the main cavern in protection and dispel runes then left a trail of gasoline behind him as he carried Gloria Wilde over his shoulder back into the cool night air.
He set her body in the grass and let Iain have a moment alone as he returned to the mouth of the cave and lit a match that trailed fire all the way back inside. Nathan spouted every incantation he knew, everything he’d learned from the book, everything that could cleanse a dark spot or curse, even a few he didn’t fully understand. Then he fired three rounds into the cave and waited for a rumble. It didn’t take long before smoke and dust wafted out after him.
“I feel better,” Iain said, even while he was crouched there, his hand on his mother’s. At least her body wasn’t marred. It had been a quick, clean kill. She looked peaceful. Iain looked over at Nathan and blinked back tears. “I don’t want to go into the cave anymore.”
“Good. Hopefully it’ll last.”
