Page 54 of Broken Veil
The monster’s tail whipped around behind him, but it wasn’t enough to break the downstream gate; he could not navigate the lock from either direction.
The crows surrounded the watery prison, hopping and shouting their displeasure at the unexpected turn of events.
“So we just wait?” Laura asked.
Duncan and Lachlan were both sitting on the grass, tying scraps of their bloodied shirts around various wounds.
Naida stared at the giant serpent with sad eyes. “It does not belong here.”
Duncan nodded at the lock, wrapping a red gash on his wrist. “I say we go talk to that sea god and see what he has to say for himself. This is one of his creatures, isn’t it? The Morrígan possessed it. We trapped it. Seems like he might owe us a favor for trapping this beastie before he reached York.”
Frida raised her eyebrows. “I will go with you. I would like to hear what he says.”
Duncan and Frida walked back to the parking lot to find Wade, and Carys walked over to Lachlan. He was struggling to try to tie a bandage around a slice on his lower back.
“Here.” She took the strip of shirt from him and motioned him to standing. “I’ll get it. Don’t want you bleeding all over the van.”
The giant snake hissed and arched against the side of the lock. There was a shriek, a strange gurgling sound, and then silence.
Lachlan smiled a little bit and handed her the piece of shirt. “Duncan bought that van, didn’t he?”
“Yes. I kind of gave him a hard time, but considering the unexpected amount of blood on both of you, probably a good thing he didn’t go for the rental.”
“He always thinks ahead.” Lachlan nodded. “It’s good. In this world, he can give you the things that I could not.”
Carys looked up and met his familiar green eyes. “I never cared about any of that, Lachlan.”
The corner of Lachlan’s mouth lifted. “I know. I shouldn’t have said?—”
“I had enough. We had enough. If you’d stayed, I never would have?—”
“It wasn’t my choice to go.” His voice dropped. “You believe me, don’t you? That I was happy in Baywood. That I would have stayed with you forever.”
Carys couldn’t look away. “I don’t think it matters now, does it?”
“It matters to me.” Lachlan was staring at her, and it was like years slipped away.
It had been almost two years since she’d first encountered his brilliant green eyes, his smile that made her feel like the sun shone on her.
Do you believe in fairy tales?
Two years. And a thousand truths hidden and revealed.
Nêrys,Cadell said in her mind,the cross human and the demigod return.
Carys shook her head and touched Lachlan’s arm. “Turn around. Let’s get that wound covered before you start attracting vampires.”
Another round of hissing and thumping from the lock, but the gates both held.
“There are no vampires in Anglia.” Lachlan turned around. “Eastern Europe and India are another story.”
“India?”
“Oh yes.”
Carys placed the bandage center over the red wound. It was a red, raised welt with a slice taken from the center, as if something had peeled off a strip of Lachlan’s skin.
She winced when the bandage touched the open wound even though Lachlan didn’t move.
