The Paladins (38 page)

Gideon

When I wake, I’m home in my room at Maddox mansion. The room is dark, yet a slice of daylight peeks through the heavy drapery highlighting millions of swirling dust motes.

I try my limbs, fingers, and toes. Next, my head moves from side to side. Good. My sight is blurry, but my body works without pain. That seems wrong somehow. Am I dead, dreaming? Memories smear as I attempt to piece together recent events.

I struggle up, resting my weight on both elbows. I squint and ask the room at large, “What happened?”

A hand rests on my shoulder. “Easy, mate.”

“Cole? You’re alive?”

“Mm, thanks to you and Raven. Look, Dane’s here with me, and Jamis—”

“I’m here too, sir.” Jenny’s plucky voice penetrates the gloom.

Everything comes rushing back in an instant. “Where’s Rae? Is she safe? Where’s Pan, did the portal seal?” As the fog lifts from my mind, questions pour out faster than anyone can answer.

“Rae’s fine,” Dane assures me. “She’s been sitting with you around the clock until Maggie finally threatened her—you know how she is. Rae agreed to sleep if we stayed.”

“How long?”

“Three days.”

“Damn boring, too,” Cole complains, but his smile tells a different story.

I squint as Jenny opens the windows allowing more light into the room. My abdominal muscles tighten as I sit up. A growl rumbles from my stomach, hunger clawing at the lining.

“Now that’s something I can fix,” Jenny says. “I’ll just pop down to the kitchen and see about getting you something to eat.” She stoops over the bed, straightening the covers. Unshed tears gloss her aging eyes. “I’m awfully glad to see you up this morning, Mr. Maddox. Gave us all quite a scare, you know.” Her enormous chest lifts with a sigh, and she pats my arm. “Right then. Mr. Jamis? I’ll be needing your help, look sharp.”

While Jenny is never happier than feeding the people she loves, Jamis won’t be bossed, not even by her. He squares his frail shoulders. “
If
that is agreeable to Mr. Maddox?”

“Yes, it’s fine, whatever she needs.” I swing my legs off the bed. My head swims, and I wait for the vertigo to pass. “Jamis?” He and Jenny stop at the doorway. “I’m glad to see you. Thank you both for … for … ” I care about them, and want to say so, but the words fail in my fast-drying throat.

“Good to have you home again, sir,” Jamis answers. Jenny honks into her handkerchief as they exit.

As the door clicks shut, I scan the room for my jeans. “Tell me everything.”

Dane steps to the bedside, blocking my view. “What are you doing?”

What does he think? “Going to see Raven.”

Cole bounces onto the bed sending my head whirring again. “Not yet.”

“Like hell.”

“She’s asleep.”

“Then I’ll watch her sleep.”

“Brilliant, but first you need to eat something so you can stand without falling down. And bloody hell, take a shower, mate. You’ll likely kill her with your stench.”

He makes enough sense that my shoulders slump in defeat. I need to see her as much as I need sleep, or food, or air, but practically speaking, I’ll wait a little longer. I scoot until my spine rests against the headboard. Once Dane sees he won’t have to wrestle me to the floor, he plants himself in the armchair at my side.

“Pan?” I ask.

Cole pulls at a thread on his blue button-down. “Done. I woke just as Raven dragged me from your father’s study. I saw you from the doorway, hanging from your waist through the mirror. Pan slobbering all over you with one eye hanging from the socket. One of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen, I might add … ” A smile tips his mouth. “I wanted to help, but the minute Raven let go of me, I fell again, weak as a baby.

“I don’t know how she got us both to the garden in time, but I think it had something to do with a tree. The air hummed and the whole house shook. I panicked thinking it was all going to blow—which it did, by the way. Big boom, nice mushroom cloud … you razed your house, my friend.” The mattress groans with his shift. “
After
you went nuclear, we dug up every bone in the bleeding graveyard. Made a pile, doused them with petrol and burned them to ash.”

“We?”

“Cole called us,” Dane says. “We drove up to get you, and brought you home. Doctor Dave’s been here a few times to see you. Mostly exhaustion and dehydration … you’ll live.”

“There’s something else,” Cole says, frowning. “When the portal blew, our powers went with it.”

“What? No!” I snap my fingers over and over but produce no flame. The furnace in my chest is out. “You and Rae, too?”

He shrugs. “Seems so. We came home half-starved and knackered, same as you, but with our injuries completely healed. The elements last parting gift to us, I suppose.”

Dane leans forward. “Cole thinks the elements followed Pan back into The Void when you two blew apart. It’s been quiet since you got back. Though there’s a lawyer who keeps calling.”

“What lawyer?”

Dane stares me down. His surly expression clearly states …
how the hell should I know?
“Windsor something or other. He showed up here day before yesterday. We keep telling him you’re too sick to see anyone. He finally gave up and left a letter with Jamis.”

Of course. Air exits my lungs in a noisy rush. “Final settlement papers for Maddox Industries.” A dull ache starts at the base of my skull. I rub my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. “How long were we gone?”

“Seven days.”

I drop my hand. “A week?” My shout hurts my head. “How is that possible? It felt like months.” I bite my tongue remembering Cole was there four years.

“One of the many fun facts in The Void, every minute an hour, every hour a day.”

“Really?” Dane asks.

“No.” Cole answers dryly, then faces me. “Listen, I don’t know what’s in the letter Windsor brought, but I wanted to make you an offer regardless.”

My eyebrows rise. Dane slumps in his seat with a huff, clearly aware and also unhappy about what’s coming next.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think since we got back. I know what I want, and I’ve already spoken with Raven. My flight to France leaves at the end of the week. It’s where I belong, and I intend to start my life over there. As you know, I’m extremely wealthy—even independently of what I’ll inherit from my parents someday, I’m loaded.” He says this without pride or guile, simply states it as fact. “I’ve been on the phone, making plans to finish school, and after that, start my own business. That’s where you come in.”

My pride rings a warning bell. “Cole—”

“Belt it and listen, Maddox.” A cocky grin breaks free when I don’t answer. “Good man.” He leans back wrapping an arm lazily around one knee. “You have no family here, no ties any longer, but you have me. Sell the mansion, and sell the property at Grey Horse. The money will give you a start. Come to France. Bring Jamis and Jenny. I’ll pay your way through school, plus whatever you need to live on. We’ll call it an investment scholarship. When we graduate, if you want to, we can build something together. A start-up.”

I glance at Dane having done the very same for his education last year. Based on my income, his tuition was pocket change, but it made a way for him and Maggie to be together. At the time, I did it for Rae, though it felt good to help someone. It’s harder being on the receiving end.

“The money is nothing to me,” Cole continues. “But Raven and you … I meant what I said in The Void. We’re brothers now. You saved my life.” He shakes his head. “Neither of us has ever had a real family, but we could make one. Do whatever you want, mate, but think about it. Talk it over with Raven. I hope you’ll say yes.”

My fingers thread my hair and find it matted with grime and sweat. As God is my witness, I don’t know what to do anymore. A grim smile twists my lips. Raven would say to ask God. “Thank you, Cole. I appreciate it.”

“Is that a no?”

I lift my chin. “That’s a thank you. I need to talk to Jamis, and to Raven.”

“Talk about what, exactly?” This from Dane. I face him, and our gazes sync. “What happens the next time life gets hard? You gonna take her five thousand miles from us and leave her again?”

I deserved that. In his mind, I abandoned his best friend seven days ago and broke her heart. Surprisingly, his approval means more than I thought it would. “You were right, all the things you said to me that day at Grey Horse. I’ve done a lot of stupid-ass things in my life, and I may do more, but none worse than hurting her. So, if she’ll have me, no, I won’t ever do it again.”

Seconds tick by. A breeze rustles the leaves outside my window representing two of the four elements we no longer control. We are free, but average. Mortal, but alive. It’s enough.

Dane stands, russet dreads swing forward as he leans over and thrusts out a hand. I rise on shaky legs and take it. He slaps my shoulder so hard, I nearly fall.

Cole springs off the bed and meets us. I sway when Dane releases my arm and both he and Cole take a shoulder to support my weight. “All right, Romeo. Let’s get you something to nosh on. Ugh, and for God’s sake, take a shower. You can’t romance a girl smelling like last week’s pork pie.”

My knuckles rap softly on the door of Raven’s old room, and I enter, too excited to wait another minute.

She sleeps soundlessly on her stomach in the big white bed I had made for her last year. Her slight frame hardly makes a wrinkle under the blanket. Dark hair spills over the pillow covering her face. I designed the room with her in mind. We spent a lot of time here, and I’m a little sad to think of leaving despite the bad memories.

Maggie sits in a chair by the window, thick novel open on her lap. The trademark stripe in her blond hair is blue this week. She sets her book aside, rises, and meets me at the foot of the bed. Her eyes flicker as she studies me. A finger pokes my chest. “Does Dane know you’re in here?”

“Yes.” I lift the palm he pressed a short time ago—his way of accepting my apology. My lips form a line as I prepare to give another. I’ve never apologized so much in my life. Then again, it’s a practice long overdue. “I’m sorry, Maggie.”

She releases a sigh. “I can’t even … ” Her nose twitches as she tosses her hair. “I like you, Gideon. For a long time, I thought you were right for her, but then … If Dane says you can be here, I guess that’s good enough for me.”

I suppress a smile as the little tyrant grants me permission to stay in my own house.

A sharp jerk on my shirt lowers my head. Maggie plants a soft kiss on my cheek. “Idiot.” I straighten and peer down at her savage little face.

“Don’t wake her up, she’s exhausted and completely stressed out.”

I nod obediently.

“And don’t ever pull any stupid crap like that ever again. Ever.”

“No,” I answer.

She glares at me again before heading out. A quiet
snick
of the door closing seals Raven and me in together.

Taking Maggie’s seat, I drag the chair closer to the headboard. I glance out the window as the breeze kicks up outside.

Sunlight reflects off the millpond in bright silver shimmers. Moss hangs from the live oaks, swaying in the wind. All four elements represented in the small span of my garden. I don’t know how the others feel, but for me, the loss of my gift is like the death of a friend.

My gaze travels over Rae. Her steady breathing soothes me. I think about The Artisans, Pan’s plea and banishment, Cole’s offer, and a future with Raven. Can she trust me again? Would I if our roles were reversed?

She stirs and rolls over. A hand lifts the heavy curtain of hair from her face. Her eyes open. “Gideon?” She hitches up on one elbow. “How, uh, how long have you been awake? Her sweet southern drawl caresses my ears like warm sunshine. She rubs her eyes and sits up, looking around the room, but whether to get her bearings or in search of Mags, I can’t say. And I don’t care. Watching her is glorious. A privilege I thought I’d never have again. Finally, she faces me again. “Hi.”

A slow smile tugs my lips. She’s so damn cute.

“I’m glad to see you up. Doctor Dave said not to worry, but we did anyway. You slept for so long. He said that’s all it was, sleeping, not a coma or anything bad like that. But it was scary. And oh, how long did you say you’d been awake?” Her eyes are overly bright as she fidgets with her covers. She’s speed talking the way she does when she’s nervous. A pretty pink hue colors her cheeks.

God, I want to kiss her.

“Have you eaten?” she asks her blanket.

“Raven … ” My heart expands to fill my chest. I rise and step to the bedside, encouraged when she won’t look at me.

“Because if you haven’t, you should. I can make something or call Jenny?”

“Raven … ” The mattress depresses under my weight.

She lifts her gaze. “Well, hey there, slugger. You’re just going to sit down right there on my bed, aren’t you?” She scoots away, giving me room I don’t want. After a moment she says, “Yep. You’re here. Looking like that. And I … ” her eyes widen, “ … have bed-head.”

“You’re beautiful. The most beautiful girl I’ve ever,
will
ever know.” I can’t help my chuckle as she flounces flat on her back.