Swallowing Darkness

CHAPTER THIRTY

Doyle hesitated at the door of the armored humvee. He peered into its depths as if looking into a cave that he wasn't sure was empty of a dragon. The moment I saw the line of his body, the set of his head, I realized that the army coming to our rescue was a mixed blessing.

"It's armored, and that's too much metal for you to ride inside,"

I said.

He turned and looked at me, face impassive. "I can ride inside with you."

"But it will hurt you," I said.

He seemed to think about his answer, then finally said, "It will not be pleasant, but it is doable."

I looked at the Humvee in front of us, and found the other men milling about at the door too. None of them wanted to be inside that much metal.

"None of you will be able to do magic once inside that much metal, will you?"

"No," Rhys said, beside me.

"We will be, what is the word you have used, head-blind. We will be as close to mortal senses as we can come encased in such as this."

"If someone left you inside this much metal, would you fade?"

They exchanged a look. "I do not know, but some might."

Rhys pulled me into a one-armed hug. "Don't look so serious, Merry-girl. We can do it for a short ride. Besides, this much metal doesn't just keep us from doing magic."

I looked at him, and thought I understood what he meant, but it was too important to leave to chance. "Do you mean that if we are attacked their magic won't work around the armored vehicles either?"

"I think this much man-made shielding will shatter any spell directed at it," Doyle said.

"Then let's get inside," Rhys said, "and get our princess out of here."

Doyle nodded firmly, and moved to slip inside. I took his arm, made him turn and look at me. I laid a kiss upon his lips. He looked startled.

"What was that for?"

"For being brave," I said.

His smile flashed bright in his dark face. "I would be brave forever for you, my Merry."

That earned him another kiss, this one with a little body language to it.

Specialist Gregorio cleared her throat loudly. Then she seemed compelled to add, "We're running a little short on time, Princess." She made "Princess" sound like an insult.

I broke from the kiss, and looked at her.

She flinched.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Your eyes — they're glowing."

"That happens sometimes," I said.

"Is it magic?" she asked.

I shook my head. "It's the effect he has on me."

"Besides," Rhys said, "her eyes are barely glowing at all. You should see what our eyes look like in the middle of major magic, or actual sex. It's a show."

She scowled at Rhys. "TMI. Too much information."

Rhys took a step toward her. "Oh, I haven't begun to tease."

Doyle and I both drew him back with a hand on one arm and shoulder. "Enough," Doyle said.

"We have to get in the big, bad car and go," I said.

Rhys turned to me and there was no teasing on his face, but almost a sadness. "You don't know what it's going to be like for us inside there, Merry."

I squeezed his arm. "If it's that bad, Rhys, then you and the other men ride in something more open. I saw some Jeeps. I'll ride in here by myself."

He shook his head. "What kind of guards would we be if we did that?" He leaned in and whispered, "And what kind of future fathers would we be?"

I laid my face against his cheek. "Being my king may never be safe, or easy."

"Love isn't supposed to be easy, Merry, or everyone would do it."

I drew back enough to see his face. "Everyone falls in love."

"It's not the falling, Merry, it's the staying in love." He flashed me that grin of his, the one that Galen had a version of that made you have to smile back. I hadn't seen Rhys do his version in a while.

I smiled at him, and gave him a chaste kiss that wouldn't make our escort complain.

"For bravery?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Our captain has it right, Merry. You make us all want to be better than we are."

"What is this a late-night Gidget rerun?" Specialist Gregorio asked. "I don't know what you mean," I said.

She frowned at me. "The moral of the original Gidget movie was that a real woman makes the men around her want to be better people. Which I hated, because then if the men around you are bastards, it implies that if you were woman enough, they'd straighten up. Which is bullshit."

I looked at the two men nearest me. Galen waved from the other truck they were getting inside. I blew him a kiss, and wished I could have done more.

"A good leader inspires her troops to do their best, Specialist Gregorio."

"Sure," she said.

Doyle spoke as he slipped into the Humvee. "Women are always the head of the household, if the house runs well," he said, and he slipped inside the great metal beast.

Specialist Gregorio looked at me, frowning. "Is he for real?"

I nodded. "Oh, yes, he's for real." I smiled at her. "Remember, we're Goddess worshippers. It makes us see things a little differently."

She looked thoughtful, and I left her with that thought. I climbed into the Humvee, and felt Rhys at my back.