Sebastian

Chapter Eighteen

Dalton watched Henley and Addison set up the tents near the wagon that held their supplies. No point sleeping on the ground, exposed to the whims of weather, when they didn’t have to. And they were close enough to Wizard City that he could send a man back every other day for fresh food.

Faran would live. The surgeon was hopeful that the man wouldn’t lose the leg and that the rest of the limbs, numbed by the venom, would fully recover. But the surgeon was less hopeful that the injured leg would ever be strong enough to support the demands of a guard’s duties. So Faran would be given a season’s pay as compensation and would be cast out to build a new life suitable for a partially crippled man.

“Cap’n?” Addison said, approaching him. “Tents are up. We’re going to water the horses, then picket them to let them graze.”

Dalton looked past Addison’s shoulder, unwilling to look the man in the eye. “That’s fine.”

Addison sighed. “You did what you could, Cap’n. We all know you argued to keep Faran on the ledger, leastwise until he was healed up and could know for sure if he had to give up the guards. But maybe it’s for the best. Bad times are coming. We all know it. So maybe Faran will be better off going back to some country village and taking up a different line of work. He’s a good man with horses. Has a way with them. And he was never comfortable with the rough side of a guard’s life. Too much a gentleman.” He paused, then added, “Like you.”

Flattered and embarrassed, Dalton looked at the other man. “Thank you.”

Addison scuffed the ground with one foot. “I’d best go help Henley with the horses.”

Dalton waited until the guard walked away before turning to study the planks of wood that crossed the little creek. Guy and Darby had the first watch. He’d keep the watches short in the daylight hours to relieve the fatigue of boredom. The night watch…He’d take the night watch. Not alone. He wasn’t a fool. But he could relieve his men of some of the tedium of waiting for Koltak’s return—and share their fear that something besides Koltak would cross over that bridge.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Lynnea, pulling her up against him.

Laughing, she pushed at his chest in a halfhearted effort to get away. “Haven’t you had enough?”

“I’ll never have enough of you.”

When they’d gotten back to the bordello, they’d made love for hours. She hadn’t given him a chance to evade. And what choice did he have when she’d squirmed on top of him, wearing nothing but her skin and a smile—a combination of sultry and wholesome that sent his libido into a fever of lust? He took, he gave. She took, she gave.

And somehow, in the hours when he’d slept after the loving, the jagged pieces of himself had shifted until they fit together instead of scraping against one another.

“Well, you’ve had enough of me for the moment,” Lynnea said, giving him her best no-nonsense look. “I’ve got to get to work, and you’ve got to meet with Philo.”

His contentment faded as he thought about the folded piece of paper that had been pushed under his door, requesting a meeting. He knew why Philo wanted to talk to him.

“What’s the matter?” Lynnea asked. “What’s wrong with Philo wanting to talk to you?”

He rested his forehead against hers. “Incubi are welcome in the Den of Iniquity. Wizards aren’t.”

She stiffened. Did she finally realize why everyone had become so uneasy after he’d killed the purebloods?

When she pushed at his chest, he let her go, let her step back from him.

Then he looked at her face and took a step back himself. Outrage. Fury. His little rabbit was spitting mad and ready to take a swing at someone. Anyone.

“Lynnea.” He tried for soothing, placating. If that didn’t work, he’d sink to pleading. Maybe.

She bounced. Her hands curled into fists, and she…bounced.

Oh, damn the daylight.

“You’re the same person you were before. Now they want you to leave because you have a power that can defend them against bad things? What kind of idiots run the businesses in this place? What kind of morons live here?”

She marched to the door and flung it open before he gathered his wits enough to try to stop her.

Unfortunately, Teaser picked exactly the wrong moment to open his door and step into the corridor.

“Are you an idiot?” Lynnea shouted, jabbing a finger into the incubus’s chest. “Are you a moron? Have you exchanged your brains for a bag of manure?”

“What’d I do?” Teaser said, raising his hands in surrender. Since Lynnea was already marching for the stairs at a fast clip, he turned to Sebastian. “What’d I do?”

“She’s on a tear.”

“What’d you do?”

“Nothing. Just…” He dug in his pocket and handed his key to Teaser. “Lock up the room for me, will you? I’ve got to stop her before she does something stupid.”

“Like punch a bull demon in the nose?”

He wasn’t going to consider the possibility.

He raced down the stairs—and still wasn’t fast enough to stop her before she got out of the building.

He caught up to her before she got to Philo’s but couldn’t think of any way to stop her without causing a scene that would be the talk of the Den for years to come.

“Lynnea, wait.”

She marched through the courtyard, flung open the door to the indoor dining room, and stopped so abruptly he rammed into her back and had to grab her shoulders to keep her from falling.

At least, that was the excuse he was going to use for holding on to her.

Philo wasn’t the only one waiting for him. Hastings and Mr. Finch also sat at a table. Wasn’t that wonderful? Exile by committee. Not that Philo or anyone else really had a choice about his staying. He anchored the Den. Didn’t matter if they considered him incubus, wizard, or human, he had to stay. And they had to accept it. The Den’s survival depended on it.

“Lynnea,” Philo said, “maybe you’d like to go into the kitchen and—”

She bounced.

“You want her to go into the kitchen?” Sebastian said, unable to hide his disbelief. “Where there are sharp things?”

Philo looked at Lynnea—and paled. “Ah. A chair, perhaps?” He pointed at the empty chair at the table.

Sebastian shook his head—one sharp little movement. Until his rabbit calmed down, he wasn’t letting her near anything she could pick up and use as a weapon.

“Well, then.” Philo pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed his forehead. He looked at Hastings and Mr. Finch, who both nodded. “Well. The thing is, Sebastian, after those…creatures…were disposed of, the merchants and business owners got together and talked things over. If you’re going to be protecting the Den from now on, you should be compensated. Like…wages.”

“All the businesses would put in a percentage of their take each month,” Hastings added. “Some credit slips, some coin. A place like the bordello would just reduce the rent on your room for their share.”

“Besides,” Philo said, glancing nervously at Lynnea, “we all sort of figured you’d retired from your previous occupation.”

That was the truth. If he’d had any doubts about being Lynnea’s exclusive lover, he was sure of it now after seeing her in a full-blown mad.

Suddenly her body relaxed. She cocked her head. “You want Sebastian to be like a law enforcer in a village?”

“Yes,” Mr. Finch chirped. “Exactly.”

Sebastian reluctantly let go of her as she turned to face him.

Her blue eyes still flashed with temper. “They wanted to talk to you about protecting the Den, and you thought they wanted you to leave. You moron.”

He yelped when she reached up and pulled his ears to bring his head down. The hard kiss on the mouth was nice, but didn’t quite make up for getting his ears pulled.

Then she walked out of the dining room.

“Any bets that she’ll scare the customers into eating all their vegetables?” Sebastian asked.

“Wouldn’t take the bet,” Hastings replied. “Not today.” He looked at Sebastian and frowned. “Why did you think we’d want you to leave?”

“I’m a wizard.”

“Justice Maker,” Mr. Finch chirped.

He studied the three men. “Are you serious about this offer?”

Philo chuckled. “A badass incubus wizard as the Den’s law enforcer and Justice Maker. What could be more perfect?”