Up ahead I could see what Danny was talking about. Bodies. There were bodies on the ground. Please don’t let one of them be my husband. Please. The prayer formed a rhythm in my head the closer and closer we got to those bodies.
Daniel moved in front of me. “Stay back. We don’t know they’re dead. It could be a trap. Let me go first.”
I stopped and Danny moved in front of Arwyna, who hadn’t quite made it there yet. Her wings beat in an odd, unnatural rhythm as she sought to move around the big body now in her way. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when she flew slowly past Daniel and continued further into the woods. I stopped next to my husband, my mind much more at ease because I could see the trail continued on. I could take a breath and try to figure out what was happening.
“I think we can safely say Kelsey found Dev at least.” Daniel was staring down at a cocoon that probably contained a dead body. Dev liked to wrap his presents. Kelsey left her opponents lying on the ground. “She must have taken one of their swords. I don’t think she had Gladys with her.”
“No, I found out Myrddin has the Sword of Light,” I replied, measuring my every word as I looked around. There were several dead bodies and they looked like soldiers of some sort. They were all wearing the same type of clothes that made up a uniform, though it was easy to see this wasn’t a high-tech army. The clothes were made of animal skin, I would bet. They liked their facial hair, too. Hair of all kind, from what I could tell. They all had long hair and beards they had braided, though there was nothing feminine about these men. They looked barbaric.
I bet Kelsey had fun with them.
Daniel knelt down beside one of the bodies, studying the site as though trying to figure out what happened. I could tell him what happened. Dudes had thought Kelsey would be a fun way to spend an afternoon. Dudes found out she was the one who would have all the fun.
“I have to hope Marcus is with them,” Daniel said, “But there was at least one other female here. You see? Kelsey was wearing boots with a square heel. But someone else was wearing slippers of some kind. The footprint is small. It could be a kid or a woman around your size. I would have to study it more to figure out if Marcus’s prints are here. And Myrddin wants to run a couple of tests on the sword.”
“Does Kelsey know?”
Danny stood up. “We need to follow the trail, but stay close to me. I’m still not feeling well and we don’t know if there are more of these soldiers out here. Kelsey put Gladys in the armory. She was on vacation. I seriously doubt she cares if we run a few tests on a sword that belongs to the Council.”
“It belongs to the companions,” I insisted. “I get that you’re the King of all Vampire, but I’m the queen of the companions and I want us registered as a separate entity, and you taking our sword without permission makes me think that’s more important than ever.”
“You don’t need to do that,” Danny replied, following me as I got back on the path Dev had left for us to follow. “I’ve always watched out for the companions. I’m the one who freed them.”
This was another fight I hadn’t been pushing. After learning about where the companions came from, I’d started to think about how we should be treated. It wasn’t merely enough that vampires weren’t allowed to kidnap and force us into marriage. “Good for you, but we’re a completely different class of supernatural creature and we need representation. And that sword belongs to us, Your Highness. I’m not joking about that. Kelsey might be your Nex Apparatus, but she’s my Hunter. I’m her queen and I won’t allow you to give our sword away even merely for experimentation.”
Daniel groaned. “This is neither the time nor the place to discuss this. You want to be queen of your own group, make an appointment and we’ll talk about it.”
He wouldn’t be making any appointments with me. “How would you feel if I took Excalibur without your knowledge?”
“That’s different and I certainly have allowed Myrddin access to Excalibur. I don’t get where this is coming from.