Unhallowed (Rath and Rune #1) - Jordan L. Hawk Page 0,83

about the other guard?”

“He must not have heard anything, or at least be assuming his fellow is taking care of us.” Ves’s orange eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “I’ll look for him—we don’t want him sending word to Fagerlie somehow. You get Noct to safety. The stair is there.”

Sebastian ran up the steps. Unused to such exertion, he was soon gasping, and all but fell against the door when he at last reached it. A heavy bolt was thrown from the outside; he wrenched it back with a loud scrape, then pushed the door open.

A writhing mass in the center of the room shifted toward him.

For a moment, all that registered were the many black tentacles, the utter inhumanness of the outline before him. A cry of shock locked in his throat, behind his teeth.

Then he became aware of the human hand, the tattered smock, the face revealed in the light. The features were androgynous, olive-skinned and topped with dark hair, set with goat-like eyes that were blazing, icy blue.

Ves hadn’t been lying when he said Noct was far less human than himself. The reason why he’d been so very desperate to help Noct, even if it meant working with Fagerlie, became blindingly clear in that instant.

Noct’s eyes hardened. “Who are you?”

“A friend of your brother’s,” Sebastian said quickly. “Sebastian Rath. I’ve come to help.”

Nocturn bowed his head slightly, revealing strange, twisted things that might have been horns and yet absolutely were not. “Then duck.”

“What?”

“Duck!”

Sebastian hurled himself forward and down, even as Noct flung out his hand in the direction of the door. The syllables he spoke were meaningless to Sebastian—they might have been Aklo, or some other sorcerous language.

The man who had come up behind Sebastian shouted in pain and shock, frost racing across his skin. A fraction of a second later, Ves grabbed him from behind and threw him down the stairs.

“Noct!” Ves ran past Sebastian to his brother’s side. “Are you all right?”

“Of course. I was just waiting for you.” Noct moved upward, body—torso—supported by the many tentacles. “This man says he’s your friend.”

Ves caught Sebastian’s hand in his own. “He is. You can trust him.”

Then he casually brought Sebastian’s hand to his lips, which…definitely would get his point across. But it also sent a flush of warmth through Sebastian. He’d had lovers before, yes, but never the sort of…well, relationship that lead to all the small gestures of affection people shared. Something in his chest seemed to melt, like warmed chocolate in an oven.

Nocturn, for his part, looked shocked, though only for a moment. “Then—then I do,” he said staunchly. “We should leave before Fagerlie has the opportunity to come back.”

Ves let go of Sebastian’s hand. “You’re right, but things have happened you don’t know about. We need to get to the museum and help the librarians.”

“Even though Mr. Quinn fired you?” Sebastian asked in surprise.

Ves met his gaze. “Fagerlie would likely have found his way in, whether or not I came along. I’m not the only bookbinder in the world, after all. But this is still my responsibility.” He straightened. “Besides, I was raised with the purpose of bringing the age of mankind to an end at the hand of otherworldly horrors. I’ll be damned if I run from some two-bit cult who doesn’t even have enough ambition to destroy the world.”

Sebastian let out a startled bark of laughter. “Well then, angel, we’d best get on our way.”

Ves’s cheeks pinked at the endearment. He turned his back to Noct, who immediately clambered onto it. Sebastian led the way downstairs, stepping over the groaning man at the bottom of the stairwell. It looked as though he had multiple bones broken, but Sebastian couldn’t muster any pity for him.

As they stepped outside, Sebastian glanced around the poor neighborhood. “There’s no chance of hailing a cab here.”

“And we don’t have anything to conceal me,” Noct added from over Ves’s shoulder. “I doubt any driver is going to stop for us.”

“You go on ahead, Sebastian,” Ves started, when the growl of an engine sounded from one end of the street.

Headlamps flicked on, and the automobile started toward them. Sebastian froze, heart pounding as it pulled up beside them. The top was folded back, so nothing blocked the sight of Mortimer Waite at the wheel.

Chapter 27

“What the devil are you doing here?” Sebastian demanded. Ves’s hands curled into fists, and he moved to put himself between Waite and Sebastian. Noct was on Ves’s back, so at least he’d be shielded if Waite