The Eighth Day (27 page)

A.J. Crandall waved at them and called to someone behind him, “They're here!” Then he turned to Riley. “The pyramid's secure. The rest of the complex, not so much, but Deidre's men are cleaning up.”

“Tell Riley to get up here,
now
!” There was no mistaking Mr. Crandall's bellow from the summit. A.J. turned, looking worried, then ran out of sight. Riley sprinted uphill after him.

Jax turned to Evangeline. “Do you want me to get you to a lower level, if it's safe?”

“No, I need to get to the top.” She eyed the sky again, loose strands of hair whipping around her face in the wild wind.

Jax took her hand and helped her mount to the summit. In the center of the platform, two people lay on the ground next to one another: Balin and Miller. Both Crandalls were crouched beside Miller. Near the altar and the table, Thomas and his father were trying to rouse
Tegan. Michael patted her cheeks anxiously to no avail. “Pendare!” he hollered.

Riley was headed toward Miller, but he diverted his steps enough to bend and brush his fingertips across Tegan's head. “Wake up, kid. You were very brave.”

Tegan's eyes flew open, and her father nearly crushed her in a hug. Jax watched only for a second, then followed Riley with Evangeline still holding his hand. They had to step over Balin. His eyes were closed, thankfully, but his head was twisted in an unnatural way. Jax shuddered, realizing Miller had killed Balin with his bare hands.

Meanwhile, Riley was arguing with Mr. Crandall. “He said it was just a flesh wound—nothing serious. He was on his feet a minute ago.”

Mr. Crandall shook his head bleakly, his hands pressed into Miller's side trying to stop the bleeding. Clearly Miller had been wrong, or lying. “Find out if the Morgans have a healer in their bunch,” Mr. Crandall snapped at his son.

A.J. unclipped a walkie-talkie from his belt and took a few steps away.

“Come on, Miller,” Riley said. “You've been hurt worse than this before.”

Miller had lost his glasses in the fight. He seemed to have trouble focusing, but when Jax glanced at the wound again, he knew the problem wasn't Miller's eyesight. Jax's stomach lurched.

“She okay?” Miller mumbled to Riley.

“Yeah,” said Riley. “She's right here.”

Evangeline leaned over Riley's shoulder. “I'm fine. You saved us.”

Miller closed his eyes. “Worried I was . . . too late . . .”

“Miller,” growled Riley. “Stay with me. Hey!” He smacked Miller's face, like Michael had done to his daughter, but not as gently. “I
order
you to—” Riley didn't finish the sentence. Jax figured even the Pendragon voice couldn't command someone to stop dying.

“'S okay,” whispered Miller. “Was tired of being here without Alanna anyway.”

That was the last thing he said. A.J. and Deidre were on the walkie-talkie, ordering some vassal with healing talent to the top of the pyramid, but there wasn't any point. Mr. Crandall sat on his heels, swearing under his breath. Riley just knelt there, saying nothing.

Jax rubbed his eyes with the heels of both hands. He hadn't even liked Miller.

Evangeline put a hand on Riley's shoulder. “I'm really sorry,” she said. “But you don't have time to grieve now.” He looked up, and Evangeline indicated the sky. “I'm not sure how to fix this either, but I need your help to try.”

Riley looked once more at his dead friend, then staggered to his feet. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

Evangeline led Riley to the altar, and Jax followed. When the train of her gown caught on the foot of the table, Jax said, “I've had it with this.” He grabbed up handfuls of
the fabric and started cutting it off with his dagger.

“Yes, do that,” said Evangeline. “He picked this stupid dress. I reject it, and him, and everything he stood for.” She gripped the Pendragon blade in her right hand and held out her other one to Riley. He shifted Excalibur to his left hand and entwined his right hand with hers.

Jax hacked the last of bit of excess dress off and backed away.

Evangeline took a few deep breaths, her brow rumpled in concentration. For a moment, she looked like she had no idea how to start, but then she spoke up loudly. “I reject everything that happened here tonight. That man spoke nothing but lies.”

She looked at the crate. “Niviane of the Lake was a great queen, and she was allied with two great men, both of whom are represented here tonight. The three of them together conceived a plan to stop magic being used to subjugate the innocent. I stand by what they did, even if it imprisons me for the rest of my life.”

Riley watched her, looking uncertain and waiting for his cue, while Evangeline addressed the sky.
Who's listening?
Jax wondered.
Is it God or Nature or the whole Universe? Please, whoever it is
. . . He found himself praying.
Listen to her
.

“Niviane will be returned to a proper grave once the spell is repaired,” Evangeline said. “We have the blade she gave Arthur to seal their alliance, which was returned to her on his death. And we are heirs to the Pendragon
and Emrys lines, with full right to claim their spell as our own.”

Tegan appeared at Jax's side. “We can help,” she whispered. She slipped her hand into Jax's, wrapping her slim fingers around the hilt of his honor blade. Then she held out her other hand to her brother, who caught it and reached out to his father. A.J. and Mr. Crandall approached Jax's other side, and A.J. offered a hand to Jax, honor blade and all. Catching on, Jax gripped A.J.'s hand and his dagger together.

Evangeline nodded approval at them and continued, “Like the original casters of this spell, we are joined by our vassals and brave allies. A friend of the Pendragons sacrificed his life to the cause—”

“Brother,” Riley said abruptly. “Miller Owens was engaged to my sister. He was supposed to've been my brother.”

“Brother,” Evangeline repeated. Her voice wavered. “Your brother and my brother both died preserving the eighth day.”

“And Jax's dad,” Riley added.

“Siblings, parents, and allies,” Evangeline said, lifting her face to the sky, “all committed to keeping the eighth day where it belongs—one isolated day, one shared world, one rotation of this planet around its sun in the span of a second. By their will and by ours—this shall be done.” Jax stared at the sky. It was purple and cracked like an egg.

“You
will
listen to us,” Riley shouted over the wind that whipped hair into his eyes. He yanked his and Evangeline's clasped hands into the air. “I
command
the forces of the universe to obey—in the name of the heirs to Merlin Emrys and Arthur Pendragon!”

The forces of the universe had no answer for him. Riley glared at the sky and added a few swear words to his command, but his face reflected the glittery sheen of cracks that weren't going anywhere.

“It's not enough, son,” shouted Mr. Crandall. “You've got to give it something else!”

Give it something else? What else could the universe want? Jax shifted his feet uneasily. Wylit had wanted to enhance his spell with a human sacrifice. Riley had that corroded relic of an iron dagger in his hand, and Evangeline was standing there in that awful white dress, just perfect for . . .

Panic crossed Riley's face, and he looked at Evangeline.

“Man up, Riley,” A.J. called out.

Evangeline stared at Riley, white lipped. “Do what you have to do,” she whispered.

“No!” Jax shouted, pulling his hands free and lunging forward.

A.J. tackled him, and Jax hit the cobblestones with almost two hundred pounds on his back.

Riley swung their joined hands down and around Evangeline's back. The hand with Excalibur went behind
her head, and he hooked the back of her neck in his elbow. Then he pulled her close and kissed her.

Jax would've gasped, but A.J.'s weight didn't allow him any space to breathe.

Oh, right
. Melinda said strong emotions would enhance magic, too.

When Riley let go of Evangeline, she staggered backward, bumping into the altar. Her eyes were wide and startled. She and Riley stared at each other a moment, and then looked up to see if the world was still ending.

A.J. eased off, and Jax sucked in air and rolled over. The cracks were already closing, fading to nothing in the normal purple of a Grunsday night sky.

“Dang, I think that did it!” Riley gave Evangeline the sappiest grin Jax had ever seen, still holding her hand.

She blushed pink.

And then she vanished.

Mr. Crandall looked at his watch. “Thursday. Right on time.”

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

..................................................................

THE MEXICAN AUTHORITIES
were on site within minutes, but they weren't very interested in getting involved. When informed that the Morgans were a private security force foiling an act of terrorism by a drug cartel, the local police backed off, leaving the Morgans to clean up the casualties and haul away the survivors.

It took both Crandalls to get Riley off the pyramid. His legs failed him halfway, and he almost took a nosedive down a staircase. After that Mr. Crandall and A.J. kept their hands on him, and once they were on the ground, they forced him to sit on the stone steps while a Morgan vassal checked him over.

“Bruised, contused—and then he threw everything he had into one heck of a spell,” the healer concluded. “He'll survive, but he should take it easy for a few days.”

“I'll take a vacation in Mexico,” said Riley, in between gulps of water from a bottle. “I hear that's restful.”

Michael Donovan cleared his throat loudly. “I hate to be bringin' this up, Pendare,” he said. “After all, you just saved seven days of the week. But is there still an eighth day?” He looked worried. Without Grunsday, it would be a lot harder for the Donovans to conduct their family business—pilfering, safe cracking, and being a general nuisance.

Riley drained the water bottle before answering. “Yes.”

“How do you know?” demanded Thomas.

“Because she's still up there.” Riley and Jax said it in unison, then turned to each other in surprise. Jax sensed Evangeline's presence on the pyramid because he was her vassal, and Riley did too because . . . well, Jax wasn't sure why, but he could guess.

Riley looked at Jax. “What was all that hollering about at the end? What'd you think I was going to do? Kill her?”

Jax felt his face flush. He should've known Riley would never hurt her.
We're the good guys. Right. I forgot
. Even Miller hadn't carried out his threat, and now that Jax realized who Miller was to Riley—and who Miller had lost—he understood why Riley had trusted him not to hurt Evangeline.

“Incoming!” A.J. shouted, and Riley jerked to his feet. Jax whirled, expecting an attack by one of Wylit's stray vassals.

But it was Deidre.

She was dressed in combat gear and body armor with enough weaponry strapped to her torso, arms, and legs to
take on a small army. Which, of course, she had just done. She stalked across the Avenue of the Dead, black hair flying in a ponytail behind her. “I need a word with you, Pendare,” she said, pointing him out.

“Uh,” said Riley eloquently, while everybody stepped away from him.

“I understand you almost got yourself killed on that pyramid tonight,” she snapped, “and then, as an encore, you saved the world with a kiss.”

“Well, um,” added Riley.

“The engagement's off. I have no intention of being anyone's second choice. I don't care
who
you're descended from.”

“She's . . . not . . .”

Deidre put her hands on her hips. “If you didn't have feelings for her,
it wouldn't have worked
.”

Riley ran a hand through his hair and frowned, as if that hadn't occurred to him. However, A.J. and his father exchanged knowing glances, and Jax guessed it was no surprise to them.

Deidre laughed at Riley's expression. “You idiot. Don't you get it? If
I
end the engagement, that lets
you
off the hook. You don't owe my mother an oath of loyalty.”

Riley exhaled as her words penetrated through his exhaustion. “Your mother's going to be furious with you.”

“Oh, I'm sure she'll still blame you,” Deidre predicted. She turned to walk down the road toward the helicopter and shot back over her shoulder: “Stay out of her pistol range.”

Riley sank down on the stone step, looking like he'd just had a pardon from the governor. He covered his face with his hands wearily.

Mr. Crandall slapped A.J. on the back. “He's cooked. Let's arrange transport and get him someplace he can rest.”

Michael Donovan cleared his throat. “I happen to've recently acquired a number of Land Rovers,” he mentioned, pulling several rings of keys out of his pockets, “and I'd be willing to let one go for the right price.” Jax wondered when, amidst all the action, Donovan had found time to steal all the car keys.

“Take care of Miller first,” said Riley from behind his hands.

“All right, son,” said Mr. Crandall. “A.J. and I will get him down. Don't worry.”

Everybody started moving at once. Tegan punched Jax in the arm and said, “Jerk,” as she left.

“Same to you,” Jax replied, knowing they both meant
Glad you're okay
.

In less than a minute, Jax found himself alone with Riley, who lowered his hands. “Jax, we need to talk.”

Jax nodded. His legs were rubbery, and his head was pounding, but some things needed to be said. “This was my fault. All of it. Evangeline was in danger, and billions of people almost died, and Miller
is
dead because of me.”

“Don't be an idiot. Wylit's been looking for her for years.”