Swallowing Darkness   ::   Гамильтон Лорел

"The choice they should have had from the beginning," Rhys said.

"Yes," he said.

"What do you mean 'a choice'?" Gregorio asked.

"Prince Cel took over the personal guard of Prince Essus, Princess Meredith's father, after his death. By our laws, the guard should have had a choice to either follow the new prince or leave the royal service, but Prince Cel gave them no choice. The princess found this out recently, and petitioned the queen to give the prince's guard that choice."

"So they all bailed on him?" Gregorio asked.

"So it would seem."

"Or maybe they're out in the woods waiting to ambush us," Rhys said.

"That too is very possible."

"Couldn't you sense if there were that many sidhe hiding in the woods?" I asked.

"Not inside this much metal and human-made technology."

"We're almost head-blind, Merry. It doesn't kill us to be inside this much metal, like some of the lesser fey, but it curtails our magic, a lot," Rhys said.

"If there are other guards hiding in the woods, would it explain why Cel isn't attacking?" I asked. I huddled in more tightly against Doyle. Rhys was gazing out the windows, trying to see what lay ahead.

"It might," Doyle said.

Gregorio took it upon herself to hit the radio again. "The prince has a lot more personal guards than those in the road. We might want to check the woods and see what's there."

A man's voice said, "Roger that."

"So it's either a trap," Rhys said, "or he's waiting for the truck with us in it. We're his targets, after all."

"He is most likely saving his attack for us," Doyle said, "but as we cannot work magic inside the trucks, neither can he work magic upon us while we are surrounded by this much metal."

Gregorio asked, "Are you saying that we should let them throw magic at us, and the trucks will take care of it?"

Doyle and Rhys exchanged a look, then Rhys nodded and shrugged. Doyle answered. "The magic should fall apart around the trucks, and as long as your people stay inside them, they should be untouchable."

I turned in Doyle's arms so I could see his face, though dark on dark, I could see little of his expression. Of course, when he didn't wish me to, bright light wouldn't have clued me in to his thoughts.

"Are you saying that we are completely safe inside here from their magic?" Gregorio asked.

Doyle stirred beside me, pulling me even more tightly against him. Rhys took my hand in his, playing with my knuckles again in that worry-stone way, over and over.

"Either they can work magic inside here or they cannot," I said.