“That’s just gross,” I remarked, thinking furiously. Frankly, I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to prove anything to the Gancanagh. Hell, I couldn’t say with any certainty that I was one of the Tuatha Dé. Though, of course, there was always that option…
“That’s it,” Liam said, his impatience clear. “Babd, get in there and end this.”
“Hold on!” I shouted, taking hold of the bracelet Morgan had given me, and holding it up the way someone might produce a grenade as a negotiating tactic. “Are ye sure ye want to find out what I’m capable of? Ye may regret it.”
As soon as I said it, I realized I might as well have been talking to myself. Was I ready to know what I could do? More importantly, at this point, did I even have a choice? With Areadbhar and my friends left behind, my chances of survival here were slim, at best. And I knew I couldn’t count on backup, either. Judging by the lack of reinforcements, I could only assume Morgan had taken a hit, which meant there would be no more Gateways unless Max learned to master his in the next few minutes.
Except...was I really that desperate to survive? I’d meant it when I told Max I wasn’t scared to die. Death I could wrap my head around. But becoming something, becoming someone, else just to keep it at bay? That was the part that I struggled with.
Or, at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
But...what if that wasn’t all there was to it? What if—instead of giving it different names and characteristics, different manifestations and limitations—I opened myself up to all that power and somehow stayed me?
In that moment, I realized that scared me even more; not the fact that I might change, but that I might not. Because, if it was me, then there’d be no one and nothing else to blame when I failed to live up to my own expectations.
“Was that a rhetorical question, or…” Liam drawled, snapping me out of my moment of clarity.
“In a way,” I replied, grinning like a madwoman.
“Why is your face doing that?”
Why? Because, I thought to myself, now that I knew what I was truly afraid of, my hesitance seemed rather silly. So what if I failed as a goddess? I’d failed plenty as a human being, especially over the last few years. That didn’t make me a failure. It just meant I had room to grow. And, as a goddess, I’d have all the time in all the worlds to do that.
“Because I know somethin’ ye don’t.”
“You’re stalling,” Liam said, sounding disappointed. “That’s it, I’m—”
A wet gurgle spilled from Liam’s mouth just as I began fiddling with the clasp of the bracelet. I hesitated, startled by the sound, and looked up to find the point of a rusted iron rail spike jutting from the Gancanagh’s throat. I couldn’t be sure if I’d ever seen someone look so shocked. Liam tried to turn his head and see who could have dared, a murderous gleam in his eyes.
Maria, freed from her ropes, refused to let him. Instead, she shoved harder, wedging the impromptu weapon deeper until it threatened to split his neck in two. The Gancanagh began to shine, calling his power in defiance of what should have been a mortal wound and reaching for Babd. The goddess was staring off into space, however, waiting like a trained dog for her lover’s command. Except her lover couldn’t speak.
And what good was a love-talker who couldn’t talk?
Liam, realizing how powerless he was without his voice, panicked. He tried to grab hold of the spike and force it back out. But, with his hands slick from his own blood and the spike being forged from iron, the best he could do was stop Maria from pushing it in further. After a few seconds more of hushed, violent struggle, the Faeling collapsed to his knees, the sound of which at last alerted my aunt to the situation.
“Liam! No!”
Before Babd could say or do anything else, however, Camila arrived. The bruja came running at full bore, using all her momentum and strength to swing the flat head of an unwieldy sledgehammer into the side of the Gancanagh’s skull. The strike caved in two-thirds of his head, spraying gore and grey matter everywhere. Liam’s shine flickered and dimmed.
He was dead before he hit the ground.
Chapter 46
Babd lashed out immediately. The moment her lover’s needy headless corpse collapsed, the goddess raised a hand to the heavens, her face a mask of rage and grief, and shrieked at the top of her inhuman lungs. The sound was horrifying—a blend of long, drawn out caws, like a thousand crows speaking out at once. We all covered our ears, and I could have sworn I saw blood trickling down Camila’s neck. The instant the screaming ended, a blinding bolt of lightning descended from the cloudless sky, hitting Babd’s outstretched fingertips and spiraling down her arm like a writhing snake.
“I will make ye pay!” Babd declared, whipping her arm up and bringing it back down so that the lightning became a braided cord of hair-raising, body-bowing energy. With a savage cry, she drew back to strike at the bruja, who could do nothing but cower from the blow.
“No!” I shouted, racing to intercept the goddess before she did any permanent damage.
I didn’t make it in time.
Babd whipped her arm around like a pitcher throwing a slider, and a coil of lightning went racing towards the bruja. I tried to turn, to put myself between Camila and the blow, only to end up slipping and falling to one knee, forced to watch in horror as it sped towards her fragile mortal body.
But then a dark figure stepped in the way.
Albi took the blow on his sleeve, his face a grimace of pain that made him snarl and bare his teeth. But the Pooka didn’t buckle, or even twitch, as the electricity coursed through his body. Instead, he locked gazes with Babd, waiting until the last of her power was gone before throwing his suit jacket over that arm.
“That’s enough of that, I think,” he said, nonplussed.
“Get out of the way, ye fool! I’ll kill her! I’ll kill ‘em both!”
“And will you kill me, too, for freeing them?”
Babd hesitated. Not because she was unwilling to kill Albi, necessarily, but more likely because his question forced her to think past her grief. She blinked rapidly, shaking her head. “Why would ye free ‘em?”
“Because it was in your niece’s best interest. And I made a deal.” Albi flicked his eyes to me. “Apologies for not mentioning your aunt’s true identity earlier, by the way. She used a geas to keep anyone affiliated with the Chancery from divulging her secret.”
“Her secret?”
“Her being here, I believe. There was something about overstepping. Reprisals. Drawing the ire of the other gods.”
“I don’t understand,” Babd interjected, her expression so tormented it seemed as though Liam’s death had shattered something inside her. “How did this happen?”
“Aunt Babd…” I started, reaching for her.
“Aunt?” Babd looked up sharply, perplexed. “Have ye seen me niece? I have to find her. Me sister...she has to help me...I came to find…”
“Came to find who, Aunt Babd?”
The goddess shook her head, violently.
“It’s Liam’s glamour,” Albi explained. “He’s warped her mind, somehow. I honestly didn’t realize how much control he had over her until tonight’s disaster.”
“What were we supposed to do?” Camila asked. “The Hex Moon came early. The whole plan hinges on it.”
“You could have sent someone ahead to warn me. Then I might have distracted Catha long enough for your plan to work without you getting captured or interrogated.”
Camila looked away. “You still did not have to beat us.”
“It was the only way to convince Liam the information I gave him was genuine.”
“Well, you did not have to enjoy it so much.”
The Pooka grinned. “Had things turned out differently, I would have paid far more dearly for my deception than a few scrapes and bruises. You’ll get no sympathy from me.”
“What are ye lot talkin’ about?” Babd asked, looking so genuinely wretched that it made all of us uncomfortabl
e. “What is happenin’ to me?”
“It will be alright, m’lady,” Albi declared. He gestured to the moor troll I’d injured, who climbed to his feet without saying a word. “Let’s return to the manor house. Perhaps there we can see about unraveling all this glamour.”
“You’re going to let her go?” Maria hissed, speaking up for the first time. “After everything we did to stop her?”
“Yes, I am. The more I think about it, the more I am beginning to remember. I’m starting to believe that the one who orchestrated this whole mess is already dead. You two saw to that. And besides...look at her.”
We all did as he suggested.
Babd hugged herself, rubbing at her naked arms, her leather jacket and vest laying in a pile at her feet. I couldn’t remember ever having seen someone look so lost. It reminded me of the way elderly people sit and stare at nothing, sometimes—like their mind is taking a trip to see where their soul is meant to be.
“Fine,” Maria snapped, though I could see her heart wasn’t in it. “But if she turns around and comes after us, it’ll be on you.”
“Very well. I will take responsibility for her, for tonight at least. Tomorrow, perhaps she might receive a visit from her niece?” Albi gazed at me, meaningfully. “I’m sure they would have much to discuss.”
I nodded, though part of me was already dreading the prospect.
“Good. Here’s the address.” He fetched a card from the lining of his jacket. “As for you, Camila, shouldn’t you be running along? I believe there’s a recently emancipated Redcap who could use your tender loving care.”
“Robin.” Camila‘s eyes lit up, immediately, his name uttered like an answered prayer. “Wait, my care? Is he alright? He is not hurt, is he?”
“That I don’t know,” Albi admitted. “I wasn’t allowed to see him.”
“Maria, we should go.” Camila paused, turning to me. “How is my brother?”
“Alive and well, last time I saw him,” I replied.
“Good. Gracias, for coming. Without you…”
“You’d have managed, I’m sure.” I waved that off, preferring not to think how badly things could have gone for them if Liam had gotten his way. Of course, thanks to them, Liam would never be getting his way, again. “Tell Robin hello for me, would ye? Oh, and t’anks for killin’ that piece of trash, by the way. Especially what ye did, Maria. Stabbin’ him in the throat? That was bloody brilliant.”
“You’re welcome…” Maria looked suspicious of my compliment but didn’t pick at it. “Let’s go.”
The two women left, chattering amongst themselves in Spanish as they descended the slope which led to what looked like a parking lot.
“Well, now that we’ve dealt with that, I believe it’s time to get going.” Albi made a move towards Babd but hesitated when he caught me staring. “What is it?”
“You’re a lot smarter than I gave ye credit for.”
“Most of the Fae are, I expect.” Albi shrugged. “I’ve been alive a long, long time. Once, I wouldn’t have noticed or cared about that. But this world, it works on our minds. It changes us. Forces us to decide to be something, to play a role, if only to feel like we’re part of things.”
“Aye, I’m beginnin’ to notice the same t’ing,” I replied, twisting the bracelet absentmindedly. “What would ye want to be, then, if ye had the choice?”
“I wouldn’t want to be anything. That’s the point. We were never meant to think the way Manlings think. We were meant to live on our own terms. To be, without being.”
To that, I could say nothing. Mostly because, in his own way, Albi was making the same argument Morgan had. And maybe they were both right—maybe growing up in this world had done to my mind what Liam had done to Babd’s, making me believe in something that wasn’t real.
The question was, would I ever break free of its spell?
Chapter 47
I was standing alone, looking up at the moon and wondering whether or not I was going to have to hoof it back to civilization, when I saw a slim, dark shape dart across the sky. I squinted, laughed, and began waving both arms like an air traffic controller. Not that I needed to; Areadbhar had made it this far without my help, she obviously didn’t have any trouble tracking me down.
The spear skidded to a stop perhaps a foot away, bobbing up and down with what I could only assume was joy. I’d already reached for her, planning to pull her in for an awkward but necessary hug, when she drifted back and lowered her blade to dangle an object in front of my face.
It was the gaudiest, most bedazzled cell phone I'd ever seen, expertly tied to her shaft by a series of complicated knots that took several minutes to unravel. When I finished, Areadbhar rose into the air and promptly turned into a stone. I caught her, amused.
“Guess ye were pretty exhausted, huh? Don’t ye worry, I’ll carry ye around for a while.”
I performed a little seitr magic and slipped the stone into the pocket of my embroidered jean jacket before turning my attention to the phone. I flipped it open—yes, it was one of those—and found only one number programmed under the name CALL ME.
So, I did.
“Quinn? Quinn, is that you?”
“Jimmy?” I held the phone away from my ear for a moment, then put it to my mouth. “What the hell d’ye t’ink you’re doin’ sendin’ me this totally ridiculous phone?”
“Oh, thank God!” Jimmy said, laughing. When he spoke again, his voice was distant and hard to make out. “She sounds fine...I’ll ask her...oh yeah, she hated it...so great.”
“Jimmy, is everythin’ alright?” I asked, wishing I could see who he was talking to. “Is anyone hurt? What about Morgan, is she okay?”
“What? Oh, yeah. Everyone here is fine. The enchantress, charming lady by the way, is resting in your room at the hotel. She’s a little out of it, but she’ll be fine. Hilde is on the mend, already. She keeps saying she needs to talk to you about Asgard, but that’s all she’ll say because she doesn’t trust people!” Jimmy shouted the last bit, then chuckled. “What’s that?”
I thought I could hear a woman’s voice in the background.
“Oh, right. Hilde says to come back as soon as you can. What the hell happened to you? Your man filled us in on most of it. He says hello, by the way. What? Oh, excuse me. Hello, beautiful. He says hello, beautiful.”
I laughed, only moderately discomfited by the idea of my married ex and my whatever-Max-was passing along love notes. Of course, three could play at that game. “Tell him I said ‘soon,’ would ye?”
“Soon? She says soon.” Jimmy made a sound that I recognized from high school, so familiar I could practically picture the stunned look on his face. “Did you know your man could light up like that? I mean, like literally light up.”
“Aye,” I replied, repressing the urge to giggle. “Anyway, how’s everyone else? How’s Leo and Lakota? And what about the guy I left with Hilde? Bredon.”
“Oh, right. Him. He’s a strange one. You know, he’s the one who suggested we let your weapon go? Took one look at it trying to fly away and told us we’d better set her free so she could find you. Even called it a she.”
“No kiddin’,” I replied, my mind suddenly occupied with all sorts of questions about the man who refused to die, questions that Jimmy couldn’t answer.
“Anyway, the phone was my idea. Well, technically I guess it was Leo’s. Apparently, you told him you didn’t have a phone, so he sent me to buy one earlier this morning. You know me, I’m not exactly an impulse buyer. But all it took was one look and knew it was the phone for you.”
“Is that when Watt arrested ye?”
“Not long after, yeah. Why?”
“Because,” I replied, scathingly, “that’s what I like to call karma.”
Jimmy barked a laugh. “Maybe you’re right. Still, it worked out for us. If I hadn’t gotten locked up, I’d never have gotten the tip about that kid’s brother.”
“D’ye mean Leon? Is he alright?”
“Actually, I meant the older one. Mike. And yeah, the kid seemed a little shaken up, but their Alpha tells me he’ll be fine. Intense lady, even for a werewolf.”
“Pauline? I’ll say. So, what happened with Leon, anyway?”
“Seems like he put two and two together and realized his brother was looking at the Fairy Court for all the bodies that kept showing up on their route. Sounds to me like Leon’s brother was their rum runner. Anyway, Leon got caught doing the same, and whoever it was put him in a cage. That’s where we found him. What I don’t get is why the coven dumped Mike’s body like they did, though.”
“Maybe it wasn’t the witches,” I said, thinking out loud. “Maybe it was the one pullin’ the strings. Maybe he worried if Angelika found out the people she was killin’ weren’t werewolves, it would throw a wrench in his plans.”
“Yeah, about that. This…” Jimmy hesitated, probably looking over a pad filled with meticulous notes, knowing him. “Liam. What do you know about him? Right now, he’s the only one we haven’t accounted for, and the Academy Justices want to take a look at everything we’ve got. The summoning of a god on their watch has them in a tizzy. Anyway, I was hoping you might know more about him than we do.”
“I wouldn’t worry about Liam,” I insisted. “And ye can pass that along to the Academy.”
“And why shouldn’t we be worried?”
“Because I was lookin’ down at his corpse not twenty minutes ago.”
“You what? Wait...don’t tell me you killed him?”
“Oh, no, not me. It was actually Maria who did the honors, if ye can believe it.”
“Maria? My Maria? Maria Machado?”
“She’s a very vicious person, Jimmy,” I replied, stifling a snicker. “I’ve been tellin’ ye that for years. In fact, ye may want to watch your back, because she’s pretty pissed at ye for gettin’ married. I’d hate to see ye die with a knife in your face.”
“Hah. Right. About that…” Jimmy cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Lakota and me. I genuinely thought you knew, and that you would bring it up if—”
Moonshine: Phantom Queen Book 11—A Temple Verse Series (The Phantom Queen Diaries) Page 27