Báirseach- the Midding Gate

by V B Gilbert

  Ciaran is thrashing on the bed, yanking at his restraints. Blood is dripping from wounds on his wrists where the metal is scraping against his skin.

  “I’ll deal with it. Go back downstairs, Daisy.” Cathmor ushers me out to the hallway, taking a right towards his room.

  I lean against the wall, heart thundering and wait for Cathmor to return. He doesn’t make me wait long as he returns with a small pouch.

  “Stay out here, Daisy. I’m just going to put him to sleep.” Stepping into the room, Cathmor shakes a powder onto his palm, chanting as he approaches Ciaran. With a soft puff he blows the powder into Ciaran’s face, and my ex-boyfriend quickly quiets and falls into a restless sleep.

  Tightening the laces on the pouch, Cathmor joins me in the hall, hands behind his back. “I need to wash my hands. I don’t want to get any on you.”

  “I can help with that.” Raising my palm, I circle a finger over it the way Murphy taught me. Once there’s a flow of water going, I motion to Cathmor. “Put your hand out.”

  With a smile, he extends his hand, and I slowly pour the water into his palm. Cathmor quickly rubs his hands together, then rubs them down the side of his pants to dry them off.

  “Come, Daisy. I’m sure we can help pack up. Then we’ll have some dinner.” Cathmor snatches up my hand and leads me into his bedroom, where my things have been moved. “Just leave out clothes for tomorrow. The rest we’ll take downstairs.”

  We make quick work of packing, even taking time to move and plant the foliage that Cathmor grew outside.

  Dinner is an interesting affair. Edan and Mori trying to ‘help’ but instead wind up setting the curtains on fire and overflowing the sink. Egan and Murphy are frazzled from cooking and — literally — putting out fires and dealing with overflowing water.

  I can hear Liam and Onyx chuckling in my head. Liam speaks up, >They’ll settle down once bonded. Your mates should be able to talk to them just as we can speak with you.<

  The men seem relieved when I pass that on.

  “I’ll be glad for that. Edan seems to be determined to set the house on fire.” Egan holds the little red dragon to the candles and allows Edan to light them.

  “You’ll notice my Casey is not causing any problems,” Cathmor brags, and I can’t help but giggle.

  He hasn’t noticed yet, but one of the vines from Ciaran’s room has grown, and Casey has managed to grow it large enough to trail down the stairs and totally encase the railing.

  “Aye, Casey’s a good dragon.” Murphy agrees with Cathmor then points to the stairs. “Perhaps you might check, though, that our prisoner is not lost in a jungle upstairs?”

  Spinning around, Cathmor roars, “Casey!” raising his arms he takes control of the growth, and it starts retreating up the stairs. We can hear him mumbling as he works his way to Ciaran’s room. “I never had issues like this with Onyx.”

  By the time Cathmor returns, the dragons are settled in the middle of the table with some food, and our dinner is plated and ready to be eaten.

  We discuss our route over dinner, the horses will need to be returned to the stables in Lámhach, so Egan and Murphy have volunteered to ride them home. We’ll try to stay in sight of each other, though. Barring any unforeseen dangers, the trip should take two days. We should arrive the day before Winter Solstice.

  I’m eager to be home to see my family and pleased that we should be back in time for Rosemary’s wedding. I worry about not bringing back three big, black dragons like we usually do. I don’t know how that will be received. Nor how well the council will like that the dragons I will be bringing back will already be bound.

  Do the council know about the elementals? Do they think it is just a fairytale? What will they think about my new title?

  These things and more spin in my head as we head upstairs for the night. We stand in the hallway indecisively as we realize we have two bedrooms and four people.

  “Murphy and I will share this room.” Egan points at the room where they put me to heal, “You two take Cathmor’s room. And as you told me Cathmor, now’s the time.”

  Egan plucks Casey off Cathmor’s shoulder and walks into his room. Closing the door he peeks out, “Sleep well, Mo Chroí.”

  29

  Shyly, I follow Cathmor to his room. It looks very stark now that we’ve packed everything and set it downstairs. I move my clothes for tomorrow off of the end of the bed and place them on the desk by the window alongside Cathmor’s pile.

  When I turn back, Cathmor is facing the bed and pulling his shirt over his head. Along his upper back is a large marking of a pair of dragon wings. They span from arm to arm in green and black. Without thought, I reach out and trace them with a finger.

  Cathmor tenses for a moment before releasing the tension and turning his attention to the laces on his trousers. “The others showed me their marks on their hands and wrists. We figured mine showed up on my back because I braced the vine with my body, trying to haul you up.” Turning, he stands before me with his trousers hanging off his hips, the laces dangling freely. “If I’d known the bonding would burn away the vine, I would not have been so insistent. I’m sorry, Daisy. I could have lost you by demanding we bond.”

  My grey eyes scan Cathmor’s green ones, remorse evident in his lowered brow. Stepping close I wind my arms around his waist, I pull him close, laying my head on his chest.

  “I tried to break away from Ciaran. I pushed Lennon, and in his weakened state he fell, that’s when the spells broke.” I tip my head back to look up at Cathmor. “But do you know what drove me? I wanted to live. I wanted to see my bondmates and bond with you. I was so scared the bonding wouldn’t take because I was unable to talk when you asked it of me. All I could do was scream it in my head. Because I wanted it with everything in me. I wanted you.”

  With a groan, Cathmor cradles the back of my head with one hand and my waist with the other, and presses his forehead to mine. “I want you, too, Daisy. So much. Can I have you?”

  Nodding, I rise on my toes and press a kiss on his lips. Cathmor returns it, placing small kisses on the corners of my mouth and the tip of my nose. Then he sits back on the bed and pulls me in, so I’m standing between his legs.

  With sure hands he unlaces my shirt then gently pulls it over my head. Bare except for my trousers, I feel my blush on the tips of my ears and cheeks. My neck and chest warm as it travels south.

  “You’re so beautiful.” He runs his hands down my neck, across my shoulders, and down my arms. Lifting my hands, he compares my wrist tattoos, one flame and one leafy vine. Placing a kiss on the vine, he slides his lips up. He leaves a kiss on the inside of my elbow, on my shoulder, and at the dip of my collar bones.

  A warm, heavy feeling begins below my belly button, and my breathing deepens as I wait to see where he will kiss next.

  Raising his hands, he settles my breasts in the v between his thumbs and pointer fingers. Keeping his eyes on mine, he slides his thumbs up and lightly flicks my nipples. He gives a satisfied smile at my gasp, then leans forward to take a nipple in his mouth, licking and sucking before switching his attention to the other one.

  When his hands dip into the back of my trousers, my legs go weak, and I cling to his biceps to keep from falling. Gently, he eases them off of my hips, and when they land with a soft whoosh on the floor, he leans back to gaze at me.

  I take the time to inspect Cathmor as well; from his defined muscles on his arms and torso to the purple tip of his shaft straining against the loosened laces of his trousers. Unable to resist, I reach down and gently stroke him and am pleased at his sharp inhale.

  Cathmor stands so suddenly, I almost fall back, but his reflexes are quick, and he holds me steady by my upper arms. “Easy, I’ve got you.” He shoves his pants down then sits on the edge of the bed again, bringing me with him. “Come here, Daisy.”

  Grabbing my thighs he lifts and positions me, so I’m straddling him, his cock rubbing my slick core and making my breathing ragged. H
e’s bigger than the others, but he feels wonderful.

  Linking my arms around his neck, I rock my hips forward. Cathmor responds with a jerk of his hips before biting at my lower lip, licking away the sting. Aggressively kissing me, I meet each thrust of his tongue with one of my own, rubbing my nipples against his chest.

  Cathmor squeezes my ass, then rolls us, so I’m laying on my back looking up at my gorgeous bondmate. “I’ll try to be gentle, Daisy, but I need you.”

  Lowering a hand to my folds, he finds my bundle of nerves that have grown so sensitive, I arch my back at his first touch. He teases me mercilessly. Circling, then pinching, dragging a finger to my opening and spreading the wetness before flicking my clit again.

  “Please, Cathmor.”

  “Please what? Tell me what you want.” Cathmor rasps out.

  “You . . . I want . . . you. I need . . . you. Please.” Panting, I try to make my wishes known.

  “Aye, lass, I need you, too.”

  With a sharp thrust, Cathmor enters me, still playing with my clit.

  “Cathmor! Yes!”

  He sets a steady pace, and soon, I find myself lifting my hips higher, trying to urge him faster. But he won’t be rushed. He pulls out until only his tip is in me then reaches out and pinches my nipples, using his other hand to hold me down. Then he thrusts in again.

  Over and over, he does this until finally he relents, after he has me begging for release. Then his movements speed up, and I feel my walls quivering, my stomach muscles are tensed.

  With one swivel of his hips, I’m over the edge, back arched, head tipped back and seeing stars behind my eyelids. With one last thrust, Cathmor joins me, and I feel his release as he throbs inside me.

  Cathmor collapses to my side, pulling me into his arms.

  “I love you, Cathmor.”

  Placing a kiss on my hair, Cathmor pants out, “Love you, Daisy.”

  Once we’ve recovered, Cathmor stands and lifts me off the bed, keeping me in his arms as pulls the covers back. Depositing me in the middle, he slides in, then gathers me close again.

  As we snuggle together, I lay my hand on his stomach and notice my mark has grown. Lifting my arm, I show Cathmor.

  “Look, the ivy is twining all the way to my elbow now.”

  Cathmor turns my arm this way and that to inspect it before lowering it and placing my hand on his heart. “You’re mine now, Daisy. Completely.”

  Nodding sleepily, I agree, “Completely.”

  30

  “I’m just commenting. When Sage and I completed our bonding she set the room on fire.” This is Egan’s excuse for popping his head in the room and inspecting, early the next morning. Eyes bouncing around the empty room, looking for magical evidence of Cathmor’s and my final bonding.

  Murphy lays his chin on Egan’s shoulder, “She made it rain when we went on our picnic, this is almost a disappointment. I was expecting . . . I don’t know . . . an explosion of daisies or something.”

  Wrapping the sheet around myself, I give Cathmor a quick kiss before heading for my clothes. I lift them up and glance out at the window, The sun is just rising, and the purple of the night is giving way to the pinks and oranges of the morning. But that’s not what grabs my attention.

  Every tree, bush, and plant within view has grown and bloomed. The scrawny brown excuse for grass has thickened, spreading out from the house in an ankle-deep carpet of green. Wildflowers dot the edges, and I’m amazed at the explosion of color, where before, there was wilted plants, brown and drab green.

  Skirting around the desk, I shove the window up and peer over the edge of the sill to the ground below. The men are still joking, Cathmor’s sleep-roughened voice coming closer. Then I see his two hands bracketing mine, his chest warming my back as he, too, looks out the window.

  He wraps his arms around my waist and whisks me away from the opening. Pointing at it, he calls Egan and Murphy. “Maybe take a glance outside before you continue teasing me.”

  Cathmor spins me in his arms and delivers a knee-weakening kiss. Egan and Murphy are exclaiming in the background as they pound Cathmor on the back.

  Smiling at the absurd men, I back away and stick a thumb out, pointing behind me. “I’m going to take a shower.” I’m at the turn when I remember our little friends and look over my shoulder, “Where are Edan, Mori, and Casey?”

  “Out with Onyx and Liam. I assume they’ll be back soon.” Murphy brushes by me, planting a kiss on my temple, “I’ll start breakfast, Love.”

  Satisfied that things are going well, I wander to the bathroom, ignoring the outraged rumbles of a now awake Ciaran.

  Packing our items on one of the horses, Egan and Murphy pull out their cloaks and swing them over their shoulders. I flip mine over my arm and check each room, to make sure nothing is left behind. Through the front windows, I can see Cathmor with Ciaran, the latter bound and sitting as far as possible from the three large dragons, roaming in the yard.

  Satisfied that the house is clean, I exit and join my men at the front of the horse.

  >Báirseach, are you ready for the binding?< Onyx rumbles in my head as he strides to sit beside Flynn and Liam.

  “We’re ready.” Standing in front of the dragons, I take a deep breath and throw my cloak on, leaving my arms free.

  Egan, Murphy, and Cathmor stand tall across from me, and then each dips a hand into the inner pocket of their cloaks. Edan, Mori, and Casey emerge and flit up to their shoulders.

  Ciaran’s eyes shine with greed when they appear. It’s disquieting to see, and I’m glad that we are bonding before we leave. I wouldn’t put it past Ciaran to attempt to steal one or all of the tiny dragons.

  Moving between Onyx’s legs I lay my hand on his chest.

  “Thank you, Flynn and Liam, for witnessing our bonding.” I peek at the red and silver dragons flanking Onyx.

  >We are here to bond, as well. Through the three of us, you will bind all dragons. You are Báirseach.< Flynn’s smoky voice resonates, and my heart speeds up at his words. So much responsibility. >Do not be afraid. The Goddess knows what she’s doing.<

  Shaking my hands out, I put one back on Onyx. “Ready to bond with your dragons?” I ask of my bondmates. They draw closer to me, and Cathmor starts us off.

  Heart to heart

  Life to life

  We join together

  To share all strife

  Never undone

  Bound as one

  So mote it be.

  A flash of heat runs along my back and then . . . oh, Goddess. The voices! Grabbing the sides of my head, I fall to my knees. Hundreds of deep voices, thrumming through my head, a cacophony of sound I can’t think around. Cowering, I tuck my knees up, trying to help cover my ears even though the sound is coming through my mind.

  I’m not sure how long it lasts. At some point, I’m no longer conscious, just aware. I’m drifting in a sea of reds and blacks and silvers. Closer? How do I tell distance? There are a small red, a small blue, and a small green, floating closer and closer.

  I wake with a gasp, flat on my back, tears streaming down my face. Mori, Casey, and Edan are hovering over me, my men kneeling and staring at me with concern.

  “What happened, Love?” Murphy scoots closer to me, lifting me into his lap.

  “The bonding . . . the dragons . . . I . . .” Brushing my bangs to the side, I rest my forehead in my hands. “It overwhelmed me. I can hear them. All of them. And they’re all here.” I point to my head.

  “You were screaming. I — we — were scared for you.” Egan squeezes my knee before standing. “I’ll get you some water.”

  “Take your time, Daisy. Rest.” Cathmor gathers the small dragons, tucking them into his cloak. “When you’re ready, we’ll get on the road.”

  Weak and shaky, I lean into Murphy. “I’ll be ready soon.”

  There’s a low buzzing in my brain, I know it’s the dragons talking, but if I concentrate, I can tune them out. When I feel like I can handle t
he extra information running through my mind, I tap Murphy’s arms at my waist.

  “I think I’m good now, Murphy.” Together we stand, and I gaze around the yard. Egan walks to me with a jug of water, and Cathmor has the reins of our horses.

  “We have a problem,” Cathmor announces. “Ciaran took off, either when we were bonding or while we were checking on you. He’s still bound, but he’s taken a horse with supplies.”

  Rolling my eyes, I sigh. “He only has two options. Take the road back to Lámhach or remain, bound, in the dragon lands. My guess? We’ll catch up to him on the road.”

  31

  Edan and Mori fly around Egan and Murphy when they mount their horses. Casey stays in Cathmor’s pocket, a flower popping up every now and then as she plays in the dirt held within. Onyx agrees to carry Cathmor, so I climb onto Liam’s back. Leaping into the sky, the dragons give a huge flap of their wings and take us skyward, circling the yard.

  Feeling apprehension at the coastline being without dragon protection, we set off at a clip. Lunch is spent at the knoll near where we encountered the trolls almost a month ago. There is still no sign of Ciaran, but if he’s smart, he’s staying out of sight.

  It’s close to dinnertime when we spy him. It appears he was knocked off his horse and is laying crumpled on the ground. Ciaran’s horse is grazing calmly in a nearby field. Egan and Murphy are crouched beside him when Liam and Onyx land on the road.

  Cathmor and I walk closer. I’m limping a little, unused to riding a dragon for so long. By the time we arrive, Egan and Murphy are debating and observing something beside Ciaran.

  “It looks like the leather broke.”

  “You think it was a necklace?”

  “Don’t touch it.”

  “Did no one see it when we were healing him?”