"Yes, well, things were hidden from Jaxon for her own good. Apparently they were kept from me as well." My mother's lineage is witch from both the gypsy clans and right here in Ireland. The Vadoma's married into the Ó Sé family a couple generations ago."
"That can't have gone over well on the Vadoma side?" Merriwyn asked. "I seem to remember hearing about a feud amongst the Vadomas when I was younger, perhaps that is what caused the rift."
"What does any of this matter?" Caislyn was losing her patience. She knew what they were up against if they didn't get going very soon. There would be an army of Fey banging down their door looking for her. "We have to get ready. You don't have to believe me because I am some half-breed freak, but I won't be here when the Fey come blasting their angry blue energy bolts at this cottage. I saw what they did to that castle!"
"I didn't know you were Fey, I didn't mean any offense at all child. If I had known, I could have given you something before you went to sleep. The Fey can track their kind through their dreams. I imagine your mother must have made a similar brew for your father since he stayed hidden from them for so long." At the puzzled look on Caislyn's face, Merriwyn continued. "I've had the pleasure of putting together a tea for some Fey companions who didn't want to be found a time or two. Most people have five stages of sleep. The fifth stage is likely where you have your prophetic dreams, but it's the sixth stage where you dream walk."
"I thought you said there were only five stages."
"I said for most people. For the Fey and a very few extremely powerful witches there is a sixth stage that lends itself to dream walking. Your conscious is able to leave your body and go mingle with other minds. It sounds lovely in theory, but this is how the Fey are able to track and locate their own kind." Merriwyn grabbed Caislyn's arm and pointed at the still visible hand print, "sometimes they can pull you straight from the dream into their reality. You are lucky you got away when you did, and you are also right that they do know we are here." Merriwyn turned toward Seth, "Go, get Jaxon to hurry up in there. She doesn't need to look beautiful, she needs to live." She turned back to Caislyn, "Go, get your own things ready, and I will finish up with the food and stuff in here. All of my things are still in bags."
Caislyn went back to her room to finish gathering her things. "I don't know why I bothered to unpack anything to begin with." She said out loud. As Caislyn was packing she kept thinking she was seeing something out of the corner of her eye. Finally, she looked up and saw a beautiful butterfly by her head. It was golden as sunshine with black specks and fluttering care-free around her room. This was the same kind of butterfly she had played with often as a little girl, only those had been a blue green color with black. The longer she looked at this flying beauty, the more it started to change. Before she new it there was a little creature fluttering before her.
"Your aunt sent me to keep watch on you."
"What the hell?" Caislyn couldn't believe her eyes or her ears. She just watched this gorgeous butterfly transform into a tiny, lemon-yellow skinned, man with wings who apparently could speak.
"Don't worry, to anyone else it will appear that you are just looking at a butterfly. You are seeing through my glamour. You're aunt sent me. She used to send others of my family to look over you when you were little. She never told on your dad, even though some of us thought she should. I have a message for you now, though. You're dad is dead and your aunt says they are coming for you now. You must leave, and take every precaution against dream-walking so they can't find you."
"My aunt?" Caislyn questioned.
"There will be time for questions later. She says you will be able to contact her like you did when you were a girl. Just think of we butterflies, and we shall come to call." With that, the butterfly man disappeared and Caislyn was left standing in her room awestruck. Caislyn didn't have time to process anything because there was a loud howl and then a knock on the cottage door before it burst open. She threw the book that the girls had found in the attic into her bag and took a deep breath, sure that the Fey had been able to track her down before they could get to safety.
"Caislyn?" Came the booming voice of Arkos.
"Oh thank Goddess!" Caislyn said as she came running out of her room. "You're here just in time, we have to go. I saw the Fey in my dream, they were attacking the castle where my parents are being held. That's good news for us, because their defenses will already be weak, but the bad news is the Fey took my dad and they know I am here."
"Slow down, Caislyn." Arkos put both hands on my shoulder in an effort to calm me.
"This bitch is crazy."
"Yeah, and we're here to fight for her."
"What the hell was Arkos thinking getting us involved?"
"How dare you question your leader?" Caislyn was yelling at the two wolves who were flanking their Arkos. Both wolves looked at her and whined.
"Caislyn?" Arkos questioned.
"That one," Caislyn pointed at the gray wolf to Arkos' right, "just called me a bitch. And that one was just questioning why they were here to fight for me."
"And you know this how?" Arkos questioned again.
"I...I don't know. I could just hear them." Caislyn looked as surprised by her own admission as Arkos was to hear it.
Arkos tapped the gray wolf on its back and simply said, "shift." With that one word the other wolf morphed back into a man's shape. He shook off the sudden transition rather violently and stood before them in the nude. "Did she hear you correctly?"
The man, who had moments ago been the gray wolf, looked at his leader and shook his head in affirmation. Then he looked accusingly at Caislyn.
"It seems you have gifts even you weren't aware of." Arkos looked from Caislyn to the nude man by his side. "Get some clothes on, you won't be shifting again tonight. Get Caleb in here, he can take your place for now." Arkos turned back to Caislyn, "oh and one more thing. Get word out through the pack that no one is to question my orders or they will deal with me directly and that they never know who can overhear them - even in wolf form."
"Yes sir." Was all the nude man said before walking back outside to the rest of the waiting men, women, and wolves.
"Caislyn, you said the Fey have already been to see our Brotherhood friends at the castle?"
"Yeah, I saw it in my dream, and it seemed like it had already happened." Caislyn thought about telling him that her aunt had said a weird a butterfly man to warn her, so she was sure it had already happened, but the more she thought about it the worse it sounded in her own head. "Here, look at this," She pulled her sleeve up again and showed Arkos the hand print on her arm. "It's fading now, but I got this from inside my dream. The Fey can touch each other there. I think if I hadn't gotten away when I did they could have pulled me straight from my dream to them. Merriwyn says she can make a tea to keep me from entering the dream-walking sleep though, so they can't find me anymore."
"Wait, who's Merriwyn?"
"I am," Merriwyn said as she came around the corner to introduce herself. "I am Jaxon's natural born mother. From what the girls have said, you've already met my daughter." She held her left hand out for him to shake. As he took her hand in his he noticed a marking along the inside of her wrist and pulled Merriwyn closer to examine it.
"You are a Chattox witch."
"Yes, as is my daughter."
"Oh, I think we both know your daughter is far more than just a Chattox witch. Same as Caislyn here is much more than a Vadoma." Merriwyn nodded as Caislyn just looked on.
"I thank you for coming to their aid, wolf. You've no need to involve yourself and yet here you are."
"We have every need to involve ourselves. I've always thought the best would come from the prophecy, not the worst. If anything, I am more compelled to believe it now that I know who the prophecy was about."
Jaxon walked into the room with her packed bags and Seth right behind her. "What in the hell is going on? I hop in the shower and the next thing you know all hell breaks loose and we have to pack
and go?"
"Jax!" Seth tried to calm her.
"Caislyn had a dream-walking vision, the Fey know we are here, we must move." Merriwyn added for her daughter.
"Yeah, I got all that, but I don't understand how they can know we are here because she dreamed of them storming a castle."
"I'll explain on the way, Jax. Right now, we have a clan of werewolves to move east towards Dunluce. The castle may already have been stormed by the Fey, my dad may be gone, but they still have my mom there and right about now I'm thinking we can use all the witch powers we can muster."
Caislyn and Jaxon picked up their bags and walked outside with Seth, Merriwyn, and Arkos. Caislyn stopped short immediately noticing how many wolves were present. "Arkos, I wasn't aware your pack was this large. There have to be thirty wolves here, easily."
"Caislyn, these are not all my wolves. This is a small detachment I kept with me, the others are already on the road headed toward Dunluce. Although, I must admit, they are not all my pack. There are members from several Irish packs as well. We couldn't come into their territory, teeth gnashing into the brotherhood, without their permission. That's part of what took us so long to get here."
"I see." Caislyn said as she looked out into the crowd. "Thank you all for coming to help." Caislyn smiled as she heard several of the wolves clamor on about getting into battle already. "I couldn't agree more." She mumbled, knowing the sharp-eared wolves would hear her. Many of the wolves opted to travel on foot, flanking the caravan of cars that the rest of them loaded into.
Caislyn, Jaxon, Seth, and Merriwyn all piled into the SUV that Arkos was driving, along with one of his wolves. As they traveled the roughly two hours it would take to get from Rathmullan to Dunluce Castle the five of them worked on a plan of attack. They used the information Caislyn supplied about the weak points the Fey had created in their own attack. They also took into consideration the information that Mac had given them about where Vesta was being kept.
"You know," Arkos began, "if your father was right and they haven't moved your mother, she was probably safer on that side of the castle. It appears the Fey went for a full frontal attack, probably because the cliff face is too far from the water." He was trying to lift Caislyn's spirits somewhat.
"I know. I just want to see that she is alive and well before I get my hopes up. I'm still not sure what has happened to my father. I don't want to give in and think he's dead, but..." Caislyn's voice trailed away and she stopped talking, preferring instead to look out the window at the Irish landscape that was passing them by. There wasn't much to see at this hour. The sun wouldn't be rising for another hour or two and Caislyn was simply loosing herself in her own thoughts.
"I'm sure there are weak spots in the actual building now, but don't you think the Brotherhood will be guarding them heavily now?"
"I thought of that too, Seth. We have no way of knowing how many of the Brotherhood were killed or injured during the attack, it's possible they are heavily guarded." Arkos looked back at Caislyn, cringing inside at what he was about to say. "To be honest, after an attack like that, I think we'll be lucky if they haven't moved on elsewhere yet."
That broke Caislyn free of her reverie. "We must hurry." She shook violently inside as she thought of losing her chance to find her mother. "If they've already gone..."
"Don't worry, if they've already gone, we'll put the wolves on them." Arkos remained calm, hoping his voice would put Caislyn at ease as it did his own clan. He wasn't sure if the magic would be able to flow into her, but he hoped it would since she could hear the wolves in animal form. "Caislyn, we have to plan for all contingencies, but something tells me they will still be there, licking their wounds."
"Licking their wounds! Ha!" Jaxon snorted with her laugh and then stopped herself as she felt the misery of the situation roll through her friend. "Sorry, it's just..."
"Yeah, I got it, dogs... licking their wounds. I'm just not quite in the mood for laughter right now."
Jaxon put a hand on Caislyn's knee. "We'll find her." She tried something she hadn't before, and began pushing her own feelings towards Caislyn. "And after we do, we will go find your dad." The confidence she pushed at her friend with those words seemed to take affect.
"So, what does happen after we get my mom? I mean, what do we do with the Brotherhood? And how the hell do we go about looking for my dad?"
"We'll deal with the Brotherhood in due course. They have things to answer for that goes well beyond the kidnapping of just your parents, Caislyn." Arkos' jaw was clenched tightly and his grip on the steering wheel was a little more than the white knuckle grip of a panicked driver. Caislyn took note of the reaction, but said no more. Beside Arkos, his wolf was beginning to whimper.
"So, what about the Fey," Caislyn interjected, hoping to alleviate whatever tension had just built up in Arkos.
"Considering who your father is to the Fey, I think they would take him back to Faerie, Caislyn. I'm not sure anyone has ever had the balls to directly launch an attack in their lands." Seth turned to Merriwyn, "Have you ever heard tales?"
"No. None."
"That doesn't mean it can't be done." Jaxon said, looking around for someone to chime in and help reassure Caislyn. She was met with silence and watched as Caislyn began her brooding examination of the window again.
"Best to concentrate on the battle ahead of us for now, Jax." Seth sat up in between the seats, closer to Arkos as they began planning their initial entry. "Caislyn's ability to hear the wolves will be a huge asset for the rest of us," he was saying, which almost pulled Caislyn out of her funk enough to join in. She couldn't really put herself in the conversation though, because she had nothing else to add. She just sat back, feeling disappointed that she wouldn't be able to bring both of her parents home as she had hoped.
***
BLITZKRIEG
It was obvious at first glance, even from their current distance, that the Brotherhood had taken a severe beating from the Fey the night before. The wolves that had gone forward scouting came back with interesting stories about bloodied brothers trying to patch the walls. They also came back with news that some of the Brotherhood were now deserting their posts and heading off on their own.
"This should be easy, then." Jaxon said to the others as they received the news.
"Don't let appearances fool you, Jaxon. This is exactly how I would have my people appear, even if it were only a ruse to make others think us weak." Arkos turned and spoke to his scout and sent him back out on another mission. "We are trying to get a closer look at the sea side of the castle. It's proving a bit difficult. Sometimes I do wish I was merged with a clan of lycans that could shift into a creature with the ability to fly."
Caislyn heard an uproar from the wolves nearby. She grabbed her head and shouted for them to quiet down a bit. "Seriously, guys, I'm sure he was only thinking of the logistics, who wouldn't want to run around as a wolf, howling, and drooling over deer?"
Arkos laughed, "I see they disagreed with my grandiose ideas of flying." Concern swept over his face as he looked harder at Caislyn, who was still clutching her temples. "Do you not have any control over this ability?"
"I'm learning, but when they shout like that, it doesn't seem to matter." Caislyn rubbed her temples a bit more and then stopped, reaching in her pocket for some pills she stashed there the night before. "I remember playing with some dogs when I was girl and my mom getting upset because I was talking to them, but it hasn't happened in a long time. I can only assume it's some sort of Fey ability that was affected when my father bound my powers to keep me hidden."
"Hmm," Arkos was deep in thought and now had everyone's attention as well. "I wonder, then, if all Fey can hear us in our wolf form, or if it is a gift bestowed on certain Fey families?"
"I honestly don't know, and the one person who could have answered those questions is gone now."
"We don't know that for sure, Caislyn." Jaxon said trying to give her hope.
Caislyn just no
dded her head in affirmation, before watching as Arkos walked away to confer with the more battle-hardened of the group. Jaxon placed her hand on Caislyn's shoulder and gripped it hard. "We will get them back! Both of them, Caislyn."
"I hope so, but I don't know anymore. I was always so sure until this last vision." Caislyn didn't mention the fact that the last vision involved someone claiming to be an errand boy for her father's sister. It didn't seem like the time to bring up the fact that she had a Fey verifying that her father was indeed dead. Caislyn wasn't sure who to trust anymore. "I wonder what it will be like for both of us to have our moms back?"
"It'll be different, that's for sure." Jaxon replied as she looked up towards the castle again. "It seems so far away, you know, the normal things. It all seems like another world that we left behind a long time ago."
"Yeah, I know. I haven't felt my own version of normal since the day my parents were taken. Every day since then has been a search for clues that would lead me... well, that would lead me here, I guess." Caislyn looked at Jaxon and then back up at the castle that stood before them. "It's huge," she said with little emotion to back up the statement.
"Yeah, it is."
"I wonder why my parents were brought here. What on earth could have... I just keep thinking..."
"Caislyn, it was not your fault."
"What if it was? What if they were brought here because of what I am?"
"And what if they weren't? The only way we are going to know is to get in there and find out."
"But,"
"Caislyn you can't do this to yourself. Once we have your mom back we will get some answers, until then we need to..."Caislyn tensed beside Jaxon, seeing something coming at them out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed Jaxon's shoulder and at once, Jaxon felt the urgency and panic in her friend. It was almost instinctive that she threw her shield around the both of them as they ducked to avoid the object hurdling towards them. A large rock reverberated off the shield as the girls turned toward the source of the attack.
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