by Julia Mills
Diving from lofty heights, her screech drew the Huntmaster’s attention as the Stringes lowered her head and dove for the center of the fray. Closing her eyes, the thrill of the Hunt upon her, Pearl jerked to a stop, her wings thrown wide, her body suspended in midair.
“Is this what you do with the miraculous gifts you’ve been given, Daughter Mine?” Morrigan, the Great White Goddess of the Celts, Supreme Warrior Goddess of Night, Magick, Prophecy and Healing, harshly inquired.
“Let. Me. Go.” Pearl seethed, fighting against her mother’s magic, the need to be part of the Wild Hunt overriding her every thought and action.
“I will not.”
The words had barely passed through Pearl’s mind before she was thrown backward through the sky, her huge body rolling end-over-end for what seemed an eternity, before she unceremoniously and bone-jarringly was dropped atop a mountain plateau. Still held tight by the iron fists of her mother’s Goddess magic, the Stringes opened her beak to scream only to find she had also been left mute.
Shrieking directly into Morrigan’s mind, Pearl spat, “Stop this now, Mother. Do not make me battle you for my freedom.”
Coarse, mocking laughter cut through her mind as the White Goddess jeered, “Do not waste your time or energy, Daughter. Just as I gave you life, I will most assuredly take it away.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Without further provocation, in the blink of an eye, Morrigan appeared. Her long, blood-red hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back with a liquid grace that reminded Pearl of crimson silk. Her clear, haunting eyes looked directly into the Stringes’ soul as the Goddess advanced, her shield and staff at the ready. Ravens, her own special army, perched on rocks and flew overhead protecting the White Queen from what, Pearl had no idea.
Pushing the awe of her Goddess Mother away, unwilling to let go of her anger, the Stringes growled sarcastically, “Aren’t I a little old to be put in time-out, Morrigan?”
Without a word, or even a glance in her daughter’s direction, Morrigan waved the tip of her staff across her daughter’s midsection. Fire shot through Pearl’s veins. The cracking of bone and popping of tendons ushered in a fiery agony that snatched the breath from her lungs as it ripped through every fiber of her being.
Forced into her human form in the most painful way possible, Pearl struggled to breathe as her body quaked, her muscles shook, and her heart and lungs fought to nourish and heal her broken body. The burn of her mother’s eyes peering into her soul was the only warning Pearl received before an all-too-familiar ominous rumble filled her mind, “The Stringes will no longer be yours to call. You have no restraint, no ability to resist the temptation of your darker natures. Yes, we are creatures of War, but our cause must be just and our intentions pure. Following Odin as he parades his Ghouls from the depths of Valhalla is not only foolhardy, but breaks the oath you took to uphold and protect Mankind in all its forms.”
Feeling like a little girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Pearl slowly exhaled, letting the good judgment and light of the knowledge she’d been using as her guide for longer than she could remember to fill her mind and spirit. Looking Morrigan in the eye, she nodded, sullenly acquiescing, “Thank you for the save.” Finally, able to move, she sat up then got to her feet and stepped closer to her mother. “But if you ever…”
Pulled back into reality by the sheer severity of what she faced, the déjà vu of the situation not lost in the chaos, and true to form, when Pearl looked up she found her mother’s image floating overhead. The magic of the Goddess, ancient, commanding, and unyielding, caressed Pearl’s body, massaged her feathers, seeped into her muscles and bones, and serenaded the memory of the Stringes, enticing it to return.
Teeming with power, vibrating with the enchantment of the White Goddess, Pearl accepted the transformation from Strix to Stringes, extended her wings and flexed the razor-sharp talons that lined the tips. Throwing open her mighty jaws, her soul rejoiced as her commanding call echoed through the cave, striking fear in the monstrous mass that was the Obscured.
Taking flight, her only focus the beating heart of the Abomination, Pearl welcomed the feel of Morrigan’s power and strength flowing through her as the Goddess’ voice rang true in the depths of her consciousness, “Fly true, my Fierce and Fearless Daughter. Save my chosen Warriors. Bring the Berserkers home. Only you and your Beloved hold the key. Only together can you reign victorious.”
Chapter Two
Hitting the center of the Obscured as if she’d been shot from a cannon and there was a bull’s eye drawn on its seething mass, Pearl slid through the surface, straight into the pulsating, undulating goo. Sucked through the thick gelatinous mass as if she were a milkshake tunneling through a straw, she ignored the uproar of the Dragons on the outside and the roars of the son of Lugh inside her head, wrapping herself in a bubble of protective magic.
Following the malignant glow of the monstrosity comprised of magic, fury, and emotions much too powerful and infinitely more dangerous than anything she’d ever been up against, Pearl stopped short as Kayne’s bellow rocked the inside of her mind. “Damn you! Damn you to hell. What do you think you’re doing? Why would you…?”
“Why would I what?” She spat in return. “Why would I save your Brethren? Why would I dive into this pile of shit for people I’ve never met? Why am I even here? Is that what you’re wondering you braindead, puffed up, scale-covered egomaniac?”
A long pause, silence filled with embarrassment, wonder, and more than a little good old-fashioned male pride, flowed from Kayne to Pearl via their mating bond. She couldn’t help but smile. Her mate was nothing if not bull-headed and stubborn to the core. He was headstrong, cocksure, and possessed a wicked sense of humor. Dammit all if she didn’t love the challenge she knew the next millennium or so was going to be.
“Well…I…It’s just that…” Clearing his throat, the son of Lugh finally found his voice as he started again. “Yes, to all of your questions, but most of all, do you even have the foggiest idea what you’re doing or what you’re up against?”
Rolling her eyes, making sure it was obvious by her tone, Pearl mocked, “Naw, I just jumped in beak first, consequences be damned. I’ve only survived this long by stupid, good old-fashioned, doo-dah luck.” She stopped, seriously considering leaving him hanging and going about her business, but then decided that just wouldn’t do. “Come on, I know you’re smarter than that. I know you had to have met my father, seen what he was capable of.” Glaring into his mind’s eyes, she added with a groan, “Intuition is my thing, and even if it weren’t, I’ve got a helicopter mom in the form of the White Goddess.”
“Wait! What? Your mother’s Morrigan? How did I not know that?”
“Ummm…can we play what’s my genealogy another time? I’m kinda busy here.”
Knowing damn good and well she was being snarky and trying her hardest to feel bad about it but not able to conjure up even a speck of remorse, Pearl dismissed Kayne’s renewed tirade about why she shouldn’t be inside the Obscured on her own and why she needed him, instead switching her full attention on the rumbling and scurrying of the little Beasties right in front of her.
Letting loose of the strangle hold she had on her magic, she slowly watched it creep forward, leaving a trail of white, glowing mysticism in its trail. Unfortunately, the bits and barbs of the Obscured were damn near as fast and hell-bent on eradicating anything good. Watching the cannibalization of her magic was devastating, but it was the fact that she might actually need help that chapped her tail feathers.
What had those winged-crazies been thinking? Nearly a million bits and pieces of magic, some that had been good, parts that were bad, and even pieces that were merely indifferent had been shoved together by every member of the Seelie and Unseelie courts. Then as if they hadn’t already screwed up enough, when the result of their spell was a fucked-up Abomination, they’d locked it away and denied it the one thing it needed to remain somewhat neutral
– magic.
And now, I get to play clean-up…
Watching the blobs and globs stretching and scampering to latch onto one another, Pearl had to take a beat. It was far worse than she’d been led to believe. These little assholes, along with the huge asshole that was only the Gods knew where, were cognizant. The fuckers could not only think, but much to her chagrin, they communicated and worked together to protect what she could only imagine they saw as their ‘greater good’.
Son of a bitch! The Beasties are building a wall to keep me out. Not cool…really, not cool.
Completely shutting the door in her mind where her mate, the most handsome jerk she’d ever met, was still bitching and complaining, Pearl took a deep breath, held it in, and listened for heartbeats. It took several seconds, time in which she began to doubt her own sanity, but ultimately, she heard signs of life.
One…two…three…
Three separate heartbeats were all she could hear and the last one, the one she knew belonged to Zared, brother of the Guardsman who was also an Enforcer by the name of Uther, was little more than a sluggish, stuttering whisper. How could there only be three? When she’d picked the information out of Kayne’s mind, she’d found the names of thirteen, along with the supposition that there were others who’d become Berserkers at a later date.
And, I forgot to ask dear, old mom about the whole ‘turned after the fact’ thing. Why am I not surprised that she didn’t give me the whole story?
“Because that is not information you need right now?”
“Oh hey, thanks for stopping by, Mom,” Pearl sassed. “Wanna lend a hand, or just checking to be sure I do everything to your satisfaction?”
“I am here to give you the assistance you require. Were you not listening when I told you that you AND your mate were essential to saving the lives of my Warriors?”
“I was listening,” Pearl grimaced. “I’m just not ready to play nice with that Dragon.”
“You have no choice. Now, is not the time to be stubborn. You have had decades to prepare yourself to meet the One the Universe made for you. Have you lost sight of your visions? Are you doubting your inherent gift of prophecy? Are you turning your back on what you know to be true?”
Understanding why so very many humans ignored their parents with such determination, Pearl thought about simply shutting Morrigan out of her mind. But then, blocking a Goddess with whom she shared blood would be damn near impossible and require a level of concentration and magic that she simply couldn’t spare considering what was squirming quite nearly in her face. Therefore, she sighed and answered, “You know I doubt none of my abilities. I simply want to do this myself.”
Pushing forward, using the camouflage Morrigan’s presence provided, Pearl looked for a point of attack as she added, “And while you’re here, do you care to explain why I can only hear three heartbeats? Where are the others?” She stopped, shuffled through her most recent visions, and when she found no mention - one way or the other of the remaining Berserkers - she regrettably asked, “Have they already passed away?”
Time slowed to a crawl, seconds and moments that Pearl was forced to use to formulate a plan while waiting for her mother to get her shit together and answer. Finally, ready to strike and tired of lingering, Pearl asked, “Do you…?”
“It is my belief that only one of my chosen warriors has gone to the Heavens, but not here...” Morrigan interrupted. Her answer veiled with conjecture Pearl simply had no time, or the will, to unravel. “The others are scattered about and must find their own way home. That is the will of the Universe.”
Waiting for more, her body poised to attack, adrenalin streaming through her body, Pearl could wait no longer as she countered, “A fat lot of good that does me. What a shock.”
Pushing forward, her wings stretched over her head, the sharp talons adorning the tips of their skeletal frames leading the way, she elongated her body and sliced through the tar-like sludge with deadly accuracy. Puncturing the pulsating miasma at top speed, Pearl was flung backward as the glowing red nerve center burst into flames, spewing caustic black plasma in every direction.
Refusing to be bested, the Stringes dug her claws and talons into the gloopy walls of the art of the Obscured all around her, reveling in its otherworldly squeals of pain and fury. Pushing farther into the meaty flesh of the Beast, she finally stopped all backward motion, immediately changing direction, and with all the power she could muster flew directly into the roaring flames.
Shoving healing magic into her burning feathers and scorching flesh, Pearl ignored the throbbing agony. She’d never been beaten, and there was no way in Heaven or Hell some stupid freak of fucking nature was going to take her down this time.
Supreme magic, a perfectly powerful blend of light and dark, warm and cold, male and female wound around her, seeped into every cell of her body, and fueled her need to get to the other side of the monstrous mass. Sparks, bolts of pure white enchantment and dynamic intent, struck in every direction filling the air with the acrid scent of burnt Obscured and rotten eggs.
Closing her eyes against the caustic fumes, Pearl extended her other senses, using the Berserkers’ heartbeats as her beacon. Bursting through the last of the flames, dropping her feet onto the hard, cold stone of yet another alcove, her eyes popped open as she swung her wings in deliberate semi-circles, making sure the area was clear of adversaries.
Looking to her left and then her right, she searched for the Dragons. The beat of their hearts reverberated all around the tiny cavern, making locating their exact position impossible.
Spinning to the left as the sound of another battling through the glutinous muck reached her ears, Pearl shoved her back against the wall behind her and threw her talons to the front. Beckoning the magic of her kin at the precise moment that a brilliant flash of lightning filled the grotto, she was momentarily blinded and shocked immobile.
Refusing to be a sitting duck, rapidly blinking her eyes to clear the black spots impairing her vision, Pearl once again spread her mighty wings and swung their twelve-foot span in deadly semi-circles to both sides of her body. No sooner had the scratch of talons on stone reverberated off the walls then she was firing blasts of magic in every direction, hoping to stun the aggressor before she herself was attacked.
Scrambling, clawing, and inventive cursing was quickly followed by a screeched, “Whit tae hell, Pearl. Ye tryin’ tae burn me feathers off?” The flap of heavy wings, an ominous rumble of thunder, and yet another bolt of lightning shook the rocks as the voice once again roared, “Tis tae last time Ah’ll be savin’ yer arse! Of dat, ye kin be sure.”
Chapter Three
“Gwendolyn? Gwennie? Is that you?”
“A coorse, who tae hell else woud it be?” The Thunderbird scoffed. “Nae yer fancy man Dragon, dat’s fur sure.”
“Stop,” Pearl laughed. “He’s not that bad.”
“Dat’s no whit ye were sayin’ tae other day. Ye had us all laughin’ sae hard Ah were sure Ah’d piss me pants.”
Watching one of the six women she thought of as Sisters waving her long black and gray wings up and down was really disconcerting, especially when she was horribly out of focus. Then there were the ebony and stark white feathers of the crest atop her head standing at attention and the soft gray downy around her chin and covering her neck fluffed out like a cat’s tail when he’s seen a charging dog, and Pearl was finding it hard not to laugh out loud.
But the icing on the proverbial cake was Gwennie’s contralto voice complete with thick Scottish brogue coming from the Thunderbird’s granite-colored, hooked beak. Pearl’s disconcerting situation slipped into freaky and that made her blurt out, “You look like you have an owl’s face on an eagle’s body and those feathers sticking up on your head look like you fell outta the wrong side of your nest.”
“And yer coovered in god-awful goo. So, hush yer mouth.”
“Dammit if I don’t just love you,” Pearl chuckled before turning her focus back to
the Berserkers.
“Yeah, ye say that noow, but there’s a cranky Dragon comin’ to sweep ye off yer feet.”
“Yeah, whatever. Let’s talk about my love life later,” the Stringes answered over her shoulder as she stepped forward while changing the tip of her right wing to her human hand.
“Whatchee doin’ over there?”
Running the tip of her fingers along the stone wall looking for an opening or a hidden passage to the Dragons, Pearl didn’t answer Gwendolyn, instead asking, “How did you know where I was?”
Chuckling as she mimicked Pearl’s actions and transformed her wing to her human hand, Gwendolyn tested the opposite wall and teased, “Ah followed yer scent. Ye reached oout tae me, but when Ah tried tae respond ye slammed the door shut. Ah figured ye needed me, so here Ah am.” Moving farther away, closer to the corner, the Thunderbird added, “And Ah see ye gotten yer big bad Stringes back, lucky you. Were the arse kissin’ ye had tae giv’ yer mum painful?”
“Naw, I didn’t even ask, but I have a sneaky suspicion it’s one of those limited time only deals my mother’s so fond of throwing at me.”
“Aye? Why’s dat?”
“It’s a mother versus daughter thing,” Pearl sighed before quickly apologizing, tired of thinking about her mother’s motives. “Sorry for shutting you out. It was done unconsciously. Did I call for anyone else?”
“Aye, ye did.” Gwennie’s response was little more than a whisper, making the Stringes cringe. “Th’ others are out wit’ tae Dragons.”
“Even Sadie and…” Stopping midsentence when her hand sunk into a mass of ooey, gooey, smelly Obscured guts masterfully disguised as stone, Pearl shrieked, “Gwennie! Gwennie, come here!”
At her side and fully human, Gwendolyn instantly shoved her hand into the fake wall alongside Pearl’s then spat, “Give tae all ye’ve got, me girl. Dis Beastie’s tryin’ tae close us oot. Lose tae feathers, less fur ‘em tae grab a hold tae.”