by Linsey Hall
I have to save this village.
Finally, the light glowed from me, bright and fierce, but he was too big. Or too evil. Whatever it was, my magic wasn’t working against him.
Crap.
I drew a dagger from the ether and hurled it at the giant’s head. The steel plunged into his eye, and his roar shook my bones.
Yes!
Then he plucked the dagger out of his eye and turned to me, growling like a hellhound.
Oh, shit.
He didn’t even look a little wounded.
Muffin and Princess Snowflake III went for his ankles, trying to distract him. I conjured another blade, this one longer, and darted left, trying to draw him toward my side of the river. If I could leave a gap between him and the other side, maybe some soldiers could sneak through.
The giant lumbered toward me, and fear chilled my skin. My weapons were too small.
I sucked in a deep breath and shoved the fear aside, then hurled my dagger.
He swatted it away.
Bojangles was attacking his head, but the cat was just too small to do any serious damage to a giant with skin as thick as an elephant’s.
The giant swung his club for me, and I dived. Air whistled over my head as the club swung past, and I scrambled up.
The giant threw out his hand, shooting a blast of dark magic at me. It smelled of mildew and decay. I lunged left, barely avoiding it, and it plowed into the river behind me. In that one small area, the water grew deadly still, no longer flowing but not exactly ice, either.
What the hell was that magic?
I had no idea, and I didn’t want to find out.
I needed something to take him down so I could get at his throat. Like a rope, or something.
A warrior in the crowd caught my eye. She stood at the perimeter of soldiers who watched us, her brow furrowed. At her waist, a whip was coiled.
I lurched toward her and reached out a hand, dodging a blow of the club before shouting, “Your whip! I need your whip!”
Her eyes flared wide, and she struggled to yank it off, then handed it over to me. I grabbed it and spun. The giant was lumbering toward me, club raised.
I sprinted around his left side, catching sight of Princess Snowflake III clinging to his leg, her claws dug deep into muscle. Bojangles was partway up his side, climbing toward the head. He’d probably fallen off, but he wouldn’t give up.
“Bail out, guys!” I shouted.
The cats leapt off. Muffin sprinted toward me from the other side.
He meowed. Give me an end!
I tossed him the narrower end of the whip, and he gripped it in his teeth, then sprinted around the giant. The beast roared as he raised his club to smash my head in, not noticing the little cat that raced around his legs.
I held the whip handle in my left hand while I drew my dagger with my right, trying to keep his gaze on me. On the blade that I waved in the air like a moron. He didn’t look too smart, and it seemed to work.
Panic thundered in my chest as I aimed and threw. The blade sank into his chest, but he hardly seemed to notice.
The giant raised a hand and threw another blast of dark magic at me. The scent of mildew and rot followed it through the air. I barely managed to dive left in time, and it plowed into the ground behind me.
Muffin had made a complete circle around the giant and was racing back toward me.
It was time.
I tugged the whip hard, yanking the giant’s feet out from under him. He roared, crashing to the ground. A blast of his dark magic shot from his hand, but I didn’t see where it landed.
I drew my sword from the ether and scrambled up on top of him, climbing over his belly like he was a small mountain. Before he could focus his eyes on me, I plunged my sword into his throat. Blood spurted. I yanked the blade to the right, determined to finish this.
The steel cut easily into his flesh. I yanked it around, doing as much damage as I could.
When a huge hand gripped me around the waist, shock dropped the world out from under me. Pain flared at my middle, greater than anything I’d ever experienced. The giant lifted me up and off him. Through bleary eyes, I could see that his own gaze was fading.
The arm holding me flopped to the ground, and I rolled out of his loose fist. Agony flooded me as I lay there, staring at the sky. I couldn’t feel my limbs. And the battle had gone strangely silent.
Get up!
I tried to move my arms. My legs. But nothing worked. Finally, I managed to turn my head toward the giant, my head flopping onto the ground.
He lay still, staring at the sky through blind eyes.
I’d killed him.
Problem was, he might have killed me, too.
People surged around me, some racing for the battle on the other side of the path, others kneeling at my side and trying to help. The expressions on their faces said it all.
Something white caught my eye.
Princess.
She lay on her side, frozen and still. A woman was kneeling over her, a frown on her face.
No.
Princess must have been hit by the giant’s dark magic. A blast of it had escaped him as he’d fallen.
Tears pricked my eyes. She couldn’t be dead. Not one of my cats. She was frozen at the very least, some dark magic binding her limbs.
It took everything I had, but I managed the strength to move my arm toward her. I reached out my fingertips, calling upon the light inside me. It was partially a healing light, right?
I had to try.
I used what Lachlan had taught me—didn’t even have to try, really. Of course I wanted to save Princess. The desire to heal her, to remove the dark curse, filled me. Sulis’s light expanded in my chest, and gratitude for her help pounded in my heart. The light burst from my fingertips and shot toward Princess, making her glow golden and bright.
This was easier. Using it to heal rather than to maim. This felt natural.
Princess twitched.
Strength leached from my muscles.
All around, warriors ran. Those who surrounded me were growing quiet. Their lack of noise seemed to correspond with the fact that my vision was going dark.
I struggled to suck in a breath as I pushed my magic toward Princess. She moved her legs. Warmth filled me.
I gave her more magic, feeling the last of it slip through my fingers. As it did, she stood, hissing.
My vision went black.
I felt nothing.
In the distance, Muffin screeched.
8
Consciousness came slowly, though the world around me moved in a blur.
Warriors still streamed through the pass, and several people crouched around me, horror on their faces.
But it was the sight of Muffin’s ugly mug hovering right over my own that really scared the crap out of me. He sat on my chest, staring down at me.
“What are you doing?” I croaked.
His green eyes widened. Holy toadstools.
“What?” I tried to shove him off me, but my hand went right through him.
What the hell?
I tried again, but my hand passed right through the cat. It was transparent. Like a ghost’s.
Holy fates.
Had that giant killed me?
I sat up, feeling lighter than I ever had. As if gravity didn’t bind me to the earth. But I wasn’t floating like I would if I were in zero Gs.
So what the heck was going on?
The people around me didn’t gasp or even acknowledge that I’d just risen from the dead. Their gaze stayed riveted to the ground. Where my real head probably was.
I’m not sure I’d look, if I were you. Muffin leapt to the side, and I had to assume he’d leapt off my body’s chest, which was now slightly behind my head, since I was sitting up.
“As if I could resist.” My stomach clenched as I turned, dreading what I would see.
I nearly hurled. Or I would have, if I weren’t a ghost.
My body lay still and s
ilent, my face unnaturally pale and my eyes wide open. A woman next to my head reached out and closed the eyes. I shuddered and turned.
“This isn’t good,” I said.
MTE. MTE.
“What does MTE mean?”
My thoughts exactly. Internet speak. Aren’t you hip with the kids?
“No.”
Well, I am.
Only then did I realize that Princess Snowflake III was staring at me with intense blue eyes. She head-butted my hip, which, for her, was a gesture of extreme affection. Bojangles was looking from my body to me, total confusion on his little face.
Slowly, I stood. It was weird to leave my body behind. Especially weird to be able to walk through people without anyone noticing.
Most of the warriors had rushed toward the battle and were now attacking the Romans, giving the original forces the backup they needed to save the town.
One of the warriors who’d sat around my body stood. “She was a hero.”
“Just appeared out of the blue. Took out the giant no one else could.”
Well, that was a high compliment. I looked at my body. Still dead though.
Muffin meowed. We need to fix this.
“I don’t know how.” But I still needed answers about what was happening with the three invaders. Just because I was dead didn’t mean I could quit. Grief flashed through me briefly. If I couldn’t fix this, I would lose my sisters.
I sucked in a deep breath.
Hell no.
I wasn’t going to go down that path. It wouldn’t help, and I had a job to do. Also, denial could work really well. “Well, I think we’ve finished here. Let’s see if I can keep moving.”
All right, Casper.
I scowled at Muffin, who grinned toothily at me. “You know, if I can’t finish this job, you’re going to have to.”
Aye, aye, Captain.
The cats followed me to the boat. It was hard, but I managed to not look back at my body. It was too freaking weird. I didn’t know what they’d do with me, and the idea kind of turned my stomach. Not that I thought they’d do anything bad. But even the idea of being buried….
Totally creepy.
The boat was waiting for us at the river, floating magically in place near the grass. I stepped on, and the cats followed me. Bojangles didn’t even bother to jump onto the boat. He splashed right into the water and doggy-paddled—kitty-paddled?—alongside.
The boat took off, magic drawing it back down the river. It was surreal, really, knowing that I was on some kind of magical and divine journey as a ghost or spirit or whatever. I couldn’t stop looking at my body, confirming that I was still dead.
Finally, I dragged my gaze away. The river wound through a field of golden wheat that blew gently in the air. To the left, a dark scar cut through the ground. It looked like the streak of evil that I’d been following, but worse. It plowed right through the earth, leaving a spray of dirt in its wake.
Muffin meowed. That’s bad news bears if I ever saw it. You’re earning your way into the sacred grove. They’re breaking in. Stealing.
“Bastards.”
Princess Snowflake III hissed. Bojangles paddled merrily along, having no idea that something was dreadfully wrong.
When my boat approached another grove of trees, excitement filled me. Normally, I’d hear the beat of my heart. Today, everything was silent. But this was it. I was close.
No question.
The boat pushed gently up to the shore, and I jumped off, followed by my sidekicks. Bojangles shook himself off, spraying me with water droplets that just flew through my ghostly form, then trotted ahead.
These trees were smaller than the other oaks, their bark silver and pale. They vibrated with magic, making me tingle with awareness.
When three figures stepped from the grove, shock raced through me.
The three shadows. They looked different than they had when they’d been fleeing from us in Italy after I’d torn their cloaks off, but their magic was the same. I’d never forget the stench or the prickle of unease.
On instinct, I darted behind a tree.
Princess Snowflake III hissed and Muffin meowed. Someone got a makeover.
He was right. They were still ephemeral, dark shadows that seemed to suck the light from the forest, but they were more solid now. I could make out features—they were definitely women, though their age was indecipherable. They wore clothes just like the attacking Roman soldiers I’d just seen on the battlefield. White cotton and golden armor.
That couldn’t be a coincidence. I’d suspected before, but now I knew.
My enemy was Roman.
The Celts had fought the Romans for hundreds of years. I’d apparently been born to finish the job.
Or at the very least, keep it going.
“I’ve got to try,” I whispered.
With what? You’re a ghost. You going to scare them to death?
“If I can.” I slipped out from behind the tree and followed them. I tried calling a dagger from the ether, but it didn’t work. That spell had been attached to my body, not my soul.
They were walking away, their strides calm and sure. I called upon my magic, determined to blast them away with the golden light. I didn’t know if it would work, but I had to try.
“Stop.” The voice was quiet but resonated with power. A woman, I thought.
Shocked, my magic cut off abruptly. I turned. There was no one there.
“You can’t kill them,” the voice said. “Not in your state. Not with the magic you have now. But you can alert them to your presence. And that would be the end of you.”
Frustration boiled within me. I turned to watch the retreating shadows. They were fifty yards away.
“Come. You must finish your journey and gain the magic that you came for. It is the only way you will succeed.”
She—whoever she was—was right. I couldn’t take them out with what I had currently.
I shoved aside the frustration and turned, walking deeper into the forest. My druid sense pulled me along, guiding me past trees and even a stone tomb decorated with skulls. Somehow I knew that they were the long decayed heads of ancient druids.
But that wasn’t my destination.
Instead, I headed for an ancient-looking round house with a thatched roof. Smoke billowed from the middle of the roof, where I assumed a hole was cut to let it escape. The cats kept pace with me, padding silently along.
“Nervous?” I asked.
Muffin looked up at me, green eyes bright. No. You?
“Maybe a bit, yeah. What if they’re like ‘You? You’re not who we expected.’”
Muffin meowed. Don’t forget that you earned your way here.
Princess Snowflake III butted her head against my leg.
Bojangles burped.
I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips as I stepped through the door.
A woman waited within, standing behind the orange fire that burned in the middle of the empty house. She was clad in brown wool pants and a tunic. Leather armor lay against the wall, and her face was streaked with blood. Not her own, I thought, since I saw no wounds. She had a strong face and hard eyes that contrasted with the red hair that spilled down her back.
“Ana Blackmore,” the woman said. “The Warrior Druid.”
“Yes.” After that, I drew a blank. Who was this woman?
“I am Boudica.”
“Wow.” She was the queen of the Iceni, a Celtic tribe of southern Britain, and the one who had nearly evicted the Romans from Britain. “I never thought I’d meet you.”
“Likewise. But when you interceded on my behalf at the battle of Watling Village, it became obvious that I should be the one to meet you here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone must earn their way into the sacred grove.” She scowled. “Well, almost everyone. But we will discuss that later. When you were on the river, you had a choice of which direction to go. You could have come straight here, but you chos
e to go the long way, through the battle.”
I nodded, not feeling the need to explain. She’d known why I’d done it. She’d sacrificed her life to lead a rebellion against injustice, after all.
“You put your life on the line,” she said.
“And lost.” I held up a transparent blue hand.
“You killed the giant. And saved your companion.” She pointed to Princess Snowflake III, who was looking at her with a suspicious gleam in her eyes. “You could have saved yourself. Why didn’t you?”
“Didn’t occur to me.”
“Not when your friend needed help. And you used up the last of your magic to save her. A rare choice.” Her eyes shined with pride.
I felt vaguely awkward. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew this was some version of a compliment. But I also wasn’t good at taking those gracefully, so I kept my mouth shut. “Why were you fighting in your own afterlife? Was it a test for me?”
“Only in part. In many places, Otherworld is a mirror of the earthly realm, which means we fight battles occasionally. Even against the Romans, our greatest enemy. I continue to fight the battles that defined my life.”
I wasn’t sure if that was cool or sad.
“But this…” she continued. “This was different. The three who have invaded brought with them a dark energy that fueled their own kind.”
“You mean it gave your Roman opponents more strength?”
“And viciousness. But we succeeded because of you and your sacrifice. It is what earned you your way here, and it is what will continue to earn you the magic that the gods will bestow upon you.”
“What did the invaders find here? Who are they?”
“I don’t know who they are, other than Roman. I call them The Three. It is a scared number, and I’m sure it is linked to their power.”
“What did they get here? This place is for knowledge and power, correct?”
“They received both. Their bodies are stronger now. And they were looking for an army.”
“For what?”
“I have no idea. But they found it. They will seek the Fomori. They are the most monstrous and evil beings in Celtic myth. Demons and dark gods. They can provide an army of immense power.”