Faery Realms: Ten Magical Titles: Multi-Author Bundle of Novels & Novellas

by Rachel Morgan

  Yes, my conscience whispered. Oh no, nothing good would ever come out of this . . .

  I gritted my teeth and hissed as a long, thin blackberry vine sliced across my neck. I ignored the burn and kept moving. If the Morrigan’s hellhounds were involved, then the girl was in real trouble. Could the goddess know what Meghan was, or was she just interested because I had been interested? Or was I simply overreacting? The Cumorrig could have wandered into the mortal world on their own; it had happened before.

  Growling, I picked up my pace, hurdling over a fallen eucalyptus tree and landing in the middle of a small meadow where, it seemed, all hell had broken loose. Off to the side the girl was trying to crawl away from an onslaught of two or three of the hellhounds while Fergus fought off one of his own. I didn’t spend much more time studying the scene. With the moonlight to help aid my sight, I reached for the closest Cumorrig, the one trying to get to the girl’s neck.

  I quickly took care of the other hounds, breaking their necks and crushing their skulls to ensure they didn’t resume their attack, all the while keeping the angry beast that was my fae magic in check. I threw their carcasses deep into the brush where they could disintegrate out of sight. I would be punished for it later; the Morrigan did not appreciate a waste of her favored minions, but at the moment I didn’t care.

  Silence, like a dark shroud, descended upon the small glade, punctuated only by Fergus’s gentle panting.

  All clear? I sent him before turning to glance at the girl who was doing her best not to be noticed.

  Yes, he returned, no more faelah.

  Good. Setting my mouth into a firm line, I slowly turned and began studying the young woman sitting on the ground in mute shock. Her face was pale, her eyes wide and her hair a mess. She wore a nightgown of sorts, something that looked more like a long t-shirt. She sat stiffly, obviously terrified, but trying very hard not to let her panic take over. I smiled, impressed with her resolve. Most humans would have lost it by now, after having been attacked by faelah. But she was Faelorehn, made of stronger stuff than your average mortal. However, if I was judging correctly, I’d say she’d never seen anything Otherworldly in her life. But perhaps I was wrong . . .

  Taking a small breath, I lowered my eyes, years upon years of training forcing me to study her entire person to make sure she had no obvious injuries. My gaze dropped further and I caught my breath. The nightgown had gathered at her waist, baring her naked legs, pale as her face in the moonlight. For a moment I was blissfully distracted, that is, until my conscience kicked in.

  Don’t stare Cade. Remember, you want to help the girl, not convince her you are some twisted degenerate . . .

  Unfortunately, I think it was too late for that. I could only hope that the hood of my trench coat hid my face from her view. I turned my eyes away, just in case she could see me, though I wouldn’t mind studying those shapely legs a bit longer.

  Focus Cade, the poor girl’s been traumatized. She needs help, not ogling.

  While my conscience was busy scolding me into behaving like a gentleman, Meghan decided it was safe enough to talk.

  “Who are you?”

  Her voice trembled. Time to play it smooth. You’ve been dying to learn more about this strange girl for months now. Here’s your opportunity. Don’t mess it up. Slow, careful movements and gentle words . . .

  I dropped into a crouch, trying to make myself smaller so I wouldn’t appear so intimidating. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do. She made a small noise and tried to scoot back further, her exposed legs still causing a distraction. I took a breath, ready to say something with every intention to reassure her, but she beat me to it.

  “Hobo Bob?”

  I could tell right away that she hadn’t meant to say those particular words, for she seemed to shrink in on herself and even in the dim moonlight I could see her blush.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled, scraping at her hair nervously, “I mean-”

  I released a small laugh, hoping it would lighten the mood, then spoke before she had a chance to continue, “Is that the title you have awarded me?”

  “Huh?”

  I chuckled again and stood back up. Crouching was uncomfortable and the fear pouring off of her eased a little when I backed away.

  “I often heard the spoken insults of the young people attending your school, but I never paid them much attention.”

  And it was true. The times I spent loitering around the high school, trying to sniff out faelah and then that thread of glamour she trailed around, I’d allowed my own magic to enhance my hearing and managed to catch several conversations traded between the students. Most of them were tedious, bland or the typical cruel gossip I often found in such places. But on several occasions I’d caught them eyeing me warily and using the moniker ‘Hobo Bob’ while pointing indiscreetly. I didn’t mind. It kept their curiosity at bay. No one ever bothered to pay much attention to a vagrant.

  I sighed and lowered my hood. I was through with being Hobo Bob. If I was going to learn more about this girl and in turn help her, then she needed to know I wasn’t going to harm her. Though this was not how I planned on introducing myself.

  I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye and caught her studying my face. She didn’t seem afraid, but almost fascinated. A smug smile pulled at the corners of my mouth and I allowed myself to believe she liked what she saw. Since she was scrutinizing me, I let my gaze drop once again to her legs. Nice legs, long and lean like most of the Faelorehn. I wondered then who she belonged to. She obviously had no idea where she had come from, so I suspected she’d been under the impression she was human for a very long time.

  Meghan emitted a small gasp and quickly scrambled to pull her nightgown down. I guess I had been staring a bit too long. I felt my face turn hot and almost laughed out loud. When was the last time I’d flushed like this? Probably not since I was no higher than Fergus’s shoulder. Now, why should I care if Meghan caught me admiring her? Oh, this girl was definitely going to cause some turbulence in my already tumultuous life.

  “Forgive me,” I finally murmured, shrugging off my trench coat and placing it over her shoulders. I hoped it didn’t smell too terrible after spending half a week in the woods with me.

  “What were those things? Those . . . dogs?” she asked after a long moment.

  “Hounds of the Morrigan. Cumorrig.”

  “What?”

  I huffed a tiny breath. Well, I had decided to help her discover who she was, hadn’t I?

  “Most folklorists would call them hellhounds,” I offered. Yes Cade, break it to her slowly. She’s been through a terrible shock.

  We were both silent for a long time and I had a feeling she was either trying to take this all in or simply figuring out how to get away from this nightmare. I couldn’t say I blamed her.

  “Thanks for helping me, but, um, who are you?”

  Not quite what I expected her to say next, but at least she was still talking. I wanted more than anything to spend the rest of the night speaking with her, but what she needed most right now was a good night’s rest without any nightmares to trouble her sleep. There was only one way to make that happen and it involved doing something I really didn’t want to do.

  Every Faelorehn being had the power to erase another’s memory, but none of us was ever supposed to use that power. Some, like the Morrigan, exploited it whenever it suited them, but others were careful to use it only when necessary, and sometimes it was necessary. Like right now. I wanted to help Meghan and in order to do that I had to erase as much of tonight’s ordeal from her mind as possible. It would be like erasing the chalk from a board; all one did was smear the white powder around until the words were no longer visible. That’s what I’d do with Meghan’s memories. I’d smudge them to the point where she couldn’t read them anymore.

  “You were right in guessing my identity earlier,” I said as a way to distract her a little. A distraction always helped with the erasing process.

  She l
eaned her head back to watch me, her expression one of pensiveness. Okay, good . . .

  “Our first meeting wasn’t supposed to go this way.”

  Alright, I wasn’t really sure how our first meeting would have gone had I had any control over it, but it definitely would not have included the Morrigan’s hounds.

  Suddenly, she tried to stand up so I reached out a hand and said her name, then blanched. Not smart, Cade.

  She shied away and murmured something that might have been an expression of gratitude as she tried to hand me my coat. Wonderful. She looked ready to bolt.

  “You can’t go on your own,” I blurted, desperate to salvage what I could from this terrible night.

  “Please,” she rasped, “I just want to go home.”

  I stiffened and drew away from her. “You’re afraid of me.”

  Well, of course she is you dolt! Sometimes I really hated my conscience.

  It was too late to try and calm her, so I decided to go ahead with my plan. If I was lucky, she’d forget this entire night.

  “I screwed this all up, I know, but it’s best if you forget any of this ever happened.”

  She became fully alert, her eyes darting back and forth like a cornered deer.

  I moved slowly forward. “Tomorrow, this will all seem like a dream. I’ll send Fergus in a week. Follow him and I’ll introduce myself properly.”

  “What are you doing?” she squeaked.

  Before she could dart into the forest, I let my glamour flow from my fingertips, enclosing her in an invisible web of magic.

  She gasped and started to collapse, but I caught her gently in my arms.

  “Who are you?” she murmured blearily.

  This time, I answered her.

  “You can call me Cade,” I said softly, “but you won’t remember any of this, so it doesn’t matter.”

  She went completely limp and I scooped her up into my arms, holding her close to my chest. I savored her comfortable weight and breathed in her unique smell for a few moments. The scent of lavender and spring surrounded her and all of my aches and pains from the last several weeks of faelah hunting seemed to disappear.

  You could have handled that much better, Fergus said into my mind.

  I grumbled and glanced down to find him panting up at me.

  Oh, if that isn’t the understatement of the evening, I don’t know what is, I sent back.

  You like her, he returned.

  I ignored him and turned to walk up the equestrian path. As we made our way through the dark towards Meghan Elam’s house, I could have sworn I heard the echo of canine laughter in my head.

  * * *

  The door to Meghan’s room was unlocked and wide open. Fergus had admitted to leading her down into the swamp and I had chastised him for it.

  You wished to learn more about her and since the duinba were gone I thought it an opportune time.

  First of all, we weren’t absolutely sure the duinba were all gone, and secondly, don’t you think it’s a lot more dangerous leading her into a swamp infested with Cumorrig?

  He sniffed and said, I was unaware of the hellhounds.

  I shook my head. I would never understand canine logic.

  Checking to make sure there were no other humans about, I stepped through the door and crossed the room. It was dark, but I could pick out a few details. The room was a bit cluttered and it resembled the typical teenage girl’s domain: a lava lamp in one corner, posters adorning the walls, a desk, a small couch, a TV, a computer . . .

  I sidestepped a few piles of clothes and came to the bed, laying Meghan’s unconscious form gently on the mattress and pulling the sheets up around her. Before I left, I simply watched her for a moment, reaching out a hand and caressing her face. Her skin was smooth and cool and an image of her reaching up and pressing her hand to mine shot through my mind. I pulled my hand back and sucked in a breath. It was dangerous to have such thoughts, especially if the Morrigan knew as much, if not more, than I did. I would have to play this all out very carefully, and if I was smart, I’d assume the goddess knew everything.

  Taking a deep breath, I moved away from Meghan and left her to her rest, hoping that I was able to successfully erase those horrible memories form her mind. I slid the glass door into place, trying to be as silent as possible. I lingered for a few more minutes on that small, concrete slab just outside her room, my eyes cast down as I considered the young woman sleeping mere feet away from me.

  Fergus’s tiny yip snapped me out of my reverie. Against my will, my mouth tugged into a smile as I glanced down at my spirit guide. His tongue lolled and he gave me that canine grin of his. He didn’t have to tell me what he thought this time, for it was apparent in those intelligent brown eyes of his. I released a slow, deep breath as I turned to make my retreat back into the swamp.

  “I believe you’re right Fergus,” I murmured softly as we left the house behind. “I have a feeling this Meghan Elam is going to have a far greater influence on my life than I had previously thought.”

  The Morrigan’s Game

  “So, you got my message I see.”

  I had been making my way to the heart of the Weald, the great forest renowned for its magnitude and magic. Anything could happen amidst these trees, and whenever I entered the realm of the Wildren and the wild forest, I took extra care to keep my ears sharp. And always, my sister managed to sneak up on me without making a sound.

  I froze when I heard her voice, the corner of my mouth curving up in a small smile. Enorah made it one of her goals in life to keep the upper hand on me. Shaking my head in amusement, I turned and found her standing on the thick limb of an ancient beech tree, her arms crossed and her longbow strapped across her back.

  With agile grace that could only be honed through living in the wilderness, she swung down from her perch, landed lightly on her feet, and strode over to me, her own face graced with a smile. We regarded each other for a moment or two before she flung her arms around me.

  “Alright Enorah, let me breathe!”

  Enorah stepped back and held me at arm’s length.

  “Must it always take some disaster to bring you to my forest?”

  I arched a brow at her. “Your forest?”

  She merely shrugged and grinned as if I had no reason to question her.

  “The Wild belongs to all of us, dear Caedehn.”

  “I’m sure Cernunnos would argue that point with you.”

  She merely snorted and gestured for me to follow her further down the trail. As we walked, she explained to me why she had requested my help.

  “I know you are bound to the Morrigan when it comes to dealing with faelah . . .” she said, letting her sentence trail off.

  I grimaced. Enorah knew about my geis and the service I owed the goddess.

  “But,” she continued, “I was hoping you would be able to help me and, more specifically, the Wildren.”

  Enorah’s voice faltered on that last word. The Wildren were the wild children of Eile; the unwanted boys and girls who ended up in the Weald to fend for themselves. Luckily, they had my sister and a handful of other grown Faelorehn to care for them properly.

  I stopped midstride and faced her. “Tell me,” I said.

  Enorah crossed her arms and took a deep breath, her pale grey eyes flashing towards hazel. “Some strange faelah have made their way into the Weald and have been attacking the children.”

  I grew suddenly tense, fear lacing my blood. The Morrigan, and her faelah, were not supposed to be able to enter the Weald. That is why the Wildren made it their home. The forest’s ancient magic resisted the dark intentions of the goddess and her ilk.

  Enorah held up a hand. “So far they have only caused minor injuries, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

  “What do they look like?” I asked, relaxing only enough to keep calm.

  “Like nothing any of us has ever seen before. They resemble small alligators, those giant reptiles found in the mortal world. Only these one
s have longer legs and necks, and their tails are long and narrow, covered in sharp spines. Their snouts are shorter, but they can still produce a strong bite. It’s their tails that are the problem, though.”

  I glanced up at her. “How do you mean?”

  Enorah grabbed her wrist with one hand, as if she were trying to comfort an injury. “They can wrap their tails around anything, like a noose, and cut deeply into the skin.”

  I blanched. By the description she had given me, Enorah and the Wildren were being attacked by the Morrigan’s latest creation, nathadohr, nasty lizard-like faelah that not only had the barbed tails my sister had mentioned, but a venomous bite as well. The last time I had spoken with the Morrigan, she had boasted about them, claiming they could slip past the magical barrier of protection that kept the Weald safe from her wrath. I gritted my teeth. Looks like she had been telling the truth after all.

  “Cade?”

  I jerked my head up, Enorah’s voice and hand on my arm reminding me where I was.

  “Sorry,” I murmured, “it seems as if the Morrigan has finally found a way to get to the Wildren. The creatures you described are called nathadohr.”

  Enorah’s expression hardened.

  I smiled, despite her fearful look. I knew what she was thinking. Because my geis cursed me to serve the Morrigan, she believed I couldn’t attack any of the faelah without her permission. And why would she allow me to kill her monsters if she had finally found a way into the Weald?

  “Don’t worry. I might have to do the bidding of the Morrigan, but anything she tries to send against the Weald is free game. I can get rid of this little problem without violating my geis.”