Seven Wardens Omnibus

by Skye MacKinnon

  “What was your plan?”

  “The lampads.”

  Flint gave the statement some consideration. “That might actually work. If you can bring one of their flames back, I can use it to try and kickstart my powers.”

  “You can’t come with me?”

  He shook his head. “No, I won’t be able to. I’m human. If I look into their light…well, it’s not worth thinking about. But also, to get to them, you’ll probably have to pass some kind of test, and you won’t be allowed to take anyone else with you. If you have help, you fail automatically.”

  Macey swallowed the lump that was resting in her throat. Her task had just become a lot more difficult.

  And it wasn't helped by having a horde of allies waiting outside, ready to be sent into battle. She couldn't really tell them all to go home, but she also couldn't start the fight against the Mahoun without Flint's powers. She instinctively knew that they were going to need all seven Wardens to be able to succeed.

  "I should talk to Malan, maybe he knows where I can find a lampad."

  "According to the legends, they're in the Underworld, but let's hope that's just a myth," Flint said weakly.

  Macey grimaced. "Yes, let's hope so. I don't have the time to walk through Hell like Dante."

  She gave Flint a kiss and headed back into the living room where her other men were waiting together with a whole lot of other people. Representatives of the various allies, she assumed. Malan was hovering in one corner, talking to an old kabouter whose beard was touching the floor. She walked towards them, nodding and smiling at the kelpies and na fir ghorma who were all crowded into the small room. She doubted Malan had ever had this many guests before.

  She cleared her throat when she'd reached the prophet. He turned and grinned at her.

  "I assume you're wanting to save your man?"

  "Ehm, yes." She looked at the kabouter who hastily left. "What do you know about lampads?"

  "Oh, the daughters of Nyx, good thinking."

  "Nyx?"

  "The Goddess of the Night. She brings the darkness, so her daughters carry torches to help travellers reach their mother. I met one once, a long time ago. She was excellent at bringing an extinguished torch back to life."

  He winked and Macey cringed. He didn't mean what she thought he did, right? That was disgusting.

  "Where did you meet her?" she asked quickly.

  "At a bar in London. We went to a Shakespeare play later... She was quite taken by young Will."

  "Wait, you met Shakespeare?"

  He chuckled. "I'm older than I look. Now let me see if I can give you a confusing and mysterious prophecy."

  She stared at him. Did he really just say that?

  "How about direct and helpful advice?" she asked, and he laughed again.

  "Maybe I'm feeling nice today... or maybe I just want to get rid of all these people beleaguering my house." He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, his pupils were enlarged and glowing around the edges. "You don't have to go to Greece. There's a lampad couple who might be able to help. I can't see where exactly they are. Somewhere underground, but it's not natural. It's a building that's underground. And it's in a city."

  Macey waited for him to continue, but he didn't say anything more.

  "So that's you being direct?" she asked in exasperation. "How is that supposed to help? There are thousands of cities on this planet, and I bet most of them have some kind of underground buildings. I can't very well search every parking garage in the world."

  Malan smiled patiently. "No, you couldn't. You're very lucky you have an extremely talented prophet at your disposal."

  Macey couldn't help but roll her eyes. Talented, maybe, but not very forthcoming with information. She stayed quiet though, letting him do his prophet thing. His eyes were still glowing slightly.

  "The city has towers..."

  This time, Macey sighed. Of course it did, just like every second bleeding city.

  "By the watery waves, could you please just give me some directions?"

  Malan frowned. "Patience, young kelpie. Oh, I can see waffles in your future... no, let's not get distracted. As I said, towers. No, one tower. The Tower. Of London. And it's not a building that's underground."

  "It's the tube," Macey helpfully supplied. "The underground railway. You do know that the tube network is massive? Do those lampads ride the trains all day? Or what are they doing down there?"

  Malan grinned. "That's for you to find out. Just follow your nose."

  "Really? That's it?" Macey was getting annoyed. She hoped her hair wasn't changing colour. There were other kelpies in the room and it would be bad form to show how she didn't have her temper under control. She was their Princess, after all.

  "Yes, now go while I try and entertain all these masses." He looked around with a smirk. "Bring some food with you on the way back. Everyone will be hungry by then."

  "Is that a prophecy?"

  "It's common sense," Malan muttered. "Off with you, and remember, don't let any of your men help if the lampads give you a task to prove your worthiness. It might disqualify you."

  Macey sighed and returned to her men, who had assembled around Flint's bedside.

  "I'm going to London," she announced and they all stared at her.

  "London? Why?" Jared finally asked.

  "According to Malan, there are lampads living there. Somewhere underground."

  "London is big," Cam said with a frown. "I assume he was mysterious and vague as always?"

  Macey nodded. "Yes, but at least we now know the city. That's more than what he said before. And surely it can't be that difficult to find someone in London."

  Jared snickered. "You've never been there, have you?"

  She cringed. "No, but I've seen it on television. It's big, but the underground system is quite organised, right? There are maps and guides."

  "Yes, and thousands of people," Flint muttered weakly. "You'll never find someone in those crowds. Did Malan say anything else?"

  Macey shrugged. "Follow your nose, that's all he said. Do lampads have a certain smell?"

  "Smoke?" Cam suggested. "Or maybe... I don't know. But usually, Malan's words end up making sense at some point, even if they didn't before. Hopefully, that's what's going to happen once you get to London."

  Chapter 2

  She jumped back as the bus hurtled past, scowling at the traffic. She'd not liked the thought of London before, but now she was here she liked it even less.

  "Which way now?" Rónàn asked.

  "How should I know?" she snapped, instantly regretting being so short with him. It wasn't his fault none of them knew what they were doing.

  "What did Malan say again?" Jared placed a soothing hand on the small of her back as he spoke, offering her the comfort she needed.

  "He described the Tower of London, but I doubt it's that easy."

  "Why not?" Rónàn asked.

  "Because it's Malan," Jared muttered. "He doesn't do straight forward."

  "Maybe this time he is? I've not heard of him before, but he seems to actually care about the fate of the world."

  "Don't be fooled," Macey mumbled under her breath. She'd had enough experience with Malan to know he wouldn't care for anyone but himself and his food. Slightly odd interests for a dead prophet, but there was no denying either of them.

  "It's worth a try," Cam pointed out.

  Macey nodded. While she hated admitting it was their best lead, it was. And that didn't mean much to her.

  "Which way do we need to go?" she asked her incubus. Bringing him had been imperative for going underground. Hopefully he'd actually be able to sense things through all this noise.

  "This way, I think." He peered over the top of the map he was holding, an uneasy look on his face.

  Macey wasn't convinced, but said nothing. She was just glad they were finally getting somewhere.

  The four of them dodged through the streets, only just avoiding the people who s
eemed to be everywhere. She coughed, the dirty air tickling her nose and threatening to make her sneeze. This wasn't the thing she'd had in mind when lampads had been mentioned.

  "Are we nearly there?" She crossed her fingers, hoping one of them would say yes.

  "We just need to cross that bridge and we'll be there," Jared muttered, not taking his eyes off his map long enough to actually be able to tell if they were going the right way or not.

  Macey made a mental note not to let Jared map read again. Certainly not if they were in a city. Though why they'd go back to one as big as this was a little beyond her.

  Heat clung all around them, making the air heavy and difficult to breath. She definitely wasn't leaving the country again. She'd go back to Scotland and stay there for good. Or even better, go back to her men's house. There wasn't any pollution there and the house would cater to their every need. It would be cool all year round.

  "Macey!" Rónàn cried, tugging the back of her shirt and dragging her back onto the path.

  She scowled at the road. Cars weren't anywhere near this bad where she came from. They certainly didn't nearly try and kill her every thirty seconds.

  "Get us underground," she begged.

  "Just around this corner," Jared said, turning towards a set of stairs at the edge of the bridge.

  He walked as if in a trance, taking them closer and closer to the river.

  Macey turned up her nose. The stench coming from it was enough to turn her stomach. She loved water, but she'd be staying as away from this as she could. No one would even be able to pay her to dip her toe in.

  "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

  Jared didn't reply, heading under the bridge and into the darkness. Instead of coming out the other side, as Macey had expected, they turned to the right and through a hole in the wall she hadn't even seen.

  Nerves fluttered around her stomach. Common sense said not to go down into the dark. Nothing good would be there, but she knew she had to go underground so she could help Flint.

  Dripping sounded all around her, the wet splashes of droplets hitting uneven stone floors lending the tunnel an eerie atmosphere. Macey found herself wondering what could be lurking down here. In her experience, there was always something waiting and it was hardly ever good. This would be a perfect place for the Mahoun or one of his kind to lie in wait.

  Then again, it wouldn't be that easy to find him, or else they could have dealt with him already.

  Their footsteps echoed around the room, the only sounds apart from the dripping water. Macey shivered. She didn't like this one bit.

  "Are you sure this is the way to the lampads?" she whispered, not wanting to risk speaking any louder.

  "Malan said to follow our noses," Jared pointed out.

  "Are you?" she asked quickly.

  Jared threw her a disapproving look and she lowered her head, feeling bad about doubting him.

  "This place doesn't make me want to shift," Rónàn muttered.

  "Me neither," she replied, thinking of the river above. Normally she'd love splashing about in any kind of water. Not so much here.

  "It's not exactly great for me either," Cam added, slipping an arm around Macey and pulling her to him.

  They walked in silence for a couple of yards, each lost in their own thoughts and concerns.

  "Do you think Flint's okay?" Her voice shook as she spoke, but she didn't care. They all knew how she felt about him, she didn't need to hide it.

  "I haven't had any messages from him," Cam said evenly.

  "Does that work still?"

  "I honestly don't know," Cam admitted. "I'm thinking maybe not. But it was his fire that was taken, not the rest of him."

  Macey frowned, not sure she quite agreed with Cam's assessment. Her magic and shifting were all tied up in one neat little package, it seemed unlikely that Flint's was any different. It was probably best if she didn't say what she was thinking though, she didn't want to freak any of them out more than she had to.

  They continued on through the strange tunnel, their eyes slowly getting used to the darkness, but not enough to see the uneven ground. Macey kept stumbling over rocks and so did the men. The ground was getting wetter and their feet were making squelching sounds that echoed through the tunnel.

  They stayed quiet, all of them aware that they were in unfamiliar territory. Who knew what lived down there. Rats, certainly, but if there were lampads, then maybe some other mythical beings had made this their home as well. And those usually meant trouble.

  "Wait, I hear something," Rónàn suddenly whispered. Macey stopped, but she couldn't hear anything besides the dripping of water and the heaviness of their breaths. On the other hand, her kelpie ears were good underwater, but on earth, they were just as good as those of humans.

  "Whispers," Cam confirmed. "Far ahead. Let's be careful."

  They continued, even slower than before. Macey still couldn't hear any voices, but Rónàn and Cam were obviously following their direction. Maybe there were some homeless people sleeping rough in these tunnels.

  Flint's fire would have come in handy to give them some light, but of course, his absence was why they were here. She hoped he was alright. Seeing him so powerless had hurt something deep within her. She was going to make someone pay for it, whether it was the sidhe, the Mahoun or someone else. No one messed with her men.

  Finally, after what felt like several minutes of stumbling through the dark, she heard the whispers. She stopped to listen, to try and understand what the voices were saying, but it didn't seem to be English.

  "Can you hear them now?" Cam whispered and she nodded, before realising he probably couldn't see her.

  "Yes," she whispered back. "Do you understand what they're saying?"

  "No idea. I thought it would get clearer once we got closer, but whatever language they're speaking isn't one I'm familiar with."

  Well, that excluded at least four or five languages. Cam talked in his sleep, and not always in a language Macey could understand. She only knew English and some Gaelic that Aunt Nessie had taught her, but both wraiths had travelled the world and were a lot better educated than Macey was. The Loch school only got you so far and there was no kelpie university. Her father hadn't allowed her to go to Ben Vair, the school for supernaturals that Amber had attended, which meant her education had been very much focussed on living underwater.

  "What do we do now?" Jared asked, sniffing the air. "Do we surprise them? If it's the lampads, only Macey should talk to them, but I'm not sure I want her to go there on her own until we know what we're dealing with."

  "Agreed," Rónàn grumbled, protectively putting a hand on Macey's shoulder. "After what happened to Flint, we stick together."

  She could live with that. The more, the merrier, especially in dangerous situations like this one. Not that she actually knew if it was going to be dangerous, but in the past few weeks, she'd learned that life was a lot more dangerous than she'd ever imagined. Side effect of being one of the Wardens.

  "Let's go then," she said, walking past the men and towards the voices. "It sounds like there's only two or three of them, so we should be able to deal with them, if they're hostile."

  The guys followed her. Cam seemed tempted to take the lead again, but Macey didn't let him. She might have to deal with the lampads on her own anyway.

  A flickering light suddenly appeared in the distance. A fire? A torch?

  "Hello?" someone shouted, his voice echoing through the tunnel, reverberating all around Macey. He sounded old.

  "Hello!" she called back. "Can we come closer?"

  Laughter greeted her words. "I don't bite, unless you've brought food."

  Macey turned to look at her men, but even with the tiny bit of light, she was unable to see their expressions. She shrugged and continued towards the light. The whispers she'd heard before had stopped now. Was the old man one of them? Had he been whispering in another language?

  This was all very strange. The sooner they
got out of these tunnels and back into daylight - non-London daylight, preferably - the better.

  When they got closer, the light turned out to be a campfire, built with large slabs of wood onto the concrete floor. The man, whoever he was, had chosen one of the few dry spots in these catacombs. Where did he get the wood though?

  A silhouette was barely visible behind the shine of the fire. A large man, but it wasn't obvious whether he was human or not. He could have been anything, really.

  "Who are you?" Macey asked when they were close enough to talk without shouting.

  "You come into my home and ask me that?"

  Jared coughed. "His home? I can imagine nicer places."

  "Don't you dare belittle my house," the man snarled, suddenly sounding a lot less friendly. "You of all people should know better, incubus."

  He spat out the final word. Okay, he was someone who didn't like incubi. Not that it was something unusual; most people were scared of them.

  "Me of all people?" Jared asked, taken aback. "Why... ooooh."

  "What is it?" Macey whispered.

  "An illusion," Jared said slowly. "It's all an illusion."

  "I never thought they'd pick children as the final Wardens," the man muttered dismissively. "You don't seem ready yet. Can't even spot an illusion."

  "Children?" Cam seemed offended. "I'm likely older than you are."

  The man laughed. "I doubt that very much. But come, we have much to discuss. Please be aware that this is a sanctuary, and as such, everyone is welcome here, no matter the species. Any attacks on residents will be punished severely."

  Macey's eyes widened at his words. "We're not here to hurt anyone," she reassured him. "We just need to find someone."

  "I know."

  Somehow, the man reminded her of Malan. Cryptic, impolite, arrogant. Maybe he was Malan's lost twin? Who wasn't a ghost yet?

  He'd already turned around and was walking away from the fire. She still hadn't seen his face, but when she'd passed the fire, she could at least see his back. He had wings. Black, leathery wings.

  "What is he?" she whispered to her men. "Some kind of demon?"