Chasing Dove (Branches of Emrys Book 4)

by Brandy L Rivers

  Chatan joined her. The fear had evaporated when Hawk flew into him. He didn’t feel Hawk’s presence but had his memories, just as Ceridwen had explained.

  Later, he could figure out what that meant. For the moment, he was more concerned with Jacinda, who had been surrounded by Scathane’s essence. And now she seemed completely fine. But would that last?

  He hoped whatever Hawk and Dove did, she would be.

  Thanatos snarled, his lip curled as he pushed himself to a stand and stumbled forward. Light leaked from his chest as the tip of a sword burst through his sternum.

  Ceridwen wove a spell he couldn’t begin to understand.

  But then Brent and Savon were chanting something that sounded like a song he’d heard at the reservation. Something that would banish a demon from this world. Or maybe just an entity in general.

  Scathane screamed, his hand going to his chest as silver blood dribbled down his shadowy body. He solidified as he crashed to his knees.

  Jacinda moved closer and placed her hands on his cheeks, her thumbs on his eyes, as she sang the spell he’d heard her sing several times before.

  He joined her, hoping he was doing it right, but he felt her magic as sure as his own and knew he could at least offer his power.

  Scathane reached for her throat, but Chatan moved faster than he could imagine, catching his wrists that turned to black stone.

  Ceridwen pulled the blade from the statue’s chest, and Tremaine moved forward, opening a glowing green rift.

  Chatan shoved Scathane into it and the opening closed with a pop. The main threat was over.

  * * * *

  All that and she needed answers. Jacinda looked at Ceridwen. “He can’t come back from there?” she asked.

  “No. We locked him into his body much like the pillar back in Wanatoga. In fact, stone will grow around him, binding him more fully than anything. The spell you cast will ensure he can never get free.”

  “Then we still need to deal with Thanatos. Dove couldn’t do it before because she hadn’t found Hawk. They needed each other to finish the spell. They always did.”

  She smiled. “Dove has become your guardian, just like Hawk is Chatan’s.”

  Jacinda moved to the shield that contained a man with stringy gray hair, sagging skin over a skeletal frame. “Why do you hate us so much? What was killing us supposed to give you?”

  “Immortality. My strength that Scathane had stolen.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Luallyn was a mimic. Her power was stronger than anything I’d ever felt, but it pales next to yours. Her essence would have allowed me to learn every kind of magic and spell. I could have been young forever, powerful, a god.”

  “A god?”

  Ceridwen nodded. “A true mimic can learn any magic. She was, but she wasn’t as strong as you. She could have learned it, but he found her after a hundred years of her life on Earth. You’re merely a child and you’ve obtained magic simply by being near it. She needed contact.”

  “How would that make him immortal?” Jacinda demanded.

  “He was a Deathlock in life. He fed off the death of casters and magical creatures. But their kind wither and die without absorbing the right kind of magic. Luallyn had that kind of magic. Only you have more. It would have made him something more than a Deathlock. One who wouldn’t have to live off killing Others, but could sustain himself by using pure magic,” Ceridwen explained.

  “Now what?” Jacinda asked. “Do we put him out of his misery?”

  “You could, or you could wait and let him suffer.” Ceridwen lifted a shoulder. “After what he’s done for all these years, you could even prolong his pain.”

  “I don’t see the point. Why endure his suffering for revenge when I could just move on and have a life?” She moved forward. “Goodbye.” She touched the shield and it faded, then she held out her hand and pulled his life force from his body with a spell she’d once seen and cast it out of the world.

  “Isn’t that a necromancer spell?” Brent asked.

  She nodded. “She said there was nothing I couldn’t cast if I’d seen it. Figured I should try.”

  Clara moved to her. “Thank you.” She gripped Jacinda’s shoulders. “With Thanatos gone, we can do anything.”

  Brialle wrapped her arms around Clara and Jacinda. “It’s nearly over.” She stepped back. “First, we should send the others on.”

  Jacinda dipped her head. She could see glowing outlines of every one of the spirits. They filled the valley. “Show me what to do,” she said. Then she turned back to the two who brought her into the world. “I love you, Mom and Dad. So much.”

  Their arms wrapped around her. She felt their warmth but couldn’t hear them. Their love surrounded her, though.

  Brialle touched her shoulder and started the spell. Jacinda mimicked her words and the spirits floated up and away.

  She stood there a moment and wiped at her eyes.

  “We did it,” Brialle said, a smile on her lips, though a tear rolled down her face.

  “Thank you,” Jacinda whispered. She didn’t know what else to say. There was so much to look forward to.

  Chatan’s voice was urgent. “Wait, just hang on. That thing poisoned my mother years ago. Make sure it didn’t do the same to Jacinda, please.”

  Ceridwen stepped forward and shooed the other women off her. “Let me make sure.” She ran her hands parallel to Jacinda’s body, then smiled. “The taint is gone. Dove and Hawk protected both of you. And you’ll find the necklace is no more, but you will discover their mark.”

  “And they won’t take over?” he asked.

  “No, they moved into the afterlife, to be reborn at a later date. They simply gave you their memories and abilities. I wouldn’t have allowed it to take place if they would do more than that.”

  “How did you not know what Thanatos had summoned?” Jacinda asked.

  She shook her head. “I had never met him. And Dove did not know who Scathane was. The first of your line banished him to another realm, but something he had done bound him to your bloodline.”

  Jacinda dipped her head. “Now what?”

  “I can take you wherever you want to go,” Robert offered. “And when you’re ready, we can see if you can translocate the same way. But it can be scary the first few times you try.”

  “I’m not ready to try, but soon. Right now, I want somewhere warm.” She turned to Clara and Brialle. “I want to get to know you both. If that can be arranged.”

  “Sure can,” Brialle answered. “And you know how to reach me.”

  Clara smiled. “Same here. In fact, I’ll contact Jessabelle and let her know the good news. Perhaps it will change how she raises her little girl.”

  Jacinda turned to Brent. “We’ll come visit you after my car arrives in Edenton or Seattle. For now, I want to go back to Chatan’s home.”

  “Ours,” he said. “Ours, Jace.”

  She smiled, turning to him. “Our home.”

  Brent closed the distance and gave her a hug. “You have a phone now. Don’t hesitate to call for anything. Especially if you start hearing things you don’t see. Or you just need to talk.”

  “You got it.” She squeezed him back, took Chatan’s hand, and reached out to Robert.

  Robert chuckled. “You’ve earned a rest.”

  Matoskah butted in and hugged them both. “Don’t shut me out, please,” he whispered.

  “No more,” Chatan promised. “And we’ll be back up there before long.”

  Robert squeezed Jacinda’s shoulder, then took her and Chatan back to Wanatoga in a blink.

  Chapter 26

  Olivier headed inside Clara’s home with the rest of them. He wanted to talk to his brother, which wouldn’t happen until given the okay by Robert. And he had to wonder where Lars was. And if he even cared that he was about to destroy a girl’s life all to gain his so-called freedom. Or what about the fact he killed a man who only wanted to protect the fool?

  Ma
ybe it would be better to hand him over to the Silver Council enforcers to let them lock him up for the rest of his life. He deserved it for the shit he pulled. And yet, he wanted to see his brother thrive, if that was even a possibility.

  Two hundred years old next month, and the dumbass still hadn’t accepted he was human, not a spirit.

  He stripped the gear off and dropped into a seat.

  Luca sat across from him. “Worried about Lars?”

  “Of course. I don’t know what to do if they do lock him away for good. How do I help him?”

  “There is a group of sorcerers in a hard to reach rain forest. No one else, just sorcerers, where they will teach him what can safely be accomplished with his powers, and what shouldn’t be attempted. He will be able to roam free, but the lands are warded to ensure he always winds up back in the camp. At least until they deem him ready to move on. But I’ve seen other sorcerers who couldn’t get a handle on their powers find the proper balance in this place.”

  Savon snorted. “It’s been my experience that most sorcerers don’t want others around. In fact, the first one who hasn’t shunned me is Brent. Even my father didn’t want me to learn what I could do.”

  “Darron, right?” Luca asked. “He wanted to protect you from what the Branches of Emrys can do to someone. We have enemies, and we strive to keep the world as it is, or at least let the people of the world direct the course. We step in to stop things like the Crimson Dawn, and HARP, or the Dark Templar.”

  “I get that. But I did join because I was already part of the battle without knowing it. May as well be a part of this to learn what I can. It just seems that the current group of newer members had no prior knowledge of what our families were involved in.”

  “And that is changing. After the culling, it’s no longer a reasonable expectation to keep the secrets,” Draecyn explained. “Hell, it wasn’t when I had my child, then lost her and the love of my life because of what we do. At least I have them both back in my life now, and they know what it is we do.”

  “If you need me, you can call my name, and I should be able to find you,” Luca offered.

  “How?” Savon asked.

  “Astral projection. I won’t physically be there, but you’ll see me, and I’ll see you. I’ll tell you everything I can about your parents, if you want,” Luca promised.

  “He did know Darron well,” Draecyn answered. “Better than I ever did.”

  “I’d like that.”

  Brent sighed. “It’s getting close to dark, and if we’re done here, we should go home. If you don’t mind.” He looked at Robert.

  “I’m ready. And I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of each other.”

  Brent nodded. “As long as there are no secrets kept, I’m ready to join. Amelia too. I will not keep anything from her.”

  “No more secrets,” Draecyn assured. “And if you change your mind, we’ll accept that.”

  * * * *

  Lars sat on the cot, his hands in his lap as he stared at the wall. This time, he was in a cell, but it was the same fucking story as always. A prisoner.

  Olivier and Robert appeared outside the glass wall. Olivier dropped his head as Lars stood and walked toward him. “You killed Niles. Why?”

  “To be free. Thanatos was my chance. Don’t you get that?”

  “Why is it so hard for you to join living, breathing people?”

  Robert dipped his head and disappeared, leaving them alone.

  “Look, I know you want me to be normal, but I’m not. You sent me to a place where I can’t call on the spirits.”

  “You were willing to have your spirit buddies possess people to hang out with them. At least you were always stopped before you did anything too fucked up. You ever think about what that person, trapped in their own body would think?”

  Lars walked back to the cot and sank down. “Am I supposed to feel bad for making the same kids who tormented me play with me? I was six fucking years old when Daddy locked me in a damned closet for a week because I made the little assholes play a damned game with me.”

  It was true. The little shits had bullied him many times. He didn’t do anything inappropriate. He just put his spirit friends in them so he could play with real life kids—sort of.

  “Look, I know I’ve fucked up a few too many times to count, but I really do love you. I hung out with you as much as I could.”

  “But you were busy hiding what you are to become an enforcer.”

  He sighed. “Because I’m more mage than anything.” His brother was a warlock, who could lean more heavily on dark magic, but he chose not to.

  “I’m not,” Lars answered.

  Olivier changed directions. “If there was a place that would take you in and teach you the appropriate way for a sorcerer to interact with spirits, would you be willing to at least try for a month?”

  “Yeah, like that place exists.”

  “It does, in a rain forest in South America. Eighty-two sorcerers, many of whom have crossed lines that could get them killed. They don’t stop you from interacting with the spirits. Can you at least try it? And I can visit?”

  “I just killed someone and nearly killed another, and you want to save me?” Lars snorted. “You know, you don’t have to feel guilty for the way I turned out. You can blame our father for that. Maybe our mother, since she didn’t love me either.”

  “I love you. As much as you are a pain in the ass, I do. Why do you think I’ve always attempted to make things better for you?”

  “You left me on that damned reserve,” Lars shouted, walking toward Olivier.

  “I didn’t know where else to take you. I thought you would do better there, or at least not freak them all out. Damn it, Lars, I don’t want you to die because you can’t at least try a place where it’s only sorcerers who aren’t going to judge you. They’re all like you.”

  Lars wiped at his eyes. “They aren’t going to let me out of here.”

  “Robert will. If you agree to this, and if this doesn’t work you’ll have to come back here to stand trial. If it does work, you’ll have to stay until they decide you’ve learned to interact with people too. Here’s the thing, though, Lars. They have miles of land, all to themselves. A whole community. It would be like living in a village of sorcerers. That’s essentially what it is.”

  “And you’ll visit? At least once a week?” he whispered.

  “Robert already promised to bring me as often as I need. But I’ve already put in for a transfer to the nearest headquarters to where you’ll be.”

  “Really?” Lars asked.

  Olivier nodded. “I want to do right by you. I always have. I know our family was a shit show, but I’m not like our parents.”

  “No shit,” Lars half-laughed. “I’ll try it. But what if I can’t change?”

  “Don’t you dare start with that. You won’t know unless you try,” he answered.

  Chapter 27

  Finally free.

  Jacinda stared into Chatan’s smiling face and threw her arms around him.

  He lifted her off the ground. “Don’t feel anything wrong?” he choked out.

  “Not a single thing wrong. I couldn’t be happier. I have you. Thanatos is dead. Scathane is gone for good. My parents are free. So is your mother. And did I mention I have you?”

  He laughed, then set her down, stripping her out of the heavy snow suit.

  Giggling, she helped him out of his. Then shook her head. “What are you in a hurry for?”

  “I’m curious what this mark Ceridwen mentioned is.”

  She gulped and shrugged, then got to work on freeing him of his clothes. If they were safe, free, and alone, she wanted him in the worst possible way.

  Freedom. Complete and total freedom. She had never felt better about anything in her entire life.

  She got him down to his jeans and T-shirt and smiled as she peeled the fabric over his head. A hawk now covered his chest, the wings spread out. “Think Tomahawk will be upset he didn’
t do this piece?”

  Frowning, he looked down, then touched the wings. “Holy shit!”

  A laugh burst free. “It’s gorgeous.”

  “I wasn’t expecting that,” he answered.

  He pulled her shirt off, then traced the space beneath her breasts. “She’s beautiful,” he whispered.

  She gulped, looking down, then she moved to the bathroom, half-naked and not a care in the world. Sure enough, she had a beautiful dove on her skin. “Wow.”

  “I like it.”

  She dipped her head. “I have her memories, but I don’t feel her like I did when she gave them to me.”

  “Same with Hawk. I think we’re safe.”

  “Do you want to help the Branches?” she asked.

  “Do you?”

  “I think we need to.”

  “Hopefully they won’t need us all the time,” he answered.

  She shook her head. “I don’t believe they will. They need us for our specific gifts.”

  “No, they need you because you’re brilliant. I don’t think there isn’t anything you can’t do.”

  “Except, I need you, Chatan. I do.”

  He grinned. “Good, because I can’t live without you, Jace.”

  His mouth collided with hers. He got rid of the rest of her clothes, then ditched his. Before she could take a breath, he hauled her up and pressed her against the wall, entering her in a smooth glide that stole her breath.

  Nothing better in the world than Chatan making love to her. She delved her fingers into his thick, silky hair as he kissed down her throat while pumping into her.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “For?”

  “Not letting me run away,” she answered.

  “Never ever, ever,” he answered.

  Chapter 28

  Chatan moved around the meeting house with a smile. Everything was ready. Loval had planned the perfect party and might even manage to at least partially surprise Taryn.