Raven-Mocking (Book 3 in the Twilight Court Series)

by Amy Sumida

  “Not my Goddess,” the witch spat.

  “Wait,” I held up a hand and focused on the witch. “You worship a goddess? Which one?”

  “The only one,” he huffed. “The Goddess, she has many names but they are only aspects of one goddess.”

  “Does one of her names happen to be Danu?” I lifted a brow.

  “Not that I know of,” he blinked, suddenly confused.

  “Then you're worshiping nothing... no one,” I shook my head sadly. “There are only two divine beings; one is Danu, who rules Fairy, and one is Anu, who rules Earth. They are twins, Danu is female while Anu is male.”

  “Like us,” Alex smiled at his sister and took her hand.

  “And our Danu would never consort with murdering filth like you,” Torquil scoffed.

  “She wouldn't be able to, even did she want to,” Tiernan frowned. “This is not her realm and he's human.”

  “Yet she spoke to me,” I lifted a brow at Tiernan.

  “You are half fey,” Tiernan shook his head, “and you were born in Fairy. Danu has been with you since the second of your birth. She just couldn't cross over into the Human Realm with you.”

  “Wait... what?” I blinked in shock. “No, I was born in San Francisco.”

  “No, Seren,” Tiernan cocked his head at me. “Didn't your father tell you? Your mother went to Fairy to give birth to you, she wanted to stay there but your father convinced her it was best to hide you in the Human Realm.”

  “He never told me,” I huffed. “He told me what they decided but he never told me that I was born in Fairy.”

  “I'm surprised that the Goddess didn't tell you,” Raza mused.

  “You hear her?” The witch glared at me doubtfully.

  “I've seen her,” I took it further. “There is a goddess but she's not your goddess, she can't possibly know about you witches.”

  “That's bullshit!” The witch screamed and I flinched back. “We are children of the Goddess. She looks after us. I may never have seen her face but my ancestors have. There are records of interactions with the Goddess in several tribes.”

  “Could she have crossed into this realm?” I asked Tiernan but he was already shaking his head.

  “Impossible,” Tiernan said to both the witch and me. “Whomever your ancestors spoke with, it wasn't Danu and therefore, it wasn't a goddess.”

  “You lie,” the witch growled. “You're liars!”

  I headed upstairs, there was nothing more I could say to the witch that would help him and I saw no point in prolonging the conversation. Still, I sympathized with him. He might be a killer but everyone deserved to have a religion, something to have faith in, and we'd just stolen his, along with his memories.

  “Perhaps they were speaking to fairies,” I heard Raza say to the witch as I reached the top step.

  The man shouted insults at Raza until we closed the door on the stairway and blocked out his voice. I gave Raza an annoyed look but he only laughed and swept past me into the hall. The rest of us followed him into the library while Alex went to gather the council members, all except Teagan of course, who still hadn't returned.

  We settled around the library's central table and when the council members came in, the twin's gave us their report. William Sehoka and he was a member of Flight; a clan of witches who possessed the ability to heal themselves and extend their lives through the consumption of human hearts. They believed that they inherited this ability from their raven mocker ancestors but altered it with their humanity. Unlike the mockers, they had to cut the heart from their victim's chest and then heal the wound to hide their theft.

  The twins discovered a mass amount of knowledge on William's clan; who they were, where they lived, what they did for a living. We had addresses and even phone numbers for them. It was ridiculously easy but if these witches knew what we were capable of, they'd go into hiding before we could even begin to use the information we'd gained from Mr. Sehoka.

  But that wasn't all the twins learned. Flight wasn't the only clan of witches. Just as the twins began to tell us about the bigger picture, Councilman Teagan entered the room with my Star's Guard, Raye, Cat, and a few extinguishers. He looked a little bruised and dirty but otherwise unharmed.

  Cat came running over to me.

  “Hey you,” I scratched her head as she sat beside me, and then I looked over to Ainsley. “Is everyone alright?”

  “Yes, Princess Seren,” Ainsley assured me. “We are all accounted for.”

  “We lost two extinguishers,” Extinguisher Kate said grimly. “Tim and Kent.”

  “I'm so sorry,” I offered gently.

  “Did you interrogate a witness without me?” Teagan asked as he came forward. I could tell that the deaths had unsettled him. It wasn't often that someone got the better of an extinguisher.

  “What would have been the purpose of waiting?” Raza lifted a brow. “Do you not trust your own people to inform you of all that we've learned?” Raza waved a hand towards the twins, who looked at Teagan with casual curiosity.

  “No, of course I trust them to...” Teagan exhaled roughly. “I would have preferred to have been here from the start.”

  “I'm sorry, Head Councilman,” I waved him forward. “But you've arrived just in time. The Kavanaughs have just finished telling us about the witch clan called Flight, and they're about to tell us about the other clans in the Coven.”

  “Other clans? The Coven?” Teagan's eyes went round as he took a seat beside me, across from the table from the twins.

  “Please continue,” I said to the twins.

  “The Coven is a collection of witch clans,” Alexis began. “They consider themselves to be true witches, while those who are born outside of the clans, are not.”

  “Like Shaman Chepaney?” I asked her.

  “Yes,” Alex took over. “He is what they call bloodless, an aberration. Most witches are born among the Coven.”

  “So that's what she meant,” I shared a look with Torquil.

  “She?” Tiernan asked.

  “This witch who called me a traitor and bloodless,” I explained.

  “They thought you were one of them?” Raza asked. “That's interesting.”

  “Go on then,” Murdock growled. “Tell us the rest.”

  “Stop snapping at us, Councilman, and we will,” Alexis gave Murdock an annoyed look,

  “Sorry,” Murdock muttered and sat back into his chair with a huff.

  “There are eight clans,” Alex looked to Councilman Teagan. “They are called; Flight, Pack, Bite, Storm, Flame, Tide, Quake, and Beckoning. Each has a specific talent.”

  “Eight,” I whispered. “So many. Start with Pack please.”

  “Pack witches are shapeshifters,” Alexis answered. “Mostly wolves but sometimes others are born, like foxes and horses.”

  “Foxes and horses,” I looked to Teagan and realized that I hadn't told him the most important part. “Councilman, it appears that these witches are descended from fairies. The merging took place so many generations back that the fey blood has been diluted to the point of near non-existence. In most humans, this would mean that they might inherit slanted eyes or high cheekbones, some random fey gene. But it seems that, as with most dominant genes, fairy genes can pop up several generations in the future. The fey magic returned but it altered, giving the descendants of raven mockers dark healing. And it seems that we also have shapeshifters whose ancestors could have been cu-sidhe or bargests,” I gave Conri an apologetic look. “Or even kitsune, from the sound of it.”

  “Dormant genes,” Teagan mused. “And we never caught it.”

  “Don't feel so bad,” Tiernan sighed. “Neither did we and it appears that we were the source.”

  “Okay, Extinguisher Alexis,” I looked back to the telepath. “Is that the only talent of Pack? Shapeshifting?”

  “No; all witches can do little spells in addition to their main talents,” Alexis shrugged.

  “That sounds rather familiar as well,�
� I glanced at Tiernan and he nodded grimly. “Spells like what?”

  “Little things within nature,” Alex explained. “They can make plants grow, call the wind forth, protect their homes from burglary.”

  “Okay,” Teagan frowned thoughtfully. “What about the other clans. The next is Bite, is that correct?”

  “Bite,” Alex nodded. “They're very similar to the legend of vampires. Bite witches drink blood and use the life force within it to prolong their own lives. It's close to the way Flight members use the energy within human hearts, except Bite witches just need the blood.”

  “Baobhan-sith,” I whispered.

  “I agree,” Raza said. “They must be descendants of the white women.”

  “Great,” someone huffed. “And here we were thinking fairies were the only monst-” he was cut off, by someone's elbow from the sound of it.

  “It appears that much more than the human myths of witches were true,” I said into the awkward silence. “Now we have werewolves and vampires. What about Storm; do they have some kind of elemental magic?”

  “They control the weather through condensation and temperature manipulation,” Alex moved his hands about like he was swirling things together.

  “Add comic book hero to your list, Ambassador,” Councilman Sullivan grinned. “They even stole the name.”

  “They probably had the name first, Councilman,” Alex smirked. “Maybe Stan Lee stole it from them.”

  “And then... what was the next clans?” I asked Alex before we got off on a superhero tangent.

  “Flame,” Alexis offered. “They create fire and can direct it. Then there's Tide; they're water witches. They can breathe underwater and some of them can control water too. Oh! And some turn into seals but they're not considered Pack because of the water thing.”

  “Uh huh,” I grimaced and looked toward Tiernan. “Seals huh?”

  “Selkies,” Tiernan growled.

  “Damn but you guys get around,” another extinguisher commented.

  “We can't help it if you humans find us irresistible,” Conri smirked and then gave a female extinguisher a wink.

  “Did you learn anything else?” I ignored the banter and focused on the twins. “What about the last clans?”

  “Quake,” Alex leaned forward eagerly, “can control the energy within soil and they can cause earthquakes or even volcanic eruptions.”

  “Wonderful,” I rolled my eyes.”

  “Last there's Beckoning,” Alexis swallowed hard and went a little pale. “The most powerful of them all.”

  “Beckoning?” I frowned, wondering what that referred to. What exactly were they beckoning?

  “Necromancers,” Alex whispered. “They speak to the dead and...”

  “And?” I urged him.

  “They can bring them back,” Alexis shivered. “They bring the dead back to life. Except it's not really life, it's decay and slavery. Zombies. Rotting corpses with a soul trapped inside, doing the bidding of the witch who brought them back.”

  The room went silent.

  “Not possible,” Tiernan whispered. “No one can do that. Not any fairy or human. They didn't inherit that from us.”

  “We may not have fairies who can raise the dead,” Raza mused, “but there are those closely connected with death. Like the bean-nighes, bean-sidhes, nuckelavees, or dullahans.”

  I shivered, remembering my first sight of a nuckelavee; a type of water-horse with a human torso attached to it. It did kinda resemble a zombie, with its veins and muscles exposed. They were much more gruesome than the bean-nighe; washer women who clean the bloody clothes of those fated to die. The bean-sidhe were more vocal versions of the washers, crying out to foretell death. But the dullahan was probably the closest match to zombie magic. I'd never met one but reputedly, they were the original headless horsemen, carrying their severed head under an arm. They are death bringers, calling out the name of those about to die, but they are also living monuments to death; riding around with a wagon adorned with and made out of macabre objects. Candles in skulls, thigh bones for wheel spokes, that sort of thing. It wasn't a far stretch to hypothesize that their magical connection to death be altered into reanimation.

  “Sweet Danu,” Gradh whispered. “Who in their right mind would shag a dullahan?”

  “Or a bean-nighe. I've met a few bean-sidhes I wouldn't mind spending the night with but those bean-nighe are pretty hideous,” Conri shivered dramatically. “I can't stand the whole one tooth thing.”

  “Bean-nighes?” Ainsley huffed. “What about nuckelavees? Disgusting. And how? I mean, does anyone know how the nuckelavee reproduce? Is the working member on the human torso or the horse,” he waved his hand near his crotch. “That would be fatal for a woman, wouldn't it?”

  “Unless it was a human male with a female nuckelavee,” Ian mused.

  “Oh please stop,” Teagan groaned.

  “Most likely, it was not consensual,” Raza said grimly.

  “Sweet Danu,” I whispered as my stomach lurched.

  “She had nothing to do with it,” Raza declared.

  “Who's having sex with a female nuckelavee?” Eadan Gale, Lord of the Wild Hunt, asked as he came into the library. “Never mind, I don't want to know,” he waved his hand dismissively and then gave me bow. “Greetings, Princess Seren. Greetings, Lord Raza,” he bowed to Raza, “and Your Countness,” Eadan smiled wide at Tiernan before leaning forward to shake Tiernan's hand.

  “Lord Eadan,” Tiernan stood to reach over the table towards Eadan. “It's good to see you. How was the trip?”

  “Fine,” Eadan nodded. “And it looks as though I've arrived just in time. Anyone care to enlighten me on why you're talking about nuckelavee sex?”

  “It's a long story,” Tiernan sighed, “and I think it calls for a drink.”

  “I couldn't have said it better myself,” Teagan agreed.

  He started to get up but Kate put a hand to his shoulder and pushed him back into his seat, “Let me get it, Dad. I think I need a break from this discussion anyway.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  It took an hour and several bottles of wine to fill Eadan and his team of hunters in on what had been happening in Tulsa. He'd already been briefed on the general situation but by the time we were done, his gray eyes were wide with shock.

  “Eight clans?” He finally asked. “Eight? That must mean thousands of witches. How did they manage to hide from us for so long?”

  “In plain sight,” I laughed. “We thought they were fairy tales. Myths.”

  “Fairies duped by fairy tales,” Eadan chuckled. “There's some irony there.”

  “This particular clan has been difficult but nothing a trained band of hunters can't manage,” Raza observed. “However, I believe there are other clans which may pose a greater threat.”

  “Like Beckoning,” I nodded.

  “Nonsense, the worst they can do to you is kill you and then bring you back to be their rotting slave,” Eadan said sarcastically. “No one's going to do that. Truly, who would want a stinky servant? Can you imagine a zombie trying to polish the silver while dripping gunk all over it? Rather counterproductive if you ask me.”

  “Indeed,” Raza laughed.

  “We think they may be descended from either bean-nighes, bean-sidhes, dullahans,” I cleared my throat, “or nuckelavees.”

  “Ah, the nuckelavee sex. Well there's a sobering thought,” Eadan grimaced. “There are some very attractive bean-sidhes but the rest of that group is hideous at best.”

  “Just as I said,” Conri smirked.

  “Do you have the crystal ball with you?” I asked Eadan before he got into a conversation about bean-sidhes with Conri.

  “Yes, of course,” Eadan motioned to one of the other hunters and she pulled a small crystal ball out of a satchel beside her chair. She handed it to Eadan and he handed it to me. “The Twilight Council awaits your call, Princess.”

  “Thank you,” I held the ball on the table before me,
casting a concerned glance at Councilman Teagan before I called out, “Councilman Catan of Twilight.”

  The ball misted and cleared quite quickly, to reveal a fey face with buttery pale skin, surrounded by long, silky, light green hair. Catan smiled to me once he came into focus.

  “Princess Seren, I hope you are well,” he inclined his head.

  “I am, thank you Head Councilman,” I nodded back. “Thank you for accepting my input in this. I'd like to update you on our recent discoveries.”

  “By all means,” he waved a hand, revealing his bright white fingertips.

  I went over all the information we'd just given Eadan. When I was done, Catan looked thoughtful but not surprised. He had been informed of the witches already but he didn't know about all of the clans and I'd expected a little more of a reaction from him.

  “You don't find this shocking?” I asked.

  “Not at all,” he shrugged. “It makes perfect sense. You cannot breed with another species and think that no mutations will ever come of it. These witches are like us twilight fey; a blending of two races. And just as with us, you never know what will show up in the children... or when.”

  “Well said,” Raza nodded.

  “Who is that, Princess?” Catan tried to see around me.

  “It's Lord Raza Tnyn of the Unseelie Court,” I said formally.

  “Ah, yes,” Catan nodded. “I suppose he's there for his son.”

  “You knew Rayetayah was Raza's son?” I lifted a brow.

  “You didn't?” Catan lifted one back at me and I chuckled.

  “Yes, he's here for Rayetayah,” I sighed and then asked suddenly, “Do you think you can rule on the charges against the raven mockers, now that the evidence has been presented to you?”

  “Normally, I would call a council meeting for this and we would have to consult with the Human Council since I believe the crime was set before them first,” Catan shrugged. “But any fool can see that the attacks were not instigated by the mockers.”

  I tried not to give Teagan a smug look but it was difficult. Even without my look though, he ended up grimacing. If Catan ruled on an issue that the Human Council believed was their jurisdiction, while a councilman sat by and said nothing, that councilman might get into serious trouble.