by Ann Gimpel
A high-pitched shriek filled her ears and built to where it was unbearable. Her leg wasn’t the only thing on fire. Her eardrums ruptured. Hot fluid ran down the sides of her face. A wave of dizziness threatened to flatten her, but she didn’t slow. It had taken the Lemurians a few precious seconds to react to her disobedience. She prayed it would give her enough time to escape.
The air in the corridor shimmered fifty feet ahead. Desperate, she looked for a side tunnel, an open doorway, anything she could duck into. It would be just like the Old Ones to cut off her escape from all sides. Noooooo, a voice in her head screamed. I do not want to die here.
The brightness intensified. It may not matter what I want, a different inner voice muttered dourly. She sneaked a peek over one shoulder. The air looked funny there, too, but it was different somehow. Bleaker.
“Lass, drop your shielding.” Fionn’s voice sounded in her head. “Ye must, or I canna jump us out of this hellhole. Hurry, or they’ll have you from behind.”
She wondered if it was some kind of insidious trap. She tried to sense Fionn, but couldn’t. He’d be warded as well, but still… She risked another glance behind her. The ocher-tinged air was, indeed, closer. It smelled like the reptile exhibit at the zoo her parents used to take her to when she was a child: musty and rank. A few more steps, and the brilliance ahead surrounded her. “Now, lass. Now.”
Fionn’s unique energy pulsed against her. Practically sobbing with relief, Aislinn pulled magic from her wards. The second she did so, he closed his arms around her. The gut-wrenching sensation of jumping when someone else controlled the spell pummeled her. Even if it made her puke, she’d never felt anything quite so welcome.
“Rune?”
“He’s fine. Hush. I need to concentrate. This was a much narrower margin than I’m comfortable with. We are not out of the woods yet, leannán.”
Her ears throbbed. Her leg ached. She didn’t mind being quiet. Not when Fionn’s arms were around her. She could stand just about anything so long as they were together. Travis’s sneering face filled her mind, along with an impotent rage. I’m going to kill that bastard if I ever see him again.
“Only if I doona get to him first,” Fionn snapped.
She considered complaining because he was in her head again—without her permission—but choked on a snort. After today, Fionn MacCumhaill could spend as much time as he wanted in her mind. Hell, he could take up residence there for all she cared.
The familiar walls of Marta’s kitchen rose around her. Snarling and snapping came from the study, followed by Gwydion’s Celtic brogue. “There now. She is back. ’Tis a stubborn creature, ye are. Ye dinna believe me. Go.”
Rune galloped into the kitchen, his claws skidding on the wooden floor, and launched himself at Fionn in his eagerness to get at Aislinn. “Put her down,” the wolf demanded.
Bella flew into the room right behind the wolf, quorking, “Yes, put her down.” The bird landed on Fionn’s shoulder.
“Be careful,” Fionn cautioned. “She is hurt. Doona be too exuberant. Bella, watch your talons.”
“I know how Aislinn feels,” Rune said indignantly. “After all, she is bonded to me.”
“Och aye, I hadna forgotten.” Fionn rolled his eyes and chuckled indulgently, while ruffling Bella’s dark feathers.
Aislinn lowered herself to the floor and closed her arms around Rune. She gloried in the feel of his rough outer coat and the soft fuzz beneath. Fionn and the hard, muscled planes of his body would keep. In spite of everything that had happened, desire forked through her at the thought of his lips on hers, his hands stroking her naked flesh, and his hardness buried deep inside her.
“Soon, lass.” Fionn winked at her. He added a vision of her mouth locked around his shaft and quirked a brow.
She laughed and raised her gaze to meet his intensely blue eyes. “No secrets, huh?”
“Never, lass. It may not be a Hunter bond like ye share with the wolf, but our pledge, one to t’other, runs just as deep.”
Bella took flight, landed on Aislinn’s shoulder, and rained love pecks on her head. “Don’t be listening to my bond mate. He always had a honeyed tongue.”
“Oh, really?” Fionn stepped close enough to mock-swat the raven.
“No secrets,” the raven cawed scornfully.
“Point taken. Come here.” Fionn held out an arm, and Bella fluttered to him. The two bent their heads together. Aislinn figured they were probably talking in their private mind speech.
The wolf howled and then whined and licked every inch of skin he could find. “Hurt? Where are you hurt, bond mate?”
“Ankle and ears. It’s nothing. Aw, Rune. I never thought I’d see you again.” Gratitude swelled inside her. Her throat thickened until it was hard to breathe; tears rolled down her face. The wolf licked them up.
Still cradling Rune, who was bound to her through the Hunter Covenant, Aislinn raised her gaze. Fionn and Gwydion sat across from her on the wooden floor, passing a mead bottle back and forth. Bella perched on Fionn’s shoulder. “Why aren’t you at the table?” She jerked her chin toward the round oak table, with its comfortable chairs, in a corner of the kitchen.
Fionn shrugged. “I doona know. We just sort of ended up here—right along with you.”
Aislinn held out a hand for the mead. “Hey.” She winced against the ringing sound in her ears. “I need that more than you do.”
“The lass speaks true.” Gwydion smiled and then handed the bottle over.
“Aye, and if she’s asking for spirits, I figure she’ll survive.” Fionn grinned. “Of course, I’ve an idea or two that just might speed the healing.”
Gwydion poked him with his staff. Fionn laughed. Aislinn took a large swig of mead and looked hard at the two of them. Something had changed. An ease lay between them that hadn’t been there before. She wondered if they’d finally found a way to let her mother’s ghost rest. Hope so. Maybe if they can let her go, I can, too.
“Lass?”
Aislinn looked at Gwydion, alerted by something in his tone. “Sorry, did I miss something?”
“Aye, I asked you what happened. Ye had this vacant look. What were ye thinking about?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.” Her face twisted into a grimace. “As for what happened, it’s simple enough. Travis sold us out. That fucking prick had the nerve to tell me, ‘You belong with humans.’ Right after that, Regnol told him he’d done well, and then Travis and his bond civet left. So it was all a setup.”
“We intuited as much,” Fionn muttered, using American English for a change. Aislinn found it fascinating that he could drop in and out of Celtic brogue at will. “But we weren’t certain.”
“He’s mine if we ever find him,” Aislinn growled.
Rune snarled. “No, he is mine. I want to tear his throat out.”
“Looks like we have ample candidates to annihilate Travis.” Fionn scanned the homey kitchen, with its warm oak cupboards and stone countertops. He looked briefly at Aislinn and Gwydion. “My, what a bloodthirsty lot we are.”
“’Tis kill or be killed.” Gwydion looked grim. “Ye know that better than any. ’Tisn’t only the Lemurians that need killing. Doona forget the dark gods. Travis was nothing but a pawn. The lad is scarcely worth wasting a jot of energy.”
Aislinn rubbed the sides of her face. The conversation sounded as if it were coming from the bottom of a well.
“Would ye like for me to heal you?” Without waiting for an answer, Gwydion scooted next to her, displacing Rune. The wolf snapped at him. “Still angry with me, laddie?” Gwydion stroked Rune’s head. “I had no choice. Fionn couldna take you with him. He barely made it back here with Aislinn as it was.”
“But it was me who found her,” Rune protested. Bella flapped around the kitchen, cawing her support.
Fionn beckoned the wolf over and laid a hand on either side of his head. “Aye, and I couldna have found her without you. Were it not for you, Aislinn might be dead now. I d
inna know what I might face in Taltos. I had to split my power to both shield us and bring us back. I wasna certain I’d have enough for three of us. As ’twas, we barely escaped. Another second or two, and I doona think we would have made it.”
Aislinn’s head snapped up. Ach, Christ. It was that close. A shiver ran down her spine. It wasn’t easy to chase the might-have-beens away.
“I could have found my own way back.” Rune jerked his head out of Fionn’s hands.
“Mayhap,” Fionn spoke evenly. “Mayhap not. Imagine how Aislinn would have felt to be safely returned with ye missing.”
“Aye”—Gwydion, who’d been chanting softly over Aislinn, half-turned to look at the wolf—“and we would have had the explaining of why we dinna keep a closer eye on you.”
Rune snapped his jaws shut. Bella fluttered to his shoulder, and the two of them stalked out of the room.
“Rune,” Aislinn called after him. “When I tried to use my Hunter magic, it bounced back at me. I couldn’t find you, and it made me so sad, I almost couldn’t stand it.”
The wolf didn’t answer.
Aislinn met Gwydion’s gaze. His eyes were nearly midnight from the healing magic running through him. “He’ll get over it,” she murmured. “He was just scared.”
Fionn made a sound midway between a snort and a grunt. “He was scared? If ye wouldna have dropped your wards—”
Aislinn rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t sure it was you.”
“And who else would it have been?”
“Stop.” Gwydion held up a hand. “Fionn, go draw a bath, or turn down your bed or something. Let me finish here. I need her still, not trading barbs with you.”
“Hmph.” The sound of Fionn’s footsteps receded as he moved down the long hallway that led from the kitchen to the back of the house.
Aislinn’s eyes closed. Whatever Gwydion was doing felt wonderfully soothing. Her ears didn’t hurt anymore, and her ankle was about halfway back. “God bless magic,” she mumbled.
“Aye, lass. Except I am using goddess magic. Best ask her blessings, too, but quietly. ’Twill go more quickly if I can concentrate.”
She tried to follow the spells Gwydion wove around her, but gave it up for a lost cause. They were far more sophisticated than any of her workings. It was easy to lose herself in the peaceful cocoon that supported her while it mended her injured places.
Her warm, dreamy drowsiness lessened as Aislinn felt the spell recede. She eyed him speculatively. “Did you and Fionn, ah, bury the hatchet around Mother?”
The mage’s gaze latched onto hers. “And why would ye be asking that?”
She shrugged. “The air between you seems cleaner. That’s all.”
“Aye and we did.” Fionn’s voice sounded from the hall. “Are ye about done with my woman?” He strode into the kitchen. No longer in battle leathers, he’d changed into a faded pair of jeans and his tattered Go Bears sweatshirt. Blond hair hung to his shoulders. His blue-tinged mage light hovered off to one side, illuminating the strong bones in his ageless face. Concern radiated from his sky blue eyes.
Aislinn cocked her head to one side. “Are we done?” she asked Gwydion.
His full lips curved into a salacious grin. “Aye, off with you.” He flowed to his feet in a supple motion and dropped a hand on Fionn’s shoulder. “As a favor to you, I will take first watch. Ye’d not be worth a damn since all ye can think about is sinking yourself into yon lass.”
Fionn nodded his appreciation, eyes twinkling warmly, and helped Aislinn to her feet. Once she was standing, he wove an arm around her waist.
She weighted her foot and smiled. “Thanks,” she said to Gwydion. “Feels much better.” Something he’d said registered. “First watch?” She looked from one of them to the other. “I don’t get it. We’re safe. Why don’t we all get some sleep?”
Gwydion’s eyes looked sad. “’Tis war, lass. None of us are safe. Nor can we afford the luxury of believing we might be. Mayhap the others will be here tomorrow. Hopefully with Dewi.”
A growl, punctuated by a snarl, sounded from the hall. Aislinn sighed. Rune didn’t like the dragon. He saw her as competition for Aislinn’s affections. “Do you mean Arawn and Bran?” She realized she hadn’t asked about the other two Celtic gods. Hadn’t even realized they were missing. She chided herself for being sloppy and unobservant. Sloppy got you killed.
“Aye.” Gwydion inclined his head. “Plus any reinforcements Arawn could scare up in the Old Country.”
Reinforcements? Aislinn’s blood chilled a notch or two. Fionn was close to a thousand years old, Gwydion probably much older. If they were that worried, they must have good reason. “Since we’re taking turns,” she said, “I want to be in the rotation. Rune can watch with me.”
The wolf bounded to her side and licked her hand.
Bella landed on Fionn’s shoulder. “Yes, yes.” He turned his head to look at his raven. “Ye can watch with me as well.”
“That willna be necessary tonight, lass,” Gwydion said. “Tomorrow, after ye’ve had a good rest, then ye’ll be part of the lineup.”
CHAPTER THREE
Fionn tightened his arm around her waist. Aislinn leaned into him as they navigated the hall. Her musky, wildflower scent surrounded him, making his groin tingle in anticipation. He nuzzled her neck. The weight of her against him felt so good, he flirted with dragging her to the floor and taking her right there. She had a dreamy, otherworldly quality, though, rather than sensual. Probably a byproduct of Gwydion’s healing.
Rune was right behind them; he bumped his snout into Fionn’s legs. Bella’s talons flexed against his shoulder. She had moods, his bird. He’d gotten fairly adept at reading them through the tension in her claws. The raven was worried about something. He’d tried to ask her about it earlier, but she hadn’t been inclined to confide in him. Though Fionn didn’t want to dwell on it, he had his own set of qualms. He and Aislinn had escaped the Lemurians by the skin of their teeth. He wished there’d been an opportunity to chew things over with Gwydion because he was nearly certain it hadn’t only been Lemurians chivvying them in Taltos.
Fionn moved aside to allow Aislinn through the bedroom door. Once the wolf was in, he kicked it shut. Bella fluttered to a nearby chair. Silent for once, she tucked her head under a wing.
Aislinn turned to face him, her heart in her eyes. “You took an incredible chance in Taltos—”
“They canna kill me.”
“No, but they could imprison you. Or torture you. Or force you into that place in the Dreaming, where you go so deep, you trap yourself.” She pounded a closed fist into her other hand; her troubled gaze never left his. “I thought I’d lost you in the labyrinth beneath Slototh’s lair. I never want to go through that again.”
Fionn cocked his head to one side, unsure of what to say. He was unwilling to placate her with a soothing web of lies. He’d figured they’d simply fall into one another’s arms the second he got her alone, but apparently she needed to talk. “Aye. I took a chance. I would do the same again, mo croi.”
A tear rolled down her dirty cheek. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you or Rune.” Aislinn averted her gaze and swallowed hard. “Especially if you sacrificed yourself for me. How could I live with myself, knowing you’d bartered your freedom for mine?” Her golden eyes blazed; fury mingled with hopelessness was mirrored in their depths.
He held out his arms, but she shook her head. “Not yet. I need to know how close it was in Taltos.”
“Why? What earthly difference will that make, lass?”
Aislinn folded her arms over her chest. Tears flowed freely, but she didn’t wipe them away. She snuffled. “I… I don’t know. It’s just… Shit, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m a maudlin mess.”
Fionn kicked off a pair of slippers that had probably belonged to Marta’s husband and sat on the edge of the bed. He patted the coverlet next to him. “Sit, leannán. I will tell you…things.” The bedsprings shifted as she
settled next to him. He turned toward her, reached out, and tilted her chin so she had to look at him. “Once I am done, ye have two choices.”
“And they are?”
Thank Christ, she’s smiling. “Ye will take off your clothes and bathe afore we make love—”
“Or?”
A corner of his mouth turned downward. “Ye can skip the bath.”
“I pick door number two.” Warm laughter washed over him. She scrubbed her jacket sleeve across her wet face and then bent to untie the laces of her boots so she could tug them off. Her socks followed, landing on the floor next to her worn boots. She looked at him and furled her brows. “Start talking. I’d like to get to the bedding part before Gwydion comes to collect you.”
“Good to hear. For a moment there, I was beginning to wonder.” He cupped a breast through her jacket and sweater and leaned in for a kiss.
“Uh-uh.” She shook her head and pushed his hand away. “Come on, Fionn. There’s something you’re not telling me. I deserve to know. Lovers share everything. Not just their bodies.”
“Guess I don’t know much about that part…because I’ve never been in love before.” Listening to his words fill the silence of the room, Fionn wanted to say them again and again. He wanted to shout his love to the skies and to the netherworld. Though it seemed a weak substitute, he settled for, “Ach, leannán. I love you with every fiber of my being,” and then grinned like a besotted fool—but a happy one.
“I’ve never been in love before, either, but that’s neither here nor there.” She smiled fondly at him and gestured with two fingers for him to spill what had truly happened in Taltos.
He pushed his tongue against his teeth, wondered where to begin, and mentally threw his hands up. Best to plunge right to the heart of things. “We were agreed to wait until everyone was here to attempt to free you—”