by Ann Gimpel
“It will be extremely dangerous.” For once, Dewi didn’t sound the least bit patronizing. “You might actually jeopardize our efforts if we have to divert energy to save you.”
Aislinn crossed her arms over her chest. “You still don’t see me as anything other than a child. And a rather dim-witted one at that.”
“Hmph.”
“Don’t bother denying it. My Seeker magic corroborates what’s true.”
“Fionn and I are used to working together—”
“Great,” Aislinn interrupted, not caring she was being rude. “Then you can get used to working with Rune and me as well.”
“Is she always this pig-headed?” Dewi asked Fionn.
He laughed and draped an arm around Aislinn’s shoulders. “I’d say so. ’Tis one of her more endearing traits.”
“Cripes. I’d like to know what my unappealing ones are,” she muttered and leaned into Fionn’s warmth. There was something solid and heartening about his bulk next to her. Even Rune seemed to have lightened up somewhat.
“Are we done here?” Aislinn’s gaze moved between Fionn and Dewi.
“No.” The dragon’s sharp tone shocked Aislinn. “What was one of the first things the Lemurians drummed into you about fighting the dark?”
“To follow orders precisely, without question. And to be careful.”
Dewi cocked her head to one side. “Exactly.” She exhaled noisily, and a plume of smoke curled into the chilly air. “No matter what you think of the Old Ones or the dark gods, they understand battle strategy. We need a plan if we are to have any chance at all.”
“Once that plan is formed, we each play our roles,” Fionn added, sounding graver than she’d ever heard him. “I doona know if Arawn will return in time, so we must move forward as if we willna have his help.”
Something nagged Aislinn. “Where do you think Bran and Gwydion are?”
“In a border world. Either Perrikus’s or D’Chel’s,” Dewi answered.
A growl rumbled in Rune’s throat. Aislinn remembered when he’d taken her to a border world so they could discuss the dark gods. A shiver raced down her, curdling her empty stomach. She was grateful she hadn’t eaten recently. Suddenly, Fionn’s warmth wasn’t enough to keep the chill at bay, and she felt she was freezing from the inside out.
“Ye doona have to come.” Fionn spoke low, lips brushing her ear. “There wouldna be shame if ye stayed.”
Aislinn bit her lower lip. “I’ve faced both of them before. I can do it again.”
Fionn didn’t say a word. He just looked at her; care and worry competed for control of the sculpted lines of his face.
She dropped her gaze. “I know I’m vulnerable,” she murmured, “but I managed to trick D’Chel and Slototh, despite their sexual maneuverings.”
“Barely.”
“Shit!” She stepped away from Fionn, spine ramrod straight. “You’re supposed to believe in me.”
“I do. Yet, I recognize the truth of things, too.” He reached for her, but she shook her head. “All right.” Fionn nodded tersely.
“We don’t have time for a lover’s quarrel.” Dewi sounded exasperated. “We need a strategy. Come down here in the yard, all of you, so I can draw what I remember of both those worlds in the dirt.” The dragon bent forward and sketched with an outstretched talon.
Rune trotted down the steps, tail pluming. He looked back over one shoulder at Aislinn. “Coming?”
“In a minute.” She grabbed one of Fionn’s hands. “Look, I’m sorry. I understand how perilous this is. Dealing with the dark gods is so horrifying, I can barely force myself to think about it. Then to hear you say I’m weak—”
“I dinna say that. I merely wanted you to remember what a close call ye had with D’Chel in the forest outside my home and with Slototh in his lair. Caution is your friend, lass. Betimes ye are headstrong and doona think.”
There was actually more than one close call with D’Chel, and he doesn’t even know about the one with Perrikus…
Heat rose in a whoosh from her chest to the top of her head. “Guess you’ve got my number.” Embarrassment filled her, but she plowed on anyway. “Sometimes, if I stopped to really think things through, I’d probably get so scared, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
He closed his arms around her and brushed the top of her head with his lips. “No matter what, mo croi, ye must promise ye’ll do what Dewi and I say, even if ye doona understand the why of it, or if ye think another course wiser.” He hesitated. “The dark ones all know by now that ye are the one who laid Slototh low. They will be wanting vengeance. Since ye are determined to come, we will need to disguise you.”
“Good idea,” Dewi seconded. “Now get down here and look at these maps before we lose the light. We’ll need every scrap of magic we have. No reason to squander any on mage lights when we still have the sun.”
Fionn furled his brows at Aislinn. Nodding, she trotted down the steps and bent to peer at two drawings spread in the dirt. “Why does this one look as if it’s mostly water?”
“That is D’Chel’s world. Because he controls illusion, no one really knows what it looks like. I was only there one time, and the trickery he churned up then was water, probably because he wrongly assumed dragons don’t care much for it.”
“What’s this?” Aislinn squatted next to the other drawing. “It looks like you’ve drawn some kind of fort or collection of buildings with a dragon inside.”
Fionn sucked in air loudly enough that Aislinn looked up at him. “What?” But he was focused on Dewi.
“Is that what happened to him?” he asked softly.
“Yes.” Somehow, the dragon made that one word into a dirge.
Aislinn intuited the rest. “Your beloved is trapped on Perrikus’s world.”
“My consort, Nidhogg. I tried to free him, but I wasn’t strong enough—and no one would help me.” She shot a meaningful glance at Fionn, and a plume of flame rose from her mouth. The dragon shook her head hard enough to spew fire in a large arc. “That is not our mission this time. If we try to do too many things, we will doom ourselves.”
Aislinn stared at Dewi. “Wasn’t Nidhogg a Norse dragon god?”
“Aye,” Fionn answered. “Nidhogg was the Norse dragon god. There is no other. He was Guardian for the One Tree, the Tree of Life. It sundered and died in the years since his capture.”
A ray of sympathy made a chink in the armor Aislinn had erected against Dewi. “How long has he been gone?”
“Many hundreds of years. Focus, child, ah, Aislinn. That is not important.” All wistfulness had fled from Dewi’s tone. “Look here.” She pointed with a talon. “We will enter Perrikus’s world first from roughly this point. A forest there might provide some cover. Fionn and I will cast illusion to shield you and Rune.”
“I don’t need to be shielded.” Rune’s tail swished.
“Ye do if ye doona wish the dark one to know your mistress is close. He will sense her through you,” Fionn said.
“If we come up dry in Perrikus’s world and end up on D’Chel’s, there used to be a good-sized island here.” Dewi tapped the ground. “Goddess only knows what we will find now.”
“Um, how will we be able to tell if we’re in the right place?” Aislinn looked from Fionn to Dewi.
“We won’t until we spend enough time to search for Bran’s and Gwydion’s energy,” Fionn replied.
The dragon straightened. “You must not eat or drink anything in the border worlds, save what you’ve brought with you.”
“’Twould be best if ye could avoid breathing as well,” Fionn said grimly, “but I doona see how that would be possible.”
“Things are not as they seem in the dark ones’ worlds—” Dewi began.
“—which is why ye must trust what we tell you,” Fionn finished.
“What about my magic?” Aislinn asked.
“Use it as little as possible,” Dewi cautioned. “It will draw the dark to you like a beacon.”<
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CHAPTER EIGHT
Aislinn speared another piece of dried fruit with her fork and stuffed it into her mouth. She followed it with a spoonful of cooked grain. “Blech. I’m stuffed I can’t eat anything else, no matter how long I have to live on short rations.”
“Ye say that now.” Fionn grinned at her. “Ye’ll be hungry soon enough.”
“Well, it’s not as if we won’t be taking food with us. Water will be more of a problem. It’s heavy and we can only carry so much.” She met his gaze. “Do you think it would be safe to go to the back of the house to use the bathtub? Or maybe the one in the hall bathroom.”
I doona know why anything would have changed… Fionn got to his feet. “I’ll go see how the energy feels. Even if things seem stable, I doona think it wise to dismantle my wards. Or for you to be where I can’t lay eyes on you.”
“Never mind.” She stood and stripped off the same black sweat top and pants she’d worn since yesterday. “I’ll take a sponge bath here in the kitchen at the sink. It’s not as convenient, but I can wash my hair and the rest of me fairly well.”
He watched the curves and planes of her body emerge, his breath quickening in his throat. Aislinn was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Her red hair fell almost to her waist, and her golden eyes, like those of a large jungle cat, gleamed in the semi-darkness of the kitchen. He added a few lumens to his mage light. It flared upward with enthusiasm, just like other parts of his body were doing.
“Want a peep show?” She tossed a vixen’s glance over one shoulder, yielding a tantalizing view of half a breast. “If you want to help, come warm the water after I get it in the sink.”
His cock was already hard. It pressed against the tight fit of his battle leathers. Damn the woman. She always had this effect on him. They could be standing on the edge of the end of the world, and he’d still want nothing more than to sink himself within her and feel the heat of her body surround him.
“I can warm it from here, lass.”
“Now what would be the fun in that?” Aislinn faced away from him, bent over the sink. She shimmied her bare butt, and the firm globes of her ass bounced slightly. He imagined taking her from behind. She was nearly as tall as he was, and while he loved the feel of her long legs wrapped around his hips, he thought he’d like sliding against the cushion of her butt nearly as well.
He cupped his erection and groaned. His breeches, tight to begin with, were almost painful, so he undid the lacings that held them in place.
“Water’s still cold.”
Fionn got to his feet and stepped out of his pants. Undoing more laces, he kicked off knee-high boots, then moved silently across the few feet separating them and wound his arms around her. His cock settled in the curve between her buttocks.
“I wondered what you were up to.” Her voice was muffled by running water; soap sluiced through her hair and down the drain.
“Did ye now?”
Aislinn laughed. “Not really. Your voice sounds different when you want me.”
Long, wet hair slapped him in the face as she tossed her head back. “Brrrr, lass. Your tresses are cold.”
She turned in his arms. “Your own fault. I asked you to make the water warm.” She ran her tongue over lushly pouty lips. “I can tell there’s not much point in washing the rest of me until we’re through here.” Full breasts pushed against his chest; her nipples peaked into hard points of lust. She rubbed the mound between her legs against him and captured his cock in both hands. Her skin took on a rosy glow. Her breathing quickened.
He closed his hands over her ass and pulled her close, settling his lips on hers. She always tasted wonderful, spicy and mysterious, like a fine well-aged mead. She opened her mouth to him, and he sank his tongue inside. She sucked on it. His cock twitched in her hands, where it was sandwiched between them.
“What are you doing? It’s nearly time to leave,” Dewi’s voice sounded in his mind.
“Leave us alone,” he panted. “Just for a few minutes.”
Aislinn pulled away from their kiss. “The dragon?”
He nodded.
She tossed him a grin worthy of Aphrodite. “Let go of me.” Turning away from him, she leaned against the kitchen counter, spread her legs, and arched her back.
The invitation was unmistakable. Fionn surged forward and buried himself to the hilt. He filled his hands with her breasts and rubbed small circles around both erect nipples. She moaned and shoved back against him, dropping a hand between her legs. He felt the motion where she fondled herself. It excited him beyond reason. He drew back and thrust himself home over and over. His cock had never felt so hard—or so needy. He heard himself cry her name.
He let go of one breast, shoved her hand aside, and worked her clitoris between thumb and forefinger. Her muscles clenched around him. He knew how close she was by the tension in her body and the ruddy hue dappling her skin. Good thing, because his own orgasm was nearly there. He rode a fine edge of control and rubbed her harder as he plumbed her from behind. She shrieked and drove her ass back into him. Her body bucked, and Fionn let himself go. Iridescent lights filled his vision as he shot into her, stunned by the violence of his climax.
They sank to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs, gasping for air. He stroked wet hair back from her face. “Mo croi. I love you.”
A crooked smile lit her features. “Oh you do, do you? Here I thought it was just my irresistible body.”
“Aye, I love that, too.” He ran a calloused palm down her face.
“If I can figure out how to stand, guess I’ll finish my bath.”
“I’ll get travel packs ready for us. Seems Dewi’s anxious to leave.”
“It can’t be midnight yet.” Using his body for a ladder, she climbed to her feet.
“Nay, ’tisn’t.”
“I thought the whole point was waiting as long as we could for Arawn.” Back at the sink, Aislinn wetted a dishtowel and rinsed water down her body, ignoring the puddles it made on the floor.
Fionn snatched up their clothes and piled them on the table. “It was. I’ll go talk with her once I—” He snapped his fingers and looked at Rune, curled against one wall. “Where’s Bella?”
The wolf glanced at him. “She told me she was leaving for a while.”
Fionn narrowed his eyes. “When was that?”
“Before she flew out of the front room this afternoon.”
“Were you planning to take her with us?” Aislinn asked. She’d shifted to drying herself.
Fionn shook his head. “Nay. Too dangerous.”
“Maybe she knew and it pissed her off.”
“Mayhap.” Something needled Fionn, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong. It wasn’t like the bird to desert him, even if she was angry. He chided himself for not noticing her absence before now as he shrugged into his clothes and bent to stuff dried fruit, nuts, and water bottles into their travel packs.
Aislinn was half-dressed by the time he blew her a kiss and said, “I’m going to talk with Dewi and try to figure out where Bella is.”
“Maybe the dragon knows,” Rune said, making a whuffling sound that might have been laughter. “She seems to have her claws into almost everything.”
Fionn opened the back door to a cold, clear night filled with stars.
“It’s about time,” Dewi huffed. “Finally done rutting?”
“Where’s Bella?”
“I was wondering when you’d notice her absence.”
“Damn it.” Fionn clacked his jaws together so hard they hurt. “I doona need a lecture. I need information.”
“I’m right here.” A darker shadow detached itself from the place between Dewi’s wings, where Aislinn sat when she rode the dragon. “I’m going with you. The dragon said I could.”
“Ye nearly died at D’Chel’s hands when we first met Aislinn,” he protested.
“I helped, too.” The raven fluffed her feathers.
Not wanting t
o get into a pitched battle with the bird, Fionn switched gears. “Why do ye want to leave now?” he asked Dewi. “It is two full hours from midnight.”
“Simple. I do not believe Arawn will return this night. I cannot sense him anywhere near. The more hours of darkness we buy ourselves, the better.”
“’Twould be true,” Fionn spoke slowly, “if time flowed the same in the border worlds as it does here. But it doesna do so.”
“Tonight it will.”
Fionn tried to push into Dewi’s mind, but found it barred to him. “Ye know things ye’re not telling me.”
“Yes,” she said simply, “I do. It is why I believe it wise to allow your raven to accompany us. If it were just you and me, I might have made a different choice.”
“So long as ye brought Aislinn up…” Fionn spoke low and then switched to mind speech. “If anything goes wrong and I tell you to snatch her and the wolf and return to this world, I expect ye to do so.”
“Has she figured out she’s with child?” Dewi’s eyes whirled.
“I doona think so.”
“Why haven’t you told her?”
Well, why haven’t I? Fionn felt uncomfortable. “I just figured it out myself a little bit ago. I’ve, ah, been waiting for the right time.”
“You’re afraid she won’t want the child and will destroy it.” Dewi sounded smug.
“If ye know so much, why bother asking?”
“Hmph.” A column of smoke rose from the dragon’s nostrils into the sky.
“Aislinn, always Aislinn. What about me?” Bella sounded indignant.
Fionn cocked his head to one side. “Since ye insist on coming, I assume ye’d wish to stay close to me, your bonded one. Yet, ye are still atop—”
A cacophony of squawks cut off his words.
The back door squeaked on its hinges. Aislinn stepped onto the porch, and Fionn moved over to give her some room.
“I’m ready,” she said. “I would have liked cleaner clothes, but at least these sweats are warm and serviceable. They’re also good for traveling unnoticed at night.”