“I want what you have, Princess,” she admitted at last. “A home, a hearth, and a husband.”
“Dragons must marry maidens,” said Lexi. “They are not destined for females who have dallied in every port with every chance-met sailor.” Her voice was filled with scorn.
Another unkind fable. Nixies were not sirens who lured sailors to their doom. Iliana had not even been one of those nixies who assisted Rán with the dead. She had been made a guardian of the weapons and armor of the dead. Until at last she had failed in her duty and been dismissed from the goddess’ service.
“You are unfair, Princess. For centuries I lived alone underwater with no company but my own. And even when the goddess turned me out into the world, and I came to live on your island, I still had to live in the water. Alone. I have had no pleasures at all. No lovers.”
“Don’t sulk. Where else but in the water should a water nymph live?” demanded Lexi.
“Well, I’m tired of being cold and damp.” Iliana held up her shriveled fingers. “I just want a proper home. Like you.”
“Very well,” Lexi said after a long pause. “If you promise to dress yourself decently, you may have two weeks to woo Jareth.”
Iliana rejoiced. “I can make any mortal love me in two weeks.”
“You misunderstand me, Nixie. It is you who must fall in love with Jareth. He is a young man of great promise and much power. At the very least he deserves a wife who loves him.”
“But I am a water sprite,” wailed Iliana. “Love is not for such as me!”
“Then you will have to embrace mortality.”
Iliana stared at her liege lady in dismay. Become a mortal as Princess Alexandra had? With no guarantee that Jareth would claim her as Theo had claimed Lexi? She had realized that she would have to give up immortality to belong to a mortal. But she had not expected to have to surrender her magical state before she was assured a husband.
She wrung her hands. She pleaded. But the princess would not be moved.
“I do not trust you, Nixie,” Lexi declared. “You are capable of anything.” She held her sleeping infant tightly as if she feared Iliana would steal the baby. Just because, before she understood how fiercely Lexi loved her baby, Iliana had asked to be given Sofie.
Lexi’s ferocious response had made her wonder if her own parents had mourned their baby daughters when Rán had taken them to be her servants. She and Myst had been twins. Inseparable companions even when they served the goddess.
Until, after centuries of guarding the treasures of the dead, Myst had rebelled and demanded her freedom. For her defiance, Rán had imprisoned Myst in a wooden barrel bound with hoops of iron and cast her into the deeps. Iliana still longed for her sister and dreaded sharing her fate. How lonely she had been since Myst was taken.
Now she faced two equally dreadful choices. To break her vow by disobeying her dragoness princess. Or to accept mortality and the powerlessness that accompanied it. She was the most misfortunate of water nymphs. Lexi would have the gods on her side. They did not love oath-breakers.
But suppose when she was fully human, Jareth looked at her with indifference? What would a soulless mortal do who had neither magic nor man?
CHAPTER FIVE
Jareth~
He could only hope that a full day of adventuring with Theo had worn him out sufficiently that he would enjoy dreamless sleep tonight. But he doubted it. A daytime vision usually heralded the usual horrifying nightmare. Still, nightmares were better than daytime hallucinations. Everyone had bad dreams. But only madmen hallucinated.
His bright and cheerful room was an unlikely place for night terrors. The pale blue and white bedroom was serene and welcoming. Theo and Lexi had built their house into the side of a hill to retain heat. But every room had long windows and faced the sea.
Jareth left his blinds open to watch the moonlight dance on the waves. Besides, closing them made him claustrophobic.
The pale, modern furniture and colorful paintings were the opposite of his shadowy bedchamber at Castle Lind. There were no dark corners here for monsters to hide in. It was quiet too. The triple-glazed windows excluded the sound of the strongest gale.
He had slept without his nightmares for two weeks. He should be safe here. But he did not believe it. Not when he had had a waking nightmare.
CHAPTER SIX
Iliana~
She didn’t dare to entirely disobey Lexi. Before Iliana crept into Jareth’s room, she made sure her gown covered her from collarbones to toes. He was a rowdy sleeper. The moon was still high, dawn many hours away, and yet his bed looked like laundry day.
He had tossed his sheets and blankets into heaps and his naked body was silvered by the moonlight. His muscles were lean and well developed, his bold spear upright in a thicket of silvery curls. Silky tufts of hair grew in his deep armpits. Again she had the feeling of fireflies flickering in her belly.
Suddenly his whole body jerked as if he had touched an electric eel. He flipped onto his stomach, hiding his thing and exposing a fine pair of shoulders and a finer pair of butt cheeks. No Viking warrior had ever displayed a better rump, and she had watched many bathing after battle.
His body made her kunta and armpits wet. Her throat dried. Her breath came in pants. He was truly beautiful. But she did not know what to make of his effect on her. She longed to cover him with kisses and seduce him. But now was not the time.
Never had she observed so restless a sleeper. Jareth shoved his pillow onto the floor, felt around for it. Gave up. Relaxed briefly, only to moan loudly and kick his mattress until the sheets wound around one ankle. The bound leg stilled, but the other writhed more fiercely.
He was clearly in the grip of some terrible dreamscape. She should leave him and return another night when he was sleeping more calmly. But she had no time. The princess had given her only two weeks. In a fortnight, if she and Jareth were not in love and betrothed, he would seek a bride elsewhere.
That foolish wench Angela who dressed horses would claim Iliana’s husband.
Iliana girded herself at waist and hip, and willed breeches onto her legs. She mounted herself on three of Aegir’s foaming white horses, bridled them with silver, and took the reins of plaited kelp. She plunged into Jareth’s dreams.
As she had feared, it was a violent dreamscape she found herself dealing with. When her horses glimpsed the towering waves before them, they reared up beneath her spread legs and neighed shrilly. They surged forward wanting to join their brethren. So eager were her steeds to frolic, it took all her magic and her strength of arm, to rein them in and hold them steady.
The wild sea threatened a little sailboat. A woman as fair as an elf was bound to the mast of the sailboat. An infant was tied to her body with an orange sling. Her arms surrounded the baby and protected his head from the ocean spray. At the tiller sat a man who guided the vessel through the angry seas with skill and courage. Somehow, despite the violent seas, and torn sails, he managed to keep the boat afloat.
Of Jareth there was no sign. The man at the tiller resembled him but was far older. The wind howled and more waves raced towards the boat. The man made his vessel dance through a tunnel of water. It emerged into driving rain. The beautiful woman was drenched and blue with cold, but she clutched her baby and endured in silence.
This was a most unequal battle. The little family was plainly doomed. She thought she heard the cackling of evil laughter in the gale. Not Aegir. There could be no fighting the power of the unruly sea god, any more than she could successfully oppose his wife. But this evil could and would be halted. That lay in her power.
She spread her arms. “Cease,” she commanded the waves. “Return to Aegir.”
The ocean rose into a giant waterspout and twisted around and around. The water rose higher and higher, towering many feet above the boat and Iliana’s three wild steeds. Then with a last shriek, the waterspout plummeted into the hole it had created and vanished like water going down a giant drain.
There was an enormous sucking noise as that violent whirlpool formed. For a minute or two the boat hovered on the verge of the great maelstrom.
“Be still,” Iliana cried. Abruptly the swirling water calmed. Her wild steeds reared and plunged and tried to throw her.
Land appeared on the distant horizon. The man at the tiller set a course for it. Iliana’s arms ached from keeping her horses from bolting after the boat. Her once modest garments were soaked through. They clung to her body. She shook with exhaustion, but this battle was not yet over.
“Steady,” she whispered to the horses. “Attend me, Silverfaxi, Windfaxi, and Foamfaxi.” But it was no use. They broke free of her weary grasp and, plunging after the boat, left her to flounder in the freezing sea.
Jareth sat up, eyes open yet unseeing. The ocean vanished. She was standing at the foot of his bed, teeth chattering, and soaked to the skin. She conferred invisibility on herself and crept out of his room. She needed another plan.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jareth~
His bed was as sweat-soaked and unpleasant as it usually was after his nightmare. But this morning he felt different. Rested. Perhaps because this episode had had an unexpected happier outcome. The little sailboat had not been sucked beneath the waves. It had survived to sail home. Back to him.
The Nadia had been saved by the female from the stream. Although she appeared larger, it had to be the same woman. Her hair had been the identical cloud of red gold. Her black eyes no longer dead but electrifying.
Who was this woman who had given shape to the sea so she could ride it into battle? Her power must be great for she had subdued the storm with a single command.
The dawn outside his window heralded another perfect day. The pale sky was shot with gold and pink. The sea was barely moving. It was a day that gave him hope. After hundreds of days that had begun in sorrow.
It almost seemed as though his mother and father and baby brother might be alive and waiting for him at breakfast. Almost. You couldn’t alter the past. Nadia and Johann and little Brede had long ago drowned. No dream could resurrect them. Yet it was difficult to feel sad when he felt so good.
Of course Mamma and Papa were not at Lexi’s breakfast table. They had been buried with baby Brede. He had attended their funeral with Uncle Thor and Aunt Inge. But Lexi’s infant was on the floor reclining in a padded chair, blowing bubbles and examining her starfish hands. She was a charming infant. How he envied Theo his beautiful wife and daughter.
He helped himself to cold meat and boiled eggs. Lexi filled his coffee mug. Theo came into the room bringing a crisp taste of the outdoor air. His blue eyes were sparkling with vitality as he kissed Lexi and lifted Sofie to the ceiling.
Theo must have guessed what was in Jareth’s heart for he grinned at him. “Not long now, cousin. Soon you will be married and have a baby.” He gave Sofie’s round, pink cheek another kiss that provoked a happy squeal and tucked her back in her chair.
It was too bad Lexi had been so adamantly set against that ring. The ring and the woman in his vision and dream had to be intimately connected. She looked a bit like Lexi, except that she had been a Valkyrie where Lexi was downright diminutive. Not that Lexi’s petite plumpness bothered Theo, even though he was a giant among dragons. And Jareth didn’t plan to be fussy about size.
Jareth ate his way through three servings before he realized that his appetite had improved. Usually in the mornings he had to force his food through the tightness in his gullet. Lexi noticed, for she kept passing him platters, but she didn’t say anything.
He plucked up his courage. “You never told me why you believe the ring I found was evil,” he said.
“It was set for you by a nixie,” Lexi retorted.
“A nixie? Surely those are only to be found in fairy tales?”
“As are elves.” She sipped at her coffee, “And dragons.”
“Point taken. But what are nixies?”
“Soulless water sprites. They serve the goddess Rán who drowns sailors and fishers.” Lexi’s pretty face hardened.
“Why soulless?”
Lexi set down her knife and fork as if her food no longer appealed. “Rán steals babies from their parents and turns them into water nymphs, beautiful and heartless. And they in turn steal babies for her.”
Theo’s pleasant face became a thundercloud. Jareth glanced at the gurgling baby smiling at her pink fingertips. If anything threatened Sofie, she had three protectors who would die for her. If the Amazon who had saved his parents and brother was a nixie, it was a thousand pities.
It was only a dream, he reminded himself.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Iliana~
It was all sadly true. Rán had stolen her soul. And Myst’s. What she did with the souls of the infants she took, Iliana did not know, had never known. But it was not true that Iliana herself was wicked. She had never stolen a child, even if she coveted Sofie. But Lexi was so afraid of her, that she would not even let her hold the baby.
How she longed to cuddle that precious bundle of giggles and joy. Sofie smelled wonderful. Her cap of pale red curls cried out to be stroked. But since the day she had asked – asked mind you – for the child, Lexi had treated her as an abductress.
How was she to captivate Jareth if Lexi told such tales of her? His dreams were a hopeless place for her to exert her charms. No one who had endured the horrors of such a violent storm was going to have much interest in any succubus, however voluptuous. Terror and desire were not natural bedmates. Besides she had been thoroughly bedraggled by the time she had dealt with that evil apparition.
Theo’s deep voice intruded on Iliana’s brooding. “What shall we do today?” he asked Jareth. He turned to Lexi, “It’s so beautiful outdoors, and the ice is almost gone. I thought we should go sailing.”
“With Sofie?” Lexi looked horrified and her green glance went to the corner where Iliana was huddled.
“If we wrap her up warmly, she’ll be fine,” Theo said heartily. “Eh, my darling?” He tickled the baby with one enormous finger.
Lexi shot a venomous glance at Iliana. “Do we have a life jacket small enough for Sofie?”
“Of course,” Theo said. “Victor’s boys have been sailing since they were babies. There’s a whole set of tiny life preservers in the boathouse.”
“Then I think we will enjoy ourselves.” Lexi gave Iliana a triumphant look.
Had the princess forgotten how Iliana earned her place on the island? That it was Iliana’s task to keep the sandbars from wandering into the channels? And to hold storms at bay when the Lindorms went to sea? Without Iliana’s protection, the waters surrounding Severn Island would be treacherous indeed. Had she ever failed in her duty? No. A thousand times no. Not in more than two centuries.
But even when Lexi had been a lonely elf, estranged from her elven kindred for a thousand years, she had not wanted to be friends. She had given Iliana only the most grudging of berths and kept herself aloof from the nixie. Could the princess’ distaste for Iliana’s company be justified? Did her lack of a soul truly make her depraved?
Jareth looked glum at the prospect of sailing. His bright spirits vanished between one bite and the next. He stopped eating. That was probably for the best. He would not keep his slim good looks if he ate like that at every meal.
She supposed that last night’s dream had put him off going sailing. But he didn’t object to Theo’s plan. Like a good guest, he fell in with his host’s suggestion. “It’s a perfect morning for sailing.” Neither Lexi nor Theo noticed how hollow Jareth’s voice sounded.
Well, her dragon had nothing to fear. She would ensure that even if the sky clouded, no blast would sweep their vessel against the rocks. She might not be the most powerful sprite that still drew breath, but she had power over wind and wave, over rocks and weed. The Lindorms would have smooth sailing today.
CHAPTER NINE
Iliana~
Theo had the tiller. Jareth was handling the mainsail.
Lexi was sitting amidships holding Sophie in a harness on her chest. The baby was wearing the dearest little orange life vest. All of them were, as if dragons could not fly away from bad weather or capsizing.
Not that Iliana was going to permit any such mishap. The breeze was light. Just strong enough to propel the little yacht on its course. Severn Island was long and narrow with a ridge of hills running down the middle like the spines on a dragon.
The shores were rocky and there were few places where it was safe to land a boat. The better to repel intruders. These dragons might no longer go a-Viking, but they acted as if at any time raiders might once again appear on the horizon. It was part of her agreement with Lexi, that if anyone attacked, they would find the channels full of perils.
Jareth gradually relaxed as the sun continued to shine, and the sails did his bidding. His youthful vigor returned and he smiled as they picked up speed. And then he froze. Far in the distance she heard it too. A dreadful, direful wailing approached on the wind.
It was like hearing an echo of his dream. Faint at first, it gradually grew louder. Astonishingly, at least to her, Theo and Lexi did not seem aware of the rise and fall of those howls and moans. Lexi fussed with Sofie’s hat and smiled at her husband. Theo adjusted the tiller minutely, winked at his wife and baby, and turned his bearded face up to the sun.
On the horizon, black clouds gathered and began to boil. Iliana made herself small and sat on Jareth’s shoulder. “Courage,” she whispered.
And then she left her perch and dressed herself for battle. She summoned her steeds. Silverfaxi, Windfaxi, and Foamfaxi appeared, tossing their heads and foaming at the mouth. “Steady,” she cried as she leapt onto Windfaxi’s back.
The evil thing that had stirred the clouds began to stir the water. Iliana calmed the sea with a gesture. She glanced at Jareth whose frozen gaze was locked on the apparition streaking toward them through the air. He lost his grip on the sheet guiding the sail, the boom swung loose.
Dragon Ensnared: A Viking Dragon Fairy Tale (Lords of the Dragon Islands Book 7) Page 3