That would be bad.
"Hey!" Arden snapped her fingers at Dharma. "Focus."
Dags stirred at her knees. Arden had never met this mystery man—or boy. It was hard to tell with him. He looked no older than twenty, but had the “feel” of someone much, much older. But there was something else…something more powerful stirring around him. She put her hand on his shoulder and got a slight shock and let go. "Take it easy."
But he was already pushing himself to stand up, even with what looked like a nasty knock to the side of his head. Blood flowed in several lines over his cheek and jaw as he made it to his feet. Arden and Dharma followed, each of them helping to steady him. "The tree…she's in that damn tree…"
Arden looked at the burned-out willow in front of them. Sam was in the tree? Was that even possible? Transmutation like that took a special kind of…well…racial magic. And it wasn't something Witches could do easily or successfully.
Could Dragons?
"Dags are you saying Sam is the tree, or in the tree?"
He blinked gray eyes at her and then shook his head. "I don't know. It's like…I can see her, but then I can't." He staggered forward and pressed his hands against the wet, sooty edge of the wood. The bark had been completely burned away. "I can hear her!"
"Can we get her out of there?" Dharma asked Arden as Ivan appeared at her side. He looked pretty worse for wear as well, with muddied clothing and a bruise on the side of his face.
"It's not magic I can use," Arden said in a quiet voice as she watched Dags for a few seconds. "But it is Faerie…Dags…your mother was Daoine Sidhe?"
"Is. She's still alive."
"Then you have the ability to break this spell."
He half turned to face her. "Me? I have no idea…" Then he smiled. "But the Grimoire would."
What?
They watched as he took a step back and closed his eyes.
Arden looked around as she heard the howl of Wolves. The Aces were in a fight again, and winning. That much she could tell. The screams of the Dragons above prompted her to look up. She watched as Crwys and Lethe clashed high above, spitting fire at one another. Crwys belted out a large ball of flame just before he dove under it and tackled Lethe as his fire clipped her left wing. The two of them spun in the air as they fell, and just before she was sure they would land, Lethe broke free, fired greenish fire at Crwys, and then climbed out of the fall.
Crwys kept falling.
"Oh no…" she said as she turned to see him hit the earth and felt the shake under her feet.
Lethe screamed in triumph above, flew in circles, and then did a nosedive in the direction her opponent fell.
"I can't…"
Arden turned to see Dags holding a book in his hands. Well, not exactly holding it. It floated in front of him, only partially corporeal. A ghost book with immense power radiating from it.
Wait… Arden stumbled forward, her boots catching in the mud. Is this…is that…the Grand Grimoire? Was this boy, this Goblin…in possession of it?
And Dags was backing away from it. "I can't do this—"
Dharma put her hand on his arm. "But you can…you have to get her out of there!"
"What it says…" He looked at her with a stricken expression. "What it's asking!"
"Tell me." Arden moved to stand between him and the tree. She noticed the book had a single sigil on its cover, the same one now glowing in the palms of Dags's hands. "Is it something I can give you?"
"No…it's something I have to put aside." He licked his lips and stared at her, and for the first time, she could see his ethereal Faerie beauty. His smooth skin, his long lashes, and luminous gray eyes. A glow surrounded him, like the ones she'd seen about the Faerie queens.
"Is there a spell in there to free Sam? Or…" Her quick mind started putting old folklore she'd read together with practical knowledge of spells. "This is your mother's magic."
He nodded, his expression that of someone in panic.
She understood. All too well. From Sam and sources she'd gleaned, Dags McConnell had only recently remembered his past, then run from his father who'd been taken by a Leviathan who wanted the son's body. A hybrid race, Goblins had the best of both worlds…and the worst. The latter being the ability to grow old and die. But then, to someone who could live forever, would that be blessing or boon?
"You have to use your Faerie Magic."
Dags held up his hands, the light from the sigil illuminating his face. "I have to…unwrap it."
Unwrap? Arden narrowed her eyes. "Are you afraid of using it?"
"The book tells me to do this I have to give something up. Something of myself."
The sacrifice. Arden groaned.
Another screech in the air made them all look up to see a green Dragon intercept Lethe's descent on Crwys. The Fire Dragon hadn't appeared, and Arden worried Crwys was badly injured.
"Is that—" Dharma began.
"Artemis," Arden said and then looked at Dags. "You have to make this decision now, boy. Crwys is fighting for his life. So is Artemis. Free Sam or get the hell out of here!"
Well…that was democratic.
Arden cringed inside…but dammit. They didn't have time for hesitation!
Dags looked up and then at the book. He closed his eyes, and the book glowed like the sun before it disappeared. She put her hand up to ward away the muffled glow in the haze and then stepped out of his way as he approached the tree again. This time he didn't touch it, but instead held out his hands, palms up, and the light that came from them sprang forward as the tree began to peel away.
It flecked and flaked off before it broke into a million black butterflies that dispersed like tiny bats in a spiral into the air. Standing in its place was an all too familiar raven-haired woman. Her clothing hung in burnt tatters around her. Her Elementals clung to her, shielding her, and one by one they vanished like smoke until Samantha fell forward.
But Ivan was there to catch her and scooped her up in his arms. Arden and Dharma ran to them and put their hands on her. Arden spotted the burned patches on her skin, places where the Elementals couldn't cover. They'd protected her the best they could. But had they too been injured? She and Dharma patched up what they could just as a familiar roar made them all duck.
Crwys appeared above them and landed close by, his red-amber eyes swirling as he held his wings up high and moved his head on its long neck forward toward Ivan and Samantha. The smell of brimstone and the overwhelming heat drove Dharma and Arden back.
To Arden's surprise, Samantha stirred in Ivan's arms and then reached up a hand toward Crwys. Ivan put her down and helped her steady herself as she walked through the mud and ash to the great Dragon's muzzle, and there she wrapped her arms around it, sobbing uncontrollably.
Arden's own vision blurred and she wiped at her eyes angrily. A Witch and a Dragon…eternally in love.
Then Sam stepped back and nodded. Crwys took several steps back, crushing the earth beneath his weight. He lifted his head into the sky, bellowed out a call and launched himself up, beating his wings as he climbed and joined the battle above.
Arden watched Samantha, a raven-haired figure standing in exactly the same spot. Where Crwys's power had knocked Arden, Ivan, Dags, and Dharma back…Sam had remained still.
"Oh…wow…"
Arden turned at the sound of Dharma's voice. Arden gasped and put her hand to her face.
Dags stood between them, looking…
Well…
"I take it," Arden said as she took several steps toward him, "that what you sacrificed was your humanity?"
"Maybe?" He put his hands to his face, then to his ears. "Oh…crap. Son of a…"
Arden reached out and moved her fingers over the delicately pointed ears. "Don't worry. I can teach you how to glamour yourself." She gave him a wink and marveled at his new green irises. "It'll become second nature. The ears look rather fetching on you."
He groaned. "What's my girlfriend gonna think?"
TW
ENTY SEVEN
My life changed pretty fast. I had a memory of talking to a woman in a meadow…or was it a clearing? Of being asked a series of questions and told to make a decision. Then that decision was met with searing pain and heat, followed by an overwhelming feeling of love that cooled everything and healed my soul. Recognizing that love is what brought me back from the brink of what I could only describe as an abyss into nothing.
Crwys.
The one constant I'd grown to depend on. The one man I knew I couldn't live without.
And then I was there, breathing, gasping, seeing and feeling again, and he was in his glory, his mightiest of forms. His emotion poured into me, fed me, his relief, his claim, his right and his devotion, all filled me with something I thought I'd forgotten.
Conviction. Dedication.
Survival.
I'd been nothing and then I was whole again.
Well, not completely whole…there was something missing.
:It's just us now,: came the voice of Arcana. She was gently seated alongside me again, and I felt a bit comforted by that. But…I couldn't help but feel loss at something. Something very vital to who I was.
:Yes, who you were. But they cannot be part of who you will be.:
That made no sense to me. But given the scene I found myself in, standing in the center of a burned out…golf course? With Crwys in full Dragon form, flying up to meet Lethe and…
Was that Artemis? How did I know that?
Sister! came a new voice in my head. We will need your red flame!
My red what? I looked around and spotted Arden, Ivan and Dharma…all of them looking a bit messed up. And there was…
Dags? Or was that him? He looked a bit different. And his ears! Why was Dags here?
:We need to connect, Samantha.:
Connect. Yes…I knew it was time to release control. To join with my Arcane again. And this time…for the first time… I wasn't afraid.
I raised my hands up and surrendered to her and the power…the intensity of her surrounding me…brought with it a level of peace I hadn't known since my mother died. All of those feelings of hate and strings of revenge evaporated in a single moment as I looked up and was instantly transported to the fight. I stood upon a cloud to witness the end of Mother's creation. To know that Her judgment was swift. And final. And could not be avoided.
Lethe has committed acts that She can no longer tolerate. It is time for that child to be given over to the Well of Souls so that she may be reborn and know peace.
I wasn't sure if that was Arcana in my head or the God Mother. Either way, I knew what I had to do. I knew what we both had to do. And I waited…because Azazel and Artemis knew as well.
They came at her from opposing sides. Over and over again. I sensed Lethe's power diminishing, and I knew I couldn't allow her to touch the Earth again. She could draw power from it…from the thoughts and minds of the people touching it. If allowed back to Earth, she could kill everyone below. Azazel and Artemis knew this as well. I hovered there, my arms out, my hair flying about my head, clothed in the shimmering red light of Arcane.
Primordial power.
The beginning of life.
Finally, it was time as she tried to move away from them, one wing badly broken and the membrane gone. She tumbled and spun in my direction as I pulled the winds to me. I offered her peace…salvation…and love.
She froze when she saw me, and I could hear her screaming.
Mother, no! Please…I will change! Lethe screamed inside of my head.
There is no more, my daughter.
A hand guided my own as I released the Arcane. It caught her in its grip and surrounded her, a sparkling sea of red. She screamed and then it was muffled. I closed my eyes and released as the God Mother's hand smite the creation of her disappointment.
Overwhelming sadness…grief…loss…these were Her feelings. Her regrets as she took back Her child and slipped away. Quietly. Calmly. Resigned to start over again.
I was falling then, the Arcane gone. But when I opened my eyes, Crwys was bending over me, his wings out and spread above him. Half man, half Dragon…somehow I found this form so damn sexy.
He was smiling at me and dripping tears. I reached up and touched his cheek, and then smiled. "I love you."
Epilogue
I'm pretty sure every girl dreams of her wedding. I never did. Hell…I'd been determined as a child that I was going to marry a powerful Sorcerer and rule the world.
Funny how I settled on a Dragon. And as for the world? Meh.
Crwys wanted to get married as soon as everyone was healthy and able. So…about a month later. Arden arranged everything at Gypsy Gardens, and even I didn't recognize the place when she was done. Flowers…everywhere. My favorites have always been roses. And she had the mansion covered in them.
She set up a pavilion next to the small lake where we'd had a picnic all those months ago. The entire Parliament was there, including Cosgrove, who, to my surprise, officiated. Every coven that could get to New Orleans on that short of a notice appeared. I think Dharma told me there were over a hundred guests.
Seriously?
I mean…I might have noticed this if I hadn't had eyes for Crwys. Arden insisted on a Renn Faire theme, so she'd put him in a white poet's shirt, nice tight pants, and knee-high boots. I wanted to attack him the moment I saw him.
Me? The usual. White flowy dress…a million flowers stuck in my hair where her girls had piled it up on my head. We were barefoot. And grinning our damn heads off the whole time.
I spotted Riven in conversation with about ten women in Arden’s coven. He’d established himself as the new Risi King, and with the support of the other three races, had seen a bit of success in that month. Though, there were still those rogue Risi who didn’t want to be led by a half-breed.
The Aces were there; all dressed as nice as a Wolf pack could be. Arden allowed everyone their natural forms, so they mostly spent their time in fur, chasing laughing kids, frolicking…if it was possible for a huge ass Wolf to frolic. I got to meet Dags's girlfriend, Illiana, who seemed very impressed and happy with his new look. It wasn't a huge change it seemed. Just his ears and eyes and an unnatural beauty to his skin. He showed me how he was able to hide it, and now unfortunately…he could see things he hadn't seen before.
"And I hear music in the woods…"
"That's the real drawback," Iliana said as she kissed his cheek. "I'll find him hugging a tree!"
After our vows, Crwys and I found a quiet moment by the lake and kissed. Like really kissed, and he wrapped his arms around me. "Jack and Kyle look happy. I think Kyle was pretty stoked that he got to walk you down the aisle."
"Yeah…he is my best friend you know."
"I thought that was me."
I smiled. "You can share." I sighed into his chest. "Did you notice the new couple?"
"Yeah, I did." His voice deepened. I looked up at him as he looked down at me. "You really think Tas and Bastien are a good fit?"
"Oh, I do," I said. "He's already bonded so…I'm thinking she's stuck with him." I turned and spotted the two of them not far away, sitting under a tree. "I want Bastien to be happy."
"And I want Artemis to be as well. And if he hurts her…"
"She can take care of it herself." I kissed him again.
"Do you miss it?" he finally said as a breeze ruffled that shock of hair over his eyes.
I knew what he was hinting at. We hadn't really spoken about it…not since Lethe died. Even Cosgrove had been a bit nervous around me, as if he wasn't sure what to say. I turned and leaned my back into him as he wrapped his arms around my front. "I miss my Elementals. We'd bonded and sometimes I feel a bit lonely."
"You have me."
"Yes."
"And you have Kyle and Jack, Dharma and Ivan, and Levi. Even Arden. We're all here for you." He kissed the top of my head. "Even if you are just a girl now."
Yeah…just a girl. A human.
And not a Witch
anymore.
_____
Read more in the forthcoming Book Eight, Elemental Tears!
GLOSSARY
Pronunciations:
Crwys - Cruise
Medbh - Mayv
Sidhe - Shee
Dijin - Gin
Alfheim - Alf-hime
Circe - Seer-See
Tzariene - Zar-een
Nisse - NEE-say
Risi - REE-say
Leanan Sidhe - Lah-nan Shee
Daoine Sidhe - Dai-nah Shee
Language:
I am not an expert in Cajun or French, nor am I fluent. But I always had it in my head that while Vampires in New Orleans was a very well thought out trope, Werewolves in the Bayou was just as important. So this is my own blend of the two.
The Nisse Races:
Jötunn - Lords of nature such as the trees, stones and rivers.
Troll - Mythical magicians; the mages
Purs - Hostile Monsters; protectors of the Trolls; can turn things into stone
Risi - Warriors and courtly beings; the nobles
Pischouette Mal Pris - Little girl's in a bad situation
D'accord - Agreement
Chérie - Darling
Ma petite - My little one (feminine)
Frére - Brother
Soeur - Sister
Chiot - Pup
Loup de chiot - Wolf pup
Diable du feu - Fire devil
Trés bien, mon ami - Very well, my friend
Tayeau - Hound
Diable - Devil
Tayeau petite - Small hound, insult; small dog.
Trés belle - Very beautiful
Mon frére - My brother
Homme mort - Dead man.
Je regrette - I regret
Bonne nuit - Good night
Jai faim - I’m hungry
Mère - Mother
Je sais pa - I don’t know
M’selle - miss, young lady
Le couer - the heart
Êtes-vous bien? - Are you okay?
Sa fait pas rien - it doesn’t matter
Ce qui - What
Pour quoi - Why
eldritch files 07 - elemental blood Page 19