by Ann Gimpel
“’Tisn’t.” Gwydion raised his voice for emphasis. “The Old Ones are sly. Unless ye’d thought to establish a mind link to each youngling—and monitored it constantly—ye’d never have noticed the Lemurians’ incursion. Or their cheap, empty promises.”
Fionn sifted his hands through his hair, feeling inexplicably weary. “This isna good on many fronts. We needed the dragons’ energy to help oust the dark gods. It has a healing aspect that would have helped Earth repel the dark ones.”
“Do ye suppose the dark gods put the Lemurians up to trying to corrupt the dragons?” Arawn asked.
“Humph.” Gwydion pounded the end of his staff into the grass. “I hadna considered that, but ’tis a strong possibility.”
“What’s a strong possibility?” Bran shimmered into being.
“Nice you could join us,” Gwydion cast a sidelong gaze his way.
“I was in the house. What’s a strong possibility?” Bran repeated, sounding annoyed.
“Listen for a bit and ye’ll get the gist,” Fionn told him, and then turned back to Gwydion and added, “Och aye, and we’ll never know the answer to that one. I do agree with Nidhogg, though. I’ve been turning a plan about in my mind.” He blew out a tense breath, and then another. “’Twill either be the death of us, or ’twill send the dark ones back to the hell they came from.”
Arawn furled his brows. “Are ye going to say more?”
“It almost doesn’t matter how risky it is,” Kra broke in, puffing steam. “The time has come for bold and decisive action. I’m furious those spineless bastards would try to corrupt our young, and they did it with a perversion of the truth. If they’d lied outright, any dragon, no matter how young, would have dismissed them out of hand.”
“Well then, there’s the darkness I saw around the dragons,” Brann muttered under his breath. He clamped his jaw into a tight line and moved closer to Fionn.
“What do you mean?” Gwydion asked Kra.
“One thing the Old Ones said was true. Dragons are, indeed, descendants of the Third Race, right along with the Lemurians.”
Fionn caught his breath as surprise blew through him. “Dewi never told me that.”
“Likely, she was ashamed,” Berra cut in. “None of us wish to claim kinship with the Lemurians—for many reasons.”
“We weren’t the same species,” Kra said, “but in truth the Third Race encompassed both dragons and Lemurians. Dragons breathed a collective sigh of relief when the histories didn’t include us, likely because we left Mu before it blasted to bits.”
“We have time.” Gwydion leaned on his staff. “I would hear more of this, since ’tisn’t a tale I’m familiar with, either.”
“I know parts of it,” Bran said, “but I’d be verra interested to hear it direct from a dragon’s mouth.”
The dragons exchanged glances, and Kra nodded once, sharply, his dark eyes whirling faster than usual. “We told Nidhogg and Dewi’s brood that we were forged on our borderworld, but in truth, we are much older than that. Before Earth and the borderworlds formed out of the void, we shared the planet of Mu with the Lemurians. They built grand cities, and we excavated extensive cave systems. Though we both had reptilian characteristics, they always chose to hide theirs behind illusion. Over time, their wings became vestigial, and then disappeared entirely.” He stopped to suck in a breath, and Berra picked up the tale.
“The Lemurians plundered Mu. We warned them time and time again, but they didn’t listen to us. By the time they realized they were in danger of running out of clean water and had nowhere else to plant food because they’d burned up the soil’s goodness, it was late in the game to launch countermeasures.”
“Were either of you there?” Gwydion asked.
Berra shook her head. “No, but this is part of the oral tradition passed to every dragon, and we know it to be true.”
“The Old Ones tried to enslave us,” Kra said. “They needed our magic to save Mu, but we’d had a bellyful of them and had already decided to leave. When we didn’t cooperate, they captured three dragons and would have killed them were it not for a valiant rescue. We killed ten of them, and didn’t lose a dragon.”
“Once that happened,” Berra said, “we knew we had to find a different home, so we sent scouts through the universe and discovered Earth, a newly formed planet with a phalanx of borderworlds around it. At first, we moved to Earth, and shortly thereafter found a fiery borderworld that suited us perfectly.”
“So you left afore Mu exploded?” Fionn asked.
Berra nodded. “At least two hundred years.”
“We weren’t happy once we realized the Lemurians had taken up residence on Earth,” Kra said. “But there wasn’t much we could do about them being here, other than stay out of their way—and keep the location of our borderworld hidden from them.” He paused for a beat. “They settled on a continent and named it Mu, after their planet. It was only once they burned through that too, that they began construction of Taltos beneath Mount Shasta.”
“Where’d they come up with Orione, that dragon guarding the passageways around Taltos?” Arawn asked.
“We never figured that out,” Berra replied. “Dewi would be the one to ask, since she killed whatever it was so she could set herself up to take its place. It’s possible the thing came from a Lemurian genetic manipulation. They were famous for them, even in our time.”
“Fascinating,” Fionn murmured. “Is there aught else?”
Kra nodded. “Unless they figured out a way around it, they poisoned their environment on the planet Mu so extensively, they could no longer reproduce.” He blew smoke through his nostrils. “They’re hermaphroditic, and have both male and female forms. They continued to cycle, but their eggs were lifeless.”
Gwydion stitched his brows into a thoughtful line. “That would mean once this batch dies, there willna be any more.”
Arawn nodded. “We already knew they were worried they were dying out. That’s usually how it happens. No more young spells the death of any race.”
“Good riddance,” Bran chucked into the mix.
A thought rocked Fionn. “So they may have wanted the dragon brood for other reasons too. Lacking young of their own, they might have planned to raise these, indoctrinating them into their ways.”
“And using them for breeding stock,” Arawn said sourly. “They did those experiments blending human and Lemurian DNA and came up with viable results. Dragons are much closer to their own form, so they could have used the dragon brood to perpetuate their race.”
“We got lucky,” Berra spoke up.
“Whatever do ye mean?” Fionn asked, since he was feeling anything but lucky at the moment.
“If the brood’s alpha hadn’t shot off his mouth, we’d never have found out.”
“Oh, we’d have found out all right,” Kra cut in, “but not before a hell of a lot more damage occurred.” He turned his gaze on Fionn. “I’d like to hear your plan.”
“I’d say one’s overdue,” Bran muttered; Gwydion and Arawn nodded agreement.
“Do ye think we should wait until the dragons return?” Fionn asked.
Gwydion cracked a grin. “Aye, and we should include the humans and Aislinn, but if ’tis like most of your plans, ’twill require…refinement. Mayhap we could work on that with fewer of us. Decisions by committee are always ridiculously time-consuming.”
Fionn huffed out a breath. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
The master enchanter inclined his head. “Anytime. Now start talking.”
Chapter Twelve
Aislinn and Rune walked down the manor house’s broad front steps and across perpetual greenery toward where she heard the rumble of voices. They held an undercurrent of tension, which didn’t bode well, and she wondered what had happened. Apparently Rune, who’d joined her, noticed it too because he growled softly and hackles stiffened beneath her fingers where they were buried in his neck ruff.
A dark form swooshed out of nea
rby bushes and Bella landed atop Aislinn’s shoulder, digging in her talons to stabilize herself. “Ouch!” Aislinn yelped. “Fionn usually wears leathers. Your talons just bored a bunch of holes in my skin.”
“Whiner,” the raven cawed, and Rune snapped at her.
“For Christ’s sake, stop it,” Aislinn hissed and rotated her shoulder hoping to loosen the bird’s death grip. “Where have you been?” she asked the raven.
“Eavesdropping.”
The word held a particular supercilious tone that grated on Aislinn, but she bit back a snarky rejoinder. It wouldn’t help.
“What did you hear?” Rune asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Aislinn ducked around a particularly thick stand of bushes and saw the Celts and two dragons. “Does what you overheard have to do with the dragons that aren’t here?” she asked Bella, but the bird used her shoulder as a launching pad and flew toward Fionn. Aislinn reached inside her clothing to rub her shoulder and wasn’t surprised to find she was bleeding. She quickened her pace, breaking into a lope, and sent Healing magic to her abraded flesh.
“Lass.” Fionn inclined his head her way, but didn’t smile. “Ye must have second sight. We were about to begin.”
“Begin what?” she asked.
“Strategizing,” Gwydion said succinctly.
“Mmph.” Aislinn reached Fionn’s side. “Were you planning to hatch up something without me?”
Fionn rolled movie star blue eyes. “Nay. I wanted to wait until Dewi and Nidhogg returned, but Mr. Gloom and Doom over there”—he pointed at Gwydion—“overruled me.”
“Are Dewi and Nidhogg with their brood?” Aislinn asked, feeling like there were some major puzzle pieces that had passed her by.
“Aye,” Arawn said.
“Stop right there.” Aislinn made a chopping motion with one hand. “Something happened. I don’t need every detail, but will someone please tell me why you all look as if Death just paid a visit?”
“Ye see, leannán,” Fionn began in his most placating tone that made her want to scream, “’tis like this…”
A few minutes later, her anger dropped away, replaced by a sense of outrage and horror. How dare the Lemurians prey on the young dragons?
“Those bastards! Dirty, fucking, conniving bastards.” She pounded a fist into her open palm. “They have no scruples.”
“And are ye just now discovering that?” Bran arched a brow.
“Of course not.”
“Is there any way the Old Ones can enter your world?” Rune asked Kra. “Or a way for the dragon brood to escape?”
Kra shook his head. “No to both questions. Only dragons can penetrate the force field around our borderworld, and the younglings are not yet strong enough to marshal the magic to batter their way through.”
“What if they combined their power?” Rune persisted. “I spent enough time with the black youngster. He’s headstrong, determined.”
Kra looked at Berra and she shrugged, her golden eyes thoughtful. “If they worked together,” she said slowly, “they just might be able to pull it off, but not without collateral damage. Some would make it back to Earth, but maybe not all of them.”
“Can ye communicate with Nidhogg, Dewi, or the others?” Fionn asked Berra.
Kra closed his eyes and Aislinn felt the bite of magic. Dragons hefted boatloads of power, and being next to them when they wielded it was similar to being in an electrical storm. Her skin tingled, and the fine hairs on the back of her neck rippled beneath her hair.
“I reached Nidhogg,” Kra said after a few moments, “and warned him.”
“How far away can you talk with one another?” Aislinn asked. She’d always figured the dragons operated a lot like the Celts, but apparently at least their mind speech had a much wider range.
“If he’d crossed over into the borderworld, it wouldn’t have been possible,” Kra said. “They’d just come out of their teleport and were getting ready to cross the barrier, so my timing was good.”
Aislinn moved out from under the protective arm Fionn had curved around her shoulders and paced in a tight circle. She felt dirty, tainted. The Lemurians had spread their filth beneath everyone’s noses—and nearly gotten away with it. “So what’s this idea of yours?” she jerked her chin at Fionn.
“Ye sound about as friendly as an alley cat guarding a kill,” he observed.
“Maybe because that’s how I’m feeling,” she said and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter how violated I feel.” She tossed her hands skyward, disgusted with herself for being weak.
The bastards tried something. So what? They didn’t succeed. I should be rejoicing, but I can’t pry myself beyond outrage.
“Lass,” Fionn tried again, but she waved him to silence.
“I want revenge. For what they did to me. For almost killing Rune. For whatever twisted experiments they did on those humans where they blended human DNA with theirs.”
Fionn narrowed his eyes. “’Tis as good a lead-in as I’m likely to get. My plan is simple, but dangerous because it will require us splitting our forces.” He inhaled sharply and blew the breath out. “There are five dark gods left. We know where Perrikus and D’Chel live, and that they shuttle back and forth between one another’s borderworlds. Tokhots may no longer be a problem. It depends how much damage the dragon’s fire Dewi breathed into his lungs did. That leaves Majestron Zalia and Adva.”
“No one’s seen Adva in millennia,” Gwydion noted.
“I’ve never seen him at all,” Fionn said. “He’s their god of portals. As such, ’tis critical to take him out of the equation. Once he’s no longer a player, ’tis my belief the others will have no choice but to remain where we put them.”
“Go on,” Gwydion said.
Fionn nodded. “We target Perrikus, D’Chel, and Adva. Majestron Zalia is too dangerous, since she has the same poison blood as Tokhots, and all she has to do is bleed on humans to kill them. She canna kill us, but her blood could drive us permanently into the Dreaming.”
“Easier said than done,” Arawn cut in. “How do ye propose to corner them, let alone take them out of the action, since we canna kill them?”
“That’s the risky part.” Fionn’s face could have been carved in granite, but for the muscle that twitched beneath one eye. “I propose we send one force to Perrikus’s borderworld and another to D’Chel’s. If we do our jobs properly, one or the other will tell us how to find Adva.”
“What about the Lemurians?” Aislinn sliced into the discussion.
“What about them?” Fionn countered.
“Do we just ignore them?”
Fionn nodded. “They’ll die out without the infusion of power they’re getting from the dark gods. If we split our attention across too many fronts, we will exhaust ourselves with aught to show for it.”
“Are ye thinking Majestron Zalia will go back to wherever she came from if we can somehow neutralize Perrikus, D’Chel, and Adva?” Bran asked.
“Aye.” Fionn paused. “And if we doona get that lucky, she will have shown herself and we can take things from there.”
“It might work,” Arawn said, and he creased his forehead in thought. “Once Dewi and Nidhogg return, we can choose who will go to which borderworld.”
Fionn held up a hand. “One other thing. Ye may recall that the dark ones escaped from Odin’s dungeons. ’Tis my belief he’ll join us, with at least some of the Norse gods.”
“No!” Kra shouted, followed by fire that came so close it singed the ends of Aislinn’s hair.
“We have no call to trust that one,” Berra said. “He would have killed us were it not for Arawn’s kind intervention.” She blew steam toward the god of the dead and he sputtered.
“Exactly why I wanted to get the fine points hammered out,” Gwydion muttered under his breath.
Fionn walked toward Kra and Berra and extended his hands. “I certainly understand why you might feel that way—”
“S
ave it, Celt,” Kra rumbled. “The matter isn’t up for discussion.”
“Not until Dewi and Nidhogg return,” Berra said. Her mate hissed smoke her way, but she continued. “If any of us have reason to hate Odin, it’s Nidhogg. I want to hear his reaction to teaming up with the Norse gods.”
“There are quite a few advantages,” Fionn murmured.
“I don’t care if they’re a sure shot at victory,” Kra said. “They didn’t target you for death.”
Rune made his way to the copper dragon. “May I speak?”
“You needn’t ask my permission, wolf,” Kra replied.
Rune lifted his head, jaws parting in what might have been a smile. “Since you will not like what I have to say, perhaps I do.”
Kra narrowed his dark eyes, but at least he didn’t try to immolate the wolf, and Rune went on. “Dewi tried to kill me—more than once. There were many moon rises before she and I figured out how we could work together.”
“Why did you bother?” Kra grunted.
“Because we both love Aislinn.” The wolf spoke with a simple dignity that arrowed right into her heart. “It wasn’t in Aislinn’s best interest for us to be at odds with one another.”
“Well spoken.” Gwydion nodded approval.
“Och aye,” Bran cut in. “Desperate times create unlikely bedfellows.”
Kra turned away, and Berra whispered something into his ear. Aislinn caught the words, but they were in Gaelic, never her strong suit. The copper dragon faced the group again. “I will try to keep an open mind, but it’s not easy to fight side by side with someone you don’t trust.”
“Tell me about it,” Aislinn said. “I fought for the Lemurians for two years before I met Fionn. I never trusted them, but it was fight for them or have them march me into their damned radioactive vortex.”
“We’ve all been forced into unpleasant choices,” Fionn said. “Moving the young dragons to the borderworld wasna part of my battle plan. I wanted to leverage their power—and their linkage with Earth magics.”
“They’ll return afore this is over,” Bran said and then clapped a hand over his mouth. “Oops. I’m not totally certain about that. ’Tis but one of many possible futures I’ve seen.”