As the tension eased out of Cade's body and his breathing grew deeper, I leaned away from him. I sighed and ran my hand through his hair, down his perfect face, and over his shoulders. I studied his skin with my fingertips, memorizing every detail because I would need them to give me strength as I put my plan into motion. I counted his ribs, one at a time, and traced the dark ink of his tattoos. I felt fresh tears pool in my eyes when my fingertips lingered on the scars left by the Cumorrig that had killed him. I pulled my hand back and leaned forward, kissing him once on the mouth, just as I had done before leaving him in the Dagda's care those many months ago.
"I love you," I murmured.
His eyelids flickered, and for a moment I thought the spell hadn't taken hold. I released a breath of relief when he settled back against the mattress. If Cade knew what I was about to do, he'd tie me to a chair and lock me in Danua's dungeon until the battle with the Morrigan was over.
With careful movements, I crawled out of bed. Cade's arms crept forward as I stepped away, his fingers seeking mine, but the spell held strong. I released the breath I'd been holding and quickly found my clothes and my warm cloak, pulling them on as swiftly and as silently as I could in the dark. Fumbling through my bags, I also pulled out Enorah's dagger and some of the hawthorn arrows from my quiver. Pausing and glancing back at Cade, I quickly snapped a few in half, shoving the broken shafts down my boots. They might come in handy later.
When I was ready, I turned and glanced back at Cade. His huge frame took up most of the bed now that I was gone, his face turned towards me. Unconsciously, I reached my hand up to my throat and brushed my fingers over the torque that had been there since spring, the mistletoe bead on its leather string just below it. The torque and the charm could not protect me against the Morrigan, but they would bring me comfort because they had been gifts from Cade.
Last chance to change your mind Meghan, my conscience told me.
Oh, how was I tempted to listen to it, but I knew that if I wanted to save Cade and my brother and everyone else I loved, I had to do this. With one last silent prayer sent to whoever might be listening, I squeezed out the door and crept through the dark castle.
Luck was with me in those early morning hours because no one was awake, not even the guards posted at the kitchen door where I slipped out, or in the stables where I managed to saddle up Lasair in record time. At dawn the fortress would be alive with activity, my mother and the other gods getting their troops and all those willing to fight ready to march against the Morrigan. I would not be with them when they did.
As I led the red stallion through the dark city, a sleepy Meridian clinging to my shoulder and my heart pounding in my throat, I thought about my plan. So many unknown factors relied on its success, and I only hoped that my instincts proved correct. One thing I was counting on was the Morrigan's greed and cunning. If the Morrigan wanted to take Aiden's power, it would be easier to do so if he didn't know how to use it. Since this was his first trip into Eile, I was betting on this fact and the remote chance the Morrigan hadn't tried to get at it yet. After all, she needed Aiden whole and healthy in order to entice me and my mother into making a trade, and something told me that stripping him of his glamour would do far too much damage. Yet, if Aiden still retained all of his power and if I could somehow find a way to be alone with him, then perhaps I could teach him about his magic and then we could pool our resources and . . .
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the grating caw of a raven. Instantly, my senses came to life as Lasair whickered nervously and side-stepped on the road. Meridian clenched down with her claws.
Danger, she whispered into my mind.
Yes, I know, I returned, my head swiveling on my shoulders as I scanned our surroundings for a large, dark raven. I had been so caught up in my contemplation that I hadn't noticed we'd reached the edge of the city. Ahead of us stretched the hilly, wooded farmlands of Erintara, behind us, my mother's castle and Cade. Of course, the entire landscape was currently cloaked in darkness, but I could just make out the vague shapes of trees, hills and buildings.
The raven cawed again, snapping my attention forward. When I finally spotted it sitting in a nearby oak tree, I released a soft gasp. The bird was large, but not nearly as large as the Morrigan was in her raven form. And it was pure white. Nervous, I clicked Lasair closer, and the stallion obeyed me without any trouble.
Now that I was sitting just below the giant bird, I could see it better. The creature was blind in one eye, a great scar running down the side of its face, so it tilted its head to study me. That's when I noticed the feathers covering its ears. Despite the darkness, I could tell they were red, just like Meridian's. A spirit guide. And not just any spirit guide, the Morrigan's spirit guide.
Fighting back the urge to blast it with my magic, I took a deep breath and said with a shaky voice, "Tell your master I've decided to hand myself over to her. I'm heading to the dolmarehn that will take me to her realm right now."
The creature shook out its ghostly feathers and groaned out a long croak before flapping its wings and heading east, its pale form a stark contrast against the black sky. I heaved a deep breath and thought once more about what I was doing.
Once you step through that dolmarehn, there's no turning back, my conscience told me.
I clicked my tongue and tapped Lasair with my heels. “Come on,” I murmured as a shiver shot through me, "I have a job to do.”
* * *
Beyond the outer reaches of Erintara and my mother's kingdom, once the wooded and rock-strewn hills came to end, there stretched a vast reach of nothingness. Well, it wasn’t completely empty. There were stones and a random shrub every now and again, and small hillocks and lots of thick, tangled grass and low spots where water collected into shallow pools or deep ponds. But the land itself was desolate and wind-torn. Meridian, Lasair and I had passed through the dolmarehn an hour ago, the same one we'd crossed through just the day before with the Tuatha De Danann and my mother. I had no idea exactly how long it would take me to get to the Morrigan's castle, but I knew as long as I kept heading east, I would get there eventually. Until then, I had only my worrisome thoughts to keep me company.
Just before I'd urged Lasair through the stone gate, I'd heard Cade’s voice in my head.
Meghan?
He'd been curious at first, his words fuzzy at the edges, as if he'd just woken up. I shook my head and tried to ignore him. I imagined him lying in bed, reaching out for me before he was fully awake, the way he always did. But I hadn’t been there.
Meghan, are you with your mother? he'd continued.
I'd ignored him again, and planned to do so for as long as I could. I'd let him search for me, putting more space and time between us so that he wouldn’t come after me right away. No matter what, I couldn't tell him where I was.
When he tried to reach me a third time, I wove a small shield of my magic and placed it around my mind, blocking out his words. It tore at my heart to do so, but I could not let his worry distract me.
That had been over half an hour ago, and I estimated another hour or so would get me to the base of those mountains. If the Morrigan's spirit guide had brought her my message, then perhaps she would be waiting for my arrival. And it would be too late for Cade to do anything to get himself into trouble.
Eventually, the relatively flat land started sloping upwards and the great, jagged mountains I had been staring at for the past few hours jutted up before us in stark contrast to the rest of the landscape. Small growths of stunted, half-dead trees dotted the earth and just beyond them, spread out like a thick, black mist against the top of the rise at the base of the mountains, was an army of faelah.
Meridian screeched and took off from my shoulder and Lasair trembled beneath me, eager to charge at the monsters who were responsible for his sister's death.
I was stunned. I knew the Morrigan had Donn's unfathomable wealth of glamour at her disposal, but the endless legion of monsters waiting up ahe
ad still surprised me. There were at least a hundred times more faelah here today than there had been yesterday, if not more. So this was the army my mother and the Tuatha De would soon be facing. And the Morrigan was apparently breaking her word again. Despite the fact that I'd practically offered myself up on a platter, she was still going to attack my mother and her people. I had dreaded this. Yes, I had counted this in as a possible outcome while I formulated my plot, but I had hoped my sacrifice would be enough to appease the goddess of war. Silly me; of course it wouldn't be enough.
I gritted my teeth and fought against the well of pain growing in my throat. This complicated things quite a bit, but I still had other options. I had committed myself to this plan and I was going to see it through to the end, whatever that end might bring.
Lasair moved forward until we were only fifty yards away from the line of faelah. I could smell them, a horrible blend of death and rot and evil. They screamed in their ancient voices, snorting and cawing and growling and snarling, like a primordial roll of thunder, up and down the base of the mountain. The low fog from earlier had lifted, only to reveal a sky dominated by inky rainclouds. It wasn't raining yet, but it could start at any minute. A cold, damp breeze pulled at my hair and blew the hood off of my head.
Suddenly, the monsters stopped their chatter and parted just in front of me. Behind them and extending far into the mountains was a deep, narrow crevice, and from its mouth strode a pale woman in a black dress whose skirts unfurled around her like living darkness. I swallowed hard and fought against my building magic. The Morrigan.
She walked with the grace and ease of a practiced warrior, all confidence and malice. Just behind her and to her right strode the tall, dark-haired man from yesterday morning's encounter. He had his black leathers on again, and as they moved closer, I busied myself with counting the wicked weapons he carried. But it was his eyes that startled me the most. Black and sharp and crackling momentarily to silver when he looked at me. Power rolled off of him in waves and I suddenly felt trapped. I swallowed back the sudden horror that boiled up like acid in my stomach.
No Meghan, don’t let them see your fear . . .
I could feel Lasair reacting beneath me, anger and aggression pouring off of him. I slid from the saddle and turned to look him in the eye.
"Lasair," I whispered as I leaned my forehead against his velvety nose, "I haven't known you long but you have proven to be a brave horse, full of honor and pride. What I have to do I have to do alone. I need you to return to my mother's castle and join the others. If we're all lucky, there will be no fight today."
The red stallion whickered his disagreement and dragged his hoof through the rocky soil. Somehow his thoughts reached me. He wanted to avenge his sister and protect me. He didn't want to run like a coward.
"No," I murmured, my voice growing rough, "you must do as I say."
I put as much force behind my words as I could. Slowly, Lasair's agitated state calmed. He backed away, threw his head in the air and reared up, screaming his irritation. But when he touched down he turned and fled. I breathed a sigh of relief, then turned my mind to my spirit guide.
Meridian, I said.
She dug her claws into my shoulder. No, she sent. Stay. Love. Protect!
Her own thoughts were full of despair and anguish and the lump in my throat grew larger. Tears formed in my eyes but I dashed them away. I could not look weak in front of Donn and the Morrigan.
They will kill you Meridian. They will take you and strip you of your glamour. I love you too, but you must flee. Please! You must go and protect Cade. This is something I must do on my own.
With a heart-rending screech, Meridian threw herself into the air, crying out as she tore through the sky after Lasair. And then I was alone, accompanied only by the raspy grunts and restless shuffling of the faelah lined up behind me.
The Morrigan and her companion closed the distance between us and came to stand several feet in front of me.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my son’s little Faelorah come to pay me a visit. I'm pleased to see you got my message.”
She crossed her arms and smiled. The images from the horrible dream slammed into my mind and I winced.
“What took you so long to come calling Meghan? You know my home is always open to you and I've extended an invitation more than once.”
She sketched a fake curtsy, gesturing towards the canyon from which she had just emerged. A strange babbling of haunted voices came rolling down the ravine at that moment, a hint of warning and suffering in their tones. My trepidation increased. The Morrigan shook her head and clicked her tongue as her army of faelah hissed and grumbled at me. Donn merely stood there like a statue, glaring at me.
I took a deep breath and decided I had best get this over with. “I’ve come for my brother.”
The goddess arched a perfect eyebrow. “Is that so? And do you really expect me to hand him over?”
“No,” I said, standing up straighter. “I’ve come to trade. Take me and let him go.”
The Morrigan had the good grace to look surprised. “Really? That is very noble of you my dear, and tempting, but you see, I don't want to trade anymore.”
“Then what do you want?” I said, my teeth gritted.
She looked up at me, her violet eyes adopting a lazy expression. She smiled sweetly. It made me think of the scent of flowers in a morgue. It did nothing to mask her evil, or chase away my disgust.
“I want you both. Think of how strong I’ll be with two Tuatha De-Fomorian bastards, both of you ripe with boundless, untrained magic.”
“I’ll fight you,” I blurted, letting my control slip just a little.
The Morrigan laughed, but it was my turn to grin. “You weren’t laughing when I nearly destroyed you after my magic broke free the last time. If I remember correctly, you fled in your raven form before I could hit you with its full force. And that was before I learned how to control it. You should see what I can do now . . .”
Her smirk vanished and the look she gave me next could strip paint from the side of a fighter jet. I tried not to feel smug at the slight look of fear in her eyes. Don't push this too hard Meghan; you have to give her just enough so she doesn't suspect anything . . .
“So, you can take me willingly, or we can fight. I may not win, but even if you manage to kill me, I’ll be sure to take a good chunk of your entire army with me in the process. It will be easy for my mother and the other gods to defeat you then.”
There. That should make an impression. I only hoped my nerves would stop threatening to give out on me.
The Morrigan seemed to consider it for a while, but as the clouds swept by above us and as the faelah that stretched for miles began fidgeting and grumbling again, she looked back up at me, a wicked glint to her now red eyes.
“Oh Meghan, poor, sweet little Meghan. Do you know what your problem is? You have too many people that you trust and care for.”
She took a breath and glanced down at my neck, then flicked her gaze back up at me.
“That’s a beautiful torque you're wearing my little witchling. You've grown awfully close to that abomination I so unfortunately call my son, and you're here now because of him. What did he promise you? Wealth? Fame? You may get both from him, but he’ll always be his father’s son. He’ll feed you pretty words and shower you with gifts, but in the end he will always stray.”
I flinched hard, and she must have noticed.
“Oh, I see. He’s already begun the process of winning your favor, hasn’t he? The torque, your spirit guide, that horse you chased off . . . Need I go on? It won’t be long before you catch him with one of the serving girls of your mother’s palace. Or perhaps with one of the maids at that run-down hovel he likes to call a castle.”
I clenched my fists. Cade was not like that. He wouldn’t do that to me, to anyone. She is feeding you lies Meghan, she is speculating. Just because Cuchulainn got the better of her, doesn’t mean that Cade will follow after him. Don
’t let her manipulate you!
I forced myself to calm down, then gave her a long, cool look. “You lie. He wouldn’t do that. I’m growing tired of your crap. Time to make a decision. Either you can let Aiden go and take me instead, or you can taste the fury of my magic and risk losing your entire army.”
Her red eyes flared even brighter for a moment, then she sighed and said rather boorishly, “Very well. I had hoped last night's little preview would have been enough, but it appears I have no choice. It seems dear Caedehn means something to you after all, so I'll repeat my previous threat, if you don’t mind. Perhaps it will sink in if you see the kind of power I now wield in person and not in your dreams.”
Oh no. This couldn’t be good . . .
“You know all about my sweet hounds, correct Meghan? You like to call them Cumorrig, and you’ve seen the damage they can do, especially if I feed them a little magic.”
I shivered as I recalled the nightmare from last night.
“Well, they are nothing compared to the Dotarbh.”
I stared at her, not sure what to say.
She sighed pleasantly and turned to her silent companion. “Donn, do you mind?”
The dark god nodded once and, without speaking, strode forward to stand in front of the Morrigan. He took a deep breath and let his arms drift casually from his sides. He closed his eyes and titled his head towards the ground. The earth began shaking and all along the front line of the faelah, trailing off for miles on each side, small bumps in the ground began to form. The mounds grew in size until they were about as big as a horse, if not bigger. Then, with a final flourish of his arms, Donn released a silvery torrent of magic and the hills of earth burst open, revealing what grew within.
Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy Page 30