“What will you do now, Mother?”
“We will ready ourselves for the first battle. I’m certain Lord Draco will want to make the first strike against us. I’m anticipating him to hit London next. Are you quite certain that this cottage is safe from him?”
“It’s as safe as any of your protected areas,” Grania said grimly.
Aine nodded her head. “Good. That’s excellent news. We shall be able to keep eyes and ears here to monitor movement up on the hill.”
“We’ll be coming with you of course.” She was surprised that William sounded so adamant. Merdwyn started to wander around her bedroom, inspecting different items on his way.
“I’d thank you to stop handling my personal stuff.”
He smiled at her. “You have the same stubborn will as your mother. I’m glad to see it. She wouldn’t have allowed me to be nosy like this either.” His eyes sparkled with animation. “I will of course wish to leave the confines of this cottage as soon as possible. I smell dark magic brewing on the horizon. If there’s a battle to take place, I wish to be in the front lines.”
“Your lordship, we will be forever grateful to you for your assistance.”
“Oh, please, Aine. You mustn’t act so in awe of me. I am your relation after all. You are my sister Ann’s child.”
“I hadn’t realized that you would remember.”
“My brother and I might have shrouded ourselves away in secrecy, but we still keep our ears to the ground so to speak. We have been monitoring the last one thousand years carefully.”
“How carefully?”
“Enough to know that I had to answer that summon.” His eyes dropped to the bow Grania still held in her hand. “That will serve you well in the coming struggles. You shouldn’t be afraid to use it. If you are truly Polaris’s daughter, the arrows will not harm you. I bewitched it to save the blood of my love.”
“Well, there you go, William. I can tell you that I am truly my mother’s child. I don’t have to worry about wielding the bow and arrows, for they can’t harm me. The wonders of magic never cease to amaze me.” She smiled.
Aine was suspiciously silent. “I recognize that bow and the quiver. We have one almost exactly like it in the archives section of the agency.”
“Yes, I believe you have Lord Robin’s bow.” Merdwyn nodded his head. “He left it here on Earth before leaving Earth for other greener pastures. Aye. I gave him that as well. Many years after I created this one, and a few others…Robin didn’t leave Earth empty handed, let me tell you that.
I sense that this weapon has not been used in more than one thousand years. Polaris truly did renege on everything that she formerly stood for once she married that pig.”
Dry mouthed, she looked back toward the window. The sky darkened. Whispers carried through the trees to her keen hearing. Her heart froze, when she heard one plea.
“Help me.”
She recognized the voice. “We have to figure out a way to get to Dragonia. My father might be here on Earth, but right now, someone on Dragonia is in great need of our assistance.”
“Dragonia?” Merdwyn inclined his head. “Created by my magic. I took an uninhabited world, and I made into my vision of Paradise. And now it has been torn asunder by your father’s own dark sorcery. I wanted it to emulate other enchanted realms like the world of Carn Brea, and the Kingdom of Thaliana.” His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.
“The dragon shifter Royal Family created Dragonia for our people,” Grania insisted.
“You are mistaken. And history shall be forgotten,” Merdwyn sighed. “Obviously, the bow was intelligent enough to realize that I was the only one to render you the sort of help and insight you need. Magical creations are endowed with the most intelligent enchantments, especially when I’m the one enchanting them.”
“Why would you have created Dragonia? You are a wizard, you have no link to the dragon shifter world…or at least you don’t now…”
“I made it for your mother and me. When she turned away from me, I gave it to her as my one last parting gift. I had hoped it would be a token of my love for her for many years. Instead it burns as we speak, and your sire is slowly destroying the goodness it once held. I will not have my creation be molded into his vision of evil.”
“You were angry with her for betraying you.” Her voice dropped to a low whisper. She watched his face undergo a multitude of emotional storms. He could deny that he missed her mother, but the truth was written as plain as day across his face. He had loved her mother as much as she loved William.
“She never betrayed me. She broke my heart by following what she thought was her destiny. I told her that the path she was choosing would only bring her grief—she wouldn’t hear of it. To say that we parted ways, as enemies, would be a lie. I disliked her for following a fleeting dream. I told her she could not change what Draco was or avoid what he would eventually become. I tried to make her see the truth. She would not be dissuaded.
Like you, she had a heart full of love, but she also had a backbone of steel when it came to going after what she believed was the right course. She followed the path of her stars. Only to discover in the end, that I was right. I wish I could have saved her, but by the time I arrived it was too late for her.” A catch entered his deep voice. Her heart went out to him. He would have made a much better father than Draco. This man had pure love welled inside of his soul.
“You saw her in her final moments? But you acted as if you were unaware of her death. I don’t understand. I’d like you to clarify things for me.” She couldn’t believe what his words had belied to her. She’d always been deeply angry with herself for not being with her mother when she’d breathed her final breath. It was a regret that would plague her until, she too, drew her own last breath.
The room became disturbingly still.
“You do not need to hear about her last moments of life, Grania. It would only bring you heartache like no other. Trust me you should rest easy in knowing that your mother died with hope in her heart. The hope that you would set everything right. She knew you were the only person that could do it. She had faith in you. She might have turned away from us, but in doing so, she created you.
She did not regret that part of her union with Draco. I assure you of that. She loved you, she would have done anything in her power to help you, and she did. Her actions have led you to William. Her spirit is happy with that outcome. She rejoices in your love for William. It eases her doubts about not loving me when she had the chance. The Fates are trying to set in motion what was always to be. Our family lines were always meant to intersect—it is destiny. You can run from your destiny but in the end, destiny will always find you.”
“You see her in her spirit form?”
“She visits me, from time to time. She is at rest, she is no wandering spirit. Heaven is her playground.”
“Right then, I don’t want to interrupt the touching exchange going on between the two of you, but we do not have any time to spare. We are fortifying the major cities for possible attacks.” Aine’s voice was soft signifying that she truly didn’t want to interrupt, but she didn’t have a choice. Time waited for no one—not dragon shifter or magic kind.
“He will hit London first, and once it is ransacked to the ground he will then turn his attention to the other major cities,” Merdwyn’s voice carried deep sorrow. “The coming days and especially the nights will be dark. I hope your troops are prepared for many sleepless hours.”
“They are ready. They will stand with honour against Draco’s forces and they will not relent no matter what he throws in their path.” Aine’s eyes lit with true conviction. “The two of you need to get to Dragonia. Merdwyn, I trust that you can conjure a stable portal to the realm? Since you did create it, you no doubt know all of the ins and outs.”
“Indeed.” Merdwyn settled his brown eyes on William and her. “You will be walking into the lair of the enemy. Tread lightly, for danger abounds in Dragonia. Everything is no longer as it once se
emed.” His eyes flashed her way. She shivered beneath his penetrating, almost probing stare.
“I will be walking into my land. The land I know perhaps even better than Earth. I shall not walk into any trap that might be waiting for me.”
“May good fortune be with both of you. Lad, you need a better outfit.” Merdwyn pointed at William and in a sheen of light, William was dressed like a Knight from the Kingdom of Camelot, wearing chainmail and all. Next, Merdwyn directed his attention to her. “You should look like a lady of the forest.” His magic encompassed her and when the light faded, she saw that she wore a green tunic, leggings, boots, and a green hooded cloak. She basically looked like a female version of Robin Hood. “Now then. That’s much better,” he said smiling. “You need only use the bow to summon me again. When you do, I will open another portal for you to carry you safely back to here.”
“Thank you, Merdwyn.” She lowered her head to him in silent gratitude.
“Now, let us not dilly dally much longer.” Merdwyn whispered a soft incantation and a whirling bright tunnel opened for them. It made her feel slightly seasick.
“Well, that’s certainly much different from most of the portals I’ve used before. I’m usually walking through flame as opposed to what looks like a whirlpool!”
“You will have an easy journey.”
“Bless you, William and Grania!” Aine’s voice carried to her as she jumped into the portal. She felt William lunge in after her.
She hit the ground, hard. Her teeth rattled inside of her head. Her skin on her hands would have been raw from the impact had Merdwyn not conjured a pair of leather gloves for her.
A chill clung to the night air. The chill seeped into her bones, making her wary. Danger hovered around them, nowhere felt safe. They were in the proverbial lair of the dragon.
William hurtled into the air and slowed his descent with his magic. She heard a whooshing noise as the vortex closed shut, leaving no trace that it had once been there.
“Are you okay?” Her question was lost when he studied her hands.
“Damn, that was rough.” He looked at her hands, taking them in his. Something pressed against her back.
“When did you do this?” She looked back at the rucksack and then at him, giving him a glare of annoyance.
He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “I didn’t put the rucksack on your back. Aurora must have enchanted them to follow us on our journeys.”
“Great. I feel as if I have a monkey on my back.”
“A magical monkey, that comes bearing gifts for all occasions,” he laughed. Darkness seeped across the rugged landscape. “I take it we’re in the country and not in the Capital City? It looks as if we landed out in the boonies.”
“Yes, we are in the country. Just outside the mystical city of Tremayne.”
“Great. So, basically we are out in the middle of nowhere.”
“You could say that.” She buckled over, as cramps hit her in the stomach. “I can’t breathe.” Her lungs tightened.
“Just try to relax.”
A siren sound ripped through the air. “Help me.” She heard the urgent voice whisper against her temple again. After that, a stabbing pain plunged into her forehead, making her wince with pain. Now was not the time for a headache.
“We have to keep forging on. I need to get to whoever is calling me. It sounds like one of the twins.”
“How? Nicholas will protect them with his dying breath.” She gave him a sharp look. “No.” Adamantly, he shook his head. “No. I won’t believe it. Nicholas is the toughest warlock when it comes to fighting that I know. He’s one tough assed bastard. Nothing could get the better of him. Nothing!”
“Even so, look at what the dragon shifters have done so far.”
“I get your point.” He looked wearily at the bow and quiver she had strapped to her back over the rucksack. “I still wish you’d abandon that ruddy thing.”
“And if I do, we could quite possibly be stuck here until who knows when. Your uncle is the only one that knows how to get us back. The blockades will stop us from conjuring up one. Trust me, we need this—our very survival might depend upon it. Look upon it as a blessing—given to us by your uncle to watch over in times of need.”
“Please, don’t call him my uncle. I barely know the man,” he grunted, rolling his eyes.
“And yet, he is your relation as he seemed so determined to point out.”
“Well, thank God he didn’t marry your mother, because I don’t think we’d be together right now if he had.” He shuddered.
She raised her hand, asking for his silence. Her heart leapt in her chest. The voice whispered through the trees again. A faint breeze, rustled through the air, stirring her hair.
“We should keep moving like you said. Do you know which way we should go?” William asked softly, keeping his voice at a low tone.
“As long as we keep walking north, we should find the person calling to me. I’m sorry if Nicholas has indeed fallen. He was a great wizard—if not more annoying than you.”
“Nicholas likes to be considered a warlock. He was never one for the books like I was, and he didn’t get his Wizard’s Doctorate like I did. He is a hard one to beat in a duel let alone kill. If he has walked into the light he would have at least taken out a few of the enemy before he went down.”
A rustling in the trees made William reach for her and pull her down. “Listen.”
She reached out with her senses. Relaxing, she shrugged off his hand. “They are friends. Do not fear. The ones that approach me are known to me, and I to them.”
Moonlight swept across the darkening landscape, stars started to appear in the sky.
“Grania?” A hoarse weakened voice of an old woman met her ears.
“Yes, wise mother, it is I.”
“Thank the Graces, you have returned. Come, we must retreat to the sanctuary. Draco’s sentries will be out soon. No one will be safe then, not even you and your wizard. He is rather large. Larger than I imagined.”
Five other faces shadowed Mistress Mooney’s face. She knew three of them the other two were unfamiliar to her.
“And that’s Widow Mooney now.” The widow’s voice was emotionless. Had the scars of war desensitized her to that extent? The thought both disturbed and infuriated her.
Pain lanced her heart. In her mind’s eye, she recalled the easygoing nature of Master Mooney. His constant air of joviality, his sparkling grey eyes and the way he could come up with jokes to ease all of your stress. He had been a good friend. And now he was one of the fallen ones.
“I’m sorry, Widow Mooney. Your husband will be dearly missed. I still remember his first lesson to me.”
“Which was?”
“Listen before you leap.” Her heart plunged down into her belly, in reaction to what she feared was slowly coming to fruition.
The Widow nodded her head. “My man was a good brave soul. He died with valour and honour as his bedmates. He will live on forever in my heart. He will be forever remembered as a dragon shifter that died fighting for his cause.”
Now Grania understood why Widow Mooney seemed so haggard and worn. She had lost the man that had been her mate for many centuries. She could only imagine the depth of her grief. To have someone wrenched from you so suddenly, someone that you’d loved for years—agony clawed at her being.
“I’m going to see those Draconian bastards rot in the pits of hell before I die.” Widow Mooney met her gaze. “I know what you’re thinking, Grania. But I’m not so weak as to give up now. My man went down with one hell of a fight, and I shall do the same. These are my kin. You know my children, and the other two are my nephew and niece. I have no idea what happened to my sister and brother’s children. I haven’t heard from them in many moons. For all I know they could be on Earth with Blaze. How is the prince?” When she glanced back at them Widow Mooney’s eyes sparkled with intense interest.
They trailed along behind the Widow and her family, carefully picki
ng their way through the bush.
“He is well. He is as determined as you are to see the Draconian bastards rot in hell.”
“I’m sorry for talking so to you, Grania. I know this must be hard. You do your mother an honour like no other, to side against your father. It is the right path. It is the only just path. Your righteousness shall set you free.”
“Have you heard from the twins?”
“They are still here? I had thought they would be with their mother and that bastard.”
“No, they were able to escape.”
“Thank the Graces for that blessing,” The Widow’s voice faltered. “Nay, I have not heard of the wee lasses whereabouts. We can only hope that they are safely in hiding with the other royalists. There are bands of us clustered throughout the realm. Those of us that were not able to fall back with Blaze to Earth had to find sanctuary where we could. Already, Draco’s followers have executed many. If we are discovered, we shall be next.”
“You won’t be discovered. You are the best hider that I know,” Grania mused.
“Indeed,” she chuckled. “I taught you the fine art of camouflaging. You are right, secrecy and shadows are my friend.”
William was so close to Grania whenever she hesitated, he bumped into her. “You don’t have to be so close,” she whispered harshly.
“Don’t worry, I like being this near to you. Why does Dragonia have four moons?”
“Never mind, I’ll give you a history of our realm later.”
“Good to know.” He stopped. “Get ready we have company coming our way. And I, for one, really don’t feel like becoming their dinner.”
She bristled. “I don’t sense any of my kind.”
“That’s because the company that’s coming, isn’t of this world, or my world in fact. We have some harpies coming to tea.”
“Oh, fabulous,” she groaned.
“Children, move on to the sanctuary. We will lead them off the scent.”
Before she could say anything else the widow shape shifted.
“Hey, you better not pull that blasted trick.” William poked her reprovingly in the back.
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