by Kari Edgren
Julian relaxed his hold on Marin. “It happened when I reached an age to enter the mortal world on my own. It didn’t take long before I met up with other goddess born and learned just how much had changed from the time King Bres imprisoned my mother. Since then, the Tuatha Dé had returned to the Otherworld, leaving humans to rule in their stead.”
He dipped his head, and the black lock fell over his forehead, covering one eye. “I tried to explain this to Carmen when I returned home, how it would be better to rule the people than destroy them for something they had no hand in doing.” He blew out a heavy breath. “She could have been their queen had she been willing to see reason.”
“Yet your words fell on deaf ears,” Cate said.
“Not just my words.” Julian pushed the hair from his eye. “Once I thought it over, I realized Ronan and Roddy had probably shared the same stories. But nothing could dissuade her from a course of complete destruction. She told me then how she’d started plotting her escape the day I was born, and she first felt the curse weaken.”
Tom readjusted his stance, lifting his sword tip from the ground without moving any closer. “How did your birth affect it?”
“When the Tuatha Dé defeated Carmen, King Bres used their blood to seal the passageway. By chance alone Ronan and Roddy entered the dolmen and found her. There’s nothing more powerful than birth blood, and when she delivered their offspring, both Brigid’s and Cailleach’s blood flowed from her womb onto the stones of her prison.”
Cate sidled a few more inches forward. “It wasn’t enough though.”
“Not by half,” Julian confirmed. “A year back, she ordered me to search for descendants from the remaining Tuatha Dé involved in her defeat, the sun god Lugh and the war god Nuada.”
Henry stiffened visibly with this revelation.
“It took months of digging to find the Lughnanes,” Julian continued. “And another month to connect them to the Lundlams in northern England. I arrived in their village last summer to follow the lead, but by the time I traced the family to the Duke of Norland, I learned his lordship had vanished.” He darted a look at Henry. “I planned to take the father in place of the son, but the duke was not one to trust strangers, and rarely traveled from home without armed escorts.”
“So you killed Lord Stroud and assumed his identity,” Henry said.
“What better disguise to get close to a noble? But by that time you had returned home, and I had no more need of the duke. Still the problem remained of getting you to Ireland.” His mouth curved upward. “Until rumors of Miss Kilbrid swept through London, and I knew how best to strike. Truth be told, I would have stalled as long as possible if Deri hadn’t arrived unexpectedly with orders to muddle the wits of any descendants I had discovered and compel them to Wexford.”
Ailish grumbled gruffly next to me. “Cailleach’s power don’t cause madness, you nitwit.”
Abrupt laughter broke from Julian. Marin started at the noise, but refrained from any other motion. “Have you met my sister, Miss O’Bearra? Deri had twisted the gifts she received from Cailleach and Carmen before she was out of nappies. She only needed a good solid touch to have the duke or his lordship jumping from London Bridge.”
Nora’s face flashed through my mind from our last moments together, the fear and confusion in her eyes as she struggled against Deri’s sadistic touch. “But she didn’t take either of them.” The memory pressed on my heart. “She took Nora instead.”
Julian nodded, his expression growing solemn. “Much to my sorrow, for once she arrived home, I had a difficult choice to make.”
Arrived home... So the wretch had made it to the oak grove, yet Nora could be anywhere between here and London. “Where is Deri keeping her?” I demanded.
Julian gave me a curious look, then answered my question with one of his own. “How long have you known Nora Goodwin?”
My hands curled and uncurled at my side. “All my life.”
“Yet you never once suspected her ancestry.” He tsked his tongue at me. “Deri discovered it the first time she dabbled in your friend’s brain. At the time my sister thought to compel Nora to gut you while you slept, but then she found Nuada’s blood and that changed everything. Even for your death, she wouldn’t risk someone so important to the hangman’s noose.”
Cold sweat formed on my nape while he spoke. “Where is Nora then? You’ve told so many lies how do I know you’re speaking the truth now?”
He chuckled, and a drop of sweat rolled between my shoulder blades. “It’s true, and in less than a fortnight my sister scooped two fish in the same net. She only had to bait his lordship by stealing Nora away. Then the chase was on to the dolmen.”
Henry growled a curse.
Julian turned to him, pleasure brimming in his dark eyes. “You played your role just like Deri planned. Except things have changed, and you won’t be bedding my mother after all.”
Derision dripped from Henry’s deep voice. “You assume I would have been tempted by the witch.”
“Most assuredly, my lord.” Julian moved his head forward, pressing his chin into Marin’s temple. The torches flickered as the lines of his face wavered once more. A heartbeat passed when a woman appeared, her otherworldly beauty reminding me of Brigid, except for the cruelty that lined her mouth. Waves of black hair fell over Marin’s shoulder. “The curse may have dampened her powers,” he said in a feminine voice that ran like silk over my skin, “but she still had enough to get your seed between her legs.”
I cringed from the vivid description, and instinctively cut a look to Henry. His expression remained impassive at the demonstration.
Green light sputtered a warning a split second before Carmen’s face twisted back to the son. “Can you understand my dilemma?” he asked. “Once me sister returned with not one, but two descendants, I had to kill my mother to save Ireland.”
Two descendants... I swung from left to right. “Where is she? Where are you hiding her?” I turned a full circle, but could see nothing beyond the reach of the torchlight. “Nora!” I called out, my voice near frantic with worry.
Her name echoed unanswered across the stones.
“All in good time, Selah.”
Henry rolled his shoulders. “If Ireland is safe from the witch, why lure us here and attack Sean and Marin?”
“Because he’s claimed the spoils of death from her as well.” Cate now stood two feet ahead of me. “He stole her power with her last breath.”
“Aye,” Julian agreed. “Though Carmen called it soul gathering. From her stories, she excelled at it while living in the mortal world.”
“Little wonder it took four Tuatha Dé to defeat her,” Tom said with new understanding. “They were fighting a whole army in her belly. And now you wish to break the curse to use what she gathered.”
Julian sneered at the corpse. “Her death should have done it, but most of her power falls from me whenever I leave the passageway.” He looked at Cate. “Now you know what you felt, my lady, the wee scraps that slip past the weakening curse. It clings to my skin till I leave the woods, though it’s strongest in the oak grove.”
“Which you used to get rid of those men,” Cate said.
Julian nodded and tapped his forehead. “Lovely how you put that together. I entered the grove ahead of them to get the power I needed for a simple illusion. The men continued on the trail, believing they were following behind us.”
Tom raised his sword tip a little higher. “Except that King Bres set the curse to guard against her power instead of her life, so you’ve not got the full of it, have you lad.”
A dark mirthless laugh came from Julian. His gaze dipped to Tom’s sword. “You best tame your intentions, as my power is still ten times more than all of you put together while we’re in the passageway.”
“Release Marin,” Tom said, “a
nd we’ll give it a go.” Flint edged his voice, and he adjusted his grip on the sword hilt.
Julian clucked his tongue as though reprimanding a child. “I’ve not come this far to be goaded into a fight.”
“Then I fear we’ve come to a standstill.”
“Don’t count on it.” Julian waved his hand, and green fire sprang to life all around us.
I twisted from left to right to find a score of torches mounted around the cavern. The space was much bigger than I expected, measuring the size of a small circular ballroom. Half a dozen archways led deeper into the hillside.
Julian remained motionless for a moment, his neck coiled like a snake about to strike. Then, raising his free hand, he cupped his mouth and his voice rang through the cavern. “Oh, Deri...”
Chapter Twenty-One
The Descendants
The name slithered over me, each drawn out syllable passing like smooth scales over my skin.
“Deri...” Julian called again, with a hint of singsong in his raised voice. “Please join us, sister. Some old friends have come to visit.” His gaze rested over my shoulder. I spun around and stared at the specific archway that fell in his line of sight, my blood racing with anticipation.
“The space is much larger than I imagined,” Cate said in the same conversational tone.
“Aye, Carmen retained sufficient power to make her prison more comfortable.”
“Is that how you controlled the torches?”
Julian clucked his tongue. “For shame, my lady, sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Well, I’ll not explain what I can and cannot do, so keep your questions to yourself. Do you understand?”
“Pray forgive me, I was just intrigued by how you needed contact with Marin and Sean, yet could summon the torches to life by a mere wave of your—”
“Silence!” Julian roared. “Another word and the lass will be bleeding from her ears.”
Cate said nothing more. I kept my eyes pinned to the archway, desperate for any sight or sound to indicate life.
“Deri!” Julian called a third time, though without the previous singsong. “Stop hiding, you little brat, before I come and get you.”
The threat had the desired effect, bringing the first stirrings of life just out of sight.
I strained my ear toward the sound. A moment later, shadows spilled into the cavern. They lengthened, and the stirrings turned to the soft patter of footsteps that echoed across the stone. The next few seconds stretched beyond their natural duration as I stared so hard my eyes ached from the effort.
Two figures appeared beneath the archway, one a good head taller than the other, and I pressed a hand to my chest to help counter the sudden swell that threatened to crack my sternum. Nora was alive, and after six days and hundreds of miles, only a dozen strides stood between us.
As she drew nearer I scoured her for answers, taking in the neat dark hair and somber expression. Her neck and back retained the customary straightness, her head level, and her eyes...
Warmth and familiarity met me, and I clasped my hands together in quiet supplication. “Thank you, Lord...” I whispered.
“Still alive, eh, Biddie girl,” a young voice chirruped. “Yeh’ve more luck than a stubbin cat.”
The prayer died on my lips as my gaze dipped to Deri. Frost-blue eyes met mine, equal in cruelty to the smile that twitched on her pale mouth. Revulsion clawed at my joy seeing her next to Nora, their hands linked together just like before. A simple woolen frock replaced the beggar’s rags, and a new black shawl draped her thin shoulders. The dirt smudges had been washed from her face and her white-blonde hair fell in a neat braid to one side.
Had Nora cared for her? Brushed her hair and scrubbed the grime away? Despite her unusual coloring, she could have passed as an ordinary child, if I hadn’t known of the madness that raged inside her.
“Hello, Selah,” Nora said, in a strong voice that assured me further of her sanity.
“Oh, Nora...” Her name spilled from me, and it took every bit of restraint not to rush to her.
“Stay away from me goody lady,” Deri warned. Small fingers plucked the air in my direction.
Henry’s watchful gaze rested on the wretch. No emotion showed on his face, and only the slight shift of his sword hand hinted at his intentions.
“Allow me to introduce my sister. She prefers Deri, but her given name is Crá ó Dair.”
“Torment from the oak,” Cate said. “How very droll of your mother.”
Carmen had gone from naming her children Death, Evil and Violence to Vengeance and Torment. Droll indeed. Two more offspring, and she could have added Insanity and Devastation to the lovely family.
“My sister’s gifts are plenty amusing,” Julian agreed. “Just ask our Nora. Poor lass has become well acquainted with all Deri can do.”
Mockery filled his eyes, peeling away any residual familiarity I had seen after his transformation. Cold-blooded monster. I had never hated another person more in my life than at that moment.
“Don’t be shy,” he said, beckoning to them. “Come closer.”
A catlike hiss came from Deri. Her hand retracted to a bony fist, and she hunched her shoulders, drawing into Nora’s side.
“Now!” Julian yelled, the muscles jumping in his neck from the strain.
I looked between them, uncertainty rooting my feet to the stone.
Nora made the first move. Head held high, she started forward, her gait confident. Deri’s expression tightened to a sullen sneer. She moved as well, though soon lagged half a step behind. They stopped a few strides from my side, where Deri pressed into Nora as though in search of comfort. My stomach curdled when Nora draped an arm over the wretch’s shoulder, pulling her even closer.
Nora steadied her gaze on Julian. “What do you want?”
His smirk crawled over my skin. “You know what I want, Nora Goodwin.”
She arched a defiant brow at him but made no further reply. Head down, Deri muttered a series of unintelligible words beneath her breath.
“Speak up, sister. I’ll not have you mumbling in front of our guests.”
Deri slanted a look at her brother. “I said yeh can’t have her.” Something wet glistened on her cheek. Squinting through the green light, I saw red-rimmed eyes and dried tear tracks that stained her pale face.
“Shh,” Nora soothed her.
Deri sniffed and ran a sleeve under her nose. Then, resting her wet cheek against Nora’s side, she glowered like a demon at Julian.
I blinked, a rush of understanding nearly sweeping me off my feet from what had so obviously changed between the two of them. It defied reason, yet in the past week Nora had somehow claimed a position of authority over the wretch. Everything about them verified the new undercurrents of their relationship, the way Deri angled toward Nora, how Nora held her with one arm—just like a mother comforting her child.
My heart constricted. “Nora...”
She looked at me with such complexity of emotion, I didn’t know what to think. “It’s all right, Selah.”
Deri twisted the end of her shawl in one hand as her gaze darted from side to side over the stone floor. “Took me mam. Sliced her heart, stole her life.” The words tumbled out, frantic and slurred. “He’ll not get the goody lady. Little Deri won’t let him.”
Julian heaved a breath. “Stop your fussing, lass. Ladies will be fighting to be your mam once they know you’re the sister of their king.”
King... I jerked my head toward Julian. Was that his plan?
“You’ve quite a vision,” Tom said. “Except you’ve forgotten that the moment Brigid learns you’ve abused her power, she’ll bar you from entering the Otherworld.”
Julian spat on the ground near Marin’s foot. “Brigid can keep her scraps of fire. Carmen�
��s power is more than I need to rule Ireland and run the English from our shores.”
Cate eyed him. “So the son becomes the witch.”
“I’ll be their king,” Julian ground out. “The best they’ve ever known.”
“Yet you need the birth blood of Lugh and Nuada first.” Cate appeared thoughtful. “I suppose Lord Fitzalan and Nora Goodwin could create a child, but nine months is an awfully long time to keep us all here.”
Julian laughed. “Birth blood may be the strongest, but death blood will do just as well for my purposes.”
Death blood... Ice seeped through my veins. “Nora and Henry,” I whispered.
“Aye, my love,” Julian said, turning to me. “And our grandparents too since there’s no use trying to change their minds after so many years of following Brigid’s rules.” He flipped a derisive hand at them. “They’re nothing more than lapdogs, doing the goddess’s biding while Ireland suffers.”
I stared at him, unable to speak, barely able to breathe.
“Don’t fret, lass, I’ve no intention to let you share their fate. Not after the assurances you gave me in Brigid’s garden.” His gaze grew more intense until it pricked at the back of my skull. “Once I’m king, Selah, you’re to be my queen.”
A low growl came from Henry, and he lifted his sword to waist level. “Touch her, Stroud, and you’ll regret it.”
“Ever the brave warrior, my lord. I say we let Selah decide and save ourselves from a pointless squabble.” Julian smirked at him. “Unless you’re afraid she’ll choose me.”
“She’s already made her choice.” Henry’s expression remained calm, though I sensed a well of lethal rage just below the surface. “Yet you persist in pursuing her like a lovelorn pup. Twice now she has begged me to spare your life. Upon my honor, there will not be a third time.”
Red splotches blossomed on Julian’s cheeks. “Your threats are meaningless.”
The warrior gleamed in Henry’s eyes. “Believe what you will, but let me assure you, only one of us will leave this cavern alive tonight.” He raised the sword another inch.