by Conn, Claudy
“Easy, Z … it wasn’t your fault you didn’t get it. Gais probably had a way of retrieving it back to himself,” Danté offered as he sweetly kissed my forehead and then my nose, and then ever so lightly his lips brushed mine. All the while I lay cradled like a baby in his arms. We were at war and in the middle of a battle, and I just wanted exactly what he was doing …
“Then Gais was watching us through all of this—watching?” I asked.
“Yes, I think he has the orb the Dark King gave Morrigu when he left her alone in her palace. Queen Aaibhe has seen it in her possession, and I have little doubt that he has taken it from Morrigu.”
“Why would the Dark King give Morrigu such a thing?”
“No doubt when he left her on her own in the Dark Realm to go off with his human, he might have felt a twinge of pity for her and gave her something she could look out onto the world with.”
“Why didn’t he just send her back to Tir?”
“She was lost to black magic, probably already on the verge of madness. He should have seen it earlier and made her drink from the Cauldron, but evidently he didn’t notice till it was too late. As she was encased in the type of black magic she had fallen into, Tir’s atmosphere would have rejected her if she tried to enter without the queen’s leave, and we believe the Dark King felt he couldn’t set her loose in the human Realm.”
“She would not have been a threat without Gaiscioch,” I said and then thought about the close call with the children and breathed a sigh of relief; at least they were safe. I looked up at the windows, but of course no one had witnessed the fight because of the spell of concealment we had initiated when we first arrived. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to make certain Maxine and Julian were safely returned to MacTalbot. Deimne had finished off the last of the grotesque stragglers, and we consigned their bodies as well as all the blood and gore to the wasteland dimension we had been using as a graveyard.
Queen Aaibhe had told me when we spoke that she was concerned about this method of disposing of the corpses. She meant to visit the ‘graveyard’ dimension we had been using and disintegrate the corpses and body parts because she was worried about their effect on the dimension’s elements. However, I shook away all these thoughts as Danté lowered me to terra firma and hugged me close. He had that solemn, ‘take charge’ look, and I was struck by the beauty of who he was and what he meant to me—everything.
It didn’t take long to get back to Maxine and Julian, and as Danté was always one for observing the amenities, he formally introduced me and then himself to them. We had a few enjoyable moments of camaraderie. Even Deimne was in high spirits standing with us, his beautiful wings folded in at his back.
I knew Danté was anxious for the MacTalbots when he said to Deimne, “Why don’t you shift our friends home, and Z and I will drive their vehicle to MacTalbot and catch up with you there?” It was obvious he was concerned about Maxine and Julian’s mortal ‘situation’ and wanted them on warded ground, which all of MacTalbot land was.
“I don’t take orders from a Tuatha Dé, but it was what I intended to do,” Deimne said in lively spirits. His tone was as ever high-handed, but that was just his way. Danté sighed but let it slide.
Maxine laughed lightly, threw her arms around Deimne, and said, “You wonderful Sluagh, you—always a hero.”
This pleased him but made Julian pull a face, and then as Deimne took Maxine by the waist and touched Julian’s shoulder, Julian objected, “No need for you to hold Max any tighter than you are holding me …”
And we heard Deimne laugh out loud as they shifted off. I turned to Danté, and we both smiled. Then I sighed as I turned to Julian’s Jaguar and said, “Oh yeah … nice machine. Come on, let’s have some fun.”
Danté pulled me close and touched my nose with his fingertip, and then he kissed me long and sweetly, coming up to whisper, “My beautiful enfant warrior—there is none like to thee.”
Okay, every now and then I have noticed his speech slips into ancient times, but hot damn, it makes me forget anything else, anyone else as I listen to him. He is so enticing with that Danu accent, so masculine and seductive. His voice actually curls my toes. His gold-lit eyes makes my blood rush, and I feel my engine revving—revving …
* * *
There wasn’t even a minute for any down time with my Danté. I wanted to go off alone with him. I wanted to stay in his safe sweet embrace. I wanted to sail away—just the two of us and be—but I knew, for now, that was just a dream. And now, we had the job of getting Julian’s Jag to him and then planning out the ‘team’ effort for Samhain.
Once we reached MacTalbot Castle, we hunkered down in the library with snacks (I was starving), and we went over a list of things that needed to be done before Halloween.
We knew what our individual positions would be. We knew who would do what from where, and then at long last and just when the thought flashed through my mind that a glass of wine was what we each needed, Julian held up a bottle and grinned.
Maxine and I had an instant connection. I liked her. Her sense of the world tickled me. She was all girlie girl and, yet, so very strong. It made a fascinating combination. We ended up on the couch comparing notes on Breslyn and her experiences with the Fae, laughing until tears made their way down our cheeks.
It was a great release. She gave me a tour of MacTalbot as the ‘boys’ barbecued. Now, that seemed so incongruous—I mean barbecuing in the midst of all this and, besides, seeing Danté with a spatula sent me off again!
It was then that I got what I thought was a phenomenal idea and took Maxine into my confidence. We came up with a plan.
She had this extra sense, or rather ‘visions’ she called them—whatever. So I thought we should establish a mental link between us. It seemed like a smart thing. I didn’t want her hurt, and I thought she could call directly to me if she and Julian ran into trouble.
Max was all for it, and then she told me how she had been suffering lately from visions that nearly shot her down with pain.
“Painful because they worry you or painful as in headache pain?” I asked, frowning and reaching for her hand.
She squeezed my fingers and sighed. “Painful because I think the vision is telling me something I am too stupid to understand.”
“What do you mean? Tell me—we’ll figure it out together.”
“A vision will suddenly slam into me wherever I am—awake, asleep—but it will show me bits and pieces. I see monsters in a city, but I don’t know which city, and they are running amok with children in their hands … Z, they are scooping up children, and then it switches and I see Gais. You know, I met him once.”
“You met him? How?”
“That doesn’t matter. I had the wand … anyway in my vision he has his arms out and he is smiling as though he has won.” Maxie shook her head and squeezed a fist. “We can’t let him win.”
“Don’t you worry, there is no way we will let him.”
“But that’s just it, Z … I see you down somewhere, I don’t know where …”
“Down how?”
“Face down and not moving …”
I saw Maxie was getting upset, and I tried to shake it off and make her laugh. “Boy, would Danté be glad to hear I was sitting still.” She wouldn’t laugh, so I shook her shoulder. “You know it doesn’t have to go the way your vision presents itself. That’s why you can see into the future … to change it.”
She brightened. “Yes … yes, that’s true. I didn’t always see into the future. I used to see mostly in the past … another long story.”
It wasn’t until very late into the evening that Danté and I took our leave. Maxine begged us to stay, but we had a warlock out there to find, and Danté thought we should get back to MacDaun. Something bright in the twinkle of his golden eyes made me happily think he just wanted to get me alone.
We got back to MacDaun a moment later, and Danté took me into his arms. I just held on before I whispered, “L
et’s take a nice hot shower together …”
“I would like that,” he said on a husky note, and his hand moved down my back and cupped my ass.
“My enfant is so firm and perfectly shaped … tight, so tight.” His voice burned through me, and I was hot and ready for him all at once.
Bam!
The call came into both of us simultaneously. I felt my face crink up and wondered why the queen sounded so loud. She usually spoke in dulcet tones.
Obviously, Danté was getting the same call in his head. Look at that, a conference call in our minds!
So much for our time together alone. Apparently our queen had other plans for our late evening. I leaned into Danté and whispered, “We need an answering machine.”
Danté chuckled and then sighed as he held me close and said out loud, “Coming, my Queen.”
A moment later, we were standing in the queen’s chambers, and I felt a little nervous as she pointedly looked at me up and then down. However, her rueful smile set me slightly more at ease, until she demanded, “For Danu’s sake, Radzia, what are you wearing?”
I looked at my black leather halter and black leather pants and grinned. “Warrior outfit here.” I had changed my clothes after the battle as, even with Fae magic, I still felt grungy, but I had decided to remain clothed in ‘fighting mode’ just in case. My death sword was always sheathed at my back, and Rolo, oddly silent now, always dangled from my thin chain belt.
She smiled affectionately and scarcely blinked, but in that moment I was transformed and found myself in a soft, Grecian style gown of lemon-yellow silk. My hair had been arranged into the Grecian style of cascading curls. My sword was gone, and Rolo reposed on a nearby table. I frowned; this made me uneasy. She ignored my frown and told us to be seated.
Danté was staring at me and said, “I like you in yellow … I like you in this gown, enfant … It is most …” He grinned wickedly. “… becoming.”
I glanced at myself in the wide, tall mirror that was housed on the far wall before I sat. Was that Z—monster killer? That girl looked like a princess. I sat and waited to hear what the queen had to say.
She sighed and spoke softly. “I am sorry to call you away from your … er … evening. However, it is imperative you find Aaron Dunbar … now, and I don’t wish to call Breslyn or Ete away for this mission, as they have their hands full in Ireland.”
“The warlock is mine—not Breslyn’s,” Danté stuck in forcefully and on a hard note. “I mean to get my hands on him and punish him for daring to kidnap Z … daring—”
“Yes, yes, Danté, but we are speaking of so much more than a bit of revenge,” the queen said softly and with the wisdom she owned. “He needs to be caught because he carries a Seelie Hallow for Gaiscioch. I believe there is a portal out there that I have overlooked. So many thousands of years have passed since we used our portals. It was a time when shifting had not been totally perfected for all travel,” she said to me. I realized, of course, that Danté must already know this.
She paused and then continued, “I am not sure where this portal is, but evidently Gaiscioch knows of it.”
I knew that the queen had the gift of ‘sight’ and realized she had no doubt seen this in a vision, a vision that didn’t give up all the details, so I kept my questions to myself and waited.
She said with a slight strain in her voice, “I believe that Gais will use this portal with the help of the Seelie Hallow now in the possession of the warlock. I believe he means to open it and allow the Dark Ones to escape en masse and overrun the countryside …” She looked away as her voice trailed off. “This is my fault, Danté … I should have seen what Gais was. Breslyn and you tried often enough to tell me.” She waved off his objection and continued, “We need to find this warlock and stop him before he opens that portal.”
“Done,” Danté said.
“Do you have his scent?” I whispered “The warlock’s scent?” I looked up and marveled to myself at how handsome, how very much in command my Danté was, how self-assured, and whoa—so angry. I watched him clench and unclench his jaw.
However, just then he touched my chin even as he glanced at the queen. “Shall I leave my enfant with you, my queen?”
“As much as I would like that, I am afraid she cannot be left out of this. She is a part of it all. I cannot tell when she will enter the circle of the prophecy, but it is coming, and she must be there to embrace it,” the queen said, and I saw the frown descend over her beautiful face.
“Besides,” I added, smiling at both of them, “you can’t leave me out in the cold. If you don’t take me with you, fella, I will follow.”
In spite of the seriousness of the situation and the grave doubts I knew he had, he chuckled and hugged me close. “Then we are off, because I have already scanned and picked up on something …”
And then without another word and only a respectful nod to our queen, we were traveling through space. As we shifted I thought myself back into my leather halter and pants, more suited to fighting, and then allowed myself to feel the shifting through the universe. This time, I kept my eyes wide open. From now on, I would have to continue to keep my eyes wide open, for apparently I was about to walk into a prophecy where I was the main ingredient. Couldn’t say I liked that—and don’t misunderstand, it wasn’t because I was afraid but because I didn’t want to mess up; so much depended on my not messing up. So I definitely didn’t like the prophecy bit, but I didn’t seem to have a choice in the matter.
Good thing I had my eyes opened, because when we arrived at our destination and Danté tugged on my hand as we stepped out, I was confronted with the most glorious view of the valley below the Grampian Mountains!
Looking at scenery didn’t seem to be in the cards though, as almost immediately we saw the monoliths were actually vibrating with untapped power. They glowed and gave off a heat we could feel, and we were at least one hundred feet away—and they weren’t supposed to be there. The queen hadn’t been able to find them because they had recently been moved. Shit—what kind of power did Gais possess?
Evidently Gaiscioch had transported them, and both Danté and I knew that had taken enormous black magic.
And there with his black leather cloak flapping in the wind, his arms outstretched with his hands pointing to the heavens, stood the warlock, Aaron Dunbar. His hair was a mass of tangled gray waves—astonishing, as it had been an attractive chestnut color just a week or so ago—and was blowing about his face, a face I barely recognized. He was chanting at the top of his lungs in ancient Gaelic. He either didn’t care or didn’t realize that we were only a hundred feet behind him.
It occurred to me that I had come a long way from the girl who had gone out to lunch with the man he had once been—or had he already dipped too deep into black magic to have really been a man even then? Looking at him now, I couldn’t think of him as a man. He was riddled with black, protruding veins all over what had once been a handsome, almost boyish face. He was a black magic warlock, and I sensed he was now probably one of the most powerful warlocks that had ever existed.
I hadn’t seen the black magic in him before, but now I’d have to be blind not to see it! There was no missing what he had become, and for a short moment it was mind-boggling. How had I missed what he was becoming? Because what he was now was smacking me alongside my head and calling me an idiot.
~ Seven ~
“WHAT WENT WRONG, Gaiscioch?” Pestale asked on a frown.
“I don’t know … I should have been able to stay out of the Dark Realm longer, but no sooner did I step onto Irish soil than I was pulled back—forcefully pulled back.” I shook my head over the problem, allowing him to believe I was deeply concerned.
I had used Morrigu’s blood again, but it hadn’t worked with the gypsy relic I had been toying with in the weapons room—but then I knew it wouldn’t work. It needed Royal Seelie blood, and I had that, was saving that. When Radzia MacDaun had shifted into the war room for the maps, she had been wo
unded and her blood had dripped onto the floor. It had been an easy thing to scrape it up and preserve it. It was Radzia’s blood that would allow me final access to Ireland, and it was Ireland—Killarney, Ireland, not Dublin as Aaibhe and her Royals believed—where I would emerge with my army.
I had been putting on a show for Pestale because I knew he was suspicious of me. I believed also that he was compiling his own plans, but he still needed me to open a portal. I knew he would follow me out with the Dark Army we’d assembled, but I would be waiting for him on the other side with my death weapon. He didn’t know I was aware he had one of his own … and would be ready for him.
He had promised Morrigu to escort her out, and I knew it was because he believed I meant to leave her behind in the Dark Realm. I was not sure what he felt for Morrigu—I had thought him incapable of pity, but I was not so sure anymore. Where would he have acquired such a mundane emotion? Perhaps he wanted to save her to help him in future endeavors.
Fool—she was quite mad and would be more trouble than she was worth, but the subject was moot because I planned to kill them both.
There was the problem of his brothers, of course. I had to get the death sword from him before they did …
All very complicated, and I could see him staring at me, wondering what I was thinking.
He didn’t know I broke off a fragment of the Dark King’s mirror—Morrigu’s ancient and powerful mirror. She never knew the trick of using it as a portal, but I did …
That fragment was safely hidden behind a door of black magic—and Morrigu at that point was aware of only one thing: her sexual needs.
Black magic had begun to race through my veins, and it was attempting to take charge of my Seelie blood. I could not allow that, for then the ring of Tir would deny me.
I hadn’t expected to use so much of the dark arts. What was also a surprise was Pestale. I had thought to find him more steeped in black magic … and yet? I was not sure he needed it. I knew now that his creator, the Dark King, had tried to make the four Royal Houses using his own Seelie DNA, but it didn’t quite work. Without the Wheel of Being, something went wrong, each brother missing something, and yet, Pestale was very different from the brothers that followed him. He was their leader, obviously, but there was something in the recesses of his dark eyes …