Catch & Hold-Legend (Legend series)

by Conn, Claudy

  “You knew about the blood?” I snapped, ignoring his question. “You knew all along and kept it from me?”

  “Yes, I knew and tested my theory through you. Now, I too can come and go as I please—my blood, my father’s blood is Royal Daoine. I realized that awhile back. I am Daoine on my father’s side and Tuatha Dé on my mother’s. The Mirror will always respond to me.”

  “Your mother?” Suddenly it clicked in my head. “Your mother is Morrigu?” This shocked me beyond my wildest imagination.

  “In a manner of speaking—my father took some of her DNA without her knowledge, although I believe she suspected, and combined it with his own. He did this years before he found his human. However, that was not all that went into the mix.” Pestale’s smile was bitter and his voice touched with suppressed rage. “He wanted me and my younger brothers to be a super-powerful House of Royals—so what must he do to over-ride Morrigu’s blood but add that of a magical creature from his world of Danu. The creature, now dead because of his experiment, is deeply a part of who I am. I have powers untold because of my Royal Daoine blood and the creature’s genes. I was his first ‘son’, and he wanted me to have every advantage. There wasn’t enough of the creature’s DNA to go around, and my brothers were spared.”

  “What … oh by Danu … you are speaking of the Krill.” I couldn’t believe what he was telling me. The Krill was a huge, tawny, beastlike creature much like the lions of Africa. Only the Krill had a very high level of intelligence and ferociousness mixed in with their magic. I thought them destroyed with the planet, but the Dark King must have secretly saved one when we left. They had their own society on Danu apart from the Daoine and the Tuatha Dé, and we often had problems with them. This was unthinkable. Had the Dark King been mad? Pestale might be very difficult to kill … for a death sword could only kill a Krill if it was used to decapitate. A Seelie Krill could not be killed any other way. This development was totally unexpected!

  * * *

  Back on the Isle of Tir, Danté and I found Trevor, who advised us that he had already informed the Council of the situation and they wanted it kept a secret, as they didn’t want a panic to ensue on Tir.

  The Council had also requested Ete visit with Queen Mab and see what could be done at that end. That was a good thing, as perhaps Mab would be able to find Aaibhe.

  We looked at one another, and it was Trevor who spoke first. “What do we do now?”

  Danté frowned at him. “We are off to meet with Chancemont in Dravo, but you, my buck, will stay here in Tir and be our eyes and ears.”

  “There is nothing to spy on in Tir, Danté, but I might be of use to you on the road,” he said hopefully.

  I could see Danté was going to deny him, and I hurriedly interrupted. We hadn’t had more than a chance for a brief introduction earlier, but I just dove right in. “You know, I think you have a point, Trevor.”

  Now I was certain a Seelie Fae could blush. He looked at me shyly, and his thick, dark lashes lowered over those beautiful eyes so much like Danté’s, and when he raised them and looked at me fully, I knew this one was going to slay hearts.

  He grinned mischievously at his older brother, who held me so close I felt as though I were a part of him. The he returned his gaze to me and said quietly, “Thanks.”

  Danté pulled a face, and Trevor gave me a rueful look and commented, “Don’t think big brother agrees.”

  “He will—he is just thinking it out,” I answered him with an accompanying smile I hoped was encouraging.

  Trevor leaned into my shoulder and whispered, “Everyone—at least my friends on Tir—are chattering about you and Danté, and now I see it’s true. You have tied him up in knots. He wants to send me off but doesn’t wish to annoy you.”

  I laughed right out loud and waved my hand with my objection. “Oh, no … no one ties your brother up in knots, and he is always telling me no about something.”

  “The young warrior is right there—don’t wish to annoy you … ever,” Danté said softly, not in the least self-conscious as he bent and dropped a kiss on my lips.

  I think I blushed then, because I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. “Yes, well, plans … we have to set our plans.”

  Danté chuckled. “And so our new mission begins.”

  “Trevor will be an asset to us while we are visiting with Chancemont. Do let him join us, Danté,” I said in an aside.

  Danté chewed his bottom lip and, oh, hot damn, he was gorgeous. “Right then,” he said. “We are off for Dravo.”

  I glanced at Trevor and realized I had made an instant friend. I smiled to myself, well pleased, and then I remembered: nothing to be pleased about; Gaiscioch had our queen.

  * * *

  “Oh ugh,” Trevor said as we stepped out of the thick atmosphere we had just traveled through. “What was that?”

  “A counterfeit shifting pattern the Milesians created from our Danu dust,” Danté answered absently as he looked around.

  There was no time for more as Chance appeared in his usual uniform of leathers, his blonde hair blowing about his handsome face, his eyes, though, not twinkling as they normally did. “Is it true?” Chance demanded of us as he got closer.

  At his back, I saw his pretty blonde sister as she sidled up behind him and glanced at Trevor. She put a finger to her lips, begging me not to give her away. I smiled inwardly and kept the information to myself. She was definitely a cutie, and then I noticed Trevor looking shyly at her. Uh oh, what have we here?

  “Yes, it is true,” Danté answered solemnly. “Gaiscioch has captured our queen.”

  “How the devil did ye let that happen, Royal?”

  Danté’s fist clenched and unclenched, as did his jaw line, and I stuck in hurriedly, “You know in war … the unexpected things happen. We did not expect our queen to be unattended.” War? I questioned myself. What did I know about war? This was my first war, but what the hell—I thought it was a reasonable answer.

  “Aye, you couldn’t have known she would do such a careless thing as to arrive unattended,” Chancemont conceded. “M’father is with your Nuad, cleaning up and making sure the city is safe from any stray Dark Fae, and I’m certain he knows by now about your queen. He always spoke highly of her, and I know he will work with Nuad to help ye in this.”

  Danté inclined his head. “Thank you, Chance, but do you have any ideas? Did you notice anything we may have missed? Sometimes, being too close to a matter clouds the entire picture.”

  “Ye be looking for answers, I know, ’tis a natural thing, but I can only be helping ye with the questions—for the right questions might be bringing ye the answers ye need,” Chance returned.

  Interesting, I thought and noticed his sister maneuver over to Trevor, who was standing just a bit away from us, looking around Chance’s courtyard with keen interest. I overheard her say, “Hello, I’m Chancemont’s sister. My name is Lana.”

  “It suits you,” Trevor answered sweetly. “In ancient Danu Lana means lovely.” Trevor stood erect and smiling warmly at her. Oh yeah, something going on there.

  She eyed him mischievously, and I shook my head, again thinking she was cuter than cute, but then my attention was distracted from them by the conversation between Chance and Danté. “I’ll bite … what questions should I be asking?” Danté returned.

  “How did he trap her—and to what end? He has an end, and it has all to do with her, your queen. What would he do with her? How many dimensions support the kind of atmosphere he would need to keep her alive long enough to … conduct his plans for her? Are they questions enough for ye, man?”

  And before we had a moment to even contemplate this, the air around us was altered dramatically. A swirling dark ring opened up, and we looked deep into a black hole of sorts that kept expanding in a sky no longer blue. We watched, fascinated, silent all of us as we wondered what the heck was going on.

  Danté asked in a low voice, “Does this have something to do with your atmosphere, Chance—
or perhaps your weather here on Dravo?”

  “No … I don’t know what the devil this is—and I doona like it …”

  And then we found out exactly what it was!

  The air waves exploded with dark smoke and then turned into a tornado that didn’t move from ground to sky but across the sky. It was a huge diameter of black, and it spiraled off a heavy mist. We saw it open and knew it was some kind of a tunnel. I could only imagine it was a tunnel between us and the Dark Realm. I felt it in my bones.

  I was preparing myself for Gaiscioch to step through with an army of his Dark Fae, when I was totally thrown off balance.

  It was not Gaiscioch but Pestale and his three brothers who stepped boldly out of the strange black swirl. Their death swords were up and pointed our way. Let me repeat, each had a death sword!

  Like what the heck? First of all, where did they get four death swords? Had they created the weapons from artifacts the Dark King had left behind? What was with this Dark King anyway? He’d created a horrible world and then, what—just threw up his hands and said, I’m outta here? Not very responsible of him, but then he didn’t think like us. So off he went, designing and producing these Dark Royals with all the powers of a Royal, but didn’t bother to rein them in when he saw they were evil. It didn’t make sense to me, not after I had been with his mate, Crystal.

  No time for philosophy, however, as Pestale, with two brothers on his left and one on his right, took a stance, a very threatening stance. Pestale said on a hard note, “Ah … not the Human Realm—somehow my coordinates were off, but never mind, it will do nicely as a launching pad for our endeavors.”

  * * *

  All hell broke loose! I mean those were fighting words to people like the Milesians. After all, they had stood up against the mighty Seelie Fae at a time when they weren’t quite as powerful as they are now.

  I wondered why Chance had not called on any of his men, but then perhaps he thought we were evenly matched. I wasn’t so sure and, at that point, not caring too much about fair.

  I saw Chance and Danté jump into position. Trevor was trying to shield both me and Lana; neither one of us wanted to be shielded, so he had a thankless job.

  Our own death swords were already in our hands and pointed lethally at our adversaries. We stood ready at the core, but the Dark Princes had a strategy of their own.

  They shifted in and out and all around, slashing aimlessly as they (I suppose) meant to throw us off our game and off balance. They should have known better. We each were steady and on their Dark scent, which preceded them when they shifted.

  Rolo was saying something in a low voice I couldn’t hear so I was a bit impatient when I answered him. “What, Rolo? Kinda busy here!”

  “Don’t go for Pestale—go for one of the others,” Rolo said on a hushed note. “Pestale is way different than his brothers.”

  “Your disc talks?” Lana asked on a laugh, as though we weren’t in serious trouble.

  “Yup … Seelie Hallow.”

  She nodded and moved away from the fray. With her sword up and aimed she worked the outer circle, protecting our backs. I was again impressed with her cool and skilled style, but there was no time for more observations as Pestale was suddenly close—way too close. As I spun around he jumped back with a laugh, avoiding the blade of my death weapon.

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Danté and Chance were busy with two of his brothers while Trevor had taken on the third.

  Pestale witnessed my glance and laughed harshly. “That’s right, Daoine … no help from that quarter, but you don’t have to fear me—I don’t want you dead, at least not until you have had a chance to change your ways.”

  “Change my ways? I kinda like my ways.” I tried to buy time with banter and figure out how to go after him since my sword was oddly quiet, which I had discovered meant it hadn’t figured out just how to get past a given problem. Right then, my problem was Pestale and his speed of movement. I noted to myself that he was faster than his brothers, a great deal faster.

  “Do you, beauty—like your ways? Well, once you are mine, we shall see, Radzia MacDaun, if I allow you to retain some of who you are,” he answered, willing to play. “I have watched you in Morrigu’s orb and have made a decision to have you.”

  “Have you?” I was inching around him, my sword blocking any blow he might have in mind.

  “You will be the first of my consorts, for as long as you please me. You shall have only one above you, my Queen Morrigu, but I shall make you comfortable and teach you many things. You have but to join me, for mine is the winning side.”

  “Sorry, fella. First of all, I’m already spoken for, and secondly … there is only one side for me, and it’s not with you.” I tilted my head at him and gave him a look that said I found him no more than an abomination, in spite of his ‘to die for’ looks.

  “Soon you will change your mind … or die. It will be your choice.”

  “That’s right, my choice, and I give myself a wider range than you can imagine,” I said.

  He was emitting the sexual power that he believed was impossible to resist, and it would be if I were human. I was a Daoine Royal, and I was in love with Danté. Nuff said. So I added just for emphasis and because I wanted to throw him off his silly game, “You might as well turn it off—it isn’t happening.”

  His face became a mask of not anger but bitterness as he said, “Then die!”

  “Not today,” I threw back at him, only a little worried about his death sword aimed skillfully at my heart. I had a clear thought of Gais and wondered if he knew the Dark Royals each had a death sword. I didn’t think so. My conclusion was they had been busy little beavers all on their own.

  I shifted behind him, but he spun around ready for me and laughed, though it was a rough and threatening sound. I shifted above and hovered a few feet above the ground (another new trick my Royal Daoine blood has taught me) and leveled my death sword at the top of his handsome, evil head, but he shifted out of range. This was frustrating, but Rolo had said Pestale would be difficult.

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Trevor was in trouble. He was young and had never encountered hand-to-hand with a Dark Royal whose power stemmed from black magic. He wasn’t using his shifting skill quickly enough, and I saw the Dark Royal come way too close to catching him with the sword. Even a slight scratch from the death sword would be enough to kill a Fae, any Fae.

  The Dark Royal Trevor was trying to fight wasn’t quite as tall, but he was very deft with his movements, his patience, and his sword. Trevor was young and too exuberant, with not enough skill. He had allowed his success killing the uglies to go to his head. They were no contest, and this fight was very different.

  Danté’s back was turned so I sent him a message with the link we had between us, but each time he tried to turn towards Trevor, his own Dark opponent engaged him.

  I decided to forgo my fight with Pestale and shift to Trevor and help him. Pestale, obviously realizing my intent, blocked my path and said, “Oh no … let the Seelie fight his own battle.”

  And then I saw Lana. No one had noticed her in the background, waiting her chance to join the battle and help Trevor.

  Sword in hand, quietly, stealthily Lana had shifted behind the Dark Royal who had jabbed way too close at Trevor. Before I or he knew what she was about, she was shoving her death sword into the Unseelie Royal.

  He roared with the pain that shot through his body, and he looked towards Pestale as though asking for his help. His arms went out and his hands opened towards his oldest brother as he dropped to his knees.

  Pestale shifted to him and was there holding him as the Dark Royal collapsed in his arms. “No … not you!” Pestale cried as he turned to us, and his voice filled the atmosphere. It was like a hundred powerful male voices bellowing with fury. “My youngest, my dearest brother! You all … shall pay!”

  We stood apart from them as they converged on their fallen brother. We could have used the mom
ent to attack and destroy, but that would have been cruel—ruthless, which I’ve been told you need to be in war.

  We would live to regret our kindness.

  However, at that moment Pestale was in the throes of grief as he growled in genuine agony, “Nooo … nooo—not you!”

  As we stood back, I realized how many thousands of years these four had spent together with little other company. They had not encountered illness or injury to themselves.

  Again, we could have ended it there in a final attack, but we stood away and watched Pestale cradle his brother in his arms … not able to take advantage of the situation. It was who we were, and even if it was a mistake, I am proud of it.

  Pestale leveled a look at Lana. “He was my youngest—and you will die by my hand.” He looked at us all and said, “You will all die!” And then the three of them vanished with their fallen brother.

  We looked at one another, and Chance said, “We have to ward Dravo against them …”

  “You won’t be able to ward Dravo against them. They are Dark, yes, but Royals all the same. We can’t ward against them at Tir, and neither can you,” Danté said, gritting his teeth. “Remember—that’s how we have been able to come and go from Dravo although you had it warded against Fae. Your wards don’t work against Royals. You will need to have guards set about your village night and day.”

  “Aye then.” Chance started off but turned around and hesitated before he spoke to Danté. “We are in this with ye, Danté, to the end. But now, I have to fetch m’father … this thing you call a Royal has threatened m’sister!”

  Trevor went to Lana, took her hand, and dropped a kiss at her fingers. “You saved my life.”

  “Not really—you probably would have been able to finish him yourself. I just saw the opportunity and took it.”

  “Brave lass,” Trevor said. Their eyes locked, and I was pretty sure that in that moment, none of us existed in the world they had just entered.

  Chance watched them for a quick moment, pulled a face, and looked Trevor over head to foot. He said, “Time for ye to leave, lad … m’sister has things to do at home.”