“Oh? How’s tha?” Latharn asked incredulously.
“They know the technology of this time in a way that many of our clansmen never will,” Skye replied with a purposeful arch of her brow.
Several of the ancients, Latharn included, shifted guiltily knowing that the statement had been directed toward them.
“These people have been born into the era of computers,” she continued. “They can get you any information that you require with the stroke of a few keys. I know you see them as children, but their youth will provide more help than hindrance. And if we are facing an eminent all-out war between the breeds, we will surely need to recruit new members. The Ashers will serve as a large resource for pups. These men are experienced fighters with a grudge against the fògaraich. By utilizing the assistance they can provide us, we will be given the opportunity to observe their behaviors and find suitable candidates amongst their ranks. I see no reason whatsoever to deny aid to the surviving members.”
Taran could not begin to mask his pride in that moment. She was a warrior queen, more than he had ever dared to hope for in a mate. They were quite the match, and as the room of typically bull-headed ancients did the impossible and passed a unanimous vote to assist the Ashers, his heart swelled with love for her.
“Well? What’s going on? Are they gonna help?” Miko asked the instant they stepped out into the hall. His blood-shot, puffy eyes attested to the tears he had shed for Aiyana.
Taran arched a brow at how closely they had remained to the meeting.
Ciaran held his hands up defensively. “There was nothing to be done for it. He’d nah be removed from the immediate vicinity, me brother. I swear, he was very persuasive,” he insisted unconvincingly.
“Hmm... he threatened ya with physical harm, I’m sure,” Taran breathed skeptically. “For it certainly had nothing to do with ya wanting to listen in yourself.”
“Of course nah!” Ciaran lied with a grin. “Ya both raised excellent points, by the way,” he confided behind a hand and laughed when Taran groaned at his disobedient nature.
“Latharn is sending a large force to the airport now to await their arrival,” Skye told Miko as she took his hands in hers. “They will escort the survivors back to the castle safely. They have been instructed to protect the Ashers from the fògaraich by any and all means necessary.”
Miko hugged her tightly and muffled a sob against her shoulder as he began to break down.
Ciaran’s eyes widened and he cleared his throat before offering lamely, “Uh... we’re gonna go... umm... stretch our legs. Yeah, tha’s it.”
He and Taran quickly turned and walked a short distance down the hall, giving them a bit of privacy so that she could comfort the weeping mortal.
“Aiyana will be safe, Miko. She’s a fighter, you know that,” Skye whispered as she rubbed his back.
“I know... I know... it’s just, she has kids with her, Skye. If she were ever to recklessly risk her life for anything, it would be for kids,” he said as he pulled away and wiped his cheeks. After taking a deep breath, he forced a smile for her benefit and nodded that he was okay. “Thanks,” he began in a soft tone. “For... you know?” He tried weakly.
She smiled as she reached out and squeezed his arm. “No problem. I owe you both,” she told him.
He swallowed hard, trying to keep it together despite the fear that was gripping him.
“What would possess them to hit us full force like this?” He thought aloud.
Skye shook her head. “I’m not sure. It’s all pretty unclear, but I know they’re not happy about me joining up with the opposing team. Maybe this is retaliation against the Ashers for helping me.”
“I don’t like it. This feels... big,” he said worriedly and crossed his arms over his chest tightly, trying to warm himself against the chill his thoughts were causing. “The vamps are enough of a threat when they’re working solo or in small covens – but now they’re banding together? Organizing their attacks? I’ve never heard of anything like this. Can you imagine an army of them?” He asked in disbelief.
With those words, Skye realized that Miko was not aware of the few details she knew about the first war, or that another was coming.
“I can, Miko,” she whispered. “And I’m afraid it’s not just something to imagine, it’s a reality.”
“Reality?” He repeated anxiously.
“Yeah, and it’s coming a lot sooner than you or I could have possibly feared...” she continued, but trailed off when she saw Taran and Ciaran heading back their direction. “Just be thankful that we’re in with the furry-fang-gang, right?” She teased.
Miko nodded in understanding at her sudden abandonment of the topic. He realized that she was likely not supposed to be sharing the things she heard from the ancients with him.
“There ya are, whelp!” Ailean called as he rushed out into the hall.
At first, Miko mistakenly believed that the ancient was speaking to Skye. It was not until Ailean had an arm wrapped around his shoulders that he realized the Scotsman was referring to him with the term of endearment usually reserved for pups.
“C’moan, let’s ye an I pad aboot an go on the randan till yer fancy bit’s arrived,” Ailean urged.
“Say what now?” Miko asked in confusion.
Ciaran laughed and provided a translation, “He said he’s gonna take ya to get drunk till your woman gets here.”
“Aiyana’s not my ‘woman’,” Miko declared in surprise.
The ancients all rolled their eyes skeptically.
“Aye, of curse nae, whitever wis I thinkin’?” Ailean teased before leading Miko back to the dining hall to get hammered.
40: Visions of Violence
“Skye, my love, come to bed,” Taran urged.
“I’m not tired,” she lied as he stepped out behind her onto the balcony of his bedchambers.
In truth, her body was exhausted. Not just from the rigorous trysts with her men in the past 24 hours, but also from the toll her earlier vision had taken. It was her mind that was proving to be the problem. Every time she closed her eyes, Aiyana’s voicemail repeated in her thoughts, leaving her with a sense of dread that she could not begin to shake.
“Aye, wee one. Ya are nah tired... just as I’m nah hopelessly attracted to ya,” he teased and wrapped his arms around her.
“Mmm... I love that smell,” she breathed, hoping to change the subject as they gazed out into the night together.
“Which one?” He asked curiously behind her ear. “For ya are now able to perceive so many more than ya used to.”
She smiled at that. “True... like the scent of your skin, for instance. But I was referring to the burning leaves. I’ve loved that smell all of my life. Some of the guys are down there with a barrel fire going,” she said and pointed at the barely perceptible firelight far off in the distance. “It sucks that they made it illegal to do that in most places back home.”
“Illegal?” Taran repeated in abject disbelief. “For a man to have a fire?”
Skye chuckled softly at how strange that must seem to him.
“Well yeah, they had to do something to keep idiots from accidentally burning down their neighbors’ houses. The dangers of row-homes, unfortunately – one tart in the bunch puts the whole block in danger.”
“How closely together are the homes where you’re from tha all would burn?” He asked worriedly.
“How close?” She repeated in amusement. “They’re attached to one another. A block is about – I don’t know – 30 houses or so.”
“Hmm... does nah sound a pleasant living arrangement to me,” he commented. “A man needs space, a patch of earth to call his own.”
“Each house has a ‘patch of earth’. It’s not much more than a ‘patch’, but hey, at least it’s something,” she offered as she gazed up at the moon. “I still can’t get over how beautiful the sky is here.”
Taran smirked. “Nor can I,” he purred in her ear.
She laughe
d realizing that he was referring to the other ‘Skye’.
“Not me, babe,” she said as she rolled her eyes and nuzzled back against him. “This...” she continued, pointing up at the cloudless sky above that stretched on unobstructed for as far as the eye could see. “I swear I didn’t know there were so many stars until I came here.”
Taran frowned at that. “The sky is the sky, wee one – the same here as it is there.”
Skye shook her head. “Not quite. Where I’m from, we have a groovy little thing called ‘light pollution’. Means the lights from the city reflect off the clouds and smog. The sky over the city on most nights just looks like one big orange cloud.”
“Ah, yes, I can see the attraction to the modern world now,” Taran said sarcastically. “How horribly overpopulated must a place be to blot out the night sky with its lights?” He asked in disappointment. “Oh, love... I wish I’d been able to show ya the world as it once was. I’m sorry tha ya were born to such a terrible place. This time is nah a pleasant one, it does nah deserve ya,” he sighed remorsefully. “But the most beautiful, resilient flowers bloom in darkness. They thrive where others could ne’er survive. Ya are a testament to the truth of tha.”
“She coming to bed yet or what?” Ciaran whined as he stepped out onto the balcony. “Ya shoulda just thrown her over your shoulder and carried her in by now.”
“Why’ve ya nah told me aboot ‘light pollution’? Or how overcrowded the cities are?” Taran asked.
“What are ya tellin’ him out here, a stóirín?” Ciaran groaned and leaned heavily on the railing beside them. “How are we ever gonna get him out into the world with ya putting such awful images in his mind?” He teased and smiled at the laugh she gave in response. “Her city is nah all bad, brother. Did she tell ya about the restaurants, theaters, museums, parks, and gardens? About the zoo, aquarium, or the Shofuso house? Or – best of all in me opinion – the cheesesteaks, scrapple, and soft pretzels tha her ‘overcrowded, light-polluted’ city has? Trust me, we’ll be sure to visit many places and do many things in the modern world ya will enjoy.”
Skye nodded that it was true. “Someday, I’ll show you around my old stomping grounds.”
“Could make it our first stop when we head to the U S of A,” Ciaran suggested. “Taran here is near the end of his Guardianship, after all. And besides, just between you, me, and the fence-post, I’ve a sneaking suspicion tha Latharn will offer to take over for him a few years ahead of schedule. Ya know, seeing as how Taran’s newly-mated and all tha.”
“Aye, newly-mated – yet unable to convince my mate to get into bed with me,” Taran teased.
“I’m not tired,” she insisted again.
In response, she received thoroughly incredulous looks from both men.
“Fine, I’ll make ya a deal,” Taran began.
She already knew that she had lost.
“If ya can lie in bed for...” Taran thought on it for a moment.
“Half an hour,” Ciaran suggested before winking over at her and adding firmly, “Minimum.”
“Aye,” Taran agreed with a smile. “If ya can lie in bed for at least half an hour and still be awake, I’ll stop pestering ya to go to sleep.”
She nearly made it to that half hour mark... nearly.
It took a lot of back-rubbing and nuzzling to relax her to the point of unconsciousness, but Taran was more than happy to provide it.
Listening to the Ciaran’s soothing vocals as he unhurriedly strummed his 6-string, she finally drifted off to sleep in Taran’s arms.
But their united efforts to calm her could not stop her dreams.
The sensation of her men curled around her once they settled in could not keep the visions in her mind from taking frightening turns.
Skye was standing alone in the entry hall.
In the silence, her voice rang out –
But she was not the one using it.
“It couldn’t speak to me directly...” she had said.
“It used those other voices to relay the message...”
Skye nodded in understanding.
Apparently, the whispers wished to communicate with her again.
Seemingly in response to her nod, voices from the past and future echoed around the empty space.
“I hear it was over the Asher lad,” Latharn’s voice rang out first.
“Miko is not ‘just’ an Asher,” she heard herself growl.
“The lad is a friend to her...” Taran said softly.
“He is your pup...” Latharn said.
“He is fiercely loyal to Skye,” Taran offered.
“I care whether or not he gets pounded,” she heard herself confess.
She turned and saw the five men, the ones she had been so suspicious of.
They stared back at her dangerously.
“... see the five together?” She heard herself ask.
“I just... don’t like the way they’re acting.
Something’s off about them.”
Her voice turned angry suddenly.
Her outraged words reverberated through the hall.
“Who are you to touch him?” She demanded furiously.
She could see Miko standing in the hall now...
But one of the five was standing behind him, gripping his throat.
He sneered at her as he choked the life from Miko.
“What will it feel like?
To be touched by death?
To be dead?” Her wolf wondered.
“If he passes, ya hold tight to the memories...” she heard Taran say.
“He can’t have made it, love,” Ciaran whispered tearfully.
“Ya don’t want to see him like this,” Ciaran insisted.
“Miko!” She heard herself bawling.
“Death happens to all eventually – even to us,” Taran had said.
Gasping for air, Skye opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. She was trembling and covered in cold sweat, but Taran and Ciaran were still sound asleep at her sides.
Holding her breath and moving as slowly as possible, she slipped from the bed and dressed. She just had to find Miko and assure herself that he was safe. There was no need to wake Taran and Ciaran for this. If she could just see with her own eyes that Miko was all right, she could quell the crippling anxiety that was overwhelming her senses.
It was just a dream, she tried to convince herself. It isn’t happening now.
She forced herself to believe that as she silently crept out of the room.
Her heart was in her throat as she descended the stairs. She could hear the distant sounds of the men drinking and having a good time.
“Hey, have you seen Miko and Ailean around?” She asked when she spotted Onchu.
“Think they’re in the dining hall still. I thought you’d gone to bed – is everything all right?” He asked.
The concern in his tone made her realize that her thundering heart must be alarming him.
“Oh yeah, I’m fine – just ran down here to make sure that Ailean’s not coercing Miko to drink more than a mortal’s share of whisky,” she offered.
Onchu laughed and nodded. “Fair enough. Want me to show ya where the hall’s at from here?”
“No need. Thanks, though,” she called as she jogged away from him.
A thorough search of the dining hall turned up numerous drunken clansmen eagerly offering to aid her in her search, but no sign of Miko or Ailean.
As the passing seconds turned to minutes, her panic grew.
Please... where is he? She pleaded in her mind.
“A Sgitheanach...” the whispering woman beckoned in response.
The whisper seemed to echo to her from a hall to the left.
Without hesitation, Skye took the direction.
Each fork in the road that she came to, the whisper was there to guide her.
“Keep talking, whoever you are. Please just keep talking to me,” she urged as she broke into a run.
Her mind struggled
to come to terms with the fact that she was being guided by a disjointed voice, but she abandoned her apprehension when she turned the corner and spotted them.
The five.
They were surrounding Miko, shoving him and laughing. His face bore evidence of the severe beating that he had already sustained.
Skye’s blood boiled at the sight.
I’m not too late, she realized in relief.
She did not slow her pace a single bit. With vicious intent, she broke through their ranks and shielded Miko from their attack.
“Skye?” He asked as he looked up at her in a daze.
She reached out and gripped his hand in response, but did not tear her eyes from the glare she was receiving from the leader of the five.
“I see someone here has a death wish,” she snarled. “Consider me your genie, then.”
The leader’s face, while it had been twisted in menace a second earlier, suddenly broke out into a smile. He burst out laughing, and the others immediately joined in.
Skye stifled her rage enough to form words. “What’s so funny, mook?”
“Not much, it’s just that Brandubh said you’d be this easy,” the leader said with a vicious grin.
Darkness Descends: A Skye Faden Novel Page 57