“Maddy, love, you must tell me what’s happened? Did Tarrek come to you in a dream walk? I’ll kill the bastard,” he hissed, beginning to roll off of me.
But I wrapped my arms and legs around him and refused to let go. “No. You can’t.”
“Begging your pardon, Maddy, but I can and I will,” he said stiffly.
“No, Bay. Tarrek has taken the cú sith.” I was sobbing again, unable to speak.
“A leanbh, we knew that from the start. Why’s it bothering you so?” He stroked my back, going up to his knees so he was kneeling on the bed. Still I clung to him like a barnacle to a whale.
“One of the cú sith’s abilities is to steal the souls of the living. If Tarrek controls the souls, he’ll control the beings. I’ve seen it, Bahlin. In the dreams I had before I came over here, before the evolution. I just didn’t know what I was seeing. There were bodies, and I thought they were dead, but they weren’t. They were soulless, and they were holding out there hands to me in a cry for help. Don’t you see? They were begging me to save them. He’s building a soulless supernatural army, Bahlin.”
“Oh, great gods.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Bahlin and I sat clinging to each other for a while, darkness pressing against the window.
“I have to call my weyr, Maddy. As put off as I am with my father and my sister, Da’s the Glaaca, and he’ll be able to pull together more members of different clans and get us some help. We can’t call the fae to help, though they’d be bloody useful. There are the vampires, and the witches and wizards. I think we can count on them.” Bahlin set me gently aside and rose to fetch his cell phone, dialing quickly.
I could hear the rings, one…two…three.
“Da? No, no. Look…” and he told them what was happening. “I don’t know,” he said, some time later. Turning to me he asked, “Maddy? Can they be killed?”
“I don’t know, Bay. Can he just get some of the different clans together and meet us somewhere on the Highlands? We need to meet far enough away from Castle Duncan that Tarrek doesn’t suspect us.”
He nodded his head and went back to the conversation. “She’s not sure, Da. I’m thinking fire, but we’re not all so inclined. If we work together, though…” and off they went, strategizing.
Feeling helpless, I curled up on one edge of the bed. If only I could meditate and reach Tyr again I could ask all the things fear had denied me such a short time ago. I closed my eyes and focused on the sounds of the air conditioner, clicking on, clicking off. But after several minutes, I realized it was useless. I opened my eyes and screamed. Bahlin had apparently hung up with his dad and was kneeling on the floor with his face inches from mine.
“Sorry. Sorry,” he said, clasping a hand over my mouth as I sucked in another breath to scream. “I thought you were gone to Tyr, and I wanted to be here to make sure nothing interceded in your dreams. No screaming?”
I shook my head and he removed his hand. I smiled weakly, and he returned the gesture. I’d come to a decision while he was on the phone. If we stood a strong chance of dying, and tonight was our last night together, I wanted it to be special.
“Bay?” I said softly.
He looked at me warily. “Yes?”
“Kiss me?”
“Any time, mo muirnín.”
He leaned in to me, and I tilted my head to meet his. His large hand grasped the back of my skull and he held me just so, our lips brushing against each other with something akin to trepidation, as if we were new to each other. And in a way we were. Because we’d never come together, truly come together, with intent such as this without something hanging over our heads, whether it was my moral fortitude, his blasted prophecy, or simple fear. For the first time it was just the two of us. Yes, life hung in the balance, but war waited in the wings this one night. Tonight, we were center stage.
Bahlin brushed his tongue over my lower lip and I sighed into his mouth, opening and encouraging him to come inside. He took my offer, gently sweeping inside, then sucking playfully on my lower lip and smiling, releasing it with a pop. I smiled back. I looked into his eyes and realized that there was nothing different about Bahlin tonight than there had ever been when he’d taken me to bed. The last tumbler on my heart’s lock fell. I was his. Because despite the fear that he’d deceived me with the words “I love you,” I saw with crystal clarity that he’d been completely honest with me when he said he’d done things this way for his chance at love. I lifted my head out of his hand as I pressed my lips more firmly to his. He kissed me with renewed passion, and I felt his erection swelling formidably against my thigh. Propped on one elbow, he ran his free hand along my ribs and down my hip, and I sighed.
“Say the word and I’ll stop, but say it now,” he said softly into my collarbone and he kissed randomly along my neck, across my T-shirt, and scraped at my nipples through my bra. They pebbled without hesitation or apology, and I involuntarily arched into him.
“Bahlin,” I sighed, and he froze. “What?”
“It’s just, yeh’ve never been so relaxed, mo muirnín, and I’m no’ sure what to make o’ it,” he said gently.
“I want you, and I want tonight to be special in case…” I couldn’t say it. “Just in case.” Tears burned in the back of my throat, and I knew he saw the fear for what it was.
“I love yeh more than life, Madeleine Dylis Niteclif,” he said gruffly, his brogue thick. “But I will no’ have yeh, willing or no, due to fear. I’ll gladly spend the night with yeh, in the same bed, but I’ll no’ take my pleasure until this is done.” He continued kissing his way down my body, unbuttoning my jeans when he reached my waist.
I pushed up, confused. “I thought you said—”
“I said I’d no’ take my pleasure.” He grinned up at me, the wicked corners of his mouth twitching with suppressed laughter even as his eyelids drooped and hung at half mast. “No, I’ll no’ take my pleasure. I said nothin’ aboat yours.”
Dawn came and went. Bahlin and I didn’t move until around noon. We were both naked, and I’d curled up against his side sometime during the night. He had most of the covers bundled about him and he was snoring softly. I grinned at him, remembering every detail of last night. He’d been true to his word and had not once achieved his own release, though there had been a couple of close calls, poor guy. But he’d made sure in every way but intercourse that I’d found my own pleasure…repeatedly.
I peeled the covers back and scooted under, his warmth a shock to my cool skin. He pulled me toward him in his sleep.
“Tha gaol agam ort,” he mumbled and kissed the top of my head.
“I love you, too, Bay.”
He opened a sleepy eye and grinned wickedly.
“Oh no you don’t, lover boy,” I said. “I’m done. Finito. Terminado. Fini.”
“I find it incredibly sexy that you can say finished in three different languages.”
“You’d find it sexy at this point if I did laundry in a mumu with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth and a glass of bourbon in my hand at nine o’clock on a Tuesday morning. You’re out of luck.”
“Hmm. A nicotine-addicted, alcoholic of a housewife? I’ll take one to go.” He dove under the covers and I screeched, scrambling off the bed.
“Damn it, Bahlin, I’m done.” I laughed as he emerged from under the covers looking disgruntled. “I’m sore, baby.”
“What did you just call me?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.
“Sorry. Do you want me to try something else? Drago? Tesoro? Mi amor?”
“No. Baby, while very American, is the first pet name you’ve ever called me. I’d like to keep it.”
He looked so sweet sitting there rumpled in the bed. I loved him so much. I smiled at him.
“Yes,” I said.
“Yes, I can keep it, or yes, something else?” he asked, his browns drawing together with curiosity.
“Yes, something else. If I can still have it.”
“Anythin
g, my heart. What is it you want?”
“My marriage proposal,” I whispered, butterflies roiling in my stomach.
“Come again?” he asked, stunned.
“Unless you’ve changed your mind,” I said, suddenly feeling like a fool. Why had I insisted on ruining a perfectly good thing by wanting more? I wondered, berating myself. I turned away, intent on just dropping it and privately drowning myself in the toilet.
He swept me up in his arms and rained kisses all over my face. “Yes, yes, yes,” he shouted, spinning me in a circle like a mad man.
I looked up at him, my head bouncing around like a maraca as he danced about the room performing some naked Scottish version of Riverdance. It wasn’t pretty.
“I’ll have my ma bring the Elder tonight, and we’ll be bound in front of all the clans. Oh, Maddy, yeh’ve made me so happy.”
“Shouldn’t we wait?” I asked, hating like hell to rain on such a happy moment.
He stopped his maniacal hopping around and set me down. Taking me by the shoulders he said, “No, Maddy. Should the worst happen, I want yeh to have rights to all I own. Yeh’ll never have to worry for money again, and the weyr will owe you their allegiance as my spouse. Yeh’ll be protected until yehr passing.” He cleared his throat and turned away, seeming somehow smaller.
“Bay? What are you not telling me? Please, tell me. Wait.” I stalked around to face him, driving a finger into what, on a human, would have been his solar plexus.
He flinched.
“Is there a prophecy about tonight?” He took a deep breath and I screamed, “Tell me.”
“No, Maddy. It’s just that I’m scared. I’ve finally found yeh, and I don’t want to lose what we have so soon. Forgive me for scarin’ yeh.”
I physically sagged, and he caught me. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” I said. “After we shower we’re going down to the dining room, and we’re going to talk about everything you know, Bay. Prophecies will be our first topic of conversation. Are you clear on this?”
My dragon just smiled.
Chapter Nineteen
We spent the day resting with Bahlin eating every two hours. He explained that this was normal for dragons preparing to go into a fight. “We burn a lot of fuel when we use our magic, Maddy.”
“Does shifting constitute magic?” I wondered aloud.
“Ah, now that’s a great debate. It’s similar to the question about the chicken and the egg, but our version is which came first, the man or the monster?” He laughed out loud at his own hilarity. I just rolled my eyes. I didn’t know if I could take a lifetime of bad jokes.
“Hellion called back and his coven will be there, along with three other covens nearly equal in power. He’ll not be as powerful for having lost Gretta, but there are several pairs that will be joining us.”
“Why are pairs important?” I asked again. Apparently it was my evening for questions.
“Ah, because magic is based on the laws of nature. And what is the unarguable fact of nature?”
“In everything there is a male and female?” I responded, posing it as a question just to see if I could.
“Almost. In everything in which there is a male and female, the two are more powerful for their joining. Together a male and female make life, love, happiness, sorrow, anger—all the most powerful emotions. And so when you pair a male to a female you get the tradition of Yin to Yang. One is never complete without the other.”
As abstract as the thought was, it made sense. “So are dragons the same way?”
He hesitated only briefly, but I saw it. “They are.”
“So I inhibit you by not being a dragon,” I said.
“Dragon or not, you’re a woman and I count myself lucky to be your Trékkor.”
“Is that like a spouse?” I asked…yet again. I had to stop with the questions. I was beginning to annoy myself.
“It is. You’ll be my Trékkar. But don’t fool yourself, Maddy. It’s more serious than human wedding vows,” he said gravely. “There’s no such thing as divorce in the clans. Once you’ve committed to me, and I to you, we’re together until one of us dies. Then there are rules about remarrying. Really you should have a crash course in this, but there’s just no time.”
“I hate to ask another question, because all my conversation seems to be punctuated with a question mark today, but if that’s the case, what about the prophecy?”
Bahlin’s eyes hardened. “We’ll beat it somehow. I don’t know how, exactly, but we’ll have to find a way to change the nature of the thread on Clotho’s spindle, my love.”
All I could think was, Damn straight.
We went up to the rooftop deck, Bahlin jamming the door lock with a reverse version of his breaking and entering show from only a week ago. The hotel was one of the tallest buildings in this part of town, minimizing the threat of being seen. He stripped down to his skin and shoved his clothes into the same messenger bag we’d carried days ago. He smiled at me and then ripped through the change, one minute a man and seconds later a full-sized dragon. He took a deep breath and was suddenly cloaked, appearing as nothing more than a vaporous smudge on the night air.
“Feeling frisky tonight?” I laughed before I stepped into him. He scooped me up in his arms, and I was instantly wrapped in the miasma of his cloak. He clutched me tight and shot up into the air without hesitation, the buildings falling away. I realized that, for the first time, he was acting like a dragon with me. No apologies, no coddling, just all animalistic behavior. It was liberating and terrifying.
We flew to the northwest at breakneck speeds, the land and lochs blurring by in the clear light of the nearly full moon. If we failed, the full moon would be upon us and Tarrek’s power would be stronger than since this had started. He’d have Imeena’s heart, and his own evolution would be complete.
Over the sound of Bahlin’s booming breath I heard the flap of other wings. Looking out across the sky I saw nothing in the moonlight, but I knew we weren’t alone. And then a figure darted below us, and Bahlin bellowed with rage. He began to swoop toward the offending dragon when he drew up, seeming to remember I was there. He grumbled deep in his chest and I imagined that, for whatever the offense, when he caught the other dragon there’d be hell to pay.
We arrived at the predetermined spot about an hour before we were supposed to be there. Already the clearing was teaming with life despite the remoteness of the location. Men and women in robes stood segregated from the most beautiful creatures I’d ever seen. They seemed to glow in the moonlight, and I knew Imeena’s vampire kiss had shown up to either save or avenge her. To the other side of the clearing were groups of dragons. How did I know? Some of them were still in dragon form—the rest were in some state of undress. I knew if I saw Leith or Aiden without clothes I would have to bleach my brain. I couldn’t see my in-laws naked and come out unscarred.
“Niteclif,” boomed out a disturbing voice.
“Oh good. Hellion’s here already,” I muttered, schooling my face into polite interest before I turned around. What I failed to remember was that all but the witches and wizards had exceptional hearing and there were some snickers from both crowds.
“Something funny?” he asked frostily.
“Definitely not,” I answered. Honest. “Glad you made it.” Not as honest. While I knew we needed him, I didn’t feel we could trust him.
Bahlin was speaking to his mother, gesturing in an agitated manner.
“Hold that thought, Hellion,” I said, walking toward Bahlin and Adelle. Reaching Bahlin’s side I asked, “Problem?”
“The Elder isn’t here,” Bahlin hissed, staring across the clearing at his father. “Apparently someone felt he’d be safer at home.”
“Ah, I see,” I said, and I did. I pulled off the knives with which Bahlin had been coaching me. He’d improvised harnesses from his own leather belts, boots and duct tape, and I threw them to the ground. Next I undid my own belt, ejected the clip on the Colt 1911 and dropped it to th
e ground. Yes, guns were illegal in the UK. But hello? It was owned by a dragon. Obviously the officials weren’t asking the right questions.
“Maddy,” Bahlin said, the warning clear in his voice.
“Sod off, Bahlin,” I snapped, storming toward the Glaaca. “Leith.”
“Niteclif,” he answered coolly. “Problem?” he asked, repeating my comment with sarcasm.
I got right up to him and waved him close to me. Being an arrogant ass, he bent at the waist and got close to eye level with me. I gathered myself and, in a perfect single motion, dropped a roundhouse kick on him that would have snapped the spine of a lesser monster. Okay, so he stood perfectly still while I wound up and he didn’t know I’d had three years of kickboxing and one year of karate, but really? Talk about arrogance.
My foot would be bruised tomorrow, but it was so worth it to see him trying to determine up from down as he lay sprawled in the heather. He stumbled as he tried to get up and I set up for another kick, but Aiden was in front of me.
“No, Maddy. You get the one, but not another,” he said, and I thought I saw approval dancing across his features. Brylanna was at her father’s side, helping him up. I backed away from the group of them, watching the blue dragons gathering around their fallen leader.
Leith made it to his feet and spit, discarding a useless tooth. “I imagine you’ll pay for that.”
“Send me the bill.” I turned my back on him and walked back to Bahlin.
We milled about, waiting on the last of the vampires to arrive. Imeena’s kiss had called in some favors and we had two other kisses joining us, one from Ireland and one from Galway. It wouldn’t be long before our ragtag bunch was together, for better or worse. Leith stayed away from me, and I from him, until it was time to begin tactical planning. He stormed over to our group and announced that he’d have nothing to do with fighting with a human and wouldn’t hold his weyr to a war he, himself, intended to avoid.
Bahlin stepped away from the group and said to his father in a low, carrying voice, “Da, what’s the meaning of this?”
Legacy: The Niteclif Evolutions, Book 1 Page 28