by Sasha Parker
Erin nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I will, I promise."
Her grandmother smiled at her. "So, you and Aedan and Myles?"
Erin blushed. "Yeah. I love them, Mamo."
"I can see that. I can also see that they love you, too," she said.
Erin walked over to her and hugged her tight. "Thank you. For being you and always looking out for all of us."
"Oh, a leanbh, always and forever. Blessed be," her grandmother said and left the room.
Erin got tears in her eyes as her grandmother walked out. That woman had given so much of herself to protecting them and nurturing them after their parents were killed. Erin snapped out of her musings. Her parents. Had that been what the dolphin had been trying to tell her? No, it couldn't be. She shook her head. She was going to bring this up to her sisters tonight and they could discuss it then.
****
So the sisters were together again, how touching. He had begun his dream chasing again and was pleased with the results. He had been able to get into all but two of the sisters’ dreams. He would get into the last two, it would just take a stronger spell. He would wear them all down and then their reflexes would be off.
The wedding was so close, he needed to strike before the guests arrived. There were some very powerful people invited that could hurt him if they tried to join in. He wasn't ready to have his identity out there quite yet.
His lady was proving stubborn again and he would need to see her in order to increase the power on the spell he had placed on her. It was going better than expected. He now knew more from her than before. She had actually called him last night to inform him of Erin's arrival back to the castle. She had quickly realized she had called him but didn't remember why, which was good. The spell had upheld, he had been worried about that. It was designed for her to tell him what he needed with her having no knowledge of what she had said to him.
Once he increased the power of the spell, she would begin to feel like she had to be with him. He wanted her by his side in the end. He hoped that would be the case but if it wasn't, he had no qualms in killing her. Her blood would taste so good.
****
All of the sisters met down in the living room later that night, telling the men they wanted some bonding time. The men had quickly set up camp outside with a small cooler of beer and said they were protecting the perimeter. Their grandmother had long since gone to bed so it was just the sisters, alone, with several bottles of wine.
They sat all around the room, filling Erin in on all things wedding. Erin could see there was a lot to do and wanted to help where she could. Ari was in the process of telling her about the Council members coming.
"One of them is coming, Reilly and Lachlan said that all four can only be at the Council's headquarters together. Anyway, Una, Queen of the Fairies, is coming to officiate. Can you believe that? The Queen of the Fairies is going to marry me to my men!"
Erin's jaw dropped. "Wow that is so awesome. How honored we will be to have her here."
Kira nodded and said, "I think it's too cool. We were psyched when we heard."
Sheela looked at Erin. "She has also decided to have it in the back garden, thank god. That means the decorating for the most part is done."
"Standing or sitting?” Erin asked.
"Standing,” Ari said firmly. "From what the guys have told me, it's not a long ceremony."
Calli seemed to be too quiet and Erin elbowed her. "What's up?"
Calli shook her head. "Nothing, just haven't been sleeping well."
Ari narrowed her eyes. "Not the bad dreams again?"
"What bad dreams?” Erin demanded, knowing what had happened to Ari, she immediately was worried.
Kira answered for Calli. "She has been having dreams like Ari but different. It seems the spirits are talking to her at all times."
Erin glanced at Calli who shrugged. "I just have to learn to control them better. Mamo is helping me."
"Speaking of spirits, um, Calli? Have you seen our parents?” Erin asked.
Calli frowned and shook her head. "No. I hadn't even thought of that. Why?"
Erin saw all her sisters looking at her intensely. She drained the rest of her glass of wine, which Sheela being Sheela, refilled quickly. “Well, um, while I was away at the zoo,” Kira, who was on her third glass, snickered and Erin stuck her tongue out at her, "I learned that I can talk to aquatic animals.” Her sisters all looked stunned.
"You have got to be shitting me,” Sheela said. "All I can do is set things on fire. And I have learned over the last few weeks, that can be a bad thing. I've gone through two beds!"
The sisters all burst out laughing and then Ari said, "Go on, Erin, there's more, right?"
Erin nodded and took another big sip of her wine. "Okay, so in talking to the animals, I came across a dolphin. The one that helped me when I lost air.” Her sisters nodded, having heard the story from Reilly and Lachlan. "Well, she told me that a long time ago she had seen a plane crash. She said that a man and woman fell into the water looking like jellyfish. Then she said they tried to help them but a net scooped them up and took them away in a big boat."
All her sisters were staring at her with stunned looks on their faces. So she decided to continue. "The dolphin told me the woman 'felt' like me. She explained she knew we were from the same pod, like dolphins, which meant family.” When there was still no comment, she said, "Could someone say something?"
Chapter Sixteen
"Wow," Ari whispered.
"Holy shit," Calli said.
"What the fuck?" Kira exclaimed.
"Wha...damn," Sheela couldn't even seem to speak.
"Exactly," Erin said.
"Okay," Ari said, taking charge as always. "We need to go through this rationally. I cannot believe that I am going to say this but, Erin, do you believe this dolphin?"
Erin couldn't help it, the combined tension in the air and the wine in her body made her laugh aloud. "Um, yeah. They really seem to be very forthcoming creatures.” Then to be funny, she said, "I haven't had one lie to me yet.” She grinned.
It got the desired result and the sisters all laughed. Then Kira said, "What do we do with this?"
Calli piped in and said, "I think we should ask Mamo if she has ever spoken with them, since I haven't, maybe she has."
"If not, then we can go further, but let's wait and see what she says,” Sheela said.
"Let's keep this with us for now. Agreed?" Ari asked and put her hand out.
All of the sisters put their hands in with hers and agreed. They were quiet for a few minutes while they sipped their wine, lost in their own thoughts. Then the topic flipped as Kira sat up and looked at Erin.
"So, dearest sister, anything you want to share with us?" she said.
"Like what? I have already told you everything that you don't already know," Erin answered.
"Uh-huh, okay. How are you and the guys?" Kira prompted.
Erin blushed. "Fine."
Sheela sat up and pointed at her. "Ooh, you did them!"
Calli giggled and said, "If that blush is anything to go by, then she did them a lot."
Erin smacked Calli on the leg. "Shut up."
Ari looked over at her and said, "Spill. Is it love?"
"Yes, it is. I love them, and they love me, are you all happy now?" Erin told them.
They all nodded and Kira said, "Man, lucky bitch, both of you."
Ari laughed. "Your time will come."
They continued to talk of love and weddings for some time before Calli stood up and said, "I have to go to bed. I have enough wine in me to sleep well tonight. Night, bitches."
They all said good night to her and Sheela went to reach for her glass when fire shot out of her fingers, catching the napkin on the table on fire. "Damn it!” She jumped up and smacked it with her hand to put it out.
"Has this been happening often?" Erin asked.
Kira nodded. "Be careful you don't piss her off. She set my t-shirt on fire the other d
ay ‘cause I made fun of her hair."
"I did not! Well, it was only the sleeve," Sheela mumbled.
"She is going to learn to control it. It's all still new to all of us," Ari said, trying to keep the peace.
Erin smiled and said, "I love you Shea-la-la,” calling her by her childhood nickname.
Sheela stuck her tongue out at her. "Whatever. I am going to get it under control."
"Of course you are,” Kira said sarcastically and giggled.
They continued to tease each other and try little spells for fun. They knew their gift was to be taken with all seriousness, but this was just to release the tension they had all been feeling for some time now. They also continued to drink the wine, so when Ari reached for her glass and knocked over the glass of water sitting there, it was Erin's quick handiwork that had it floating in air.
Kira, Ari, and Sheela all watched, fascinated. Erin twirled her finger in a little circle and created a small waterspout. It was a little tornado made of water. It whirled around on the table for a few seconds and then she pointed to the glass she had stood back up. The water seemed alive as it jumped back into the glass.
"That. Is. So. Cool," Sheela said.
"Yeah, Erin, there will be less spills to clean up now, thanks to you," Kira laughed.
Erin grinned. "As long as the liquid is water based, yes.” She flicked her finger at Kira and a bit of the water splashed into her face.
"Hey! No fair.” Kira wiped at her face.
Sheela decided to turn on the stereo system, playing the old eighties tune, 'Footloose'. They used to dance to it all the time when they were younger. They all jumped up and began to dance to it like they did in the movie. They were laughing and yelling, falling and giggling when Ari looked up and saw the men in the window.
She squealed and pointed them out to her sisters who began to squeal at being caught while they saw the men looking amused. Then Erin approached the window with a sexy walk and a wink, then snapped the curtains shut on their stunned faces. All the sisters dissolved into laughter as they began to dance again. After a while, they were out of breath but happy. Together once again.
Sheela and Ari laughed with Erin as they all began to clean up the living room. They laughed more as they tripped over each other trying to clean but ended up making more of a mess before finally getting the hang of stumbling to the kitchen. Once there, they broke out some snacks and sat at the little kitchen table.
"Is everything really okay with Calli? She seemed really on edge," Erin asked.
Ari frowned a little. "We don't know. She's not talking to us about it. I'm going to have a talk with Mamo in the morning, well, when I get up.” She laughed. "I'll see if she knows anything."
"Don't forget you have a fitting tomorrow right after lunch,” Kira reminded her.
Ari nodded and Sheela chimed in, "I will meet you there so we can go look at bouquet samples."
"What about the caterer?” Erin asked.
"Ah, Mrs. O'Leary is catering, of course. She is getting a plan together, we meet with her day after tomorrow," Ari said. "Would you all mind coming with me to the fitting? I want you to see if you like the dresses I chose for you as my bridesmaids."
The sisters all agreed and Ari told them Calli, as well as their grandmother, were already coming with her. Their grandmother wanted to find the right dress for the wedding, as she wanted something new.
Just then, the front door opened and Ari said, "Uh oh, here it comes. Or should I say, here they come."
The men walked through into the kitchen and took in the scene. "Okay if we come in?" Aedan said.
Erin smiled at him and held out her hand. "Sure. We were just munching."
Aedan walked over to her and took her hand to kiss. Her sisters giggled and Kira said, "Aedan, do you and Myles have any brothers?"
Reilly stepped further into the room and said, "Don't answer that, she is already gunning to meet our brothers and one is married."
Aedan laughed and said, "We don't have any brothers, only a sister."
"Damn. Well, fine," Kira said and turned to Sheela. "Looks like we will be sharing dances."
Sheela laughed. "You go ahead. I'm good. I don't want a man in my life. No offense, guys."
"None taken," Myles said.
Kira stood. "I'm going to bed. Ari, come get me when you are ready to go tomorrow. I will be back in the back garden, practicing."
Ari nodded. "Night, sleep well."
Everyone else chimed in saying good night to Kira and Sheela as she, too, said good night. Then it was the men with Erin and Ari. The men split up to set the wards around the castle as Ari and Erin said good night.
"You really are happy with them, aren't you?" Ari said to Erin.
Erin smiled. "Yeah, they are great. They make me very happy. You know, before things get crazy, I just want to say I love you and I am so happy that you have found love. No one deserves it more."
Ari got tears in her eyes and began to wave a hand in front of her face. "Thank you, honey, I love you, too. Now, stop or I'm going to be blotchy and I really want some sex tonight."
Erin burst out laughing. "Okay, okay. I'm going up, good night. See you tomorrow. I will be at the fitting. I'm dying to see the dress."
They hugged each other and Ari left. Erin had realized when she stood to hug Ari that she had drank more than she thought and was past tipsy. She tried to breathe slowly through her nose to try to center herself, but it wasn't doing much good. She walked, stumbled really, to the stairs. As she looked up to the top, it looked very high up there. Just when she was trying to get the nerve to climb and at the same time thinking the couch in the living room was pretty comfortable, two strong arms swept her up.
She looked up into Myles's face and laid her head on his shoulder. "My hero."
He chuckled and said, "Come on, kitten. Let's get you to bed."
He carried her to her room and stood her on her feet. Aedan entered and they began to undress her. She tried several times to lean in and kiss one or the other. They chuckled at her and indulged her by kissing her back. When they were finished, they gently laid her in bed and climbed in beside her.
She turned and cuddled up to Myles while Aedan snuggled behind her. She fell fast asleep within moments, happy and warm between her men.
Chapter Seventeen
Erin woke and groaned as she rolled over. Her men weren't in bed with her, but they were sweet enough to leave her a glass of water and aspirin beside the bed. She quickly took the pills and downed the glass of water. She slowly got out of bed and went to take a long, hot shower.
She felt much better after her shower and got dressed quickly before heading downstairs to grab some food, knowing she could recover faster if she had food in her. When she entered the kitchen, Myles and Aedan were waiting on her. They had poured her coffee and had made her some food. She kissed each one of them thoroughly in thanks and sat down to eat.
They chatted about plans for the day and Myles argued with her about all the sisters going to the fitting. Erin had told them no men were allowed. He was really unhappy about that. So were Reilly and Lachlan as they came in and heard the conversation.
"You all need protection,” Myles insisted.
"I know that, but we will be together. There's nothing to worry about," Erin told him.
"There is everything to worry about. There has already been an attack when all of you were together," Reilly said calmly.
"Yes, but we are stronger now and we defeated him then. Please, this is important to Ari. You two can't see her in her dress before the wedding," Erin said. "How about if I call you when we arrive and when we leave?” she tried to compromise.
Lachlan sighed. "They are all determined to do this and she's right, Ari would be upset if we saw the dress."
"I can see it. Both of us can, we can protect them,” Myles insisted.
"We can't be imprisoned because of whatever threat is out there,” Erin told him.
"She's right,�
� Aedan said calmly. "They need to do this. Erin, you will call us when you arrive and when you leave. Right?" he said firmly.
Erin nodded. "I promise.” She looked around at the men.
She could tell they weren't happy about the arrangements, but she was determined that Ari would be able to do everything a bride would do without the interference of the men. She wanted her to enjoy this time, it was supposed to be a happy one for a bride. She was going to make sure Ari had that and more.
****
He stood and straightened his suit as he entered the darkened bar. He glanced around and looked toward the back. He walked to the back corner that held a booth one could sit and talk in relative privacy. He sat down and waited for his appointment to arrive. They had never met in person, always speaking on the phone, but time was running out and he needed to finish this with those women so he could move on with his plans.
He looked up as the Dark One entered. He was known in the Wiccan world as a very dangerous and vicious Wiccan who had turned against the Council years ago. He hoped they could continue their relationship once the Five were defeated and he was in power.
The Dark One sat down and they began to speak of the one thing that could bring them both what they wanted. He wanted the power the Five could bring him and the Dark One wanted the death of the Council. If they worked together, both could be achieved. He outlined what he needed from the Dark One and then told him all the details of how to go about getting the women alone.
The Dark One agreed to the terms he laid out. He sent men with him to ensure it was done. He trusted the Dark One only so far. Now he had to make contact with his lady. She would help him set his plan in action. Finally, everything was set. He grinned as he thought, Poor Adrianna, no wedding for you.
****
The sisters and their grandmother got into the SUV, waving goodbye to the men who looked very unhappy. They arrived at the shop with no problems and Erin did as promised, calling Myles to let them know they were fine. Then they all sat around the seating area, waiting while Ari changed. When Ari stepped out, wearing her gown, all the women squealed in delight.