“Who is this?” Smoky asked softly.
“Her name is Áine and she’s under a curse. She can’t shift into human shape. She’s been stuck guarding Myrddin since the Fae Lords imprisoned him. Not so much of a fun time. We think she’s a baby.”
“Baby is relative. She is young, but not like a child per se. She’s younger than I am by far, but an adult as far as her human form goes. I’ve never met a blue-green mix.” He looked intrigued, as did Shade.
“Well, she’s Myrddin’s lover. Or, was, before they were sentenced to an eternity in that gods-forsaken cavern.” I let out a long sigh and turned to see how Morgaine was doing. She was still silent, staring at the sky as the rain poured down on her face. “We have another problem. Arturo woke up, remembered he was King Arthur, Mordred found out that Morgaine is actually his mother and that Arturo is a prick.”
Shade let out a disgruntled noise. “That figures. Delilah would manage to get involved in a Jerry Springer moment. So what happened to Arturo and Mordred?”
“Mordred killed Arturo in a frenzy, then he ran off when he realized what he’d done. We had to leave Arturo’s body there and, since we couldn’t find Mordred anywhere, we had to leave him behind, too. Morgaine is in bad shape. She hasn’t spoken since it happened and we can’t seem to bring her out of the fugue into which she’s retreated. We couldn’t get her to eat, either. And none of us have eaten in over twenty-four hours.” My stomach rumbled.
“Let’s get you inside. I don’t know if Áine will fit . . .” Smoky looked hesitantly at the dragon. “She’s small as dragons go, but . . .”
“But she’d probably knock over a buttload of things and piss off Hanna.” I turned to Myrddin. “I’m sorry, but Áine needs to stay outside. We can’t fit her in the house.”
He frowned, but nodded. “Let me speak to her. She can at least stretch and get some fresh air here. She’s been down in that cavern—that tomb—for so long that she’ll probably welcome the chance to fly.”
Smoky gave the High Priest a quick smile. “Let me talk to her.” He moved toward the dragon and whispered something to her. She squirmed, wriggling like a happy puppy. A twenty-foot-long, round-as-a-barrel happy puppy. But then, she shot up in the air and flew toward the woods.
When he returned, Smoky was laughing. “I told her Shade and I would come out later and go flying with her. And we’ll do whatever research we can to see if there’s a way to reverse the curse that she’s under.”
Myrddin let out a grateful sigh. “Thank you. I . . . it’s been so long for her, but a frozen moment in time for me. I remember watching them curse her and wanting nothing more than to destroy every last one of them, but there was nothing I could do. They’d bound me in a place where I could do no magic, and then . . . then they came for me and that was all I clearly remember until Camille and Morio woke me up.” He grinned. “I woke up to see a very interesting sight on top of the casket, that’s for sure.”
Smoky frowned but before he could ask, I moved us all inside.
Delilah and I took Morgaine up to my bedroom to change. We gently removed her clothing—she neither protested nor helped, just let us move her around like a rag doll.
After she was naked, I ran a warm lavender bath. The herb soothed and healed. Delilah guided her into the bathroom and, between the two of us, we managed to get her into the tub. I gently washed her back, and lathered up her hair. Her eyes were vacant, as if she’d packed up and left home.
As we cleaned her up, Morgaine’s body relaxed, but she still wasn’t talking and I had my doubts that she even knew we were actually there. It was beginning to feel eerie, like the lights were on but nobody was home inside. But when I thought about how long she’d been in love with Arthur, how long she’d taken care of him and how long she’d hidden her true relationship with her son, the fact that she was shell-shocked shouldn’t really come as a surprise. PTSD, plain and simple.
We guided her out of the tub, dried her off, and wrapped her in a bathrobe. Then, while I pulled out my blow-dryer and dried her hair, gently brushing it smooth, Delilah went downstairs to get the parlor ready. Morgaine needed to rest. Until we could return her to Talamh Lonrach Oll, we’d keep her in there. I braided her hair and then led her down to the living room.
Nerissa was there, surprising me since it was a weekday. But Delilah said, “I called her and asked her if she could come home to keep an eye on Morgaine while we bathe and change clothes and eat.”
Grateful, I turned over care of our cousin to our sister-in-law and then headed toward the stairs again, this time to take care of my own needs. The smell of grilling meat stopped me, though, and my stomach rumbled so loud that I blushed. Smoky, who was behind me, slapped me on the butt.
“Get up there, and I’ll bring you something to tide you over, woman.” He laughed and headed toward the kitchen.
Morio had already gone ahead and by the time I got upstairs, he’d taken a shower and was sprawled on the bed, just enjoying the feel of the mattress beneath his back. I started the water again, and added vanilla bubble bath, then went back to the bedroom to undress.
“I’m taking a bath. Wake me when the apocalypse is over, would you?” I grinned at him, tossing my underwear in the clothes hamper, followed by my skirt. Smoky entered the room, stopping to stare at my naked body. “Don’t even think it,” I cautioned him, waggling a finger his way. “Not till I’ve rested, eaten, and bathed. And not in that order.”
“You take all the fun out of ogling, woman.” But he handed me a protein bar and a glass of milk. “Eat before you bathe.”
I stared at the milk. “Who do you think I am, Delilah? I want caffeine.”
“Caffeine won’t sustain you. Now do as I say or I’ll spank you.” He meant it. Smoky had a real thing for spanking. Because he respected my safe word and would stop if I asked him to, I had no objections when he was in the mood. Besides, getting spanked by the right man could be a real turn-on.
I drank the milk in one long gulp, and carried the protein bar in with me to the bathroom, where the tub was full. Turning off the faucets, I dipped one toe in the hot water and winced. Almost too hot, but after a moment, I adapted, and then, inch by inch, I lowered myself into the tub. As I leaned back and let out a long sigh, my muscles briefly complained, and then shut the fuck up as the heat of the water began to work its way into the knots, undoing the tension.
The protein bar was chocolate and peanut butter and within three bites, I had gobbled it down. My stomach gurgled, complaining that there wasn’t more where that came from, and I willed it to be quiet as I languidly ran the washcloth over my skin. I was tired and chilled, but as I flashed back to the hours after I’d been rescued from the Northlands—from the ordeal Hyto had put me through—I stilled my complaints. This? Was uncomfortable. That had truly been hell.
Twenty minutes later, my stomach was raising hell and I finally hauled my ass out of the water and dried off. Most of the bubbles were gone, anyway. I dressed in a cozy knit skirt and top, and then dried my hair. After a five-minute makeup application, I finally felt almost back to myself.
Smoky and Morio had already headed downstairs. As I set foot on the first step, the house rumbled and began to shake. I grabbed hold of the banister, trying to prevent the quake from propelling me down the steps. As I managed to pull myself back up on the landing and crawl away from both railing and steps alike, the floor rolled again and a shriek announced Delilah, landing on her back at the foot of the steps leading down from the third floor to my suite of rooms.
“Kitten! Are you all right?” I gauged whether I could stand up, decided that the quaking was too strong, and crawled over to her.
She winced, but managed to sit up. “Yeah, I think so. Nothing broken that I can feel but I bruised my butt, that’s for sure. What’s going on?”
“Yvarr—it has to be Yvarr! And since I’m not being pulled into trance, I have a really bad feeling that this is far worse than last time.” Yvarr had been waking up.
He’d been trying to break out of his astral prison. And now, I had the feeling he’d managed it.
Pictures began to fall off the walls, and we scrambled out of the way as a large framed painting of a bowl of fruit hit the floor, the frame splintering. One of our friends had painted it—I couldn’t remember who at the moment—but now it was a twisted mess.
“So much for that.” Delilah nervously glanced overhead, looking to see if there was anything that could fall on us. Luckily, the light fixtures were still firmly in place and there were no chandeliers up here to come crashing down.
“You know, given that we came through the siege on Elqaneve, I think we’ve weathered too much in the earthquake department. It’s time for something new,” I grumbled. “We don’t need any sentient storms here.”
The rumbling slowly ground to a halt.
She stared at me. “Don’t even joke. Not about that.”
We waited, but there were no aftershocks, and so we scrambled to our feet and hurried downstairs before the quaking could start again. In the kitchen, Hanna was staring at a plate of overturned hamburgers and a large tureen of soup that hadn’t quite made it to the table. I felt unaccountably angry at whoever had been doing the shaking. Damn it, I was hungry!
Nerissa led Morgaine in from the parlor, and Shade brought Myrddin in from Hanna’s room where the high priest had showered and was now wearing a pair of Chase’s jeans and a turtleneck. He looked oddly out of place without his antlered headdress. His hair, though, shone brilliantly red under the lights now that it was washed. Yeah, I thought as I ran my gaze over him. The Merlin cleaned up quite nicely.
“Where’s Bran?” I looked around.
“He stayed outside to talk to his men, then he was going to return to Talamh Lonrach Oll. But I think he’s still here.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “I didn’t have the psychic contact this time with Yvarr, but ten to one, it’s him.”
“You think so?” Smoky looked worried. “Even my kind hesitate to take on the ancient wyrms. Not only are they dangerous and crafty, but they are our forebears. Some among the Dragon Reaches think it heresy to even speak of fighting them.” He paused at my look, then blinked. “I will, of course. Make no mistake about that, my wife.”
That Smoky sounded so cowed made me want to break out in laughter, but I quickly sobered. This was no laughing matter. “Good, because we’re going to need every hand on deck. How do we find out if he truly escaped his prison?”
“I can answer that.” A voice from the front door startled us. The wards hadn’t gone off so it couldn’t be anybody meaning us ill will, but most of our friends were well-mannered enough to knock before entering. But the answer to that came when Raven Mother followed her words into the kitchen.
“I can tell you, yes I can, that Yvarr has escaped from his prison so tight. The two Fae Lords I spoke of? They have woken, and when they woke, their spell holding him was broken, and he comes now, to your house, to fight you.”
“Fucking hell, why not go after the Fae Lords who imprisoned him in the first place?” I wasn’t feeling particularly charitable, and I was getting tired of being the target of every creature with road rage. “And what the hell are the freaks doing, now that they decided to emerge from their self-imposed nap?”
“I have . . . taken them into protective custody, you might say. They are in my territory, I have a right to restrain them until we decide what to do with them. There is no need for others to know they’ve woken. But to Yvarr . . . destiny involves herself in this matter, Camille. You and the Moon Mother have much you have not discussed, and there are so many milestones that wait for you. But there is more—Yvarr sensed the unicorn horn. He comes to destroy you and take it.”
“But Eriskel will booby-trap it. He won’t be able to use it—that’s what these sorcerers don’t understand! The Black Unicorn gifts the horn. If it’s stolen, the spirit of the horn can prevent its use.” But even as I said the words, I knew that anybody looking to steal it wouldn’t believe me. They’d think I was trying to throw them off track. Which brought me back to Mistletoe’s warning. I needed to keep my eyes open because I had a gut feeling that I hadn’t seen the fallout from those rumors yet. Or, if I had, I hadn’t recognized the danger yet.
“Why does Yvarr hate the Black Unicorn so much? And you? Why is he after you?”
Raven Mother’s eyes grew darker and her lips curled into a luxurious, sensual smile. “It is true. Yvarr has a special hatred for the Black Unicorn. They fought, one time long ago. I have been hunting down information, I have. And I discovered that my love fought in the Great Divide on the side of the Fae Lords, and he helped to rip the worlds apart.”
“The Fae Lords in Darkynwyrd—did the Black Unicorn help them imprison Yvarr?” Things were becoming clearer now.
“Yes, that he did. Much to my dismay. I would have kept the worlds together but since I can travel between them, it matters not in the long run. But yes, he did, my love. He did . . . and Yvarr has held a grudge. And he holds a grudge against me because he believes that I helped the Black Beast. He smelled me on you, and he smelled the horn. So now he believes you are in league with us. The friend of my enemy is also my enemy.”
“So he’s coming here to avenge himself on us because he thinks we’re all cozy with you. And he thinks we hang out together. But where is he right now? How far away is he? We don’t dare let him enter Seattle.”
“He flies toward the Sovereign Nation. They will not be able to fight him on their own. You must hurry if you are to catch him. I will wing my way there and warn them. Bring the ancient one.” She nodded to Myrddin. “He has the magic needed to battle the great beast.”
And with that, she vanished out the back door and a huge black raven went flying off. I stared at the others. “You heard her. We have to get out to Talamh Lonrach Oll before Yvarr does. Because if he ends up here, he’ll destroy Seattle in one happy fireball.”
Hanna pulled out the bread and meat. “I’ll make sandwiches while you get ready.” She knew the drill. And so did we.
* * *
We headed out the door, food in hand, fully equipped. For this, we took everybody we could spare and left the guards to watch over the house. It was either stop Yvarr, or have no home to return to.
I brought Morgaine with us—we needed to get her back to Talamh Lonrach Oll anyway. I had no clue how Aeval and Titania would be able to help her, but there was nothing more we could do for her.
Iris had come up to the house to be with Hanna. The Duchess was still in town for another week. “I would help you, but I think I need to sit out this fight.” The house sprite gave me a tired smile.
“No, you stay here. If we don’t call by afternoon, take the children and get away from here. I’ve called Chase and told him what’s going down. He can’t leave, not if the city is in any sort of danger. So if things go south, take Astrid with you. He knows I’m telling you this.”
Nerissa cleared her throat. “I’ll make sure Iris, Hanna, and Maggie get to safety if it comes to that. I can’t take Menolly out of her lair, but if Yvarr breaks through and attacks the house, she should be okay in the basement, given the steel reinforcements to keep fire from burning through.” The look on her face told me how hard it was for her to volunteer to leave Menolly behind, to make sure the others were safe.
We’d fought demon lords, a dragon, and even a god, but we’d never yet tried to fight something quite like Yvarr. While he was from the dragon family, Smoky had warned us he was bigger, stronger, and far less connected to humanity than most of the Dragonkin. The wyrms were giants even among their kind.
“If it comes down to it and we don’t make it back, you know what to tell Menolly. We couldn’t wait for her to wake up and we love her, and did what we had to do. We have to go now.” I hated what I was saying, but we’d lost so many that I couldn’t bring myself to pretend everything was peachy-keen. The words barely came out of my throat, but I was able to add, “Tell her that Shamas i
s dead. I met him on the astral. He was fighting for King Vodox.”
Nerissa pulled me in for a hug. “I’ll tell her everything you need me to tell her, but it’s not going to come to that. You’re going to kick this wyrm’s ass to hell and gone. And then you’re going to come back here and eat dinner and go to bed and sleep for a week. After that, we’re having one fucking huge party for Yule. Do you hear me?” She gazed down at me, her limpid eyes catching the light. She really was gorgeous, and she loved my sister with all her heart.
“Yeah, I hear you. And we’ll start in earnest, teaching you how to fight. You can hold your own as a puma, but . . . it’s time we brought you into the family business, so to speak.” I laughed then. “We have to be able to turn you loose without worrying about you. Menolly would rather protect you. She’s like Smoky is with me—if she could, she’d set you up in an ivory tower and bring you presents every day. But Smoky’s learning—and Menolly has to learn—life’s not like that.”
I wasn’t sure why I said that, but it seemed appropriate, and Nerissa ducked her head, smiling.
“I’ve been telling her that for a while now. Thanks, sis. With you and Delilah on my side, she’ll have to listen.”
“Camille, get a move on!” Morio’s voice echoed from the foyer.
“I have to go. One more thing . . . if . . . if it goes wrong, find a way to get word to Trillian for me? Take the Whispering Mirror with you if you have to go. Menolly can use it. I’ll see you in a while. Wish us luck.” And with that, I gave Nerissa a quick kiss on the cheek and headed out.
Chapter 20
The drive to Talamh Lonrach Oll took half an hour in a storm. While it was raining heavily, the temperature was just high enough so that it hadn’t iced over, and our cars ate up the miles on the freeway. Rush hour hadn’t set in yet, but it was growing dark. Here in western Washington, with the cloud cover ever-present except for sixty-odd days a year, it was always gloomy. Add in to it that we were still three weeks out from the longest night of the year and sunrise took her time, and sunset came early.