by Jana LaPelle
Before I can say a word, Dray walks over and says, “Here, take what you need from me. Your kindred is right, we will not move from this place until you are both healed. We all need to be at a hundred percent before moving on to the next and final leg of this journey.”
Ashlinn and I both turn to look at Dray and say in unison, “What did we miss?”
About that time the sun breaks through the clouds to shine brightly down on the enormous lake behind us creating a dazzling prism effect. Ashlinn turns, and her mouth gapes open as she takes in the scene and I can’t help but say, “Well, would you look at that? It really is pink.”
Jasmine is at the lake’s edge, and she chimes in, “It’s beautiful really, but so odd to look at. I’m a water sprite and had no idea there was such a thing. The water is very salty and full of algae, so I don’t really recommend swimming, and we definitely cannot drink from it, but it’s gorgeous to look at.”
Ashlinn still hasn’t said anything, and I take her hand and squeeze gently, threading my fingers through hers. Her eyes are wide and filled with wonder at the sight. The sand is as close to white as sand can get, the water is a brilliant intoxicating fuchsia, and in some areas as smooth as glass, its surface reflects the image of the blue sky and white and gray clouds above. In the distance, the blue-gray storm clouds are lit up as lightning dances through them and races downward to connect with the earth. That’s when she breaks free from her stupor and whispers, “Well, I’ll be a son of a biscuit eater. I have never seen anything quite like this.” Looking up at me her smile is huge until her gaze lands on one of the bite marks on my neck and her smile slips and turns to a scowl, “Come with me, you are going to sit down over here and you are going to allow Dray to help you by taking some of his energy and once you are healed we are going to discuss what we missed out on while we slept. Please tell me we did not sleep long.”
“No we didn’t. Just through the day yesterday and through the night,” with Ashlinn’s prompting, I sit alongside Dray and Ash. If truth be told, I’m weary, and my back aches in the worst way.
Ashlinn cups my cheek and leans in for a gentle kiss, “I feel your pain Elf-Man it’s okay if you need to sleep after this. I’m going to help. I want you to lean back into me if you feel like you can no longer sit upright. Okay?”
“Ash-“
“No arguments, now let’s do this. The sooner that you’re healed, the sooner we get to head out. The sun is up and the day is a wasting. Chop, chop, my handsome kindred. I’ll have you know that the next time I see Tarron he’s going to get an earful from me regarding those vile little creatures. The púca and the will-o’-the-wisp need a firm hand. To think they thought he would side with them, little do they know…” Her muttering trails off as she slides in behind me and gently lays her cool fingers on my back, and once again I flinch before I allow her touch to sooth my ravaged flesh.
The longer I delay, the more tired I feel. My reserves were low from fighting the venom and infection last night, and after healing Ashlinn, I feel almost entirely drained. Ash reaches forward, from where she sits behind me searching for my hand which I readily give to her. Dray is seated cross-legged to my left and Ash deliberately takes his pro-offered hand. That’s when I feel our bond spark to life, our link to one another is now wide open. I sense when she reaches out to Dray, and as soon as his energy merges with ours, I’m completely caught off guard. The energy swirling within our dragon shifter is more potent than any I have felt thus far, he is an ancient being, and I’m careful to take only what I need to heal. I quickly go about taking care of my injuries, repeating the same processes from earlier. I can feel the infection from my wounds run in rivulets down my back, and Ashlinn quickly tends to me. As soon as my wounds are completely healed, I lean back into Ashlinn’s arms. Exhaustion plagues me. I could have taken more from Drayiel, but that did not sit right with me, so here I am on the verge of collapse, drifting off to sleep while Ashlinn’s cool lips kiss down the side of my neck and over my shoulder.
Tolin is by our side and helps Ashlinn arrange me so that my head lies in her lap, at the moment I’m helpless to move a single finger. She strokes my now damp hair back off my forehead and kisses it gently before saying, “Rest, love. I’ll be here when you wake.”
(Alaric)
I wake to Ashlinn’s laughter, her hands are fisted in my hair, and she’s massaging my scalp. She and Jasmine are evidently being entertained by Camoryn and Tolin. They are the two jokesters in our little group. I move to sit up and Ashlinn, places a hand on my chest, halting my movement, “What are you doing? You’ve only been resting for a little over an hour. We have time if you need to sleep a bit longer.”
Quirking a smug smirk, I say through our link, “I like this overprotective side of you. It’s a real turn on. Now kiss me like you mean it and then I need to eat.” Aloud I say with a grin, “I’m starving.”
“You, my handsome Elf-Man, are incorrigible.” She leans down, her breast cradling the crown of my head and takes my lips with her own in an upside down kiss. She means for it to be quick but I reach up and cup the back of her head to prolong the encounter. Enjoying the angle of our kiss, reveling in the fact that she is all mine, and loving her, she breaks the kiss and whispers, “I love you too, Alaric.” Straightening up she says, “Now, let’s get you up and something to eat. Honestly, the only thing we need to get you caught up on is the fact that there is a castle on the cliffs on the opposite side of the lake. It’s pretty high up, like really high up, and you can only see it when the clouds that shroud it lift. That doesn’t happen all that often. Lorcan and Dray are relatively confident that’s where we’ll find Lugh. It sounds like what Dagda described.”
“I’m assuming that you all have devised a plan as to how we’re going to get there while I was resting?” I watch as Ashlinn continues to fuss over me, she continually slaps my hand away when I try to help gather a few items together for my meal which just makes me chuckle to myself. She hands over several of the marthanais briosca, a container with fresh water, a variety of jerky, and some fruit and nuts. Once she’s satisfied that I have everything that I need she settles back and looks pointedly over at Dray.
“It’s pretty simple. Dray flies the two of us over, we trace back and get Jaz and Cam, and then we pop back here again and get Nemus, Lorcan, and Tolin. Isn’t that right, Dray?” She looks pointedly at the dragon shifter.
“The air turbulence and storms are not an issue, I’ve flown in circles over the lake in an attempt to determine the air currents, and they’re stable. It shouldn’t be a problem. It would appear as if the outer areas of Lugh’s domain are what suffer from his wrath or should I say, his grief. Although, from the looks of things, he is still grieving, after all these years it would seem that maybe his grief is not what it once was.” He pauses, as if in thought before continuing, “Once we get to the cliffs we can assess what our next move will be. I don’t think that flying into his castle on those cliffs will be the best option. We need to ask an audience with the once great god of the skies.”
Nodding, I can’t help but agree, “Your council is sound, Dray. I’m inclined to agree. We need to affirm that we come in peace with news of his son’s impending resurrection.” Dragging my hands down my face, I grimace. “How is this going to go well in our favor? It can’t. The Morrígan seeks to bring his son back from the dead, from the Underworld using dark, blood majic.”
Ashlinn looks at me and smiles sweetly, “She seeks to use his son as a weapon. I seek to give him a second chance at redemption. Which sounds more appealing?”
“You, Ashlinn, always. No parent can argue with that line of reasoning. Let’s break camp and get a move on. By my estimation, we can be at Lugh’s gates by nightfall. Let’s move people, we have our children to get back to.”
Chapter 16
(Ashlinn)
It doesn’t take us much time at all to break camp and set about the next leg of this journey. Alaric seems to be rested but still tired, as
am I. We’ve been away from the twins for a day and a half and as far as I’m concerned that’s one day too long. I miss them desperately and can’t wait to tell them about this enormous pink lake. We’re about halfway across this waterway and it’s close to mid-afternoon. Alaric’s right, we should be at Lugh’s doorstep by dusk. Leaning back into Alaric I voice my thoughts aloud, “Have you noticed that since we’ve arrived here that the storm that surrounds this place seems to have lessened? Doesn’t that seem odd to you? Do you think that he somehow is expecting us? I can’t help but worry when I see the change around us.”
Before Alaric can formulate an answer I’m gasping in astonishment when I see what resembles a horse leaping out of the water below us and I exclaim, “What is that?”
“That’s unusual, is what that is. Wait, there’s a school of them. Look.” Alaric points ahead and below us, and I see about ten more water horse like creatures leaping from the water like dolphins and they are accompanied by what looks like mermaids and mermen. The water creatures have the upper bodies of what looks like horses with long flowing fins for a mane, and its body tapers to a fish like tail with identical long flowing fins. Where the front hooves would be, there are fins as well. I’m so distracted by the sight that I don’t even realize that Alaric has been speaking.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that, what were you saying?”
Alaric laughs and says, “Of course you didn’t,” He kisses my cheek and then proceeds to wave at the water fae as Dray circles lazily above them. My astonishment turns to joy, and I wave back. They’re so intriguing, and I’m caught off guard when Alaric says, “Dray can you get lower. I want to see if they have any insight on how to get to Lugh’s castle in the sky.” Dray snorts and nods his assent, and he begins his lazy circling as we go lower toward the water. Alaric leans in and says, “They’re what we call kelpies or water-horses, and I thought they were mostly extinct. No one I know has ever seen one. I wonder what is so special about this lake that they have found a home here.”
“Besides the fact that it’s pink and has high concentrations of salt and algae, what isn’t special about this lake, Alaric?”
Chuckling he says, “Well I guess you’re right there and this lake is really quite large, more like a small sea, and could easily be home to quite a number of other creatures.”
As we get lower, Dray hovers above the water, and I sense that even as strong as he is we will need to make this quick, so I call out, “Hello there, we’re wondering if you could help us?”
Alaric is quick to offer, “This is Ashlinn Faerondarl, Danu’s daughter and I am Alaric, her kindred. We have come a long way to seek an audience with Lugh. Is there anything that you can share with us? Even The Dagda has not spoken to Lugh since his son’s passing.”
One of the mermaids moves forward. She wears a circlet and appears to be the one that the others look to for guidance. “It’s very nice to make your acquaintance. My name is Marina, princess of this small water kingdom. I sense that you are more than what you appear, but I also sense that you are here to seek our Lord’s counsel and mean him no harm so I will impart just this. Do not cause him pain. He has suffered far more than most in his lifetime. After The Morrígan left here recently, we could tell that he was gravely upset by her visit. We are just mere water fae and have no insight as to the layout of the land. That is for you to traverse. I believe that he will welcome you. Beneath his rough and haggard exterior he is kind-hearted, welcoming, and lonely. His self-imposed solitude has left a mark. Please be kind to our Lord. ”
“Thank you. Know this, we do not come here to upset Lugh. That is not our intention. Although the news we bear may be unsettling. Thank you for your insight.” Dray takes that moment to seek to move upward, and I know that our conversation is complete. “It was nice talking to you!” We wave as we leave the mermaids and the kelpies behind.
“Oh… My… God… Seriously? She was here! Why do I always feel like we are two steps behind that wicked witch? What if Lugh won’t talk to us now? What are we going to do then?” I demand.
“You heard her, mo grá. She said that Lugh will see us and that something transpired from the meeting with The Morrígan that upset Lugh. We just need to find out what that was. In the meantime, we need to concentrate on one thing at a time and right now that’s focusing on getting to Lugh. We’re almost there and it looks like Dray has found a ledge to land on. Once there we stick to the plan and trace back to get Cam and Jasmine, and then Tolin, Lorcan, and Nemus. Then we make our way up to the entry gates of Lugh’s fortress in the sky.”
“Alright, I’ll try not to worry so much but if I know one thing, it’s this, The Morrígan is no one’s fool, and she got what she came for, it may have been through manipulation, but she did not walk out of there empty-handed.”
Moments later, Dray lands on a large ledge outcropping which is just big enough to accommodate all of us. Looking out over the vast pink lake I can barely see the shore on the other side, but I know that our companions are waiting patiently for us to trace back for them. We’ve been gone for close to an hour now. Clasping Alaric’s hand in mine, we trace back to the shore we left behind. Once we appear, Camoryn and Jasmine stand up and move toward us. They were waiting patiently under one of the most unusual trees that I have ever seen. The trunk of the tree grows straight up, and it reminds me of an umbrella. The limbs of the tree branch off at the top in a tangle of branches to support the most unusual leaf growth that I’ve ever seen, it looks like soft pine needles but reminds me of a moss-covered mound. These strange trees dot this rocky terrain. My attention is drawn to Jasmine’s pack which begins to wiggle in her hands, and she pulls it close while Cam leans in and whispers, “This is not a good idea.”
“Come on guys, we need to get going. What’s not a good idea?” I ask.
“Don’t ask, she will not listen to reason, Ashlinn, I’ve tried. Maybe you can convince her.”
“Cam, what are you talking about? Listen to reason? What’s going on?” I ask, looking pointedly at Jasmine.
“They’re so cute. I can’t leave them behind. What if something bad happens to them? Obviously, their mother is no longer looking after them. I have to take them with me, and once we get back to the Keep, we can make sure that they have a place there in the forest. Camoryn, I will not leave them here to fend for themselves,” Jasmine stomps her dainty foot as she clutches her pack to her protectively.
Narrowing my eyes, I ask, “What are you about, Jasmine? What are you hiding in your pack?”
“Don’t get mad, okay? They’re just little puppies.” Jasmine unfastens her pack’s closure and out pop two of the cutest little foxes that I have ever seen.
“Oh my gosh, they are adorable!” Their ears are huge, almost bigger than their whole furry face and they are mostly white with some of their markings coming in. I’m pretty sure that they are Fennec or desert fox pups, I sigh and look at my dear friend, shaking my head. “Jaz, this is on you. We’re on a mission with one goal in mind. You will have to be responsible for the two of them. I’m not sure that taking them out of their natural environment will be a good thing.”
“If I’ve made a terrible decision, then I can trace back here and return them, but my instincts are telling me to take them with us. I know it seems odd but they just appeared, and before I knew it I had fallen in love with the two. They are downright lovable and not at all wild, which is extremely odd and I worry over leaving them on their own with no one to look after them. Besides, I think that Lillie and Lachlan will enjoy getting to know the two pups. It just feels right.”
Shaking my head, I say, “Okay then, let’s get a move on.”
We trace Camoryn and Jasmine and the pups to the ledge and then trace back to get Lorcan, Nemus, and Tolin. Once we are all together on the ledge, Dray points us to a trail that he has found. It’s narrow but it leads upward toward Lugh’s fortress, and we head in that direction. It’s getting late and I’m too tired for words but will push thro
ugh until we are allowed entrance to Lugh’s domain. So I trudge ahead behind Alaric, putting aside my exhaustion.
Our trek has been a long one, and several hours later, after the sun has long since set, we come upon a set of castle gates. The foggy mist swirls around us in the dim light of the waning moon. I’m ready to drop and as tired as I’ve ever been. My legs quiver and I struggle to stand upright. How embarrassing would it be if I collapsed right here on this very spot? As if by majic the gates open of their own accord and we are allowed admittance to Lugh’s domain. We are greeted by a creature that appears both intimidating and cordial. He is not much taller than me, and the first thing I notice is his wild, somewhat curly, unmanageable, dark brown hair that resembles a lion’s mane. His large pointed ears jut out from the side of his head, and I take note of two small hornlike protrusions at the top of his head. His eyes are enormous and solid brown, and his nose is large and somewhat bulbous and takes up much of his face. His skin is heavily tanned and leathered, and his arms are much longer than normal making his hands reach all the way down to his knees, hands which sport only three fingers and a thumb and are disproportionately large.
Alaric bows and says, “Good evening. We apologize for arriving unannounced, but we seek to speak to Lugh. We have traveled a great distance to gain his audience.”
The creature before us turns and walks up the steps to enter the large double door entrance of Lugh’s domain, and motions for us to enter the stone fortress that appears to have been expertly carved out of the rock mountain that we have just climbed. “My master is well aware and has been anticipating your arrival. Chambers have been made ready for your rest this evening, and a meal will be delivered to your rooms. In the morning you will gain my lordships counsel. I will show you to your rooms now.”
Sighing, I lean into Alaric, and his strong arms whisk me up into his embrace, and I say reluctantly, “He’s right we need to rest. I’m exhausted. I can barely hold my head up much less stand on my own two feet. Tomorrow is another day.”
