by Volia Grace
She slumped forward and lay against him, replete. “That explains a lot of conversations I have missed over the years.”
He chuckled deeply and her smile curled itself around her heart. It was about fricken time. She had almost been afraid she was attacking him the way she had been attacked, but then remembered, Mythos had been free to stop the proceedings at any time. She hadn’t restrained him with anything but her words. It had not been a rape, but a seduction.
“I am sorry, next time it will be your turn.” She snuggled against him, taking the warmth from their cooling bodies.
“Don’t worry about me, I had my turn the second that you got your rhythm going. You were amazing to behold.”
The warm pressure of his hand stroking down her back relaxed her even more. He let her lie on him until she chose to rise. When she did, he smiled at her, a clear and glowing grin.
“It is your turn to make dinner.”
The macaroni and cheese flew together in less than fifteen minutes. Mythos leaned on the counter in her usual position and watched her culinary exhibition. She served it up with shreds of real cheese and handed him his plate for the evening. “There. Now, how did you feel about me jumping you?”
He raised his head from the orange mix on his plate and smiled. “It felt great. It has been driving me mad, wondering if you would ever make your move. I have been distracting myself with patient care for the last six months since the other sisters started arriving.”
“What?”
“You had to decide when you wanted it to happen. It all had to be your choice. From start to finish. Good mac and cheese by the way.” He shovelled the food in with little concern for her shocked face.
“You couldn’t just tell me that I needed to make the first move? I had to wait until I was out of my mind with desperation before I jumped you. You could have made this so much easier on me.” She poked at the noodles absently.
“I could have, but you would not have learned a lesson.”
“What lesson?”
“That sex with me has always been your choice. It should have always been your choice to be with a man. It is the lesson that you are teaching to the new arrivals every day.”
Her jaw opened and she blinked at him. He was right. The Lios had forced her, but had never been her lover. Mythos was the only lover she had ever wanted, the only one she had desired and the same one that she had held herself from. It had been her choice to keep the beds apart, to keep their rooms separate, to separate even their laundry. He had let her make all those choices and abided by them. She had rejected him in a thousand tiny ways and one big one, and he had waited for her to realize that they needed to be together in all ways, every day. She just hadn’t noticed it at the time. She was such a putz.
The new feeling of completion that was washing through her was suddenly overridden by something else. Something urgent, something wild. An urge that had to be answered.
Chapter Four
With her eyes wide, she turned to Mythos, he was looking concerned over her sudden silence. “Pen. I need a pen and paper. Now!”
As he scrambled to do her bidding, she let the waves of energy flow through her, but when he handed her the implements and got a shock of her talent in return, he seemed to understand. She wrote. Names, addresses, names of creatures from Underhill that had yet to make the journey across, names of creatures already here. For each one of these she had a match, male, female and sometimes one of each.
The potential for love in each of these matches brought tears to her eyes. It was only now that she had accepted all aspects of love from Mythos that she could see all of the possibilities for the magical creatures coming into her world. He stood behind her now, supporting her and feeding the energy that swirled through her. The instant that it ceased its drive, she collapsed into his arms, her pen and the filled notebook falling to the floor.
“You were waiting for that, weren’t you?”
“I was. For years you have been making matches one at a time, Lucky’s help has increased the frequency, but it was in you to do this all along. You just needed to accept the variety of love that was available.” He nuzzled at her hair and carried her up to his room. “You need some rest now and I want to be able to hold you through the night.”
She was wearing her favourite cartoon t-shirt and he stripped it from her before tucking her in. If Val hadn’t been so exhausted, she may have complained when he crawled in next to her and adjusted her to his liking, but by then she was on her way to wild dreams.
In her dreams Valentine stood with Mythos’s arms around her, watching swarms of pixies cavorting in a field, observed dwarves dressed in tuxedos and fauns being chased and pelted by goblins throwing what seemed to be tacos. The dream continued in endless variety, all the magical creatures she had met and some that she had only read about paraded through the small town of Silverwood while she watched.
As the dream wound to a close, Mythos whispered in her ear, “Artemis has called a meeting, get your sweet ass out of bed.”
“What?” Valentine sat up, her eyes wide and surprised as hell to see Mythos in front of her, dressed and ready.
“Artemis has called a meeting so you need to get your sweet ass out of bed.” He leaned forward and gave her a short kiss on her nose.
Wow. Minty elf. “Fine. I will get out of bed. But here I was going to insist on morning sex.” She pouted as she climbed from his bed, then squeaked as he grabbed her close.
“You are still too sore from last night. Give it time, Valentine. We have plenty of it.” A short pat on her buttocks and he was out the door.
Grumbling about stupid men being stupidly right, she stomped to her room and retrieved some clothes, then it was shower time.
By the time she was clean and dry and downstairs in the kitchen, her breakfast was done. Val was immediately suspicious. “What is the occasion?”
“This is the big meeting. The one where we learn all the details of you seven ladies and the magic you carry.”
“You mean you don’t know all about it?” She raised a sceptical eyebrow.
“We were given only enough information to entice us here to the modern world, as you know.”
“She really took a chance on only bringing two hundred through for us to choose from. We may have found you all completely unsuitable.” She was being snide, but it was hard to do with her mouth full of smoked salmon omelette.
“Yes, she did. But there were also elven seers involved in Underhill. It narrowed down the field from the volunteers. We went from thousands to merely two hundred. I think she chose well.” He was slightly defensive and it changed her attitude.
She came around the breakfast island and gave him a hug. “In my case, she picked the perfect man. And I know that the others feel the same. Even Holly with her dragon.”
Mollified, he put his arms around her.
She was leaning up for a kiss when the phone rang. “Damn it.”
He chuckled and answered the call.
With his eyes on her, she knew that the conversation involved her somehow.
“Will do. Alright. Tal is waiting outside. We won’t be but a moment.” He hung up and then grinned at her. “They are waiting for you. Are you ready?”
“May as well get this over with. Let’s go.” She led the way outside and blinked when she saw the steed in full battle gear out front. “Are we going to fight or be in a parade?”
Mythos lifted her onto his steed’s back. “A little of both actually, I hope you are ready for it.”
“For the truth? I can always handle the truth. It is half truth that I have a problem with.” When he swung up behind her, she relaxed against him. At no point now would she keep any part of herself from him. He had been patient for this moment and now it was here.
Chapter Five
“Welcome ladies.” Artemis greeted them as they arrived at the front court of Silverwood City Hall. “Now that Valentine has arrived, we can all go inside.” The business s
uit that Artemis wore was crisp and the skirt almost snapped as she turned.
Val was blushing slightly as she nodded to the other ladies and their men. It was obvious to her that they had been waiting for Val and Mythos to arrive. The others let them go first as they dismounted from Tal and headed inside.
Caro’s voice sounded from behind her, “I don’t know what Artemis is thinking, we have all been in this place over the last six months.”
Val thought about it. There was one room, dead center in the building that never seemed to be open. She hadn’t thought about it much, which for her was odd. When she had arrived in Silverwood, as soon as she left the Medical centre, she was skulking around the halls here. Yet, she had never gone inside that one room.
Sure enough, it was where Artemis stopped to wait for the gaggle of humans and elves to catch up. “Sisters, I give you, the Council Room.” She swung the doors wide and gestured for them to walk in. Curious, they moved into the room, Hannah first. She always was the most nosey of them.
“You have got to see this place!” With that endorsement ringing in their ears, they followed her into the Council Room.
A great round table filled a good expanse of the room. The center of the table was filled with some kind of projector. It was filled with a three dimensional outline of Silverwood. Val couldn’t keep her own, “Very nice,” from coming out.
The ladies ooh and ahhed as they took up positions around the room. Most of the chairs around the table were silver with a black chair next to them. It was the seat that was obviously for Tara that gave it away. Hers had one black chair on either side.
“Ladies, elves, take your seats. You, too, Kevik.” Artemis was firmly in control so they sat quickly and with only a moderate amount of hand slapping as people jockeyed for the best seats. Their fearless commander just sighed.
“Are we all settled? Good.” With a wave of her hand, the doors closed and the sudden, “Oooh,” was echoed in the room. “Before you all came to Silverwood, I was unable to do the simplest of magics. There was nothing left in this world to feed magic. It was barren, unkempt and dying.”
Carolyn did not contain herself. “Why do you call us Sisters? We aren’t related.”
Artemis smiled. “You are related in the most basic of ways, the earth gave you what magic she had left, hoping that the seeds planted would bloom. You bloomed at Silverwood, hence, the Sisters.”
“Oh.” There was nothing else to say to that except for, “But what about the other girls who were at camp that summer? Almost all of them are still alive.”
“They had seeds of a different sort. When the magic begins to return to the world, their talents will come forward as yours have.”
“So what have we been waiting for?” Lucky did not have much patience.
“Valentine, will you answer that one? You know the what.” Artemis had everyone looking at her.
Val took a deep breath and took the hand of her friend and lover. “The long and short of it, is that we have been waiting for me to get laid. Until I was confident enough to have sex unfettered and without force I could not fully embrace my talent for seeing and promoting love.” She relaxed her grip on Mythos’s hand and he smiled at her as she looked at him. It gave her the confidence to continue. “Last night, I filled an entire notebook with matches for people and species I have not even met yet, as well as confirming the matches that I have already participated in. I will leave the catalyst to the change up to your imagination.”
Laughter filled the room and congratulations abounded. Well, on the masculine side. All of the males had worked with Mythos in the Wild Hunt, with the exception of Tara’s Lios, and apparently the dry spell that he had been enforced to endure was more than he was used to. Most were surprised he had survived that long without wearing his hands out.
When the raucous conversation had ceased, Artemis was ready for the next part of the lecture.
“When magic began to leave the earth, the magical races convened a council to discuss options in the dying age of magic. We asked the earth for promises and she told us that when she was ready, human women would carry the seeds of magic in them to bring magic into the depleted world.” The images filled the center of the council table. It was like watching a narrated movie. Some of the figures were familiar. Artemis, Henry, Kevik and dozens of others that the ladies had made matches for.
“Most all magical creatures went Underhill, through the portals opening all over the world. Some however, chose to stay dormant until the magic returned. Dragons and dryads made up most of these.
“When the exodus was complete, the portals were sealed. They would not open again until there was magic to support them. And so the fairy folk and the rest of the magical folk waited.”
Images flashed on the screen of tournaments, one on one sparring and dances filled with brilliant gowns and bejewelled tunics.
“Hey, is that you wearing a cod-piece?” Fiona elbowed Ander and he clamped his hand over her mouth to prevent her continuing along that vein. The instant he let her go she just smiled. “Why? I have never had any trouble finding it. Did you mark it for a specific reason?” The hand came back, but the girls around the table were giggling away again, a few of the men were even chuckling.
“Ahem.” Artemis got their attention and muffled the giggles with her grim expression. “Fashion aside, the human world was filling with a new breed of human, taller, stronger and more intelligent. It took over a thousand years to get to the point where one of the portals started to crack open, but there it was. Now it was time for the council to convene again, the multitude of races and courts assembled and put in their bids to become the first to walk through the opening portal.”
Henry sat up “With the Wild Hunt and the Lios being the fore runners for the positions.”
“Yes, Henry. Thank you.” Artemis collected her thoughts and then continued. “With elves being the most similar physically to humans, it was narrowed down to the Lios and the Wild Hunt. The Dark court did not choose to forward any candidates. Each group was assessed on its merits and the adaptability of its candidates. The Wild Hunt was overwhelmingly declared the best group to choose from. Two hundred strong, all male, it was easy to find the first connection between elves and humans.”
Val knew this one. “That would have been me. Mythos embodies patience and protective instincts so he sprung into action the instant that he heard that a Lios had crossed the portal with me as his target. Mythos killed my attacker and brought me here. It was a few months later, after I had met the men of the Hunt, that I was able to match them to the ladies that I remembered from summer camp at Silverwood.”
“And your first match was Westa and Henry. I remember the day you came to me, all wild eyed and excited to tell me. We were so relieved that your talents were blooming and Henry was delighted to be chosen as your first match.”
Val smiled. “I remember. He brought me a sweatshirt. Elves do it in the woods. Mythos refuses to let me wear it.”
Laughter rippled through the room. No matter how they got there, both the males and females were happy to be involved in the Silverwood project. Now, they just needed to know what the project entailed.
Chapter Six
“Well, before we break for lunch, I think I should finish with the briefing. Does anyone have any objections?” Artemis looked a trifle impatient. Val couldn’t blame her, they were interrupting her constantly.
“We’ll be good. I promise.” Kevik smiled and folded his arms over his chest. He was just as guilty as the rest of the group and the women let out a giggle at his serious tone.
“As I was saying. The purpose for the Silverwood project is to return magic to the earth. That is why the earth gave you the seeds of power and that is why the portals opened. Too much of anything can be overwhelming and technology without magic is out of balance. You can’t live fully in a world where magic is unknown. Conversely, those of us living in Underhill also become bored, under stimulated and stagnant without new
experiences and things to learn.”
“The Silverwood project has been designed to bring these two worlds together in a half-place. A place that is half-magic and yet not fully in the modern world. Our shape shifters are free to change here, the elves can run free, the minor races can find a place here. That is the purpose of Silverwood. To give magic a launch site. Now, with that in mind, what is the rest of the world to do? Wait until the magic trickles to them? No. This is why we needed seven Sisters in one place. Only together, using your magic at the same time in the same place can you create a wave of magic that will jump start the magic in the world. As your energy flows out over the lake, the moon will carry it on its journey across the globe. Your power will be reflected in every brook, stream, ocean, lake, estuary, well you get the idea. When you ladies act together, you will set off a chain reaction that will awaken magic across the world.”
Silence reigned. A pin drop would have echoed in the silence. No one moved, it seemed that no one even breathed. Finally, it was time for Val to ask her question. “So when do we rock our world?”
It started as a giggle, then another person giggled, a hoot of laughter and finally a riot of emotion ran through the room. Holly was smiling as everyone laughed and Val suspected her of making her comment a little more funny than natural.
When the tears and sniffling had subsided, Artemis wiped her eyes and looked out over their group. “Tomorrow night is the full moon and I can’t think of a better time than that to reflect your powers. Will you be ready?”
Seven voices spoke as one. “Yes.”
Chapter Seven
Val and Mythos were with Tal and heading home and Alf had the day off. They were going to be taking time to be with each other before the big event.
