by Maria Lima
“Hell, well, yes, it is Hell, isn’t it?” He vanished into the cave mouth.
Tucker slinked around the right, positioning himself nearer to the entrance. If Gideon emerged, he might could jump him. I motioned to him to get ready, as I sensed—“No, wait!” I cried as Gideon appeared, this time dragging Gigi with him, and behind her, Drystan. Both were bound with some sort of chain. I could see the glimmer of magick on each link. He’d captured them and somehow dragged the both of them back through the Between to here.
“What the—?” I stepped back, nearly tripping over a tombstone.
“Did you not wonder why all the wardspells?” Gideon sneered. “I had a sprite paint them. She’d never bound to you or to me, but she wanted to be mine. I promised her she could. Our dear matriarch went Below, to confront my dear mama-in-law. My father did the same. At that point it was too easy.”
“You don’t think I didn’t know that? After all, Angharad ended up disowning you, you idiot. Let them go and I’ll be lenient.” Okay, so I was totally full of shit right there, but I had no idea what to do. I wasn’t fluent in mediator speak.
Gideon laughed and shoved Gigi and Drystan in front of him. Crazy like a fox indeed. He wasn’t taking any chances now. If I let loose spells, I could very well injure them instead of Gideon. Tucker backed away, as well. Nothing he could do at this point without risking the others. “Angharad is a wicked queen, but not so stupid as to hold these two hostage. Oh no. I bespelled her when I found her. She never saw it coming.”
I caught my breath. He what? How? How could Gideon Kelly have power over a high queen more than two millennia old? Sure, I figured they’d battle, but honestly, I never imagined him being able to take Angharad on and win.
“She’s gone now,” he said. “I forced her out Above. Captured her spirit and ate it.”
Tucker stumbled, now in human form. I caught his gaze. We were up shit creek without even a boat, much less a paddle. I’d heard of spirit eaters, in legend, in song. They were fearsome creatures, a long-dead Talent bred out of Kelly. The last one had finally crossed over more than twelve centuries past. They could literally suck the life right out of you, taking your power, your anima, everything that made you, you. Had Gigi’s insane breeding experiment given rise to a Talent long since lost?
Gigi’s face grew hard as she listened to Gideon. I couldn’t catch her eye. She was too caught up in my cousin’s speech.
“Drystan was easier to catch,” Gideon said. “He still wanted to talk to me. Imagine that.”
“Gideon…”
“What, dear Cousin? Did you want to talk to me now?”
I wiped the rain from my face again, a fruitless task. “Why?”
“Why? You ask me that?” He forced Gigi and Drystan to sit on one of the boulders. “You who were mistreated in the Seelie Court, then forced Above, to live with Huw and those six dogs? You lived with humans, Keira,” he said, making the word “human” sounds like “maggot” or “disease.” They twisted you. You’re less now. You could have stayed with me. Done this together with me. Been my queen.”
“Done what? Kill? I’m not that sort of girl,” I said. Though I kind of was. I’d killed before, not that long ago, and had little remorse. Not out of desire to win something, but yes, in revenge. In self-defense.
Gideon huffed a laugh. “Yes, well, not a discussion I wish to get into now. I think it’s time to finish my job.”
“And that would be?”
“The land will be mine, all of it, when I release the bonds on these two.”
“How so?”
“The chains are life bonds,” he said, his face shining with the light of zealotry. “Angharad helped me bespell them, thinking she was going to form alliance with me through her daughter. She thought the chains were for you and Adam.”
I gripped the stone tight, ignoring the rough pain as it scraped my palms. I couldn’t toss a spell, however much I wanted to. Any spell near those charmed bonds and both Gigi and Drystan, immortals though they may be, could die. Their life energies, which were tied up in those chains, would simply disintegrate if any random magick as much as touched one link.
“So now what, Gideon?” I asked. “You kill them and then what?” I kept him talking as Tucker slid behind me, low to the ground. Maybe, just maybe, if we worked it right…
“Then I shall rule. All lands beholden to them will come to me.”
“And me?” I challenged.
Gigi’s head raised at this, her eyes focused and flashing. She was trying to communicate something to me, only I didn’t have a clue. I couldn’t split my attention, couldn’t afford to take my eyes off Gideon. Her gaze cut to him, then to me. She nodded her head. All I could do was to go with my gut here and hope she could follow my lead.
Gideon’s eyes narrowed as he studied me. “You, my dear, I save for last. It will be a pleasure to see your own life’s blood nourishing this once parched dirt.” He motioned to the ground below him. “You will join the priest in death.”
“I’m not the only heir left alive,” I said. “Despite your well-laid plan. If Drystan dies, then Adam becomes King of the Unseelie Court. You’re plain shit out of luck, Cousin.”
“Bring it on,” Gideon growled. “Once I take their energy, your man will be no match for me. He will die the true death, as will any blood-bonded to you.” He ran a hand through his sopping hair. “There’s a spell for that, don’tcha know?”
I sprang, another flashbang again at my fingertips, both hands casting at Gideon’s face as I sent a silent plea to the powers that be to help me avoid the chains. At my movement, Gigi pulled Drystan with her to the side of the boulder and onto the ground behind it.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
“Better to burn out, than to fade away…”
—Neil Young, “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)”
“One,” I called as I ran forward, letting my magick tell me where I was. “Two, Three.” I was counting on my great-great-granny to hold onto my insane cousin long enough for me to get there and to keep her eyes shut while I was counting.
On “ten,” I jumped. Gigi’s feet pushed out, catching Gideon’s calves. As he stumbled, I snagged him, wrapping my arms around his arms and torso while binding him with my own version of a rope charm. “Bind tight now,” I whispered as the vine-like rope twisted around my cousin’s arms, hands, legs, neck. “Bind especially tight.” I let him go and watched as the rope slid across Gideon’s face, forcing his mouth open, digging into his tongue. I looked only long enough to know he couldn’t get free. Then I went to help Gigi and Drystan.
“There’s nothing you can do to help us,” Gigi said as Tucker joined me and we both hauled them to a sitting position back on the boulder. Drystan remained silent, all the spark gone out of him. Their chains twinkled in the rain like little faery lights.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “We’ve neutralized him. He’ll take these off. I know it. He’s a coward at heart.”
Strangled sounds came from said coward. I didn’t even bother to turn around.
“Ah, dear child,” Gigi said with a wan smile. “I was foolish with that one. These chains cannot be broken, not even by him.”
“Wait, are you telling me—?”
Drystan’s broken voice tore my attention from Gigi. “My son was all too thorough, child. He created this spell so that anyone breaking the chains, even him, would end with the same result. The one breaking the chain would sap our spirits. We shall die.”
“No,” I said. “No and no and no. You are still alive. There is still a chance.”
With a soft whoosh, two bodies joined us, having leaped from above. Adam and Niko.
Tears were in Adam’s eyes as he cupped his father’s face in his palm. “I regret this, Father. More than I can say.”
Drystan nodded. “You will be a good king, my son.”
“Wait just a fucking minute,” I demanded. “No giving up allowed. I did not go through all of this to give the fuck up. And
how the hell are you and your sidekick here able to be on this ground anyway? It’s consecrated again.”
Adam stroked his father’s hair and looked at me. “Running water,” he said. “Water breaks magick. At least temporarily insulates us.”
“Then water can very well break the magick of this—”
“No, Keira, dearling,” Gigi interrupted. “This isn’t earth magick that enslaves us. It’s Dark spirit magick.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?” I asked. “I can’t. I just can’t.” With tears flowing down my cheeks, I embraced my great-great-grandmother. “No,” I whispered.
“No worries, pet,” she said in a bright voice. “You will be a good queen.”
“Queen?”
“Adam will inherit his father’s throne,” she said. “Nice that he’s rediscovered his magick, isn’t it?”
I sobbed and held onto her. “Tell me you didn’t set all this up.”
She chuckled, her voice growing weaker. “The battle? Gideon’s insanity? No. Even I’m not that good.”
“Son.” Drystan croaked the word. “Rule well. Teach them to survive in this new day. This modern world.”
“You want me to bring them Above?” Did he?
Drystan nodded. “It is time we learned to live here as well as Below. Isolating ourselves only leads to…” He coughed and choked.
“Don’t speak,” Adam said and wiped the spittle from Drystan’s mouth. “I understand.”
“Let them mingle with the mortals. Learn to be a part of the world you know. Too many died tonight.”
I stared at him. We’d lost a few, sure, but I wouldn’t count that as too many, unless he meant even one life.
“Most of the Seelie Court died in battle,” Gigi said, taking up where Drystan left off. “My grandson was ruthless. He lured them Between, used his power to drink their spirits.”
“That’s why he was so powerful. But, Gigi, I don’t get it. Why was I able to take him down?”
“For that, you must thank the priest,” she replied. “His sacrifice was not in vain. He was able to make this ground sacred once again, to cleanse it of Darkness. Gideon’s power lay in the Darkness he’d consumed. It left him.”
“And he lost his mind.” I saw it now. My cousin had banked on ingesting enough spirits, enough souls to fuel him, to bolster his core power to a point where he could best us all. It would have been a win for him had it not been for Antonio, a broken man, who only wanted to die in peace. I hoped he’d found that. That he’d made it to his heaven to be reunited with his lost love. Sure, I knew that most Catholics believe that suicide was a mortal sin and that both Antonio and Guadalupe were now burning in eternal hellfire. But I didn’t care. I didn’t believe in Hell. Hell was here, right now, right in front of me as I watched the woman who was my mentor and guide, and yes, often the bane of my existence, fade away in front of me, choosing death so I could live. A few gurgles reminded me that Gideon still drew breath. I ignored the sounds, knowing that eventually, there would be no more.
“I only now began to really know you,” I said to Gigi. “We would’ve been quite the pair, wouldn’t we?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I regret having so little time to train you, child.” With a kiss to my cheek, she stood and pushed. Her arms flew out to her side, as did Drystan’s, breaking their bonds. Without another word, they faded into the rain. The empty chains fell to the ground. I stood a moment, watching as Gigi’s spirit shimmered forth. She smiled at me and I knew what I had to do. After all, I’d trained for this. Trained to be an Escort. I took her hands and closed my eyes, concentrating. In less than the time it took to count to twenty, it was done. I’d opened the Veil. She walked through, her eyes sparking. I sobbed as it closed. She had very much taught me well. This had been my first task with the Family. I’d learned to escort those who’d tired of living and wanted to move on. I didn’t know what was on the other side. All I knew was how to open that particular door and how to be there to help them across. I’d never expected to have to do it for her.
Adam and I clung to each other as the rain continued to drench us. A moment later, a soft vibration worked its way up, inside of me. Energy filled me as I sobbed in Adam’s arms, his own energy thrumming in time with mine. I knew this magick, this power. It was hers, Gigi’s. I could feel Drystan’s essence filling Adam. Those bloody, bloody rulers. By dying, they offered themselves to us. Made their energy part of us.
Tucker and Niko held each other next to Adam and me; the four of us supporting each other in our grief.
Behind me, the strangulated gasps stopped as the rope vines continued their work. Eventually, the noises stopped. So did the vines.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.”
—Langston Hughes
Three days of rain replenished the hopes of the Rio Seco, the dry river dry no more as the much needed water filled cisterns, wells, and watering tanks all throughout the county. Nearly all the flu victims were now at home recovering and no new cases had been reported in the last forty-eight hours. At the Wild Moon, the party hadn’t stopped in more than forty-eight hours. Kelly, fey, and vampire alike rocked twenty-four seven, as food, wine, and all sorts of liquors flowed as abundantly as the rain—a wake and remembrance for Minerva, the Kelly of Clan Kelly. For Drystan, high king of the Unseelie Sidhe. By the morning of the third day, the downpour had gentled into a soft, misty fog. Not enough sunlight to fry my vampires if they wanted to go outside—and they did, the lot of them. Dancing, singing, carousing, celebrating life. Everyone partied.
“We need to go,” I said as I rolled over in bed and looked at my sated and very pleased husband.
He grinned and brought a lock of my hair to his mouth and kissed it. The day after the battle, he’d asked Jane to cut his own long mane. I’d laughed and left him to it. When I’d returned, he’d sported a cropped cut. I almost hadn’t recognized him. He looked amazing, not that he’d slacked in that department before. Niko and Tucker had followed suit. I’d shaken my head and accepted it. What else could I do? I recognized it for what it was, a symbolic shearing off of the past. We had to mainstream soon, bring together all our worlds now that Adam and I had inherited the rule of Kelly and the Unseelie Court. I’d not cut my own hair yet, oddly reluctant to let it go. I was doing it later today, though. After we completed our final task. After it was all done. I wanted to bury the priest. To give him his last official rites as a human. Then, I’d be done with the past, ready to move forward into the future.
A knock on the door. “It’s me,” Tucker announced and entered without waiting for us to say anything. We’d all grown closer since that night. Now, we knew with a simple mental ping where each of us was and what he or she was doing. Niko and Tucker knew when not to bother us and we knew the same about them. It certainly made things easier.
He bounded inside and hopped on the bed next to Adam, propping his head on his hand. “We’re nearly ready,” he said. “I figured I’d come get you guys, otherwise, we’d have to wait all night.”
“Bea and Dixxi get off okay?”
“Yup. They’ll be in New York for the week. Ciprian said their paperwork would be ready by the time we’re ready to go.”
“Good.” We’d made a decision that night, after we’d all gone home, after telling the others what happened, and after comforting everyone who was still alive. We’d come out way ahead there, too. Seems that most of Gideon’s followers had very little knowledge of the world Above. Kellys and vampires held the upper hand easily, dispatching all the enemies with only one loss—the commercial stoves in the kitchen. Somehow, they’d blown up. A spell gone awry or something. In any case, that was a small price to pay. I’d told Niko and Adam about Andrea’s death on the way back to the ranch. We’d cried for hours, the four of us together, then had fallen asleep in mine and Adam’s bed, exhausted and needing to be near each other.
We’d not woken up until the party was into its second day.
Now, the four of us headed back to the cemetery. I drove my Rover instead of Tucker’s van with the blackout windows. We didn’t need it because of the overcast skies. I’d not bothered to check the forecast because I could now tell the weather at least fifty times more accurately than the most sophisticated equipment. This misty day would remain so through at least sundown, plenty of time for us to do what we needed to do.
The door to Faery remained spelled shut and I intended to keep it that way. It’s what Gigi wanted. I knew, because when she’d died, she’d sent every bit of her energy into me. That was the true secret of the Kelly clan chief. Each of them passed along their knowledge and their energy to their successor. I now knew what she’d felt about me, the overwhelming pride, the sheer joy in seeing me grow. She’d been harsh, because she’d been afraid. Afraid that Angharad would learn of my abilities, and come to claim me for herself. That would have never happened, but she’d had no way of knowing for sure.
Tonight, after the sun went down, we’d leave this place for good. The plane was already fueled up and waiting on our runway. John and his family had left this morning on a commercial flight to prepare the manor for our arrival. This time, we weren’t coming back. We signed over the ranch to Carlton Larsen. He didn’t know that yet. The paperwork wouldn’t arrive on his desk until we were long gone. I loved Texas. Loved this ranch and this town and the people in it. But home was were my heart was and that meant Adam and my blood family. Ciprian had arranged for passports for Bea and Dixxi under some sort of rush process. They were going to England with us, sponsored by us as family members. I didn’t ask questions. I just took my brother’s word that the fix was on. The rest of us all had UK citizenship, so this wasn’t a problem. Dixxi could set up her genetics lab and work with some of the best scientists on the planet. Bea could have her wer baby in peace. Tio and Tia had elected to retire south, to Corpus Christi, instead of joining Bea in England. Noe, her young nephew, wanted to remain in Texas, staying with a distant cousin so he could finish college.
