Near the foot of the bunk was a small chest. Her pack and the harp case were nestled on top. Bat had passed the harp to Finn for safe keeping once they’d reached the boat, he must have stashed it in here before going on to heal everyone.
She finally turned her attention to the figure on her bed. Shar was crammed into the bunk. His giant frame left only a small sliver of mattress for her to squeeze onto. That is, if she was supposed to share…
Not that she minded. She supposed she could use him as her mattress…
“Guess he got tired of waiting.” Mell shook his head in mock-disapproval. “Tsk. And here we are working our asses off.”
Seeing the sleeping giant, Bat swayed. The brief rest she’d gotten while up on the observation deck with Ailis wasn’t really rest. It was more like a… respite. Everything that happened that day, the attacks, the running, scanning new people—it all caught up to her.
She yawned.
Mell smiled and nudged her toward the bunk. “Get some rest. We’ll be docked for a few hours at least, and nothing’s going ta happen in that time.”
“All right.” Bat stumbled her way to the bunk. There was one last thing she needed to make sure of. “Ask Ari and the others to finish scanning everyone?” she asked as she laid herself over the solid bulk of her giant. He… was… so… warm…
Caught in the haze of sleep, she felt tugs on her feet as someone removed her boots and a light blanket was spread over her.
Little goddess. Little goddess, will you play me a tune?
Melody wound through her mind. The song was beautiful. It called to mind the stars above and the earth below her feet. It spoke of the red lands of her original home, and the green fields of her new one.
You see, little goddess? This is the song of creation.
The voice hummed.
Did you know the power you have at your fingertips? Literally?
Her fingers twitched. She tried to stop it, but this voice was clever. It didn’t try to temp, or to twist. It simply showed her what could be.
Only, it left out a few vital pieces of the picture.
Listen, goddess. Listen.
The notes wound through her, grafting onto her very being. The voice was… teaching her the melody. She would never be able to forget this…
Energy zipped through her veins. Vitality and life filled her. There was nothing dark about it, nothing wicked or twisted. It was pure…
Enjoy.
Bat blinked her eyes open. Her heart raced and her fingertips tingled. She sprawled over Shar, her legs open around his waist and her hands tucked under his back. He slept on, his breaths deep and even. The lashes of his good eye lay against his cheek in a soft fan, and she wanted to run a finger along the tips. His lips were parted, allowing her a glimpse of even, white teeth. Scruff shadowed his jaw, and a loose strand of hair fell over his cheek.
Had she ever had a chance to just study him like this?
She lay like that for a good ten minutes before pulling her limbs away and attempting to get out of the bunk without waking her sleeping giant.
It didn’t work very well.
“A stor? What…?”
She bent and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. I love being able to do that. It was very freeing, finally confessing her feelings to these not-men, and having them accept her. It meant she could touch them, kiss them, and hold them as much as she wanted.
The boat rolled under her with wide and deep movements, not the small ones she’d been feeling when they were close to shore. They must be in deeper waters.
“We must get up. I am not sure of the time, but we have slept enough, and it is time to plan. I have things that must be conveyed, and have yet to speak with Saoirse.” The brown-haired woman’s first words returned to Bat. “Apparently there were messages for her to convey. With everything that has happened this day, they never were, at least not to me.”
Shar rubbed his eyes and scooted from the bed. Bat found her boots near the chest at the foot of the bunk and pulled them on. Then she grabbed the harp and slung it over her shoulder. This was not leaving her sight again.
Chapter 15
Bastie,
Bastie, Bastie, Bastie.
Sigh.
I learned more secrets tonight…
You are all dead the next time I see you. Just to give you fair warning.
- Bat
P.s. Or maybe not. Because now I have secrets of my own. What is that phrase? Something about casting stones?
BAT
Night had fallen. The stars winked overhead as Bat made her way along the narrow side deck and toward the main salon where Mell said the others were gathered.
Not everyone, she noted. Saoirse and whoever accompanied her must have done a very effective job with the shopping, because there were signs of it everywhere. Potted plants sat in stands that were secured to the deck. Hammocks with sleeping figures were strung between posts. The scent of stew and bread mixed the with sea salt aroma of the ocean, and sent her stomach to growling.
Killer and the other two pups lifted their heads and sniffed, then bounded over to her from where they’d been laying on a pile of lifejackets someone had dumped in a corner. She generously doled out scratches and pets before telling them to stay.
Pushing open the door, she took in the salon turned strategy room. Dub and Finn were already seated at the bench-type seat that wrapped around three sides of a small table. Saoirse sat in a chair that had been pulled up to the other end. There were two more chairs shoved in close to each other. Cuchi occupied one, and Ari the other.
Bat pushed into the room, Mell and Shar right behind her. As she slid into the bench-seat beside Dub, Ciara entered from another narrow doorway. She held two off-white bowls from which rose steam and that tantalizing scent of stew. She set one in front of Bat and the other was presented to Saoirse. “I’ll be back with more. Bread’s just about done.”
“You are wonderful, Ciara,” Bat said. She bent over the bowl and drew in a deep breath. Her stomach rumbled again.
Ciara flushed. “Everyone’s been running all day. There’s lots of hungry fae on this boat. The first meal needed to be hearty.”
“Don’t forget to eat your self,” Bat told the pixie.
Her blush deepened. “I won’t, goddess.” She hurried back to the galley and soon the sound of silverware and clanging pots could be heard. Ciara was back in moments, three bowls in her hands this time. In mere minutes the pixie had everyone served.
Ailis burst through the door. “I’m not late, am I?”
Ciara appeared as if by magic with one more serving of stew. Ailis took it and scanned the room for a place to sit. She finally settled on propping herself against the wall. Dipping her spoon into the thick stew, the green haired fae shoveled the food into her mouth.
Once everyone slowed down, Ciara appeared in the doorway again, a smaller bowl in hand. Setting it down in front of Bat, she gave the goddess a small smile and disappeared once more.
This bowl held red-pink goodness smothered in a bit of cream.
Bat licked her lips, the rest of the room fading away.
Mell laughed.
A small fork appeared in front of her. “We won’t ask you to share this time, a stor.”
She barely noted the deep bass of her giant’s voice as she took the utensil from his hand and speared one of the berries.
When half the bowl was gone, Bat came out of her strawberry induced haze. The others in the room stared at her with a range of emotions, from indulgence to puzzlement to mirth.
“Ready now?” That was Cuchi, barely-suppressed appalled laughter in his voice.
Bat licked a smear of cream from her lower lip. “Yes.” With a look of longing, she set the fork beside the bowl, promising herself she would return to the treat as soon as she’d told them what she could.
“I think I should go first,” Saoirse said. “My messages have waited all day, I am not sure they can wait much longer.”
“I agree,” Bat said, before anyone could speak. It would give her additional time to decide how to avoid saying anything she shouldn’t without leaving out the vital pieces. She was also curious as to what this selkie would tell them.
“As ya may know by now, I’m a selkie. I’m also a daughter of mac Lir. When the goblin came to me, asking me to set up a meeting with Da, I was… intrigued. Not much catches my interest these days.” The selkie shrugged. “I reached out to Da, he basically gave me permission to play, as long as no one broke the treaty.”
Dub, Mell, and Shar stiffened so suddenly they nearly jumped from their seats.
“Treaty?”
Saoirse hummed and tapped her lips, no doubt deciding what she could say.
It was Mell who finally answered. “When Balor first crossed the oceans and headed for Ireland, he struck a deal with the sea god for safe passage. It’s a treaty that has existed since that time, and the reason the Fomoiri prefer to operate from the sea—we have the advantage.”
“That is basically correct, but there is more to it than that,” Saoirse admitted. “It’s not only a deal between mac Lir and the Fomoiri, but also includes Apep, Ma’at, and humans.”
Dread filled Bat at the mention of the Egyptian god of chaos and destruction. Apep was the exact opposite of the balance and justice she had aligned herself with at the beginning of her existence. He was the serpent that slept in the deepest trenches of the ocean and waited for the time he would waken and devour the world.
He had apparently attempted to do so once, six thousand years before. He was the whole reason Seth had sent the Egg of Creation—the original vessel—away from Egypt, in the care of the Fomoiri.
Bat had never heard of this treaty.
She tilted her head, all her attention focusing on the daughter of mac Lir. “I admit there is much of the Egyptian gods’ history I am unfamiliar with. It is strange to think I had to come to a foreign land for answers. Explain. Please.” She added the last out of courtesy. This was the daughter of a god, after all. Though Saoirse herself was not a deity, there was no reason not to offer her respect.
“Balor thinks he made the treaty. He didn’t. That Seth did. He struck a deal with Da to gain his help in subduing Apep and protecting the ships he sent north and their cargo. In exchange, there would be… sacrifices. A certain number of human souls would be used to keep Apep content in his sleep. To maintain the balance, only those souls would be taken, no more, no less. The Fomoiri would provide gifts of their own to mac Lir. Usually treasure, sometimes women.” Saoirse shrugged. “Da’s a lusty man.”
“How does this affect the current situation?” Cuchi growled out. Something in Saoirse’s little speech had rubbed him wrong.
“There was an additional stipulation, insisted upon by Da. Mac Lir likes… loopholes. The treaty would be broken if one of two things happen: if a child of the sea is killed by a Fomoiri, or a Fomoiri is killed by a child of the sea.” The selkie rolled her eyes. “Da pays lip service to maintaining the treaty, mostly because Apep is a pain in the ass to deal with and he’s too lazy to do it again. However, he also didn’t expect the Fomoiri to restrain themselves so well when it came to not harming the children of the sea.”
“Probably because Balor didn’t want to share power with a giant serpent bent on world destruction,” Ailis said, cutting to the heart of things like she always did.
Bat absorbed everything the selkie had told them. She shoved aside the dull hurt at finding even more secrets that had been kept from her. It truly didn’t matter at this point.
Meeting the deep brown gaze of the selkie with her own dark eyes, she peered into the soul of the woman. No doubt the men of ba had already scanned her, but Bat was curious as to what she’d find.
Saoirse was different. Instead of being shadowed with shades of gray or black, she was a swirl of colors. Was it because her father was a god? What would happen if Bat ever tried to see into another deity this way?
And she was distracting herself again.
“So,” Bat said to the selkie. “What you are saying is that you cannot kill Balor or his allies. And if you are killed, then Apep is freed from his… sleep.” Could the fate of the world be held up on such a delicate balance?
“Yup.” Saoirse popped the “p” of that one word, and sent a grin at the slack faces around her. “Guess none of ya knew the whole truth of the treaty, did ya?”
“Some of us didn’t even know there was a treaty,” Ailis shot back. But her face, too, held traces of shock.
Maybe Bat had become inured to the shock of universe-shaking information being dumped on her. Maybe she’d gotten to the point where the large things barely moved her, but the little things like a bowl of strawberries or a nap in the arms of someone she loved were able to break her down in little pieces.
“You’ll also need me to lead you into Tir Hudi. It’s… less of an island and more of a… state of existence in its own space?” She shook her head. “I don’t know how to describe it. You can only find it if you’ve been there before. I’ve been there.” She sucked in a deep breath. “And Balor has been there. I’m no’ sure how he convinced Da ta take him, but it’s no coincidence that he was able to escape the full power of Nuada’s blade.”
“You know why he’s headed there,” Finn said, his voice emotionless. He’d gone into full guardi-mode.
Beside Bat, Dub trembled and his hands were curled into hard fists. She laid one of her hands over his, letting him know she was there. On her other side, Mell did not look like he was about to come out of his skin, but he had locked down. As he did when he was deeply affected, he’d pulled into himself and locked all his emotions away. The usual eddies and tendrils of emotion she could sense from him were gone.
Bat leaned forward and craned her neck to take a peek at Shar. Her giant’s eye was closed, his lips tight. He showed no other reaction, though.
They would need time to process all of this. A spark of vindictive satisfaction flared in her. Now they know how I felt. Hah.
“I am not sure how much Da would want me to tell you. Let’s just say that there’s something in the western caves of the island that Balor needs to make everything work.” Saoirse’s gaze met Bat’s and it held a promise to tell her more later.
Flash. A cave. In the center of the cave was a spring that flowed in a slow stream into the dark recesses of that cave. A man knelt beside the stream and dipped his hands in. When he drank, his silver hair grew dark and thick, his hunched shoulders pulled back, his spine grew straight.
Balor needed the waters of that spring. She wasn’t sure if the liquid merely healed whoever drank it, or if it offered more. But what was clear to her was that it held life in it. This spring, plus the vessel of creation, could pull together the pieces of his soul and mend them.
“And there are the stars,” Shar said.
“I believe the goddess should be the next to talk.” That was Cuchi, his words slow and careful. It was the most subdued she’d ever heard the man, even when she’d laid the curse on him. “Unless you have more to add?” he asked Saoirse.
She shook her head.
Everyone turned to Bat. Dub turned his hand over and threaded his fingers though hers. Mell’s hand slipped behind her and settled on her lower back, rubbing in small circles.
Where should she begin? “The Morrigan once mentioned to me that there was a very narrow path to tread in order to attain victory over Balor. She was right.” Bat closed her eyes, unable to look at the faces of the people around her. “He will have five ships, and they will be lead by a dark-haired man holding a golden spear. They will anchor in a small bay at the east side of the island. There are cliffs and hills on the west end. Saoirse will help monitor the enemy’s boats. There will be at least one giant, and Finn will be the one facing it. Mell will hold our spear, and he will face down a white-haired man with the golden spear. Later, Old Mike will hold our spear. Dub, Finn, Cuchi, Ailis and I will restore the cauldron with our blood. Daniel wil
l—” she swallowed, not wanting to say the next part, but knowing she needed to. “Daniel will be the house of Balor’s soul. Nuada’s blade will pierce his heart and he will be cast into the cauldron.” Here she hesitated, but not because she didn’t want to say the words. She had to find the right ones. “When he resurrects, only at this point will we be able to send the entirety of his soul to Anubis for judgment. Our spear, the one embedded with the shard of the Egg, will pierce his back, and he will fall.” Nothing she had just said was untrue. They didn’t need to know the last part of her visions, or how the harp played a part in them.
Bat opened her eyes and snuck a look at Ailis. Her friend gazed back at her, brows scrunched together. Bat tired to send her a smile, but she must have failed. I am no good at subterfuge.
Silence fell over the group as they all digested the information. There were not that many new pieces, she realized, only details.
“Is that all?” Finn asked.
Bat swallowed and nodded.
His hazel eyes pierced into hers. “All right.” He turned to Saoirse. “How long until we reach the island?”
“We will arrive the day after tomorrow. Probably mid-day.”
“Can you sketch the layout of the land for us?”
The selkie nodded. Finn handed over his small notebook.
Moments later the men were bent over the small drawing, talking in quiet murmurs. Bat followed their conversation with one ear. Ailis had been correct. They knew the strengths and weaknesses of each of the fae with them: the trooping fae, the sidhe, the pixies, the banshees, the leprechauns, all of them. Ari filled in what was needed regarding the men of ba. It took barely twenty minutes, and they had the outline of a strategy.
The first step would be reconnaissance. When they were still a few kilometers out from the island, Finnegan and Dub would cast a cloaking spell over the boat—and she now knew what Finnegan was, a Druid. They were the ones who learned to cultivate magic from their environment. Bat wondered if Finnegan was familiar with Heka, the Egyptian god of magic…
The Forgotten Trilogy Page 54
