Dub flicked his fingers to the side, signaling everyone to be alert.
Twelve of them had gone into the mountains to track the cauldron—fifteen if you counted the three pups. Bat, Dub, Ailis, Finn and Cuchi needed to be there to awaken the ancient artifact. Shar had refused to be left behind, and Mell was the keeper of the spear that would send Balor to his true death. Ari was tracking the cauldron, and Adom and Nour accompanied the group to provide extra protection. Maire and Daire were there to act as scouts and messengers. As soon as the cauldron was located, Daire would zip off to the banshees to inform them to begin the attack, which would signal the others around the island to begin their own, thus providing the much-needed distraction. Maire would remain with them until it was time to send for Daniel. Then she would go and guide the Druid and human to the cave.
Bat’s chest tightened at the reminder that she was basically stealing the human tourist’s life. Some might call it a sacrifice, but not her. A sacrifice was only that if the one laying down their life was willing—otherwise it was murder.
She still hadn’t found a way around the final vision she’d received, but she hadn’t given up hope. There had to be a way to save both Ailis and the human.
Once again, Bat wondered if she should have shared the full truth with at least her men. But, she had to trust her instincts, and everything in her screamed that it would be a mistake. Maybe not now, but in future years it would be something that would… bite her in the butt.
Bat moved farther into the cave, the cool shadows enveloping her. Ari stepped up next to her and the other men of ba flanked them. Killer pressed into her thigh as the other pups spread out, ears back and noses up. They eyed the ever changing shadows that danced through the cave and let out low growls, though they didn’t attack.
They were such smart pups. I wonder if Ciara would let us keep them…
Mell and Shar took the lead, weapons in hand. The axe in Shar’s hand glinted within the shadows and Mell’s sword cast a shadow that stretched into the unseen depths of the cave. Dub, Finn, Cuchi, and Ailis formed a tight circle around Bat, pushing Ari and the other men of ba to the side. The pixies hovered over her head, waiting for the signal to carry out their assigned tasks.
Everyone knew what needed to happen—or most of what needed to happen. Both sides needed the cauldron restored, and both sides needed Balor to take over Daniel’s body.
Lavender streaked into the cave and hovered in front of her. “Goddess,” Siobhan panted. “The human—“
A low chuckle echoed through the cave. The air shimmered and the cloaked men came into view. Bat’s gaze caught on one in particular, and she swallowed.
Daniel stood between a dark haired man wearing a crazy grin, and a silver-haired man clad in leather and dripping with blades.
“The human is here with us,” hissed the dark-haired man.
“Scath,” Dub spit out.
Scath tipped his head to the side as he laughed again. “Surprise.”
Mell shrugged. “Not really.”
Scath focused on the middle brother. “Oh-oh. If it isn’t the sidhe masquerading as a Fomoiri. You were your father’s downfall, you know. Does that give you comfort from your pain?”
This man was pure evil. Bat shuddered. It radiated from him in waves, more than any other she had encountered yet.
Mell ignored the man and turned to Bat, one brow raised as if to ask, what now?
She shrugged. This actually changed nothing, except to save a bit of time. “Daire,” she whispered.
The red pixie zipped toward the cave entrance. Just as he was about to clear it he froze then dropped to the ground. Not a half second later Siobhan’s violet light escaped into the afternoon light. Maire’s pink was a beat behind her, moving so fast she was no more than a wink of shadowed sunlight.
Pixies were clever. They’d get the word out.
She scanned the men ranged on the other side of the Egg of Creation. There were ten, just as Mell had sensed. In addition to Daniel, Scath, and the silver-haired man, there were two sluagh surrounded in shadows, and five other warriors all nearly the size of Shar. Fomoiri, or maybe the Fir Bolg she kept hearing about.
The silver-haired man gestured to the cauldron. “We may as well get to it. We all know how this plays out.”
Bat didn’t move. Yes, they all knew how this went, up to a certain point.
She scanned the men once more, looking for the golden spear, or Nuada’s blade. She spotted neither. What are they up to? Where are the other pieces of my visions? This wouldn’t work without them all here, though she was still unclear as to the purpose of the golden spear.
Scath twisted his hand and Nuada’s blade appeared. “Looking for this?” He licked his lips then swept his eyes over her form. “Oh, how I wish you’d picked the hard way. Maybe you still will…” Though the words were whispered, they floated through the silent cave.
Bat ignored him. The piece they needed was here. She stepped forward and rounded the cauldron, taking a spot nearest Daniel. Mell followed behind her and planted himself a meter away, forming a loose triangle. Ailis took the place to her right, and Cuchi stood to her left. Finn and Dub were across the cauldron from her, in the places closest to the cave mouth.
The men of ba and Shar placed themselves in a line facing Balor’s Fomoiri, and the pups crouched in front of the sluagh with raised hackles.
Bat nodded to Dub, who drew a small blade. From this point forward, she could not become distracted. She knew there would be one opportunity for her, one decision she would make that would lead her away from that last vision of Ailis dead among shards of the Egg of Creation.
Dub drew the blade over his left palm and placed it against the rounded side of the vessel. It vibrated. Dub’s mouth dropped open and a low moan emerged as his eyes slid closed. “Fuck,” he breathed out. “The fuck was that.”
Ailis’s lips thinned. Taking a small switchblade from her front pocket, a determined look came over her. In one swift move she bloodied her palm and placed it against the vessel.
A wide smile pulled her lips apart and she laughed. She gave the vessel a small caress and pulled her hand away with a light chuckle. “Definitely female.”
In succession, Finn and Cuchi repeated the small ritual, each with their own reactions to the cauldron. Finn remained stoic, but Cuchi nearly buckled to the ground.
Then it was Bat’s turn. Scath and the other of Balor’s men had yet to move a muscle. In fact, they stood nonchalant, not even drawing their weapons.
It was the strangest battle she’d ever witnessed, or heard of. One where both sides worked together as allies until up until the very end.
Ailis held out her blade. “Here.”
Bat took it with her right hand. She swept her gaze over the strange assemblage around her, then pressed the blade to the meat of her palm just under the thumb. A thin line of blood welled. She let it gather, then pressed her hand to the side of vessel, just as the other four had done.
It hummed in pleasure. Energy and power ran over the surface of the vessel. The five smears of blood were absorbed into the shimmering surface. Bat’s ears popped as pressure built.
The power burst and she swayed. Around her others stumbled, some fell to their knees. Every single face was turned to the vessel.
The shimmer that was so faint it could have been easily overlooked was now a swirl of color under the hard surface. The cave was painted in ever shifting pastel light.
“It’s like some kind of weird pastel disco,” Ailis whispered, but the awe was evident in her voice.
“Was it ever like this?” Bat asked no one in particular.
“No,” Ari answered her.
There was a buzzing in the back of her mind, too faint for her to decipher. It was asking her for something…
“And now for the next step.” Scath turned to Daniel. Nuada’s blade firmly grasped in his right hand, he shoved it into the human tourist’s belly then twisted it. Daniel’s eyes glowed
with green light that quickly faded as Scath lifted the smaller man above his head and tossed him over the lip of the vessel.
The silver haired man ran to the spring, scooped a handful of the clear water into his palms, and crossed back to the vessel. He poured the water into the cauldron and stepped back.
Nothing.
Bat nearly snorted as Balor’s men shifted. A few scowled at the vessel. One grabbed for his sword, growling. “What did you do?” he asked as he advanced on Bat.
The silver-haired man stepped into his path. “Stop. You know we need her for this to work.”
“Get out of my way, Quinn. We know jack shit, and you know that. The shadow bastard likes to keep everything to himself.” The man jabbed his sword in Scath’s direction.
For his part, Scath stood beside the cauldron between Bat and Ailis, Nuada’s blade hanging from his hand. He stared at the cauldron with an intent look, his dark eyes burning.
Bat flicked her gaze to Ailis, then tipped her head a few degrees toward the cave entrance. She needed to get her friend out of here now.
Ailis took a step and Scath raised Nuada’s blade, placing the tip against the green-haired woman’s neck.
“Ah, ah. No one moves. This could take some time.”
With the threat to Ailis, Bat froze. She flicked her gaze to Mell, then the other men around the cauldron. Each stood with hands held slightly out from their bodies, ready to act at any moment.
Tension thickened the air. She itched to pull the harp from its pack and play something similar to what she did on the dock. Her hands rose.
A line of blood appeared on Ailis’s neck. Bat froze once more.
“No. Not yet, goddess. You’ll know when it’s time to play.” Scath bared his sharp teeth at her in a snarl.
The vessel’s vibration went from the faintest tremor to a shudder that ran along the surface.
A pale hand reached up and grasped the rim.
Chapter 25
BAT
If everything before happened as though the universe held its breath, the moment Daniel’s hand hit the lip of the cauldron, the universe exploded.
Screaming roar after screaming roar rolled over the island. Explosions, muffled by distance and rock, sounded. A lower roar, more like a destructive wind, built under the screams.
The banshees. Con. And probably the others.
Balor’s men jumped then stepped toward the mouth of the cave, only to be blocked by the pups, Shar, and the men of ba. Dub and Finn backed away from the cauldron and their weapons materialized in their hands. Shar held his axe at the ready.
Another hand grasped the lip of the vessel.
Bat, Ailis, Scath, Mell and Quinn stood frozen.
Daniel heaved himself over the side of the vessel and rolled.
Ailis leaned back and spun.
Mell materialized the spear that had been made from the shard of the vessel. He pulled his arm back and aimed for Daniel.
Then Quinn was there, the golden spear in his hands. He blocked Mell’s thrust and shoved him back.
“Fuck,” Cuchi muttered. “Fucking spear of Lugh. I was hoping the goddess saw that one wrong.” He dove between Quinn and Mell, engaging the silver-haired Fomoiri. Pushing his opponent back against the cave wall, Cuchi twisted to glare at Bat. “Whatever you’re going to do, you better do now. No one can hold out long against the one who hold Lugh’s spear.”
As though his words were prophecy in themselves, the warrior was shoved back and he stumbled before falling to the ground.
Daniel-Balor had backed away until his back was against the cave wall, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. Mell advanced on him, the spear held ready.
Bat still stood beside the vessel of creation. She was not in shock, nor was she undecided.
She was waiting for that opportunity.
Except she waited too long.
Daniel-Balor’s eyes flashed green in the dim light and Mell froze. Blood dripped from his ears, his nose, his eyes. His mouth dropped open in a silent scream as his face turned a deep red.
Quinn thrust the golden spear through his side and plucked the shard-spear from Mell’s now limp hand.
Bat’s heart stuttered. This could not… she had not seen… what…
Mell hung there, suspended, a macabre figure. Then he collapsed as though someone cut his strings.
Daniel-Balor turned his attention to Bat.
The enemy now had the shard-spear. Their window of opportunity to kill Balor had been open for a measly few seconds, and was now closed.
But her men had not given up. The fight continued around her. Blades flashed and clanged, men grunted. The scent of blood and sweat filled her nostrils.
From the corner of her eye she caught Ari’s dash to Mell’s side. The man of ba bent over him, muttering low words she could not catch.
Daniel-Balor cocked his head. “Your young man may yet live. Wouldn’t that be nice for you, goddess? I could make sure of Ari’s success if you like?”
The voice was Daniel’s but the cadence, the tone, was just like the one from her dreams.
“What now?” she asked.
“Will you play me a song?”
At his question both the harp and the vessel vibrated. The buzz in the back of her mind increased.
“No.” The word slipped out before she’d thought about it. Something in her told her now was not the time. Not yet, not quite. She needed to hold out for just a few seconds longer…
“No?” Daniel-Balor’s eyes narrowed. He swept his gaze around the cave. Abruptly the sounds of fighting faded.
Bat spun and her eyes widened in horror. Everyone was frozen, even Daniel-Balor’s allies. As she watched blood seeped from Shar’s eyes and nose, and the veins in Dub’s face swelled.
“I could keep going?”
Bat spun back to him.
“Or I could release just my men. They could take this opportunity to carve pieces from the men you love, bit by bit, until they are no more than piles of blood and flesh on the cave floor?” He waved a hand and Scath, Quinn and another of the Fomoiri staggered before regaining their balance. “Or…” Daniel-Balor pointed at a frozen Ailis, and Scath dragged the green-haired fae to his master’s side.
“Or, I could play with this one.” Daniel-Balor wrapped his hand around Ailis’s neck. His gaze bore into hers and Ailis’s eyes rolled back into her head as the small blood vessels there burst.
“Stop.” Tears seeped from Bat’s eyes. “Stop.”
Balor twisted his head to face her. “Will you play?”
“Y-yes.” Bat fumbled with the harp case, exaggerating her sloppy movements. She was horrified with what Balor had done, what he had been able to do with just a look from his eyes. She had wanted to give in right away, had wanted to do what he asked from the moment that golden spear had entered Mell.
Oh, Mell.
“You know what to play,” Balor whispered. He spun Ailis until the fae’s back was pressed to his front. “Play for me, goddess.”
Bat swallowed. Her chance was coming, she knew it. She couldn’t allow herself to be distracted, not by anything. She blocked out the sight of a fallen Mell and a tortured Dub and turned her attention to the harp now in her hands.
She plucked a string and a shudder ran though Balor, the vessel, and the harp all at once. She struck the next note, then the next.
With each note she pulled from the instrument the melody grew. And with it, magic built. The buzz in her head built in tandem with the vibrations of the vessel.
Yes. That was not Balor. Life.
It was the vessel, she realized. It had slumbered for so long before she and the men of ba had managed to awaken her a few days ago. She had been waiting for them to arrive.
She had been waiting for Bat.
Life? I do long to create one last time…
Wait, Bat sent her.
Her fingers danced over the strings. Power swirled within the vessel, both in the physical embodiment an
d the nebulous consciousness that existed somewhere outside the physical. That power began to condense, pulling in on itself.
This was it, Bat realized. This was the seed of godhood that Balor sought. The vessel wanted to give birth once more before the end of its existence. It put all of itself into that bubble of power, that seed. It was not considering who would receive the gift, it simply wanted to give it.
Maybe…
Quinn moved behind Balor, the shard-spear clutched in his hands. Balor held up one hand in a motion to wait. His head remained cocked as though listening for something.
Bat’s fingers continued to dance over the strings.
“Now,” Balor whispered.
Quinn thrust the spear through Balor’s back, skewering his heart—and Ailis.
With a grunt Quinn threw the two bodies toward the vessel.
Daniel-Balor and Ailis toppled into the cauldron, the shaft of the spear locking them together.
Bat’s fingers continued to move over the strings of the Uaithne, the harp now in control. She couldn’t stop the melody. Inside the vessel she could feel it, the seed of godhood fully formed. It called to her, as like could call to like. Idly, Bat wondered if the others could sense what was forming, or if they remained oblivious.
Flash. A form made of starlight and darkness reached out a hand and caressed a sleeping Ailis.
“You idiot!” Scath backhanded the silver-haired man, Quinn. “Only one can go in the cauldron at this point.”
Just how much did Scath know of his master’s plans? How secret was the secret Bat had been keeping?
“Fuck you, bastard. If it was so important, your tight lipped ass should have told us that.” Quinn lunged for Mell and the golden spear still impaling his side.
Ari intercepted him, snarling and snapping those needle teeth.
Chaos erupted around Bat once more as everyone was released from the spell of Balor’s gaze. A distant part of herself knew this, but she could not see it, could not hear it.
She was completely absorbed in what was happening inside the vessel as she began the last measures of the Final Melody.
The Forgotten Trilogy Page 61
