The Forgotten Trilogy

by Cecilia Randell

  I hope you are well. I really do.

  I will wait for you to write. I know you will, eventually.

  Love, Bat

  P.s. - Oh! I now have three puppies! Ciara gave me the two left from Fina’s previous litter. She said they were causing too much chaos, and that I deserved them. I will be sure to send you pictures.

  Epilogue

  Bat and Mell sat near the hearth. They had just finished running through one of his new compositions for some of the pub regulars who had stayed late just to listen, when the front door swung open.

  Dub scowled at the three figures who stalked into the bar. “We’re closed.”

  “Door wasn’t locked.” The voice was deep and accented.

  Bat, who had been bent over her harp running through some of the trickier fingerings for the new song, froze. She knew that voice, though it had been centuries since she heard it.

  Raising her head, she could only stare.

  Horus. Horus stood in the middle of her pub, arms folded and chin lifted like he owned the place.

  “Where is she?” he asked, his tone filled with all the arrogance she remembered and more.

  “Horus.” That voice was smooth, throaty, and annoyed.

  Bastie was here too?

  Bat wanted to jump on her old friend and hug her until she spilled everything about why she had not responded to any of Bat’s email notes. But something held her back. Why were they here, now, without a word of warning?

  Then she recalled there’d been a buzz in her back pocket at the beginning of the evening, she’d just been too busy to check her phone. Bat pulled it out now and saw she did have one new message, from Bastet.

  You have about four hours until the asshole and the whore show up. I’m trying to get in on the meet and greet. Can’t tell you much, but they’re going to try to persuade you to come back.

  Bat’s brows rose at the last. They could not be serious. She handed her phone to Mell so he could read the message as well.

  He snorted.

  At least they were in agreement on that.

  She returned her attention to the front of the pub.

  “And who is ‘she’?” That was Meera. The banshee’s eyes flashed, though she kept her anger from her expression, if not her voice.

  “That little brat, Bat.” And there was the whore.

  She is not a whore. Do not fall into using Bastie’s language, Bat. And now I am talking to myself. Bat shook her head.

  “You’d best be speaking of her with respect.” Faolan stood from his usual spot at the bar.

  Hathor raised a perfectly groomed brow at the sluagh. “And who are you to tell me how to speak?”

  Bat had had enough. She stood, the harp still in her hands. “He is my friend. Why are you here?”

  The three gods turned to her. Horus, Hathor, and Bastet. These three had retained enough followers and believers into the modern age that they had maintained a semblance of power.

  They are nowhere near as powerful as The Morrigan, though. It was a striking thought. She was used to thinking of the Egyptian deities as powerhouses.

  Hathor pushed the silky fall of her dark hair over her shoulder and spun to face Bat. Her face held the overly sweet expression she wore when she wanted something.

  How had Horus ever fallen for this goddess?

  Then Horus stepped to Hathor’s side, and Bat remembered. They were basically the same. Or at least, now they were. Horus used to have a sweet side… or maybe that sweetness was only reserved for the woman at his side, which was no longer Bat.

  She expected the thought to hurt. It… didn’t. She felt nothing but general annoyance at their intrusion and a faint wistfulness over shared memories.

  I have truly left them behind.

  Bat grinned. There was so much relief connected to the realization that she bounced on her toes.

  “Hey, you.” Bastet took a few steps toward Bat then paused. Her gaze scanned over the gathered fae, lingered on the brothers, then focused on… “Is that the puppy? He’s not much of a puppy. Are you sure you know the definition of the word puppy?”

  Bat grinned at her friend. She handed the harp to Mell and closed the distance with Bastet before wrapping the goddess in the hug she’d been wanting to give her.

  “That the cat?” Dub asked from behind the bar. He watched the scene unfold with wary eyes and his concerned frown.

  “Yes, this is my friend Bastet.” She tugged on Bastie’s hand and brought her to the bar, ignoring the other two deities in the center of the room. If they would not greet her properly, she would not greet them. “Do you want me to pull you a pint? I am really good at it now.”

  Bastet nodded and slid onto a seat next to Old Mike.

  The cat was unusually subdued.

  Bat finished the pint, set it before the other goddess, and waited for her to take a sip.

  Bastet’s brow rose. “This is good.”

  Bat nodded. “I know. You should also stay for a song before you need to go. Finn will be here in a little bit, and he was going to bring his fiddle.”

  “You are truly happy here.” Bastet’s dark eyes bore into Bat’s.

  “I am.”

  Bastet twisted in her seat to stare at Hathor and Horus. The other fae had gone back to their drinks and conversation, ignoring the two deities in their midst.

  Those two didn’t know it was the usual behavior of the solitary fae and misfits Bat now called her family. She didn’t need Mell’s powers to see the anger and frustration brewing within them.

  “We are not asking her,” Bastet told them.

  Horus pulled his shoulders back and strode to the bar. “Bat, may I speak to you in private?”

  “No.” Three voices spoke in unison.

  Bat frowned over at Shar, who had just come in from the kitchen, then up at Dub. That was her question to answer, and they had no right to speak over her, even if they were all in agreement.

  She turned back to Horus. “Whatever you need to say, you can say it right here.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared levelly at her old lover.

  His lips tightened. “This is not something that can be spoken of in such company.”

  Bat’s brows rose. “This is my family, anything you tell me, I will eventually tell them. Besides, I doubt they actually give a shit about anything you have going on.”

  Horus’s eyes widened at her language and Bat laughed. She just couldn’t keep it in anymore. The two were so out of their element, though Bastet seemed to fit right in. Bat knew she would.

  Hathor glared at her and Horus cleared his throat. “We need the Unifier to return to Egypt. Things have been… unsettled.”

  “The dead are restless. More and more souls are not making it to their judgment,” Bastet said with a sigh.

  “And why do ya think tha’ has anything ta do wi’ th’ goddess here?” Old Mike drawled out his question in the thickest accent bat had ever heard from him.

  She had to stifle another laugh. She did love her family.

  The H’s—yes, that is what I will call them—brows drew together in confusion as Bastet grinned at the older fae. “Because the trouble started when she left,” the cat said simply.

  Old Mike nodded. “I could see tha’. It would mess things up quite a bother if she left here.”

  The wisp’s message was quite clear, and rumbles of agreement built throughout the common room.

  “What do you need, exactly?” Shar asked.

  Horus finally said the only thing that could soften Bat at this point. “We need her help. I know we have treated her unfairly, but—“

  “She’s not the one you need.” The soft voice cut through the room.

  A slim figure stood in the doorway to the kitchen hall, one shoulder propped against the jamb. Her green hair had long since grown out and now a good six inches of blond showed at the roots. Her legs trembled and her face was pale and thin, but she stood on her own power.

  “Ailis!” Bat shoved Du
b and then Shar out of the way and nearly tackled her friend. “You are awake! Oh thank the stars.” Bat pushed away, keeping her hands on the fae’s—no, the goddess’s—shoulders. “Do you know?” she whispered, the words barely audible even to her own ears.

  Ailis nodded. “We’ll talk later. For now…” Her gaze drifted to the Egyptian deities in the pub. “I think I got ye’r visions, Bat. I woke up and pictures flashed in front of me, so fast I couldn’t really understand them. Then I saw myself standing with the three of them in some kind of temple…”

  Bat laid her forehead against Ailis’s. She’d suspected something like that when the visions remained gone even after eight months. She’d also noticed her ability to distinguish and delve into souls was… diminished. It was not gone, but reading even one soul took thrice the effort it used to, even when she held plenty of power. “You are sure?” Bat asked her friend.

  “I’m sure.” Ailis’s voice held not one quiver of doubt.

  “Well, then, I have someone I’d like you to meet.” Bat wrapped her arm around Ailis and led her through the now silent fae and toward the seat next to Bastet. “I’ve always thought you two would get along.” Bat turned to the H’s. “You two should sit as well. I do not think this will be a short night.”

  “Don’t care as long as they know ye’re not going anywhere,” Dub said with a shrug.

  Shar nodded. Mell laughed and wrapped and arm around her shoulder. “Yup. Ye’re never getting away now, realta.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek.

  The H’s slid into a booth near the back of the room, expressions of wary disgust on their faces as they eyed the dark wood of the benches.

  Just then Finn walked in the front room. He froze as his head came up and he drew in a deep breath. “Well shit on a stick,” he muttered.

  Bat tapped her lip. “I think this situation calls for tea.”

  And thus begins Ailis’s journey…

  A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  I am going to preface this with: Please do not read unless you want to see this author spilling her guts and getting a little emotional about this last book for Bat and her not-men…

  I realized something while writing this last book. I’ve never told you what the guys’ endearments mean! So, here goes: Dub calls her storeen, which loosely translates to “little treasure”. Mell calls her realta, which means “my star.” Raise your hand if you have read my Blue books… (I swear I didn’t do that on purpose, I only realized I did it after the fact. Originally I meant it to refer to the silver sparks that appeared in her eyes when she used her power, and the fact that Bat is considered a sky goddess, and the personification of the Milky Way in some references.) Shar calls her a stor, which is “my dear.” Not particularly fancy, but neither is he… Finn began to call her acushla when he didn’t call her simply goddess. This is an endearment that came from a phrase meaning “vein of my heart.”

  How did you all like my take on Tir Hudi, the mythical island? While I did find a few references to it as an actual island, most of them only noted that it was enchanted in some way that made it findable only under certain circumstances. So, I added my own spin to it, of course. (wink, wink)

  Yes, this is the last book for Bat and her guys. The next adventure will belong to Ailis as she figures out how to be a goddess instead of a fae of Ireland, and as she navigates Egyptian pantheon politics and potential new relationships. Oh, and not to mention figuring out just what is going on with those restless souls…

  Some of you may have noticed a few… unresolved bits of plot line, or hints at greater opponents or evils that could come. I did that very deliberately. (And if you didn’t notice, just disregard this whole paragraph and pretend I didn’t draw your attention to them.) I did it for a few reasons: 1) Maybe I’ll get the urge to play around with a few more world ending evils in future books in this world, even if Bat is not a main player. 2) Even if a person or goddess has gotten themselves in a good place, if you look around this world there is always something that could be better or that should be fought against. In Bat’s case, these are evils that are either contained, or asleep. 3) Like anyone, Bat and her guys are still working on things. Their emotional wounds are not going to magically disappear (though I could probably make that artificially happen with an enchantment or two… hmmmm…). They’ve gotten themselves into a pretty good place in their relationship, but that doesn’t necessarily fix everything they’ve experienced throughout their lives. They’ll keep helping each other to grow and heal and let go of the past. The important thing is that they now have each other, and they know it. 4) The last reason is that I simply couldn’t make myself wrap everything up. I needed to leave myself little avenues to revisit these characters…

  Why is it so hard to say goodbye?

  I hope you guys have grown to love this world as much as I have. And I hope you stick with me through Ailis’s journey and beyond. At this point, I don’t think hers will be the last tale I need to tell for these characters that I have grown way too attached to…

  About the Author

  Cecilia Randell was born in Austin, Texas and grew up in a home with her very own Cheerful Bulldozer. After some brief adventures in various places such as California and Florida, she returned to her hometown and took up a career in drafting.

  A lifetime lover of words and stories, the transition to writing was two-fold: a comment from a relative and a short line from another author, saying to write what you want to read.

  And thus the new adventure was born.

  Now she can be found most days curled up in a comfy chair and creating new tales to share with others.

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  https://ceciliarandell.com

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