by Lisa Rector
Meuric sniffed the air, which smelled like wet dog… err, deer.
“Ya found us as we’re just enterin’ Delyth,” Dewydd said.
“Delyth?” Meuric asked.
“The home of the tegyd,” Catrin said. “Before they live underground.”
“Oh?” Meuric asked.
Dewydd huffed. He stooped under the weight of the pack he carried. “We’ve been travelin’ for the past five days. The tegyd arrived a day after ya left and have been helpin’ us pack and make preparations. We left a day before planned and made most of the journey before the rain started this mornin’.”
Meuric lifted the pack off Dewydd’s shoulders, and they entered the nearest house.
He glanced around, relieved to find high ceilings, which allowed room for the deer people’s antlers. He didn’t want to spend another night under the squat roof of the Eilian’s hut no matter how dry it might be. Inside, a fire burned. The rest of Dewydd’s family crowded around it, holding hands toward the heat or ringing the dripping water from their clothes. Not a gloomy face among the bunch.
Meuric almost forgot why they’d come. He didn’t want to think about where the Dark Master might be. In this time, he roamed free. His mode of travel… Meuric wasn’t sure. Could the Dark Master move through the ether? If he leapt as easily as Meuric did from place to place, they’d never outrun him.
They’d never be able to hide.
Catrin sidled up to him. She craned her neck at the ceiling. “I haven’t seen these homes before. In my… I mean, our time, the tegyd have torn them down. I quite approve of the beams. Like living in a grotto of trees.”
Meuric followed her gaze. A canopy of branches wove together to form the framework of the ceiling. Meuric traced a trunk to the floor. What he thought were logs cut for the walls were living trees rooted in the soil. “How do they grow like that?” He meant, in rows, with no space between them, forming a seamless wall.
Catrin jabbed him in the ribs, and he jumped. “Magic, of course.” She sighed. “The tegyd magic creates amazing phenomena in nature. They can manipulate organic matter.”
“That’s something different.”
Dewydd slumped onto a stool. “We’ve been divided into houses. The tegyd have welcomed us into their homes as we begin building our new ones. Some of them will start on their preparations to move underground, and the rest will help us. We couldn’t be more grateful. Such a grand experience we’re having.”
“Well, this is wonderful,” Meuric said. “I had no idea what your circumstance would be while you built your homes in the sky. What a relief.”
Catrin cast him a sidelong look. “Aww, Meuric, you were worried. That’s endearing.”
Meuric wiggled his eyebrows. “I’m always endearing. I can’t believe you failed to notice until now.”
Dewydd interrupted their banter. “It’ll be tight quarters for the tegyd, I’m sure, but we don’t take up much space. Fit right nice into a corner we do. I mean look at these houses!”
A tegyd entered the house. She didn’t have antlers. That would make sense—that only the males had them. Unlike the bare-chested men, the she-deer had thick fur covering swelling breasts, giving her the illusion of modesty, or at least a fur vest. She wore no clothes, only a leather necklace of blue and crimson feathers draped around her neck.
“Welcome, travelers.” Her voice was smooth. “I am Glynis. We shall eat presently when my husband returns. Please make yourselves at home.” She gestured around the room before busying herself in the kitchen, preparing hot drinks for the wet crew.
When she turned, Meuric caught a flash of white. Her tail! A long mane of bronze hair draped down her naked back and swished with her movement. The fur from her chest tapered in a low scoop around her back, ending above her tail.
A flush of heat overtook Meuric. How odd that such a strange creature could be so alluring.
He caught Catrin staring at him, and he looked away. How much had Catrin assessed? Longing? The desire to feel another person’s creamy flesh against his own? To feel soft hands stroking his cheek? He had better keep a guard up in the future.
Dewydd’s family settled around the table with their feet dangling off the chairs. Meuric leaned against a table along the wall, and Catrin sat in one of the chairs with Lili on her lap. They sipped steaming mugs of tea flavored with mint and basil.
Meuric took a careful sip, remembering the bitter taste of the Eilian’s brew, and sighed with relief. Glynis had sweetened the herbs with honey. Meuric observed Catrin to see how she felt. Her nose hovered over the mug before taking a deep breath. She sighed. Following her example, Meuric let the vapors sooth his spirits.
For the moment, Meuric and Catrin had lost the Dark Master’s presence. Although Catrin was probably right. Using the dark power wouldn’t be wise. Because the Master knew where they’d last been, his presence would most likely linger until they returned. It wouldn’t be possible to stay hidden from him.
Meuric turned to the door when another tegyd entered the house.
His face fell. Of all the houses!
Beli brushed over to Glynis, slid his hand tenderly against the low curve of her back, and glided his palm under her hair and up her shoulders as he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
Glynis blushed and fluttered her lashes.
The audacity! To do that in front of children in such a seductive manner. Only days before, Beli flirted openly with Catrin as if… as if he was a single stag and Catrin a doe in heat!
Catrin sent Meuric a warning look. Her head twitched in a slight side-to-side movement. Meuric bit his tongue and inhaled deeply, controlling his agitation.
“Welcome, dear friends.” Beli spread his arms wide in greeting. “I trust you’ve been enjoying your adventure so far?”
He knew just what to say to the Eilian to keep their spirits up—not that they’d ever get down.
“Oh, yes,” Betrys said, curling her hands around her steaming mug. “The children have been thrilled.”
Meical spoke up. “When we crossed the river, I balanced on the shoulders of a tegyd and held on to his antlers. The swirling waters came up to his chest, and I t’ought we’d be swept away for sure!”
Meuric laughed. They would think being swept away was exciting and not a danger to their lives. He recalled the story of the one Eilian and his relation who waded into the ocean. Interesting people, indeed.
They enjoyed a hearty vegetable stew. Meuric wondered if the tegyd ate meat. Common deer grazed on grass. In the summer, did the deer people graze in fields? He pictured Beli on his hands and knees with his face in the dirt.
Meuric smirked, and Catrin leaned over. “What’s funny?”
He recovered himself. “Nothing.”
Catrin lifted her eyebrows in disbelief. “Guard how you behave around these people, Meuric. They’re different from you and me, but they’re made by the same creator. We owe them much for the help they’re giving the Eilian.”
“I meant no disrespect.” He smirked again. He bet males butted heads when fighting for a mate. Meuric wondered if any of them sported an eye patch. Pointy antlers would do serious damage.
His imagination was going overboard.
Catrin flicked his hand. “I know, and I know Beli makes you uncomfortable. Please be nice.”
There she was again with the please. The word raised gooseflesh on the back of his neck. He chided himself for being a sucker with women, though Catrin’s being sweet to him was a welcome improvement from the burning or kicking or smart-mouthed attitude she had before.
“Glynis invited us to stay the night.” Catrin sipped a mouthful of stew. “I apprised her of our situation and told her we’d be off at daybreak. She said, with your gift, why don’t we stay here every night and resume travel in the mornings.”
“That’s a nice offer, and I’d welcome the hospitality, but I’m worried about using my gift. As you said, it might draw the Dark Master’s attention. With circumstances as they
are, when we return, he might immediately pick up our trail from the single morph through space.”
“I worried about that too. I’m afraid my asking you to bring us here was for naught.”
Meuric dipped a piece of crust in his broth until the bread turned to mush. He dropped it into his bowl. “His physical form in this time means his powers are different. I didn’t have to worry about where he was back home because he was bound to his prison. Until the Master of Light binds Cysgod’s essence to his eternal abode, we are at the mercy of his power.”
Catrin shuddered. “So we stay the one night and travel on?”
“Yes. I don’t want to endanger these people either.”
“I agree.”
“At least you know the Eilian are settled and safe.”
“Yes, that’s a relief to me as well.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
UNSTABLE
Beli and Glynis shared a room behind the fireplace, which slid open to heat their room while offering heat to the front of the house. Dewydd and Betrys slept in a corner on a low cot made especially for the little guests. A screen behind them shielded them from the cold in the rest of the room. Beli said the men would make beds for the children soon, but in the meantime, they lay at the foot of their parents’ bed on several woven blankets.
Meuric and Catrin lay in the center of the living space with Meuric closest to the fire. He stayed awake long after the Eilian and the little ones had fallen asleep. Catrin fell asleep soon after them.
Minutes later, gentle moans and exaggerated breathing drifted from the other room through the opening in the fireplace.
Unbelievable! Meuric held his breath, afraid to make a sound. He couldn’t keep his imagination from galloping off. After seeing how Beli behaved when he met Catrin, Meuric pictured Beli making love to his wife while fantasizing about Catrin. Vulgar cad!
The quiet murmurings of the couple enthralled in the throes of passion stayed low, but Meuric broke out in a sweat.
Don’t think about it. Think about battle. Think about combat. Don’t think about how you haven’t been with a woman for months.
Sweat. Bloodshed. A shrill battle cry.
Death. Slaughter.
Torn flesh. The horrifying images from battle were easy to coax into his mind.
A rapturous exhale. Female.
Bruised skin… a busted lip… a silken caress from a tender healing hand.
Meuric’s face became hot, and he had an urge to scramble away from the fire, but he couldn’t move. He closed his eyes. Arya leaned over him and touched his cheek with her lush lips, driving the pain away. Her thick black hair fell in his face and tickled his nose.
Meuric cursed. He was slipping, reliving memories.
Her hands crept up his body, and he groaned from the pleasure—or from torment. Meuric couldn’t tell because he was frozen, and his head throbbed fiercely.
Arya’s face contorted with a sudden pain, and she cried out.
“No, not again!” Meuric yelled. “I don’t want to see this!”
Falling beside him on the bed, she screamed a harsh cry, which made Meuric’s blood stop. Arya curled over her stomach, bearing down. Meuric could do nothing for her. The labor had been hard, and she’d been pushing for hours. The babe was backwards and refused to drop. Arya cried out again, and Meuric grabbed hold of her shoulders.
“OWW, Meuric! You’re hurting me!”
“Tell me what I must do! How can I help you?”
Something shoved Meuric hard, and he fell back onto the bed. When he opened his eyes, Arya had disappeared, but Beli knelt on his chest, digging his knee into Meuric’s sternum while pressing a knife against his throat.
“You can leave my house. That’s what you can do, my friend,” Beli said.
“What in all of Morvith?” Meuric muttered. What was going on?
“No, Beli, look.” Catrin touched Meuric’s forehead. “He’s feverish. He had a night terror. Leave him alone. Get off him.”
“He hurt you. I cannot allow him in my house.”
Meuric glanced around. Half terrified, Glynis, Dewydd, Betrys, and the children stared at him.
What did I do?
Catrin touched Beli’s shoulder and drew him off Meuric’s chest. Meuric gasped for breath.
Though Beli sheathed his blade, his face was unbelieving.
“I was caught off guard, Beli. I’m all right. I’ll take care of Meuric. Go back to sleep, everyone. Meuric just made a mistake.” Catrin whispered to Beli. “He needs my help. I can help him.”
“Fine. He can stay. But if the cutthroat touches you one more time, I’ll kill him.”
“Relax,” Catrin said.
Meuric tried to sit up, but Catrin pushed him down. Everyone else went back to bed, including Beli after one more reproving look.
Horrible fear leached through Meuric. “What… did I… do?”
“Nothing that hasn’t already healed,” Catrin whispered. “You gripped my shoulders roughly and scared me out of a dead sleep.” The back of her hand touched several places on his forehead. “You’re burning up. What were you dreaming? I forgot you could get sick. Emrys don’t. We take that for granted.”
“Helpless… I couldn’t help her…” Meuric mumbled. The throbbing. His head was going to explode. He whimpered as he recalled Arya’s tortured face.
Catrin placed one hand on his head and the other on his chest. “Shh, now.”
His chest tingled under her fingers.
“Time… unstable… drifted… see things.” He was babbling. Meuric reached toward the face staring down at him and feathered his fingers over the cheek.
A slender hand closed over his as soft lips searched for his palm.
“Arya… forgive me,” Meuric crooned.
Blissful, he drifted off, knowing loving hands held him.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
INSUFFERABLE SLEEP
Catrin made two mistakes. The first was kissing Meuric’s palm. When he reached for her face, without thinking, she kissed his hand—as she had done countless times with Einion. The action was automatic, practically muscle memory. What was I thinking?
When Meuric muttered Arya’s name, Catrin blanched—the farce exposed. Thankfully, Meuric was too delirious to realize what happened.
She couldn’t believe what she did next as she healed Meuric.
His control had disbanded in his unconscious state, so sliding far into his mind was too easy. As she healed, Meuric’s feelings immediately enveloped her, as if his cry for relief sought her out.
All-encompassing sadness, despair, fear—these were unfathomable for Catrin, even after her most wretched heartbreak over Einion. Meuric possessed such deep-seated agony, which Catrin absorbed, healing him from his tormented dream state. Since she was detached from his personal tragedy, she used her light to counter his downtrodden feelings and rebuild them. One facet at a time. She grabbed his sadness and flooded it with peace. She coiled Meuric’s despair and laid the foundation for hope.
This wouldn’t rid him of all negative emotions, only alleviate them in the present. If the memory resurfaced, he’d feel them again until he came to terms with them or until the pain grew easier to bear.
The mistake came when Catrin went too far, and his visions tumbled into her memory. She saw a woman, whom she assumed was Arya, in hard labor, unable to deliver her baby. Her strength waned and eventually gave out. Neither survived. Catrin choked on the tears cascading down her face. She couldn’t stop. She knew better than to invade personal memories. As she learned how to heal, Catrin had been taught this. Alleviating the pain from memories was one feat, but embracing them as her own was an entirely different experience.
Memory spilled further. Arya and Meuric embraced each other. Demonstrating their passion. Their love. Their intimacy. As their sweaty bodies entwined, Catrin couldn’t tear her mind away. She felt girlish and feverish—her own emotions. She felt Meuric’s sentiments too. He loved Arya more than his own life, and he
clung to her as if he couldn’t make her understand how he’d break without her.
Catrin’s thoughts had never become this carried away over Einion. She never envisioned the sacred bond between a man and woman so thoroughly. Catrin was enthralled and more than curious. A longing burned through her as she wished she and Einion had bonded in such a way. To love someone so completely, so intensely, and to have that destroyed—no wonder Meuric’s dreams haunted him.
This was when Catrin released her hands. Meuric’s healing had gone far enough. He’d sleep without anguish.
Oh, Einion. Why couldn’t you love me this way? Why couldn’t you give yourself to me? Instead, he had given himself to Rhianu.
Catrin collapsed beside Meuric on her pallet. No wonder Meuric was reticent. Moping around with this much intense emotion was madness. She tucked her head in her hands, curled into a ball, and cried so hard her whole body shook.
***
When Catrin woke, everyone else was well about their day. Meuric was nowhere to be seen. Annoyed, Catrin sulked outside into the rain to find him. He, several other tegyd, and many Eilian were in a workshop, busily driving nails into boards and throwing together beds for children.
Meuric rapped a nail on the head, looking as if he did this every day.
Catrin crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m glad you feel better this morning.”
“Should I not?” Meuric asked, glancing at Catrin.
“You don’t recall being ill last night?”
“Not at all. I feel fine.”
Catrin stamped her foot. “Well, you have me to thank for that.”
“Uhh, thank you?” Meuric stopped and swiped at his face with his sleeve. “You were in such an intense sleep this morning that I thought you should rest.”
“Did you ever think I might be exhausted from taking care of you?” Catrin snapped. Didn’t he know how taxing healing someone was?
Every face stared at her.
Meuric laid his hammer on the workbench and stepped close, cautiously, speaking soothingly with his hands out, as if he were approaching a startled mare. “I don’t know what I did to upset you, but please forgive me. I hold no malice toward you, and I’m sorry to add to your distress. Let’s start with a fresh slate this morning, Catrin. Our packs are restocked, and we can be on our way if you’re ready.”
