“I agree with Moug,” Grenick said after a few moments of silence.
I strode over to him with my Andrew-shadow and glowered down at the little punk of an elf. “Do you not think if it was as simple as handing myself over to them that I wouldn’t sacrifice my life to save everyone?” At their wide-eyed stares, I added, “If I could even find them, that might be an option, except they want to use me and my power for something much bigger, something that could mean the end of everything everywhere. For all of us.”
“This fight has nothing to do with us, if there even is a fight,” Richard said. “How do we know what you say is even true? Your people tried to destroy us once and came close to succeeding.” His heated glance at Parthalan suggested he knew the Host lord had been involved in the whole bleak affair. “Maybe this is just another way you’re trying to trick us into destroying ourselves.”
Before I could launch any words at the man, Gallagher said, “Perhaps a demonstration is needed to clear up the doubt about what we say?”
Both Richard and the elf scrambled away from the table as if expecting it to eat them. “What sort of demonstration?” Grenick asked, peeking around the other man’s leg.
Gallagher stood behind Laerni, resting his hands on her shoulders, which, even with her seated, still came up to his chest. “You have witnessed Brígh’s vision, have you not?”
She squeezed her eyes tight and nodded.
“Would you grant me access to all you know so that we might yet save some of these stubborn fools?”
“This once I will think of it, then never again, lest it kill me with grief.”
I reclaimed my seat as Gallagher cast the first image in the middle of the table. Reaching behind me, I took Andrew’s hand. Although he initially tried to pull away, he gave up and squeezed mine back, stepping in on my right. Before us, trees appeared. The size of them and the giant moons let me know Gallagher had begun with Freymoor Wood. Liam must have sensed my immediate unease because his hands slid over my left shoulder.
Oaks erupted out of the ground. The groaning and cracking sounds crashed into the room. Gasps and horrified whispers carried around our group as dark elves fled in every direction from vines that moved like thick snakes across the ground. One female went for a door, but was caught before she’d reached it. Hoisted into the air by her leg, she squealed until it slammed her against the bark of the nearest trunk and wrapped around, securing her to it. We all watched, me in pained silence, as the bark grew around her. It consumed her until nothing remained but a writhing lump casting muted cries.
“Jesus save us.” Richard draped one hand over the back of his neck, the other rigid at his side. “But that isn’t our world. It looks too strange. How do we know they will come here?”
The vision changed to a lush one. Hills jutted out of the earth, covered with shiny green leaves and dotted with towering, unnaturally tall trees of all kinds. A small island sat in the middle of a bay. Something green showed through a mess of foliage in its center. Andrew must have identified the landmark before I did since he nearly crushed my fingers in his.
“What are we looking at?” Meline’s face had gone ashen. “Please tell me that’s not … a city?”
“New York City, to be precise,” Gallagher said. “Sometime in the near future. It could be months, or a year at most, but soon.” Other images flashed before us: London, Toronto, Paris—the Eiffel Tower turned to a green monster—Tokyo. “Do you believe us now?”
“It has to be a trick.” Richard spoke quietly as if he didn’t believe his own words. His brown skin had morphed into a nasty shade of olive green.
“How can this be?” Meline’s chin quivered once before her composure returned. “What do we do? How do we stop this from happening, Lila?”
All eyes found me, most conveying a desperate hope I’d save them from our doomed future.
“I wish I knew. I’ve been using all of our talent and resources, but I still haven’t been able to find them.” An idea had me leaning toward Meline, afraid to hope. “There was magic in the air during the attack. I’m betting we’ll find the same in Talawen’s glen, where some of our people were taken recently. Would you be willing to see if you can identify it? Maybe tell us what it’s used for and possibly counteract it? Our fae abilities are useless around it.”
“Absolutely. Maybe a few of us should go and see if we can get a better read on it. Probably not today, because we need to prepare, but tomorrow. The longer we get from the initial casting, the more the power of the spell will fade.” She rose and started for the door. “I’ll make the arrangements now.”
Moug shoved his chair back with a screech and lumbered after her. “Let your cities rot for all I care,” he said. “We live in the Rockies. These dryads cannot reach us there.” With that, he left.
“Good riddance,” Andrew muttered.
I shot him a nasty look even though I agreed with him.
“We live in the trees!” Grenick screeched as if what he’d seen had just made it through his thick skull into his brain. “How will we survive this?”
“When the selkies were about to be attacked, we offered to let them stay in our fae city until the threat was over,” I said. “Iress created a saltwater lake for the selkies, and I’m sure if your people are up for it, Iress could build you a temporary forest.”
His mouth bobbed open a few times, indecision passing across his eyes before he said, “I must confer,” and left.
“What can we do?” James turned in his chair. Most of the color had gone out of his face, leaving it grey. “Where can we go to ride this out?”
With the prejudices and fear over what Parthalan had done to them, I wasn’t sure I wanted them in our city. “I know you have most of your survivors congregated near farms and stuff, but I’m thinking you need to get them back into the city where there are fewer trees.”
He nodded as the hunch of his shoulders flattened out a little. “We can do that. Anything else?”
“Fire is your friend. I’d suggest burning anything green within a twenty mile radius of where you’re going to set up your base.”
“Fire.” His fingers paled where they gripped the arm of his chair. “We can do fire.”
“That won’t help them if trees erupt out of the ground like they did in Freymoor,” Andrew chimed in.
Crap. I’d forgotten about that. “Let me talk to the witches. Maybe they can suggest some sort of concentrated ward we can put around your perimeter.”
James gave a slow nod. “In the meantime, what do we do if they attack?”
“You run. Run like hell as far away from the trees as fast as you can.” I caught Gallagher’s nod. “Would you be willing to keep one of our telepaths with you so Gallagher can know instantly if anything’s happening? It happens fast, so the sooner we can get to you, the better.”
Richard snorted, though it held hesitation. “You’re insane if you think I’m going to let one of your psychic spies into FBI business.”
“Telepath, not psychic,” Gallagher said with a you’re-such-an-idiot tone.
I came to my feet, a sigh leaking out of my throat. “You know what, Richard? Whether you do or don’t is your business. You’ve been duly warned and given an offer to help keep your citizens from being murdered. If you don’t want it, that’s on you. Now, get lost before I run out of patience.”
Liam pressed his hands to my shoulders, snickering along with Cas. “Down, girl. Don’t chew the poor man’s face off.”
It would have been so satisfying, though.
“What would you have of the Host, Mistress?” Parthalan’s wings settled under his cloak as he rose with that eerie grace only the undead seemed to manage.
“For now, just keep your people safe and let me know if you see anything off.”
His formal bow sent his feather hair fo
rward. “We are yours, always.”
I wanted to protest the finality of that statement—I had no desire to own anyone—but it wasn’t the time or place. Instead, I said, “I know. Thank you.”
Wearing a peaceful smile, he turned and engaged Laerni in low conversation.
Wilting with exhaustion, I glanced at Gallagher over my shoulder as I made for the door. “Can you please set up a way for those here who want to live”—I pointed a half-lidded stare at Richard—“to reach us? Especially the covens, and find one of the witches to ask them about the wards for James and Richard.”
Gallagher gave a little bow, a smile on his face.
“Sweet. Now take me home, funny man,” I said to Liam, “before I fall down and squish our kid.”
12
Before we made it out the door, Willa sped across the room to us. “Can we go back with yeh, Quinn and me? The rest’ve already gone to Iress.” Arms wrapped around her stomach, she stared toward my feet. Her body swayed with what I imagined to be suppressed shivers.
I’d seen her appear that way before—like a skittish deer about to cross a busy highway—when I’d found her working for Parthalan, in his bedroom of all places. It didn’t hurt my heart any less seeing it a second time.
“Yeah, of course you can.” I slipped my arm around her shoulders and summoned enough Light to encompass her.
“I’m scared, Lila. Not of dyin’ so much, if the world’d continue on without the likes of me, but the end of everythin’? I cannae bear it.”
“We’re all scared.” Liam leaned down close to her ear as he added his energy to join with mine, completing a circle of brightness around the three of us. “Even Lila, though she probably won’t admit it to you.” His wink didn’t take the edge off the jab.
Lips parted, I gave him a squinty-eyed glare. “I’m not that bad … anymore … most of the time.”
Cas, who’d moved into the open doorway, burst out laughing. Even Andrew managed a tight smile that I wanted to hold on to.
Willa snickered and curved into me. I hugged her before taking her hand and leading her out into the hallway.
On our way to the portal, Meline, a blonde woman and an equally fair man—the brute who’d deferred to Meline when we were playing musical coalition seats—stepped out from one of the side rooms with Quinn, Brígh and Neve. “Can you take us to one of the attack sites in the morning?” Meline asked.
I blinked at her, thinking, dreading having to go to Talawen’s wood again where so many of ours had gone missing. “If you can help us with this, then we’ll do whatever you need. I’ll let Neve figure out who all needs to go with us.”
“Do you have a place to stay until then?” Liam asked, making me feel silly for not thinking to offer.
“We’re from Toronto, which is a good four hour drive, so not really. None of the hotels around here have started up business again, and we have nothing to camp with.” She drew her bottom lip between her teeth, excitement shining in her eyes.
Thoughts open to one another, Liam looked at me and I shrugged, both of us knowing exactly what she wanted. “Would you like to see Iress?” he asked with a grin.
“Could we? An honest-to-goodness fae city? Seriously?” She chewed her finger before abruptly tucking her hand into the pocket of her dress. “If it’s not too much trouble, that is. That way we can get started bright and early.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Mel?” the man asked, his stare bobbing from Liam to me, Willa, and back to Meline.
Andrew, back to full-grouchy-guard splendor, put himself between us and the man. Leaning forward in an aggressive stance, he held his arms straight down at his sides, fists drawn in tight.
“Yes, and by the way”—Meline pointed to the man—“this is Thomas, and this”—her finger swept to the woman—“is Amanda.”
I nodded to them both, having to lean around Andrew to see Thomas. I didn’t reach for his offered hand just in case they went haywire, the way regular humans did when they touched a fae. James had grown used to us, it seemed, because he didn’t react in our presence anymore, whether we were powered up or down. It was so much easier to meet with him when he wasn’t trying to hump our legs.
“Lila?” Andrew raised his arms to keep me behind him, his stare never straying from Thomas. “You really want to invite strangers into the city, especially with everything going on?”
“Yep. Of all of the people around that table, these folks gave me the least amount of worry. Now, let’s go find these ladies and gent a shifter to sleep in so I can get my ass to bed.”
“Ever use a portal before?” Cas ushered our three guests to the yellow distortion on the wall.
“Most of our magic is earthen in origin,” Meline said. “We don’t have any spatial spells, which I’m guessing this is, though we can bend reality a little.”
That was a new one. I could barely bend myself to tie my shoe with my baby belly. I hadn’t really given much thought to how the portals worked. There were too many questions I hadn’t found the time to ask, and I filed that one away for later.
The three stood examining the portal until my patience evaporated. “Can we play tourist tomorrow, please? Grouchy pregnant lady, here.”
Brígh snorted and laughed with Neve, while Quinn grinned at me.
“Oh, sorry.” Meline said.
Cas explained where the portal would take them and that it would make them feel like they were being turned inside out and spun around in a washing machine, which was a pretty succinct description.
Thomas went a little green, but Meline jumped right into the portal with the enthusiasm of a kid getting onto the best ride ever. When we all made it outside Seven Gates, Brígh and Cas described where we were, where the other doorways went, and we stepped up to the very center cut-out in the granite wall—the new portal leading to Iress.
“I can feel your wards already.” Meline rubbed her arms. “They’re so dense. What kind of magic is this?”
“Fae magic,” Brígh said. “The good stuff. Maybe we can exchange a few tidbits …” The downward turn of her mouth accompanied hurt shining out from within. “You know … if we live long enough.”
“We will,” I said through set teeth, following her into the gateway, dragging Meline and Willa behind me. “Talk like we will. Believe we will. And if you buy that mind-over-matter shit Gallagher blathers on about, then we’re golden, right?” The others filed in after us, Liam bringing up the rear.
Trevor met us on the other side. I smiled at him, or at least tried to. “Thanks for bringing Laerni to the meeting. She’ll be back in a bit with Gallagher. Would you mind taking Willa and Quinn to the rest of their crew?”
After a little bow, with a giant helping of the dramatic, Trevor swept his arm out. “This way, lady and gent.”
Slipping her hand over Quinn’s bicep, Willa smiled at me. The fear had faded a little, but not completely. I’d see it erased if it killed me. “Goodnight, Lila. Thank yeh for this.”
I raised my hand and waved as the three of them started toward our new sea.
“Wow.” Mouth gaping open, Meline stood beside me on the cobblestone. She stared first one way, and the other. I imagined she’d been doing it for a minute or two at least. “Just … wow. Um … did that house just blink? You didn’t mean those are the shifters you said we’d stay in. I thought you were … I don’t know … using some slang I didn’t know for rustic inn.”
Brígh and Cas bent over laughing. To my dismay, Andrew didn’t join them but had returned to his angry bear persona.
“Brígh will show you around,” I said, pinning her with a serious glare. “You are not to be alone for a single second, you hear me? See you all early, though I’ll be anything but bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”
As Brígh went arm-in-arm with Meline down the street
, she said, “So, when you walk in, just imagine your dream house, and ta-da! The shifter will look however you want it to.”
“Seriously?” Meline and the other witch shouted in unison. “That’s the coolest thing ever! Where did you find them? How did they get here? Is this more fae magic? What do they eat? Not people, I hope.”
Neve, Andrew and Cas followed them. I knew two of them went with the intent of keeping Brígh safe and didn’t have the slightest hesitation about the witches. Andrew, on the other hand, didn’t take his glower away from Thomas.
As the questions continued to explode out of the women, Liam scooped me into his arms and headed toward the castle. “Don’t start with me,” he said, “I’m exercising my husbandly privilege.”
I dug my knuckle into his shoulder. “You’re pushing your luck, buddy.”
He flashed a knowing grin. “What? No protest? No death threats? Will wonders never cease?”
“Oh, shut it and walk faster, mule.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and held tight, feeling very much like my life and my future were slipping away from me, and no matter how tight I held on, how desperate I was to keep it all, eventually it would be torn from my grasp. Somehow, somewhere, I had to find a way to put an end to our end.
My man must have picked up my train of thought because he went silent and drew me closer. I loved that I didn’t have to tell him not to poke at me. He just knew what made me tick and explode, that saying the words out loud would only have made me cry and probably slug him for it. Instead, he remained quiet, let me listen to him breathe, to the too-fast ticking of his heart, to the steady rhythm of his footfalls. I could have lived to the music that was Liam. Once upon a time I would have tried to dissect my feelings for him, to find fault, but I’d learned to accept instead of poking my finger into things that made me happy, like pretending to read a book while my man made eyes at me.
“Even if the other cities slam the door in our faces, I think we need to personally try again to warn them tomorrow,” he said, breaking me out of my wandering within his personal symphony.
Rise of the Magi Page 10
