Masters of the Hunt: Fated and Forbidden

by Sarra Cannon

  She walked for a long time. The large room led to another. From there, she took several flights of stairs down into the earth, passing multiple levels holding empty cells. Rats scurried along walkways littered with scraps of clothing, human waste, and the odd dish. She left markings each place she reached a choice point, hoping they’d help her find her way back if something happened and she couldn’t use her magic. Corridors gave way to tunnels weaving ever lower. She found water running down a wall and took a few minutes to fill her belly and her water bottle. Occasionally, she tried her link with Rune, but came up dry. She was just starting to question if her Seeker gift had somehow gone awry, when she heard distant footsteps pounding the ground. Aislinn pulled her magic and her mage light back quickly and flattened herself against a wall.

  She heard grunting before she saw the thing. Impossibly huge and glowing, its horns spanned the width of the tunnel. It slowed as it got close to her, its bull’s head turning this way and that on a thick stalk of a neck.

  “Fascinating,” Dewi breathed. “See if you can get him to talk to you.”

  “I’d rather stay out of its way.”

  “Come on, girl. Grow a set.”

  Aislinn snorted. She’d expect a comment like that in a seedy bar, not from a thousand-year-old dragon. She turned her attention back to the Minotaur. It had stopped about ten feet from her. She heard it breathing, a wet, sloppy sound.

  “What are you doing in my realm?” Its voice was low and rumbly and made the walls vibrate. It took another step toward her.

  “Looking for my friends. Have you seen anyone? Just tell me, and I’ll be on my way.”

  Aislinn held her breath. The thing towered over her. Christ, it was almost as tall as Slototh’s beast form had been. In a moment of unpleasant revelation, she wondered if it was really Slototh and not the Minotaur at all. Can’t be. He feels different.

  “Are you the one who hurt Master?”

  Shit, oh shit, he knows. “What do I do?” she asked Dewi.

  The dragon laughed. “Incredible. He’s really there with you. Tell him none of us have masters. He probably would’ve killed Slototh himself if he could’ve figured out how to get away with it.”

  Aislinn wondered what Dewi meant by us, but she didn’t have time to sort it out. She risked a flicker of magic for her mage light. It streamed pale against the darkness. In its light, the Minotaur looked even more daunting, like the creature out of myth that he was. Brown fur merged with skin midway down his chest. He was naked and had the biggest cock she’d ever seen. Fully erect, it curved against a flat stomach. Enormous balls hung between legs heavy with muscle that bowed out slightly. Aislinn swallowed. She might not be able to outrun the thing in front of her, but if it came down to it, she figured she was far more agile.

  “Yes, it was me.”

  She met wide-set bovine eyes. The Minotaur bared squared off teeth and snarled.

  “I should kill you.” It snaked out a shockingly fast hand and closed it around her upper arm.

  Aislinn pulled fire. Her skin heated, but it didn’t make any difference. The Minotaur held fast. He didn’t even seem to notice the smoke rising from his hand or the smell of burnt flesh.

  “Young,” he hissed wetly and licked his thick lips with a white-flecked tongue. Twin fires danced in the backs of his eyes. “Young like the ones they sent me in Knossos.”

  “Oh no, I’m not,” she countered still trying to pull away from him. It felt like she was chained to a mountainside. “They were children. I’m not.”

  He trailed his other hand down her body and backed her against a wall. His enormous cock pressed into her breasts. A trail of saliva hung from his lips, glittering in her mage light. “No matter. You’ll do.” He jammed a hand between her legs. She writhed, trying to get away.

  Aislinn reached for magic to fight him, but ran up against a barrier. Damn! It has to be the Minotaur—or the dragon. She tried to sever her connection with Dewi to see if the dragon had turned on her for some unknown reason, but it was too late. Aislinn felt her body stretching, changing. Her neck grew, wings sprouted. She looked out through whirling eyes, hot with lust. Dewi had taken her over, using their link as a conduit to inveigle herself into the tunnel.

  Goddammit! She wants to fuck the Minotaur.

  Horrified and violated, Aislinn was also swept away by passion so deep and primal it obliterated everything else in the world.

  “Why couldn’t you do this when Slototh nearly killed me?” she demanded, clinging to a thread of sanity in a river of sexual sensation.

  “I tried.” Dewi sounded defensive. “He blocked me.”

  Desperate to escape the dragon’s body, Aislinn took a different tack. “Let me go. Distant cousins, my ass. You and the Minotaur know one other.”

  “You might say that. Hush. I am done talking—until after.”

  Helpless, trapped inside Dewi, wave after wave of erotic fascination rolled through Aislinn as the dragon positioned herself for that immense cock. Aislinn wanted to run, but couldn’t figure out how to separate herself from the dragon. She wanted to stay and have the Minotaur fuck them forever.

  Dewi wriggled back against the Minotaur and twisted her tail aside, seating him inside her. Fire belched from her mouth, and she roared her delight. The Minotaur settled his hands on Dewi’s haunches. He lifted them as he slammed himself home over and over again. Just when Aislinn thought she couldn’t stand another second of sharing her body with the dragon, Dewi’s body spasmed, giving Aislinn the most intense orgasm she’d ever had in her life. It shattered her, felt incredible—and wrong. As wrong as sex with one of the dark gods would have been, no matter how her body reacted.

  I’ve got to get out of this. “Dewi! Let me go right now. Damn you. If you ever want me to do anything with you ever again, release me from your body.”

  “But you enjoyed him as much as I did,” Dewi panted deep in her mind. “I did it for us. We can share your Celt the same way.”

  “Not a fucking chance. And I say bullshit. You did it for you. I don’t care how many hundreds of years it’s been since you got laid. I want out of your body. Now.”

  Aislinn felt herself shrinking. Arms took form, then legs. Shakily, she stepped away from the dragon and her consort, noticing they were still coupled. From the looks of things, they’d be going at it for hours. The Minotaur’s breath caught as he jammed himself into Dewi. Gripping her scaled sides, he threw back his head, laughed, and told her he’d forgotten what a little vixen she was.

  Little vixen? Not exactly her view of Dewi. If she hadn’t been so intent on escape, Aislinn would’ve laughed until her sides hurt.

  She slipped deeper into the tunnel. She had to find Fionn. What she didn’t understand was why she hadn’t found him yet. She’d been following the Seeker magic. She clapped a hand to her head. Perhaps some of what Slototh said was true. He’d told her the labyrinth perverted magic, made it bounce back in unusual ways.

  “Maybe I marched right by them and didn’t take the right side tunnel,” she mumbled.

  “Where are you going?” Dewi demanded.

  “To find Fionn and the others.”

  “I could help—once I’m done here.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind.” Aislinn snorted.

  Right. It will be a cold day in hell before I ever trust her again. Or let her into my head for anything.

  She considered retracing her steps, but changed her mind and pulled magic to jump back to the chamber next to the front door. If Seeker magic wouldn’t do it, she’d use her Seer gift and ask it to take her back in time to when Fionn and Rune had entered the prison.

  More than anything, the length of time it took her to return to the chamber told her how far underground she’d been. Much farther than where Slototh had dragged her. Something nagged at her. The dark god’s name. She could think it now and say it without struggling not to puke. Did that mean he was neutralized? At least for now? She dared to let herself hope.

  Sett
ling near the open, arched doorway, she reveled in feeling sunshine on her back. Was it still the same day, or had she been underground so long it was tomorrow? She shook her head hard. It didn’t matter. The only thing that did was finding Fionn, Rune, and the others.

  Unbuckling her pack, she shoved it under her butt. She still felt sore and stretched from the Minotaur’s bulky member. How the hell had Dewi done that?

  The same way Rune merges with me. The difference is he respects me. She doesn’t.

  Recalling exactly what Fionn had done when he’d led her into her Seer magic, she closed her eyes and summoned a trance state. When she thought she had it, she asked the magic to show her Fionn leading his company through this very room. Spectral bodies marched past her. Ones that got close dissolved when they ran up against her, only to reanimate on the other side. She sent her astral self trailing after the last of the company.

  Shades blocked her way, but she shoved though them. Her astral projection wasn’t warm, so she didn’t have anything they wanted. The ghostly company went into the prison itself, not down where she’d been. As Aislinn followed them down long, stone walkways, she was amazed how large the place was.

  Must have housed thousands…

  Finally, she saw dazed humans, wandering from cell to cell, and her heart leapt. They were here after all. It was the damned labyrinth that had confounded things. Her joy faded as she watched them. It was like they’d been hypnotized, eyes glazed, staring straight ahead. Fionn! Where was he? Or Rune? He should be easy enough to find. She tried calling, then realized no one would hear her. She needed her body for that.

  Because she didn’t need the spectral soldiers to show her the way, Aislinn sped back to her body, shoving shades out of the way as she went. The disorienting thump as astral and physical bodies collided practically flattened her. She wondered how long it had been since she’d eaten.

  Pushing the thought away—there’d be time to eat later—she took off at a lope for where she’d found the humans. The shades were more than an annoyance this time. She was warm and breathing. They wanted what she had, so they swarmed her, clawing at her with skeletal fingers. One sliced her with a knife, but the cut wasn’t deep. She kicked the blade out of his hand and pocketed it so he couldn’t jump her from behind. Enemies who were already dead were such a pain in the ass.

  Shoved hard from the rear, she sprawled face down on the floor, spitting out dirt. God only knew how many piled on her and pushed her down. Aislinn reached for her magic, but it was useless against shades, since they were beyond feeling pain.

  “Let me go,” she begged. “You have to let me go. Friends are trapped in this building.” She wondered if telling them that was a mistake. Shades fed on life. If they didn’t already know a bunch of live bodies could be found nearby, she’d just torn the lid off that can.

  “And you’ll be a’lettin’ her go,” a low, melodic female voice with a strong Irish lilt said. “Now. I won’t be a’tellin’ you agin.”

  Aislinn gasped as the weight holding her down evaporated like dew on a hot morning. She’d know that voice anywhere. Getting to her feet, she ignored the cut places on her hands. She searched the gloom, didn’t find what she sought, so she cranked more lumens into her mage light.

  “Mother? I know you’re here. Show yourself.”

  Chapter 25

  Tara Lenear stepped out of the mass of shades. Her red hair was still long and luminous. Her golden eyes glowed with delight. She held out her hands. The nails were cracked, the skin split and desiccated. “Ach, mo leannán,” she crooned. “I never thought to see you agin in this life.”

  Aislinn’s throat thickened with unshed tears. “Thanks, Mom,” she managed brokenly. “If you could keep the rest of them off me, I have people to rescue.”

  Cold, dead fingers closed on Aislinn’s hand. She squeezed back. Stepping close, she hugged her mother. Underneath the stench of dead meat, she could still pick out the smells she’d always associated with Tara: lavender, cinnamon, and vanilla.

  “Could I be helpin’?” her mother asked.

  Aislinn didn’t have to think long. Having her mother by her side again was impossible to refuse. “Sure. Let’s go.” She sprinted down the corridor.

  When she got close to where she’d seen the humans Aislinn opened her mind, questing for Rune, and found him. “Where are you?”

  “Locked behind a magic barrier.” He growled. “Fionn is here, but something is wrong. I cannot rouse him.”

  Aislinn didn’t think she’d ever heard anything quite so welcome as the wolf’s voice in her mind.

  “Who are you talking to?” Tara demanded. Her eyes narrowed. “Fionn who?”

  I can’t tell her everything. It will take too long.

  “Mother, I know you have magic. It’s where mine came from. Can you help me find a barricade held in place by a spell?”

  Her mother’s head snapped up. It seemed she was scenting the air. “The dragon,” she muttered. “That uafásach dragon is down here somewhere.”

  “No shit.” Aislinn snorted. “She’s not the problem, Mother. Focus! I have to find Fionn.”

  “Really, why? Watch your language, child.”

  Aislinn blew out a frustrated breath. I do not have time for this. “It’s Fionn MacCumhaill, Mother.”

  “Och aye, why didn’t ye say so? He was my betrothed, afore your Da. I ran like hell to get away.” Tara Lenear faded from sight.

  “Glad we’ve got that straight,” Aislinn muttered, staring after her mother.

  A wandering human bumped into her. Aislinn grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a good jolt of magic. His eyes cleared. “Shit,” he muttered. “What happened? Last thing I remember, I was marching behind Ted…”

  Aislinn released him. “Wake up everyone you come across. Once you wake another, tell them the same thing. Out is that way.” She pointed back over one shoulder. “Just keep taking right turns. It should start to look familiar once you come to the parts before you ran into this ensorcellment.”

  Knee deep in lifting what fortunately had been a weak spell for every human she saw, Aislinn didn’t pay any attention when her mother’s bony hand closed over her shoulder.

  “Ye never did listen well. I tell you, I’ve found ’em. Come wi’ me.”

  Heart in her throat, Aislinn raced after her mother. Tara floated rather than walked—and she moved fast.

  “Ach, ’tis here.” Tara threw her hands upward in a helpless gesture. They crashed down soundlessly on something invisible. “I canna break it. What’s left o’ my body isna strong enough.”

  Aislinn’s magic was already spinning outward. She felt the shape of the working immediately. It was intricate. Because it might be booby trapped in some way that would blow all of them to kingdom come, she felt her way carefully, wishing she wasn’t so hungry and tired. She was more likely to make mistakes when she couldn’t think straight.

  Fionn’s there, she told herself. Just on the other side of this.

  “Can ye no’ see the working, Daughter?” Tara asked.

  Aislinn looked at her mother. She’d been so intent on unraveling the convoluted magic that she’d nearly forgotten about her. The first layer had fallen. Many more crowded beneath it, each seemingly more interwoven than the last. “Tell me what you see.” She met Tara’s gaze, so like her own, golden in the glow from her mage light.

  “’Twould be easier to start from the bottom corner, just over there. Ye needn’t dismantle the entire thing. Just a wee hole big enough to crawl through would do the trick.”

  Mom was always smart.

  Aislinn shuffled over to inspect the place her mother had indicated. Excitement coursed through her. The weave was grainier there, not so tight. She started snipping strands with her Mage gift, letting it show her the next one in line.

  “It’s big enough,” she told Tara. “I’m going through.”

  “Careful, lass. Ye—”

  A whine and the scrabble of claws on stone bro
ke into her mother’s words. Rune launched himself at her and drove her to the ground. Aislinn closed her arms around him. He licked her face over and over again, and she realized she was crying.

  “Quick,” she said, “I need to see what’s happened to Fionn.”

  “This way.” Rune belly-crawled back through the opening, with Aislinn right behind him.

  The air felt thick inside the working. Tendrils dragged against her, cooing soothing nothings. “No worries. None at all. Lie down. Rest. You are so tired. Rest is what you need. Rest and dreams…”

  She fought the casting. It was like something out of fairy tales, where the princess slept for a hundred years. Anyone not paying attention would fall asleep. Let’s hope a kiss is all it takes to wake Fionn… She crawled to where he lay crumpled against a rock wall, one arm thrown across his face.

  “Fionn!” She shook him. Tears streamed down her face. She reached for him with her heart, laid her face next to his, and showered him with kisses while she ran her hands over his familiar body.

  “Won’t work.” Rune stood next to her. “I’ve licked him, bit him, talked to him. I don’t understand what happened. One minute, we were leading a company. The next, we stumbled through something like sticky spider’s webs. Fionn recognized what it was. He cursed and tried to backtrack, but he couldn’t focus his magic on the wall that closed behind us.”

  “Whatever this is doesn’t affect you?” Aislinn considered how she could leverage that if it were true.

  “No.” Rune verified her suspicions. “Not me, but Bella’s just as far under as Fionn.”

  “Bella!” Aislinn felt ashamed. She’d totally forgotten the bird. “Where is she?”

  Rune trotted to a dark corner. Aislinn followed and scooped up the raven, who’d frozen into position, her head under one wing.

  “Do you have any idea what happened to Gwydion and the others?”

  “No.”