by Scott, Amber
Finn had attempted to wield the bloodstone’s powers, had gone to the ultimate lengths to do so.
When years later, Breanne presaged a gathering of mortals—a sect intent on rejoining the two cleaved worlds, she bade Daniel to aid her. Secreting the bloodstone’s location wasna enough, Breanne had seen. They needed to understand how the sect.
Breanne’s scrying had presaged she should procure Danny’s aid. Ailyn wanted to ask what his unwitting collusion with the banished Fae man had done to him, but she couldna bring herself to. Perhaps it was his guarded tone, or his visible shame as he recalled his actions. Ultimately, the details of it mattered not. All that mattered was what he’d discovered in the examination.
“They are the guardians of Tara.”
Ailyn’s confusion must have shown.
“You know it as Temair.”
The source. The realm of gods and goddesses. Aye, Ailyn knew it. She was surprised mortals knew of it, though. They seemed to have turned their backs on true magick, stealing Fae forces instead. Clearly, she needed to reevaluate what she thought to be true about this race of men. None of her direct experiences supported the tales she grew up with. How did she reconcile such deeply ingrained beliefs, though?
Glancing at Quinlan’s somber face, ever aware of the hiccup his handsome features sent through her heart, she thought perhaps it would not be so difficult. Aye, if the land and people were like that she’d seen, those she’d met, a Faerie could be tempted to stay. But at what price?
“Each warrior guards a portal to Tara. Each portal is unlocked through knowledge. Each warrior protects the sacred texts of another’s portal, creating a web that would take incredible skill and strategy to successfully unravel.” Daniel grew animated as he explained, his hands weaving through the air as though the web hung there before them, plucking invisible items from its imaginary strands. “I can see the portals. And after many, many years, I earned access to part of the history and prophecies of Tuatha de Danaan. I translated and transcribed anything that I saw as relevant to Breanne’s visions and scryings.”
A shiver raced over her arms. The smoke from the fire wafted upward, the flames lighting the night along with the nearly full moon.
“The page Jamison found was yours?” Quinlan asked, taking all of this in quite well compared to his disbelief over her being Faerie. But then, how far a stretch were portals to the underworld from the ethereal experience their lovemaking had been?
Ailyn glanced around her into the darkness. Kristoph could be watching, lingering, and waiting to strike. Mayhap losing the pendant now protected them, though. She prayed to Morrigan to watch over them, to give her courage to face her foe.
“It is not the moonstone, sunstone, and bloodstone at all. Esher pointed as much out to me. He guards the southern portal and has grown quite a bit intrigued by your journey, Ailyn. Your pendant has quite an interesting legacy.” Daniel’s features aged as he said the last.
Quinlan and Ailyn shared a worried glance. “Perhaps this isn’t the ideal time to share the history, though, Danny.”
Nodding quickly, Daniel put a hand to his chest. His knuckles grew knobby, his skin mottled with age spots. “Aye, the effects are worse this time. I rushed, you see. The immortal realm isn’t meant yet for man to enter in physical form. It’s hard on a body.”
A pang shot through Ailyn’s chest. What could she do to ease his burden? “You’ve done so much for my people, Daniel. I haven’t the words to express my gratitude.”
He waved her off. “Horse shite, is what that is. Never mind your thanks. I have my own reasons for seeing this through, Ailyn. But I appreciate your intentions. Trust that I will be well and am a man who has chosen this path.”
She grinned at him, loving his friendship very much in that moment and for the first time, truly feeling the gratitude she had spoken of.
“In three days, the full moon will shine upon Samhain. The veil will be thinnest. The sect that opened it to allow you through will thin the veil ever further, attempting to destroy it altogether. They need the bloodstone, your pendant, and a third element—a blue-blooded Fae to unlock the bloodstone’s powers with the pendant. The key.”
Fear slid down Ailyn’s belly. “Maera.”
Daniel nodded.
“Once they bring together the elements and part the veil, the two worlds will collide. To destroy the veil altogether, they must destroy the triad.”
“They’ll kill her,” Quinlan said.
Again, Daniel solemnly nodded.
“They might have all three elements as we speak,” Ailyn said. “I’ve no idea if Maera and Colm are safe.”
“They’re safe,” Quinlan assured her. “One of the king’s galloglas is protecting them. I asked for Jamison’s help afore I followed you and Daniel.”
Daniel’s eyes widened. His brow furrowed. He dug through his bundle of pages. “You said Jamison found one of my parchments at Heremon’s. Where?”
“In a hidden panel near the fireplace. Why?”
Daniel’s features morphed back into youth. “You saw him find it?”
“No.” Quinlan’s expression darkened. “I was searching the bedchamber.”
“Where does Kristoph fit in all this?” Ailyn asked, interrupting them.
“Perhaps he promised them power. Access to the Fae realm. I’ve not found any text indicating as much. Neither has Breanne presaged answers to that.”
The muscle in Quinlan’s jaw ticked. He was looking at her, but not seeing her. His mind was elsewhere. Wherever it had gone couldna be good. He nigh exuded doom.
“What of the blood I found?” he asked Daniel.
“Blood?” Foreboding snaked through her belly. “What blood?”
The now-young Daniel winced. “Practice for the actual sacrifice. According to Esher, a very specific dispensing is ascribed to the spell.”
Ailyn’s foreboding grew. “What blood?”
Quinlan glowered at her. “At Heremon’s. In one of the rooms. It doesna matter now. Only that we discover its purpose.”
“The sect actuated the veil, allowing Ailyn, Maera, and Colm through.” Daniel paged through his bundle, retrieving a parchment with a drawing of the sacred pool they’d come through.
“Kristoph, as well,” Ailyn said. “Unless he has another means to pass.” She almost added that if Daniel could pass through, then Kristoph could too, but she had to remind herself that that was not where he’d gone. He’d not entered her realm at all. He’d found one of the doorways to Tara. She realized Daniel was shaking his head.
“I’m not certain Kristoph is the mastermind behind this plot,” Daniel said, tapping his chin and staring into the fire’s smoke.
“It must be him. Maera must have known, or found out somehow. Surely that is why she went to the glade. That is why she went through the veil. Because her mother died that night, the queen. Kristoph was Queen Tullah’s foremost advisor.”
Quinlan stood and began pacing the length of the circle around the fire, pausing at each turn. Daniel stroked his chin, looking at her, but not really seeing her. His mind seemed to be chewing over what she’d said.
“The logic is sound, aye,” Daniel said at last. “If I could speak to Maera and discover what she knows, we could ascertain Kristoph’s involvement.”
Ailyn felt certain it was he. Who else could benefit from such a plot except a man hungry for dominance and power? What other Faerie had such powers and also had ties to the throne? She refused to believe it coincidental that the night of Tullah’s death, the sect empowered the veil and Maera went through.
“Kristoph murders the queen,” Quinlan said, his stance wide, the fire casting menacing shadows up his form. “Maera somehow discovers his scheme and comes through to stop him?”
Ailyn stood. “Aye. I follow her through. Colm follows me. Why are you shaking your head?”
“The pendant. You swore none knew of it.”
“I’ve protected it, aye.”
“Not so we
ll that I didna glimpse it at Breanne’s.”
Heat flushed her cheeks. She clenched her jaw a moment, fighting the urge to dismiss his inference. But she couldna. “I canno’ swear that none have seen it over the years. But I can promise none would know what it is. Not even I knew until Daniel shared his knowledge. I only know it holds magick and to conceal it at all costs.”
“Exactly.”
Ailyn shook her head.
“If the pendant is the critical element to the spell, the sect knew this all along.”
The foreboding in her belly deepened. She began shaking her head.
“You didna follow Maera through by coincidence, Ailyn. You did so by design. The question is, who intended to draw you through?”
“You’re mistaken. Colm forbade me to look for Maera. He sent me back to the keep and ordered me to find Kristoph.”
Quinlan slowly walked toward her. “D’you oft take heed of his orders, lass?”
Ailyn sank back down to the rock. Daniel handed her a new parchment, its edges very worn. The tattered document trembled in her hands. She could only watch Quinlan, though, her mind tumbling. Denying. Refusing to believe her brother could have intended for her to pass through the veil. Colm wouldna put her in danger. Colm wouldna know of the pendant.
But he had.
He’d known. Then he’d gone.
She glanced about in the dark, her skin prickling. Had he gone? Her gaze darted back to Quinlan’s. Sympathy shone in his eyes alongside the firelight. He squatted before her, tugging the frayed parchment from her lap and looking at it. Giving Daniel a single nod, he reached for her hand.
Ailyn only stared at it. “Why would Colm collude to have me here?”
“I dinna ken the answer to that, lass. Only he can answer. I only know I’ve doubts and questions mounting. I do know I have vowed to keep you safe. Perhaps even I am meant to. If what Daniel has gathered can be trusted, then a power greater than any I can imagine is being sought. Men murder, torture, and destroy in the name of power.”
Quinlan withdrew his hand and eyed Daniel. “How quickly can you get us there?”
“Get us where?” Her mind yet swam with dread and denial. Her brother, Maera, Kristoph. She couldna fathom that they could be entangled together. Yet that night, riding with the guard, a night that felt so, so long ago now, she’d sensed something amiss with her brother.
Daniel ignored her question. He stood, took the parchment back, and returned it to his stack, rising. “We’ll have to hurry.”
Quinlan grasped her hand and forcefully led her. Ailyn forwent, resisting. The weight in her stomach occupied her. If she couldna trust her own brother, whom could she trust? The thought drove her to halt. Quinlan stopped as well, facing her.
“I ken, lass. You dinna have to speak it. I can only imagine what you must be feeling. What fear, what pain. I dinna ken why fate has thrown us together, but I do believe this—there is a purpose to it. I need you to trust now. I need you to put your faith in me one final time. I vow to you, you willna regret it.”
Her feeble resistance crumbled. Aye. Ailyn nodded, swallowing. She had naught to lose. She did not yet fathom what they were doing or why, but her mind wouldna allow room for it anyhow. Daniel led them through the southern-point copse of trees. The shadows and dark surrounded them. Silence surrounded them.
Was her brother there in the dark—a wolf—waiting for her?
Were Krisoph and his magick already seeking her out? What of her pendant? Had they found it and abandoned her altogether, having gotten what they pursued? Colm ordering her back to the keep, Maera stepping into the chill waters, Quinlan, the rite, Daniel, the pages. Kristoph. Her mother’s plea. She’d failed.
Ailyn had utterly failed.
She’d become a pawn in a game that she would never have suspected at play. Amid players she still could not stomach the thought of participating. She felt foolish beyond words. Quinlan could lead her to Kristoph himself, to the sect, to a barren cave in the depths of the underworld to wallow inside. Stripped of her only family, of her home, her duty, her promise to her mother.
Who was she without these things?
Nothing but a brown-blooded Faerie. Without the pendant, she hadn’t even a strand of power able to flow through her. Colm was right. There was no returning home. If she were lucky, at best she would be able to stay in this land, to assimilate to it and find a new way.
Nay, she could not even do that. She would not use Quinlan so. He deserved to join his life in the name of love, not to rescue her.
So lost in her thoughts, when they came up short outside a low hill, Ailyn’s attention jerked back to the present.
“Sidhe,” Daniel said, appearing hopeful for confirmation. “Abandoned, I’ve surmised.”
Ailyn nodded. Her temples hurt. “There was a time in my parents’ day that my people used these hills to forge passages through your world to navigate it. Then the veil thickened, appearing less and less, and our people were being hunted less and less. Now only rarely is the veil thin enough to pass through, and it is forbidden.”
Daniel considered this a moment. “The old ways are dying out. St. Patrick’s God and Christ are in our hearts now. Sidhe folk are becoming myth.” He retrieved a short staff tied to his waist. “It is the key. Take it with you. It will only open the door from the outside, mind you. Once you are inside, you will not be able to exit by the same passage.” He retrieved the same tattered parchment from before and handed it, folded, to Quinlan. “Three paths will take you through.”
A low, ominous growl carried to Ailyn’s ears. She spun around. Quinlan drew his sword.
“Go,” Daniel said, pushing her behind him. “Now.”
Out of the shadows, a wolf stalked forward, hackles raised. Ailyn’s throat cinched with emotion. Colm. How could he? Quinlan’s firm hand on her arm forced her backward.
“Come, lass.”
Her feet wouldna cooperate. Her gaze fixed onto Colm as he snapped at Daniel’s drawn blade. At her back, a warm breeze pushed at her hair.
“The doorway, Ailyn. Come through while we can. Daniel will take care of your brother.”
Daniel sliced his sword through the air. Colm’s fangs gleamed in the moonlight. Her heart clenched. She gasped. “Dinna hurt him, Daniel. Please.”
He glanced back at her. “You’ve got more within you than you ken, Ailyn. This isna about Colm. It is about you.”
Before she could warn him of Colm’s lunge, a thick, wooden door slammed in her face, shutting her in the dark with Quinlan. The low, hollow sound of air passing through a tunnel was all she could hear. She reached her hand into the dark. Her fingertips met Quinlan’s chest. He pressed his hand over hers. Under her palm, his heart beat hard and fast.
“We’re safe now, lass. Breathe.”
She did so, releasing a pent-up lungful of air. She strained to hear Colm and Daniel, trying not to imagine the worst. She could not bear the thought of either man hurting the other. Or worse. “You’ve clearly set us upon a course, Quinlan. I’ll know what your plan is, if you please.”
A deep chuckle echoed around her, giving her the sense they were in a narrow, earthen passage. To test the estimation, she reached her other hand out behind her. Cold, rough earth met her touch. The thick feel of a root.
“Plans, lass, are for men with time on their idle hands. I’m of a mind of action. Come along, then.” He took her hand from his heart and began leading her through the dark.
“We’ve no light. We’ve no way to ascertain which way to go.”
“Observant of you. Glad to see your shock is wearing off.”
She blushed. “D’you at least know where we’ll end up or how far it is?”
“I dinna. But it doesna matter. What does matter is that we have three days’ time to intercept the rite, destroy the bloodstone, and return you home.”
Her heart squeezed in her chest. “Why are you doing this for me?”
He paused. He let go of her hand, weaving his
into her hair. Ailyn wished she could see his face. Her pulse quickened. Part of her hoped he meant to kiss her. He only let go after a long moment.
“I have no answer for you, Ailyn. I’d be lying if I said I’d not asked myself the same. You attract trouble. But off I go, keeping my vow, trouble be damned.”
He found her hand and began to lead her again, ever deeper down through the darkness.
She half-smiled. “Will you be filling me in on why this is our best course of action then, Quin, or shall I let my mind fret and wonder?”
“Have you not guessed, yet, love?”
“You’re a flirt and a tease is what you are, Quinlan.”
He laughed loudly. “Aye, that I am, lass.”
She decided either he simply didna yet know himself why this seemed the best course of action, or that he wanted to torture her. Either way, her best defense was disinterest. She pressed her lips together, biting back the urge to stamp her foot and demand answers.
Several minutes passed when a faint light formed in the dark. Ailyn opened her mouth to speak, and then shut it. Pointing out the light that he would obviously see equally well would break her silence. And thereby admit defeat. Instead, she proceeded, curious. A bit of hope took root inside her.
“Is that water?” she asked some moments later.
Quinlan gave her a cocky grin over his shoulder. She’d spoken at last and he’d won their silent match. He’d recognized her intentions all along! She’d played at giving him silence before, though. She stuck her tongue out at him. Aye, the sound was definitely water. A rush. A loud trickle. A crash that sounded very much like…the sea. How far had they come?
As if sensing her awareness, Quinlan sent her a wink. “Trust me now?”
Chapter Twenty
The roar of salty waves crashing far, far below them met Quinlan’s ears. Daniel hadn’t led them astray after all. Ailyn’s gasp was all the answer he needed. He let her enter the cavern first. Low light—the glow that had reached the depths of the tunnel—danced on the bare stone walls. A slant of bright yellow light hit much of the stone floor.
