by Ann Gimpel
Nidhogg stamped his large hind feet, clearly impatient to be off. Steam plumed from his nostrils. The Norse dragon looked better with each passing hour. Larger, stronger, and more vibrant. Aislinn smiled at him. He twined his neck to bring his head to eye level with her. “I look forward to getting to know you better.”
“And I you.”
Gwydion marched to Nidhogg. “If ye would do me the honor of carrying me and mind-linking with me, I would go with you.”
Nidhogg lowered a foreleg.
Gwydion shook his head. “I doona need it.” Clutching his carved staff, the master enchanter used it as a pole vault. He sailed through the air and ended up on the dragon’s broad back.
Aislinn stared at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile quite like that.”
He snorted. “Aye, and ’tis been many a long year since I’ve ridden a dragon. That one”—he hooked a finger at Dewi—“was never overly cooperative, and she was the only one left.”
“We need to leave before you say something that truly offends me.” Dewi furled her wings and took off.
“Why are we flying and not using magic to jump?” Aislinn asked the dragon.
“Good question.” Dewi looked over one shoulder approvingly as she gained altitude. “You are starting to think like a MacLochlainn. Did I ever tell you what brilliant tacticians they were in battle?”
“No. While I’m certain it’s interesting, that’s not what I asked.”
“We are flying to conserve magic. It takes a lot for Nidhogg and me to project ourselves inside you and still leave some to help you in the kingdom of the dead. While we’re at it,” Dewi hurried on, her great wings pumping air, “there are things you must not do once you pass the gateway.”
Aislinn waited, but the dragon didn’t say anything further. “Are you going to tell me?”
“Don’t eat anything or drink anything you find there. And don’t talk with the dead. They will be attracted to your warmth and try to hold you captive. One is not a problem. If many mob you, we may have to fight our way out.”
Aislinn nodded to herself. It was just like the shades who roamed Earth, unwilling to cross the veil. She buried her hands in Rune’s coat. “Did you hear what she said?”
“You needn’t worry on my account. The shades have no interest in Bella or me.”
Aislinn stifled a smile. “I was thinking more about the eating and drinking part. I’ve seen you pick up some of the most desiccated, disgusting—”
“Stop right there.” The wolf sounded hurt. Aislinn stroked his fur to tell him she hadn’t meant anything unkind.
They flew in silence for quite a while. Perhaps an hour passed. From time to time, Aislinn glanced over at Gwydion and Nidhogg. The master enchanter looked as relaxed as she’d ever seen him. Good. Maybe it meant he’d gotten over feeling angry at her insistence she be included.
Dewi turned her head toward Nidhogg. “This gateway?”
“It’s as good as any other.”
The dragon furled her wings and banked into a descending spiral. “How many gateways are there?” Aislinn asked.
“I don’t know. Many.”
“Are they physical or magical?”
“Both.”
Aislinn bit her lower lip. Dewi was even more taciturn than usual. “Tell me a little more, please.”
Steam plumed from Dewi’s open mouth. “You’re worse than a youngling dragon. The kingdom of the dead and the paths the dead roam are like the border worlds in that they exist in something akin to a parallel universe with many gateways. Unlike the dark ones’ lands, Arawn’s realm draws its power from Earth.”
Another few circles, and they’d be on the ground. Aislinn racked her brain for what else she needed to know. Dewi would be within her, but it didn’t mean she’d be talking with her. The dragon’s voluminous memories and knowledge base would be available, but culling through them for answers wasn’t practical. “If the gateways are magical, do they move?”
“Sometimes.”
“So finding our way back out might be a problem.”
“Not linked to me, it won’t be.” The dragon glided between two thick stands of aspen trees and landed.
Rune hopped down. Bella took flight and perched in the lower branches of a tree. A rush of wind from Nidhogg’s wings buffeted Aislinn. She waited until the other dragon was on the ground before letting Dewi help her down.
Gwydion leapt nimbly off Nidhogg’s broad back. The air shimmered as he summoned magic to cushion his landing. He straightened his black robes, gripped his ever present staff, and strode toward her. “No hard feelings, lass?”
“Maybe a few, but I’ll get over it.”
He nailed her with his intense gaze. “I suggest ye do. Once we are within yon gateway, there will be no margin for error. Ye must drive all but our objective from your mind.”
“If the two of you are done tossing barbs back and forth”—Dewi’s tone was laced with sarcasm—“we need to move. I’ve already cast the spell to render Nidhogg’s and my bodies invisible while we aren’t within them.”
Aislinn braced herself, and not a moment too soon. Dewi slammed into her mind like a runaway freight train. “Ooph. Wonder if I’ll ever get used to that.” Colors brightened. A million scents bombarded her.
“I find it fair miraculous myself,” Gwydion murmured. “Follow me.” His body disappeared through a solid rock wall.
Aislinn stared at it and then dropped a hand to Rune’s shoulder. She fought Dewi for jurisdiction over her body.
“Move, child. What are you waiting for?”
Aislinn thought about protesting that she couldn’t walk through rocks, but didn’t. She took a few steps forward and laid a hand on the granite. It felt warmer than she expected. She gathered magic to move herself, the wolf, and the bird through to the other side.
“Stand aside. Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you. It took us far too long to get here. We must hurry.”
If Dewi had said anything else, Aislinn might have argued. For once, she happened to agree with the dragon, so she ceded control. In seconds, she was surrounded by inky darkness, and a whispery susurrus teased her hearing. Shades. Untold numbers of them. She instinctively drew nearer to Rune and fired her mage light. Powered by Dewi’s magic, it nearly blinded her, and Aislinn dialed it back.
“Hurry,” Gwydion urged. “I doona know what took you so long to get inside.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Aislinn trotted after him, aware of the dragon within her. Dewi wanted to follow Gwydion and Nidhogg. If she didn’t, they’d still be standing in the huge round cavern just within the gateway. Aislinn hadn’t gotten a very good look, but the ceiling had extended beyond the range of her vision. Limestone walls dripped water. Standing pools held a mineral smell.
It was uncomfortable playing host to Dewi. Aislinn was at the dragon’s mercy, and both of them knew it. Bella flapped to her shoulder, talons cutting deep. They hurt, but Aislinn didn’t say anything. The raven must be nearly as frantic about Fionn as she was.
Aislinn lost track of time as they traversed endless corridors and chambers even more vast than the first had been. Hours passed while they wandered, hitting one dead end after the next. Shades dogged them in front and behind. She was thirsty. The perpetual sound of dripping water was a fine torture, and she kicked herself for not throwing her rucksack over her shoulders before leaving Marta’s.
“Daughter,” hissed out of the blackness.
Aislinn spun her head around. The voice was rusty, but it had sounded a lot like her father. She ground to a halt.
“What are you doing?” Dewi demanded.
Aislinn felt herself lurch forward. “Damn it, Dewi. Stop. I want to see who spoke to me.”
“I told you not to talk with the shades.”
“Daughter,” rasped again, nearer this time.
Aislinn whirled to face the sound. “Daddy?”
A shade detached itself from a group of them. Even with fles
h rotting away, her father was unmistakable with his tall, lanky frame and blond hair.
“We need to go,” Dewi insisted.
“Not until after I’ve seen my father.”
“I could force you.”
“But you won’t. Mother protected me from the shades in Slototh’s lair.”
“Gwydion,” Aislinn called. “Hold up. My father is here.”
The master enchanter walked back to her, splashing through puddles. “Would Tara be with him, by chance?” Gwydion sounded interested.
“Aye, that she would.” Aislinn’s mother floated to Gwydion and wound her arms around him.
The master enchanter folded her against his body.
Jacob drew Aislinn close. She hugged him to her.
“Daddy, oh Daddy. I’m so sorry. I’ve missed you so much. We needed you, and—”
“Hush.” Skeletal fingers smoothed hair back from her forehead. “Hush, Daughter.”
Tara drew away from Gwydion. Breath whooshed from her dead lungs. “Ye hold that damnable dragon within you, Daughter.”
“That damnable dragon”—Dewi commandeered Aislinn’s vocal chords and mouth—“is what stands between safety and your precious daughter being lost forever in these halls.”
“Stop it, you two,” Gwydion snapped. “’Tis not the time.”
Bella cawed. There’d been no love lost between her and Tara.
“Stop it,” Aislinn told the bird. “She’s my mother. I don’t care what sort of misunderstandings you had in the Old Country.” The bird rustled her feathers and flew to Gwydion’s shoulder.
Tara hissed at the bird and made shooing motions with her hands. “Ye must be hunting Fionn,” she said. “’Tis the only reason ye’d brave the halls of the dead.”
Aislinn’s heart sped up. “Do you know where he is?” She straightened in her father’s embrace and sucked in a tense breath, girding herself for the worst, but needing to know. “Is he alive?”
“Aye, he is. And I do know where he and the other one are.” Tara grinned. Her face was ghoulish, missing the flesh that would have covered her jawbones. “Never fear, Daughter. Those Celts are nearly impossible to kill.”
Relief surged through Aislinn, weakening her knees.
“Tell us.” Gwydion laid a hand on Tara’s cheek.
“We will do you one better,” Jacob said. “We will show you. Not much escapes the dead, and it’s so rare anything interesting ever happens down here…” He took off with a shambling gait.
Aislinn chortled and shook her head. That sounded so like her father. An inveterate adventurer, Jacob’s kiss of death had been boredom. It was foolish, but having Jacob Lenear by her side made her feel more confident about everything. “Mother.”
“Aye.”
“How do you know Fionn is alive?”
After an indignant volley of Gaelic, Tara sputtered, “I am still a MacLochlainn. Even in death, I feel the link to both him and that—”
“Don’t say it,” Dewi broke in.
The dragon was getting much better at taking over Aislinn’s body parts. She clamped her jaws together. The sooner they got out of this place and the dragon left her body, the better she’d like it.
“There.” Jacob patted a rock wall. “They’re on the other side of this.”
Aislinn felt magic race through her, courtesy of Dewi. She sent her senses along the conduit, but they ran up hard against an impenetrable barrier.
“Nidhogg,” Dewi called. “I think we can open this, but it will take us both.”
“Can you sense the Celts within?” the Norse dragon asked.
“No. But it’s the only place we haven’t looked,” Dewi replied.
Gwydion moved next to Aislinn. He placed a hand on her arm. “Brace yourself, lass. I’ll buffer their magic for you as best I can.”
Power flashed through her. Her sense of channeling lightning when Dewi had helped reach Gwydion and Bran was nothing compared with the thousand-watt voltage thrumming through her body. Something cracked. Rocks poured from the walls and ceiling, and the air filled with fine dust. She shielded her head with her arms.
With a hoarse cry, the raven launched herself from Gwydion’s shoulder and flew into darkness.
“Bella!” Fionn’s joyous cry was the best thing Aislinn had ever heard.
“Beloved.” She surged forward, but the crack in the rocks wasn’t big enough for her body. She shoved her hands through and felt Fionn grip them.
“Mo croi. Arawn and I can jump out of here now that the magical shielding has been severed.” He released her hands. In seconds, he was by her side with his arms around her. Bella moved from his head to his shoulder, cawing her joy.
Aislinn clung to Fionn. She reveled in the sound of his heart beating beneath her ear. She nestled her head even closer, pressing against the hollow between his neck and shoulder.
“Aye, and I could use a greeting like that as well, lass.”
Aislinn lifted her head. Arawn’s dark hair and dancing dark eyes were inches away. “You’ll have to wait your turn.”
“If I have anything to say about it, he’ll never get one,” Fionn growled and tightened his hands on her backside. “Now that we’re free, let’s jump out of here. I’d prefer to catch up in the sunshine.”
“Wait.” Aislinn disentangled herself. It wasn’t easy, because Dewi liked it in Fionn’s arms. “He doesn’t belong to you,” Aislinn snapped. “You have Nidhogg.”
“What?” Fionn looked at her, blue eyes narrowed. Bella leaned her head next to his, and he ruffled her feathers.
“Nothing. Something private between Dewi and me.” She turned and held out a hand to Jacob. “Fionn, you’ve met my mother. I’d like you to meet my father.”
Jacob came forward, bony hand outstretched. Fionn shook it heartily. “’Tis glad I am to meet you. I love your daughter, sir. With your permission, I’d like to wed her.”
Jacob’s blue eyes twinkled. They were nearly the only part of his cadaverous body that looked the same. “You’ve found a version of me, Aislinn. Outspoken, bullheaded. Never lets an opportunity pass him by.” He smiled and let go of Fionn’s hand. “It was thoughtful of you to ask, since I’ve moved beyond where anyone cares what I think.”
“Of course they can wed.” Tara moved between them. “Aislinn is the MacLochlainn. She is bound to Fionn, as I was.”
“You escaped,” Jacob pointed out. “So the binding is scarcely foolproof.” He waved his hands in the air. “All that Celtic mumbo-jumbo got to be a bit much.”
“Och aye, and ’tis any worse than your harmonic convergence mumbo-jumbo?” Tara placed her hands on her hips. Her brogue blended mumbo-jumbo into a Gaelic pretzel.
Aislinn laughed. She reached for her mother’s hand. “I’d love to stay, truly I would. I don’t have words for how much I’ve missed both of you.”
“We can come and visit with them any time you’d like,” Fionn offered.
“Not without me,” Arawn said. “Remember, these halls are sacred and closed to you.”
“But not to us,” Nidhogg spoke through Gwydion.
“Ye’ve made a bit of a recovery since I saw you last,” Arawn said and cracked a smile. “Come, ’tis time for us to leave. I have work to do to rebuild the fortifications you blasted through, but I havena the energy to do it today.”
“A simple thank you would suffice,” Dewi spoke through Aislinn. “If you could have escaped on your own, we wouldn’t have had to blast through anything.”
Arawn bowed slightly. “Thank you, oh queen of dragons. I would have had to destroy it myself. I was working at freeing us. Another few hours and—”
“Without the sarcasm,” Dewi huffed.
Aislinn let go of Tara. She covered the few feet to Jacob and threw her arms around him. “Goodbye, Father. I wanted to tell you goodbye on that Bolivian mountain, but never got a chance. I love you.”
Dead arms closed around her. Bloodless lips brushed her hair. “I love you, too. Even if it neve
r happens again, I am grateful to have laid eyes on you one last time.”
Tara’s arms enfolded her from the side. “Aye, Daughter. I love you. I wish you the happiest of lives. When the bairns come, if someone might let us know, we’d be ever so indebted.”
Bairns. Tears filled Aislinn’s eyes. She blinked them away. Not now. No point in telling her mother she’d done something foolish and lost her first grandchild to Perrikus.
“Ready?” Dewi asked without the rancor Aislinn expected. Maybe even the dragon understood about the love between parents and children.
“Almost.” She kissed Jacob one last time and then Tara.
Gwydion drew Tara into his arms and kissed her forehead before releasing her. They spoke low in Gaelic.
Aislinn looked about. “Rune?”
“Right here.”
“Yes, I’m ready,” she told the dragon.
In moments, they tumbled out onto the forest floor in front of the huge boulders marking the hidden entrance to the halls of the dead. It was late afternoon from the looks of things. Fionn pulled her close. Before he could kiss her, Aislinn said, “Hold up. Dewi needs to leave first.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m damned if I’ll have a repeat of sharing sex with you in my head.”
“I thought you were a modern woman. What happened to sexual liberation?”
“Out, Dewi. Now.”
The dragon’s magic oozed from her. It took a moment for Aislinn to regain the feel of her body. She twined her arms around Fionn’s back and laid her head on his chest. “That’s quite disorienting.”
“I find it invigorating myself.” Gwydion clapped Fionn on the arm. “We’re all going back to Marta’s.”
“We shall join you presently.” Fionn’s blue eyes blazed with love and heat as he gazed at Aislinn. “Doona wait up for us.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Fionn closed his mouth over hers and kissed her. Aislinn opened her mouth to his tongue and tightened her arms around him, still not quite believing he was back by her side. She barely heard Rune suggest a hunting expedition to Bella and started when the bird’s feathers brushed against her face as it took flight.
