“How would you even know what it says?” I ask, wrinkling my nose. “I can’t even tell what language it is.”
“That’s exactly what I asked,” Arthur says. “Lugh was kind enough to translate for me. And you know what it says? That for them to return to full grace, they need the ultimate sacrifice. Or something to that effect.”
I look back at him. “I suppose full grace means Paradise? But ‘ultimate sacrifice’ could mean anything. Why do you think it’s got something to do with me?”
“I don’t, but they do,” Arthur says. “And I’ll be damned before I let them do anything to you just so they can get back to the place they left willingly.”
I laugh, loving how protective Arthur is of me, feeling truly cared for, for the first time in my life.
Arthur’s frown deepens. “How can you laugh about it? This is your life we’re talking about.”
“I don’t believe in prophecies,” I say, “even if they’re written in fancy letters; They’re just a way for lazy people to force their desires for change onto some poor schmuck. And that’s not me. I’m not here to make amends for the choices of others. I’m here to make up for my mistakes, and…” I stop, taking a step closer to him.
“And?” Arthur breathes, all iron melted from his voice.
I stare into his eyes, noting the golden flecks sprinkled across his green irises. Slowly, I gently trace the tiny white scars that cross his right cheek.
Maybe it’s because I’m still a little drunk on the figs, but I finally make myself say it. “And to protect those I love,” I whisper.
Arthur’s eyes go wide, as if he can’t quite believe what he’s heard. Then he’s leaning into my touch, stubble prickling my palm. With a smile, I close the small gap between us, and brush my lips against his.
“I take it your meeting was all you wished it to be?” Lugh asks archly.
I grin wickedly at Arthur’s beet red face, before turning to face Lugh. Yep, I’m definitely still buzzed.
“Not exactly,” I say, “but it was fruitful. Somewhat.”
I glance at Arthur who still doesn’t seem to have recovered from my sudden public display of affection. Now’s the time to lay all the cards on the table. I grin, noting how both shift on their feet uncomfortably, probably wondering whether I’ve gone completely unhinged. But they’ll both lose it too when I tell them everything.
“First off,” I say, the words spilling out of me as I start pacing, “do you remember how I used to hear voices?” I ask, ignoring their concerned looks. “Well, it turns out I wasn’t crazy, and it was my brother’s voice.”
“Mordred’s?” Arthur asks.
“I know!” I say excitedly. “It must be related to the whole twin thing, and the sharing of blood, or some weird thing like that. Not to mention us being part Fey. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about it the whole way back here, because there’s something that doesn’t add up. Why is it I stopped hearing Mordred’s voice in my head all of a sudden, when all my life I could? So I tried to remember when it stopped.” I whirl on Arthur. “And the first thing that came to me was when you threw me in jail.”
“I didn’t throw—” Arthur starts.
“But that didn’t make sense either, because then shouldn’t I have been able to communicate with him again when I escaped?” I continue, talking right over him. “And I didn’t. Which means that it must’ve happened before. Frankly, figuring it out was actually difficult, what with everything that happened… Can’t say I was paying much attention. But, I do remember the last time I spoke to Mordred telepathically. Distinctly. And that was when Arthur locked me up in his parents’ house.”
“I didn’t lock you—”
“Then Lake High was invaded by those Fomori, and Dean took me to Carman’s tomb to free her, and that’s when it stopped,” I finish, breathing heavily. I hold my left out, palm up so that my scar is evident.
“Your hands!” Arthur exclaims, having just noticed they’re no longer stained.
“Dain used your blood to break the wards,” Lugh says slowly, thinking aloud. “Which means Mordred’s blood must have been necessary as well.”
I nod emphatically as Lugh reaches the same conclusion I did.
“The second and last time your father came to visit Danu,” Lugh continues, “he had Excalibur with him. And when he left again, the only thing he was carrying…was you.” His face clears from its usual frown. “Did you not find the sword lodged within Carman’s altar?”
“Right where Dean poured my blood,” I say.
“Could someone explain to me what’s going on?” Arthur asks, sounding uncharacteristically petulant.
I turn to him. “The reason Mordred and I could talk to each other telepathically was thanks to our oghams!”
“Oghams which left their bodies along with your blood,” Lugh says.
Arthur reaches over his head to grab Excalibur’s pommel, eyes round with shock. “You mean to say…”
“Our oghams are in that sword,” I finish breathlessly.
“But if your oghams are inside Excalibur,” Arthur says, “doesn’t it mean your link has been altered? Ruptured, even?”
“I don’t think so,” I say, looking questioningly at Lugh. I’m still too new at this whole Fey thing to understand all its ramifications.
“Have you ever noticed anything strange since Excalibur was pried out of the altar?” Lugh asks me instead.
I stare at Excalibur’s hilt, the large golden and silver cross gleaming in the warm sunlight. “I think it’s the reason for the visions I’ve been having,” I say.
“What visions?” Arthur asks, sounding tense.
“I told you before that when I was stuck in Hell, I kept seeing things,” I say. “Keva thought it was just me losing it, but then when we came back and it turned out everything I’d seen was real…”
Arthur’s face pales. “You saw…everything?” he asks.
“Well, not everything, but enough to get an idea,” I say, wondering if he’s thinking about the visit he got from the Fey girl who took my form.
“What I am worried about,” Lugh cuts in, “is whether Mordred may have used the same device to spy on us.”
I bite on my lower lip. “That’s what I’m afraid of too.”
“Could it be?” Arthur asks, an expression of horror dawning on his face.
Lugh stares at me for a moment, before nodding. “It seems there is a distinct possibility of it,” he says.
Arthur exhales sharply. “It would explain how he always managed to be a step ahead of us. Do you think he can hear us now?”
“No,” Lugh says. “The wards here are strong, too strong even for him.”
“Which means he’s not aware that we know of his link to Excalibur,” Arthur says, relieved.
“Good, because I’ve got something else to tell you,” I say, brimming with excitement. “Carman’s ogham is her dragon.”
Their reaction, or lack thereof, is not at all what I was expecting, and it’s leaving me feeling rather…deflated.
“Um, guys, have you just heard what I said? Carman’s dragon is her ogham!”
Arthur shakes his head. “That can’t be true. You said so yourself: She used you and the Sangraal to bring forth life.”
“No,” Lugh says slowly, wiping his hand down his face in a very humanlike way. “The Sangraal was the source of power she needed to shape her ogham into another entity, for she was not strong enough herself at the time. I should have guessed.”
“But if that’s the case, it’ll make her that much harder to defeat,” Arthur says somberly, “half-human or not.”
“Don’t worry,” I say, lifting my chin in defiance, “I’ve got a plan for that.”
Arthur looks alarmed. “That’s exactly what I was afraid of.”
◆◆◆
“Are you nuts?”
“Perhaps if you stopped struggling, I might not drop you again,” I retort.
Nibs freezes in my arms, and I manage to
regain our balance at last, my feet grazing the top of the trees below.
“And just why did ya invoke me here?” the clurichaun mutters, finally keeping still.
“Frankly, I had no idea it would work,” I say, laughing nervously at the recollection of Nibs appearing in thin air at my call. “Didn’t think calling out one’s name three times summoned all Fey.”
Nibs snorts in disgust. “Only if the dumbass willingly gave ya permission to do so. Which most certainly is not my case. And to top it off, ya”—Nibs’s heel hits my shin and I grunt in pain—"decided to test it out while flying?”
“I needed the exercise,” I say. Not to mention that I don’t want everyone to know the full extent of my plan. Not yet. It’s enough that Lugh and Arthur already don’t fully approve of it, I don’t need to get the rest of the Order on my back too. Especially with how tense things have gotten since the attack and Luther’s arrest. “And I had some questions for you. Thought I’d kill two birds with one stone.”
“I certainly hope ya don’t mean that literally,” Nibs mutters.
I suddenly veer off to the side, keeping Lugh’s Oak Tree behind me, and am gratified to hear the clurichaun squeal.
“Don’t ya dare do that again!” Nibs shouts at me, his small fingers clutching at my forearms.
“Then answer my questions, and answer them truthfully.”
“Ya couldn’t have asked me over a bottle of vodka?”
“Arthur, Percy and Lance tried that once, and you bailed out on them, remember?” I say. “Now come on, I need you to confirm a couple of things.”
“That your breath stinks?”
“First, that Carman’s a halfie like me,” I start.
Nibs remains silent, until I start shaking him again.
“OK, OK,” he gasps. “She is! But I thought ya knew that already. Or are ya just that dense?”
“Just testing,” I reply truthfully, glad to see he is being honest after all. I don’t know what I’d have done otherwise. I take a deep breath. “Second, that she’s trying to copy Danu, even going as far as turning her ogham into a dragon.”
Nibs twists around in my arms to glare at me. “Gee, what gave it away? The fact that the beast always responds to her, no matter how far apart they are? Or the fact that you were bloody there when she created the damned thing to begin with?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask, miffed. “How the hell was I supposed to know what it was? I thought you wanted to help me defeat her.”
“Have ya ever heard of a little thing called a geas?” Nibs replies with his nasal twang. “If ya break it, ya suffer the most miserable and excruciating of deaths. Which, needless to say, ain’t good for my complexion.”
“You and Keva sound so much alike,” I say with a sigh.
A geas. It seems like the Fey world really likes to have their unbreakable blood oaths to forge alliances.
“If you’ve been sworn to secrecy, then why can you talk about it now?” I ask.
“Because ya already know the truth,” Nibs says. “Will ya now put me back down? Heights and I don’t quite agree with each other.”
“I’m not done yet,” I say, glancing over my shoulder to make sure we’re still alone. “What’s Carman’s next step?”
Nibs remains decidedly mute, even after I threaten to let go of him, and I’m forced to conclude that must fall under the oath of secrecy as well. Not that it matters much. It’s not like Carman’s worked very hard to hide the fact that she wants to free Balor so he can defeat Danu for her.
So I dive in with the real questions. “How well are Mordred and Carman getting along these days?”
I feel Nibs shrug against me. “They never were the best of buddies to begin with,” he says.
“But?”
“But it’s true things seem a little arctic these days between ‘em. Why?”
“Bad enough she’ll try to get rid of him?” I ask.
Nibs tenses up. “Why? Ya wanna see him disappear for good?”
“No!” I exclaim.
This seems to mollify Nibs some. “She won’t do a thin’ to him till Balor’s out,” he says. He shudders violently in my arms, and I nearly lose my grip on him. “She won’t do anythin’ permanent to him ‘til she’s got what she wants,” he amends.
Unless someone else can take his place, I surmise.
Perfect.
“I’m gonna let you go now,” I tell the clurichaun, dipping towards a patch of trees left untouched among the ashes.
“How sweet of ya,” Nibs says. “Couldn’t be happier.”
“On one condition,” I add.
Nibs growls in disgust. “You want a boon?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“In exchange for what?”
“Once I find your missing ogham, I’ll restore it to you,” I say.
“Ya’ve already promised me that once before,” Nibs says dismissively, “and a word once given can’t be taken back.”
“No, I said I’d return it to you,” I say. “Now, I’m saying I’ll help you absorb it fully.”
On our way back from Danu’s cave, I was able to pry a lot of information out of Lugh on the Fey and their oghams. And I know that, once the link between an owner and its ogham has been severed, it requires tremendous amounts of power to be able to restore the bond—power that is often beyond the owner’s ability to expend. Especially if the owner’s been weakened.
“What is it ya want me to do?” Nibs asks cautiously.
“I need you to put in a good word for me with Carman,” I say. “Good enough that she doesn’t rip my head off the moment I step back inside Lake High.”
“Ya’re goin’ back to her?” Nibs sputters. “On yer own? Are ya insane?”
“Quite possibly,” I say. “But it’s the only way I can think of.”
“For what?”
“To clean up this mess.” I stop, hovering a few feet above the ground. “So, are you up for it?”
“Deal,” Nibs says at last. “But don’t blame me if this time ‘round ya don’t make it.”
“Just don’t forget about your end of the bargain,” I say, before finally letting him go.
Nibs flips me off before bounding away in Lake High’s direction.
This is it. There’s no turning back now, unless at the cost of people’s lives. And that’s definitely not something I want to gamble on.
But Nibs wasn’t wrong. After my last showdown, I’ll be lucky if Carman’ doesn’t kill me on sight the moment I set foot back in school. And if she doesn’t, then Mordred will believe I’ve betrayed him, and might balk again at joining me against her.
I sigh, the beginnings of a headache pressing behind my eyes. The bleary sun is low on the horizon, couching the treetops with gold. I’ve been gone too long. At this rate, the others will be able to tell I’ve been up to something.
Conflicting thoughts still warring in my head, I force myself to return to Lugh’s Demesne, avoiding the main entrance and slipping in through the small oval window that leads straight into our sleeping quarters. I barely make it to my own pallet, when I hear Arthur’s voice rise on the other side of the suite’s door.
“Where is she? I swear, if she isn’t sleeping, I’ll be throttling you!”
“Your parents’ heads aren’t worth much these days,” Daniel’s voice retorts, which means that Arthur’s talking to Keva.
I rush to my moss bed and dive under my covers, shutting my eyes tightly. Arthur may have begrudgingly given his assent to the idea of infiltrating Carman’s ranks, but at the condition he goes with me. And that’s not something I can accept.
“Why do you care so much where she is at this very moment?” I hear Keva ask as the three of them enter our sleeping quarters.
I try to slow my breathing down, fearful Arthur might be able to hear my erratic heartbeats even from across the suite.
“What if she’s gone snogging with one of the cousins’ squires?” Keva continues loudly, worry about waking m
e definitely not on her mind. “You’ve seen the way they look at her.”
“Disgusting,” Daniel adds, and I can clearly hear the shudder in his voice.
“Shut up,” Keva tells him.
“She wouldn’t dare,” Arthur says, voice strained.
Keva bursts out laughing. “Are we talking about the same girl?”
There’s a muffled sound, as of cursing, and I find myself holding my breath as the footsteps stop close by.
“See? She’s right there,” Keva says, sounding disappointed. “Satisfied? You can bury that jealousy of yours, now. Really doesn’t suit you.”
“Wake her up,” Arthur says, voice dangerously low.
“Ex-cuse me, but I’m not your squire,” Keva retorts.
Arthur must’ve done something, because I suddenly feel Keva shaking my shoulder as roughly as she can. “Nap time over, Morgan. Someone wants to speak to you.”
“What is it?” I ask, stifling a fake yawn.
“Pack your bags, we’re leaving,” Arthur says, still scowling.
“Where?” I ask, pretending to sound shocked.
“Caamaloth.”
Keva’s shoulders bunch up. “Probably not a good idea right now,” she says.
“Why not?” I ask meekly.
Keva shrugs. “No offense, sir,” she says pointedly at Arthur, “but though there’s enough evidence against your father to have him hanged and quartered, he still has quite a lot of followers, some that are also powerful. Going back there means you’ll be subjecting Morgan to their insults, and Kali[104] knows what else.”
“That’s exactly why I need to be there,” I say, rolling out of bed, and hoping they don’t notice I’ve still got my boots on. “I don’t actually want Luther dead.”
“Wait, what?” Daniel lets out.
Keva rolls her eyes up in irritation. “Fine, try to play the hero again,” she exclaims. “But I wash my hands of you if any more crap happens while you’re there.”
She makes to leave the room, but I hold her back. “Before you go, I need to speak with you,” I say. I look pointedly at the guys, and add, “About girl things.”
With a gagging noise, Daniel does a one-eighty and heads back outside. Arthur stays a second longer, our gazes crossing knowingly. His lips thin out in suspicion, but I give him a shy smile and he finally leaves as well.
Morgana Trilogy Complete Series Page 110
