He gazed down at me, the green glinting in his eyes. “That’s the line you draw?”
I tilted my head to the side.
“Fine.” He smirked. “Fionna.”
Oh feck. I totally forgot the power of hearing my name from his lips. Maybe this was a bad idea. Clearing my throat, I adjusted my weight. “No more lies or keeping things from each other.”
His eyebrows darted up.
“Please, I wasn’t the only one,” I grumbled.
“It is a deal, Ms. Cath…Fionna.”
A shiver ran up my spine, moving me about like a spasm. A wicked grin hooked the side of his mouth, knowing perfectly well what he was doing. Emphasizing my name on purpose.
“Could you ease up on that?” I glared.
His mouth split into a full smile, and a million butterflies hatched in my stomach. What the hell?
“What will I do for fun then?”
I can think of a thing or two. The thought glided through my head. Why were all his words vaguely sexual?
“I think it is you with the dirty mind.”
My head popped up, my mouth dropping open. “H-how…?”
Lars’s face grew serious. “I don’t know. Since this morning I’ve been able to read you easier. Feel you.”
“What?” My eyes bugged.
“Are you no longer blocking me?”
My head started to shake. “No. If anything, I was trying to block you more.”
“Because you were lying to me?” He studied me, flipping through my pages, examining me.
That was not exactly the reason. I tried to slam the book shut, cut my emotions off from him. I did not want him to see the real reason I obstructed him. He couldn’t know the dreams I had while he lay next to me. The feel of his hand skimming my skin this morning as I pretended to sleep. Definitely not my desire for him to slide my knickers down or join him in the shower.
I was actually relieved to walk into the kitchen and receive a hostile welcome. To go back to our corners of mistrust and animosity. Much safer.
“Hmmm.” His lids narrowed, as though he could no longer reach in and retrieve my emotions.
“What’s our plan?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.” He didn’t move, but I could feel his magic skim up my arms and legs, between my thighs. “Now tell me everything. Do not leave one single detail out, Fionna.”
I inhaled, my body insubstantial, like it had left solid ground. I sensed if I reached out, I could also touch his emotions and read them, as if he could mine. No way in hell I was going to do that. I already felt unsteady. Terrified. Unsure.
What I did know? I was going to help him get the precise thing I wanted to keep from him.
I really hoped I meant the cauldron.
~~
Heavy breaths battered my lungs, and my legs and calves burned as we hiked up the crag. The Highlands were deceptively high and extremely tough terrain to hike. However, the views were spectacular of the valley and River Coe gradually curving through the snowcapped hills resembling a snake slowly winding its way through the grass. The spring nipped at the snow, licking away a little more every day. Everything here felt slow and wandering, like it had all the time in the world. The rugged terrain was unbelievably breathtaking. I was an Irish girl through and through, but even I could admit the staggering landscape rivaled my homeland in its beauty. Though as stubborn and patriotic as each country was against the other, there were a lot of similarities. Scotland was once a Celtic nation and had a lot of Celtic culture, history, and traditions with the migration of Irish.
Lars came to the ridge and stopped. He pulled out a water bottle from his backpack, took a long drink, staring over the vista, only a hint of sweat along his temple.
Dripping and panting like a dog, I pulled up next to him, feeling the rare rays of sun on my face. The air was freezing the higher we went, confusing my body with shivers and perspiration.
“Here.” He nudged my shoulder, handing me his bottle, his fingers sliding against mine. I had one in my pack, but it would take too much effort.
“Thanks.” I took a gulp of the lukewarm liquid, soothing my dry throat. Before we headed up, I filled him in on what I had seen. He knew of the legend of Ossian’s Cave.
“Of course. I should have put that together the moment you told me we were coming to this area.” He scoured his forehead in frustration. “A Druid named Fer Diorich used to reside up here. A vengeful asshole.”
If the stories I read about were true of Fer Diorich, I couldn’t deny that. He turned a woman into a deer to be hunted and killed because she didn’t love him back.
“And what a better place to hide the cauldron. The blood of those murdered from the battle has made the magic so thick up here no one would be able to sense the treasure. It has been hidden for centuries,” I added, excited at soon being the ones to discover this extraordinary object lost so many years ago.
“And if I remember correctly, he was a part of your parents’ group.” Lars snapped his fingers as the pieces clicked in place. “One of the extremists. Vanished without a trace.”
“Wait…” My forehead gathered in confusion. “My parents didn’t know anyone by the name Fer Diorich.”
“He went by Isaac back then.”
“What?” My mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me?”
“Did you know him?”
Did I know him? An acute recollection filtered into my head of a tall, gray-haired, skinny man, who dressed similar to an old wizard in a wool robe and carried a walking stick. I had found him interesting, different from the other Druids coming over to our house. Ancient. Connected to the earth more than any other Druid I met. He’d bring me gifts when he came to the house, tell me stories. I always felt a connection to him I didn’t understand but sensed at such a young age. He was nothing like the vengeful tale of Fer Diorich. He was sweet and kind to me.
“Uncle Isaac? No way. It can’t be the same man.” I hadn’t uttered his name in over fifteen years. “He was so nice to me.”
Lars tipped an eyebrow at me.
My mind wandered back through time, recalling the many visits Uncle Isaac made to my house, to my parents. A part of their secret black magic club.
“That’s the connection. But how did he get our family’s heirloom?” A deeper memory rolled in, my parents and Isaac sitting around the dinner table one of the last nights before they sent me off to live with Olwyn. I had snuck out of bed to listen to the adults talk. The serious nature of the conversation scared me. I knew everything was going to change.
“We’re being watched. It won’t be long. I need to get Fionna away from here soon. She’s coming for us.” My mother’s face twisted with desperation. Her voice coiled with panic. “It’s up to you, Isaac. If she finds it, we’re all lost. Please, you have to hide it. Protect it.”
My eyes pinged open, looking up at Lars. “They asked him to hide it. I think Aneira was getting too close. They were afraid…my mother asked him to conceal something for her.”
Lars pursued his lips. “Then it’s time to see if Isaac kept his word.”
The trek up to Ossian’s Cave was not for the casual hiker and very few ever ventured to it. Even fewer attempted it at this time of year when winter still clung to the earth. World-class climbers could barely make it up the dicey ridges where the terrain was steep and precarious. Lars and I had to crawl over perpetually soggy moss and dizzying drops from the ridge to keep from slipping over.
If we were human, we would never have made it.
Exhausted, dirty, and sweaty we finally got to the keyhole-shaped opening around midday. I wanted to eat fish and chips and take a nap, but there didn’t seem to be any pubs for the weary traveler up here.
This needed to be addressed immediately.
Lars stopped, scrutinizing the eight-foot opening. “This is it?”
We could see shallowly into the cave without a flashlight. It appeared lackluster. Just more dirt. Because you had to nearly kill y
ourself to get up here, it should at least have a sauna and bar.
“Do you feel anything?” Lars removed his rucksack, digging inside for his torch.
“Not anything specific.” I sighed, stepping into the cave. “But there is so much magic and death here it’s hard to pick up on anything.”
Grabbing my light, I moved deeper inside. It went up, but the space inside was only about five or six meters wide, the back wall rocky. I frowned, inspecting the large boulders building up the back. I started spouting a revealing spell.
That’s when I felt it.
The moment my words hit the mountain, they bounded back at me the same way a boomerang does, shoving my spell back at me like a whip, and flinging both of us off our feet. My spine hit the dirt as I slid back out the cave, grinding my skin into the gravel before I came to a stop. I stared up at the sky, blinking in a daze. “Owwww.”
“What the hell was that?” Lars also lay flat on his back, not far from me.
“A rebound spell,” I hissed through my teeth, sitting up. “Something clearly does not want to be found.”
“Then we are in the right place.” Lars got to his feet, brushing himself off. “Can you break it?”
“Yeah. I think so.” I matched his movements. “Now that I know what we’re dealing with.” I returned to the center of the cave and bent down on my knees, my hands out at my sides, palms open. Shattering another’s spell wasn’t demanding of the brain but was grueling on the body. It seemed similar to taking your magic and turning it into a battering ram and storming a castle. The magic would fight back, protecting its fortress.
Depending on the level of magic from the user, this could be fast or painfully slow. I started chanting, the swirl of magic sweeping my hair around my shoulders. Normally I preferred to be alone while I carried out a spell, but Lars’s presence and magic behind me felt like a powerful battery.
The magic wanted to protect its treasure, but I was surprised how familiar it felt, similar to hearing a song, tasting or smelling something that took you back to your childhood.
It made me remember the man I’d thought of as an uncle. The hours he’d sit and tell me stories of old. The smoky smell from his pipe coiling in my noise.
The spell didn’t attack me back, but it was definitely going to make me work for it, as though he were still trying to train me, sharpen my skills from the other side. Perspiration trailed down my face, my muscles shaking as I shoved my incantation at it with everything I had. I grunted, bending over, gasping for air between words.
“Ms. Cathbad?” I heard Lars, his outline coming beside me. “Stop. You’re bleeding.”
No pain, no gain. Ignoring him, I leaned forward, barking the hex, my voice growing hoarse. My temples pounded and my limbs shook violently, ready to give out. If I didn’t do this now, I wouldn’t have the strength to try again for a while.
With a last push of magic, I threw my spell at the barrier, wailing out.
Snap.
With a whoosh of magic fleeing from the gates, stale warm wind slammed into us, pushing me back on my arse. The enchantment shattered, zooming past us out of the cave, leaving the space still and quiet.
I sank forward, crashing into the dirt.
Well done, Fionna. Proud of you, my girl. A man’s voice came into my head, flittering out so fast I didn’t know if I had dreamed it.
“Ms. Cathbad?” Hands rolled me over, green eyes staring down at me.
“Fionna. Call me fucking Fionna or I’ll spell you,” I grumbled.
“Okay, fucking Fionna. Are you all right?” Lars whisked away hair sticking to my face.
“Funny.” I rolled my eyes, not quite ready to move, my muscles still trembling. “You’re a comedian, aren’t you?”
He smiled, helping me sit up. “Go slow.”
I wiped at the wetness dripping off my lip, the back of my hand streaked with red. Magic always came with a price. Bloody noses were entry-level payment.
Lars dug into his bag and pulled out a granola bar and a wipe to clean my face. “Here, you need energy.”
“I’d prefer a shot of tequila and a taco.”
“I’ll see what I can do next time.” He chuckled, his gaze assessing me as I inhaled the nutrients. Compared to what I really wanted, it tasted bland and dry, but it got the job done. He handed me his water to chase it down. “Are you ready?” He stood, reaching his hand for mine.
I wiped my face and nodded, noting how my palm fit snugly in his grip. He yanked me to my feet and without a thought started dusting me off, his hands roaming over my backside.
I should have minded. Stopped him. I wish I could say it was because I was knackered and didn’t have the energy, but in all honesty, I enjoyed the feel of his touch. The way he was lightly “spanking” me.
Fionna, you are sick and twisted, I chastised myself, scrubbing off the remaining blood on my face.
He stopped, jerking his hand away, as though he finally realized what he was doing or perceived my thoughts. He mumbled an apology before he bolted away, clearing his throat. Lars strode over to the far wall, gazing up. My eyes followed his, my mouth parting.
“Wow. We really did it.” I came up beside him, staring at the opening that had not been there before. The entrance was barely big enough for me to stand in; everything past this was lost in darkness.
“You did it,” he said, not looking at me. He clutched his torch, flicked it on, and began to climb up the boulders.
I had no doubt we were on the right track, but why did I feel this was just the tip of the iceberg? Whatever lay beyond the entrance was just the first of the challenges ahead. My gut twisted, heavy with foreboding.
I should have turned us back right then.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lars
Darkness permeated the cool tunnel with only the small column of our flashlight beams paving the way. It reminded me of Greece and searching for the Sword of Nuada all over again. What is it with Druids and fucking caves? This one took us deep into the underbelly of the land.
Darkness or confined spaces didn’t bother me, but I was done hunting for these artifacts. Last one. I was so near to having them all. Close. So close.
The cauldron was one of the most important. The stone needed its companion to work for me properly. As Fionna suggested, I was walking a perilous line. The Treasures of Tuatha Dé Danann could tip me over into total insanity or save me from myself. I had no doubt they would benefit me. I was formidable enough to regulate their power and use it. I could have no doubt, because the alternative was not an option. I would not become my brother or my uncle.
Fionna’s footsteps clipped behind me in pace with my own. We hadn’t spoken a word since we entered the cave.
Speaking of losing my mind. This woman seemed to rob me of mine constantly. I hadn’t even thought; I just started touching her as though she was mine. I had never been a touchy person, not even with Rez. We kept strictly to business in the day and enjoyed each other at night behind closed doors. We were never the couple to screw on my desk in the middle of the day.
This girl stirred me up so much twice the day before I almost fucked her, and we demolished an entire flat. This wasn’t like me. At all.
That kind of passion ended with Ash. There’d been no surface we didn’t have sex or place we didn’t wreck. But then I was young and foolish, in the whimsy of first love. Time and life had changed me. Now I saw the world for what it was. Love was for the dreamers. The ones who weren’t King.
My boots plodded along, descending, and finally gave way to a vast room where the air grew even cooler. Fionna came up next to me, her flashlight scanning the space in jerky movements along with her head.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.” She nipped her bottom lip.
Taking in a deep inhale, I felt out the cavern, sensing a blip of magic, but not from a spell or an object.
“We’re not alone.” I barely got the statement out, before a fire exploded to li
fe near us, igniting the room in buttery light.
“Shite!” Fionna jumped back. Ashes circled around it to keep it contained. By the amount of cinders, it seemed clear the user had been here for a while.
“We have guests. We have guests.” A strange voice echoed off the tall, bare wall, coming from all angles.
I jerked my head around. “Come out now,” I boomed. Not much could hurt me.
“He wants us to come out,” it said.
“He can stuff it,” a grouchier-sounding one spoke. “Go back to where you came from. Leave us be.”
“Two fae?” Fionna mouthed to me.
I nodded, trying to find where the voices were coming from. I took another inhale, the demon tasting the air. Sub-fae. But whatever it was, it was not a common one. This was unique. Old. Familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
“This is your King. Come out now,” I demanded.
“King? Toad bucket. I am a king here.” The second man chortled derisively.
“Ha! If you’re a king, then I’m a dragon.” The first one laughed.
“Dragon? Only flames you could create are from your own gas.”
“You do realize how stupid your statement is? And stop blaming your gastro problems on me.”
The two bickered back and forth, their argument about gas elevating.
“Great. Crazy sub-fae. Probably have been in the cave far too long.” I rubbed my eyebrows, irritation escalating with the pace of their row. “I order you to show yourself.”
“Ooooo. Now he orders us,” Grumpy spoke.
“I am not joking,” I growled. “I am the King and I mandate you show yourselves to me.”
“King you say? King of what? You can be a king of anything.”
“Oh, fuck this.” I threw up my arms, anger lining my shoulders.
“Seems your ‘kingly’ powers,” Fionna curled her fingers in quotes, “have as much sway with them as they do with me.”
“Seems so.” I gritted my teeth. “Difference is I really am their leader.”
“I think we should introduce ourselves. There is a woman present,” the nicer one whispered loudly to his friend. “We are being rude.”
The Fall Of The King (Lightness Saga Book 3) Page 18
