The Witch's Dream - A Paranormal Romance (The Order of the Black Swan, BOOK TWO)

by Victoria Danann

"Truly, 'tis enough to make your head hurt tryin' to sort out." He gave Aelsong a look like he was willing her to understand. "I know it does no' make sense, but this is who they are."

  The idea that a woman's reputation could be tied to sexual behavior was foreign to elves, but she knew that what her brother was telling her was true and she was touched that he was trying to protect her from hurt feelings.

  She nodded. She could probably count the instances when she'd had a serious conversation with Ram on one hand. "Thank you for tellin' me."

  He stood and gave her a perfunctory hug. "Just do no' be tellin' my wife that I was here. She believes, where you are concerned, that I... I think the word she used was 'hover'."

  Aelsong grinned. "Swearin' on Paddy's heart I can no' be made to tell."

  Travel from Edinburgh to the Texas Hill Country would normally involve at least two changes of planes, but Simon graciously arranged for them to take a company jet all the way to San Antonio at The Order's expense as a wedding present.

  Kay's sisters had transport waiting to move passengers and luggage the rest of the way to Hunt. Dandie met them at the private hangar long enough to supervise. She had a van waiting with enough legroom for B Team boys plus Elora and Katrina. She handed the keys to Kay. She had also hired a local kid with a pickup to stash the luggage in his truck bed and follow the van. He was clearly thrilled to get the job. When Dandie was satisfied that all was well, she left for the main terminal to pick up her boyfriend and two cousins.

  Soon after the tiny caravan was on the western side of Kerrville, the topography changed dramatically from the dry and brushy goat country they had just passed through.

  Kay pulled over for a beer stop. It seemed that setting boots on Texas soil caused Kay to morph into a connoisseur of long necks. Elora noticed that his vowels were more engaged and that his facial muscles seemed more relaxed.

  The little log country store at Ingram was open air at that time of year. It had a screen door that swung both ways and a large, black Doberman who sat on a stool by the cash register keeping an eye on things. After looking them over, he jumped down from the stool, picked up his hot-dog-shaped toy, pushed the screen door open, and trotted around the corner out of view.

  The cashier, who may have also been proprietor, was an older woman with a ready smile and body language that gave the impression of unhurried, small town warmth and generosity. She had a round face that looked permanently pinked by either heritage, sun, or long necks. Who could say? She remembered Kay and welcomed him back.

  When the pit stop was over, the travelers reclaimed their places in the van as if their seats had been assigned and they pulled back onto the two-lane highway. Within minutes they were driving a road that followed right alongside the Guadalupe River, curving when it did, which was constantly, undulating gently, up and down with the hills. It was a one of those unhurried journeys you hear about that's more important than the destination. Elora thought the water was too beautiful to be natural.

  "Kay, do they dye the river water that color like they do at amusement parks?"

  Kay and Katrina looked at each other and laughed at the question. "Nope," he said. "It's really that green. All by itself."

  Storm said nothing, but silently agreed that he had never seen water look both clear and deep green. It was exactly the color of Litha's eyes. And, for the hundredth time that day, he wondered where she was and wished he knew she was okay.

  They came over a rise to a stretch where the river suddenly got much wider and, Storm suspected, much deeper. The road veered away in another direction just as the vehicles turned left onto a white gravel road. Kay's family owned a big, old, white, two story house with a huge expanse of lush green grass sloping down to the river where a yellow and green pontoon floated in invitation on water still enough to look like glass. There were several yellow canoes turned upside down and sitting on the grass by the river.

  It seemed that Kay's family owned a little piece of heaven. No wonder Katrina abandoned the idea of a big Houston society affair for a barefoot wedding here.

  Kay's sisters had been there for days getting the house ready and making arrangements for a practically impromptu wedding. They came running out to welcome the bride and groom and their guests.

  "Come on in and we'll show y'all where you're sleeping." Urz had assigned herself the role of wedding services manager and taken charge of room assignments. She said that the parents and the close relatives would be staying at the resort and some of the nicer river cabins nearby and that it hadn't been that hard to accommodate everyone on short notice since school was still in session.

  They had decided to keep the house for the exclusive use of the wedding party.

  There were three bedrooms upstairs. She put Kay in one, then asked Ram and Storm which of them would like to volunteer to sleep on the cot on the screen porch in back.

  Storm volunteered immediately even though he knew that the word "cot" meant feet hanging off the end. He didn't examine his motives too closely, but, truthfully, things had changed so fast his head was swimming. It felt like one day he was firmly and securely entrenched as part of a team of four Black Swan knights, as close as people can be on the outside of the womb. He blinked once and two of them were married. To each other. And expecting.

  He blinked again and a third, his own partner, announced he was not just getting married, but leaving The Order. As proof that the world could actually stand on its ear, even the former arch vampire, Istvan Baka, now worked for The Order as the respected, human head of the Great Inversion Task Force.

  Everyone seemed to have a place in this new world but him. So, taking the cot on the back porch, a place that was neither outside nor in, seemed like the perfect fit - a symbolic representation of the place where life had deposited him. Or spit him out.

  The five women were directed to the bunk room which had three built-in bunks, designed to sleep six, so that each of the three girls could bring a friend.

  "Stop right there." Kay halted Urz in mid command. "There's enough room for Trina to stay with me and I like her where I can see her."

  Urz was resolutely shaking her head. "Out of the question, Bubba. The next time you're sleeping with the bride is after you've said, 'I do'."

  There was no doubt Kay wasn't completely on board with that plan. Katrina gave him a look of resignation that said, "What can we do? Your big sister has the whistle."

  "What about me?" Ram insisted. "I already said, 'I do', and I want this heavenly body..." He put his arm around Elora's waist and pulled her close to him as if to illustrate which heavenly body he meant. "...in the double bed next to me."

  Urz looked at Elora with eyebrows raised. "It's your choice, but we thought it would be fun to have a two-night-long slumber party."

  Looking at her determined expression and hands on hips, Elora was thinking that not even a Black Swan knight would bite that off without good cause.

  "Sorry," Elora told Ram. "But, look, I'll be just down the hall."

  "That's no' the same thing."

  Elora was trying to remember if she'd ever seen Ram pout before. Gods. It was like he couldn't seem to do anything that wasn't thigh numbing sexy. She wanted to throw herself at him and grab that plump bottom lip between her teeth.

  Kay had enough experience with his sister to see defeat when it was coming. He rested a big, bear paw on Ram's shoulder. "Well, Rammel. I've known these women a long time and I can assure you there's no point in arguing. So, tell me. Did you happen to pack some of that fine Irish whiskey?"

  ***

  CHAPTER 19

  It was the first day of May, known as May Day to some and Beltane to others, the first of four fire festivals in the pagan year. In the Celtic lands of older times, the rituals were initiated with beacon fires lit on hilltops the eve before. It was a day dedicated to procreation and fertility, a joyful, celebration of the renewal of life evidenced everywhere the observer cares to look. The sprouts of new crops are breaking throug
h the earth. Young animals are at play in the fields.

  While such things might seem to occupy the fringe of our concern in contemporary times, people of European descent have a pagan core programmed deep within the psyche, perhaps on the cellular level, and it unerringly responds to observing the changes of season. Such observances feel familiar. Familiar and right. It would be a mistake to think of Beltane as a simple fuck fest.

  Of course, a holiday intended to celebrate fertility and procreation does involve some devil-may-care revelry.

  "Anybody thought about dinner? I'm getting hungry." Kay asked his sisters.

  "Got it covered, Bubba. The Cat House is sending people over and they'll be here any minute. We're eating out in back tonight." She picked up a can of peanuts and tossed it at him. "If you can't wait, crack that open and knock yourself out."

  "Cat House?" Ram asked.

  Elora gave him a flat handed smack on the six-pack in mock reprimand. "You sounded way too interested for my liking and way too hopeful."

  Ram laughed and reached for her. "You know perfectly well that I'm a well-mated elf who could no' be more settled or more satisfied." He pulled her onto his lap and nuzzled her decolletage. "I would no' trade you for a thousand cat houses."

  Kay smirked at Ram. "Better watch what you say or you'll end up with a matched set of broken ribs.

  "Cat House is the name of the local catfish restaurant. You aliens, and that's everybody who's not from Texas, are going to get a treat you'll never forget."

  The caterers arrived from the Cat House towing a large, outdoor grill. With experience guiding a practiced choreography, they fired up the grill and started frying catfish, French fries, and hush puppies in wide, shallow iron skillets. The air was filled with tantalizing aroma.

  Standing outside on the lawn with an ice tea in her hand, Elora leaned into Ram. "I can feel my arteries hardening just from smelling this food."

  He grinned at her. "I do no' care. I'm eatin' till I can no' stand up. And, you know, it may damage your credibility as an expert on nutrition when half your daily consumption is chocolate."

  Overhearing that exchange, Katrina told Ram to eat slowly and be careful of the bones.

  Elora thanked the gods that the Cat House had also brought some mixed green salad along to break up the grease. Sure it all tasted good. Everything tastes great when you fry it in grease. They also brought some pecans pies which held no interest for her whatsoever until someone mentioned the Texas Chocolate Pecan pie with Blue Bell ice cream. She rose to go that direction as if the Morlock gong had been struck. Ram grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to the picnic table bench.

  She let him hold her back while he teased. "You should no'. There's plenty of artery cloggin' goin' on in that chocolate pie."

  It was her turn to grin and then tickle him until he willingly let go so she could claim her share of pie.

  The wedding party sat outside enjoying the soft evening air, talking quietly and joking until after dark. The caterers cleaned up, packed up, and drove away, but they left two huge, glass spigot jars, one with sweet tea, one with lemonade, and an enormous chest packed with beer, wine coolers, and soft drinks iced down. After they were gone, it seemed very quiet without the usual city whir of massive numbers of machines or tires humming on freeways.

  It was peaceful. And nice. There were several in the group who, no matter what the future held, would be permanently linked by the special bond that springs into being between warriors who have shared mortal risks together. It's a pull that goes soul deep. Not the same as passionate love, but every bit as intense. Not the same as familial love, but just as enduring.

  At one point Elora said, "Tell me we're not really doing disco."

  Katrina feigned haughtiness. "Ugh. Yes! Why does everybody keep asking that? What's wrong with disco?"

  Kay leaned forward in his lawn chair like he had something to say. "We gotta keep on truckin' while we get down with the bogue 'cause what-it-is is right on bitchin'. I, for real, am sick Bogart for my buff sweetness. So either catch my drift or be a chease weasel. The disconatin' is a far out, flash back, freak out. Don't doubt the deuce dude. If you do, you're untubular self is wacked and jacked and, Zetus-Lapeduz. Catch you on the flip side. Trippy. Yeah."

  Everybody stared at the normally introverted Kay for a long time. Finally, Katrina broke the silence. "That was amazing. You're my hero."

  Kay stood up and gave Katrina a bow from the waist while everyone cheered. When he sat down again, Ram said, "That was, em, far out. Truly. Could we please speak with Kay now?"

  When the Norns said goodnight and went upstairs, the members of B Team, plus Katrina, lingered, reluctant to give up the evening and call it done. The two pairs of lovers weren't eager to pull away from comfortable embraces and separate for the night. When the light was turned on in the upstairs bunkroom it filtered out onto the lawn casting yellowish shadows. After a few minutes there was a loud thump and a shriek from upstairs.

  B Team shared a laugh. Katrina said something about two big days coming up, said good night, and left the four sitting together in companionable silence listening to the serenade of frogs, crickets, and cicadas. All may have been sharing the same thought. That it could be the last time.

  Suddenly, a cool breeze pierced the warm night air ruffling hair and clothes and shifting the mood. The windchimes and the leaves of the cottonwood trees sang in response to the harbinger night wind. It blew through almost instantly, but left behind a distinct aroma, the promise of a rainstorm. When they saw lightning in the distance, they took it as a cue and mutually agreed to adjourn for the night.

  "Can I take a pure human through a pass?" Litha asked Deliverance.

  "I won't lie to you and say, 'No', but it would not be in your best interest for me to show you how. There are far more who do not survive it than those who do."

  She sighed. "Okay. How can I be sure I'm taking the pass closest to where Storm is?"

  "I want to show you something. But first I have two gifts." Smiling, he handed her a pendulum. "It's made of black diamond from Ovelgoth Alla and it's programmed for my life signature. You'll always be able to find me. Anytime. And it comes with one more thing."

  He tilted her chin up with his forefinger so that she was looking at him full in the face. "Your demon name. I wasn't there to name you, as I should have been, as I wish I'd been. But, life is for learning and I'm claiming a do over - giving you your Abraxas name now. It's Liberty."

  Litha fell in love with it as soon as the sound had left his lips and knew he had chosen well. She had to run it over her vocal chords.

  "Liberty." She said it almost reverently while she clutched the black diamond pendulum in her hand. It also felt like it belonged there. Her expression said she accepted his treasures in the spirit intended and he was satisfied.

  "I don't have anything for you."

  The demon laughed. "Litha, you've already given me what I want most - time spent with you."

  Those words pierced through the remainder of reserve she had erected around her heart. While she was trying to decide what to say, he turned away suddenly and picked up her luggage: two vintage, Gucci soft sides filled with the wardrobe she'd acquired piece by piece during times when he was "busy" with incubus business.

  Daddy had spoiled his little girl rotten. She'd enjoyed every minute of it and had the loot as a bonus. She hoped it was going to be a trousseau.

  Litha followed him into the null space and tracked him through the ride he chose. When they stepped out, they stood in a parking lot with him smiling like he had feathers on his chin. He set the luggage down.

  "What?" she asked looking around to see what could be so amusing.

  "It's yours," he said.

  There was nothing there except an outrageously divine automobile sitting alone under a parking lot spotlight. It was a red Aston Martin DBS convertible, perhaps the shiniest car she had ever seen.

  "You don't mean this?" She pointed to the car.
She stared for a minute and then treated him to her throaty laugh that was music to his ears.

  "All yours. Pink slip has your name on it. It's in the glove compartment."

  "Let me see." The passenger door was unlocked. She slid in and opened the glove compartment half expecting some practical joke to jump out at her. What she found was a new passport and driver's license with a good photo of her and a pink slip that, true to his word, had her name on it. Litha Liberty Brandywine. She opened her mouth to ask how he had managed that, but, before she got the question out, she saw the sales price listed on the receipt, and almost choked. "Three hundred thousand dollars?"

  She got out of the car, closed the door, and stepped back like she'd done something wrong by sitting in it. "That's..." She stopped for just a second to calculate. "...four times what I make in a year. And it's completely overwhelming."

  He beamed at her.

  "I'm not sure I should take it. I'm not sure I can take it. I don't think I can even afford the insurance on my salary."

  “Come now. Did I not miss everything? Birthdays, graduations, soccer games? Let me be a proud Dad. As far as insurance, upkeep, all that stuff, it's taken care of.”

  "It is?"

  "Trust me."

  "I have a standing policy of running the other direction whenever someone says, 'Trust me.'"

  He smiled broadly. "That's my girl."

  "I didn't play soccer."

  "Then that's one less thing I missed."

  She realized that she was hesitating to say goodbye. How odd. “If I get Storm to marry me, I don’t think his friends will appreciate you showing up for a father daughter dance. Not after you abducted Kay's fiancé and caused so much trouble.”

  “Father daughter dance," he mused. "Well, just as long as you know I would want to.”

  "The phrase, demon's daughter, has kind of a dark poetic ring. I could get used to it."

  "That's my girl." Deliverance gave her a hug that said he hoped this wasn't the last time he'd see her. He put her bags in the trunk and pointed toward the road. "You take this road that way for thirteen miles. Just think about him and the seven-monks-pendulum will take you right to him."