Earth's Hope

by Ann Gimpel

  Fionn stared at the god of prophecy. “Ye almost never share your visions. Why this one?”

  Bran shook his head until the ends of his blond braids bounced. “I doona know. Mayhap I’m not totally recovered from when Perrikus and D’Chel trapped me and Gwydion.”

  Aislinn folded her arms beneath her breasts. She remembered that episode all too well. They’d all gone to Perrikus’s borderworld to search for Bran and Gwydion. Along the way, Perrikus had killed her unborn child—the one she hadn’t known about until it was too late. About the only bright spot from that incident was Dewi had finally freed Nidhogg from his imprisonment. Bran and Gwydion had returned. So had Fionn and Arawn, but they’d needed a bit of a hand since the only place open to them when they fled the borderworld was an obscure corner of the halls of the dead, one warded so well they couldn’t get themselves out.

  “Lass.” Fionn waved an arm in front of her face, and she blinked.

  “Sorry. I guess I got lost remembering what happened on Perrikus’s world.”

  “Good thing,” Gwydion said. “’Twill not be one whit safer this time.”

  “Or any more pleasant,” Arawn added.

  Breath whistled through her teeth. “Stop treating me like a child. Or like I’ll break if all of you aren’t riding herd on me every single second.” She sifted her hands through her hair and draped it behind her shoulders. “I’m the one who got rid of Slototh. And the one who entreated Dewi to breathe fire into Tokhots when he was unconscious.”

  “No one said ye weren’t tough as old leather.” Gwydion slanted a wry grin her way.

  Fionn shut his eyes for a moment. She wouldn’t have noticed if she weren’t looking at him. Thinking it was better to take a stand now before he gathered a perfectly rational argument and suggested she stay here, Aislinn planted herself in front of him. “I know what you’re thinking.”

  “Do ye now, lass?” He trained his million watt smile at her, but it lacked conviction.

  “Och aye,” she aped his brogue, which was easy enough since her mother’s Irish accent had been thick as porridge. “Ye’re turning things round and round to come up with some reason to leave me here.”

  “Be reasonable.” Fionn held out a hand to her, but she ignored it.

  “I am reasonable. I’m also capable.” She bit down on her lower lip until it hurt. “After Dewi brought me back from Perrikus’s world, there were days when I had no idea if you were alive or dead. It was hell, and I’m not doing that again. We’re stronger together. You admit it when there’s no danger.”

  “And I’ll admit it now,” he countered.

  “If the two of you are going to have a lovers’ spat, I’ll find some other way to occupy myself,” Gwydion said.

  “Us too,” Arawn and Bran said almost in unison.

  Aislinn clacked her jaws together. “Stay. There’s nothing more to say. I’m a part of whatever’s planned, and that’s the end of it.”

  “We use our females in battle,” Kra observed.

  “Ye are not helping.” Fionn shot a bitter glance at the dragon.

  “Depends which side of things you’re on,” Aislinn argued.

  “Enough of this.” Gwydion raised his voice for emphasis. “There are five of us and four dragons. So Fionn, Aislinn, and two dragons will go to one borderworld. Bran, Arawn, and I will join the other two dragons and infiltrate the other borderworld. My assumption is Dewi and Nidhogg will go with Fionn and Aislinn, since I doona see Dewi separating herself from the MacLochlainn.”

  “When will we leave?” Arawn raised a questioning brow.

  “Sooner is better,” Bran said.

  “Love the enthusiasm”—Fionn glanced around the group—“but there are a couple of niggling odds and ends here. For one, we need Dewi and Nidhogg to agree. And then there’s Odin.”

  Aislinn didn’t have to look up to know the hissing snarl came from Kra, who apparently hadn’t warmed to the idea of including the Norse gods.

  “Ye said ye’d keep an open mind,” Fionn reminded him. “I doona think we can afford to cut ourselves off from any potential sources of magic in this battle.”

  “You said it so I don’t have to.” Aislinn squared her shoulders. “Where are the humans in this battle plan of yours?”

  A sheepish look washed over Fionn’s chiseled features, but he recovered quickly. “Holding down the fort here on Earth in case Lemurians get it in their heads to do something foolish.”

  “Mmph.” She pressed her lips into a thin line. “There are a lot of humans. Surely some of them can assist us on the borderworlds.”

  “The lass has a point,” Gwydion said. “They fought well in the prison in Arizona where Slototh barricaded himself.”

  “Thank you.” Aislinn sent a pointed look his way.

  “Anytime, lass.” Gwydion half-bowed in her direction.

  The muscles in Fionn’s jaw worked, but what came out of his mouth was, “Once the dragons return, we’ll include everyone in the discussion. I had thought stealth might work in our favor. If too many of us show up—”

  “Nay,” Gwydion interrupted. “The dark gods will know the second we breach their boundaries. The more power we have at our disposal, the better our odds.”

  “Goddess only knows what creatures they’ll have at their end of things to deploy against us,” Arawn muttered.

  Aislinn thought of some of the abominations she’d squared off against here on Earth and hoped to hell she wouldn’t have to face anything worse. Magic hit her in the solar plexus so hard she struggled to remain upright. “What the fuck?” she sputtered and raised her hands to summon power.

  “It’s just Dewi and Nidhogg,” Berra said. “They’re close enough to create a psychic disturbance.”

  Aislinn let her hands fall to her sides. “Why didn’t it feel like this before when they came and went?”

  “Two reasons,” Berra replied. “This time they’re in a hurry, and both of them are probably upset at having to leave their young so far away. We believe it to be the safest place, but still—”

  Dewi’s trumpeting cut her off, and familiar blood-red wings formed a hundred feet off the ground, followed by the rest of Dewi’s body. Nidhogg emerged from the ether next to her. Both dragons spread their wings and fluttered earthward. Aislinn knew Dewi well enough to sense how distraught she was.

  “We could hear you for a bit before we got here,” Dewi said and blew smoke toward Berra. “Nowhere is safe. If I have to kill my children because those abominations filled their minds with lies—”

  “You’re overreacting.” Nidhogg spoke sharply. “I asked for a war council. It appears everyone began without us.” He focused his unsettling gaze on Fionn. “Catch us up fast so we can get moving. The sooner we fight back, the better I’ll feel.”

  “That makes two of us,” Dewi muttered. Her whirling eyes fell on Aislinn. “To my side, MacLochlainn. Or better yet, on my back.”

  Aislinn blew out a breath and straightened her spine. “I’m sorry for what happened, but just because you’re hurting and furious, it doesn’t open the door for you to order me around.”

  Dewi opened her mouth to spew fire; Aislinn held her ground and glared at the dragon. Fionn glided between them, but Aislinn sidestepped him and said, “Don’t.”

  Steam mingled with smoke streamed from Dewi’s mouth. “Plucky little thing, aren’t you?”

  “I wouldn’t let the Lemurians push me around, and you can’t, either.” Rage left a bitter taste in the back of Aislinn’s throat.

  “Save it for the enemy,” Gwydion snapped. “If the two of you are done pissing all over each other, I suggest we move to more productive ground.”

  Kra sidled in front of Nidhogg and inclined his head. “My liege.”

  “You don’t need to abase yourself, Kra. What do you want?”

  “Part of Fionn’s plan includes Odin—” Kra began.

  Nidhogg swiveled his long neck and stared at Fionn. “Really? Because he was part of my plan to
o. I invited him to leave Valhalla and lend us his assistance. Start at the beginning, Celt. I need to hear this in order.”

  “Gladly.” Fionn walked close to Nidhogg, but Aislinn followed and gripped his upper arm.

  “Wait,” she said. Her tone was harsh, but no sharper than she meant it to be. “I’ll round up the humans so we can do this together.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  It took longer than Fionn anticipated to get through the gist of things because so many people interrupted him. Finally, he glanced around the assemblage of Celts, dragons, and humans. “That’s it. What do you think?”

  Daniel, who’d been hunkered near Aislinn, pushed to his feet. “How many of us would you want in each away team?”

  Fionn thought about it. “Mayhap four. That would give us six plus the dragons for one borderworld, and seven plus the dragons for the other. More than that and it might become unwieldy, particularly if Odin’s people are there too.”

  Rune shook himself from head to tail tip and announced. “Bond animals will be included.”

  “Of course we will,” Bella quorked from her place on Fionn’s shoulder.

  He smothered a groan. His bird was a gifted warrior, but she marched to her own drummer. Rather like the dragons…

  Fionn jerked his chin toward Gwydion. “Ye’re the warrior magician. Come up here and help craft a battle plan.”

  “Gladly.” Gwydion strode to Fionn’s side, but Fionn knew him well and read hesitancy beneath his smooth movements.

  The master enchanter and warrior magician clasped both hands around his staff, centering it in front of him. “What about the other Celts?” he asked Fionn.

  “And we never reached consensus about Odin,” Nidhogg rumbled.

  “Do the Celts and the Norse gods get along well enough to fight side by side?” Aislinn asked.

  The corners of Fionn’s mouth twitched. How like the lass to see straight through to the heart of things.

  “Let’s start with Odin and his crew,” Fionn suggested. “If we canna agree about him…” He let his voice trail off.

  “I can see the rationale for requesting Odin’s help,” Nidhogg said, “since it was his son’s doing that freed the dark gods from Asgard. And I did ask for his help when I went there to reprimand him for forcing Dewi’s dragons into hiding.”

  “What did he say?” Kra asked.

  “That he’d gather his elite group of warriors and let me know when he was on Earth.”

  “But you haven’t heard from him,” Kra persisted.

  Nidhogg shook his head until his scales clattered together. “No, but I’ve never known Odin to do anything quickly.”

  “I’ll meet with a few key Celts, like Andraste,” Bran said. “Just to sound them out.”

  “And I’ll figure out if Odin’s actually planning to do more than pay lip service to my request for his aid,” Nidhogg said.

  “We do need those two pieces of data,” Fionn murmured. Magic bubbled around Bran and Nidhogg, and in moments both were gone.

  “In the meantime”—Aislinn glanced around the group—“I suggest we practice fighting together. Fionn and I and Dewi and Nidhogg have at least had a bit of practice—along with Rune and Bella.”

  “Excellent suggestion.” Eve strode toward Kra and Berra with her cat padding next to her. “Who fights by my side?” she called over one shoulder.

  Fionn watched as Daniel and two humans he didn’t know by name joined Eve. One had a hawk on his shoulder, so he must be another Hunter. He nudged Gwydion and spoke into his mind. “Why don’t ye and Arawn work with them?”

  The master enchanter didn’t answer. He snapped his fingers at Arawn, who looked annoyed to be summoned in such a cavalier manner, and moved toward the humans and dragons. The air thickened with combined magic and Fionn trotted to where Aislinn stood with Rune by her side.

  “Thank you,” she said softly.

  “For what, lass?”

  “Including the humans without giving me a raft of grief over it.”

  “They’ll be a good addition. I’m ashamed I dinna think of it first.”

  She slanted a smile his way. “We should practice too.”

  “I was about to suggest the same thing,” Dewi called across the fifty feet of lawn separating them. “We can funnel Nidhogg in when he returns. For now, I’ll call the shots.”

  Fionn almost managed to stifle a snort, but enough escaped that the dragon glared at him and noted, “I have much more tactical experience than you.”

  “Ye are correct that we need a team leader.” Fionn selected his words cautiously. “We canna determine who that will be until our final composition has been decided.”

  “For now, it will be me,” Dewi insisted. She lumbered over to the group of humans. “Decide which four of you will throw in your lot with us. I’ll be on the far side of the manor house so we don’t get in the way of the other group.”

  The dragon spread her red wings and flew over the top of Fionn’s home.

  He exhaled slowly. “Guess we’d better not keep her waiting,” he said to Aislinn and latched a hand beneath her arm.

  Rune walked next to them making whuffly growls. At least Bella was silent.

  They almost made it to where Dewi had set up a series of targets by pulling up bushes and moving them into ragged rows when Aislinn muttered, “I don’t know why it grates so to have her order me around as if I were five.”

  “Does it make it any better that she does the same thing to me?” Fionn asked.

  “Yeah, a little. It’s not worth arguing over. I won’t change her.”

  “Wise lass. Plus she wouldna understand why ye’re so upset.”

  Timothy, Corin, and two male Hunters caught up with them. One had a wolf, who fell into step next to Rune. The other had a mountain lion like Eve’s by his side.

  “Tell us what you need from us,” Timothy said.

  “Indeed,” Corin seconded. “It appears there are far too many chiefs in this operation as it is.”

  “Hush.” Aislinn shook her head. “Don’t let the dragon hear you.”

  “I hear everything,” Dewi trumpeted. “Dragons have exceptional hearing.”

  “Tell us about the exercise you set up,” Fionn broke in to divert her.

  Smoke plumed from Dewi’s open mouth. “This first drill will be masking ourselves so our energy doesn’t leak through to alert the enemy. For the second, I scattered debris on the ground to teach us to use magic to muffle the noise we make. Of course it won’t work nearly as well with this wet undergrowth as it would with the dry, dead plant material on the borderworlds, but we need to begin somewhere…”

  * * * *

  By the time Nidhogg returned, Aislinn’s body was streaked with sweat despite the chill, winter air. Dewi must have been a drill sergeant in a former life. She pushed hard, forcing each of them to go over and over each skill until she was satisfied it was acceptable.

  “How about a break for something to eat?” Fionn said, sounding mildly short of breath. Dewi had borrowed from his magic to make tasks harder.

  “Fine.” Dewi clapped her forelegs together. “Back in an hour.”

  The humans faded toward the house, while Rune and the other wolf dove into thick brush, along with the mountain cat, no doubt in search of food of their own. Bella cawed her displeasure at something—maybe being left behind—and flew away, still cawing.

  Nidhogg touched noses with Dewi. “Looks as if you’ve had a busy time here.”

  “They’re coming along,” she said, “but we have much to do before we’re ready to face our enemy.”

  “What did Odin say?” Fionn asked.

  “He wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Nidhogg blew steam.

  Aislinn put her hands on her hips. “So what exactly does that mean? If he’s showing up, when will he be here?”

  “He’s not coming here,” Nidhogg replied. “He said he’d send forces to one of the borderworlds. If nothing’s happening there, they’ll mo
ve to the other one, and he understands the importance of locating Adva.”

  “But that means he won’t be able to practice with us at all,” Aislinn noted. Worry prickled down her spine, and she shivered. The gods were high-handed as it was. She’d been worried enough about working with the Celts, beyond the four she was used to. Adding God-knew-how-many Norse deities to the mix felt downright uncomfortable. Never mind if some of the other Celts decided they wanted to play too.

  Apparently Fionn shared her reservations because he asked, “Do ye have any idea who will be part of Odin’s elite warrior group?”

  “Beyond Odin and Thor, unfortunately no,” Nidhogg replied.

  “So you don’t know how many will come, or which borderworld they’ll target,” Aislinn cut in.

  “That would be accurate.” Nidhogg rolled his shoulders to the accompaniment of clanking scales. “I understand your misgivings,” he went on, “but Odin was coming anyway. The only difference is that now he knows where we’ll be concentrating our efforts.”

  “I don’t like it,” Dewi spoke up. “Kra pitched a fit before, and I guarantee you he’ll like this even less.”

  “We all need food,” Fionn said. “Dewi’s idea about coming back together in an hour is a good one. By then, I’m certain Bran will have returned and we’ll have all our data points mapped out.”

  “Hammering them into something other than a suicide pact will be a challenge,” Dewi said sourly.

  Nidhogg spread a wing and dropped it across her back. “Hunt with me. Fionn’s right about everything looking better over a dead carcass.”

  Aislinn muffled a laugh and elbowed Fionn. “Not exactly what you said.”

  “It is in dragonspeak,” he muttered. “Come on, lass. Let’s hunt down our own carcass and talk about this.”

  She latched a hand around his arm. “Have the Celts and Norse gods ever joined forces before?”

  Fionn paused for so long she didn’t think she’d get an answer until he said, “Aye,” in a reluctant tone, as if he had serious second thoughts about giving away even that much.