The Tainted Web (The Godhunter, Book 7)

by Sumida, Amy

  We swam to the city's edge and continued on over an amazing coral reef teeming with life. Fishes competed with eels, crabs, and several things I couldn't name, for spots in the brilliantly colored coral. The glow of the city faded and soon we were in dark water, unable to see anything around us anymore. Guirmean and Luag stopped, waving their arms about to keep stationary as they began to sing. The water around them seemed to pulse with the magic of it and their song rolled by me in a delicate series of lilting notes that echoed hollow in my ears, like opera inside a conch shell. In moments we were being accompanied by a school of brightly glowing fish.

  I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. It was hard enough for me to be in the ocean but to swim through it in the dark was almost unbearable. The fish saved me from that horror, darting around and through our party, stopping here and there to investigate the odd fey that shouldn't be in their kingdom. I laughed as one of them approached me, it big blue eyes focused on me as it angled its wide, flat body to see me better. The sound of my laughter startled it, making it pull back a little before coming even closer and bumping into my coating of air.

  “I didn't think we'd be able to speak,” I said to Odin, who swam close to me, on my right.

  “I don't think our voices travel very far,” he replied and was right, his voice was severely muted. “But it appears that the air encasing us allows for it.”

  “Groovy,” I smiled and held my hand out to the curious fish. It bumped it with its head and swam away.

  Then a high pitch sound had us all stopping and looking toward Guirmean in confusion. He pointed back behind us and gestured that we should all move more firmly together. Then he and Luag swam above and behind us, holding their arms straight out to their sides as they focused on something that was approaching quickly.

  I swallowed back a scream as an enormous creature emerged from the dark. Huge glowing eyes were what was visible first, then the wide, pointed face and gaping jaws. It had slick gray skin, shimmering with scales in the light of the fish who were now hiding amongst us.

  The mouth on the creature was so large, it could have fit two buses side by side inside it and its teeth were as wide as oak trees. They looked rather sharp too. A spiked fin crested its head like a mohawk, trailing back over its long back and tapering over its tail. Ruffling out from its cheeks was a fringe of tentacles, each one seeming to be prehensile and with a will of its own. They spread around it, almost blocking the muscular shoulders and wide chest that seemed better suited to godzilla than an ocean monster.

  It stopped before the two water fey, its hind quarters coming up beneath it and its tail swishing around to steady itself. It let out a screech of sound that rocked the water and sent us all to bobbing. Yet the fey stood firm and their hands shifted forward as they began to emit a putrid green glow.

  The creature backed up, its arms flapping forward, showing previously hidden membranes that connected them to its side. It gave another response of sorts, which although it seemed angry, was a lot less antagonistic than the first. It turned around slowly and swam away.

  “What the fuck was that?” I hissed at Arach, who, like the rest of my men, was pressed in close to me.

  “That was a maenach,” Arach hadn't taken his eyes from where it had disappeared into the dark. He didn't look scared though, he looked excited. “I'd never thought to see one,” he smiled. “It was magnificent, was it not?”

  “Magnificent,” I gave a nervous laugh. “Sure, in an apocalyptic, terrified, screaming kind of way.”

  “There are very few of them left, Vervain,” he finally looked over at me with soft eyes. “For us to have seen one together is a good sign. A blessing from Faerie herself.”

  “Yeah, cause we're still alive and not being digested,” I grumbled. Leave it to a dragon to think spotting a monster the size of an island was fortuitous.

  “The kelpie alone could have turned him away,” Arach scoffed. “Guirmean just didn't want him to have all the glory. There was never any danger.”

  “If you say so,” I looked over at my other men and they seemed to agree with me... because they weren't insane.

  By the time we'd finished our little chat, Guirmean and Luag were back to leading us into the cold dark. And it was cold. I wished someone had warned me to wear layers. Even with the air aura, I could feel the chill pressing in. Yet as soon as I thought it, I warmed, the glow of dragon eyes seeming to fill me.

  Right, forgot about me being a dragon-sidhe and all.

  Then we stopped and I swam forward to join the royalty and the two fishmen, er, water fey. They pointed to a cave opening, barely visible beyond a waving spray of coral. The High King nodded and started to swim forward. I shot out beside him, there was no way I was going to be left out now.

  I felt my men close in behind me and we followed the High King, along with the Kings of Air and Earth, into the coral cave. It was dark for the first few feet but then a light became slowly visible, growing brighter the further in we went. Finally, we found them, lounging in a bed of seaweed, the kelpie's arms around the Queen. I should have known he was her lover, people do stupid things for love all the time.

  They both shot up when they saw us and we all swam forward to meet them. Dubheasa was in full mermaid glory, her long tail swishing and shimmering beneath her. King Cian started toward her but I stopped him with a hand on his arm and he nodded, making an after you gesture.

  “You're a fool,” the words popped into my head and I was horrified to realize it was Dubheasa using some kind of telepathy. “You should have let your betters handle me. Now I'll truly kill you.”

  “Well you didn't do such a good job the first time,” I smirked as I felt my hands shift into claws. “What makes you think you'll fare any better now?”

  “Because now, I have this,” she held up her hand and my ring glinted on her finger. “I can replay this fight, over and over, until I win.”

  I felt my jaw drop open. Fuck, could she really do that? And if she could, why hadn't she already gone back in time and killed me right the first time? No, she was bluffing. The High King said you could only observe the past, not alter it. She really thought I was an idiot.

  “That doesn't belong to you,” I narrowed my gaze on her. “And you have no right to its magic.”

  She seemed to blanch a little. “I have more right to it than you,” she looked over my shoulder with a concerned frown before focusing back on me, but I knew better than to let myself be distracted. “You're not fey enough to wear this. If you were, you'd be dead.”

  “Huh,” an idea popped into my head and I held back from attacking her. “Let's see who the ring wants then.”

  “What?” Was that a note of panic in her voice.

  “Ring of Remembrance,” I called to it. “I've come for you, as I promised. The woman who holds you now is my enemy but I offer you the freedom to choose. You may stay with her if you will but if not, I would like you back. Do what you feel is just and choose now.”

  Before Dubheasa could shoot another greasy word into my brain, she disappeared, simply vanished, and the ring fell to the floor of the coral cave with a heavy drop.

  I gaped for a second before diving down and retrieving my treasure, amid a horrible keening. I glanced back and saw the kelpie, restrained by numerous hands, staring at me in agony. I frowned, slipping the ring on my finger as I wondered what had happened to his lover.

  Then I got a flash, a vision from the ring, of Dubheasa stranded in the middle of a vast desert. For miles around, there was only sand, stone, and arid air. Her skin was already beginning to shrivel rapidly. I got the sense that not only was it a different time from the one we were in but a different future than the one we were headed to. A future in which water was scarce.

  “King Cian,” I said when I reached the King's side.

  “Queen Vervain,” he smiled. “I'm gladdened that your property has been recovered. We will handle the kelpie. I assume your vengeance has been assuaged with whatever you did
to the traitor?”

  “That's what I wanted to ask you about,” I held up the ring. “Can the ring send someone to a different timeline, a different future than the one most likely to happen?”

  “Ah,” he blinked wide eyes at me. “I suppose it's possible. Is that what it showed you?”

  “It felt that way, yes,” I frowned.

  “Then that was the justice it believed she deserved,” he nodded. “Fitting, I think. Come now, waste no more time on traitors. We must return to the Castle of Eight and get back into our finery. I'm famished.”

  “Me too,” I laughed and followed him out of the cave but the sight of the Queen of Water dying slowly without her element, was still a ghost in the depths of my mind.

  “Is everything okay?” Trevor looked my face over.

  “Yes,” I smiled and held up the ring, staring at it with wide eyes. “My precious,” I crooned in a creepy voice.

  Chapter Ten

  “Her people need her,” Arach stated his case, “especially now. Faerie is in an uproar over this attempt on Vervain's life. If she were to leave now, it would be seen as cowardice.”

  “She's no coward,” Trevor growled.

  “If anyone knows this, it is I,” Arach assured him. “I'm not talking about my thoughts. I'm telling you what the rest of Faerie will think and how it will reflect badly on the House of Fire.”

  “So now you want her to save face,” Trevor was just being a bastard because he knew Arach was right.

  “I want her for the same reason the rest of you do,” Arach finally snapped and who could blame him? The debate had been raging for the last half an hour. “Because she is life and beauty, without her my world is drab and colorless, an endless continuation of the same monotony and all I can think about is how to get her back. I spend my days in between rage and frustration, when I'm not crippled by this horrible weight on my heart! I can exist without her but I can't live.”

  Silence.

  “You could have just said you loved her,” Trevor grumbled.

  “Shut up, Trevor,” I whispered breathlessly. “I know you like him, stop giving him such a hard time already.”

  My alpha looked over at me with a self-deprecating grin and shrugged. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” Arach narrowed his eyes on my wolf. “Does that mean she can come back?”

  “That means I'm okay with whatever relationship she chooses to have with you but if there's going to be a baby involved, I'd like to know about it first.”

  Babies. I hadn't thought about that in awhile. With the ring, I could actually have children with Arach and be a mother to them while having a whole separate life with my other family. Was that even morally right? I wouldn't be taking time away from anyone but could I really have a family, have little dragon babies, here in Faerie and then just go home to Trevor, Kirill, Odin, and Az like nothing had happened? Could a mother leave her child, even if the child didn't notice her absence?

  “But that's only my vote,” Trevor's voice brought me back to reality. “You still have three more men to convince.”

  “Vhatever Tima vants, I'm okay vith,” Kirill stated immediately.

  “I love you,” I smiled at my lion.

  “Da,” he smiled back mischievously, “zis I know.”

  “Arrogant ass,” I laughed.

  “If this is really what you want,” Odin looked at me strangely. I couldn't read his expression. Was that concern for me, for him, for the boys? “I will back your decision.”

  “Thank you,” I said seriously but I was bothered by his answer and intended on discussing it further with him in private.

  “No.”

  Everyone stopped and looked at my angel.

  “What?” I said, completely shocked. This wasn't where I'd expected resistance.

  “I don't like this, Carus,” he said gently. “Something feels wrong to me. Not about Arach, he's a good man, I can feel that, but the ring. Time travel. It feels wrong, deep in my bones. Something tells me that you shouldn't be messing with time.”

  “But...”

  “Let me explain this please,” Arach interrupted.

  “By all means,” I waved my hand.

  “This is a fey thing,” he actually didn't sound arrogant for once. “It's a different magic than what you're used to. This magic has rules woven into it. All fey magic functions thusly. If someone tries to use magic that goes against the rules, it will simply not work. There's no way to abuse nature because we are Nature, our magic is her blood, her breath. So anything Vervain does with that ring, will be as Faerie decrees it. It's why it can't be used to save someone's life, or change your past deeds, that would go against the natural order of things.”

  “I know why you're worried,” I finally understood Azrael's hesitation. “The well. You went against the rules to take me there and if Odin hadn't broken me out, I'd still be there, floating in the water forever and no one would have known I was stuck there.”

  “Yes,” he whispered. “What if you become addicted? This is a power that would be easy to abuse. Or what if something went wrong? What if you were lost in the past? Time should not be trifled with.”

  “I won't abuse this magic,” I took his hand, “I promise. I do realize how powerful this is, and I know you're concerned that more fey will try to kill me for it, but you saw what happened with Dubheasa. The ring knows me, it wants to be on my finger. It won't work for anyone else and I'm pretty sure all of Faerie knows that by now.”

  “They do,” Arach gave a little laugh. “Look, angel, I swear to you upon the graves of my parents, that this ring will not bring Vervain any harm. It won't allow it. It has been in her family since its creation, some twenty thousand years ago, and she is the last of that line. It will not give her up, just as I won't.”

  Azrael sighed and stared at the simple ring on my pointer finger. A bright flash sparked out of it, striking Arach on the forehead, and he pulled back in shock. He touched the spot where the light had hit him, hesitantly.

  “I think it just talked to me,” he said softly.

  “Vat did ring say?” Kirill asked while everyone else gaped.

  “It said,” Azrael frowned and considered. “No, it didn't really say anything, it showed me images. I think it was the future,” he looked up at me in wonder. “You become...”

  “Yes,” I leaned forward, “I become what?”

  “I can't tell you,” he said, sounding a little surprised. “Huh, it won't let me.”

  Arach started to laugh and everyone stared at him in irritation. He looked at all the annoyed faces and laughed more. “Don't you see,” he finally said. “It showed him something wonderful about the future to calm his fear, while at the same time proving that fey magic will not allow the proper flow of things to be tampered with.”

  “How so?” Odin asked. “I mean how does that prove it?”

  “If Azrael told Vervain what she would become in the future,” Arach looked at him like he was slow, “it would threaten that result. Knowing about something gives you the power to change it. So it silenced him. He can't tell her because it would jeopardize the future that must be.”

  “Huh,” I held the ring up and rubbed the clear stone. “Guess you're smarter than all of us.” It flashed arrogantly. “Now none of that,” I chided. “One self-important asshole in my life is more than enough.”

  “Are you actually scolding a twenty-thousand-year-old fey relic?” Arach asked with disbelief.

  “Oh, it knows I love it,” I patted it.

  “Great,” Odin groaned, “now she's talking to it like one of us. Looks like we have number six.”

  “We still don't have a unanimous on number five,” I looked over at Azrael.

  “You may do as you wish, Carus,” Azrael said and kissed my hand that was still holding his. “Although I admit, I hope this is the last of us.”

  “No kidding,” Trevor griped.

  “How could I want anymore than I already have?” I smiled and looked over at Azrael
. “Thank you, Az.” Now that we had an angel's blessing, everything should be fine. If only I could make up my mind. “I'm glad I have all of your approval but I still don't know where this relationship is going to go.”

  “Vervain?” Arach looked wounded.

  “I know you,” I held up my hand as I tried to explain my misgivings. “I love you but it still doesn't change what's happened between us. I just don't know if I can trust you with my heart.” I had a flash of Thor's face. I'd trusted him once, been certain that he would never betray me. “You're fey and I know I'm supposed to be one too but I just don't feel or think the same as all of you. I'm different and it seems to change things. The rules are different here. Things that would never be done between two people in love in my world, are acceptable here. I'm not saying no, I'm saying that I need more time. I need to get to know you better, to know Faerie better.”

  “Vervain,” it was Odin who spoke into the silence. “You've just read what was written on my own heart. I've watched you leap into the arms of men, in part because of your lion magic and partly because of certain situations, and I've held my tongue because I understood. But this relationship, with this man, is different and I'm glad you see that clearly and want to take the time to learn more before committing to this.”

  “You say that out of jealousy,” Arach growled.

  “No,” I held up a hand to Arach before Odin could defend himself. “See, this is what I mean. You don't get to say things like that to him, to any of them. They've proven themselves to me already. I have history with them. The only history I have with you is bad. You need to make up for that, show me your a better man rather than me just knowing it by taking your blood. You need to work for this, dragon. It's not going to be handed to you on a silver platter. Are you up for the challenge?”

  “Your point is valid,” Arach took a deep breath. “If there's anything worth working towards, fighting for, it's you, Vervain. Your challenge has been accepted. I'll show you what kind of man I am, as long as you give me the chance.”