Tallisun: God of Ostara (Sons of Herne, #3)

by J. Rose Allister

  Tallisun gave a bitter snort. “Forced? And here he appeared not to give the decision a second thought.”

  “So you decided to punish him by ignoring your duty,” said Veramus, swinging the pendant in his hand. “To linger overlong in the other realm, hunting to defy his will rather than seeing to your responsibilities for the sabbat.”

  “As it happens, I was seeing to my responsibilities while I was there. And I would still be doing so, had you not pulled me back without so much as a by the leave of the gods.”

  “Several candidates have been chosen as per custom,” said Sandovar. “You must now review the females and decide whom you will approach first to gain consent.”

  He puffed his chest out. “I have already chosen a candidate of my own.”

  Eyebrows arched. “You?” Veramus said, and the note of incredulity caused Tallisun to narrow his gaze. “But you have no interest in the identity of the maiden.”

  “Nor in the sabbat, to hear you tell the tale.” Tallisun set his hands on his hips. “But I have selected her nonetheless, and I was in the process of obtaining her consent when you practically dragged me back by the hair.”

  “Do not be so overdramatic,” Sandovar said. “This female you have supposedly chosen. Who is she? Does she meet the criteria?”

  “She meets my criteria,” Tallisun said. “And it has been far too long since such a one has been gleaned for the ritual.”

  “If you would just consider the others,” Veramus began.

  Sandovar, his eyes wide now, grabbed the other counselor’s arm. “Do you not see? It is happening again.”

  The men traded a look, and Veramus nodded slowly while raking an assessing gaze over Tallisun. “Perhaps.”

  “What’s happening again?” Tallisun asked.

  “He spends so much of his time avoiding this place that he has not heard the whispers,” Veramus said to Sandovar.

  “He, as in your sabbat god, is standing right in front of you,” Tallisun said. “Do not speak as though I am not here.”

  “Are you not aware that your brother, the god of Yule, bound himself to the earth realm?” Veramus asked.

  Of course he was aware. Dominus freed himself of a duty to ancient ritual that had apparently held as dubious a meaning for him as it did for Tallisun.

  Tallisun grunted. “Everyone for at least seven realms has heard of it.”

  “And Eradimus, god of Imbolc, is also now in the arms of his sabbat partner,” Sandovar added.

  “Yes, and I wish them well,” Tallisun said with forced patience. “My brother was in turmoil over his Brighid for far too long.”

  “Now you have suddenly decided to choose the spring maiden,” Veramus said.

  Tallisun folded his arms. “And what of it?”

  “Do you not find it strange that each of you in turn are having, shall we say, unique experiences during your sabbats?” Veramus persisted.

  “Well, it is the year of the Thousand Seasons. It is a time of change for us all.” Tallisun shrugged. “Do not look so alarmed. The Counsel has long groused that the god of Ostara has not taken enough of a direct hand in guiding the sabbat. You should be pleased that I am doing so now.”

  “So you have no interest in reviewing the other potentials?” Sandovar asked.

  Tallisun shook his head. “Harper shall be the one, and I will not be delayed further in securing consent. Send me back. And don’t wait up.” He gave the men a wicked grin.

  “You must return to make ready, and so the woman can be transported to the sacred location.”

  “I will select a location as well.” For what could be more sacred than the woods in springtime?

  “But,” Veramus again tried.

  “Return my pendant, Counselor,” he said, holding out his hand. “Or I shall report to my father that while I was preparing for the sabbat, you were acting against its interests.”

  Tallisun stood there, his hand still out, until Counselor Veramus sighed. “Very well. But you must come back for reflection and proper attire before the ritual commences.”

  He handed over the pendant, and Tallisun secured it around his neck. “I will return to prepare myself. But do keep in mind, how I choose to reflect and attire myself is up to me. I am, after all, the god of the sabbat, am I not?”

  He did not give the counselors a chance to reply before he cleared his thoughts, focused on his destination, and took hold of the veil charm. He prayed she would still be there, willing to meet the challenge he had every intention of winning. Yes, this year’s sabbat was becoming an unusual one. But he saw nothing wrong with truly enjoying the female selected for the ritual. At dawn, he would win the right to lay Harper on the altar and celebrate the spring.

  ***

  Harper checked her watch for the hundredth time and yanked on the elastic band securing her hair. Twenty-five after. The sky above was still dim, but a gray wash crept over the darkness. Dawn would come before long, but she hadn’t seen Tallisun since he’d winked out some time earlier.

  She sat on her canvas folding chair, glancing at the campfire that had almost gone out. For much of the night, staring into the flames did little more than call up images of Tallisun and how foolish she’d been to take his proposition seriously. Gathering her hair up into a fresh ponytail, she secured it with the elastic and sighed.

  “I must be the world’s biggest idiot,” she murmured.

  She had managed to eat, but sleep had been another matter. She’d laid in the tent on her cot, her thoughts racing back and forth between what she had agreed to and the man she’d agreed, potentially, to do it with. It had taken forever to doze off, and after just a few hours, she’d popped wide awake and given up.

  Tallisun was all sorts of wrong for her, but then, he wasn’t asking to go steady. All he wanted was some kind of ritualized roll in the sheets, and what was wrong with that? She’d had a one-nighter or two in her day and been fine with it afterward. Why not take advantage of a searing gaze, hot muscles, and the impressive bulge between his legs? She could walk away clean. Hell, she could have just agreed to his offer for the sake of a good orgasm, had it not been for his irritating presumption that she would swoon at the mere suggestion. Plus he thought she was a clumsy, incompetent female who had no business being out in the woods, let alone hunting. The god of spring could stand a lesson or two in girl power, and she would be happy to make him work for the panties other women apparently threw at his feet.

  She got up to pee, stretching her arms and legs before heading for the tent. She could just call it and pack out early. Tallisun had said he would return, but there had been no sign of him. Or was he trying to trick her into thinking he’d gone away so he could catch her unawares at the break of dawn?

  She ducked inside the tent and dug through her bag for the roll of camping-style toilet paper. The current brand was a bit sandpapery for her taste, but it beat using leaves. Sort of. She whirled back around, intending to head back out, but she froze when she spied the cot. There, lying on her favorite pillow, lay Tallisun’s veil pendant.

  The gem winked and glowed, shimmering in a way that made her wonder how on earth she had managed not to see it as soon as she’d come in—nor had she seen him. How long had the gem been there?

  “Tallisun?” she called out.

  No reply. She stuck her head out of the tent, but saw no one.

  She glanced at her watch again and swore softly. She clearly had an answer as to whether the game was on, and there wasn’t much time left to get ready.

  During her quick pit stop in the woods, she finished formulating the strategy that she had begun mulling over while staring at the tent ceiling during the night. When she came back to camp, her heart gave a little skip. Tallisun was seated in her chair.

  “Giving up so soon?” she asked, tossing the toilet paper into her tent.

  “Dawn approaches,” he said, rising to face her. “I just wanted to make certain you did not simply want to surrender yourself.”

&n
bsp; She made a face at him. “You wish.”

  He smiled. “Not really. I do think I shall enjoy this hunt.”

  He was tall, which was nice for a girl who had sprouted up so much during the summer of junior year that at least half of the guys never caught up. His hair hung long around his shoulders, which were still bare, save the tattoo. The bow and quiver leaned against the large cooler beside her chair.

  “So how do we do this?” she asked. “Take off in different directions?”

  He seemed to consider that. “A fair assumption. At the call of dawn, we will spend, say, the first ten minutes getting underway. After that, all is fair game.”

  “Sounds reasonable.”

  “I can be quite reasonable.”

  “I never would have guessed.”

  Their eyes held, and for a fleeting moment, she wanted to send the challenge to hell and kiss him. When he licked his smiling lips, she wondered whether he was thinking the same thing.

  “No reason we can’t just get started now,” she blurted out, feeling the warmth in her cheeks. “I mean, we’re just standing here.”

  “Sounds like you are in a hurry for me to win.”

  She snorted. “I’m in a hurry to show you all the ways in which you’re wrong.” He reached for his quiver, but she stepped forward. “Do you really need the bow and arrows? You’re not planning to shoot at me again, are you?”

  “I didn’t shoot at you.”

  “If it’s all the same to you, let’s have a no weapons rule.”

  He shrugged. “If it would make you feel better.”

  “Much.”

  He bent close, and she feared he was truly about to kiss her. What would she do if he did? She could almost feel her panties chafing, eager to be dropped to her ankles.

  “Last chance,” he whispered, very near her lips. He was deliberately taunting her.

  Her heart wobbled, sputtered, and took a moment to restart normally. She spun around. “We’ll start back to back.”

  She waited, tense, until he swiveled around and pressed his back to hers. The contact heated her blood, and the side benefit was a surge of adrenaline that would help when it came time to evade the man who was after her favors.

  “Go,” she said, and they parted. She heard her feet as she crashed into the woods, but not a sound from the other direction. She got behind a tree and turned for a moment, just to reassure herself that he had, in fact, moved—and that he wasn’t following her. He was nowhere in sight.

  “And no cheating,” she called out, and then she headed into the woods.

  Hunting someone else while trying to evade capture herself would prove an interesting challenge. If she’d taken him up on his original offer, she could spend her head start finding the perfect hiding spot, camouflage herself, and simply wait out the time. But hiding wouldn’t help her get to him first.

  After a few minutes, she veered off and began circling the campsite. She could make her way over to where Tallisun had set off, presuming he had gone straight in the direction he’d been facing. According to the rules she herself had made, she couldn’t start tracking him until the deadline, but if she headed the right direction, she’d be in a better position to pick him up when the time came. Presuming he wasn’t doing the exact same thing. He could be headed straight for her or circling around the opposite direction.

  She snapped a twig with her hiking boot and cursed silently. He had made fun of her for blundering into his hunt, and her clumsiness wasn’t making matters better. Tallisun was quiet on his feet, she’d give him that. She glanced down and frowned at the lovely trail of boot prints she was leaving. Picking up the twig, she scraped leaves over several to hide them. She didn’t have time to go back and obliterate all traces, however. She’d just be more careful from here on.

  She slowed her steps, dividing her time between checking the ground before stepping, gaging her travels around the campsite, and keeping an eye on her surroundings. A small sound stopped her, and she changed direction to check out the distraction. Birds hopped around a small clearing, pecking through dew-soaked leaves in search of an early breakfast. As she stood watching, an idea formed.

  A few promising-sized stones were scattered around, and she gathered them. Just about the time she estimated she might cross Tallisun’s path, she moved in closer to the camp and chucked a rock as far to the opposite side as she could. She adjusted her aim by several feet and threw another, hopefully making it seem like she was in a section of the woods on the far side of the camp, close to the lake.

  Ten minutes was almost up, as was the sun. The forest lit to an ash gray, and she heard a few more sounds as creatures began to stir in their respective homes. She turned back now to pick her way along the area near to, but not right on, the straight line she was hoping Tallisun had taken. She kept low, praying she wouldn’t be spotted sneaking around, ducking behind trees and between bushes that were far enough apart that she wouldn’t give herself away by having to push through them. Light filtered through the woods in large patches here, and she did her best to stick to the shadows.

  A glance at her watch confirmed that hiding time was over. The hunt was officially on.

  She stopped to take a look around. Tallisun was tall, but she couldn’t spot him. She needed a better vantage point.

  The tree beside her extended a low-hanging branch, and after taking a moment to test her footing, she hoisted herself up. Her fellow hunter might be stealthy on the ground, but she had practically lived in trees as a child. Holding her breath and barely rattling a leaf, she pulled herself partway up, high enough to hide among the branches while still being able to see out.

  Her first scan took her along his presumed trajectory, straight off from camp. Nothing. Nor was he visible where her path had first taken her. Perhaps he had gone deep into his side of the woods and was waiting for her to come to him. Possible, but unlikely. He would want to demonstrate his ability to track and hunt, not lie in wait.

  Movement in the brush attracted her attention from a ways off, and she stared that way for a minute, waiting to see if it was him. She couldn’t tell, and sitting in the tree forever wasn’t going to get her very far. She was going to have to start tracking.

  Getting down took a bit more doing than climbing up, but she was soon on the ground and making her way to his starting point. Staying out of sight, she checked the dirt and surrounding brush carefully for signs. Soon, she found them. His footfalls were light and, in several places, obscured. He had tried to cover his tracks. They headed out away from the camp, just as she’d done at first. She followed a bent twig here, a footstep there, and tracked his path to a spot where she froze. The steps doubled back, then headed sideways.

  She allowed a tight smile. He’d done the same thing she had, only heading back around the far side. They were circling each other, and if he kept going, he would come right back around to this spot. Which gave her an idea.

  With a moment’s hesitation, she stripped down to bra and panties. The overnight chill still hung in the air, and she fought off a shiver as she worked. She used leaves and clumps of brush nearby, stuffing them into the shirt and pants as quietly as she could, which was no simple matter. When the clothing was more or less plumped, she spent a good amount of time arranging them near the base of the tree. The pants weren’t too difficult to make appear like someone’s legs were in them, kneeling down. The shirt was a bit tougher and didn’t want to maintain its shape. She threw glances behind her often, stopping to listen for any sign of him gaining on her. Birds trilled encouragement from the trees, and after two more attempts, she finally got it right. It was far from perfect, but from the shadows and the angle he would approach from, it would look as though she was crouched by the tree, peeking around it while he snuck up from behind.

  With a satisfied grin, she jammed her feet back into her shoes and glanced up the tree again. This climb wouldn’t be as fun. For all her climbing experience, she’d never attempted it wearing only a bra, panties, an
d hiking boots. Gritting her teeth, she took hold of the lower branch and made her ascent, stifling a grunt by biting her lip when she scraped her bare shins and once, her midriff. This time, she hefted herself onto a branch on the opposite side of the tree, facing the direction she hoped Tallisun was coming from. If he didn’t, if he doubled back and came from the front, the ruse would be up. He would see immediately that the stuffed dummy had no head.

  Panting softly, her palms throbbing from clinging to the rough bark, she kept very still and waited. A good deal of patience came and went, and by the time the cold morning had soaked through to the bone, she began to doubt her brilliant scheme. Maybe he wouldn’t head this way at all, and she was freezing her nipples off for nothing. He could be over by where she’d first headed, trying to pick up her trail. Or maybe he had taken her idea of lying in wait, in which case the two of them would sit around until time was up. The challenge would be a tie then, she supposed. With a frown, she realized they hadn’t thought to declare the stakes in that case.

  By this time, the hard branch was pressing painfully into her almost bare rear. She shifted, and as she did so, she set loose a few rustling leaves. Even worse, she heard another faint rustle nearby. She sucked in a breath and waited, and moments later, she caught the slight, but obvious movement. It was Tallisun.

  She prayed he hadn’t noticed the tree shake, and she tried to calm the shiver in her limbs while he approached. She watched in admiration as his eyes scanned the area, his footsteps light and sure, his muscles flexing and obeying his every graceful command. He didn’t need an invisibility gem to make him a stealthy hunter. Every inch of his body had been honed for the task. The antlers were the only disadvantage. Their size would make it difficult for him to make his way through narrow spaces or beneath low branches.

  He stopped short when he spotted her dummy, and she resisted the urge to pull back deeper under the cover of the tree. Any slight movement could vibrate the branch and disturb more leaves, or the motion itself could catch his eye. He didn’t look up, though. He was focused on the “woman” crouched at the base of the tree.