by Conn, Claudy
Or maybe lingering there was just what we both had, indeed, intended. The world was falling down around our ears, but it felt so good to be in his arms where he took me away from it all … even if it was just for a little while.
When we were dressed and had checked in on Sally, we heard someone at the front door. Danté put his head in his hands and said, “Deliver me from youngsters. It is Trevor.”
We went together, and Danté opened the front door to find his young brother, now in human Glamour, styled to the nines in Armani jeans and a dark blue sweater, beaming up at him and exploding onto the scene. “Council is finished with me, said I should report to you, so here I am. What’s next?”
He walked in past us and asked, “Are we going to go and save our queen? Have you found out where she is? I am going to kill Gaiscioch with my own two hands, and then shall we go after this Pestale Unseelie thing?”
“Trevor,” Danté cut in to stem the flow.
“Huh?”
“Report to Breslyn and Ete … I think they have their hands full, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they send you to protect Daremont Carrick and BJ near Swords, Ireland. The Carricks’ Dolmen is in danger. They are both mortal, and they are sure to need your help defending it.”
His face fell, and I almost giggled. “But Danté,” he said, “I want to go with you and Radzia.” He turned and grinned at me. “She is going to be my sister, isn’t she? Damn glad of it.”
Danté playfully slapped him across the side of his head and sighed. “Trev, we are off for Dravo. I need to consult with Chancemont about an idea I have, and then we have to find a way of locating our queen.”
“I’ll go with you,” Trevor said, and I caught something in the glint of his eyes that made me think of Lana. Sure, Danté’s brother’s interest had been piqued. Any opportunity to connect with Chance’s sister.
“Let him join us, Danté,” I said softly. “It will be a good experience for him.”
Trevor threw me a grateful glance, and I watched as Danté looked him over. He looked like a young blood, and I could see a light of approval in Danté’s eyes. Of course, Danté didn’t have a clue that Trevor’s main interest in joining us on our visit to Dravo was because of Lana. I smiled to myself as I imagined what Danté would think about his brother and a Milesian.
We arrived in Dravo just outside Chance’s family retreat, a beautifully styled medieval castle totally incongruous with some of the modern habitats in the nearby village. I am always struck by Dravo, which is such a complete wonder, a place with ancient and modern coming together and cohabiting in perfect harmony. It is so very charming.
We didn’t need to bang the huge doorknocker, as Chance’s voice at our backs came loud and clear. “What the devil are ye doing here again?” He was smiling as he took long, hard strides across his cobbled courtyard and added, “No, don’t tell me—I know, ye just coona do without me.”
I went towards him first, felt Danté take hold of my elbow and squeeze, and slowed my progress. No need to set them at each other, so I took a backseat and allowed Danté to go forward, hand outstretched. I was surprised when Chance took it and they actually seemed to appreciate one another. It was amazing what fighting on the same side could do.
“Well then, lovey,” he said, winking at me, “what can I be doing fer ye?”
“Turn it off, Milesian. We have to get to work,” Danté answered impatiently.
However, another matter attracted Chance’s attention, and he groaned as he heard his sister call out, “Trevor!”
We watched Lana rush up to Danté’s young and grinning brother, and then we watched for a moment as the two lapsed into another world—their very own.
Chance shook his head and returned his attention to Danté. “That young’un of yours needs some curbing.”
“Ugh, aye,” moaned Danté. Having watched the two, he’d obviously become all too aware that something was going on between Chancemont’s sister and his brother—something that was sure to complicate his life.
“Better keep an eye on him lest he fall into m’black book, if ye catch m’meaning.”
“If it were to come to that, which it won’t, she couldn’t do better than my Trevor.”
“Is that so? I will ’ave ye know that—”
“Enough. We have real problems to solve,” I stuck in. Taking a backseat didn’t work at all. I would remember that in the future when it came to these two males. Just way too much male thing going on. “Our queen is stuck in a place called Monlow of the green and yellow with two moons. Do you have any idea where we might find that dimension?”
“No, I doona think I ’ave ever heard of it. I’ll be asking m’da when he returns. We have to get your queen back, as she is the only one that can close the largest of the portals. She is the only one that can drive the darkest of the black magic back on Samhain. We canna have these monsters running amok.”
“Do you think your father will know where the dimension is?” Danté asked.
“If he doesn’t, he knows someone who will.”
“Who?” I asked curiously.
“The Wizard Rysdale. They be old friends, and I know m’da can enlist his help.” He turned and stared at his pretty sister a moment before saying sharply, “Eh there, lass, we have to go find Da. Are ye with me?”
She smiled at him and turned reluctantly towards Trevor, and I felt all warm for her. First and young love is adorable. I sighed and saw that both Danté and Chance did not find it adorable at all.
“Later then, Royal buck,” Lana said to Trevor as she flicked his chin and gave him a come hither look that was sure to make him remember her. “Ye and me and that music ye promised.”
* * *
I stopped the tears that fell against my cheek—they were for myself, and I would not pity myself. I had lost my favorite, most amusing and youngest brother. It was difficult to imagine the future without his youthful ways. However, I was Pestale, highest-ranking Dark Royal, and I wouldn’t allow myself to wallow in grief.
I had thought the last time I would ever cry was on the day my father abandoned me—would not listen to my explanation …
I had convinced myself that the emotions my father taught me to feel during my ‘training and learning’ time were useless things—harmful things—and yet … I grieved for my loss.
He was my most loyal and favorite brother. My remaining two were helpless to understand their loss—they were not taught true emotions. By the time my father had created them he was no longer was interested in instilling them with empathy.
They looked disoriented and confused, and I supposed that was their form of grief and loss.
We put his body in a tomb and set it in the tower at the top of the Castle. Morrigu stood with us, and she cried.
I stayed on, after the others left, and lost myself for a moment and fell against the cold stone tomb, but I stilled my tears and turned them into desire—desire for revenge. Ah, but I vowed vengeance as I hugged his tomb.
First, I would kill the little Milesian female who had murdered my brother. Then I would go after all the rest of them, all of them that had stood and watched his pain and done nothing …
A twit of a girl had dared to kill a Royal … my brother, who had been under my protection. I would have her head.
I had a plan, and I meant to begin its machinations within the hour. Now, if only Gais would kill their Queen Aaibhe; it would be the first in a list of horrors the Seelie Fae would have to endure, and that was what I want for them: horror—raw and bloody.
* * *
As it turned out, before Chance left with his sister in search of his father, that gentleman arrived on the scene. Father and son exchanged a few words, and then Chance’s father (who by the way was a slightly older version of Chance and therefore a hunk, as Milesian don’t age either) nodded to us. He said he was on his way to meet Prince Breslyn and round up a few Dark Fae roaming through the streets of Dublin.
“Then, Da … you think Rysd
ale won’t mind receiving us unannounced?” Chance asked, still evidently uncertain.
His father laughed. “He will be pleased—well pleased to help. You had better hurry though, lad. We are running out of time.”
Chance glanced at us and said, “Ready then … it won’t be like anything you’ve ever encountered before.”
“Where to? Another dimension?” I asked.
He laughed. “In a manner of speaking. We are going to the Wizard’s Lair, outside of Dublin.” He turned to his sister. “You—stay.”
“No, I’m coming with you, Chance. I’m safer with you than alone,” she pleaded.
His face scrunched up, and he sighed heavily before he said, “Right then … let’s go, because like Da said, we have so little time left.”
A moment later, we stood in the middle of a forest and I thought I had stepped out onto the pages of a Grimm’s fairytale. It reminded me of Hansel and Gretel; I half expected a witch to appear and rub her hands together.
A stone footpath took us to the front door of what appeared to be an absolutely charming small cottage. Flowers bloomed in pots and window boxes, and the smoke from a fire floated above the chimney. However, oddly enough, the place did not set me at ease, because when I glanced over the outside of the cottage, I realized it seemed hazy and out of focus. Oooh, deep, strong magic at work here—not necessarily Dark Magic, but different … potent.
The door opened wide on its own. No one was there, but it seemed to be an invitation. Still not feeling easy about this, I took Danté’s hand. I noticed Lana take Trevor’s, but that was short lived; her brother immediately separated them, held her hand himself, and glared across at young Trevor, who moved respectfully to one side If the world weren’t about to fall apart, this would have been entertaining, but at the moment I didn’t feel much like laughing.
Danté led me forward, Chance followed with Lana, and Trevor brought up the rear. As we stepped inside I got the full essence of this wizard’s power.
The outside looked like a small cottage, but the inside, whoa … the inside was a huge medieval castle whose stone flooring and stone walls were decorated in the style of the thirteen hundreds. The central hall displayed the heart of a castle that was huge and stretched out before us—nothing like the charming cottage we saw outside.
I felt my mouth drop. Nothing was as it seemed. I saw ahead in the large great room furniture that was medieval in design and weapons that, while they looked like ancient swords, gave off vibes that felt like something else altogether. What I couldn’t figure out, because they were clothed in a magic that was not of this world.
And then we saw him—the wizard.
He was tall and lean. He wore a pointed blue hat that sparkled with luminous glitter shaped like stars over a head of luxurious white hair. His eyebrows were made of the same thick, white hair, as was his long, pointed beard.
His blue eyes flashed with immediate understanding as he scanned us one by one. He stepped forward to extend his hand to Chance first, and heartily greeted him. “Hello, my boy … how goes your father?”
“He is well, sir.” Chance turned partially towards Danté and began his introductions. This done, the wizard directed us within the castle and took us past the great room and down a long corridor to the kitchen, where a small, roundish, and lovely woman with soft white, short wavy hair came forward with cookies and set them at the long oak table.
“Ah, Chance, you were very young when your father brought you here to us. Do you remember my dearest Charm?” the wizard offered softly.
Chance went forward, took her hand, and dropped a kiss there. “Aye then, how could I forget my lady, Charm?”
Again, introductions were concluded before we all sat and Charm busied herself pouring tea. As gentle and sweet as I believed she was, there was something about her that troubled me—something I couldn’t pinpoint.
Danté whispered in my ear, “Don’t keep staring at her. What you are feeling is the latent vampire in her. She was repaired by the wizard a thousand years ago.”
“Huh … how do you know that?”
“As soon as Chance told me where we were headed, I remembered the tales Breslyn has recounted to me about his friend the wizard. Rysdale comes from a dimension of wizards and has magic beyond our scope. Now, shush.”
I stopped staring, although it was even more difficult now. This sweet, elderly lady, obviously Rysdale’s lady, was a latent vampire? What did that even mean—a latent vampire?
However, Chance was explaining what had happened to our queen, and Rysdale the wizard was pushing his chair away from the table and saying, “Bring your cookies and come with me!”
I think I giggled, but Danté squeezed my arm and I stopped to growl at him. “Ouch.”
“Then behave,” he answered, unabashed.
We followed the wizard, who had already wiggled into my heart. He seemed to be Dumbledore come to life, and who doesn’t love Dumbledore? At any rate, we all filed into a huge room with a vast ceiling. Rysdale waved his wand, and it was as though a blank screen appeared, and suddenly there was Queen Aaibhe.
“Ah,” said Rysdale. “Another few moments and I shall have her coordinates …”
“No, Rysdale, old friend,” our queen said, making me jump. She heard us, saw us—how was that possible? And then she continued to speak in the sweet, all-knowing voice of hers. “I am sorry, but no one must come for me.” And without another word, the screen went blank. She had, by her own hand, cut the connection.
“Rysdale …?” Chance was frowning, and I think we were as well—except for Trevor, who had a cookie in his mouth and was swallowing hard. “What happened?”
“She has obliterated the connection. She will not allow me in. I am sorry, but until she wills it, I can not get the coordinates.”
“Rysdale—is there nothing you can do?” Danté asked on a low, frustrated note.
“Here is the sorry truth, my dears.” Rysdale pyramided his hands. “Your queen does not wish to be rescued at the moment, which leads me to believe she has a plan. Hence, my next question is this: do you still want to attempt a rescue against her wishes?”
We all exchanged glances and answered as one unit, “Yes.”
“Ah … then go and make yourselves comfortable, for this will take a little time and effort.”
* * *
Danté and I went out into the garden and sat on the arbor swing. He was deep in thought, but I interrupted his cogitations. “Why would the queen do that to us? Why send us away?”
“We can only assume her reasoning is valid,” Danté said absently.
“She is sacrificing herself, isn’t she?”
“She will only do that if she believes she can destroy Gaiscioch—then, yes, she would sacrifice herself.”
I discovered in that moment that I loved Aaibhe. Agitated, I got off the swing. “She can’t do that! For the good of the Seelie Fae, she can’t do that! Who would rule …?”
“She has been grooming Ete for the position, and now I know why. Aaibhe has the sight. She must have known something like this was coming …”
“Well, we won’t let it. When one has visions, it is for a reason—it is so you can change the outcome. I know that—in my heart I know that. Otherwise, what would be the purpose of it all? We are going to find a way to get to her out safely and kill the son of a bitch causing all this havoc. We will—damn it all to hell, Danté, we must.” And for some reason, this announcement reduced me to tears. I planted myself in Danté’s strong arms and wept heartily. It seemed to me at that moment I was doing a lot of weeping and I had to stop—had to get control. I sniffed myself out of my teariness and kissed his chest through the denim shirt he wore.
He whispered words of comfort, held up my chin, and softly said, “You are right, enfant. We will find and rescue our queen, and we will destroy Gaiscioch.” So saying, he took my hand and marched us back into the castle. Did he have a plan? Oh, I hoped my Danté had a plan, because this girl, the on
e who was supposedly ‘the prophecy’, didn’t.
~ Eight ~
HALLOWEEN EXCITEMENT WAS beginning to take over the city of Dublin. People in costumes were already traveling the streets. Revelers were singing and shouting as they made their way through Temple Bar, and no one had a clue that they were about to enter a war with monsters they hadn’t even known existed.
Musicians, many in costumes, played for tips on the avenue, and pubs seemed full to overflowing. I stood in human Glamour with my two remaining brothers and quietly took it all in. I found it all exciting beyond my imagination. This world was teaming with life, and that life sparked a series of sensations I hadn’t known I was capable of experiencing. Humans were so full of emotions, emotions that they allowed full rein …
There right on the street, for all the world to see, that man was screaming at the top of his lungs at another man … a fist fight ensued, and yet on the next corner, two lovers were holding hands …
I will make this world mine, I vowed. These humans make me ‘feel’, and I will enslave them and watch them until I have had my fill.
I saw the way they looked at me and my brothers and knew we stood out as quite exceptional. I had something now to compare our stature to, and we were, I saw, physically enticing. We would not even have to use our sexual magic to seduce …
I like that woman whose ass sways as she walks in those jeans she wears. I decided to have her first. She exuded sex appeal.
“Lovely girl … ” I called to her, and she turned to eye me. Her beautiful mouth dropped, and she walked back towards me. My brothers, I could tell, were excited. We would take her and use her until we were satiated.
She was between us, taking out her breasts, and as I fondled her on the street, people watched … It was exciting, but we needed to protect ourselves so I enacted a spell of concealment. My brother removed all her clothing, and he was already sodomizing her as I, I had my cock in her, and we pumped her together …
