Sloan stared at her, wide-eyed, as horror spread over her face. She pulled away from Neve's embrace.
"I have to go. My mother is there. He'll kill her if he finds her."
"Be reasonable, Sloan. It's too dangerous. Wait until we can all leave together, or at least until Brenna gets back with more information," I said.
"No. I can't." She squeezed through the part of the entrance she had exposed, Max right behind her. "I'll get the pozen seeds to you as soon as I can. I'll send someone with them if I have to."
I wanted to run after her, to force her to come to her senses, but Neve grabbed my arm to stop me.
"Let her go. She's always been too stubborn for her own good; she won't change her mind. We need to figure out a way to get these sick people moving so you and Alexander can go after her." Neither of us moved yet, reluctant to let her go. "Come on, our husbands are waiting."
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Neve and I traveled separately when we left the threshold. She headed to the Manor House to be with John while I went back to find Alexander at the camp.
The Banshees had moved on after delivering their message, continuing their tradition of wailing a short distance from the mourners. This lessened the intensity of their cries and made the atmosphere in the camp less scary and more mournful.
The twins had arrived at the camp during my absence. Their drawn faces told me that they had heard the news from the Otherworld.
"We need to leave right now," Rosheen hissed in a hushed voice. "Our parents—our people need us."
"I'm not saying we shouldn't go, but let's not be reckless. There's safety in numbers; we should wait for Tressa and Xander and all go together," Keelin said with intensity. Rosheen closed her eyes and shook her head several times before responding.
"Look around. These people haven't gotten any better, and maybe they never will. We can't afford to wait."
I scanned the sick fae around me with a sinking heart. Rosheen was right. The cold medicine kept them alive, but just. The end of the rain hadn't helped as much as I had hoped. Without more pozen seeds or some other new remedy, we were stuck here.
"I don't see Sloan," Alexander said, coming up beside me. "I guess you were too late?"
Tears came to my eyes; the strength of my emotions took me by surprise. I took a second to compose myself before speaking.
"We got there in time, but she went anyway."
Alexander wrapped his arms around me, and I rested my head on his shoulder.
"You're exhausted. You should go home and get some sleep, spend some time with Sophia. Do lighthearted things for a little while."
The tension in my body relaxed a bit. All those suggestions sounded good. Pushing my worries away for a while would be a relief. I didn't move though, happy to stay in his arms for the moment. That's when I heard it: the melodic sound of the harp. I jerked upright, startling Alexander.
"What's wrong?"
"It's that harp again. I have to find it." I rushed off, following the music into the woods. Alexander shouted after me; however I was determined to find the source of the music this time. I concentrated on the harp, blocking out the sound of Alexander following me. By the time he caught up to me, the music was louder, and I moved with confidence toward it.
Somewhere in my psyche I sensed the dark, hooded figure lurking in the shadows of the trees around us. I ignored the warning and focused all my senses on finding my target. Alexander didn't question me; he let me lead the way as he silently followed.
I came to a standstill in front of a broad tree, easily thirty feet around, with deep grooves that ran the length of its trunk. Full, lush evergreen branches sprouted from about two-thirds up the tall trunk. Its size and its excessive amount of bare trunk were telltale signs that the tree came from Faery.
"At…last. You…have…arrived," a voiced said, vibrating from inside the tree. Alexander jumped back several steps, pulling me with him. "I…almost…started…putting…down…roots." He sounded annoyed, and I swallowed before speaking.
"You must be the Treefolk visiting our estate. Welcome; we're honored you've come all this way to be with us. Is there something you need from me?" Alexander relaxed his grip on my arm as he understood who we were addressing.
"I…have…something…to…give…you." Three horizontal slits at the top of the exposed tree trunk, like a child's drawing of a face, became animated when he spoke.
"The harp?" I guessed.
"NO!" He shouted, and the sound reverberated through the forest. "The…Dagda…gifted…me the harp. It is mine by right."
"My apologies," I said, bowing my head. "I meant no harm."
He met my apology with silence. Alexander and I exchanged a questioning glance; neither of us knew what to do next. A hollow appeared between two exposed roots at the base of the Treefolk. If it had been there before, I hadn't noticed it.
"Look…there."
I approached him cautiously, with Alexander close behind me. I didn't know much about Treefolk and what abilities they might have; I didn't want to anger him again, just in case. It was too dark to see anything inside the opening except for a patch of gold edging. I reached in, feeling around to get a secure grasp on the object, and pulled it out. It was a cauldron, no bigger than a small mixing bowl. The rim had a design carved into it that was covered in gold leaf. Three two-inch feet were molded into the bottom to help it stay upright.
The Cauldron of the Dagda. It had to be. I gawked at it, forgetting to breathe. My certainty wavered when I looked down into the empty bowl. The Undry was empty?
"Is this what I think it is?" I asked, placing it on the ground as I reached into the hollow and pulled out a protective covering, a bag.
"Aye…given…to me by the Leprechauns sworn…to…protect…it."
"The Leprechauns with the harp tattoos! They were hiding the Dagda's cauldron. Who better to protect a cauldron than a Leprechaun?" Alexander sat on a large, moss-covered fallen tree trunk as he mused over the Treefolk's words. He unsheathed his sword and placed it point-down on the ground between his knees, resting his hands-on top of it. Later I would wonder if he had even been aware he had done this.
The underbrush rustled behind me. Before I could turn around, someone had wrapped an arm around my throat, pulling me up until I stood on my toes. Alexander jumped up, sword in hand, but he was too late. I felt the sharp edge of a knife at my throat.
"If you use that sword against me, I will die. But she'll go first," said a familiar voice.
"Ronan, what are you doing? Put the knife down and we all walk away." Alexander squeezed the hilt of the sword, fighting the urge to cut the King's Guardsman down.
"Hand over the cauldron and I'll leave her alone."
"You've gone to the Unseelie," I said, my voice quivering as I tried to turn my head so I could see him. "After all those years protecting the King. How could you?" I choked as he tightened his grip.
"Don't be daft. I haven't gone Unseelie. I'm protecting the Treasures for our people." One side of his mouth pulled up into an ugly sneer. "You can't be trusted, princess; not after giving one to a human and another to an Unseelie. They're unworthy of them."
I didn't respond. It wouldn't do any good to explain that I had nothing to do with who became the bearers of the Treasures. They picked their own masters.
"Ronan, think about it, man. If you kill the King's Jewel, the prophecy is done. It could be generations before another Jewel is born," Alexander said, changing tactics and speaking in a soothing, reasonable voice. But this only fueled the Sidhe's anger.
"Human, don't preach about Sidhe prophecies! You have no right to question me. Give me the cauldron or I will cut her throat." His hand shook with fury. The knife nicked my skin and I sucked in a painful breath.
Something whooshed past my ear, a sound that was becoming familiar, and Ronan released his grip on me. My trembling legs couldn't hold me and I crumbled to the ground. Alexander knelt next to me, pulling me into his arms, before I
figured out what had happened.
Ronan lay dead with an arrow through his eye. I turned away from the grotesque sight just before his body disappeared, and saw Lyle watching us from several yards away with a bow in his hands. When our eyes met, he lifted his hand and made his imaginary tip of his hat gesture before flitting away.
I sat on the damp ground in Alexander's arms, unable to move. Two amazing things had happened in the last twenty-four hours: I had married the love of my life, and I had found the third Treasure of the Tuatha dé Danann. Even so, I struggled to rejoice in these events after our plague of one catastrophe after another. I didn't have the strength to face what I felt certain was the next ordeal.
Alexander got up and helped me to my feet. He picked up the cauldron and examined the bowl as he brought it to me.
"It's empty. I wasn't expecting that."
"Not… empty." The Treefolk's voice startled me. Alexander and I shared a glance, then I reached in and pulled out a handful of pozen seeds.
A new energy permeated the camp. The coughing and wheezing had stopped, and everyone was out of their makeshift beds. The camp bustled as people prepared meals and readied themselves to return to Faery to join the fight. The sense of euphoria that had filled them when they had gone from gravely ill to instantly healthy had far outweighed their trepidation about the war.
Holly had arrived during our absence. She and Matt stayed off to the side, sitting in the chairs that still sat out in the sun. Matt held Trayce, supporting him under his arms as the baby stood bouncing in his lap. Holly laughed, curling her body toward Matt as she encouraged her son's play.
The twins had stopped arguing. They worked together to make sure everyone got fed, calmer now that the time grew close to return to the Otherworld.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Sophia sang out as she skipped in our direction. I loved my new title and grinned to hear it. "Keelin says we're going to visit Uncle Lomán and Aunt Ciara!"
My grin disappeared. I didn't like taking her into possible danger, However Alexander and I agreed that we couldn't go without her.
"That's right, a leanbh. We'll be leaving soon."
Suddenly, a cloud of a hundred dragonfly-winged Pixies came swirling into the camp, their high-pitched voices chattering over each other. Behind the swarm of tiny fae floated Bridget, our family's Banshee—young, beautiful and dressed all in white. She had been the owl I'd noticed earlier.
Kerry broke out of the pack and flew to Sophia, who walked off with her. Brenna landed on my shoulder and collapsed into a sobbing mess.
"Brenna, what's happened?" I asked, continuing to stare at Bridget. Instead of answering, Brenna's sobs got louder. I scooped her up and held her in front of me. "Brenna?"
"Tir na nÓg has fallen. King Lomán is dead."
Thanks for reading Deaglan's Deception. Tressa and Alexander's story continues
in the fourth book of The King's Jewel series, coming in late 2017.
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Holly has vowed never to lay eyes on her abusive husband again. When he comes up on trial for murder, both sides pressure her to testify for them. Holly must choose between keeping her vow or succumbing to her family's wishes.
Set in the world of The King's Jewel Series, between Tressa's Treasures and Xander's Folly (contains spoilers for Tressa's Treasures)
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More Books by Belinda M Gordon:
Tressa's Treasures
Book 1 of the King's Jewel Series
Xander's Folly
Book 2 of the King's Jewel Series
About the Author:
Belinda M Gordon was born and raised in Pennsylvania and currently lives in Northeastern PA in the Pocono Mountains with her wonderfully supportive husband, her thoughtful easy-going son, and two delightful dogs. She is of Irish heritage, which is how she became interested in Celtic Mythology. She used the Celtic Mythology, specifically of Ireland, as the starting point of her Romance/Fantasy series, The King's Jewel.
To learn more about Belinda visit her website at www.belinda-gordon.com
Deaglan's Deception Page 17
