His lips rested near hers and he breathed deep, tasting her spirit’s essence, drinking it in. “Ah…yes. So ripe. So pure. Few Tuatha can claim such uncontaminated blood. But you, my dear. You are as close to the First Ones as can be found in these muddied days.”
Garethan drew back, his eyes boiling with ancient knowledge…treacherous knowledge. “I have been searching for so very long, Earie, and you were right under my wings this entire time.”
Dread settled like a stone in Eristta’s heart. What did you call me?
Another foul smile, and before her eyes the sorcerer shifted—
“Did you think it merely coincidence that your parents happened upon a poor, victimized firewhit at such an opportune moment?”
No. No…
Eristta’s mind refused to process what her eyes were witnessing. Her heart refused to accept what it was being shown.
The firewhit zoomed closer. Close enough for Eristta to see each and every feature of her best friend’s face and body. Every recognizable vein in his wings. Even the unmistakable scar on his upper chest from the carrion bird’s claw.
No, Eristta choked out. No! Her eyes—wild. Her mind and heart—fractured. It’s not true.
Darous twittered backward, hands on his hips. “Think, Eristta. How is it the Unsellie were able to take the Winter Kingdome’s women and children each time without battle? Or your father…”
Eristta placed her spirit hands over her ears, even though she knew it was a useless gesture. Stop!
“How is it that I ensorcelled your entire Kingdome and no other? That I knew about the Phoenix? Drew her there to Whitecliff?”
Anguish spilled from Eristta in waves. But your plan failed, sorcerer. You were defeated!
“Not true,” came Garethan’s voice through the firewhit’s tiny mouth. “It was only the beginning.” Darous charged forward, his expression twisted with hate and filled with an immoral power that left Eristta bereft of any hope, any emotions other than pure agony—and hatred. “The shaping of worlds. The shift of power from order to chaos.”
The firewhit shimmered, then morphed back into the creature of shadows. Garethan loomed before her, glowing with a mirrored darkness that seemed to absorb all light. “Then, of course, there is the fact that I knew about your lover’s pendants. Knew about them, but not how to use them. For they do not respond to me, or any of my subordinates. It is something in the blood, I believe. The purity. He has it. Pure Terran.” His gaze fasted on her. “You have it. Pure Tuatha.”
Eristta shuddered. The women. The children. That is why you have been taking them. You have been searching for one of pure blood.
Raising a shimmering crimson hand, Garethan brushed Eristta’s cheek. Loathing slammed into her, making her gasp, leaving her physically ill, despite the fact that she was merely a shade in a world of mist and light. “Of course. What other use would I have with the Tuatha? You have all become weak, pathetic creatures. Much like your terran counterparts. I have been searching for a way to make use of the shaman’s pendants since his timely arrival so long ago. I knew of their power, but not how to master them—until now.”
Eristta struggled to think clearly. Fought to free herself from the hammering burden of knowledge. Of betrayal. I mustn’t let him use me. I mustn’t—
Feeling a tug, Eristta’s spirit gaze cut to her prone body. Someone was lifting her, holding her.
Red Claw!
As the shaman turned, Eristta’s joy dissolved like pixie dust in a heavy rain. His eyes were empty, searing black pits. Nothing remained of the powerful warrior that had possessed her body, heart and soul just moments before.
No!
Her mental screech reached even the fleeing sprites in the forest proper, adding to the cacophony of distressed creatures all working to stay ahead of the fast-moving golems.
Where is he, sorcerer! Eristta thrashed within the funnel of light, fury and horror leaving her feral with hate. With grief. I will destroy you! I will curse you with—
A band of crimson magick covered her mouth, effectively silencing her. Garethan clucked his tongue. “That will never do. We have much to prepare for, princess, you and I.”
Her gaze swiveled back to her body, and Eristta understood. The sorcerer would use her spirit and the shell of Red Claw’s body to activate the pendants. With the shaman’s spirit removed, his body was fully under the sorcerer’s control, and with her body immobile, Eristta’s spirit was bound by the sorcerer’s magick.
Eristta’s eyes conveyed her question: why? The sorcerer chuckled as he wrapped Eristta’s spirit ever tighter in his ensorcelled web, preparing them for movement. “The sacred portals are too volatile, as you know, to maintain with any regularity. Certainly not for what I have planned.”
I’ve been thinking…perhaps it is time to rejoin them…
Garethan’s words to Red Claw during their confrontation at the gateway to Earth filled Eristta’s mind. You will rebind the worlds.
His bonds complete, Garethan stepped back and smirked. “I can sense your understanding, princess. With your assistance, I will rebind the worlds.” The sorcerer turned toward the portal. “And with his might, there will be none here nor on your sister world, who can oppose me.”
Thinking he meant Red Claw, Eristta’s attention shifted to the shaman’s shell as he carried her limp body between the marching tides of golems heading south. A wrenching gale shattered Eristta’s focus. The daerie currents stretched and bucked, throwing Eristta against the sorcerer who held her firmly, facing her toward the portal.
“Look, princess,” he hissed near her ear. “See the absolute destruction of your kind.”
Eristta’s eyes widened, and her mouth gaped. A massive clawed foot slammed onto Spring Kingdome soil. Another followed the first, then in one giant leap, the beast erupted into Tir na n-Og.
Images of legends long past swept through Eristta’s mind’s eye, but none could compare to what she was witnessing. The noble dragons in her brother’s ancient texts did not match the beast that unfurled itself upon the land below her. This creature was twice the size of what she recalled from Ser’s books. Scales iridescent as the midnight sky under a silver moon coated the creature’s entire body and rippled with each movement, no matter how small. Its head was crested with crimson spines as long as a three year-old oak and nearly as thick. And the beast’s eyes…
The dragon turned its head as if sensing her and roared. It was not a physical bellow as much as it was a concussion of sound that penetrated the ether like the finest edged dwarven blade. Eristta braced herself as the blast roared over her, causing her spirit to tremble and quake.
Pure power. Wild supremacy.
And something else. Eristta forced her eyes open, her heart fluttering uncontrollably. Hatred. A pain and hatred so deep, Eristta felt polluted by its presence.
“Is it not beautiful?”
Garethan’s voice seemed like a nattering pixie compared to the power of the beast, and Eristta didn’t bother to answer him. This must be the creature Red Claw spoke of. The Unhcegila. Devourer of worlds.
Eristta could believe it. Not only was the beast massive, it possessed raw magick at its most volatile level. She could sense that even without use of her danu awen. See it in every line of the creature’s supple yet heavily muscled body. Comprehend its intelligence from the brilliant depth of its mirrored silver gaze.
The beast roared again and snapped open leathery wings. Trees shattered. Golems were flung or crushed.
Eristta could only stare in astonishment as twilight poured through the great wyrm’s wings, illuminating every vein and bony ridge. She knew instinctively that its wings were as tough as spelled keffa silk and nearly as light, if not more so.
“Be gentle,” came Garethan’s honeyed voice, and Eristta found herself floating with the sorcerer nearer to the great beast. “The time comes when you will be free to exact your revenge on the creatures that destroyed your ancestors and exiled you to a world devoid
of sustenance.”
As they drew within a few precious feet, Eristta found herself attempting to hold her breath. The great wyrm was massive, his presence flooding the daerie currents with his unfettered danu awen. Garethan skillfully surrounded them with a shielding cocoon, buffeting the effects.
He is beautiful.
Eristta couldn’t help her thoughts. She was in awe of the beast, despite her fear. Garethan was right—this creature could very well sway the balance between order and chaos. Shifting her attention to Garethan, Eristta studied the sorcerer closely. How much control did he exercise over the creature?
He brought them alongside the beast, and Eristta couldn’t help but gasp as the dragon leveled them with its glassy, silver eyes. There were stars within its gaze. Worlds. Memories so deep and old Eristta knew its gaze could mesmerize without assistance of a spell or charm. She looked away.
Listen, Garethan mind-spoke to the beast. Come, let me show you the creatures who masterminded the genocide of your race.
“You will do more than that, Ssssorcerer,” came a reverberating hiss. Unable to stop herself, she turned back to the great wyrm. Its gaze rested on her, bound within the sorcerer’s web, and Eristta felt a familiar pull. But it was gentle…nearly imperceptible.
The dragon?
Without warning, the beast extended its wings again, this time lifting free of the ground in a mighty upward rush. That a creature so large could affect such a flawless maneuver was astounding.
“Now, Sorcerer. My heart hungerssss for blood. For retribution.”
The dragon’s words chilled Eristta to her core. The beast’s spirit cried for vengeance, and there was no question who Garethan would point the creature toward.
And she was powerless to stop them.
Chapter Fourteen
“Anything?”
Serosen shook his head, hair slicing forward to hide his scowl. Where could they be? He’d been certain that if they risked spirit-travel, they’d quickly encounter Red Claw and Eristta. Even Selena had come up empty. It was as if they no longer existed—yet—they were not gone.
Very much like his brother. And father.
“It makes no sense,” his bride hissed as she paced, keeping part of her attention fixed on the army marching a few hundred yards to the south. “I sensed them before…I still sense their life-forces. But not their physical or spiritual presence!”
Taking her shoulders, Serosen forced her to a stop. “Selena, the Phoenix, is she still—”
“Curiously absent?” Selena snorted and pressed her hands to the bridge of her nose. “Yes. Five days now. It feels so odd, to know she is there, yet—not.” Leaning into her husband’s arms, Selena rested her cheek against his chest. “She is simply unavailable. Why would that be? What if we need her?”
Serosen’s instincts pricked at his wife’s tone of distress. “I do not know what is motivating her choices, but we have to assume they are in your best interest, Mi’awen.”
He hoped to Goddess Danu they were. If there were other reasons, Serosen feared the necessity of losing their greatest and wisest ally.
They would be at Tee’amon in a half-day’s march. Of the twenty spies they’d dispatched, only five had returned, and those five spoke of the unspeakable speed in which the golems had traveled and the destruction and horror the creatures had left in their wake. They would have to work to defend the city in areas where very little strategic maneuvering could be deployed. When his uncle’s forces had joined them at midday, Serosen had been acutely disappointed in their numbers. Barely enough to make a difference—if the golems broke their lines. If Garethan was unable to properly manage his untrained beasts.
They might stand a chance.
Placing a hand on Selena’s abdomen, Serosen worked to temper his own concerns. “It is nothing we can resolve now. We have to focus on the battle ahead. Of preparing our people to do what is necessary.”
Selena pulled back, her azure gaze laced with worry and determination. “After the shock to the daerie, there has been a ripple in the current that feels foreign, but I cannot track it.”
Serosen studied his wife’s face, fingers of unease spreading further through his body. “I too, have sensed it. But like Eristta and Red Claw, it is elusive.”
He didn’t add that what he’d been sensing also felt massive, causing a serious fluctuation in the natural magickal currents of Tir na n-Og. There was no time to ponder why, or what might have caused it.
He took Selena’s sun-browned hand. “Perhaps it is time to pray to your god. Perhaps he will grant us his favor.”
His wife’s somber expression told him she took his words to heart. “I have been asking for his guidance from the first day I set foot in Tir na n-Og, my dark prince. So far he’s been very accommodating.”
Kissing the top of his wife’s head, Serosen also prayed. Asking for help. Hoping for an answer to the mystery of his family and friend’s disappearances. To the obvious dilemma they found themselves in.
* * * * *
Blinding color bisected inky darkness. Flashes. Pulses of green. Of gold. Of colors indescribable.
Red Claw knew where he was. Trapped. In the space between worlds. Not the world of spirit, though like it in many ways. It was the foundation on which the ancients had created the portals between Earth and Tir na n-Og. It was a roadway of unmolded, unfettered spiritual currents. Ones not bound by nature, or laws, or structure.
A dangerous place to be. A deadly place.
I must find a fissure that will allow me exit.
The shaman could not judge how long he’d been there. Or even how he’d been so thoroughly trapped. He did know that he’d failed his love. Failed his friends. Failed himself.
He could only imagine what was being done with his body, if indeed he still had one. The thought was not nearly as painful as the one of Eristta.
My beloved…
There was no reaching her from where he was now. It took all his power to keep his spirit form shielded from the wild magick that bisected the between space.
Stay focused.
Red Claw floated within the undulating currents, searching. Garethan had been one step ahead of them at each turn. How was that possible?
The knowledge ate at him. As if he were missing something so simple. His only consolation was the moment Eristta and he had shared before their abrupt separation. She had given him her heart. Her love had filled his entire being with power and beauty beyond anything Red Claw imagined possible.
And he had failed to protect it.
Fury burned through him, fueling his search, his determination.
I must find a way out! Mato! Where are you?
His guide was still curiously absent, and Red Claw wondered if he had somehow been suppressed. The idea was daunting. But what else could it be? He’d never gone so long without the great bear’s presence. Not since his earliest childhood moments before Mato had made himself known to Red Claw. Became a part of his soul.
Intuitively, Red Claw reasoned that Garethan would not harm Eristta. Not yet. His interest in her was intense. Which was nearly as disturbing. But Red Claw knew his beloved possessed an inner strength unmatched. She would maintain a part of her essence, no matter what the sorcerer worked to steal from her.
And Red Claw would retrieve it all. Even if he had to draw it from the blood and bones of Garethan’s corpse.
* * * * *
The balance is shifting…can you feel it?
Yes. But there is still time. Still an opportunity to turn the tide.
He may not forgive you, Mato, for keeping this from him.
And she you, if it ends up ours—and their—undoing. Could the prophecies be tainted, Anelees? Have we risked all on flawed information?
No. The First dwelled fast within her. There is no mistaking that. Now, whether or not we have interpreted her words correctly is another matter altogether. Such is the fate of those still partial to sentiment
Ah. Why do we linger?
You know why, stubborn bear.
It comes.
No, Mato, it is here.
* * * * *
Their travel was swift. Faster than Eristta had imagined possible with such a massive force in tow. It occurred to her more than once, to wonder where the sorcerer’s body was being maintained. Hers was still traveling within the warm but impassioned embrace of her love.
Garethan had stopped responding to her questions. The bulk of his attention was directed at the great wyrm. In keeping the beast focused on the objective: Serosen and Selena’s forces.
It was clear that the creature was a distant relative of the original dragons that populated Tuatha lands in the time before. She was uncertain, though, if the properties of Earth were the cause of its mutation, or something else. And when did this beast cross over? How did it escape the illness that destroyed its brethren? And…was it the only one?
As they traveled, Eristta studied the creature. There was little hint of its thoughts, other than revenge. But instinct told Eristta there was much more to the great wyrm.
It was unlikely she’d get an opportunity to delve those depths. Or, even if she did, that contact with the beast wouldn’t cause her incalculable damage.
Garethan’s intent was clear. He would use the Unhcegila to decimate the Fey forces, then proceed with his plan to rebind the two worlds, bringing chaos and disorder to both.
And he would use Red Claw and herself to accomplish it.
Red Claw.
Thoughts of her lover left her heart raw, as if laid bare to a desert sun.
…Perhaps the most important question you should be asking is how you might achieve your heart’s desire…
Eristta started. Why were Ferra’leen’s words haunting her? She’d discovered their importance already, had she not?
Shutting out the sensations of their travel, Eristta went within. Achieving my heart’s desire… To love and be loved. To reside in the powerful bond between man and woman. To share her life fully with her equal.
Night Elves 2: Dangerous Obsession Page 12
