Awakening - The Morrigan Chronicles

by N. A. Montgomery

  It was still early but I knew the King would be awake. I didn’t hesitate when I knocked at the door. And kept knocking. And didn’t stop until the door flung open with a mostly naked King standing in the doorway looking perturbed.

  “Good morning,” I said cheerily.

  The King stood in his underwear, tall and solid. Anger left his face at seeing me. His eyes lifted and the half grin he reserved for just me when I intrigued him replaced his grimace.

  “Morrigan. You seem rather chipper this morning. Why, if I didn’t know better I’d say you were excited about something.” His grin widened.

  I was giddy. Actually bouncing as I stood. I heard Deidra in the background sigh in annoyance as the King mentioned my name. I may have bounced a little higher after that.

  I relayed what Emrys had told me, and my plan. I was anxious to see what these creatures were capable of, and to be honest, it had been a long time since I’d come across anything I’d never seen before. That, and as much as I enjoyed training and my time with Neil, I was created for battle. Real battle. I enjoyed hunting, tracking and fighting my enemy. Ridding this world of those that would do harm to others. I thrived on it.

  “Can you at least come in so I’m not standing in the hall in my underwear? It’s really not regal at all.” He opened the door wider.

  I entered but couldn’t sit. I was too excited. The King never bothered to put on more clothes and the view was not one I minded. I felt the stupid grin on my face, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t suppress it. Deidra was banging around in the restroom and finally I heard the water run. I found joy knowing I had probably ruined her day. Yay Morrigan!

  “So all it takes to make you a happy woman is to agree to let you take five of your Teulu and Emrys on a scavenger hunt for vampires and werewolves?” He was mocking me but I didn’t care.

  “Yes! Yes that’s all that I want. One week’s time, maximum. I know this is all tied to us, somehow. I just need to get more pieces of this puzzle.” I hated sounding like I was pleading but the King could decide to not let me go and then… oh hell, let’s get real, I was going anyway. I knew it and he knew it. But him giving permission would make things much easier.

  “You know I trust you, Morrigan.” I melted a little every time he used my name and he knew it. Why had I ever told him that? He paused, I know, to let my name linger for a moment before he continued. “I trust you more than anyone on this realm or any other. If this is what you wish then so be it.”

  I jumped over to him and gave him a hug. He kissed my cheek and pulled away with a serious expression. “We don’t know these creatures. I want you to promise me you’ll be safe. You’ll be methodical and observe before you jump in. You will return unharmed.”

  “I promise I will return unharmed, as will my men,” I vowed. We took promises very seriously. Even the smallest of things were not taken for granted.

  “I want you to come back unharmed. Promise me, Morrigan, that if you have to, you will save yourself. Even if that means at the cost of another’s life.” He was serious.

  “Conall,” I only called him by name without his title when it was just us. “You know I cannot make that promise. I will always fight like hell to stay alive and I fight like hell to keep my people safe. But I could never sacrifice one of them to save myself.”

  I hoped he wouldn’t change his mind. He rubbed his chin with his long fingers. Two days of unshaven scruff. That was my favorite look on him.

  He smiled reservedly and nodded. “I guess that’s the best I’m going to get from you.”

  “I’ll return in a week or less. Two tops.” I started out the door.

  I heard him yell down the hall, “Seven days, Morrigan. That’s all you get.”

  Chapter 10

  We exited the Great Oak, Daur, my trusted friend at my side. I don’t remember his birth name. He had gone by Daur, meaning oak, for as long as I can remember. He was half crazy, strongest of all the Tuatha and as large as a tree. Though many thought him as dumb as a tree, I knew better. He’d been at my back many times. Other than Emrys, he was my closest friend and one of the bravest warriors I knew.

  We were in a small park in the French Quarter.

  “So this is New Orleans?” I couldn’t help the wonder in my voice. I had been watching television, but this was the first modern city I’d actually seen.

  “This is it.” Emrys beamed. “This is an old part of town. Much magic exists here. I think it’s why supernaturals are drawn to it. The humans that have lived here for generations have seen or felt the presence of other realms. It’s an anomaly, really. Most humans chalk anything supernatural up to folklore now. But the residents here have their eyes wide open.”

  The sun was at its highest point in the sky. The weather here warmer than Missouri and I could feel the humidity in the air. The street bustled with jovial energy that somehow simultaneously held a leisurely pace. It definitely was magic.

  We strolled down the street wearing modern clothing, our weapons and leathers in large duffel bags. Though we could mirage ourselves against the humans, supernaturals could see past the mirage and we were not about to tip our hand.

  “Remember, we’re here only to observe and learn what we can.” Emrys spoke to us but I knew he was directing the orders to me. I nodded, acknowledging I had heard him. “We’ll get a room at a small hotel that is directly across from the vampire and werewolf nest I’ve found. It’s a very large one.”

  Three days we spent painstakingly noting every member, every pattern, every task they performed. Their nest was more of a small fortress. It was a large hotel that housed a speakeasy style bar at the back of an open garden courtyard. We had taken turns, a couple of us each night, going into the bar for drinks. There was always a small band, lots of dancing and cheap booze. The humans flocked to it.

  We sat in our room, Daur stretched out on the bed watching some stupid reality television show. The rest of us were scattered across the floor eating the most wonderful thing I’d ever tasted. Beignets. We could stay here a century stuffing ourselves, and I’d never tire of them.

  Emrys clicked away on the laptop at the desk, oblivious to our gluttony. “It seems we have identified seventy-seven vampires and forty-two werewolves. The bar is always packed with humans and around twenty or so supernaturals. Mostly vampire, but five to seven werewolves. Contrary to the lore I’ve read they are not two separate rival societies. They are one homogenous society that has a symbiotic relationship.”

  “You sound like a fucking scientist,” Daur managed to say with a mouthful of pastry.

  Emrys rolled his eyes. “Well, someone around here has to be the smart one. Seeing as you have the big dumb oaf role filled I shall acquiesce to being the intelligent one.”

  Daur’s face was stone. His mouth was caked in powdered sugar, half of a pastry stuck to his beard. His red hair sprayed out as a tangled crown. His eyes radiated rage. The room sparked with tension.

  Daur broke the silence by spitting out the rest of his pastry, laughing hysterically with his famous ‘mad’ look on his face, and I couldn’t help but understand why folks thought him nuts. “Druid, you are one funny little man.”

  Only next to Daur could Emrys be considered little.

  “As I was saying,” Emrys still looked confused whether the situation was resolved or not, “the myth that vampires cannot be in sunlight holds true. The werewolves stay in all day guarding them. Only two or three will leave throughout the daytime. When the bar opens in the evening it is never the same wolves and vampires that are there. We haven’t seen any humans taken from the bar to be fed upon.”

  “Do the wolves eat the hearts of humans? I saw that in a movie,” Daur said with his nose crinkled.

  “I don’t know any more than you do of their feeding habits.” Emrys was now rubbing his temples. I loved Daur and found him amusing. He always got on Emrys’ nerves.

  “It’s been three days and all we know is how many of them there are and wher
e they are,” I said, irritated.

  “Not exactly,” Emrys said a little more smugly than I’m sure he intended. “We can detect what they are by smell. We have sat in that bar, granted, different groupings of us each time, but seemingly have gone unnoticed by them.”

  Everyone in the room nodded.

  “We need more information.” My gaze hardened on Emrys. I knew he could spend years sitting in this room observing this nest. I suppose it was being a Druid. Knowledge was a drug to him and acquiring as much of it as he could was his sole purpose at times, it seemed.

  “Patience, Morrigan.” I felt the magic in his voice and used what defenses I had to not succumb to it. Though he was extremely powerful, I wasn’t helpless against these kinds of attacks.

  He felt me push back, then gave me his pleading look. The look he gave me when he felt I was being irrational.

  Aiden stood up and sat on the foot of the bed. Seeing him next to Daur I couldn’t help but notice the contrast. Complete opposites. Aiden followed every order without hesitation, was keenly observant, and fought with textbook precision. Daur’s gruffness only made Aiden look ‘prettier’ and more delicate than he actually was. Daur bathed infrequently and his flaming red hair had never been well kept. Aiden wouldn’t dream of leaving his dwelling without looking manicured. He was a trusted Teulu, but I’d take Daur over him any day.

  Aiden nodded at Emrys, showing his alignment. “We are, as per the King’s request, here to take in as much information as we can. That’s all.”

  I held my impassive mask in place but inwardly rolled my eyes. Daur didn’t manage to hold his and stuck his large finger into his nostril behind Aiden, making me laugh.

  “Of course.” I averted my eyes so as not to give Daur away. “We’re only performing recon. Daur and I will take our turn tonight in the bar. He can be my crazy brother in town for a visit from the insane asylum.”

  Daur always laughed too loud and his eyes bugged out too far when he did so. This time was no exception.

  Chapter 11

  I slid on the black high-heeled boots over the equally black jeans I’d brought. Surprisingly, I didn’t mind the heels. They took a bit of getting used to but I imagine that in a fight they could take out an eye or stab well if need be. I wouldn’t want to run far in them, but they could be a weapon if I had nothing else.

  Not having paid much attention to the current fashion I pulled a black t-shirt over my head. Surely all black was acceptable. Now I only had to work on my hair and face. I stared at myself in the mirror for ten minutes. Another ten went by.

  “Emrys!” I shouted.

  He opened the bathroom door, startled, his hands readied as he looked around for the danger. Not seeing any, his looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know how to put on makeup and I want to try.” I had the counter scattered with everything I had bought the day before.

  “For fuck’s sake, Morrigan. You scared me half to death. Ask Aiden. He’s the pretty one in the bunch. But I warn you, he makes a prettier girl than you.”

  “You know I can hear you,” Aiden growled.

  Emrys just winked at me. Any tension from earlier was gone.

  “My dear, I have no idea how to put on makeup. But here.” He snapped his fingers.

  Looking into the mirror I gasped. I looked like a damn drag queen. He laughed and laughed some more. Then he cried from laughing. I stood staring at him with one side of my mouth raised in a smirk as my eyes cut into him. Most men bent at that look. He laughed harder.

  “You can’t scare me, looking like that.” He gasped for air.

  “Okay you’ve had your fun. Take it off.” I still hadn’t found amusement in any of this.

  With a snap of his fingers I was back to normal. And that was how I would stay.

  “Want some help with your hair?”

  “No, I’ll wear it down. I fear if I ask for your help you’ll have it shaped into a swan on my head,” I said as I walked out of the bathroom to Daur.

  “Daur, you can’t go looking like that. You’ll make the vampires and werewolves think an ogre has come into their bar and blow our cover,” Aiden said, in all seriousness.

  Daur had on blue jeans and the biggest canary yellow t-shirt man has ever made that said, ‘I Need A Nap.’ His hair was disheveled as always and I didn’t recall him having bathed since we arrived in New Orleans. That was the Daur I knew.

  “Oh, I think you look rather dashing,” I gushed as I pulled at his beard and we headed out the door.

  We crossed the street, entering the iron gates. As we strode through the courtyard to the bar, and out of the sight of our friends, I flicked my wrist, throwing my hair up into a braided bun.

  Daur raised an eyebrow and stopped. Only in movies do people go into battle wearing loose clothing such as capes and long flowing hair. That would surely be a death sentence. An enemy would love to grab your hair with one hand while taking your head with the other.

  “I have two knives stashed in each boot. Two for me and two for you.” I winked.

  His mad eyes widened even more than normal. “Love, you have four knives for yourself.” He lifted his jeans exposing his biker boots. “Got me own knives. I know you were just trying to get me away from the group to have your way with me but I’ll have none of that. I came to do a job.” He laughed at his own joke. “But I figured when you said we were going tonight that you might have a little different definition of ‘observing’ than them.”

  His massive hand slapped my back, jarring me forward, spitting as he laughed. I just shook my head. Crazy fucker. I adored him.

  The bar was already packed when we entered. Being with a man that towered at seven foot, inconspicuous was not really an option. The good part of that is that when Daur rambled up to a table with four college students and asked if we could join them; they said sure, and promptly got up and left the table to us. Well done, Daur.

  “I was friendly was I not?” he asked in all sincerity.

  “You were. But even a human can tell you’re a predator.” I had no underlying meanings in what I said and he tilted his head to the side lifting his eyebrows in understanding.

  Quickly shifting the subject he dropped his madness for a serious tone. “You’re in love with Neil, aren’t you?”

  Unlike King Conall or Emrys, Daur was asking me only as a friend. He had no patience for strategy or artifice. No agenda to his question.

  “I am,” I replied, resigned.

  “Good lad.” He nodded a firm affirmation of approval. And that was that.

  We watched the bartenders—three vampires and two werewolves. Ten servers, all vampires, worked the tables. Three other werewolves were spread throughout the bar, milling about. A vampire sat at the back booth with a werewolf. Three werewolves acted as bodyguards. This was the first time that had happened.

  Daur looked like he’d just won the lottery. The music was loud enough that we couldn’t hear the vampire or werewolf in the booth. The good news was that they probably couldn’t hear us either. At least I hoped their hearing wasn’t better than ours.

  Daur leaned close to my ear. “You gotta plan?”

  “Working on it,” I said, with absolutely no plan forming in my head.

  The waitress came by to deliver our third round of beers. I thanked her and tipped generously as I had every round and asked in a high-pitched girlish voice, “So are those guys back there like the owners or something?”

  The vampire glanced at the booth and back at me. I could tell she was evaluating me. The beat of my heart, the way I smelled, the way I sat. I tried to look as innocent as possible. Daur couldn’t help but look like a serial killer. “Something like that.” Then she was off.

  I glared at Daur knowing he was why I got such a short reply. He smiled, knowing as well, and took a large swig of his beer.

  “Well we aren’t getting any information this way,” I said.

  “Bar fight?” Daur said eagerly.

  “
No!” I squished his hopes. “We need to question someone. But we know who their leaders are now.”

  I slowly scanned the bar, picking my prey. My eyes stopped on the male vampire bartender. “Him.”

  Chapter 12

  We nursed a couple more beers. The vampire and werewolf in the booth, along with the bodyguards, left. Last call was announced. I saw the bartender empty the trash, step out from behind the bar and go down the back hall. We followed. There were a few people waiting in line for the restrooms so the bartender had to push through the crowd to go out the back door. The door was on its way to closing as we slid through silently.

  The alley was empty. We were behind the building that housed the nest. The old building behind it was another hotel. Apparently they shared this alley and the dumpsters. The bartender turned and jumped, startled, not having heard us.

  “Can I help you folks?” he asked in a friendly manner, but I could tell he was on alert.

  “Yes, actually.” I didn’t close the distance, unsure of his skill or strength.

  He walked sideways casually, as if he were stalking prey. A smile pulled at my lips at him not realizing he was the one in trouble. But I played my part. I was eager to see what he was capable of.

  “I have loads and loads of questions I need answered and I think you’re just the gentleman to give me those answers.” He paced back the other direction, reminding me of a caged animal evaluating how to strike. He felt superior in his abilities but could tell he was engaging with another predator.

  He kept his tone casual. “Well I’m just a bartender but I know the area somewhat. If you’re looking for the best jazz in town you only need to go two blocks down. Tell the guy at the door Brandon sent you. He’ll hook you up. They stay open until dawn.”

  “Hmmmm…” I kept my eyes trained on him. “Sounds lovely. But I’m afraid taking in the wonders of your city isn’t why I’m here. I need to find out as much information as I can about vampires and werewolves.”