Damn. She’s juiced up. I roll to the balls of my feet and look at my charred outfit. “I have to talk to the Order about having a clothing allowance.”
Nikon chuckles. “With what you make as a Guild Governor, you should be able to buy a new shirt.”
I raise my arm over my head and block the blow of a boulder hurled at me. My body armor makes it feel more like a pebble. “Wait. What? I get paid to be on the Guild of Empowered Ones?”
“Of course you do.” Nikon drops to the grass and sweeps the legs out from under the witch he faces. “What? Oh, my gods. You were honestly going to hold the seat because it was the right thing to do, weren’t you?”
“Maybe.”
The moment Nikon’s witch is down, Sarah moves in and slams her in the belly with a knock-out water balloon.
Nikon chuckles. “It’s a lot harder to wrangle naked and oiled up women than you’d think. I’m out of practice.”
I spin and crack Moira with the blunt end of Birga’s staff. She grunts and buckles at the waist. “Have a lot of experience with slicked-up nudes, do you?”
He laughs and grabs a discarded wand off the ground. Waving it with a little flick and pointing it, he sends off a series of blue bolts like laser rapid-fire.
Pew, pew, pew.
That’s the second time I’ve seen him do witch magic. I really have to ask him about his abilities.
“Life in Ancient Greece is hard to describe.”
I spin Birga in my hand and am about to swipe left and take Moira out when Sarah rushes in and pelts her hard in the head with one of her nappy sacks.
The bitch doesn’t drop.
I spin Birga in my hand and crack her on the side of the face with the wooden staff. She goes down for the count. Although she’s unconscious, Sarah pegs her with another witchy water balloon.
“Does that make you feel better?” I chuckle as I search for my next opponent.
“Not really,” Sarah says. “I wanted it to, but it doesn’t.”
“Sorry. Yeah, I get that. My brother was murdered a couple of months ago, and I’ll never get over the injustice of it. I want everyone involved to die a fiery death.”
“You’re speaking my language, female,” a guy says behind me.
A slender man with opal-white skin and a malevolent grin stares at me. He’s bare-chested, his jacket covered in long, black raven feathers, his head covered with a thicket of silver and grey twigs, his eyebrows a gray moss.
When our gazes meet, my dinner curdles in my stomach. My evil eyes register him, and the malevolence is off the chart.
He steps right up to me, and I’m too caught up in his gaze to step back.
“Shit, how tall are you?”
“Six-foot-seven or above. Over seven now. I haven’t had my twigs pruned in a while.”
I shake my head as the burning heat of my shield scalds my nerve-endings, and I snap out of whatever hold he has on me. “Sorry I ruined your orgy, Prince Keldane.”
He glances around at all the dead and unconscious women. “Me too. I usually like to have my needs met before I kill them, but breathing is not a deal-breaker. I can still work with this.”
“Um…no, you can’t. For one, that’s gross. For another, these women have to stand before the Divine Goddess to face their crimes.”
“Then who will sate my thirst to consume, little one? Will it be you?”
“As tempting as that sounds,” not, “I’ll have to pass. The goddess expects me, and I’m sure you have to head back. Samhain’s almost over. I bet you can still make a fae party or two back home if you hurry.”
I sense Sloan’s presence as soon as he poofs in behind me. Holding my hand open, I signal for him to keep his distance for the moment.
A second later, Tad’s there with the heirs, Da arrives with Clan Cumhaill, and Nikon arrives with Dora, Sarah, and Patty.
Keldane eyes the opposing force and smiles. “As much fun as it would be to prove you all foolish to challenge me, you’re right. The power of the hour is waning, and I have yet to find a plaything to sate my needs for the year.”
Oh, like a New Year’s resolution.
“Take her.” Sarah points at Moira on the grass. “She’s the one who called you and made promises of flesh and fealty. It’s her you want.”
Okay, mystery solved. Sarah might not serve up vengeance personally, but she has no problem ensuring it’s served.
A witch’s revenge served cold.
“Very well.” Keldane tosses Moira and a couple of the others over his shoulder and heads back to the altar.
Morally, I object, but they were the ones who wanted to play this game.
Wow, to see their faces when they wake up later.
Before Keldane passes through the veil, he turns and meets my gaze. “I’ll see you again, little one.”
I shiver as he returns to his side of the realm and the dark energy conjured by his portal evaporates. “Not if I see you first.”
Everyone looking at me has the same worried glare on their faces. “I can’t help it. It’s this stupid Fianna mark. Stop looking at me like I have any control over it.”
Funny. After a week of tracking witch madness and battles and dealing with magic-infused mutants, I’m not sure what to do with myself after the final battle.
Sloan and Dora wipe the civilians' memories and get them sorted with a member of the Order who will handle getting them all back to where they belong.
The heirs go back to Tad’s for a few celebratory bevvies.
Nikon transports the rest of us to Sloan’s panic room to get the casks and return them to the Cistern.
Emmet is uncomfortable about going into the lake area, so Sloan asks him to stay out in the antechamber with Sarah and me while they take in the recovered casks and carefully return them to the lake.
“A job well done.” Da sets his empty cask down twenty minutes later.
Dora and Dillan take the last two inside, and Sloan, Aiden, and Nikon bring out their empties.
Nikon props the silver cask with the others. “At the very least, they had a decent containment vessel.”
“Yeah, goddess forbid they contaminate themselves,” Sloan adds. “They wanted to make sure they saved all the torture for the innocent and unwitting.”
I rub the ache in my chest. He hasn’t said much about what Moira and the witches did to him, but I know it’s still upsetting for him.
Dillan and Dora exit the cistern chamber and Dora seals the stone wall. She removes the key, separates the three components, and hands the other two pieces to Sloan and Patty. “May the key never be reassembled.”
“To that end,” the goddess steps through the stone wall. “If you don’t mind, Sloan, I’ll take the base of the chalice into my possession.”
Sloan is already on his knee and holds up his piece of the key. “Of course, milady.”
“Rise, all of you. I deeply appreciate your devotion, but you needn’t supplicate yourselves before me. You have each earned the right to stand at my side.”
The look of bewilderment on Da’s face says he disagrees. She looks at our group and smiles. “There is a great deal of love and camaraderie in this group…but there is suffering too. The losses of late have taken their toll. The hardships of standing against evil weigh you down.”
She steps over to Sarah and places her palm against Sarah’s forehead. The golden glow encompassing Mother Nature expands to encompass Sarah as well. Sarah’s eyes close, but her tears still leak and drip down her cheeks.
“Yes, child. I shall see those involved held responsible.”
When she lowers her hand, she moves to Sloan. Part of me doesn’t want her to do her mojo thing on him, but I know the pain she senses from him. I feel it too. “These witches have caused quite a bit of turmoil in the lives of good people.”
Sloan tenses as the golden glow surrounds him, but his resistance doesn’t last long. With a heavy exhale, his entire body eases. “Thank you, milady.”
T
hen she comes to me.
Her palm is warm against my forehead. The instant we’re connected, I feel her healing power awakening my cells. The last of the grimy film of darkness peels away, and a cool sensation of relief washes through my body. “There you are, child. Everything is as it’s meant to be.”
“Thank you.” My words come out more like a breathy sigh than an exclamation. I didn’t realize how much the taint of Morgana’s book weighed on me. “That felt so good.”
“I’m glad.” She brushes my cheek with a gentle caress of her finger. “You deserve to be eased.”
With loose limbs, I step over to Sloan and Sarah as the goddess spends a moment with every member of our party. She tends to each of my brothers, Da, Nikon, Dora, and Patty, then faces us all.
“You made me proud today, children. Standing for justice and fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves is a tiring and often thankless calling. Always know I am cheering you on.”
“You honor us, goddess,” Dora says.
“You honor me in return. Now go. Resume your lives and let this chapter of your adventures be over.” She turns and holds out a hand to Sarah. “Come with me, child. Together we’ll address those who wronged you and your sisters.”
Sarah looks back at us, and I shrug.
How do you say no to Mother Nature?
You don’t.
When they disappear into the stone wall, Nikon sighs, still looking a little shaken. “Shall I escort everyone to Gran’s and Granda’s to say goodbye before we head home?”
I nod. “You take Dora and the fam jam. Sloan and I will take Patty back to the dragon lair to say goodbye to the Dragon Queen and the kids before we join you.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“I’m going to miss you, dude.” To hug my baby dragon’s head, I have to use both arms to get around his neck. He’s growing so fast. “I’ll be back to visit soon. In the meantime, be good for your queen mama and Patty, okay?”
Patty pats my blue boy’s scaly spine and winks. “Och, he will be, won’t you Dartamont?”
Dart dips his chin, his pleading gaze pretty much doing me in. “Don’t be sad, buddy. I promise. I’ll try to find a way to bring you to Toronto for a visit in the spring. The weather is yucky in the winter, and you won’t fit in my house. I’ll figure out something once things warm up again.”
Patty smiles. “The way time passes in the human realm, lad, it won’t feel like any time at all. Besides, we’ll be busy with the move.”
“So, it’s set then? Where do you think you’ll go?”
Patty shrugs. “Undecided at this point.”
“Why are you moving?” Sloan asks.
I fill him in on the convo Patty and I shared on the rooftop earlier tonight.
“What kind of Man o’ Green would I be if I left my hoard out where people knew how to access it?”
“A poor one.” I smile. “See what I did there? Poor, as in bad and poor as in people could take your gold.”
“Och, I got it before the explanation.” Patty chuckles and waves me away. “Off with ye now. Get home and get rested up before the next calamity crashes through yer doorway.”
I hug Dart, and Scarlet and Chua come over to get a squeeze goodbye, then I wave to the rest and say goodbye to the queen. “I’m glad you feel better, Highness.”
The Wyrm Dragon Queen cants her head to the side and smiles—at least, I think it’s a smile. It’s hard to tell with dragons. “Be safe, Fiona Cumhaill, and thank you. I owe you a life debt, and I shall never forget it.”
I dip my chin and reach out for Sloan to take my hand.
It’s almost dawn by the time we finish at Granda’s and head home. Nikon takes my family home, and Sloan and I make a quick stop at his place before we follow.
“You sure about this, surly?” I ask as I roll his large suitcase to the center of his bedroom.
“I’m sure.” He finishes packing a duffle and slings it over his shoulder. “Are ye ready, Manx?”
Manx is sitting beside the suitcase as if to ensure that we can’t leave without him. “Do ye have bacon in Toronto?”
“Definitely. We have the traditional kind as well as Canadian back bacon, which is also delish. Do you have anything you want to bring?”
“Just my bowl and my blanket.”
I lean into the depths of King Henry and grab his blanket. When I straighten, I find Sloan’s spellbook on the bedside table. “We can’t forget you or Beauty will be heartbroken.”
I slide the bowl and the book into my red suitcase and fold the blanket over my arm. Setting my suitcase next to Sloan’s, I watch him take one last tour through his room.
“This is your home, hotness. You don’t have to leave it behind. Your parents can only hurt us if we let them.” The look Sloan pierces me with is so haunted, I want to cry for him. “They love you the most and the best they can.”
He nods. “That used to be enough. Now, after seein’ yer family, I want more. I think I deserve more.”
“No question. You definitely do.”
He purses his lips and sets a handwritten note on the table in his room. “How about it, Manx, my boy? Are ye ready for an adventure?”
Manx flicks his tufted ears. “Beyond ready. I’m proud of ye, sham.”
I grip the handle of my suitcase with one hand and Sloan’s arm with the other. Sloan grabs his suitcase and Manx. When he’s sure we’re all secure and connected, he flashes us to my bedroom in Toronto.
Home sweet—Hubba-wha?
As exhausted as I am, it takes a moment for my mind to catch up with why my bed and carpet, and dresser are heaped with small boxes. Condoms?
I groan. “Very funny, assholes,” I shout to the house in general. “You’re lucky I’m tired.”
“Night, kids,” Calum calls from next door.
“There was no stopping them, Fi. Sorry,” Kevin shouts.
“Not your fault, Kev. I still love you.”
“Thanks.”
“Just you.”
“Oh, you know you love us,” Emmet says.
I roll my eyes and shake my head. “How could I not?”
Sloan grabs an empty laundry basket and clears a path across the floor. With a straight arm along the surface of my comforter, he scoops what has to be forty boxes of condoms off my bed. “Ye can make their life miserable tomorrow, Fi. Right now, ye need sleep.”
“True story.” I stagger over to the first window and draw the blinds. “It’s not a castle, Manx, but when we wake up—”
“In a week,” Sloan interjects.
“Good call. When we wake up in a week, we’ll take you on a tour of the Don Valley wildlands next door. Until then, you have the run of the house and the grove in the back yard.”
Manx meets me at the last window, stands on his back legs, and searches the Toronto skyline. “I’ll be fine. You two rest. We’ll unpack and settle tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” I pat my chest and release Bruin. “Night, boys. Love you.”
Too tired to shower or change or even untie my boots, I flop onto my bed and close my eyes. The moment my head hits my pillow, I’m sinking into the oblivion of sleep.
“Let me help ye off with yer boots.” Sloan’s voice is quiet and in my current state of near unconsciousness, very far in the distance. “That’s it. Let the world slip away, a ghra. Yer home now. We all are.”
I wake to the smell of sweet seduction and an empty bed. My alarm clock says it’s six-thirty, but with the late-night witch battling and the continent-hopping, I’m not sure if that’s a.m. or p.m. I roll over and stare closely at the time—p.m. for the win. I permit myself to be a lazy daisy. Truth is, I feel a little like a pulped orange abandoned on the kitchen counter.
Scrolling through my contacts, I pull up Myra and hit send. She picks up on the second ring.
“Fi! Are you home? Tell me you’re safe. No, tell me you’re home.”
I smile. “I’m home and safe.”
“Thank the goddess. You sound tired.”
“Beat to a pulp was what I was just thinking.”
“My poor girlie. Don’t worry about work then. Take a few days and get your wind back. I wouldn’t mind a friendly visit though if you feel up to it. I have so much to tell you.”
“I can’t wait. It’s top on my list. I’m just waking up, so today is shot, but yeah, as soon as I come up for air, I’m there.”
“How about I come there? You’ve asked me more than once about visiting your grove. If that invite is still open—”
“Of course. We’d love to have you.”
“Good. It’s settled. Let me know when you’re rested, and we’ll catch up.”
“Sounds perfect. Thanks. I’ve been a dismal employee lately.”
She laughs. “Oh, honey. It’s hard for a superhero to hold down a job. I’ve run the store solo for over fifty years, and it’s my joy. Any time you have to help out is welcome whenever it comes. Don’t worry about that.”
“Best boss, evah.”
“Love you too. Now, roll over and kiss that Irishman of yours from me for bringing you home.”
“I’ll have to find him first. I think he’s downstairs cooking me dinner.”
“Oh…I love that boy. Remember, a kiss from me. Oh, and I’m a French kisser.”
I laugh. “Now you went and made it weird.”
Myra’s melodious laughter at the other end feeds my empty stores. “Take care of yourself. See you soon.”
“Looking forward to it.” I hang up and send a quick text to Liam. “Home. Just waking up. All is well. Have a good night at the bar. Let’s catch up tomorrow.”
I slide into my slippers and beeline it into the bathroom to pee, brush my teeth, and pull myself together. As I’m washing my face, I look at my eyes and my heart sinks.
I honestly thought that when Mother Nature cleansed me of the darkness, my eyes would’ve gone back to normal. Since our palm to forehead moment, the burn of evil eyes is gone.
I’m pretty sure she fixed me.
Maybe Sloan’s right and they’re more about triggering a dormant fae trait.
A Witch’s Revenge (Chronicles of an Urban Druid Book 4) Page 26
