by Love, Dianna
Time to gamble. Casidhe wanted to put all the cards on the table and discuss pertinent details. This would either get her thrown out or show Redmond she had come prepared to speak openly. “Are you sayin’ an Imortik could harm a deity or ... a dragon? I ask because I am a guardian for my family.”
The silence that followed stifled what had been a casual conversation until now.
She held very still. Had she miscalculated?
A noise behind her pulled Casidhe’s head around. Shaggy white hair covered a huge four-legged animal she’d call a dog, but had never seen one so tall it stood above her head with her seated. Long tail, square head. Irish Wolfhound? Big enough to have been one from medieval times.
“Come in, Finn,” Redmond said quietly.
Finn translated to white in English. Not the most creative name, but it fit.
The beast walked gracefully across the rugs and stepped up on the sofa, turning to lay down with his head on Redmond’s lap. The professor stroked the dog’s neck.
She waited as Redmond studied her while petting his giant dog. He must have decided to not toss her out when he said, “That is correct. An Imortik can fully bond with a human body or a lesser nonhuman being. To do so takes some time. The only ones they can take over more quickly are demons. Most powerful beings can destroy an Imortik, but even a deity could be overwhelmed by enough Imortiks attacking at once.”
She let out her breath, shocked at his words.
Not only that he’d openly discussed powerful beings, but ... he’d just told her Herrick and his entire family would be at risk. She had to shake herself out of that thought to keep talking. “Uhm, thank you for that information. So all three of these volumes have been hidden for thousands of years, which will make it tough enough, but who hid them?”
He angled his head with a confused expression. “Three dragon families.”
“What?” It couldn’t be an ice dragon family. Herrick would have told her about this if his family had been involved, right? Wouldn’t the Luigsechs have passed along that information if they had known?
“Why are you surprised?” Redmond asked, eyes on her hands.
She stopped twisting her hands. “You knew I was a Luigsech, which means you should know that I carry the history of two dragon families. But I had never heard of this until someone came to me lookin’ for the grimoire.”
Every time Redmond paused like he did now, she had the feeling he weighed how much more to tell her, if any at all. He took a soft breath and continued. “The three dragon clans involved were the earth dragons, the ice dragons, and the red dragon. The first red dragon. They all played a part in shutting down the Imortik dynasty being built. That was the reason for breaking the scroll into individual sheets to be locked inside three heavy bronze boxes. Those boxes were sealed and handed to each dragon family.”
The shocks kept coming. The ice dragons had played a role in hiding the grimoires.
There had been a red dragon prior to Daegan?
What about Daegan’s role in this? Where was the volume his family had hidden?
She said, “I don’t see how the grimoire can be found if the dragon families each hid a third. They would have a great investment in keepin’ the volumes safe.”
“True, but one volume was discovered in the twelfth century. I have few details on what happened, because the incident was kept quiet. The powerful beings of that time found the volume, then dealt with those who had brought the volume to light and tried to use it. All I know is the beings who squashed that Imortik breakout placed the volume somewhere few beings could access.”
She asked, “Do you know the country it’s in?”
“I know nothing of its location, but someone in today’s world does.”
Leelou knocked lightly and stuck her head in. “I will be in my study if you need anything more.”
“Thank you, Leelou.”
Before he dismissed Casidhe just as easily, she hurried to say, “I will share nothin’ you have said today with anyone except the person helpin’ me hunt for these volumes. He’s related to a dragon family and has a vested interest in stoppin’ Imortiks.” As she made that claim, she realized now Daegan would not use the grimoire to harm others just as Herrick would not. She added, “If you ever need anythin’ from me, please do not hesitate to ask.”
“That is very kind of you, Miss Luigsech, but to be entirely up front with you, I had no doubt of your integrity or I would not have met with you.”
She’d take that as a compliment. She could use an attagirl today. “I greatly appreciate your time and knowledge.” But she still needed help in finding the grimoire.
Redmond sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees, the most relaxed he’d appeared since Casidhe had settled on this sofa. He said, “If you are determined to hunt the volumes, I will point you in the right direction. It will then be up to you and the person waiting outside to find the rest of the path.”
Not much else to say to that except, “Thank you, Mr. Mac Seáin. I’m listenin’.”
Chapter 15
Daegan stomped around in the area he’d cloaked within view of the house Luigsech had entered. The house appeared to be nice enough, but that did not mean those inside were to be trusted. He should not have frightened the lass when he teleported in behind her, but he reacted to prevent her from running off.
Was she safe in there with this professor?
She’d all but said the man was a nonhuman.
Guilt piled on top of worry. Had he approached her calmly, he might have convinced her to allow him to go inside with her.
He couldn’t protect what he couldn’t see, but to enter that home would only hand her more reason to not trust him.
“What’s your next step, boss?” Tristan stood with him inside the cloaking.
Staring at the ground, Daegan spoke softly. “I do not know, Tristan. Quinn will be facin’ a Tribunal to discuss endin’ Devon’s life and that of two other Beladors until I can return, but that may not be enough. Renata is still ... sufferin’ wherever she is. I have no idea how many more of our people the Imortiks have captured.” Frustrated at standing still with time running out, Daegan grabbed the back of his neck, stretching when he’d rather be battling an enemy. Anything to end this insanity. “’Tis my responsibility to protect all of them. Even Luigsech. I am failin’ and the venom in my body is drainin’ my powers.”
“You’re not failing, Daegan,” Tristan replied. “You’re fighting with every breath. We will all fight with you. We all believe in you. You don’t know how to fail. You just need to give yourself a break sometimes. Quinn’s a silver-tongued devil when it comes to talking circles around anyone. He’ll find a compromise.”
The use of Daegan’s name from Tristan meant his second-in-command meant his words to be heard and accepted. “Thank ya, Tristan. I will take your words to heart and find my strength to do better.”
Ruadh’s voice rumbled in Daegan’s head. Gryphon speaks truth. Trust him. We are powerful enough. We will get stronger.
Having Tristan’s and his dragon’s show of support meant a great deal to Daegan. He shoved his misgivings deep inside, determined to fight even harder for those he loved.
“What’s that strange look on your face, boss?”
Daegan smiled. “Ruadh agreed that I did well in choosing ya as my second.”
That surprised Tristan into silence.
Before he could come up with a reply, Daegan heard a door open and Luigsech say, “Thank you again.”
He turned to observe her leaving the house. Tristan stepped up next to him and noted, “She’s smiling. Think she got any information on the grimoire?”
“’Tis difficult to tell with Luigsech. She does not always show her true emotions.” Daegan moved Tristan back down the path she’d taken to reach the house so he could remove the cloaking out of view.
She crossed the hill and flipped on her wee light as she started down, backpack jostling as she walked.
&nbs
p; When she had a few steps left to reach him, Daegan dropped the cloaking.
She jumped and squawked.
“’Tis only me,” he complained at her reaction.
She grabbed her forehead and stomped around for a second then planted her feet. “You keep appearin’ out of nowhere. You think that is normal for me? I’ll answer. No, it’s not. And there are two of you now. Stop freakin’ doin’ that.”
Tristan made a coughing noise.
Daegan had heard that in the past. His friend struggled not to laugh.
What could Tristan possibly find humorous in dealing with this woman?
Reaching for patience, Daegan told Luigsech, “This is my second-in-command, Tristan.”
She tossed a look at Tristan. “You’re the one Cathbad captured, right?”
“Yes, I am.”
“How did you get away?”
Daegan interrupted. “There is not time to share all that has happened.” Nodding in her direction, he told Tristan, “This is the Luigsech woman.”
“Dammit,” she bit out.
Daegan held his hands open. “What now?”
“I am Casidhe Luigsech. Not the Luigsech woman. Not Luigsech. You may call me Miss Luigsech or Casidhe, but cut out addressin’ me like some unknown bein’.”
Affronted by her anger, Daegan struck back. “But ya are an unknown bein’ since ya have yet to share what ya are.”
She closed her lips and looked ... hurt?
What the hell had he done wrong this time? He glanced at Tristan who twisted his lips as if he also thought Daegan had spoken poorly.
Daegan asked Tristan telepathically, What is wrong with this woman?
I think you insulted her about being something unknown.
“Stop it!” Luigsech snapped her fingers, back in ordering mode. “You’re talkin’ to each other. If you have somethin’ to say, then say it so I can hear it.”
As she wished then. Daegan said, “I was merely askin’ Tristan if he could figure out why ya became upset about what I said. He believes I insulted ya. Is that so?”
Her eyes strayed to Tristan again and stayed there. “Thank you. How nice to meet a man so observant.”
Daegan’s fury boiled fast.
Tristan stepped back, eyes wide. “Boss?”
That one word spoken with an underlying warning that Daegan’s power had rushed out brought him back down from a tide of anger. He had no idea what had caused him to react so strongly.
“’Tis fine, Tristan.” Working his jaw to loosen it, Daegan told Luigsech, “If I misspoke and insulted ya, it was not intentional. Are ya goin’ to blow up every time ya misunderstand somethin’ I say?” He used her words this time, thinking she would understand them.
“I did not blow up,” she argued. “I am not some strange bein’. I don’t even know what I am other than I have the power to translate ancient text. There you go. You figure out what I am.”
Daegan had no words.
She did not know what she was? Irritation had caused him to be careless with his words, but why had he lost his temper when she thanked Tristan for being thoughtful?
He would think on that when he had time.
Tristan had done nothing wrong.
They could not stand here debating any of this. Daegan asked, “Did ya find out anythin’ on the grimoire?”
She eyed him for a few seconds then nodded. “The professor was very helpful even though he knew someone waited outside for me.”
“How could he have known such?” Daegan had opened his senses as Luigsech went to the door, checking for any nonhumans out here. He’d found none.
“I did not ask him, nor did I ask him what kind of bein’ he was.” She pushed that in Daegan’s face to make her point.
“I shall not do that to ya again,” Daegan assured her, trying to return to better standing. “Do we have somewhere to go next?”
“He told me of an oracle we have to find. She is the only one he knows of who can shed light on the grimoire locations.”
Daegan’s chest loosened with the first tingle of hope. “Ya did good, lass. How do we find the oracle?”
“We have to go to a specific range of mountains in Morocco.”
“How do we find these?”
She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. When she opened it, she pointed to the top of an odd-shaped mountain among a line of jagged peaks. “We go there and follow his directions from that point to locate the oracle.”
Tristan leaned in, glanced at the picture, then stepped back. “Do you mind if Daegan and I have a private conversation?”
She clutched the photograph, which had come from the professor’s files. “Go ahead as long as it does not include me.”
“It won’t.” Tristan spoke in Daegan’s mind next. If you two can get a lock on that location, I can link to your power and teleport. We haven’t tried that, but linking works with the Beladors.
Daegan thought on Tristan’s suggestion a moment. I believe Ruadh would be fine with that. He trusts ya where he trusts no others but me. We shall try.
Nodding at Tristan, Daegan explained to Luigsech, “We can go there immediately.”
“What? Uh, no. I ... ” She looked around as if searching for a reason. “I have to return my rental car.”
“Tristan will take it back after he teleports with us to the mountain so he will know where we went.”
“I can’t just take off,” she complained.
“Why not?” It seemed a simple decision for Daegan.
“I’m still lookin’ for Fenella.”
Tristan interjected, “Our people are pretty amazing. They’re working nonstop on finding her.”
Daegan had heard nothing new, but Tristan’s words were truth even though it had sounded like current information. The Belador team would have someone on this task continually.
She gave Tristan what Daegan had once heard him call the stink eye. Funny term, but he understood it now.
“Why should I trust you any more than him?” she asked Tristan, stabbing a thumb in Daegan’s direction.
“I haven’t given you reason not to,” Tristan replied with a charming smile.
“You have a point.”
Daegan caught his temper this time, but was his word of less value than Tristan’s?
Tristan lifted an eyebrow at Daegan. “Problem?”
“No.” Daegan rarely took umbrage with Tristan and could not define why he did at this moment. The venom had to be twisting his reactions.
Luigsech eyed them both. “I want an agreement you will absolutely bring me back to the centre when I ask.”
“I will do all within my power to comply,” Daegan answered, not wanting to lie, but unsure he could deliver on demand.
She squinted at him as if she doubted his words, then gave a dismissive headshake. “Fine.”
If she was still unsure, why would she agree? What else had she learned in that house?
Walking back to her car with Daegan providing light, Luigsech shared what the professor had said about how to locate the oracle. Reaching this oracle would be more challenging than threading a leather strip through the eye of a darning needle.
Tristan took the keys from her and folded his tall body into her wee car. He grumbled, “Couldn’t find a smaller one, could you?”
She answered with tart sarcasm. “I tried. There’s no turnaround. You’ll have to back it out of here.”
In answer, the car vanished, then reappeared facing the opposite way.
Her mouth opened and closed much like a fish sucking in water. Daegan wanted to point out to Tristan how he now found the woman’s expression humorous as opposed to when she’d been berating him.
He didn’t. His words would only irritate her again and delay their trip.
Once Tristan had all the information on returning the vehicle, he stepped out, locked it, and pocketed the key.
Daegan had been waiting until the last moment to explain the next step
to her. “For Tristan to teleport us, we must all be touchin’.”
“No touching.”
“Miss Luigsech,” Daegan said, leaning heavily on each word. “We have no time to waste with this discussion. ’Tis the only way we do not lose ya while teleportin’. Otherwise, ya might end up reappearin’ in the air and nowhere near a place to stand.”
The color washed from her cheeks. “Okay. Where do we have to touch?”
He found her resistance offending, but he would not point that out to her. “Ya would be safest standin’ between us with a hand on each of our arms.”
“Oh, I see.” She stepped over to stand between them.
What had she thought he meant?
She placed a hand on Tristan’s arm, then reached for Daegan’s. Her touch lit a buzz of energy under his skin.
She yanked her hand back. “What are you doin’?”
Daegan started to say he had not caused that reaction. She had. Instead, he said, “Sometimes energy rises when we teleport.”
Tristan sent him a what-are-you-talking-about look, which Daegan ignored and said, “I have the image in my mind. Time to teleport.”
Luigsech latched onto his arm, buzzing be damned this time.
Tristan made the leap in a short time, but Daegan would likely need Tristan to get them back. Still, he felt he could teleport short distances if he and Luigsech needed it.
Wind whipped all around them as they reappeared in darkness. Daegan called up more power from his dragon to improve his ability to see in the dark.
Luigsech took a sidestep close to a ledge that dropped off fifteen feet to the next outcropping. After that the trip would be much longer where a body would end up crushed thousands of feet below.
Daegan grabbed her and hauled her body next to his. She surprised him by not complaining. In fact, she gripped his arms.
“You sure about this, boss?” Tristan yelled. Wind slapped his hair all around.
They stood in a small valley between two taller mountain peaks. Luigsech’s professor had described this spot right down to multiple-sized boulders stacked into a three-sided structure ten feet tall Luigsech had called a mini-pyramid.
