by Claudy Conn
I still found I was tongue-tied and couldn’t say a word.
“Both of you…and those you hold dear will be in grave danger. I have the sight and have seen this and nothing more. The Cumhachdach Hallow is one of our most powerful, in fact, that is how it was named, and should never fall into the wrong hands. Vidal lives and will come for it.” She put up a finger as though to stall Grail from speaking and added. “Be resilient.”
With that, she was gone.
“The Queen of the Seelie Fae!” I spluttered. “The Queen of the Seelie Fae!”
Grail laughed, “Yes.” He too seemed taken aback and startled by her visit.
“Why doesn’t she just zap Vidal dead?”
“They have a law of non-interference with humans. It is part of the treaty drawn up thousands of years ago between Fae and Man. Her coming here…giving us this orb, is very…extraordinary. She must be concerned.”
“Right, and now we know for sure, Vidal is alive.”
“Yes…” he said thoughtfully.
“So, let’s set it down and see what it can do,” I said excitedly.
Grail laid it on the coffee table and said, “We are looking for the location of the Cumhachdach Hallow. Show us the location.”
“Ah, Prince of Cumhacht, son of King Haevin, you are recognized and I shall comply,” the orb said.
And there it was, deep in the river, singing its song.
“Do you hear? It is beautiful…but so sad,” I exclaimed.
“I don’t hear anything baby, but I see the location. I can’t believe it has been here all these years.”
“It hasn’t,” the orb said. “My King has moved it over the last century.”
Grail was on his cellphone to Shags, “Yes, yes, we’ll meet you at the dock…you know the one, yes, yes, bring Sharon as well. Vidal is alive so we all need to be careful.”
“We can’t recover it…he is in New Orleans and has spies watching us,” I said as the queen’s words had brought on a vision. I have learned to control myself when a vision hits. This one came in a flash leaving only a feeling, not anything I could work with.
“Then we’ll use a shield so that he can’t see us,” Grail said and held me close as we traveled in his black cloud.
We stepped out of my Grail’s traveling cloud and spied Sharon and Shags coming towards us. I waited while Grail whispered a spell to cloak our presence.
I went to the edge of the dock and whispered the Hallow’s name, “Cumhachdach, are you there? Sing for me.”
And it did. The song was full with sorrow and loneliness and then it called my name, “Princess Smoke…take me home.”
I reached my hand into the water and used my magic to rescue the Hallow. It felt warm and tingly in my hands and no larger than a foot in height and less than six inches in width. It was in the shape of a woman…it was in the image of…
“The Dark King’s queen…his Crystal. He created me for her use, but she said I was too powerful…too dangerous and I have been alone ever since. Take me home, princess, take me home.”
“I’ll take that!” Vidal snarled at my back.
How the hell did he know? How did he get past Grail’s cloaking device? How…? And then I saw, Vidal had at least six humans held captive by his vampires.
Things are never easy, but then, where would be the fun in easy?
* * *
CAN’T STOP-WANTING (book #2)
Coming soon
Claudy Conn, a native New Yorker, now lives with her husband, Bob; Rocky Man, who weighs in presently at 190 pounds and their horse, Southern Pride.
She loves horses and riding and raised her ten-year-old gelding Southern Pride from the moment he was born. She also loves gardening, swimming, skiing, hiking, and travel—and of course, reading, writing, but no, she says, no arithmetic!
To get her monthly news, her reviews for all her new paranormal romances, and excerpts, come on and visit her at her website.
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