Wyrmrider Justice: An Underwater Magic Urban Fantasy (The Fomorian Wyrmriders Book 3)

by Theophilus Monroe

  Legba chuckled. "Let an old god try to sneak a kiss from one of his favorite queens."

  I smiled. Leaned over and kissed Papa Legba on his cold cheek.

  "You just made my day," Legba said.

  "I bet. So, I guess you probably know why I'm here."

  "Your friends are in the void," Legba said. "Don't worry, I've already taken the liberty to call them here."

  I nodded as I saw two wyrms—but at the crossroads, they were in dragon form. Nammu and Enki looked majestic here, even more than they did on earth. Cleo still rode on Enki's back.

  "Remember," Legba said. "As before, the choice is theirs alone."

  I nodded as Legba took a step back, presumably to observe.

  "Did you do it?" Cleo asked as she jumped off Enki's back and landed square on both feet.

  "Come on!" I said. "Let's go back to earth. I think you'll have another chance at life! At least when wyrms return from the void, they get bodies again. Maybe you will, too!"

  Cleo put her hand on Enki's side. "I think I'll take another path. It's time for me to move on into the great beyond."

  "I could use you in Fomoria," I said.

  Cleo shook her head. "Tahlia is doing well. I lived my life, Joni."

  "Enki? Nammu?"

  "We will return with you," Nammu said, nuzzling her head against her son's.

  "Both of you?" I asked.

  "Yes," Enki said. "I was inclined to go with Cleo. But my mother convinced me to join you again. I have to admit, despite the temptation to move on, your adventures are too compelling to miss. And, we don't belong in the beyond. If I returned to the void, it would be awfully lonely there."

  "Nammu," I said. "Your children in your womb?"

  "They are well," Nammu said. "They were not affected by any of this."

  "Well, Enki! Looks like you'll get to be a big brother to two litters, now!"

  Enki huffed. "You know, on second thought. Little siblings can be a pain in the tail!"

  I laughed. "You'll be a great mentor to them, someone to look up to."

  "Cleo," I said, hugging her. "I hope you find peace. I'll miss you. Thank you for everything. When I first came to Fomoria, you were the one who welcomed me."

  "I saw your potential from the beginning, Joni," Cleo said. "You've already done more for Fomoria in a short time than King Conand accomplished over centuries. There's a bright future there under your rule."

  "I hope so. Sometimes I wonder. You know, bringing electricity to the kingdom. It will change a lot. Not everyone is as enthusiastic about these changes as I am."

  "They'll come around," Cleo said. "Just keep doing what you do best and always have an open ear. Listen to their concerns. Make wise judgments. You'll be fine."

  "And more sage advice before we go?"

  Cleo nodded. "Reach out to the other Fomorian outposts. Many of them are quite progressive. Especially the Fomoria of the Pacific, near Hawaii. Maui may have advice for you worth heeding. I cannot say that the old Fomoria, near the British Isles, is quite as forward-thinking. But they also have valuable wisdom worth heeding."

  "Anything you'd like me to tell Tahlia?"

  Cleo pressed her lips together. "Tell her I'm proud of how she's carried the priestess' mantle. But encourage her to embrace her relationship with Titus. If there's anything I regret, I never opened myself up to love again after I was widowed. I absorbed myself in my duties. It is the only thing I'd change about my life if I could."

  "Just because you didn't find love again," I said. "It doesn't mean you weren't loved."

  Cleo smiled and hugged me. "Thank you, Joni. Knowing that will give me peace as I move into the beyond."

  I held Cleo tightly for a minute. Then, with a smile, she turned and walked down one of the gravel paths. When she reached the end of my sight, a white light enveloped her, and she disappeared.

  I single tear fell down my cheek. It wasn't only that I was sad I wouldn't see Cleo again—I was also happy for her. As a Loa, I might never find that kind of peace. Not that I wanted it. I had a lot to live for.

  IT DIDN'T TAKE Shelly long to get the clamshell power plant up and running again. As soon as my Fomorian magic recharged, Agwe and I restored the firmaments to Fomoria and the wyrm fields.

  "Nagga and I must depart for Valhalla," Thor said. "Perhaps my father will allow him to return. But that is not my decision to make."

  I nodded as Agwe held me close, his arm around my waist. "Nammu and Naaga are saying their goodbyes as we speak."

  "Thank you for your assistance, son of Odin," Agwe said.

  "If you wish it, Njord, there will always be a place for you in Valhalla."

  Agwe smiled. "I appreciate the offer. But my place is here, at my wife's side."

  "La Sirene or Valhalla," Thor said, stroking his chin. "Not really a choice at all. The fates have smiled upon you, Njord."

  "What can I say? I'm a lucky god."

  I giggled. "Fomoria offers you its gratitude, Thor."

  "Now that the Kraken will no longer be a worry," Thor said, "I imagine there will not be any occasion for us to meet again. But if there should ever be a need, you can reach out to us."

  "How?" I asked.

  Thor reached into his fanny pack and pulled out a small stone. He held it out to me. I opened my hand. "What is this?"

  "It contains the power of Valhalla," Thor said. "You may use it to call me at any time. If there is a need."

  "Thank you," I said, holding the stone tightly. "Do me one favor when you get back."

  "Gladly."

  "Make sure Odin knows that Nagga is to be a father. If he would be so gracious as to permit him to resume his role as a protector of the seas, we'd certainly welcome him as a part of our wyrmrider legion."

  "I will do my best to convince him," Thor said. "As Odin's son, and due to how my brother turned out without his guidance, I think there is a convincing case to be made for the merits of fatherhood."

  "How is Loki, anyway?" Agwe asked.

  Thor shook his head. "Up to his usual tricks. A regular pain in my ass most of the time."

  Agwe laughed. "Some things never change."

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  "HOW ARE THINGS going between you and Finn?" I asked as Evan climbed aboard his wyrm. He'd been training with one of Nammu's children. A female wyrm she named Cleo as a tribute to our former priestess.

  Evan blushed, "He's amazing. We're doing incredible. I'm glad you introduced us."

  I smiled. "It was my pleasure."

  Even took off through the water to practice formations with Tahlia and Titus, who rode Tohu and Ruach, respectively.

  Agwe swam over to me and rested his hand on my back. "The new wyrmriders are all progressing well. We should start training more legionnaires on the wyrms."

  "We have a little time," I said. "They'll hatch soon and leave the nest soon after that. But it'll be a while before they are ready to be ridden."

  "Still," Agwe said. "It would be good to have legionnaires ready to go once they mature."

  Nammu was curled up on her nest of eggs. She had laid fourteen of them! They were due to hatch any day. Agwe and I swam over to her.

  "How are they coming along?" I asked.

  Nammu grunted as she slithered her body partially off her nest. "One of them is about to hatch."

  Sure enough. One of the eggs had a crack in its side. A little wyrm claw was poking through. It was cute. I couldn't wait. Those baby wyrms are adorable—no bigger than Tahlia when she takes her eel form. She was excited, too. She'd swim with them as an eel and play with them as soon as they were ready to venture out of the nest. I was looking forward to it. I missed most of that with her first litter on account of the zombie shark debacle.

  "I think it's time to let him know," Agwe said.

  Let who know what? Nammu asked.

  I smiled. I pulled out the small stone Thor had given me. I could sense Valhalla's power within it. I didn't draw on it. The stone worked like a sort of dir
ect line to Thor. Not at all like the communication lines that Shelly had installed in the city, but just as effective.

  I rubbed the stone three times. Thor would know what that meant.

  A few seconds later, a blast of golden Valhallan power formed behind me. Nagga came swimming through it.

  Nagga! You came!

  I wouldn't miss the hatching of our children. Thank you, La Sirene, for arranging this.

  I nodded. "How long can you stay?"

  Odin has more plans for me in Valhalla. I'll have to go back. But it's a short trip here via portal. I'll be coming back as often as I can.

  Ruach also approached, and Titus dismounted him. Both of her husbands gathered around her, Nagga dwarfing all of them.

  Agwe took my hand, interlacing his fingers with mine. We swam away to give them space. This was their moment. We could watch the hatching from a distance.

  It was beautiful. That little baby wyrm, squeezing out of his egg, squeaking and looking back at his mother.

  "I think I'm ready," I said.

  "Ready for what?" Agwe said. "To have children of our own?"

  I laughed. "We have all the time in the world for that. No, I think I want to go visit Merlin."

  "You feel like you can handle your cravings?" Agwe asked.

  I nodded. "I've been practicing, you know. And I'll make sure to bring enough Fomorian power with me to draw from. It's been too long. I need to see him."

  "Would you like me to join you?" Agwe asked.

  I nodded. "That would be nice. Thank you. I know going ashore isn't easy for you."

  Agwe shrugged. "You need Fomorian magic to keep your vampirism at bay. I need a jug of saltwater and a sponge to keep my body moist. I'll get by. Besides, we can fly there on one of the wyrms. Take a wyrm hole back to Missouri. It'll shorten the trip."

  I nodded. "Then it's a plan. After the rest of the eggs hatch. I don't want to miss this."

  "Me neither," Agwe said, kissing me on the cheek.

  I didn't know what adventures there might remain for the wyrmriders. But we were growing in numbers and strength. Some day, I figured, Anne Bonny would become a nuisance. We'd have to deal with her, eventually. And, of course, Nephtalie was out there. Did she resent me? I'd saved her life twice, by my reckoning. I could have allowed the Kraken to devour her, but I didn't. Still, I doubted she saw it that way. And she was in league with Baron Samedi—he still wanted a siphon, and he'd made it clear that he'd use Nephtalie to bind me if I ever ventured into the void. Not that I had any reason or desire to go there, of course. So long as I could avoid that, I figured, I'd be fine.

  Nephtalie was a vampire. She was also a caplata. But there were other vampires and caplatas out there. Mercy would deal with her as a vampire, make sure she stayed in line. And Marie Laveau would intervene if she used her voodoo in any unsavory way.

  For now, I was free. Free to see my son. Free to be Fomoria's queen. And free to be Agwe's wife. We'd grown a lot closer since everything went down. Sure, Agwe still had his bumbling moments where his efforts at romance fell flat. But he was getting better at speaking my love language. I was learning to translate his, too.

  Did he seriously just suggest having a baby together? I hadn't even thought of that until now. I didn't think I was ready for that. Not yet. But I could see the future—we could have a family together. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But we could, someday. My heart swelled as I imagined the possibility.

  THE END

  Another Wymrider Story: Watery Graves

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  ALSO BY THEOPHILUS MONROE

  The Druid Legacy

  Druid’s Dance

  Bard’s Tale

  Ovate’s Call

  Rise of the Morrigan

  The Fomorian Wyrmriders

  Wyrmrider Ascending

  Wyrmrider Vengeance

  Wyrmrider Justice

  The Voodoo Legacy

  Voodoo Academy

  Grim Tidings

  Death Rites

  Watery Graves

  Voodoo Queen

  The Legacy of a Vampire Witch

  Bloody Hell

  Bloody Mad

  Bloody Wicked

  Bloody Devils

  Bloody Gods

  The Legend of Nyx

  Scared Shiftless

  Bat Shift Crazy

  No Shift, Sherlock

  Shift for Brains

  Shift Happens

  The Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged

  The Curse of Cain

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Theophilus Monroe is a fantasy author with a knack for real-life characters whose supernatural experiences speak to the pangs of ordinary life. After earning his Ph.D. in Theology, he decided that academic treatises that no one will read (beyond other academics) was a dull way to spend his life. So, he began using his background in religious studies to create new worlds and forms of magic–informed by religious myths, ancient and modern–that would intrigue readers, inspire imaginations, and speak to real-world problems in fantastical ways.

  When Theophilus isn’t exploring one of his fantasy lands, he is probably playing with one of his three sons, or pumping iron in his home gym, which is currently located in a 40-foot shipping container.

  He makes his online home at www.theophilusmonroe.com. He loves answering reader questions—feel free to e-mail him at theophilus@theophilusmonroe.com if the mood strikes you!

  An Underwater Magic Urban Fantasy (The Fomorian Wyrmriders Book 3)