by KB Anne
She quieted her breathing. The song of crickets and other insects filled her with confidence—it meant she was alone. In her dream, she had become human when she’d landed on Scott’s window. The shift had occurred as naturally as flying when in swan form.
The memory of Scott’s sleeping form filled her with longing. Overcome with desire, she reached out to touch him. Her wing of feathers transformed into an arm with skin. Her beak pulled in on itself. Her legs stretched and elongated. The tall grass on either side of her disappeared, leaving nothing but blue skies and the lake in front of her. She cracked her neck from side to side, her shift from prey to predator complete.
But it wouldn’t do. She refused to rely on her attraction to a man to necessitate the shift. It was Caer who had survived on her own all those years between Mathair Mhór’s death and her time with Gallean. It was Caer who had snuck into the castle and fought off the crocodiles. It was Caer who had killed a man. She swung her sword high in the air. No man would define her.
She curved the blade toward the ground in front of her as she focused on shifting back into a swan. Before the sword hit, it wrapped around her neck, her face pinched and pulled, and her arms quickly changed back into wings. The grass reappeared at her sides. She had returned to prey, but she did not feel vulnerable. She trusted her swan form to carry her far from danger. She would not be afraid. Not anymore.
With intention, she imagined herself as a human. The way the wind kissed her cheeks before a storm. The heat of a fire warming the icy veins surrounding her heart after Gallean had turned her away. The rush of adrenaline as sword met bone. Her body quickly changed back into a human. A wave of dizziness overcame her, and she fell to the ground. The sudden shift taxed her energy reserves. She would not be able to transform back and forth continually without depleting herself. She closed her eyes and rested. In human form, she was vulnerable. She pooled the last of her energy one final time to return to swan form.
Her flock soon surrounded her, sensing that their queen needed them. It allowed her to recover under their watchful eyes. She couldn’t smile with a beak, but her heart and soul sang in belonging.
* * *
That night, she swam to the center of the lake. She was not alone, but she no longer minded their company. She found strength not only in her swan form but also in her flock. She stretched her neck, exposing her throat to the moonlight. The Shadow Moon was to signal the brother and sister’s arrival. Their early appearance had altered her path. She had denied her true nature for many years. Gallean had tried to force her into remembering but she’d refused. It was her anger that led her to open the portal and return to her homeland. It was her need for revenge that led her to the castle. But it was her own self that led her to her swan.
The moon drifted into darkness as the Earth’s umbra cast a shadow upon it. The Shadow Moon brought her clarity. Her ability to visit the brother in his dreams, her visions of the future she never understood so she ignored them instead, even her ability to make a portal in a land where magic could not occur—these gifts marked her not only as a shapeshifting swan, they marked her as a goddess. Her father was not just a mortal king, he was a god, and even he could not withstand Balor on his own.
She realized what she needed to do. She also needed help, and she knew who to ask.
20
Six of Pentacles
Scott ignored the guilt coursing through him as he climbed down the stairs to breakfast. Gallean had probably figured out that he was the one who had talked Gigi into trying to escape. He didn’t know if Gallean could read minds like Gigi, or if he was a master in studying body language like Granda, but he knew the wizard would piece together the truth.
In a way he was surprised Gigi hadn’t suggested leaving earlier in the week, given her love of rebellion. But then, she was distracted. The dark circles under her eyes told a story. He knew the tale included Alaric, and maybe Lizzie too, but he didn’t think it would end with, “and they lived happily ever after.” He wished it would for Gigi, but if her recent past was any indication, she’d find a way to screw it up. It didn’t matter that she was a reincarnated goddess. In this life, her mistakes defined her.
Scott didn’t remember any of his past incarnations. He suspected that he didn’t leave the Otherworld often because his true love lived there with him. She came to him again last night after they had returned to the keep and settled in for the night. When she touched him, love coursed through them so intensely it almost felt real. He knew the dreams weren’t real though, that she hadn’t really come to him, but he wished she had. Maybe then he’d remember more of his past lives. Maybe he’d figure out who he was supposed to be in this one.
He didn’t understand the anger that often replaced his reason. In Vernal Falls he rarely got upset. He prided himself on his patience and his ability to keep Gi under control, but here in the Shadow Realm, anger flashed through him. He got so frustrated with his inability to control his magic. He knew Gallean’s tai chi-judo-yoga moves helped to encapsulate magic and pull and manipulate it into a form meeting the individual’s needs but, come on. How long did it take to master the movement?
Gallean would tell him it took years, and that patience was necessary, but they didn’t have years. Alaric had been missing for a while now, and Lizzie was somehow alive but in werewolf form. Gigi had lasted much longer in her energy training than he thought she could, but then, she always surprised him. She’d explode, rip a locker to shreds, try to hurt herself too, then manage to pull herself together and seem perfectly “normal” faster than anyone he knew. Ever since she had embraced her goddess-ness on the night of Samhain, there was a certain knowing about her. She had tried to play the “I-was-lying-to-Clayone” card and pretend she wasn’t the goddess. He didn’t know why she had lied about it, but then she often lied for the pure joy of it. He liked to believe that she didn’t lie to him, but he suspected she did. Now that she had acknowledged the goddess side of her, there was a confident aura surrounding her.
Truth to be told, Gi made Scott feel better just by being in the Shadow Realm with him. For all her faults, and she had many, she was his best friend. She brought out the best in him in a way no one else could. He knew she wasn’t going to stay here as long as he was. It was foretold that they would be separated. He was sure Gigi assumed the worst—that she was going to die and that the world would never fully recover from her departure. But that wasn’t it. She’d find some loophole so she could go after Alaric, and he’d be stuck here with Gallean and only his dreams of Caer because he couldn’t go in search of her. The wizard had said she’d come when she was ready. Scott wished she’d hurry.
Gallean was waiting for him in the courtyard. The wizard reminded him of one of the wild men from dad’s Celtic folktales. His ability to shapeshift and his gift of magic made him extremely powerful. Had it really been mastering those energy movements here that had made him the most powerful wizard in the universe? But if he couldn’t practice magic here, did anyone really know just how powerful he was?
“I appreciate you joining me this morning. I thought perhaps you’d stay in your room and sulk like your sister,” he said.
Scott didn’t detect any reprimand regarding Gigi’s behavior, merely the mention that she wasn’t with them—which was good because Gi would unleash major attitude if the wizard attempted to discipline her. Of all the adults they’d met since they arrived in Ireland, Gallean seemed the least impressed that they were reincarnated gods. Maybe impressed was the wrong word. Gallean didn’t permit teenage misbehavior and attitude regardless of their god stature. Clarissa and Granda liked to suggest an appropriate action or reaction, but they rarely made them do something they didn’t want to do, like work on energy dancing for hours on end.
“She came to you again last night, didn’t she?”
Scott’s stomach lurched. At this rate he’d have to be careful what he ate for breakfast. He nodded as his answer. The less he talked about her aloud, the better he’d
be able to deal with it.
“In what form does she arrive?”
Scott did not feel like talking about Caer this morning. It would just make him more desperate to find her.
“As a human, but then she flies out the window as a swan.”
Gallean raised his fingers to his chin. Usually when the wizard fell into this contemplative silence, Scott and Gi would sit at the table, unsure of what they should do. But this morning, without Gigi to roll his eyes with, he had only Gallean.
“What does that mean?”
Gallean removed his fingers from his chin and stared at him. “I believe she’s coming to terms with her new form, and she’s struggling with her ability to shift and reshift. The change can be a painful, tiresome practice, but she is determined to master it.”
Scott stiffened. Granted he didn’t know Caer in her human or swan form, he knew her. “Is there anything we can do to help her? You’re a shapeshifter. Can’t you instruct her how to best go about it?”
“She’s not afraid of the pain of the shift, though shifts close together will weaken her for the immediate future. Her greatest concern is the danger she faces. She’s afraid to alert others of her presence. But her confidence is growing. Soon, she will embrace her true nature, and she will become a powerful ally to you.”
Scott jumped up. “She’s in danger? Who’s after her?” The protective side of him made it impossible to stand still, let alone listen to the wizard. He was a man of action, and he protected those in need.
“There is only one who seeks her. One who knows not of her swan form, but he knows she is a reincarnated goddess, and he’ll stop at nothing to collect her.”
Scott didn’t care that she was a swan or a reincarnated goddess. He wouldn’t rest until he found her, and he’d protect her the best way he knew how. He’d eliminate the person threatening her.
“Who? Who is it? I’ll kill him. I will absolutely kill him.”
Gallean waved his hands at Scott as if fanning off his temper and his testosterone—of which he would do neither.
“A man will not kill him. It is foretold it will be a woman.”
He was so tired of prophecies and predictions. Couldn’t people just do or not do something? Why did there have to be an “It is foretold . . .”? That line made him want to break something. It also made him sick because he knew who the subject of that particular prophecy was.
“Caer.”
“Indeed.”
“What is the bastard’s name?”
“Balor.”
* * *
It took Scott several long minutes to recover. He only snapped out of his shocked state because Gi knocked into him when she finally came downstairs.
“What the feck is wrong with you?” she said, shoving him again for good measure.
“Balor is after Caer,” he whispered.
Again Balor had erupted into their lives, pulling the three into a battle against him, because Scott would fight him to protect Caer. He didn’t care about prophecies and who was designated to kill or not kill—he’d kill the monster before Caer even got the chance.
If Breas had been successful in bringing Balor over when the veil was thin on the night of Samhain, it would mean that Caer was safe for the time being. She was in the Shadow Realm, or whatever realm her lake was in—far away from the Earthly Realm. Scott would continue his training with Gallean, and when he was ready, he’d take a portal with Gigi and kill the bastard who was after his love.
“That’s where things get complicated,” Gallean said.
Gigi jumped up and seated herself on the table, putting herself above them. Not because she wanted to prove that she was better than them, but because she still needed to express her rebel nature in subversive ways, such as sitting on an all-powerful wizard’s table.
“Complicated? What the feck is complicated? We kill Balor and save the world and Scott’s swan.”
Two could play at Gi’s game. “What about your wolf?”
She popped a handful of berries into her mouth. “I don’t think he plays a part in this.”
“There are many things you both have yet to understand.”
Scott stared at the wizard. “Then teach us. Help us understand.”
Gallean stood up and waved for them to follow. “It is better if I show you.”
He led them into a library of sorts. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling shelves, loaded with ancient volumes and glass specimen jars containing collections from nature—crystals, fungi, dried berries, and on and on. There were also more weird contraptions than he’d ever seen before. The library reminded him of his and Gigi’s rooms at the keep, but instead of beds, there were tables stacked with books and papers and everything one could imagine in a wizard’s library, along with thousands of things one couldn’t imagine.
The wizard began flipping through a large stack of maps. “I do not believe either of you have seen a map of our worlds before.”
Scott didn’t like how that sounded. A map of our worlds, as if the wizard’s Shadow Realm was somehow aligned with the world they’d left behind, which was somehow aligned with wherever Caer was.
Gi snapped her fingers. It was a habit she’d adopted recently so she wouldn’t accidently create a fireball, although it didn’t matter in the Shadow Realm. “We’ve seen a map of Ireland before. We tried to find Alaric with it. To no success, I might add.”
Gallean pulled apart several maps as if opening a book. “The reason is because you used a modern map of Ireland to try to locate beings that are magically enhanced.”
Scott added a heavy log to the corner to settle the pages. “And you’re suggesting that was not the best way to go about doing it?”
“I’m not just suggesting it; I assure you it was the wrong way.”
Gigi stiffened. His sister never did like being told she’d done something wrong. Of course, she intentionally broke rules all the time, but in this case she thought she had used all the means within her power to find Alaric. Gallean’s claim was a major blow to not only her ego, but her heart.
“If you’ve got a better way, give it up,” she said.
Gallean stood above the map. He pulled in his hands, pushed them below his hips, raised them, then pushed them out at the map to press down the remaining edges. It was hard to believe that he wasn’t conducting magic. His manipulation of energy simulated what Scott had come to understand was earthly magic. Maybe his assumptions on that subject were wrong as well.
“You’ll notice the outline of the country you recognize as Ireland.”
They followed his finger as he skimmed over the boundary before settling on an island in the upper right corner.
“You may also be familiar with the Isle of Man?”
Gigi pulled her hands to her chest and widened her eyes as if her words weren’t going to tell him exactly what she was thinking. “Wow. I mean, you are a wise wizard. You’re right. We’ve been going about our search all wrong.”
His sister was masterfully skilled at sarcasm. It really was a gift. But this time, she’d overlooked the obvious.
“Gi, look,” Scott said, pointing to another island south of the Isle of Man and closer to Ireland. “That wasn’t on our map.”
She bent next to him as they studied it. The map used the ancient mapmaking notations of a triangle without a base for mountains, thick circles with bases for trees, and other rudimentary drawings that left the viewer with little doubt what each symbol stood for. She stabbed it with her finger. “What is this place? Where is it?”
Gallean removed her finger with a sweep of his hand without even touching it. “I’d ask for care when examining my maps.”
Gigi rolled her eyes. “Apologies. Now where is it? Can we get there by boat?”
“Patience. This island you already know, because you are on it.”
Scott pried himself away from the map to study Gallean. “The Shadow Realm is on maps?”
Gallean held up a finger. “On this map, and perhaps one or t
wo others. But if you look closely, you’ll find it’s not called the Shadow Realm. That title sounds Otherworldly, and I assure you, we are very much in your world.”
Gi’s patience was stretched to its limitations. They were fortunate that she could not fully erupt in Gallean’s keep. “Then what is the name of it?”
Scott lightly traced the title with his finger. “The Land of Shadows.”
“Correct,” the wizard nodded at him.
“Why is it not on the maps? How did Granda and Clarissa know of it?”
“Clarissa knew of it long ago when she was—well, I guess she was about your age. Brigit sent her here so I could train her.”
Gi raised an eyebrow. “You trained Clarissa?”
“I did, along with many others for centuries. More recently, I haven’t been taking on new students, but you two interested me.”
“You wanted to train reincarnated gods—I get it. You wanted to add ‘How to Train Freaks’ to your training manuals,” Gi growled.
His sister was gearing up for a fight. Every time her uniqueness was mentioned, she took it as a slight against her fundamental character.
“He means nothing of the sort, sis.” He turned to stare at the wizard. “You sense something big coming. Are you scared?”
The wizard shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not alarmed. I’m merely concerned.”
“Why isn’t the Land of Shadows on the maps?”
Gallean laid another map on top of it. It was a more recent edition than the original. He pointed at where the Land of Shadows was on the other one. “It’s beginning to be.”
Scott bent over again to study it. Beneath heavy clouds and waves, the faint outline of the Land of Shadows was beginning to appear. “What does it mean?”
Gigi uncrossed her arms and bent over to look.
The muscles beneath Gallean’s jaw feathered. “It means the magical mist that keeps this island hidden from the rest of the world is lifting.”
