by KB Anne
He knocked at her door before he even had time to think about what he would say to her or to second-guess himself. He waited for her welcome but when none came, he stood outside her room, unsure how to proceed. If it were Gigi in there, he’d burst in after a brief knock, but with Caer, there were too many walls built around him to enter without an invite. After a deep breath, he knocked again.
Still no answer.
He lifted the door latch and announced his arrival—only there was no one there to hear it.
“Caer,” he called out, searching the room for her. “Caer?” He looked under the bed and behind the tapestries, unwilling to acknowledge the open window. But when a soft breeze caressed his cheek, he had to admit the truth.
She was gone.
Scott climbed onto the windowsill and stared out at the night sky. He was a fool. An absolute fool.
Gigi would call him an idiot, or more likely, a fecking idiot.
Ryan would shake his head and tell him that he had blown his chance. Then, with a wink, he’d say, “There are other fish in the sea. In fact, there are many, many seas, all loaded with fish.”
But the one Scott wanted, the one he needed, was a swan in the sky. He imagined what it would be like to soar through the air with the wind beneath his wings. A keen yearning for Caer consumed him as he stared out into the darkness. A fat tear slid down his cheek. He reached up to brush it away, but instead of a hand, a wing swiped across his skin. He blinked to double-check what he was seeing. Feathers poked through his pores. His face pinched and tightened.
He gasped, but no human voice came out. It was replaced instead by a squawk. He twisted his head from side to side, no longer able to see directly in front of him. What was happening to him? Did Gallean slip something into his tea?
Terror struck through him. In this form he was weak, unable to protect Gigi or Caer, unable to protect anyone.
In this form you are powerful.
The wind called to him, and he answered.
He stepped into the night. He’d find Caer. He’d find her and bring her back, and if he couldn’t convince her to return, he’d remain with her.
A sudden gust caught his wings and shot him into the night sky. His transition was complete. He soared through the air. Freedom pulsed through his veins. Never in his life had such a rush of adrenaline raced through him. He felt so, so alive.
Scott swept down into the lands outside Gallean’s keep—the very ones Gigi and he had walked across when they arrived in the Shadow Realm. The very ones Caer had strode across to watch them train. Caer wore her loneliness like a curse. It was a blessing. A gift.
An updraft lifted him away from the ground and toward the heavens. There, in the distance, he saw her. He had never seen her in her swan form, but he knew her spirit. He knew her, and he was an idiot—a fecking gobshite—to ignore his feelings for his soul mate.
She heard the rush of flapping wings. She didn’t think her flock could find her in the Shadow Realm, but perhaps her flight had signaled her swan form and they could pass through different realms to receive her. She slowed to allow them to catch up and glanced back. A single swan approached her. She instantly recognized Scott.
What was he doing here, and how had he turned into a swan? If he tried to stop her, she’d fight him in the air. She didn’t have much experience with flying, but she had more than he did. She planned her assault as he approached. He slowed his wings to match hers. She glanced back at him and he winked before stretching his neck and flying above her. But instead of attacking, he glided through the air in a circle before joining back up with her. He nodded his beak, encouraging her to try. Instead she dipped her beak and plunged into a steep dive, only pulling up just before hitting the ground. Exhilarated, she met back up with him. They circled and plunged side by side in perfect synchronicity with each other. Together they crested the boundary of Gallean’s place and continued over the long valley in the direction of the village. Never had she felt so alive. A song sprang in her throat. Scott also opened his beak to sing, but before a note could be sung, the beating of large wings filled the air above them. Before either of them could react, a giant bird gathered them beneath its wings and pushed them toward the earth. It pulled up just in time for them to land.
In front of Caer and Scott stood the largest eagle she’d ever seen with striking amber eyes. Why were they familiar to her? And more importantly, why had it tried to kill them?
Caer shifted quickly back to her human form, her sword held at the ready. Scott mirrored her actions, he, too, bearing his sword. The eagle blinked at the swords, unimpressed with their sharpness, unfamiliar with their names or their legacies. Perhaps if it felt the blade as she tore off a wing?
It will do no good.
“Gallean?”
The eagle shifted back into the wizard.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I can ask you the same.”
“You can shift into an eagle too?” Scott asked in wonder.
“I can take whatever form I desire. The bear strikes fear with invaders to my keep. The eagle overpowers little birds that sneak away from their nest.”
Caer lifted her chin. “A swan is not little, nor did I sneak away from your keep. I left on my own free will.”
Scott stepped toward her. “Why did you leave?”
Her eyes watered as she stared at him. She would not admit her shortcomings to anyone.
“I did not grant you leave,” Gallean said.
She cleared her throat as she puffed out her chest with her sword at the ready. “I was unaware I had to ask permission for such matters.”
Before an answer could come, the very ground they stood on shook.
“Earthquake!” Scott said.
“No,” Gallean said as he rushed toward the outskirts of the village, his cloak billowing in the wind, “Balor’s army is attacking the enchantments of my boundary shield.”
“To your keep?” Scott asked, his eyes locking on Caer’s, wild with worry.
“No,” Gallean shouted, his battle fury spilling over as he ran. “To the entire island. You two must leave. Your time here is over.”
Caer chased after him with Scott in close pursuit. “We will not abandon you or the island. We will fight.”
“It is not time,” Gallean roared. Soon he’d be unrecognizable if the bear took hold.
“It is time when I say it is time,” Caer growled as she and Scott ran alongside the wizard.
“Besides,” Scott said, somehow sounding relaxed in this time of stress, “you have no army to support you. You need us.”
Gallean cracked his neck, fighting to keep the bear under control. “I can keep them busy long enough for you to get away.”
Caer slipped her sword back into its sheath. She could move faster if she wasn’t holding it. “I will not run from battle. I do not shrink from war. Fear will not swallow me.”
A blast split the very earth between their feet. Scott and Caer leapt over the opening, knocking into each other.
Scott reached for her. “Maybe Gallean is right. Maybe we should leave.”
She veered away to avoid his touch. She would not be distracted. “Gallean needs us.”
As if to prove her point, dozens of men, women, and children ran screaming from their huts, filling the already chaotic streets.
“I will persuade the villagers to join our cause,” she shouted. “Their lives are in danger too. They are my people.”
Gallean swiped his claw at her. “You’re people? They are no warriors. They are people without homes. Runaways, orphans, thieves . . . they live in the in-between.”
Caer’s muscles tensed as she swerved away. “Is that not what I am? Did I not live alone for years without even a wizard as company? I watched these village children grow. I raided their homes at night for bread and cheese. Their presence soothed me. Even when I was invisible amongst them, I felt a part of them.”
Scott tried to reach for her again, but she
would not be deterred.
“Caer, this is madness. You are a powerful woman. I am a powerful man. But even with the villagers, we are no match for Balor’s army.”
Power swelled within her. “I am Caer Ibormeith. I am the Goddess of Dreams and Prophecy. That’s why these people came to the Shadow Realm—to live a dream, even if it was not their best one—and I will unite them.”
She broke away from Scott and Gallean and strode into town. She gathered her courage as she walked. She remembered the way her father spoke to his people—rallied them, encouraged them, stood by them. She would do the same.
“People of the Shadow Realm, I have come to unite you against a common enemy.”
The barmaid from The Howling Wolf tavern called out, “I remember you. Keegan left with you and was found dead moments later.”
Caer flustered at the reminder. At the time, her need for Scott had superseded her common sense, and she had sought satisfaction from a stranger as a substitute. The man had groped her and tried to take her after she’d changed her mind and told him no.
She could lie and pretend it didn’t happen, but that was the coward’s way and she was no coward. Gallean had told her that.
“I killed him.”
Scott’s forehead bunched as he glanced at her. Good. He should fear her as well. She was a mighty warrior.
The barmaid spat on the ground. “The bastard deserved it. With his pretty face, he thought he could treat women like garbage, like they were his property.”
Other women stepped forward and clapped. “Aye,” they agreed.
Caer seized the opportunity. “Balor’s army is coming.”
The barmaid brandished two knives from behind her back. “I have not heard that name for many years. How is it that he can enter the Shadow Realm? I thought we were safe here.”
Caer recognized the longing for safety in the barmaid’s voice. She had cried it herself many nights for many years.
“There is a sickness upon the boundary. Balor wants me.”
“I say we give her to him and be done with it,” a short man cried. He had been Keegan’s companion. The coward.
Scott stepped in front of Caer. “Try it and I will strike you down.”
The barmaid along with three other women shoved Keegan’s friend into a pile of compost meant for the pigs. “You belong with the swine, you milksop.”
“I say we help!” one of the women yelled.
The ground shook again.
“Of course we will.”
“My energy stores are fading,” Gallean growled. “Soon I will no longer be able to keep up the mist.”
Caer threw her fist into the air. “Who’s with me?”
“I am,” the barmaid said.
“I am,” the villagers shouted.
“And Gallean said they weren’t warriors.” Scott tousled her hair.
11
Poor Planning
In hindsight I probably should have made the crescent moon garden larger, but then again, I didn’t anticipate needing to use it as a landing strip for my two werewolf best friends plus myself as we jettisoned from Breas’s prison to Granda’s garden. I keep a firm grip on both of them when we land. I couldn’t have them escaping now that they are in my clutches. One would flee to Clayone and the other to Breas.
“Chruthaigh garrai gaghainn m’intinne féin,” I chant as I rise from the garden. The ground and the herbs I planted empower me to retain my hold on both Ryan and Lizzie.
“Chruthaigh garrai gaghainn m’intinne féin,” I chant again. Invisible walls close in around them. I only need to step away for my containment spell to be complete.
“No,” Lizzie wails, crashing to the ground. “You can’t do this to me. You can’t . . .”
I almost stop the spell to ask her why, but then, that must be what she wants—a trick to either kill me or stop me from imprisoning her.
“Chruthaigh garrai gaghainn m’intinne féin,” I chant again, stepping out of the garden as I release them.
Ryan growls, trying to leap at me. An invisible force field knocks him on his ass. He tries again and again as Lizzie’s wails fill the air.
I raise my hand, tempted to clamp her mouth shut to prevent her from alerting all of Ireland that I have imprisoned her. I cast a silencing spell on the cells instead.
“Ciúnas!”
Her screams quiet. Ryan’s attempts to break out of his prison continue, but I can’t hear his body smack against the sides either.
I watch them as I try to figure out what to do next.
My heart rockets into my throat as Maddie suddenly appears beside me and says, “Why are you standing in the garden staring at an empty space?”
I jump away from him. “Holy crap! How did you get here? Never mind. Whew,” I say clutching my chest. I’m pretty sure I’m about to have a heart attack, but I don’t think I should ask Maddie to call 911 given my guests—er, prisoners. Unlawful imprisonment is generally frowned upon.
Once I return to normal breathing, I smack him in the arm. “Maddie, you need to give me a warning or something before appearing out of thin air.”
He drops his head and rounds his shoulders. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll leave.”
“No, wait.” I reach for him. “I don’t want you to go. Tap me on the shoulder or maybe whisper in my ear, ‘Hey, it’s Maddie,’ and then appear. But believe me, I want you here.”
He smiles. “Okay. So, what are we supposed to be looking at?”
Suddenly on the other side of me, Granda appears. But unlike Maddie, he didn’t appear out of thin air, he actually took the stone path from the cottage. Oh, the good old days when people took the old-fashioned bipedal approach rather than relying on invisibility and portals for their primary method of travel.
“Gigi,” he says, crushing me to his chest. He’s surprisingly strong for his old age. “Madigan told me you had returned but then became imprisoned by Breas. How did you get out?”
I look back and forth between them. Neither one of them has noticed the two people thrashing around in the middle of the crescent moon garden.
“Do you not see who I brought back with me? Ryan and Lizzie—my two best friends who I thought were dead.”
Both squint their eyes as I point to Lizzie and Ryan’s cells. Ryan is still trying to get out. He always was very determined and pigheaded, but eventually he’ll come around. Lizzie, on the other hand, glares at me with pure contempt. It is going to take a lot more time to bring her around, especially after everything I discovered about her family tree.
When they still don’t acknowledge seeing them, I realize I must have gone overboard and not only silenced them but cloaked them completely. I’m still getting used to my enhanced power.
“Nocht,” I chant as I send energy toward their cells. The cloaking spell lifts, and now we can all clearly see and hear Ryan and Lizzie as they pound on the inside of their cells.
“Extraordinary,” Granda whispers. “Albeit a bit cramped.” His blue eyes twinkle with pride as he turns to me. “First, explain how you and Scott managed to disappear in the catacombs and where you went.”
Ryan’s growls intensify as he grows more and more frustrated at his inability to break out.
“Before you share your secrets, perhaps we should move inside, or you could place a noise-dampening spell on their cells,” Clarissa says, appearing beside Granda. She also took the old-fashioned walking route, though I suspect that she possesses far more magic than she lets on.
“They’re my friends.”
Clarissa holds up a hand and closes her eyes. She breathes in and out—maybe scenting the air or having a vision, or performing some other magical trick I’m not familiar with yet. “They were your friends. They are now both working with people who want to kill you.”
She did have a point.
“Ciúnas,” I whisper, returning their cells back to silence and invisibility.
Clarissa was right. If either one got away, I didn’
t want them blabbing about my goddess abilities to Breas, Clayone, or anyone else for that matter.
“Scott and I fell into a portal and landed in the Shadow Realm. I guess I can create portals sometimes.”
Granda and Clarissa nod, neither one especially surprised by my portal-making ability. Tough crowd.
Maddie’s eyes bug out of his head though. “Wow! Is that how you came back? Where’s Scott?”
I grip my chest. Not on the cusp of another heart attack, but from finally acknowledging the emptiness of not having my brother with me.
“Still in the Shadow Realm. Caer ripped open a portal for me at Gallean’s keep.”
Again neither Clarissa nor Granda seems particularly impressed, but then, it was foretold that Scott and I would be separated for a while. I guess that’s what the prophecy meant.
Clarissa’s eyes shine as she reaches for my hand. “Gallean,” she whispers, “how is he?”
“As disagreeable as ever. He finds our banter tiresome.”
She smiles. “Go on.”
“Wait,” Granda says. “Who is Caer?”
Clarissa cups his hand in hers. “Caer Ibormeith. Scott’s true love.”
“Uh, excuse me. I find it offensive that she’s only known as his true love. She’s a kick-ass warrior who can rip open portals in Gallean’s keep.”
“Wait,” she says. Energy fills the air around her. “She can create magic in his keep?”
“Well, if a portal is magic then, yes, she can.”
Her eyes water as she drops to the bench beside her.
“What’s wrong? No harm, some fowl.”
Her eyes glaze over. Crap, a new fecking prophecy. I’m sick of this shit.
“When magic occurs from whence only shadows exist, the storm shall ring upon the border and crush its walls. The greatest of pressure delivers the truest of choices.”
Crushing does not sound good.
Maddie crouches before her. “What does that mean?”
Her eyes return to the present. “It means the Shadow Realm boundary is failing, and it will no longer be a safe haven. The fall of the Land of Shadows will be the harbinger that the worlds are collapsing, and soon ours will be overrun with horrific Fomorian monsters.”
