Blood In Fire (Celtic Elementals Book 2) (35 page)

"Why?" The word burst from his mouth with conscious thought and once the dam broke he couldn't stop. "Why did ye give such power to her? She's just a child. A human child! Why did ye show herself to her?
What is my daughter to the likes of ye, Manannán mac Lir?"

Those changeable eyes went pure green and for a horrible moment Aidan was reminded forcibly of Bav. Then the color muted, turning grey, calm and placid. "I donna rightly know. And I wouldna tell ye if I did. All I'll be telling ye is this…it were naught but the call of her soul that drew me in, sweet and soft, like rain on the sea…"

The god shook his head roughly, as if regretting his words.

"I am nae my sister, so ease yer fears. There is nae harm in me for tha' child, O'Neill, no' now. Nae ever, ye ken?"

Áedán
did. Perhaps foolishly, but he believed him. Relief made his knees weak.

"Then alls I ask of ye is this. Protect my daughter, mac Lir. Take her and her grandmother to Manx. Keep watch over them and donna let tha' creature known as Abhartach, or any tha' belong to him, near her. Ever. Can ye do tha'?"

"Aye." Despite his ready assent, the god looked as if Aidan's words had thrown him for a moment.

"What? If there's something yer no' telling me, if ye canna do this, fer god's sake—"

"Nae." Mac's voice cut him off, sure and steady as the tide. "I can do as ye ask. Ye have my word…and my vow tha' it will be so." The ground seemed to tremble far, far beneath Aidan's feet at the god's words. "'Tis only…I had thought ye'd ask me to help
ye
. To make ye human again or some such."

"And can ye do tha'?"

"Nae."
Áedán
must have only imagined that mac Lir's gaze softened for a moment. The god's eyes were cold as a north wind. "There is no' power in any realm tha' can give ye back what ye were."

Áedán
nodded, even though the sea god's harsh words crushed that particular wisp of hope for good. His hope for his daughter, though, was soaring. It came crashing down at Mac's next words.

"Tell me, do ye mean to come to Manx yerself? Should ye become able to shed your master?"

Again,
Áedán
felt his measure being taken and this time it pissed him off. Not only because the god had called Abharatch his
master
. Rage sang through him down to his toes, it took all he had not to try and throw mac Lir off the cliff into his precious sea. His body shook, his muscles coiling and bunching with pain and rage.

He knew the answer to that question. Knew what it
had
to be. He just hadn't wanted to face that part yet. The sea god stood there, waiting with seeming indifference until the fight drained out of
Áedán
.

"Nae. O' course no'. I'll…I'll never see her again. I canna risk it. No' with what I am."

"Aye." Mac nodded decisively. He stepped forward and shocked
Áedán
by gripping his shoulder once, in a hard, firm grip. "Make haste then, ye've only a few hours 'til dawn."

With that he vanished. It was a few moments before Mac's words sunk in to
Áedán
's battered mind. With Isleen safe, he was…he could be free. At least of Aberhartach.

Couldn't he?

The castle was black, cold and foreboding in the grey afternoon light, just as Heather remembered. Bav had been confident she would be able to see it, and the goddess had been right. It waited for her like some undead beast. No, that was the creature inside, she thought, pressing her lips together.

I can’t do this.

Yes, I can!

No, I really can’t.

For a moment she stood on the threshold, staring up at the broken towers above, unable to move one way or the other. Forward or back. Her thoughts spun like a wheel, but inevitably stopped at Aidan. Her mind cleared.

She raised her fist to knock, but the door swung open before her knuckles could brush the wood.

The white-haired freak stood there. She couldn't help her mouth from falling open, she had thought him dead. Aidan's blow with the rock had to have shattered his skull. Declan was almost dancing on the spot as he waved her in. It finally hit her. How far he was standing back from the door, almost halfway down the hall. He wasn't human anymore, then.

Great.
Just fucking great. That was an unwelcome complication.

Obviously they had been expecting her. They must have spies out in the Reeks. She could only hope Bav had been crafty enough not to let their arrival together be seen.

Heather scowled at Declan to cover her nerves. “I bet your master didn't spill any of his precious blood to change you.”

His eyes continued to twinkle, like a child with a secret. “You would be quite wrong. My
king
bestowed his most wonderful grace upon me—"

“Oh shut up. I really don't give a damn.”

The doors fell shut behind her. The sound reverberated like a death knell, sending a shiver up her spine.

No, actually that was Declan’s cold fingers on her spine.

“Get your hands off me!” Heather snapped, spinning around.

He inclined his head and dropped his hand, but not before she saw a smile twist his too-red lips. Creepy fucker. Still, he was nothing compared to…

“You are forgetting your training,
mo leanbh.
Announce our visitor.” Abhartach’s voice rang out from the dining hall. Heather lifted her chin, walking forward determinedly. Declan’s amused voice called out her name in mocking tones.

Her body froze on the threshold. For a second Heather was unable to move, to force herself to enter that room.

Declan reached for her again and she shied away.

Her compulsion to avoid his touch broke through the fear enough that she was able to step forward on her own. Her eyes were drawn to the awful table like a magnet. It was sparkling clean, unadorned. A dark slate-grey expanse with Aberhatach at its head. The vampire king sat in his chair, that twisted mockery of life. He stroked the tangled arms as he regarded her.

“Welcome back, my dear. I confess I had not thought to see you again so soon. Make ready the woman’s former chamber,
mo leanbh
. I will call if I have need of you.”

Heather waited until Declan drew the double doors closed.

“I'm not staying, you know.”

Abhartach chuckled. “Do you possibly imagine you will leave here ever again, human?”

“Yes, I do, actually. I brought something for you. A present.”

Abhartach laughed delightedly. “Ye mean other than Aidan on a platter?”

“Oh I think you want this far more than him, I think. In fact, I am counting on it. I want your word that you will not harm him if I give it to you. Harm him or me.”

He raised his eyebrows, considering her. When Abhartach stood, she jumped despite her resolve to be brave, but he merely took a few steps to his right and pulled out a chair for her.

“Please.” His voice was mockingly gracious. It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse him, to keep as much distance as possible between them. That wasn’t the mission, though. Her stomach quivering, she commanded her legs to move and sat.

Abhartach took his seat again, giving her a bemused look. “Does it feel odd to seated at this table…instead of laid out on it?”

Her hands twisted in her lap. “Odd isn’t the word I'd use, no.”

He acknowledged her words with a sardonically appreciative smile. “Come then, dear. Where is my present?”

“First, the vow.”

“Now, now. Everyone is so obsessed with vows all of a sudden. My, my. You don't in a million years believe that it will be that easy. You must be confident in your trinket's worth or you wouldn't have come here so boldly, but I have to disappoint you, I'm afraid. There is nothing—"

She took out the vial and laid it on the table. Abhartach's voice seemed to snap in two. His black eyes gleamed red. For a long moment he neither moved nor seemed to breathe. Then his head swiveled to face her. “That’s not—”

“It is.”

“Impossible.” He shook his head angrily, as if trying to rid himself of hope. “Aidan did not lie. I would have sensed it.”

“Aidan didn’t know. Ronan held some back.”

“Lugh’s wolf?” Abhartach stretched his hand forth, his thick fingers brushing the vial, but his eyes remained on her. She let memory and belief flood her mind, just like her and Bav had practiced.

'Ye fooled Aidan once, ye can fool him. Abhartach has no' Aidan's gift, only the slight telepathy granted him by blood sharing, and unless he bites ye, tha' will be nae worry to ye. But donna forget tha' he is demon and fae both. Abhartach is far, far more perceptive than a human. Remember tha'. Ye must believe what ye tell him. Believe it, see it.
Make
it real. 'Tis yer only chance.'

Ronan with the vial in his hand, his fingers closing around it that day at the lake. Then she saw herself in his and Lacey's cabin, pulling it from Ronan's desk, when it truth it had been Aidan who had pressed it into her hand when they left the Reeks. It had been empty then. It wasn't now.

Heather held the story in her mind's eye, letting her love for Aidan push away all doubt. It would work. It
had
to work.

“You would let the earth burn for him?” His tone was incredulous, but he believed her. She could hear it in that raw voice.

“Wouldn’t you?” Heather whispered, trying not to let her relief show.

“No.” Abhartach picked up the vial, turning it this way and that in front of his eyes.“No, I wouldn't.

"Nor would I come to an enemy’s gates, an enemy far more powerful than myself, with no protection to offer a gift that could be taken easily from me by force. What are ye hiding, my dear?”

Relief cracked in a rush of icy terror.

Don't panic.

Don't panic!
Stick to the fucking story.

Sell it.

“You need to test the portion first, before you even know it is for real, don’t you?” Her tone was low, almost patronizing. Abhartach cocked his head.

“Of course. Not on myself." He winked at her. "I am sure I can find a suitable volunteer." His considering look gave her chills.  She wondered who he'd choose, she was routing for Declan. Since what was in the vial was only crushed dirt and a bit of rock. "That, however, doesn't answer my question, does it?”

“Really, you don't see it yet?" She smiled at him, far more bravely than she felt. "And then…once you know it works. How do you plan to get more? I only brought you enough for one try. But there is more, I promise you. A great deal more. Somewhere very safe.”

Abhartach stilled, his fingers tight on the vial.

“Torture is known to loosen lips.” He spoke slowly, testing her reaction. She could practically hear the screech of evil gears working behind those black eyes.

“I survived your torture once, what makes you think I can’t do it again?” She lowered her head, her hair tangling over her face. Giving her something to hide behind as she took a breath, putting every ounce of belief she could muster in her next words. “I promise you I
will
die before I give up the rest of the potion’s location without your vow.”

“I could put that to the test.”

“You could…and I could not stop you, of course. I am only human. You should know, though, that Ronan Fitzpatrick, 'Lugh’s wolf', as you put it, is probably on his way here right now. He'll be tracking me.” That at least was true enough. When Ronan found her gone from that old house…would Bav be able delay him long enough? “I doubt you want him involved.”

“Bah, he is only human now, as well. What care have I for him?”

Heather raised her head coolly. “That’s odd.” She murmured it, as if talking to herself.

“What?” Ab said impatiently. “What is odd?”

“That goddess, Bav. She told Aidan you were too smart to risk a war with Lugh. I guess, she was wrong…” She let her voice trail off while looking Abhartach in the eye.

He grunted, looking down at the vial in his hand.

“Lugh wouldn't cause a war over one stupid human.” He didn't sound convinced of his own words, but she felt another nudge in the right direction would not be amiss.

“I was under the impression that 'stupid human' helped to eliminate a serious threat to Lugh’s throne very recently, but what do I know, being a stupid human myself?”

“Being flippant is a dangerous thing for a woman in a vampire's castle." Aberhartach showed her his teeth, but Heather could see him weighing her words. All she needed was time. Just a little time.

C'mon, you bastard.

"Fine." He waved a hand over the table airily. "We will test your potion and if it works…perhaps you will get your vow." He gave her an indulgent look.

Bullshit, Heather thought, dizzy with suppressed triumph. Wow, Bav was right. The vampire king was arrogant beyond belief. It was obvious Abhartach would never make such a vow…not to her. She didn't need him to, she just needed…