Dark Fae (13 page)

We didn’t dismount, which I was glad for. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to walk again. The muscles in my legs and butt were aching, and I was certain I had a blister on my ass
despite the smooth movement of my mount
.

Fianna raised a hand in greeting to us
and we shared our request
. “Nuadha has chosen to camp on the far side of the island, where the ocean meets the shore. We cannot go with you now, but when the time comes for the battle between you and Chaos, the Banshees will be there.”

The Aughisky spun on their haunches and I shouted my farewells. This was going to be a long ride, even at the speed that our mounts could manage.

Quinn, love, talk to me.
Bres’ words whispered across my mind and I finally relented, letting him in.

I’m going to have to do it. It’s just hit me that this is the weapon I’ll use to take her head.
The words were painful
,
and I hadn’t even said them out loud.

I glanced over at Bres, his face pale with the shock of my words.
You don’t know that.

Turning my face into the wind, I hunched over the saddle, the hilt of Carnwennan digging into my side. The problem was, while I wanted to believe I could save Ashling
,
everything was pointing to her death being the only way to save the world. How could I tell people I gave up the world for a single life? Even if that life was the whole world to me?

The Aughisky did just what the three Smiths said they would. They ran at a speed that no one could match, taking us all the way to the West coast. It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking through the cloudy skies when we reached the coast. The scent of the ocean
reached me and my mount at the same time.

“Quinn, dismount. Right now
,”
Bres said, his words brooking no argument.

But my body was sluggish after a night in the saddle and it didn’t want to obey me. My mount snorted and spoke, shocking the hell out of me.

“Lady of the Sea
, dismount. I cannot contain my urge to take to the water much longer.”

I slid
off, my knees
buckling
when my feet touched the ground, but it was enough. The Aughisky bolted towards the water, bucking and tearing the saddles from each other’s backs.
We watched as they dove into the water, their sleek black bodies
disappearing
under the waves.

“Thank you
,”
I said, knowing that they couldn’t hear me
,
but saying it anyway.

Letting out a groan I tried to stand. “I’m so sor
e
, everything hurts.”

Bres chuckled
, mimicking the three Smiths
. “Ah, it weren’t so bad, lass.”

I took a swat at him, though it was only half
-
hearted. “Don’t tease, we have to find Nuadha.”

The
sound of
multiple
sword
s
being drawn from their
scabbards
was the only warning we had. Bres spun, pulling his own sword, barely in time to parry what would have been a fatal blow.

“Put down your
weapons
,
Fomorii!”
o
ur attacker cried
out
. His armor was polished to a sheen and reflected the weak light of the morning in bright flashes.

“Stop!”
I yelled, foolishly think
ing
that they would listen. Others slipped up behind us
,
and I did the only thing I could think of
—
I flipped a Barrier over Bres and
me
, protecting us from the men who’d surrounded us.

“Drop your Barrier, Quinn.” I recognized that voice, but not because I’d ever met him in person. Slowly I turned to face Nuadha, leader of the Tuatha de Daanan. His hair was shorn, not the long silver braid it
had been
at his battle with Balor where he’d cursed the Fomorii.

“Nuadha, we aren’t here to fight
;
we’re here to help
,”
I said.

“Then drop the Barrier.” His eyes showed no warmth nor malice.

A glance over my shoulder to Bres for some sort of indication
of what we should do
only gave me a half shoulder shrug to go on.
I don’t know, Quinn.

Damn. Where was Cora now? Nowhere
.
I couldn’t even feel her. A hitch in my throat caught me. Now
?
S
he abandoned me
,
now?

I dropped the Barrier. “You see, we are on your side . . .” The men swarmed over Bres, but when I went to aide him, he shook his head. “No, it’s what I expected.”

Nuadha strolled up beside me. “He is a traitor, two times over. Why would you protect him?”

I frowned up at the
silver-
haired man. He was everything Luke had been when I’d first met him,
arrogant an
d
cocky,
only compounded by years of truly believing that he was the best.

“I trust him, with all my heart
,”
I said.

The men around us laughed, as if I’d said something dirty. Nuadha just grunted. “Take him to the stocks. The Council will deal with him.”

He grabbed me by the arm, his fingers tightening painfully around my bicep. “And you, Quinn, what are we to do with you?” He yanked me alongside him
self
as if I were a child. I jerked backwards, forcing him to let me go or get in a tug of war.

“I am here to help you stop Chaos. That’s it. You can keep your stupid leadership spot
;
I sure as hell don’t want it
,”
I snapped.

His lip started to curl upwards
,
but he stopped it mid
-
rise. “Again, I believe that we shall let the council deal with you.” He gave a sharp whistle. “Guards, take her to the stocks with her pet Fomorii.”

Three guards rushed me and I didn’t know what to do. These were supposed to be the good guys, the ones who stood with me
,
as I faced down Chaos.

Bres tried to calm me.
Don’t fight them, Quinn. Luke will get us out. They don’t call him the Charmer for nothing.

His words
did
n’t sooth
e
my anger
,
but
they
kept me from lashing out
,
which would have been a disast
e
r
with the strength of not
only my power, but Card’s too.

They hauled us off down the beach, over a sand dune and into
the
sparse edge of the forest. Carnwennan was taken from me, but I wasn’t too worried. I could feel the bond with it even more strongly than I had when it was only a dagger. I had no doubt I could Call the weapon to my hand when I needed to.

We were tossed onto a rough patch of dirt and sand
;
individual Barriers were put around us, each with our own guards.

“Well ain’t this a kick in the ass
,”
I muttered. So much for being the
C
hosen one.

I looked over at Bres
,
who just smiled. “This isn’t my first time in trouble with Nuadha
.
H
e’ll come around.”

Laughing
,
I said, “
Somehow it doesn’t surprise me that this
isn’t your first time.”

He leaned back against the Barrier,
his eyes sparkling with devilry.
“First time with you.”

Heat rushed up my face and I shook my head. Flirting at
a
time like this? What was wrong with us?

The guards turned their backs to us, taking their watch seriously. Of course, I took the opportunity to
Call Carnwennan to me
the moment they turned around
,
and bur
y
it under a thin layer of sand. The sun continued to rise
,
and the heat in my Barrier was increasing
faster than it should have been, as if I was in a hot house and not just sitting on the sandy beach
. By noon
,
I was panting
;
the need for water
was
beyond anything I’d
previously
experienced.

A thought trickled through my mind like the water I so desperately craved. Reaching out with my senses and Card’s power, I found a seam of water deep below me. Calling it upwards, I coaxed the fresh water into my prison until I had a bubbling spring that I could drink from. The water was icy cold, a bit gritty from coming through the sand, and the best thing I’d ever dr
u
nk in my life. Drinking my fill,
I splashed the water over my face,
the
back of my neck and chest. My guard glanced at me once, frowned
,
and then looked away. All the better. Now it was time for Bres. Pulling on the water again, I coaxed and cajoled it into rising below Bres, creating a spring for him.

His eyes widened
.
I gave him a nod. At least we wouldn’t die of dehydration. Dying of something else, say a sword thrust from Nuadha
—
that
,
I wasn’t so sure
we’d be able to avoid
.

Down the beach I could hear shouting
—
screaming actually. I rolled to my side, my head propped
up on my arm, my fingers resting
just over
the hilt of
Carnwennan. It was the most effort I was willing to make, even for a scuffle.

A petite figure was screaming into Nuadha’s face, body cloaked, but obviously feminine. I sat up.
Twice she screamed my name,
asking
where I was
,
and
what had been done to me.

“Mom?” Her hood slipped back revealing the curls both Ashling and I had inherited. I stood up. “MOM!”

She spun, saw me and started to run across the sand. Even at this distance
,
I could see tear
s
tracking down her face.

Nuadha yelled at her to stop, but she didn’t listen. I had a split second to see and understand what was about to happen. Nuadha raised his hand
,
with
power circling around him as he prepped a power bolt.

I Called Carnwennan to my hand, sliced through the Barrier and ran towards Darcy. “Get down!” I yelled. The glint in Nuadha’s eye told me everything. This was a setup. Darcy dropped to the ground as Nuadha’s power bolt skimmed over her head and straight to me.

With everything I had, I threw a flat Barrier up, deflecting the power bolt
, bouncing it back towards a
wide-
eyed Nuadha. He dropped to the ground, the bolt whipping out past him and into the ocean with a tremendous thump of water and air.

Running to my mom’s side, I helped her stand. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you. The visions, they’ve changed
,” she
whispered. “There is a chance that you can still save Ashling.”

Her eyes were as wide and
as
sincere as I’d ever seen them.

Nuadha broke the moment. “Traitor! Give me that sword!” I could see the hunger in his eyes and I stepped back, taking my mother with me. “Nope, can’t do that. It’s mine.”

He snarled, “Give it to me now!”

Darcy and I scrambled back, Nuadha following. I didn’t want to have to fight him, I knew I couldn’t win on skill alone
,
and I’d kill him if I just used my powers.

“Nuadha, stand down!” An older man stepped into sight, Luke at his side. I couldn’t stop the grin that split my face when I saw him.
He gave me a salute and a wink.

N
uadha froze, a snarl twisting his lips
. “You will not take my place.”

“I don’t want it
,”
I said.

“It’s not a choice you or I make!”
he
roared. His face was mottled red and white with his rage, and he didn’t lower his hand.

The man
who had
stopped him shook his head. “Nuadha, this is a decision for the whole council. . . you have let your fear rule you.”