Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy (24 page)

"What are you doing?" I murmured, my eyes still working to remain open.

"I'm going to get you settled in your cabin.  You can hardly keep your eyes open."

"Not true," I said as I fought
another
yawn.

Cade snorted as he managed to push open my cabin door.  In one second I was safe in his arms, and the next I was being tucked under my quilt.  It wasn't nearly as warm and didn't smell
quite as good as Cade.

Go to sleep Meghan
, he whispered into my mind. 
I need to check the perimeter of the village one last time, then I'll join you.

A shiver coursed through me at his promise and I was determined to stay awake unti
l he got back.  Unfortunately,
that resolve waned and I was asleep within five minutes of curling up in bed.  I never even heard Cade come in after his inspection, and it wasn't until morning that I realized the warm sense of safety I felt was really his arms wrapped tightly around me.

-Twelve-

Lasair

The sky was still dark when Cade and I left the small village behin
d.  Enorah was up to see us off
of course, b
ut none of the other w
ildren were awake.

Cade's sister met us outside of our cabin, her arms crossed with her elbows resting in her hands.  She was like a silent wraith of the forest; serious and grim.  Her current mood, so unlike the general cheerful one from the past
several
weeks, made my stomach churn in
to
knots.  She was worried about her brother; about
the
both of us.  Suddenly, the idea of leaving seemed extremely unappealing.  Why couldn't we just hide in the Weald with all the other castoff children?  Why not just wait out the Morrigan's fury?

Because she will not rest until she has had her revenge, Meghan, or your power . . .

The words seemed to whisp
er in the wind, though the eerily still
forest was blanketed in
a
thick
, static
fog.  I shivered.  The words weren't from Cade or Meridian, perch
ed
far above us.  Nor were they from my own conscience.  Yet I knew who they had come from, and he was right.  Cernunnos didn't give me that magic so I could sit in the middle of the Weald and hide.  He had given it to me so that I could go out and fight against the evil that threatened all that I loved.

Suddenly I was angry and that anger helped burn away the fear. 
How dare the Morrigan threaten me, threaten all of us?  Who cares if she was an all-powerful goddess.  What right did she have to take what she wanted and hurt those who couldn't defend themselves?  For some bizarre reason, an image of Michaela West and Adam Peders and their gang of friends popped into my head.  I hadn't thought about my high school tormentors in months, yet, in a way, they were very similar to the Morrigan.  They too took what they wanted and treated people like dirt.  Well, I had fought back against them and I'd fight back against the Morrigan as well.

"Meghan?"

Cade's voice snapped me out of my
internal tirade
.

I blinked up at him.

"Are you okay?  You
seem
tense
."

Quickly, I s
miled and hoped my face didn't reflect
the way I felt.

I leaned into him and said, "Yes, just a little sad about leaving."

Cade relaxed, then helped me settle my now full backpack and quiver on my
shoulders
.

"Before you go," Enorah said, lifting up her hands.
 
Resting on her forearms were two daggers, one slightly larger than the other, enclosed in identical sheaths.
 
"For both of you, to keep you safe."

"Enorah," Cade whispered, his voice gruff as he lifted the larger knife, "where
in Eile
did you get these?"

He drew
the dagger
from its cover, the bright silver blade clean and sharp.  It was about the length of his forearm and the head of a hound decorated the pommel.

Not knowing what else to do, I mimicked him and examined the other dagger.  Mine was shorter and instead of a hound's head
,
the
profile
of a merlin adorned the top of the hilt.

"This is so beautiful Enorah," I murmured, tears returning to my eyes.

"Keep them on you at all times, it will give me peace of mind."

Cade reached out and grabbed his sister
into a tight hug.  Enorah left one arm
free, so
she
used it to pull me into the embrace as well, the three of us fighting our brimming emotions.  Eventually, Cade loosened his grip and we both paid Enorah our f
inal f
arewells, waving as we turned down the trail that would
take
us out of the Weald.

"Let me know what the final plan is," she called after us.  "Those of us who are able would be honored to help in the battle against the Morrigan."

Cade only nodded, waving one last time as Enorah's figure disappeared behind the
shroud of
mist.

By the time we made it out of the cave behind Luathara, the sky was bright with morning light.  The castle itself stood quiet, so different from how it had been when Cade and I had fled
four
weeks ago.

We entered the back of the castle, through the great oak door that now stood in the repaired wall.  Inside, the castle was dark and cold and I could barely make out some of
the
colors in the tapestries decorating the walls
.

"Where is everyone?" I whispered.

Despite my att
empt to speak quietly, my voice
carried through the vast hall.

"
At their homes in
Kellston. 
My mother could still target the castle just to spite me
."

"Oh Cade," I murmured as I moved closer to him, "I'm sorry."

He stopped his forward movement and stepped up to me, taking my face in his hands.

"It's not your fault, Meghan.  We'll continue with the construction when we've defeated the Morrigan."

I nodded, my thoughts grim nonetheless. 
And how are we to defeat a powerful Celtic goddess?

By pooling our resources.

I
frowned
at him.

He
smiled and traced one of my eyebrows with his thumb.  "I managed to visit most of the Tuatha De while you were stuck in the Weald
with my sister
,
busy
training your glamour to answer
to
your beck and call.  Remember?  They have agreed to meet with Danua and discuss our options with regards to the Morrigan."

Just because they'd agreed to meet, didn't mean they would help.  I wondered if Cade had learned anything else about the person who was helping his mother regain her power so quickly, but that was a question for another time.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded, my head moving between Cade's hands.

"In a
week
we'll meet up with them at Erintara."

I tried not to wince, but Cade noticed and arched a brow.  I sighed and glanced away,
attempt
ing to find something to focus on in the dark hallway.

"I haven't spoken to my mother since that day I told her I'd have nothing to do with her."

Cade chuckled and pulled me closer, resting his chin on the top of my head.
 
"She is your mother
,
Meghan.  No matter how often you might disagree, she will always care about you."

I took a breath and said softly, "You're mother doesn't care about you."

Cade stiffened and I immediately regretted my words.
 
I pulled away and looked him in the eye, "I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have said that."

He only shook his head and took my hand, drawing me towards the stairs.  "No Meghan, it's the truth, and that's why I have no qualms about challenging her.  She wishes to overthrow Danua and to be the new high queen of Eile.  Imagine what life would be like for all of us if she succeeds.  That is why the entire contingency of the Tuatha De have agreed to this meeting.  We must take action before it is too late.  We can no longer turn a blind eye as the Morrigan grows in power."

As we wound our way downstairs, I thought about why Cernunnos had given me the extra power
that day I visited the Tree of Life
.  Could he, for some reason I couldn't fathom, really be trying to help me? 
Or did he have some other ulterior motive?  Naturall
y, that thought didn't comfort me
as we stepped through the castle's main doors
.

Speirling greeted us in the courtyard, whinnying and tossing his great black head.  I smiled, forgetting my dismal thoughts.  I'd missed the huge horse.  Once we were both secure on the stallion's back, Cade led him out into the fields and up the hill towards the dolmarehn that would take us to the Dagda's.
 
Meridian followed us from the sky and Fergus trotted ahead, keeping an eye out for faelah.  Being at Luathara again had made me nervous, but between the castle and the large dolmarehn, we saw no sign of the Morrigan's underlings.

Once through the great stone gateway, Cade nudged Speirling in the ribs and the black stallion veered to the left, stepping gingerly around the stones and lumps of grass that decorated the otherwise barren landscape.

"Where are we going?  The Dagda's is east of here, not north."

Cade turned and threw me a mischievous smile.
 
"We have a stop to make along the way."

"What stop?"

I leaned forward and tried to see further ahead of us.  A crop of tall, rugged hills loomed far in the distance, their jagged tips standing stark against the sun's early light.

You'll see
, Cade whispered in my mind, h
is words a beautiful pale pink.

I grumbled to myself but simply leaned in closer to him and rested my cheek against his broad back.  I inhaled deeply, and his scent helped calm my spirit.  Speirling's easy breathing and rhythmic plodding must have lulled me to sleep because I jerked awake some time later.

How long have I been out?
I sent to my spirit guide.

Meridian swooped from the sky and came to rest on my shoulder.

An hour
, she answered.

That surprised me.  Who would have ever thought I could sleep for an hour atop a horse?

I glanced around at our surroundings, not bothering to question Cade any further about our destination.  I would find out eventually.  We had reached the rugged hills I had seen earlier, but a broad, smooth river snaked along their base, cutting us off from the thick woods on the other side.  There were plenty of trees on our side as well, but those
across
the river seemed to have
a
more powerful aura to them, as if they were guarding something.

"It's beautiful," I whispered.

Cade turned his head to glance down at me.  He looked weary, but a smile graced his perfect face nonetheless.

"I have a surprise for you."

I returned his smile.  "You always seem to have a surprise for me."

He laughed and nudged Speirling on.

We followed the
river's edge for another half
hour and I occupied my time listening and looking for the birds I could hear chirping in the trees.  Eventually the land sloped downward and drew level with the river.  A small stream flowed from the hills to meet up with the larger tributary and a wide beach on either side suggested that it was shallow enough to cross.

Cade pulled Speirling to a stop and slid off his back, helping me down once he was steady on his feet.

Fergus, who had been jogging between us and the unseen Otherworldly creatures he chased, broke free of the brush and joined us on the small stretch of bare land.

"Let's see if our friends are nearby," Cade murmured.

He lifted his fingers to his mouth and let loose a harsh whistle.

A moment went by, then another.  In the distance a horse whinnied and Speirling answered it.

I glanced up at Cade, the question plain on my face.

He lifted a hand and grinned.  "Just wait," he said.

I turned back towards the river, my eyes on the opposite shore.  Soon the air filled with the voices of several horses, calling out to one another.  A faint rumble followed sh
ortly after, and then the rumbling
overtook the sound of the wide, rushing river.
 
A film of dense mist still hugged the low parts of the land, but
the sun had
managed to burn through a few patches of it, the bright rays painting pools of yellow on the ground.