Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy (26 page)

Lasair didn't shy away from the Morrigan's minions like Speirling did.  Instead, he rushed towards the downed faelah, lashing out with his hooves and trampling the creature into the ground.  For a mere moment I sat stunned
, almost forgetting to shift with his movements so I would
n't
tumble to the ground
.  This wasn't just a horse, this was a warrior.

"Meghan!" Cade called out again.

I looked up to find him
clear
of Speirling's back.  He stood still with his arms spread slightly.

"Don't let their tails lash you and try not to get bitten."

Cade let his head fall back and he closed his eyes, taking long, steady breaths.  The reptilian faelah kept emerging from the earth and in the distance I heard the baying of the Morrigan's hellhounds
;
her C
u
morrig.  We were under full attack.  She had known we would eventually travel to the Dagda's.  All she had to do was wait.

Lasair's furious
scream
reminded me that we had stopped moving.  I glanced at Cade once more as the power of his
riastrad
took hold, but a horrible noise demanded my attention elsewhere.  I sucked in a breath.  More of the
scaled
faelah had moved in.  I gave up on trying to untie my bow and instead reached down and drew the dagger Enorah had given me from its sheath.  Thank goodness I had taken her advice
and kept it on me
.

"Try to stay steady Lasair," I whispered as I crouched low against his back, my heart in my throat.  I had practiced defending myself during my stay in the Weald, but none of it had covered fighting from horseback.  Still, my instincts told me I stood a better chance if I could
just stay on Lasair
.

The red stallion
whickered softly, his sides heaving from the effort he'd used to kill the first monster.  Having Lasair on our side gave me a sense of security, but that slight moment of peace vanished as something dark appeared over the rise in land to the north.  I squinted, losing my concentration for a moment as I tried to see what that darkness was.  Then it dawned
up
on me and my heart dropped to my stomach.  The hellhounds I'd heard earlier.  Dozens of them, and several other faelah as well.  Their numbers far outshone the ones we faced that afternoon the Morrigan had lured me into her trap.  We were doomed.

Meridian, go get the Dagda.  Tell him we need his help!
I sent in desperation.

Yes, swift!
Meridian sent back.

Lasair
pinned his ears flat against his head and snorted in
fury
, baring
his teeth and stomping his feet.  I let the three faelah that had surrounded us see my dagger, but whatever Otherworldly magic it might contain, it d
id nothing to intimidate them.

The creature in front of us hissed and leapt, aiming for Lasair's throat.  The horse moved quickly, rising up on his hind legs and striking out with his hooves.  He caught the faelah in the head and it went down.  Un
fortunately that gave the other
s an opening.  They
both
jumped
at the same time
and one landed on Lasair's rump.  The other aimed for me but I reacted quickly and lashed out with the dagger, stabbing the creature in the chest.  It screamed in agony, but the forward momentum threw me off of Lasair.  I landed with a thud on the ground, the faelah landing on top of me.  I gasped for breath and thrashed at the creature, nearly throwing up as its stench filled my nose.  Finally I struggled free, then quickly scrambled to my feet, my da
gger ready for another attack.

Fortunately, the creature was dead, a giant welt growing and spewing smoke and gore where I had stabbed it.  I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth, fighting the sickness that threatened to rise up.  The magic within me still struggled to break free, but I gritted my teeth and fought it along with the nausea.  If tha
t army of Cumorrig fell upon us
I might use it, but right now I was willing to fight with what I had.

A harsh whinny tore my attention back onto the battle scene and worry laced my blood as Lasair fought to remove the faelah.  He bucked once, getting the one on his rump off, then reached around and bit into another, tearing it free and kicking it.  I watched in awe and admiration as the horse pummeled the beasts with his hooves.

He tossed his head and screamed, jogging over to me and turning so that he stood between
me and the approaching sea of evil
.  In the distance I could hear the rumbling of feet pounding the ground and Cade's harsh howl of anger as his battle fury aided him in taking out the first line of monsters.

This couldn't be happening.  We were only yards away from the Dagda's home.  We had to make it.  I wasn't ready to risk using the magic
Cernunnos
had given
me; I wasn't ready to risk
losing my only secret weapon
. . .

Suddenly furious, I shoved the dagger back into its case and then went to finish untying my bow from Lasair's saddle bag.  More
of those ground-dwelling
faelah closed in, snarling and growling, but they didn't scare me.  I calmly drew an arrow from my quiver, placed it in my bow, and took aim.  The closest monster was only ten feet away, trying to get around Lasair.  It lashed its long tail out like a whip and caught my horse on the shoulder.  Lasair screamed in pain and I gritted my teeth, allowing just enough of my magic to flow free in order to ease the tension building inside of me.  I released the arrow, letting it take some of my glamour with it.  The arrow caught the creature in the throat and brought it down instantly.  I sacrificed a few seconds to test my magic again.  Straining against the strength of the other source of power, I drew just enough of my glamour out to establish a weak shield.  Hey, something was better than nothing, and Enorah would be terribly disappointed in me if I couldn't create a simple defense after all my practice.

Once both my sources of magic were stabilized, I sought out another arrow and readied it, taking aim at one faelah, then the next as they charged towards me.  I used just enough of my glamour to keep my shield up and to add extra killing power to my arrows.  That other well of magic
still burned and clawed to be set free, but I held it in place as sweat poured down my face.  I took out three more faelah and listened for Cade among the clatter and
cr
ies
of battle.  His angry shouts assured me he was still fighting, so I kept up the
combat
on my end.  Lasair, too, had proven himself a fierce fighter
and h
e continued to kick and bite and trample
as I aimed and shot my arrows
.

A screech from above and the thundering of hooves tore me from my concentration.  Meridian swooped down out of the sky, diving at the faelah who had managed to sneak up behind me.  A shockwave of power hit me and I fell to the ground, my weak defense bursting like a bubble.  Oh well, wasn't much of a shield anyway.  The five monsters behind me collapsed and turned to ash
, helpless against a spirit guide's power
.

Dagda follows!
Meridian sent as she moved on to another group of faelah.

A bark and a snarl announced Fergus's arrival as well.  He must have gone with Meridian.

I stood up, wincing at the pain in my arm as I pushed against the ground.  I glanced down at it and sucked in a breath.  A long gash ran from my elbow and halfway down my arm to my wrist.  The sleeve of my sweatshirt was soaked in blood.  How had I missed such a huge injury?  Had I been that focused on the battle?

A shout of fury rose above all the rest of the noise and I glanced up to see a small army of horses carrying men in chainmail charging towards us.  Leading them was a huge man on an equally giant Palomino charger.  Pale red hair streamed from beneath his helmet and he had a great sword raised above his head.  The Dagda.

My knees buckled and I collapsed with relief.  The Dagda and his guard thundered past me and behind them were dozens of other men armed with crude weapons and simple leather armor.  I tried to stand back up so I could continue helping with the fight, but my legs wouldn't hold me.  I mentally kicked myself for being weak, but there was nothing else I could do.

Lasair came up to me, his sides wet with bloody cuts where the tails of the faelah had lashed him.  He knelt down beside me and at first I thought he was just as exhausted as
I was
, but when he turned his head to regard me with brown, intelligent eyes, I realized he wanted me to climb on his back.

Nodding grimly, I complied, trying to ignore the injured arm that had gone from aching to burning.  I scooped up my bow before he rose and despite my pain, I continued to shoot the faelah from Lasair's back.  The battle lasted a half an hour longer and although the Dagda and his men managed to kill several more of the Morrigan's faelah, most of them fled to return to their master.

"Meghan!" a familiar, yet muffled voice yelled.

I blinked and turned around, smiling in great relief.

"Dagda!" I nearly sobbed.

He still sat astride his large blond horse, but he'd removed his helmet, his red hair sticking out in every direction.  His face was grim and his eyes burned with the fury of battle.  He climbed down from his horse, the armor he wore clanging with every step.  Without stopping, he reached me and pulled me up into a great hug.  I yelped in slight surprise, but returned his embrace without a second thought.  He smelled of leather and oil and sweat and the earth itself.  I sighed and let the tension in my body melt away.

"Dear girl!  Are you well?"

He put me down then held me at arm's length, checking me for missing limbs and any other injuries.

"Your arm," he murmured, taking my hand and
gently
stretching my arm out.

I winced, but held still.
 
His mouth cut a grim line across his face.

"It looks bad, but I'm sure it will be fine once
it's
cleaned."

Throughout the Dagda's fussing, the last vestiges of the fight came to an end.  The dead faelah were all but ashes thrown to the wind and the Dagda's men were wandering the great field, checking to make sure all the monsters that remained were truly dead.  Well, dead in the sense that they wouldn't be rising up again.

The sound of approaching footsteps made me turn around.  Cade stood there, looking tired but not nearly as tired as he had looked in the
past after going through his battle fury.

He nodded at the Dagda, silently thanking him for his aid, then stepped up to me, pulling me from his foster father's protective shadow and into his arms before I could so much as s
queak in protest
.

"Are you well?" he said against my hair.

I only nodded, taking a shuddering breath, though that action alone was difficult with Cade's death grip on me.

A sharp whinny reminded me that Lasair was still hurt and bleeding.

"You're lucky," Cade said as he reluctantly stepped away from me.  His eyes were bright and fierce.  I attributed it to the remnants of his
riastrad
, but it could have been something else entirely.  I swallowed hard as my
nerves started acting up again.

After looking at me like that for a good fifteen seconds, he cleared his throat and said, "You picked a good horse."

I laughed, despite our surroundings and my fresh anxiety.  "I was lucky
he
picked
me
, remember?"

Cade grinned and took my hand, the
sharp,
primitive look in his eyes fading a little.

"Now, that's enough fraternizing
for now
.  Let us return to my abode where there awaits a hot bath for the both of you and then a meal afterwards. 
We have a Lughnasadh celebration planned for this evening, and with today's success on the battlefield, m
y men will
be eager to begin the festivities as soon as possible
."

The Dagda patted Cade on the shoulder, though it was more of a wallop, then climbed back into the saddle of his own horse.

Cade squeezed my hand once, casting me another quick glance, then left to retrieve Speirling.  I turned to find Lasair gazing at me with great brown eyes.  I walked up to him, placed my hand on his forehead and sighed.

"Lasair, you did such a wonderful job," I said, trying not to think too much about the crushing power of his hooves.

At the sound of his name, his ears pricked forward and he pushed out his head, nudging me with his nose.  I laughed and hugged him, happy to hear his contented whicker.

With the help of a nearby soldier, I was back atop
the red stallion
,
and within ten minutes we were all headed towards the Dagda's home.  It wasn't until we passed between the first two hills, however, that I noticed the large black raven glaring at me from the edge of a copse full of dead trees.