Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy (37 page)

Leaving my friends on the stairs of Luathara's main entrance, I walked over and pressed a hand to the red horse's forehead.  He blinked once, twice, and then he seemed to settle.

"This is home, Lasair.  Cade and I must travel to the Weald soon, but it is safe enough for you here.  We'll return as soon as we can."

I hated the idea of leaving the horses behind, but they would not fit through the dolmarehn that would take us to Enorah and her
w
ildren, and the people who had returned to keep Luathara's castle in running order would take good care of them.  I only hoped the Morrigan was too busy preparing for war to bother with attacking Cade's castle again.

That evening,
Cade and I shared a light dinner with Briant and his family.  I chatted a little with Birgit, but my heart wasn't in the conversation and I was pretty
certain she sensed it.  I just
had too many other worries on my mind.

Later that night, as I enjoyed the feeling of
cozying
up to Cade in his great bed, I contemplated what the future
might reveal
.  We had a lot going for us, if I really thought about it.  Sure, the Morrigan was the Celtic goddess of war and she had the god of the afterlife on her side, but we had everybody else. 
I had my own glamour and that extra helping from Cernunnos. 
And we had the Dagda's Cauldron.  A piercing tingle of joy shot through me
at that sudden thought
.  How on earth could I have forgotten about the Cauldron?  Suddenly I felt much better about everything that had been keeping me awake at night. 
Perhaps we weren't so lost as I had thought. 
Sighing in pleasure, I snuggled in closer to Cade as his arms wrapped around me.

* * *

The moment we arrived
in
the small village in the middle of the Weald, we were descended upon by dozens of children.  The two guards who had spotted us a few miles out wandered off to fetch Enorah, and when she came stepping out of one of the many cabins, Cade let go of my hand and wrapped his sister up in a great hug.  She grumbled and struggled to escape, but smiled the
entire time.  When he let go, it was my turn.  Enorah grunted in surprise as I mimicked her brother's gesture.

"I've missed you!" I said, stepping away.

"And I you," she answered, looking at both me and Cade.  "Why are you here?  Has the war started?"

Cade shook his head.  "No, but it
shouldn
't be long now.  We've come to stay with you until Danua summons us.  All that Tuatha De magic was wearing us down."

Enorah pursed her lips and nodded.  "I can imagine.  Well, let us make use of what time we have then.  I'll have to get some of the other adults prepared for looking after the young ones while I'm gone.  I have at least a dozen good candidates to take along with us when the time comes."

We followed Enorah as she led us to our very own cabin.  Once we dropped off our stuff, we headed back out into the village square. 
We had gotten off to a late
start that morning, so by the time we settled into the routine of the village, it was time for the evening meal.

"Tomorrow morning we practice
,
Meghan," Enorah proclaimed as we enjoyed the rustic cooking of the
w
ildren of the Weald.

The fire felt warm and inviting, and the memories of my
month
spent here
in mid-summer
came flooding back.  It was good to be within the embrace of the forest
again
, the safety of its ancient magic settling my nerves.

"Good," I said, taking one more bite of bread.  "I haven't had a chance to use my longbow in days."

Enorah only grinned, her eyes glittering with anticipation.  Before Cade and I headed for our cabin, we regaled the tale of the attack outside the Dagda's and what had been discussed in Erintara.  Enorah listened with full attention, her usually jovial face slowly becoming weighed down with the bad news.

"We're going to have a real fight on our hands then," she finally said.  "But that's the one thing about the Faelorehn.  We do know how to put up a good fight."

As I drifted off to sleep that night, I tried to keep Enorah's positive attitude close to my heart.

We can defeat the Morrigan and Donn
, I told myself. 
We have all the Tuatha De and the Cauldron on our side.  I just have to have faith.

My thoughts sounded convincing, but for some reason they did little to ease my mind.  Yes, it seemed we had a good chance against the Morrigan, but something I couldn't quite grasp remained hidden under the surface; something unknown and unseen.  A haunted spirit that knew something I didn't, but couldn't tell me.  I had a bad feeling that whatever it was, it wouldn't reveal itself until much later.

Suddenly, Cernunnos's words came rushing back to me:
Before you use my magic, you must
first visit the lair of the Morrigan.

I shivered
and Cade, sensing my distress even in sleep, stirred next to me.  Forcing myself to calm down for his sake, I tried to think happy thoughts and eventually I fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

Focused.  I was utterly, and entirely focused.  Breathe in, breathe out.  Nice and steady.  Eye on the target and . . . release!

I let the arrow fly and it hissed through the air, slicing the apparition in half.

"Good!" Enorah cried as she conjured up another false faelah.

We had been in the meadow a good two hours, Cade's sister creating targets for me with her magic while I practiced my archery skills.  This exercise was a lot more difficult than aiming for the non-moving kind of targets, but then again, what good was it trying to kill stationary targets when the ones that mattered in the real world would be moving all over the place?

I shook my head and got back to my task at hand. 
Cade and I had been in the Weald for well over a month now, biding our time and passing each day in dreaded anticipation for news from Erintara. 
The temptation to cross into the mortal world and visit my family was great, but so was the fear of drawing attention to them in case the Morrigan was watching.  Yes, she knew about my family in Arroyo Grande, but if I stayed away, maybe she wouldn't think I was attached to them any longer.  Instead, Cade and I kept our
minds occupied
by spending
most of our waking hours practicing any fighting skills we could think of. 
Usually Cade or Enorah or some of the older wildren would run me through one drill after another until t
he moves became second nature.

This morning, however,
I had opted to practice archery
with Enorah
.
Cade
had
left before dawn to check the perimeter and hunt for the
evening
meal with some of the
adults and
older
ch
ildren.  I
was happy to stay back with Enorah.  My archery could always use some improvement, e
specially when it came to moving targets.  Another shape came at me, and my focus sharpened.  I blew out a great breath, took aim and shot, the arrow tearing through the center of the smoke monster.  The magical form disappeared and another soon followed.

Ten more minutes passed before a frantic cry from
Meridian
forced me to lose my concentration.  The arrow missed Enorah's smoke faelah and glanced off a rock.

What is it?
I sent, trying to mask my annoyance.  If she was just sharing her excitement about something she caught, then I'd be tempted to
lock her in the cabin for the rest of the day
. . .

Trouble.  Village
, was all she sent.

My heart nearly stopped.  Every last nerve I possessed drew taught and my magic simmered in my chest.

"What's up?" Enorah asked, drawing her magic back into herself and following me as I headed back towards the settlement.

"Don't know.  Meridian just told me there was trouble back at the village."

Enorah cursed and picked up her pace, jogging ahead of me.  Dread curdled in my stomach as I trailed after her.  Had the Morrigan finally made her move?  Had she somehow found a way into the Weald?  As I hurried down the trail, I pulled an arrow from my quiver and got it ready just in case.

A large crowd was gathered as we came upon the low cabins of the
w
ildren
's
woodland town.  Several of the children stood surrounding a stranger, murmuring
and reaching curious fingers out towards his semi-formal clothes
.  Wait, no, not a stranger . . .

"Briant!" I shouted, dropping my bow and rushing over.

"You know him?" someone asked.

"Yes," I breathed, "he's Cade's steward.  What are you doing here Briant?  Did something happen at Luathara?"

The steward turned to look at me and the stress in his eyes made me cringe.  Oh no . . .  Had the Morrigan attacked them?  What about his wife, his kids . . . ?

Before my mind could go into full blown panic mode, he held out a shaky h
and.  I blinked and looked down at
a crumpled piece of paper clasped between his fingers.

I swallowed and took it, my eyes flying over the words.

Strayling,

I hope you are enjoying your time hiding away in the Weald with my dear boy, but I am tired of your cowardice.  Since you refuse to face me like a true Faelorehn of noble blood, I took the initiative to entice you out into the open.  I am just returned from visiting that hovel you once called home in the mortal world and I now have in my possession something I believe is rather precious to you.  The next move is yours.

My hands were shaking by the time I reached the end of the note.  It wasn't signed, but that made no difference.  There was no question who the letter had come from.

"I'm sorry Lady Meghan," Briant said, his voice hoarse.

I didn't ask where he had found the letter, or whether it had been given to him.  None of that mattered.  I took a deep breath and I felt my magic swell with my emotions.

Cade!
  I called out using
shil-sciar
.  I tinged the words with
my anxiety
, letting him know it was an emergency.

Meghan
, he sent back right away,
are you hurt?

No, Briant is here.  He's brought a letter from the Morrigan.  She has taken something from my home in the mortal world . . . We have to go see my family.

I let my words trail off as I fought down a sob
, but my a
nger helped burn it away.  It would do me no good to lose it now.

I’ll be right there
, Cade replied.

I let the letter slip through my fingers, and before I knew what I was doing, I felt my knees hit the cold, wet, earth.  Briant and Enorah dove for me, shouting my name, their voices strained.  The overwhelming black cloud that threatened to take over lingered for a moment, but I
clench
ed my teeth and forced it back to where it had come from.  If I was to stand any sort of chance against the Morrigan, I needed to keep a level head.

The hunting party must have been close, because it seemed like only moments passed before Cade had me wrapped up in his arms.  He cupped the back of my head with his hand and pressed me against his chest.

"What happened?" he demanded over my shoulder.

No one spoke, but I heard the distinct rustle of paper and knew that someone
had
passed him the note.  After several seconds, he cursed harshly in the language of Eile.

He sighed deeply and I felt some of the strength leave his body.  "We were waiting for a sign," he murmured.  "Looks like we got it."

Cade released me and tucked me into his side, then gave his sister a grave look.

"We're going to the mortal world right now, but I want you and those you have chosen to fight to head to Erintara.  We'll meet you there as soon as we can."

-
Eigh
teen-

Acknowledgment

An hour later Cade and I were racing towards the dolmarehn that would take us to the swamp.  We urged Lasair and Speirling
on
until even Meridian and Fergus had trouble keeping up.  When we reached the point where the horses could no longer pass, I threw myself off Lasair’s back and nearly hit the ground running.  Cade was right behind me, his mind and voice silent.

On the other side of the gateway, the swamp was characteristically silent and a light mist worked its way through the treetops.  We ran up the equestrian trail, bypassing the backyard and squeezing through
the fence with the ‘dead end’
sign.  I hadn't been ho
me in weeks, having been
so caught up in my new life in Eile, and being back so suddenly like this felt strange.  It was as if I'd been gone for years.  Without even pausing to knock on the front door, I turned the knob as if I was coming home from school.