Fingers entwined and shoulder's brushing as we walked, Breandan and I entered Lochlann's tent and stopped in the centre.
He paced the paced in front of us, eyes narrowed and chest heaving. "Finally, you are here, and I can begin judgment. Did you get lost on your way here?"
Breandan did not answer. Clearly, the question was rhetoric.
I however had something to say, "What do you mean, judgment?"
"You will not speak unless spoken to." Lochlann's voice cracked like a whip.
It took a beat for me to recover from the shock of being told pipe down so rudely. "Who to the gods do you think you're talking to? I'm not one of your rebels. You can't talk to me that way, or boss me about and expect me to obey."
He stopped pacing and looked deliberately from my face, to my fingers wrapped around Breandan's. "My younger brother is sworn to me. Your attachment to him makes you part of my court."
"Like hell it does," I fired back. "What Breandan and I do is none of your business."
Lochlann had intimidated me when I'd first met him, but not anymore. Two people had tried to kill me. I was pissed, tired, had a full bladder, an empty stomach and he was making it worse. It was hard for me to keep a semblance of calm when Breandan had only just been healed, and I had been parted from my vampire-boy. He was pushing all the wrong buttons at the wrong time.
Lochlann seethed at me silently for a moment before his face went blank. Instead of relaxing I put up all my mental guards; I was used to this behavior. Breandan did it when he planned to manipulate me.
My eyes wandered and landed on Conall who smiled encouragingly. I managed a tight grimace in return.
Lochlann held out his hand. "The amulet of wisdom, give it to me."
"No," I said.
He blinked and frowned. "I want to see it. You can have it back."
"I said no."
He watched me for a while then said, "You saw my sister before she was taken captive?"
"Killed," I said slowly and carefully. "I saw Maeve as Clerics killed her."
He pressed his eyes shut, cocked his head then shook it. "I feel her. She is alive. I would know the moment of my sibling's death."
Breandan nodded in agreement. "She is still with us. Hidden and bound by iron."
That was news to me, and why hadn't he said so before. I knew fairies had amazing powers of recovery, but could we survive a bullet to the chest? Maeve had looked pretty dead to me. I didn't say this, of course, out of respect.
"The humans have gone too far this time. They will pay. My sister will be retuned. We will give them one chance to free her, or we shall take her back by force."
I didn't like where this was heading.
"Hold on. You can't be so general in your damnation, and you can't start throwing around ultimatums." Breandan squeezed my hand, hard and I shot him a look. "Don't be trying to silence me. There are good people at the Temple. Yes, Lord Cleric Tu and the Lady Cleric were wrong, but not all humans think like them." I kept it to myself that a fair portion did.
"We did not start this."
"You should defuse the situation, not rile it up. I'm telling you if you march up to the Wall and start shouting demands it won't be received well. The Priests will feel threatened, and they will send the Clerics."
"I will kill anyone who stands between me and my kin."
"Lochlann, I think it's great you care about your family, but hurting people in their name-"
"You cannot talk to me of family."
He really knew how to use words to effect. "Fine. I admit from what I've heard my roots leave something to be desired." I took in a breath, things were getting a little close to home, but I'd started this and I was going to finish it. "But we're not talking about me. We're talking about your actions that may start a war. The last time the demons and humans clashed, the entire human race was nearly wiped out. I've been told that many of demonkind were not happy to fight. What'll happen to the human survivors who face demons motivated to kill. We'd be looking at the extinction of an entire species."
"These Clerics. You would be able to show them to me?"
My lips twisted. Lochlann was not listening to me; in fact he was completely ignoring me. If the fairies took this stance it would only end in bloodshed. The thought of my fellow Disciples clashing with these beings made me sweat. "If revenge is what you're thinking, you're too late," I told him. "The Lady Cleric was killed by-" I stopped and slid my gaze Breandan's way. His only reaction to the topic was a flaring of his nostrils. "She's dead," I said flatly.
"The vampire," Breandan explained through clenched teeth.
Lochlann paced in front of us, his eyes on me. There was little warmth there. "Brother," he said in a tone of quiet command. "Your, female has shown no respect for who and what we are. How do you know she can be trusted?"
"Rae is true to me."
"She kept the truth from you, on more than one occasion. Because of her you nearly lost your life. And this thing with the vampire-"
"Is none of your business," Conall cut in scathingly.
Lochlann barely glanced his way. "Your family is the single greatest disappointment to our race. As the Elder you should be helping her to along her new path, not encouraging her foolishness."
"Elder?" I asked.
"Head of the family," Breandan told me.
Conall stared at Lochlann with thinly veiled hate. There was a niggle in my mind, two dots dancing around each other waiting to be connected. Elder, head of the family, gold eyes.
"She is mine, Lochlann. Let me leave with her, and I swear you a month of peace."
Breandan blanched.
I spun round and glared at the newcomer. When I saw who it was I managed to splutter, "What did you just say?"
"I wasn't speaking to you," Devlin said and let the tent flap drop behind him. "I was addressing the one you refuse to follow."
"I did not say I would not follow him," I objected hotly.
I had remembered too late that not following Lochlann, meant I was in Devlin's Tribe.
"You're not seriously considering" I trailed off at the look on Lochlann's face. It was blank, calculating. Cold.
Sucking a series of shallow gasps I slowly looked at Breandan's face, terrified at what I would find there. He glared at his brother so balefully I was surprised the older fairy could withstand the weight of it.
"One month with no attacks?" Lochlann asked.
Devlin made a big show of lifting his chin, and placing his hand over his heart. "I swear it."
Uttering the oath the air thickened with magic and hung, waiting for acceptance.
"No."
The word was not shouted, or hollered or uttered in any way that could be conceived as emotional. It was a flat out refusal, brooked no argument. It was a command. The magic sighed and dissipated. Breandan slid me behind him and I wrapped my arms around his waist. I couldn't stop my body trembling.
"Do not deny the reason of it," Lochlann said.
"I said no."
"This isn't just about you," Devlin said. "You would continue the death of fairy lives for the sake of one female." He made a scoffing noise and ran his eyes all over me disdainfully. "She is beautiful, and pure though she reeks of another. I promise you take her once and she will lose her appeal."
"That is enough," Conall barked. We all turned to him as he lithely stepped over to stand beside Breandan. "This isn't even a discussion."
"Who are you to interfere?" Devlin sneered.
"You know very well," he hissed back.
"Well then would someone mind letting me know?" I asked in a low voice. "Because I am mighty confused."
Breandan shifted and put his arm around me. "It is not the right time."
I shrugged his arm off and ignored him. I ignored everyone, but Conall. I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned, reluctantly, to look down at me from his lofty height. His eyes, deep gold, shimmered with suppressed feeling. When we had first met he had told me he knew me as a baby. Truth rung inside my head and in a rush my thought's tumbled over one another, fighting for recognition.
Conall's eyes were a unique colour I had only seen on one other person. He had touched me, several times, and I had never thought anything of it. When he had it wasn't like Breandan, whose touches felt like fire and ice. His touches felt natural and comforting, and he'd never shown aversion to touching me; even areas sacrosanct like my tail. Conall had watched over me and shown a level of understanding a stranger would not have deserved. He had the same skin, eye and hair colour, for gods sake.
"Brother," I said with certainty. "You're my brother."
He nodded once. "I had hoped when you finally visited Orchard, the place of our birth I could explain your origin, our connection. I had hoped to get to know you and for you to learn to trust me. Things have not worked out like I planned."
I was dumbfounded. I was dirty and tired and drained. Too emotional to try and explain how I felt, I simply said, "Later. We'll talk later." It was anti-climatic but he didn't seem to mind.
"Yes, that would benice." He paused. "Would you like to know the first time I ever laid eyes on you?" Eyes wide, I nodded wordlessly and he beamed a smile. He was positively delighted by my acceptance. He stood straighter and his eyes sparkled. "When you were born and I was a young one, hours after your birth I peeked in your cradle. I tried to touch your cheek, but you fisted your tiny hand around my finger," he held his forefinger up, "and refused to let go. You puffed up your chest and held your breath, so fearsome and brave. Mother called you, her little warrior." He laughed before his eyes became sad, haunted. "I did not mean to let you go. It was not Understand when our mother took you" His face was pained, pleading. "I searched for you, for years, but the spell on you was so strong. We only found you because you chose to venture beyond the Wall and become entangled with Breandan's future."
Large, warn hands slid around my waist. I leaned back, needing the support. Turning round to look at him, Breandan saw the worry in my eyes. He kissed my nose.
"It will pass," he said softly.
I knew he meant the pain, the sharp stabbing pain of feeling the years of abandonment issues coming to the forefront.
Taking a deep breath, I straightened my back and glared at Devlin. Before, I had denied him with a few words, and I was sure it would work again. I was learning there were rules to how the fairies operated. Devlin was walking around without chains, and I guessed that was because he had been defeated and captured fairly, meaning he could not leave unless he was saved by his own people or set free. Honor and magic bound to follow the rules.
"I'm going nowhere with you," I said.
The words were backed by the rules of magic. They had weight and the tension in the room cranked down a notch. Lochlann made a noise of annoyance. I fought the urge to run over and stick my tongue out at him.
"That settles that," Conall said diplomatically.
"For now," Devlin replied.
He and Lochlann shared a long, loaded glance. We all caught the look, who wouldn't, but I could not care less. They could plot and scheme all they wanted. Devlin would never get my bonded mate to agree with his brother and I would never say the words they wanted me to.
Breandan squeezed me before letting go to stand before Lochlann. "Swear to me you will not consider this again."
Gazes locked they stood still and silent for a long time.
"You ask me to give up the chance for time to seek a peaceful solution?"
"It will not allow it."
"You are sworn to me, little brother."
Breandan had an intense look of concentration on his face. He was deciding something and for less than a beat, I felt apprehension. I had lied to him, kept secrets and aided his enemies. I had refused to listen to him, and caused him a whole heap of problems with his family and lord. Oh gods. Maybe he was thinking I was more trouble than worth. He had said himself our bond was not sealed because of my connection with Tomas, and the fact our union had be created, but not sealed by magic.
"Release me from my oath," he said.
Lochlann stiffened, his eyes snapped to me and blazed with loathing. "You let her destroy your honor." Lochlann placed a hand on Breandan's shoulder and shook him. "She makes you weak."
"We could break the bond," Devlin said. "She has a blood tie to another."
Breandan's jaw worked. "That is irrelevant. It would not work."
"You are so certain," he said with a small smile. "Hearts can change, and hers is already split in two. How do you know she will choose you?"
I raised my hands and let them fall to my sides. He just couldn't help himself. What I had done with Tomas was none of their damned business. I refused to lower myself and defend something that should not need defending. Yes, it was weird and strange, but I was getting sick and tired of being discussed and talked about as if I wasn't even there.
I glared daggers at him.
"I belong to her," Breandan said simply.
"And she you?"
"Now you all listen to me." I took in a breath and set my feet apart. "I won't lie, I do care for Tomas deeply. I don't know why or how such a thing is possible and I do not know how long it will last." I walked up to Breandan and pressed my fingers to his face. "I can't promise I'll love you forever, because I honestly don't know how I feel. You need to give me time. I don't know what will happen next, but I'll never betray you. If you trust me, I'll trust you. Deal?"
His fingers curled around mine and held them to him. Pulling me closer, he wrapped his arms around me and crushed me to him.
"Do it," he fired above my head.
"Breandan, I release you from you oath."
There was a crack and Breandan staggered. I held onto him, and fell with him as his knees gave out. Limbs tangled we hit the floor hard. Air became a physical thing and wrapped around my throat. It settled then faded. Breandan trembled in my arms, head burrowed into my shoulder.
"Everybody get out," I said. The fairies had not moved they were still, shocked.
"Lochlann," Conall said quietly. "Please."
The fairy-lord scowled at my brother then turned on his heel and left. "Devlin, I wish to speak to you about the human."
Laying my head down I didn't see them all leave, but heard and felt it when we were finally alone.
"You didn't have to do that," I said.
"He was wrong."
We were quiet for a long time, and I thought hard on the reality of what was going to happen next. Breandan was in a precarious position. He had broken away from his brother and the Tribe, making him an outcast fairy. I had denied both Lochlann and Devlin that made me an outcast too. Devlin knew I had the amulets of power and wisdom, but Breandan and Lochlann had no idea.
Gods, it was complicated.
There was something worrying me. The other guardian must have been Conall, he had the amulet of protection, but that was not the one Devlin had. Had the Tribe really managed to steal it? Or did Breandan jump to conclusions again as it seemed he was prone to do.
"Breandan, the amulet of protection, when did it go missing?"
He snorted. "For all that has just happened, that is your main concern?"
"Can't you just answer the question?"
He sighed, rubbed his head against my arm. "This morning. When I knew you needed me, I hid it so I wouldn't risk losing it. It was a place I'd hidden my secret things since childhood."
"How would a tribal fairy have found it then?"
He shrugged. "Maybe they cast a spell or followed me."
It didn't add up. I spoke my next words carefully, mindful of his pride that could swell into something nasty. "Don't you think that's not enough to base your whole theory on?"
Breandan shifted to look into my face. His eyes were sparkly and his cheeks had regained some colour. "You know something," he said. I nodded, and pulled the two amulet pieces out from under my tee shirt. Breandan stared at them. "I should probably be surprised, but I think the impossible will be possible with you around. His forehead furrowed. "Wisdom and power." He touched the last empty place in the centre of the amulet. "But where is the amulet of protection you took from Devlin?"
"I took the amulet of power from Devlin." I shuddered at the memory of the power boiling my blood, and stroking a darkness lurking beneath the core of who I was.
"Then where is the amulet of protection?"
"That's why I think you were too hasty to blame the Tribe. I don't think Devlin has it."
"Perhaps you are right, though I can think of no one else who would have the inclination to take it. Its power can only work for one fairy."
We had waded into dangerous territory again. It seemed all fairies believed they had a purpose, and I was slowly coming to terms with what mine was, but I was not ready to openly talk about it.
I traced the outline of one of his tattoos. "Tell me what they mean."
"We all have a purpose. Mine is to keep order."
I giggled. "Really? You've done nothing but break the rules since you met me."
He winced. "The tattoos signify my skills and accomplishments. Some are for protection. Others guide me and help me see the truth." He paused thoughtfully, slid a considering look my way that held an undercurrent of something else. "You have asked me a question, now may I ask you one you will answer?"
Shifting on the floor that was quickly growing cold, I curled into a ball at his side and thought about it. For a while there was only the sound of our breathing and the warmth of him. My eyes felt all droopy, and my mind slid into a lazy sleep pattern.
"Well, that depends on the question," I said sleepily.
"Tomas."
My lids slammed wide open. Breandan didn't sound angry, but mildly disgusted.
"A name is not a question, and I've already explained this to you as best I can. Leave it alone."
He snorted. "He will come back and I want you to stay away from him."
I hissed my disapproval. He ran a finger down the bridge of my nose, over my lips. I kept my face set, refusing to be distracted.
"He is vampire. It is not natural the way they are. They bring death wherever they go," he said with as much heat as an ice cube.
I thought back to the strange urge I got when I was around Tomas. It made me shudder. I could not deny he felt unnatural to me, but it didn't mean it was right. Breandan was quiet for a long time, and eventually I knew he was not going to speak again. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep right then and there.
I dreamed I was dying. I watched my last sunset and Breandan held me close. We raced were-cats through the forest and the sun shined from within us. The moon rose and Breandan handed me to Tomas, who cried tears of blood and showed me dark things. He fed from me and called me his love.
It was the cold hand clamped over my mouth and pulsing dark that woke me.
"Wake," a voice whispered in my ear.
I peeked an eye open, remaining still. I kept my breathing even and glanced at Breandan's face. Eyes closed and brow relaxed his breath came steady and even. I blinked up at Tomas. Had my dream called him to me? He took his hand away from my mouth and pressed a finger to his lips, then looked at Breandan. I got the message loud and clear. Stay quiet. I carefully shifted away from Breandan, rolling to my hands and knees I crawled backwards.
I stood up and smiled at my vampire-boy. I was happy to see him. Tomas led me out of the tent, and I shivered in the cold. It was quiet and everyone was sleeping, as you generally do in the middle of the night. Tomas took my hand and led me away into the trees. I tugged on his hand to get him to stop when I realized he was not going to.
"What are you doing here," I said in a low voice. "I thought you'd gone back to your nest."
"I followed you."
My heart rolled over in my chest. "Why? I mean, do you have something else to say?"
"Trouble comes."
"What kind?" I asked sharply. "The kind where I get beat up or the kind where I die?"
"In the last few hours the fairies have been negotiating the release of a human-girl. The ones that follow the white haired fairy have taken a human from the Temple. They are trying to trade her for him. The one they call Lochlann, has refused and it is only a matter of time before they attack."
"When did this happen?"
"As you, and the fairy who was supposed to be protecting you, slept. The night is fading, but we can be far away before sunrise."
I didn't respond. It took me moments to make up my mind, but considerably longer to work up the courage to say it out loud. I couldn't go. I felt a responsibility to stay and help the human if I could.
Tomas read the look on my face. "Now is not the time to be selfless. This will vicious."
"We can tell Breandan. He can help."
"He won't go against his brother and you know it." He took my hand again. "Now we leave."
"But I-How- It doesn't make any sense. Why would the tribal fairies think stealing a human would influence Lochlann in anyway?"
Conall stepped out of the shadows, his mane of hair wild and bristling. His breathing was hard and he hummed with tension.
I thought I could smell his fear.
"Because they hoped your connection with his brother would sway his mind." His chest had a shallow gash from his breastbone to the opposite end of his ribcage.
"You're hurt," I pointed at the slash in case he missed it. "Why are you not healing?"
He rubbed at it dismissively. "My energy is diverted elsewhere. Our bodies focus on the greatest threat to our being. I am tired so my energy is saved to keep me quick and strong."
"Who did they take?" I asked, curious.
There was a wail in the far distance and an answer came a moment later.
A silky hiss that followed from Tomas slithered up my spine. "How long do we have?" he demanded. His hand slipped from mine, and I took it as a signal to stay put.
"I killed a scout moments ago. I was the messenger sent to the Tribe to decline the offer. They are to sacrifice the human under a full moon, a perfect tithe and war cry. The peace Lochlann is fighting for will be impossible. Devlin is trying to create confusion and fear and it will work." Conall looked at me. "Rae, we're going to lose," he said. "You need to leave. Do you have your amulet?"
I placed a protective hand over it. "Whatever is coming we can face it together. I'm not going to hide. We have to go wake Breandan up."
Conall stared at me.
"What?"
"You have to escape. Your friend is lost."
The words rocked my world and not in a good way. I blinked slowly, breaking the stalemate, yet my body held its rigid pose. My clenched fists relaxed. I forgot all about amulets and crazy fairies fighting each other.
"Who have they taken from the Temple?"
"If you die here there is no hope. Devlin would want you alive but his consort, she knows about your bond to Breandan. To her you are a threat to her life mate, and she will not be merciful if she catches you. Running into the midst of powerful enemies is no place for a fledgling soldier. You are strong." Pride flashed across Conall's face. "But this you must entrust to me. I will get Lochlann and Breandan out safely."
I knew, of course. I knew who the tribal fairies had taken to try and influence Lochlann through me. Just like I had known the last pure fairy, and Priestess was my mother. Just like I had known Conall was my brother. There was only one human I would risk everything for.
"Who have they taken," I repeated.
"Skin the colour of coca and hair like the sun," he said and wrinkled his nose. "Blonde."
There was a hitch in my breathing. Alex. They had my best friend. How, I didn't know, but she had been taken because of me. At what point did I condemn her to this fate? The first time I went beyond the Wall. The first touch between Breandan and I, or was it when I refused to give Devlin what he wanted? Devlin, he must have told them who she was and where to find her. He'd seemed mighty interested in her all of a sudden. He had even touched her with fingers infused with light.
He had marked her.
"This ritual what will they do to her?"
"They will tie her down to revel in her flesh. Slit her throat and drink the blood."
Everything became painful. The realization I was about to lose my friend made the air filling my lungs feel heavy. I tried to imagine her bound and tortured, but my mind shied from the image. My throat closed up.
"You heard the fairy," Tomas said. "They are going to lose. We must go."
The pressure of the day's issues, and all the decisions I had not made weighed down on me. "Wait," I said and tried to figure out the right action. There was nothing but panic and fear. "I can't think straight." I pressed my fingers onto my eye sockets to relive some pressure. "I need a minute."
"The longer we wait the greater risk Wasp will catch you."
Someone shouted behind us, and a flash of light in the distance lit the trees.
Conall darted away. "Take her," he yelled over his shoulder at Tomas then was lost to my sight.
Before he could stop me, I turned and raced back the way we came. I was faster than him now I'd had a chance to sleep. My vampire-boy had two choices, leave or follow. He chose to follow. We broke into the clearing and it was chaos. Fairies wrestled each other to the ground, hissing and snarling. The shouts were everywhere.
I raced back into the tent but Breandan was gone.
The women and children walked through the camp terrified, but unharmed. They were surrounded by a handful of fairy-men who cut down any tribal fairy that got too close.
Which way did I go? I tried to feel through the bond but only got a vague impression that Breandan was close. My panic kept throwing my concentration and I couldn't pin down a direction.
"Calm it down girl," I told myself. "Now is not the time to fall apart."
I breathed in and out several times to steady my thought. He was close, so close and in front of me? My eyes popped open and I searched through the dark. I spotted him in the middle of the fray back to back with Lochlann, fighting Devlin and Wasp.
She had come for her life-mate.
Conall skidded to a stop in front of me with a face of thunder. "Will you never listen," he hissed and threw me at Tomas. "I told you to take her.
"We have to help them," I shouted. "Breand-!"
Conall clamped a hand over my mouth. He shoved me toward Tomas. "Make yourself useful and get her out-"
A knife to his throat had him stopping mid flow. Wasp smiled and jerked her head.
"Come this way. Easy now," she said sharply when Conall reached for the sword pommel on his hip. "A little nick with this blade and your legacy ends. It would be a shame Conall." Her eyes twitched to me. "So much fuss over Sorcha's daughter and you seem less than nothing to me. You remind me of her, the last Priestess. She was less than nothing too." Her eyes settled on Tomas. "Though even she wouldn't lower herself to the base level you're scraping. Come now, our lord waits."
When I didn't move she dug the blade deeper into Conall's neck and drew a thin line of blood. I glared at her and started to walk, Tomas close behind me.
Lochlann stood beside Devlin. Breandan was held at knife-point by two fairies that looked vaguely familiar. It was the grey beard and copper Mohawk from the day before. The wind whipped my hair into my face as my eyes locked with my fairy-boys.
His body jolted and his hands flew to his chest. Pain, sharp and hot at the back of my neck. I touched the spot and felt something cold, thin and knobby. A twig? My eyes drifted down. Breandan yanked a stubby twig out of his chest, pointed and tipped with something that gleamed wetly in the low light. He reached for me as he keeled over face first. My own legs weakened and crumpled.
I could hear Tomas going mad nearby. I was frightened for him. They would kill him, and I would never see him again.
Lying on the cold floor I watched as Breandan's eyes flickered closed. I could feel the drug like relaxation of whatever they had shot me with flowing through my body. Willing my own open was not enough.
My lids slid closed and I slept.
*
The world rocked. Breandan was carrying me. Uh, why was he carrying me? Memories rushed back in a panicked jumble and my eyes flickered open. Devlin grinned down at me impishly. I screamed. I tore at his face and back, but he kept moving, steady and sure. I kicked my legs so hard he jerked to a stop and set me down. I turned to sprint away, but he grabbed my arm and rooted his feet.
"Let go," I demanded and wriggled in his grasp. "What have you done with him?"
"With who? Your brother, your life-mate or your vampire?"
I was stumped. I honestly didn't know which one to say. "All three," I said and continued to try and break his hold on me.
"Breandan and the vampire are alive. They're being taken to Orchard as we speak. Your brother escaped a moment after you became unconscious, the vampire made a pest of himself and he slipped away in the commotion." Hearing this I stopped struggling, relieved everyone was alive. Devlin relaxed his hold on me some. "It would be cruel to kill them before they got to see our ceremony. The offering is the most beautiful human I have ever seen."
"Don't you dare," I shouted and pummeled him on the chest. Tears of frustration sprang in my eyes. "Don't you hurt her, she's innocent."
"Of course she is, and that is why she will make a good sacrifice." He brushed strands of hair, wet with tears, from my face and smiled. "I see you wish to save her and I have an idea. Give me your amulet and I'll-"
His head snapped round.
My voice was loud and tremulous. "I'll never give you-"
Devlin clamped a hand over my mouth and commanded with his eyes that I shut up. He cocked his head, listening. His eyes narrowed and he dropped into a low crouch, taking me with him. The gods be dammed, what now?
Letting me go he pointed ahead and to the left then held up six fingers. Then pointed at me and held up one finger. I stared at him blankly and he scowled, repeated the motions. I nodded, slowly. He was telling me up ahead there was one fairy, a female since he pointed at me and not himself. And six others. Uh, other what? I was not used to his sign language and it was taking me a while. He meant six humans. This close to the Wall the only humans that would wander outside were Oh gods. My mouth went dry, but I nodded again, firmer this time and followed as he slinked forward.
There was no time to argue, or get fussy about our allegiances. We were both in trouble if the Clerics saw us. I broke into a cold sweat, remembering what I had seen the last time I had crawled through the undergrowth in these woods.
Devlin stopped, caught my shoulder and pointed again.
As he did Clerics pushed through a thicket of branches and stomped into view. They moved in a tight and square formation. All six had their hoods pulled up and covering their faces to the nose. Hand clasped about their waists, their funneled sleeves concealed their hands, and the white-eye sigils on their breast pockets seemed to shimmer against the crimson colour of the blazers.
The air left my lungs as I caught sight of the demon stumbling behind the marching column, a fairy with a black sack over her head, and iron chains about her neck, hands and ankles. Slashes of blood stood out on her green skin, and her body - glistening with sweat - was a navy colour along the knees and torso, probably deep muscle bruises.
Devlin hissed, a low and primal sound. He glanced at me and I saw murder in his eye. I knew then these Clerics were dead, and no words I said would convince him to show mercy. Devlin was a fairy purist. He would never let any of our kind be treated this way.
I pointed at myself then at the fairy, a simple communication. He scanned the trees and nodded; satisfied I could get the job done without getting in his way. He slinked off to the side and disappeared from my sight behind a tree. I waited alone, tense, and terrified of the quickening of my heart from a rising excitement. The column was directly opposite me now. I sunk lower, scared even in the dark and they would see me.
There was a sharp crack, and the sound of a snapping branch to the west. They all spun, guns and knives appearing in their hands as they did. The column halted and was still. Another noise, this time a tree shaking to the north and the column spun again, another snap back to the west then another to the south. Devlin was distracting them, but never did he draw their gaze my way. There was a flash of white and a scream that choked off mid flow. The column was now five. The Clerics swelled out into a defensive formation, not knowing nothing could save them now.
Sensing my queue, I crawled around to the back where the fairy was standing. Her knees were bent and she was alert, knowing her time to escape had come.
The clerics were shouting now, fighting. Though the fairy-lord would be able to handle himself, I spared a look for Devlin to check he was doing okay. The vision of necks snapping, a knife in the eye and sight of a Cleric going limp as the bones of his body shattered when it connected with a tree trunk, was not something I wanted to see or get a look at in more detail.
I reached the fairy-girl, and put my hands on the shackles at her ankles. The immediate burn was unexpected and I yelped. Iron. At my yell, she shrieked and kicked, hitting me in the side and toppling herself over. She thrashed around and I scrambled over to clamp my hands on her arms.
"Stop fighting me, I'm not going to hurt you."
She became still under my hands.
"Rae?" Her voice was a whimper and I remembered the light chime of it instantly. I dragged the hood off her head and released a fiery cascade of hair. Her scarlet eyes were wide and wet. "It's you," she sobbed and started to cry. "I'm saved, you saved me."
I hushed her; anxious the Clerics would hear us. "Calm, Maeve, it's okay now. I'm going to get these binds off you."
I looked over her chains. A familiar nausea rose in my throat at the odor and look of the iron. Her skin was backend, blistering where it touched her.
"They were moving me somewhere else because there were demons in the compound. One of us has killed one of them, and the humans are furious. They were going to take me away so you couldn't save me. I think there's another secret place they hide the demons they catch." She was babbling, and her eyes darted around wildly. "They asked me questions. Who I was, how many fairies I lived with and where I lived. I couldn't get away from them. They kept me dosed with iron, all the time. I'm weak."
To placate her I nodded sympathetically and made commiserating noises. I fumbled over the chains, but couldn't break them. I tried covering my hands with mud then using leaves as make shift covers, but they tore the moment I exerted any strength and the mud did nothing. There was a tap at my shoulder. Devlin held out a blood soaked hand to me. I recoiled then realized there was a small key between his slick fingertips. I snatched it from him in my haste to get Maeve free. As the chains fell away, she clambered on top of me and hugged me tightly.
Devlin started to bury the chains. Shame he didn't have the same inclination about the human bodies he'd dismembered. I glared at him with disgust.
"You found me," Maeve cried and buried her small head in the crook of my shoulder.
I patted her awkwardly. She didn't smell too great. Something golden and hard knocked my hand as I stroked her hair, and I lifted a few braids curiously. On the end of one dangled a small coin sized disc. It had a single rune etched onto its surface.
"It means protection," she said her eyes misted with guilt. "I took it because I was afraid to ask Breandan for it. I've known where that silly burl he hides his secrets in was, since I was old enough to crawl. I was so mad at him for treating me like a child, but I was more afraid of facing a vampire alone, so I stole it." Her gaze bored into mine, pleading for understanding. "Take it. It didn't work for me because it was always meant for you."
Then her eyes crashed closed, and she promptly fell into a deep sleep.
I sat there, her limbs entwined with mine, unsure of what to do. I didn't push her away. She needed me, and since Breandan was not there, I needed to provide her with some comfort. Holding her soothed away the guilt of seeing her hurt by the people I had once looked up to.
Devlin brushed clumps of soil from his hands and watched us, eyes clouded, distant. His white hair shimmered brightly, and his green eyes made the vibrant colors of the forest seem washed out. It was scary someone so beautiful could wreak such carnage. He didn't seem at all put out.
"You saved her," I said, struggling to understand him. "You saved your enemies sister."
Devlin came back to himself and smirked at me pityingly. "I saved a member of my Tribe. Don't you see, Rae? The rebels are still part of my Tribe and they will be until the day I no longer rule, which I promise you will be many years to come. They may not agree with me or encourage Lochlann's tantrum and defy me for a while, but so be it." He shrugged like it really didn't bother him, but I knew otherwise. "In the end I will win because leading the Tribe is my birthright. As is mating with a female fairy of my choice."
I clutched Maeve tighter to my chest, a wary look coming into me eye. Devlin laughed, waved his hand.
"A female fairy of mating age. Maeve is pretty but too young. And I want my mate to be from one of the older bloodlines." His eyes rested on my wings and tail then skipped over my face.
"That's why you're so set on having me? Because you think it's your right to?" I shook my head. "I don't understand you, Devlin. I don't feel for you that way and I know for a fact you don't like me."
"I am a practical being and so are you." He laughed heartily. "Our ancestor's legacy flows strongly through your veins, and you could help bring us back together. Mating with you would be the right thing to do, but I won't." He smiled softly. "There is one who holds my heart firmly in her vicious clasp." He looked down at his hands and seemed surprised to see the blood there. The softness bled from his expression. "Breandan overstepped his place. Even if you and I did not mate it would be Lochlann who would court you next. He has turned his back on tradition thousands of years old."
"He saw me first," I said, finally understanding what that statement meant. If Breandan had managed to ignore me we never would have met the way we did, and maybe we never would have bonded. I saw now our connection was largely attributed to the improbable success of our meeting and was intrinsically linked to the awakening of the demon within me.
Concerned I would wake her, I gently lay Maeve down on the mossy floor. I unhooked the amulet from her braid and tucked it into my pocket. I felt a small thrill at knowing I know had all three. I had the key that would bring Devlin and his evil hoard down. All I had to do was escape him, and get the grimoire. How I was to do that was beyond me. Conall would be close by, but he would be focusing on freeing Lochlann. The little I knew of my brother told me he was a stickler for tradition and the right way of doing things. More importantly, Devlin had my boys and I wanted them back. I was not done with them yet, we had unfinished business.
I stood and looked Devlin in the eye, crossed my hands over my chest.
"Help me, Rae. Breandan will understand. He'll be upset but eventually he will accept. If you join with me, take your rightful place in my Tribe we can put an end to this feud."
I stared at him and almost stuttered when I said, "No."
His hands clamped down on my shoulders and he shook me roughly. "Don't be foolish, you have a chance to save many of our kind." He quirked an eyebrow and was amused. "I'll even let you keep the amulet of power you stole from me. You didn't think your casting broke through my shield all by itself did you?"
My lips pressed into a thin line. "I admit I should have known it was not my natural ability that kicked your ass, but what do you mean you'll let me keep it? I took and you can't give something that's not yours anymore." I looked at his hand on my shoulder, fought the urge to set it on fire to get him off me. "How did you get the amulet of power anyway? It makes sense Conall and I are guardians, the last Priestess was our mother."
"Sorcha, your mother gave it to me. Oh, don't look so shocked. Her husband was my uncle, and after his death I was the next male in line to rule."
I digested this, painfully slow. "My father was royal?"
Devlin tipped his head back and laughed so uproariously I began to feel hot.
"Your farther was High Lord until his wife sheathed a dagger in his heart. After she broke it of course, lying with a human." He snorted. "I always liked Sorcha and she me, but she was a foolish woman."
"Was?" I whispered. No one had confirmed my mother was dead, but then I knew in the core of me, she had not survived the horror of her own making.
He stared at me, pitiful once more. "She killed my uncle and the High lord, Rae. You expected her to live?"