A Fine Cauldron Of Fish (10 page)

Andrew flashed a bright smile at
Margaid as he squeezed her hand.

She peered deep into his blue eyes.
“You want to marry me, spend your whole life with me?”

“
Margaid, as in the famous
American movie, you had me at hello or rather Laa mie.”

“
You mean the moment I swam
up to the docks, and you didn’t have your contacts, and you could
barely see me?”

“
Yes, even without my
contacts, I followed you to the bottom of the sea and into a magic
cave, didn’t I?”

“
That you did.” She rose up
on her tip-toes and brushed her lips across his cheek.

“
And I’ve followed you
every moment after that. I knew you were mine the minute I laid
eyes on you, as you walked out of the Hilton.”

His lips touched hers like a
whisper.

In a melodic voice, Mannan asked,
“Fairest Margaid, do you take this man from this day forth, in weal
and woe, forever and anon?"

“
I do.”

At Andrew’s compelling smile, swirls
of heat spiraled through her.

He didn’t even glance at Mannan, he
kept his eyes glued to Margaid.

“
Andrew, do you plight your
troth to this woman as her lover and protector, whether weal or
woe, forever and anon?”

He rasped, “Yes, I do.”

The fire that flickered in Andrew’s
eyes was so intense, Margaid fanned herself with

her hand.

Mannan withdrew his blade, Fragarach,
again and laid it on the floor. “By leaping over the magic sword,
you both cut ties with your life before this day.”

Holding Andrew’s hand, Margaid jumped
with him over the blade.

The nurse-druidess and Mannan cheered
loudly.

Andrew gathered Margaid into his arms
and captured her mouth with his. A warm shiver ran through
her.

When he pulled his lips off hers,
Andrew smiled at the god Mannan. “When you leave us, and the druid
Orbsen mac Alloid finds we are not only in one piece but married,
he’ll be surprised.”

“
No, Andrew, Mannan is
Orbsen mac Alloid.” Margaid flashed a bemused smile.

“
Orbsen mac Alloid’s his
human name and cover. As soon as he said his name, I knew. That’s
why he took my voice away, so I couldn’t tell you.” She raised her
shoulders. “I tried to.”

Andrew turned to the god and laughed.
“You had me going there for a moment.”

Margaid giggled. “Such a joker.” She
patted the god on the back.

“
Yes indeed.” Mannan
grinned. “And what else am I?”

“
God of the sea,” she
answered confidently, though she wondered why he asked.

“
And?” Mannan folded his
arms across his broad chest.

Margaid scraped her teeth across her
lower lip. “Umm, the trickster god.” What is he after?

Mannan sighed. “And?”

“
And what?” Well, there’s
only one choice left that I can think of. “The god of
transformation.”

Mannan snapped his fingers. “That’s
it.”

With a loud crack and a puff of smoke,
he suddenly vanished and the ‘B is for Big’ boxers guy stood in his
place.

“
The tattoos...I should
have known.” Andrew slapped the heel of his hand against his
forehead.

Margaid couldn’t stop laughing. “I
didn’t know. I didn’t even guess. Oh Mannan, that was a good
one.”

When his laughter subsided, Andrew
asked, “So Orbsen or Mannan, my mom can see Margaid
now?”

“
Yes, everyone can. She’s
completely human.”

“
Everyone,” Margaid piped.
“Everyone can see me.”

“
Margaid, my mom has to
meet you. We’ve got to tell her the good news. I think 9:00 am
tomorrow will be good. Her flight leaves at 9:30 am.”

“
But then she won’t have
any time to get to know me.”

“
And no time to try to
change my mind about staying here in Man with my new
wife.”

“
You want to stay in Man? I
can’t believe it. How wonderful. Gosh, I‘ve lived here for
thousands of years. It’s the only home I’ve ever had, though it’s
changed a lot over time.”

“
This place is wild and
magical and it’s your home. And I haven’t had a chance to eat your
kippers, queenies, or
bonnag
yet.” He pulled her into the circle of his arms.
“Yes, I want to stay here. It’s the perfect place to live.” He
twirled her about.

She stopped giggling and gazed deep
into his eyes. “Do you really think your mom won’t like me?” You
only want me to see her for thirty minutes, what does that
mean?

“
It’s not you. How can
anyone help but love you? No, she won’t like the idea of all of
this. More than that, she’ll be hopping mad. Believe me, we won’t
get off as easy with my mom as we did with Mannan beg mac y
Leir.”

“
Is she mean?” Margaid
crossed her arms. “She seemed nice in your hotel room and at
breakfast. Mannan liked her. And she liked him. They were dating,
remember?”

“
I think that was just a
joke on Mannan's part.”

“
She’s your mother.
Shouldn’t she have been at your wedding? And what about your little
brother, don’t you want him to get to know me?”

“
I do, but it’s a lot for
them to take in. I didn’t even know we were getting married until
that nurse said so.”

“
You’re not saying you’re
sorry you married me, are you?”

“
Never. But it’s going to
be a shock to my mom.”

“
That’s why you have to
give her some time to adjust to the idea. Introduce me to her. We
don’t have to tell her we’re married or that you’re staying here
forever. Not right now. Try to persuade her to extend her vacation.
That’s all.”

“
Why not? Anything for you.
I’m not sure that druid wedding is legal anyway even though it was
performed by a god.”

“
Andrew, don’t tell her the
sea god married us, she may not be ready for that.”

“
No.” He let out a soft
chortle. “She might take both of us down to Nobles
Hospital.”

“
Gosh, I have a husband and
a mother-in-law. A whole new family. I have to get her a
gift.”

“
Buy anything you
want.”

“
Goodie, I get to go
shopping.” Margaid clapped her hands.

“
While you pick out
something for my mom, I’ll get your wedding gift.”

“
Ah, you’re so
sweet.”

“
Mannan,” the nurse said in
a scolding tone.

“
Oh, okay, Andrew your gift
to Margaid is on the house, complimentary. Free. Get anything you
want, why not?” The large god shrugged.

“
Can I get his mother’s
gift here also?”

“
Both gifts are on the
house. What is a god for?”

“
I know, I’ll buy her a
gift and I’ll also bake her some kippers. Then at least she’ll know
I can cook for you.”

“
She’ll like that.” He
pressed his lips to hers. “Umm, let’s get back to the hotel for our
wedding night.”

“
Sounds good to me.” A hot
ache burned through her at the thought of his body entwined with
hers.

###

About the Author

When Cornelia Amiri was five years old,
she saw Walt Disney’s The Sword and the Stone and has been
interested in Celtic history and mythology ever since. She has
eighteen published books, including Steampunk/Romance books. She
also writes under the name of Maeve Alpin. She lives in the sultry,
southern city of Houston, Texas as does her son, her granddaughter
and her cat.

Visit my world at:

http://CelticRomanceQueen.com

http://MaeveAlpin.com

https://www.facebook.com/CelticRomanceQueen

https://twitter.com/CorneliaAmiri

For More of Cornelia
Amiri’s Vampiric Fey
,

The Dancing Vampire series is
available now

in eBook formatsfrom Ellora’s
Cave

at
most online books stores

The first book in the series
is:

Dance of The Vampires By
Cornelia Amiri

One of Ian’s six brothers kicks over
the stones of an ancient cairn, unknowingly freeing Sorcha and her
six sisters from underhill. The seven handsome Scots are enchanted
by the voluptuous temptresses until they turn on the men. Ian
captures Sorcha, giving his brothers a chance to escape. With the
dark fey woman still in his grasp, Ian is saved by the rising
sun.

Her sisters vanish with the light of
dawn and Sorcha is trapped in the mortal realm. The seductress
can’t resist Ian’s attentions as he stirs throbbing urges she’s
never felt before. Ian is bewitched by the wild delights offered by
this vampire siren. He can’t get enough of her. Still, her wicked
sisters and his highland brothers want nothing more than to attack
and kill each other. Will Sorcha and Ian’s sizzling passion prove
strong enough to overcome the differences between the dark fey and
humans?

Dance Of The
Vampires,
Excerpt
:

Ian wobbled out the door of the pub
ahead of his six brothers. Focusing as hard as he could, pushing
one foot in front of the other, he stumbled across a field in the
moonlight. A clump of gorse and heather brushed against his
jeans.

“
Brother, be careful not to
step on a thistle in the dark,” Lachlan yelled in slurred
speech.

“
I have my boots on,” Ian
snapped.

“
Are you sure, little
brother?” Malcolm, the oldest, called out. “You usually run
barefoot and cry like a girl when you get a thorn in your
foot.”

“
I was five years old the
last time that happened.” Tired of the lot of them, he stomped
ahead. “I’d go off by myself and leave all of you here, but someone
has to lead you home.”

Well past midnight, silence engulfed
the field until Calin burst out laughing and couldn’t
stop.

“
Shut up,” Angus, the
middle brother, yelled.

“
He’s hammered.” Errol
nodded his head toward him. “He cannot help it.”

“
Well, I do not know what’s
so funny or why we had to leave right when I spotted the pretty
women in the pub.”

Tavish kicked a stone with his foot as
he tromped through the grass with his brothers.

“
Because we are all drunk.”
Lachlan’s body wavered, leaning forward then back. “That is why the
lassies started looking so bonny to you. Those were the same ones
you called old and ugly when they first came in, you
bampot.”

“
They were old, that was
Liam’s mother and aunt.” Angus grabbed Tavish’s head and jostled it
back and forth. He ducked out of Angus’ way.

“
Ooch!” Ian jumped
back.

“
What is wrong with you?”
Malcolm set his hand on his hip.

Ian pointed to the ancient mound of
stones caked over with dirt and grass. “I almost stepped on a fairy
mound.” His stomach knotted.

“
Brother, are you afraid of
a pile of old stones?” Calin threw his head back and rocked with
laughter.

“
It’s a cairn.” Ian’s heart
still thudded from the near miss. “Any who disturb it will be
cursed.”

“
I dare you to knock it
over.” Errol crossed his arms over his chest.

Ian stepped back, a horrified look on
his handsome face. “I will not.”

“
I will.” With long, sure
strides, Tavish stepped toward the ancient gravesite.

“
Do not do it.” Ian’s belly
clenched even tighter, until he felt sharp jabs of pain.

Before the other six could stop him,
Tavish drew back his foot and crashed it into the sacred cairn with
a hard kick. A loud, sharp gasp from each of his brothers hung in
the air. One lone stone rolled free of the mound.

Malcolm’s mouth dropped open. “You
disturbed the fey.”

“
You’ve done it now.”
Lachlan stepped back, attempting to separate himself from the
sacrilege.

“
He dared me.” Tavish
pointed at Errol. “I had to do it, now didn’t I?”

“
Errol’s a turnip-headed
bampot,” Calin shouted. “You too, Tavish.”

“
I do not like it.” Ian
shook his head. “It’s sacred. It’s cursed.” The knot in his stomach
froze, growing as cold as ice.

“
This is bad.” Angus shook
his head.

“
Let’s keep walking.” Calin
slid his foot forward with a confident stride.

Malcolm bobbed his head. “We should
hurry home before something happens.”

“
We are,” Errol snapped.
“We’re in this field taking a shortcut, remember?”

“
Come on.” Malcolm headed
away from the disturbed monument. “Walk faster.” He took the lead
as the others followed.