Catch & Hold-Legend (Legend series) (20 page)

She couldn’t break the Dark King’s magic thread that enslaved her here, and I could see she was aware of her predicament, for she wasn’t even trying to escape.

“Aaibhe … you brought this on yourself.” Why did I speak to her? I had planned to keep silent, allow her to suffer without conversation from me. I wanted her to beg me to speak to her.

“Yes, I have, I know,” she answered me softly.

She surprised me with her answer. I had expected denials, but then, Aaibhe had always surprised me. It was why I’d adored her for so many thousands upon thousands of years. Perhaps I still did.
She is the reason for everything I have done, and she is the weak link in my chain to success. I know it and will be wary.

“You understand then … you understand why all of this has come about?” I wanted to seal my lips, but I couldn’t stop myself from speaking to her. My insides swelled with ‘feeling’ I had thought, had hoped, long dead. I needed to feel nothing while I tortured her, and she had to be tortured. First, she had to worry to distraction about her Tir—her World … and her humans. First, she had to picture them being ravished and devoured.

“I do, Gaiscioch. I have thought long and hard about this …
about you.”

She meant to trick me with words that sounded sincere, and yet … could she have meant it? We had meant so much to each other once—did she regret the past? Did she regret casting me aside for a human? She should have.

“Your humans will die torturous deaths. My monsters will overrun the cities and feed.”

Her eyes spoke of unimaginable sorrow. Already I had made her suffer. She raised her chin, still so proud—still the Queen of the Tuatha Dé—and she dared say to me as though she were not a prisoner, as though I didn’t have the upper hand, “You will not win, Gaiscioch. My Seelie warriors will defeat you.”

I shrugged my shoulders purposely, as though her words didn’t hurt—but I wanted to slap her perfect face. However, I didn’t want to enter her chamber, yet. And I didn’t want to let down my defenses. I could not allow her to trick me with her wiles—later I would enter her chamber and teach her a lesson or two.

“Do you believe that, Aaibhe? Then so be it—believe whatever helps you in your present situation. But even if what you say is true, it won’t happen before I have accomplished a great deal of destruction. It won’t happen before I decimate the human population and then kill some of your dearest Royals … not before then, my Aaibhe.” I looked her over as though she were no more than a whore. “And before all that happens, I will make you writhe with pleasure beneath me.”

“Will you indeed?” She shook her beautiful head of white gold hair free and stared hard at me, and in spite of my holding all the cards, I felt like a chastised boy. “Gaiscioch—I never writhed with more than mild satisfaction beneath you. I thought you knew that … ” Her chin went up, and her brilliant eyes flashed angrily at me.

I knew what she was doing. She was taunting me with that soft, alluring voice and words meant to cut me. “Mild satisfaction, is it? Nevertheless, I have a clear memory of your legs spread wide as I made you mine.” I hadn’t meant to snap off those words, but they came unbidden.

“Ah, you equate sex with love—how human of you.” She eyed me with something I had not seen before—
hatred
. She hated me. And then she whispered words at me that made me cringe inside. “You should remember that
I quit your bed
. You should remember after the boredom of our relationship … I wanted no other until I saw Conall. You stole him from me. You stole my happiness, and now you mean to destroy two worlds. Why … because of unrequited love?” She clucked her tongue and turned her back. “Leave me in peace.”

“Damn you
—damn you to eternal darkness! You shall grovel at my feet and beg for mercy, but I will keep you alive and make you watch as I destroy everything you have held precious—everything you care about. Your dear Ete for one—I will rape and then kill her. I nearly did that once—do you remember?” I thought I saw her flinch, but she kept her back to me.

“The key word being
nearly
, Gaiscioch. As I recall, Breslyn, as usual, got the better of you. I should have allowed him to destroy you all those years ago …” Her voice trailed off, and she would not look at me.

I left her then, but in spite of the time and distance between us, she had managed once more to hurt me beyond my imagination. I had not thought it possible. I calmed myself. I told myself that she had said those cutting things on purpose because she did not like being controlled. She had loved me once, I was sure of it, and I would mold her and use her and she would love me again.

I went to my private quarters, where the other end of the Mirror portal was set for my return back into the Dark World. I didn’t have to worry about entering the Dark Realm now. I was free—free to come and go to the Human Realm whenever I chose, and the battle I planned would soon be upon them … when Samhain was in full bloom and black magic was at its strongest.

However, as I emerged into the Dark Realm, I found someone waiting for me.

“Pestale.” He stood before me in my private chamber as I stepped through the Mirror fragment, and I knew a moment’s concern.

“And so you discovered that it needed only the Daoine’s blood to get you into their world?” He sneered at me. “But that isn’t where you just were. Where were you, Gais?”

“
You knew about the blood?”
I snapped, ignoring his question. “You knew all along and kept it from me?”

“Yes, I knew and tested my theory through you. Now, I too can come and go as I please—my blood, my father’s blood is Royal Daoine. I realized that awhile back. I am Daoine on my father’s side and Tuatha Dé on my mother’s. The Mirror will always respond to me.”

“Your mother?” Suddenly it clicked in my head. “
Your mother is Morrigu
?” This shocked me beyond my wildest imagination.

“In a manner of speaking—my father took some of her DNA without her knowledge, although I believe she suspected, and combined it with his own. He did this years before he found his human. However, that was not all that went into the mix.” Pestale’s smile was bitter and his voice touched with suppressed rage. “He wanted me and my younger brothers to be a super-powerful House of Royals—so what must he do to over-ride Morrigu’s blood but add that of a magical creature from his world of Danu. The creature, now dead because of his experiment, is deeply a part of who I am. I have powers untold because of my Royal Daoine blood and the creature’s genes. I was his first ‘son’, and he wanted me to have every advantage. There wasn’t enough of the creature’s DNA to go around, and my brothers were spared.”

“What … oh by Danu … you are speaking of the Krill.” I couldn’t believe what he was telling me. The Krill was a huge, tawny, beastlike creature much like the lions of Africa. Only the Krill had a very high level of intelligence and ferociousness mixed in with their magic. I thought them destroyed with the planet, but the Dark King must have secretly saved one when we left. They had their own society on Danu apart from the Daoine and the Tuatha Dé, and we often had problems with them. This was unthinkable. Had the Dark King been mad? Pestale might be very difficult to kill … for a death sword could only kill a Krill if it was used to decapitate. A Seelie Krill could not be killed any other way. This development was totally unexpected!

* * *

Back on the Isle of Tir, Danté and I found Trevor, who advised us that he had already informed the Council of the situation and they wanted it kept a secret, as they didn’t want a panic to ensue on Tir.

The Council had also requested Ete visit with Queen Mab and see what could be done at that end. That was a good thing, as perhaps Mab would be able to find Aaibhe.

We looked at one another, and it was Trevor who spoke first. “What do we do now?”

Danté frowned at him. “
We
are off to meet with Chancemont in Dravo, but you, my buck, will stay here in Tir and be our eyes and ears.”

“There is nothing to spy on in Tir, Danté, but I might be of use to you on the road,” he said hopefully.

I could see Danté was going to deny him, and I hurriedly interrupted. We hadn’t had more than a chance for a brief introduction earlier, but I just dove right in. “You know, I think you have a point, Trevor.”

Now I was certain a Seelie Fae could blush. He looked at me shyly, and his thick, dark lashes lowered over those beautiful eyes so much like Danté’s, and when he raised them and looked at me fully, I knew this one was going to slay hearts.

He grinned mischievously at his older brother, who held me so close I felt as though I were a part of him. The he returned his gaze to me and said quietly, “Thanks.”

Danté pulled a face, and Trevor gave me a rueful look and commented, “Don’t think big brother agrees.”

“He will—he is just thinking it out,” I answered him with an accompanying smile I hoped was encouraging.

Trevor leaned into my shoulder and whispered, “Everyone—at least my friends on Tir—are chattering about you and Danté, and now I see it’s true. You have tied him up in knots. He wants to send me off but doesn’t wish to annoy you.”

I laughed right out loud and waved my hand with my objection. “Oh, no … no one ties your brother up in knots, and he is always telling me
no
about something.”

“The young warrior is right there—don’t wish to annoy you … ever,” Danté said softly, not in the least self-conscious as he bent and dropped a kiss on my lips.

I think I blushed then, because I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. “Yes, well, plans … we have to set our plans.”

Danté chuckled. “And so our new mission begins.”

“Trevor will be an asset to us while we are visiting with Chancemont. Do let him join us, Danté,” I said in an aside.

Danté chewed his bottom lip and, oh,
hot damn
, he was gorgeous. “Right then,” he said. “We are off for Dravo.”

I glanced at Trevor and realized I had made an instant friend. I smiled to myself, well pleased, and then I remembered: nothing to be pleased about;
Gaiscioch had our queen
.

* * *

“Oh ugh,” Trevor said as we stepped out of the thick atmosphere we had just traveled through. “What was that?”

“A counterfeit shifting pattern the Milesians created from our Danu dust,” Danté answered absently as he looked around.

There was no time for more as Chance appeared in his usual uniform of leathers, his blonde hair blowing about his handsome face, his eyes, though, not twinkling as they normally did. “Is it true?” Chance demanded of us as he got closer.

At his back, I saw his pretty blonde sister as she sidled up behind him and glanced at Trevor. She put a finger to her lips, begging me not to give her away. I smiled inwardly and kept the information to myself. She was definitely a cutie, and then I noticed Trevor looking shyly at her.
Uh oh, what have we here?

“Yes, it is true,” Danté answered solemnly. “Gaiscioch has captured our queen.”

“How the devil did ye let that happen, Royal?”

Danté’s fist clenched and unclenched, as did his jaw line, and I stuck in hurriedly, “You know in war … the unexpected things happen. We did not expect our queen to be unattended.” War? I questioned myself. What did I know about war? This was my first war, but
what the hell
—I thought it was a reasonable answer.

“Aye, you couldn’t have known she would do such a careless thing as to arrive unattended,” Chancemont conceded. “M’father is with your Nuad, cleaning up and making sure the city is safe from any stray Dark Fae, and I’m certain he knows by now about your queen. He always spoke highly of her, and I know he will work with Nuad to help ye in this.”

Danté inclined his head. “Thank you, Chance, but do you have any ideas? Did you notice anything we may have missed? Sometimes, being too close to a matter clouds the entire picture.”

“Ye be looking for answers, I know, ’tis a natural thing, but I can only be helping ye with the questions—for the right questions might be bringing ye the answers ye need,” Chance returned.

Interesting, I thought and noticed his sister maneuver over to Trevor, who was standing just a bit away from us, looking around Chance’s courtyard with keen interest. I overheard her say, “Hello, I’m Chancemont’s sister. My name is Lana.”

“It suits you,” Trevor answered sweetly. “In ancient Danu Lana means lovely.” Trevor stood erect and smiling warmly at her. Oh yeah, something going on there.

She eyed him mischievously, and I shook my head, again thinking she was cuter than cute, but then my attention was distracted from them by the conversation between Chance and Danté. “I’ll bite … what questions should I be asking?” Danté returned.

“How did he trap her—and to what end? He has an end, and it has all to do with her, your queen. What would he do with her? How many dimensions support the kind of atmosphere he would need to keep her alive long enough to … conduct his plans for her? Are they questions enough for ye, man?”

And before we had a moment to even contemplate this, the air around us was altered dramatically. A swirling dark ring opened up, and we looked deep into a black hole of sorts that kept expanding in a sky no longer blue. We watched, fascinated, silent all of us as we wondered what the heck was going on.