Dark Fae (18 page)

I thought about that a moment.
But, if she’d married Wil
,
and had children with him
,
there would have been no need for us to be strong. Balor wouldn’t have searched out Chaos to save Ashling. None of this would have happen
e
d.

No, you don’t know that
,
she
said
, though I heard the doubt in her voice
.

I backed off, not wanting to fight with her.
It doesn’t really matter now. We must deal with this as it is. I’m not angry at you, Cora, just confused.

She was silent after that, but I could feel her there. She didn’t withdraw
,
and that was all that I truly wanted
:
s
omeone to stand with me in these last hours.

The Tuatha camp was visible from a distance, but
the guards did nothing
as I approached. They couldn’t see me. I placed one hand on the hilt of Carnwennan, the bone warming under my fingertips.

With great care, doing my best not to make a single splash, I made my way onto the beach. My
next
concern was my footprints. Checking first one way then the other, I hurried up the sand, then pulled on the ocean, using the water to wash away the prints.

Good, that will buy you more time.

I wondered why Cora hadn’t tried to talk me out of this. Of course, all along she’d been encouraging me to follow my instincts, to do what I felt was best
,
e
ven when it meant jumping out of a helicopter. That memory hit me and I paused. I wanted to savor each moment of my life as best I could
, now that it was near the end
.

Working my way through the camp, I searched for Luke and Chaos. There was no doubt in my mind that Lir was right, that she would keep Luke close as a bargaining chip
, as a way to control me
.

In no time, t
he sun had fully risen
. It
was hot, more so than any other summer I could remember.

It is Chaos
’
doing. She is slowly cooking the world, for nothing more than the sake of wreaking havoc.

Sweat dripped down my face as I worked methodically through the camp, checking every tent for signs of Luke, hoping that maybe,
maybe
I’d luck out.

What I didn’t expect to find was Darcy.

She was slumped in the corner of a small tent, sobbing. Her fingers clutched the silver ring I’d given her.

“Oh Wil, I’m not a good woman, not anymore.” Her fingers brushed against the polished metal as she spoke. “
My babies are going to pay the price for my cowardice. If only I’d been as strong as them, if I’d fought back maybe things would have been different.” Her words echoed my earlier ones and I felt Cora retreat from the truth.

No, don’t leave me!
I said. I took one last look at my mother and stepped away from the tent, almost stumbling over Nuadha.

He brushed past me, the dark spot in his eye clearly visible. Pausing
,
he glared at my
mother’s
tent. “Oracle, stop your sniveling, at least one of your daughters is worth
the
time you spent in a man’s bed.”

My fingers clenched and I fought not to take a swing at him. It would do me no favors to break my cover now. But I knew that where Nuadha went, Chaos would be near. As he left my mother’s tent, I followed close on his heels.

He strode through the camp, barking orders, slapping people out of his way. At least I didn’t have to worry about tripping over anyone else. Most people gave him wide berth, avoiding his reach.

At the edge of the camp
,
he halted and stared
out
across the beach. What had once been the Fomorii army now lay a mixture of humans and Fomorii as I’d known them.

You truly gave them the choice?
Cora asked.

Yes
.
I didn’t want to steal what some felt was their heritage.

Nuadha yelled out. “My lady, I’d have a word with you.”

This was it. My heart picked up speed,
and
my palms grew sweaty.

A green flag was raised
,
and Nuadha started out across the sand, me close on his heels. As we passed the
first line of Fomorii I realized that
Gormley
was there and she was looking straight at me.
My blood chilled. Bres had said that the old Fomorii had strange abilities, but who knew one of them would be to see through the power
of
Carnwennan?

With a slow wink
,
she turned her back on me, not raising the alarm.
Nuadha halted in front of a row of huge Fomorii guards. They slowly peeled away, revealing Chaos sitting on a throne studded with jewels and draped in fur
,
as if the heat didn’t bother her one bit
. She was wearing a body suit of leather that was studded with small metal spikes along the arms and legs. Her hair had
been shorn close to her head, bangs left to hang over her eyes.
Luke sat beside her, chains stretching from his neck and hands to the base of the throne.
Other than being tied up, he didn’t look as if he’d been hurt.

“What news have you of my . . . sister
,”
Chaos asked, her black eyes staring right past me.

Nuadha bowed at the waist. “She has gone to ground, or to water
,
it would seem. Other than that, we do not know.”

She leaned for
ward, pulling Luke close by his neck chain. “And what of you, pretty boy
?
Hmm
? Where
do you think your precious beloved has gon
e with that handsome Fomorii warrior
?”

Luke didn’t answer
. He
just stared past her. She slapped him hard, drawing blood. I flinched, but he didn’t. “Answer me or I will cut out your tongue
,
and see if I can make it speak that way.”

The silence stretched and just when I thought he would call her bluff, he spoke.
“I have no idea where they might have gone. I wasn’t privy to the plans
.
I was just told to stay here.”
H
is voice
didn’t
giv
e
her one ounce of inflection, though his eyes looked pained as he stared up into her face. Maybe she hit harder than it looked.

“Hmm. I see
,” she
murmured
, running her fingers over his face. “You are quite lovely
.
P
erhaps I will keep you as the first of my harem.”

His jaw tightened
,
as did mine. My hand inched towards Carnwennan, but I had to wait. I couldn’t face Nuadha and Chaos. It had to be just me
and her.

She flicked her hand at Nuadha. “Go, you are boring me.”
Nuadha saluted
,
and I stepped aside as he turned on his heel and strode away. Now, it was a matter of cutting Chaos out of the middle of all the Fomorii.

With everything I had
,
I tried to speak to Luke
mind-to-
mind.
I’m here.

Luke’s eyes widened
,
and then he started to cough, covering his shock well.

Try to get her away from the rest. Charm her.

He blinked several times. But he said nothing back to me, only gave a slight nod.

“Lady,” he reached up and put his hand on her knee. “May I speak with you in private, away from all these ears?
There is something I’d like to discuss. About Ashling.
”

I could feel the
dose of Charm he used even
fifteen feet away. Chaos leaned into him, her hand stroking along his face. “Do you know how the gods caught me the first time?”

Oh, I had a bad feeling about this.
Draw back, Luke. This was a bad idea.

Too late.

Her hand whipped around his throat and she started to squeeze. “They used a pretty boy
to
Charmed me into the trap. Very clever
.
I do so love a handsome man on my arm.”

She tossed him backwards
and
his body
slammed
into the ground
, jerk
ing
against the chains as they pulled tight
. “My apologies,” he coughed
.
“I didn’t know.
It’s just…
Ashling has been on my mind since I first met the two sisters
,
and I’ve dreamed of her most nights
.”

Chaos leaned forward. “Truly?”
I tensed, wanting to know the answer
,
too. Is that what Ashling had meant when she’d
mentioned
falling in love with someone? With Luke?

He nodded, rubbing at his throat. They shared a long gaze, one that neither seemed willing to break.

“Hmm. Well. We shall see.” She snapped her fingers and the Fomorii fell back, making a ring around the throne.

I had to push thoughts of Luke and Ashling back in order to focus.
It was now or never.

With a single swift move, I pulled Carnwennan from the scabbard, a burst of light shattering the shadow veil
that
I was hid
ing
behind.

“Chaos, I have a deal for you. The sword that would be your death
...
for Luke’s freedom.”

The Fomorii lurched forward, but stopped as Chaos raised her hand. “Wait, I believe the stupid twit means it.”

“Quinn, no! You can’t do this!”
Luke yelled, lunging as if he’d get between me and Chaos
, the chains again pulling tight, stopping him
.

She didn’t step towards me. “Lay it on the ground and back away
,
and I will let your man go.”

I didn’t hesitate
; I
just laid Carnwennan down
,
and backed off a good ten feet.

She waved her hand. “Further.”

I hope you’re right about Carnwennan
,
Cora said. So did I.

Another ten feet and Chaos seemed satisfied. “Well.” Leaning towards Luke, she grabbed his face and kissed him
with
a deep
, thorough
kiss. “I suppose I’ll never get my chance with you. Too bad, even the girl liked you.”

No doubt she meant Ashling.

With a flick of her wrist, the chains fell from Luke. He made as if to come to me.

“No, Luke, this isn’t for you. You can’t save me from this. It’s my choice.”

He was shaking
, anger and frustration written all over his face
.

Chaos laughed. “Listen to her, or I will throw you back in chains.”

And then I did something I’d never done before
—
I lied to him.
I’ll be al
l
right
.
G
o get Bres and Lir
;
they are waiting for you in the Labyrinth. They know what the plan is.
I kn
e
w he would believe me
;
I’d never given him a reason not to. His jaw was tight
,
but he left, running down the beach
and
d
iving
into the water. It wouldn’t give me much time.

“Now, I suppose it’s just you and me, Chosen one
,”
Chaos said, strolling towards Carnwennan. She didn’t bend to pick it up, but flipped it
up
with her foot, catching the handle as the sword turned.

A few swipes through the air, then she threw the sword backwards. “I cannot use a sword like that, not when I have my own. I think that I should like to share my story with you, before I kill you. Do you mind?” She lifted
Ashling’s
perfectly arched brow at me
, the jerky, marionette that she had been when she’d first taken over my sister’s body
was
nowhere
evident
.

“Actually, I’d rather we just got to it
,”
I said. This was not part of my plan. I knew I only had so much time before the
cavalry
showed up.