Harvest of the Gods (18 page)

“
We won't be able to get into Faerie without a fey by our side,” Finn cursed.

“
The High King can let you through,” I chewed on my lip, “but I doubt he'll allow a bunch of gods in to kill a faerie. You'll have
to plead your case to him.”

“
Or get her to come out,” Aodh looked at me speculatively. “Do you think you could get her to come to us?”

“
What do you think could possibly persuade her to do that?” I blinked wide eyes at them.

“
Ego,” Aodh, exchanged a knowing look with the others. “Narcissism, cruelty, maybe even some curiosity. The possibility that we could kill her will never even cross her mind. Aoife is that egotistical. She'll think herself much more powerful than us and would probably love to see us again, just to exalt in her triumph one more time.”

“
Yeah,” I thought about that snotty air sidhe, “I can believe that. Okay look,” I cracked my neck, “I'll be going back soon but when I go back, it'll be to the past in Faerie, so I should be able to direct her here to our present.”

“
Wow, this is really fucking with my head,” Aodh frowned.

“
Yeah, imagine how I feel,” I smirked. “If I can talk her into coming back to confront you... hold the presses. I just remembered Roarke is here. We can send him across to fetch her, then I won't have to worry about figuring out how to get her here at the right time. He can go, take as long as he needs to grab her, and still be back in hardly any time at all.”

“
Excellent,” Finn smiled.

“
Yeah, then I don't have to worry about all the trouble you might get into without me here,” I smirked. “I'll ask Roarke tomorrow, I'm sure he's already asleep. It shouldn't be a problem, unless you guys are wrong and she decides to pass on the family reunion.”

“
We're not wrong,” they grinned maliciously at each other.

“
Yeah, you kind of look like you belong in a Rob Zombie movie when you guys smile like that,” I huffed a laugh. “And how fucked up is it that your Aunt slept with your father? Faerie changeling or not, that's messed up.”

“
Well duh,” Aodh shook his head, “it's kind of one of the reasons why we want to kill her.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Roarke was amenable to fetching Aoife. He said something about her being a mega-bitch and that she needed to be schooled. When I told him that Finn and his siblings were intent on more than just schooling her, they were going to kill her, he frowned and asked if that wasn't what he'd just said. I was going to have to talk to my lions again. They were trying to teach the cat-sidhe human lingo but something always seemed to get lost in translation.

On top of that, he had headed into Faerie wearing a T-shirt that read:
Cat-astrophe Waiting to Happen
. It was a little too close to the truth for my tastes and I was hoping it wasn't prophetic as well.

I sighed and shifted my weight. Trevor, Kirill, Odin, and I were waiting at the tracing wall for Roarke to return with Aoife. As soon as they appeared we were going to escort them out to the open grassland in front of Pride Palace, where Finn and his siblings were waiting. I have to admit this seemed like a waste of time to me, like there were more important things for me to be doing than helping a bunch of gods find vengeance, but I'd started this and wasn't I on my own quest for justice? How could I deny Finn, especially when it was I who'd called him?

So we waited, exchanging glances ranging from impatience to irritation, until there was a slight ringing buzz, like the sound of electricity flowing through cables, and they stepped through the wall. I was surprised to find myself surprised that she'd actually showed up. I mean if someone walked up to me and said a bunch of people I'd cursed in the past wanted me to meet them after school behind the dumpsters, I'd have run all the way home and then locked the door behind me. Yet, there she was, the cheeky bitch.

“
Aoife,” I nodded and she watched me warily, looking like she might bolt at any second. Then it occurred to me that she
actually might be more afraid of me than of her niece and nephews. “I have no issue with you. The ones you have to worry about are waiting outside.”

“
Really?” She looked me over intently, then visibly relaxed and even smirked. “Well then, Queen of Fire, lead the way.”

I glanced at Trevor, who was doing a kind of wheezing werewolf chuckle. He shrugged and we all turned to lead the woman to her doom. Well, I at least hoped it was her doom because if I had to watch Finn and his siblings die, I was going to be royally pissed. Another thought occurred to me and almost as if she read my mind, Aoife spoke it.

“Tell me right now that you'll not avenge your friends if I win this challenge.”

Fuck, that was actually fair. “Alright, you have my word. I won't avenge them if you win. Today. If you pull any sneaky shit in the future though,” I stopped and turned to face her. “I will pluck those wings off your back and shove them down your throat. We clear?”

She nodded and swallowed hard, so I turned back around and led her out and around the side of the palace, to the sandy area used by the Intare to train. Speaking of the Intare, they were all there, come to watch the show, and I had a fleeting thought of Fenrir and how he'd probably be pissed that we didn't call him so he could get a ringside seat too.

The Intare looked pretty intimidating, standing around the edges like a gorgeous man-boundary and staring at Aoife in a way that clearly proclaimed their hatred of her. I kind of loved them for that, that they'd take Finn's anger as their own and support him without explanation. When I glanced at Aoife, I saw she wasn't immune to their animosity, had in fact stopped walking to stare over the assemblage.

I felt a little sympathy for her then. It was pretty brave of
her to come walking into my lion's den with only a promise of a fair fight and her confidence in her own abilities to back her. She was a horrible woman who had done some really mean things, but did she deserve to be terrorized before she got her ass handed to her? Maybe not.

I put a hand on her forearm and her gaze shot to mine. I gave her a squeeze and an honest stare. “They won't interfere either, you have the word of their Tima.”

She blinked, her mouth falling open a little and her face softening just slightly. “I see now why he loves you,” she whispered. “Your honor is humbling, startling, and a little irritating. I wouldn't have shown you the same courtesy and I think you know that. I also think it doesn't make a difference to you. I almost regret having to kill your friends.”

She had me liking her a little until that last bit. I sighed and shook my head, gesturing her forward. She walked regally into the sunlight, glittering in her fey glory. Her pale pink hair glowed almost as white as her skin, trailing down to her feet and hovering just above the ground. Her bright blue butterfly wings matched her eyes(which sparkled with malicious glee once she set eyes on Finn and family) and shimmered when she fluttered them. She looked delicate, ethereal; and standing there before the children of Lir, who were garbed in black leather and grim countenances, she seemed to be a fair damsel in distress.

I knew better than to judge by appearances though, and I assumed Finn did also. So I hoped he had some way to fight fey magic, some trick up his sleeve that would give him an edge over Aoife. Then I noticed the blades they were all holding and I nodded. That would do, metal kills air fey if used properly. All they had to do was get one good stab in and Aoife would be a goner. Getting that close to a fey who didn't want you close to them though, could be a problem. Especially when she was an air-sidhe.

The expressions on the faces of Finn and his siblings stayed stoic but I could see the surprise in their eyes. Aoife's beauty was magnificent, even among gods, and you couldn't help but be impressed by it. I don't think they expected the monster who had worn their Aunt's face to look so much like a fantasy come to life.

The fey don't fight like gods. God magic gives a warning, lets
you know it was building up and coming for you. For instance, if Thor had been attacking with lightning, the sky would have filled with storm clouds first. There would have been rain, wind, something. Aoife gave no warning. In fact, she seemed to sense their moment of surprise and used it for an advantage.

Aodh was simply standing one moment and flying the next. Aoife lifted him with a simple hand gesture and threw him so far, I didn't see him fall. The remaining three ran for her but before they could get even remotely close, they were blown back with a sudden gust of wind. This was not god magic controlling the weather, this
was
the weather. It was fey magic, pure elemental, and it didn't need to roll in as a breeze or a gust, it simply was what Aoife needed, exactly when she needed it.

At least she didn't laugh or taunt them. I'd kind of been expecting some kind of villainous display of superiority. She didn't bother with all that though, she just kept pummeling my friends into the ground. I bit my lip, my muscles tensing as I watched them helplessly.

Trevor's hand slid into mine and I felt the presence of Odin and Kirill at my back. We were all tense, frustrated by our self-inflicted impotence. The Intare were growling, several of them pacing the edges of the fighting area while they snarled at Aoife. The faerie paid them no mind, just kept attacking Finn and his siblings with the very air around them. And she had the nerve to look fabulous as she did it. The woman didn't even break a sweat but if she had, it probably would have sparkled.

Then Finn started to choke. His weapons fell from his hands and his siblings ran to his side, even Aodh who'd finally made it back from wherever she'd blown him. Finn clawed at his throat, dropping to his knees as he gasped for air. Aoife stood in front of him, making a pulling gesture with her hand. That was it, that was all she had to do to yank the air right out of his lungs.

“No,” I whispered and almost broke my word by running into the fight, but Odin put his arms around my waist and held me
to him. “Finn.”

“
This is his battle,” Odin laid his cheek along mine. “You must let him fight it.”

“
Now you know how we felt,” Trevor glanced at me, “watching you fight Balder.”

“
This is so not the time for that,” I gave Trevor a glare and he had the grace to look sheepish.

Then Finn suddenly stopped choking, his whole body shimmering in gold light. The gold darkened and feathers emerged from his skin, black feathers. With a flapping of wings, Finn shot up into the sky as a black swan. In seconds, his siblings followed suit, flying up into the bright sky, right into the sun so that we could barely see them. I wondered if they were making a run for it and how we'd handle Aoife in such a situation but honestly, I'd rather have them run than die and my heart was beginning to slow back to its normal rhythm.

Then they all came diving out of the sky at once, zipping down toward Aoife like feathered torpedoes. Sunlight glinted off something in their beaks and I squinted till I was able to make out the knives they were all holding. Aoife saw it too and frowned but when she made to flick them away, the swans split and surrounded her. Three of them hovered around her face, flapping their huge wings and effectively blinding her. They must have been cutting at her too because Aoife was shrieking and holding her arms up defensively.

The fourth bird circled around and then came straight at her, like an arrow made of feathers and steel. His dagger slid into Aoife's slight chest, lodging in her up to its hilt. The other three swans fell back as Aoife let out a pitiful scream that was cut short suddenly, as if death couldn't wait for her to finish her cry before claiming her. She fell limply to the ground and the black swans settled before her like a line of mourners, graceful necks curved
down, eyes fixed on the fey corpse.

Then they stepped back as one, and lifted their wings. Their necks extended and the golden shimmer returned, lightening this time until four bodies were revealed, all very naked. I looked over my shoulder at Kirill and he nodded, running off to collect some clothing for the swans.

They barely noticed their own nudity though, they were too focused on the dead fey before them. The siblings took each other's hands and approached the body together, faces grim but satisfied. They just stood there, above Aoife's body, looking down on her as if to imprint the picture in their minds forever.

I knew all about that, had my own share of nightmares relieved by the images of a dead villain, so I stayed silent as well and let them absorb the fact that their monster was dead. They wouldn't have to look under the bed for her, or in their closets, and they wouldn't have to worry about seeing her face when they finally made it to sleep.

Kirill came back with cotton robes and I gave him another nod, they'd had enough time to wallow. So he approached them slowly and handed them each a robe. They covered themselves automatically, looking a little shell-shocked, and I went forward to help them.

“
Finn?” I had my hands on his shoulders while I looked over his face. “Let's all go inside, okay?”

He nodded and I put an arm around him to lead him into the palace. Kirill, Trevor, and Odin took charge of the remaining swans and we escorted them to the dining room. Once we got them seated, Kirill went off to make tea, which he said would be better for them than coffee. I nodded and left it up to him. Honestly, I didn't think it made a difference what we gave them to drink, as long as it was either hot, or alcoholic, or both.

“She'd dead,” Fionnuala finally whispered and the three
brothers looked over at her startled, like they hadn't even realized what they'd done.

“
Yep,” I said a little loudly, thinking that the shock might do them good. “You all did it. I'm surprised, it really looked like she was going to win for awhile there.”

“
We should 'ave attacked 'er as swans first,” Conn said grimly. “I think she was weaker when we were swans. It felt easier then.”

“
I don't know if she was weaker,” Finn frowned, “but there was definitely a difference. It was almost as if we were attacking her with her own magic.”

“
Huh,” I smiled, “it's kind of like me and the gods. It was easier for me to kill gods because you all held magic taken from humans. Maybe it does work in a similar way, you know all magic has a price. It looks like the price of Aoife turning you all into swans was that she became vulnerable to you when you were in swan form.”

“
I don't know what it is and frankly,” Aodh took a steaming cup of tea from Kirill with a nod of thanks, “I don't care. She's dead and I'm finally going to be able to get a good night's sleep.”

“
Speaking of which,” I took my own cup from Kirill. “You're all more than welcome to relax here for today, and even stay the night, we have plenty of room.”

“
Thanks, Vervain,” Finn reached across the table to take my hand.

“
No biggie,” I shrugged.

“
No, about Aoife,” Finn sighed and let go of me. “About bringing her here and giving this closure to me and my family.”

“
Finn,” I gave him a wide grin, “you're a part of my family
too. I'll always help you if I can.”

“
And we consider you family now as well,” Aodh winked at me. “You ever need anything, just give us a call.”

“
Uh, I hate to break up your Cum Yaya moment but I need to take Aoife's body back to Faerie,” Roarke said from the end of the table.