The Morrigan's Curse (18 page)

THE KIN SELECTED
a house they thought was suitable for waiting out the seven-day timeline. Most of them went in immediately, but Jax was told to stay in the car while Madoc warded the house. Kel's father was convinced people must be scrying for Jax.

Madoc was right, of course; there
was
someone keeping tabs on him. But the only occasions Jax would've been open to scrying were the first few seconds after his arrival in the warehouse—and on the bridge. Jax cringed. Not only had he helped Bran Llyr summon the mother of all rainstorms, Tegan Donovan might have watched him do it.

Why'd it have to be
her
, of all people?
But Riley had proved too impatient to master scrying, or maybe Jax wasn't a very good teacher. Jax himself had only cast the spell under Evangeline's instruction. But Tegan had taken to it right away, maybe because she was such a talented sensitive. Jax
had been mortified. What if she caught him at an embarrassing moment—scratching his butt, picking his nose . . . or worse? But having someone monitor Jax had been one of the conditions the adults had set for letting him take this mission, and Tegan had been the one assigned to the job.
She can't do it too many times in a row, though. The spell will exhaust her just like it did Evangeline. Maybe she missed the part on the bridge.

It wasn't Jax's proudest moment. He'd tried to fake participation, but it was as if an ocean wave had knocked him over. Instead of drowning, he'd ended up riding the surf, and it had been
exhilarating
. That was the worst part: that he'd enjoyed the incredible surge of magic.

Jax scratched Stink behind the ears and eyed the man with the tattooed face in the driver's seat. The guy had been told to wait with Jax, but he wasn't paying close attention, so Jax took a rubber band from his pocket and slipped it onto Stink's right front limb. He and Riley had worked out basic messages in advance. Stink's right front limb meant Jax had hit a snag, and they should be prepared for deviations in the plan. Riley would probably consider Evangeline bound to a Llyr and Jax forbidden to use the brownie tunnels more than a
snag
, but Jax didn't have a way to convey details.
Just as well. Because I'm the only one who can
un
snag us.

Kel opened the car door. “Out,” he ordered. Stink jumped off Jax's lap, hit the ground running, and
scampered away from the house. “Hey!” Kel yelled. “Where's that thing going?”

“I dunno.” Jax climbed out of the car. “He never leaves an itinerary.”

Kel grabbed Jax by his shirt and hustled him through the door and into an ordinary-looking kitchen. This wasn't an established Kin “safe house.” It was some poor Normal's home, invaded by the deadliest people on earth.

“The residents are
not
to know anyone's been in here,” Madoc called out. “Touch nothing. Move nothing.” Then he did the exact opposite and helped Condor shove a refrigerator back into its alcove. Jax caught a glimpse of a ward inscribed in ink on the wall before the refrigerator slid into place. He realized Madoc had hidden the wards behind objects in the house, so the Normal homeowners wouldn't see them.

“His brownie ran off,” Kel said.

Condor glared suspiciously at Jax. “Where'd it go?”

Jax shrugged. “To look through garbage cans or off to poop.”

“Forget the vermin,” said Madoc. “Secure the boy.”

“How much time is left?” asked Kel, removing a length of twine from his pocket.

“Two minutes.”

Jax looked around for his liege ladies. Evangeline had come in with Griffyn, and Addie had been sticking close to Bran. Evangeline didn't have a choice, but Jax didn't
understand what was going on with Addie. She acted like she was the Llyr lord's apprentice or something.

“Give me your hand,” Kel demanded.

Jax turned. “Sorry, dude, I don't wanna hold your hand.”

With a sneer, Kel looped the twine around Jax's wrist and bound it loosely to his own. Then they stood there awkwardly. “You know,” Jax said, leaning his arm on the back of a chair, “the singer you stole that hairstyle from is a real . . .”

The world lurched under his feet, and Jax's vision whirled, like he'd taken an unexpected spin on a merry-go-round. He lost his balance and might've fallen if Kel hadn't yanked him upright. The chair he'd been leaning against was now a foot away from where it had been with a raincoat draped over its back. Being physically bound to a member of the Kin race had dragged Jax straight from one eighth day to the next, like it had done to Riley last month when he and Evangeline had experimented with tying themselves together.

For Jax, seven days had flown by in the blink of an eye.

“What's the matter, Transitioner?” Kel unwound the twine. “Didn't like the jump?”

No, he didn't. Jax hadn't paid close attention to his surroundings before, but he was pretty sure there hadn't been a mop and a bucket beside the back door a second ago, and he was betting the towels stuffed along the windows
were new, along with the water stain on the ceiling. It'd been raining hard here for days, just like Bran wanted.
This place is pretty high up in the mountains. What happened to the houses down in the valley?

Madoc looked at his companions. “
Now
, you can do whatever you like.”

And they did. The Kin trashed the house, eating whatever they wanted out of the fridge and stealing anything they found useful. Jax didn't like what they were doing, but he
was
hungry enough to grab a package of deli ham and eat it all. “Are we leaving immediately?” Madoc asked Condor. “They'll know we're coming.”

“Bran says it doesn't matter what they know or what they've planned,” Condor replied.

Madoc lit up a cigarette, looking worried. Jax knew how he felt. Why didn't Bran care that he was walking into a trap?

Griffyn dragged Evangeline over to Jax. “Remind your vassal that he's forbidden to leave through brownie holes and that he's to make no attempt to assist the enemy today.”

Evangeline repeated his orders as a direct command, liege to vassal, while Jax clenched his teeth, hung on to his honor blade, and stared at her, mentally repeating the words of the oath he'd made to Riley.
I will think about the needs of my lieges before anything else.
The Sword on his back
practically quivered with hunger this close to its target, and it was a relief when Griffyn stomped off to commandeer food out of his vassals' hands.

Evangeline lowered her voice. “I'm sorry, Jax. I know I made things worse, going to meet them and getting myself forced into this oath. But they were torturing Addie!”

“You saw that while scrying?”

She nodded. “They told me where to turn myself over.” Then she bit her lip and asked, “Is
he
angry?”

Jax didn't have to ask who
he
was. “He's worried. And he's hurt you didn't tell him.”

“They said if I brought anyone with me or let myself be followed, they'd kill whoever it was and hurt Addie more. I couldn't tell him, Jax! He would never have let me go on my own.” Evangeline wrung her hands. “I had no idea it was possible to travel long distances through brownie tunnels or track someone with them. Otherwise I would have figured out a better way.”

Jax grimaced. It all came back to him keeping his plan a secret, just like Tegan had pointed out to him.
Not that she was around to give me advice at the time.
“I messed up,” he confessed. “It's my fault they knew you were scrying for Addie and even that you were still alive.”

Evangeline squeezed his arm. “I messed up too, Jax. But I'm not beaten yet.”

Jax whispered quickly, not knowing how much more
time they'd have. “About Addie—she doesn't
look
like she's been tortured. I'm sorry to say it, but she seems buddy-buddy with ol' Bran.”

“I see that.” Evangeline glanced over her shoulder, looking for her sister. “I don't know what he's teaching her, but I've seen her do something she shouldn't have been able to do. And what she said about the Eighth Day Spell . . .” Evangeline didn't finish the sentence, but she didn't have to. The fear was evident in her eyes.

Addie wanted the spell broken, just like the Llyrs did, just like Wylit had.

Just like her father.

Griffyn grabbed Evangeline's arm. “This way, handmaiden. We're leaving.”

As quickly as that, the Kin vacated their hideout. They'd been there all of ten minutes by Jax's counting, but a week had passed in the Normal world. When the homeowners reappeared on Thursday, it would look like their house had been wrecked in a split second by invisible poltergeists.

Jax was pushed through the back door toward the same car, which had returned from wherever they'd stashed it for a week. Before he got in, Stink came running from behind the house. Jax held an arm out for him. But Condor intercepted the brownie midleap and held him up by the scruff of the neck.

“What are you doing?” Jax demanded.

Condor shook Stink and looked him over while Jax watched anxiously. “Checking for messages.” Since Jax had been with them, these Kin had tried to kick Stink or chase him off, but when they did, he simply vanished and reappeared somewhere else. This time Condor didn't bother trying to hurt the brownie and tossed him back to Jax.

Jax caught him. Stink twisted around in Jax's arms and bared his teeth at the Kin. “Yeah, he's a jerk,” Jax agreed.
And not very observant.
Condor might have suspected Stink was carrying a message, but he hadn't spotted it. The brownie was still wearing a rubber band on his right front limb, but a different color one. It was a return signal from Riley.

Things weren't going the way he hoped either, but Jax was to stick to instructions and be prepared to improvise as needed.

Yeah, no problem,
Jax thought, getting into the car.
'Cause making stuff up as I go along is pretty much all I ever do.

WITH THE MOON HIDDEN
behind clouds, the mountainside was very dark. Since, by Bran's command, they were deliberately heading into Transitioner territory and certain ambush, the Kin drove without headlights to avoid being seen as long as possible. It made Jax nervous.
The Sword of Nuadu's supposed to protect my life, but will it prevent broken bones if this car plummets off a cliff?

After about forty-five minutes, the vehicles came to a stop. Condor walked up the road, waving the drivers to steer their cars off the asphalt and into the woods. Jax watched out the window as his car bumped over uneven ground and between the trees as far as it could go. Then they all got out. “We're walking from here,” Condor announced.

Walking? Was he kidding? Jax had no idea how much farther it was to Bedivere's mansion, but it was
down the mountain
. Last week's torrential rains had left the slope a
slick and swampy mess. Jax's clothes hadn't had the chance to dry, and now the trees dribbled cold water on his head. He grumbled, hanging on to trees and rocks and trying not to let his sneakers get sucked off in the mud. Stink avoided the situation by popping out of sight and reappearing every fifty feet or so.

Evangeline slipped on a particularly muddy incline, but grabbed a sapling tree to save herself. Quick as a snake, the Arawen girl gave her a shove while she was off balance, and Evangeline's feet went out from under her. She slid down the hill on her behind, while Griffyn laughed nastily. “What is
wrong
with you?” Jax snarled at the two Kin, hurrying after his liege.

It was a long drop, but Evangeline managed to stop her fall about twenty feet down. Jax braced himself and pulled her upright.

Addie made her way down to them. “Are you hurt?” she called.

“Just my dignity, but I think that was the point.” Evangeline glanced uphill. “Does she really love that big, ugly lout?”

Addie shrugged. “He
belonged
to Ysabel, and Bran stole him from her and gave him to you.”

“She can have him back anytime,” Evangeline muttered.

A few of the Aerons also slipped on the hill, but to Jax's disappointment, the Llyrs and Ysabel acted like
gravity dared not interfere with them. Griffyn grabbed Evangeline's arm as he passed and hauled her along with him, keeping them both on their feet.

Addie watched, and Jax saw hatred flicker across her face. “You want her freed from him, don't you?” Jax whispered.

“Of course I do,” Addie snapped.

“Then—” Well, why not just ask her? “Are you on
our
side or
theirs
?”

Her pale eyebrows shot up. “Who says there's only two sides?”

Fair enough. He hadn't thought about it that way. “Another question. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” Addie frowned, like she'd surprised herself with such a prompt answer.

Jax pointed at the brownie crouched on a branch above his head. “That's Stink,” he said. “If I send him to you at any point, will you follow him?”

“We're forbidden to leave by brownie tunnels,” Addie reminded him.

“No.” Jax made sure his voice was low. “Evangeline has to obey Griffyn, and I have to obey Evangeline. But you're not
compelled
to obey either one of them. Right?” Addie was Evangeline's
sister
, not her vassal.

Addie smirked. He'd nailed it.

“Well?” he asked. If worse came to worst, at least one of them could escape.

“I'll think about it.” Then she deliberately moved away from him, so he couldn't question her anymore.

The slope leveled off at another paved road. Now Jax could see the river—and Bedivere's mansion on the opposite hill—but the town in the valley was unrecognizable. The Lehigh had overflowed, especially in the curve of the river, where it looked like a shallow lake full of buildings. The town was dark, although there should have been leftover light from the seven-day timeline. Jax could only assume there'd been no electricity in the town on Wednesday to leave any image of light.

A rustle of leaves and the cracking of a branch made Jax whirl around. A band of tattooed Kin emerged from the woods, herding a bunch of children before them. When Jax recognized the pint-sized toddler being carried by a young boy, he realized who these kids were.

“What are
they
doing here?” Addie gasped. Of course, she recognized them, too.

“Shields,” Madoc said, brushing mud from his sleeve. “Transitioners are notoriously reluctant to fire on children. Besides, some of them have useful talents.”

Addie's mouth fell open. She looked both horrified and guilty.

“Where's the boy with the talent for barriers?” Bran demanded.

“Gawan Ratis!” someone called.

The boy holding the toddler was pushed forward. He stared up at the Llyr leader with frightened eyes. “Give the baby to someone else,” Bran said. “You'll need both hands free.”

Addie jumped forward, but the baby twisted away from her, crying and reaching for Jax instead. Jax gulped. He wasn't used to babies, but he grabbed the little girl under the armpits and lifted her. She quieted at once, wrapping her arms around Jax's neck. By luck or instinct, she avoided touching the Sword.

Addie seemed embarrassed. “Brigit is hard to handle. And she's never liked me.”

Jax glanced at Evangeline, who chewed on her lip and stared back at Jax. At the Carroway house, this baby had held up her arms invitingly to both of them.
Brigit likes you and your liege lady,
her mother, the oracle, had said to Jax.
I take great stock in that.

What did it mean, if the child of an oracle liked Jax and Evangeline, but not Addie?

Bran pointed across the river. “Our goal is to take the Bedivere house, no matter the cost.”

“Our people hold the bridge south of town,” said one of the Aeron men. “We can cross there and approach through the cover of the forest.”

“Adelina,” Bran prompted. “What do you see in the forest?”

Addie hesitated before answering, “Pockets of blankness where magic is suppressed. They're waiting for us. If we go in that way, we could have our talents cut off from us.” Jax stared at her. That would be Sloane's uncles, the Bors men, with their talent for magic suppression, but how did Addie
see
them? Evangeline seemed perplexed too.

Condor flicked open a cigarette lighter, producing a flame. “Fire will drive them off.”

“The forest is too wet to burn,” Madoc said.

“It'll burn for Aerons,” Condor said with a smile, causing a ripple of malevolent chuckles from the shadowy figures in the woods.

“Send your clansmen to burn as much of the forest as they can,” Bran directed. “You, Condor, will stay with me. I'll lead a small group in a different direction while the Transitioners are forced to fight the fire on the mountainside.”

The Aerons raised their voices in whooping war cries. Tattooed men and women snatched up kids and carried them off or dragged them by the hand. A few of the children went voluntarily, shouting in glee. Jax didn't know if they'd been brainwashed into cooperating, or if they had no understanding of the situation.

He hoped Tegan would catch this development through her scrying and warn the Transitioner forces. Jax knew she wouldn't see everything. The exhausting nature of the
spell would force her to choose wisely who she looked for and when. But she'd had seven days to rest—seven days Jax had skipped over—and there would be people lending her strength.
Please, Tegan, see the children!

Madoc's mind was also on scrying spells. “My lord, I suggest we leave the Transitioner here. Tie him to a tree, if necessary. Our enemies can spy on our movements through him, and, frankly, I don't trust him with that Sword.”

“The Sword of Nuadu must come with us. Leaving it behind is not an option,” Bran said. “If
you
wish to carry it, Madoc, by all means, go ahead.” Madoc shrunk backward, knowing he couldn't take the Sword from Jax. “As for spies,” Bran continued, “Adelina . . . .”

Addie glanced guiltily at her sister, then raised her hands like a preacher at a pulpit and closed her eyes. Evangeline stirred, her brow furrowed, and Griffyn put out an arm to prevent her from interfering.

White wisps gathered in the air. The tendrils thickened, wrapping cold, clammy arms around the group. Jax turned, watching, as the mist grew into a massive, impenetrable blanket of fog. Within seconds, the river and the opposite bank disappeared. Jax could barely see Kel and Condor and the boy, Gawan, standing ten feet away. Evangeline appeared stunned. Jax had never seen
her
cast a spell this way—without symbols and incantations. Her repair of the Eighth Day Spell had required the magical artifact Excalibur, the mummy of Niviane of the Lake,
and a long impassioned speech. Not to mention a kiss.

Addie looked up at Bran as if seeking approval, and he nodded. “Let them spy on us now, if they can.”

Jax would never have admitted it to anyone, but marching down a winding road in the middle of the night, through thick fog, in damp clothes and squelchy shoes, was made a little more tolerable by carrying a small child. It didn't make sense, because his arms got tired, but Brigit's warm embrace around his neck and the sound of her soft thumb-sucking in his ear made him feel a little stronger, a little braver. There wasn't much else about the situation to cheer him. Addie was walking double time to match pace with Bran. Evangeline's eyes were glued with suspicion to her sister's back. Even Stink seemed nervous, darting ahead of Jax and then waiting for him to catch up before taking off again.

At first, Jax didn't pay attention when Brigit lifted her head off his shoulder. It was only when she didn't put it down again that he noticed her staring in the direction of the river. Then she pulled her thumb out of her mouth and pointed. Jax slowed his pace. The fog was as dense as pea soup, but a clear patch had appeared over a formation of rocks in the middle of the river. At the same moment, the moon slipped out from behind the clouds to illuminate that spot.

“What the heck is that woman doing?” Jax blurted out before he thought better of it. But really, she couldn't be part of the Transitioner defense, could she? A lone woman standing on rocks in the river? Washing clothes by hand?

Everyone stopped, and Jax was surprised by their reaction. Griffyn's eyes bugged out of his head. Ysabel nearly tripped over Jax, getting between Griffyn and the river. “Don't look!” she snapped at him, grabbing him by an arm and making him turn around.

“Jax, don't you look either!” Evangeline cried.

“Let him,” said Condor, his eyes steadfastly averted from the river. “He's the only one of us who's immune. He's protected by the Sword.”

“Unless both Emrys girls are killed and the Sword no longer has a target. Then he's as vulnerable as the rest of us,” Madoc corrected. “And if that happens, we'll never know it. We'll just be
gone
. It was madness to bring them both here! One good sharp-shooter could annihilate our entire race!”

“Silence, Madoc,” Bran roared. But he didn't strike his complaining vassal again, and Jax noticed he didn't look at the woman in the river, either.

But Jax did, now that he realized who it was. During the week he'd had to prepare for his role as the “inside man,” he and Billy had collaborated to dig up every bit of information they could find on the Morrigan over the
internet. There were supposed to be three aspects to this force of nature—or deity—or whatever she was: the Girl of Crows, who manipulated events toward great battles; the Old Crone, who changed the fate of individuals; and the most dreaded of the three, the Washer Woman, who washed the bloodied clothes of fallen warriors
before
they fell.

“Legends are unclear on whether seeing the Washer Woman means she'll wash your clothes,” Billy had concluded from his research, “or if she'll wash your clothes whether you see her or not. But all the legends agree it's best not to look.”

Jax couldn't help himself. He had to make sure it wasn't Lesley. But this was a heavy-set woman with speckled black and gray hair, wearing yoga pants and a cardigan. She bent awkwardly to rinse a white shirt in the water.
Whose shirt?
Jax glanced around, trying to place it.

“Jax!” Evangeline pleaded, and for her sake, he sighed and turned his back on the river.

“Don't worry,” he told her. “I've seen the Morrigan before. This is like the fourth time.”

“Me too,” Addie boasted. “I've seen all three incarnations of her now.”

“You got me there,” Jax replied. “I've only seen two of them. You win—if you call it
winning
when you've been chosen by an evil goddess of destruction and chaos.”

“Addie,” Evangeline gasped, as if suddenly understanding something. “What did the Old Crone say to you? What did she
do
?”

Addie didn't answer. Jax looked back once more, but fog had closed over the gap, hiding the Washer Woman from view.