Chapter 23 #2
“A trick.” Angus was back in his natural form, loping around the clearing in the dark forest and stretching his goat legs. “No doubt the dark fae wanted to draw you away.”
Naida sat on the ground, putting her back against a fallen log and sinking her hands into the forest soil.
Godrik nodded. “I wandered for hours and hours. By the time I returned to where I last remembered you, all of you were gone.” He looked at Naida. “And then I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
The ellyllon’s face was pale and drawn.
“She needs living water,” Godrik said. “And food.”
Cadell stood up. “Let me. I can stretch my wings, listen for news from any dragons in the area, and find food for Naida.”
“No deer,” Naida said.
Cadell smiled. “I have learned, small friend.” He looked at Carys for her approval.
She looked at Naida. “We’re here for a few hours at least, right?”
Naida nodded. “Godrik needs to rest.”
“Good.” Carys nodded at the dragon. “Then Cadell’s plan sounds good.”
Lachlan drew his bronze sword. “I’m going to check the perimeter.” He cast his eyes around the forest. “This gate seems lightly traveled, but we should make sure there are no redcaps or imps in the forest.”
“Thank you,” Carys said. “Good thinking.”
“I’ll stay with Godrik and the women,” Duncan said.
He and Lachlan exchanged a loaded look; then Lachlan disappeared into the trees and Duncan paced around the clearing, his hand on the cricket bat he’d stolen from Jibril’s cottage.
Men.
Yes, Nêrys?
Carys hadn’t realized that she’d thought that toward her dragon. Not you. There’s just a lot of testosterone floating in the air.
They are in an unfamiliar place. It is to be expected.
At least Lachlan looks happier with a job to do.
Cadell was silent for a long moment.
We all need to feel purpose, he finally said.
She knew he was right, but the silent hostility between the two brothers felt like a weight hanging directly on her shoulders, and Carys didn’t even know why.
She turned back to Godrik, whose color was improving by the minute.
“I have to ask, how did you end up here?” Carys asked. “Thank you, by the way. Your timing was perfect.”
“When I couldn’t find you in Alba, I headed home.” He sat up, carefully moving the leg the bison had stomped on. “I searched for word of you, but it wasn’t until I ran into a fae beekeeper in Eskari territory that I heard you were in the south.”
The Blean Woods was denser in the Shadowlands, and the trees towered over them, blocking out any light save for the glowing blue lamps that Naida hung in the air over Godrik’s body.
“Bees,” Carys said. “Never taking them for granted again.”
Godrik nodded. “They are the best messengers.” He looked at Laura. “Shadow-walker, you are well?”
“Uh… yeah.” Laura took a deep breath. “Still kind of freaked out from that bison stampede, but I’m fine.”
Godrik frowned. “I thought the great beasts were common in your homeland.”
Laura’s eyebrows flew up. “Bison? In North America, sure. In Northern Europe? Not so much.”
“We did run into a bear near Birmingham though,” Carys told him. “That was unexpected.”
Godrik reached for Naida’s hand and wove his fingers through hers. “Truly, you have had many adventures without me. I shall try not to be jealous.”
“How do you feel about a few more?” Carys said. “Because the Morrígan is still out there, I still have to stop her, and I’m pretty sure I can use all the help I can get.”
The corner of the wolf’s mouth turned up. “I wouldn’t want to miss it.”
Night was falling by the time Carys and her friends walked back through the fae gate and into the Brightlands. Joshua and Jibril were nowhere to be found, so they looked for a path through the woods and started to make their way out of the forest, hoping the van wasn’t too far away.
Laura patted her pockets. “Freaking fae thieves.”
Naida frowned at her. “Excuse me?”
“Not you,” Laura said. “I forgot to drop my phone before we went through the gate, and something must have snatched it.” She looked at Duncan. “You?”
“With all the pocket worlds and realms and gates we’ve been dropped through lately,” the man said, “I’ve taken to leaving my mobile in the van.” He patted Laura’s shoulder. “I’ll buy you another one when we get back to town.”
Laura turned to Carys. “Again, I do really enjoy that you have a filthy-rich boyfriend now.”
Duncan laughed and Carys smiled, but she didn’t miss Lachlan’s stormy look.
As they walked, Cadell filled them in on the news across Shadowlands Briton, where little had changed save for a surprising lull in dark fae activity as Dru consolidated power.
“Most of the dragons seem to approve his actions, though they note that many of the fae dislike the new king.”
Naida was conspicuously quiet as she walked beside a newly healed Godrik.
“King Diarmuid has spread power among the wild fae clans,” Cadell continued, “giving them control over many of the gates in their territory, and some of the ruling lords don’t like it.”
“Are the barriers thinning?” Lachlan asked.
“There is speculation that the Morrígan’s actions are having some effect in the Shadowlands as well as the Brightlands.
” Cadell nodded. “Four Chinese tourists were found wandering along the Tamis embankment a few days ago. They had no idea what was going on, but the Kingsguard was able to return them to the Brightlands quickly.”
Laura shook her head. “That story is going viral.”
Cadell looked at her. “Like you, they seemed mostly concerned with their electronic devices.”
“Hey,” she said. “Not everyone has a Duncan who can just buy them new phones. That’s fair.”
Duncan muttered, “London police are going to have a hard time taking that report.”
“The barriers between the worlds must be thinning,” Godrik said. “Otherwise, I would not have been able to cross into the Brightlands in my true form.”
Carys turned to look at him. “How about now? Do you feel like you can shift?”
He shook his head. “The moment we went through the gate this time, I felt the magic leave my body.”
Cadell, Angus, and Godrik were all back in human form, and none of them seemed very pleased about it.
“Thank you for coming with us,” Carys said softly. “We missed you.”
He glanced at Naida, then offered Carys a subtle wink.
“One more thing of note,” Cadell added. “The spells the Frisians were using to ward away the sea monsters appear to be less effective. There have been few ships crossing the channel in the past two weeks. Briton is becoming increasingly isolated.”
“Are the spells becoming ineffective?” Angus growled. “Or is the continent cutting Briton off? They’re reading the stars. The bees visit their lands too.”
Lachlan nodded. “They’re worried about the Morrígan, just as Jibril said.”
After an hour of wandering along the road, they finally reached the turnoff for Joshua’s house. But though they found the van and the cottage, no one appeared to be at home. The windows were dark, and the chimney was cold.
“Well.” Carys pulled the card for Pages and Portals from her pocket. “I guess next stop Swansea?”
“Back to the house first.” Duncan opened the van door. “Let’s get some rest and get a decent meal before… whatever comes next.”