Chapter Ten #2
Hunter pulled out a chair next to the one he stood in front of, winking at Mabel when she shot him a hesitant look before sitting down.
He glanced around the table as the others took their seats.
“This is not an official sárkány, since we have as interested parties Owain and Berry, as well as Christian and Allie,” he said, giving each couple a respectful nod. “They are present because as I stated in the text earlier today, Mabel and I have located the blood moon.”
“Do you have it with you?” Drake asked at the same time Gabriel leaned forward to say, “I hope it’s in a safe location, away from Desi, and Yrian’s mother.”
A murmur of agreement and questions followed. Hunter raised his hand for silence. “The blood moon is present here in my compound, yes. As for its safety ... that is the circumstance I have called you together to discuss. That and hopefully using it to re-form the weyr.”
Everyone turned to look at Yrian, who, since he bore more than just a physical resemblance to his illustrious father, was now looking decidedly enigmatic. “You have it here? Now?” Yrian asked.
“Yes.”
Yrian gently tapped the table a few times while he thought it over. “If it is here, then I see no hindrance to me breaking the articles of the weyr, and re-creating it to include tribes.”
All of the tribe masters looked relieved. Hunter hadn’t realized how much they, like he, had felt a sense of isolation that came with being excluded from the kinship afforded by the weyr.
“And since we have a treaty with Owain concerning the use of the blood moon, he will be able to use it to break the curse bound to him and his brothers,” Yrian said with a nod to the thane.
“We have set up the bones of an agreement about who will hold the blood moon, and for how long, but we can finalize that after we have done what was needed with it.”
“The main point is to keep it away from Desi,” Aisling said, her expression worried. “That’s the reason we decided to leave Jim with the kids—I didn’t want it being upset if harsh things were said about its dad.”
“Can we see it?” Ysolde asked. “The blood moon, that is. I’ve never seen an amulet that was used in the creation of hell itself.”
“Abaddon,” came the murmur of several dragons.
“Eh,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s what mortals based their version of hell on, and since I was raised as a mortal, it’s how I think of it. Is it a necklace or something like the containers for the shards of the dragon heart?”
“Dragon heart?” Mabel asked softly.
He was about to explain when Aisling, seated next to her, leaned over and whispered, “There are four shards that make up the relic called the dragon heart. It’s the most important artifact for the dragons.
We have two of the shards. Gabriel has another.
The last one is in the Thirteenth Hour, mixed up with Bael’s soul, or whatever remains of his soul. ”
“Thanks for the explanation,” Mabel whispered back, making Hunter feel even more things, specifically about the decision to not take her as mate. Mostly he felt fury that he was being denied a mate simply because his sire had wanted his sons to be dragon hunters, leaving a demon buried within him.
He couldn’t take Mabel as mate when darkness dwelled inside him. It wasn’t fair to either of them, but he had to put her well-being over his needs.
His soul wept at that knowledge, but it didn’t change anything. He would remain resolute.
Unbidden, his gaze slid to where Archer was leaning in to Thaisa, obviously checking to see how she was. Archer now had the same darkness inside him, and yet he was perfectly happy embracing a life with a mate.
It wasn’t fair that he couldn’t do the same, but he knew to an iota of his being the sort of darkness that resided inside him, and it was nothing he’d ever risk exposing a mate to, let alone a woman as perfect as Mabel.
“You want me to go fetch Blood Moon?” Mabel asked, yanking him out of the contemplation of just what his life would be like if she returned to Beck without him.
He’d never felt so depressed in all the ages of his life.
“Go ahead,” he told her, almost enjoying the identical expressions of surprise that flitted across the faces of everyone present when she returned a half minute later with Dawn and Derry.
“This is Dawn,” he said, gesturing toward her. “And her companion Derry.”
“Hi,” Dawn said, giving everyone a friendly smile and little wave.
Next to her, Derry (still in human form) bounced on his feet and emitted a couple of screeches and soft trilling noises.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I haven’t seen dragons in, oh, so many centuries.
Like eight or nine. Yes, that’s true. Derry says we met one in the twelve hundreds when there was an upheaval in the L’au-dela. ”
“Er ... ” Aisling said, her gaze affixed to Derry.
“His natural form is a man-sized owl,” Dawn explained. “I thought it would be better for him to be in human form, but he still talks like a bird. Fortunately, my mother could speak to birds and passed that down to me.”
“As can Berry and I,” Owain said, eyeing Derry.
The dragons all looked at Dawn and Derry; then heads turned to Hunter, confusion obvious.
“We were sent to help release Dawn where she’d been imprisoned in Xibalba, the Maya afterlife,” he explained, happy when Mabel moved to his side.
He’d never been one to draw pleasure from the nearness of another person—sex aside—but having Mabel near him had quickly become necessary.
At least, it was until she returned to her home.
“Derry was one of the ruling lord’s guard, and attempted to free her, becoming a prisoner himself. ”
Silence fell in the room, everyone clearly impatient.
“Is there a point to this?” the wyvern named Kostya asked, his voice sharp enough to cut a rock. Hunter gave him a gimlet look, which Kostya ignored. “We want to see the blood moon, not hear tales from the world of the dead.”
“You’re just like that other dragon we saw in Amsterdam,” Dawn said, thinning her lips at Kostya. “Rude as the day is long.”
Kostya snarled something under his breath, but everyone ignored him to focus expectant looks upon Hunter.
“Dawn is daughter of one of the twelve lords of Xibalba, as well as being the mother of the Hero Twins, who rule the Hour for half the year,” Hunter said.
“They’re on a skateboarding-competition tour now,” Dawn told Aisling.
“Are they?” she asked, her eyes wide.
Silence reigned again for about twenty seconds.
Hunter continued. “The name she was given at birth some fifteen hundred years ago was Blood Moon.”
A few gasps were audible as everyone started talking at once.
“Wait, she’s Desi’s amulet?” Aisling asked, glancing around the table in astonishment. “How can that be?”
“Does the timeline fit?” Drake asked, frowning as he glanced to Yrian.
“From what Desi has said, yes.” Hunter caught a warning look from his twin.
He had a feeling Archer knew something was awry, no doubt sensing he no longer had his élan vital.
Dammit, he had hoped Archer wouldn’t find out about that until he’d reclaimed it.
“Dawn told us she was born right at the time Desi handed over the amulet to protect his son, and went to the Thirteenth Hour.”
“My father is Blood Gatherer,” Dawn told the dragons, just as if that explained it.
“And who is that?” Gabriel asked, his brow furrowed.
“One of the gods who rule the Hour when the Hero Twins are away,” Hunter answered.
Dawn tapped a finger to her lower lip. “Yes, he is one of the gods. He is also the envoy to Abaddon. I recall him being very thick with one of the princes whose name started with an S. Savoy? Samaril? Derry, do you remember?”
Derry looked thoughtful, then gave a short series of chirrups ending in a subdued screech.
“Hath! How clever of you to remember his name.” She turned to the table, smiling at them all. “Hath was very tight with my father, the two of them making all sorts of plans that never came to fruition. Which is probably for the best, when you think about it.”
“You believe that the demon lord Hath took the blood moon and imbued it into your being?” Yrian asked, his gaze watchful on her.
“Me?” Dawn’s brows rose. “What do you mean, imbued me with some amulet? I don’t have anything like that in me.”
“And yet it would go far in explaining your successful escape from the Hour,” Hunter said, thinking about what Dawn had told him earlier about her life. “You said any other denizen of Xibalba would not have survived One-Death’s attentions.”
“Not to sidetrack anyone, but who is One-Death?” Aisling asked, her expression part horror, part fascination.
“He’s ruling the Hour while the twins are away,” Mabel told her. “His brother is named Seven-Death, although he isn’t bad. He’s very into drag, and seemed pretty pleasant.”
“Seven-Death has such exquisite taste in clothing,” Dawn said, nodding. “I always go to him for news on what’s trending and what’s not. That is, I do when I can get away from my ex.”
“Hunter has a point, though,” Mabel said in a voice filled with speculation.
“You mentioned that all your ex’s previous partners died in the Hour by his hand, but that you got away from him several times.
You even left the Hour. Could you have done that if you didn’t have a little extra oomph from Desi’s amulet? ”
Dawn touched a spot on her chest, as if she was feeling for a powerful relic residing inside. “I ... I don’t think that’s what happened. I was ... I first escaped Xibalba before my boys were born.”
Derry said something, touching her on the arm.
“He did? When?” she asked him, her face screwed up in disbelief. “What was I doing?”
The former giant owl answered.
“Oh.” Dawn’s gaze was steady on Hunter. “It seems I was wrong. Derry says that when I was only a few years old, my father and Hath conducted a ceremony on me. I don’t remember it at all, and Derry was told only that it would protect me against any ills wished upon me by One-Death and Seven-Death.
I assume that was when Hath used the amulet you mentioned. ”
“But how did he get it?” the silver mate asked.
Aisling and Drake exchanged glances. “Jim’s father mentioned Bael was trying to become a demon lord at the time Desi relinquished the blood moon,” Drake said slowly.
“Jim’s impression was that Desi gave the amulet into the protection of the other two princes who helped him form Abaddon in order to keep it out of Bael’s grasp. ”
“Because even before Bael was a demon lord, Desi could tell he was bad news,” Aisling added.
“No doubt Hath gained control of it, and knew Bael would want it above all else, so he placed it somewhere out of his reach,” Yrian said slowly, his gaze still on Dawn. He rose and strode toward her. “There’s one way to find out for sure.”
Owain also got to his feet as Yrian passed, the frown he wore repeated by Christian. “You need not risk your weyr to test whether or not she bears the amulet. I will try to use it to break the blood curse bound to me.”
“I would not risk the weyr I fought so hard to create,” Yrian answered, looking annoyed.
“That’s why I am offering to be the guinea pig,” Owain insisted, and for a moment, Hunter thought the two demigods might take umbrage with each other, but he’d underestimated Yrian.
“It is true that we do not know how or even if the blood moon will work for us. Much though I wish to help the kin, it is wiser to see the reaction to your use, first.”
Owain made him a little bow, and turned to Dawn. “I am Owain ap Aidan, bound to a blood curse placed on me by Desislav the Destroyer. Do you consent to help me destroy the curse?”
“I’m happy to do what I can, although I’m not sure that this amulet is really inside me, as you say it is. Derry? What do you think? Will it be dangerous?”
The former owl answered, waving his hands dramatically.
“Very well,” Dawn said with a hefty sigh, turning back to Owain. “Derry says it is only right to help those in need, and after all, the reaper and dragon hunter did get us out of the Hour. What must I do?”
“Allow the blood moon to act,” Owain said, standing in front of her, both hands on her shoulders. “I will not allow it to harm you.”
Dawn didn’t look worried about that possibility, and stood silently as Owain, with his head tipped down, peered into her eyes. Yrian stood to the side, no doubt worried about something going awry.
Hunter knew just how he felt. He moved over to place himself between Mabel and Dawn, ignoring the former’s outraged, “Hey! I can’t see!” with accompanying pinch on his ass.
Owain started to speak, a near drone of words that sounded ancient to Hunter, and although he thought he caught a Latin phrase now and again, most of it was in a language unfamiliar to him.
From the corner of his eye, he caught Archer’s mate, Thaisa, jerk back, as if she was shocked by something Owain said, but before he could ask what was wrong, Dawn arched back, her arms spread wide and her head tilted so she looked straight up, her mouth open in an O.
A blinding blue-black light exploded outward from her, sending Owain flying backward six yards into the reinforced oak wall.