Chapter 13
The pile of books in front of me was enormous.
I’d been studying and practicing spells for weeks and was getting tired of the little library at the edge of the village.
The open windows looked out over the forest and the smells and colors of late June crept in and distracted me, the spells and incantations I was supposed to be learning blurring on the pages.
Bevin was coming to collect me shortly to prepare for the latest council meet.
Most were somewhat boring and tedious, much like a human city council meeting.
Only occasionally was there a problem concerning the misuse of magic rather than a civic concern.
I made myself listen intently and saw how Doran handled each piece of business with the care and concern of a parent.
She was a benevolent and strong leader, showing grace when needed and, on occasion, letting her ferocious side show through.
Most of those occasions concerned the Slaugh or the Gremlins.
Tynan had been away on business with Cliona, his second, for three days.
The two of them were responsible for keeping rogue Vamps from deciding it was okay to terrorize and hurt humans, the ramifications of which endangered Vamps and humans alike.
No one wanted Vampire hunters running around with wooden stakes and hatchets.
It also seemed that the Slaugh were creating new Vamps, something they had not done in a very long time.
I missed him and spoke to him through the amulet a few times each day. During our last brief chat, he’d assured me he’d be back this afternoon.
A little black book dropped in front of me, taking my gaze away from the forest outside the window. “Check this out.” Abbey climbed up the chair and onto the table. She shook, and a cloud of dust floated in the sunbeams. “Found it under the shelves in the back.”
“What were you doing under the shelves?” I gave her an accusing glare.
Something like that usually meant she was spying or prying.
Over the last several weeks, we had become the best of friends.
The smart little woman helped me spar with spells, and though she was better at defensive craft, it was still fun for both of us.
“Hogan and that sweet librarian are making eyes at each other in the stacks.” One large blob of dirt was clinging to her knee. She swiped at it several times. “He’s almost babbling. It’s cute.”
The librarian was a very pretty little Gnome, and I knew Hogan only came with me here to get a chance to talk to her.
I got up and peeked around the shelves Abbey had been hiding under.
Hogan was dressed in a tunic that showed off the marks I had given him.
He said something and the little Gnome batted her ungodly long eyelashes at him and giggled.
I returned to the table. “It’s a shame he’s not getting married this afternoon.
” Today’s meet would actually be a ceremony to marry several Gnome couples.
Gnomes were one of the few Kith species that took a single mate for life.
The ceremonies were held only once a year, and it was supposed to be a good party. “June weddings are always so pretty.”
“Forget the weddings and Hogan.” She kicked the book she had dropped on the table. “You’ll be far more interested in this.”
I turned it over and read the title on the front. The Host. It was a book about the Slaugh. There were others in the library, but they hadn’t told us much more about the creatures than we already knew. Abbey and I had been looking for clues about the island. Of course, Manus knew nothing of it.
I opened the cover, and there was an ink rendering of the actual island across the inside cover and the first page. My jaw dropped.
“Must have been down there for decades, if not longer,” Abbey said, leaning over the book. “I’ve never even heard of a map of Thule.”
I ran my hand over the book. The cover felt gross, slimy, but the pages were just parchment.
“What island?” Hogan said. I slammed the book shut and put my arm over it, trying not to be too obvious. “WildLand,” I said with a smile to the librarian and all her eyelashes.
“My lady, there are many different maps of the island in our collection. I’ll get as many of them as you like.” She started to leave Hogan’s side to start gathering maps I had no need of.
“That’s not necessary. Abbey was just thinking out loud.” We smiled at Hogan and his friend. Abbey started to play with her hair.
“Keena,” he said, intentionally using my given name instead of the title he usually used in public to impress his pretty friend.
“I am taking Miss Laurel for a walk in the gardens.” She blushed—or at least I think she blushed, it was hard to tell through the feathery scales and blue skin beneath.
He went on, “That is, if you do not need me for the afternoon.”
“I think I can manage for a few hours without you. Run along. Have fun.” I shooed them with the hand that wasn’t covering the book and winked at her, making her blush come on full and bright pink under the scales. Hogan led her away gracefully.
“What do you think of that?” Abbey said once they were out of earshot. “I always thought Hogan would be an eternal bachelor. Maybe he’ll wed her next June.”
“Why do they only marry in June?”
She plopped down on the table next to the book.
“I think it’s got something to do with their fertility cycles.
Most of the weddings today will produce children in a matter of months.
They must only be fertile in the summer.
” She scooted herself closer. “Forget about Hogan’s libido. Let’s take a look at that map.”
I’d been so taken with Hogan’s public display of something close to affection that I had almost forgotten about the book.
I started to open it and heard more footfalls behind me.
“Bevin,” Abbey whispered. I closed the book and tucked it inside the much bigger spell book I would be taking back to my chambers.
“Tomorrow morning, my room,” I whispered back. Abbey gave me a nod of understanding.
Bevin swooped in and stood glaring down at us. “You two need to gossip less and cast more.”
“Us?” Abbey cooed in protest.
Bevin raised an eyebrow to reiterate her point. “Gather your things. We have much to do to help prepare the meet room. Abbey, you must have a million things to do for the food preparations.”
“I have everything in order, but I guess I need to make sure the Imps haven’t gone lax on me.” She winked at me. “Terribly lazy, we are. It’s amazing we get a thing done.”
Every single meal I’d had at the manor had been decadent, delicious, and superbly presented. “Lax” was the last adjective I’d use for Abbey’s kitchen Imps.
“Off with you, lazy wench,” I said with a voice that boomed through the quiet of the library. Abbey and I laughed aloud and only stopped at the heat from Bevin’s glare. “Okay, okay, we’re going. Loosen up, Bevin. It’s a wedding, for cauldron’s sake, not a political uprising.”
“Every occasion is an opportunity for you to win over the loyalties of the Kith—even a wedding,” she retorted.
“It’s a party, Bevin, let her have some fun,” Abbey huffed.
“We shall see,” Bevin snorted and stomped away but not before I saw the smile she secreted away. We watched her hips and bun as they moved side to side with each step.
I knew why she was concerned. Every time I’d been in the same room with the wicked half-sister, we had nearly come to blows.
I’d been lectured and scolded not to let the bickering happen at the wedding.
I had agreed but insisted that Blondie be lectured as well.
Doran had assured me she had given Dema the same instructions and that she had agreed.
I wasn’t buying a bit of it.
The meeting room finally looked like it was being used for the purpose for which it had been designed.
The light green walls and soft wood trim, lavishly decorated with wild orchids, tiger lilies, and freesia, resembled a photo from a bride’s magazine.
The smell of the flowers drifted thick in the air.
Music filled the space from an unknown source, mingling with the birds’ songs as they flitted around the open windows.
Butterflies danced above my head as I took my place beside Doran.
I made a conscious effort not to even look at Dema.
We had greeted all the guests with Doran and Bevin between us, preventing any communication. Feldema appeared to be doing her best to ignore my presence as well. Maybe she had taken the warnings from Doran to heart. She was graceful and pleasant to the guests, even those I knew she disliked.
Shadowing Dema were two new consorts. Both were very attractive, dark-haired men I took to be Magicians. I found all the Magicians pretty, of course, but wasn’t drawn to them like I was to Vamps or Weres. Bevin explained they lacked the animal instincts that my body responded to.
I had found I had little control over those reactions, but I was still holding out on finding a second consort. I was in love with Tynan and just couldn’t bring myself to cheat on him, even though he and everyone else insisted, over and over, that it was not cheating.
I suspected that was why he was starting to be needed out of town so much lately. I had asked him about it and, of course, he denied it. He just recited the same ol’ song about listening to my body and all those other things I didn’t really want to hear.
The ceremony was beautiful. Seven Gnome couples shared their vows with us and all of WildLand.
Dema anointed them with fresh waters and for the first time in centuries, a Priestess of the Wild would anoint them with the earth.
As the priest said a prayer to the land, I knelt before each couple and rubbed the deep, rich earth of the island on the foreheads of the females, wishing them fertility and peace for all their years.
They all cried and I had to bite my lip more than once not to do the same.
When I finished and stood, the whole room seemed to let out a collective breath.
As I made my way back to my seat, I realized it was the first official act I had performed in public that didn’t consist of beating the crap out of my sister.
I made my curtsey to the line of colorfully dressed Gnome couples and sat, pleased with myself and my grace.
I didn’t trip and hadn’t even looked at Dema—but I could sure feel her leering at me.
After the ceremony, the guests started mingling and talking and eating, and the music got a little louder to be heard over the conversation.
There was laughter and even some dancing.
I was amazed at how much the nuptials mimicked human weddings.
The Magician I was talking with told me that those types of ceremonies far predated modern religion.
He was extremely chatty, and we discussed his life in Sacramento, California, where he led a small coven that seemed very excited about me.
He gushed on and on about my coming to visit the coven and the plans they had made for assisting in my fulfillment of the prophecy.
I found the compliments embarrassing and the flattery irritating.
I excused myself from the Magician and found Hogan and his date, the librarian.
We sat at one of the elaborately decorated tables and watched the festivities.
I chatted with them and some of the other guests who made their way over to introduce themselves.
A palpable feeling of happiness was in the room and I couldn’t help but wish that Tynan was there.
He’d returned earlier that afternoon as promised but outside our bedroom, he found all things frilly and romantic both useless and tiring.
In public, he projected a serious, powerful image.
I smiled at the thought of him, without communicating. I had gotten much better at that and no longer invoked the spell in the amulet every time he crossed my mind.
After I felt I had greeted and spoken to everyone, I headed off to the kitchen to find Abbey. I hadn’t seen her since the ceremony, and I figured she was coordinating the appearance of all the food and drink. I was happy as I walked through the hall toward the kitchen.
Happy, that is, until I walked around a corner and found Dema and one of her new consorts standing in the hall, blocking my way.
Intentionally, I suspected. The consort was bigger and looked sterner than most Magicians, but he was still prettier than me.
He turned his back to me in insult. I really didn’t care about such things, but I knew what he was trying to convey—I don’t like you and I’ll hurt you if I can.
“What is it, Dema?” I sighed and crossed my arms. “Can’t pick on anyone at the party?” Okay, so I started it this time. But it was coming either way.
She smiled her wicked, white-toothed smile at me. “Listen, old Witch.” Her favorite affront was the constant reference to the age at which I came into my powers. “You’re running out of time.” She held her snide smile as she spoke.
“I know how much time I have,” I replied.
“I underestimated you for the battle of might. I will not do so again. I owe you for the loss of my consort—and you will pay for that with your life!” she seethed.
“Kendrick was a slug, baby sister. I did you a favor.” I stood with my arms still crossed, trying to appear bored. I saw the anger building in her. “So easily rattled,” I said as a show of being her superior.
She mumbled and before I realized what she was doing, a ripping noise boomed from my side. A pipe burst through the wall and the spray of water threw me across the wide hall into the other wall.
Shit! I fought the spray and got to my knees to cast something back but they were gone.
Shit.