Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy (31 page)

You’re alive, Meghan.  You were sure the Morrigan would kill you, but you survived
!  I sighed. 
Oh, but Cade didn’t, did he
? 
What will you do now that he is gone
?

It was too much.  A painful cry tore free of my throat and I clasped his ruined shirt even tighter, burying my face into his chest.  I had never experienced despair like this and I was certain I would never recover.  I don’t know how long I lay across Cade’s cold form, but at some point in time a shadow passed over me and something tugged at my sleeve.

“Go away,” I rasped.

I knew it must be one of the Morrigan’s minions, one that had somehow survived my wrath.  But I didn’t care.  In fact, I secretly hoped the creature would attack and kill me, then the pain would be over.

The faelah nudged me again.  I blindly swiped out an arm and screamed, “Go away!”

My fingers brushed something warm and the sound of hooves and a surprised whicker jolted me away from my misery.  I glanced up and saw a black horse standing a few feet away, eyeing at me as if I were crazy.  Well, he did have a point.

“Speirling,” I managed softly, biting my lip to keep it from trembling.  “Oh Speirling, he’s gone!”

The horse only whickered again, tossing his head and dragging his hoof against the ground.  Despite my sorrow, I was glad the faelah hadn’t harmed him.  He moved closer when he realized I wasn’t going to lash out at him again.  I didn’t shoo him away this time, either.  I could really use his comforting at the moment.

Speirling nudged me once more, so I placed a hand against his nose to let him know I appreciated his presence.  I stroked his cheek, but he pulled away and turned towards the east.  I stared at him, a bit hurt by his actions.  He didn’t seem distressed by the fact that Cade lay in the mud, broken and destroyed by the faelah.  No, he seemed alert, impatient even, as if he was eager for us to leave and head back to the castle.

Eventually he came back over to me and lowered his head.  I fought my desire to simply lay there and wallow in my misery.  Instead, I reluctantly reached for his bridle, using it to pull myself upright.  Luckily, the stallion stayed beside me or else I would have collapsed back onto the ground.

I turned back to gaze at Cade’s prone form and a deep pain rose up and threatened to choke me. 
No, you’re not dead Cade.  This is only a terrible dream and I’m going to wake up at any moment
. . .

A wave of dizziness caused me to fall against Speirling’s flank.  He turned and nudged me with his nose, as if trying to keep me on my feet.  And then he swung his head to the east again, released an irritated whinny, and started walking away.

“No Speirling, no!  We can’t leave Cade.”

He stopped, but refused to turn his head from where he stared.  I clenched my teeth and tightened my hands on his bridle, focusing on the knot work pattern etched in the leather as I willed the nausea and impending panic to pass.  The design seemed vaguely familiar, like several small horseshoes interlacing and repeating.  In my haze of hysteria and despair, I thought they looked a little like the seal on the invitation the Dagda had sent me.  Little omegas laced together.

I snorted.  What a stupid thought to have at such a time.  Then my brain froze and I sucked in a sharp breath.  No, not omegas.  And that hadn’t been an omega on the Dagda’s seal either.  I had been holding the image upside down.  It had been the crude representation of a cauldron.

I stood up straighter, a sudden rush of realization passing through me and giving me new strength. 
The Cauldron
. . .

“This is the Cauldron I used in the battle against the Fomorians so long ago,” the Dagda said as he patted it affectionately.  “So many lives restored because of its priceless power.”

The memory faded away and I was left standing, dumbstruck, in the middle of a meadow littered with the gruesome aftermath of a great battle.

“Speirling!” I hissed.

Suddenly, my legs were no longer numb and my heart was beating once again.

“Speirling!  The Dagda’s Cauldron!”

Tears formed in my eyes, but this time they weren’t the result of sorrow.  “There’s still a chance to save him!”

I wanted to jump up and cheer, but I was still very weak from my outpouring of magic.  A whistling sound above me drew my attention to the sky.  I glanced up and spotted Meridian, a white blot against the dark grey.

“Meridian!  Quickly!  We have to get Cade onto Speirling’s back.  Where’s Fergus?”  I sniffed and wiped at my face with the edge of the sodden cloak.

Asleep
, Meridian pressed against my mind as she came to rest on my shoulder.

“How can he be sleeping at a time like this?”

Then I remembered something Cade had once told me.  Spirit guides lived as long as their masters did.

“Oh no, where is he?”

Forest.

I glanced behind me into the thick trees scattered all over the hillside.

“He could be anywhere,” I said to myself.

I didn’t have time to go searching for him.  I wanted Cade alive as soon as possible, in case there was some grace period between death and regeneration when using the Cauldron.

“We have to leave him for now Meridian, but as soon as Cade is better, he’ll find us.”  I hoped.

I turned to the black horse standing beside me.  “Speirling, you are a smart boy, and I need your help if you want to save your master.”

He gazed at me with dark brown eyes, his way of showing compliance.

“Now, I need you to get as low as you can . . .”

I tugged on his bridle to let him know what I wanted, and he lowered himself to his knees.

“Good!”

Using what little strength I had, I pulled Cade’s lifeless body up and over his horse’s back.  He was heavy, so by the time I had him where I thought he might not fall off, I needed to sit for several minutes to gain my breath.

Before I persuaded Speirling to rise, I climbed up behind Cade, holding on to him so he wouldn’t crash to the ground.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered into his ear as we set off, “I’m sure this won’t make you feel any better when you are conscious again, but it’s the best I can do.”

With one last glance behind me, I urged the huge black horse up onto all fours.  I wrapped my arm around Cade’s middle, letting his head roll back on my shoulder as I dug my heels into Speirling.  With a snort of alarm, he took off across the rocky valley floor and made his way east, towards the dolmarehn that would take us to the Dagda’s Cauldron.

-Nineteen-

Miracle

All I could think about as we tore over the rain-soaked earth was that we must move faster.  Speirling was already running as swiftly as possible, his snorting breath and heaving chest signs that he was close to his limit.  I was surprised that I managed to keep Cade, and myself, on Speirling’s back, but I imagined my magic had a lot to do with it.  I sensed the power flowing from my skin, warming me and making the ride seem less jarring.

Speirling slowed before entering the dolmarehn that would take us to the Dagda, and Meridian’s needle-sharp claws dug into me as we braced ourselves for the transport to the other side.  Once there, Speirling picked up his pace again and I groaned when the first icy drops of rain pelted my hot face.

“Meridian, see if you can fly ahead and warn the Dagda of what has happened.”

Yes.  Swift
, she answered.

And with that, she was gone from my shoulder and lost in the chaos of the storm.  I wondered why the rain still fell on this side of the dolmarehn since the clouds had been moving west, but when Speirling stumbled, the idea of rain and storms was quickly driven from my mind.

“It’s okay, you didn’t fall,” I managed, patting him with affection.

His breathing was labored and his steps faulty, but he had to reach the Dagda’s house.  When he stumbled again an hour later I eased him back a little.  A slower pace would cost us time, but there would be no hope for Cade if Speirling collapsed while we were still several miles from our destination.

I gritted my teeth against worry as the stallion’s gait slowed.  I had tried to distract my mind as we moved ever eastward, but every chance it got, my brain kept dredging up the horrible image of Cade in the final minutes of his fight with the Cúmorrig.  I envisioned him standing there, the last vestiges of his battle fury, his ríastrad, leaving his body wrought with tremors.  The monster, taking advantage of a slight moment of distraction, plunging its dagger-like claws into Cade’s abdomen.  The look in Cade’s eyes as he gazed at me one last time before collapsing . . .

I squeezed my eyes shut as the tears burned them again.

“Speirling, keep moving, please.  Go at whatever pace you can, just don’t stop,” I rasped as I leaned over and rested my head against Cade’s back.

A tired whicker, a distant roll of thunder, and the icy lash of rain against my bared neck accompanied me as the black horse carried us across the open fields of Eilé.  Before I let unconsciousness finally claim me, I pressed my lips to the icy skin at the nape of Cade’s neck and whispered for his sake only, “I love you.”

* * *

I woke when the force of my body hitting the ground knocked me back to my senses.  A few moments passed before I caught my breath, and another minute dragged on as I realized the horrible scenes flashing in my mind were not the remnants of a nightmare, but the memories of the horror I had recently lived through.

I blinked up at the great horse standing before me.  He looked absolutely exhausted and was even now lowering to his knees as if he might collapse.  Just before he rolled over on his side, I recognized the still form on his back as Cade.  My Cade, who had died protecting me.  Crying out in anguish, I rushed over and pulled him clear just as Speirling fell over.

“Oh, no Speirling.”

I placed a hand on his side, hoping he was only extremely tired and not on the verge of death.  I had pushed him too hard, and now Cade had no chance of recovery.  I wanted to cry, to sleep, to just roll over and let my soul depart my own body.

Turning my face to the sky, I let out a massive sigh.  The sky was dark with clouds and my eyes blurred with tears, yet I managed to make out the silhouettes of huge, dark shapes surrounding me.  But not just any dark shapes: hills.  I turned my head to the right and spotted a familiar door, two lit torches standing guard on either side of it.  The Dagda’s house.

Crying out in pure joy, I rushed over to Speirling and gave him a hug, though he was too fatigued to notice.

“We made it!”

Without thinking, I grabbed Cade’s shoulders and began dragging him towards our sanctuary.  He was so heavy, and I really should have left him and run for help, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave his side.

It took ages to drag him to the door, even though it stood no more than fifty feet away.  The bonfire from last night’s Beltaine party still burned off to the left, nothing more than coals now, hissing and spitting in the rain.  Finally, reaching my destination, I collapsed.  Icy rain pelted me and ran down my neck and under the collar of my cloak.  I was getting tired of the feeling, but I knew soon I would be warm and dry.

I
trembl
ed and strained against my own weight as I pulled myself up so I could pound on the door.  Although the rest of my body was damp and freezing, my eyes and cheeks burned as tears of desperation broke free once more.

I must have hammered the wood with my fists for a good ten minutes, because by the time someone arrived, my hands stung and bled.  One of the Dagda’s female companions stared down at me, not Alannah, but one with blond hair and wide blue eyes.

“Oh!  My dear, what in the name of the Morrigan happened to you?”

I gritted my teeth.  If only I had the strength to tell her.

“Please,” I rasped, my throat raw and my emotions nearly run dry.  “Please, Dagda.  Cauldron.”

I slumped to the ground beside Cade’s still form, leaking cold rain and mud all over the earthen tiles and beautiful rugs of the Dagda’s abode.  I was half conscious when I heard a commotion behind the blond woman and soon many voices were barking out urgent orders.

Someone lifted me.  “Cade,” I breathed, barely a whisper.  “Cauldron.”

“Hush now darling, hush,” the Dagda said, for once his voice raw with anguish.

He carried me through the cavernous halls of his home.  I thought I detected the warmth of a fire in the great room, the scent of food wafting in from the kitchen, the laughter and music and general joy that surrounded this god-king of the Faelorehn.  Sleep tried to claim me as he hurried me along, but I fought it.  Eventually he placed me on a dry, soft mattress.

“No,” I tried to say; tried to fight.  “Cade.”

A huge paw of a hand rested on my forehead.  My mind floated in a warm and blissful sea, and I no longer fought the sleepiness creeping up on me.

“Rest, dear heart, and let me do what I can for Caedehn.”

I sighed, and smiled.  The last thought I had before everything went blank was the memory of Cade’s passionate kiss before he sacrificed his life to save mine.