eldritch files 07 - elemental blood (27 page)

Dags stood between them, looking…

Well…

"I take it," Arden said as she took several steps toward him, "that what you sacrificed was your humanity?"

"Maybe?" He put his hands to his face, then to his ears. "Oh…crap. Son of a…"

Arden reached out and moved her fingers over the delicately pointed ears. "Don't worry. I can teach you how to glamour yourself." She gave him a wink and marveled at his new green irises. "It'll become second nature. The ears look rather fetching on you."

He groaned. "What's my girlfriend gonna think?"

TWENTY SEVEN

My life changed pretty fast. I had a memory of talking to a woman in a meadow…or was it a clearing? Of being asked a series of questions and told to make a decision. Then that decision was met with searing pain and heat, followed by an overwhelming feeling of love that cooled everything and healed my soul. Recognizing that love is what brought me back from the brink of what I could only describe as an abyss into nothing.

Crwys.

The one constant I'd grown to depend on. The one man I knew I couldn't live without.

And then I was there, breathing, gasping, seeing and feeling again, and he was in his glory, his mightiest of forms. His emotion poured into me, fed me, his relief, his claim, his right and his devotion, all filled me with something I thought I'd forgotten.

Conviction. Dedication.

Survival.

I'd been nothing and then I was whole again.

Well, not completely whole…there was something missing.

:It's just us now,:
came the voice of Arcana. She was gently seated alongside me again, and I felt a bit comforted by that. But…I couldn't help but feel loss at something. Something very vital to who I was.

:Yes, who you were. But they cannot be part of who you will be.:

That made no sense to me. But given the scene I found myself in, standing in the center of a burned out…golf course? With Crwys in full Dragon form, flying up to meet Lethe and…

Was that Artemis? How did I know that?

Sister!
came a new voice in my head.
We will need your red flame!

My red what? I looked around and spotted Arden, Ivan and Dharma…all of them looking a bit messed up. And there was…

Dags? Or was that him? He looked a bit different. And his ears! Why was Dags here?

:We need to connect, Samantha.:

Connect. Yes…I knew it was time to release control. To join with my Arcane again. And this time…for the first time… I wasn't afraid.

I raised my hands up and surrendered to her and the power…the intensity of her surrounding me…brought with it a level of peace I hadn't known since my mother died. All of those feelings of hate and strings of revenge evaporated in a single moment as I looked up and was instantly transported to the fight. I stood upon a cloud to witness the end of Mother's creation. To know that Her judgment was swift. And final. And could not be avoided.

Lethe has committed acts that She can no longer tolerate. It is time for that child to be given over to the Well of Souls so that she may be reborn and know peace.

I wasn't sure if that was Arcana in my head or the God Mother. Either way, I knew what I had to do. I knew what we both had to do. And I waited…because Azazel and Artemis knew as well.

They came at her from opposing sides. Over and over again. I sensed Lethe's power diminishing, and I knew I couldn't allow her to touch the Earth again. She could draw power from it…from the thoughts and minds of the people touching it. If allowed back to Earth, she could kill everyone below. Azazel and Artemis knew this as well. I hovered there, my arms out, my hair flying about my head, clothed in the shimmering red light of Arcane.

Primordial power.

The beginning of life.

Finally, it was time as she tried to move away from them, one wing badly broken and the membrane gone. She tumbled and spun in my direction as I pulled the winds to me. I offered her peace…salvation…and love.

She froze when she saw me, and I could hear her screaming.

Mother, no! Please…I will change!
Lethe screamed inside of my head.

There
is
no more, my daughter.

A hand guided my own as I released the Arcane. It caught her in its grip and surrounded her, a sparkling sea of red. She screamed and then it was muffled. I closed my eyes and released as the God Mother's hand smite the creation of her disappointment.

Overwhelming sadness…grief…loss…these were Her feelings. Her regrets as she took back Her child and slipped away. Quietly. Calmly. Resigned to start over again.

I was falling then, the Arcane gone. But when I opened my eyes, Crwys was bending over me, his wings out and spread above him. Half man, half Dragon…somehow I found this form so damn sexy.

He was smiling at me and dripping tears. I reached up and touched his cheek, and then smiled. "I love you."

Epilogue

I'm pretty sure every girl dreams of her wedding. I never did. Hell…I'd been determined as a child that I was going to marry a powerful Sorcerer and rule the world.

Funny how I settled on a Dragon. And as for the world? Meh.

Crwys wanted to get married as soon as everyone was healthy and able. So…about a month later. Arden arranged everything at Gypsy Gardens, and even I didn't recognize the place when she was done. Flowers…everywhere. My favorites have always been roses. And she had the mansion covered in them.

She set up a pavilion next to the small lake where we'd had a picnic all those months ago. The entire Parliament was there, including Cosgrove, who, to my surprise, officiated. Every coven that could get to New Orleans on that short of a notice appeared. I think Dharma told me there were over a hundred guests.

Seriously?

I mean…I might have noticed this if I hadn't had eyes for Crwys. Arden insisted on a Renn Faire theme, so she'd put him in a white poet's shirt, nice tight pants, and knee-high boots. I wanted to attack him the moment I saw him.

Me? The usual. White flowy dress…a million flowers stuck in my hair where her girls had piled it up on my head. We were barefoot. And grinning our damn heads off the whole time.

I spotted Riven in conversation with about ten women in Arden’s coven. He’d established himself as the new Risi King, and with the support of the other three races, had seen a bit of success in that month. Though, there were still those rogue Risi who didn’t want to be led by a half-breed.

The Aces were there; all dressed as nice as a Wolf pack could be. Arden allowed everyone their natural forms, so they mostly spent their time in fur, chasing laughing kids, frolicking…if it was possible for a huge ass Wolf to frolic. I got to meet Dags's girlfriend, Illiana, who seemed very impressed and happy with his new look. It wasn't a huge change it seemed. Just his ears and eyes and an unnatural beauty to his skin. He showed me how he was able to hide it, and now unfortunately…he could see things he hadn't seen before.

"And I hear music in the woods…"

"That's the real drawback," Iliana said as she kissed his cheek. "I'll find him hugging a tree!"

After our vows, Crwys and I found a quiet moment by the lake and kissed. Like really kissed, and he wrapped his arms around me. "Jack and Kyle look happy. I think Kyle was pretty stoked that he got to walk you down the aisle."

"Yeah…he is my best friend you know."

"I thought that was me."

I smiled. "You can share." I sighed into his chest. "Did you notice the new couple?"

"Yeah, I did." His voice deepened. I looked up at him as he looked down at me. "You really think Tas and Bastien are a good fit?"

"Oh, I do," I said. "He's already bonded so…I'm thinking she's stuck with him." I turned and spotted the two of them not far away, sitting under a tree. "I want Bastien to be happy."

"And I want Artemis to be as well. And if he hurts her…"

"She can take care of it herself." I kissed him again.

"Do you miss it?" he finally said as a breeze ruffled that shock of hair over his eyes.

I knew what he was hinting at. We hadn't really spoken about it…not since Lethe died. Even Cosgrove had been a bit nervous around me, as if he wasn't sure what to say. I turned and leaned my back into him as he wrapped his arms around my front. "I miss my Elementals. We'd bonded and sometimes I feel a bit lonely."

"You have me."

"Yes."

"And you have Kyle and Jack, Dharma and Ivan, and Levi. Even Arden. We're all here for you." He kissed the top of my head. "Even if you are just a girl now."

Yeah…just a girl. A human.

And not a Witch anymore.

_____

Read more in the forthcoming Book Eight, Elemental Tears!

GLOSSARY

Pronunciations:

Crwys -
Cruise

Medbh -
Mayv

Sidhe -
Shee

Dijin -
Gin

Alfheim
- Alf-hime

Circe
- Seer-See

Tzariene
- Zar-een

Nisse - NEE-say

Risi - REE-say

Leanan Sidhe -
Lah-nan Shee

Daoine Sidhe -
Dai-nah Shee

Language:

I am not an expert in Cajun or French, nor am I fluent. But I always had it in my head that while Vampires in New Orleans was a very well thought out trope, Werewolves in the Bayou was just as important. So this is my own blend of the two.

The Nisse Races:

Jötunn -
Lords of nature such as the trees, stones and rivers.

Troll
- Mythical magicians; the mages

Purs
- Hostile Monsters; protectors of the Trolls; can turn things into stone

Risi
- Warriors and courtly beings; the nobles

Pischouette Mal Pris
- Little girl's in a bad situation

D'accord
- Agreement

Chérie
- Darling

Ma petite
- My little one (feminine)

Frére
- Brother

Soeur
- Sister

Chiot
- Pup

Loup de chiot
- Wolf pup

Diable du feu
- Fire devil

Trés bien, mon ami
- Very well, my friend

Tayeau
- Hound

Diable
- Devil

Tayeau petite
- Small hound, insult; small dog.

Trés belle
- Very beautiful

Mon frére
- My brother

Homme mort
- Dead man.

Je regrette
- I regret

Bonne nuit
- Good night

Jai faim
- I’m hungry

Mère -
Mother

Je sais pa
- I don’t know

M’selle -
miss, young lady

Le couer
- the heart

Êtes-vous bien?
- Are you okay?

Sa fait pas rien
- it doesn’t matter

Ce qui
- What

Pour quoi
- Why

D
efinitions
:

Magical Parliament
- a grouping of 13 High Witches chosen from all over the world to regulate magic use and the teaching of magic so as to avoid revealing a Witch's presence to the Cowen world. There are more than 13 High Witches at any given time, but only 13 are chosen to serve in Parliament.

Demon Realms
- worlds that exist outside and yet beside the Material Plane. Other names used for these realms are the Mental, Astral, Abysmal, Ethereal, Peripheral, and sometimes Alfheim.

Mother's Tracker
- The Parliament once granted tracking rights to some Elder Witches, especially those with Elemental Gifts. The last Tracker to officially receive this right was Samantha's mother, Elizabeth Hawthorne. The right gave them the ability to see, hear, taste, and smell trails left behind by a named target. This is the magic Eliza used to track Dionysus and made it impossible for the Leviathan to escape Eliza's abilities.