Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy (48 page)

The
Morrigan
,
who was trying, unsuccessfully, to force me into her underground lair
,
paused and let loose a deep sigh.

"Donn, I'll tell you one more time: leave the thinking to me.  This Faelorah may have power, but it is in no way greater than yours or mine
,
and she has not had time to hone it either.  As for her brother . . ."

She yanked on my arm so that our eyes met. 
Look terrified Meghan.  Appear meek and beaten, but make sure that burn of hatred shows as well
.  Huh, like that was difficult to do at the moment.

"He is in absolutely no condition to be aware of his magic, let alone
use
it."

Another jolt of
dread
coursed through me then and I felt my eyes grow wider.  What had she done to Aiden?

The Morrigan smiled and I could have sworn the temperature dropped a good ten degrees.

"That's right Meghan dear, you have lost and any tricks you planned on performing with your brother won't work.
  He's a bit incapacitated at the moment.
"

"Wh-what did you do to him?"
I asked, my voice raspy.

"Nothing, though I did give him a draught to make him sleep.  He'll make a wonderful sacrifice once this is all over.  Unfortunately, I haven't had the time nor the means to do
much
more than drug him."

I choked back the bile that threatened to rise as the Morrigan shoved me further down the tunnel.  A sleeping potion would wear off, sooner or later, and I was praying it would be sooner than later.

*
*
*

The trip down into the bowels of the Morrigan's domain was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life.  The tunnel, though spacious and lit with torches hanging in cruel-looking sconces, gave me a sense of extreme claustrophobia.  Every now and then the path would branch off, as if we were following the trail of a giant ant hole, and the distant noises of pain and suffering came floating up from their depths.  Five minutes into our journey I could no longer feel my fingers or toes and by the time we reached our destiny my whole face felt numb.

Eventually we spilled out into a massive chamber.  Well, I stumbled but the Morrigan, with her usual grace, took the small staircase like a fog spilling over a range of hills.  Donn opted to stand at the top of the stairs with his arms crossed.  It's a good thing I couldn't feel my hands because the
small stones
that lodged
themselves
under my skin w
ere
the size of lentils.  Shivering, I dragged myself to my feet, taking deep breaths of the icy, semi-fetid air and wondering why I felt so exhausted.

I glanced around
and nearly gasped at what I saw.  The chamber was
,
in reality
,
a huge cavern, complete with stalagmites and stalactites and a small stream meandering a
long
the floor
.  That's not what surprised me the most
,
though.  Several feet in front of me there was a natural formation of rock acting as a dais with a dark throne perched upon it.  The tall chair resembled my mother's in Erintara, only this one was composed of black stone and the skeletal remains of several creatures I didn't know the names of.  The perfect seat for a goddess of war and death.

The sconces, which housed the hundreds of
blood-red
candles and torches lighting the huge place matched the throne, but that was about as far as the macabre decor went.  The cold floor was draped with thick, rich rugs in dark shades of red and gold.  Delicate, tasseled curtains hanging from the walls suggested passageways into other rooms, and a great, roaring fire just behind the throne took away the bite of the freezing air.

The Morrigan turned to share a few clipped words with Donn.  He nodded once, then turned on his heel, his boot
s
grating into the hard ground of the cave and sending a rasp
y echo bouncing off the walls.
I assumed he was satisfied with my impending imprisonment and was off to accompany his monsters to the battlefield.

"Is my domain not splendid?"

The sudden sound of the Morrigan's voice, cutting through the trickle of the stream and the soft breathing of the C
u
morrig sleeping by the fire startled me out of my stupor.  I could only nod.  As much as I hated the Morrigan and everything connected to her, this cave was beautiful, in an underground, Phantom of the Opera sort of way.

She sighed and brushed past me, her skirts trailing far behind her as she crossed the wide room and climbed up the stone steps and into her throne.  She threw one leg over the arm rest and crooked one elbow up onto the opposite knee.

"It's a pity things had to end this way.  If only you and Ca
edehn
could have seen things my way, we might have been able to work something out."

She shifted in her seat and brought her leg down so that she could lean both elbows on her knees.

"Unlike your mother, I would have blessed your union with my son if you two had joined me in my plans.  But now you and your brother will be mine, slaves
bent
to my will.  Or I may just destroy you both and take what magic you have to offer. 
Of course,
that all depends on how today's battle plays out."

She grinned, a wicked cut to her mouth, and h
er eyes glittered like rubies.

I kept my mouth clamped tight and stood as straight as I could.

"It doesn't matter," I said once I'd gathered my loose emotions.  "Cade won't have to worry about protecting me on the battlefield now.  I won't be a distraction to him and he'll have a better chance
of defeating
your faelah army.  And b
esides," I said, taking a quick
and pity-filled breath, "if you kill us after all this is over, at least I'll be with Aiden, to offer him what comfort I can."

I hoped with all my might it wouldn't come to that, but if it did, I
would have to push
aside all my regrets. 
You knew this could be a possible outcome Meghan
, my conscience reminded me,
so you
must live with that decision.  Yes, t
here is still a chance that things will go your way, but this isn't over yet.

The Morrigan narrowed her scarlet eyes at me and then started clicking her tongue as she slowly shook her head back and forth.
 
"You see, still the weak little Faelorah you were when we first met.  Letting useless emotions rule your decisions."

The
goddess
sighed again and pushed herself to her feet, the dark cloudy smoke of her magic swirling around her.

"Well then, as you know
,
I'm going to be quite busy for the next several hours, so I'll have to lock you up until I have time to deal with you.  They say you shouldn't keep all your eggs in one basket, but in this case, I think it would be wise."

She leveled those eyes on me again then raised a hand and snapped her fingers, the sharp sound bouncing off the walls.  The Cumorrig jolt
ed awake and quirked their half-
rotted ears at her, only to pant when they recognized their master.  I almost threw up at the sight of their decaying tongues.

The soft sound of a heavy blanket crumpling to the ground soon pulled my attention away from the hellhounds.  Near the base of the dais, where a curtain had been hanging on the wall and covering what I had thought
might be
a
nother passageway
, was a small indentation carved out of the wall.  Black iron bars ran from the tiny room's ceiling to its floor, a gate complete with a lock in its center.  And there, curled up on a blanket in the furthest corner sat . . .

"Aiden!!"

My voice tore across the massive space, causing the Cumorrig to jerk to attention
once
again.

I ran, just put my numb toes to the floor and ran, tripping over both the thick rugs and my own clumsy feet at least three times.  I crashed into the bars, my frozen fingers wrapping around the icy metal, tears streaking down my face.

"Aiden!  Oh, Aiden, can you hear me?"

"No, he can't.  I drugged him, remember?  He should be out another hour or so and I wove a spell of silence around him so he can't speak either.  So sorry Meghan, but you'll not be able to ask him any annoying questions."

I gritted my teeth, anger and sorrow boiling up, enticing my own magic and the magic of Cernunnos to flare.  Oh yes, now would be a wonderf
ul time to use that magic . . .

You must visit the lair of the Morrigan
before you can use my
glamour
.

Cernunnos's words revisited my mind, bypassing my emotions and settling themselves firmly between that wall of magic and the tiny grain of control I currently had over it. 
My nerves tingled and a rush of adrenalin poured through me.  I let
the magic build a little, and just before I was about to let my defenses fall and push all that power forth, I hesitated.  Aiden was still in that cage and I
was still an emotional wreck.

Wait . . .
a tiny voice whispered into my mind. 
Wait . . .

Reluctantly, I released the breath I was holding and drew my magic back within me.  There was one more thing I had to do before I let all hell break loose, and that was to get to Aiden and make sure he was alright.

Before any other thoughts could cross my mind,
however,
the bars I clung to gave way and I stumbled forward.  I didn't have to look behind me to know that they'd rematerialized.  The Morrigan's cold laughter filled the massive chamber and with a sharp snap of her fingers, the Cumorrig
stood
and left their beds by the fireplace to lie in front of mine and Aiden's prison.

"Keep a close eye on those two and if, by some miracle of Eile, they figure out how to open the door, kill them," the goddess snarled as she whipped her skirts around and headed for the exit.

"I hope you take this time, little Meghan, to think of all the horrible things I'll do to my son once I catch him.  Because I don't plan on killing him on that battlefield, oh no, I've got something extra special planned just for you."

She turned and smiled at me and all I could see across that dark space was the white flash of her teeth and the low, smoldering glow of her crimson eyes.  The scene from my dream the night before flashed into my mind, of Cade bound and surrounded by the Cumorrig, of the Morrigan ordering them to attack.  The sound of Cade's screams as they tore into his flesh.

A sob broke free of my throat and echoed throughout the cavern.  I shot my hand to my mouth, trying to hide any other sounds, but it was too late.  The Morrigan's laughter filled the room as she disappeared down the dark tunnel.  The
echo
of a large stone slamming into place informed me that she was really gone and that Aiden and I were trapped in this hell hole with the hounds to keep us in check.  I was distraught, Aiden was unconscious, and we hadn't a hope in the world.  For a few brief moments I allowed myself to get lost in my despair, but then I gritted my teeth and shook myself.

Stop it Meghan, stop it!
I told myself. 
You spent
four
weeks of intense training with Enorah.  Yes, it wasn't nearly enough time
to become a glamour-wielding expert
, but you can't forget what you learned.  You must find a way to use it to your advantage.

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths through my nose.  Eventually
,
my volatile mix of magic settled down and I could feel the distant warmth of the fire across the room.  I glanced down at Aiden, wondering what the Morrigan had given him to sleep.  I nearly gasped when he stirred, lifting his hand up to rub his eyes
before
curling tighter into a ball.

"Aiden?" I whispered, my voice mimicking the rasp of sandpaper.
  She had said the sleeping potion would last another hour.  Could her calculations
have
been wrong?  Could Aiden's own potent magic
be protecting him?

My brother
wiggled around again and moaned, but still didn't sit up.

"Aiden!" I hissed, sharper this time.

The ears of the closest
Cumorrig
swiveled in our direction but I ignored it.

"Aiden, it's me, Meggy.  Please wake up."

Slowly, Aiden opened one eye, the one that wasn't covered by his tiny hands.  For a few seconds he simply gazed at me as
if he wasn't sure he was awake yet. 
All the while I sat there, still as a statue, holding my breath.  But then both of
my brother's
aqua
eyes flew open and he leapt at me, crying out in a muffled voice.  I hugged him
back
,
my grip fierce, as
tears streaming down my
own
face.