My Reaper's Daughter (42 page)

reached down to pluck a small twig from the dirt and began twirling it idly between his

fingers. “It’s just as well I suppose.”

For a few minutes there was only the sound of the rain falling into the leaves. The

wind picked up but only marginally, ruffling a lock of dark hair at Glyn’s temple,

blowing it into his eyes. Wearily he lifted a hand to thread his fingers through the

drying locks, combing them back from his forehead.

“Morrigunia was here,” Phelan said softly.

Slowly Glyn raised his head until his wounded gaze fused with Phelan’s. “Are you

sure?” Kullen asked.

“I saw Her dragon form soaring through the skies. It was Her.”

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The anguish that settled in those amber orbs was difficult to witness so Kiel looked

away.

“I had to do it, Phelan,” Glyn said so quietly Phelan had to strain to hear.

Phelan drew in a long, slow breath then exhaled even slower before answering. “I

know.” He was once more watching the inferno that had been the bokor’s cabin.

“She could have stopped me but She didn’t.”

Kiel nodded silently.

Another minute or so passed before Glyn spoke again.

“They are going to fucking crucify me,” he said, his voice infinitely tired.

Phelan knew his fellow Reaper was speaking of the High Council and no words of

denial could be uttered. Both he and Kasid had heard the direct order that had come

from the lips of the High Lord himself. They had continued to hear the denials, the

warnings and threats, the undeniable orders that had been blasted at Kullen.

Then they had been unnerved by the utter silence when the Shadowlords’ voices

had stopped.

There had been no further communication from the Citadel.

“What they’re gonna do to me will make what they did to Owen look like a

cakewalk.”

“Don’t say that,” Phelan mumbled.

“You know it’s true. I disobeyed a direct order and they’re going to make

mincemeat out of my ass.” Glyn let out a harsh breath. “If they don’t stand me before a

firing squad, Mystery will be an old, old woman before they ever let me out of a con cell

or they’ll…” His voice caught and he squeezed his eyes shut and hung his head, grief

crinkling his face, his hands doubling into fists on his knees.

Phelan looked around at the hitch of sound that had escaped his fellow Reaper.

“They won’t take her away from you if that’s what you’re worried about, Glyn.”

“You think not?”

“I know not. Your teammates would not allow it. We will fight for you, Kullen.

We’ll not let your woman be taken from you.”

“You realize they’ll probably punish you and Kasid for not having intervened,”

Glyn reminded him.

“Fuck it. Let them,” Phelan said from between clenched teeth. “I’ve always

wondered what it would be like to spend time in a con cell.”

Glyn shook his head despairingly at his teammate’s bravado. Not a single one of his

kind wanted to be locked in one of those hellholes. They were all claustrophobic and

hated closed-in places. They all knew what torments lay behind the titanium doors of

the con cells, the agony that awaited them.

“Look,” Phelan said, bouncing a bit on his haunches for his legs were beginning to

cramp. “It’s like you said. The goddess knew what you were about to do and She made

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no move to stop you. She might not have condoned it, but She didn’t stop it. There isn’t

a man among your team who doesn’t understand why you acted as you did.”

Glyn looked up. “You’ve spoken with the others?”

Phelan shrugged. “I tried calling on Lord Dunham.” He flung the twig away. “I

figured he was the lesser of the evil trio but he wouldn’t answer me. When I called out

to Arawn, the first thing out of his mouth was ‘Tell Glyn we’re behind him and we’ll

see him in Charlotte’.”

“We?”

Phelan’s handsome face clouded with apology. “He and Bevyn are on their way to

bring you in.”

Glyn flinched “They didn’t trust me to come in on my own? For you and Kasid to

bring me back?”

Kiel had to look away from the hurt on his teammate’s face. “I guess not.”

Kullen stared at Kiel until Phelan turned from his contemplation of the fire to lock

gazes with him.

“That means I’m under arrest, doesn’t it?” When Phelan didn’t answer, he pressed

the issue. “Doesn’t it, Phelan? They’re afraid I might run.” His eyes narrowed with

sorrow. “Are you going to shackle me to make sure I don’t?”

Phelan remained silent, unable to respond, to actually say the words. He felt Glyn

slip into his mind and pull out the answer. He saw tears gathering in Kullen’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Glyn. I really am,” he whispered.

* * * * *

Mystery stood in the doorway of the shed, looking past the burning rubble, and

watched as her brother drove a closed carriage toward her. Behind him, Lord Kasid sat

astride his mighty black stallion, leading Glyn’s horse.

“Where’d you find him?” she heard Lord Phelan inquire as he got to his feet,

walking away from where her husband still sat beneath the spreading live oak.

“He was back at your cabin, standing by the stable.” Kasid answered. “I hope I got

everything and we don’t have to make a trip back there.” He looked up at the sky. “We

need to get on the road as soon as we get milady’s things and make it into Charlestown

before full dark. Storm’s coming back.”

“I feel it,” Phelan agreed.

Although the carriage had pulled up, blocking her view of the Reapers, she heard

Lord Kasid ask, “How is he?”

There was a slight pause then the answer made Mystery want to scream. “Not

good. He knows he’s under arrest.”

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Motioning LaVon to stay where he was on the carriage seat, Mystery turned from

the door and looked at her daughter. The child was still but her little chest rose and fell

normally.

“She’ll most likely sleep a good long time,” Lord Phelan had told Mystery. “Her

body is having to cope with the…” He cleared his throat. “With what was done.”

Her lips trembling, Mystery walked over to her child and bent down to pick her up.

She grunted with the effort and half smiled, thinking her daughter was getting to be a

big girl and it wouldn’t be long before she’d be too heavy to lift.

Valda moaned in her deep sleep but a faint smile creased her little lips for just a

moment before her face went still again.

Staring down at that sweet, innocent face, Mystery felt again the disbelief she’d

experienced when Glyn had stumbled from the cabin—ignoring her calls to him—and

walked through the rain to the tree. She’s watched him slide to the ground and bury his

head in his hands. It had taken every ounce of her courage to enter the cabin. She

thought she knew what awaited her.

She had been wrong.

“He gave her one of his hellions,” Lord Phelan had explained. “He couldn’t let her

go.”

At first Mystery had stared up at the Reaper, his words not registering in her

grieving mind.

“You don’t have to worry about her Transitioning any time soon,” he went on.

“Had the transference been to you, you would have Transitioned right away but with a

child, she won’t go through it until she reaches puberty. By then, we’ll have taught her

what to expect, how to handle it, and we’ll all be there for her.”

“What?” Mystery had asked, her face puckered with confusion.

“Glyn brought her back,” Phelan said. “From death. He put a revenant worm inside

her little body and…”

That was when Mystery’s eyes had rolled up in her head and she’d fainted, the

knowledge too much for her mind to process. When she came to, she was lying in the

shed on a stack of blankets with Valda snuggled close beside her, the little girl’s sweet

breath fanning across her mother’s neck.

“Oh my god!” Mystery had cried out and gathered her child close, kissing the still

face and smoothing the braided hair, touching the place over her breast where the little

heart was beating slowly and strong.

Lord Phelan stood inside the doorway and told her again not to worry about the

deep slumber that had claimed her child. He also told her the dress in which Valda was

now clothed had been a mental gift from Glyn.

“He didn’t want you or her to see the blood,” he said softly.

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Now as she carried her child from the shed, she was not in the least surprised to

find her husband right outside. Their eyes met—held—then she released Valda into his

outstretched arms.

“We’ll spend the night at the hotel in Charlestown and then leave for Charlotte at

first light,” Lord Phelan told her as he helped her up the steps and into the carriage.

“My guess is the
babban
will be awake by then and full of all kinds of questions.”

“She won’t remember what happened here,” Glyn denied. “I erased all those

thoughts from her mind.”

“You want to ride with your lady and the bantling?” Phelan queried.

“Aye,” Kullen replied then leaned into the carriage to place Valda in her mother’s

lap then pulled back and turned to his teammate.

Mystery saw the shackles and loudly protested but it did no good. The iron bands

were locked around her husband’s wrists before he was allowed to climb into the

carriage. When she opened her mouth to berate his fellow Reapers for the indignity, he

shook his head.

“They’re only doing their job, Myst.”

She stared at the heavy manacles weighing down his arms and tears slipped from

her eyes. Her heart was breaking. Her soul was being ravaged by the sight. She ached

so desperately she wanted to scream.

“This isn’t right,” she said, shaking her head from side to side. “Glyn, this isn’t

right.”

He leaned forward, wincing for he was still feeling the effects of the poison that had

permeated his system. “I want you to listen to me,” he said, holding her. “Without

speaking, all right? Just hear me out.”

Her lips trembled as she drew them together, tucking the bottom one between her

teeth.

“Are you listening?” he asked softly, and at her silent nod, let out a long breath.

“What I did was wrong,
ben my chree.”
As she started to speak, he raised his eyebrows

and the words never came so he continued. “It was wrong. I knew it was wrong, I knew

I’d be punished but that didn’t matter. I couldn’t let her leave us, Myst. There was no

way in hell I was going to allow that to happen and so I transferred one of my hellions

to her. While I was doing it, the Shadowlords were screaming at me not to, warning me,

threatening everything under the sun, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t listening. Our daughter

was the only thing that had meaning for me at that moment and I wasn’t about to let

the Gatherer take her from us.”

A small whimper came from Mystery. The love this man had for her child was

glowing in his teary eyes.

“At first I thought it wasn’t going to work,” he said, and brought his bound hands

up to swipe at a lock of hair that had tumbled into his eyes. The clank of the chains was

loud in the confines of the carriage. “The hellion was small and barely moving. I wasn’t

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sure if it wasn’t dying because of whatever was in my system. I prayed harder than I’ve

ever prayed and made promises I hope to the gods They didn’t hear. I pleaded with the

Gatherer to bring her back to me but when I dropped the revenant into…” He stopped

as though he realized she didn’t need to know how it had happened. “When I gave it to

her, it just lay there for a moment then it…” He held his bound hands palm up to her.

“All of a sudden it claimed her. She took one deep breath and I knew then she’d be all

right.”

He slumped back against the seat, his energy seemingly exhausted along with his

words and closed his eyes for a moment, breathing raggedly.

“You’re still sick,” she said. She reached a hand out to him over the sleeping body

of her child but he did not take it.

“My head hurts,” was all he admitted to, but she could see the fever pulsing in his

eyes and he was sweating a little.

“I wish I could hold you,” she said, drawing her hand back.

“I wish you could too,” he said, his gaze fused with hers. “But not like this. Not

with manacles on my wrists.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me,” he said.

She watched his eyelids flutter and knew the rolling, rocking motion of the carriage

was lulling him. But there was something she needed desperately to know.

“Will they allow us to spend the night in the same room tonight?”

Glyn forced his eyes open and looked at her. “I doubt it,
my chree
. If they did, I’d be

chained to the gods-be-damned bed and I…”

“Let them,” she said. “I don’t care. I just want to lie beside you. I want to hold you. I

want you to…” She lifted her chin. “I want you to do to me what you did to our child.”

As he began shaking his head, she demanded to know why not.

“Because, I wouldn’t be able to help you through the Transition. You would change

and I couldn’t hold you, comfort you.” His eyes narrowed with misery. “I couldn’t help

you through the pain of it.”

“Then when?” she asked.