The Banshee's Revenge (The Banshee's Embrace Trilogy) (14 page)

"Didn't you know? That's why I was so shocked to see that charm around your neck, my dear," Arwan said. "It seemed a risk since you’re a daughter of Merlin, and if there is one person Morrigan can't stand, it's the father of her own child."

Merlin was Gwydion's father, too? Jacqueline's thoughts spun as she tried to sort this new information out. Dizziness threatened to make her sit back down and she gasped for air.

From within her, she heard Death's anxious voice.

There isn't much time till the baby comes. Protect it while you can!

"But who am I protecting it from? You or Morrigan?" Jacqueline gritted her teeth as another wave of pain ripped through her.

Morrigan, of course. I'm no fool! If the plan is to rip the child apart and bathe in its blood, than I certainly will not be hitching a ride come birthing time. I can live inside your head quite happily for a long time to come.

"Morrigan will not have my baby!"

"Jackie, what are you going to do?" Angela's alarmed voice annoyed her. "Put that charm back on. I can tell you're starting to change again."

All the feelings of warmth Jacqueline had experienced throughout the day fled, replaced by the cold hard edge of anger.

"This is who I am," she hissed at Angela before sending a wave of power that tossed her friend across the room like a rag doll.

Angela landed against the far wall. She slumped on the ground, unmoving.

Jacqueline shut her eyes, and focused on finding the one person who had betrayed her again and again.

Toby.

Gabe hummed to himself and then frowned when he caught himself doing it.

He'd never expected to feel this good about a woman. Hell, he'd even sworn to himself and Angela that all their relationship would be about was sex. And yet, he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Something about Angela caught him off guard though. She was feisty and said what was on her mind--a refreshing quality. He'd been impressed with her easy acceptance of his strange world and deep down Gabe knew he'd made the right decision in not taking away her memories. Angela could handle the truth of things--even if his father couldn't.

Seeing her text earlier had both amused and concerned him.

It gave him a light feeling to receive any kind of communication from her at all, but the small joy disappeared as he read the contents of the message.

Jackie at bar
.

Considering Toby had just indicated Jacqueline was at her house resting, it seemed an odd message. He'd texted that he was on the way, and immediately transported himself. To his surprise he found a barrier spell in place which prevented him from doing no more than circle the perimeter.

This couldn’t be good.

The sight of a big man being thrown through the front wall of the bar did nothing to calm his worries. The man brushed himself off and appeared to talk to someone just inside the building, but Gabe couldn't quite see who it was.

Again and again, the young wizard tried to break down the barrier to no avail.

To further add to his confusion, his father had suddenly materialized in the parking lot.

He'd been about to call out and get Toby's attention when he'd noticed Jacqueline appear at the hole in the bar’s wall. Her hair streamed wild and free around her and there was a look of such malevolence in her features that Gabe was chilled to the bone. Even from the distance, he could see the deep green of her eyes were outlined with red. Her pale face was marred with long scratches.

"The hag," he whispered, knowing that if Jacqueline was in that form, things had taken a very wrong turn.

An evil smile crept onto her face and she raised her hands, pulling Toby into the building's shadows. Silence fell, and he couldn't help but worry for Angela.

Gabe tried to text her again, but received no response.

"What is happening?"

Startled, Gabe turned to see who had spoken.

Morrigan's steady gaze met his.

"You must be Morrigan," he said. She nodded and he gestured to Merlyn's Bar. "I don't know. I can't get through this barrier. Toby and Jacqueline are in there, but I don't think she has on your charm any longer."

"Her labor has begun." Morrigan closed her eyes, as if listening to some voice only she could hear. "Arwan and another woman are in there, too. And so is my son."

"Your son? Toby is your son?"

"Oh, no," Morrigan smiled. "Though I would be proud if he was. I refer to Gwydion."

"Gwydion? I didn't see him go in."

"That's because he is in disguise. He wears the skin of your father in order to fool them all. In fact, this barrier is his doing, too. I would know the scent of his magic anywhere. Of course, it can't stop me or Arwan."

"Shit."

"An apt expression for the situation." Morrigan focused again and Gabe waited impatiently to complete whatever mental scan she was doing. "I believe your father has found himself trapped in the banshee's house. Go and fetch him. I'll keep an eye on things here."

"But Angela--"

"Go!" Morrigan ordered.

With a heavy heart, Gabe followed her instructions.

*****

"Jacqueline, what's going on?" Toby asked as she yanked him into the bar.

Oh, how his innocent tone burned at her pride. The man knew their child was going to be slaughtered at the hands of the goddess, Morrigan, and yet, he could stand there and act so innocent.

"I'm on to you, Toby." She nodded at the worried look flashing through his eyes. "That's right. I know the truth now."

"And what truth is that?" He glanced over at Arwan." Just what has this fool been telling you?"

"Careful, wizard. I am a god. Not a fool. The last thing you want to do is anger me, too." Arwan looked closely at Toby. "You should never act too familiar with a god."

"I've come to take you away from here," Toby ignored Arwan. "I've made a mistake and want us to go somewhere safe where you can have the baby in peace."

"Peace? Is that what you'll give her?" Arwan laughed. "I bet she'll get more than she bargained for if she goes with you."

Another pain in her abdomen had her bending over and clutching her stomach. If she could just focus, find a way through the pain that kept throwing her off. It seemed that even though the charm was gone, her powers still were not up to full strength.

She was careful not to look at the still body of Angela. The last thing she needed was a dose of a guilty conscience. If she could just get out of there…

"Come on Jacqueline. Let me take you away where we can talk quietly and figure this out together," Toby urged and held out his hand. "I can protect us from Morrigan."

He's lying
…Death hissed the words and they broke through the physical pain Jacqueline felt.
Gwydion is a terrible actor.

"Gwydion," Jacqueline gasped the name as she dropped to her knees. Even with the charm off, she was unable to summon her full powers. Perhaps it was the labor and the pull of the baby. "Death, what are you saying?"

"She lies!" Toby yelled. "You know you can't trust her."

"Give it up, Gwydion." Arwan waved his hand.

To Jacqueline's horror, Toby's face melted away revealing the haggard features of Gwydion.

"You," she whispered. "I should have known."

"You should have known a lot of things," Gwydion agreed. "But most of all, you should know that you can't trust anything my mother does. You would have been better off coming with me."

"Stay away from me," Jacqueline raised one hand defensively. "I can still hurt you."

"You're a mess. I bet I could carry you out of this bar now, little sister, and you wouldn't have the strength to fight me," Gwydion said. "Pathetic."

"Please," she begged as she inched toward Arwan. "Please help me."

"There's nothing he can do." Gwydion laughed. "He's on my side."

Gwydion held his hands up and white energy began to snap and crackle between his palms.

"Oh, I've looked forward to this."

With a cry of triumph, he thrust the light directly at Jacqueline's stomach.

*****

Death was in a dilemma.

She could protect the unborn child. That was easy enough. Gwydion's energy blast had felt like a mere tickle to the baby thanks to Death.

But should she protect it?

Hurriedly, she weighed her options. Option one: take a chance and hop on board the child's soul. Retaining any kind of corporeal form would be tough and she'd be forced to wait for the child to grow and mature before she'd have any real control. Of course, that meant several years of weaving her influence into the innocent child's mind…

If something happened to the baby, if it died, then what was left of Death would go too.

Option 2: The idea of taking over Jacqueline's soul had long ago fled. The banshee was too powerful. The best she could hope for was to hang out and survive inside her human host.

Time was running out and she had to make a choice.

"Damn," Death whispered into the black void of her existence. "Damn, damn, damn!"

Death, are you there?

Death frowned, listening to the new voice echoing through the darkness.

"Morrigan? Is that you? Have you come at last to rescue me?"

I'm here, Death. A little late, but then good plans take time to formulate.

"Get me out of here."

Patience, my angry friend. You should never have taunted this powerful creature you now find yourself trapped in.

"Save the lecture, Morrigan. I've been in here long enough."

Your vanity got the better of you.

"Sure," Death grumbled. "I’m not as all powerful as I thought."

Then you've learned a lesson through all this. I couldn’t ask for more from one of my subjects.

"Then get me out of here!"

I think you need to return the favor to your host. She needs help learning a lesson too
.

"What do you want me to do?"

Death grew quiet as Morrigan whispered her plans.

"Fine, Morrigan, but you swear you'll free me once this is done, no matter what happens to the baby?"

Have I ever broken a promise?

Death focused on the baby, feeling the body react to the process of labor, knowing it was a great risk to take.

"Fine."

Death gritted her teeth and pushed her essence into the child waiting to be born.

*****

The first thing Toby saw was Jacqueline on the ground, overwhelmed by pain as Gwydion blasted her with energy. A tall man stood nearby, watching with dismay.

The second thing he registered was Gabe's dark expression as he looked at Angela slumped on the floor, eyes shut tight. Was she breathing? It was hard to tell.

Toby wasted no time getting to the bar after Gabe freed him from the wizard’s snare. His hands flew up as he summoned an energy ball that knocked Gwydion out of the way. Gabe hit him with a second blast, his face grim as Toby hurried over to Jacqueline.

"Is it really you?" she moaned.

"Yes. Everything is going to be okay now." He scooped her into his arms and tried to hug her. "Let's get you out of here."

"No… Angela." Jacqueline sobbed as she looked at her friend. "I did that."

"She's alive." The speaker was the man who'd been watching Gwydion torture Jacqueline. Immediately, Toby readied a fireball. "No need for that. I'm a friend. Jacqueline is in no shape to be taken too far."

"No. Don’t trust him," Jacqueline cried. "You can't trust anyone."

"C'mon." Toby helped her up, keeping a close eye on the man who stared after them with a slightly amused expression. "Let's get you out of here."

"I didn't mean to hurt her," Jacqueline cried as she shuffled awkwardly to her feet.

"I know you didn't. It's okay, baby," he whispered. It appeared that the strange man was right though. Jacqueline could barely walk. He led her into the pool room where they were at least distanced from the two fighting wizards. "Everything will be okay."

Around them the bar was coming apart as Gabe and Gwydion battled it out. Both men were bleeding and breathing hard. Toby noticed Gabe kept shooting glances at Angela, obviously concerned for her well-being.

"She's alive, Gabe," Toby called to him. "I’m coming to help you."

Gabe nodded and gave Gwydion a grim smile before blasting the old wizard with a spray of power. Outraged, Gwydion retaliated with a snaking stream of fire that circled Gabe and singed his skin.

"I can handle this asshole" Gabe shouted.

"I am Arwan, god of the Underworld. I will keep an eye on things while you tend to the lady," Arwan said.

"Toby, I need to know something," Jacqueline managed to get out through her sobs. "Did you promise our baby to Morrigan? Was the charm to help dim my feelings for the child?"