The Banshee's Revenge (The Banshee's Embrace Trilogy) (7 page)

"Go on," she whispered. "I want you."

"I don't want to hurt you."

It pleased him that she saw past the literal meaning of the words and pressed a hand to his face, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"My heart is my own, Gabe. You can't hurt me."

He kissed her and eased inside her.

"Oh, Gabe," she sighed with abandonment. "I've been waiting for this forever."

They moved against one another, their bodies a perfect fit. He lost all rational thought, could only concentrate on filling the depths of her, of filling his need of her. Her hands gripped his back, urging him on while her legs wrapped around him as she thrust her hips to meet his. Her muscles twitched around his cock, pulling him deeper.

As they found release in one another's arms and the heat of their hearts pounded between them, Gabe realized he now had a problem.

He didn't want it to end--ever. He didn't want her to forget this moment.

Even if it meant defying his father.

A little part of Jacqueline understood she was dreaming of
Ireland
and would eventually wake up. But it was such a lovely dream. So full of things she still desired. Waking up seemed a foolish move.

In the dream, she lay on the warm grass of the greenest cliffs she'd ever seen. From below the edge of the cliff came the restful sounds of crashing waves. The scent of honeysuckle perfumed the air as she watched the white clouds roll by in the blue sky above her.

Relaxed and at peace, Jacqueline could have lain in that spot forever. Time could have stopped in that slice of Irish paradise, and she would have been content to let it. The real world held nothing but coldness and rage. Once awake, she never could seem to feel anything but those two emotions.

"There you are my child."

She turned her head to find a man standing a few yards away. Tall with a regal stance, the sun shone off his bald head. His brown eyes were guarded, but the soft smile on his face was familiar.

"Who are you?" She pushed herself up so that her elbows supported her, but made no effort to stand. "What do you want? This is my dream."

"I've come to see you, and this dream is the only way I can do it safely, though I've watched you from afar for years." The man moved towards her. "You've grown into a beautiful woman, Jacqueline."

"How do you know my name?"

"How could any father not know the name of their own child?"

"Father?" Shocked, Jacqueline sat up, staring at the man who knelt next to her. She wanted to deny it, but there was something about his eyes, something about the way they looked--so full of kindness and love--that made her hesitate. "You can't be my father."

"Oh, but I am." The man laughed and reached out to touch a tendril of her hair. "I had hoped never to bother you, but Fate always has the last laugh. Due to certain events, I felt I must at least step forward and introduce myself."

"I'm adopted. My biological mother was killed in a car wreck. At least that's what my adopted mom told me." Jacqueline frowned. "But whenever I try to talk to her about this stuff she gets nervous, secretive."

"I knew I picked the right woman. She is following my instructions just as I laid them out all those years ago." Her father sat next to her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "In fact, all of my wishes for you were coming true. I'd made sure to send you the right husband, a man who came from a long line of guardian wizards to protect you from the evils of this world. But like I said, Fate always has the last laugh. How was I to know that Eric Huston would become embroiled in a wizard family war with the
Sparks
?"

"You sent Eric to me? Who are you exactly?" Jacqueline stared at the man next to her. "You must be a wizard if you knew what Eric was."

"The legends and myths have named me Merlin."

Jacqueline's jaw dropped.

Her father was Merlin, the most powerful of all wizards.

"As in Merlin of the King Arthur stories?" she asked, not quite willing to believe him.

"Ah, good old Arthur," Merlin said, fondly. "Of all the things I've done in my long lifetime, it's the stories of a young, confused king who needed my help that have lasted."

"So that stuff is true?"

"Parts of it." Merlin nodded. "And some has been greatly romanticized, but that's history for you. You can't predict how others will interpret it."

"My mother…" Jacqueline began and then stopped.

"You want to know the truth about how you were born? You were part of a prophecy. Of course, there are so many of those out there. It's hard to know which ones to rely on." Merlin smiled and took her hand. "I will show you. Look at the sea."

As she looked out at the crashing waves, a dark cloud grew on the horizon. Ominous, lightning zigzagged from it, hitting the water. An electric current rushed through the sea toward the shore, bringing with it a great wave. Fear swelled in her heart as it grew high enough to slam into the spot where they sat on the cliff.

"Relax, my daughter," Merlin breathed in her ear. "It's just an illusion bringing back the past. No harm will come to you."

The wave swept over them and a new vision played before her eyes.

It showed a storm-ridden night and a young woman running along the same cliffs where they now sat. She was crying, terrified over someone who appeared to be pursuing her. In desperation, she lowered herself over the cliff wall, scaling it to the cave her visions had shown her was there.

"Get back here, ye wicked lass!" The man who chased her had a booming voice, and despite the rough weather, it carried to her over the cliff wall. "Yer a bloody witch, Megan O'Grady! Evil to the core!"

She was not wicked! It wasn't her fault the gift of Sight ran in her maternal line.

The cave was just below her. A flash of lightning illuminated the yawning, dark entrance and the young girl headed towards it.

Inside, Megan took a deep breath and sighed in relief, wiping at her tears.

There was no way the man on the cliff could pursue her here. He was way too much of a drunken coward to climb down and retrieve her.

"What has finally brought you to me?"

The voice came from the darkness, and she covered her mouth to stifle her scream.

"Who's there?" Megan called, peering through the darkness, but she thought she knew.

"One who has been waiting a long time for the woman who carries the song of the banshees."

A soft glow illuminated the cave until she could see a man standing a few feet away. Despite the people in her daily life that sought to repress her powers, the girl had always known her vision held the truth of what would be. This handsome man was her destiny.

"And your name, sir? My visions have never been clear on that." A little water dribbled down the side of her Megan's face, and she swatted it away as she studied the man who was to be her lover. "At least they were correct on your looks. You are indeed a handsome man."

"My name is Merlin. You are Megan. And my visions were correct, too. I've not looked on a lovelier creature in a millennium." Merlin smiled and held out his hands. "Come. We have much to talk of."

"Talk?" Megan grinned, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Is that what we are going to do?"

"To start."

Hand in hand, the two walked towards the interior of the cave.

"Um, Merlin," Jacqueline interrupted the vision, uneasy. "I really don't think I need to see a visual of you and my mother doing the deed."

"Nor do I, my dear. I only wanted you to understand that your birth was pre-ordained, guided by the Fates themselves. For what purpose, I don't know. Perhaps it has something to do with the child you now carry. The prophecy only states that a powerful child will one day be born who will unite the supernatural world with the mortal one." Merlin's soft laugh echoed in her ears. "Megan was an Oracle, a person with the Second Sight."

"So I've got banshees and fortune tellers in my family tree."

"And more," Merlin said.

"What happened to my mother? Who was that man chasing her?"

"The man was her father. He believed she was evil, that the devil lived inside her."

"Idiot."

"Yes, but so many people are when it comes to magic." Merlin was quiet a moment. "He killed her. Choked her one night as she lay in her bed. Luckily, I was able to sense her death in time to save you."

"How did you find my adopted mother?"

"She was a distant relative of your mother, though she was unaware of it. It made sense to keep you within the arms of family. I pledged her never to speak of me and the night I gave her you."

"Why are you here now, Merlin? I'm sure you are aware of my problems."

"I cannot do much about them. I'm not allowed to interfere with the realm of the Deaths."

"Why?"

"Let's just say I deeply angered someone off once connected to the Deaths and have no wish to make matters worse for you."

Around Jacqueline the skies cleared until once again she was sitting in a sunny patch of green grass on the cliff. She breathed deeply, enjoying the fresh floral scent in the air.

"Jacqueline, I must go, but I'm here to remind you that you are special. You have great reserves of power and strength you haven't even begun to explore. But the truth is that you don't need them. Dig deep inside your heart. That's where your true strength lies. You must stay as human as you can." Merlin stood and gave her a sad smile. "This will be our only meeting, my daughter. I have other children to attend to."

"Others?" She stared up at him in surprise. "You mean I have siblings?"

"I've been alive a long time. I can't stay celibate forever."

"No judgment here, Dad."

"Just be careful. Some of these siblings are not…friends."

With that, he was gone.

Jacqueline blinked. His disappearance happened so suddenly, almost as if he'd never been there at all.

Merlin was her father.

Lying back on the grass once again, she thought about him and let time pass. Perhaps she would linger in this dream indefinitely. It was so peaceful compared to the real world or to facing the horrors she had caused.

But another voice drew her from her thoughts once again.

"You look lovely," a voice to her left whispered. There was raw desire in the speaker's tone and just hearing it, made Jacqueline's body tingle in response. "You look at peace, untouched by the chaos of the mortal world."

"Right now I am at peace," she responded, not bothering to turn her head to see who the speaker was. What did it matter? It was her dream. "I wish it could always be like this."

"Who says it can't?"

"I am not a fool."

"True." The voice sounded closer, and she felt the air stir as someone laid down in the grass beside her. "Your father didn't think so either."

"Who are you? Let me guess. You're my long lost uncle or something and you're here to tell me that I'm part of a prophecy." Jacqueline turned to look at him. I've kind of heard the spiel already."

A young man with long brown hair lay next to her. His youthful face was unmarred by age or time, but his eyes were full of wisdom and knowledge, letting her know that this was an old being. His full sensuous lips curved into a smile at her question.

"I want to welcome a fellow member of my kind into my realm. I would have spoken up earlier, but you had company. Who am I to ruin a family reunion?" He reached over and brushed a strand of her hair away from her face. "We are deeply connected to each other."

"How so?"

"We are both parts of Death. You work for me now."

A flash of anger sprinted through her.

"I work for no one but myself," she informed him. "I've even conquered Death."

Instead of being offended or angered by her words, the young man merely smiled and sat up. He shook his head and stared at the sky.

"They're always so full of themselves," he said to no one in particular. "Always thinking they are all powerful."

He looked down at her, and once again, a strange seductive tingle ran through her body.

"Your arrogance is holding you back," he said, running a finger down the side of her arm. 

"Who are you?" Jacqueline sat up and inched away, noticing his bare chest rippled with muscles. "Why do you think I work for you?"

"I am Arwan. I am also known as one of the gods of the Underworld."

"You're a god?"

He stood up and Jacqueline noticed how strong his legs looked encased in brown pants made from deer skin. Power emanated from him, vibrating the very air with his energy.

Drawn to him, Jacqueline stood, too.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "Why are you in my dreams?"

"It was time for us to meet. Two warriors face to face."

"Warrior?"

"You are a warrior, Jacqueline, a fighter. I respect that even if you kill souls that aren't ready and neglect ones that are."