I froze. “You’d really leave?”
“Just for a while, love. I have to figure out what to do.” He suddenly paused. “You will come with me, won’t you?”
“How can I? Hecate holds my leash.” Tears sprang to my eyes. I was too tired and too achy for this conversation. “We’ll talk about it when we’re back at UnderBarrow. For now, let’s just enjoy being together.”
I closed my eyes, drifting into a light slumber. The next thing I knew, I woke up to find Tam up and dressed, and the covers tucked gently under my chin. The others were already awake and eating. I pushed myself up, stretching. The moment my arms were over my head, I regretted the move, letting out a loud yelp. Tam jumped to his feet, but Elan was faster, carrying my salve over to me. As I eased off the corset, Tam’s eyes glittered and he hung his head when he saw the black bruises covering my side. Elan began soothing the All-Heal across my skin as I spread a layer of AntiBruise around my eye.
Rasheya walked through the door. She stared at the bruises, shaking her head. “I don’t know who you got in a fight with, but I hope the other guy lost.”
“I wish.” I yelped again as Elan hit a particularly sore spot.
“I’ve got a group of Recons waiting out in the hallway. It’s around sixish, off the Tremble. I figured if you leave now, you might make it home before midnight.”
Elan and Tam helped fasten me back in the corset and we gathered our things. Rasheya patiently waited for us, then—when we were ready—we headed out, following her group into the intricate tunnels that made up the outer labyrinth of Asylum.
For once we lucked out. With a group of almost fifteen, nothing dared come near us, although throughout the twisting maze we could hear grunts and groans, and garbled voices speaking in odd cadences that made it impossible to catch what they were saying. I thought about Queet. He would have never managed it out here. The energy was too convoluted.
“I imagine you don’t have many ghosts out here on the Tremble.”
Rasheya glanced at me. “We have our spirits, but they’re just as Broken as those who wander the twisted plains above. I feel sorry for them, actually.”
“You’ll remember our meet-up?” Elan asked.
Apparently they had made plans out of my earshot.
“Yes, we’ll expect your ship in ten nights. I’ve got it marked on my calendar. We’ll meet you at the entrance—where we’re going right now—at midnight your time. Don’t be alarmed if we are a little late. The oddest energies can muck up the works. But we’ll do our best to be there. And thank you. We’ve been dreading the winter because two of our usual suppliers have just vanished. They usually come through every few months and take orders. But the past three months, nothing. No word. And I have a very bad feeling that something put a stop to their business. I don’t know if they supply any other groups, but…”
“Do you want to give us their names and we can look into it for you?” I wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about looking into the whereabouts of smugglers, but the Mudarani were a good people, from what I could tell, and without their racketeers, they’d be lost.
“I’ll have to ask the Elders. If they agree, I’ll have their names for you when you bring the supplies. We have to protect our sources, you understand.” Rasheya stopped at a metal door with EX-2 printed over the top. “Here we are.”
She unlocked it, standing back as the wind off the Pacific Sound came whistling through the exit. I peeked outside and up. We were about fifty feet from the top of the cliff. There was a narrow ledge. About four feet in width and twelve feet in length, it overhung the choppy water below. The outside of the door matched the stone face of the wall, and I realized that from any distance, it would blend in with the cliff side with no problem.
Elan stepped out onto the ledge and pulled out her phone. “I got a signal.” She sat down, cross-legged, and called her brother Laren.
I turned back to Rasheya. “Thank you for all your help. You saved all of us. We’ll do whatever we can to return the favor.”
“It was my pleasure. And making friendly contacts is never a waste. Outside of the Tremble, or inside.” With a soft smile, she pulled back. “We’ll wait in here until your boat arrives, but I’m going to close the door for now. So you can either sit on the ledge or in here with us. You have only to tap on the door and we’ll open it.”
I glanced at Elan. “Anything?”
She held a finger to her lips, then went back to speaking. After a moment, she put away her phone. “Laren’s almost here. He found an out of the way place to shelter, and he’s been waiting to hear from us. He was about to head back home in a couple of hours. He’s been here every night since he dropped us off. I don’t know how time works out on the Tremble, but it’s been two nights since we entered its borders.” She tapped on the door and when Rasheya appeared, said, “My brother will be here in a few minutes. Is there a chance that your people could lower us to the boat when he arrives?”
Rasheya motioned to one of the men by her side. He had a long coil of rope looped over his shoulders. “We can do that.”
We waited in silence until Laren appeared. Without a word the Mudarani uncoiled the rope and then, one by one, they began to lower us to the boat. When the five of us were onboard, Rasheya gave us one last wave and shut the door, and the cliff once again looked merely like a cliff. Laren and Elan stashed Hans, Tam, Jason, and me below deck once again, where we sprawled on blankets, resting, as we made our way back to the Peninsula of the Gods. I thought about putting in a call to Hecate but decided it could wait until later. Weary and sore, I curled up beside Tam and closed my eyes, once again tumbling into an uneasy slumber.
Chapter 15
Elan led us back through the tunnels leading to UnderBarrow. Now that I knew about them, it seemed a far safer way to travel than using a shortcut near the Junk Yard. The question was, would the Bonny Fae get bent out of shape if I asked to use it all the time. I might be Tam’s consort, but I wasn’t part of their world and I knew and accepted that. I also attracted too much attention. I didn’t want to give away their secrets by accident.
Damh Varias hurried down the corridor to meet us. “They let me know you were coming in through the tunnels.” He stopped, dropping to one knee. “Lord Tam, thank Danu you’re safe.” As his gaze flickered up toward Tam, the love and affection he felt for his prince washed over his face, along with relief. He turned to me. “Lady Fury, you’ve brought our prince back to us. We owe you a debt that we can never repay.”
“It wasn’t just me. Elan, Jason, and Hans…we all brought him back. And Laren and his boat as well.” Wearily, I dropped into a chair. As much as I’d slept the past twenty-four hours, I still felt wiped out.
Damh Various must have sensed my fatigue, because he motioned to a servant. “Take Lady Fury to her room, if you will.” Turning to Jason and Hans, he asked, “Will you rest and allow us to feed you?”
As Jason shook his head, I said, “I can’t stay. I have to check in with Hecate. But if Tam’s correct, then I don’t have to worry about the Devani showing up at my apartment or at Dream Wardens, which is a huge relief.”
“Rest assured. I wasn’t asleep during the time the Devani incarcerated me. They won’t be after you.” Tam still looked a little shell-shocked. He reached for my hand. “Are you sure you need to leave right now?”
The longing in his voice reverberated through me, setting off a shock wave of desire as he pulled me to him. The Bonny Fae had a natural charm, and I had given into it fully.
“I want to stay.” I snuggled in his arms. “But I really do have to check in with Hecate. She’s waiting for my call.”
He nuzzled my hair. Reaching up to stroke my face, his fingers gently pushed back my hair, then trailed down to cup my chin. “Fury, go to your goddess. Then return to me.” His command was simple. Tam had an authoritative way about him that never seemed imperious or demeaning.
I touched his nose with my own, then
pressed my lips to his cheek. “I will. I just need to check in with her.”
“I’m assigning two of my men to go with you. I won’t chance you being attacked again.”
I paused. That was going to be a problem. “Lord Tam, I’m sorry, but no.” In front of his people, I gave him his due. “That simply won’t work. I can’t have bodyguards trailing behind me all over the city.”
“Even if I insist?” Again, the cajoling voice. But as melodic and teasing as it was, I sensed an undercurrent of irritation. Tam was used to being obeyed in UnderBarrow.
“Even if you insist. I’ll be cautious.”
“I have to go over to the Peninsula of the Gods to see Thor. I’ll go with her,” Hans said, clearing his throat.
Tam’s gaze flickered to the burly Theosian. Then he let out a soft snort. “Well, with one of Thor’s chosen beside you, I suppose you’ll be safe enough. But promise me you’ll keep alert? You won’t let down your guard? And you’ll come back when you’re done?”
“I will. And the sooner we go, the sooner I’ll be able to return. Meanwhile, you be cautious and make certain nobody outside knows you’ve returned. If word gets around that you were exiled to the Tremble and then escaped, there will be rewards on your head. You’re Awol now, and the Devani aren’t happy campers when their prisoners run off.”
“She’s right,” Jason said. “Don’t come to work until we talk about what needs to be done. As much as I’d like to see the new software system up and running, it will have to wait.”
Tam nodded. “I know. As much as I’d like to argue, I know you’re both right. I’ll have the healers check me over to make certain I didn’t sustain any long-term damage from being out on the Tremble.” The pretense suddenly dropped away and his voice took on a deadly edge. “They think they can treat the Prince of UnderBarrow like a common prisoner. There will be ramifications and I do not promise they will be peaceful.”
I stared at him. Just how far could—and would—the Bonny Fae go in paying the government back? They were a sovereign nation, bordered within the confines of another nation. But I had a feeling the Fae could raise serious havoc when they wanted to.
The corner of Damh Varias’s lip turned up and he cocked his head. “Yes, milord. Do you want me to convene the Comh ná Shanair?”
I glanced over at Tam. I had no clue what they were talking about, but the hushed emphasis that Damh Varias had put on the words meant that whatever it was, the Comh ná Shanair was important.
Tam gave him an abrupt nod. “Yes, schedule it for two weeks from now to give them travel time.” Then, without missing a beat, he turned to me, grabbed me by the shoulders and met my lips with his. The surge of his anger underscored his passion and I had to restrain myself from letting out a moan as my body responded, my pulse quickening as the kiss went on and on. He fisted my hair, pressing his lips against my neck. In a daze, I pulled back, letting out a soft murmur as we parted.
“I’ll be back.” I could barely tear my gaze away from his. Tam’s warrior side had come to the surface and I wasn’t used to it. My own blood quickened, like recognizing like, and I leaned in for another kiss before turning to join Hans, who was patiently waiting.
“Go, and be safe. All of you. Thank you, for all you have done. I must rest for a while now.” And then, without a blink, Tam turned, striding toward a corridor leading to the Healer’s Hall.
Damh Varias blinked. “The Devani have stumbled into a minefield. They have no idea what dread retaliation they have set off. The Bonny Fae make wondrous friends. And deadly enemies. And Prince Tam is well known for making his enemies pay.”
I stared at him, realizing how little I really knew my love. “Tam isn’t going to let this go, is he?”
With a shake of the head, Damh Varias turned to go. “Milady Fury, the Bonny Fae have long memories, and they hold their grudges even longer. When you are in Lord Tam’s favor, life is good. But cross the line and his good nature ends. There’s a reason he was known as the ‘Blood Prince’ back in Eire.”
When I started to ask what he meant, he merely held up his hand.
“No more. Not now. We can talk again later. I will entrust Elan to see you out. Lady Fury, I will, no doubt, see you soon.” And with that, he headed back the way he had come. I took my sword from Hans, aching as I strapped Xan over my back. It felt good to have her there again, even though I knew I wasn’t up to using her yet.
Elan let out a soft breath. “Lord Tam has as good as declared war on the government. And all the Fae will back him up.”
My stomach lurched. “The Conglomerate won’t take kindly to that.”
“You do not know the full power of our people.” She smiled, then, but her teeth were clenched and she looked like a snake ready to strike. “Come, I’ll see you out to the Sandspit.”
As we followed her to the entrance, Jason hung back for a moment. “Elan, may I speak with you?”
“Of course.” She waved as Hans and I headed out the exit, into the depths of the chasm housing the World Tree. What they had to say to one another, I did not hear.
As soon as we were out of the Sandspit, my phone immediately began dinging with text messages. Five from Hecate, three from potential clients, and two from numbers I didn’t recognize.
I checked Hecate’s texts first as Hans and I caught the nearest Monotrain to the Peninsula of the Gods. I glanced around the car, making sure that there wasn’t anybody who looked suspicious, but the only people out this late were a few kids who were already drunk and heading to yet another party. One of the boys wore a shirt that read “Orphex” printed over a ten-pointed star. A popular group, I found their music strangely disjointed and too electronic, but then again, I grew up on bands like Viscous and Mausoleum. Dark, moody music, the kind you listen to when the world seems darker than a starless night. The kid glanced over at Hans and me, and his eyes widened.
For a moment, I felt a quiver of fear. Being recognized right now was the last thing I wanted. Even though Tam had assured me that he hadn’t given away my secret, I was running on adrenaline, primed for paranoia.
Actually, I thought, paranoia is only a problem when they aren’t out to get you. The Devani would snatch me up in a second if they knew about my altered chip.
But as the boy approached us, he offered a tentative smile. In a subdued voice, he asked, “Are you Theosians?”
Hans and I glanced at each other. Hans nodded. “We are at that.”
“I thought so.” He seemed to want to ask another question, but then, with a shrug of frustration, turned to go back to his friends.
“Wait. Was there something else?” I was tired. Hans was tired. I was sore. I didn’t need any more entanglements right now. But the kid looked so grateful that I couldn’t resist.
“Yeah, there is. I know you can’t become a Theosian if you aren’t born one, but…You both serve the gods, right?”
I nodded. “As far as I know, every Theosian is bound to one of the Elder Gods or Goddesses. Why?”
“Because I want to join a temple and my parents say that only Theosians can. They want me to apprentice in the Metalworks. But I don’t want a life in the factories. I feel like I’m supposed to be working for one of the gods.” He stammered out the last, staring down at his feet. I recognized that stance. It was common in people whose dreams were constantly being crushed.
“Listen to me, the gods don’t turn away people just because they’re human. Theosians aren’t clergy. We’re different. We’re direct servants of the gods. But the priests and priestesses? And the receptionists and clerks and janitors and everybody else who help keep the temples running? They’re human or a shifter or perhaps Fae. Your parents probably don’t know that.”
Actually, his parents probably wanted him to get a job down in the Metalworks so that they could siphon off his paycheck, but I wasn’t going to plant that idea in his head. I might be wrong, and it wouldn’t do any good to make him angry at them.
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“Yeah, I thought so.” He let out a sigh, his shoulders relaxing. “Thanks. I finish school in two months. I really don’t want to spend my life in a factory.” With a wave of thanks, he returned to his friends.
Hans leaned over and, in whisper-speak, said, You know you just set up the blowup of the century. That kid’s going to join any temple that will take him and his parents will go ballistic.
I snorted. Not my fault. He doesn’t want to spend his life grinding away in the Metalworks, and I don’t blame him. At least in the temple he’ll have a sense of purpose more than he will with the endless shift-work of the factories.
With a shrug, Hans went back to looking out the window.
We arrived at the Peninsula of the Gods and, as we ducked out of the Monotrain, the snow was falling so fast that it was hard to see my hand in front of my face. The flakes clung to our hair and shoulders, and by now, we were walking through an ankle-deep blanket on the sidewalk. The walkways had obviously been shoveled earlier. The snow banks to the side were deep and mounded.
“Winter’s going to be a rough one this year,” I mused. “Gaia is coming down hard on us with the cold weather.”
“She’s taking us back into an ice age. The climatologists agree. With all the changes we’ve made since the World Shift, and the changes Gaia brought about, we’re headed toward the deep-freeze end of the spectrum.” Hans glanced up. “Sky-eyes are out tonight. They usually don’t run around here much. I wonder what’s going down.”
I caught sight of a drone passing by. “I hate those things. But that one’s too far away to make out who we are.”
As we came to the Temple Valhalla, Hans waved and peeled off to go talk to Thor. I hurried to a jog, still nervous that Lyon might have his cronies out looking for me, but before I realized it, I was at Naós ton Theón. Ten minutes later, I was through the scanners and in the waiting room, listening to the soft hush of the central heating system as Coralie let Hecate know I was there. She called me back immediately.