We came to a clearing in the woods and Zhan led us into the center of a grove where grass quivered, knee high in the breeze. The clearing sloped uphill on a slow gradient, and in the center, an oak sprang upward a good hundred feet. Beneath the overhanging boughs heavily laden with round-lobed leaves that were turning bronze there sat a tall man, his long legs stretched out in the grass. He was sturdy and completely formed of foliage. His crimson eyes reminded me of holly berries, and as we approached, I realized his legs and arms were actually long, straight branches covered with a thick cover of moss. He was unlike anyone or anything I had ever seen.
“Greenling…” Tam whispered beside me, his eyes wide.
As we approached, Zhan suddenly lost his composure and he stammered as he said, “May I present you to Jerako, Elder among the Greenlings. Jerako, I bring you the Theosian Fury, and her companion Tam, one of the Bonny Fae.”
Jerako grumbled something, and then slowly rose to his feet. He was a good ten feet tall, and up close I could see just how intricately the foliage wove together, as though it had been tightly braided. I wondered if he had a heart or an actual brain, or whether his internal organs looked anything at all like ours.
I slowly let Tam’s hand drop away as everything else seemed to fade. My entire vision was fixed on Jerako as he loomed over us. He was wild and feral, and the only thing I could focus on were those ancient eyes that flickered crimson, but then they seemed to shift and spin, and I realized that, no—they were orange…then…finally, they were the brilliant pale lemon chiffon of early morning clouds covering the sunrise.
He seemed to loom larger and I realized I had sunk to my knees. Tam had done the same beside me. In the core of my heart, I knew we were facing the beginning of the world, caught up in form. His aura flickered with a magic directly spun from the center of the earth. He was a child of Gaia, stretching back farther than any of the gods, any of the Fae or shifters or Weres.
How old he was, I couldn’t say, but the years seemed to whirl past as I gazed into his eyes. His lips, formed of leaves and vines, crinkled into the semblance of a smile and I had the sudden feeling we were still alive only by the grace of his nature. He could wipe us out, stomp us down, tear us to shreds with a single breath. I began to lower my head to press my forehead to the grass at his feet, when he stayed my movement with the tendril of a single vine reaching out to touch my shoulder.
“Stand, young goddess. You too, Bonny Brother.” His voice boomed through the air, catching my hair in a breeze. Yet, the words didn’t linger—they vanished as soon as I heard them…so quickly that I wondered if I had heard them at all.
Tam held out his hand and I took it, slowly standing beside him.
“So, Hecate bade me talk to you, if I would. Come, let us have a chat.” He motioned to the tree. “Join me. This is my favorite spot to sit and think. The grass is soft, the air clear, and the shade, just the perfect amount.”
We followed him, silently settling under the oak tree. The grass was wet, but I didn’t care. I settled down, lifting my sword over my head to set it by my side, then leaned back, my hands on the ground behind me. A steady thump, thump, thump echoed beneath my fingers. The heartbeat of the Earth, a staccato tattoo, trilled through my body as it counted the beat of years passing by. The energy was seductive and frightening in its intensity. It reminded me of a softer, opulent version of my fire, and a quiver in my stomach responded.
Tam seemed to be responding to it, too. He reached out, almost absently, and stroked my arm. A ripple of hunger raced down my spine. I looked over at him, locking his gaze with mine. The silver of his eyes flashed as he smiled. Again, the shiver of desire washed through me, setting spark to the flames. Between him and the energy of the Arbortariam, I was about ready to jump out of my skin.
“Hecate tells me that you have a problem with weather magicians?” Jerako took his time to speak, but when he did, he came right to the point.
I tried to shake away the web of desire that gnawed at me and returned my attention back to the Greenling. “I’m not sure how much she told you…” I stopped, totally out of my league. Dealing with Hecate didn’t seem nearly so difficult. She was ancient and powerful, but this creature—he was older than the gods.
Jerako let out a soft murmur. “Why don’t you tell me the story from the beginning? It seems the most logical place to begin.”
I acquiesced, telling him about the rise in Aboms coming through the World Tree, the theft of the Thunderstrike, the tornado in Bend, and the Order of the Black Mist. When I finished, he simply grunted and leaned back against the oak tree.
Tam inched closer to me. Shaken out of whatever spell had been weaving around us, I cleared my throat and scooted away. He chuckled and slid forward. I gave him a warning shake of the head, but couldn’t help but smile. With a shrug, he laid back in the grass, closing his eyes.
We waited. Five minutes or fifty might have passed—time seemed to bend and stretch in the Arbortariam—when Jerako finally spoke again.
“The Greenlings watch from here, and other places like this, and we see the world march by. Civilizations rise and fall, then rise again. They change and evolve and crumble. We retreated at the beginning of the Weather Wars as the scourge of humanity did their best to destroy the planet. When Gaia summoned us, we went to war. Now, we guard over the Wild, always ready to go marching again when she calls.”
I shivered. That sounded like a threat.
“Magic is a part of humanity’s heritage, a part of the Fae…it is as natural as breathing to some.” He paused, then abruptly asked, “Do you know why weather magic is forbidden?”
I shook my head. “We misused it. Gaia forbade its use.”
Tam nodded.
Jerako let out a low sound that could have been a laugh or a grunt. “Yes, but do you fully understand the history?”
I glanced at Tam, who gave me a hesitant shrug. We waited. This meeting was Jerako’s to lead. I wasn’t going to step on the Greenling’s toes.
“Weather magic decimated the forests, with the governments waging war by launching vast hurricanes and scorching droughts against one another. Famine spread as they lay waste to the natural balance of the planet and sent the world spiraling to the brink of a mass extinction such as never before seen. The gods tried to stop them, but they are limited. But when Gaia awoke from her long slumber and realized what was going on, she roused the Greenlings. We are her arms and legs and we rose by the thousands and went to war.”
The thought of a hundred—let alone thousands—of Greenlings marching on the cities was terrifying. I couldn’t imagine what it had been like when the governments of the world found themselves directly in the line of ten thousand pissed-off servants of the planet. My expression must have shown on my face, because Jerako let out a dark laugh.
“You begin to understand what it was like. The governments brought their weapons to bear, but we are the soldiers of the planet, and we cannot be stopped. We drove through and shook the walls and crumbled the cities and brought the governments to their knees. Gaia opened the World Tree in her anger. They begged us then to spare them. In return, we exacted their promise to never again allow the use of weather magic. Elemental magic? Not a problem, but never to be used to alter the weather. And so they gave us their word, and promised on their children’s lives and their grandchildren’s lives. Gaia relented and allowed them live, under the doom of destruction should they ever forfeit on their promises.”
I slowly straightened up, as did Tam. “If we cannot find whoever is stirring up trouble…”
“If you do not recover the device, and too much damage is done, we will follow through with our decree. I give you this message to all who might listen: The Greenlings are everywhere. If the perpetrators of the tornado—and those who seek to revive the hidden arts of meteocramancy—are not stopped, then we will once again lay waste to the cities.”
And with that, he stood. “As to advice, keep an eye
on the weather. Follow the patterns. Do whatever you have to in order to stop them. We will give you time to act, but we will be keeping watch. If you do not counter this threat, expect destruction. A warning, however: Those who work with weather magic are often turned by the destructive power, and they become possessed by the fury of the storms. And that is one fury that you do not want to face.”
With that, he turned and strode into the depths of the forest.
“Did he just say what I think he did?” I didn’t turn, didn’t move, simply stared at the vanishing back of the Greenling.
Tam cleared his throat. “Yes, I think so.”
I jumped as a voice behind me said, “Trust me, the Greenlings never say anything they don’t mean.” Zhan stood with crossed arms. His eyes were glowing. “Take his words to heart, O Furious Beauty. He means what he says.”
Shaken, I picked myself up off the ground, brushing the stray grass off my legs and butt. “They could destroy the world.”
Tam slid his arm around my waist and I didn’t protest. “They can destroy our world. Not Gaia—she will continue. We have to find whoever stole that disk and we’d damned well better execute them. The Greenlings are no gentle race like some faerie tales make them out to be. They’re ruthless and they won’t brook mercy.” He tightened his grip and leaned down to nose my hair. “Come, Fury. We have to let Hecate know what happened.”
All too aware of how close he was, I nodded. “We have to get back to the Peninsula of the Gods before anything else happens. This takes precedence over everything, because if we mess up, there won’t be anything left to protect. Come on.”
Before I could say a word, Tam placed a soft kiss on my forehead and again, the ripple of hunger raced through me. I glanced up at him and he lightly brushed my lips with his own, then stood back and took my hand.
We turned to Zhan. “Can you lead us to the entrance? We have to go visit the gods.”
And with that, Zhan led us out of the Arbortariam and, all too soon, we were back aboard the ferry, heading toward the streets of Seattle.
Chapter 12
Once we were back in the city, Tam and I caught the Monotrain. Everybody gave us a wide berth due to my sword, which suited me just fine. As we headed to the Peninsula of the Gods, neither of us said much, but my thoughts were racing. Jerako had scared me—and scared me good. It wasn’t so much him, but what he represented. The Arbortariam had swept me in, but the thought of the Greenlings rising up thanks to a group of rogue magicians haunted me.
“Are you all right?” Tam lightly brushed my shoulder and I jumped.
Tam wasn’t my type. At least, I tried to tell myself that. I had feelings for Jason. Jason, who was mourning his fiancée and who had never made a move toward me. But even as I tried to ignore the feeling, Tam’s touch sparked off something I had never felt—not on any of the dates I had been on, nor with any of the men I had slept with. I was on a slippery slope, dangerously close to falling over the cliff into the mists.
I did my best to brush aside my disconcertion as we exited the Monotrain and entered the Peninsula of the Gods. We stood for a moment at the top, then clattered down the stairs to the third tier.
Naós ton Theón was busy, and I remembered it was Sunday. Most weekday shift-workers made their pilgrimages on the weekends.
As we approached the line, I grabbed Tam’s wrist and bypassed those waiting in front of us, striding up to the entrance reserved for the servants of the gods. I seldom had to use it, but I wasn’t about to stand around waiting today. Jerako’s warning echoed in my head.
As we went through the M&M detector—once again, with them scanning my sword and passing me through—Tam scowled. His frown deepened as we headed deeper into the temple.
“Your gods elevate themselves outside of nature. All of these temples, all of these monolithic structures, are so alien to my culture.”
I blinked. I hadn’t thought about it before. “Don’t you have gods? I thought your people worshipped the Celts.”
“We are descended from the Celtic gods. But do you see temples here dedicated to the Celtic gods? Do you see huge marble structures devoted to the Danu and the Dagda?”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever noticed.”
“You won’t find them here. Our temples are out in the Wild Wood. They’re by the streams and lakes, or buried deep in the mountains. The buildings are made of stone, yes, but they are modest and scaled to fit in their environment.” He paused, glancing at me as we strode toward the elevator. “I’m sorry. I’m being disrespectful. Our way is not the only way.”
I punched the button for the third floor. “No, I think I understand, but I didn’t choose my path, Tam. Like you, I was born to it. But to be honest, I don’t think that Hecate gives a rat’s ass about big and pompous. Some of the gods do…” I glanced around, then lowered my voice. “Zeus and Hera? You’d better believe it…at least from what I’ve gathered.”
He chuckled, letting me take the lead. As we entered the waiting room, Coralie waved and told me to go directly back.
Hecate was behind her desk when we entered the room. She glanced at Tam, arching her eyebrows. “Tam, hello. I trust you enjoyed your trip?”
Tam gave her a deep bow with a winning smile. He had met her before, but never here. Hecate had occasionally dropped in on me at Dream Wardens over the years.
“We just returned from the Arbortariam.” I dove into what Jerako had said. Hecate listened, nodding solemnly. “To sum up, if we don’t stop whoever is mucking around with the weather, they’ll come in and do it for us.” I leaned back against the leather sofa. “Last night’s Abom was a hard one. It had managed to obscure its soul-hole the first time. Either they’re learning new tricks or it got lucky.”
“I’ll be right back.” She tapped swiftly on her tablet. “I promise, I won’t be gone as long as I was last time.” And with that, she whisked herself out of the door.
Tam looked around the office. “Professional. Not at all gothic.”
“No, Hecate’s not into dust catchers. At least not when she’s here on this plane. In her own realm…well…she’s much more…terrifying. Beautiful and dark, like a queen of crystal and obsidian. It’s hard to explain but she’s both fire and ice. I respond to her flame, but when I’m on the Crossroads, my fire is as cold as her ice.”
“I wouldn’t cross her, tell you that much.” He lowered himself to the sofa, and gingerly sat near me, keeping enough space between us to prevent an accidental touch. “Fury…” Then he paused and shook his head. “Later.”
“Good decision.” I winced. My hurt hand was starting to ache again. I held it out, staring at the bandage. “More Aboms entering than usual. An order of arcane magicians out to stir up trouble. What next?”
“Don’t tempt the Fates by asking.” Tam paused, then added, “I didn’t put a Come-Hither on you, you know. Please believe me.”
I gazed into his eyes, realizing that what I had been feeling hadn’t gone away. “I know you wouldn’t do that.” It was true. The Bonny Fae could be cagey, but Tam and I had known each other too long for me to believe that he would put a Come-Hither spell on me. Something had shifted between us. I wasn’t sure what, but now wasn’t the time to find out.
Hecate reentered the room. She sat on the edge of her desk. “News, good for a change. Or, at least, I think it’s good news. One of the grimoires that was stolen has been tracked down. We have it—as well as the magician who stole it. And the Thunderstrike was spotted in the Junk Yard. I could contact the authorities, but we don’t trust the powers in power at the moment. There’s some movement going on among the government and the Devani that has us worried. Nothing for you to concern yourselves with. At least, for now.”
“Really? I thought all of them were buddy-buddy.”
Hecate leaned forward, clasping her hands on her leg. “Jerako is correct. At one time, the Greenlings were poised to destroy what was left of civilization. Gaia extracte
d a promise from the governments that humans would never again use—or allow the use of—weather magic as a weapon. The gods vowed to uphold Gaia’s decree. Weather magic is far too disruptive to the balance. The governments of the world pulled together, but they were run by the richest corporations, and they had incredible influence—just as they do now. The EuroAsiAmerican Alliance took form. Any country refusing to join is kept at an agrarian level, strictly watched for magical and technological development.”
“How long ago were the Weather Wars? So many records were lost during the World Shift.”
“Long ago. Centuries. It took Gaia one moment to cause the World Shift, but it took quite awhile for the world’s climate to return to some semblance of balance, and for humans to develop sustainable technology that met her approval. It also took centuries to rebuild from the destruction during the Weather Wars.”
A grim smile spread across her face. “Before this matter gets totally out of hand, I need to send you into the Junk Yard to see what you can find out about the Thunderstrike. I’m sorry, Fury. I know how much you hate the place, and you have every reason to feel that way.”
“Do you know exactly where I should look?” The thought of returning to the Junk Yard made my stomach lurch. I hadn’t been there since I had faced the Carver five years ago.
Hecate scanned her tablet. “Actually, yes. Try a nightclub called Phoenix Rising. It’s a magicians’ bar, so go cautiously, but the fact you’re a witch will make it believable for you to be there. Don’t take your sword—that would be a dead giveaway. You’re too well known around Darktown and the Trips to go in without cloaking up.” She glanced at me. “Obviously, you’ll have to go in at night, since they lock the gates during the day.”
“So what do I do if I run across an Abomination while I’m in the Junk Yard? Should I take them out? I’m just trying to plan ahead.”
Hecate shook her head. “No, for now leave them be. In fact, as much as I hate taking away your immediate access to it, wear something that covers your whip.”