Defending Destiny (The Warrior Chronicles) (39 page)

As soon as the King acknowledged ordering arms against Merry, a group of men dressed in leather vests and pants like Rowan appeared next to the royal guards, who immediately lowered their weapons. It occurred to Daisy that they were Silent Ones, like Rowan. They made short work of relieving the guards of their swords.

The second thing that happened was that Gerry let Merry go. Just like that she was free.

In less than a moment the third thing happened. Magnus’ scream of “Nooooo” filled the air as a throwing knife landed in Gerry’s chest, causing him to stagger backward. Gerry hit the King’s throne hard, his upper body collapsing in on itself. It was one of the Silent Ones who threw the knife. Rowan gave the command to cease all action and all of his men stepped back and lowered their weapons.

The King didn’t look surprised or afraid. He should have. Rowan let Lauren go and Lauren looked ready to tear the Arm-Righ apart. “You can’t hurt me, Ceannard. Do and you’ll never serve as King. No one from Court or Council can touch me without risking banishment. Isn’t that correct, Druid?” he said, dripping disdain.

Before Merry could answer, Gerry straightened. He had the jeweled dagger firmly in his grip.

Gerry coughed. He was losing blood as quickly as Daisy was.
She began to believe that they’d been poisoned. Gerry pushed himself up and away from the Arm-Righ’s throne. “It’s a good thing, then, that I’m not a member of this Court.”

Gerry took his blade and thrust it into the King’s black heart.

Daisy was reasonably certain the King was dead before she lost consciousness and hit the ground.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Daisy…Daisy…

Listen to me, young warrior…

Daisy felt hot and for some reason she couldn’t open her eyes. She heard the voices though, surrounding her. She recognized the room. It was the one she’d been taken to when she arrived at the castle. Gerry was next to her on a bed with wheels. Both of them had IVs in their arms. He was in bad shape. Then again, she must have been too if she was hallucinating. The voice inside her head told her she was.

The very real voices around her helped her decipher what happened. The men who appeared and disarmed the guards were indeed Silent Ones. No one had told them that Gerry was working with Lauren and against the King. All they saw was a man with a weapon to their leader’s throat. No one threatened a Druid. Now they all thought Gerry was going to die. They spoke about it like he was already dead.

Did that mean she was knocking on the Otherworld’s door as well?

Maybe.

She didn’t want to leave Magnus. She wasn’t ready to go. Not yet.

Then wake up. Wake up and do something to save yourself. Defend your destiny.

What do you suppose I do?

A large owl flew through her open window. He turned from owl to old man with beautiful grass-green eyes. His lips didn’t move as he approached, but she heard him clearly enough.

You’re the man from the river. You stole my sword.

Magnus used it to forge another. Another strong enough to defeat what you feared most, a katana crafted by the most famous sword maker of his time.

What do you want from me, Wizard?

Her delusion smiled warmly at her.
I want you to live. And if it’s not too much trouble, I want you to save young Butler next to you as well. He’s got his own destiny and I don’t want the first among my Silent Ones believing he’s responsible for Gerry’s death because he didn’t stop his man in time to prevent it.

I’d like nothing more than to oblige you. How do you suggest I go about saving anybody?

Use the serpent’s egg I gave you by the river. Remember, I put it in your pocket before I made you sleep. Put it in water then drink. Make Butler drink too.

Daisy frowned.
I think Gerry’s the one who shot me.

Her delusion laughed.
I wouldn’t hold that against him. He was trying to save your life.

By shooting me?

By making you understand the threat was real. By making everyone around you prepare you fully. Use the egg, Daisy. It has some of my life force in it. Keep it close and use it well. It is my gift to you.

He started to fade as Daisy was drawn closer to the pain at her back and on her side.
Thank you, Wizard
, she managed before he turned back into an owl and flew away.

Daisy coughed and the effort tore at her throat. “Water,” she managed to say. It sounded more like a croak than a request.

Magnus was at her side in an instant, pressing a cool glass to her lips. She asked him to bend as she whispered what she needed him to do for her. He didn’t argue, he did as she asked without question. She knew then she’d scared the bloody hell out of him.

He put the small, egg-shaped polished quartz
stone into her palm. She did the rest. First she drank, then she had Magnus prop Gerry up so she could tip the water, with the serpent’s egg inside, to his mouth. It took several tries, but finally Gerry drank. Daisy finished the remaining water, fished out the quartz and wrapped her palm around it before falling into a deep sleep.

It was three days before she awoke again.

When she did, she was home, tucked into her room at Potters Woods, Gleipnir in her case in the corner. Magnus was asleep in the chair by her side.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Daisy woke to the bright light of day, the hustle and bustle of an alternative care center coming to life as yoga and tai chi classes began, the comforting scent of pancakes, which she knew since she was home would be organic, and freshly brewed French-pressed coffee—fair trade, of course.

Being home wasn’t just about the big things, it was the little things that textured her life and her palate.

She felt someone watching her. Magnus was still asleep by her bed, dark circles under his eyes. She hoped she could get up without waking him. Her gaze swung to the door. She’d expected her mother, Reed Mohr, to be waiting for her to awaken, but it was her father, Jordon Bennett, lounging against the doorframe. When she looked at him, he spoke.

“He’s been there for three days. He hasn’t left except to go to the bathroom. Your mother has had his meals delivered. This is the first time I’ve come by and I’ve actually seen his eyes closed. You had him mightily worried, young lady.” Jordon pushed away from the frame and walked inside.

Daisy pushed herself up. Looking down she saw she was in one of her mother’s gigantic Goo Goo Dolls t-shirts. For some reason, Jordon kept her well stocked with those even though he didn’t even like the band. Wearing her mother’s shirt made her feel surrounded by love. Silly, but true. Having Magnus setting up guard next to her in her childhood bedroom made her heart want to explode.

“You mean I scared
you,
” Daisy said, smiling at her father.

He smiled back and she noticed the laugh lines around his eyes had deepened and more silver streaked his almost black hair. He still wore it at his shoulders like the rebel he still was. She wasn’t going to take her family for granted any more. Lord and Lady, she missed her parents. She missed Potters Woods. She supposed no matter how many bad guys she managed to vanquish, part of her would always be a little girl longing for home.

“Me, and your mother, and everyone else here.” Jordon glanced over at Magnus, who let out a single, not-so-quiet snore. “You know, for the son of that Irishman, Gus isn’t so bad.”

By
that
Irishman, her father meant Shannon O’Shay. Even though he’d given Shay five acres adjacent to Potters Woods years ago so Reed could have her best friend close by, they still pretended to merely put up with one another for Reed’s sake. The truth was, they’d grown incredibly close. They only occasionally tried to hide it now.

“Since when do you call Magnus ‘Gus’?” Daisy asked. “The first two years after I left, Mom said you barely spoke two words to him.”

Jordon bent and kissed Daisy’s forehead. “Do you feel up for a walk?”

She nodded. “I feel great.” And, surprisingly, she did.

Daisy stretched slowly. Nothing hurt. She lifted her arms over her head. Full range of motion. She eased back the covers and moved her feet to the floor. Jordon helped her to stand. She was a little wobbly, but once she got her footing she was fine. More than fine, actually.

She looked at her father, a good head plus a few inches taller than she was, in amazement. His smile deepened and she saw she really had scared him, far more than he’d ever reveal.

“Reed laid out a pair of sweatpants and some t-shirts in your bathroom. She insisted on putting out the ladybug Crocs she thinks you like. You shouldn’t lie to your mother by the way, especially about her horrendous taste in shoes. I managed to sneak a pair of hiking sandals in there. You should be able to slide into them easily enough. They have the added bonus of being bug-free,” Jordon said with a smile, walking her to the bathroom door.

“I’ll meet you downstairs, Dad.”

He crossed his arms across his chest and said nothing. His artfully quirked brow told her he’d be waiting right where he planted himself when she got out.

…

It didn’t hurt too much to walk—in fact, it felt good to stretch her legs again. Daisy didn’t like being in bed, unless she was there with Magnus. She took off her bandages in the bathroom. She’d have a scar on her back, a long one, but she didn’t mind that. It would be keeping company with a new one down her arm and a neat slice across her floating ribs. None of them were jagged. All were clean and red and tender, but none restricted her movement, and all were healing much more rapidly than they should have.

Daisy wrapped her hand around the leather pouch containing what her hallucinated magician had called a serpent’s egg. Apparently they were also known as Druid’s Stones, and known to miraculously speed healing. Daisy didn’t question the how of it, she was too busy being thankful.

She’d been told Gerry healed even more rapidly than she had and was staying with his uncle and Bella at Taryn and Jesse’s home abutting Potters Woods. It was good he was away, because she still wanted to hit him for having shot her, even though she knew he was only trying to help.

Jordon chose one of her favorite walks, down the hill and through the meadow to a giant weeping willow behind the pond. Their pace was slow and leisurely, each lost in their own thoughts. Halfway down the hill, Jordon grabbed Daisy’s hand and kept it. He wasn’t usually one to be open with displays of affection, but he loosened up a bit about it as he aged.

“So,” Daisy said, more for something to say than for the answer, “what happened to the Arm-Righ and that man I killed?” Her voice caught on the word and she found no matter how justified, the fact that she’d taken a life tore at the fabric of her being and changed her into someone she wasn’t sure she wanted to be.

Jordon stopped walking. He turned her so she faced him, and to her total mortification she started to cry. He lifted her chin. “Listen to me, sweetheart. The Arm-Righ was soulless son of a bastard and I’m glad he’s dead. As far as I’m concerned, Gerry Butler deserve
s a Nobel Peace Prize.”

Jordon paused and wiped away the tears from Daisy’s cheeks. “Magnus told me what happened. James Duncan thought he had you beat the second you walked through his door. He bent the rules to let Damnet use one of the most famous katanas in the world against you, knowing full well that was your weapon of choice, the one weapon you’d see as better than the rest. One you’d see as unbeatable.”

Daisy swallowed and reached for the tissue her father held out for her. She wiped her eyes and her nose and stuffed the tissue in the pocket of her sweatpants. She hadn’t consciously thought any of that. Had it played in the back of her mind? She didn’t know. Probably. She’d just been too preoccupied with staying alive at the time to even think about that.

“You,” Jordon said, with so much pride in his voice that Daisy teared up again, “didn’t let him into your head. You stood your ground and you saved the life of a man who was actively trying to take yours. You saved your own soul, kid. You reacted the only way you could when you were quite literally stabbed in the back, although it was more of a cut than a stab. I saw the scar. That was one hell of a slice. If the man was still alive I’d stand in line to get a chance to kill him again. There is no shame in what you did. There was no other way. Duncan would have kept them coming until eventually one of them killed you.”

Jordon visibly shuddered and Daisy wanted to end the conversation. She didn’t like seeing fear and potential retribution in her father’s eyes. “Can we be done talking about this, Dad?”

“As long as you accept that you are still the same wonderful person you were when you left. Better in some ways.”

Daisy harrumphed. “Better, Dad?” Daisy asked.

“You let go of the hurt that was corroding your insides for all those years. You’re not a hater, honey, no matter how hard you try.”

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about,” Daisy said, feeling obtuse.