Larkspur (49 page)

“
What . . .?” Sandy started and
disappeared.

Rodney and Honey disappeared next. Delphie
reached out for Sam but slipped away before she could grab
hold.

In a moment’s time, the heavy smell of
blood, death, and filth that had marked the battlefield gave way to
a cool ocean breeze. Sam, Jacob, Valerie, and James were standing
in the middle of a bucolic meadow with Prince Finegal, Queen Fand,
Manannán, and Gilfand. Liban appeared.

“
What just happened?”
Valerie asked.

“
The druid impaled my
sister with a thorn from the hawthorn tree,” Liban said.

“
I thought hawthorn’s were
fairy trees,” James said.

“
Their thorns are
poisonous to us,” Gilfand said. “The thorn kept my queen in a kind
of suspension where she was unable to make her own choices. It’s
how they were able to tear her human body apart.”

A tall man wearing a deep gray monk’s robe
and hood walked out of the woods. His eyes were completely white,
and he seemed blind, yet he moved with absolute certainty. He
continued toward them until he stood near Queen Fand and Manannán.
Jacob shifted uncomfortably.

“
Mother,” the monk said.
He bowed his head.

Queen Fand straightened to her full height.
She and Manannán went to the man. Prince Finegal shook his head. He
opened his mouth to speak, but Gilfand shook his head.

“
They must do this,”
Gilfand said under his breath.

Liban, the queen’s sister, went to her other
side.

“
Created in magic and
great suffering . . .” Liban said.

“
Do you have any idea
what’s going on?” Valerie whispered to Jacob. He shook his
head.

Queen Fand, Manannán, and Liban placed their
right hands on the monk’s head.

“
I release you,” they
said.

The monk weaved in place. He looked up at
the heavens, and with a sigh, he disappeared. The wool robe fell
empty to the ground. Queen Fand let out a sob and Manannán clutched
her to him. Their image vibrated, and it started to rain. In a
moment, they were gone. Liban and Gilfand disappeared.

“
What the hell?” James
asked.

James shook his head and turned in place.
He, Jacob, Sam, and Valerie stood alone in the meadow. Liban and
Gilfand appeared in front of them.

“
We wanted personally to
thank you,” Liban said. “Without your help, we would have continued
in this way for all eternity.”

“
It seems like Jill did
most of the work,” Jacob said.

“
You have all done your
part to free us,” Liban said. “There is no way for us to thank
you.”

“
And Jill? Valerie?” Sam
asked. “Their children? Will they be able to have sons and powerful
daughters and . . .?”

“
Yes,” Gilfand said. “You
have broken the curse. In fact, Jill will have your sons any moment
now. You need to go.”

“
We have one question to
ask,” Liban said.

“
I will never give you
Katy,” Jacob said. “And I will destroy anyone who tries to take
her.”

“
Fair enough.” Liban
smiled. “But that is not my question.”

“
You don’t want her now?”
Valerie asked.

“
My question
is . . .” Liban gave Valerie a beautiful smile. “May
we join your family?”

Jacob was so surprised he could only gape at
Liban. He looked at Valerie, and she was equally surprised.

“
We’d like to be there
when the boys are born,” Gilfand said. “Edie of the fairy corps has
asked if you might consider her to be their nanny. That way she can
help teach them and mitigate some of the damage they will likely
inflict on everyone around them.”

“
I . . .”
Jacob started. He glanced at Sam.

“
What about the boy?” Sam
asked. “Jill left with a seven-year-old boy. What are you doing
with him?”

“
His fate has already been
determined,” Gilfand said.

“
By whom?” Sam asked. “Are
you making him disappear, as well? That was a
child
and . . .”

“
The Oracle has agreed to
raise him as her own,” Gilfand said. “She will soon have custody of
another child, Anna-Marie?”

“
Ivy,” Valerie
said.

“
Yes. She will raise them
together,” Gilfand said. “Does that suit you?”

“
He will need a father
figure,” Liban said. “The queen and her husband will be in his
life, of course, as well as Prince Finegal, but the boy will need
someone day in and day out . . .”

“
I can’t think of a better
father for my son. Manannán appeared next to Sam. “You will do me a
great honor.”

“
Of course.” Sam nodded.
“I . . . of course.”

“
We are family,” Liban
said.

“
More like ancestors,”
Jacob said.

“
May we join your
present-day family?” Liban asked.

“
Sure,” Valerie
said.

“
Of course,” Sam
said.

“
Jacob?” Gilfand asked.
“You have no reason to trust us. You have every reason to keep us
far away from your home. But we are family.”

“
And Fin?” Jacob
asked.

“
He is with your wife
right now,” Liban said.

“
What?” Jacob
asked.

“
He’s assuring her that
you will be there in time.” Gilfand grinned.

Jacob shook his head.

“
What do you say?” Liban
asked.

“
You get to keep the
sword,” Gilfand said. “It’s one of Fin’s.”

“
Fine,” Jacob said. “But
you start . . .”

“
We understand,” Gilfand
said.

“
Will you take us to her?”
Jacob asked.

“
I’d like to go as well,”
James said. “I have something I need to talk to Edie
about.”

“
Come along,” Valerie
said.

The meadow disappeared. In the blink of an
eye, they were standing in the waiting room of the Castle birthing
area and wearing their normal clothing.

“
Hey!” Charlie
said.

Everyone jumped to greet them.

“
Jake? Is that you?” Blane
yelled from the birthing room. “It’s time.”

Sam squeezed his shoulder, and Jacob went in
to be with Jill.

~~~~~~~~

Julie Hargreaves slipped out of bed. She
waited a minute to see if Colin would wake. Exhausted from his
night at the earthquake site, he didn’t move. She slipped out of
their room. She went down the hall to the tiny alcove tucked under
the eaves that served as Paddie’s room. She closed her eyes at the
door.

“
You have to believe that
Paddie will come home,” her mother-in-law had said. “Visualize it.
See it.”

Julie knew her mother-in-law was right. She
also knew that when she’d called the Castle to talk to Jill, Jill’s
mother had told her that Paddie was with Katy. Or she had thought
it was Jill’s mother. The phone had crackled so much she couldn’t
be sure.

All she knew was that Paddie had vanished
out of his bed.

Julie didn’t want to be negative and jinx
anything.

She just wanted her son home.

She opened Paddie’s door and went inside.
She sat in the chair next to his bed. Even though she knew she
shouldn’t, she began to weep.

Paddie was her miracle, her baby. He was so
strong and sweet. From the moment he was born, he’d charmed
everyone who met him. Through her tears, Julie prayed for his safe
return. The more she prayed, the more she cried. She’d been strong
and positive too long. Her emotions came in a flood, and she began
to sob.

“
Julie,” Colin said in a
low voice from the doorway.

She looked up at him. He pointed to the
bed.

There were two lumps in Paddie’s bed. Unable
to stop herself, she flew to the bed and pulled off the thick
quilts. Her precious Paddie and his best friend Katy were curled up
on their sides, sound asleep and facing each other. Julie grabbed
Paddie from the bed and pulled him onto her lap. Paddie opened his
eyes and smiled at her. Julie hugged the child. She covered his
face in kisses until he protested.

“
Where have you been?”
Julie asked through her tears.

“
I had to get Katy,”
Paddie said. “Her brothers are coming tonight. We had to fix
everything.”

Julie looked at Colin. He raised his
eyebrows at his son’s explanation. Julie tried to hug the child
again.

“
Mommy, I’m sleepy.”
Paddie pushed her away from him. “I’m not a baby.”

She smiled. Since Connor had arrived, Paddie
did not want to be treated like a baby. She set him back in the
bed, and he pulled the covers up.

“
Oh,” Paddie said. “Can
Katy spend the night?”

The question was so sweet and simple that
Julie snorted a laugh. Paddie gave her one of his “tricked you”
grins, and Colin laughed.

Julie sat on the side of the bed until
Paddie was sound asleep. She tucked the quilt over his shoulders
and around Katy. She got up and hugged Colin.

“
Will you sleep now?”
Colin asked.

Julie nodded and moved past him. Colin
looked at the bed one more time before turning to go. The door was
almost closed when he stopped.

“
I don’t know how you did
it, Katy, but thank you for bringing my son home,” Colin
whispered.

He closed the door and followed Julie to
bed

.

The story continues
at
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at:
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Glossary of
Characters

Aaron Alvin:
Father of Ava; also called “The
spider.”

Aden Norsen:

CEO at Lipson
construction; single father of Nash and Noelle; husband of
Sandy.

Alexandra
Hargreaves:

Identical twin to Max
Hargreaves; ‘The Fey;’ the leader of the Fey Team; wife of Dr. John
Drayson; sister to Colin and Samantha Hargreaves.

Anjelika:

Megan, Mike, Steve, Candy
and Jill’s mother; grandmother to Katy; wife of Perses.

Andrea Menendez or Andy
Mendy:

Mother of Sandy; Seth’s
love & lover from the time he was 14 until he lost her when he
was 30.

Arthur “Raz”
Rasmussen:

Member of the Fey team;
boyfriend of Samantha Hargreaves.

Ava — Amelie Vivian
Alvin:

Denver Police Crime Lab
Technician; fiancé of Seth O’Malley; daughter of Aaron
Alvin.

Ben Red Bear,
Detective:

Denver Police Detective in
charge of investigation of rapes; possibly involved in the
distribution chain.

Bestat Behur:

Partner to Zack Jakkman;
step-mother to Teddy; dragon.

Beth Baker:

Ava’s best friend; Child
Psychologist; murdered by Saint Jude.

Blane Lipson:

Jacob’s ‘cousin;’ raised
in foster care; assistant to Jacob Marlowe at Lipson Construction;
Chinese Medicine doctor; husband of Heather; father of
Mack.

Bob aka ‘Blood spatter
Bob’:
Former expert forensics instructor
with the FBI; currently a laboratory technician in Ava’s Denver
Police Department lab.

Bree or Briana
Lipson:
Step-child of Sam
Lipson.

Becky Lipson:
Step-child of Sam Lipson.

Bumpy Wilson:

Good friend of Seth’s;
medical doctor; father of Jeraine Wilson, husband of Dionne, born
Leroy Wilson.

Candace or Candy
Roper:
Daughter of Anjelika; sister to
Jill.

Charlie
Delgado: