Legend 4 - Free Falling (4 page)

That wasn’t what I was doing.

I had already spent three hours working my muscles until they threatened mutiny.

I saw Sally glance my way as she passed by. She returned with something in her hand, walked straight up to me, cooing sweetly, and shoved a banana in my mouth.
I was hungry.
Wow! I don’t think I had really tasted anything until just then. I looked at the tray she had set for me on the side table and heard my stomach grumble.

Coffee … yes … buns … suddenly I felt like a pig as I devoured everything in sight without looking up.

I heard her sigh contentedly. This was what she wanted. Me, showing some signs of living, eating, and talking …

I didn’t know about the talking. I couldn’t seem to form any meaningful words yet. What could I say to Sal that wouldn’t worry her?

The knocker sounded with force. Neither one of us had ever heard it quite like that, and both our heads spun around towards the training room’s double doors. We glanced at each other, and Sally said with a frown, “Whist now, I doona know who that can be?”

Sally started to wipe her hands on her apron, but I jumped forward and ahead of her. Why? I don’t know. Something inside me made me do it. “I’ll get it.”

“Och now … you stay here and finish eating.” She wagged a finger as she spoke.

“I’ll come back to it later.” I dropped a kiss on her plump cheek and hurried off, straightening my blue tank top as I moved off. I looked down at my cut-off jeans and sighed. I sure wasn’t dressed for entertaining. Nearly everyone I knew on both sides of the Atlantic had already come and paid their condolences, so I hadn’t a clue who this could be. I really hoped no one was coming to pay any more of the same. Everyone meant well, but I couldn’t take it any longer. I think I had already received the entire village through our front doors … and then some.

You are wondering about my mom. She was still in Daoine, trapped in a dream. She was a Daoine Fae and had the power of illusion, so she had gone to her bed to create an illusion of my dad, alive and well and still with her. There she lay—frozen in that state.

I couldn’t look at her like that. It was horrifying for me to see her with her eyes glazed over and her body lifeless. She didn’t hear me. I would have to enter the illusion she had created for her to see me—hear me—and my Daoine family said to let her be for a time …

I didn’t think this illusion she was living could be a good thing. Yet, I was afraid to call her out of it.

I felt like the world had opened up and dropped me in hell
.

However, the damn doorknocker sounded again, and loudly enough to shake me up and make me climb out of that dark, hot place to fling the door wide open. I must have looked like I felt, damn irritated.

He stood—
a giant of a Fae in human Glamour.

I was momentarily taken aback. He was huge, well over six something, and his strong, muscular body spelled out top-notch male. His long, light auburn hair was streaked with gold and tied with a leather string at the nape of his neck (and what a neck). Around that neck was a gold torque with the insignia engravings of his Royal House, Lugh of the Tuatha Dé.

I felt my eyes open wide.
He was a prince, and he was at my front door? Why?

Beneath his lightweight black leather jacket, he wore a black Polo shirt tucked into his Lauren blue jeans; his black leather belt held a gold buckle engraved with etchings. He wore gold-tipped Gucci boots. This Fae knew how to outfit himself.

And then I looked into his eyes.

I was struck by the depth of those golden eyes. I was taken by the sparkle of green flecks in the deep gold of their color, but I also noticed a certain aloofness therein. I knew, without being told, this Fae
was not happy to be
here.
Fine—I wasn’t happy about his being here, either. We were in agreement.

“Well, well,” I greeted him. “A Tuatha Dé Royal—lucky, lucky me.” Even to myself, I sounded like a bitch. It was how I felt—it was all I felt anymore: bitchy.

His chin went up. “I am Danté, Prince of Lugh.”

“Good for you, fella—now, what do you want?” I didn’t like his arrogant and cold demeanor, and I didn’t think I liked him, not one bit.

“It is not
what I want
that brings me here, Daoine,” he snapped. “It is my queen’s wish.”

Well, that got my interest. I had met the queen on two occasions, as she was my mother’s cousin and therefore related to me as well. The first time I met her I was just a child, and I immediately loved her. She was beauty, light, and wisdom. She radiated knowledge and power. She was capable of great (but controlled) affection.

In later years, I was a teen when I met her again, and I was once more thoroughly captivated by her style and presence. “Now why would Queen Aaibhe send you to me?”

“Manners dictate that you should invite me in,” he answered grandly.

I felt like laughing at him. Not nice, I know. “Maybe I don’t feel like being mannerly,” I countered. For some reason he hadn’t brought out the best in me.

“Perhaps that is because you don’t have any,” he snapped, pushing his way through the doorway into the central hall. “Show me to a room where we might be private so that we may get this over with.”

“Huh, bossy for someone out of
his
 …
domain
,” I snapped, but I found myself walking down the hall towards the garden room at the rear of the first floor. I didn’t look back to see if he had followed me. Therefore, I was surprised to find when I opened the door and waited for him to step up that he wasn’t behind me. I stood for a moment and frowned, and then a sound
within
the garden room caught my attention. I looked in and found him there with a tray of sandwiches and two glasses of wine.

His smile spelled out
I am superior to you
as he said, “I don’t take orders … especially from a snippet of a girl—even if she is a Daoine princess. I hope you don’t mind, but I didn’t think you would have the etiquette or good manners to offer your guest refreshment, so I raided your kitchen and put together a light lunch.” He held out a glass of white wine.

“
You aren’t
my guest,” I hissed and ignored the proffered wine. Besides, I had just had a banana, coffee, and a sweetbun.

He set the wine down on the tray. “Fine, more for me.”

Contrarily I snapped up the wine and took a long gulp. This guy/Fae was irritating me. “Okay, the quicker I listen to what you have to say, the quicker I get rid of you.”

“I wish that could be the case. I wish it more than you do, but apparently we are stuck with one another for a time,” he said on a heavy sigh.

What in hell did that mean? “I don’t think so.” Stuck with me? It wasn’t going to happen.

“
You,
Daoine child, are
my assignment,
” he snapped. “And as much as I wish it otherwise, there you are.”

“That
is your
problem, not
mine
.
” I wagged a finger at him. What the hell was this? Since when was I anyone’s assignment?

“Well, I am making it
your
problem.” He downed his wine, moved over to the tray of sandwiches, and bit into one. He held up another and said, “This is quite good … try one.”

His smile was wicked, as though he were getting pleasure at my shock and discomfort. It was beyond tolerable. “
Oh!
Get out of my home …
now
!”

“Can’t do that.”

“Why? It is a simple thing … easy enough to do. Out the front door … or shift off to Faery … just go.”

“Can’t—Queen Aaibhe has ordered me to take you on as an assignment. I am honor-bound to do so.” He inclined his regal head. “I am saying that willing or not … you have a houseguest
—
me
.” A glint of something in his eyes absolutely irritated me into a hissy fit!

I did the only thing I could think to do at that moment: I shifted out. With a blink I was so out of there!

~ Four ~

I PUT UP MY hair and shifted into the training room, which dad always called the weapons room. I took up my sword—not the death weapon but a facsimile—and began slicing at the air. I was a little surprised that the Royal Intruder had not followed me in here.

After fifteen minutes of slicing air, I began aerobics. After thirty minutes of that, I went upstairs to my room, showered, and changed into a soft green cotton knit top and faded jeans. I put on my sneakers and made my way downstairs with every intention of taking a long, brisk walk.

Old habits die hard. I had been trying to become all things Daoine Fae, but I found the human things came just as naturally, if not more naturally to me. Walking was something I loved. When life needed sorting out, I walked and hiked and melted into nature.

Did I wonder what my new
houseguest
was doing? You betcha.

Was I going to try and find out? No way!

I made a beeline for a well-worn, favorite trail. I discovered the sun had vanished behind darkening clouds, and even for late August it was really chilly. I doubled my pace, moved into a jog, and ducked back into the kitchen, where my denim jacket hung on a coat rack. Grabbed it and snuck out quietly and quickly before Sally saw me and detained me—she was always trying to stuff something into my mouth.

Still no sign of Danté the Royal Fae Pain. Good. Maybe he had thought better of it and left?

Bling! And he was walking right in step with me.

“You shouldn’t do that—shift in and out here in the open where anyone can see you,” I told him as my teeth ground together and I gave him what I thought was my most unwelcome look.

“No one saw me, Daoine. I am very good at what I do.”

He was still in human Glamour. Once again, I had to admit to myself, he was absolutely the most scrumptious eye candy I had ever seen, and I was very sure
he was
good at what he did. However, I didn’t want him doing whatever it was he did … in my space. “Go
away
.”

“Can’t do that,” he answered on a frustrated note as he eyed me with great dislike. “But don’t worry … I don’t need you in my face, and I won’t be in yours. I simply came to let you know I have warded MacDaun land—all of it. Gais and his drones can’t get near you when you are on your own land.”

“What—why? You didn’t need to do that. Our lands are already warded, thank you.” I couldn’t stop the freshness from my tone or the look of irritation I know I had on my face.

“So they were, but not against the Seelie Fae. Gaiscioch—as much as I hate to say it, is a Seelie Fae. That is why he was able to use the MacDaun Dolmens and step through onto MacDaun land earlier—in the spring.” He gave me a superior glance. “I have warded the place specifically against his intrusion.”

“So now—he can’t get through our dolmen portal either?” I had to think about this. Would this serve my plans? I needed the creep Gais to find me when I was ready for him. I wanted him to come to me, fight me where and when I was ready and comfortable.

“No, at least not without experiencing severe and mind-numbing pain. He would have to shift far off and away to regain his powers.” He gave me a thoughtful look and then continued, “… and he would be vulnerable in that scenario. It is not something that Gais would choose. He will find another venue.”

I sighed. This was an arrogant Royal Fae, but perhaps he could give me some useful information about Gaiscioch. “Tell me about him.”

“I do not take commands from a snip of a Fae, even if you are Daoine.”

“I am daughter of Breith, and as such I am a Daoine Royal princess.” For added emphasis I stuck out my tongue. Couldn’t help it, and I felt a fool as soon as I realized what I had done.

I saw the shock sweep across his face, and then I saw him struggle with himself. I took that moment to study him. What was he thinking? Finally he managed to nearly spit the words at me. “And still I do not take orders from any but my queen.” He gave me a hard, cold look in case I hadn’t understood what he’d said.

“Then I have no use for you, and you can take yourself off.” I grumbled at him and picked up the pace of my step.

“
However,
I think you should know the basic facts about Gaiscioch, so I choose to tell you,” he said, not missing a beat as he kept up his own pace right at my side. I noticed he avoided looking my way.

“Well, just don’t worry about it. I’ll find out what I need to know on my own.” I could be very contrary. It was not an attractive trait, but there it was.

“I shall tell you what you need to know whether you like it or not. It is why I am here,” he hissed back at me. “And you will
listen to what
I have to tell you, brat, for it may save your life one day.” He eyed me, waiting for a reaction. I had a great deal of false pride—another bad trait of mine, I knew. Had to do something about it (perhaps not right that minute), for I was sure it wouldn’t serve me very well in the long run. At that moment, however, I chose to keep silent and see what would happen next.

He sighed heavily and wearily, making an effort to show me that my company palled on his Royal Self. Then he told me with a dark look, “Gais may be a blackguard and a traitor exempt from our respect, but one should know one’s adversary’s talent and powers, if one means to stay alive. This is not about winning and losing some fantasy game you might have in your head. This is about taking down a potent Fae who, when he finally notices you, will see you as an insect to be flicked off his shoulder.”

He had a point. I knew very little about Gaiscioch and did need to know all his strengths, all his weaknesses if I was going to make him pay for killing my dad. I said, however, “Advantage to me … he won’t know what I am capable of, will he?”

“No—and neither do you!” Danté snapped. “You think you are skilled with the Danu weapon, and you don’t even know all its properties yet. You think you are light-footed and athletic, but …” He was slapping the side of his head and making mine hurt to watch him. “You will need to hone your brain … which obviously is seriously lacking.”

“My brain—lacking? What do you know, Tuatha Dé? I can tell you what you don’t know.
You don’t know me
.”

“I know enough to surmise that you are rash, impulsive, and cocky—way too cocky for your own good.”

He had, however, in spite of his insults, caught my attention with the ‘properties of the sword’ bit. What exactly did he mean? “Are you saying the Death Sword can do more than kill?” I slowed my walk to look at him. My curiosity had momentarily gotten the better of me.

His gold eyes scanned me from head to toe derisively. “Ah, now admit to me that there are things you need to know that I can teach you.”

“Forget it.” I started at a more hurried pace.

“Fool.”

I spun around and stepped up to look up into his face—not a good move as it put a kink in my neck. Oooh … he was certainly handsome, yes, and he damn well knew it. “Okay, what? What can the sword do besides kill?”

“You are nothing but an
enfant
 … a willy-nilly thing running about with a narrow picture. You need training and time to develop. You need to know who Gaiscioch is—
who you are
—what you can do, and what you cannot!”

“Okay, I’m willing on two counts. Teach me about the sword and Gaiscioch.” I was supremely irritated, but he was right. I did need to know the skills that Gaiscioch could use against me.

Danté’s gold-dust eyes narrowed. His beautiful eyebrows drew together. His lip lifted in one corner, and when he spoke, I was caught a little off guard by the beauty of his ancient Danu accent, and by the Old World tone of his voice. I realized that here was a Fae who had thousands of years behind him.

“Gaiscioch comes from another time, a time of distress … when we lost Danu. We came here, and humans vied for our attention while we ruled as gods. It was a pleasant sensation for many of the Fae. Then the wars came, and when the final war made most of us realize that humans would fight to the death—to every last one in order to have their Ireland—we decided to allow them the Treaty. Our queen was compassionate and wise. Gaiscioch was angry and bitter. He did not agree. He did not wish to give up his beloved Ireland and Scotland to humans. He had already lived through too much loss, and this bitterness helped him slip into a kind of madness. He used his friendship with the queen to hide what he was doing, and what he was doing was gathering black magic and making his plans for centuries without any of us aware of his purpose.
He hates
the humans. He covets their world. He thinks he should lead the Seelie Fae. He is obsessed with his goals, and he is powerful beyond immediate measure.”

Danté looked towards the sky for a moment before he continued. “I have studied the situation and believe that it will take more than one of us from the four Royal Houses to defeat him. It might even take the queen’s total might to defeat him. He has black magic inside him, driving him, taking over who he once was …” He stopped and considered me. “You are only
becoming
 … and are no match for such as Gais.”

“You don’t know me,” I answered him quietly, because what he had said was sinking in. There was so much truth in what he had told me I couldn’t help but be struck with the thought that killing Gais with my own hands was going to take some doing. However, at that time I was in the very worst of my ‘revenge lust’ and wasn’t quite ready to listen to logic.

“Know you? What is there to know beyond what you do?
What I know
is that you are an
enfant
in this war.
What I know
beyond a shadow of a doubt, whether you believe me or not, is that
you are not ready
. If you think you can beat Gaiscioch, you are more arrogant than you are wise, and you will be doomed to die at his hands. It will take a brilliant, sage, and powerful being to defeat what Gaiscioch is and what he has empowering him at his back. The Dark Queen Morrigu of the Dark Realm is his willing ally, and we know very little about her.”

I hadn’t realized that the Dark Queen was involved in this. That did startle me for a moment. However, bravado came to my rescue. I had always been resilient and too often headstrong, more so now that I had the ‘killing fever’.

“Well
, I can
and
I will
defeat Gaiscioch, because Gais has stolen my life. My father was slaughtered at his hands without cause, without need. Gais has no honor. He took my father’s life without even showing himself! It wasn’t a battle—it was murder. He took my father from me, and because of that … I have also lost my mother.”

I checked the sob that was strangling me. I wouldn’t cry. I was stronger than that. “My mom lies in her home in Daoine using illusion as a drug. She doesn’t move … she doesn’t live outside the illusion that she has created for herself …”

I was out of control now and afraid that the sobs were going to burst from inside me. I couldn’t stay talking to this cold, unfeeling, and calculating Royal Fae. I had to go, and at that moment when I was about to burst like a damn that had just been dynamited, I shifted to the highest point of MacDaun.

I hadn’t been able to talk about this with anyone. I had kept my plans, my fears, my hate locked up inside. I stood overlooking fields and our deep woods, hoping he wouldn’t follow as I screamed Gais’s name with all my pent-up hatred and then collapsed to my knees. My body shook with my sobbing.

My Royal Intruder didn’t follow.

I couldn’t have borne it if he had witnessed my anguish. I didn’t let anyone in. My grief, my desire for revenge, was all my own, and it was so private …