Reliquary's Choice: Book Two of The Celtic Prophecy (9 page)

He had bound himself to her too, but he understood the consequences. He knew what was in store. He’d survive, but Brenawyn? It broke his heart that he’d be the source of her pain, and quite probably her undoing.

“Come sit with me ‘afore we go back, lass.”

Brenawyn came over to sit cross-legged opposite him on the grass.

“Why would ye do it?”

“Do what? Have sex with you?” She looked horrified. “Oh God, didn’t you enjoy it?”

“Aye, lass, I did. Verra much so. Nay, that’s no’ what I meant.”

“Then what?”

“The recited words that Nimue … ”

“Oh. I shouldn’t think it so difficult to figure out. Let’s see, my mother, my father, and even Liam, the bastard—all dead. I just couldn’t … I couldn’t see anyone else...I’m sorry.”

“I’m sairy for yer loss, ye know this, but I need ta think. Yer rash decision sped up the timetable. Normally, a high priestess would take the initiation on Lughnasadh, but ha’ a period o’ time, three moons, before she had ta claim her right at Samhain. During this time she would train intensively, meditating, communing with nature and that sort o’ thing. But ye ha’ sworn under a blood oath; that
is
the reason for the new wound across yer palm, that ye succeeded ta the position without the requisite training. Yer more vulnerable than before.”
The other reason, he’d omit
.

“What direction is the danger coming from?”

“From the time it was found that yer soul underwent the Phoenix, the Order, a group formed and designated ta keep the balance. Not one member or even the group, in its entirety, could match the potential power o’ the priestess but they could stave off the encroaching chaos. Over the centuries, however, a small group splintered from the original, wanting the power for themselves. No’ even I, ken the extent o’ its membership. The Coven, which they began calling themselves, is only a myth ta some, even some o’ the most elder members of our Druid sect. The most immediate threat is Cormac Domhnall MacBrehon and the Oracle he has with him.

“The Oracle, the most dangerous o’ the two, is a Vate, an augur, a seer most powerful, but usually in the background. I ha’ ne’er heard o’ an Oracle traveling out o’ the old country. But this one has. ‘Afore ye took her abilities back in Salem, she could hypnotize, paralyze, rip ye out o’ time and then eviscerate ye like she did ta Barbara, ta me, and all the other sacrifices she has made throughout the centuries ta find you. Believe me, she would too, if she figured out a way ta get her powers back because that is the only way ta wrest yer promising abilities from ye. She is the most dangerous because I wasna immune from her abilities. Even though t’was Cormac who cut me, she ha’ done the same ta me and made ye watch too.”

“This Cormac is?”

“He’s more o’ an annoyance with a Napoleon complex. He is as old as myself and was a possible candidate for my clerical position, but the fates chose me and he’s never let it go. I can handle him.”

“What do you propose we do?”

“Brenawyn, now that ye’ve made this decision, I ha’ ta take ye ta the only place with relative safety. I ha’ ta take ye ta my family’s castle in Scotland.”

“Wait, didn’t you tell me that it is nothing but ruins?”

“It appears that way. It must forever remain so, in order ta assure the protection that it offers. But, that is no’ exactly
when
I am taking you.”

“When? What do you
mean when?”

“Ye promised ta take yer place as the priestess ta restore the balance. In order ta dae that, ye must dae it from the time the problem arose.”

“Do you mean to tell me that when I say goodbye to my grandmother I will nev …  never see her again? Never be able to pick up a phone, or open a birthday card?”

“This was why I needed ye ta choose this path only after knowing everything that ye would be giving up. Leo asked me ta go slow with ye in deference ta yer upbringing. She thought it would be too much o’ a strain on yer facilities ta ask ye ta believe in a faith so far from yer own. I agreed readily, because I kin what it means ta no’ ha’ a choice, but now, t’is too late for that. T’will be forced on ye. Unfair, but t’is imperative so I can keep ye and the bairn alive.”

“The barn? Bairn …  Bairn …  You mean baby. Whose baby?

“Our baby.”

Brenawyn looked at him with her mouth hanging open, and burst out laughing.

Alex just stared at her. When she sobered, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Alex. You are mistaken. I’m not pregnant. I can’t have children anymore.” Brenawyn’s face grew hard, and she looked away not bothering to wipe the tears away. “A complication from the miscarriage. Too much scarring.”

“I can understand yer resistance ta believe, but time will tell.

Chapter 8

Alex still had the problem of approaching the house in his altogether, but it was easily rectified having an example of a domesticated animal so close. It wouldn’t cause any comment or raise an alarm seeing a dog emerge from the trees with Brenawyn. For the casual observer, it would just be a woman walking her dog. He put his hand on Spencer’s back and felt the shifting of bone and muscle. Spencer turned inquisitively and sniffed at his changing form, but soon abandoned the pair and set off for the house. Alex’s ribs were fractured, a painful mending causing him to whimper but new cells replicated and knit the damaged bones. It was not often he shifted into an animal other than the usual four. He was taken aback by the huge similarities of the domesticated dog to that of the wolf. Thousands of years of breeding still had not taken out the pull of instinct. The familiar smells assailed his senses, olfactory sensitivity not in any way diminished.

Brenawyn waited for him at the edge of the clearing and she was silent as they approached the house. He could tell there was something amiss from the moment he stepped foot on the deck. It was too quiet. Where was the dog? Spencer panted like a freight train. He caught his scent locked in a bedroom, silenced but still alive.

She had already flung the screen door open and walked through, not looking back at him. He followed, his animal senses reaching out. He stopped short to avoid bumping into her. She stood a few feet into the kitchen looking at the table.

Leo and Maggie sat facing each other, hands folded identically in front of them, eyes cast down.

“What’s going on?”

Leo turned to them, her sigils flaring to life, “Brenawyn!” looking over her shoulder to find a strange dog, “we’re not alone.”

Alex started to shift, his coat turning a sleek jet black, tail lengthening. He stepped in front, shielding her from the unseen threat. Alex as the leopard hissed and pounced, swatting at the empty air. His attempt was thwarted because of the small space. He did not want to have Leo or Maggie as causalities. The best he could do was try to get Cormac to back up into the living room where there was more space.

“Nana, where’s Spencer?”

“Whaur indeed, priestess. Alex, ye need ta change back ta a man ‘afore something goes amiss.” Cormac appeared in the opposite doorway, hands braced above his head on the lintel. His face was badly swollen on the right side, dark with bruising. He had abrasions on his temple and jawline. “Leuk a’ yer handiwork.” indicating his face. “T’was just a day ago that I could see out my eye.”

The leopard took another swat at him, but Cormac dodged and he quickly grabbed a handful of Maggie’s hair yanking her out of her chair. “De ye see what ye did ta me?” She struggled, screaming out. “Ye did quite a job on my bollocks too, but luckily,” he forced her hand to his crotch, “I am still whole.”

Alex shifted back to human form.

Maggie grunted at his hold, but blurted out through clenched teeth, “I should have killed you, you fucking bastard!”

“Aye, ye tried, nay?” Cormac laughed, “Ye would ha’ too, if ye put more o’ yer back inta it.”

Alex stood, hands covering himself for modesty’s sake. “That’s enough, Cormac. Yer fight isnae with the lass. Let her go.”

“Och, Alexander, thaur ye are. I will be taking the priestess off yer hands. Gi’ o’er.

“Nay, brother. That I willna dae.”

“Your brother?” Brenawyn asked incredulously.

Alex shook his head, “Nay, no’ by blood. T’is that we were brothers in cause. We were both members o’ the Order, until he became apostate and formed the Coven.”

Leo gasped and backed away, “He said as much, but I didn’t want to believe him.”

“Leo, we have little time. What else did he tell ye?”

“Nothing, um … nothing. It was all … it was all, I didn’t believe him … at all.” But she couldn’t look Alex in the eye. She turned her back to him.

Alex reached out and touched her shoulder, “Leo, tell me. I can explain. Listen. Stay back, all o’ ye. I doona want ye ta get hurt.”

Cormac chuckled, “A little late for that noo, isn’t it, Shaman? Tell us, when did yer faith slip? When did ye start wanting more power? Hmm? Weren’t yer abilities enough?

“Leo, Brenawyn, ye ha’ ta believe me. Ye ha’ this all wrong. I doona want her power, the high priestess’ power. I doona want my own—what my own has become. What would I do with it? Trapped as I am in the Wild Hunt.

“As I suspected. Ye are the traitor.” Cormac removed his grip in Maggie’s hair and forced her down with both hands into the kitchen chair closest to him. “The decision ne’er sat well with me when it was decreed ye be the Shaman, but I ne’er thought for a moment that ye would turn away from our beliefs, so single-minded ye were.”

“My convictions ne’er wavered. T’is ye who let yerself be corrupted,” Alex replied.

“My friend.”

“Doona call me that. Ye ceased ta be that long before the decision was made.” Alex approached.

Cormac smiled, put his hands in his pants pockets, and paced away into the living room careful to keep the same distance between them. “Aye, ye are correct o’ course. So blinded with rage with the betrayal o’ Jamie and Colleen, ye couldn’t see the real motivation.”

“What are ye blathering about?”

“I manipulated them.”

“What?”

“They were fucking each other behind yer back, ye poor bastard, but t’was all she was guilty o’ a’ that point. I found out well ‘afore ye did, felt bad but for a moment, I did. Not a fond memory, finding out first hand that she was cuckolding ye,” he laughed, “though she certainly seemed ta be enjoying the attentions o’ Jamie as he … ”

Alex felt the heat rise, “Damn ye!” Before the decision registered in his mind, he flew at Cormac who sidestepped the blow and sifted time to appear across the room again.

“It went on for months with ye none the wiser. It was shortly after ye had undergone the Phoenix and were
selected
by Cernunnos that the plan came ta me.”

“What ha’ ye ta do with what happened?”

“I was the one who got in Colleen’s pretty head and planted the seed which lead ta the urn’s destruction. I am the reason ye have no hope ta regain yer soul.”

“And Colleen’s fate? Did ye ha’ a hand in that?”

A grin stretched on Cormac’s face in answer.

“Damn you! Ye let Jamie take the blame for it.”

“Man, he was fucking yer wife. I hardly think he was blame free. Ye forget, his appetites were something else ta be desired. Ask the priestess, she kens well, Jamie’s appetites.”

“What did you say?” Brenawyn asked incredulously.

“Stand and face me, coward,” Alex interrupted.

“I hardly think so.” With a flick of Cormac’s wrist from across the room, the air became thin. “Yes, Brenawyn, Jamie was yer husband, though ye knew him as Liam. We tracked several hopefuls in this time, ye were only one. He was assigned ta test yer abilities. When yer powers didna surface even after the beatings, and the miscarriage, he let well enough alone.”

“What the fuck are you telling me, you bastard?”

“Are ye soft-heided then?” Cormac shrugged his shoulders. “I’d thought t’were obvious.”

Brenawyn turned to Alex, “Did you know?”

“Kent that ye were marrit ta Jamie? Not until I saw the picture that ye tried to burn in the fireplace last night.”

“And the rest?”

Alex broke eye contact with her, “Aye, I kent that ye were being watched as a potential.”

“Did you watch me?”

“From time ta time. I had a duty.”

“How?”

He shook his head uncomprehending, “How?”

“Yes, how did you watch me from time to time?”

“Through Leoncha, yer grandfather actually.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I inserted myself inta their acquaintances years ago. Played up the family connection of friends they already had.”

Brenawyn turned to Leo, “Were you aware of this?”

“No.” Leo answered stepping forth to stand by her.

Brenawyn turned back to stare at Alex. “You claim that you didn’t know Liam was my husband until last night. You must not have been very good as your job if something that big slipped by you.”

“Brenawyn, lass, it wasna that way. Ye ha’ ta believe me!” Alex pleaded. “Each bard has his own way for coercing the latent talents out of a hopeful. Individual methods have never been questioned.”

“So don’t ask, don’t tell?”

“Brenawyn. It wasna like that.

“Tell me, Alexander, how was it then?”

“We didna ken one another till that morning at the bakery. I was only so close ta yer family as ta hear stirrings o’ anything if they arose.”

“Then what happened to make you change tactics?”

“The others, they had proven themselves ta be … but the prophecy and the omens still pointed ta this time. Ye were the only one remaining even though yer powers hadn’t come ta the surface.”

“So you knew where I’d be and you forced the introduction.”

“Nay.” It was Cormac who spoke. “I was one step ahead of Alex. The Oracle and I were tracking ye, and we met at the rest stop. We would ha’ had ye then, but for Alex, who dropped the veil just enough ta set yer dog off.”

“Why didn’t you just let them take me?” Brenawyn asked Alex.

“Because by that time, I kent what they were up ta, and I couldnae let them succeed.”

“So you stepped in and assigned yourself the task of seeing whether I was the one. What methods did you use?”

“Brenawyn … ”

“Tell me.”

Alex sighed. “Much less than I was prepared to use. I didna employ the use of memory bindings. Yer memories are true.”

“No, you just fucked me.”

“Och, lass, nay. I only told ye stories enough ta get yer interest up. When I brought ye to the park were the Lughnasadh ceremony of thanksgiving was ta take place, it was ye who asked permission of the gods. The earth responded ta ye. I saw it, felt it. Then I was thaur during the ceremony and saw the East, West, North, and South spirits answer yer call. I brought you back to the house, and I learned that ye were possessed by not just the fertility goddesses but by all of them.”

“I can confirm that at least,” Leo interjected. “I was the one who figured out how to get them to release you.”

“I didn’t know that. Why didn’t you tell me?” Brenawyn asked.

“There was so much going on, so many things happened all at once. I couldn’t keep up. Then trying to explain it all?”

“How did you get them to release me?”

“Through the use of blood magic. I used my blood and his to activate all four of his spirit animals: the leopard, wolf, bear, and hawk. The essences of the gods were dispersed through their Forms.”

“Ye ha’ been gone for six hundred years.”

She stiffened, “Explain better.”

“The one destined ta be priestess was gone and each member of the Coven had ta search to the ends o’ the land for signs. Aerten and Caer Ibormeith, the goddesses of fate and prophecy were consulted by the Vates’ augury. Potentials were identified.”

“How many?”

“In this time?”

“In all times.”

Cormac answered, “Thirty-two all together.”

“Thirty-two. And in this time?”

Alex found his voice, “Three.”

“And their fates? Are they still alive?”

“Aye.” Cormac answered.

“But neither left unscathed.” Alex followed up.

Brenawyn scoffed, “Do you condone such treatment?”

“O’ course, I doona. How could ye ask such a question? That’s the reason I got involved with you. I couldnae abide their abuse o’ one more person.”

“Enough. Ye may be interested in the little trick I learnt from the Oracle. She, an unwitting instructor, I ha’ nonetheless become her most apt pupil.”

Scarlet sigils, lit up on Cormac’s arms, surprising Brenawyn. The markings covered his exposed forearms but were not connected like hers, her grandmother’s, or Alex’s. She didn’t know he had the ability. Who was this man?

“Her craft o’ augury has intrigued me from the moment I first witnessed it.” He lifted his arms and spoke:

Alexander Morgan Sinclair

I claim what is yers, for my own

I quiet yer speech so ye canna call out

I silence yer tongue so ye canna plead for aid

I dull yer mind so ye canna ken what is ta come.

I say this three times, and done.

Brenawyn could see the strained cords of Alex’s neck, and his jaw tense as he tried to swallow. Alex gasped for breath, his hands clutching at his throat, trying to pull an invisible bind away. Panic set in. She could see it in his eyes. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach. He was going to die again. She went to him, clueless as to what she could do to help.