Soul Mates Bewitched (10 page)

I
paced the room. I couldn’t sleep knowing Jillian was being held captive by the sadistic Póg Tocsaineach. God only knew what she was doing to her and Uncle Nicu, the evil bitch. The waiting was killing me. I wanted to go right now into the Never Never and get her back, no matter what the cost.

There was a knock at the door and I stopped pacing. “Yeah?” I called.

“Tony, I know you are upset, but you need to come and eat. It will do you and the others no good if you are not at your strongest when you face Póg Tocsaineach,” Anna said, opening the door.

I nodded. “I know,” I replied, following her down the hall to the dining room. Max’s parents were there with Abbey and the triplets. “Is Max still talking to Faerie and Gaia?”

Anna nodded; a worried look marred her face. “Yes, I am sure he is fine.”

Three year old Abbey was climbing into Daire’s lap and stealing his sausage. “Mine, Daire!” she said with a giggle.

“Abbey, you have your own plate,” Daire said raising an eyebrow, but smiling.

“Your plate is yummier,” Abbey replied matter-of-factly.

Daire sighed and settled her on his lap, letting her eat his food. You could see that he clearly had a special connection with her.

“He’s the only one she listens to anymore,” Olivia, Max’s mom, said. “Her temper is so…volatile.”

“It is just the terrible toddler years. She will outgrow it,” Max’s dad, Allen, replied.

“Sit, Tony. Have some breakfast. Anna, I fed Rose and little Auberon, but Hunter wouldn’t eat.”

I glanced at the triplets and realized they weren’t like human infants, tiny and fragile. No the triplets were sturdy little things, sitting up on their own, grabbing things, very alert and full of magic. They were growing fast. More in-line with their animal counterparts would be my guess. Rose had a full head of hair already, long and blonde like her daddy. It already reached her shoulders after just a few short days. The boys were both dark like their mother, Anna. “How did they get so big?” I asked.

Anna smiled. “It’s their genes. I’ve already had to give the boys haircuts once. They are growing as shifter cubs and Fae should, quickly. Hunter, why aren’t you eating?”

Hunter looked up at his mother and with a big smile, picked up his eggs and flung them across the room. “No want.”

“They speak? Already?” I asked, surprised.

Anna laughed. “Yes, they speak, for two days now. Shifters pick things up quickly, as you can see. Hunter, that was impolite. If you don’t want eggs, what do you want?”

Hunter frowned. “Sorry Mama. Want…” he said frowning harder, biting his lip. He concentrated hard, squeezing his eyes shut.

Anna’s face lit up. “Hunter, very good. The word you are looking for is
venison,
my little darling. However, we don’t have any right now. How about some nice sausage?”

“Did I maybe, miss something,” I asked confused.

Anna laughed and placed a plate of sausage in front of Hunter. “No. Hunter has learned how to talk to me through telepathy. He showed me a picture of what he wanted.” Hunter was busy shoving sausage in his mouth like a two year old, and happily slamming his fork on the tray.

“Have Rose and Auberon mastered speaking and telepathy as well?”

“Rose, Ronny, say hello to your uncle Tony.”

“Hello, Unca Tony,” Rose replied sweetly.

“Bonjour, mon oncle Tony,” little Auberon, otherwise known as Ronny, said.

“French?” I asked raising a brow.

Anna smiled. “Yes, Ronny prefers it.”

“They do have their own little personalities, don’t they?” I observed aloud, smiling.

“They do,” Olivia laughed.

Anna smiled and grabbed a piece of toast that was sailing through the air toward Rose. “Rose, manners.”

“Mama, I have toast?”

Anna slid the bread onto her plate. “They do keep me on my toes. We’ve been spending a great deal of time here at the Faerie Mound trying to teach them to control their talents. We cannot take them to the compound very often, because they tend to use their magic for whatever it is they want.”

“I can see how that would be a problem,” I replied, wishing Max would hurry up and figure out what we had to do to get Jillian back.

Anna saw the look on my face and smiled. “He will not be too much longer, Tony. He is just finishing up now.”

I felt a little bit of the pressure release inside my chest. If Max had gotten help from Faerie and Gaia we were one step closer to getting Jillian and Uncle Nicu back. I nodded and took a bite of my eggs, not really tasting them.

“Good morning,” Max said coming into the room and kissing Anna on the cheek.

“Dada,” Rose said with a clap.

“Mon père,” Ronny said, holding his arms up for Max to pick him up, which he did.

“Da,” Hunter said, his mouth full of sausage.

Max smiled at them all like a proud papa. “Tones, it’s all set. I should have a replica Chalice in a few hours. We’ll go meet Póg and get Jillian and Nicu back.”

I nodded, but something inside me said it wasn’t going to be as easy as Max seemed to think. “Sure.” I set my fork down, unable to eat anymore of the food that seemed to turn to ash the second I put it in my mouth. “Excuse me,” I said, getting up from the table and away from everyone. I just couldn’t be there with them anymore. Seeing them all happy and enjoying themselves just made me frustrated and anxious. The best thing I could think of to do was go outside and meditate.

I wandered around, looking for a way out. I’d been in the Mound a few times, but for some reason I always got lost. Finally, I noticed a set of doors that seemed to lead outside. I stepped out into the sunshine and didn’t recognize a thing. In front of me stood a corral-like ring and I wondered if the Fae trained horses, but then I didn’t notice a barn nearby. Shrugging I set off toward some of the trees and sat down, leaning back against an ancient Oak. I closed my eyes and reached out to Anca. She came to me, but she was not alone. With her stood a beautiful creature; a woman. I’d always thought Anca was beautiful, but this woman was super model material. Her long, blonde hair reached her feet, and her perfect glistening body was covered with a sheer white gown. She had a crown of leaves and berries on her head and her brilliant blue eyes seemed to sparkle like pools of blue cut glass.

“Anca?” I questioned, knowing I looked confused.

Anca smiled and turned her dark head from me to the woman, bowing and backing away without saying a word.

I stepped forward reaching out to the blonde woman with a need I never knew existed. She took me into her arms and held me close to her, and it felt as though I’d come home. She was warm and soft and motherly, and all of those homey things you think of when you thought about home and how it is all supposed to be. She was whispering softly to me as she stroked my hair, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying. It was more of a general feel of caring and tenderness, and then she set me away from her and took my hand in hers. I gazed into her deep azure eyes and felt myself being infused with power.

“Go now, Antony Gunari. What you need to find her already lives within your heart. She will need you, your strength of mind, and character to help her, to save her. She is important, so do not fail her.”

I nodded and let go of the Goddess’s hand. As she faded into the shadows, I knew I had just met Gaia, the Earth Goddess, and she had blessed me. Given me added strength and power to defeat the Darkness, and to bring Jillian and Uncle Nicu back home.

“No, Antony. It was in you all along, I have only shown you how to use it,” Gaia’s voice whispered on the breeze.

I considered her words and nodded. She was right; the power was within me, all along. It had been there lying dormant since my father had passed away. I now knew I had to rescue Jillian and help her to save the world, but it was not going to be as easy as Max made it sound. Gaia had shown me where Jillian was being held, a place that was fraught with dangers deep in the heart of Never Never. I had no idea how to get there. Crossing into Never Never was something I had never done, nothing I had ever even considered doing. The creatures that lived in the Never Never were scarier than any we had ever seen in our world. Creatures we would probably consider demons in our world with the appetites to match.

“Tones, you all right?” Max asked, joining me in the courtyard.

I nodded. “I know where they are keeping her. Well, I know what it looks like. It’s deep in the Never Never.”

“I swear I will go and get her back for you, Tones.”

“No! Max, I have to do this myself. I have to go, it’s imperative that
I
be the one to find her.”

Max looked at me strangely. “If you think it is absolutely necessary that you be the one to find her, then I’ll go with you as back up. You’ve always had my back; it’s time I return the favor.”

I frowned. Going into the Never Never was tricky business. Time didn’t run the same as it did in the mortal realm, we could be gone five minutes and come back and five days will have passed. I wasn’t sure I wanted to drag Max through that. Anna would be furious. “Max… You can’t go,” I said.

“Of course I can go, Tones. You’re my best friend, and I’m not going to let you go alone.”

“Max, Anna will have my head. You can’t go. I’ll take Thomas, or Rik, or James, but you aren’t coming.”

“Don’t go volunteering me for this shit!” James called as he strode through the door and into the courtyard. “What are you volunteering me for, anyway, Tones?”

“Wasn’t exactly volunteering you, Dude,” I replied frowning at him. “I’m going into the Never Never, and I’m not letting Max go with me.”

“Damn, what the hell do you wanna go in there for?”

“Jillian and Uncle Nicu are being held at the Winter Palace by the Unseelie Knight. I have to go, but you don’t.”

“Are we gonna kick some Unseelie ass?” James asked, giving me a wolfish grin.

Tony grinned. “Damn straight we will, Dude.”

“Then count me in,” James replied. “I’ll talk to Rik and Thomas—”

“Wait, what do you mean, they are being held by the Unseelie Knight?” Max asked urgently.

“Gaia, Dude. She totally showed me the Winter Palace, and said the one the Maiden believes is the Unseelie Knight held them captive.”

“I’ll need to consult with Auberon, but if there is an Unseelie Knight…”

“What are you thinkin’, Dude?”

“It’s not good. Give me a moment,” Max said as he flashed away.

I waited impatiently for Max to return, and it didn’t take long. He returned a few moments later with Auberon. “So…”

“Tell him,” Max directed Auberon.

Auberon frowned and looked as if he was going to light into Max for speaking to him as if he was the one in charge, but then shook his head and let it go. “What has Gaia shared with you?”

I wasn’t sure what had them all stirred up, so I related the vision Gaia had shared with me. “Gaia showed me the way to the Winter Palace. It is a cold place made of ice and snow and it is being guarded by the one the Maiden, Póg Tocsaineach, believes is the Unseelie Knight. I don’t know who he is, but I have felt his energy before, I just can’t place it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Why?” I asked.

“If Gaia is showing you the Unseelie Knight…it means Póg Tocsaineach has taken a mate. She has found someone her kiss is not lethal to. It means she is twice as dangerous to us.”

“How is that possible? I thought her kiss was lethal to everyone…” I asked.

“There is only one born every century, a soul mate for every being, every creature. She has found the one who is immune. With him at her side, she is even more dangerous, her powers will grow. And if he is in the Never Never…and guarding the Winter Palace… I hate to think what kind of powers he may have acquired through their joining.”

“Well, isn’t that just stellar?” I said sarcastically. “Doesn’t matter. I’m going. James, you still in?”

“Hell to the yeah,” James said with a grin. “I’ll get Rik and Thomas,” he said as he shifted into wolf form and took off across the courtyard.

“Tony, I should go with you.”