CHAPTER Twenty Six
I found the change of venue refreshing, even if the Summer Queen and the Arch-Mage were patently unimpressed at having to sit on battered white plastic chairs. The air was clean and fresh, with the heat of summer still clinging on. I swatted lazily at a fat bee, and surveyed the council. The dead were buried and, while the mourning was not yet over, and the wounds were still fresh, there was the sense that they had not died in vain. Small comfort, I supposed, to their loved ones. I was fully aware that had it been Corrigan who had lost his life at the Eagles’ Nest, then I would not be finding it so easy to recover.
“Are we sure he’s dead?”
At Haughmond Hill, Endor had recovered seconds after receiving what should have been a fatal strike to his heart. I needed to be certain this time.
Beltran nodded. “We have divided his body into five parts.”
I couldn’t help wincing. Euurgh.
“And those parts have been separated and burned at different points across the British Isles,” added Larkin. “He ain’t coming back.”
“The clean-up operation?” I asked. “At the Eagles’ Nest?”
“All done and dusted,” the Arch-Mage said. “The Queen herself glamoured the Bird World staff, and no-one is any the wiser. The enclosure opened again yesterday morning.”
I smiled in approval. That was good. “Where’s the Palladium?”
“We removed it from his body. It’s safe at the keep.”
Corrigan looked good, despite the curving black scar that now ran from his ear to his chin. Normally, his shifter ability to heal would preclude any scars from forming. Something about Endor’s dark cloud of necromancy had changed that. I didn’t mind it though. It added to his ever present air of danger, as if he may just pounce on someone at any second. I hoped he was going to pounce on me.
“And we’ve spelled it to ensure it won’t be removed,” said the Arch-Mage with a look of satisfaction.
“The phoenix?”
“Happy. We’ve even had some communication from the kelpies. It appears they regret their earlier actions and wish to make amends.”
I snorted. “I bet they do.”
“So what happened to the sky?” asked Beltran. “That storm wasn’t natural.”
Lucy nodded. “Yeah. And it wasn’t of Endor’s doing either because every bold of lightning seemed to be directed at him.”
I smiled smugly. “That was Vasily.”
The entire gathering stared at me.
“He’s Russian,” I said airily, as if that explained everything. “He normally prevents storms so he can help farmers. Well, he actually normally drives like a demon taxi driver, but he used to prevent storms. I just asked him to come and do the opposite. He was happy to oblige.”
Corrigan grinned at me. “Nice.”
The squeak of wheels announced Julia’s arrival. She beamed at me, then turned to everyone. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the service is about to begin.”
I stood up. It was over. Endor was dead, the council was finished and I was fully absolved of my responsibilities. I touched my stomach for a moment and glanced towards Corrigan with a tiny smile. His eyes crinkled back, then we walked out towards the courtyard.
I breathed in the heady scent of him, and his hand lightly brushed against mine, making my bloodfire sing.
“Who’d have thought it?” he said. “Faeries, mages and shifters all together at the same wedding and no-one’s started arguing yet.”
I grinned. “The wedding’s not started yet.” I looked over to where my date was waiting patiently. “I should go.”
Corrigan scowled. I don’t understand why he is here with you.
I have a promise to keep. There’s nothing between us, my Lord.
He growled, a low deep sound from within his chest.
Down, boy. You should go and find your sister.
I veered off. Cherniy Volk held out his arm, and I hooked my hand round it.
“Thank you,” he murmured.
“I meant what I said,” I reiterated, “if she really doesn’t want to see you…”
“I’ll back away and leave quietly. You have my word.” I looked down and realised the werewolf’s hands were shaking.
We strolled into the great hall. Rows upon rows of chairs were laid out, pretty white and pink flowers strung at the end of each. I felt someone’s gaze on me and turned round. It was Anton. I hadn’t seen him since he’d thrown me out of Cornwall last year. So much had happened since then, but it didn’t outdo half a lifetime of mutual hatred. His expression was guarded and wary, making me pray he wouldn’t take this opportunity to cause a scene. The last thing Tom and Betsy needed was their wedding day upstaged by that prick.
I turned back to Volk just in time to see a fist flying in his direction and connecting with a painful sounding crunch against his nose.
“Where the f*ck have you been?” It was Leah, Corrigan’s sister. Then she leapt up, hooked her legs round his back and began to kiss him. Okay, then.
I backed quietly away, and left them to it, finding myself a seat on the right side of the aisle. It was strange being back here in Cornwall. I had thought it might be too painful, that the memories of the life I used to lead here would overwhelm me. Instead, however, it was almost the opposite. I wasn’t indifferent – far from it. It just felt more like a fond nostalgia for a part of my personal history which was now over. A chapter that was finished.
“The past is a foreign country,” quoted Mrs. Alcoon, sitting herself behind me. She must have telepathically picked up on my mood. “They do things differently there.”
I looked around the room. “Yes, they do.”
She leaned forward. “Slim has been released from his duties with the Ministry. He’s going to come and work at the bookshop full-time.”
It had kind of seemed to me that he was already there full-time, but I held my tongue. “That’s good.”
She grinned. “He’ll look after me in my dotage.”
I had a feeling she would be the one doing the looking after. It would no doubt involve tea. Lots and lots and lots of tea.
More and more people began to wander in and take their seats. Originally, the wedding had been planned for a far smaller number: the Cornish pack, naturally, some of the Brethren and, well, me. Somehow the bonhomie between all three Otherworld groups had extended the guest list quite considerably, however. Looking around, the sense of camaraderie was clear. Rather than choose to segregate themselves, every row contained a mix: a pure melting pot of mages, faeries and shifters. Half of them probably didn’t even know Tom or Betsy, but that kind of wasn’t the point. It felt like a new beginning for everyone. Fortunately, before I became too maudlin and sickly-sweet, the music signaling the arrival of the bride and groom kicked in. The chattering died down, and everyone turned to watch them enter together, with smiles which must have stretched from ear to ear.
*
Johannes had managed to designate himself as the official photographer. Everyone milled around outside as he fussily arranged groups of guests first one way, then another. I was distracted by his amusing suggestion that Solus and Corrigan place their arms round each other’s backs in a gesture of bromance, when Anton appeared by my side. I stiffened involuntarily, and had to force myself not to step away and put some distance between us. For a long time, the pair of us stood there in an awkward silence before he eventually spoke.
“So you’re not human after all.”
“No,” I said shortly. Anton had frequently used my theoretically human status as an excuse to treat me like shit. “Does it matter?”
“I suppose not.” He sighed heavily. “Look, Mackenzie, er, Mack, whatever you prefer being called, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
You could have blown me down with a feather. “Pardon?”
“I’m sorry. I was horrid to you.”
I stared at him. “You were a f*cking wanker to me.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I guess I deserve that. Not that you were particularly a bed of roses.” He grinned. “Well, perhaps the thorns…”
He had smiled at me – with a genuine smile. I was utterly flabbergasted.
“Er…”
“You seem a lot mellower than when you lived here.”
“You seem a lot mellower than when I lived here, Anton.”
He laughed. “Yeah. You’d think that responsibility would make a person more stressed and angrier. Instead it’s had the opposite effect.”
I glanced up and noticed Corrigan watching the pair of us, as if ready to defend my honour at any minute. I flashed him a smile of reassurance.
“I should go,” said Anton, “it wouldn’t do to piss off the Brethren Lord, now would it?” He patted me on the shoulder. “You could do worse than him, you know.”
He walked off, leaving me open-mouthed and staring after him. Damn. I guessed I wasn’t the only person with the capability to change.
Solus wandered over in my direction, lifting his fingers towards me a half salute. “So what gives, dragonlette?”
“Hmmm?”
“You’re different. Not just because Endor has gone. There’s something else.”
I shrugged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly. “I was chatting to Mrs. Alcoon earlier.” He leaned in towards me, and lowered his voice. “So what do you think a cross between a panther and a dragon really looks like?”
I could not believe Mrs. Alcoon had told him. I opened my mouth to say something, but he just grinned and patted me on the shoulder. “If you ever need a babysitter…” He turned and left. I snorted to myself. As if.
Breaking into my thoughts, a cherub fluttered up and offered me a glass of champagne. My mouth dropped open a little bit further. I shook my head. It actually had a golden harp strapped to its back. Surely…?
“We used a few spells to spice up the occasion,” said the Arch-Mage, walking up.
“Oh.” That made more sense.
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not partaking?”
“What? You mean the champagne? Um, no. The bubbles give me a headache.”
I wasn’t sure whether he believed me or not. I shrugged inwardly. I wasn’t going to announce my pregnancy by telling the f*cking Arch-Mage before anyone else, even if my old Scottish friend was doing half that work for me. Then the Fae Queen drifted over in a haze of honeysuckle and glowing warmth. Excellent.
“I believe congratulations are in order,” she said.
I coughed. “Excuse me?”
“With your success. We knew no-one else could lead the council. We were right.” She swept her arm around the garden. “Look. Everyone’s here and having fun. Together.”
“Oh, right, yes. Thanks,” I said.
“So we need to consider what the next step is.”
I stared at her.
“The way we are all working together now means that there is no end to what we can achieve. What do you think the council should focus on next?”
My tongue was cloven to the roof of my mouth. She could not be serious.
The Arch-Mage smiled. “You don’t seem happy with the vampires, Miss Smith. We can always start with them. Get rid of them all from our little island for good? Just say the word.”
I found my voice. “We’ve done what we set out to do. Endor’s dead. There’s no reason to keep the council going.”
She arched her eyebrows. “Dear, if we don’t keep the council going, we’ll lose everything we’ve achieved. We need to sustain our momentum.”
“My f*cking name is Mack,” I hissed.
She looked rather taken aback.
“And if you want to continue the council on, then that’s great. But you’ll need to elect a new head. I’m done.”
Her gaze hardened. “Let me guess. You’d give up the chance to create harmony across every facet of the Otherworld for a werepanther. Men like him are nine to the dozen. You’ll find someone else.”
Not a chance, sister.
The Arch-Mage butted in. “She’s right. Just think of all the good you can do.”
“Find someone else,” I repeated through gritted teeth.
“But why should we when you are already so very capable?”
I dug my fingernails into my palms. My blood was boiling. Before I did something I truly regretted, I turned and walked away, pushing through the crowds of people. I reached the fringes of the keep’s boundaries and just kept on going, my thoughts a maelstrom of seething anger. How dare they? I had done what they’d asked of me. It wasn’t fair to do this. Someone else could f*cking take the council leadership on if they thought it was so bloody important. I kicked at the ground, scuffing it and sending clods of dirt fling up into the air. In one fell swoop the pair of them had completely destroyed my sunny mood. Screw them.
I continued stomping along the well-trodden path, cursing aloud. Fire coursed through my veins and I was aware my vision was starting to cloud into red. I shook my head to clear it. I wasn’t going to lose control. Not because of them. I forced myself to take deep calming breaths as I marched. Get a f*cking grip, Mack, I told myself.
Before I realised it, I had emerged out from the canopy of trees. I looked around. The sea stretched in front of me, glittering invitingly in the sunlight. I was high up, on top of the cliffs that overlooked the beach. To the other side, I could see the little village of Trevathorn, sitting snugly at the edge of the bay. If I looked down, I’d be able to see the spot where John had died. I sat down heavily and crossed my legs. How in the hell was I going to get out of this?
There was a rustling behind me. F*ck. Someone had obviously seen me storm off and decided to check whether I was okay. I really just needed some alone time. I craned my neck round to tell whoever it was to go away, then scrambled to my feet and spun round fully.
It was a young man. He looked achingly familiar. I guessed I’d not intimidated the vamps as much as I’d hoped. Fear shivered up my spine. It wasn’t just me I had to worry about any more - but the bloodfire that had been roiling around in my system had vanished. Shit.
“You killed my brother,” he said.
“I didn’t. He was trying to kill me.”
He spat. “So it was self-defence?”
“No!” I put up the palms of my hands in a conciliatory gesture. “A vampire killed him.”
“You work with them?” The disgust in his voice was evident.
Oh, for f*ck’s sake. “No,” I said. “They were trying to blackmail me. I’m sorry about your brother, I really am.”
He stared at me with dead eyes. “You’re a Draco Wyr.”
“Yes, but, come on. All that stuff between our ancestors happened hundreds of years ago. There’s no reason for us to hate each other. Let’s be sensible about this.”
“F*ck you.”
He launched himself at me, slamming my body into the ground. I tried to call up my bloodfire, tried to get even a spark of green fire to defend myself, but it wasn’t working. I lifted up a knee instead and connected with his groin. He rolled off and groaned, then stumbled back up to his feet.
“Just for that, I’m going to make your death as slow and as painful as possible.”
I pulled myself half upright, just in time to allow him to kick me in the face. Salty blood filled my mouth, and I coughed.
“You don’t want to do this,” I said, trying again.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear that in between all the gurgling. Maybe this will help.” He shot out a punch, although this time I managed to just jump out of the way in time.
Okay. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I would defend myself and the babies growing inside me any way I could. I was still a f*cking good fighter, Draco Wyr skills or not. I jumped up in the air, somersaulting and landing to his left, and smacked out my hand, catching him on the bridge of his nose. Blood gushed out. He scissor kicked me in return, the heavy heel of his boots crashing into my chest. I fell backwards onto my elbows.
“Your kind is unnatural,” he snarled. “You should not exist. You’re disrupting the balance of nature.”
Through the haze of pain, I felt dull recognition at his words. They were almost what Aubrey had said. Almost what I’d felt about Endor. Maybe he was right. A weak flicker of heat lit up my belly. I couldn’t let him hurt me any more though; I couldn’t risk losing my children. I pulled up my legs and tried to scuffle backwards. Then a dark shape came flying out of the trees. Corrigan.
The others are on their way.
Relief shot though me. Thank f*ck. Maybe one of them could talk some sense into this guy. He half turned, however, and clocked Corrigan’s fast approach.
“I guess it won’t be so slow after all.” And he grabbed me by the material of my hem-line, yanked me up and pushed.
My hands scrabbled at the air as soon as I realised I was falling. I was going backwards off the cliffs, down to the rocks and the churning sea below. Corrigan howled and flung himself after me. No. Air rushed past me as I gathered speed. Tears were beginning to form in my eyes and then, just as I thought it was all over, my bloodfire flared and I transformed in midair. My body extended into its dragon shape, and my wings flapped. Corrigan landed on top of me, his claws digging into my scales for purchase, as I gained control and swooped round to rocky cliffs and over to the beach.
It was hardly what you’d call a smooth landing. But it was a darn sight better than what the alternative had been. I concentrated on shifting back to human form. This was a public beach – but better to be found naked than to be found as a dragon. The smooth fur of Corrigan’s werepanther equally dissipated, until it was just his hot bare skin against mine.
“Who the f*ck was that and why did you take so long to transform?” He pulled up slightly and stared down into my eyes.
I sighed. “It’s a long story, but essentially he and all his family are sworn to kill the entire race of Draco Wyr. And when they’re next to me, all my powers seem to fade away. I can’t do anything. No fire, no dragon. Nothing. I guess when he pushed me over the cliff I eventually got far enough away for everything to start working again.”
He glared down at me. “And you were planning to tell me this when?”
“I just told you now!”
“For f*ck’s sake, Mack! I can’t keep you safe if you keep running into danger and keeping secrets from me!”
Oh, that stung. I pulled myself out from under him and stood up, placing my hands on my hips. “Keep me safe? Hello, your Lord f*cking Mightiness. Who saved your sorry arse at Bird World? Who saved you from being smashed against a pile of rocks just now?”
Corrigan smirked up at me.
“What?”
He started to laugh.
“What?” I repeated.
“You’re magnificent when you’re angry. Can you always be naked when you get pissed off? It’s so much more entertaining.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. He leapt to his feet in one lithe motion, and cupped my face, leaning in for a kiss. I pulled away.
A hurt expression flitted across his face. “What’s wrong?”
I looked down. “The Summer Queen and the Arch-Mage…”
“I saw them talking to you,” he said grimly. “Let me guess. They want you to stay on as head of the council. Which means you can’t be with me.”
I nodded miserably. “I pretty much told them to f*ck off. And I mean it, I do, but…”
“But they can be very persuasive.”
“I won’t do it, Corrigan.”
He smiled at me. “I won’t let you. Not this time. Come on.” He tugged at my hand. “Let’s face them together.”
Like Adam and Eve, we both walked hand in hand up the dunes and into the trees, wending our way up the train back to the top of the cliffs. We were just at the edge of the woods, when I spotted a huge group of people. Bolux’s descendant was on the ground, with two large shifters standing over him. Everyone else was staring down over the edge of the cliffs. Someone – I couldn’t tell who – began to cry loudly.
“Shit.” I started forward. “They think we’re dead.”
Corrigan grabbed my arm and pulled me back. “I can turn it off, Mack.”
I stared at him, confused.
“I can turn off the Voice for good. They’ll think I’m gone. We can leave together. Now. We’ll be done with this forever.”
“You mean…?”
He nodded. “If you want to.”
“We’ll be free,” I said slowly. “No-one else will come after me if I’m dead.”
He watched me.
“Our children will be safe.”
Corrigan touched my cheek.
“But they need us. You’re the lord Alpha. What will the Brethren do?”
“They’ll find someone else. It’s a f*cking pain in the arse job as it is, kitten. I’m not going to miss it.”
“But Mrs. Alcoon…”
Then I thought of what she had said about Slim going full time. She’d been letting me know she would be fine if I went.
I looked out through the veil of leaves. Someone was turning round. Solus stared right at me. He mouthed something. ‘Go’. He was telling me to leave, to do what Corrigan was suggesting. Alex was next to him, and he also flicked his head round. Solus nudged him and said something. The mage grinned, then lifted up one surreptitious hand, as if in a wave, and returned to gazing at the sea.
“We’ll have ruined their wedding day.”
“They’ll get over it.”
I turned back and looked directly into Corrigan’s eyes. “What if we don’t make it? As a couple?”
“Do you think we won’t?”
I shook my head. No.
“We’re in this for the long haul, kitten, no matter what. But this is your decision. We leave now and never return, or we go and tell everyone that we’re okay. Make a choice.”