The Crossing (Immortals) (40 page)

"Feel what?"

"My body. It needs me. I have to go." His wide eyes found
hers. He was already drifting away, higher and higher.
"You'll be there when I wake zip, won't you, Mommy?"

"Yes. At least... I'll try to be."

He flashed her another grin. She watched, heart bursting with emotion, as he floated out of sight. Only then did
she become aware of a hand on her arm. She turned to
find Mac sitting beside her.

He looked awful. His fair complexion was tinged with
gray, and dark smudges marred the skin under his eyes.
Leanna, sprawled in his arms, looked even worse. The burns on her legs were ringed with blackened skin. Her
face was as pale as a corpse's. Was she even breathing?
Artemis couldn't be sure. "Is she... alive?"

"Only just." Mac scanned the landscape. "Good. We
landed near the cairns. The barrow entrance is just over
that rise. I've got to get her to someone who can help."

He stood, staggering under Leanna's weight. He was
weak, Artemis realized. Much weaker than she'd ever
seen him.

A shiver of dread chased down her spine. "Mac."

He didn't turn to look at her. "Yes, love?"

"What happened in Lucifer's lair? You didn't fight, you
said. Did you make a bargain?"

He started walking. "I did."

She fell into step beside him. "What was it?"

His breathing roughened as they started up a steep hill.
"If you don't mind, Artemis, I'd rather not go into it right
now. Perhaps after Leanna is safe in Kalen's castle..

"Is that where we're going?"

"Yes. Despite Kalen's history with my sister, I'm hoping
he'll allow Leanna refuge there. And Christine..." He
grimaced. "I'm hoping she's not the vindictive type."

"I don't understand."

"Leanna was Kalen's lover, before he threw her over for
Christine. Leanna didn't take it well. She tried to eliminate her competition. Permanently."

"Oh." Artemis paused. "In that case, maybe you should
take your sister someplace else."

Mac halted before the barrow entrance. Artemis touched
the ancient oak. Had it been only a day since Niniane
had dragged her through that door? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Mac brushed aside a hanging vine, shifting Leanna in
his arms as he touched the tarnished brass latch. The door
swung open. He didn't speak until they'd descended the
narrow stair.

"There's nowhere else I can take her." The dirt walls
and hanging roots muted his worry. "She needs a place
saturated with life magic in which to heal. Annwyn would
be ideal, of course, but Niniane would never let her in."

"But... Leanna is her daughter! Of course she would."

His voice turned hard. "Not every mother is like you,
love. Trust me, Niniane wants nothing to do with Leanna.
She wouldn't care if she died. In fact, she'd probably be relieved."

The tunnel branched. Without hesitation, Mac chose
the left fork. His steps were slow and plodding, his breathing labored.

"Mac. Are you all right?"

He ignored the question. "There's another reason we
need to get to Kalen's. You want to get to Zander's bedside
quickly, don't you? So you can be there when he wakes?"

"Well, yes, of course, but-"

"Kalen can get you there quicker than anyone. He can
translocate at will, to anywhere in the human world, and
he can take one other person with him. Shouldn't take him
more than fifteen minutes or so to get you to Philadelphia."

"Fifteen minutes? You're joking."

He looked back at her, the ghost of one of his old grins
on his face. "Me? Joke?"

She lifted her brows.

"No joke this time, love. Very soon, you'll be holding
your son in your arms."

Mac felt older than the oldest Sidhe elder who had ever
lived. No, he amended. Older than that. From where he
sat, on the armchair in Kalen's library, he could practically
see the boat to the West sailing up to his soul's shore.

Saraid's words drifted in the back of mind. Death is
strong. In the end, it cannot be denied.

He was all too uncomfortably aware of Christine's worried presence. She was on to him, he knew. He couldn't
summon any ire, though. Christine hadn't even blinked
when Mac showed up on her doorstep asking her to take
in Kalen's former lover. She'd only nodded and set about
seeing to Leanna's care, had even performed a powerful
healing ritual. And that had been before Mac had told her
how Leanna had saved his arse, not once, but twice. Truly,
Christine was a rare woman.

His gaze drifted to another rare woman. Artemis, thankfully, was consumed with her need to get to her son. She
hadn't peppered him with any more difficult questions
about what had transpired in Lucifer's sanctuary. At the
moment, she was completely absorbed with Kalen's description of the process of translocation, a very rare magical
talent in which the Immortal excelled.

Dressed in a hastily borrowed outfit of jeans and sweater
from Christine, she looked beautiful. Her dark eyes were
wide with trepidation, despite Kalen's assurances that div ing in and out of holes ripped in space was perfectly harmless. He wanted to laugh. This, from a woman who had
been to Hell and back.

"Really," Kalen said. "Christine doesn't care for
translocation-makes her nauseated-but there's no danger at all. You're much more likely to be injured hurtling
around London on the M25."

Somehow, Mac summoned a smile and a jaunty tone.
"That's right, love. There's nothing to it, really, especially
after what you've been through lately. Just close your eyes
and remember to breathe. Kalen will take you directly to
Zander's hospital room."

"You can land that precisely?" Artemis asked Kalen.

The Immortal nodded. "We can go right now, if you'd
like."

"Yes! I'm ready. Except..." Her gaze sought Mac's.
"Will you come, later? Once Leanna doesn't need you?"

"Of course, love." He hoped the lie didn't show in his
eyes.

Apparently, it didn't, because Artemis nodded. Padding
toward his chair, she leaned into his body and entwined
her arms about his neck.

"I'll miss you every second until you come," she said.
Her hand went to her stomach. "And so will your son.
Zander's going to love having a little brother."

His fingers tightened on her hips. He closed his eyes,
fighting tears. He breathed in her scent, imprinting it on
his mind. Her lips met his, and for a moment he forgot his
fatigue, forgot his bleak future, forgot everything except
what it felt like to have the woman he loved in his arms.

The embrace was unbearably sweet, because he knew it
was to be their last.

Artemis drew back. Her fingers rose to smooth a lock of
hair from his temple. She searched his eyes, and couldn't
disguise the worry in hers. "You still haven't told me what
happened in Lucifer's lair."

Damn. He'd really been hoping he wouldn't have to lie
to her again. "Nothing for you to worry about," he said.
"Now, off with you. Zander's waiting."

She gave him one last kiss. "All three of us will be waiting for you."

Not trusting himself to speak, he only nodded.

She turned to Kalen. "I'm ready now." She looked at
Christine. "Thank you for everything."

"No need. It wasn't any trouble at all."

Mac watched as Kalen let his power drop. A rift in space
appeared. Unlike a demon portal, the doorway shone with a
muted white light. Wrapping his arm firmly around
Artemis's waist, the Immortal pulled her inside.

And they were gone.

Several moments passed. Mac stared at the place where
Artemis had been, waiting for Christine to speak.

He didn't have to wait long. "Now," she said in a tone
that brooked no argument. "Tell me what happened. All
of it. None of this silent macho stuff men are so fond of."

Mac let his head fall back on the cushions. "Macho" was
about the last thing he felt at the moment. "Not much to
tell, love."

Christine only pursed her lips and crossed her arms.

He sighed. She already knew the basics of his and
Artemis's journey into the Underworld. She might as well
know the rest.

"The deepest level of Hell, as you know, is reserved for
betrayers. Except for the realm known as Ptolomaea. There,
it's not the betrayers who are tormented, but the betrayed."

His fingers stroked the leaf pattern on the carved arm
of the chair. "Living souls. Mostly children, snatched by
Hecate. That's where the demon took Zander's soul."

Christine edged closer, her blue eyes sober as she sank
down on an ottoman just beyond Mac's knees. "You freed
Zander, along with all the others. You opened the door to
Ptolomaea."

"No. Not me. Lucifer opened Ptolomaea's gates. He's
the only one who can. He freed Zander and the others, after I negotiated an exchange." He closed his eyes.

He could feel Christine's anxiety, radiating in waves.
"What... did you trade?"

"My immortality, Christine."

He heard her swallow. He opened his eyes. Her blue
eyes, deep as the sea, looked infinitely sad, but not, he
thought, so very surprised.

"You knew."

She shook her head. "No. But I suspected, as soon as I
saw you, and heard what you'd been through. I hoped I
was wrong."

He leaned forward in his seat, his forearms on his
thighs, his hands dangling uselessly between his knees.
"You weren't wrong. I'm no longer immortal. And my life
essence is none too strong at the moment." A ripple of
fear washed through him, deep and surreal. "I think... I
think I'm dying, Christine."

She took his hands in both of his. They were very
warm. Or perhaps his were very cold. It was hard to tell.
"Mac. Look at me."

He did.

"You're not dying. At least not-" Her voice hitched, but
she regained control quickly. "At least not for a very long
time. You may not be immortal, but you're still a god."

He smiled faintly. "Only half."

"Sidhe live for centuries as well."

"Normal Sidhe. Not Sidhe who have been to Hell and
back, and dealt with the devil himself. I'm hardly holding
it together at the moment. I'm not sure... I not sure I
could even stand up without pitching to the carpet."

She squeezed his fingers. "Your life essence is low, true,
and stained with death magic. If you stay in the human
world, you could very well die. But there's somewhere else
you can go. A place that will heal you."

His head dropped forward. "Gods, Christine, no. Please
don't tell me Annwyn is my last hope."

"Not only your last hope, Mac. It might very well be
Leanna's as well. She's worse off than you are. She needs
to get to the Otherworld as soon as possible. It's the only
thing that will save her."

Mac closed his eyes with a groan. "Splendid. Looks like
Niniane's fondest dream and worst nightmare will be
coming true all at once."

"Mackie-oh, Mackie, you wretch! You idiot! I can't believe you could do this to me!"

Mac opened his eyes. He lay on a bed in one of Kalen's
many guest rooms. Every muscle in his body ached. And
now his brain hurt as well, because his mother stood
frowning down at him. He caught a glimpse of his cousins
hovering behind her.

He'd never seen the pair look quite so somber.

He forced a grin. "Hello, Mum. Nice to see you, too." He
nodded at his cousins. "Niall. Ronan."

Niall returned the nod, and Ronan raised a hand. Neither cracked a smile.

Niniane's lips trembled. A tear slipped down her cheek.
"Oh, Mac." She swallowed. "Kalen told me the whole
sorry tale. How you freed all those innocent souls. Your
father... Lir is very proud of you."

"And you?"

"I'm just glad you're safe. Or at least, you will be, once we
get you back to Annwyn. The gates are open and waiting.
All we have to do is cross the Channel to the mainland and
sail through. Niall and Ronan will carry you to the boat."

"On one condition."

Niniane's brows shot up. "Condition? What condition
could you possibly have? Frankly, Mac, you're in no shape
to be issuing orders. You're half dead!"

"Nonetheless, I have one. I am not going through those
gates without my sister. Leanna is coming to Annwyn
with me."

Several seconds passed, during which the only sounds
were the ticking of Kalen's Louis XIV clock and the shuffling of Niall's and Ronan's feet.

At last, Niniane found her voice. "But, Mac, she's half
human! She belongs here, in the human world."

His jaw tensed. A spike of pain shot through it, making
him feel as if he'd taken a left hook. "She's half Sidhe as
well. Your own daughter."

Panic flashed through Niniane's eyes. "But... what will
I tell your father?"

"You think Lir doesn't know you were unfaithful all
those years ago?" Mac almost laughed at the alarmed expression on his mother's face. "Da is a bloody god! Believe
me, he knows all about your little indiscretion with that
bonny Highlander. If he didn't throw you over back in the
eighteenth century, he's not going to do it now."