Authors: Shannon Mayer
Paddy’s blue ey
es lowered and he shook his head slowly.
“I don’t tink we can, lass.
We have many a sword ‘ere, good swords, but none wit ta power you be needing.
”
“I wish to hell we could
,
”
Wil said. “But we be missing all ta vitals.”
Bres frowned, “What do you need?”
Angus lifted his hands in the air, ceasing the conve
rsation. “This is a talk for ta
anvil.” He turned and headed towards the covered work area, Paddy and Wil following him.
Bres held his hand out to me. “Don’t lose faith, Quinn. We aren’t done yet.”
I managed to give him a smile, and wished with all my heart that I could hang onto his words and truly believe them.
The ‘vitals’ as it turned out were a list of items that Angus, Wil and Paddy mostly had. Except for the most important parts.
“You see, ta most important tings to make a weapon of power like Excalibur are ta weapon of a true King of ta Emerald Isle
and ta soul of one who needs to make recompense for ta sins in their life.”
I leaned a
hip against the middle anvil, t
he sharp edge digging into me a bit. “But you said that the last true King was Arthur.” They nodded. “So how are we going to get a weapon of his?”
Angus shrugged. “He had a number of tings. His sword
,
of course, as well as a dagger . . .” He kept talking
,
but my ears started to ring and all I could hear was the word dagger.
My fingers found the handle of
my
dagger at my waist. The bone was smooth and warm, the etching in it and the blade were Celtic. It had power
.
Cora had told me that when I first met her.
She had said t
hat
it was bonded to me and my family.
Could it be that my grandfather
had known what I would need?
That the dagger he’d passed down to me was really once
Arthur
’
s
?
Slowly, I pulled it out and laid it on the anvil.
With a gasp and a choke
as a unit
,
the three Smiths went silent. It was Paddy who fina
lly spoke up. “Lass, how did ya
get tat?”
“My grandfather gave it to me. Is it
. . .
was it, Arthur
’
s?”
Paddy lifted it up off the anvil. “Yes,
d
is was Arthur
’
s.” He fingered the blade, turning it in the light. “If it was passed down to y
a
, tr
oo
y
e
r
family, then not only was it Arthurs,
d
en you are Arthur’s descendant.”
I swallowed hard. “What about the last thing? The soul?” I mean really, how did they expect us to find a soul?
Snapping my fingers, I said, “The hall we passed through, the Banshee graveyard. Do you think we could find a soul there?”
Angus shook his head. “Not unless it was a Queen. Ta Banshees do what
they’re
told, so tay aren’t really bad. Obedient, not bad.”
I looked over at Bres
,
who’d arched an eyebrow. “What was it that Fianna gave you when we left, Quinn?”
My
pocke
t
suddenly felt heavy. I hadn’t asked what Fianna had given me, but I had no doubt now what it was. Aednat’s soul gem.
The small brown bag looked nondescript when I laid it on the anvil, but when I undid the tie and slid the gem onto the tempered steel, the three Smiths gasped.
The blue and green stone was all that was left of Aednat. My heart clenched just thinking about her.
“The gods indeed be looking out for y
a
, Quinn.” Angus dropped a
big
hand onto my shoulder and patted it. “We can build you ta sword you need,
a
sister to Excalibur. For a price.”
Blinking
,
I stared up at him, not sure if I’d heard correctly. “What?”
“We can do nothing for free. There is always a cost
,
”
h
e
said, his voice sad. “I wish it were different, but if we break that law now, our safety here is forfeit.”
Bres stepped forward
, his eyes narrowed
. “What kind of cost?”
The three Smiths put their heads together, the low rumble of their voices filling the
two
-
sided shelter
as they discussed
, though I could make
out
nothing of their words
.
Stepping over to Bres, I slipped my hand into his.
Any idea what they might come up
with
?
He shook his head.
Not a clue. I didn’t even know that this was a possibility.
With a grunt, Angus stepped away from Wil and Paddy. “We’ve decided tat ta cost will be someting simple. Someting you’d perhaps like to give us.”
I took a deep breath, thinking I was prepared for anything. Wrong again.
“Your mother.”
“Huh?” I half grunted.
Angus flushed. “You see, being ta oracle and all, we thought tat she’d like to live here. It’s safe and she don’t have to be seeing any more prophecies here. And . . .” he half glanced over his shoulder at Wil, who was suspiciously stone faced.
I looked at Wil, really looked at him
,
and realized that he was a handsome man. His body was fit and muscular, his eyes were gentle and he had a strong jaw line. Then it hit me. She was the oracle. The one who’d prophesied everything
,
the one who
had
s
een
her daughters killing each other. And she’d had us anyway.
It boggled my mind and yet, even with that, e
verything she’d done and said made ridiculous sense
in that context.
She did not give all the prophecies. I gave the first
,
as I was the oracle before her. She gave the second
,
after the two of you were born. It was then that she revolted, that she rebelled and did her best to stop loving you girls.
Cora’s words rocked me and I stumbled outside, ignoring Bres’ concern. “Why tell me this now?”
I feel that it’s the right time
.
Standing outside the covered shop
,
I struggled to grasp this new twist. “Does that mean Ashling or I
is
next in line?”
You will be the next oracle
;
it is through the Tuatha blood that that calling is passed.
Just what I needed, another responsibility.
You won’t gain it until your mother is very old. You have time before that happens.
Turning
,
I headed back into the shop. I would deal with the prophecy/oracle business when I had to. Right at that moment
, it
wasn’t the time.
My eyes met Wil’s hazel ones.
“Why her?” I asked, not looking at anyone else. Wil cleared his throat.
“Your
Mama
,
and
I . . .”
Paddy snorted. “He’s been in love wit her and she wit him for
their
whole bloody lives. But her damn
interfering
mudder, she stopped ta
marriage. It soured your
mama
, made her a bit crazy.”
Wil nodded. “Tis true. I love her. Want her her
e
wit me.”
That man could have been my father if things had turned out differently.
“I won’t force her
,
”
I said.
Angus started to laugh. “You won’t have to, Lass. Al
l
right. We’ll make ta sword for ya. You send your
mama
back here and ta deal is done.”
They shooed us away into the house, the sounds of bellows and hammers on steel following us. “How long?” I asked.
“As long as it takes.” Was the only answer they g
a
ve.
The interior of the house was cool and clean. I plunked down on one of the sturdy wooden chairs, my thoughts racing. “Did you know that my mother was the oracle?”
He shook his head. “No, whenever the oracle came to see my father, it was at
night and her face was covered.
But I suspected.”
Resting my head in my hands, I tried to understand why a woman would have children knowing that they would kill each other. That was the only part that didn’t make sense. Over and over
,
I turned it in my mind, trying to find the reason why. Because
,
while I’d told myself we were done, Darcy was still my mother, and if there was a chance
we could reconcile
,
it might be worth the try. Maybe
.
“I’m going outside a minute
,
”
I said, pushing my chair back with a loud scrape. Bres poured a mug of tea. “Here, take this with you.” The clay mug was heavy, meant for much larger hands than my own.
I lifted it to my lips
and
the faint taste of Fairy Honey whispered across my tongue. The ache in my body from the mad dash of flight began to ease within seconds. Clutching my mug, I stepped back outside and went to watch the three Smiths.
The sight was
awe
-
inspiring. They moved as a unit, a
well
-
oiled machine. Paddy held a piece of metal with a huge pair of tongs while Wil and Angus struck it with hammers, one right after the other. The pounding of the metal was rhythmic and steady. Neither Angus nor Wil moved
;
it was Paddy who made adjustments by shifting the steel on the anvil.
I wanted to talk to Wil
,
but knew that I couldn’t interrupt him, not now.
Bres came to stand beside me, putting one hand on the small of my back. “We’re almost there, Quinn. Be easy on yourself for
a moment. Rest. Ta
battle will be here soon enough.”
Leaning into his side, I
knew he was right.
I’d be facing off against Chaos, Ashling
, before I was ready
.
Without a word, Bres took my hand and led me away from the forging. We walked to the edge of the clearing where a
well
-
worn path started. Again, he led, but didn’t let go of me.
Along the edge the
flowers bloomed, the scent of them filling the air. I took a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh.
For a moment, maybe I could forget what was coming.
The path led us to another small clearing, t
his one more like the Banshee
bowers. Enclosed, private and peaceful. A bench sat in the middle next to a pond that was full of colourful darting fish.
Bres took me over to
i
t
and sat me down. “This is a good spot to rest.”
I smiled up at him and he ran his finger along the edge of my jaw. Our eyes met and I couldn’t look away, captured by his violet gaze. Slowly,
inch-by-inch
,
he leaned into me until our lips touched and in that moment
the world was all right, the wrongs of it kissed away
.
His arms wrapped around me, the tea mugs forgotten as he claimed my mouth. Tongue delving deep, I could taste the Fairy Honey on his lips, along with the flavour that was solely him. He slid his hands under my shirt, running his fingers up and down my spine, tracing patterns that made my skin shiver with anticipation.
I pulled back to catch my breath. “Bres, I . . .”
“Hush, I know you love us both
,
”
h
e
said against my lips, pulling me into his lap. “For now, we are both yours.”
Hours passed as Bres and I lay in the seclusion of the trees, wrapped around one another, dozing between kissing and tasting one another. There was a peace here, not just in that place, but in his arms. Safety wa
s a feeling I’d almost given up on
.
Sometime in the
middle of the night
, Bres stood. “Come, let me show you some moves with ta sword. You will be needing it when it comes to Chaos.”