Chapter 37
"What do you mean you're busy at the moment?" Brynna – or Beatrix at the moment – hissed angrily into her phone, peeking behind her occasionally and smiling amicably to the rest of the remaining police force still investigating the RV a few feet from its invisible twin. She was hoping to see Dyson here and waiting for her, but instead the CSU people were swarming the RV like ants on an apple pie with no Fur-Face in sight.
"Look," Dyson's frustrations with the blonde caused him to growl the word out, "I have to be here to keep an eye on Tamsin so she doesn't catch wind of you hiding here. You're all still fugitives, you know."
"Yeah. I'm well aware, Einstein." Brynna growled back. "Is Hale still laying low?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Then I guess every one here's about to have a very good afternoon." She flipped her phone shut and turned to the crowd, rolling her shoulders and popping her neck. "Hey, fellas..."
Just a few minutes later, very satisfied and happy people and Fae lay strewn near squad cars and picnic tables, trees even; they were absolutely oblivious to Brynna unlocking the blood seal and entering the desiccated RV.
Brynna stopped in her tracks for a second, the smell of old, dried blood hitting her olfactory nerve hard. She had seen more than her fair share of battlefields and knew the smell personally; it was the smell of death.
She mumbled a Gaelic prayer for the druids who died within and began another search around the RV. She looked in drawers, chess, closets, cabinets, the glove compartment; hell, she even check the ashtray, but nothing hidden revealed itself.
"Come on. I know you had to have hidden – Ah! Ow! Dammit t' hell!" Brynna held the back of her head, stomping her foot as pain raced through her skull. Her pain receptors seemed to mute themselves when she heard the apparent hollow sound beneath her feet. She stomped her foot again to make sure she hadn't imagined the sound and smirked when the hollowness made itself known again.
Holding her aching head, she bent down and moved one corner of an old rug underneath the pleather couch. She rapped her knuckles, located the exact place. She smiled victoriously as she found the right spot, feeling around for any way to open the small, hidden compartment. A frown broke across her face when she couldn't find a handle or anything.
"Must be spelled." Brynna began to rummage through her pockets when she stilled, sensing the presence of someone behind her, not yet close enough to strike. She heard the slight click of the hammer of a gun being pulled back and ready to fire.
"It is. I can either let you trip the wire and see you engulfed in flames or I can shoot you right now." Her stalker's voice sounded. She sounded young, but very sure of herself; her voice was steady with no sign whatsoever of fear. "But since choice number one is not an option, I suggest you back away."
"How do you know I won't just trip the wire on the spell and just go boom and you with me?"
"Because you went through a lot of effort to hide this from your own kind, and you look like the type who likes living too much."
"My kind?" Brynna liked to goad, but remained silent again when the air by her right cheek moved rapidly and left a thin, red line on the tanned flesh.
"You are Fae. What type has yet to be discerned. Now, hands out of your pockets. Slowly." Brynna did as she was ordered, noting the wind gently swirling around her. She held them out to her side. "Behind your head now." She interlocked her fingers casually behind her head and waited. She was not particularly afraid of this girl taking her hostage, but knew not to irritate her too much; the slight fluctuations in her aura telling Brynna she was a practicing Druid.
She heard the girl make some sort of bird call and soon she heard the heavier footfalls of her partner who appeared just inside Brynna's peripheral vision. The young man was tall with dirty-blond hair curling around nearly hidden ears with chiseled features.
"Check her." The girl ordered. Soon, Brynna felt hands ghost over her arms, torso and thighs, then down to her legs and feet checking for anything on her that could be considered a weapon. She noticed he was wearing a thick, green plaid jacket and a pair of cargo pants. The smell of burned wood and the light shadowing of a beard told Brynna that they had been hiding in the thick growth of the forest for days now.
"She's got nothing but a cell." The young man held up the device, his eyes trained on Brynna for any sudden movements.
Suddenly, the girl appeared in front of her; she barely had time to school her features by what she saw. Crouching before her was a woman – no older than her mid-twenties – with familiar blonde hair, cut short with wild curls, and whiskey eyes. "Who and what are you and which side sent you?" The girl questioned, more like demanded, as she reminded Brynna she had a gun aimed at her.
"Could ask the same of you, too." Brynna looked at the woman closely, but broke her observations when a more-than-comfortably-warm hand grasped her neck. Anger and impatience flared in the light-brown orbs and the heat increased around her neck. Brynna could feel the beginnings of sweat forming as she held her gaze with the druidess.
"Ye know, if ye scorch my throat too much, I won't be much use to ye." Brynna managed to croak out; girl had a strong grip.
"Answer my question." The druidess flexed her fingers around Brynna's neck with each word, raising the temperature around the delicate flesh.
"I will when you stop the erotic asphyxiation." The smaller blonde grimaced in disgust and let go, but still had her hands and gun at the ready if Brynna tried to pull something. "I'll answer if I can ask my own questions about you two." Her two captives looked to each other.
"Fine." they said simultaneously.
"My name's Brynna, Succubus, rogue Dark Fae fugitive, and I sent myself out here." Again the two looked to each other deciding whether or not Brynna was lying to them..
"How did you mask the RV?"
"Uh-Uh. My turn to question now. Who are you two?"
"Claire and Liam." Claire gave in a clipped tone. "Were you part of the party that massacred these people?"
"No. I was here looking for clues to -"
"To what?" Claire glared suspiciously at Brynna.
"To who killed these Druids and who else they may be targeting. Didn't your mother teach ye it was rude to interrupt." Brynna's angry quip seemed to have struck a nerve with Claire.
"My mother was the one gutted like a common farm animal." Brynna saw tears fighting desperately to remain in Claire's eyes and instantly felt like shite. The bangs of pain from her grandmother's death still haunted her.
"Your mother was Ashleigh MacBride." Brynna stated.
Suddenly, she was gasping for air and pinned against a wall of the RV making it shake and groan with the force of her weight upon it.
"How do you know her name?" Claire hissed, locking eyes with the Succubus, handing the gun to Liam, who looked unsure as he pointed the weapon at their prisoner. Brynna tampered down her instincts, not willing to hurt the girl or get herself hurt in return; Claire's restraint was hard to rebel against, her anger adding fuel to the fire.
"My clan and I have been tracking down Druids to aid us in stopping -" The wind rushed from her lungs by force, Claire having commanded it to leave her.
"So you slaughtered them when they wouldn't give you what you wanted and tried taking the information -" Claire was cut off by a roar of frustration.
"Now, why the feck would I, a Succubus, want to divine entrails when I could've just sucked her dry?! Now, feckin' open your ears and listen!" Brynna's eyes, for a moment, flared bright before she again stomped down her temper in favor of the young druidess's health.
She was relieved when the girl seemed to take in what she was saying and gently eased her hold until Brynna was leaning against the wall back on her two feet and coughing; Claire waited patiently for an explanation.
"We're trying to track down practicing druids to aid us in breaking a geiss."
"Geasa cannot be broken. They are personal and lifetime laws we all must abide by."
"They can be broken."
"If they can be broken, then what is you geiss?"
"If I told you then I'd be dragging you two into it."
"It's not like we have anything else to look forward to." Liam spoke up. "Our family's been slaughtered and -"
"Liam. Hush." Claire warned.
"And your father's gone missing, hidden somewhere only his children would know of."
Brynna felt the energies swirling about in the air from the two immediately disperse from their shocked states.
"How did you know that?" Liam asked, shocked.
"Like I tried telling ye all before, I'm an ally. I understood some of the symbols your father and the others placed along these walls and I know he's hidden something important and I'm hear to try and find it before the Tuatha De Danann get their hands on it. My blood wards on this place won't last another week. I've already exerted my energy on them enough as it is. If ye would help me find what he's locked away down there," she gestured to where she had flipped up the corner of the rug, "I will escort ye both to where he's at."
"And how do you know where he's going?" Claire asked.
"My wife and the rest of the Lewis clan are heading out later in the evening to where he's holding himself up at and help him regain his strength. With all of you we will have the strength to fight the Tuatha De Danann for our freedom."
"And what's stopping the Light and Dark from still hunting us down?"
"They won't. I have a friend in this county's Ash and soon its Morrigan will be no more after I take care of her."
"So you would just help us to seek an end to your vendetta?"
"I cannot end it without you. I am a strong Fae, I've fought in wars, I've killed more times than I've taken a breath on this earth, but I cannot take on two factions, let alone three. That's what's gotten me into this mess in the first place."
"So you think by making an even bigger mess you could cover up the previous one?"
"There will be no messes made again. They will either come to a peaceful agreement or they perish, and I know they will never agreed to peace."
"You would kill your own kind?" Claire huffed, crossing her arms.
"Humans do it, too." Liam reminded his sister.
"Don't defend her." Claire scolded, glaring at her brother.
"Well, it's true. We're not so different from them." Liam was getting tired of his older sister, who was just three minutes older, dictating what he should do and feel. "How many druids do we need?"
"As many as will help, but we need a multiple of three to really make it work."
"We'll help." Liam announced, but not without a glare from his sister.
"No we will not. She could be lying." Claire tried to reason.
"You know of the Lewis clan, so what's my father's and grandfather's names?" Liam asked, ignoring his sister.
"Roger, son of Collin." Brynna answered, liking Liam more than his sister every moment.
"Where exactly is he?"
"The cemetery. One of your mother's clan has a gravestone that is a hidden bolt-hole."
Liam walked to her, his hand extended confidently. "I believe you, Brynna." She looked into his eyes, the same blue as the Lewises, and grasped his hand in a firm shake.
"Thank you, Liam."
The young man gave a nod and walked over to the rug, bending down, and breaking the seal.
"Liam!" His sisters angry voice rang out.
"Shut it, Claire!" He yelled back, fed up with having to be command by her for the majority of their lives. "She is telling the truth, you just can't see past her being nothing but Fae. If she's married to one of us, then she must hate her kind as we do. I've agreed to help her, so you can either come with us and not say a word, or you could stay here until those lynxes catch your scent and tear you to pieces, as well."
Claire kept up her pissed appearance, but decided it would be best to be the listener instead of the taker. She flopped onto a clean stool and waited until her brother retrieved the artifact.
Liam lifted the heavy, hidden door and lifted out something long wrapped in canvas. To Brynna, it appeared to be a weapon.
"What is that?" Brynna was curious as she felt the hairs stand up on her arms and neck.
"This," Liam carefully unfolded a portion of the canvas and revealing a portion of a wondrously crafted spear, "Is the Spear of Lugh."
* LOST * GIRL *
Bo scanned the shadowed trees and bushes for sign of an ambush, the only sounds her footsteps echoing off the buildings around her. Some of the Lewis Clan walked barefoot on the small strips of what the city-folk called 'lawns' outside the apartment buildings they passed along the way. Garrett walked beside Bo, using his heightened canine senses to sniff out any oncoming enemies or pick up on Roger's scent. Maureen flew silently in the sky, getting an aerial view of the layout of the city and reporting back to her father, who was walking behind Bo with Sinead and Shona bringing up the rear.
Lauren, still honing her feline skills, walked atop the small, brick wall to Bo's other side; it was the walls of the massive cemetery in the center of town. She purred proudly when she found her balance, already adjusting to being a quadruped. Her tufted, isabelline ears swiveled erratically as she took in the sounds of her surroundings; she knew she was hearing things that her bipedal family couldn't hear with the exception of Garrett. She actually liked being a cat for the most part. She missed her thumbs quite a bit, but being a digitigrade nearly made up for the loss.
"There's the cemetery entrance." Bo whispered, pointing out the closed gates. A laminated sheet of paper read that the cemetery would be closed due to vandalism in the last few days.
"Bo," Collin spoke, garnering her attention, "Maureen say two security guards are headed this way. We have but moments to slip in."
"You leave them to me. Sinead, I assume you know your way around locks?" Bo hopefully asked, looking up and down searching for any sign of the guards approaching; she could see the faint glow of flashlights in the distance.
"You know it." Sinead reached into her jacket and pulled out a lock-pick kit. She examined the lock and was confident she could unlock it before the guards spot them. Lauren sat to her cousin's side and watched with curiosity as the brunette druid masterfully worked the small picks into the keyhole.
Sinead's grunt of frustration caught Bo's attention. "What's the holdup?"
"A minor problem. Somehow, the damn caretaker was smarter than we've given them credit for. They picked a rather difficult style of lock that I don't have much experience with."
Bo groaned in frustration. "Keep trying. If the guards get here before you open it, I can take them on." Sinead gave the succubus a nod and went back to her task with determination.
Lauren cocked her head, trying to think of a way to help. She perked up when she remembered her fire training. Hopefully, the flame wouldn't be so bright that she could melt the metal. She feared using too much energy, for she had fainted for a minute after transforming. She had yet to completely finish her charm, thus her charm was devoid of any energy to draw from. If she made the flame burn at the right level then it would take no time to have the small, thick, U-shaped bar; she could most definitely reach the rich soil of the cemetery and replenish before to much time passed and then guards caught a naked woman in the town cemetery. Not gonna happen.
She cleared her animals thoughts, instincts that formed into thoughts her human spirit could understand, and directed her human consciousness towards communication telepathically with her mentor. Shona gave a nod and rummaged through Lauren's satchel. She retrieved a brown trench coat and placed it on the cream and tan colored feline.
Lauren took a breath, held it in, and concentrated on her original human form. She let her breath go as she felt the first pangs of the transformation again. Bones ached and felt like they were popping, joints and tendons stretched and moved to much more Homo sapien-like anatomy. She groaned as her ribcage started expanding and ribs fused and formed more thicker versions. She began stretching as her vertebrae began elongating and fusing. Other bones and anatomical parts shifted until she was human again and on all fours under the coat.
"Ow." She mumbled as she slowly moved her sore arms through the sleeves and stood, making sure to face away from her group and buttons and tied the article of clothing.
"We promise that will go away after a time." Collin spoke with a serious tone beside the red-head. He may be old, but the pain of shifting the first few times still stayed with him fresh in his mind; it wasn't quite something one got over even with centuries under your belt.
"So your gonna make a hotter-than-Hades torch and just melt through the lock?"
Lauren nodded while rubbing her sore throat; it would take her a moment before she found her voice.
"Got for it."
Lauren moved to Sinead's side once again, placing her hand on her shoulder. The shorter brunette let a small smile grace her lips, grateful to her estranged cousin for getting her away from the pain-in-the-arse lock.
Lauren raised her hand and began concentrating on gathering heat at the tip of her pointer finger; she had the whole fire tetrahedron. Before too long, the flame began to turn from the normal orange and yellow glow.
"Hand me your sunglasses, Bo." she caught the easily as her girlfriend tossed them over to her.
"Garrett can hear their footsteps now." Collin informed, watching his son sniff and huff around the wall outside the cemetery.
"Don't look directly at the flame." Lauren quickly donned the shades and gathered more of her energy to turn the normal yellow-orange flicker into an intensely hot, dazzling white pin-point flame. She slowly moved her finger toward the lock and smiled when she saw the stainless steel give way to melting, and soon the heavy metallic sound of the thick lock falling to the ground reached her ears. She removed the sunglasses, handing them to Bo with a smile before standing back up.
Soon, Lauren could here the echoing of the guards' boots against the concrete of the sidewalk and quickly flung open the iron gates. The group rushed in just before the guards rounded their corners.
"Talk about close, huh?" Bo said from her temporary hiding place behind a large tree; the others hid behind monuments or crouched down behind tombstones to evade the guards now lazily scanning the large open space either fearful of the cemetery or too lazy to do their jobs correctly.
Once they closed the gates and went off back to making their rounds, the group moved as silently as possible through the cemetery.
"So the tombstone is on a hill with a Hawthorn and Rowan tree growing on either side?" Bo asked, wanting confirmation that her information was correct because she wasn't seeing a hill anywhere near them.
"It's to the east." Lauren said confused. She could see the hill clear as day against the dark background of the evening sky. Bo looked in the direction, but couldn't see anything but flat land with tombstones littered across it with...a Rowan and a Hawthorn growing in the middle of the batch of gravestones.
"Roger must have been able to pull up a barrier blocking Fae from viewing the hill. Be alert; their may be enemies lurking in this cemetery with us." Collin warned. With everyone on high alert, they moved closer to the location.
"Maybe I should just stay out here and wait for all of you." Bo began feeling uneasy the closer she got to the to trees. Her skin became covered with goosebumps and her heart began beating faster and faster.
"It's the enchantments and wards Roger's put up. It deters Fae from investigating the site with non-lethal force."
"This far away?" They liked another quarter of a football field to be right at the spot.
"He doesn't like taking chances." Maureen stated. "If you start feeling sick, you can hang back if you like."
"I'm sure I'll be fine. I'll stop if I have to."
By the time they reached the enchanted hill, Bo was out of breath and beginning to look pale.
"Bo, maybe you should wait for us at the bottom." Lauren worried for her girlfriend's health.
Bo smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine. I haven't even threw up yet and -" Lauren quickly moved herself out of the gush of digestive juices coming forth from her lover's lips.
"I'll sit at the bottom of the damn hill." She said weakly as Lauren held her hair and rubbed soothing circles on her back.
I'll watch over her with Sinead, Lauren. Go with Da and Maureen and see Roger. Garrett nudged at his niece and she agreed with him. The large canine let the Succubus use his strong body to balance herself as Sinead brought up the rear.
After she was sure Bo was sitting and taking a breather, Lauren's pent up nerves came boiling over. Could she do this? Could she stand at her mother's grave after all these years and also talk to her father, who hasn't even contacted her for nearly two decades?
"Lauren," Collin's voice brought her out of her mental questioning of her resolve. His kind, blue eyes shimmered as he took her hand comfortingly. "It will all be fine. Your father still loves you. He's always been a touch self-absorbed, but he does care. He didn't want you being brought up in this way because he knows the risks and sacrifice one must make."
"I hope he's as understanding as you." Lauren gave her grandfather a watery smile before engulfing him in a hug, the scent of pine and cider oddly comforting to her, before pulling away and looking at her mother's final resting place. "Let's not waste anymore time."
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