Chapter Thirteen
AN: A friend and I realized that The Princess Bride has been influencing me in writing this without me, well, realizing.
In looking up the lyrics to a favorite song I discovered that I'd been pronouncing "mo laoch" incorrectly this whole time. That said, I don't think I ever posted the pronunciation: it's "moe laych(k)." I wrote this chapter to that same song: "Mo Ghile Mear," by Orla Fallon. Have a listen; it's awesome and all in Irish.
PS: Bonus points if you find the Buffy reference.
Bo was once again the first to wake, this time to the feel of sunlight shining through the window. She was still in Tamsin's warm arms, held snugly against the Valkyrie's body in a way that made her feel utterly cherished. It scared Bo as much as it thrilled her, this feeling of utter safety and comfort she'd never felt and thus couldn't name. Suddenly uncomfortable in her unsurety, Bo slipped from Tamsin's arms with a sigh, stretching as she swung her legs over the bed.
Her eyes were once again drawn to the notebooks on Tamsin's bookshelf. Glancing over at the Valkyrie to make sure she was still asleep, Bo walked over to the shelf and took out a notebook she hadn't perused yet and flipped open the cover. The first few pages were again in runic Norse before switching to gibberish that looked like someone had doodled over various letters of the alphabet. This script continued through a fair part of the notebook, and Bo couldn't help but wonder what language it was that Tamsin was so fond of.
"That's in Icelandic," the Valkyrie answered from over her shoulder, causing the succubus to shriek and nearly drop the book.
"Don't do that!" Bo protested.
Tamsin was unrepentant. "This is why you wanted to know how many languages I spoke, isn't it?" she smirked.
Bo blushed. "I…I was curious…and I figured since I couldn't read it anyway…"
The Valkyrie burst out laughing. "It's fine, Bo. None of these notebooks have a lot of English in them, so I'm not worried you'll judge my poetry."
The succubus let out a laugh of relief. "The only thing I found in English was so crossed out I could barely read it," she admitted.
Tamsin felt a flash of panic. She could only think of one English poem that was marked up all to hell, and if Bo had read that one… The Valkyrie cleared her throat. "Um, so, yeah, I write in Icelandic and Norwegian a lot because they're both derived from Old Norse. I still remember Old Norse and the runic alphabet; I just don't really use it anymore."
"So what's this poem about?" Bo asked, holding up the notebook.
The Valkyrie scanned the page. "That one's about the northern lights," she replied. "Not one of my best, but it was just sort of a reaction piece to what I was seeing."
"Wait, you wrote this while watching the northern lights? In Iceland?"
"Uh-huh," the Valkyrie smiled. "Pictures don't really do them justice."
"I'd love to see them," Bo sighed.
Tamsin's smile softened into fondness. "Someday I'll take you there, succubus," she promised, and the grin she received in return was more beautiful to her than any aurora could ever be. "Now come on – you shower, I'll make breakfast. I hope you like crepes."
"You're spoiling me," Bo giggled.
"I'm eating them too, remember. I'm spoiling both of us." She winked at the succubus before leaving the room and heading downstairs. Bo stared after her for a moment before putting the notebook back on the shelf and taking out the one with the English poem she'd found. She flipped back and forth to see if she could find more than those last two stanzas, but it looked like a few pages had been torn out. With a sigh of defeat, Bo returned the book to its place on the shelf before going to the bathroom to take a shower.
When the succubus entered the kitchen, there was a stack of crepes waiting for her and Tamsin was frowning at her phone. "What's wrong?"
"Trick wants us at the Dal again today," the Valkyrie murmured. "Said something about Lauren having the results of her test."
"Yeah, well, Trick can shove it," Bo spat, loading her plate with crepes and grabbing the strawberry jam.
"Bo, he's your grandfather," Tamsin admonished, though gently.
"Yeah, and such a wonderfully loving grandfather he's been." The succubus's voice was saturated with sarcasm.
"He's still your family."
"Well he doesn't act like it!" Bo shouted, then winced. "I'm sorry, Tamsin, I shouldn't be shouting at you. I'm just…I'm just so angry with him…"
Tamsin sighed and made her way over to where Bo stood by the counter. Placing her hands on the succubus's shoulders, she began, "He may be pissing you off right now, but we all make stupid mistakes. I did terrible, terrible things, but you still forgave me. I think you can find it in your heart to forgive him, too." She sighed. "Bo, I spent almost all of my lives alone. After my mother died, I never had a family until now – until you and Kenzi and hell, even Trick and Kayleigh and Dyson when he's not being an asshole. You're all my family and you mean everything to me. You should never give up on your family."
Bo smiled as she mirrored Tamsin's gesture, putting her hands on the Valkyrie's shoulders. "Family doesn't have to be determined by blood, Tamsin. The family you have now? You're not related to any of them. Well, maybe very, very distantly to Kayleigh, but not the rest of us. I may have gotten my mother back and Trick may be my grandfather, but they're not the only family I have. You and Kenzi are the most important people in my life, and you mean everything to me, too. If I had to live my life without Trick in it, I could. But I could never live without you and Kenzi."
Hearing Bo say that she was one of the most important people in her life and couldn't live without her made Tamsin's heart pound double-time in her chest as her very being sang with joy. She brought her hands from the succubus's shoulders to wrap around her waist instead, pulling her into a tight embrace. Bo threw her arms around Tamsin's neck and buried her face into the Valkyrie's shoulder, inhaling her scent – lavender and spice and something solely Tamsin. They stood in comfortable silence for a long time, far longer than "just friends" would. But they had crossed that line long ago, though neither was sure into where. For now, what they had between them didn't need a name. It just was.
The moment was cut short by the buzzing of Tamsin's phone. Looking over Bo's shoulder and seeing who the caller was, the Valkyrie rolled her eyes and pulled away from the succubus, turning on the speakerphone. "What do you want, short-stack?"
"Dude, you've gotta come to the Dal. We're gettin' all Xena up in this shit."
"English, please," Bo requested.
"The doctors Feelgood brought weapons," the human replied. The two Fae could hear Kayleigh's distinct "Oi!" of nickname protest in the background. "Figured with the sídhe on their way it might be good to start training up. Kayleigh's got Lauren on a crossbow and Aislinn's teaching me how to use a short bow. Woman's like Legolas on crack." This time Bo and Tamsin heard what sounded like "should I take that as a compliment?" followed by Lauren's "in Kenzi-speak, yes."
"Give us about an hour, ok?" Bo replied. "We haven't finished breakfast."
"It's gonna take you an hour to finish breakfast? With the way Tamsin eats?"
Bo chuckled. "No, it's just…I promised my mom I would visit her for a little bit today."
"Oh. Cool." Kenzi's tone had become very awkward very quickly. "See you when you get here, then."
"Maybe she can hit the target by then!" Kayleigh called out. The last thing Bo and Tamsin heard before Kenzi hung up was a string of Russian curses.
Both women sighed. "Well…guess we have to get going now," was Bo's reluctant assertion. In the time it had taken her to say this, Tamsin had eaten her stack of crepes. "Seriously?!"
"Habit. You eat as slowly as you want; I'm going to take a shower." Not sure where the impulse came from but succumbing nonetheless, Tamsin pressed a kiss to Bo's cheek before going upstairs.
The succubus stood frozen for a few stunned moments, the echo of the Valkyrie's lips burning on her skin. Memories of past kisses rushed through her mind as a river might break down a dam: searching for Kenzi, Brazenwood, and so recently in Tamsin's bed when the Valkyrie had seen right through her and still held her tight. Bo shook herself back to reality and focused on the much simpler task of eating her crepes, even as she could still feel Tamsin's kiss on her cheek.
…
Bo visited her mother long enough to say hello and admire some of her new drawings. Aífe had drawn a picture of Bo and Tamsin standing together that she insisted Bo keep. The succubus absolutely adored it, but was less enthusiastic about the picture of her spattered with blood as she stood over a corpse she could only assume was meant to be her father. Tamsin rather liked it.
When Bo and Tamsin arrived at the Dal, they heard voices and laughter coming from the alley behind the bar. Following the sound, they found Lauren sitting and watching Aislinn try to teach Kenzi how to shoot a bow. The human was managing to hit the makeshift target they'd set up, but her arrows were all over the place. "You don't just let go of the string," Aislinn was saying. "You have to let it slide from your fingers. And you have to keep the bow steady even after you fire the arrow."
"So many ruuuuules!" Kenzi whined.
"It's not that difficult once you get the hang of it," the blonde empath insisted.
"Not true," Kayleigh spoke up. "I've been trying for over a hundred years and I still can't get it." Aislinn scowled at her girlfriend who only grinned in response.
"How's the training going?" Bo inquired. At the succubus's voice, Lauren looked up and waved at her and Tamsin.
"Well enough," Kayleigh shrugged. She had a sword on one hip and a parrying dagger on the other. Seeing Bo squint at the craftsmanship, the empath arched an eyebrow. "Um, can I help you?"
"Tamsin, I thought you said Valkyries only got one weapon out of the hall," the succubus almost whined as she turned to the blonde.
Tamsin shook her head. "The choosing of the weapons determines your fighting style more than anything. Some Valkyries fight sword and dagger, so they're called by one of each."
"You've been telling Bo Valkyrie stories?" Kayleigh stared at Tamsin. "Wow, if I didn't know better I'd say you were going soft in your old age."
"I can still doubt you into oblivion, bitch."
"There's the Tamsin I know," the empath chuckled as Bo rolled her eyes.
Turning to Lauren, the succubus asked, "No Evony?"
The doctor shrugged from where she was sitting on a crate. "She said and I quote, 'I have better things to do than watch the Happy Sunshine Gang mess around with pointy objects. But call me if the succubus gets shot; that I want to see.'"
Unoffended, Bo just laughed and shook her head. "What about Hale and Dyson?"
"Stuck doing actual police work," the doctor replied. "Apparently their boss had issues with them dropping everything and running to the rescue yesterday."
There was a thunk as Kenzi's next arrow hit the target at an odd angle. "How did you even do that?" Aislinn tilted her head as she examined the shot.
"Can't I try the crossbow again?"
"No," Lauren, Kayleigh, and Aislinn all said at once with vehement voices and wide eyes. "You almost took Kayleigh's head off with that first shot," Aislinn continued. "I am not letting you near one of those things again. Ever."
"Jeez, fine," Kenzi grumbled as she loaded another arrow. She had drawn back the string when she heard the others gasp beside her. Looking up at the target, the human saw that a scald crow had perched atop it and was watching her with a beady black gaze. Kenzi gave a yelp of fright and loosed the arrow without aiming…straight into the crow.
"Oh, of all the shots you had to make…" Kayleigh whimpered.
But instead of falling over dead, the scald crow just blinked at all of them before looking down at the arrow, cocking its head in examination. The women gaped as the crow took the shaft between its beak and, bit by bit, pulled the arrow from its body. Letting out a long, grating caw around the projectile in its mouth, the scald crow took off over their heads, dropping the arrow at Kenzi's feet.
All were silent as they tried to process what they'd just seen. Kenzi broke first. "I'm done," she gave up, dropping the bow and holding up her hands. "I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, I'm so done." She slumped against the crate Lauren was sitting on. "Is it too early to drink?"
"Yes," Bo and Kayleigh responded just as Aislinn and Tamsin went, "No." When Kayleigh gave her girlfriend an incredulous look, the empath shrugged and smirked. "I'm Irish. We have Guinness for breakfast."
"Another warning?" Bo asked Tamsin.
"Yes," the Valkyrie drew out, "but I don't think it's the type of warning I first thought it was."
"Please elaborate," Lauren all but begged.
"When Bo and I first saw the scald crow at her window I thought it was warning us against it – against Mór Ríoghan. But after what just happened, I think it's actually a warning against someone or something else. I think the scald crows might actually be on our side, so to speak."
"They chased Evony down the street!" Lauren protested.
"Maybe, but they didn't hurt her. I think they might just have been trying to get her attention so she could get our attention."
"Well, they have my attention," Kenzi groaned. "That was the trippiest shit ever to trip shit."
"English major you are not," Aislinn noted. Kenzi just waved a dismissive hand at her.
Before any of them could theorize further, crashes and shouts came from the front of the Dal along with a series of growls the women recognized as belonging to Under-Fae. "Well, now we know what the warning was for," Kayleigh sighed, drawing her sword and dagger. Those with weapons followed suit: Aislinn loaded an arrow in her bow, Tamsin drew her sword, and Bo grabbed her dagger as the group ran around the side of the building to face the attack.
Six Under-Fae, all armed with swords, held formation to attack, but unlike most Under-Fae, they stood tall instead of hunched and intelligence gleamed in their sickly green eyes. Trick and Fíonn were backing away from them, Trick with his quarterstaff at the ready. The leader of the group growled something in what sounded like Irish, but more primitive.
"'Give us the succubus,'" Fíonn translated, being very careful not to look at Bo so as not to give her away.
"I told you you should have brought your knives," Aislinn hissed at him, never taking her eyes off the creatures they now knew were Under-sídhe.
"I didn't think I was gonna have to fight anything!" her brother protested. The leader repeated his earlier demand along with a new phrase. "Same thing, except he added 'or die,'" Fíonn interpreted again.
Tamsin tapped the blade of her sword against the ground twice and responded in what was obviously an insulting challenge. All those who understood Irish gave the Valkyrie a withering look before bracing themselves against the onslaught.
Kayleigh met the Under-sídhe first, bringing up her dagger to parry a downward strike before swinging her sword across the creature's stomach. A line of white blood appeared across its midsection but the ancient sídhe was tough enough to withstand much of the blade's force. Swearing in irritated dismay, Kayleigh crossed her blades at the hilt of her attacker's sword and went for a disarm. The sídhe anticipated her move, tilting and sliding its blade from her hold and forcing her to duck as it brought its sword back around.
Trick was handling two sídhe at once with surprising dexterity. As much as his quarterstaff looked like wood, it deflected the swords with a clang of metal as he swung and blocked left and right. The two creatures tried to flank him, but he changed his fighting style and went for jabs instead of sweeps. The Blood King knocked one of them prone, the creature's head cracking against the pavement. A stomp of Trick's foot against its temple swung its head to the side with a crack that was almost a crunch. The sídhe's sword clattered to the ground, falling from its lifeless hand. Trick ducked the swipe of the second creature's sword before bringing his quarterstaff up for a parry, reverting to swinging strikes now that he fought one-on-one.
Aislinn, meanwhile, had her bow drawn and ready and was waiting for an opportunity to loose the arrow. "Shoot them!" Kenzi begged.
"I can't!" Aislinn replied, just as frustrated. "The fighting's too close! I could hit anyone!"
Sensing her irritation even from a distance, Kayleigh turned her blades so the flats faced out, shoving her opponent instead of slicing it. The ancient sídhe had barely staggered two steps from the melee when an arrow pierced its throat with a squelching thud. The creature clutched at the spurting wound as it fell, dead before it hit the ground. Kayleigh gave her girlfriend a grim nod of thanks before turning to see who she could help.
"Why do I always get the leader?" Bo ground out as she did her best to parry the ancient sídhe's attacks. She did a lot more ducking than parrying, though she did manage to get a few slices across its abdomen. But though the cuts oozed white, they weren't nearly enough to do sufficient damage. The leader made a wide sweep with its blade and Bo instinctively leaned back to avoid it, but she leaned too far. The succubus hit the ground with a cry of surprise and pain as the ancient sídhe brought its sword back point-down for the killing blow. Bo had her dagger ready, hoped she could block it or roll out of the way…
And then Tamsin was there. The Valkyrie reacted without thought and with singular purpose: protect her warrior.
Tamsin covered Bo's body with hers and the leader's sword rebounded against her wings with the ring of steel on steel. Spinning left, Tamsin's feathers made a slice across the creature's chest that almost cut it in half. She brought her sword around in the same swing, severing the sídhe's head from its shoulders in a shower of white. Kayleigh drove her blade through the last sídhe's neck a moment later and the final assailant dropped. Battle over, all eyes turned to Tamsin.
Kenzi and Kayleigh were gazing at the blonde with sad sympathy, understanding the gravity of what she'd just revealed. Fíonn, Aislinn, Trick, and Lauren were staring at her in fearful shock, intimidated by her face and wings. The siblings and doctor weren't aware of the significance, but Trick began, "But…that means…" Tamsin shot him a warning look, all the more effective with her true face. Dreading one reaction the most, Tamsin turned to help Bo from the ground, fearing what she'd see.
But to Tamsin's surprise, there was no pity in Bo's gaze. There was only sadness and worry and distress as she gaped at the Valkyrie. Tamsin held out her hand and the succubus took it, letting the blonde help her to her feet. As Bo had the day Tamsin first unfurled her wings, Bo met her eyes without falter, finding this face just as beautiful. "Oh, Tamsin," she gasped, reaching out. "Your wings…"
Tamsin took a step back, retracting her wings and letting the darkness fade from her face. "It's nothing. I just…I need to go home. I'll see you back there, ok?" Without waiting for Bo's response, she turned and jogged to her truck, sword still in hand.
Bo watched her go in dismay, wondering what she'd done wrong and what she could do to fix it. She was about to go after Tamsin when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to meet Kayleigh's understanding but imploring gaze. "I know you want to help her, but you'll have all the time in the world later. Right now we have to deal with this." She canted her head towards the dead Under-sídhe scattered along the pavement.
"Right…" Bo took a deep breath. "Right. You're right. But…how do we deal with this?"
"Burn the bodies, for one," Trick responded. "We should drag them to the back first, though."
"I can help with that," Kayleigh offered. "I'm not averse to dead things."
"At least let me retrieve my arrow first," Aislinn requested.
"How is it they keep coming here, though?" Bo wondered as she gazed at the dead Under-Fae. "How do they know we're here?"
"I have a theory," Fíonn offered, raising his hand.
"That it's a demon?" Aislinn muttered just loud enough for her girlfriend to hear. Kayleigh had to bite her lip to keep from bursting into laughter.
"Let's hear it," the succubus prompted.
"Well…I think it's the name of the place."
There was incredulous silence for a moment before Kayleigh went "Seriously?"
"Think about it for a second," Fíonn continued. "Trick, why did you name this place Dal Riata?"
"It's named after an ancient Irish kingdom," the Blood King responded.
"Exactly."
Realizing what the gancanagh was getting at, Trick sighed. "Oh, dear."
"Still not getting it," Bo protested.
"Ancient sídhe are going to be drawn to places they recognize – in theory, anyway," Aislinn elaborated. "They may walk and talk, but Under-Fae still aren't very smart, even if they are ancient sídhe. If they see a place named Dal Riata then they're immediately going to associate it with their old home: their home before they were banished to the Otherworld."
"So where are we moving our base of operations?" Fíonn asked almost happily.
"This is not a game of capture the flag, you eejit," Aislinn retorted.
"There's a gym near Dyson's place that he uses to train," Lauren answered him. "We can do our training and research there. It'll be a little harder for the Under-Fae to get to, and if they do get to us then we know we're wrong about the Dal."
"Please let's be right," Kayleigh prayed to no one in particular. "Now, who's helping me move these bodies?"
"Can I take samples first?"
…
Tamsin was sitting on her bed and staring at nothing when Bo entered the room. The succubus slid into the bed behind the Valkyrie, embracing her back-to-front. Tamsin sighed at the gentle touch, but otherwise said nothing. Bo rested her chin on the Valkyrie's shoulder, running her hands along her arms. "Will you show me?" she whispered.
With a shuddering breath, Tamsin knelt forward and away from Bo's arms. Taking off her shirt and unclasping her bra (actions that made both women's breaths quicken), the Valkyrie let her face darken and unfurled her wings.
It was Bo's turn to sigh, this time in sadness as she ran her hands along the rough feathers of Tamsin's wings. "Does it hurt?"
Tamsin bit her lip to stifle a sob as she felt Bo's fingers comb through her feathers. The succubus had no idea what it meant for her to be able to touch them and Tamsin wasn't sure she'd ever have the strength to tell her. When Bo ran her hands along the tops of Tamsin's wings, gently caressing the strong limbs, the Valkyrie couldn't hold back her tears.
Bo began to massage the tense muscles between Tamsin's shoulder blades before moving her touch along the base of the Valkyrie's left wing. She continued her tender massage along the wing itself, every so often running her fingers through the ink and coal expanse of her feathers. "It works both ways, you know," she murmured. "You said you'll always be there for me. I'll always be there for you, too, Tamsin. Whenever you need me."
The words hurt as much as they healed, and the Valkyrie could only sit and cry, her body shaking with silent sobs. Bo said nothing – only continued to show Tamsin how much she was cared for. How much Bo cared for her.
Glossary:
Dal Riata/Dál Riada: According to my go-to book Legendary Ireland, Dál Riada was a forest kingdom in Irish lore. When I discovered this I just had to use it in the story.
All knowledge of archery comes from my own amateur archery skills. "Eejit" is a way of saying "idiot" in Ireland.