Page 96 of The Rebel Seer

“Oh, aye,” the gnome says. “I heard them guards talking about how none of their torture came to aught last night and that the spring goddess got away while they were in the woods wanking off. I laughed, and that was when the wizard took me out. I also might have called him a charlatan and thrown some very rich fertilizer at him.”

I wince. “He says your papa is better this morning, and so is Ostara. Sasha got her out. I suppose they left Devinshea because of what could happen to Zoey if they didn’t have him. I suspect Dev wouldn’t leave.” I hate the thought of him being there, but he has given us some cover. “The magic did what we hoped it would, and the wards held. And my new friend threw shit at Myrddin.”

“Who is Shy talking to?” Lee counters.

“A newly dead creature,” Rhys replies. “Do you know of any who would be bold enough to hurl crap at the wizard?”

Lee grins. “That sounds like any number of creatures I know.”

“Dead… Baby, does the dead person have a name?” Rhys asks.

“Hasn’t introduced himself yet. He’s a gnome. Died this morning in the gardens,” I reply.

“Not Benfal,” Lee says with a frown. “I love Benny. Tell me it wasn’t him.”

The gnome grins. “Tell him I love him, too. A good lad. Far better than his father.”

Before I can pass on that message, Lee continues. “But you weren’t there when he died, so you couldn’t have saved him. How did he get away?”

“Oh, I felt the pull, but the temple was far stronger,” the gnome says.

“He felt the temple’s magic and was drawn to it,” I explain to Lee, but I have more important questions. “Someone else mentioned they felt pulled toward the wizard. So you can feel him forcing you?”

“And it weren’t like that. It wasn’t force. It was a song calling to me, telling me I can move on. But the temple meant a lot to me and I heard its song, too. I chose.”

Now that revelation changes things. I thought I was fighting Myrddin himself. It sparks a memory in me. One I didn’t realize I had, but I suddenly know it’s true. I turn to Rhys. “He’s got some kind of spell that’s tricking the dead into a trap. I was worried he had the same kind of soul space I have and he was pulling them in, but I just remembered the dark prophet told me I was unique. I’m the only one with a space like this, that can hold a whole soul and not have it affect me long term. How did I remember that? The day I met your grandfather, Gray Sloane was there. He taught me how to let Harry in. He explained that it wouldn’t change me the way it would other people. You can house a piece of soul or a ripped up soul for a brief time, but they can stay in me and I’ll still be in control.”

“I’m confused. I thought the wizard was eating souls,” Lee points out. “That’s what he told the king. He convinced my father he could take back his power by eating souls.”

“Most of my research says the soul is sacrosanct.” Cassie spends a lot of time with the academics. And Evan and me.

“The theory is the soul can’t be destroyed,” I explain. “But naturally Hell tries, and so does Myrddin Emrys. At least that’s the working knowledge we have. However, it goes against the reports we have about Myrddin taking pieces of his witches’ souls when he needs to keep them in line. That’s one of the reasons Rhys’s twin and their sister are on the Hell plane right now. Looking for Liv Carey’s.”

“Well, the tales here are that the king eats the souls of those he kills,” Benny says gravely. “It’s why so many fall in line. It’s one thing to die. Quite another to be utterly destroyed. But it weren’t the king calling to me. It was something beyond the wizard, too. I wanted to go somewhere, to join them.”

A chill prickles along my spine. “Did you want to go to the north?”

He nods. “To the mountains. They sing to me even now, but I like it here. It’s quieter here. Much.”

I turn to Rhys. “He says when he died, he was called to the mountains.”

Lee nods. “So this is about the sluagh. What if he’s been sending the dead to the mountain and trapping them, forcing them to become sluagh? To what end?”

“I’m not sure, but we need to figure it out,” Rhys says, starting in on another muffin. “Or we could stay here for a couple of days.”

I turn to stare at my husband.

His eyes go straight to my breasts, and I realize I need to sink down a little more. “Well, it is our bonding time, my goddess. And you don’t have to do that on their account. You’re a fertility goddess now. You’re supposed to walk around in your gorgeous skin knowing no one will touch you or they risk the wrath of the god.”

Lee actually bows his head and looks serious for a moment. “He is not wrong about that, Your Grace. I am irreverent at times, but you bless our sithein with your presence, and you should understand that every Fae here will consider you holy.”

“Except your father and Myrddin Emrys,” Cassie points out. “And anyone who happens to be under their spell.”

“Don’t know about dat,” Benny says. “I think the rites disrupted the spells. It’s why I flung that shit the wizard’s way. For the first time in years I could feel again. I never had the whole can’t talk spell, but everyone in the palace and on the grounds were under the pall of the king. It made things dull and kept us submissive. You will scare the crap out of them all, Your Grace.”

“Because we brought the temple back to its beauty?” I ask.

“Because you bring hope,” Benny corrects.

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