Page 50 of Within the Flames
Illustration: The Mahoun
Thirteen
She shook the whole way up to the castle walls despite knowing this was what she had to do. Rónàn and Jared behind her gave her slight reassurance but not much. She loved them unconditionally but they had no idea what the Mahoun was truly capable of. Monster didn't cut it.
"MAHOUN!" she shouted before she lost her nerves and gave in to the desire to run back to the tents and disappear into her men's arms. The temptation was immense but she knew that wasn't the stuff heroes were made of. Like it or not, Luc's words had stuck and she found herself wanting to impress him. Even if he did seem to disappear at pivotal moments.
There was no answer, which didn't surprise her. She hadn't expected on quite so soon. Instead, she waited in silence, hoping her presence would be enough. He'd come to her in the dream after all. It wasn't like he didn't know she was outside the gates.
"Do you need to call again?" Rónàn asked.
Macey shook her head. "I doubt it. He's not the kind to need telling twice."
"Is this really where he kept you?" There was a hint of something unknown in Jared's voice but Macey didn't study it too hard. She didn't want to accept it could be pity.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry."
"Not your fault."
"We should have protected you better..."
"Jared," she snapped. "Me being caught had nothing to do with anything the three of you did, and you know it. Don't make this more difficult than it is. Please?" The last word came out more like a plea than the rest of it. She didn't want to beg but she couldn't have his doubt and guilt creeping in to this. For all she knew, that could be what created the Mahoun and his like in the first place.
She averted her attention back to the grand gates on the castle walls, urging the Mahoun to appear in some way, even if it was just as the Voice. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but there was a part of her that didn't think they could defeat something that didn't even inhabit a body.
"Can I ask a question?"
"Yes?" She turned her head slightly in Rónàn's direction but didn't take her eyes off the gates. She didn't trust the Mahoun and he'd no doubt appear the moment she wasn't paying any attention.
"You sent Izban in there, didn't you?"
"No," she replied truthfully. "Izban is there of his own free will." A statement which could be construed in a few different ways. She didn't want to openly admit anything in case unfriendly ears were listening.
Both men stayed silent, no doubt each processing their own interpretation of her words. She knew they trusted her, so it didn't even matter what conclusion they came to. She just hoped it wouldn't backfire on them all. If Izban died, it would change everything. And not in a good way.
The door still stayed resolutely shut. She turned over ideas of what to do in her head but came up with nothing. Hopefully the silence on the Mahoun's part didn't mean he'd discovered the others.
"Any clues on what we need to do?" Jared asked.
"A blood sacrifice?" The suggestion was only half a joke but she didn't say that. It likely wasn't appropriate.
"Probably best not, for all we know he has a dearg-due in his employ."
Macey snorted. "I don't think he has any one in his employ, never mind an Irish woman."
"Not a woman, a dearg-due, they..."
She held up her hand, stopping him from continuing with what he was saying. "And if we believed everything from folklore, you wouldn't be with us. Give the dearg-due the same respect." She wasn't quite sure she believed that, but never having met one of the cursed blood drinkers, she didn't want to jump to any conclusions.
And she was right about Jared's kind. They weren't well received. Particularly the women.
"MAHOUN!" she shouted again, echoing the call in her mind. Hopefully that would work though she was prepared to have to do something more drastic if needed. So long as it didn't involve spilling her blood. While she stood by what she'd said about the dearg-due, she didn't want to take the chance of blood magic being used against them.
YOU CALLED, LITTLE KELPIE?
The Voice reverberated around her mind and she shuddered. She might have wanted him to appear, but now he had, she wasn't completely sure about that.
