Page 145 of Broken Veil
Cadell climbed out of the car and slid the door shut before he opened Carys’s door. “Blacksmith, I have charge of these women, and I will bring them back safely.”
Laura raised both her eyebrows. “You have charge of us?”
Cadell straightened to his full height and looked down his nose. “You have another protector in mind?”
Laura’s cheeks turned red. “No, you’re fine.” She grabbed Carys and Naida by the hand. “Duncan, call me when you get to the hotel.”
“You’re going to lose your phone when you go through the gate,” he said.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, those freaking fairies!” She threw her phone on the passenger seat.
“Ludlow House,” Duncan said. “Southwest end of town. Good luck.”
Carys walked over, squeezing between a slow-moving minivan and a convertible with red streamers flying off the windshield.
“Woo-hoo!” the driver yelled. “The new world is coming!”
There were cheers and shouts from everywhere, and the stopped traffic erupted in cheerful honks.
Duncan had his window rolled down. “You know, people want something to believe in.”
She stood on her toes and kissed him. “Let’s hope we can find something better than an ancient Irish goddess of war.”
Squeezingthrough the gate in the woods took little more than Cadell scaring off a few angry badgers and lifting some rocks, which the dragon also did with ease.
Then Naida led them through what could only have been the narrowest, dirtiest fae gate in Southern England.
Carys crawled out of the other side to see two spears pointed directly at her face. They were held by two fae with silver sigils on their face, backed by a unicorn.
As soon as they saw Carys, they stepped away.
“The ellyllon tells the truth,” one said. “She is King Dafydd’s niece. I have seen her portrait in the great hall.”
“Okay.” She scooted out from the hole in the ground and brushed off her legs before she reached down and held a hand out for Laura. “I have a friend coming too. She’s a shadow-walker from across the sea, and pointing a spear in her face would probably be like a diplomatic taboo, so please don’t.”
“Of course, my lady.” The two fae spear holders backed off, and the unicorn tossed his head in the air, whinnying as he did.
“Cyrus would like to know your business in the Cley Forest.”
Carys looked at Laura, then Naida. “I need to find a place called Hogg’s Well.”
Cadell climbed out of the hole, and the fae looked up and up until their faces went pale.
“You have a dragon,” one of them said.
“She’s the king’s niece,” Naida said. “I told you she is nêrys ddraig.”
“Hogg’s. Well.” It was the only thing Cadell said.
“Not a mile south, lord dragon,” the fae guard said, pointing in the direction behind them. “Just beyond the woods.”
Carys asked, “Is there any unusual activity around Cley Hill on this side of the gates?”
The unicorn transformed in a shower of silver and gold, and a tall, beautiful man stood before them. “I am Cyrus of the Blessing of Wor. Thereisa disturbance. Epona’s daughters have gathered on the plain. Our seers saw a great rip between the shadow and the light. A gathering of powers in other realms. It is the only reason I have joined the fae patrols in this area.”
Unicorns loved peace, but if there was a blessing nearby, they were fiercely protective.
“Smart move,” Laura said. “There’s a conflict, but it’s not on this side.”
