Authors: Charlotte Boyett-Compo
Before he could ask Morrigunia for more about Owen, the goddess and the child of Arawn Gehdrin vanished in myriad twinkling, sparkling multicolored lights that rushed upwards to the dark heavens and dissolved.
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Chapter Twelve
Cynyr yawned as he and Bevyn tossed the last of the cybots into the bonfire along with the bodies of the four headless Ceannus and stepped back. The stench from singed wiring, plastiform flesh and crisping Ceannus was overpowering. Other than the eight Reapers, there was nothing left within the Ceannus camp that could walk, crawl or roll. Each of the more than three hundred
balgairs
had been dispatched in their beds as they slept—a gruesome token of Morrigunia’s vengeance the Reapers had found upon investigating the encampment. Burned to a cinder, the hapless men had not known what was befalling them.
“The charges have been set on the starship,” Jaborn told Arawn then flinched as another horrible yowl came from one of the containment cells within the main building.
“Iden,” Arawn called out. “You and Phelan go check on the boat. Bring it up on the shore. As soon as Owen’s Transition is over, we’ll go back to the
Bonnie Doneen
.”
“Aye, my liege,” Phelan grumbled.
Glyn sat off to one side, his head down. He was still very weak from having donated his Queen to Owen so he hadn’t been assigned any jobs. To add to that, he wasn’t handling what had happened to his best friend very well and no one wanted to intrude on Kullen’s enforced solitude. When Arawn asked him how long Owen’s Transitions usually lasted, Glyn answered quietly that he didn’t know.
“We could be here another day or more,” Cynyr said as he and Bevyn came over to stand with Arawn and Glyn.”
“Has everyone had their Sustenance and tenerse?” Arawn asked. Cynyr scratched his stubbled cheek. “Everyone but Owen.”
Another enraged yowl came from the containment cell and the Reapers shuddered. The sounds they were hearing were not normal. There was true wrath and fury in the skirling howls.
“The gods help him,” the Reapers heard Glyn say.
Hours later it was Iden, Phelan and Bevyn who went in to check on Owen. They stood outside the heavily fortified cell and stared in at their fellow Reaper who had quieted down to a pitiful keening sound that broke their hearts. Standing well back lest the lupine creature lying on its side in the cell lunge for the bars and their throats, the three men assured themselves Tohre was all right and turned to go.
“What the hell is he doing?” Iden asked.
Phelan and Bevyn turned to see Owen in his wolf form sitting up on its haunches. He had twisted his neck and was lapping at the raw wound between his legs.
“Eeewww,” Iden said. His voice was filled with disgust. “That’s just wrong.”
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“What?” Phelan asked. “Haven’t you ever licked your own stick when you were in Transition?”
“No!” Iden stated.
“Hell, no!” Bevyn growled, stepping back from Kiel when Phelan looked at him.
“Don’t knock what you ain’t tried,” Phelan said. He pointed at Owen. “And it’s helping. His stick is finally growing back.”
Iden and Bevyn glanced at what was happening then quickly away. They knew it would happen but didn’t know when. They took Phelan’s arms and pulled him out of the building though Kiel seemed inclined to stay and watch.
“He’s healing,” Bevyn told Arawn. “Thank the gods that one fledgling remained else he wouldn’t be.”
“Aye, but is he
healing
?” Cynyr asked quietly.
“Being emasculated is something you never get over,” Arawn said. “Let’s just hope he learns to deal with it.”
“I’m wondering though,” Cynyr said. “How do you think his new Queen is dealing with the old fledgling?”
Arawn shrugged. “I’ve no idea but if the two start warring, Owen’s temperament might suffer because of it. He might—”
“
Lord Arawn
?”
The Prime Reaper frowned. The last person he wanted to hear from was the High Lord. Tossing away the stick he’d been whittling, he got up and moved away from the others. “Aye, Your Grace?” he said aloud, letting everyone know he was being summoned.
“
Don’t take that tone with me
,” Lord Kheelan snapped. Arawn felt a sharp pain writhe through his body and knew he’d been chastised. Sighing deeply, he continued walking, sheathing his dagger then jamming his hands into his pockets. “He’s still in Transition. He—” he told the High Lord.
“
Lady Lea was murdered last eve
,” Lord Kheelan interrupted him. Stumbling to a stop, Arawn’s lips parted. “In the Citadel? Who would have done such a thing?”
“
We do not know. A culprit has not been found
.”
“Is she…?”
“
She is now one of you and she is a very angry she-wolf
.”
Arawn turned to look at Bevyn. His 2-I-C was sitting on the ground talking to Cynyr. “Bevyn doesn’t know,” he stated.
“
It happened before he left last evening
.”
A nagging suspicion darted through the Prime Reaper’s mind. “You don’t think Bevyn would have—”
“
He had reason
.”
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“No,” Arawn denied. “Bevyn would not have killed his lady to bring her over. He made a vow to her that he would not turn her and he would not have.”
“
Then who did, Lord Arawn
?” the High Lord asked in a steely voice.
“It wasn’t any of my men,” Arawn said.
There was a moment of silence then Lord Kheelan asked if Lady Aingeal or Lady Danielle would have done such a thing.
“Absolutely not,” Arawn declared. “Whoever did it either wanted to help Bevyn or meant to do Lea harm. Who found her?”
“
I did
,” Lord Kheelan said. “
There was no choice as to what had to be done but she will
hate me for the remainder of her life.
”
“Bevyn might too,” Arawn said then heaved a long, tired sigh. He—like the rest of his men—had had no sleep and he was looking forward to the uncomfortable bunk on the
Bonnie Doneen
. “I’ll tell him what’s happened.”
“
Before you return, send Lord Cynyr out to gather as many kumquats as he can find. They
grow copiously near there, I hear
.”
“Kumquats?” Arawn asked, his brow furrowed.
“
Cravings
,” was the last word the High Lord said and it was expressed with annoyance.
Chuckling, Arawn turned around and started back to his men. He caught Cynyr’s eye and cocked his head for the Reaper to join him.
“
Gehdrin
!”
Every eye turned toward the main building and the infuriated voice that had shouted Arawn’s name.
“
Gehdrin
!”
“I guess he’s out of Transition,” Cynyr said as he came up to Arawn.
“Cyn, gather up several buckets. Take a few men with you and harvest as many kumquats as you can.”
Cynyr blinked. “What the hell are kumquats?”
Arawn shook his head. “I don’t know and I don’t care. Just find them. They are for your lady-wife.”
“Why would Aingeal want—?”
“Just go get the fucking things!” Arawn snapped. “She’s craving them.”
“How am I supposed to get them if I don’t know what the fuck they are?” Cynyr demanded.
Jaborn had overheard and he strolled up to the men. “Kumquats are like little tiny pear-shaped oranges.” He held up his thumb and index finger to define the size of the fruit. “The skins are very sweet but the insides are very, very tart with numerous seeds. I will help you find them.”
“
Gehdrin
!”
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“All right, the gods-be-damn it!” Arawn yelled, anger shifting over his face. He felt as though he was being pulled in three directions at once. “Hold your horses. I’m coming!” He started stomping toward the main building.
“We brought the boat in,” Phelan called out to him.
“I’m so thrilled,” Arawn growled. “You and Iden go with Cree.”
“For what?”
“Just do it!” the Prime Reaper bellowed.
“Poor man,” Bevyn said. “He’s going to need a vacation after this.”
“He needs his lady,” Glyn said.
“Don’t we all?” Bevyn asked with a sigh.
Arawn heard Bevyn’s remark and had to bite his tongue to keep from saying anything. He would have to tell Coure about his lady and Gehdrin was not relishing doing that. As soon as he walked into the main building, he could hear Owen yanking on the bars of the containment cell and snarling.
Owen Tohre’s hair looked like it hadn’t been combed in a week. It had fallen down over his forehead and as he stood there jerking on the bars, his chest was glistening with sweat from the exertion.
“Let me out of here!” Owen snarled.
Arawn swept his attention over the Reaper—making sure he was healed in the place he and the others were the most concerned about—and reached for the key that would unlock the cell.
“Hurry the hell up, Gehdrin!”
The Prime Reaper stopped with his hand almost touching the key then slowly turned his angry glare to Tohre. “You want to spend another few hours locked in there?” he asked in a deadly voice.
Owen opened his mouth but must have thought better of whatever he started to say for he clamped his lips shut and shook his head mutely.
Allowing his man time enough to calm down a bit, Arawn unhooked the key and walked over to put it in the lock. “I know how you feel right now,” he said.
“No, hell, you don’t!” Owen hissed.
Arawn locked eyes with Tohre. “Aye, hell, I do.”
Owen snorted.
“I was hanged, drawn and about to be quartered when I died, Tohre,” Arawn told him. “The quartering had already begun with my cock but thanks to the goddess they never got any farther along.”
The naked Reaper’s face paled and he lowered his eyes to the man glaring at him.
“Then you know why I’m not in a good place in my mind right now,” he mumbled. 122
Prime Reaper
“I know all too well,” Arawn said, unlocking the cell and pulling the door open.
“Don’t take it out on those around you. We weren’t a part of what was done to you, Owen.” With a wave of his hand, he clothed his teammate.
Owen nodded once and came out of the cell raking his hands through his tousled hair. “I need a bath,” he said.
“Aye, you do,” Arawn agreed, “and you can have one when we get back to the ship.”
“Did the female escape?” Owen asked, a strange glow radiating from his amber eyes.
“The Ceannus? At least two of them escaped. They had another ship hidden in one of the huts. Had we known about it, we would have put it out of commission.”
The two walked outside together. Glyn looked up and smiled hesitantly at his friend, but Owen did not respond. His golden scrutiny swept over Bevyn. He must not have found whatever it was he was looking for in the Reaper’s gaze for his body became less rigid.
“It’ll take time,” Arawn said. “You aren’t alone in this.”
Owen didn’t reply. He looked about him. “Where are the others?”
“Searching for kumquats,” Arawn said with a sigh.
If Owen thought that strange, he made no comment. Instead, he asked if anyone had found his weapons.
“I have them,” Glyn said, and reached behind the stone slab on which he was sitting. He lifted Owen’s gun belt, dagger and laser whip. “Although I don’t know what happened to your hat.”
Owen shrugged as though it didn’t matter and went over to retrieve his weapons. He mumbled a “thank you” to Glyn then strapped on the gun, making quick work of tying the tie-down securely to his thigh.
Bevyn came to stand beside Arawn. “He looks like a man who hates the world right now.”
“I imagine he does,” Arawn acknowledged. He took a deep breath then asked Bevyn to walk with him.
Coure fell into step beside his leader. “What’s wrong, Ari?” he asked. They were well away from Owen and Glyn when Arawn stopped. He turned and looked Bevyn in the eye. “There’s no easy way to say this. Your lady was murdered last night.”
Bevyn staggered back, completely unprepared for such devastating news. All the color drained from his face and his mouth dropped open. No sound seemed capable of escaping his lips. He was staring with horror at Arawn.
“Lord Kheelan found her and he has made her one of us,” Arawn said quickly to allay Bevyn’s fear.
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The Reaper 2-I-C flinched as though he’d been slashed by a sword.
“He says she’s very angry at him but he doesn’t think she’ll blame you.”
“Who?” Bevyn managed to get out, tears filling his eyes.
“The High Lord says they don’t know. I believe he thought you did it but I set him straight on that.”
“Me?” True shock encompassed that one word.
“Someone either did you an enormous favor or tried his or her best to destroy you, Bev,” Arawn said. “I’m inclined to think it was the former. Lord Kheelan suggested Aingeal and Danielle.”
“Neither one of them would have done that,” Bevyn stated with conviction.
“I know. I told him as much.”
Turning away, Bevyn stared out at the ocean where the bright morning sun sparkled like liquid diamonds on the waves. “She had left me,” he told Arawn.
“Because of Danielle?”
“Aye. She feared if something happened to her, I’d bring her over.”
“You would have,” Arawn stated.
Bevyn hung his head.
“Lea will need you now,” Arawn said. “Perhaps this will set things to right between you.”
“Who would have done such a thing, Ari?” Bevyn asked. “Who could have—?” He stopped as though someone had called his name. His head came up and he appeared to be listening.
Arawn didn’t want to intrude on Bevyn’s privacy so he walked away. He saw Cynyr, Jaborn, Iden and Phelan returning, each carrying a bucket overflowing with orange fruit.
“
I have cravings, too,
mo shearc,” a sweet voice trilled through his mind. The Prime Reaper smiled softly, thrilled to his soul to hear his lady’s gentle voice.
“
Whatever they are, I will move heaven and earth to provide them for you,
mo chroi,” he sent back to her. “
You are well?
”