Careless Wishes Read online

  I lowered my hand and the Firethorns fizzled out. But everyone around me tensed, preparing to kill the Pearl Thief.

  “Wait!” I screamed. “Just give him a second.”

  “Why?” Raza asked, his baritone sounding even lower when it emerged from his dragon throat.

  “I think removing him from the Cintamani did something.” I cautiously stepped forward. “I think he's regaining his sanity.”

  “Is it true?” The Pearl Thief asked me pitifully. “Was every wish I made undone? Did I hurt people?”

  “I'm sorry, but yes.” I knelt before him. “There's always a price for great magic and it's rarely worth it.”

  “I just wanted to make the world a better place,” he whispered as tears streamed down his cheeks. “I didn't even think it was real, just a myth I found on a dig.”

  He swallowed roughly and grunted with pain. It was a miracle that he was still conscious. Or maybe it was magic.

  “You're an archaeologist?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  “What's your name?”

  “Ethan Hawk,” he said. “Not the actor, obviously. Hawk with no E.”

  “No, not the actor,” I murmured.

  “Seren.” Daxon laid a hand on my shoulder. “He's in his right mind again. He can accept the repercussions now.”

  I clenched my jaw.

  “Babe, you know he has to die,” Killian said gently. He was back in human form. “There's no other way to break his connection with the Cintamani.”

  “It's okay,” Ethan whispered, his eyes glazing over. “I'm probably bleeding out anyway. Your way will be faster, I'm sure.”

  I looked at the Cintamani.

  “I won't use it,” he vowed. “Not if someone else has to pay the price for my healing.”

  “I'm so sorry, Mr. Hawk,” I said.

  “Please, call me Ethan.” He gave me a sad smile. “And I'm the one who's sorry, Queen Seren. I'm so sorry for all I've done. I wish I'd—”

  “No!” Several of us shouted.

  Ethan grimaced. “Sorry. Wasn't thinking.”

  “It's going to be okay, Ethan. We'll fix it.” I laid a hand on his shoulder. “It's not too late for the world.”

  “Thank you,” he whispered brokenly. “Thank you.”

  “Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is awakened,” I said gently.

  “That's beautiful.”

  “Buddha said it. Since the Cintamani was once his, I thought it was appropriate.”

  Ethan nodded. “I'm ready now.”

  I stood up and called on my magic.

  “You don't have to do this, Seren.” Tiernan laid a hand on my arm.

  I looked over and saw the sword in his hand. The same sword that had severed Ethan's hand.

  “This is my responsibility,” I said firmly. “Anu asked me to do this and I will.”

  Tiernan backed away and sheathed his sword.

  “No!” A woman screamed as she ran down the palace stairs and flung her arms around Ethan. “Don't hurt him. Don't you dare hurt him! Oh, dear God, what have they done to you?”

  “Alma, shh,” Ethan held her as best he could. “It's okay. These are good people. They're doing the right thing.”

  “No,” she moaned and clung to him. “You're a good person. You don't deserve this.”

  “I'm so sorry, Alma. Thank you for everything you've done,” he said tenderly.

  Alma started to cry hysterically. I bent toward her and blew across my palm. Lavender dust coated her and she breathed it in. Alma passed out and Daxon rushed forward to catch her.

  “She's only sleeping,” Dax assured Ethan.

  “Thank you.” Ethan watched Daxon carry Alma away, then focused on me with a steady gaze.

  Fire burst across my skin as I amped up my magic. I wanted it to be as hot as possible so that Ethan wouldn't suffer more than he had to. He may have acted carelessly but his wishes had been made with the best of intentions and he deserved a quick end.

  “Goodbye, Queen Seren of Fairy,” Ethan said as he watched my magic with eyes full of wonder.

  “Goodbye, Ethan Hawk,” I spoke through the flames and my tears.

  My tears. Rowan's vision had come true. I burned and cried as I faced the Pearl Thief. Everyone drew back to give me room and with a blast of fire even hotter than that of a dragon's breath, I incinerated Ethan Hawk—a good man who made careless wishes—in the blink of an eye.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Raza shifted back to his normal body as the shadow ward shimmered away. The humans remained in unconsciousness heaps around us, all but Alma, who Daxon had laid in a patch of grass. I stared at the pile of ash that had once been Ethan Hawk and dried my tears. Ethan was beyond pain now and he was far from the only casualty. I couldn't even guess how many people had been killed during Ethan's last stand. The bodies of the dead lay amid the living—burned, shot, and who knows what else—some whole but most in pieces. I should have been weeping for them, not the man who did this to them. But I couldn't stop seeing his sadness and, even worse, his hope.

  “Goddess save us from good guys,” I repeated Raza's words.

  A pair of wings came around me from behind and a warm body drew me into the circle of its arms. I sighed and leaned back against Raza's chest, realizing that we were both naked—him from his shifting and me from my burning. Even the gold had melted away.

  “Someone grab Their Majesties something to wear!” Lord Nevarien ordered.

  “That won't be necessary,” a resonant voice declared.

  Raza parted his wings enough for us to see Anu descending the palace steps. His appearance shifted through human races, then settled on Mexican—likely a tribute to the region. Anu strode through the gawking gathering and came to a stop before Raza and me. A slim man with dark skin, hair, and eyes, he nevertheless shone with the radiance of divinity. And that radiance transferred to his proud smile.

  “Hello, Anu,” I said.

  Gasps circled our group and every human there—and part-human—dropped to their knees. You could hardly blame them; it had been a strange day but none of it had prepared them for a visit from God.

  “You've done well, all of you,” Anu said as he glanced around. “The least I can do is clothe you.”

  “Oh, can't you leave King Raza naked just a little longer?” Karmen begged.

  Anu smiled beatifically at the councilman, and my friend went silent in awe.

  A shimmer of magic coasted over my skin, then Raza folded his wings back to reveal our new outfits—jeans, T-shirts, and boots. Simple, comfortable clothes that I was extremely grateful for. Then I glanced down and cocked my head; there was writing on my shirt but I couldn't read it upside-down.

  “It says 'I saved the world and all I got was this stupid T-shirt,'” Anu read the words for me, then grinned brightly.

  I laughed my ass off.

  “If I get naked, can I get one of those shirts too?” Killian asked as his hands went to his jeans.

  “Keep your hemipenes in your pants, Killian.” Anu waved a finger and a shirt just like mine appeared on Kill. Then he looked at the kneeling humans. “Stand, all of you.”

  Killian jumped to his feet grinning and rushed over to join us. “It's been a long time, O' Mighty One. It's good to see you in the flesh.”

  Anu chuckled. “Not so long for me, Son.” He looked around at the unconscious humans and frowned. “I cannot help them or revive their dead. This was the price of Ethan's wishes.”

  “I understand,” I said softly. “We'll take care of them.”

  “I have one more task for you, Seren,” Anu said gravely.

  Raza tensed and pulled me closer while Tiernan and Daxon stepped up to either side of us.

  “Fret not.” Anu held up a hand toward my pure-Fey husbands. “It's not a dangerous task. I would not reward your wife or you by asking her to risk herself again so soon.”

  They relaxed a little but remain
ed where they were.

  “I need you to take this thing”—Anu waved a hand and the Cintamani rose out of Ethan's ashes and floated over to me—“out of my realm and into my sister's. Give it to her to look after as she should have been doing all along.” He leaned closer. “And be sure to tell her that I said that.”

  “I can do that.” I held out my hand and the pearl fell into my palm.

  “I'd advise against using the word 'wish' in any capacity until it's out of your possession,” Anu said dryly.

  I chuckled softly before asking, “Have you always been this funny?”

  “Yes, of course.” He drew himself up to the full height of his chosen body. “I created porcupines, narwhals, and humans; I'm hilarious.”

  I burst out laughing again while everyone else—well, everyone except Killian, who laughed as well—gaped at the god.

  “I simply haven't given myself the opportunity to amuse you,” Anu went on. “Perhaps I will try harder in the future.”

  “What's that supposed to mean?” Raza growled.

  “Your wife was not meant to rule from a throne, King Raza Tnyn,” Anu said sternly, his voice going even deeper than Raza's. “You know that in your heart. You know that she has great compassion in her—compassion matched by her strength. There are very few people like her in either my world or my sister's. Those people need to use their gifts to better their worlds. In Seren's case, both worlds.” He returned his gaze to me and it softened. “You can do so much more, Daughter. I will not force you but I don't think I need to.”

  “No,” I whispered, then looked at my husbands.

  “We can speak with the Councils,” Tiernan spoke for all of them. “But, as we said before, we will need to find a balance.”

  “We will,” I said softly.

  “I think you will find the Human Council, at least, to be very amenable to your return.” Anu winked at me.

  I grinned at him but then sobered as I remembered everything that had happened. “What about all of the other things that happened because of Ethan's wishes?”

  “They cannot be undone,” Anu said sadly. “But the world will find its way now that you've given it a chance to recover. And I promise that I will be here to help it, even if no one knows I am.”

  “Me too,” I vowed.

  Anu beamed at me. “One more thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “Tell Danu to send my animals home.”

  “They might be better off—”

  “Do not finish that sentence, Daughter!” Anu's voice boomed. “I love all of my children, even those who cannot speak for themselves. Especially them.”

  “Both great and small?” I asked with a smirk.

  His anger disappeared in an instant. “Just so.” He smiled tenderly and added, “I love you too, Seren Firethorn Sloane. I am with you always. Remember that.”

  And with those words, the God of Earth vanished.

  There was a reverent silence that lasted all of three seconds. It was broken by my husband.

  “Have you had that on you the entire time?” Killian waved a hand at Tiernan's sword.

  “Yes.”

  “Where have you been hiding it?” Kill scowled, then blinked. “No, wait. I don't want to know.”

  Tiernan rolled his eyes.

  “But for future reference, T-bag, I'm the sword guy,” Kill went on. “I have two of them. If something needs slicing, I will do it. You're the magical shadows guy. Know your role, man. Know your damn role!” Then he looked down and finally noticed that Anu had given him the shirt he wanted. “Yes! Coolest shirt ever!”

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  The clean-up at Ethan's compound would take awhile but our people would have little to do with it. The bodies were taken into the throne room and burned. It didn't set the whole palace aflame, it being stone and all, but it covered up any magical evidence. As for the survivors, the hunters wiped their memories, then the extinguishers watched over them from afar until the local authorities arrived to deal with the aftermath. The Councils, Coven, and Casters thought it best to leave the humans to pick up the pieces. The Human Council already had undercover council members in place within the Mexican Government and a cover story had been decided upon. The investigators would conclude that an unknown man had conned hundreds of people into believing he was a god by feeding them hallucinogenics, then had gone insane, locked many of them in the palace with him, and tried to burn the place down. Killian suggested that we plant a vat of Kool-Aid laced with drugs but that didn't go over so well. High Councilman Murdock said, and I quote, “The grown-ups will take it from here, Ambassador.”

  On the way to San Francisco with my husbands, our guards, Abby, and Karmen—no, I didn't twilight and leave them behind as I'd threatened—I told them Ethan's story. I felt that they needed to know what I had seen in the visions Anu had given me. After that, I scried Lady Ladli to let her know that the Cintamani had been recovered and disaster averted. I also told her about Ethan and how he'd found her secret escape tunnel. She was pleased by our success, of course, but less so about Anu's command to take the Cintamani to Fairy. Her people had been guarding the pearl for centuries. Without it, they had no purpose. I reminded her that they still had a cavern full of treasure to guard and now, they wouldn't have to worry about a Fey relic while they did so. That perked her up a little.

  After Ladli, I spoke with the Triple Cs—they're really Quadruple Cs I suppose but that just doesn't have the same flow—about my possible reinstatement. My husbands had agreed to a part-time, consultant-type position for me which they hoped would mean less danger and more advising. I wasn't going to tell them that my idea of consulting would be more hands-on than theirs. They gathered around me while I took the call—or scry rather—in the jet's bedroom and glowered over my shoulder at the council members while they deliberated. The High Fairy Council was divided; several of them were concerned that my obligations to Fairy would come first and make any help I offered inconsistent at best. To that, High Councilman Murdock declared that the Human Council didn't give a rat's ass about consistency; they were happy to accept any help I was willing to give.

  Murdock also pointed out—rather snidely—that there would likely be a lot of work to be done since a Fey relic had wreaked havoc on the world. That, of course, started a small argument between the Councils. The Fey council members insisted that the fault lay with the humans because a human had stolen the Cintamani. The human council members said that it was the Fey's fault for creating the relic, then failing to guard it properly. That if a mere human, with no psychic skills, had been able to sneak in the backdoor, the Nagas had been derelict in their duties. I interrupted at that point to accept my new consultant job with the Human Council before they forgot about me entirely. The Fairy Council said they'd get back to me.

  I wouldn't hold my breath.

  We landed in San Francisco and I said goodbye to my friends before going straight to Gentry Technologies with my husbands and our guards to take the rath home. The rath, on the Fairy end, was within walking distance of Castle Twilight—just through the forest and past my friend Aideen's tree—but my father insisted on sending carriages for us. By the time I climbed into one, I was grateful he had. Because there was still one more stop I had to make.

  I suppose I should have gone to the Isle of Danu but, honestly, I didn't want to travel that far. So, I had the carriages take us past Castle Twilight and to the right, where, near the edge of the forest, a boulder stood with a carving of an apple on it. It marked the path to Danu's grove—an overgrown path that got clearer the further you went. My husbands joined me even though they knew I was perfectly safe in the Twilight Forest. The animals of Twilight had crowned me themselves and none would offer me harm, especially not on my way to speak to the Goddess.

  We walked the path easily enough, all of us familiar with it, then came to a clearing surrounded by apple trees—the same clearing where I had first spoken to Danu and where I had married Daxon. Well, not exactly
the same at first but within a few moments, the clearing shifted just slightly, bringing us into Danu's realm. Now, this was the same clearing. Here, the apple trees were heavy with ripe fruit and a cave appeared at the far end of the clearing. It was just an overhang of rock, it didn't go back very far. An altar sat within that overhang and it was there that we headed.