Primeval Prelude: Reverse Harem Siren Romance (Spellsinger Book 4) Read online

  “Search again, El,” Torin said as he handed me the glove. “Try and find the Blooders this time.”

  So, I did. I sang “Wake Me” again, sending the song out to find the owner of the glove I held. But this time, the ward was already in place; I didn't even get a glimpse of Banning's Blooders. I let the music go, sighed, and shook my head.

  “I can't see past the ward,” I said softly.

  “Thanks for trying.” Banning gave me a quick kiss.

  “Elaria isn't the only one who can cast a spell. You have fifteen Witches here, and one happens to be an elder,” Odin stepped forward. “Give me the glove.”

  I handed Odin the glove, and he found a clear patch of ground to sit on. He laid the glove before him and then started pulling things out of his satchel. As he did, we gathered around him, watching avidly. Odin muttered to himself as he laid things out; a bowl, a knife, and a few jars of herbs.

  “He looks like he's making soup,” Cerberus noted.

  “Shut up,” I growled at Cer. “Don't act as if you haven't seen witchcraft before.”

  “I was just trying to make a joke,” Cerberus huffed.

  “Alain,” Odin called to one of the Witches. “Did you bring any damiana with you?”

  “Yes, sir!” Alain rushed forward after he pulled a leather pouch out of his backpack.

  Alain handed the pouch to Odin. The Earthshaker smiled brightly as he took a pinch of the herb from the bag and sprinkled it onto the glove we'd found. Then Odin fished a lighter out of his bag, and lit some charcoal. Sparks ran over the black brick, reflecting on Odin's polished leather eye patch. He sprinkled more herbs onto the charcoal, and smoke drifted up in lazy swirls. Odin began to chant, his hands over the smoke, and then he snatched up the glove and tossed it into the bowl.

  Smoke erupted from the bowl, thickening and condensing into a column. Odin spoke one last word in a language that I didn't recognize, and the smoke formed an arrow. The arrow went horizontal and started to move. Odin put out the coal with some water from his canteen and tossed the incinerated items into the bushes. He packed his things and then looked at us impatiently.

  “Come on, people,” Odin huffed. “We've got an arrow to follow.”

  Chapter Twelve

  We ran after that arrow for two hours before it angled downward and lodged itself in the earth. We rushed over to the spot as the arrow dissipated. Behind the smokey remnants of the shaft, there was a thick growth of bushes. As we drew closer, the bushes began to twitch. Banning batted aside branches to reveal the body of a young man with light brown hair and pale skin. He cringed when light angled in toward him. The hooded coat and gloves he'd been wearing were gone.

  “Theo!” Banning cried.

  “Gheara?” Theo held a hand up to shield himself, even though he was in Banning's shadow. “Oh, thank all that's bloody.”

  “Where are the others, Theo?” Banning asked as he helped the man stand.

  “Here,” Samuel, one of my kyanite knights, handed Theo his cloak. “It has a hood.”

  “And I've got some gloves,” one of Torin's men offered.

  “Thank you,” Theo said sincerely as he covered up. “I don't know where the others are, Gheara. I had my face buried in an animal's neck when I was grabbed from behind. My attacker threw me over his shoulder and started to run. I couldn't break free of his grip; he was insanely strong. Then I was tossed on the ground beside the rest of our people. They started binding our wrists—”

  “They? Banning interrupted. “Who attacked you?”

  “It was several fairies,” Theo said. “Some were redcaps I think—real tall with big muscles. One of them was the guy who grabbed me. Then there was a woman. She wasn't a redcap.”

  “A woman?” I asked. “What did she look like?”

  “I didn't get a great look at her,” he said apologetically. “When I saw the others being bound, I knew that I had one last chance to escape. So, I kicked my redcap guard in the balls and ran.”

  “You kicked a redcap in the balls?” Declan chuckled. “Good for you.”

  “So, you didn't see her face?” I asked Theo.

  “All I saw was her hair,” Theo said grimly. “It was red. Not like his”—he gestured to Declan—“more auburn.”

  “That fucking bitch!” Banning snarled. “She is involved.”

  “Auburn is not exactly a common color among Shining Ones,” Torin noted. “But neither is it uncommon. Just because this woman had red hair, it doesn't mean it was Eileen.”

  We all just stared at him.

  “It's likely,” Torin admitted, “but not absolute.”

  “I ran as fast as I could, but I wasn't paying attention,” Theo went on. “I couldn't find my way back, and then the sun got to be too much, so I hid in the bushes.”

  “They took your coats?” Rentar asked.

  “And our gloves.” Theo nodded.

  “They knew he was a Blooder,” Banning said. “They knew their weaknesses.”

  “Well, he was drinking blood at the time,” Declan noted blandly.

  “Yeah; okay,” Banning huffed.

  “That must have been his glove we found,” Odin mused. “What are the odds that we happen to find the glove of the one man who got away?”

  “One out of fourteen,” I said immediately.

  “It was more of a hypothetical question.” Odin rolled his eye. “But you get the point. It was convenient that we found Theo's glove, and then he happened to be the one Blooder who was able to escape his captors.”

  “After he got a look at them,” Reyne added.

  “But not too good a look,” I added.

  “This has a strange feel to it,” Odin said.

  “And it's exactly what we've been dealing with for months now.” Reyne grimaced. “Strange and horrible events.”

  “Okay; from here forward, we stick together,” I said. “No one leaves the group, not even in smaller groups. We keep our security tight, and we continue to that temple. We must be doing something right, or they wouldn't be trying to stop us.”

  “That's an excellent point.” Declan chuckled.

  “And exactly what they'd expect us to do,” Gage muttered.

  “You have a better idea?” I turned to Gage.

  “What if we do the unexpected?” Gage suggested. “We have fifteen Griffins here. We're all strong enough to carry a passenger. Let's take fifteen people and fly to this temple. If the kidnappers are heading there, we'll cut them off, and if they aren't, we'll be able to verify whether the Trinity has anything to do with these abductions.”

  “And what about the rest of us?” Banning asked.

  “They keep going on foot,” Gage said. “With the canopy so high and thick, our enemies won't be able to spot us flying over them, and hopefully they won't realize that the group has shrunk.”

  “I like it.” I looked at the other leaders.

  “Alain, you're in charge while I'm gone,” Odin said.

  We all stared at Odin in surprise.

  “Well, I'm assuming that you'll at least take the strongest of every group,” Odin said. “And I'm the strongest Witch.”

  “Good point,” I agreed. “We'll need you too, Reyne. You have to guide us. So, that's Odin, Reyne, Banning, Torin, Declan, Cerberus, myself, and who else?”

  We worked out who the last eight would be; four Witches and four fairies. Then the Griffins shifted, and we climbed onto their muscular, lion backs. I rode Gage, of course. I settled in front of his wings, my legs hanging over his chest, and steadied myself with handfuls of feathers. Gage's massive eagle head swung around to give me a sharp look.

  “Sorry.” I let go. “Was that too hard?”

  “You were about to pluck me,” Gage said. “Grab the fur at my shoulders instead.”

  “Got it.” I scooted back a little and grabbed the loose skin of his lion body.

  Then his powerful hindquarters crouched, and Gage launched us into the air. I held on as we shot up along the massive trunks
and then wove through the tree canopy. Birds dove out of our way, and small creatures scurried across branches; dashing away from us. Then we burst through the leaf cover and into the open air.

  The others Griffins shot out around us, and all of us leveled off. The steady thud of eagle wings became a drumbeat, and the sharp breeze was like a whistle. I lowered my face into the thick feathers around Gage's neck and breathed in the musk of lion mixed with the dry scent of feathers. My heart raced to be so high above the land, but I was part Siren, and my blood was singing to me—telling me that this was where I belonged. I wanted to spread my wings and fly. Unfortunately, I was born without them.

  When I was a little girl, I thought that I was cursed. My mother has the most wonderful black wings; a velvet background for her pale beauty. I envied them from the moment I first learned that I was different. She would carry me through the sky, and when she brought me back to earth, I would cry and ask when my wings would grow. She would patiently explain to me that I was special; I had a different type of magic. But my magic kept me isolated on an island. My magic had to be carefully watched and tended, or I might hurt someone I loved. I was bound to the earth despite the power of my song. In the eyes of a little girl, her mother is a goddess; the epitome of womanhood which she strives toward. And I had to accept that I could never be like her.

  But now I flew on the back of my lover. Perhaps I could be like her, after all.

  “Head towards the Sgàthan Sea,” Reyne pointed toward the left.

  The Griffins turned as one and corrected our course toward the glittering strip of the Sgàthan. Sky and sea; there was no better combination for a Siren. I was feeling my heritage come alive. There was only one thing missing; the magic.

  I started to sing to Gage. The first song that popped into my mind was “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly, but then it occurred to me that I may actually end up flying. Probably not something I should try now, but I did tuck that idea away for later. Instead, I sang “First Time” by Lifehouse. It expressed how I felt at that moment perfectly; free and so very loved.

  The music was soft when it began; a little lost to the wind. My voice was a murmur with the beginning lines; just a private declaration of love sung into Gage's pert, lion ear. He twitched beneath me and angled his head to nestle against my cheek.

  But then the chorus came, and I sat up straight, flung my arms wide, and sang out my love to all of Tír na nÓg. The bond I shared with my men rushed through me, and I felt my joy spread to them. We were in new territory; fostering a love that most people couldn't understand. It was a scary rush into the unknown for us, but it was also exciting. We on a hunt, tracking down people who had taken children and Banning's Blooders, but that didn't mean we couldn't take a moment for ourselves. That bliss—that pure pleasure in being loved completely and loving completely in return—flowed through us and strengthened us. I felt Banning's anxiety over his kidnapped people calm, and he found clarity within our connection—clarity that Torin shared with him; the power of Onyx.

  I crooned on, feeling whole on so many levels. My blood, magic, and love were all satisfied. The lyrics gave me confidence. They gave us all confidence; even the others riding beside us. A love this pure and profound; one that would last a lifetime—or several, in our case—was something most people didn't get to experience. The barest touch of it—the proof that it existed—was like seeing the face of God. It was a religious experience that could give hope even in the most dire of circumstances.

  The tension that had been filling us seeped away, and the entire party seemed to relax. I felt confidence spread with my song; we would face this threat and conquer it. We would cleanse Primeval and leave a piece of this hope behind when we left. We had a clear purpose and focus now.

  The Griffins started to fly faster; their wings pounding along to the rhythm of the song. The music brightened inside us and flared through our spirits to lift them and encourage us. We were heroes flying in to rescue captives, friends uniting to conquer evil, and lovers feeling as if every moment together was like the first time.

  Chapter Thirteen

  We covered the distance in less than an hour, and soon the sparkling shore of the Sgàthan came into view. A bay scooped in from the sea; lapping at the pristine sand. The nearly blindingly white strip of beach melded into lush grass the color of limes. This meadow flowed up to a deep, honey-toned temple. The temple was made of a nearly translucent material that had been polished to a glass-like shine. It was possibly constructed of a gemstone, but I wasn't sure which one. With its neutral color, the temple should have blended into the background of Primeval, but it was placed in the center of an open field, and its towering spires were hard to miss.

  “Set us down there.” Reyne pointed to a break in the trees, a few feet in from the clearing.

  The Griffins circled into a landing; coming to rest softly on the forest floor. I climbed off Gage's back and pulled his clothes out of his pack as he shifted back to his human form. I'd been carrying both of our packs, but he was essentially carrying the packs and me, so I wasn't about to complain.

  Gage got dressed, shooting a wink at one of the Witches who was trying to subtly check him out. She blushed and quickly looked away. Gage gave me an unabashed grin as he shrugged his pack over his shoulders.

  “You wanna go give your fan an autograph?” I teased him.

  “I think I gave her enough already.” He smirked.

  “Ass.” I shook my head as we headed over to the rest of our group.

  “Yes; I believe that's what she was staring at,” he said.

  I didn't dignify it with a reply.

  Reyne was leading everyone toward a particular tree, and when I got close enough, I saw why. The tree's bark was a dramatically different color than its companions; with a dark gray tint to it. The bark also seemed dry, and in some places, it had cracked. Thick, black sludge dripped from the cracks, pooling among the roots. The ground nearby had darkened, and nothing grew in it; not even a single shoot of grass.

  That's not exactly the best description. With the thick canopy of leaves above, there wasn't a lot of grass, to begin with, but other things managed to grow in the low light. Moss was prevalent, as well as vines and hardier shrubs. There was none of that around this tree. No moss clinging to its roots or vines wrapping around its trunk. The tree was dying and infecting the soil around it.

  “What the fuck is that?” Rentar asked as he bent closer to the sludge.

  “Don't touch it, Brother,” Gage warned.

  “No kidding,” Rentar huffed. “I'm not an idiot, Gagerian.”

  Gage grimaced as his full name was revealed. Banning and Declan shifted their amused expressions Gage's way, but Torin didn't see the humor. In fact, Torin's only reaction was to bend down beside Rentar and examine the black substance himself. Torin pulled a dagger from his belt and scooped up a small amount of sludge. He stood and brought it over to us.

  “It reminds me of the oil humans mine,” Torin held the dagger out for our inspection.

  “But it smells like death.” Gage drew back from it in distaste.

  “It sure does,” Cerberus wrinkled his nose. “That's pure decomposition, right there. The tree is putrefying from the inside out.”

  “Putrefying?” Reyne's umber bark/skin paled. “What could cause that?”

  “I have no idea,” Cerberus said as he started sniffing viciously. “But I'm going to find out.”

  The Griffins joined Cerberus and began spreading out through the forest; sniffing out the trail of decomposition. They ranged wide, and we followed after them; all of us treading carefully through the dark soil. I could just make out the temple's clearing up ahead, and the glimmer of the ocean beyond. The Griffins were circling the temple. Reyne was right; this poison bordered the Trinity's temple.

  “Why is it called a temple?” Banning asked Reyne. “You don't worship them, do you?”

  “It is not a temple to the Trinity, but to Primeval itself,” Reyne exp
lained. “The Trinity represents the denizens of Primeval, and their job is to guard the forest. The magic of the temple helps them do so.”

  “The temple has magic?” I asked in surprise.

  “It is an extension of Primeval,” Reyne explained. “The solidified blood of the trees form its walls.”

  “The solidified...” I murmured as I stared out at the honey-gold temple. “Amber! Do you mean that the temple is made of amber?”

  “Yes, that's what the humans call it,” Reyne agreed. “But here, it is the preserved life force of Primeval.”