And with that, I decided to call it a day while it was still on a high note.
I foundmyself wandering through a mist-covered land, and in the distance, barren trees gave off a ghostly green glow in the darkness.Turning around, I saw that I was alone, and on all sides, the marsh spread out.As I tried to figure out where I was, I saw the figure of a tall, dark-haired, and sloe-eyed man.He was beautiful, but as I approached, the smile on his face turned into a sneer, and he began to laugh.
I realized he was a kelpie, and as I turned to run, forgetting for a moment that I was a goddess, he called out, “You can’t win.Not against us.Not against the ocean herself.You should feel her calling.Give in to her, give in to your shadows.It’s the only way you’ll survive.”
Frozen in my tracks, I could hear him walking softly through the marsh, one step after another, coming closer and closer.I wanted to scream because whoever he was, he transcended time and space.
“Who are you?”I cried out, trying to pull away, to run to where he couldn’t touch me.
But then he laughed.“They call me the God-Killer,” he said, and I knew we were all doomed…
I sat up,gasping, flipping on the light.Outside, the dawn was breaking, and the first hints of morning were creeping out from behind the clouds.Squinting, Herne mumbled something, then sat up, staring at me.
“What…Nightmare?”he asked.
I nodded.“Yes.Remember the prophetic dreams I used to get?”
He shoved himself up into a sitting position.“I do.What of them?”
“This was like that.I swear, it felt like a warning.”I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, trying to make sense of it.Rambling a little, I began to tell Herne what I had dreamed.
“TheGod-Killer?And you say he was a kelpie?”
“I think so,” I said, nodding.“Remember when we ran into the kelpies and they tried to drag me away?This man, he looked a lot like them, but more than that, my Leannan Sidhe side knew what he was—just that gut knowledge that you get when you recognize what someone is like.He was a kelpie, but more than that—there’s something bigger behind him.Something powerful.And I think he’s a messenger.”
Those were things that hadn’t fully come through in the dream but that I recognized now that I was awake.And whatever he was—whoever he was—he was bringing great danger with him.
“I suppose we can do some research, find out if there’s ever been any entity known as the god-killer mentioned.Meanwhile,” he said, glancing at his phone, “my mother will be waiting at work today.I told her we needed to ask her about something.We can get her take on the Whispering Lights and the gyanatar.”
“I suppose we’d better get dressed then.”I reluctantly threw back the covers.I was still tired and wanted to sleep in, but even if we had the day off, the girls would still be waking up soon and we’d have to get up for them.
“You take a shower.I’ll make breakfast and check on the kids.”Herne began to get dressed, and I stared at him, longing to pull him back into bed, to spend a drowsy morning romping under the covers.He was gorgeous.I knew every inch of his body as well as I knew my own.But once we had the girls, we had to carve out time for each other.Spontaneity was a thing of the past, and especially now that we were also back at work.
He caught my eye.“We’ll make time for us tonight, I promise.”
“I’d like that,” I said, heading into the bathroom.
By the timewe reached the office, Morgana was waiting for us, keeping up an awkward conversation with Yutani and Talia.Carrying our coffee cups—we’d stopped for breakfast on the way to work—I waved at Viktor, who had arrived in the parking garage at the same time we did.Together, we rode the elevator to the first floor.As we entered the foyer, Talia glanced up, a relieved look on her face.Yutani jumped up from where he was sitting as well.
Herne gave his mother a hug.“Thank you for coming.We have a couple of ethical questions we need to run past you before we take any action.”
“Oh?”Morgana asked.
“Yes, come on back, please.”He led her to the breakroom.
Talia handed me the morning mail.“By the way, Raven called ten minutes ago.Wager’s awake.He’s weak, but he seems to be out of the woods.You can drop by later for a visit if you want.But she and Kipa are taking turns today, keeping him company.I chatted with him for a moment.He sounds really tired—probably due to the medication as much as the surgery—but he sounds better.I told him you’d be in touch later today.”
“Thanks,” I said.“I’m so glad he’s awake and aware.”I glanced at the envelopes.“What’s in the mail?”
“The usual, except for those two there,” she said, pointing out two of the envelopes.“A couple of the bills don’t seem quite right to me,” she said.“Do you want us to join you for the meeting?”
I tucked the mail away and nodded.“Might as well.This could apply sometime in the future, so come on back.”I glanced through the opened envelopes as I headed to the breakroom.Yutani, Talia, and Viktor followed.
Once we were there, Talia poured coffee for Morgana and Viktor.Viktor had brought in cookies that his wife Sheila had baked—chocolate with peanut butter chips—and he set them on the table.After everyone was settled, we got down to business.
“We have an ethics question,” I said.We told her about the Whispering Lights and the gyanatar.“The question is, do we kill the gyanatar so the Whispering Lights will leave Nalina alone?Do we dispatch them, and if so, how?They aren’t exactly harmful, but we can’t let them settle in there, charming people so they can try to get help.There are older and darker things in that park, and one night, Nalina’s going to run into one of them as the lights call her to them.”
Morgana frowned.“That is an issue,” she said.“I know about the Whispering Lights and their enemy.But they’re rare, so I never thought to even mention them.Most often, it’s will-o’-the-wisps that present, and they’re dangerous.”
