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Ulean slipped up beside me and I felt her joining in, helping warm the air around us so that it collided with the cold. I kept my focus on the currents as they began to whip into a counterclockwise spiral, creaking and moaning as they picked up speed. Another few seconds and there was a roar as the monster came to life.
With the sound of a freight train rattling by, gusts of dark clouds began to spin. The funnel cloud engulfed Rhiannon's fire and swept down the slope, a blanket of swirling flame on a deafening ride. My ears popped from the changing air pressure.
"Run. Now!" I turned and headed through the trees at breakneck speed, following the others who'd already taken off. Ulean howled along beside me, buoying me up and along. I leapt over a fallen tree trunk and hit the path, veering toward the house. We ran like the hounds of hell were after us, not looking back, not knowing whether Myst and her followers were on our heels or if we'd staved them off.
And then, breaking through the tree line, we were across the border, onto our land, and a soft glow lit up the perimeter of the yard. Anadey stood on the porch, watching anxiously as we skidded to a halt. We were home and Peyton was with us.
I turned, gasping for breath, in time to see Myst and Heather come to the edge of our property, followed by a half dozen guards. My heart in my throat, I watched as they traced the border, but did not set foot across it. Whatever Anadey had done, it was holding.
Straightening my shoulders, I faced them--the Mistress of Mayhem and her Court. She gazed at me, steady, her luminous eyes sparkling like stars, her skin the color of sky on a clear, late evening before twilight fully hits. Her gown flowed into the shadows, diaphanous shades of blue and black and gray and silver. Beautiful, I thought. She was so incredibly beautiful and terrifying.
Myst cocked her head to the left, then the right, and let out a slow laugh.
"Cicely Waters. You think you have won?"
I shook my head. "If we'd won, you'd be dead."
"Good, then. Don't underestimate me. Child, do you even have a clue as to who you are? As to who you were?"
The great horned owl circled overhead, coming to rest in the oak behind me. I cleared my throat and returned Myst's gaze, willing myself not to flinch.
"I am Cicely Waters, born of the magic, born of the Uwilahsidhe. I know who I am. And I know what you are." It was foolish to challenge her, but I wanted her to understand that I understood she was a vicious monster. A crazed Queen out for blood. "I walk with the Crimson Court at my back."
She inclined her head gently and, turning to Heather, lightly traced her hand down my aunt's cheek, softly caressing her. Then, without a second thought, she back-handed Heather so hard that my aunt went sprawling to the ground. Heather lay there, staring up without a protest. I heard Rhiannon stifle a cry, but I didn't turn, didn't show any emotion.
"A thought," Myst said, turning back to me, her gaze narrowing in on me. "If I treat my friends thus, consider how I treat my enemies. Then decide which side you wish to be on. Your precious Grieve is mine."
"No!" I jerked, unable to stop myself. "What do you mean?"
"I claim him for my own. He will be my consort. And you, my dear . . . Don't you remember who you used to be? Think, think very hard." Her eyes begin to swirl and I felt myself falling deep into her spell.
A glimpse . . . standing deep in the forest, and Grieve was beside me only he was not Grieve but Shy. And I was there . . . I was Cherish . . . and this time I looked down at my hands. They bore a faint cerulean cast. With wonder I reached up and touched my teeth. Razor-sharp and two small fangs. And I turned to Shy, who smiled at me, loving me, and I knew that I was a traitor to myself, to my race, to my mother.
"No," I whispered. "I wasn't one of you! I was Cambyra Fae!"
Myst laughed. Deep and rich, her voice echoed through the night. "You are Cambyra Fae now . . . but oh yes, I can see you remember. Good-bye for now, child. We will meet again. Soon. And you will remember how you turned on your family. Grieve isn't the only one who's been searching for you through the years. Remember this: I never forget a grudge." And then, she turned and like a shadow in the night, she and her companions were gone.
I turned back to the others, who stared at me, silent and waiting. With a sickening feeling that things had just gotten a whole lot worse, I nodded to the house. "We're safe for now. We need rest."
And we went inside and shut the night and the snow and the demons out.
Chapter 27
I plugged in an e-mail to Lannan, demanding to see Regina, Geoffrey, and him the next night. There was too much I needed to report for me to type it all out. I also told him in no uncertain terms that Lainule should be present, and that I'd be bringing my friends. We were all in this together now.
Peyton was downstairs, reunited with her mother, and we left them alone for a bit to enjoy their homecoming. We still didn't know what the Indigo Court had done to Peyton, but she'd tell us when she was ready. She seemed okay, and I hoped they'd just roughed her up a little.
Rhiannon and Leo were cooking dinner. Kaylin was working on some magical charm--I didn't know what. A knock at my door sounded and I pushed myself away from the desk and called, "Come in."
Chatter entered the room. He joined me on the bed, crossing one leg over the other. "Thank you, for letting me stay here."
"You're on our side now, like it or not. At least they won't beat you anymore. Grieve never . . . he didn't . . ." I wasn't sure I wanted to know, but he shook his head.
"Grieve never laid a hand on me. I told you before, he did what he could to fight his nature. Now though, who knows what's going to happen? And with Myst claiming him, how long can he hold out against his Shadow Hunter side?"
I winced. "She can't have him. He's mine. And I'll do everything in my power to stop her. To free him." A sob choked up in my throat and Chatter pulled me into his arms, holding me softly as I wept. After a few minutes, I sat back and rubbed the tears from my eyes. "Crying won't help."
"What did Myst show you that made you so angry?" He gently tipped my chin up, his eyes soft and doelike in the dim light of the candles I'd lit.
