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"Please, yes." I slipped the hoops into my ears. They'd be there when I came out of trance. "So…"
"So," Eriskel circled me, eyeing me closely. "You've managed to find the heart of the horn. That's just one more sign you are meant to wield this artifact."
"What does that mean? The heart of the horn?"
He gave me a long look. "The heart is where its essential power resides. When you countered the lightning blast, you instinctively called up a shield of protection from the Master of Winds."
"You mean, he fueled my ability to protect myself?"
"Yes. By the way, the other Elementals are to be addressed as the Mistress of Flames, the Lord of the Depths, and the Lady of Land when you speak to them directly. They can sense your needs, and if you call, someone will answer, but the request has to be within their capabilities. If you were to try, for example, to deliberately focus Moon magic through the horn, it will not work."
"The horn of the four elements." I stared at the mirrors.
"Exactly."
"But I charge it under the dark of the moon, right?"
Eriskel nodded. "Yes. The dark of the moon is a powerful time for magic connected to the earthly elements. You should introduce yourself now that you've managed to find your way here. It will seal your bonding to the horn. You will never be forced to use it—and it will not help your Moon magic—but the power should prove especially handy when facing creatures of flame and fire."
"Like the demons," I whispered. The Master of Winds had erected the shield against lightning, so it stood to reason that the Mistress of Flames would help protect me against creatures of fire.
"Like the demons," he said. "Do you see now what this horn can do for you? Don't use it foolishly. The Elementals must be allowed to recharge. They do not have unlimited powers and must rest after major spellwork. Stand on your own two feet when you can, but the horn may save your life when you most need it." And then, like so much mist and smoke, he was gone.
I turned back to the east. Running on instinct, I knelt and bowed. "Master of Winds, I am Camille, priestess of the Moon."
"Welcome, Camille. I will serve you to my own death." He pressed his palms together and bowed.
Turning to the south, I again knelt and then the west, and then the north, until all four Elementals had pledged their service to me. As I stood, an inner voice pushed me on.
"I will never abuse the horn's powers. I will never abuse your powers. My oath, under the moon and stars and sun." And there was a ringing of chimes, a thunderous crash, and something was burning my hand.
I jerked and opened my eyes. The crystal of the horn was red-hot, and it had left an imprint on my hand. As quickly as it burned me, it cooled again. I hefted the heavy spire and stared at it. So much power and so many forces. If the horn had this much power, what must the Black Unicorn be like? Someday, perhaps we'd meet. Someday, perhaps I could thank him for his gift. For now, though, I wrapped the horn up in the cloth and tucked it away safely in its special sheath looped on the belt of my skirt.
The sheath was idiot-proof—both easy to access but hard to open accidentally. I'd left the cloak home. It was far too unwieldy to battle goblins in. But I'd remembered to bring my silver dagger, and its sheath hung on the opposite side to the horn.
As I let out a long sigh. Iris leaned forward. "Nice jewelry."
I laughed. "Yeah, real nice, huh? Compliments of the guardian of the horn. By the by, I won't be using the horn during this battle. We can mop up the goblins on our own. But come the next showdown with demons, well… it should make life a little easier."
Morio eased past a line of hastily parked cars on the steep grade of James Street. As we approached First Avenue, I caught sight of a police officer crouched behind a police cruiser, gun drawn. Morio slid into a parking spot, and we leapt out of the car. I immediately began grounding in to the energy of the clouds, searching for any lightning that might be in the area.
There—just over the horizon. A thundercloud.
As I beckoned it to move closer, Iris pulled out the Aqualine crystal Menolly and I'd brought back for her from Aladril. She had fastened it on the end of a silver rod. Whatever she planned on doing with it would probably produce one hell of a show.
Delilah immediately looked around, searching for Chase. A few seconds later, he ducked around the corner, out of Pioneer Park, and raced toward us. A bloody cut traced a jagged line from his temple down the side of his face.
"You're hurt!" Delilah rushed forward, grabbing him by the shoulders as she examined the wound. "Are you okay?"
"Never mind me. The goblins are in the park, and I've got two men down, and a third that I can't get to. He's wounded, but he's in their midst. What the hell can kill these things? We've tried bullets, and it seems to knock them back, but they just keep coming." He turned as one of his officers hurried up.
"Sir, should I order the men to fall back? We're being whipped. Maybe we should call in the SWAT team?"
"Forget it—they won't do much better" I said, stepping forward. "Your weapons just don't work very well on most Fae or Crypto creatures. If you nuked them, yeah, or went kamikaze, maybe, but goblins are tough buggers, and that skin of theirs passes for a form of natural armor. Get your men out of danger, and let us take care of it."
The officer turned to Chase. Chase glanced at me, then at the rest of us and nodded slowly. "They're right. Tell the men to fall back. Any more bullets go spewing around the area, and some bystander is going to get hit. No matter how hard we try, there's going to be some joker who sneaks beyond the barricades. Just because they're stupid doesn't mean they should die.">"In love with you? I can see that, but he wants you to be his mate? He talking about marrying you?" Delilah held the car steady, but her voice shook.
"I don't know if the word marriage enters into it, and I didn't ask," I said, a little irritated. "I was hoping you guys—and maybe Menolly—might have some advice. Not seeing him again isn't that much of an option, I think."
