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"What will happen if I do?"
"You're looking at the consequences. Well, not looking I suppose. But you'll be cursed to an eternity of being the Seventh Warden, the one who has no body, no life of their own, and no name. As much as I long for freedom from this burden, I couldn't wish it on anyone."
"Which is why you haven't insisted when no one asked for your name," Macey mused.
"Indeed. The Wardens have a good leader with you."
"I'm not a leader," Macey protested.
"Deny it all you want, but you are. And often, the best leaders are those that don't want to be one," Air answered. "Our name is Talia. Never let it cross your lips."
"Thank you for sharing it with me," Macey said, running it around her head. It seemed to fit, in an odd way. Though it didn't make that much sense to have a name no one would know, it was hardly the strangest thing that had happened to her since she'd left the Loch.
"Thank you for talking with me, Macey. It's been a long time since anyone did that."
She wasn't sure how she knew, but those were the last words Air was going to say to her.
Macey's body returned to the floor along with a searing pain to her back. This time, she didn't panic, knowing what was there before anyone even saw it.
Five marks down, just two to go. All she had to do was persuade Izban to perform magic with her.
And then work out what she needed to do to get her own.
Somehow, Macey was almost disappointed that her visit to the Seelie court had been so short. She'd heard a lot about the sìth and was curious about their lives. All she'd seen was their cloudy houses as well as the man and woman who'd told them about Air. She made a mental note to come back here, once everything was over. Of all the places she'd been recently, this was the one she found most intriguing. Visiting the storm kelpies under the sea had been fascinating, but she'd felt trapped in those big glass domes, unable to feel the water all around them. Cat-man's home had been quite boring and misty, and with his sister dead, she didn't see any reason for visiting there again. She didn't even know where the ceasg had been living, and she wasn't keen on going there again either. Although of course, her favourite place was her men's house in the mists. That strange inbetween place that changed at the whims of its inhabitants. She ached to be back there with her three lovers, spending some time with them. But they'd told her that they only had three weeks to save the world - waves, that sounded so dramatic! - so there was no time to rest and recuperate. Although they all needed to get some sleep.
"Where is Air?" Jared asked when they stepped out of the gates. Luch was sitting on the ground, licking her paws.
"Long story, but we've got our seventh Warden. Let's go home, get some sleep and make plans for what's next," Macey said with a yawn. She'd felt a slight burst of energy when she'd joined with Air, but it wasn't enough to keep her going for much longer.
"I don't see anyone?" Jared insisted, but Cam put an arm around his friend's shoulders and quietly got him up to speed, saving Macey from having to do a long and tiring explanation. All she wanted was her bed.
"Is everyone ready to travel?" Flint asked and held out a hand. They knew the procedure by now and everybody took hold of his arm. It wasn't important to hold on tight, but there needed to be a connection to one of the two wraiths for them to travel the Staran. Both Cam and Flint had said how it was harder to enter the Staran now that they were getting even worse, but luckily, it was still possible. Macey didn't want to think about what would happen if they'd no longer be able to use them. How were they going to get from place to place? Most of the places they'd visited so far had been in other planes, not on Earth, or at least not on the Earth she'd grown up on.
Izban was the last to touch Jared's outstretched arm, but as soon as he did, they were ripped into the Staran and away from the queendom of the sìth.
The house looked just as welcoming as it always did. Macey was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. There was nothing but her bed on her mind. She knew she was being selfish, but she hoped her men would show Amber and Izban where to sleep. There were enough bedrooms, all they had to do was assign them one. She hoped they'd take one together and not insist on being prude.
Macey staggered to the room she was sharing with her men. She didn't even bother taking off her clothes. They'd go in the bin tomorrow anyway; they weren't much more than rags by now.
She pulled the duvet close to her chin, relishing the feeling of the soft fabric on her skin. She'd not had a proper blanket in ages, nor a mattress, nor a pillow... she fell asleep before the others could even join her.
11
Seven stone thrones in a circle. On them, six people, their backs straight, their faces serious. One of the thrones remained empty bar a strange shimmer in the air above it. And standing in the middle of the circle they formed, was Macey.
"What's going on?" she asked groggily, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
"Welcome... welcome... welcome...," it echoed through the chamber. It wasn't just one of them speaking, it was all of them in unison. Six voices, three male, three female. Together, they sounded like a Gregorian chant Macey had heard once.
Macey didn't even have to think hard to know who these people were.
"Are you the past Wardens?" she asked for clarification?
"Yes.... yes... yes... the last set."
"How many have there been?"
"Too many to count," the voices replied. "But you will be the last... the last... the last..."
