Unholy Blue (2 page)

Shay's grin widened at his laugh.
Gods, I adore this kid. How could I have fallen in love with both father and son so fast? I can't believe it's only been a month since we met
. The events of the last thirty days played out in her mind like a movie trailer. Coming across an injured Cor and a frantic Bann. Learning that the man and boy were not only also Tuatha Dé Danaan, but the descendents of the High King of Ireland, Brian Boru, and thus the targets of the vengeful shapeshifter Cernunnos, known as the Stag Lord. The growing affection among the three of them as Bann decided, much to Cor's—and Shay's—delight, to stay in High Springs and make a go at a normal life. And finally, the fateful day when they had battled and defeated Cernunnos.

Or so we thought
. Not only had Bann been critically wounded, but her dog, Max, had sacrificed himself to save father and son. Lingering grief filled her over the
fact that the god had managed to somehow transfer his essence into her dog, enabling the shapeshifter to take over Max's body and somehow live on.

“Shay. Cor.” A deep voice—a beloved voice—called their names. They spun around.

“Dad!” Cor took off first. Sprinting through the crowd with an agility that was as much part of his warrior heritage as of his training, he dodged around—and in one case, jumped over—various pieces of rolling luggage, much to both the amusement and indignation of other travelers. With another shout, he launched himself at his father. Timing it perfectly, Bann dropped the duffle bag by his feet and caught Cor in mid-air.

Shay's heart melted when Bann hoisted Cor higher in his arms. The boy wrapped his limbs around his father and clung like a squirrel on a spruce tree. After a fierce hug that made a few passersby smile, they leaned back far enough to gaze into each other's eyes. As Shay approached, Bann asked something in a low voice. Cor grinned and shook his head, then glanced back. “Nope. She's right here.”

Shy and eager at the same time, Shay paused, not sure if Bann would appreciate her flinging him to the ground in public.
Probably not, seeing that he's a bit old school by nature. Well, I can't blame the guy. He
is
over a hundred years old
.

“See, I didn't lose her, Dad.”

“Welcome home, Bann.” Shay knew she was grinning like a fool. She didn't care.

Cor wiggled down and stood bouncing in place as he glanced at the man and woman staring at each other.
“I think you're supposed to kiss now,” he whispered in a loud voice.

Bann reached out his hands and took Shay's. All her shyness melted away when he smiled. “Shay, darlin'.” He pulled her near, holding their clasped hands against his heart. He stared down at her, as if memorizing her face. “By the Goddess, I missed ye and the boyo.”

Melting even more as his brogue deepened with emotion, Shay reached up and ran her fingers along the dark stubble marking his strong jaw. “Not as much as we missed you.” She stood on tiptoe and brushed his lips lightly with her own. Her body flushed at the heat in his gaze.
“Hot time in the old town tonight.”
The old tune flitted through her head. She took his hand. “Come on. Let's get your luggage. By the way, Ann and Hugh insist,” she added, speaking of her aunt and uncle who were like a second set of parents, “that we have dinner with them before heading back to…um…my place.”
Our place
.

“And Dad, guess what?” Cor picked up the duffle and slung it over his shoulder, almost toppling backwards from the weight. A hasty grab from Bann saved him. “Nah, I got it.” The boy readjusted the bag and staggered toward the escalator leading down to the lower level and the baggage claim area. Hand in hand, Bann and Shay followed. “Shay's getting you a new—”

“Hey, blabbermouth.” Shay bipped Cor on the back of the head. “I thought I told you I wanted it to be a surprise?”

Standing on the moving step behind Cor, Bann reached out and gripped the back of his son's jacket, holding him in place when the boy wobbled from both
the movement and the weight of the duffle. “A new what, son?”

“Shay said I'm not supposed to tell you.”

“Ah. Then you best mind Shay.”

Shay peeked up at Bann. Just holding his hand made her pulse race along. It kicked up a notch when he leaned closer.

“Speaking of surprises, I've one for you,” he whispered.

“Is it a
big
surprise?” she whispered back, turning her head so that Cor couldn't hear.

“You know I'm not one to brag.”

Shay groaned and rolled her eyes, secretly delighted at the flirting. Before she could think of a quip, he continued.

“Actually, I have several surprises. One is being shipped with the rest of our things, which should get here on the sixteenth.” He stepped back to allow Shay to exit the escalator first, then fell in beside her as they made their way to the carousel.

“I can't believe you managed to rent your house
and
packed up and arranged the shipment of your belongings, all in a week's time.” She slowed, letting Cor go ahead, and lowered her voice. “And what about your wife's family? Are they still all…?” She made a twisting motion with her fist over her heart.

“Aye.” Remorse darkened Bann's face. “They are still wounded over the fact that I've moved Cor so far away, so soon after Elizabeth died. I explained to them they are welcome to visit their grandson anytime, but that Cor and I need to make a new life. A place where the
memories of this gods-be-damned past year won't haunt us so much.”

Shay slipped her arm through his and gave it a squeeze. “Well, as you know, everything's been quiet around here. No sign of Cernunnos and no attacks.” Even though the god was using her dog's dead body to attack members of a rival clan—
for reasons we
still
haven't figured out
—she refused to refer to the shapeshifter as “Max.” “Although that pack of goblins we hunted a few weeks ago is still being a nuisance.”

“And the Tully clan?”

“Still making threats. You know the Tullys—they're just looking for an excuse to stir up trouble. Our clans have never gotten along all that well.”
And there's the understatement of the millennium
.

“I'm surprised you and Quinn Tully ever even dated.”

“Me, too. Jeez, what was I thinking?” Shay made a face, recalling her brief affair with Quinn, who had been first resentful of her position as Healer and then had become downright nasty about it. He had even slapped her at a party, right in front of Bann. Although she and Bann had just met forty-eight hours earlier, the Knight had beaten Quinn Tully into unconsciousness. Which had led Tully to ally himself with the Fir Bolgs, fellow beings of ancient Ireland and long-time enemies of their people…the same creatures that had later attacked Bann, Shay, and Cor. “I know this sounds heartless,” Shay said, “but I don't feel one bit sorry the shapeshifter killed Quinn. He deserved it, the dickwad.”

Bann cleared his throat. “Big ears,” he murmured, jerking his chin at the boy in front of them.

“Oops. My bad.” She raised her voice. “Ignore that, would you, Cor?”

Cor tipped his head back to look at Shay. “Is it one of those grown-up words I'm not supposed to use?”

“Yeah.”

“You and Dad sure say a lot of them.”

Bann and Shay glanced at each other in chagrin.

After collecting a second duffle bag, this one large enough to stuff Cor into, the three made their way across the parking lot, eschewing the shuttle bus at Bann's request for some much-needed exercise after spending the day in airports and planes.

As they walked along, Shay elbowed Bann and pointed toward the west. “Now, there's a miracle—a clear evening for tonight.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean no big snow storm this year. It's kind of a joke around here with mortals. Snow on Samhain, sunshine on Yule.”

“I doubt most mortals would refer to Halloween as Samhain,” Bann pointed out as they reached Shay's SUV. After she unlocked it, he heaved the bags inside the cargo area.

“You'd be surprised. Still, we'll probably have a full moon tonight. Which would make things sketchy if—” Shay closed her jaw with a snap.
What the hell was I thinking? Talking about that monster in front of the kid?

Bann opened the back passenger side door and ushered the boy inside, then closed it with a thud. “—if Cernunnos decides to follow his original plan and try to take Cor tonight,” he finished for her.

“Over my dead body.”

“No.” Bann smiled thinly, an ice-blue gleam in his eye. “Over
his
.”

They drove westward across the city toward the mountains. At the wheel, Shay maneuvered through downtown's rush-hour traffic without a single cuss word.
Without an
out-loud
cuss word, that is
. Cerulean shadows spread toward them like an approaching tide, mimicking the shapes of the mountains, Pikes Peak's silhouette in the lead.

Bann reached back between the seats and patted Cor's leg. “And were you well-behaved, son?”

“Yes, sir.” Cor's eyes flicked up at the rearview mirror at Shay. She looked back and nodded reassuringly.

“No arguing when you were told to do something? No leaving your room a mess? Eating what was placed in front of you without complaint?”

“Um…”

“He was fine, Bann. I told you that on the phone.” Shay stomped on the brake, the tires squealing, when a car cut in front of her. “And even if there was a problem, I handled it, and we moved on.”

Bann frowned. “What happened? Cor?”

“Um…” Cor repeated.

“Nothing happened,” Shay said at the same time, gunning the engine and racing around a car that she swore had parked itself in the middle of the frickin' lane. “Well, nothing worth mentioning.”

“Indulge me.”

“Can we talk about this later? Like when I'm not fighting traffic?”
He's got to learn to trust me to handle Cor in my own way. Especially if we are…
She wasn't sure how to finish that thought, since they had not officially put into words what everyone had already assumed. And Shay knew what
assuming
made a person.

“No, we cannot.”

Shay could tell the Knight's obstinate streak, the one his son had inherited right along with his father's good looks, was raising its mule-eared head. “Oh, for the Goddess's sake, just let it go.”

Bann twisted around, one hand on Shay's headrest. Something about his position seemed to block her out of the conversation. Her temper ratcheted up a notch. “Bann—”

“Cormac Boru.” Bann's use of his son's full name made Shay sigh in exasperation. “You have three seconds to tell me what it is that you and Shay are laboring so hard to hide from me.”

“Bann, really—” Shay tried again.

The man ignored her. Which made her want to nail him with a
hey, I'm talking to you here
smack on the back of the head.

“One. Two—” he intoned.

“Iburneddownpartofthejunglegymbyaccident,” Cor said in a breathless rush.

“Y-you burned down—”

“See?” Shay said. “Not worth mentioning.”
We're going to have a come-to-Danu meeting sooner rather than later about his stubbornness
. She patted Bann's knee. “So. Who'd you rent your house to?”

Bann stiffened. “Do not minimize my parenting,” he said coldly.

“Don't undercut
mine
, then,” Shay fired back. “I was in charge of him. I handled it. End of story.”

The rest of the drive, while Cor sat in silent bewilderment in the back, Shay watched out of the corner of her eye as Bann stared straight ahead, stony-faced as only the Knight could be. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

Our first fight. And over Cor. This is not good
. Shay knew the statistics of success in second marriages, especially when children were involved.
But that's among humans, not us. We Tuatha Dé Danaan are the poster people of “it takes a clan to raise a child” philosophy. Hell, that's why we have a history of fostering our children to other Knights
. She thought back to her own experience of leaving her family at thirteen to apprentice with a seasoned Knight and Healer, who had taught her the ancient art of hunting goblins and encouraged her to follow her heart and become a Healer.

Why, Bann was an apprentice himself, declaring his master was as much a father, albeit a stern one, as his own. And hasn't my family taken both Bann and Cor into their hearts and homes? So I don't see why he's suddenly all pucker-assed about someone else disciplining his kid
.

“My apologies, Shay.” Bann's voice was so low she almost missed his admission. “Cor was under both your care and your guidance. I should not have questioned you.”

After picking her jaw up off her lap, Shay nodded. “I guess we're all feeling our way in this. Like you said
before, we'll just have to figure it out as we go along.” She wondered what
go along
entailed.