The First Spell Weaver of Airendell: Book Two of the Airendell Chronicles (7 page)

“You didn’t remember me, and I wouldn’t force the truth on you.” Luca says stiffly.

“I know this probably won’t be any comfort to you, but I dreamed about you all the time as both women.  Especially as Nichole.  She was never in love with Erik.  That was an arranged marriage, but she was honor bound to remain faithful to him.  But she would dream of you, burn for you.  I think we both lived tortured existences for the twenty-four years she was married to him.”

“Can I ask why you refer to yourself in your past lives as another person?” Luca asks thoughtfully.

“Because I am not really me until I am with you.  You know that.” Morna says simply.

“Yes, I suppose I do.  But I find it disconcerting nonetheless.” he admits.  “Why were you and your father in Jotunheim?” Luca asks changing the subject.

“We had chased a band of frost giants back to their home world.  They had been trying to break through the barriers, trying to get at the human world.  Someone, something seems to be intent on taking that world over.  I don’t understand it.  I don‘t see the advantage, the purpose of it…” Morna says thoughtfully.

“I think that is at the root of the conflict we find ourselves in, even now.” Luca says.  He rises and says, “Eat, wench!  I will go make a hot bath for you.”  He kisses her passionately and leaves the room.  Morna sits on the bed to remove the splint on her arm and eats her fill of Damian’s junk food stash.  She thanks God for the day she met that boy.  After she finishes eating she cleans up her wrappers and empty cans, and then puts up a buffer spell around the cottage and joins her mate in the bathing room.

Outside Damian laughs, “Am I imagining things or did Morna just put up one of those buffer spells?” he asks Elias quietly.

Elias looks up from reorganizing his medical supplies and says, “Huh! What do you know?  Kid, how did you feel that?  I didn’t detect it until you mentioned it, and I am a Spell Weaver.”

“I don’t know,” admits Philip.  “But I seem to be more aware magic things since I got that Moonlight blessing and since Bronwyn has been coaching me in how to deal with magic.  Breena think I may have some psychic ability.  Perhaps that explains it.  Maybe it’s just being here in Middle-world, I don‘t know.” 

“You are either a very quick learner or you have a little magic in you,” says Elias thoughtfully. 

Damian leans over and quietly speaks to Elias.  “Luca said Almeda isn’t really dead.  He could still hear a very faint heartbeat when Ari struck her down.  He thinks someone is controlling Ari.  He wants you to act like you are taking her body back to Alfheim for burial.”

“Who would be powerful enough to control Ari?” Elias asks skeptically.

“I don’t know,” says Valliant as he joins them. “But Luca is correct about one thing.  I went to check on Almeda, she lives.  But just barely.  We need to get her to a healer soon.”

“How the hell can I hide that from Magdrid?”  Elias wonders out loud.

Valliant says, “I should take her back to Asgard with me.  Our healers can reanimate her easily enough.”

“That’s probably the better solution.  I am going to run by my old cottage and clean up and change clothes.  I can’t go to Alfheim dressed like this,” he says as he looks down at his cargo shorts, running shoes and t-shirt.  “I’ll come back with Magdrid.”  The rest of the Spell Weavers in their little group join him for the trip into the village of Airendell.

George is thoughtful as he watches them go and says; “I wish we had time for me to go see Airendell.  I have heard stories about that place and Spell Weavers since I was a kid.  One of our elders visited here for a time.  She greatly admired the Weaver‘s commitment protecting mortals.  She was particularly impressed with one child, a little red haired warrior child.”

Valliant laughs and says; “I bet we all know which little girl your elder was so impressed with. “  He smiles proudly and then says; “Take heart lads, you will see it when we get back.  Now that Morna can freely enter this realm, she will be back very soon to look after her people.  I know my Baby Girl, she will not allow Magdrid to continue to ruin her Clan,” Valliant assures them with a hearty slap on the back.  “Besides, in a very short time you will see one of the most magical places in existence, Asgard.  Home of the Norse gods.  Let‘s go get Almeda and hide her from Magdrid and her cronies.  Besides, I think we should give my daughter a little time to… uh… ‘rest’ with her mate.”  He laughs uproariously because he suspects his daughter isn’t resting at all.

Morna comes out of the bathing room and finds Luca staring at their bed.  She can tell by the look on his face that he is thinking of the last time they were here together in this room.  The day Aideen was born.  The day Morna died the first time. 

She takes a moment just to look at her mate.  She has always found him so beautiful.  He’s very tall, well over six and half feet.  His wide shoulders and muscular chest taper down to lean hips.  He is powerfully built and Morna once knew every inch of his beautiful body.  When he turns to face her she smiles into his luminescent blue eyes.  Before he was changed into a vampire they were a lovely brown, but he was blessed by his mother, the Roman goddess of war, Bellona with the Moonlight blessing.  Not only did it make his eyes this beautiful shade of blue, but it allows him to gather extra strength from the moonlight, and prevents his skin from reflecting sunlight like other Stone Cold vampires.

Morna reaches up and tousles his longish, wavy auburn hair before she kisses his wide forehead.  “I’ve missed you, my love,” she whispers as she wraps her arms around his lean waist.

“Morna, can you forgive me for leaving you at the Gateway?  I am so ashamed that I left you while you were recovering.”

“Of course I can forgive you.  You were pissed and rightly so.  Let’s not talk about that now.”  Morna runs her hands up his back and holds him close.

“Baby, I have been standing here remembering the last time we were together in this room,” he whispers.  His face reveals the pain that memory causes him.

She‘s very grateful that he hasn‘t bothered to get dressed yet, and kisses his chest.  “That was a long time ago, baby.  Literally, another life time.  Don’t dwell on it.  Love, I think we need to create some fresh new memories for this room.  What do you say?”

“Mo chroí, we have some things to talk about first.  Almeda isn’t dead.  She still had a faint heart beat when I went to check on her before the Trolls attacked.  I wove a spell to stabilize her, but she needs proper medical attention.

“I think Ari made it appear as though he had killed her.  I think someone is acting through him and that was the best way he could protect his mother.  He seemed to be fighting someone.  He seemed genuinely distraught about his mother and Aideen.”

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I am not sure.  I told Damian so he could collect her.” Luca says softly.  “I guess I am doubting myself, maybe.  So much is happening so quickly.  We don’t know who to trust and I am questioning my own judgment.”

“I can understand that.  I have been turned inside out many, many times lately.”  Morna admits.  “I am just grateful that you and I are together again.  I don‘t want to face whatever is ahead of us without you by my side.  We are stronger when we are together.  We have always been better together than apart.”  She draws his mouth back to hers and kisses him desperately, and then says; “Don’t ever think about leaving me again Luca!  I am nothing without you, you know that!”

“I wasn’t leaving you Morna.  I just needed a little space to think,” Luca whispers into her ear.  “I am sorry if you thought I was leaving you.  I could never leave you.  I too, am nothing without you.  We are two halves of a whole.” 

Luca takes her into his arms again.  He gently kisses the bruises on her face.  He is amazed that they are already turning yellow because of her accelerated healing.  And then he kisses her lips and trails kisses to her breasts.  He just can’t seem to get enough of them now that it is safe for him to love her as he truly wishes.  Since her change he can kiss, nip and suckle her body with abandon.  Before he exposed her blood to his venom he had to be very careful not to hurt her or even kill her when he loved her.  But now she is as strong as he is.  No one understands why she didn’t become a Stone Cold vampire like himself, but he is grateful for the changes it did make in her.  She’s stronger now and stronger means safer.

Morna groans and says, “I want to make love to you right now so badly, but we must go to Asgard.  We have to find Aideen.”  She walks over to the armoire and looks inside and then laughs, “Who am I kidding?  I can’t wear any of my old clothes.”

“Damian said he had clothes for you in the back pack,” Luca reminds her.  He reaches around her and grabs some of his six hundred year old clothes and begins getting dressed.

She digs around in Damian’s backpack and finds a pair of lime green Capri pants and a tank top with a brilliant floral pattern lime green, hot pink and electric blue.

Luca laughs and says, “That ensemble doesn’t look bad at all on you, kind of sexy.  But you would make a sack look good.” 

Morna looks up from tying her sneakers and shrugs.  “Kind of sexy in a slutty sort of way.” Morna giggles and concedes, “I guess it looks alright.  But these pants are tight.”  Morna rubs her belly and says, “I think I am putting on weight.”

Luca chucks her chin and says, “The more to love, my beauty.”  They laugh pleasantly together and then walk outside of join her father and the others.  Damian comes up to them and ushers them back into the house quickly and says, “Magdrid’s spies are already in place.  After the entourage leaves for Alfheim, Valliant thinks one of you should lock them in a binding spell so we can slip away without them reporting to Magdrid.”

“No,” says Morna.  “I won’t have them starving or being vulnerable to attack if we are unable to come back.  Let’s take them to Archer.  He will hold them until it is safe to release them.”  Luca nods his agreement.  Then Morna looks at Damian, “How is Almeda?”

“She’s definitely alive, I can hear her heartbeat, but she is hurt bad.  I don’t know how long she will stay that way.  We have stashed her at the gateway guardhouse.  Valliant wants us to take her to Asgard with us.  Really there is no way to hide that she is alive from Magdrid if Elias takes her back to Alfheim,” Damian informs them.

“Good thinking,” admits Luca.  “I am sure the healers of Asgard can take care of her once we get there.  We will wait in here until the Alfheim entourage leaves.”

Morna, Luca and Damian all look up at the same time.  “That shouldn’t be too long now,” Morna observes.  All three can hear the entourage coming back from Airendell.  “Don’t let anyone but Elias come in here.  He will probably want to check on me before they depart.  Remember, Luca is supposed to have gone off on his own already.”  Damian rolls his eyes at her unnecessary reminder and goes back outside.

“I really do micromanage too much don’t I, Luca?”  Morna asks.

Luca chuckles and says, “Yes, but I can’t fault you for it, I do it too.”

The pair sits quietly by the cold hearth and listens to the group outside.  Luca hesitates and then looks his mate in the eyes.  “Morna, promise me you will be more careful.  You don’t know the hell I have been through the past few days as you insist on nearly getting yourself killed every time I turn around.”

“I don’t go around trying to get myself killed Luca!” Morna fumes.

“No, I am sure you don’t, but think of how you would feel if what has befallen you had happened to me.”

“You are right Luca.  I would probably be out of my mind with worry,” Morna admits quietly.  “I really put you through hell don’t I?”

“Yes,” Luca agrees.  “You certainly do.”  He chuckles and says, “You always have.  And I love you anyway.”  He kisses her gently and continues; “But we are not invincible, we must be smart.  We still don’t know what we are up against.”

It isn’t long before they hear Elias say he is going to come check on Morna.  Magdrid offers to come too, but Valliant intercepts her.

Elias is surprised to see them waiting in the main room when he walks in.  “Well Morna, I don’t know how, but you look fit as a fiddle.  But humor me and let me examine you quickly.”  After a quick examination he has to admit that he can’t find anything major wrong with her.  “I wish all my patients had so little need for me Morna.”  He kisses her cheek and shakes Luca’s hand.  “I assume we will be able to communicate through Alberich if necessary?”

“I would think so,” says Morna.  “I can always establish a link with you, unless that ability has been disturbed by what happened to Ari.  But do be careful.  I really don’t trust Magdrid.  By the way godson, I want you to know that I think you are a far better choice to lead the Guild than me.  Honestly, I am relieved to learn I am not destined to take over.”

“Don’t get too comfortable Morna, I have serious doubts about the legitimacy of Magdrid’s decree.”  Elias admits.  “And it is utter nonsense to say I would be a better choice than you.  You may not remember who and what you truly used to be, but I do.  I didn’t grow up adoring you just because you were pretty and made rainbows for me.  I adored you because you were wise, fair, powerful, reasonable, and absolutely devoted to protecting us all.  Those attributes still apply.  You are destined to lead the Spell Weavers.  You always have been and curses nor your changing into some kind of hybrid vampire doesn’t change that.  You were preordained to be the greatest First Spell Weaver of Airendell.  Not me and sure as hell not Magdrid.”