Wicked Rage of the Moon: Book Three of the Airendell Chronicles (2 page)

Morna is concerned about her mate’s reaction to her suggestion and looks at Agnar, who is empathic and might be able to shed some light on her mate’s behavior.  Morna is taken aback when Agnar appears angry and looks away from her inquiring gaze.  She wrestles with her confusion and walks away to think about the situation in peace.  She walks out to the garden and sighs in frustration when she hears Valliant following.  “Please Father, not now.  I need to think.”

“Put up a buffer spell Morna Glynn Michaels,” Valliant grinds out between clenched teeth.

“Why?”  Morna sighs in frustration.

“Because I would have words with you, wench, and I don’t want anyone to interfere,” Valliant speaks softly.

Morna sighs, does as her father asks before turning to face him.  She is shocked when he easily tosses her across his lap and spanks her backside soundly.  “What the hell was that for?”  Morna demands when she frees herself after three blows.

“That was for being a selfish little bitch!”  Valliant barks.  “Lucian has always, always been there for you and you take him for granted!  I have never been ashamed of you until today.  I felt no shame when you ripped that witch’s throat out.  That I could understand.  But you, Morna Glynn Michaels, do not honor your man as you should!  He could be a ruler of his own realm, a master healer such as the world of magic has never seen before, or at the very least, he could be a commander in his grandfather’s forces.  But instead, he has willingly sought you century after century, through all of your reincarnations to protect you.  He willingly serves as your second over the warriors of Airendell when he should be their commander since you now serve as First Weaver.  Being the Guild leader and First Protector of the Talismans and the Gateways would be enough power and responsibility for any sensible person.”

“That’s enough Father!” Morna shouts in frustration.  “I have already made arrangements to offer the post of First Warrior of Airendell to Luca, pending the Elders approval.  There is none in the nine worlds I would trust more than Lucian Michaels for that position.  In fact, he is probably a better choice for First Weaver than I am.  But he cannot be considered for the post because he is not born of our Guild.”

Morna sighs as she roughly scrubs her hands over her face before meeting her father’s condemning stare.  “How have I taken my mate for granted, Father?  I know full well I would have died many times over without him.  In fact, I have no reason to live if it were not for him.”

“Then why did you so easily decide to postpone your wedding ceremony?  Why are you not eager to declare your devotion and commitment to him before all the worlds?”  Valliant demands condescendingly.

“Father, I am eager to do just that.  But I have managed to traumatize my youngest children today, it didn’t seem fitting that I should then turn around and celebrate my undeserved good fortune to have Luca for my mate, to have him as my devoted and loving husband.”  Morna stares at her father, and it’s obvious that she is just as angry as her father is. 

“Morna, those children need this ceremony today as much as Luca does.  Step outside of yourself for a little while and show those around you how much you need them, how much you want them to be in your life.  Show that man how much you need him, want him and love him.”  Valliant demands loudly.

“That’s enough Valliant,” Luca says quietly.

“Dammit Morna.  You didn’t even put up the buffer spell I asked you to use?”  Valliant demands crossly.

“She did.  But I recently learned how to get through them.  I suspected you were berating my mate for considering postponing our ceremony.  I won’t have that Valliant.  Not even her Father has free hand to hurt my Morna.  Do you understand me?”  Luca asks calmly.

Valliant throws his hands up in frustration and snarls, “WOMAN!  Do you see what I mean?  I am not sure that you actually deserve this level of devotion.”  He turns to stalk away, but Luca lightly lays a hand on his arm to stop him.

“Lord Valliant, my mate has and deserves my total devotion.  Just as I have her total devotion.  I only walked away to allow Morna an opportunity to rethink the matter.  She would have realized on her own that following her heart and going through with the ceremony tonight would not cause our children any undue pain.  In fact, it will help them accept today’s events much easier.  Morna just needed a little space and time to make the right decisions.  I had total confidence she would change her mind before you intervened, Sir.”  Luca says confidently.

“Dammit Father!  I only suggested postponing the ceremony.  I would not make a decision like that without discussing it with Luca.  Hell, it’s his wedding too, and those are his children as well.  I am sorry if I offended anyone because I was feeling uncertain about what was best for our children.  Now if you will excuse me I am going to go check on our children and then go get a bath and find something to wear.  I have a wedding to go to.”  Morna walks over and kisses Luca before going back inside.

Luca chuckles quietly as Valliant shakes his head in disbelief.  “I am afraid that I underestimated my child… again.”  Valliant sighs.  I don’t understand that girl.  She is a true puzzle to me.  I am glad that you do, Lucian.”

Luca smiles tightly.  “Valliant, there will be a wedding tonight.  She is just struggling with what she did today, but mostly the way she did it.  I know what it is like to not want to be a monster, but to know that one lives inside of you and could take over if you did not keep it tightly under control.  She is new to this, being a vampire.  But never doubt, she is handling it very well.  She just needs a little time to realize it.  And as to your accusation that she takes me for granted, you are wrong.”  Luca says with deep conviction.  “She has never wavered in her faith in me, her trust in me or her devotion to me since we became lovers over seven hundred years ago.  We are halves of the same whole and we know it.  We rely on that truth daily.  What you seem to regard as her callousness or lack of appreciation is simply her total faith in me.”

“I should have stayed out of this matter,” admits Valliant.  “Never fear, I will not do it again.  I will probably spend the next century trying to get my daughter to forgive me.  I overstepped myself today.”

Luca laughs and says, “That might be putting it mildly.  But she loves you and will quickly forgive you.  She is far too generous and loving to do otherwise.”

“From your lips to God’s ear!”  Valliant says with feeling.

“Well excuse me, but I need to join Morna.  We have a great deal to take care of before departing for Airendell.”  Luca turns on his heel and is gone before Valliant can utter a word.  The Norse demigod scratches his chin through his bristly red beard and hopes his favorite daughter can find it in her heart to forgive him.  He also wonders how he could have misread her actions so badly.

Meanwhile Luca discovers that Morna has already checked on their sons and assured them that the ceremony is still on.  She had explained that she only considered postponing because of today’s events.

“Dad, we tried to tell her that we all accepted what she did, but she still feels… I don’t know, maybe guilty.  But I don’t think that’s really it.  I can’t truly decipher her feelings,” Kyle tells Luca.

“Don’t worry Son.  I am sure a lot of what you are sensing is an overabundance of pregnancy hormones working double time on her emotional state.  I am on my way to check on her.  Where is Aideen?”

“She is staying with Nora until she wakes.” Aiden grins and says; “Don’t worry, Dad, your girls are fine.”

“And I can see my sons are fine too.  Have we told you boys today how very proud we are of you?”  Luca asks with a smile on his face.

“Yep, Mom did just a few minutes ago.  But now, you have a wedding to get ready for.”  Kyle chuckles.

Luca nods at the boys and goes to find his mate.  He meets Ingrid coming out of their suite.  “I just took her some blood and some food.  She is fretting over what to wear tonight.”  Ingrid chuckles.  “She wants to be especially beautiful for you Lucian.”

Luca chuckles and says, “No need to fret on that score.  I found her especially beautiful when she would show up at my home in old pajama pants and baggy tee shirts.  It matters little to me what she wears.”

“She knows that.  I will be around if you need me, and everything at Airendell is ready.  Tonight will be perfect.  Never fear.”  Ingrid assures Luca before she walks away.

Luca hesitates with his hand on the door knob.  At this moment he almost wishes that he were empathic so that he would know what kind of mood his mate is in.  Damn, but Valliant very nearly bit off more than he could chew earlier.  He chuckles when he hears Morna say, “Lucian Michaels?  What are you waiting for?  An engraved invitation?” 

Luca opens the door and steps into their suite.  He is only a few steps into the entryway when she is standing before him.  She reaches out to him and strokes his face lovingly.  “Is my father right?  Do I take you for granted?” she asks sadly.

“Love, I am sure that we both do at times.  Couples tend to do that.  But don’t you fear, I always know you love me and need me.  I know you heard what I told your father,” Luca says as he strokes her face tenderly.

“I did and thank you.  I too believe we are halves of the same whole.”  Morna whispers and then stands on her tiptoes to kiss her mate gently.  “You know it is my deepest wish to proudly proclaim my love for you.  I only considered postponing the ceremony for the sake of the children.”

“Morna, I knew that when you first suggested it.  I also knew that if you had a chance to spend time with the children, you would realize they didn’t need for us to postpone anything, but to continue on with our lives, to continue building a strong family.”  Luca assures his beloved.  He scoops her up into his arms and carries her into the dining room and sits her in a chair before the sustenance that Ingrid had brought.  “Woman you need to eat!”

“Sit with me Luca.”  She says softly as she reaches for his hand and leads him to the chair beside her.  The couple sits in silence for many minutes as she eats, and then Morna says, “I am wondering if I should try to dampen Nora’s gift.”

“Do you think you can?  I mean if Maria couldn’t divert her visions, can you dampen them?”  Luca asks thoughtfully.

“Perhaps not, but I am thinking that I should at least consider it.  The visions she received today very nearly overwhelmed her.  I suspect there are many more terrors in store for all of us.  I would be a bad mother to allow her to face those visions without being by her side.”  Morna says thoughtfully, before returning to eating her meal in silence.  “Do you plan to hunt before we go to Airendell?”

“I do.”  Luca says softly.  He knows she is just thinking out loud as she wrestles with what is really troubling her… what is best for Pumpkin.

Luca is thoughtful for a bit and then says, “Morna, we may need the knowledge her visions provide in order to win.  We have had little success second guessing Valgullveig.  Your sister doesn’t always act like the enemy she appears to be.  Perhaps we should keep Nora closer to us, so that she can be assured that we are safe, but we can be apprised of the content of her visions.”

“You may have a point there.”  Morna nods before adding, “I think that she and I need to test the range of her telepathy and mine as well.”  Morna stands and starts to pace as she speaks, warming to this idea.  “We would have to make arrangements to keep her safe, but this way she could keep us informed, we could assure her that we are safe when she has conflicting visions… Oh Luca, am I a bad mother for even thinking of this?”

“No, baby, I don’t think so.  But we have to talk this over with her and our other children.  I think we should consult with Maria and those who would have to help keep her safe.  We need to teach her how to protect herself as well,” Luca says thoughtfully.

“This feels wrong.  I should not be considering allowing anything that might put her at risk.  She is just a little girl.  It is my job to keep her safe and allow her a chance to just be a little girl.”  Morna says resolutely.  She drains the cup of blood and stands up.  “What is the right decision Luca?”

Suddenly they both hear Nora calling for them.  They rush to her room and find her sitting in her bed reaching out to them.  Morna goes to her and takes her into her arms.  “Mom don’t try to dampen my visions.  If you do that I won’t be able to see the threat and the Dark One makes Valgullveig kill you Mom.  Grandpa goes crazy and kills her.  Odin holds him for judgment, and he’s stripped of his titles, immortality and powers, he is ruined.  Daddy raises the rest of us, but he’s never the same.  He mourns the loss of you and the baby forever.  Mama don’t dampen my visions!”  Nora wails and she clutches desperately onto her mother.

Morna and Luca do their best to comfort her but she interrupts them; “Mom, listen to me.  As soon as you resolved in your heart to do what you could to protect me, this vision came to me.  Now that you are wavering from that resolve, the vision is fading.  My visions depend on the decisions people make.  We all need to make these decisions together, Mom.  Get Sammy to help me watch the future and then we can make our decisions, guided by what we see.”  Nora says logically.  Morna is amazed at how mature her little seven year old daughter has become.

Aideen, who had been sitting silently listening to all this finally speaks up, “Mom, she is right.  You shouldn’t be trying to solve everything for everyone by yourself.  You have a lot of smart and talented people who want to help you.  These same people have a lot at stake, possibly our very lives and futures.”