Thank you for bringing them home, Seren...she whispered in my head as she faded away from me.
I inhaled deep, closing my eyes as my body became fully my own once more. When I opened my eyes, I found Raza staring up at me with an unreadable expression, his hands still clasped in mine. Then the look was replaced with a smile as he stood and hugged me.
“Thank you for bringing her to us, Seren,” he whispered, unknowingly mimicking Danu's own words.
Cat yipped again, alerting me to the fact that she had followed the Goddess around the meadow. I bent to give her a hug and then straightened to look over the awed faces around me. Everyone stood, Tiernan coming over to hold my hand supportively. But it was Sarah who I was concerned with.
“I'm okay, Ambassador,” she whispered when she met my eyes.
“Alright,” I sighed. “We need to get to Dathadair and rescue our friends but first, let's bury Prime Elder Jennifer Wasutke. I wish we could take her back to her people but I don't think that's an option. So instead, let's lay her within the arms of Fairy and pray that she finds peace here.”
“And that her family will understand,” Tiernan said under his breath.
Chapter Fifty-Two
“What does Dathadair mean?” I asked Tiernan as we laid atop a hill, surveying the dullahan village below us.
“Death Omen,” Tiernan said dryly.
“Of course it does.”
“Well what did you expect a bunch of dullahans to name their home; Sunnydale?” He shot back.
I choked on my laughter.
“It wasn't that funny,” Tiernan cast a dark look my way.
“Oh damn, for a moment there I thought you were purposefully referencingBuffy the Vampire Slayer,”I chuckled.
“Buffy is the name of a vampire slayer?” He lifted his brows.
“It's meant to be funny,” I slid a smile his way. “But what's really funny is that Sunnydale was the name of the town Buffy lived inand it happened to be built over a portal to Hell.”
“Hmph,” Tiernan huffed. “Maybe it would have been an appropriate choice after all.”
The village actually looked closer to a Sunnydale then it did a Dathadair. There was a collection of cottages, each with its own little garden, painted in cheerful colors. At the center of town, there appeared to be a bubbling fountain in a courtyard, and at the far end was a huge castle keep. Castle walls encircled the entire town and guards were posted along it. But even with the presence of the guards and the shadows of the night, Dathadair had more of a homey look than a foreboding one.
“Are you ready?” Raza asked us.
“Yes, this is a good vantage point,” Tiernan agreed. “Go ahead and set the fire, then join us back here. We'll sneak down the cliff and hopefully through an open gate.”
“Excellent,” Raza turned and rushed away.
“Okay, everyone, here we go,” I said to the others. “Cat, you stay here and watch our backs.” Cat whined. “You can't glamour yourself to be invisible,” I chided her. Then she disappeared. “Cat?” I gaped at the empty space and suddenly she was back again, panting happily like a puppy. “Well, you told me.”
“She's Goddess-touched, remember?” Tiernan whispered. “She glamoured herself into a dog, why wouldn't she be able to go invisible?”
“Pretty soon she'll be running Twilight,” I chuckled. “Alright, you're in too, Cat. Just stay close and don't go running off anywhere.”
Cat looked at me like I was being silly.
“Done,” Raza said as he joined us and suddenly shouting was heard from below.
I angled my head to see flames blazing in the distance and dullahans gathering on the city walls.
“I hope you were careful with that fire,” it suddenly occurred to me that starting a forest fire in Fairy wasn't such a good idea.
“It's a collection of logs I cast out into a lake,” Raza smirked at me. “The fire won't spread.”
