A muscle jerked in his cheek. I could see him battling with himself to avoid taking our little spat even further.
Wrong time, wrong place, my Lord.
It’s not just yourself any more. You need to show a bit more maternal responsibility.
I just slaughtered half the bloodsuckers in the city. My maternal responsibility is doing just fine.
He snarled in my head. Were they threatening you?
Solus cleared his throat. I realised Corrigan and I were facing each other, gesturing expressively with each Voice communication. I guessed it looked pretty strange. I snapped back into the physical world as Alex broke in.
“Which way, dudes?”
Focusing on what we were supposed to be doing, I took a step backwards to stare into the darkness. There was very little to be seen. I was getting so very tired of the dark. Corrigan raised his head and sniffed, then pointed to his left.
“Can you smell Endor?”
He shook his head. “Nothing so specific. But there are living creatures off in that direction.”
It was good enough for me. We headed off in single file, Corrigan in front so he could use his superior sense of smell to keep us on track. The ground beneath us was crunchy, making it difficult to tread quietly. I peered down, trying to work out what it was we were walking on. It seemed to be a mixture of materials, different sizes and lengths. There was a curved shape to one that was just like…I looked back up. Okay. We were walking on hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of bone fragments. Excellent.
The air felt clammy and heavy, almost as if a thunderstorm was about to break. I sucked a breath deep into my lungs. It left an unpleasant taste on my tongue and I made a face. I really didn’t like it here.
We’d hardly travelled any distance, when Corrigan halted. I almost went careening into Alex’s back, and only just managed to pull myself back in time. I leaned out to my right, trying to see why we’d stopped. There was a faint glow up ahead. Bingo. I crossed my fingers that it was as a result of Endor himself, and not some other nastie we’d have to avoid. Tapping Alex on the back, I motioned for him to veer right, and then for Solus behind me to head left. If we could flank whoever it was, and get close to see what they were up to, then we might just learn something useful. Corrigan turned and looked me. He flashed a sudden grin, and exploded in a mess of ripped clothing and black fur. His werepanther form padded up and he butted his head against my stomach, purring. He might have been trying to look like a cute harmless cat, but the powerful muscles rippling down his black feline body belied his true self. I scratched his ears, then pushed him gently back around and forward.
Corrigan as a werepanther made no sound at all while he picked his way through the path of bones. I, on the other hand, was like a heavy footed elephant in comparison. No matter how gingerly I tried to tread, there was still a sickening noise of crunching under my feet. I lifted myself up onto my tiptoes and began to move more slowly. We didn’t have the Palladium with us and we weren’t prepared for a fight. It was imperative Endor didn’t hear me.
The light grew stronger as we approached. It was some kind of fire, burning in a small metal barrel. Surrounding it were several free standing walls which oddly appeared to be moving. I strained my eyes. What the fuck was it?
Corrigan spoke in my head, causing me to jump. Birds. Lots of birds.
I peered closer and realised he was right. Each wall was covered with them. Different kinds and different sizes. I spotted crows, pigeons, even a peacock. Every single one of them seemed to be affixed somehow through their bodies. Their wings, however, were flapping and free. The lack of sound caused by their continuous movements was beyond eerie.
Air. My returning Voice to Corrigan was grim.
Indeed.
Is Endor there?
He shook his great panther head, stating the negative. Then the smell hit me. I wrinkled my nose; it was blood, lots of blood. You’d have to kill a lot of bloody birds to make the atmosphere smell that strongly. I drew closer to see what it was, and spotted Alex gesturing to me from the other side. There was a stone table close to him with something outstretched on it. I took another step and realised it was a kelpie, spread-eagled and sliced open. Nausea rose again through the pit of my stomach, warring with bloodfire. The kelpies may have double-crossed us, but it appeared that Endor had then double-crossed them back.
Solus appeared silently at the opposite side of Alex. I stopped moving and watched him approach the nearest wall of birds. Their wings continued to beat noiselessly - and uselessly. He stepped up to one and began to stroke its head, his lips moving as he murmured something. Then he took several steps backwards, and made some kind of gesture.
I blinked at him. What was that? Frowning, I moved round Corrigan to get closer. Solus had connected his hands together and was flapping them as if to mimic a bird. I nodded. Okay, yes, I could see the birds. Then he pointed to the fire. I had no idea what he was on about. I was just on the verge of asking Corrigan if he had any idea when he suddenly hissed in my head.
Get down. Now.
I launched myself downwards, only just managing to move my palms to hold my weight and avoid the bones in time. Corrigan was equally down on his haunches, his green eyes slitted. I couldn’t see where Alex or Solus had gone. Then I heard footsteps. Oh, shit. I lifted my head slightly and realised that Solus was still bathed in the glow of light from the fire. He was too close to the wall of birds and, even though he was also hunkered down on the ground, he was far too visible. He began to back away, staying low, but the footsteps were getting nearer. A dark shape passed by, barely ten feet away from where I was. It was clearly Endor. I watched in panic as Solus still tried to manoeuver himself around without making too many sudden movements that might attract Endor’s attention. All the necromancer had to do was glance over and then he’d see him.
The wall to the far side of Solus began to flap with more vigour and energy than before, drawing my eye away from the Fae. Endor obviously saw them too because he began to stride in their direction. A diversion. The birds were working for us and creating a diversion. Solus scrambled up and managed to back away out of sight just as Endor reached the birds and kicked one of them. There was a sickening crack as its neck broke. The rest of the birds slowed their movements in response. I could feel anger and heat filling me. That fucking bastard. My fingertips tingled. I glanced down, then realised green fire was flickering at the edges of my hands. Quickly, I dropped to my stomach, managing to avoid making any sound, and shoved my hands under my body to hide them. Green flames would be a bit of a fucking giveaway.
Endor moved from wall to wall, trailing his hands over each of the birds. I carefully rose to my knees and stuck my hands under my armpits, then nudged Corrigan with my elbow. He nodded, and the pair of us began to very, very carefully back away. With every single step, I was terrified that Endor would hear us and turn around. Thank fuck he seemed absorbed in his walls of horror, oblivious to anything else. There was one point my foot landed on a bone, causing it to snap. To my ears, the noise was as loud as a foghorn, but Endor didn’t register it. It took a few minutes, however, before I could breathe again.
By the time we reached the portal, Alex and Solus re-joined us. I sent a questioning look in Solus’ direction and he nodded, but placed a finger to his lips. Then he vanished back through, with Alex following. There was the familiar creak of bones shifting, and Corrigan returned to his human form, standing back upright. He was, of course, fully naked. My eyes travelled down from his face, then back up again. Good Lord. He licked his lips as if daring me to say something. I took a deep breath, composing myself, and gestured towards the portal. He grinned at me with the hint of a promise in his jade eyes, and went through. I swallowed, forgetting to feel nervous at my impending retching and followed after him.
Chapter Twenty Five
As soon as I stepped back through into the real world, the momentary distraction of Corrigan’s naked body disappeared. Solus’ expression was bleak, and Alex most definitely looked green around the gills.
“Those birds,” he whispered. “They were nailed into those walls, Mack. Each and every one of them.”
My stomach heaved, and I could feel my knees going. The Arch-Mage walked up next to me, however, and placed a hand on my shoulder. Immediately I began to feel better. Magic certainly had its uses sometimes.
“I hadn’t realised,” I said grimly.
“There were at least a couple of hundred of them, Mack Attack.”
“Three hundred and one,” Solus murmured. “Three hundred and one birds.”
“It seemed like you were talking to them.”
He nodded. “I have an affinity for animals. Most Fae do.”
“And?”
“And we’ve got a serious problem, dragonlette.”
Every member of the council gathered round, even though we were in the corridor of Alcazon. Apparently the time for keeping everything hush hush had long since passed.
“He’s drawing small parts of strength from the birds,” Solus said, “but they’re not his target.” His mouth twisted. “They told me what he’s after. He’s going to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, and gain mastery of Air and Fire at the same time.”
“I don’t understand. How will he do that?”
“The phoenix.” For the first time ever, I think I saw the Summer Queen appear distraught. “He’ll go after the phoenix.”
Everyone looked at each other and then suddenly began to talk. The noise rose up in a babble.
“Quiet!” I said, although my voice was lost in the hubbub.
I stared down at my hands, the green fire easily sparking back up, then aimed them up at the ceiling. These people had to learn when to talk and when to listen. Corrigan grabbed my arm, however, with a warning look in his eyes. Some helpful shifter minion had apparently already given him a dressing gown. That was handy. And rather disappointing for me.
They’re already afraid of you, kitten. Allow me.
He lifted his head back and roared. The sound was deafening. Ears ringing, I glared at him.
Next time don’t do that next to my head. I’m going to be deaf for a fucking a week.