Unfallen Dead

Ceridwen rejoined us, struggling to keep her shock under control. “Maeve does not have the power to enter. She destroyed the fairy ring to protect Tara. We’re on our own.”

“Okay, that’s a problem,” I said.

A thin haze sprang up in the portals to Stonehenge and Carnac. Samhain was ending with the rising sun a continent away. The veil was closing. With Tara gone, only the Boston portal remained open. At the far end of the entrance avenue, Vize and his riders were close enough to distinguish individuals. The lead company rode dream mares wrapped in a mist lit by an amber gleam from the horses’ eyes.

Ceridwen moved up next to me. “Our sources told us Vize pla

I watched them coming on. “Vize was working a deal with a woman named Rhonwen ap Hwyl. He must have been looking for her, but she had her own agenda and is a little dead at the moment.”

Ceridwen looked back at the Boston portal. “Samhain is almost over. I don’t think Vize will be able to get back to his own portal before the veil descends for another year. That leaves Boston his only escape now. I will not let him through.”

“Let’s get out of here and destroy the Boston fairy ring like Maeve did,” I said.

Ceridwen shook her head. “After you entered TirNaNog, the Taint bound itself to the veil. We don’t know how to break it, thanks to you two.”

Meryl whirled on her. “For the last time, Ceridwen, there is no damned druid conspiracy. We don’t know how to stop the Taint. You want to point fingers at traitors, take a look at Tara. Maeve destroyed her own portal and left us high and dry. Nobody made her do that.”

Ceridwen drew herself up, towering over Meryl. “You may not address me in such a familiar tone.”

“After being thrown in a cell because of your stupidity, I’ll address you any way I damned well please,” Meryl said. Ceridwen clawed her hand full of essence. Meryl triggered her body shield and pulled her sword.

Joe swung himself upside down between them. “Uh, ladies? I’m pretty sure we should be pointing our stuff at the bad guys.”

Meryl glowered and gave Ceridwen a cold shoulder. Ceridwen hesitated, and I thought she might shoot Meryl in the back. Joe gave her the big grin, and she tossed the charged essence at one of the nearby Dead. If she kept killing them off like that, we’d probably have enough to block the portal.

She adjusted her helm as she faced the riders. “Aim for the dream mares. If the riders touch the ground, they will fade back into the world of the living. This far from their own portal, they may not get back at all.”

“I’m not killing horses,” said Meryl.

Ceridwen shrugged. “Then die.”

Meryl threw her a look with all the warning signs of a small nuclear device.

Vize’s riders bunched together within the entrance. The avenue could hold no more than two or three of them abreast. Screams carried on the wind. Some of the Dead attacked as the riders jockeyed for room in the narrow lane.

“We need to delay them as long as we can.” I pulled Powell’s brooch from my pocket and tossed it to Joe. “Get Dylan, Joe. Tell him ASAP.” Joe plucked the silver branch from the air with a smooth catch and vanished. He flashed into sight in front of the Boston portal and flew through.

“What’s the plan?” Meryl said.

“Ceridwen said defend. So, we defend as long as possible.”

Dylan stepped through the door wearing the silver branch. He paused at the threshold, intense curiosity on his face as he took in the scene. He jogged the distance between us, but I pointed him to the entrance of the stone circle. “No time to explain, Dyl. We need an airbe druad right there as strong as you can make it.”

He didn’t pause, but kept going to the entrance stones. The air trembled in his wake as he pulled essence from the ground. Before he reached the entrance, his barrier spell was executing, lines of essence curling around the standing stones, knotting and weaving to form a shield.

Ceridwen surveyed the work, unimpressed. “Teutonic warriors know how to counter an airbe druad,” said Ceridwen.

I nodded, assessing the approaching riders. They had killed the Dead from the circle, but more were catching up behind them. From the rear, essence-fire and swordplay echoed off the standing stones. “It’ll take them some time. Ceridwen, do a sending to Keeva and make sure she has the Guild agents ready for anything that comes through that portal.”

“I do not take orders from you,” she said.

I stared at her. “Look, I’m going to say this once: Either do what I say, or get the hell out of my way.”

She made a pinched face, and the sending shot off her head like an arrow. Keeva was going to have a headache when she got it.

“Now. You and Meryl back up Dylan as long as you can. Let Vize through. Take down anyone else who tries to follow. Watch your time. Dylan and Meryl can drop their silver branches, but you and I need to run for the portal before it closes.”

The air crackled with streaks of golden light as Ceridwen followed Dylan across the field. “This is madness.”

“Welcome to my world,” I said to her back.

Meryl looked up at me. “I am not going to let you kill yourself.”

“I don’t intend to,” I said.

Her face became set. “Don’t think I’m stupid, Grey. Dylan and I only have to drop our silver branches to get out of here, but you can’t shake that silver off on your arm. Ceridwen can reach the door before those horses. You can’t outrun them. You are not dying here.”

I shook my head. “I have no intention of dying here.”

She poked me hard in the chest, but her eyes were glistening. “You owe me a lobster.”

I reached for her. She backed away. “Uh-uh,” she said. “You don’t intend to die; I’m not giving any good-bye hugs.”

“How about a good-luck one?”

She pursed her lips, dropped her chin to her shoulder, and held her arms out. “Okay.”

We hugged. I kissed the top of her head, then tilted her face up for another. She pulled away. “No. You get your good-luck hug, but I am not going to kiss you. Besides, you’re face is a sheet of blood, and it would be icky.”

She danced away from me, then ran after Dylan and Ceridwen. Joe circled in front of me, facing toward the henge entrance. He held his sword ready for swinging.

“Is my face that bad?” I asked.

Joe considered me for a little too long. “Well, you have that little scar by your eye from when you fell in the bathtub when you were five.”

I frowned at him. “I meant the blood.”

He smiled as if it just occurred to him I didn’t normally walk around with blood on my face. “Oh! No, the blood’s cool. You should keep it.”

“Thanks.” I looked at the little guy, hovering all tough and mean in his loincloth. “Joe, promise me you’ll bug out if this falls apart.”

He didn’t look at me. “Nope.”

“Joe…”

He kept his eye on the entrance. “Co

“Joe…”

He shook his head. “I ain’t leaving.”

“Fine. No more cookies for you.”

“I left a reminder for you to pick up more.”

“You mean you left the empty bag on my pillow.”

He laughed his maniacal laugh. “Yep.”

“Here they come,” I said.