The Banshee's Revenge

Chapter 6



A little part of Jacqueline understood she was dreaming of Ireland and would eventually wake up. But it was such a lovely dream. So full of things she still desired. Waking up seemed a foolish move.

In the dream, she lay on the warm grass of the greenest cliffs she'd ever seen. From below the edge of the cliff came the restful sounds of crashing waves. The scent of honeysuckle perfumed the air as she watched the white clouds roll by in the blue sky above her.

Relaxed and at peace, Jacqueline could have lain in that spot forever. Time could have stopped in that slice of Irish paradise, and she would have been content to let it. The real world held nothing but coldness and rage. Once awake, she never could seem to feel anything but those two emotions.

"There you are my child."

She turned her head to find a man standing a few yards away. Tall with a regal stance, the sun shone off his bald head. His brown eyes were guarded, but the soft smile on his face was familiar.

"Who are you?" She pushed herself up so that her elbows supported her, but made no effort to stand. "What do you want? This is my dream."

"I've come to see you, and this dream is the only way I can do it safely, though I've watched you from afar for years." The man moved towards her. "You've grown into a beautiful woman, Jacqueline."

"How do you know my name?"

"How could any father not know the name of their own child?"

"Father?" Shocked, Jacqueline sat up, staring at the man who knelt next to her. She wanted to deny it, but there was something about his eyes, something about the way they looked--so full of kindness and love--that made her hesitate. "You can't be my father."

"Oh, but I am." The man laughed and reached out to touch a tendril of her hair. "I had hoped never to bother you, but Fate always has the last laugh. Due to certain events, I felt I must at least step forward and introduce myself."

"I'm adopted. My biological mother was killed in a car wreck. At least that's what my adopted mom told me." Jacqueline frowned. "But whenever I try to talk to her about this stuff she gets nervous, secretive."

"I knew I picked the right woman. She is following my instructions just as I laid them out all those years ago." Her father sat next to her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "In fact, all of my wishes for you were coming true. I'd made sure to send you the right husband, a man who came from a long line of guardian wizards to protect you from the evils of this world. But like I said, Fate always has the last laugh. How was I to know that Eric Huston would become embroiled in a wizard family war with the Sparks?"

"You sent Eric to me? Who are you exactly?" Jacqueline stared at the man next to her. "You must be a wizard if you knew what Eric was."

"The legends and myths have named me Merlin."

Jacqueline's jaw dropped.

Her father was Merlin, the most powerful of all wizards.

"As in Merlin of the King Arthur stories?" she asked, not quite willing to believe him.

"Ah, good old Arthur," Merlin said, fondly. "Of all the things I've done in my long lifetime, it's the stories of a young, confused king who needed my help that have lasted."

"So that stuff is true?"

"Parts of it." Merlin nodded. "And some has been greatly romanticized, but that's history for you. You can't predict how others will interpret it."

"My mother…" Jacqueline began and then stopped.

"You want to know the truth about how you were born? You were part of a prophecy. Of course, there are so many of those out there. It's hard to know which ones to rely on." Merlin smiled and took her hand. "I will show you. Look at the sea."

As she looked out at the crashing waves, a dark cloud grew on the horizon. Ominous, lightning zigzagged from it, hitting the water. An electric current rushed through the sea toward the shore, bringing with it a great wave. Fear swelled in her heart as it grew high enough to slam into the spot where they sat on the cliff.

"Relax, my daughter," Merlin breathed in her ear. "It's just an illusion bringing back the past. No harm will come to you."

The wave swept over them and a new vision played before her eyes.

It showed a storm-ridden night and a young woman running along the same cliffs where they now sat. She was crying, terrified over someone who appeared to be pursuing her. In desperation, she lowered herself over the cliff wall, scaling it to the cave her visions had shown her was there.

"Get back here, ye wicked lass!" The man who chased her had a booming voice, and despite the rough weather, it carried to her over the cliff wall. "Yer a bloody witch, Megan O'Grady! Evil to the core!"

She was not wicked! It wasn't her fault the gift of Sight ran in her maternal line.

The cave was just below her. A flash of lightning illuminated the yawning, dark entrance and the young girl headed towards it.

Inside, Megan took a deep breath and sighed in relief, wiping at her tears.

There was no way the man on the cliff could pursue her here. He was way too much of a drunken coward to climb down and retrieve her.

"What has finally brought you to me?"

The voice came from the darkness, and she covered her mouth to stifle her scream.

"Who's there?" Megan called, peering through the darkness, but she thought she knew.

"One who has been waiting a long time for the woman who carries the song of the banshees."

A soft glow illuminated the cave until she could see a man standing a few feet away. Despite the people in her daily life that sought to repress her powers, the girl had always known her vision held the truth of what would be. This handsome man was her destiny.

"And your name, sir? My visions have never been clear on that." A little water dribbled down the side of her Megan's face, and she swatted it away as she studied the man who was to be her lover. "At least they were correct on your looks. You are indeed a handsome man."

"My name is Merlin. You are Megan. And my visions were correct, too. I've not looked on a lovelier creature in a millennium." Merlin smiled and held out his hands. "Come. We have much to talk of."

"Talk?" Megan grinned, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Is that what we are going to do?"

"To start."

Hand in hand, the two walked towards the interior of the cave.

"Um, Merlin," Jacqueline interrupted the vision, uneasy. "I really don't think I need to see a visual of you and my mother doing the deed."

"Nor do I, my dear. I only wanted you to understand that your birth was pre-ordained, guided by the Fates themselves. For what purpose, I don't know. Perhaps it has something to do with the child you now carry. The prophecy only states that a powerful child will one day be born who will unite the supernatural world with the mortal one." Merlin's soft laugh echoed in her ears. "Megan was an Oracle, a person with the Second Sight."

"So I've got banshees and fortune tellers in my family tree."

"And more," Merlin said.

"What happened to my mother? Who was that man chasing her?"

"The man was her father. He believed she was evil, that the devil lived inside her."

"Idiot."

"Yes, but so many people are when it comes to magic." Merlin was quiet a moment. "He killed her. Choked her one night as she lay in her bed. Luckily, I was able to sense her death in time to save you."

"How did you find my adopted mother?"

"She was a distant relative of your mother, though she was unaware of it. It made sense to keep you within the arms of family. I pledged her never to speak of me and the night I gave her you."

"Why are you here now, Merlin? I'm sure you are aware of my problems."

"I cannot do much about them. I'm not allowed to interfere with the realm of the Deaths."

"Why?"

"Let's just say I deeply angered someone off once connected to the Deaths and have no wish to make matters worse for you."

Around Jacqueline the skies cleared until once again she was sitting in a sunny patch of green grass on the cliff. She breathed deeply, enjoying the fresh floral scent in the air.

"Jacqueline, I must go, but I'm here to remind you that you are special. You have great reserves of power and strength you haven't even begun to explore. But the truth is that you don't need them. Dig deep inside your heart. That's where your true strength lies. You must stay as human as you can." Merlin stood and gave her a sad smile. "This will be our only meeting, my daughter. I have other children to attend to."

"Others?" She stared up at him in surprise. "You mean I have siblings?"

"I've been alive a long time. I can't stay celibate forever."

"No judgment here, Dad."

"Just be careful. Some of these siblings are not…friends."

With that, he was gone.

Jacqueline blinked. His disappearance happened so suddenly, almost as if he'd never been there at all.

Merlin was her father.

Lying back on the grass once again, she thought about him and let time pass. Perhaps she would linger in this dream indefinitely. It was so peaceful compared to the real world or to facing the horrors she had caused.

But another voice drew her from her thoughts once again.

"You look lovely," a voice to her left whispered. There was raw desire in the speaker's tone and just hearing it, made Jacqueline's body tingle in response. "You look at peace, untouched by the chaos of the mortal world."

"Right now I am at peace," she responded, not bothering to turn her head to see who the speaker was. What did it matter? It was her dream. "I wish it could always be like this."

"Who says it can't?"

"I am not a fool."

"True." The voice sounded closer, and she felt the air stir as someone laid down in the grass beside her. "Your father didn't think so either."

"Who are you? Let me guess. You're my long lost uncle or something and you're here to tell me that I'm part of a prophecy." Jacqueline turned to look at him. I've kind of heard the spiel already."

A young man with long brown hair lay next to her. His youthful face was unmarred by age or time, but his eyes were full of wisdom and knowledge, letting her know that this was an old being. His full sensuous lips curved into a smile at her question.

"I want to welcome a fellow member of my kind into my realm. I would have spoken up earlier, but you had company. Who am I to ruin a family reunion?" He reached over and brushed a strand of her hair away from her face. "We are deeply connected to each other."

"How so?"

"We are both parts of Death. You work for me now."

A flash of anger sprinted through her.

"I work for no one but myself," she informed him. "I've even conquered Death."

Instead of being offended or angered by her words, the young man merely smiled and sat up. He shook his head and stared at the sky.

"They're always so full of themselves," he said to no one in particular. "Always thinking they are all powerful."

He looked down at her, and once again, a strange seductive tingle ran through her body.

"Your arrogance is holding you back," he said, running a finger down the side of her arm.

"Who are you?" Jacqueline sat up and inched away, noticing his bare chest rippled with muscles. "Why do you think I work for you?"

"I am Arwan. I am also known as one of the gods of the Underworld."

"You're a god?"

He stood up and Jacqueline noticed how strong his legs looked encased in brown pants made from deer skin. Power emanated from him, vibrating the very air with his energy.

Drawn to him, Jacqueline stood, too.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "Why are you in my dreams?"

"It was time for us to meet. Two warriors face to face."

"Warrior?"

"You are a warrior, Jacqueline, a fighter. I respect that even if you kill souls that aren't ready and neglect ones that are."

"Are you going to try to kill me?"

Arwan frowned.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because almost every supernatural being I've met in the last few months has tried to do just that. I guess I have a target on my back."

"One that you put there." Arwan grabbed her hand and gently pressed a kiss to it. "I would prefer to do other things."

The suggestiveness in his eyes made her skin feel flushed. Desire rippled through her. It had been so long since she'd had any tender contact, so long since she and Toby had last spent a night together. She missed the passion she'd experienced in his embrace and her body craved the touch of compassion.

As if reading her mind, Arwan inched closer. He tilted her chin up towards his and placed a kiss on her lips that further fanned the small flames of need licking her body.

Go on. Take his advances. Give yourself to him. Death's voice was as loud as ever in her head. You know you want him. They say that Arwan is not only a powerful god, but a magnificent lover.

Her arms came up slowly, finding their way around the muscular god. He stroked her hair, soothing and tantalizing her all at once. His masculine scent comforted Jacqueline, and she allowed him to deepen the kiss, to lay her back on the ground, and slowly undress her.

That's it. Let him have his way.

Death's whispered words flickered through her mind, a candle waving in and out of her conscious thoughts. It felt so good to relax, to enjoy the sensations running through her, to revel in all things Arwan was doing to her.

Forget about Toby and your unborn child.

Death's suggestion was the like pouring cold water on her, bringing her back to reality.

"No!" She pushed Arwan away and struggled to pull her robes back around her. "I don't want you!"

The words pulled her immediately out of the dream.

Jacqueline gasped for air, frantic as she looked around and tried to remember where she was. Gone were the green cliffs of Ireland. Instead, she was lying in her own bedroom in her old house, having sought solace there the night before. Already the feelings of warmth from the dream were fading, replaced by a bitter coldness in her heart.

Her thoughts came back to the same thing they always did when she woke up.

Toby.

No god of the underworld could ever replace him in her heart--what was left of it--or her bed.

And there was the baby. She'd only recently become aware of the flicker of life inside her. At first, she hadn't believed it--hadn't wanted to--but as time passed, there was no denying its presence.

It grew stronger with every soul she took.

Jacqueline wasn't sure what to make of that just yet. Besides, there was still work to be done, wizards to punish, and Gwydion to hunt down, torture, and kill.

The last thing she needed was a baby.
*****
"Well?"

Gwydion rubbed his gnarled hands together in anticipation of what Arwan would reveal. Asking the god for a favor had been a risk, but then they were sort of old friends. Even if they'd ended up in different spectrums of life, it didn't change the fact that once upon a time they had been like brothers.

"She is feisty," Arwan said, getting up from his throne. Around them were dozens of servants--all female, all in the skimpiest of clothing, all beautiful--who jumped to attention as he arose. He ignored them and paced the room, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You didn’t tell me she would be such a challenge."

"I had no idea she would pose one for you," Gwydion lied smoothly. "I assumed she was incapable of resisting a god."

"No one can resist me." Arwan stopped in front of one of his servants and stroked her breast. The girl moaned and her body shivered with passion as if to prove his words. "She awoke before I could finish with her."

"Ah, of course," Gwydion nodded. "I knew it must be something like that. What did you find out?"

"Her exhaustion bleeds from her." Arwan paced again. "She is tired of balancing two worlds in her head and Death is still alive inside her."

"How do you know?"

"I could hear it speak to her, urging her to succumb to me. Irish Death knows it's only chance of returning to any kind of existence is to find a way for Jacqueline to die or to take over her soul. I think she's losing that battle." Arwan stopped pacing and stared at Gwydion. "You have been unable to kill her."

"We had one encounter and I considered it a more strategic move to leave before things got out of control. She had many allies surrounding her." Gwydion recalled the last time he'd met Jacqueline on the field of battle. He'd felt fear for the first time in a long while. "I wanted more time to assess her true powers."

"You ran away." Arwan smiled. "Don't try to deny it. You were never good at bravery. Wielding power, creating spells to crush your enemy--yes, you exceed in that area. But standing your ground and fighting fair are not your style."

"Can you kill her?" asked Gwydion. Though Arwan's words infuriated Gwydion, he knew it best to show none of that to the god. "That's the real question."

"Of course, I can."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because you failed to mention how lovely she is." But Gwydion sensed Arwan was not being completely honest. He'd seen something in the dream, something that worried at him. "It seems a shame to kill without allowing me the pleasure of tasting her essence."

"You say that about all women." Gwydion rolled his eyes in disgust. "For a god, you have a great deal of trouble keeping your cock in your pants."

"All gods have trouble ignoring a pretty face." Arwan's good natured smile, turned sly. "As do some goddesses."

Gwydion ignored the comment, though it pricked at his pride in more ways than one.

"Again, I ask you, are you going to help me and kill the banshee?"

Arwan grew thoughtful.

"I suppose I could, but I encountered an unforeseen complication. I don't relish killing the baby."

Gwydion's eye narrowed.

"Baby?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Your banshee is with child. I heard Death taunting her about it."

"Well, well," Gwydion muttered. "This is a surprise indeed."

"Do you still want me to kill her?"

"Not yet!" Gwydion's eyes narrowed with glee. "Let me think about this new problem."

Arwan sat down in his throne, snapping his fingers at one of his servants who obediently came over to him. He placed her on his lap and stroked her skin as he watched Gwydion. The wizard ignored the god, used to seeing his constant need for sexual gratification.

A magical child.

Another one.

Gwydion pondered all the possibilities, the implications. A product of magical parents himself, he was aware this could open the supernatural world up to a whole new breed of powerful beings. After centuries of spreading lies and tall tales about never crossing bloodlines in an effort to remain the most powerful creature on the earthly plain, Gwydion worried about this baby. Yes, there had been times when offspring like Gabe Williams were created due to a god or goddesses interference several generations before, but Gwydion had always been able to dispose of those children and their parents before word got out.

Gabe had been hidden from him until it was too late.

But this new baby, this new thing…

Would it be more powerful than him?

Possibly. It would require some research. He'd have to go to the one source who could tell him about everything--the woman he loathed more than any other creature.

His mother.