Shadows of the Keeper Read Online Free Page B

That the
woman was both awake and alert was attributed to powerful magic, but he was no
fool.  Sunrise would hear her death march without Aunsgar’s direct
touch.  Her amber eyes were glazing, her soft lips turning blue. 
    “Too much
pain.”  Her lids weighed down, his mumbling a soothing lullaby. 
“Think I’ll take your advice,” she whispered.  “And rest.”  Emily
exhaled so deeply, Garreck halted his Elvish words inducing her into a deep
slumber.  Long moments passed before she inhaled again, her breathing now labored.
    “She won’t last
the night.  Aunsgar must come to her.”
    “Here?” 
Allen’s voice quivered.  “No chance we could just call upon a modern
doctor?”
    “Skirtit . . .
daith . . . Dezenial.”  Tears streamed from Emily’s closed eyes.
    Resembling a
man faced with his own death, Garreck slowly turned on booted heel and stared
down at the unconscious woman.
    “Run quickly,
death?  She speaks Gaelic as well as you!” Allen became animated.  “ Now do you believe me?  I tell you, it’s her!  What’s the word ‘Dezenial’
mean?  Don’t recognize that one.”
    “Not what,
Sassenach, who .”
    She muttered
more, this time in a language Allen had never heard.
    “You pale as if
death comes to collect you,” the spirit whispered.  “ You impossibly
fear nothing .  This is going from bad to worse.”
    “She . . . she
speaks in a language I have not heard in well over three thousand years.”
    “Fascinating,
chap.  What does she say?”
    “She speaks the
guarded language of a Quemorian.”
    Allen
sputtered.  As if his head sat upon a hinge, he looked several times from
Garreck to the woman sleeping on his sofa.  “Now you have no choice but to
believe me.  You must tell me what she keeps muttering.  She’s
becoming frantic.”
    Garreck stared
at Emily for long moments.
    “Mi’lord?”
    “She calls for
Dezenial.  He be the Lumynari prince, Sassenach,” green eyes flicked to
Allen.  “Ye’ have far more ta’ fear, spirit, should that one
arrive, than the Elves ye’ quake around.”  Garreck stormed out, leaving
behind a choking scholar.  Even the deceased mortal knew to fear Lumynari.
    *   *   *   *   *
     
    Warmth enveloped her.  Deeper,
she burrowed amongst softness, nothing more decadent than heavy quilts and the
faint scent of—coffee!  Emily’s eyes snapped open.  She blinked
several times just to be sure the incredible sight she beheld.
    Man.
    Exquisite man.  Very long dark
golden hair, dual thin braids cascading from temple to shoulder.  His
strong hand deftly plucked the burden of a large serving tray from an older
woman, setting it upon a cozy table for two.  Gorgeous man. 
Edible. 
    Definitely Heaven this time, though
still not pristine white.
    “ ‘Tis uncanny.  She looks ta’
have stepped back amongst us as if nothing more than a nap took her away
instead of thirty-six hundred years.”
    “She’s a modern.”  Gorgeous
man poured a dollop of scotch into a silvery stein.  “I advise
wariness.  Unless scientifically proven, they have a tendency to believe
nothing.”  He cast a gaze upward at the elder, watching as she arranged
heavily scented lilacs.
    “Took the liberty of bakin’ a few
sweet breads,” she said more to herself than the man scowling.
    “Maeve—“
    “The soul remembers, mi’
lord.”  The woman backed away, eyeing her handiwork.  “Most
especially hers.”  Rounding the small table, she stood in front of his
tall frame.  “Have ye’ never met someone and experienced instant hatred so
deep yer’ belly burned?  Or love at first sight?  Think you ‘tis just
a saying?”
    “Foolish notions for the
romantic.  I ceased believing in love a very long time ago.”
    “Think you, she returns now, having
finally forgiven us?”  Even from where she lay, Emily could see the
age-softened eyes sparkled with hope.
    His remained cold.
    Seemingly immune to his aloofness,
the old woman