Unholy Blue Read Online Free

andpulled him to his feet, then glanced down at his crotch with a smirk.
    â€œNeed a minute? Or a cold shower?”
    I’d prefer a room for two and a locked door
. “Tormenter.”
    â€œBetter get used to it, big guy.”
    Thinking of other things he’d rather get used to, he ushered her inside the foyer. Over their heads, oak timbers soared up two stories, arching like tree boughs. In front of them, wide sweeping stairs bisected the house. Turning left, they passed through the spacious dining room decorated with rustic pine furniture and the elk antler chandelier that Bann had always found unsettling to sup beneath. He was grateful when they continued on to the kitchen.
    The aroma of pork chops—
a poor man’s feast and a rich man’s table scraps
, his old master had often said—greeted him. Joining the threesome already seated at one end of a table long enough to easily feed a dozen, Bann held Shay’s chair before taking his own between woman and boy. Beside the chops, there was a salad of fresh spinach leaves and pine nuts, a large bowl of green and yellow squash sautéed in garlic butter, and a wooden serving board stacked with slabs of thick brown bread, still warm from the oven. The feeling of
home
settled over him like a hand-stitched quilt on a winter night. Serving bowls and platters made the rounds. He was surprised when he had to pull rank with his son only once in regards to the salad. It took just one raised eyebrow to settle the matter.
Shay must be continuing her mission to encourage the lad to eat more fruits and vegetables
.
The gods know we ate poorly during our year on the road
.
    Bann spoke. “Ann. Hugh. I wish to thank you for helping Shay care for Cor this past week. It eased my mind to know they were here with you behind these walls.”
These walls warded with some of the strongest spells I’ve ever known
.
    â€œSpeaking of which,” Shay said, “Rory and James helped me put up a fence around my property the day you left for Pennsylvania.”
    â€œDid you have it warded?”
    â€œThe very next day. The druidess who performed the ceremony for Hugh’s and Ann’s did it, so you know this is one Old Country level of protection. The only people who can remove those wards without getting blasted are the five of us, plus James and Rory. We thought we’d keep the numbers low.” Shay made a face. “Although Orwren O’Siobhan was her usual prissy self. I hate working with her, the old hag.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œShe thinks she’s all that.”
    Bann looked at Ann sitting across from him, who said, “A bit of professional rivalry between our Healer and our druidess. However, Orwren
is
very good at her job.”
    Relief filled Bann at the peace of mind the fence, protected by magic, would provide. A sudden thought struck him. “But how did the druidess include me in the ceremony without my physical presence?”
    â€œYeah, that…” Shay’s cheeks reddened. Before she could speak, Ann chimed in.
    â€œPretty clever solution, actually. Orwren just needed a drop of your
essence
, as she called it, for the ceremony. Since Shay had not emptied the trash in her bathroom yet—”
    â€œAnn,” Shay hissed, looking meaningfully at Cor, then caught Bann’s eye over the boy’s head.
Condom
, she mouthed.
    â€œSay no more.” Bann felt his own face burn.
    â€œDad?” Cor looked up. “Is the fence to keep
him
out?”
    â€œActually, it’s the
wards
that will help keep us safe from such creatures.”
The gods willing
, Bann thought.
    â€œLike the wards that used to be on Shay’s house?” When his father nodded, Cor frowned. “But those… those F-Fir Bolgs still got in.”
    Bann’s heart bled at Cor’s stutter. Then the old rage roared to life at the thought of what those monsters had done to his son. Even though he had