Rune shifted from paw to paw. “I think it’s safe to talk here. The crystals should mask our conversation.”
“Yes, but how did you find it?”
“It was a place Marta knew about.”
Marta was at Taltos? “How about if you start at the beginning?” she suggested. “You told me you came here for justice for Marta. There’s more to it than that.”
Rune dropped his gaze. “I think the Old Ones killed Marta. Set her up.”
“Why would they have done that?”
“Because she was getting too close to the truth about what they are.”
“Do you know what she’d found out?”
The wolf’s eyes glittered dangerously. “No. She wouldn’t tell me. Said it was too risky. She’d figured out a way to keep me out of parts of her mind, so I couldn’t find out that way, either.”
“So, when you came here after her death—?”
“I pretended to be crippled with grief. It wasn’t difficult, since it was hardly an act. I was hoping that if they saw me as a bereft bond mate, I could learn something.”
“Did you?”
“No, they made me leave.”
Aislinn walked carefully across the uneven floor. When she got to Rune, she squatted next to him and put both arms around his neck. “I’m sorry you lost her.” She buried her hands in his thick coat and breathed in the musky wild animal scent of him.
A low growl vibrated in his chest, but he didn’t shake her off. “If they take you down into Taltos, tell them you want me with you. I can merge with you.”
“Like you do when we jump?”
“Yes. I can lend you my senses. It will help protect you.”
“Do they know you can do that?”
“I do not think so. I have spoken with many other bond animals. Except for Bella, none admit to merging minds with their mates.”
“I wonder why they would take me to their city?” she mused, still hugging the wolf.
“To turn you into one of them.”
“But they’re reptiles under some sort of coating that only looks like skin. They lay eggs. They’re not even male or female all the time.” Her skin crawled. The last thing she wanted was to be transformed into what they were. She craved Fionn, the warmth of his arms and the heat of his body pressed against her, rigid with need.
No, better not go there. I need my wits front and present. Not in my crotch. Besides, I haven’t even tried to wrap my mind around his last name and what it might mean. She stopped petting Rune. “You never told me your true name.”
“And I am not going to.”
“Why?”
“It is safer for both of us if things go wrong. The Old Ones can hurt me, but they cannot control me if they do not have my name to hand.”
Something nagged at her, the same something that had been bothering her ever since she’d asked Fionn for his last name. She knew about Celtic mythology from her mother. Aislinn doubted Fionn would have told her his full name, no matter how much he wanted to see her again, if she hadn’t asked. Power and knowledge had to be earned. They weren’t bandied about freely.
“Is there anything more you need to tell me?” She straightened, but couldn’t unkink her back entirely. A hank of hair had caught on a down-sweeping crystal. She untangled it and crab-walked to a place she could stand upright.
“Yes. Unless they plan to kill you, which is unlikely, they cannot hold you in Taltos against your will. It disturbs the magic they need to maintain their home to have negative energy present. Besides taking me, your other condition for going with them is that your visit will be short.”
“Do you think a day is enough?”
“More than enough. Half a day is better. If you stay too long, you will lose your will. Once that happens, they will suck the energy out of you and remake you into one of them.”
She stared hard at Rune. “How do you know these things?”
He woofed softly. The sound echoed in the small space, amplifying itself again and again. Silvery highlights in his coat glinted in the glow from her mage light. “It took Marta a while before she figured out just how dangerous the Old Ones were. You see, she visited them, too.”
Aislinn’s mouth went suddenly dry. “How long did she stay?”
“Two days once. She was a shell when she escaped. After that, she closed her mind to me and told me that if she ever talked about returning to Taltos, I should do anything in my power to stop her—including killing her.”
“How long after that did she die?”
His upper lip drew back in a snarl. “Only one turn of the moon. It probably would have been sooner, but she stayed inside our warded home where no one could get to her, trying to get her mind back. She had me recount our years together because the Old Ones stole her memories.” Rune’s tail swished angrily. “Marta finally thought she was strong enough to face whatever they could throw at her. I remember her saying she couldn’t hide forever.”