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Earth's Requiem(58)

By:Ann Gimpel


Aislinn commanded her body to move right that second, goddammit, but she was rooted to the spot, staring into those mystical, alien eyes. Rune growled. Pain rocked her ankle. She glanced down and saw the wolf’s jaws circling her lower leg.

“Thank you. Do it again.”



Pain tore through her as the wolf tightened his hold—and broke D’Chel’s. Aislinn pulled fire as fast as she could and heated her body so D’Chel couldn’t actually touch her. Footsteps pounded through the thick undergrowth. She stiffened. Was it another dark god?

“Aislinn!” Fionn shouted. He and Bella crashed into the clearing.

“I was just leaving,” she panted, still so hot that all she could think about was getting a cock—anyone’s would do—inside her.

“No.” His voice was stern. “Let’s try to get rid of this bastard.” Raising his hands, he released power. It flew straight toward D’Chel. At least the god of illusion had let go of his dick. It bounced outside his robes in an obscene parody of desire as he ducked and weaved to avoid Fionn’s volley.

She grasped the power filling her and loosed it in jolts, sending it toward D’Chel, but the space where he’d been was suddenly empty. The dark god apparently hadn’t liked the odds.

Why am I not surprised? Aislinn waited to see what he’d morph into. After ten breaths, she began to hope he was gone. After twenty, she was sure he was, at least for the moment. Her hands dropped to her sides.

“I think we can go home.” She bent and picked up the marmot and the raccoon.

“Why didn’t you call me when you knew you were in trouble?” The same unsettling edge that had been there when she’d returned from Taltos ran beneath his voice.



“I thought I could handle it.” She drew herself up tall and looked at him. “And I was handling things.”

Fionn made a rude sound somewhere between a grunt and a snort. “Och aye, and you were handling things just fine. I smell sex in the air. He had his cock to hand, and you were standing like a vestal virgin sacrifice, staring at him with cow eyes.”

Heat flooded her face, fury mixed with shame. “I didn’t go to him,” she hissed. “I’ll admit I wanted to, but I didn’t. When you showed up, I was drawing magic to get myself away from him. Away, not toward.” Spinning on her heel, she stalked back through the forest.

His footsteps pounded behind her. Hands settled on her shoulders. She stopped dead because he held her in place. She thought he’d come round in front of her, but instead, he dropped his mouth close to her ear. “You’re a proud one, lassie. Your pride will be your undoing.”

“Where I come from, we call that spirit,” she snapped. “It’s what’s kept me alive.”

“What was your mother’s last name?”

“Huh?” Confusion rocked her. Where had that question come from?

“It’s a simple enough question. What clan did your mother came from?”

“McLaughlin. Her last name before she married Daddy was McLaughlin.”

The hands on her shoulders tightened. “And her family came from Inishowen?”

“That’s right. Hey!” She wriggled her shoulders. “You’re hurting me.”

“Sorry.” His fingers, which had felt a lot like Bella’s claws, loosened. Something electric radiated from them.

“Did you know,” his voice was very quiet, “that you are descended from kings?”

It was so preposterous that she threw back her head and laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s nothing special about the name McLaughlin. It’s as common as rain. If you look in any phone book, there are dozens of them.”

“The original spelling was MacLochlainn.” He spelled it out for her. “They were the first kings of Ireland.” When she heard him again, it was deep in her mind. “I know, lass. I was there.”





She stood over a pot of water warmed by magic. The raccoon, its meat cut carefully into strips, simmered along with greens and wild mushrooms. Fionn had tried to talk with her after they returned to his home, but she’d asked to be left alone—at least for a while. Still rattled from her confrontation with D’Chel, she didn’t want to let slip that Rune was the only thing that had stood between her and disaster. The slick place between her thighs reminded her how weak she’d been. I never should have talked to him. That was my mistake. The minute I saw him, I should have pulled magic and gotten myself away.



“What about calling for me?” Fionn’s voice was quiet. “You never did tell me why you didn’t.”