Earth's Requiem(72)

“Enterprising soul, wasn’t she?”

“Now that you mention it,” Fionn said with a grin, “she certainly was. How’s dinner?”

“Barley’s not soft yet. Maybe another twenty minutes. Keep talking.”

“Obviously, she barely made a dent in the library, but she did find ancient tomes that detailed the fall of Mu. They also prophesied many future events, including what would happen during the last Surge.” He stopped and raked a hand through his hair. “I guess when that came true, it rattled Marta. Magic or no, she saw herself as a scientist, and she became desperate to know what else was in the library. She tried to bring books back here, but they’d only go as far as the gateway. The first time she tried, when she realized she was back in her basement sans book, she hustled back to put the book away before anyone noticed it sitting out by itself.”

Fionn pursed his lips. “Marta got caught sneaking the book back into the library. The Lemurians weren’t terribly organized then. She played the gee, I was experimenting with magic I don’t understand card, and they let her go with exhortations that she was never to return.”

“But she didn’t listen,” Aislinn interrupted. Since her concoction didn’t need anything but time, she settled next to Fionn and Bella.

“She did for a while,” Fionn said, a serious note in his voice. “After the Old Ones started herding masses into the vortex and after losing her husband, she felt compelled to find answers. I understand better why people ran into that damned thing like lemmings, though. They were hypnotized. Marta was careful to sedate Ryan if she had to leave for very long. She was frightened of what might happen if he left the house without her.”

“I remember that day.” Rune, who’d been pacing as he listened to Fionn, spoke up. “I tried to tell Father not to leave. It was like his body was there, but his mind had left. When I took hold of his pant leg with my teeth, he hit me. He’d never hit me before. I was so shocked, I let him go.” The wolf whined. “I wish I would have thrown my body over his. If I had known, I would have.”



“Not your fault.” Aislinn bent and stroked him.

“It wouldn’t have mattered what you did,” Fionn said. “Once the Old Ones put out the call, it was impossible to ignore. Anything shy of rendering him unconscious wouldn’t have worked. Somehow, they did nose counts of who they called versus who threw themselves into the vortex. They would have known he was missing and upped the ante.”

“I knew they had some way of figuring out who had magic and who didn’t. Was their system so precise that they could tack it down to every individual on Earth?” Aislinn felt flabbergasted. It was hard to breathe.

“According to Marta, yes.” Fionn looked more discomfited than she’d seen him before.



So, he’s feeling it, too, she thought and tugged at the neck of her shirt. The kitchen suddenly felt far too warm.

“Och aye, lass, how could I not?” He inhaled sharply. “Anyway, once Marta lost her husband, she became far less cautious. Guess she felt she didn’t have much left to lose.”

“Me.” Rune sounded hurt.

Fionn nodded. “Sorry.” He beckoned with an open hand, and Rune came to him. “I don’t really know how she felt, I was just conjecturing. Desperation probably played a role. Her notes suggest she felt time was running out. She found something in one of the books that made her believe the Lemurians and dark gods were linked. That one couldn’t exist without the other. Sort of like the dark and light halves of the human psyche. Dewi told her something that may have clinched that, but she didn’t put what it was in her journal.”

“Damned inconvenient,” Aislinn muttered.

He waved her to silence. “If you think about it,” he continued, “it makes sense. The Lemurians have been here since Mu sank, and they never caused any problems. Enter the dark gods, and suddenly, they found the power to throw their weight around. They were always arrogant asses. I’m certain they sat around wishing they could rid Earth of everyone without magic for millennia. They’ve been trying to recreate Mu ever since they lost it. Everyone there had magic—to varying degrees, of course.”

It was hard to sit still. Aislinn got up to check their food. What Fionn said made sense. And it was good news—sort of. Getting rid of the dark gods was still an impossible task, but for some reason, it felt slightly less impossible than before. She dished up the thick broth, filled a couple of glasses from the sink, and ferried everything to the table.