“Better?” He took his hands away.
“Much. Thanks. Now, what were you trying to tell me?”
“What I should have before I got into such a snit seeing you with that Hunter. All of us, Dewi included, drafted a plan while you were riding her—”
Annoyance surfaced. “Why wasn’t I included?”
“Because you had enough to think about between flying and target practice.”
“Hmph.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “What’d you decide without me?”
He eyed her, but didn’t rise to the bait. “We believe it best to begin with the lesser dark gods, leaving Perrikus and his mother for last. They will be most difficult. Actually, we are hoping they will leave if we can vanquish the other four.”
“What about the Bal’ta, the wargs—”
“Not sure.” He cut her off. “It is possible they may alter in some way that they are no longer a threat once the dark magic fueling them leaves.”
“How about human hybrids like Marta?”
He tossed his hands in the air, palms upward. “It’s frustrating that there are many unknowns. Same answer, lass. They are even more nebulous, since none of us know if there are any more of them.”
She nodded. It truly was amazing how much better she felt. “What did you do to me back there when you put your hands on my head?”
A corner of his mouth turned upward. “Fed you. And I will do it again. All ye need. I fear ’twill be a verra long time afore either of us can rest again. Or find comfort in one another’s bodies.”
Arawn took her arm. “This way. Think carefully afore ye speak. We need their help. None of us had any idea so many would heed the call.”
Aislinn drew into herself, thinking. She was the one who’d started this particular train down the tracks. It was up to her to keep it from derailing.
“Do ye want me by your side?” Fionn asked.
“Always.” The smile she gave him came from her heart.
Fionn clasped her hand and squeezed.
Aislinn stood tall. She knew how young she was. She’d have to do something to make them respect her, to gain and hold their attention. Suddenly, she knew what to say. Gwydion had them arranged in groups of about a hundred. Doing a quick nose count, she realized close to a thousand people had come. Her heart soared. They were going to win this war. Earth would be theirs again. She just knew it.
“Thank you for trusting me enough to come,” she began. “My name is Aislinn Lenear. My father was killed the night of the last globally synchronized Surge. My mother went mad. She was herded into the vortex. Over the last three years, nearly everyone I’ve cared about has been killed. When the Old Ones convinced me I was special, that I had magic, I was told I had Mage and Seeker gifts, with Seeker being the weaker of the two.
“About a month ago, I was ordered to Taltos under the guise that my gifts had come to the attention of the dark and I needed special training. Along the way, I found I had Hunter and Healer gifts as well.” She whistled. Rune walked to her side and stared at the crowd. “This wolf taught me I was a Hunter. He was gravely wounded within the first twenty-four hours after I met him. Desperation helped me discover my Healer gift.
“Then I met the man standing beside me.” She took a breath. She hadn’t asked Fionn about this part and hoped it would be all right with him. “Against hope and reason, he is Fionn MacCumhaill, the Celtic god of wisdom, creation, protection, and knowledge. Somewhere in the crowd tonight are Gwydion, Bran, and Arawn, more Celtic gods here to offer help. According to the dragon, still more Celts are on their way. Because they live so long, they measure time differently than we do. They were waiting to see what would happen after the dark gods showed up. Well, they’re not waiting any longer.”
A muted roar rose from the crowd. Aislinn waited for it to die down.
“According to the Celts, the Lemurians are a dying race. Long before the last Surge, they plotted to overrun Earth, but knew they couldn’t do it alone. They allied themselves with the dark gods and figured out a way to mate with humans. Results from that mating are in the house standing over there. Thank God they’re protected by an enchantment. There may be more Lemurian-human hybrids. Now that we know they exist, we can watch out for them.”
“How?” someone called.
“They’re very tall. Like the Old Ones. According to my bond wolf, they smell different.”
“So our best bet is to team with a Hunter and trust their animals?” a different voice asked.
“That’s a good start,” Aislinn agreed. “Besides, they’ll stick out like sore thumbs. Not many of us are six-and-a-half feet tall.”