The crowd quieted. They were still talking amongst one another, but the edginess seemed to have dissipated. Aislinn projected her voice again. “Do what you must to ready yourselves. If you can bring more people here—or at least warn them not to heed the Old Ones—it would help.”
“What are you going to do?” a woman asked.
“Practice focusing my magic from up here,” Aislinn called back. “This is only my third time on Dewi’s back.” She waited, but her answer seemed to satisfy those on the ground. Aislinn drew in a shaky breath. At least for the moment, the crisis had been averted. Fionn and Rune stood on the back porch, looking right at her. Fionn gave her a thumbs-up gesture.
Aislinn shut her eyes for a moment, weary beyond reckoning. When she opened them, she thought she could actually see the warding around the house. She asked Dewi if that were possible.
“Of course it is. I have known it was there from the moment I arrived. The more you and I practice, the better you will get at seeing things through my eyes.”
Aislinn thought about that. It made sense. Rune could merge his senses with hers, so why not Dewi? “Do you agree with the men about how to go about this?”
“What men?”
“Fionn, Arawn—”
“Oh, them,” Dewi interrupted. “They seem like boys to me, since I have known them their entire lives.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Try for that target, and then I will.”
“But that one’s really far away,” Aislinn protested. “And it’s dark.”
“Stretch your wings. It’s the only way to expand your horizons.”
Aislinn extended all her senses, feeling for the target with magic, since she could barely see it. “Hey!” Pride ripped through her. “Got it.”
“Your facility with the Hunter magic is improving. Do it once more.”
Caught up in honing her skills, Aislinn forgot about her question until Dewi touched down. “You owe me an answer,” she said as Dewi helped her to the ground.
“So I do.” The dragon chuckled, pluming smoke. “I am of two minds. If we could eradicate Perrikus and that mother of his, and Adva who controls knowledge shared by all of them, the others would leave.”
Aislinn waited, but Dewi didn’t say anything else. “Why is that two minds?” she asked at last.
“Because agreement amongst leaders is key to success. The men, as you call them, felt differently. I was but one voice out of five.”
“How hard will it be to kill the dark gods?”
Dewi’s hypnotic eyes drew her in. “My, what a predatory question, my dear.” She hesitated. “I am not certain they can be killed. The best we may achieve is to, shall we say, declaw them for a time.”
“Would it be better to focus on the Lemurians?” Now that Aislinn had Dewi talking, she wanted to get as much information as she could. The Celts hadn’t been nearly this forthcoming.
The dragon narrowed her eyes. Scales clanked against each other. Apparently, Dewi was considering how best to answer her. “I do not think so. The one large unknown is how many human hybrids they managed to make. If the only ones are here, the Old Ones’ power is nearly at the end of a long cycle.”
“And if they made a lot of hybrids?”
Dewi snorted. Flames sprayed from her mouth. “Then there is a whole new race that needs to be exterminated.” Scaled lids dropped over Dewi’s eyes, effectively severing the link between them. “Go now. I will let you know when I have need of you again.”
Feeling cast adrift, Aislinn scanned the yard, looking for Rune. A newly risen moon was half full. It lent just enough light to help. Not seeing the wolf, she hunted for Fionn or the others. Finally, she caught sight of Gwydion and walked toward him. She tried for a brisk pace, realized she didn’t have the energy, and settled for just putting one foot ahead of the other.
He spotted her long before she reached him and closed the distance between them. “Ye look as if ye lost your last friend.”
Aislinn shook herself. “Sorry. Just tired. What’s happening?”
“Things settled once Dewi killed that boy. Some went to warn, some to bring reinforcements.”
“When do we leave?” She eyed him, taking in the hard planes of his face, blond braids, and chilly, blue eyes.
“With the dawn.” She must have looked nonplussed, because he laid his hands on her shoulders and turned her toward the house. Letting go, he gave her a swat on the rump. “Get some rest. Can’t have you falling off Dewi, now can we?” The laugh that followed her held a stony edge.