28. Maeve

28

Maeve

P rocessing the knowledge Ankou gave Maeve took the better part of the night, even with Rodan's help. Several times they had to stop sifting through the memories to discuss something they had seen, and try to see where it fit with what they knew.

One thing that stood out immediately was the illusionist was not dead. Maeve learned her name. Lesanna. She burned the image of the woman into her mind's eye, for if she ever saw the creature she would not hesitate.

Rodan trembled a little when they came upon this part of the info dump, and she wrapped her fingers around his. "It'll be okay."

His smile was wan. "It is a great deal to take in, all at once."

She agreed, and they plunged ahead until they had exhausted themselves, well past midnight, and collapsed in a heap atop the bedding.

A moment after she closed her eyes, Maeve heard an alarm sound. She jerked awake, unaccustomed to such noise after months in the Realms. Further below, she could hear the muffled blare of New York City traffic, and she looked around to find it was six in the morning.

"Hell," she cursed, sliding off the bed and padding to the attached bathroom. It was almost plain compared to the beautiful carved stone and brass fixtures of her bathing area in the castle, but that was a castle. Still, this restroom was well-appointed with white subway tiles edged in blue and gray, a standing shower that could fit at least three people, and a double vanity. All the usual toiletries were here in gift basket style arrangements.

Maeve grabbed a package and ripped out the toothbrush before performing her morning ritual. Midway through brushing her teeth, Rodan staggered in and turned on the water for the bath, muttering to himself over needless complexity as he adjusted the multiple shower heads and spigots.

She joined him after she finished, and they helped each other wash off the last dregs of sleep.

When they had finished, they had ten more minutes before the meeting was due to start. Maeve made herself what she would have normally worn on Earth, though a little more glamorous now she had the ability to do it for herself out of the matter of the world.

Her short-sleeved blouse was cobalt and had pearl buttons ringed in gold. She tucked it into fine dark blue linen slacks and added a wide brown belt, then slipped into heels that almost put her on a height with Rodan. Drying her hair with a wave, she twisted it up into a bun, then looked to Rodan, and?—

Felt her mouth go dry.

He had obviously done a little more research into what passed for proper garb on Earth. He was dressed to the nines in a finely tailored suit of pure black linen, with a vest of gold embroidered in thorns, vines, and roses. His black silk shirt was open at the neck, exposing a long expanse and the hollow of his throat. Leaving his hair down, Rodan looked both utterly himself and irresistibly sexy.

"Damn," Maeve whispered, moving toward him. "You know how to impress."

His smile was slow and all for her. "Do I?"

Placing her hands on his chest, she slid fingers up to his shoulders, then leaned in for a kiss.

It was the first they had shared on Earth, and something about the place made it all seem new.

Kissing Rodan was like dancing with the force of a summer storm. A moment after the gentle press of her lips his mouth grew hungry, and he grasped the back of her neck, tilting her head for better access. Maeve held on tight, moaning as his tongue swept into her mouth, stroking hers, causing heat to pool in her middle. Gods, she loved this man! Wanted him so severely it was easy to let the rest of the world slip away…

Until the doorbell chimed, and Maeve had the distinct impression it had not been the first time.

Pulling away with some reluctance, she whispered, "Later?"

He nodded, breathing heavy, and she thrilled she could rouse such a response in him. Rodan stayed behind in the bedroom, needing to compose himself, but she rushed to the door just as the buzzer rang again, and again, and again.

"I'm coming!" Maeve shouted.

"That's what she said," Jen said with a grin when she opened the door. Her gaze flickered to Maeve's mouth and she smirked. "Are we interrupting something?"

She pressed the back of her hand to her lips and shook her head, motioning them inside, for the rest of the party was in the hallway beyond.

Pike did the same song and dance as Rodan; checking every exit point and making sure all the rooms were clear before coming back to the great room and settling into one of the harder chairs available. Rodan trailed out of the master bedroom after him, earning a low whistle from Jen. "You always look spiffy, but this is something else."

Rodan flashed a smile. "Thank you, Jen. You look well."

She twirled, showing off a dress that hit her at the knees and flared prettily as she moved. It was a dark red patterned with palm-sized white flowers. "Can you believe the hotel still had my bags? We've been gone for three months and they still had my bags. They charged an arm and a leg for the privilege of returning them, but Lydia helped."

Maeve tilted her head. "You couldn't?—"

"All my cards have been cancelled, thanks to my disappearance," Jen interrupted. "You might find yours are, as well."

While she wanted to probe further—there had barely been a financial hiccup during her last disappearance—Maeve turned her attention instead to the rest of the room. "The rest of you, we're going to have to make you new clothes to fit in with Earth fashions."

"Lydia's already on top of it," Jen said. "She took their measurements last night and sent them to her man , whatever that means, and there's a wardrobe being setup upstairs as we speak."

Maeve blinked. "Wow. That's efficient."

"I do what I can," Lydia said, coming in at the tail end, following Elias and taking a seat at the bar between the kitchen and great room. She looked stiff and uncomfortable, but eased when both Maeve and Rodan gave her a wide smile. "Hello. Good morning."

"Good morning," Maeve echoed, crossing to her and aware Rodan was doing the same and they had the eyes of all the others upon them. "How are you?"

Lydia fidgeted a little, gaze flicking over the room before settling again on the two of them. "Okay. Scared. Like I said, this has never happened before. You would think I would like change, but I find it disconcerting." She paused, then lowered her voice. "Except this feels correct, in its way." She lifted her hand as though she would reach for one of them, then lowered it. "Which is even more frightening."

Maeve's brow furrowed, but Rodan nodded. "I know the feeling. It was the same when I was in your grandfather's kingdom, and bargaining for your mother's life." He was quiet for a heartbeat and then added, "There was one other time, when I first beheld her in the forest on the eve of the first duel with Sebastian. That night, something seemed… so right, that we had met in that time, that place."

Maeve looked at him. Lydia said, "I wonder if this is some kind of, what would it be?"

"Prophecy," Thea supplied from behind them. "You both have a touch of it in your blood, or there is a witch in your line."

"Speaking of prophecy," Lydia said. "I'd like to hear about the vision that brought you all here."

"It was a shared vision," Nath said. He was wearing his formal imperial garb, rather than armor, but still had a sword across his lap and a dagger at his hip. "We saw fire, everywhere, heard the screams of the dying, and saw a wave of darkness overtake this world and flow through cracks into others. To ours."

"I've been having them for a long while," Jen confessed. Maeve shot her a look and she shrugged. "They've been… disconnected. Confusing. I was not sure if it was regular anxiety dreams, like being naked in front of a classroom, or if it meant something. It was only after I met Thea that, truly, I understood there had been something serious going on all along."

"What have you seen?" Lydia asked.

"Something we call the Nyx," Jen answered, her voice lowering as though they might hear her. "We vanquished the Queen on our world, but I think there's one here. Or something else, some other form they take in order to…" she trailed off.

"What?" Maeve prompted.

Jen hesitated for a moment and then, with Troy grasping one of her hands, she straightened her shoulders. "I think they eat worlds. Like, not just the creatures living on it, though that too, but they consume the life force of the planet itself. I think they are planet killers."

"If they are looking for planets to go after, the Realms and the Court would be tasty treats," Elias said, picking at the tips of his gloves and looking for all the world like the aristocratic Fae nobleman he was. His tunic and trousers were fine cobalt, edged with gleaming copper stitching and buttons down the front. His silver eye remained, but the blue began to morph as he looked to Jen, who sat between him and Troy. "You certainly have some magic, don't you?"

Maeve startled to see the shifting colors of that eye, remembering how often Rodan's had done the same when they were first traveling together. "Whoa there, Jen is spoken for."

"A bond can be romantic, it does not mean it must be," Elias said softly, not taking his gaze from her friend.

Troy growled, shifting so that they could get a clear shot of the Fae if they so desired. "Back off."

Elias smiled, "Regardless. The Nyx are planet-killers. They are here. We are here. We must go in search of them."

Maeve shivered, remembering some of what she had been forced to endure under the lake, and all the memories the queen pushed upon her.

You will become us. It is inevitable.

They had said so with such conviction, that Maeve wondered. Was she truly slated to be at the head of the Nyx army? Was she to be their queen?

Without her godhead, was that her destiny?

It is not, Rodan murmured through the bond. And I apologize, but you're broadcasting, love. Quiet your mind and raise your shields.

She took a deep breath, doing just that, and then leaned in to murmur to Lydia, "Do you have a moment to speak privately?"

Her daughter nodded and slipped from the barstool, walking with Maeve to the little office with the double bed. Maeve closed the door though she knew Rodan, Elias, and likely Troy would be able to hear, though to the rest there would be some privacy.

Lydia looked more nervous being with Maeve alone than she had among eight other strangers. It made her pause. "Is there anything I've ever done to you?" she asked gently. "To hurt you?"

The young woman let out a breath, then closed her eyes briefly. "Not exactly. It's just, you're very powerful. Sometimes you do things on accident."

Maeve pursed her lips. "I see. I'm sorry."

Lydia shook her head. "It's alright. Like I said, they were accidents."

"I hurt you?"

"A little. Twice." She lifted her chin. "I was fine. It was okay. You were… beside yourself."

Her stomach soured, and she paced away from her daughter, rubbing her bare arms. The air conditioning was very good. "I'm so sorry."

"It's really fine, mother, please," Lydia sighed and then asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

Maeve turned back and said as gently as she could, "We had to pray for your grandfather last night." At Lydia's panicked look, she hurried on. "I don't think he noticed you. He said something about how it is difficult to manifest on Earth. I think he's unlikely to come checking on who we're staying with and where they're from." She smiled, trying for reassuring and not sure she was managing it. "But I want you to understand—he's a decent… person."

"He's a death god. The death god. All of them are his avatars, his manifestations. I know this, because you told me," she said, her voice gaining an octave as she went. "You also said if he ever found me, I would die in truth. I don't want to die." She whispered the last. "I hate dying."

Maeve went to her, reaching out, hesitating, and then offering her hands. Lydia took them, sniffling a little. Squeezing her fingers gently, Maeve asked, "Have I ever told you about my struggles with suicide and substances?"

Lydia nodded, not looking at her.

"There's something I need you to know. If it had not been for that, your grandfather never would have pulled me into death to begin with. He never would have extracted that promise. It's my fault you?—"

"No," Lydia said, so strong both in grip and tone it stopped Maeve's words in their tracks. "It's him. He pulled you into death, he should pay the price." She was looking at her straight-on, black eyes glimmering. "It's not your fault."

Her smile tight, Maeve tried a different angle. "I know it may be frightening, but perhaps it would be better?"

Lydia hissed and withdrew, and Maeve tried not to show how stung she was. Her daughter was the one pacing now. Gesturing wildly. "Everyone thinks my life is so bad, so difficult," she laughed. "Look around! I am one of the most privileged people on this planet, and I?—"

"Only have to be strangled to death every lifetime to gain it," Maeve murmured. "And you lose everyone, don't you? Each time, you have to start again."

Lydia was facing away from her, slight frame trembling. "It doesn't matter."

"It does," Maeve insisted. "I'm sorry, but that is too high a price to pay for?—"

"That's enough," she said, turning back with her arms crossed over her stomach. Her eyes flashed with challenge. "I know this is hard for you to understand, but I have made peace with this life. It is mine. Stop trying to change something you know nothing about."

The urge to unfurl her psychic magics and touch upon Lydia's mind was strong, but Maeve remembered what had happened before. Her daughter was not someone easily gleaned. Power washed around her. Perhaps because of the gods marks.

But still, Maeve was a writer. She could read people similarly to how others read pages in a book. It was part of her job. She spoke gentle but firm, holding up her hand to stop interruption. "I may not wholly understand your life, for who can when it comes to someone outside themselves? But, Lydia, you are too close to this in some ways to see it objectively. All things die, but your cycle of death and rebirth? It is outside the natural order."

There was a soft knock on the door, and Rodan poked his head in. "I'm sorry, but the company grows restless."

"We'll be just another minute or two," Maeve said, barely looking at him. Lydia looked on the verge of tears or a tantrum, she was not sure.

Rodan's head retreated and the door snicked shut.

"When your grandfather was here, he shared knowledge with us," she continued. "We wish to share what we've learned with the group once we all convene properly, but I needed you to know one thing. Earth is a Nexus, which means anything and everything happening on this planet affects myriads of other worlds. Think of it like a stone in a pond, and any vibration causes ripples in that pond. Everything on and in it is affected. You—who you are, the time you are stuck in, is causing damage. Your cycle of repetition may in fact be why Earth is a Nexus to begin with. When I got the knowledge from Ankou, it mentioned that he did not know why this place had been so selected. It should not have been."

Lydia pulled in a breath.

"Ankou doesn't know of you, and cannot see the pattern the way I can. That's part of why he did what he did, so we could pool our resources and find the truth of what is going on. And I know what I saw when I touched upon your mind and soul when I came here before, those mended cracks? They are spreading. And through them?—"

"The Nyx," she replied. "Those beings of darkness."

"I think so, yes." She shrugged. "Or they are somehow making it worse. I don't know."

Lydia's dark eyes flooded with tears, and her nose was red. She sniffed, turning away from Maeve again. "Go on. I'll be out there soon."

She wanted to go to her daughter and embrace her, to let her cry out her suffering, but?—

I am a mother out of time, but I am also a Queen. I have to protect all of my people.

And Maeve was afraid that if she touched Lydia, if she let her daughter's tears pepper her skin, then she would waiver. She could not allow that.

"Forgive me," she said, tone pleading and steady both, and left the room, closing the door behind her. She took a deep breath with her back to it, squared her shoulders, and returned to the others.