“Who are you?”
The creature halted his steady approach. “You ask me a question, human?”
“I do. Who are you?”
With a rough laugh, he threw his head back. “Do you not know me?”
Clíodhna placed her hands on her hips. “If I did, I wouldn’t ask. Who are you?”
“Three times you ask, and therefore, I must answer. I am called Bodach, and I have come to help you.”
Clíodhna narrowed her eyes and noted that both her children remained in battle stance. “Help me with what?”
He gave her a wide grin, the crackle of his skin echoing in the silence. “That is not hard to say. I’m here to help you to safety. Do you not realize men search for you below?”
The panic returned, seizing her heart. She peered into the deepening gloom. “I hear nothing.”
The creature chuckled again. She judged him to be three hands taller than herself, taller even than Adhna. Where had Adhna gone? He should be here protecting them, not leaving them alone with this strange Fae.
Aileran woke behind her with a plaintive wail. Etromma pulled her string back. With an unconscious gesture, Clíodhna put a hand over her belly, protecting her unborn baby.
“You need not be afraid of me, mortal woman. Adhna spoke of you, and I came to help you escape. I can bring you to a place where the men who search for you can never find you, not in a thousand winters.”
He did not specifically say Adhna sent him. If such an eventuality had been so necessary, Adhna would have offered it. Clíodhna clenched her teeth.
Bodach took a step toward her, his arm outstretched. His fingers had half-formed buds on them, like flowers trying to break free of thick bark. She gulped and took a step back.
“If you come with me, sweet Clíodhna, you may live in my home like a queen. I shall shower you with wealth and beauty. All the flowers of the spring shall be your hair, and all the rainbows of the rainstorm will be your cloak. You will dance until the Faerie Queen herself falls into slumber.”
Visions of Faerie spun in her head. Her mind swam with whirling bodies of beautiful dancing, gossamer fabrics, and bright laughter tripped around her imagination. Clíodhna ran her fingers through her hair, trying to dispel the visions. Had Bodach planted them in her mind with Faerie magic? She’d never seen such things in her life.
And yet, his offer seemed tempting. She’d grown so tired of straining, working hard to protect her family, life, and independence.
His smile deepened, perhaps sensing her doubt. One finger stroked her forearm, tracing a delicate line along the muscle.
Clíodhna shivered. It had been feather-light, like Adhna’s kisses that first night. A sweet burning traveled up her arm and into her bones in a sensual wave of release. The tingling crept down into her belly and cleft. She caught her breath at the sheer potency of his caress.
Without thinking, she placed her hand over his, covering his rough bark with her palm. The energy which flowed through his skin to hers crackled like lightning. She couldn’t move, rooted to her spot with desire and terror.
His power, both destructive and sexual, coursed through her, fiercer than any river rapids. Stronger than any pleasure she’d ever felt, more intense than directing a thunderstorm. It rippled into her bones and out to her fingers. Her head pulsed with unbearable pressure, thrumming with both ecstasy and agony.
Clíodhna finally dropped her hand, and the sensation ceased. She crumpled to the ground as her vision grew gray.
Donn’s voice filtered through her haze. “Ma? Ma! What did you do to her?”
The twang of Etromma’s bow, a thunk, and Bodach’s scratchy laugh drowned out her son. “Younglings, have no fear. Your birth-giver is unharmed. She will rise again. But you should all come with me, for your own survival.”
Etromma’s answer came firm and steady. “We will not! And we won’t let you take Ma, either!”
After forcing her eyes open, Clíodhna watched as Bodach approached Etromma with an open hand. She must not allow the Fae to touch her daughter. She pushed to her feet, stumbling forward until she fell into the intruder.
His bark-like skin seemed as solid as an oak trunk. No wonder he laughed when Etromma shot him. How could mere mortals harm such a creature? For her childrens’ sake, she must.
Clíodhna gathered earth magic up through the cave floor, pulling in strong tendrils and snaked vines of blue power, building it into her hands. She scrambled to put Bodach between her and the cave’s mouth. Both Donn and Etromma moved behind her.
Once she steadied her feet, she lifted both hands and shot the power out like an arrow, to the center of Bodach’s chest.
His eyes grew wide with surprise, and he took several staggered steps away. She didn’t wait for him to recover. After drawing in power once again, Clíodhna slammed it against the intruding Fae, pushing him back. He fell almost to the cave mouth. One more push, and he should be out.
His eyes narrowed as he pulled his own power around him, crackling orange lightning in his flower-fingers. “You will not be so lucky next time, mortal woman! I leave you to your misery. But take heed! You will regret rejecting me.”
His form faded into nothing. Clíodhna couldn’t tell if her own fatigue affected her vision, or if he dissipated. She cared little which. She collapsed to the cave floor, all energy and power drained in the battle.
Dimly aware of Donn pulling her to her blankets, and Etromma guarding the entrance with her drawn bow, a distressed chittering came from behind her. She turned her head to see Ishc,
