Witching Time (The Wild Hunt #14) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,75
hard life. He might be one of the Ante-Fae, but he’s the most domesticated member of the Black Dogs that I’ve ever met.” She sat down beside me. “How do you feel about your father having another child?”
I could tell she was trying to be supportive. “I’m fine about it. To be honest, I’d love to meet the kid, but right now, I think we need to focus on keeping my father from making the biggest mistake of his life. He’s just not…wait.” I snapped my fingers. “What about Grandpa? Why not contact him? He’s the one person Curikan listens to.”
My grandfather was also one of the Black Dogs, and he lived on the Scottish moors. I had never met him, but I’d talked on the phone with him and he was imposing enough through just his voice. I couldn’t imagine what he was like in person. “You could go see Dougal and tell him what’s going on. I doubt if Grandpa wants Da to move over to Annwn.”
Phasmoria’s face lit up. “That’s a wonderful idea. Curikan will obey his father, if he’s going to listen to anybody. I’ll do that before I go back to finish packing his things. Meanwhile, you need to talk to Herne and ask him to stall on any promises to help Curikan.”
“I can do that. All right, we have a plan. Shall we get back in there? I need to tell them about what’s going down tomorrow night.”
My mother grinned. “It’s fun having secrets between just us, isn’t it?”
I had to laugh. My mother the Bean Sidhe…yep…I could always count on her. “Yeah, it is. I have to say, thank you.” I stood, straightening my dress.
“Why? What did I do?”
“You didn’t just run off. You came back when you could, and you did everything you could to forge a relationship with me. I appreciate it. I love you, and I hope you know that.” I was suddenly feeling grateful that I knew both of my parents and that both of them cared about me.
Phasmoria smiled. “Raven, even though I couldn’t be there when you were growing up, I always kept in touch with Curikan. I kept tabs on you. It’s easier to visit because now you don’t feel it so keenly when I have to leave. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t come visit a great deal when you were young. I couldn’t stand breaking your heart every time I left.”
I pressed my lips to her cheek. “I understand that, now. Okay, let’s go. And you get your ass over to Scotland and talk to Grandpa.”
“Just don’t tell Curikan.” She gave me a hug.
And, as much as I hated keeping secrets, I agreed.
Chapter Sixteen
After Phasmoria left, I filled Kipa and Curikan in on what Wager had told me, and what we had decided when I was at the Wild Hunt.
“We’re going to drive the wights into the middle of the farm and then go after them with fire and holy weapons. It’s not going to be easy, given they’re invisible, but it seems like the best deal.” I shrugged. “At least seeding the crystals shouldn’t be difficult. That is, if you can bring enough guards to help us,” I said, turning to Kipa.
“I can do that. When do we meet?”
“At seven, given it’s a weekday and the Wild Hunt crew has other things to attend to during the day.” I shrugged. “I just hope this takes care of the wight issue for good.”
“After we do this, we should have someone there to bless the land and cleanse it from everything that’s gone on,” Kipa said. “I’ll call Herne and see if his father can send someone from Annwn. Cernunnos has a number of high-powered priests, and if they’re Elven, so much the better. Elves tend to be incredibly strong when it comes to nature magic.”
“Until then, what do we do?” Curikan said.
I stared at him for a moment. “Until then, we just hang out, talk, and try to relax.” I wanted to push him on the moving thing again, but I knew that would be a mistake. So for the rest of the day, we played with the ferrets, watched TV with Raj, and spent the evening making dinner together. But the entire time, I kept thinking about Phasmoria, and wondering how she was making out with Dougal, and when he would call.
The next morning, I was trying to decide what to wear when I heard Curikan shouting from the living room. I