As the Crow Flies (Book 19 in the Godhunter Series) Read online

  Nuada: (New-ah-dah)Celtic God of Healing, has a silver arm.

  Odin: AKA The Allfather, AKA Oathbreaker. Norse God of the Occult. Married to Sabine in the past, now married to Vervain. Father of Thor, Balder, Vidar, and Vali. Member of the God Squad. Has two ravens; Hugin and Munin, and two wolves; Geri and Freki.

  Oran: (Ah-ran) Fire cat-sidhe.

  Osiris: Egyptian God of the Afterlife. Married to Isis, father of Horus.

  Pan: Greek God of Nature. Member of the God Squad.

  Papa Gede: (Papa Geh-day) Vodou lwa, member of the Gede.

  Pasithea: Greek Goddess of Relaxation. Married to Hypnos, mother of Morpheus, Phobetor, and Phantasus. Creator of Net.

  Pele: Hawaiian Goddess of the Volcano.

  Persephone: (Per-sef-oh-knee) Greek Goddess of Spring. Married to Hades. Member of the God Squad. AKA Bunny-Nose.

  Phantasus: (Fan-tah-sus)One of the three Oneiroi, Greek God of Illusion. Brother to Morpheus and Phobetor, son of Pasithea and Hypnos. Deceased.

  Phobetor: (For-bet-tore) Greek God of Nightmares. One of the three Oneiroi. Son of Hypnos and Pasithea, brother to Morpheus and Phantasus.

  Poseidon: Greek God of the Sea. Married to Amphitrite.

  Ptah: (Pa-tah) Egyptian Creator God. Married to Sekhmet, father of Nefertem.

  Qaus: (Kow-sus)Arabian Weather God associated with rainbows.

  Rainieri: (Rain-nee-er-ree) AKA Rain, lead singer for Dark Horses, a Celtic horse-shifter.

  Raphael: Archangel of Healing, Ruler of the 2nd Heaven.

  Re: Egyptian God of the Sun. Vervain's boyfriend. Father of Sekhmet, Bastet, and Shu, was married to Lusaset (deceased).

  Rebecca: Human sorceress and necromancer. Deceased.

  Rhiannon: Celtic Goddess of Horses. Dated Constantin and Hanuman.

  Rian: (Ree-an) Vervain and Arach's son, twin to Brevyn.

  Rikshas: Hindu bear-shifters. Demi-gods.

  Rind: (Rin-d) Norse Giantess, mother of Vali.

  Roarke: (Roar-k) King of the Fire Cat-Sidhe, father to Hunter.

  Rosemary: Dark-sidhe of Greed.

  Rowan: King of the House of Darkness, married to Liatris, father of Sinnea and Baidhen.

  Rue: Dark-sidhe of Hunger, father of Zinnia.

  Sabine: Vervain's name in her past life when she was married to Odin.

  Samael: Archangel of Death (Yes, there's more than one) and Ruler of the 5th Heaven.

  Samantha: Froekn(werewolf) married to Fallon and one of Vervain's best friends. Mother of Zariel.

  Samara: Future daughter of Vervain and Arach. Dragon-sidhe and Princess of Fire.

  Samuel: AKA War, Horseman of the Apocalypse.

  Sarama: Hindu Goddess of Dogs, Bitch of Heaven.

  Sarasvati: (Sare-ras-vah-tee) AKA Sara. Hindu Goddess of Knowledge. Married to Brahma. Member of the God Squad.

  Sekhmet: (Seck-met) Egyptian Warrior Goddess of Healing: Lioness-shifter, daughter of Lusaset and Re, twin of Bastet, mother of Nefertem.

  Scotaidh: (Sco-tee) Imp.

  Sebastian: Future angel son of Azrael and Vervain.

  Senna: Dark-sidhe of Malice.

  Silenus: Greek God of Prophecy. Drunkard. Companion to Dionysus.

  Siuna: (Sh'ooh-nah) Female fire pixie dating Diarmad.

  Snarl: Ellingran faerie male.

  Sokar: (So-car) Egyptian God of the Buried. Brother to Ptah, resides in Aaru.

  Suparnas: Hindu falcon-shifters.

  Tagas: (Tah-gahs) Angel of Music.

  Taog: (Took) Hidden-One who's married to Fionnaghal, father of Mini V, Deidre, and Daoir.

  Taraghlan: (Tare-ah-gawn) Air-sidhe.

  Tawiskaron: (Tah-wisk-kah-ron) Mohawk Demon God of Darkness. Teharon's twin brother and son of Nayenezgani and Atahensic. Deceased.

  Teharon: (Teh-hah-ron) Mohawk Creator God of Healing. Son of Naye and Atahensic, twin brother of Tawiskaron. Dating Karni-Mata. Member of the God Squad.

  Tefnut: (Teff-newt) Egyptian Goddess of Moisture, wife of Shu, mother of Nut.

  Tepu-yn: (Teh-poo-in) Egyptian Spirit of the Corn, resides in Re's territory.

  Thaddeus: AKA Ted, Antichrist, Horseman of the Apocalypse.

  Thor: Norse God of Storms. Son of Odin and Iord, brother to Vali, Vidar, and Balder. Prince and Guardian of Asgard. Member of the God Squad.

  Thoth: (Toth) Egyptian God of Knowledge.

  Thrud: Norse Goddess of War. Thor and Sif's daughter, brother to Ull.

  Thunderbirds: Native American bird-shifters.

  Tobadzistsini: AKA Toby. Navajo God of Darkness. Son of Mr T and Mrs E, twin brother of Naye.

  Torrent: Demi-god creation of Iktomi. Made of god magic and Internet magic. Dating Artemis and member of the God Squad.

  Trevor: AKA VéulfR, AKA Honey-Eyes. Froekn Prince and Heir Apparent. First born son of Fenrir. Married to Vervain.

  Trillium: Dark-sidhe of Obsession.

  TryggulfR: AKA Ty, Froekn(werewolf) 3rd son of Fenrir, Brother to Trevor and UnnúlfR.

  Tsohanoai: (So-ha-noe-ayee) AKA Mr T. Navajo God of the Sun. Married to Mrs E, father to Naye and Toby. Member of the God Squad.

  Ull: (uh-LL) Viking God of Justice. Son of Sif and stepson to Thor. Deceased.

  Una: (Oooh-nah) Fire cat-sidhe.

  UnnúlfR: Froekn (werewolf), 2nd son of Fenrir, brother to Trevor and Ty.

  Vali: Norse God of Archery and Hunting. Son of Odin and Rind, adopted son of Sabine, brother to Vidar, Thor, and Balder.

  Valkyries: Odin's warrior goddesses. They include Brynhildr (Brin-hill-da), Eir (Air), Herja (Her-yah), and Kara.

  Vampires: This pertains mainly to the Aztec strain, children of Blue and Eztli. They include: Ajax, William, Alexandra, and Jason.

  Vanaras: Hindu were-monkeys. Demi-gods.

  Vayu: Hindu God of Air. Father of Hanuman.

  Vero: Future son of Trevor and Vervain. God of Moon and Wolves, Froekn (werewolf).

  Vervain: main character- the Godhunter. Also a Hidden-One child called Mini V for the sake of clarity, daughter of Taog and Fionnaghal.

  Vidar: Norse God of Vengeance and Silence. Son of Odin and Sabine, brother to Vali, Thor, and Balder.

  Vinata: Hindu Mother of Suparnas.

  Violet: Dark-sidhe of Heartache.

  Xi Wang Mu: (See-wang-moo) Chinese Mother Goddess. Dating Kuan-Ti.

  Yarrow: Dark-sidhe of Exploitation.

  Yemanja: (Yay-mahn-yah) Vodou lwa (low-ah) of the Sea. Also Santerian orisha (La Sirene) of the Sea.

  Zachariel: (Zah-care-ree-all) Archangel of Healing.

  Zariel: First Intare (lion-shifter) ever born. Daughter of Fallon and Samantha.

  Zeus: Greek God of the Sky. Married to Hera, father of Athena, Artemis, and Apollo.

  Zinnia: Baby dark-sidhe born to Dahlia and Rue.

  Chapter One

  So many of my friends were getting married. It was wonderful, really it was. I had thoroughly enjoyed Blue and Eztli's wedding, despite the nasty looks Morvran had given me. He was dead now anyway, so it didn't matter. Oh damn, I probably shouldn't be thinking about death at a faerie wedding, and a royal one at that.

  I looked around the crowded ballroom of Castle Under, called so because it was in the city of Under, twin city to Water, which was of course located in the Faerie Sea, directly above Under. Castle Under was actually only half a castle. The top half of the castle was Castle Water, in the city of Water, which was significantly wetter than Under. Okay, that's enough of that ridiculous explanation.

  The Water King was a close friend of mine and he was marrying another friend of mine; Nora, who had once been a fire phooka. Now, thanks to Faerie, she's a water phooka but she's still a bit uncomfortable in the water. She told me the first time she tried to breathe water, she'd had a panic attack. So the royal wedding was taking place in the dry Castle Under instead of Castle Water.

  There had been a lot of concern over this since traditionally water royals were married in Castle Water. But Guirmean had got around this tradition by blaming the High
King. It was my suggestion. He didn't want his fey to think less of their new queen for not having the fish balls to get married in water, literally in water. So I suggested that Guirmean tell them all he was holding the ceremony in Under for the comfort of the High King. This worked amazingly well since no one wanted to make the High King of Faerie uncomfortable. That would not only be rude but dangerous.

  Personally, I was grateful to not have to attend an underwater wedding, just an Under wedding. Even with my breathing pearl, I just wasn't comfortable in the water. Probably because I was a dragon-sidhe and we were fire fey. It was bad enough that we'd had to tromp through the sandy crystal tubes all the way to Under, which was in the heart of the Faerie Ocean, under billions of tons of water. This was the exact opposite of a no pressure situation; there was literally tons of pressure pushing down on Under's stone sky.

  Actually, now that I was in the city, it wasn't so bad. It was the getting there that had been traumatizing. Walking through the tubes felt like being in a surreal world where the roles of fish and humans had been reversed. We were in the bowl and the fish were outside. Except our bowl was a long tube which the fish could swim along the outside of and watch us to their heart's content. Scary, monstrous fish with human faces in some instances.

  Ugh! Forget about the fish, Vervain. I focused on the beautiful room with its pearl-studded walls and seashell mosaic floor. The far off walls glowed softly under the light of low hanging faerie globes, and cutting through the glow were arched windows which showcased the manicured gardens that surrounded the castle. Strange, glistening plants which looked like a cross between cactus and rubber trees, were trimmed into submission and liberally spotted with vibrant blooms the size of my head.

  Inside the ballroom, most of the space had been filled with long mother-of-pearl pews, leaving a slim, central aisle between them. The pews had gilded fin-like feet poking out from beneath them and high, curving backs. To edge the sitting area, there were swaths of fabric in shimmering pale periwinkle which ran the length of the room, draped between columns of glass. Within the glass columns, fish swam. So there went the whole forgetting about the fishes thing. I rolled my eyes in frustration.

  “The hollow columns run all the way up to Castle Water, where they're filled with seawater,” Arach whispered to me when he saw where my attention laid. “It's a way of uniting the castles.”

  “Great,” I grimaced. “So if one of those things were to break, the entire Faerie Sea would come rushing in.”

  “That's Fey crystal, it won't break, A Thaisce,” he chuckled as he gently rocked our sleeping son, Rian. “Just a little longer, and then we can go home.”

  We'd decided to bring the babies along for their first royal event. So instead of his usual outfit of a simple faerie diaper, Rian was wearing an elaborate green velvet tunic which matched the scales at his temples. It wasn't that we didn't like dressing him up, he just tended to shift into his dragon shape so often that it became a waste of good clothing. Brevyn, on the other hand, was used to wearing finery. He was perfectly comfortable in his baby blue silk tunic and white leather pants. So adorable; like a miniature knight. He was the perfect thing to distract me from the fish. I lifted Brevyn closer and nuzzled the soft blonde halo of hair on his head.

  “Just a little longer- my patootie,” I whispered in my sing-song mommy voice. “We haven't even got to the ceremony yet.”

  “It will be fast,” Arach assured me. “Recall our own ceremony, it was less than ten minutes.”

  “Alright,” I grumbled. “That's one thing I'll give the Fey, they know how to make events short and sweet.”

  “Sometimes,” he leaned in and kissed me. “But in other instances, we like to take our time.”

  Music started before I could respond to that sexy statement, and everyone turned to look down the aisle. Arach and I were with the other royals at the front of the room, right before the dais where Guirmean stood. The Water King looked very majestic in his faerie raiments; his denim-blue skin was complimented by the rusty pumpkin color of his tunic and the dark oak leather of his pants. Over his shoulders, a long cape of water was laid. Yep, water. Faeries loved using magic to make the elements into pieces of clothing. It was kind of their signature look. So Guirmean's cape flowed in literal liquid glory around him. Basically he was wearing a waterfall and his pastel green hair laid across it like seaweed on surf. Topping it all off was the Water crown; a band of shining silver set with sapphire water droplets all around, points facing up.

  Sitting beside me and Arach was Lorna, mother to Guirmean's son, Prince Morgan. And beside her was Darius, one of my lions and Lorna's lover. Yeah, it was a weird situation but everyone got along, which was more than I could say for me and Queen Aalish. The Earth royals were seated across the aisle from us due to the well-known animosity between me and the Earth Queen. The Air royals were seated beside them to keep them company, but the High Queen was with us. Probably because the High Queen had once been a fire faerie.

  High Queen Meara was a leanan-sidhe, from the House of Fire. Although she hadn't physically changed, technically she was a spirit fey since she had married Cian and become a member of the High Royal Family, which ruled all of Faerie. Still, she hadn't forgotten her roots and had requested to sit with us while her husband conducted the marriage ceremony. Plus, I think she wanted to be near the babies and, even now, had Prince Morgan on her lap, cooing at the little water prince.

  Morgan was actually more of a toddler than a baby now. He was five months older than my boys, just about a month away from his first birthday. My sons were about to be six months old and they'd grown so big. Brevyn was nearly twice the size he'd been when he was born, but his growth was nothing compared to his brother's. Rian had a good five pounds on Brevyn and we actually expected him to start walking soon. He was already driving us crazy in his dragon form, I dreaded him becoming mobile in his human form too. But Brevyn was proceeding at a normal human rate and his biggest achievement to date had been weaning from milk to solid food (I can't tell you how thrilled I was over that miracle). Rian had left milk behind at three months, thank goodness for that, because his little dragon teeth had begun coming in and the prospect of breastfeeding had become a nightmare.

  Prince Morgan seemed to be progressing at a fairly human rate as well (if you overlooked the occasional bursts of water magic) and he was already walking. Toddling about, which I assume is how they got the word toddler. But Morgan was more than happy to sit with the High Queen. The little prince was already becoming quite the ladies' man; he had his head laid against Meara's chest while he batted his big, blue eyes at her. She didn't stand a chance.

  But Queen Meara stopped cooing to Morgan when the music began. We all stood to watch Nora come walking up the aisle escorted by her father, Albion. Albion was, of course, a fire phooka, but he was beyond proud to escort his daughter to her soon-to-be water-sidhe husband. Nora's mother, Sonasag, was at the end of our row, closest to the aisle, right beside the High Queen, and she was already crying happy tears.

  Nora looked amazing. She may have got her wish to have the ceremony in the dry ballroom of Castle Under but Nora was still getting married in water. Her dress matched Guirmean's cloak and frothed about her in a liquid mimicry of a bridal gown. A pale blue fabric underdress showed through some of the thin areas but most of the outfit was moving too quickly to be transparent. It was accented with bits of cream colored lace and the veil that trailed over her dark hair was made solely of the delicate stuff, so that it draped behind her on the watery train of her dress like ethereal flotsam. She wore several draping pearl necklaces but no tiara, that space was reserved for the water crown.

  I beamed at her as she passed by us, but her eyes were set firmly on Guirmean and they were shining with happiness behind that lacey veil. Her father helped her up the steps and her mother rushed forward to take her massive bouquet of faerie water flowers from her. Sonasag came back to her seat escorted by her husband and we all slid over to make roo
m for the father of the bride.

  The High King stepped up to the couple but just as he opened his mouth to start the ceremony, Brevyn opened his eyes and slapped me. Okay, he didn't exactly slap me but he smacked his palm into my cheek forcefully. It was one of those baby slaps where they just kind of flail around and hit you accidentally, except Brevyn had psychic intent behind his flail and it was very purposeful. So I guess he did slap me.

  We'd recently discovered that my sons had been born with two souls. Brevyn had a god and a human soul, while Rian had a faerie essence and a human soul. This would have affects on my children that we weren't entirely sure of yet. However, we were sure that Brevyn had a god magic which was brand new; the magic of Borrowing. He could copy anyone's magical ability and use it for as long as he wished. Because he also had a human soul, he was even able to borrow faerie magic. And due to this constant questing magic of his, Brevyn also had a psychic gift. We believe it was meant to help him choose which magic to borrow but lately he'd been using it to show me all manner of strangeness... and usually at the most inopportune moments.

  “A Thaisce?” Arach whispered his special endearment to me. It meant my treasure and was the most romantic appellation a dragon could give. It was also the last thing I heard from the real world.

  I fell into Brevyn's vision; a place of fluttering shadows and eerie echoes. I squinted into the dark and flinched when something brushed by my face. A cry pierced my ears, a horrible screeching that made me shiver and think of talons tearing flesh. Then came the disturbing slapping of something wet. Splash, splash, thwack. Whatever it was, it landed hard, as if it were thrown. The shadows continued to screech and shift about me. Then, slowly, they started to separate and I saw them for what they were; birds, lots of big, black birds.

  Wings beat madly against me as the birds swarmed upward and surged through a bright arctic sky. I stared at them as they circled overhead ominously. Their cries continued to fill my ears but faded the further up the birds went, until it was just a background murmur, sounding strangely like sobbing. I blinked up at the rustling shapes, sunlight streaming through the spaces between them, and pondered what they had to do with me.