Page 73 of The Seer

Bewildered by the past turn of events leading to his death, she shook her head. “I don’t get it,” she admitted.

“Elizabeth’s brother and father were forming a new council. You may know it as the Authority.”

“Holy shit!”

Her cursing grated on his nerves. Modern women sprinkled profanity in their conversation like a heavy-handed chef with spices. It was unseemly. But he had to remember, things were different in this century. People didn’t understand manners or the class pecking order in the way they once had. Women weren’t soft in his day, but they followed society’s rules. In Fintan’s shadow, he’d had years to get used to it, but it made him feel ancient and like he never would. Shoving his annoyance away with a resigned sigh, he waited for her to get her disbelief under control.

Taryn rose and crossed to the pool’s edge.

Except for her modern clothing, she could be Elizabeth. Her wild mane, with its blend of titian auburn and mocha brown streaked through with natural white-blonde, was identical to his wife’s, though not in length. Elizabeth’s hair had flowed to her waist, as he preferred it. Still, the soft features, innate kindness, and intelligence were all there, highlighted by the shimmering blue from the water. So was her rebelliousness.

Taryn’s brow was puckered as if deep in thought, and he ignored the buzzing in his mind. It comprised her processing of his story and Fintan’s demands for release. Eventually, she would come to the proper conclusion.

Peter had been remarkably quiet since they’d reached the grotto, and for that, he was grateful. The man’s sarcastic nature would test the patience of a saint, and Ardghal was no bloody saint!

“Peter, I know why I wish to access the artifacts, but I’d like to know whyyoudo,” he said.

Taryn turned,waiting for Peter’s reply. Her mind was racing, and although more input might be overload, it was necessary.

“I’m after shuttin’ down the ancestors for good. For what they did to me, and what they’re trying to do to me nephew,” he confessed.

“But if they’re in league with the Authority—and that’s what I’m getting from all this—how do we take them down?” she asked.

“We don’t,” Ardghal said grimly. “Not without your Aether, and I suspect it’s not something he’s willing to do on a whim.”

“Did you meet Damian when you were alive?” she asked, curious about his distasteful expression. “He’s the best of men, so I don’t understand what you might have against him.”

“No. But I met the Enchantress in the early days, before she began her campaign of destruction by stealing and murdering others for their magic.”

“But isn’t that what Sirens, Succubi, and Incubi do?” she countered with a raised brow.

“Touché.” He nodded his acknowledgement. “But our demon form was never meant for one like a witch, and the Darkness was unleashed in the world because of it.”

“Wait, what?” She sat down hard, tipped sideways, and barely managed to avoid plunging into the pool. “Are you saying the Darkness that infected Isolde de Thorne was from a Succubus or Incubus?”

“Incubus, and yes. But it didn’t infect her first. Through blood-magic, another stole the power from one of my relatives, enslaving and starving them until they were too weak to survive.” He clasped his hands, letting the doubled fist hang between his knees, and stared at it for a long minute. “Magic like ours is too much for a mundane witch to possess.”

“Mundane?” Ardghal had a way of making others seem inconsequential.

“I don’t mean to,” he said with a grimace. “I beg your pardon.”

“Continue with the story. How did the Darkness break free to exist on its own?”

“It tempted its new host beyond human possibility, driving the man beyond the brink of insanity. It used whatever tool it had in its arsenal: fear, greed, lust, paranoia.”

For a heart-wrenching moment, Ardghal seemed lost in the past, and the urge to draw him back to her was strong. He visibly shook himself and met her worried gaze.

“I’m fine.” His tight smile couldn’t camouflage his sadness.

“Did you know that particular Siren, before he was an Incubus?”

“I did. It was my brother.”

“I’m sorry.” Her sympathy was more than a platitude. Taryn physically and mentally connected to his pain. Having lost her parents at a young age, she was familiar with loss. Learning about his wife and sibling allowed her to view him in a different light and triggered her desire to comfort him. He wasn’t the monster her research claimed, nor the one Fintan had feared.

“Thank you.” Ardghal cleared his throat. “With regard to the Darkness, the host grew fevered, his body unable to sustain that level of magic without burning itself out, and he perished, freeing the Darkness to find another host.”

“Merlin’s balls! That’s next-level scary.”

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