Now that sounded like my father. “Deal?”
“I gave Harry some space in my brain. It’s a bit like what the prince has with the ancient god Bris. I can share space with him and not lose who I am. Oh, if Harry was a different man, he could have easily taken over in the beginning. I was a mess, and I wouldn’t have fought him even if I’d known how. Instead, he strengthened me. He talked me through how to get out of the hospital, coached me on what to say. Then we decided to come here. The wards make Frelsi undetectable to the living, but Harry knew where his grandkids were. He made me camp. It was terrible.”
Evan laughed, the sound sweet and familiar since she sounded like her sister. “She was not an outdoor girl, to say the least. Or a cold weather girl. It was so sad. She showed up outside the mountain, and we all felt so sorry for her that we sent someone to talk to her.”
“You sent a brownie,” Shy said with no small amount of accusation. “I’d never seen a supernatural creature before and then this tiny withered thing is talking to me. Although I probably scared her more than she did me. And then she fixed my tent and offered to wash my clothes and I loved her.” She smiled fondly. “It took them another week to finally believe me, and every day Liesl would come and help me. That little brownie gets all the cream.”
I stared at the beautiful young woman. “So he’s inside you.”
“Yes. Like I said, we share space. Harry’s in what I like to call mid-transition. If he hadn’t found a soul space, he would likely would have ended up with the sluagh. He heard them call to him.” The smile on her face had faded. “He couldn’t leave. He knew you would be back and that you would need him.”
My father had almost become sluagh? They were the restless dead, the ones who couldn’t move on. “I thank you for finding him. It can’t be easy for you.”
“I would do anything for Harry. When everyone else abandoned me, he was there. I never knew my own father. He died when I was young. Harry…well, I don’t want to get too emotional. The old man can’t handle it,” Shy said. “He’s ready to talk if you are.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
Shy turned and her eyes went black. “Hello, me darling. Don’t pass out on me this time. After all, we’ve got a war to fight.”
I moved to the end of the bed and took Shy’s hand, took my father’s hand. “Hello, Dad.”
Chapter Six
Shy’s chest sighed, the movement so familiar though the body was different. “You haven’t changed at all. Is it true it’s only been a few days for you?”
I was talking to my dead father. He was dead and hiding in another body. I forced myself to let that sink in. It wouldn’t stand. I would find a way to fix all of this, but I had to start handling things better. “We were gone for roughly four days. I don’t understand what happened. The painting was enchanted.”
“The painting was meant for Marcus. It was spelled specifically for him,” my father explained. “I know all of this because I spent the first year of my death in the Council building, following Myrddin and learning about his plans. He never meant for Daniel to go through that painting. He was perfectly happy to lose Devinshea and you and Kelsey, but he wanted Daniel around and properly under his influence.”
“Under the thrall stones.”
Shy’s head nodded. “Yes. He knew where he was sending Marcus to, knew that if you went through too they would likely figure out what he’d done. The stones are much more easy to obtain on the outer planes. It’s where he got them. When Devinshea disappeared, he knew he couldn’t keep Daniel. That was when he allowed the two of you to go through. He knew Daniel would never stop searching for Devinshea. The trap was for Marcus and Kelsey. Devinshea was what he hadn’t counted on. The wizard came in and quickly assessed the threats to his absolute control over Daniel.”
“Marcus and Kelsey. I’m insulted I wasn’t on that list.”
“Ahh, but he never gave you enough credit, my darling girl. He thinks you’re nothing more than a wife and mum. He doesn’t understand the most dangerous of all creatures is a mum whose kids are threatened.”
“Why go after the kids?” I asked. “They couldn’t challenge him. Why not allow Declan to come for them? Miria would have taken them and they wouldn’t have been any trouble at all.”
“When he came for the children that day, I think that’s what he might have done. The hours after you went missing were quiet. No one had a clue you were gone because Danny was supposed to help with the locator ceremony.”