Free The Morrigan's Curse by Dianne K. Salerni

Sloane?” Bedivere asked.
    Sloane’s eyes flicked toward Mrs. Crandall, the truth teller, before answering. “Grandmother wanted to investigate the magic potential of brownie holes in the event a catastrophe destroyed the eighth day. With so few Emrys heirs left, there’s a possibility the spell might end and cut off our source of magic.”
    â€œMore than a possibility,” Jax muttered, “since you had one Emrys heir prisoner and were trying to make me bring you the other.”
    â€œGrandmother was killed because of those brownie holes,” Sloane said stiffly. “We’ve discontinued experimentation.”
    â€œAre you telling me the Dulac clan can pop out of brownie holes?” Pellinore had finally reasoned out what
experimentation with brownie holes
meant. “Anywhere? Like in my home?”
    â€œOf course not,” Oliver Bors said. “Very few people were included in the trial runs, and no one else can be given access now, because Luis Morder, who knew the necessary spell, was killed by the Llyrs. Besides, to reiterate Sloane, my mother died because something monstrous came out of the brownie holes. We’re no longer using them.”
    Jax glanced at Mrs. Crandall. She didn’t call either Sloane or Bors out in a lie. Their words were literal truth with a lot of omissions. “Even if the Dulacs have temporarily quit their plan to murder my liege lady and her sister,” he said, hoping everyone at the Table would notice they hadn’t actually denied his accusation, “you can’t plan an assault against the Llyrs that will endanger Addie Emrys. I object . . . uh, on behalf of the Emrys seat!”
    Sheila addressed Jax. “Do you know how many casualties there were in that hurricane?”
    Jax gulped. “Yes, ma’am. I do.”
    â€œI sympathize with you.” Even though there wasn’t a hint of emotion on Sheila’s face, Jax believed she meant what she said. “But how else do you propose we defeat them? We have an impressive array of talents at this Table, and our vassals have talents of their own. But my clansmenand Pellinore are the only ones with combat experience—and we won’t be facing bullets. It’ll be tornadoes, flash floods, and gale-force winds. Even
I
can’t pilot a helicopter in a hurricane. You already know what they did to my planes with lightning.”
    Having experienced the storm produced by the Llyrs, Jax understood what a powerful talent they had. For the first time he considered how weak the Transitioners seemed by comparison. The Morgans’ talent for operating machinery that otherwise wouldn’t work on the eighth day, the Dulac talent for changing memories—how did they stack up against people who were practically weather gods? Even Riley’s voice of command was not unstoppable. Jax had seen Wylit resist it and Evangeline, too, when Riley had tried to order her out of danger in the Dulac basement.
    â€œYou’ll get no argument from me,” Roger Sagramore said. “We should take every advantage we can. That was the point of the Eighth Day Spell in the first place.”
    Jax turned to Riley, expecting him to protest. But Riley looked worried, as if he was weighing Addie’s life against thousands, maybe millions of others, and not liking the result.
Not you, too,
Jax pleaded silently.
    Carlotta Lyonnesse patted Jax’s hand. “If it’s possible to spare the girl, we will. We don’t want to see innocents killed. But the Normal population is composed of innocents, too, and the Kin don’t share the same remorse. Withthe exception of your liege lady, I assume.”
    â€œWell, of course,” Jax said angrily, moving his hand.
    â€œYou can’t lump all Kin together with the Llyrs,” Riley said, breaking his silence. “In fact, I’m concerned about the safety of Kin who aren’t involved in hostilities. The Llyrs will be