The Banshee's Revenge (The Banshee's Embrace Trilogy) Read Online Free

she's around. Since lavender is a scent you associate with her, it should be a great tell."
    But Toby had never thought it might work.
    Yet, here it was--the strong scent of lavender.
    "Jacqueline?" he whispered.
    Only silence answered.
    "Are you there?" He looked around, trying to separate the shadows. "I've…I've missed you."
    Toby could have sworn he heard the tiniest of sighs. Carefully, he turned his head to the right, hoping the darkness would reveal more than just shadows. The trees swayed their delicate branches which were just beginning to show signs of green, but there was nothing human there.
    Desperate, Toby lifted a hand and threw out an illumination spell.
    "Reveal."
    There. A tiny shimmer of something in front of him.
    "Babe, if you're here, I really need to talk to you," Toby said. "I know you think I betrayed you, but I swear it was just a misunderstanding. Death played us both for fools."
    Was that a hand on his head? Fingers rustling through his hair? He closed his eyes, savoring the small touch.
    "I will always love you. Please show yourself to me. Let's work this out."
    But no one appeared and the scent of lavender grew faint. Maybe he'd imagined it all along.
    Toby continued down the path to the water. As he drew closer, he could make out something lying on the ground. Curious, he quickened his pace.
    "Damn," he swore when he realized what the shape was. A body. And it belonged to someone he knew. "Foster, what the hell did you get yourself into?"
    Dropping to his knees, Toby examined the body. Someone or something had done a real number on the wizard. With a shake of his head, he said the words to a regression spell. The world whirled around him as it rewound to the moment in time when Foster had been killed.
    Silently, in horror, Toby watched the gruesomeness of the wizard's death.
    When it was over, he released the regression spell and heart sick, stumbled over to the river. He splashed water on his face, wishing it could erase everything he'd just seen. But it was too late. Time to face the truth.
    His Jacqueline, the one he'd fallen for, was gone.
    In its place was a horrible creature that he barely recognized.
    As Toby contemplated this new revelation, a small circular light appeared in the sky above him. He stared at it, wondering what it could be. A UFO? A shooting star? With careful precision, the ball of light descended.  It hovered above the water for several seconds before it stretched and grew into the shape of a fierce looking woman.
    "Toby Williams?" She stood on the surface of the water. When he didn't immediately respond, she shifted her weight impatiently. "That is you, isn't it?"
    "Yes. Who are you?"
    To his astonishment, the woman walked across the top of the water towards him with a demeanor that reeked of haughtiness and arrogance. Her waist length hair was a rich shade of mahogany, and it swung loose around her long blue gown. On her hip a lethal looking sword caught the moon beams and shimmered. A small gold band with a Celtic symbol etched on it sat on top of her head.
    "I am Morrigan," she said.
    Morrigan, The Goddess of War and Strife. Toby had become very familiar with the lore surrounding her the last few months. He'd even started working on a spell to contact her for help with Jacqueline's half banshee problem, but had been interrupted by the Spark family and their plans to kidnap him.
    "You should kneel before me," Morrigan instructed when he continued to stand there. Wordless, Toby dropped to his knees. "That's better. You are a supplicant in my eyes. I will hear what it is you desire."
    "Um…I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, but I didn't summon you," Toby said. "I mean, I was going to, but things changed."
    "Of course you did not summon me! You don't have the power to do so. However, I know you, my boy, and I am always keen to watch over those I've gifted with my kiss. That includes their offspring." Morrigan frowned as she noticed the dead body behind