First: Funeral
Previous: Naked, Dead People, Etc.

He looked her over for a minute, almost as if he hadn’t seen her before.  Then he closed his eyes and went still.  “Daughter of Claudia, the lawyer said.  In the fae style.  But that’s not what you said, is it?  Daughter of Aonghus, himself the son of Sláine.  I was distracted at the time.  That’s the only excuse.  That’s an interesting lineage you have there.”  He opened his eyes again.  “Claudia, Named simply The Free, who was that and more, wild and calm, and absolutely deadly when crossed.  Aonghus. The White Wolf.  Oh, did he cause trouble in the winter.”  His lips curled.  “Yes.  I know about your family.  I knew Sláine, too, Life-or-Death.  You come by your violent tendencies honestly, Senga Monmartin.  And what do they call you?”

Senga had not heard her family’s Names spoken in decades, and she hadn’t heard them spoken like that – with cautious reverence – since they’d died.  “They call me Monmartin,” she answered dryly, and waved her hand before he could complain that that hadn’t been what he meant.  “It’s not actually my last name.  They call me War,  but the full name is Swallow on the Mountain of War.”

“Mon-martin,” he murmured.  “That’s quite a mouthful of a Name.”

“My Mentor had – has – a leaning towards the poetic and a flair for the dramatic.  It was supposed to be Swallow of  War, but she couldn’t resist the chance to get the Mon part in there.”

“Interesting.”  He was smirking at her.  “I suppose, considering what my Mentor named me, I should not be the one to complain.”

“I think yours is … nice.  It’s threatening, which is pleasant.”

“And Swallow of War isn’t threatening?”  Now he had his eyebrows up.

“It’s a bird.  A small bird at that.”

“You’re not a large woman, but I have a feeling you are quite deadly.”  His hands were moving up and down her in a way that had nothing to do with murder and war – or, perhaps, for him, it did.

She responded to the touch.  It had been a long time since she’d had someone in her bed, and a long, long time since she’d let a man touch her for enjoyment.  She smiled back at him.  “I do believe you’re getting used to me, Erramon, Death-comes-silently.”

“I think that’s possible. I do think you’re not afraid of me anymore, Senga, Swallow of War.”

“I think… I think you’re right,” she agreed.

“Wise.  You control me now.”

“It isn’t that.”  she touched the back of his neck very lightly.  “It’s… I left you alone for a day.”

“And…?”

“And.”  She smiled crookedly. “And now I’m not afraid of you anymore.  I wouldn’t look too deeply at if if I were you.”

“Not when there are other things to look closely at.”  He ducked his head down to lick a line down her stomach.

“Mmmmm.  That’s not something that’s usually looked at…” She trailed off, because there were other things to do but banter.

💢

The attempts on her life aside, the last day had been far too nice.  Senga should have expected to see a relative or three, but somehow the appearance of Eavan at the front gate of Monmartin Manor was still an unpleasant shock.

“You can’t have it!”  She had her hands on her hips and was glaring at Senga and at the row of cars and moving trucks.  “You and your miserable little crew of misfits can’t ruin this place.  It’s for the family, and it’s going to stay in the family.”

“Sa’Monmartin?” Erramun’s voice was a pleasant rumble.  “Would you like me to remove this obstruction?”

“I would, I have to admit, love to have you remove this obstruction.”  She raised her eyebrows at Eavan but kept talking to Erramun.  “But with where she is standing, she isn’t in violation of any rules or laws… yet.  Eavan, this isn’t your family’s property.  It’s never been your family’s property.  Get out of my way and stop making a fool out of yourself.”

“How can you say it’s not my family’s property when my mother mistakenly left it to you in her will?  After you held a hawthorn blade to her throat, I’m sure!”

“If I had been working on killing your mother – which I wasn’t – I would had been far more subtle, and if I wanted Monmartin Manor back, there were easier ways to get it.”

“Then  why are you only getting it back now?” Eavan sneered.

Senga smiled, although she took no joy in it.  “Because my parents were murdered in front of me in its main hall.  It’s not a place I really am looking forward to seeing.”  She was hoping someone had cleaned up the blood.  And the – no.  Erramun would have said something if there had been a… mess.

He was staring at her.  The rest of her crew was staring at her.  Eavan actually faltered.

“Libel!”

“There is absolutely nothing wrong in saying my parents were murdered.  The police report says the same.  The face that they never found the murderer – well, that’s because the person who hired the murderer is – or was – very tidy.”  She stared at Eavan in absolute calm.  She’d faced down worse than her cousin.  

“Libel!” Eavan screamed.

“You know, if you keep saying that, I’m going to think you had something to do with my parents’ murder, and if that’s the case, I’m going to have to challenge you, and if I do that, dear cousin, nobody is going to be surprised when you die.“

“Oh, do you really think you could take me?  Come on, if you thought that, I’d be dead already.”

“I think that your mother left me several things and one person in her will, and that when you combine all that, I not only think I could take you, I’m wondering why you’re still standing here.  You can’t win, Eavan.”

She sounded a lot more confident than she felt.  She felt like she was about to be struck down where she stood.  Eavan and her sister had always been the ones you didn’t mess with, and Senga had always know she was only alive because of Clause Eavan and the strong hand of Great-Aunt MIrabella, which for some reason loomed over her shoulder, keeping her safe from harm even as it had murdered her family.

But she managed to sound strong enough, she supposed, because Eavan took a step backwards.  “You can’t-  You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would.”  Senga’s smile felt unpleasant.  The reaction it got looked even more unpleasant.  Good.  “What did Great-Aunt Mirabella leave you to protect you, Eavan?”

“You know what she left me!  You know she left me the envelopes!  You know she left me all of that, that she wanted to be sure I survived too!  My mother loved me!  My mother…”  Eavan looked up over Senga’s shoulder and shuddered.  “I’ll get this manor from you.  You know I will.  Enjoy it while you can, I suppose.”

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