The Banshee's Revenge (The Banshee's Embrace Trilogy) by Victoria Richards

by in the blue sky above her.
    Relaxed and at peace, Jacqueline could have lain in that spot forever. Time could have stopped in that slice of Irish paradise, and she would have been content to let it. The real world held nothing but coldness and rage. Once awake, she never could seem to feel anything but those two emotions.
    "There you are my child."
    She turned her head to find a man standing a few yards away. Tall with a regal stance, the sun shone off his bald head. His brown eyes were guarded, but the soft smile on his face was familiar.
    "Who are you?" She pushed herself up so that her elbows supported her, but made no effort to stand. "What do you want? This is my dream."
    "I've come to see you, and this dream is the only way I can do it safely, though I've watched you from afar for years." The man moved towards her. "You've grown into a beautiful woman, Jacqueline."
    "How do you know my name?"
    "How could any father not know the name of their own child?"
    "Father?" Shocked, Jacqueline sat up, staring at the man who knelt next to her. She wanted to deny it, but there was something about his eyes, something about the way they looked--so full of kindness and love--that made her hesitate. "You can't be my father."
    "Oh, but I am." The man laughed and reached out to touch a tendril of her hair. "I had hoped never to bother you, but Fate always has the last laugh. Due to certain events, I felt I must at least step forward and introduce myself."
    "I'm adopted. My biological mother was killed in a car wreck. At least that's what my adopted mom told me." Jacqueline frowned. "But whenever I try to talk to her about this stuff she gets nervous, secretive."
    "I knew I picked the right woman. She is following my instructions just as I laid them out all those years ago." Her father sat next to her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "In fact, all of my wishes for you were coming true. I'd made sure to send you the right husband, a man who came from a long line of guardian wizards to protect you from the evils of this world. But like I said, Fate always has the last laugh. How was I to know that Eric Huston would become embroiled in a wizard family war with the Sparks ?"
    "You sent Eric to me? Who are you exactly?" Jacqueline stared at the man next to her. "You must be a wizard if you knew what Eric was."
    "The legends and myths have named me Merlin."
    Jacqueline's jaw dropped.
    Her father was Merlin, the most powerful of all wizards.
    "As in Merlin of the King Arthur stories?" she asked, not quite willing to believe him.
    "Ah, good old Arthur," Merlin said, fondly. "Of all the things I've done in my long lifetime, it's the stories of a young, confused king who needed my help that have lasted."
    "So that stuff is true?"
    "Parts of it." Merlin nodded. "And some has been greatly romanticized, but that's history for you. You can't predict how others will interpret it."
    "My mother…" Jacqueline began and then stopped.
    "You want to know the truth about how you were born? You were part of a prophecy. Of course, there are so many of those out there. It's hard to know which ones to rely on." Merlin smiled and took her hand. "I will show you. Look at the sea."
    As she looked out at the crashing waves, a dark cloud grew on the horizon. Ominous, lightning zigzagged from it, hitting the water. An electric current rushed through the sea toward the shore, bringing with it a great wave. Fear swelled in her heart as it grew high enough to slam into the spot where they sat on the cliff.
    "Relax, my daughter," Merlin breathed in her ear. "It's just an illusion bringing back the past. No harm will come to you."
    The wave swept over them and a new vision played before her eyes.
    It showed a storm-ridden night and a young woman running along the same cliffs where they now sat. She was crying, terrified over someone who appeared to be pursuing her. In desperation, she lowered herself over the cliff wall, scaling it to the cave her