Echoes from the Veil (Aisling Chronicles)

by Colleen Halverson

  “Still.” Finn’s eyes narrowed, following my gaze. “I don’t like it.”

  I shrugged. “I defeated Cuchulainn. What’s a few Fir Bolgs?”

  “A thousand isn’t a few. The odds are not good.”

  I smiled to myself, turning away. “As Han Solo once said, never tell me the odds.”

  We stood there for a few awkward minutes, warriors bustling around us.

  “Do you think you can make any headway with Charlotte?” I asked.

  Finn shook his head. “She is so different. ’Tis not what it was between us. She does not trust me, and frankly, I cannot blame her for that.”

  A commotion commanded my attention below.

  “Let me fight!” a feminine voice cried out, and Charlotte tore out the cave, Niall running after her. “I can fight!”

  I jumped down from my perch and Finn followed.

  “What’s going on here?” I demanded.

  Charlotte threw her head back, eyes blazing. “I want to fight.”

  “And let you stick a knife in me as soon as my back is turned?” I snorted. “I don’t think so.”

  She glanced at Finn. “I want to fight alongside my husband!”

  “Your husband?” I arched an eyebrow. “Finn hasn’t been your husband for 150 years.”

  She shook her head, her eyes pleading. “I beg of you. Don’t let me sit in this cave waiting to die. I can help. You need warriors. Let me fight for you.”

  “Absolutely not,” I said. “You’re here for one purpose, and I won’t have you running off and rejoining the Fir Bolgs.”

  “I can stay with the Fianna,” she said in a firm voice. “I won’t run off. I swear it.”

  Finn stepped forward. “I think you should let her fight, Elizabeth.”

  I whirled on him, my fists clenched. “You can’t be serious?”

  He flashed me a knowing look, and awareness clicked in my brain. He wanted to earn her trust, get close to her. They had no doubt bonded over fighting before. It made sense he could use this moment as a means of learning more about her past, more about the device. This could be the first step in piercing through her armor. Still, I didn’t like it. I swallowed my protests and reached for my spear, clutching it tight.

  “Charlotte is a trained swordswoman and a gifted sharpshooter,” he continued. “She could be useful.”

  Amergin sidled up next to Charlotte. “I agree with Finn. We need all the warriors we can get for the ground assault.”

  “Fine.” I lifted my hands to the sky in surrender and then pointed at Amergin. “But you watch over her and make sure she doesn’t run to the other side.”

  Amergin untied her, and immediately Charlotte whispered a few words to allow her sword to manifest in her hands. It was a katana, long and sharp, and she smiled as if grinning at an old friend.

  “I will remain at my husband’s side,” she declared, staring straight at me.

  “Very well.” Finn nodded. “But I must remain with the Princess.”

  Charlotte arched an eyebrow. “There are other Fianna who can protect her.”

  The world went red, and I had to bite my lip, the sharp pain grounding me so I didn’t hurl my spear into the air and shove it straight into her neck.

  “I can protect myself,” I said in a voice much steadier than I felt. “Finn fights by my side as he has sworn to do. We are a team.”

  She flashed me a sickening smile. “Of course. Finn is so exceedingly loyal.”

  I suppressed a snarl. “Yes. He would never abandon the people he loves.”

  “And yet,” she said, “he would sacrifice everything to ensure their safety.”

  “Oi!” Torc cried out. “Those fucking Fir Bolg cunts are two clicks away. Do you ladies want to have high tea, or are we gonna get this show on the road and start this fucking battle?”

  I eyed Charlotte before turning to Torc. “Go fuck yourself, you old boar. Get in position.”

  He winked at me with a teasing grin. “I love when you talk dirty to me, Princess.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Anytime, Your Highness,” he called over his shoulder. “We can invite Finn and his wife and have a right old swinging party.”

  I swallowed a scream and started climbing the boulders.

  Finn followed me. “What do you want me to do?”

  Fight with me.

  Watch my back.

  And when this is done, make love to me.

  I shook my head. “Do what you must.”

  As soon as I saw the crestfallen look on his face, I regretted it. Shaking my head, I glanced over at Charlotte. “I guess you’re fighting with us. Try to keep up.”

  A strange silence swept across the clearing in front of the cavern, and I stared into the distance, mentally ticking away every part of the plan, everyone’s position. Finn and Charlotte stood behind me, as still as statues. I gripped my spear, letting the hum of its bloodthirsty violence sweep through me, even though I wouldn’t be fighting today if I could help it. I had one job and one job only. Get the Fir Bolgs to the canyon. That was all.

  My mind was so focused on the plan, I didn’t realize when the first band of Fir Bolgs emerged into the clearing. Their leader entered on a pony, almost comical if he didn’t have a sparkly M16 strapped to his back. He stared up at me with his black beetle eyes and smiled. I recalled the last time I saw this particular Fir Bolg. Torc had tried to sell us off to them, and Finn had a fight to the death in order for us to go free. I had felt such deep terror that night, but now, I didn’t feel anything at all. A strange calm had settled in my chest, radiating out to my limbs, similar to what I felt after Bel had blessed me. But this time, I didn’t need the power of a god to make me strong. I possessed my own strength, my own power, and just as Scáthach had taught me, I seized it like the most dangerous weapon in my arsenal.

  “Elizabeth Tanner,” the Fir Bolg called up to me. “We have your camp surrounded. If you surrender now, no one has to die this day.”

  I smiled. “I’m glad we meet again. I remember the last time I saw you. It was through a gemel net.”

  The Fir Bolg bowed, placing a hand to his heart. “I would hate to have to resort to such undignified measures again. I hope you will come quietly.”

  “I will come quietly,” I said. “As silent as the grave.”

  I jumped from the boulder, and the Fir Bolgs readied their M16s. I lingered in the air, stopping time for a moment, enough to travel right in front of the commanding Fir Bolg officer and whirl my spear right in front of his neck.

  “Is this quiet enough for you?” I said.

  His horse reared, but not before I slammed the blade of my spear into his jugular. The Fir Bolg’s eyes went wide and he lurched forward, blood spewing from his mouth as he choked, gasping for air. I twisted my spear, digging in deeper, and threw him from his horse. At the same time, I paused the bullets about to rain over me and blasted them back to the Fir Bolgs. Screams and crying horses filled my ears. I zipped back to Finn and Charlotte.

  “Let’s go!” I called, collecting their energies and bringing them down to the edge of the clearing.

  Druids burst from the trenches, throwing a barrage of bright blue Druid fire on the Fir Bolgs. A great roar burst through the forest, and galloping hooves echoed through the air as the infantry charged.

  “Elizabeth,” Finn shouted. “We have to go. Travel out of here.”

  I raised my hand. “Wait. Just wait.”

  A mob of Fir Bolgs charged through the trees, M16s raining bullets. I raised my hand, stopping time, slowing the bullets down, making sure the remaining Fir Bolgs had a chance to see me. Then, with a flick of my wrist, I sent the bullets in reverse. Cries of terror echoed across the clearing, and even as my strength wavered, the sound of it infused me with power.

  “Elizabeth!” Finn cried.r />
  “Wait,” I said, clicking off the seconds. One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi.

  I took a deep breath. “RUN!”

  Finn, Charlotte, and I raced through the underbrush, bullets whistling behind us. A great roar sounded in the woods, and I pressed onward, a stitch in my side. We just needed to make it to the next checkpoint, and we needed the Fir Bolgs to see us running.

  BAM! Searing pain ripped through my shoulder, and I nearly staggered to the ground. Finn took hold of me, half carrying me through the underbrush. Finn handed Charlotte a pistol, and she burned through the bullets, cutting down Fir Bolg after Fir Bolg in pursuit.

  “Are you okay?” Finn shouted through the melee.

  “I’m fine,” I cried, shrugging him off. “We need to get to the canyon! Come on!”

  Horses broke through the trees. Finn pulled me behind a burned-out stump while Charlotte picked them off.

  I grabbed my pistol with my good hand and glanced at Finn. “You ready?”

  He took hold of his weapon in both hands and nodded.

  “Now!”

  Pistols blazing, we staggered backward and then turned, racing toward the canyon. Charlotte covered us as we ducked behind a cluster of giant boulders. She dove through the dirt, panting and wiping her blond hair aside, a stream of blood painting her face.

  Finn grabbed her arm. “You are wounded.”

  She wrenched her arm away and looked at me. “How far is the canyon?”

  “About a quarter mile.”

  She shook her head and then stood up, firing another round over the boulders before ducking down again. “We’ll never make it.”

  I raised my hand. “Just wait.”

  One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi.

  A great roar echoed through the woods. Torc, now a giant boar, hooked a Fir Bolg from the gut and threw him across the forest floor. Phelan’s wolves moved in behind Torc, eviscerating the Fir Bolgs with their sharp fangs.

  Wide-eyed, Charlotte turned to me. “We need to get out of here!”

  I lifted my hand, waiting for the next wave of Fir Bolgs to emerge. “Fucking wait for it.” The pain had disappeared from my shoulder, a soft, fuzzy feeling taking over. Some logical part of my brain realized this was what blood loss felt like, but I ignored it.

  “Elizabeth!” Finn’s face hovered over mine. “You’re bleeding out!”

  I pushed him away and stood up, letting the Fir Bolgs see me. Bullets burst through the woods, but I stopped them, letting them hover in the air before I wrenched back my hand. This time, the bullets fell to the forest floor like hail.

  “RUN!” I screamed.

  All I could see was the line of light at the end of the forest, the drop off signaling the canyon. Charlotte and Finn raced beside me, even as the sound of bullets echoed through the woods. We broke through the trees only to find a hundred foot drop-off to the canyon below.

  “Shit.” I stomped my foot. “We overshot the next checkpoint.”

  A group of about a dozen Fir Bolgs emerged from the forest, guns raised. I summoned my Aisling energy and blew them back into the trees, but another band emerged like swarming locusts, weapons drawn.

  “Get ready to fight!” I shouted. I stopped time, just enough to advance forward, swinging my spear. Finn and Charlotte followed with their swords. I swung my spear in a great arc, blasting a Fir Bolg backward. Blood splashed on my face as I pierced through armor, flesh, bone. Time sped up again and Finn and Charlotte stood beside me, sweating, drenched in blood.

  I jumped down into the canyon, hopping from boulder to boulder. More Fir Bolgs broke through the woods. Spying me, they raced forward, shouting in their guttural language. I pounded across the canyon, grasping at my shoulder. Every step was a world of pain. A galaxy. But still I kept running, my legs burning as I headed toward the pass, right where Malachy and the dragans waited.

  A crack broke through the canyon, and another blast of pain burst from my thigh. I collapsed in a tumble of rocks, my spear falling a few feet away from my prostrate body. The pain radiated through my skin like a crushing weight. They say you go into shock when you’re shot, but that didn’t happen to me. I felt everything. Every torn muscle. Every eviscerated piece of sinew. The sheer agony of the bullet wound expanded and grew like an inferno. I let out a groan, closing my eyes against the sharp, stabbing ache. Gathering all my strength, I sought out Malachy’s energy, and with everything I had left in me, I brought myself to him, collapsing at his feet.

  “Elizabeth?” he cried.

  I waved my arms. “Go! GO!”

  He gasped, shaking his head.

  “GO!”

  Malachy shouted at Talia, and they took flight, drifting down through the canyon. The other dragans following them. A great blaze erupted, and screams bled through the sky. I looked up, the sun raining down on my face. My strength faded, but for whatever reason, I didn’t care. The clouds were so thick and bulbous, like down pillows, and the sweeping green cliffs stretched out forever. Such a funny thing, to have to die on such a beautiful day. My thoughts drifted to Finn. Fighting. Shooting. Tearing through hell just to get to me. I couldn’t help but laugh, thinking of him beside Charlotte. Maybe she could change, and I wished them well, piece of shit Charlotte was. At least Finn wouldn’t be alone.

  Elizabeth Tanner, Stop it right now. No one is dying today. Finn is yours.

  “Is he?” I said to no one in particular, blood splattering my chin.

  A Fir Bolg tore through the woods and, seeing me, raised his weapon, a wide smile spreading across his face.

  I lifted my hand, willing him to break apart, disappear, but I couldn’t muster even a flicker of magic. The Fir Bolg aimed, the barrel pointed right at my face. I tried, oh, my god, I tried to push him away, but I was spent, a fuzzy dark shadow of my former self spiraling out and out into some empty space. A brief flicker of panic seized me, realizing this would be it. Just as the Fir Bolg pulled the trigger, Charlotte burst through the tree line.

  BAM! BAM!

  The Fir Bolg’s eyes went wide, his mouth dropping open. He grasped his stomach, a gaping wound flowering black against his tunic. Then he staggered, landing face down in the dirt.

  Finn appeared at my side, his golden hands moving across my skin with frantic pulses of healing power.

  “Open your eyes!” he cried. “Don’t die. Please, don’t die.”

  Was I dying? What a silly idea. The pain had disappeared, and it felt so pleasant. So warm. My eyes fluttered, but Finn shook me awake.

  “I’m here,” he whispered, his hands massaging my shoulder, my thigh. “I am not going anywhere, and neither are you.”

  I stared at the sky, and a dozen dragans sailed above us, blocking out the sun. The black hole was behind me, and above me only endless blue. I no longer cared. I knew I should, but the softness of the sky had enveloped me, and I sank into her like an orphaned child.

  “It’s so beautiful,” I whispered.

  “No!” Finn cried.

  A warm light filled my body, and the pain drifted away. I grasped onto Finn’s face. His beautiful face.

  “There is nothing more perfect than you,” I said, clutching his fingers. “From the moment I first saw you, I wanted you all to myself. Perhaps that has always been my sin.”

  “No!” he cried, moving his hands over my wounds. Dazzling light filled my eyes, but he was too late.

  “The dragans are leading the charge,” I said. “It’s so incredible, Finn. Dragans.”

  “Stop!” Finn cried.

  “Look,” I said, pointing to the sky. A great inferno swept across the clouds, heat enveloping us. I closed my eyes against the wave of fire, my eyebrows singed.

  Finn let out a choking cry and smothered me with his body, the heat nearly fusing our bodies together.

  “I
love you so much,” I whispered. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “I will never leave you,” I thought I heard him say.

  A great explosion sounded, and Finn held me close, gravel and dust raining over us.

  Then came the darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  My eyelids opened, and I immediately regretted waking up. A dull ache pulsed in every bone in my body, and I let out a low moan, gasping for water.

  “Elizabeth!”

  Strong hands grasped my fingers. Finn hovered over me, his eyes bright and seeking.

  “We’re alive…” I meant to say, but it just came out as a croak.

  “Here, sit up.” He lifted me with his steady arm, and I leaned against him, breathing in his leathery smell. “Drink this.”

  Bitter liquid hit my tongue, and I gagged.

  “It’s disgusting, I know,” Finn said. “But it will help speed the healing. I could only do so much. You almost didn’t make it.”

  I gulped it down, and Finn replaced my cup with some water.

  “Thank you.” I glanced up at him, and he locked his arms around me, holding me close.

  “Casualties?” I said.

  “Marginal on our side, but we dealt a huge blow to the Fir Bolgs’ forces,” Finn said. “The plan was brilliant. You won the day.”

  “We,” I said, taking hold of his hand. “We won it. All of us.”

  Finn nodded solemnly, sitting back.

  I let out a long exhale and closed my eyes for a moment. “I’ll need to meet with the commanders.”

  Finn kissed the top of my head. “You need to rest. The wounds you suffered were massive.”

  “Charlotte saved my life.” I looked away, studying the crystals in the wall, amethyst, smoky quartz glittering in the candlelight.

  “I know,” Finn said. “I saw the whole thing. I couldn’t get to you in time.”

  Silence stretched out between us, and I watched Finn’s chest rise and fall, matching his breathing with my own.

  “We need to take Teamhair,” I said quietly. “It’s time. We need to destroy the device. Heal the universe.”