The police would say Ashling was dead, but I just didn’t believe it. I didn’t think that Luke and Bres thought she was dead either, and for what it was worth, that brought me some comfort. I’d seen what had dragged her down into the depths; it hadn’t been a shark or a killer whale. It had been humanoid, with a single eye and a mouthful of teeth.
I sat back on the edge of the bed and considered everything that had happened from the moment Grandpa had wrapped his fingers around my neck. The voices in my head, the feeling of finally having all the pieces of who I was fit together, the dream, the monsters in the water. Luke and the power he displayed. Either I accepted that I’d been inducted into a world I had never known—one with magic and monsters, where even I, the daughter of a woman who didn’t want children, had power—or I accepted that I was losing my mind and that all of this was just a psychotic break. There was no middle ground.
Which was it going to be? Ashling was the tie breaker. If I accepted I was losing my mind, then Ashling was dead.
I would take magic and monsters if it meant Ashling had a chance of being saved.
It seemed that Grandpa’s stories and ramblings were true. I’d seen a monster for myself; I couldn’t doubt they existed. They’d stolen Ashling away, like some horribly twisted fairy tale.
Fomorii. The word whispered across my mind and with it came a shard of anger. That was what had taken Ashling. Luke and Bres had spoken of them, as if they would be satisfied now that they had my sister. “We’ll see about that,” I muttered.
Across the room my bag sat on the side table, a rumpled pile of mine and Ashling’s clothes within it. The gapped-back hospital gown slithered to the floor, and the air conditioning lifted goose bumps all over my body. Moving fast, I slid into my jean shorts, tank top and flip flops. My cell phone was there too; I tucked it into my back pocket. It wasn’t much, but it was better than the gown, and far better than being naked. My knife was missing and my heart lurched. It had been my first and last gift from Grandpa. For all that he didn’t like me, I still cherished that knife. There was nothing I could do about it now though. No doubt the police took it.
My mind began to pick up speed as I moved around. I would have to get a boat, maybe hire someone to take me out to where Ashling had disappeared. Scuba gear; I could rent that, though my heart nearly ran away at the thought of diving again. Slipping the bag over my shoulder, I put my hand on the door. An image of the gaping mouth and bulbous single eye of the Fomorii assaulted me, and a shiver of fear rippled down my spine. A spear gun. That should be on my list too. Maybe I could hire some divers to go with me; that would be best. I wasn’t sure I could get back in the water, even now. But for Ashling I would try; I would do everything I could to save her.
I limped down the hallway, my leg still aching. At the nurses’ desk I paused to see that they were engrossed in a cribbage game. With their attention all on their game they didn’t notice me as I walked right out of the hospital.
The fog from my dream seemed to have followed me into the waking world. A heavy grey mist lay over the parking lot, blocking much of the trees and road from sight. I shivered in the late afternoon air and wrapped my arms around myself. You would have never known it was almost July. It looked, and felt, like winter was coming on.
I pulled my phone out and whispered thanks to the heavens that it was still charged. I dialled my mother’s cell phone in the hopes that what the nurses had said was wrong. It rang four times and then went to her voice mail. I hung up before the message came on. I tried my cousin Sheila, where my mother had been staying. No answer there either.
The next number I called was for a cab; the dispatcher, in a completely uninterested tone, finally told me it would be about five minutes. I hung up, and limped to a cement pillar, leaning against it to ease the weight on my leg.
“You shouldn’t be out of the hospital yet.”
I turned to face Luke. “I hate hospitals.”
He stepped close and I remembered his wetsuit shifting, how he’d made the nurses and cops do what he wanted. He had magic, that much was obvious; my gut reaction was that he wasn’t human, he couldn’t be. And if he knew magic, and what I was feeling inside me was answering him, I needed him to help me understand what was going on. At least for now. Time to buckle down and ask the question that had been on the tip of my tongue. “You aren’t Fomorii, I can see that much; so just what are you?”
“I am Tuatha de Daanan, the same as you,” Luke said. “The same as Bres.”
As if he had been called, Bres stepped out from around the cement pillar to my right. “She’s going to be a problem for us, isn’t she?” he asked.
Luke chuckled. “Are you surprised?”
Bres shook his head and again I felt completely out of my depth. I hated not knowing what was going on. And what the hell was a Tuatha de whatever?
The low rumble of a big truck working its way towards us made me look to the road. I looked around for the rig as the ground below me bucked. It wasn’t a truck; it was an earthquake. The world shivered and swayed, the ground shifting like a tilt-a-whirl. I jerked my arms out to the side but still fell, my bitten leg not holding up. Shocked, my eyes widened at an alarming rate when both men leaped towards me, catching me before I could hit the ground. How had they moved so fast?
The quake lasted for only a few seconds and then the world was still once more. Luke’s hands seared my skin; Bres’ hands cooled the fire—and somewhere in the middle I began to melt from the intensity of it all.
“Do you get earthquakes often?” Luke asked me, his face tight with concern. He kept his hands on my waist and Bres stepped away, a glower on his lips.
I shook my head and pulled myself out of his hands. “No. Just recently the Island’s been hit with them.”
The taxi pulled up and I yanked the door open. “Take me to the Wickaninnish Inn,” I instructed the driver, locking the door behind me.
“We will be coming with you, whether you like it or not Quinn. You are our charge,” Luke said through the open window as he tried the front passenger door. It was locked, and I smiled up at him as he frowned down at me.
“I need a few minutes to myself. You can meet me at my hotel,” I said, my voice hard and clipped though I still smiled.
I gave a nod to the cabbie and he pulled away from the curb. In the rear-view mirror stood Luke, his hands on his hips, and Bres, his mouth in a hard line, his jaw tight with anger.
I spun in my seat to stare at them both as they argued, Luke shaking his head and Bres getting right up into his face, arms waving in the air.
“Do you want me to go back and get your boyfriend?” The cabbie asked.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said, just as Luke turned to meet my gaze, his baby blues trying once more to snare my gaze. Heat flooded through me as if his lips were caressing mine, my body reacting to the memory as surely as if it was happening right at that moment. I swallowed hard and sat back in my seat. I steeled myself against Luke and the effect his kiss had on me. My focus had to be Ashling.
When the cab stopped in front of the hotel I tapped the driver on the shoulder. “I have to run up and get some money, I’ll be right back.” He gave me a smile as I stepped out of the cab.
I could see Chesterman beach. I grit my teeth, swallowing the grief that threatened to overwhelm me. As crazy as this all seemed, I knew it was happening. I wasn’t making it up. and that meant that I had a chance to save Ashling. But I had to find her first.
The manager let me into my room, since my key card had gone missing somewhere between the beach and hospital. He handed me a new card and put a hand on my shoulder as he opened the door. “I’m so sorry about your sister. She was a beautiful girl.” His brown eyes were full of sorrow and compassion; they nearly undid my resolve.
“Thank you,” I said. I slipped in the room and closed the door with a soft click.
I gulped down a sob, and covered my face with my hands. My phone vibrated in my back pocket and I
pulled it out. It was a text message from my cousin in Ireland, Sheila.
Quinn. I don’t know if you heard yet, but your mother is missing. Did she contact you?
I quickly texted back. No. Ashling is missing too.
There was no response to that, not right away. Then the phone rang and I pushed the talk button, the tears spilling out of me.
Sheila was crying, I was crying, and somewhere in the middle of the tears she gulped out that she was on her way, booking a flight as we spoke.
“No,” I said, sobering up, wiping away the tears. “Stay there—my mom, someone has to look for her. I’ll go after Ashling.” Of course I didn’t explain that everyone else thought my baby sister was dead. Nor did I acknowledge the deep fear that was rooted within me: that I was alone, that they were both gone from beyond my reach. Even though Mom had ignored us, she was still our mother, and I loved her, in spite of how we’d been raised.
I hung up and ran back downstairs with money for the cabbie. The manager stopped me.
“I paid your fare, it was the least I could do,” he said, his kindness surprising me. I nodded and whispered, “Thank you.”
I went back to the room and stared out the windows at the very spot where Ashling had disappeared. The world was a darker place without her, I could feel it hanging on me like a shroud of muted colours, sights and sounds. Ashling was such a huge part of my life, my world, that the thought of her being gone forever . . . it was overwhelming. My body trembled as I stood, staring, at the water. No, I couldn’t let this be the end. I sucked in a deep breath and cleared my mind.
Trading my shorts for jeans, I slipped on a sweater and headed down the stairs to the paths that would take me through the forest and out to the beach. The pathway was silent, not even a single bird call to help me feel less alone. I didn’t know how long I had before Luke and Bres showed up, but there was no doubt in my mind that they would. The heavy boughs of cedar and fir, evergreens and maple trees lined the wooden path. Ferns, moss and flowers I thought were bleeding hearts covered the marshy ground in between the trees. Soon I could hear the surf, the wash of waves on the sand, the hiss of the water pulling back into the ocean—and for a moment I hated it all. The world should not be the same as it always was with Ashling gone, with my mom missing.
The pathway opened up, displaying the shoreline in all its glory; the mist had finally burned off with the afternoon sun. I stepped from the wooden pathway onto the sand.
Or at least, I tried to.
~~
7
My face hit an invisible Barrier; my hands slid up the slick surface. I let out a gasp. It was just like my dream.
“No, this can’t be happening,” I said. I could see the sand and water, the brilliant yellow police tape that circled the area where we’d been. I put my hands up again and slowly walked parallel to the beach, my heart rate and breathing skyrocketing the further I went, the more I realized that it was unreachable.
I ran, pushing my way through the bush, the Barrier preventing me from even setting foot on the sand. No, I had to get to the water, to find a way to the docks and the boats that could take me and my dive gear out in the surf. I skidded to a stop and searched the ground, finding a large rock with ease. With all my weight behind it, I slammed it into the Barrier, the shock rippling down my arm, but there was nothing else. Not even a hint of a crack.
Over and over again I bashed at the unseen Barrier until the rock grew impossibly heavy, my arms exhausted. Sliding to the ground, the green moss beneath my knees cushioning me, I placed both palms on the slick surface, and stared at the ocean.
“You won’t get her back. You do know that, don’t you?”
I turned my head to stare at Luke, his eyes sad. He knew something about where Ashling had been taken; he knew all about the Fomorii.
“Please, she’s my little sister. You know where she is, help me,” I said, my voice cracking, tears pooling in my eyes.
His jaw tightened. “I won’t help you in this, not to get you through the Barrier. Quinn, I’m here to protect you, even if that means from yourself.” He stepped forward, crouched and put a hand on the Barrier, staring out at the ocean. “The depths are beyond dangerous; they will steal your soul if you let them. But the prophecy . . .”
I stared at him, not understanding, confused by what he was saying. His eyebrows furrowed down over those glorious blue eyes.
“I will be guarding you tonight.” His eyes roved up and down my body, a flush of heat following where his gaze touched. “If you have need of me, call out my name and I will come to you.” His voice rippled over my skin, promising more than protection. Skin hunger, the desire to be touched and held, lit within me, shocking me with its intensity.
I swallowed hard. “Why don’t you just stay with me then, if you are supposed to be protecting me?” Brazen, heat filled my face at what it sounded like I was suggesting. “I don’t mean like…” What was I thinking? I was still angry at him, wasn’t I?
“You need time to assimilate this on your own Quinn. No amount of persuasion will make you believe.”
“Believing isn’t an issue Luke. I believe this is happening, I just don’t understand it,” I said.
His hand was still resting on the Barrier. He tapped it. “This is a Barrier put up by the Fomorii. You won’t be able to get through, no matter how you try,” he said.
He plucked a fern and started to peel it. “I don’t want you to hate me Quinn, so what I share with you now is something I have not told many people. But I want you to understand why I stopped you.”
I frowned and leaned against the invisible Barrier. “I’m listening. It’d better be damn good too.”
Luke let out a sigh and scrubbed his hands through his hair, the ends spiking up. He looked very young at that moment and a small piece of my heart melted.
“I had a younger brother. He was…” Luke looked up, his eyes going distant, a smile tripping along his lips. “My best friend.”
A tremble started through me. I suddenly didn’t want to hear this story. Luke had used “was,” past tense. Which meant his brother was no longer here, or was no longer his best friend or both.
I started to stand and Luke put his hand out. “He fell in love with one of the Fomorii women, sided with them in a battle.”
“I don’t want to hear this,” I said, but he went on.
“He fought with me on the field. I didn’t want to hurt him, did my best not to,” he said, his voice thick with sorrow. “In the end, it didn’t matter, the hold the Fomorii had on him was stronger than his love for me, his brother. I killed him Quinn.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and stared at the man in front of me, who I barely knew, and found myself reaching out to him, to take his hand. “It was self defence?” I asked.
“Does that matter? I killed him. I didn’t want that for you Quinn. I live everyday knowing that I ended his life.”
His words took a minute to settle in. “What do you mean you don’t want that for me?”
“Part of the prophecy is that you will kill your own sister. That in battle you will end her life. I didn’t want that for you, I know that pain . . .” He kept talking but I didn’t hear the words, all I could hear was Grandpa screaming at me.
YOU WILL KILL HER YOU BITCH.
“Get away, you don’t know that!” I screamed at him. Pulling away, I shook with fear, anger and grief. It wasn’t true, it wasn’t.
“It’s better that she’s gone now Quinn; trust me, you don’t want that part of the prophecy to come true. As hard as it is for you now, it is better that her life is ended by the enemy, not her sister.” He let out a deep sigh while I stared at him, horror filling me. He meant that they would kill Ashling. That if they hadn’t already, the Fomorii would kill her.
“We will stay here a few days while I line up the Council. They aren’t prepared for you yet. Or me for that matter.” His lips tugged up in a rueful grin. “The Council doesn’t know I’m here yet. When they
figure it out, I’ll be in trouble, but it was worth it, to be here for you.”
His smile slipped, and sadness filled his eyes. “It will also give you some time to grieve. I am sorry, Quinn. Please believe me.” He reached for my face and I turned away from him. I didn’t want him to touch me right now, could barely think of the words I would hurl at him. He let out another sigh. Out the corner of my eye I watched him stand and walk away, back towards the path; the trees and greenery swallowed him up as if he had never been there. I turned and went back to staring out at the water, hearing it, even tasting the spray as it splashed on the rocks as the wind brought it to me. But I could go no closer. What was I going to do? I couldn’t afford to stay at the hotel for more than the three nights I’d already paid for. I would have to go back to Victoria and commute between there, and Tofino as I searched for Ashling.
Slowly, testing the Barrier at every step, I made my way back to the Wickaninnish. The manager—John, by his name tag—looked up as I came in.
“The police were here, looking for your Ms. Lorcan. They asked you to call them when you came back. Something about leaving the hospital without doctors orders.” John lifted an eyebrow as he handed me a business card for the RCMP officers that were looking for me. I took the card and tucked it into my pocket. He gave me a soft smile.
“Thank you,” I said.
John nodded then lifted his hand, stopping me.
“There is one more thing,” he paused then continued, those soft eyes again showing me the compassion that made me wish I could curl up in a ball and cry myself to sleep. “The Wickaninnish Inn would like to extend to you their condolences on the loss of you sister. We would like to offer you to stay here, free of charge, while the details of her passing are handled.”
My jaw dropped open. The tears did spill over then, and I stepped around the desk and gave John a hug.
Dark Waters (Celtic Legacy Book 1) Page 4