He’d been right to sense the danger when she’d first walked into his pub.
He watched her sleep for a while, then he nodded off himself. It was not a restful sleep. His dreams were vivid and disjointed, and they felt so damned real.
When he woke the sun had risen. Echo was awake, still naked, still beautiful. She was watching him as he had watched her last night for a while.
“If you tell me again that you love me, I’ll break something.”
She laughed and rolled out of bed. “In that case I’ll restrain myself.”
“Thank you.”
“For now,” she added. How could there be humor in her voice? Why was she not running from him? This was not her home to defend, not her family to protect. And yet she stayed.
As he watched her gather her clothes, Rye had the thought that when he and Cassidy left Cloughban, Echo could go with them. Cassidy would need a woman to take care of her. She was only eleven, after all, and there would be many difficult years before she was an adult and could get by on her own. During her early teenage years she’d become volatile and overly emotional, and her powers would be unpredictable. Help would be a good thing. Female help would be best.
Rye accepted that he needed his daughter with him—she possessed so much power, and there was still more to come—but that didn’t mean he wanted to be her caretaker. Echo would serve a real purpose, and it wasn’t as if he didn’t like having her in his bed.
It was the perfect plan. Echo could take care of Cassidy by day and him by night.
She wasn’t shy about walking around the room naked. He got hard, watching her. Did she know what she was doing to him? Of course she did. Tease. She was using him, manipulating him. He’d show her, and this time he wouldn’t be so gentle...
“Go,” he said, fighting the darker urges.
“I told you, I’m not...” she began as she turned to face him. She stopped when she saw him. Her easy smile faded. Whether it was her empathic ability or simple female instinct, she recognized that at the moment he was more dark than light. “I could use a shower and a change of clothes,” she said. “Maybe I’ll run back to my room at the boardinghouse for a little while.” She dressed quickly, more efficient than he’d ever seen her. “I have a phone call to make first. I’ll use the phone in the kitchen, if that’s okay with you.”
“Just leave,” he said, and then he turned his back to her.
He had another thought as the door to his room opened and closed. He should leave Cloughban on his own. Alone. A child and a woman would be too damn much trouble, no matter how powerful either of them might be.
Echo was a real danger to the man he needed to become.
* * *
Cassidy frowned into her porridge. That man who looked like her da but was really only part of her da had done something to her. He’d said it was for her own protection, but she couldn’t travel out of body to check on him and Echo.
She couldn’t complain to her granny or to Mr. McManus. Her grandmother had long ago forbidden her to use that power. Granny said it was rude to pop in on people unexpected and unannounced. She was also afraid that at some point Cassidy might not be able to return to herself, that she’d be stuck in two places unable to become one again. Cassidy knew that would never happen, and at the moment she wasn’t at all worried about being rude. This was different! This was important!
“Don’t worry, dear,” Granny said from a short distance away. “Everything is going to be all right.”
Cassidy looked up. Her granny did know some things, but she didn’t see all, not the way Cassidy did. “You don’t know that. I don’t even know that!” She should know, but there was a lot that had to happen before she could be sure.
Sometimes the immediate future was set in stone, but usually a series of decisions led to any outcome. It was the reason so many visions of the future came right before they happened. While some events to come were meant to be, those instances were rare. The right decision at the right moment—or the wrong decision at the wrong moment—could change everything.
Her da’s protection spell had done more than take away her ability to travel at will. All her powers were dampened. Some were sleeping entirely. Was that a side effect of the spell he’d cast to keep her from visiting, or had he purposely bound her this way?
At the moment she knew only one thing with any certainty: no one but Echo Raintree could save her da from the curse that threatened him.
* * *
Showered and dressed, Echo walked toward the town square with coffee and pastries on her mind. She wasn’t quite ready to return to Ryder. The expression on his face as she’d left him a couple hours ago...that look had scared her. What if her plan didn’t work?
It had to work. She couldn’t allow for failure. How could she find so much in him and then lose him to a curse that was more than thirty years old? Ryder’s mother...She knew women who had issues with their mothers-in-law, but those mothers-in-law were usually alive.
Echo caught a glimpse of her reflection in the boutique window, and then she noted Brigid beyond. The red-haired woman stared, glared, without trying to hide her hatred.
No, not hatred, Echo realized. Fear.
Was Brigid in on the plan? Had she been working with the Ansara all this time?
Forgetting her coffee and sweets for a moment, Echo walked into the shop. A bell overhead heralded her arrival, but it wasn’t like her entrance was a surprise. Brigid continued to stare. The eyes were hard, the mouth set, but yes—that was fear.
“Why?” Echo asked. “What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid,” Brigid snapped.
Echo pointed a waggling finger at her own head. “Empath. Might not like it, might not want it, but don’t lie to me about your feelings.”
Brigid took a small step back and lowered her eyes.
Echo sighed. It had not been her intention to cow the woman! “I know more about this village than I did on my first day here. A lot of things make sense to me now, but you—what are your abilities? Why did you go cold when I mentioned my name my first day here?”
Brigid lifted her head and looked bravely at Echo. “I’m a healer. Nothing spectacular like my grandmother, but I do have some skills. I also see glimpses of the future but that’s not a strong power. It comes and goes.”
“What was it?” she asked in a lowered voice. “What did you see?”
“I remember what Rye was like before. Before Cassidy, before...before Sybil.” Brigid clasped her hands together. “When you said your name I saw that Rye return. Darker than before. More dangerous. I thought you’d come here to bring back the man he used to be.” She lifted her chin, still afraid but reaching for bravery. “From what I hear, you’ve succeeded.”
Echo shook her head. “I’m here to bring him from the darkness, not pull him into it.”
“Why should I believe that?” Brigid snapped. “He’s been fine for years. Years! He’s a good mayor, a good father. A good friend to some. You show up and within weeks...” She shook her head. “Several in town felt the shift last night. Some of our most sensitive empaths felt the darkness return. Are you trying to convince me that it’s not your fault?” Braver than she had been before, Brigid stepped around the counter.
“It’s not my fault,” Echo said in a calm voice. Brigid wasn’t a bad person. She hadn’t seen Echo as a romantic threat. She’d seen her as a threat to her friend. As many residents had. Shay. Those who glared. They hadn’t hated her; they’d been afraid for Ryder.
“Did you try to scare me out of town?”
Brigid’s expression of confusion was a genuine one. “No. Of course not!”
So, someone else had seen the threat, as Brigid had, and left that note. Or else it had been Maisy. Maisy, all along.
“If you want to know what hap
pened, come to the pub tonight. Seven o’clock. Spread the word.” After all, she and Ryder couldn’t very well defeat the Ansara on their own.
“Why should I?” Brigid asked, her anger rising. “You’re here, Rye has changed just as I saw that he would. Why should I or anyone else show up for your...your explanations.”
“Because Ryder needs you. He needs you all.”
Echo turned and walked toward the door, but Brigid stopped her with a short sentence.
“You’re wrong.”
Echo spun around. “He does need you, I swear. The others, too. I can’t do this alone!”
“Not about that.” Brigid was paler than before, and her eyes were wide and watery. “They’re not who you think they are.”
“Who’s not who...?”
“I don’t know,” Brigid whispered.
Suddenly, Echo did.
Chapter 21
Rye glared into the crowd. These were his people. His friends, new and old. A few of them had known him all his life. Others were temporary residents of Cloughban, gifted independents looking for a place to rest for a year or two or ten. Tonight they were afraid of him. All of them were colored with fear. To the animal that rested inside him, they smelled of it.
They were right to be afraid.
But they were here, here at Echo’s invitation. She’d told him they would come, that they knew he was changed but they still cared about him.
Fools, all.
If the dark side was in complete control, he wouldn’t bother to warn the people of Cloughban about the planned Ansara attack. They were here, gathered as they had for so many town meetings, but that didn’t mean he had to participate. There were enough psychics in the group to make sense of what was to come.
He could leave. Now, tonight. He’d take Cassidy—and maybe Echo—and go, leaving the village to be taken by the Ansara. Even if they knew what was coming, they wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight. He looked around from his perch on the stage. These were gentle people, people hiding from a world that didn’t accept who and what they were. They were shopkeepers, farmers, wives and husbands and grandparents.
The pub was as full as it had ever been as night fell. The faces around him were solemn and afraid. The villagers were here, but no one came too near him. No one but Echo, who sat on the edge of the stage just a couple of feet away. She refused to acknowledge her fear, even though he felt it on and in her.
She wasn’t afraid of him, she was afraid for him.
He explained as best he could, in as few words as possible. Ansara. The stones. This place. “The invaders will arrive tomorrow afternoon, likely near nightfall,” he said in a calm voice. “I suspect they will bring weapons of magic as well as weapons of more ordinary destruction. We have to be prepared for anything.”
He was silent as they talked among themselves for a few minutes. All of them were glad to have the opportunity to turn away, to look elsewhere for a while. When they looked at his face they saw the dark. Some saw more deeply than others.
No. They see both, and they are afraid for you.
Of me.
For you.
He looked at Echo while around him the townspeople talked about where to put the children and the elders who were unable to fight. They discussed defenses, weaponry, and arranged for the drugstore to be prepared to house the injured, while the two healers in the area treated them.
His anger got the best of him and he pushed into her head with, Why are you still here?
She remained calm. You know why. I’d say it aloud but I don’t want you to break anything. Or anyone.
It was Maeve Quinlin who bravely approached Rye and asked, in a tremulous voice, “I must tell you, I’m worried about Maisy. I haven’t seen her since yesterday afternoon. Do you think one of these Ansara persons abducted her?”
Rye felt no guilt when he answered, “Maisy is dead.”
Maeve’s shock was clear on her face. “Are you sure? What happened?”
The truth, always. He hadn’t wanted to tell all, but it had been foolish of him to think this part of the truth could wait. “I killed her myself.”
Many in the crowd gasped. A few edged toward the door.
He didn’t owe anyone an explanation, but he needed these people to fight with him. For him. No, for themselves. “She was one of them,” he said. “I caught her attempting to sacrifice my daughter.”
“No!” Maeve said. “I don’t believe that. Maisy was a good girl.”
No one had any reason to believe him, not today, but they did believe Echo when she said, “I’m afraid it’s true. I saw Maisy raise a knife to Cassidy. I’m sorry, Maeve, but she was not the woman you all believed her to be.”
“Cassidy? Is she all right?” someone from the back of the room asked.
“She’s fine,” Echo said with a tempered smile. “Scared, but unharmed.”
“What about McManus?” Nevan asked nervously. “He should be here.”
It was Rye who answered before Echo could. “He’s unharmed.” Trapped in the cottage with Bryna and Cassidy, invisible to any eye but his own, but alive and kicking.
The question Rye had been waiting for came, again from a coward who was hidden by other bodies. “What happened to you?” It would not be difficult to reveal the person who asked that question, but Rye didn’t bother. One brave soul had merely asked what everyone else was thinking.
“Some of you remember what I was like before,” he said. “I’m back.”
“It’s temporary!” Echo interjected. “We’ll remove the curse after we take care of...of...those who are coming.”
“Curse?” Doyle asked.
Doyle hadn’t been here before Cassidy was born. He had never seen the man Rye could be. There were few lifelong residents of Cloughban. People came and went. They got what they were coming for—peace or instruction or respite—and then they often moved on. But a few had known him all his life. They’d witnessed his dark power. Did they see that it was worse now for being denied for so long?
The true man he was—and perhaps could be again—rose to the surface for a moment. He looked to Doyle. It was an effort, but he forced the words out.
“If she can’t remove the curse, kill me.”
* * *
Echo ran everyone out of the pub and locked the door behind them. A solemn Doyle had been the last to leave. That done, she spun on Ryder.
“Kill you? Have you lost your mind?”
The man she loved, the man who would die to protect her and Cassidy and the people of this town, was no longer at the surface. “He can try. They can all try. You saw what I did to Maisy.” Ryder—not Ryder—smirked. “Maybe he’ll try to brain me with a flying pot.”
She was not amused. “I told you, I have a plan,” she said. “It might take some time...”
“We don’t have time,” he responded. “I suspect the heat of the battle that’s coming will force out what’s left of the man you want me to be.” He narrowed his eyes. “You have done a remarkable job of shielding this plan from me. I can normally see your thoughts so well. What is it that you don’t want me to know?”
Echo lifted her chin. She wanted to trust him, but...she couldn’t. Not yet. “I’m not going to take the chance that your less-pleasant half will decide to put an end to it before I even get started.”
“Not many people can hide anything from me.”
He pushed, a little. Echo felt that push through her entire body. It was like fighting an ocean wave or a strong gust of wind on a stormy day. She pushed back, calling on every ounce of power she possessed. This had to work! It simply had to. She’d gladly share her idea with the man she loved, but if he knew would the other try to stop her?
It was surprisingly easy to think of the man before her as two separate bei
ngs. One was the man she loved, the man she would do anything for. The other had been created by the curse, and was doing his best to take over. For now, both men inhabited the same body, but that wouldn’t last much longer. One would win. The other would die.
“Was it like this before?” she asked.
He knew exactly what it was she wanted to know. “Was I a Jekyll and Hyde?” She didn’t like the smirk that followed. “Not always, but as I became stronger my presence became more clear to others. Most of the decisions he made were mine, not his own. I was weeks, perhaps even days, away from casting the other out when he put the restraints on me.”
He took a few steps closer to her. “I was sleeping when he killed his wife, so don’t believe for a moment that the man you think you love is an angel. He’s far from it.”
“He had no choice,” she whispered.
“Didn’t he?” The man she began to think of as Dark Ryder reached out to touch her cheek. “He liked it,” he whispered. “He liked the rush of taking a life, the blood, the look in his wife’s eyes as she left this earth. He’d grown tired of the woman who was, to be honest, a whiny bitch.” Broad shoulders shrugged, eyes darkened. “She asked him to take away her abilities and he did, and then she went nuts because she didn’t have her abilities. Just like a woman, never satisfied with what she has. She was a lot like you, and you’re going to come to the same end.”
“Ryder won’t hurt me,” she insisted in a low whisper.
“Not yet,” he conceded. “But when I’m in complete control no one will be able to stop me. Soon the time will come for you to make a choice. Join Cassidy and me when we leave, or die.” He leaned down and placed cold lips on her throat. She could back away, she could move, but she knew that her presence was the only thing keeping the man she loved awake.
His arms slipped around her; he held her close. Echo reached deep within herself, searching for every bit of magic she possessed. She needed to see into the future to know how to save him. And herself.
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