Bridger

by Megan Curd

  “Yeah, he did. He got Liam back by putting shaving cream in his hands one night. It was a mess.” Boys were ridiculous. Liam and Reese were even worse, especially now that Liam and I were no longer together. Liam had taken to Reese quite quickly afterward. Part of me wondered if it was a way to keep tabs on me but not be around. He knew Reese would always know everything going on.

  Turning the conversation back to the original point, I began again. “Tess, you said I could do a reconnaissance mission for you before Memaw cut you off.”

  The color drained from Tess’s face. “Oh, Ashlyn, that was nothing. That was wishful thinking on my part – nothing remotely safe or your problem.”

  She was suddenly babbling away, partially in Gaelic. It proved there was something she wanted very badly; she only talked in Gaelic when she was nervous or Memaw made her to exclude me from the conversation.

  I looked her straight in the eyes, trying to make her see that I meant it. “Tess, just be straight with me and say what you’re thinking.”

  Studying my expression for a moment, she caved. “Ashlyn, this isn’t your battle. But if you must know…I had been thinking if you could shift into a Changeling, you could enter a crack into Neamar without being noticed. Once you were in, I was thinking you could possibly find Aiden and MaKenna.”

  I could see how tempting that idea could seem to her. “Oh,” was all I could manage. “Well, that makes sense.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  There was a long silence where we both seemed very interested in things off screen. “Why do you think Aiden and MaKenna would be together?”

  Again Tess blanched. “Did Memaw tell you about the fact humans reach adulthood and then never age in Neamar?”

  “I remember her mentioning it, yeah. What about it?”

  “Ankou knows I’m a Bridger. He wants to make that middle race to control the human realm. He thought perhaps Aiden could be a breeder, so he kidnapped him and is using him with MaKenna from the intelligence we can come up with,” she said, looking down.

  Well, that tied things together. Ankou knew Memaw’s and Tess’s abilities and was hoping to come up with something from their children. Children who never aged. Children who could always give him more children for his hoard of Changelings. I saw the sense this made for Ankou, though I couldn’t bring myself to believe we had family stuck doing this unmentionable task for the Reaper.

  I couldn’t even think of something to say. Struggling to keep down the bile threatening to rise up from my stomach, I looked back up to see Tess silently crying. I couldn’t imagine the pain she was in. “Does Liam know?”

  “No. I don’t think he could handle more than what he already has on his plate.”

  We sat in silence yet again. I wasn’t sure I could live a thousand years and fathom what she must be feeling. That’s why I agreed to what she hadn’t even asked me to do.

  “I’ll go. I’ll do it. What does a changeling look like when they’re not in human form?” I said, pushing away from the desk to prepare to try the shift from her description alone.

  Tess’s eyes were shining with worry. “Ashlyn, you can’t. This isn’t your problem and Emily would kill me. Plus, to be honest, I think of you as a daughter already. You need to think of Liam, too. If you were harmed, you know what it would do to him emotionally, not to mention physically.”

  Ah, Liam. The one thing that would make me see reason in this mess. It was also the reason I wanted to go. If he didn’t want to protect me, he deserved it if I got hurt. I shouldn’t be that petulant about things, but then again, he shouldn’t be out kissing other girls just to annoy me. Two could play that game.

  I decided the best plan of action was to just let this idea go for now – at least verbally. “You’re right, Tess. It probably isn’t worth it,” I conceded. “If only there was something we could do, though.”

  “If only is right,” she said with a sigh. “If only the Changelings didn’t exist. At least then you and I would be normal.”

  “You would be normal,” I laughed. “I’d still be part Glaistig. Ankou wants me since Memaw went and got on his bad side all those years ago. I’m doomed either way.”

  Tess chuckled. “Well, if nothing else, at least you have a reliable protector.”

  I looked away, the corner of my mouth turning downward. Tess noticed. “Liam will never let anything hurt you no matter what. He’ll come around. I’ll make him see sense, Ash. Trust me.”

  At that moment Reese burst into my room like a hurricane. “Hey Ash I’m not trying to be in your business but…” he trailed off, realizing I was having a conversation. “Oh, hey, is that the giant mother-in-law of yours?”

  He was so terrible at first impressions; he should be quarantined for his own well-being.

  Blushing, I turned to Tess, apologetic. “I’m so sorry! Reese doesn’t know what manners are. He was raised by wolves.”

  Tess smiled broadly, practically showing all of her dazzling white teeth. “It’s okay, Ash. You know I could beat him senseless if the need arose. I can take being called a giant since I am one for a woman and there are worse things than being called your mother-in-law. Maybe someday it’ll happen if we can get that son of mine to wise up.”

  I blushed. Tess eyed Reese with honest curiosity. I hadn’t mentioned him to her on purpose. The last thing I needed was her thinking something was going on between us. At this point, though, she should know better. “Go talk to your friend, Ash. Sounds like he had something important to say.”

  “I miss you, Tess.”

  “I miss you too, dear. Well, take care of yourself and please call again soon. Promise?” Tess made it feel like she really did want to keep in touch despite the ever-growing chasm between her son and me.

  Smiling, I agreed. “I can do that.”

  Be careful and tell your family hello. Nice to meet you,” she added, nodding toward Reese. Reese returned her acknowledgement with a smile. With that, Tess hung up, leaving me with a regular desktop screen.

  “Does she know I know what she knows?” Reese said, laughing at his own convoluted sentence while taking over my bed.

  I laughed, too. “I’m pretty sure she does. Her and Memaw are pretty good friends. There’s not much that gets past the two of them.”

  Reese nodded, patting the area next to him. It was involuntary; by the time I got there, I couldn’t remember even making the conscious decision to go. That was just how easy things were between us. We were just two halves of a whole. It was dangerous. I knew he liked me more than he let on. The dangerous part was that the more time I spent with him, the more I found myself missing him when he was gone.

  “So what’s up with the Protector thing? If Liam isn’t doing his job, maybe I could step in? You know I’d do my best to protect you like you deserve. How hard can it be to beat up a couple faeries?” He smiled at his nonchalance.

  I had a hard time not choking on my tongue. “No, Reese. It doesn’t work like that. Once someone swears their life to protect, they can’t get out of it. I’m kind of taken.”

  “But you’re not. He doesn’t want you.”

  Wow, talk about blunt. I needed to hear it, but that didn’t make it any easier to swallow. The air hitched in my throat. Reese noticed. Wrapping his arms around me, he pulled us to the wall where he could lean back and still have me in his arms.

  “Hey, it wasn’t supposed to come out like that. I’m sorry. It just drives me nuts that he’s wasting his time on someone he doesn’t even care about. He’s constantly asking about you offhandedly, checking in on you. I wish he’d just enjoy what he has because there are a lot of guys that would love to have you.”

  I looked up at him to find his eyes burning. “Reese, look, there’s just nothing that can change how things are. I’m sorry. Liam and I are bound in more ways than I would like to be at this point. Having a protector that only protects you so they don’t die isn’t the greatest feeling in the world.”

  Nodding, he pulled me closer. “
I know, Ash. It just sucks you had to find an Irishman. I didn’t know you dug the accents. If it would make it better, I can fake one,” He laughed, making me bounce against his chest. It was nice.

  Sighing, I enjoyed the moment. Reese brought me back to earth. “So, I was gonna tell you. I saw Chris getting into this black truck when I pulled into your driveway. I said hey. He just looked at me like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I introduced myself to the dude in the truck, you know, to be nice. I shook his hand, and Ash, it was like shaking an ice sculpture. It was the creepiest thing I’ve ever felt. He must’ve been standing outside all day to be that cold.”

  “What color did you say the truck was?”

  “Black.”

  “Was the guy inside old?”

  “Look, I didn't check the guy out. What’s with the interest anyway? Shouldn’t you be more worried about Chris than the guy in the car?” Reese was getting frustrated with the twenty questions. It seemed like guys had a knack for knowing just enough to pique your interest, but no details to properly inform you of anything. Then, they’d get mad when you asked any questions to clear it up. I swear it was a conspiracy.

  “Sorry, just want to know who he’s hanging out with.”

  Reese sighed. “Sorry I don’t have more details. Next time the truck comes around, I’ll look closer, deal?”

  “Thanks.”

  All of a sudden Reese’s body tensed up. He must have realized I noticed the change, since he coughed and readjusted. “So uh, look Ash. There’s something we need to talk about.”

  Glad he couldn’t see my face, I closed my eyes and rolled them at the same time. Now was not the time for him to go down this road. “Reese, please don’t do this.”

  “I have to, Ashlyn. You should know it was coming anyway,” he laughed nervously. “You should consider us, Ash. We have fun together. You don’t mind when I hold you like this, do you?”

  “Reese, you know Liam is who I want.”

  Reese turned me around to face him. “Yeah, but Liam isn’t necessarily the most sensible guy out there. He didn’t give you a chance to explain. He doesn’t even know what he had. Why can’t you just think about it? I don’t need an answer today. I just want you to think about it. Is that so hard?”

  Without waiting for a response, he pulled me in for a kiss. His warm lips met with mine and he pulled me even closer. His strong arms wrapped me in tightly and there was no way to argue. It did feel nice. Easy. It made sense. Suddenly realized I was enjoying his embrace. My fingers entwined themselves in his hair. For a moment I wondered why I’d even fallen for Liam when Reese had been here all along.

  Liam. Even his name had the ability to stop me in my tracks. Reese noticed I had stopped kissing him back and pulled away. “What’d I do?”

  “Nothing. It’s just you’re not him.”

  He sighed and allowed me to turn back around, his arms wrapping around me once more. Although I knew whom I preferred, it was impossible to pull away from Reese right now. He had made an easy choice impossible to make. “You’re right. I’m not him. I’m better than him. It’s only a matter of time before you realize that.”

  As I opened my mouth to respond, there was a knock on the door. It opened before I could even say come in. It was Liam. Did these guys ever give a heads up that they were coming over? No. They dropped in whenever they wanted. His shocked look told me he hadn’t been expecting to find Reese and I in such an intimate position. Immediately I moved out of Reese’s embrace. Not that it mattered. Liam was taken. He didn’t seem to remember that for a moment as he gaped at Reese.

  Reese held his hands up as though he was surrendering. His words said differently. “Hey man, she’s fair game.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Liam, what do you want? I thought you said you didn’t want to talk.”

  It was obvious Liam was irritated by the way he swung his arms, dying to leave. “It’s my job to protect you,” he said, emphasizing the job part of it. “Don’t make this any more difficult than it needs to be by running around with Reese, trying to make me jealous.”

  It was Reese’s turn to become irritated. Getting off the bed, he took two steps toward Liam. “You really didn’t just say ‘don’t make this any more difficult than it needs to be,’ did you? Because last time I checked, you were running around making out with that senior girl just to drive Ashlyn nuts. I’m pretty sure that makes this more difficult than it needs to be. Not to mention if you gave Ashlyn three seconds to explain, it wouldn’t be an issue. Not that I care if you’re around or not, but at least give her the time of day to explain to you that you’re a complete idiot. It’d make me feel so much better if that was out in the open.”

  Liam snorted. “Three seconds to explain why she kidnapped my brother? She has nothing to explain. She’s a Changeling. Just because you’re buddies with kidnappers and home breakers doesn’t mean I have to be, too.”

  “Oh, so I guess you categorize your mother as a kidnapper and a home breaker, then? Did she kidnap your brother?”

  There was silence. In the midst of the growing argument, the guys had ended up toe to toe. I was still on the bed, shocked.

  Liam blinked spastically, trying to break down what Reese had just said. “Why do you say that? Don’t bring my mother into this. We’re the ones that had to deal with Aiden being kidnapped –”

  Reese pulled himself up to full height for more effect. “Oh, don’t you know? Your dear old mum is the same as Ashlyn, here. Well, actually Ashlyn is even more special than your mom. But you wouldn’t know what they are since you don’t give them the time of day to explain. I gave her the time and now know the story. I’m still standing by her, even when her ‘Protector’ isn’t. Maybe I should have gotten the job.”

  Reese knew he had hit a nerve. Grinning triumphantly, he sat back down, putting his arm around me. Liam twitched slightly, obviously disliking the arrangement. Being vindictive, I curled up even closer to Reese. Turnabout was fair play.

  “You have exactly twelve seconds to explain,” he grunted, pulling the desk chair up and sitting down.

  “Let’s get your mom on the phone,” I said, standing up. I shrugged off Reese’s embrace and strode past Liam to the desk. Grabbing my laptop, I sat it on Liam’s lap, dialing Tess’s number.

  “Ashlyn, you can’t tell me your loud friend has left,” Tess said.

  “No, Mum, unfortunately he hasn’t, but it sounds like there’s a lot I don’t know about you and Ashlyn. Care to explain?”

  Reese eyed me, then Liam. Reese might not have been the brightest bulb in the box, but he knew when to make a run for it. “I’m gonna go grab something to eat,” he said, edging toward the door. What a pansy, leaving me to the wolves. Glad he wasn’t my Protector, I settled onto the floor against the bed. This was going to take a while.

  * * *

  Three hours later, Liam was up to speed for the most part. He knew Tess and I weren’t Changelings. This didn’t change the fact that he still flinched when my hand grazed his shoulder as we told Tess goodbye. I suppose if that were the worst, though, I’d take it.

  Closing the computer lid, he finally looked at me. “Just because I understand doesn’t mean I’m not mad at you for not telling me.”

  I closed my eyes. “Liam, Memaw and Tess both said not to tell you. They said you wouldn’t react well.” That had turned out to be the understatement of the century in my opinion, but I kept that part to myself.

  “I can’t believe there’s even a bridging race. What does that mean for us humans?”

  “No one knows. They can’t believe I can do what I’m doing. I wish there would have been a better opportunity to show you than having you walking into the room and seeing two Reeses.”

  Liam chuckled darkly. “It was a scary sight. One Reese ruins enough of my life. Two kind of sent me over the edge.”

  “At least I don’t try to stab you.”

  Reese had returned. His icy comment was a definite indication he had heard ou
r attempt at mending things. He wasn’t good with forgiveness.

  Liam didn’t help the situation. “At least I don’t think I can get the girl that hasn’t ever wanted me.”

  Moving to stand between them before the situation became ugly, I held my hands out to either side, silencing them. “Chill out, guys. You’re both acting like kids.”

  Reese pushed my arm aside and headed for the door. “Oh yeah, kids. I act like a kid when that joker has only hurt you. Makes perfect sense. I’ll see you in the morning to pick you up for school.”

  “About that, Reese.”

  Liam had stood up, hooking me with his left arm and pulling me behind him. “That’s my job.”

  Reese looked at him defiantly. “Haven’t been there to do it for a few months, have you?”

  “I believe it’s in my job description, as I’m her protector.”

  “Leaving Krista so fast, huh?”

  Liam smiled. “I’m fairly sure she’ll bounce back.”

  I wasn’t sure Liam deserved a free ride back into my life, but I didn’t want to encourage Reese any more than I already had. The damage had been done and there was no going back on that, but avoiding encouraging him would be the best idea in the future. Choosing the most diplomatic option possible, I stopped them both. “I can drive myself, thanks. If memory serves me correctly, I do have a license of my own.”

  Reese kicked the doorframe. “Fine. Let him get his way. We all know who’s been here for you while he was out swapping spit with other people.” He smiled his best smile, then turned out of the door.

  As I opened my mouth to call out, Reese reappeared. “Oh, and Liam, just because you’re back, doesn’t mean Ashlyn wants you back. She didn’t seem to mind it when I kissed her a while ago.” With that, Reese left.

  TWENTY-THREE

  It was one of the more awkward days at school I’d ever attended. Liam sat stock straight in each of the classes we had together, hand turned upward in an attempt to hold mine. I had turned away each time, pretending to be more interested in the classes than him. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere even if he wanted to. He was stuck. Plus, he really had been a jerk. I wasn’t sure if I trusted him not to leave again anyway.