When Tanner pulls back, there is concern in his eyes. His voice is quiet as he says, “Are we okay?”
“I don’t know,” I say softly. I hate the way his face falls, but I can’t give him a different answer.
“After we save Sibeal, we’ll talk,” Tanner says with more confidence in his voice than in his eyes. I nod my agreement and slip out of his grip.
I step back to let him pass by me. He steps through the door and waits on the porch for Bas, who has one arm around Sibeal’s shoulder as he tries to reassure her. She seems to appreciate the effort, but there isn’t much that can convince Sibeal everything will turn out okay at this point. Bas gives her an encouraging hug before releasing her and coming over to me.
Not sure what he’ll do with Tanner only a few feet away, I wait for him to take the lead. When he stops a few feet away from me, I fold my arms around my middle. Part of me wants to pull against him and drink in the weight of his love and try to figure out if I am ready to accept it, but I can’t. My eyes glance past him to Tanner, realizing I need the same thing from him. Tanner meets my eyes for a brief moment, before letting them fall away. I am left with no clearer answer than before.
Bas shuffles a bit before looking up at me. “We’ll figure this out,” he says, and I know he isn’t just talking about Sibeal and the stone.
Swallowing hard, I nod slowly.
“I tried to call Noel while you were with Kivera, but he didn’t pick up. I’ll let everyone know as soon as I hear from him.”
Bas and Tanner disappear after that, into the darkness as they walk toward Tanner’s truck. Sibeal closes the door and leans her back against it. Her eyes turn to me with more hope than I have seen in them for a while. “Are you ready to help me create a curse?” she asks.
I sigh. I’ve been trying to escape curses for so long, and now I’m going to help make one. How much more twisted can this thing get?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Spending the night at Sibeal’s turns out to be the most exhausting experience of my life. Neither of us gets more than an hour of sleep. The books and journals she drags out from under her bed as soon as we are back in her room consume the whole night. I don’t understand half of what I’m reading, but Sibeal does her best to explain enough so I can help her find a curse that will work.
One thing I can say for sure is that the Irish are very thorough with their curses. I never would have imagined there were so many ways to curse someone. Most have to do with crops or having children, particularly bad things that can happen to the male part of that equation. We pass off those types of curses immediately and dig for something more relevant to stopping the Soul Stone.
It’s hard to think of Sibeal as a child in all of this when she’s been skipping through mortal lives for nearly three centuries, but she is still very young in this art and her knowledge is quiet limited. Unfortunately, most of her knowledge has come from Etain who was unlikely to teach Sibeal the way to stop her.
Books cover the floor, my head using a few of them as a pillow when the sun begins peeking over the window sill. Sibeal throws down another book in frustration. “There’s nothing here that will stop her!”
“Sibeal, we’ll find something,” I say. I’m about out of belief myself, though.
Picking myself up off the floor, I reach for another book. The search continues another hour before Mrs. Ahearn knocks on the door. Sibeal shoves away the books nearest the door and only opens it halfway.
“I’m heading off to the airport, dear. Can you and Arra straighten up a bit? We should be back by lunch.”
“Sure, Mom. Have a safe drive.”
Sibeal closes the door and flops down on the bed. I’m almost too tired to move, but I crawl up off the floor and join her on the bed. We stare up at the ceiling silently. My eyes start to drift closed, but Sibeal’s voice pulls me back from the edge of sleep.
“Maybe Etain chose me because she knew I was weaker than Darcy. Darcy wouldn’t have gone down without a fight.” Sibeal sniffs. “You saw what happened when I activated the Soul Stone. Etain must have known this would be the biggest fight I could manage, lying on my bed crying about it.”
I reach over and squeeze Sibeal’s hand. “That’s not true. You aren’t weak, Sibeal.”
“I always have been,” she says with a sniff. “I’ve let Darcy beat me down for so long, I don’t know how to be anything but weak anymore. I’m not strong enough to survive this, and Etain knew that.”
Sitting up, I yank Sibeal up to face me. “It doesn’t take strength to be a bully, Sibeal. Darcy is not stronger than you. She’s a brute who uses you to feel strong. I may not totally understand why you put up with your sister for so long, but suffering through Darcy’s abuse took strength, too. It takes strength to come to a new town and walk through school every day knowing people think you are strange, but never letting it make you bitter. Your strength may not be flashy, but it’s there. You just need to drag it up from wherever you’re hiding it right now.”
Sibeal stares at me, eyes wide and mouth open. I decide to give her a few minutes to process what I just said.
“I’m going to take a shower. When I get out, we’ll clean up the house for your mom and clear our heads. Then, we’re going to figure out how to out-curse Etain, okay?”
Sibeal’s head bobs up and down, but she doesn’t say a word. I leave her to think and head for the bathroom. We’re both too fried to think about this anymore, anyway. I am still exhausted as I step out of the shower a few minutes later, but I do feel better. After trading places, Sibeal looks not only refreshed, but more confident as well. I smile as we start cleaning up the remains of our pizza making experience from last night.
An hour later, the counters are sparkling and the dishwasher is humming away. I toss my dishrag over the faucet hoping Sibeal has something other than pizza for breakfast. I’m starving, and I think we’re both going to need strength to get through today. Sibeal must be thinking the same thing. She hands me a bowl and sets a box of cereal on the counter alongside some muffins.
The sharp ring of my phone startles us both into nearly dropping our bowls. When my heart climbs back down from the ceiling, I grab my phone and answer the call.
“Arra,” Bas says, “I’m glad you’re up. Noel called me a few minutes ago.”
“Hold on, Bas. I’ll put you on speaker phone so Sibeal can hear, too.”
I set the phone down on the counter as Sibeal drags two stools around the island for us to sit on. “Okay, Bas, go ahead.”
“What did Noel find?” Sibeal asks, her fingers gripping the edge of the counter.
“Finding out anything more about the Soul Stone seems pretty impossible, but in a message last night I told him what you said about Etain wanting your power. Noel asked his grandma, who seems to know everything, whether that was possible. You won’t believe the story she told him.”
“About taking a druid’s power?” Sibeal demands.
“About Etain,” Bas corrects, “at least I’m pretty sure it’s about her.”
I want to reach through the phone and grab him. “Tell us the story already, Bas.”
“Okay, I’m trying,” Bas argues. “She told Noel about this legend her mom used to tell her at night. I don’t know, I guess she was trying to scare her or something. Anyway, the story says that there is one druid, one of the oldest, that strayed from the focus of protecting life. She broke off from the other druids, and they thought she was just gone, but then other druids started disappearing.
“The ones that crossed her path and didn’t disappear still lost their power. They didn’t know what was happening at first, but after a while they figured out it was the druid who had left. She was picking them off one by one, so they had to go into hiding,” Bas says.
I plant my elbows on the counter and drop my head into my hands. “And you think this is Etain?”
“Sure sounds like her, doesn’t it?” Bas asks.
Sibeal and I look at each other. It
sounds exactly like her. It’s another piece of the puzzle, but not a good one. If Etain has been taking down druids for centuries, what hope do we have of beating her?
“How does she take their power?” Sibeal asks. “She can’t be using Soul Stones all the time. They’re too hard to make and require too much power.”
Bas doesn’t answer right away. He clears his throat, hedging. Finally he starts talking. “There are only two ways to take power. You either have to get the person to give up their power willingly, or you have to kill them.”
And there it is. Even if we figure out how to stop Etain from getting Sibeal and Darcy’s power through the curse, all she has to do is kill Sibeal to get it.
“There’s something else,” Bas says slowly.
“What is it?” Sibeal pleads.
Bas sighs. “It has to do with being twins. Noel knew about Darcy, so he asked how that would work with twins. His grandma told him that it only takes one twin to give up the shared power. I think if you don’t make the curse permanent, it will be the same as giving up your power, yours and Darcy’s.”
“That didn’t make sense to me earlier that Etain would allow for an option that got her nothing,” I say. “This makes more sense. It’s not like Sibeal and Darcy were interfering with her life in any way. Etain will get their power, I’m guessing, but what will happen to you and Darcy?”
“We’ll cease to exist,” Sibeal whispers.
Reaching out to Sibeal, I close my hand over hers. “That’s why she chose you, Sibeal. She didn’t choose you because you were weak. She chose you because she knew how much you love Darcy and wanted to help her. She didn’t think you’d be able to make the curse permanent. Etain prayed on your compassion in order to get you both without ever having to get her hands dirty.”
Sibeal sinks down to the stool. Her muscles go slack as she realizes the truth. “How could she do this to me?”
“It hasn’t just been done to you and Darcy,” I say, “if the story Noel heard is true. She’s been praying on people like you for a long time.”
Distraught, Sibeal’s head drops to the counter. She doesn’t cry this time. She just sits very, very still.
“Noel told me one other thing,” Bas says. “Not only can one twin give up both twin’s power, one twin can take the power from the other.”
“But, wouldn’t that mean they’d be taking away their twin’s ability to be reborn?” I ask.
Bas says, “Yeah. Apparently that was what usually happened with druid twins.”
Neither Bas nor I say anything for a while. It’s a lot of information to process, and a lot of pieces to try to shove into place in order to have things make sense. I’m not sure anything will ever make sense, but an idea clicks suddenly.
“Sibeal, I know how to make the curse permanent.”
Her eyes snap over to mine. The panic and hope in them is almost frightening. As the answer turns over in my mind, I know I have finally put all the pieces together, but I know Sibeal is not going to want to hear it. I have to take a deep breath before I can form the words.
“Sibeal, you have to take Darcy’s power before the curse expires and you get sucked into limbo where you’ll both lose everything.” I pause when I see the hysteria beginning to mount in Sibeal’s eyes. I don’t want to keep going, but she has to hear everything. “You have no choice, Sibeal. If you let the curse run out, Etain will get your power, and you and Darcy will both die. Taking Darcy’s power first will prevent Etain from getting your power…and you from dying.”
“But…but,” Sibeal stammers. “If I take Darcy’s power while she’s trapped, it will kill her mortal body and her immortal soul.”
I cringe, suspecting that would be the case, but not backing down. “It’s the only way, Sibeal.”
Sibeal pushes the stool away from her abruptly. Her feet start frantically pacing back and forth. “I have to kill Darcy,” she says in disbelief. “If I want to survive, I have to kill my sister.”
I watch as Sibeal’s feet start moving more quickly, carrying her back and forth as if she believes moving will let her run away from the truth. She keeps repeating the same sentences over and over again. My eyes grow wide as I realize she isn’t going to stop. I snatch my phone off the counter and turn the speaker phone off.
“Bas, Sibeal is freaking out,” I say.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
“I don’t know. I think Sibeal is losing it. I don’t know what to do,” I say.
I can hear the jingle of keys. “I’m on my way. Don’t let her do anything crazy.”
He hangs up, leaving me wondering how on earth I’m supposed to stop Sibeal from doing anything! Sure, I have dreams and a secret Aztec spirit guide, but Sibeal has some kind of power I can’t even begin to understand. I don’t know what to do other than try to comfort her.
She won’t respond and she won’t stop pacing no matter what I say to her. The best I can manage is pulling her out of the kitchen away from sharp objects and into the relative safety of the living room. I try again and again to talk to her, but get nothing but more mumbling and pacing. I am seconds away from calling my dad and asking him for help when Tanner and Bas come barging though the front door.
Both guys stop and stare when they see Sibeal pacing and mumbling. I hold up my hands on the verge on tears. “I don’t know what to do?” I cry.
Tanner and Bas approach Sibeal cautiously. Their efforts are considerate, but I don’t think she even has a clue they’re here. Bas skirts around Sibeal and puts an arm around my quivering shoulders. “If she doesn’t stop, there’s no chance of saving her,” I say quietly.
And there’s no chance of saving me.
“Sibeal,” Tanner whispers as he approaches her slowly.
It’s no surprise when she doesn’t respond, but Tanner doesn’t let that stop him. On her next pass across the living room, Tanner catches Sibeal’s shoulders and pulls her against his chest. She only struggles for a moment as he whispers to her before collapsing into his arms and sobbing hysterically.
Bas and I are both stunned. As Tanner leads Sibeal over to the couch, we follow and sit down next to them. For a long time, all Sibeal can do is cry. Everyone tries speaking to her at different times, but she responds to nothing. She clings to Tanner, head buried against his chest for more than an hour. Even when she finally stops crying, she seems to fall into some kind of trance. Nobody wants to risk upsetting her again, but as the clock hands creep around the face, I start to become desperate.
“Sibeal,” I say quietly. Her curls are plastered against her damp face and sticking up crazily everywhere else. My fingers softly push the curls away from her face. “Sibeal, I know you’re hurting right now, but we need your help. Your mom and Etain will be home soon.”
The mention of Etain’s name sends Sibeal bolting upright. One hand is still clutching Tanner’s soaked shirt, but her eyes slowly begin to focus.
“Etain?” she asks. The fear in her eyes is overpowering.
“Yes, your mom picked her up from the airport, remember? They’ll be home soon. We have to do something to protect you.” I push her gently to look at me. “None of us want to see you die, Sibeal, but we need your help to stop that from happening.”
A sob breaks through her fog. “I don’t want to die,” she whispers.
Tanner pries her hand off his shirt and holds her hand. “We don’t want you to die, either.”
“I have to kill Darcy,” Sibeal says, her chest heaving.
“Sibeal,” Bas says, “think of what it will do to your mom if you die. She’s already lost one daughter and her husband. Losing you, too, will be too much. I know it’s hard to think of taking Darcy’s power, but your mom needs you more than Darcy does.”
The tortured expression Sibeal has been wearing since I dragged her out of the kitchen softens. “I don’t want to hurt my mom.”
No one says anything. No one wants to risk sending her back in breakdown mode. We all wait with bated breath for
Sibeal to come back to herself and accept what has to be done. I think we all understand what a difficult decision she has to make. It’s easier for us to look at Darcy objectively and say that Sibeal’s life is worth saving, even at the cost of Darcy’s. None of us have spent centuries clinging to the one person who truly knew us.
I just hope Sibeal realizes that Darcy never loved her. If the situation were reversed, Darcy wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice Sibeal in order to save her life. When Sibeal looks over at me, I smile and squeeze her hand. Even though we have only known each other for a few months, I care about Sibeal. I want to help and protect her. She is my friend, and maybe that’s not a very good substitute for a sister, but I’ll do everything I can to help ease the pain of losing Darcy if she’ll let me.
As Sibeal’s anguished frown slowly turns up at the corners, I think she knows what is in my heart. In all of our hearts. Her eyes fill with tears, but her whole body relaxes. She looks away from me and turns to Bas.
“How do I take Darcy’s power?” she asks in a small but firm voice.
The held breath all of us seemed to be keeping is finally released. The whole room still feels like it is a ball of static electricity ready to zap us, but the panic begins to dissipate. Bas leans forward slowly to face Sibeal.
“Noel said it’s like healing yourself, which we know you can do. I didn’t understand a lot of it, but he thought you would. However you focus your power on a wound, you need to do the same thing with Darcy’s power.”
Sibeal shakes her head. “I’m not sure I understand.”
Bas struggles to explain it better. “You said your power is linked to Darcy’s, right?” When Sibeal nods, he continues. “You have to find that connection and pull everything back into you, Noel gave me this really disgusting analogy about intestines and such, but I’m hoping you get the idea without the visual.”
I think we all got the visual just from the word intestines, judging by the looks on everyone’s faces. Thankfully, Sibeal doesn’t ask him to elaborate. She nods in understanding.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” she says. “Darcy is going to fight me, but I can do this.”
Soul Stone Page 26