“Just watch me,” I said. I took Ashling’s hand and walked forward, pushing the Barrier along the floor until we reached Bres, bringing him inside the Barrier. He lay so still I couldn’t tell if he was even breathing. Ashling bent to him right away, laying her hands on his face.
I thought that he couldn’t be killed, that we couldn’t be either?
Ashling squeezed my hand. Grandpa should have told you his stories.
I didn’t really know what to do next, so I took hold of Bres’ arms and started dragging him back towards the door. I could see from Balor’s expression that he didn’t expect me to make it out. His Fomorii were gathered as close to the Barrier as they could get, their teeth snapping, claws scrapping across the Barrier, like nails on a chalkboard. I forced myself to focus on the Barrier and put all my strength into one thought: keep out the Fomorii.
But as soon as I thought about keeping the Fomorii out, Ashling and Bres were thrown from the protection of the Barrier. Balor began to laugh, the noise erupting from him in a torrent that set the room on fire with mirth. The cackling and snickering filled the anti-chamber as I stared at Ashling, my mind frustrated with what I was slowly beginning to understand.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and she wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“You didn’t know? You came all the way through the Labyrinth to fetch your sister, who is one of us, and you didn’t know? Ha, that is a wicked twist of fate isn’t it?” Balor guffawed then grabbed Ashling and pulled her to his side.
“I would no more hurt this beautiful creature than I would cut off my own arm. I even bestowed upon her the honour of being Quickened by me,” he said. He stared down at her with a look of fatherly love, and I knew then what my mind had been trying to tell me; what I didn’t want to accept.
Balor was Ashling’s father. For a brief second I wondered if Balor was my father too. No; he’d known my father, thought him a fool, had even said I favoured him in looks.
It made a twisted sort of sense. My mother had always spoken highly of the man we had known to be our father, though she would never tell us his name, because there had been two men.
“You hate me because of who my father is? Because it reminds you that Darcy didn’t love you best?” I said, the realization popping out of my mouth before I thought better of it.
The room went so silent the distant drip of water down the walls could be heard. Not a single breath was taken as Balor stared at me, hatred filling his eyes with an intensity that made me very glad I still had the Barrier up.
Balor pushed Ashling behind him and rushed me, his sword bared, a battle cry on his lips. I crouched inside the Barrier and grit my teeth. This was going to get messy.
His sword whistled through the air; I felt it strike the Barrier, the echo of it rattling my bones. His blade bit deep and he pried it through.
“You aren’t strong enough to keep me out Tuatha!” he roared.
“Father, no!” Ashling cried out, reaching for him. He backhanded her and she stumbled away from him. Rage filled me—how dare he strike her?
I dropped the Barrier and Balor lurched forward as I Called my knife to my hand, slashing upwards, catching the side of his neck as he fell towards me. His momentum and my strike made for an impressive wound, one that sprayed blood everywhere.
The melee that ensued was complete and total chaos. Bodies and weapons, blood and screams filled the anti chamber. At one point I was face down on the slick floor. I rolled to my back only to see a horde of Fomorii circle around me; the bone handle of my knife in my hand was a small comfort. At least I wouldn’t die defenceless.
Rather than wait for them to rush me, I attacked, letting my body run on whatever instinct I had. Slashing and stabbing, I dispatched three of them within a minute and the others backed off.
“Ashling!” I yelled, over the grunting and snarling Fomorii. I could keep them at bay with my knife, but I couldn’t advance. Damn it, I needed a break—something, anything. Because no matter what anyone else thought, no matter what blood ran through her veins, I wasn’t leaving without my sister.
~~
21
“STOP!” Balor roared above the snarling and growling of his people. It was if a switch had been flipped off. They stopped exactly where they all were, like statues frozen in time. It would have been comical if the situation wasn’t so dire. He grabbed the Fomorii closest to him by the neck, holding it tight.
Panting, covered in Fomorii blood with the stench of rotting meat and mold filling my nostrils, I struggled to breath. Then I stopped breathing altogether as Balor drew the life out of his vassal, the Fomorii going limp and then shrivelling up before my eyes. The knife wound I’d given Balor healed in seconds. He dropped the husk of a body and stared hard at me, a grim look on his face.
Shifting my weight, I slid around several Fomorii and made my way to Ashling’s side. Bres was sitting up, his eyes foggy with pain. He might have been hurting still, but he was alive; that was what mattered.
Balor circled the three of us, his eyes never leaving mine. I glared at him and tried to throw a Barrier around the three of us. My head throbbed and my vision blurred.
“If you use your powers all up, and then try to continue using them lovey, you will kill yourself,” Bres said.
Balor paused and stroked his chin with his fingertips. “You two.” He pointed at Bres and Ashling. “Get over here. I will not have my children side with the Tuatha.”
Ashling pulled at Bres who slowly stood and leaned on her; the two of them hobbled to Balor’s side. I swallowed down tears. I would not succumb to hopelessness; this wasn’t over yet.
“Maybe you should let your children decide what they want to do. Maybe they don’t want to be a part of your world,” I said, certainty filling my voice.
Balor stared at me, a glint in his eye I didn’t like. “I have to give it to you Quinn. You have fought valiantly to retrieve your family. You did say you would do anything to have her back, didn’t you?”
I was shaking with exhaustion and it took me a minute to understand. He was making me an offer—do what he wanted and I could have Ashling.
“What about our mom?” I asked.
Balor frowned at me. “You have the choice: you can either save your mother or your sister. You can’t have them both.”
I didn’t hesitate. “Ashling.”
He smiled and I was suddenly, terribly afraid of what Balor would ask of me.
“It’s simple really. A challenge let’s call it,” he said. With a swift motion of his hands over the stone floor, the ground cracked open.
The stretch widened, gaping further and further, water filling it until it spilled over the edges. Stone creaked and groaned, finally settling with a low rumble.
Half the Fomorii were on one side with me, the other half were with Balor, Bres and Ashling.
“You can leave right now, with your mother, Quinn. I will give you that chance,” Balor said, pointing behind me. Mom stood there, bruised, her lip split, but otherwise unharmed.
I ran to her. “Mom!” grabbing her in a hug. “I’m so sorry, I’ll get us out of here.”
She patted me on the cheek. “Let’s go Quinn.”
“Go?” I was confused, she must not have understood. “We can’t go, we have to get Ashling.”
Darcy shrugged. “Leave Ashling to Balor; she doesn’t belong with us. She couldn’t even take the chance I gave her. I should have known she wasn’t smart enough to escape.”
I snatched my hands and stumbled backwards, staring at her in horror. How stupid I’d been.
My back to Balor, I called out. “What would you have me do? How do I know you’ll keep your word?”
Darcy’s eyes narrowed, her lips tightening. Beautiful on the outside, but she was not the person I ever wanted to be. I turned my back on her, faced the water; locked eyes with Balor.
He smiled and though I knew we were enemies, knew that we were on opposite sides, I felt the regard he gave me. Respect. I s
tood a little straighter.
“Just swim across the water. That’s it. Reach this side, take Ashling’s hand and I will let you go. You have ten minutes, plenty of time,” he said.
“Swear it,” I countered. I was not going into this a fool.
He laid a hand on Ashling’s shoulder and looked to Bres leaning against the wall beside him. “I swear it on the life of my children.”
I too glanced at Bres. He nodded. “I don’t always agree with him, but he would never hurt us.”
“Quinn, you don’t have to do this. We can go, Balor said that already.” Darcy came up behind me, put a hand on my back.
“Your time starts now,” Balor said.
I shrugged away from her. “Don’t touch me. I can’t even look at you right now. Why would you fight off Balor for her if you don’t care?”
“He made me angry, it was as good of an excuse as any to try and take his head.” She said, flipping her hair back like a high school drama queen.
Staring at her, I struggled with the anger that raged through me. She reached for me again. “Let’s go Quinn.”
I slapped her hand off of me. “Don’t touch me, Darcy.”
She gasped and pulled away as if I’d slapped her face and not her hand. I faced the water, my body quickly shifting from anger to fear.
“You can do this Quinn. I believe in you,” Ashling called to me. I looked up to see tears streaming down her face. She knew my fears better than anyone.
“No Jaws theme, okay?” I said, trying to ease the tension in my shoulders and gut.
She sobbed out a laugh, nodded and gave me a thumbs up. The water was so dark I couldn’t see anything below it, but it wasn’t that far across. Forty feet at the most. A flash of movement stirred the surface; my heart jumped and my eyes tried to track what had moved. Nothing else stirred.
“Nine minutes left Quinn,” Balor said.
Shaking, I wiped my face with my hands. For Ashling. I could do this for Ashling.
I slipped out of my boots, but left the rest of my clothes on. I could swim this distance in less than five minutes, easy. If I didn’t have a panic attack. If nothing grabbed me. If I could get in the water.
Balor counted the minutes down.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
If I was going to do this, it had to be now. I stepped up to the lip of the crack, stared into the waters and tried to convince myself. I even went so far as to lift my foot, only to slam it back to the ground.
“You see Ashling? Your sister, she talks a big talk, but just like the rest of the Tuatha, there’s no follow through,” Balor said.
I lifted my eyes, shame filling me that he was right—that I could say I would save her all I wanted, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t face my fears.
“Quinn,” Ashling said, drawing my eyes to her. I waited for the recrimination, maybe even the hatred that was sure to be on her face.
She smiled at me. “Quinn, you are stronger than this, you are my big sister, the one person I look up to. I know you can do this. I know you can.”
Bres shifted. “She’s right.”
“No she’s not!” I yelled. “I’ve run from every monster and fear that’s come my way. I’m not that strong.” Shame, guilt, fear and self loathing filled me. I was not some hero from a fairytale.
“Three minutes,” Balor said. He stared at me. His eyes, which before had shown me some regard—some respect—now mirrored my emotions. Shame and disgust were reflected back at me with perfect clarity.
Ashling started to cry. “Please, Quinn. Please try.”
I walked away, my heart hammering as her sobs filled my ears. There was only one thing for me to do, only one way to escape my fears.
~~
22
Spinning, I sprinted towards the water, keeping my eyes on Ashling. The hard lip of the gap kissed my toes as I jumped, diving a good ten feet out.
Ashling, Ashling, Ashling. I thought of her missing front teeth at age eight and how I’d slipped two quarters under her pillow; her first tumble off her bike and how she’d cried when the peroxide was poured on her skinned knee; holding her hand for her first day at school; holding her tight when her heart was broken for the first time; watching her grow from gawky little girl into a fiery young woman. My head broke the water and I was more than halfway across the gap.
Ashling was screaming at me; her face not the smile I expected, but instead a mask of horror. I didn’t look where she faced. I just kept swimming. I thought of how she loved to watch Seinfeld re-runs, even though she could follow the lines perfectly; how she’d loved her first goldfish, the one I’d bought for her, never realizing that every few weeks the “sleeping” fish was replaced with a new one. Less than ten feet away from Ashling the tips of my toes brushed across sandpaper hide.
“Two minutes,” Balor said. I didn’t look at him, but I could hear the tone in his voice. The respect was back and, for some reason, that was important to me.
I pushed off the sandpaper hide, grimacing as my feet were sliced up by the rough diamond-sharp skin of the shark’s body. I would not think about it. Ashling. Her smile, laughter, tears and personality filled my mind, steadied my heart.
Five feet away, Ashling leaned over the water, reaching towards me. She urged me on. “Hurry Quinn!” I took a stroke and reached for her, our fingertips just missing. I kicked and my feet were grabbed in powerful jaws, serrated teeth clamping down on both legs. The last thing I saw before it pulled me under was Ashling’s face as she screamed my name.
The water stole my visions and I tried to hold still, tried to calm my panic. I couldn’t feel my legs, which was—at the moment—a blessing.
The shark, or what I assumed was a shark, held me under the water and we floated in the stillness. It was just going to hold me until the time was up. No. I was a Tuatha de Daanan; this was not how it was going to end.
I only had two things that I knew I could produce. Fire, which I didn’t think I could make enough of to push the shark away, and a Barrier. That took a lot of energy, but I had to risk it. I gathered what was left of my strength and popped a Barrier around me, pushing the shark away with an ease that surprised me.
Swimming sluggishly, I made my way to the surface, the shark repeatedly attacking the Barrier. But it couldn’t break through. I broke the surface of the water to Balor counting down the last seconds.
“Seven, six, five…”
I took two strokes and was at the edge; my energy gone, I was forced to let the Barrier go. Ashling wrapped herself around me and pulled me out of the water.
“She beat you,” she said, not looking at Balor. Placing her hands on my face, her healing power rushing through me, the bites on my legs and feet closing up as if they never were.
Balor grunted. “That she did.”
I stood, wobbling, flush with excitement. Ashling gripped my hand and I held tight to her. We’d done it.
“I never doubted,” she whispered. I laughed, unable to help the joy that filled me up. “Well, that makes one of us.”
Balor stepped forward. “You have won the challenge. You are free to go.”
Ashling turned with me. “I know how to get us out from here,” she said.
“Daughter.” Balor called.
We stopped.
“She did not win your freedom. Quinn asked me what I would have her do. I said that she had to face this challenge, take your hand and then she would be free. There was no bargain in there for the both of you,” he said.
“You lying son of a bitch!” I yelled.
“You may come and take your woman now Lugh; I believe that for this one time I will allow you entrance to my kingdom. Do not let it ever be said that I don’t hold to my bargains,” Balor called out. Who the hell was Lugh?
A brilliant flash of light lit the room and hands grabbed me, jerking me towards that golden glow. Luke was Lugh?
The Fomorii rushed us, and I clung to Ashling, making Luke drag us
both. “Let her go!” he yelled at me. I shook my head and shouted back. “NO!”
The choice was taken from me as Balor stepped forward and snatched Ashling from my arms as easily as if I were a child. I fought Luke, fought to get back to my sister.
The gap of water snapped shut and Darcy ran to us; I pushed her away. “No, get away! Ashling!”
“Quinn!” Ashling called, her voice cutting me to the core. Not again, this couldn’t happen again.
Luke’s power swirled around us and he began to pull me out of there, my mother clinging to his other arm.
“Bres! Ashling! Let me go!” I screamed as Luke’s hand locked tight into mine.
Bres stared at me, his eyes never leaving mine as Luke snatched me away with a clap of thunder and a light so bright I was blinded. Just like that, my world was once more torn apart.
~~
23
In a swirl of water and sudden darkness I felt myself pulled upwards, the depths of the ocean below us—and we were swimming hard for the surface. As I swam, I looked for Ashling and Bres. Praying that I was wrong, that they’d be with us and we’d get out of this together.
I searched the waters around us to no avail. Hands gripped me and I looked to see Darcy struggling, her inability to hold her breath as I could quickly becoming a problem. Much as I wanted to leave her there, I knew I’d regret it. Maybe not right away, but eventually. I’d have to get her to the surface first.
My heart sank to the ocean floor, where Ashling was, in the Fomorii Kingdom. We’d left them behind. Without warning, we burst through the last few feet of water.
I pulled in a lungful of air as did the others and spun. “BRES!”
“Swim; we have to get out of the water NOW. They’re right behind us,” Luke yelled.
Sluggishly, turning back every few feet, I swam. Darcy sped ahead of us, reaching dry ground first. It wasn’t until Luke circled around behind me and drove me that I was forced to move at any sort of speed.
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