by Kari Edgren
“How did I get here?”
“I summoned you.”
My head popped up at the revelation. “Why?”
“Because you were dying.” The answer was simple...and terrifying.
I looked down at my form, the curve of my knees and my bare feet surrounded by vibrant green. “Am I...” I swallowed hard. “Am I dead?”
She shook her head. “Your human body lives still. But not for long, and not unless you wish to stay in the mortal world.”
“What do you mean? What happened to me?” Blurry images pushed in from the sides. Julian starting toward Nora... He intended to kill her to further weaken the curse. I’d grabbed his legs to stop him, covering him with fire. A little had seeped through the cracks of his armor, but it was taking too long and he was almost to Nora. Then Deri...
My breath rushed from me, and I clamped my arms tighter around my knees to help contain the memory. “It hurt so much. I... I couldn’t stand it anymore.”
“You were fighting too many at once. The child attacked with power from Cailleach and the witch. Her brother fought back, using my fire and everything he had stolen from their mother. If you had not broken contact, you would have already died. Even so, your body is barely habitable.”
Yet she’d implied I had a choice to return. “What am I to do?”
Brigid rested a hand on my back, and the cavern burst to life in my mind. “Catria is rushing to you now, but she will be too late to save you in time. Ailish, Cailleach’s whelp, calls your name. Nora, daughter of Nuada, weeps for the friend she believes lost. Your Englishman, Lughson, holds you, begs you to return.”
I stared at her, too stunned by the image to speak. Each person was just as she described, though they appeared stuck in a sort of still life. I even saw Tom, his face twisted with rage and his broadsword leveled at a large stone. Sean and Marin hadn’t moved from where Julian had left them. A man with an eye patch huddled in the shadows.
“It is time to choose, Selah. You may leave your human form behind forever and cross with me now, or return, but at great cost.”
Her words crowded together in my head. In one hand, she offered me peace and the Otherworld. In the other, Henry and love. “What is the cost?”
Reaching beside her, she picked up a silver cup I hadn’t seen before. Liquid fire swirled inside, lapping at the edges. “You must accept my second gift to loosen the bands of mortality, otherwise you will not survive the process long enough to heal yourself.”
My mouth tensed with frustration. “I’ve not learned to do that yet.” Not even a bruise or a cracked nail. How was I supposed to heal wounds so severe to render a body near uninhabitable?
She smiled and brushed a slender finger along my cheek. “You would have with time.”
But that time had been stolen from me. “Is it too late then?”
“Not if you drink, then you will be able to heal yourself when you return.” Her finger moved under my chin, and she tilted my head up until I was staring at dark blue eyes that perfectly matched my own. “But be warned, as one of my strongest children, you will be taking a great risk remaining in the mortal world once you have been released from the spring. Others have tried and failed.” Her gaze held mine, and I felt a sudden pulse of heat. “Your heart is similar to Catria’s, though, and I believe you capable of avoiding corruption as she has done for so long.”
I gaped at her, just now grasping the full extent of the gift she offered me—an opportunity to defy death. While aboard the Sea Witch, I’d decided one life would be enough. But that was before I learned Henry carried Tuatha Dé blood.
“What about Lugh’s son? Can his life be extended as well?”
“Yes, so long as he chooses. Though the gift must come from his first father.”
My thoughts snagged on something Ailish had shared while riding from Deidre’s cottage. “The stories say that Lugh rarely visits the mortal world.”
“The stories speak true.”
Well, Henry and I didn’t have centuries to wait for the sun god to come around again. “Would you tell him that his son needs an audience?”
Her nod was barely perceptible. “Some things are too important to leave to chance.”
She released my chin, and my gaze returned to the cup. Could I remain true to my gift as Brigid believed? Or would I follow in Julian’s footsteps on a path to corruption? And what if I consented only to have Henry refuse the second gift, choosing instead to die at the end of a natural lifespan?
There were so many risks, I would have turned away from Brigid’s offer if not for my great-grandparents. From their example, I glimpsed the possibility of happiness and a future greater than anything I’d ever imagined before. The path forward became clear, and I set my shoulders, determined not to look back.
“I accept the gift.”
A faint smile curved on her lovely mouth. “You must act the moment you return. The pain will be difficult to overcome. Hesitate and you shall die. Are you ready?”
I nodded and she passed the cup to me. “Then drink, Daughter, that you may live.”
My fingers curled around the smooth silver. Lifting it to my mouth, I closed my eyes and allowed the liquid to flow into me.
Fire erupted, swelled to an inferno that pushed outward. My spirit expanded in its wake, pulsating against the invisible bands that bound me tighter than any stays I had ever worn. The pressure increased, heaved and strained in equal measure as my two sides warred, one for balance, the other for supremacy.
Human and divine.
Fed by Brigid’s second gift, my goddess blood would not be suppressed. The barrier collapsed, and a groan rose up through the fire, low and mournful at first, but growing to a gut-wrenching wail as mortality’s bands loosened from around me. The garden began to shift, green melding into brilliant blue. The sunlight faded, and the last thing I saw was Brigid’s face before I was pulled back into the blackness.
“Farewell, Selah, until we meet on the other side.”
In another moment, I slammed into something hard. At first, there was nothing, then the blood roared in my ears. My nerves shrieked as frozen and fiery nails tore at me. No! The scream shattered inside my skull.
It was too much, every part of me exploding and contracting at once. But I could make it stop. I could drift away, back to the blessed darkness where I didn’t have to feel anymore. It crept around me, a promise of peace, if I would just let go...
“Selah!”
My name drifted through the screaming pain, a sigh on a windstorm. Deep and familiar, it carried the promise of life, but not without effort. To stay, I had to fight, to wade through the torments of death.
“Selah!”
My name again, turned to a plea this time and laced with a different form of pain than what ravaged my body. No ice or fire, it was the pain of pure anguish, of a heart near breaking. My soul shuddered at the sound. More than escape, more even than the sweetness of oblivion, I had to answer, to let Henry know that I loved him and would never leave him.
I reached out. Sparks glimmered and the darkness trembled. Brigid’s fire roared to life. Rising from my core, it flowed like lava through my veins. Yet for the first time, it didn’t race along the worn path to my fingertips, ready to spill over to save another. It stayed and infused each layer of tissue, wrapped around bones and nerves, calming and healing.
As I had done with every patient before, I watched the fire move, to mend, stitch and restore. My heart came into view, strong and steady from the renewed blood that pumped through the intricate highway of vessels. Life returned, jumped at every pulse point. Air flowed into my lungs and, reborn, my eyes opened.
At first I thought the light had been extinguished. Then something rough scratched my nose, and I realized that I was staring at the wool of Henry’s greatcoat. He knelt on the st
one floor, my torso held against him. Head bowed, his breath warmed my neck with each desperate word.
“Fight, Selah...fight for me.” His voice broke and tears fell onto my cheek. “Please don’t leave...”
Cradled in his arms, I tilted my face toward him until my lips found his skin. “I’m here, Henry.”
Surprise jolted through his arms. He jerked his head up to look at me, his expression shifting from anguish to wonder. “Selah...”
Once more my name left his lips, reverent as a prayer. His arms strengthened and he crushed me to him. “I thought you dead.” He inhaled a ragged breath. “I thought you had left me.”
“Never,” I whispered and buried my face into him.
“Julian and Deri are gone. You’re safe now.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “We’re all safe.”
The soft pad of footsteps approached. Expecting Cate, I turned to see Nora instead. Henry helped me up, and with a small cry, I threw myself at her. “Oh, Nora.” Tears ran down my face. “I’m sorry I let that monster take you. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here...” I sniffed, tripping over my words. “Please say you’re all right and that you forgive me.”
Nora’s arms went around me, familiar as a sister. “I will be with time, once I’ve come to terms with the past week.” She drew a breath, and I felt the tension in her body. “Did you...did you know about me before?”
I pulled back just enough to see her face. “Until an hour ago I had no knowledge of your Tuatha Dé blood.”
“All while we were growing up, I knew you were different somehow. Just not how different. I guess this truly makes us sisters.” Her chin quivered while she spoke.
Like Henry, the knowledge of her Tuatha Dé forebear had no doubt turned her world upside down. But while Henry first learned of this ancient race months ago, Nora had received everything at once, while under the control of an insane child.
“Henry told me that Deri’s gone.” My mouth clenched as I stared straight into her eyes. “I promise on Brigid’s mantle to bring her to justice.”
“You needn’t worry. Justice has already found her.”
“What do you mean?”
With one arm still on my waist, Nora turned and nodded toward a large boulder. “She’s there, Selah.”
It took a moment for my mind to catch up. The boulder appeared lopsided, one half taller than the other, as though two stones had been melded together. Green light flickered over the odd shape, illuminating what could have been a man, his towering form curved over a child who embraced him around his middle. I could only stare at the two of them, reduced to the most basic form of life, as Ailish believed.
Nora leaned her head on my shoulder. “Thank you for not abandoning me.”
“It was never a choice,” I said quietly.
Her arm tightened around me. “I remember most of what happened at the theater...what I said to you.” Her voice hitched and she paused a moment. “It tore me apart to think that we may never speak again with how we parted.”
“I knew you didn’t mean any of it.” I glared at the back of the wretch’s stony head, hatred curling in my gut. “Did she...did she muddle your mind much? Cate is the best healer in the human world and can repair any physical damage left behind.” I bit my tongue rather than admit that some wounds exceeded Cate’s ability.
“Before the play, Deri planted a compulsion for me to go with her to Wexford. I fought against it, but it was too strong.” A heavy sigh broke through, and she straightened her stance, though her arm remained on my waist. Turning toward her, I saw the frustration that rested on her face. Absentmindedly, she brushed a finger over the long scratch marks that still marred her neck from that night. Crusted with scabs, they served as a stark reminder of Deri’s sadistic power.
“She didn’t do anything else to me,” Nora continued. “I know Deri was evil, but there was a part in her that craved love, and could even love in return. From our association in London, I believe she came to see me as an elder sister. When we arrived here and found Carmen dead, she was desperate for me to take her mother’s place.” Another sigh. “In her own way, I think she might have loved me.”
My gaze moved from the scratches to Nora’s eyes, which burned with unshed tears. “I hate her for what she did to you.”
“I should hate her too, and part of me does. But mostly there’s just pity.”
Tom brushed a rough hand along what looked to be Julian’s arm. “You’re lucky to have fallen when you did, Selah, and let these two turn themselves to stone. Otherwise, you’d have joined them.”
I shuddered at the notion when Henry’s gaze found mine, his expression stark from how close we’d come to disaster. Without exchanging a word, I knew such a fate would have doomed us both to the barest form of life.
He picked up his sword and tapped the tip against Julian’s leg. “It pained me to watch you play up to this devil. While he was planning a future with you as his queen, all I could think about was tearing out his heart.”
“I said so many horrible things. You didn’t believe any of it, did you?”
“Not even for a moment. You may have fooled Julian, but I knew where your heart belonged.”
“Thank you for trusting me.”
His mouth quirked at the corners. “All the same, I’ve made a note to never go against you at the gaming table.”
“A wise choice, my lord,” Cate said, joining our growing circle around the brother and sister. “As we’ve discovered that my great-granddaughter can bluff with the best of them.”
I grimaced at the blood that still spotted her face from my attack. “I’m sorry for hurting you.”
She waved off my apology. “You did what you had to do.” Leaning closer, she rested a hand on Deri’s head. “I’ve not seen stone making for a very long time. Tom’s right, you’re fortunate to have survived.”
“Fortunate indeed.” I murmured the words, not yet ready to share the details of my interview with Brigid or of receiving the second gift. I needed time to think about what I had done and to speak privately with Henry rather than springing it on him in a group of people.
Henry came to my other side. “Let’s go. I’ve grown weary of this cavern.”
He would get no argument from me. With one last look at the wretch, Nora released my waist and stepped gingerly over the rock-strewn floor toward the tunnel where Sean and Marin waited, having been healed by Cate. My grandparents followed. Henry sheathed his sword, and retrieved Lugh’s spear, the tip still red from Julian’s blood.
Glancing over our group, I realized at once that someone was missing. “Where’s Ailish?” Turning a half circle, I saw her slight form seated on the throne’s dais with her head buried in her hands. A young man loomed over her, a black patch over one eye. “Paddy...” I breathed.
He looked at me, his face grim.
My hands balled to tight fists. “You leave her alone!” I stormed back toward the throne, Henry at my side.
Paddy’s human eye widened, skimmed from me to Henry, then behind us, I assumed to Cate and Tom. His hand flicked to the patch. “Don’t come any closer,” he warned.
I halted and jabbed a finger at him. “If you so much as touch her, I swear I’ll sever every muscle in your body.”
Some of the color left his face, but he held his ground. “I’m not here to hurt her.”
Lifting her head, Ailish gave me a wan smile. “It’s all right, Selah.”
“You can’t mean that, not after everything his father did to you.”
Paddy bristled with indignation. “I’m not me da, so don’t you be saying so.”
“That’s little consolation, considering what she suffered while in your family’s care.”
He winced and glanced at Ailish. “I hated how he used to beat her, but if’n I got in the way, he beat
her the more for it.”
A curt breath cut through my nose. “Don’t you dare make excuses to me.”
“Hmph!” He threw a hand out in frustration. “What would you have me do?”
I planted a fist on my hip. “You’re a grown man. You should have figured something out.”
“Why are you here?” Henry asked, interrupting our growing argument.
Paddy pointed between Ailish and me. “Been following these two since the weaver’s farm, trying to get a private word to Ailish. Almost had ’em at the woman’s cottage, but they ran off to watch you fight Lugh, and I haven’t had another chance till now.”
I glared at him. “Well, she doesn’t want to talk to you.” I extended a hand to her, momentarily forgetting the inevitable pain if she would have taken it. “Come with us, Ailish. We won’t let him hurt you.”
She shook her head. “Go ahead. I’ll come later.”
My eyes bugged with disbelief. “There’s no way I’m leaving you alone with Calhoun’s son.” I gestured wildly at the withered woman seated on the throne behind her. “In a witch’s prison no less. What are you thinking?”
Her neck slumped between her shoulders. “Please just go,” she mumbled to the floor.
It didn’t make sense. Confusion clouded my thoughts, and I frowned at her. “What’s wrong, Ailish? Why won’t you leave?”
Cate squeezed my arm as she walked past. “Let me,” she said inside my head.
“Stay back,” Paddy warned, lifting the patch a sliver. “Or I’ll give you a headache you’ll not soon forget.”
I ground my teeth together. Henry adjusted his grip on the spear, no doubt ready to throw it. Cate stilled, her hands extended in a sign of peace. “I mean you no harm. Just let me talk to the girl.” She paused. “Will you allow me to come closer, Miss O’Bearra?”
Ailish nodded without lifting her head.
A tense moment passed when Paddy finally dropped his hand from the patch. “Talk if’n you must.” He glanced down at the top of Ailish’s head. “She’s deaf to reason, this one.”