Celtic Evil: A Fitzgerald Brother Novel: Roarke (18 page)

“Ian. My sweet little boy,
you were our last, and I feared for you the least as you have so
much potential and strength of will. All of that will be needed to
help your brothers through this.”

Brenna’s eyes went back to
Kerry and he read the sadness. “I can’t reach your brother since
Roarke still carries so much pain, guilt and shame inside him for
what happened, Kerry. He needs to let it go and heal. The lass can
help so much but he needs you and brothers.”

“I know, Mum,” he sighed,
frowning when he saw her eyes flash and he felt the pain in his
head as he had once before.

“No, Roarke needs you now,”
Brenna’s tone was firm as she began to fade. “Focus, my sons. Focus
past the walls she put up to block you from one
another.”

As the vision seemed to
fade, Ryan blinked a few times. “That real?” he asked in a strained
tone, refusing to show how much that had hurt since he hadn’t
actually pictured his mother in some time.

“I heard her in my head,”
Ian whispered, wincing as he felt the pain build and heard
something.

“I think we all did,” Mac
sighed then blinked as he heard something else. “Kerry?”

Kerry had heard the voice
and felt the building terror. “It’s Roarke,” he turned quickly.
“Something’s wrong. He’s afraid.”

“There are some really big
dogs near the stables,” Ian could see that by just focusing
slightly, then pulled back as the power jumped at him. “He and
Jessica are in trouble. What are they?”

Looking for himself as he
was now picking up the frantic call more easily, Kerry felt his
blood running cold. “They’re demon dogs of the Abyss. They’re
Sebastian’s pets. They’re what attacked him on the
island.”

“Shit!” Ryan hissed,
stepping away from them. “I thought this place was
protected.”

“It’s always been,” Kerry
was quiet as he thought how this happened. “He’s not strong enough
to face this alone, much less against two of them.”

Ryan cursed soundly,
whirling as he jerked off his jacket to allow him access to better
movement. “Get to the stables!” he snapped, making an instant
choice. “I’ll meet you there.”

“How do you…” Mac started
to ask when his brother waved a hand and cast a spell only he and
Kerry could do easily. “I hate when he teleports,” he muttered,
breaking into a run.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Seeing the jumping beast
from the corner of his eye, Roarke Fitzgerald waited until the last
possible second to twist out of the way, but still felt the hot
snarl pass him.

“Jessica!” he had used the
biggest portion of his remaining power to deflect the second beast
who had been about to attack his friend.

The wind had deflected it but she had still
fallen under a brief contact and had yet to move.

Chancing a quick look, he
could tell she was breathing but bleeding from where her head had
struck the path.

“Shit!” Roarke swore to
himself, figuring he could handle one of these things if he kept
his head and didn’t panic but knew he didn’t have the power to
handle two and protect himself along with Jessica.

Making the only choice that he could, Roarke
quickly diverted his most strength to shield his friend from any
attacks since he knew that even one of the things could tear her
apart within seconds.

“It’s me you want, you
bloody demons!” he snapped, speaking directly to the large beasts.
“You wanted me fifteen years ago. Well here I am, so take
me!”

Throwing a hand out, blue
energy shot from his fingers to strike both creatures but at his
current levels, it was more of a taunt to get them to face him than
to actually hurt them.

The first beast, the large of the two,
seemed to snarl as it began to circle but the smaller one was still
eyeing Jessica Hadley’s prone form.

“Leave her be, damn it.”
Roarke shifted to watch the first beast but saw the other was
preparing to launch itself at the girl. “No!” he started to focus
all his strength when the growls close by made him look, and for an
instant, he was eleven years old again.

Knowing its companion
creature had the boy’s attention, the largest one had circled
around until it found the perfect spot, then took its
shot.

Jumping with a lunge and
snarl, its massive teeth snapping, it jumped at Roarke, who only
had a split second to act.

Whirling to barely avoid
getting those jaws in the neck, Roarke still felt the sharp burning
pain as teeth tore into his shoulder and back. Both he and the
creature rolled to the ground with him bearing the full weight as
his arms struggled to keep the beast from ripping his throat
out.

He could feel the claws
digging into his arms and chest as he fought to shove it off him
even as his mind, assaulted with images of his past of his parents
dying, and then seeing the second beast nearing closer to his
friend.

Sudden burning pain was too
intense to prevent the scream as long claws dug deep into soft
flesh as his shield around the girl faltered with his own dwindling
strength.

“Leave…her…be,” he gritted,
feeling his arms started to lose strength as those snapping jaws
were close to his face, but he didn’t fear his own death, but that
of failing to protect his friend.

Feeling the beast finally
escape his grasp and knowing this was it, Roarke’s last thought was
of Jessica and his brothers when suddenly the beast jerked and
screamed as if in agony and then the weight was off the young
Irishman.

Gasping as air was finally
able to get back into his straining lungs, Roarke barely saw the
bright blue energy that struck the beast as it went to lunge at him
again.

“Get the hell away from
him, bastard,” Ryan’s voice had no accent, just anger and
power.

Teleporting was something
he only did on rare occasions since it could leave him too weak,
but knowing the risk to his brother was greater than the one to
him, he used the spell in order to get to the scene more
quickly.

Arriving, he had taken in the scene quickly
and judged which threat was greater.

Jessica was unconscious and
bleeding slightly and being stalked by a smaller creature, but he
could tell that his brothers would be there in seconds to deal with
that.

Ryan’s eyes went to pure black as his anger
took over upon seeing the large beast on top of his younger brother
and feeling what he did.

Reacting on that anger, he
grabbed the beast both with a wave of energy and with his hands and
pulled it back and away. Lashing out with blue energy, it started
to lunge again.

“I said, get the hell away
from my brother.” He looked at the beast and felt the evil coming
from it. “You couldn’t have him then and you won’t have him
now.”

The beast seemed to be
looking at Ryan curiously, then it raised its head and with a howl,
launched itself right at him.

“Stupid,” Ryan sneered,
letting his powers flow and meet the beast fully and as it rolled
back in screeching yelps, it slowly began to dissolve into a thick
black slime on the spot where it landed. “Yeah, the gardener won’t
bloody well care for that.”

Another growl had him
turning to deal with the remaining creature, but a sharp bolt of
red flame struck it as it was going to attack the helpless
girl.

“It’s about damn time,”
Ryan muttered then whirled to check on his brother. “Damn
it.”

A quick look didn’t make Ryan very happy as
he gently laid a hand on Roarke’s pale face.

He didn’t study well but
had listened to his father’s stories of the ancient creatures and
demons, so he knew for good and well what a serious wound from one
of those creatures could do.

“Damn it, brat, open your
eyes!” he snapped, not liking the shallow breathing or paleness of
his brother and seriously not liking when he moved him a little and
saw the torn shirt and skin on his back and shoulder where both
claws and teeth had struck. “Roarke? Look at me.”

Seeing the blood and marks, Ryan swore
bitterly and was about to see where Mac was when his brother’s body
suddenly convulsed a few times before struggling to sit up.

“Whoa there, bucko, you
ain’t going anywhere yet.” Ryan easily restrained his brother but
sensed his fear and agony. “Brat, lie still until Mac or Kerry gets
over here,” he urged.

Roarke’s mind and body were
fighting the agony he was in from the wounds he’d gotten, but his
biggest concern wasn’t himself. “No.” he struggled to move but
found that even that tiny effort made it worse. “Jessica…Ry,
she…”

Not wanting to move him
anymore than was needed, Ryan kept his touch light as he moved
enough that Roarke could see. “Ian and Mac are handling Fido,
brat,” he replied easily, needing to keep his tone even because he
didn’t want his brother to see how worried he was getting. “Mac,
quit playing with the puppy and c’mere.”

“Puppy my ass,” Mac
muttered under his breath, cursing soundly that he’d gotten out of
actively practicing his more strenuous powers.

Upon arriving, Mac’s
experience kept him from hesitating, but it was easy to see which
one needed their attention.

Shooting red flame, Mac’s
attack had just diverted the thing’s attention from Jessica so Ian
could get into a better place to defend the girl while his older
brother handled the now snarling beast.

“Where’d Kerry go?” he
asked after kneeling next to Jessica and checking for wounds,
seeing her head bleeding from striking cobblestone, and the one
bite on her arm that was bleeding black.

“He said to get something,”
Mac tossed back, leaning away as the creature lunged for him.
“Ryan, keep him from going into shock!” he yelled over, feeling his
brother’s wounds from there.

Ryan rolled his eyes. “Too
late for that I’m afraid, brother,” he muttered, sitting next to
his trembling brother who was still trying to get to his friend.
“Ian’s with her, brat. Stay still,” he urged, frowning as Roarke
went still.

“Ah, bloody hell,” Mac
hissed, feeling Roarke’s pain to Ryan’s growing unease.

This distraction had
allowed the creature to shift quickly and snap at his leg but
before it connected, light reflected off metal as a sword stabbed
through the creature’s head.

“Be gone, foul demon of the
netherworld.” Kerry twisted the sword that had been his father’s
into the beast’s head as it let out a long howl before dissolving
into another pile of black slime.

Mac blinked at the sword,
which he had never seen used, then hurried to where Ryan was
sitting, his fingers unknowingly going through their younger
brother’s hair in a calming motion.

“It got him on the back and
shoulder and looks like his arms have been clawed pretty badly.”
Ryan didn’t look up as Mac knelt down. “How’s Jess?”

“Minor bite, but anything
with these things is bad,” Mac frowned deeply as he first looked at
the scratches on Roarke’s arms.

These he wasn’t too
concerned with; it was when he gently rolled the boy toward him
that his concern tripled. The gashes or bites on his shoulders and
back were deep and nasty looking.

“Roarke, are you with us?”
Mac spoke gently, lightly touching his brother and feeling the
fever.

“Will he be alright?” Ryan
asked, honestly surprised that it mattered to him this much.
“Mac?”

His brother was silent for
a long time. “I don’t know,” he admitted slowly, looking up as
Kerry came closer. “We need to get him back to the house, and hope
I can counter this.”

Kerry nodded, looking to
see that Ian had picked Jessica up already. “How fast can you run?”
he asked, recalling something he’d seen in a letter from Ian’s
foster family.

“According to the coach, I
was the fastest sprinter in high school,” the boy replied, catching
on as he eased Jessica off into Kerry’s arms. “Who do I tell
what?”

“Find Deirdre, tell her to
prepare Roarke’s room with the fireplace, plenty of water and clean
towels and our father’s satchel,” he explained, thinking. “Tell Cam
to find Peter ‘cause Jessica’s hurt, but either he or their mystic
should be able to help her.”

Nodding, Ian took off quickly for the house
to do as his eldest brother instructed.

“Can we move him?” Kerry
asked, not liking the look of the wounds or the lingering black
slime on his lawn.

“We don’t have a choice,”
Mac returned, standing to reach down for his brother and frowned as
an arm blocked his hand. “Ryan.”

Ryan feared moving his
brother would cause him more pain but knew Mac was right. “I have
him,” he spoke evenly, not seeming to have any trouble lifting his
younger brother. “Let’s go.”

Kerry hesitated before
following as he looked at the blackened lawn, waving a hand and
dispelling the leftover darkness; fearing the reasons his land
could have been breached and hoping he could make it right
again.

“Calm down, boyo. Take a
breath,” Maggie was trying to slow Ian down as he rapidly sought to
explain what had happened. “Sit down and… bloody hell!”