Dark Fae (19 page)

“Well, I’m feeling rather in a mood today.” A crowd was starting to gather, Fomorii and Tuatha alike. Out the corner of my eye
,
I caught a glimpse of Darcy, her hands over her mouth. She may have
had
the
m
ark, but she was stil
l seeing her daughters face off in what was going to be a battle to the death.

Chaos strolled around me, circling me, within a foot of my reach.

My jaw twitched. There was no time
.
I had to do it now. I Called Carnwennan to my hand, felt the smooth bone against my skin and swung towards Chaos. “I don
’
t
care about
your story, but
let
me
tell you mine.”

A sword appeared in her hand
, the same black sword I’d seen from my vision. The power that had caused the black tendrils to destroy the Fomorii made up her sword
, the black smoke solidifying instantly into a razor sharp blade
. I had no doubt that one scratch from it would end my life. A
s we engaged, her eyes
were
wide with fury. “Kill her!” She screamed.

“No,
” Gormley shouted, holding her hand to stay the Fomorii.
“We
will not fight your battle
.”
But not all listened.

The Fomorii ranks split
,
fighting one another
. The
Tuatha in the crowd swept into the battle
, uncertainty obvious on their faces. Who did they fight?

Chaos and I we were at the center of it, our blades flashing
bright and dark,
as we slashed at one another.

“My sister was the only person I had, and she was stolen from me
,”
I said as our blades locked. We wrestled for control and I ended up shoving her backwards.
Not a graceful, skilled move, but it worked.

Pressing my advantage, I leapt towards her,
a
wicked downward thrust from Carnwennan skidd
ing
off the edge of her sword.
That was not a move I knew.

Carnwennan has a mind of its own and knows how to fight. Let it guide you.

“I tried to save her, but failed.” Tears prickled at the edge of my eyes
.
“
But
I won’t fail this time.”

Chaos
’
eyes widened
, then narrowed
. “You cannot save your sister.”

“Watch me.”

I spun in a half circle, Carnwennan whistling through the air. Chaos tried to avoid the blow but I shifted my balance at the last second, turning the slash into a thrust that took her through the stomach.
The move left me wide open.

The world around us
disappeared
. Chaos screamed, rage turning her face into a twisted mask.
The black sword arced through the air, slicing deep into my side. Like a bomb going off, pain exploded through me.

Steady, Quinn
.
I
t is almost done.

Shaking, m
y hands gripped Carnwennan, my one palm over the stone that held Aednat’s soul. “Take her
,”
I whispered.

An image of Aednat flickered beside me for a moment
. She
smiled
then
disappeared
. Finally
,
she had
the
satisfaction of watching me die.

A bright swirl of blue and green light
erupted
from the blade
’
s hilt and wrapped around Chaos.

“No, you can’t do this!” She screamed her defiance. The soul gem started to hum and dark tendrils of mist started to seep out of Ashling’s body.

Chaos continued to thrash, her desire to live strong, but
even she couldn’t fight
the pull of the gem.

“Ashling, fight
.
F
ight for me!
” I yelled, grabbing her hands while blood poured out of me. I couldn’t save us both.

Her nails dug into my finger
s as she yanked me off balance. We tumbled to the side, Chaos ending up on top of me, pinning me to the ground.

“If I’m going to be trapped, then I am taking you with me.” She had her
black
sword in her hand, and I had nothing to block her with. In the back of my mind
,
I knew I could hit her with a blast of power, but I didn’t want to hurt Ashling anymore than I had already.

As the blade came down, I braced myself.
“I love you Ash.”

She stopped in mid swing, a look of pain rippl
ed
across her face. “Quinn?” Beautiful, pristine green eyes widened as she slid off me, slumping into the sand, her body shuddering once
,
and then going still. My mind skittered away from the
possibility
of failure. Not this time, this time I would save her.
Clutching my wound, I scrambled over to her.

I pulled Carnwennan out of her, the stone a deeper shade of green and blue, but otherwise unchanged. Chaos was trapped
.
“It’s going to be okay, Ash. Trust me
,”
I whispered.

My hand still had the etching of the Cauldron on it.

Don’s words came back to me.
“If you use the Cauldron a second time, you will likely lose your life.”

“Likely?”

“Well, let’s just say that it will take everything you have and then keep on taking.”

Taking a deep breath
,
I lay it over
Ashling’s
wound,
her
blood
warm
;
I
was dead either way. The wound from Chaos’ sword was on fire
.
T
he pain
was
racing through me and making my heart thump
erratically
.

Warmth spread through me as I willed the Cauldron to heal her, pouring my powers
from
it into her. Her skin flushed pink and began to knit together, the clean slice from Carnwennan closing over in a thin
, white
line.
I felt myself growing weaker by the moment.

But
Ashling
still wasn’t breathing.
I used what
Gormley
had taught me, not to just try to use my powers, but
to
actually give them up. For Ashling, I would give it all up
;
it was the last thing I could do for her
.

Everything I had went into those moments
. First
Card’s power was taken
,
then I felt my own power begin to be drawn
from
me.

“Come on Ash
,”
I whispered. Her body jerked and her chest rose, once, twice.

“She’s breathing!” I screamed, unable to believe that it was working, that I was able to heal her.

Gormley
shuffled over to us. “There is only one problem.”

I lifted my eyes to hers, but didn’t take my hands from Ashling.
The world around me was starting to tilt
.
T
he blood loss was too much.

“We do not want her as our leader
,” the old woman said.
She lifted her hand,
power swirling around her. I wasn’t sure that I had anything left to stop her with.

Ashling began to stir. It would have to be enough
;
it wouldn’t matter if I healed her completely if I
had
let the Fomorii kill her when she was still helpless.

Literally powerless,
using the last of my strength,
I leapt at
Gormley
, tackling her to the gr
ound
.
The
blast of power hit
me square in the chest, throwing me backwards.
T
ime seemed to slow
.
I saw Bres and Luke, running out of the water towards us, Lir close behind them. I saw Ashling sit up, a hand to her head
. H
er eyes were clear.

I hit the throne, my back snapping with the
impact. The bones crunched, splintering
.
I couldn’t stop the scream that ripped out of me.

I am here, granddaughter. The pain will be but a moment.

I’d given Ashling everything to heal her
.
S
he would be okay. It
was the only consolation I had
;
I could feel
my body d
ying
.

Brilliant white light filled my vision and there was the sound of water on the sand, the soft shush of waves whispering in and out of the ocean. Blinking, I looked down to see that I was still in my khaki pants, tall boots
,
and white shirt
,
though the
“
white
”
could be taken into question.

My back didn’t hurt
and
the wound from Chaos’ sword was gone,
but I had a cut on my leg that was bleeding all over the pristine beach, leaving a trail that was not being swept away by the water.
Weird.

Across the sand came two figure
s
. The first didn’t surprise me
, her red hair floating on the wind. The other
,
though
,
shocked the hell out of me.

Balor.

He looked younger, the weight of year
s
and worry had been erased
,
and he looked a great deal like Bres.

They approached slowly, almost languidly
,
as if there were no hurry.

“Cora
,”
I said, rushing forward and hugging her. She squeezed me back. “I’m so sorry, for everything, Quinn.”

“Don’t be
.
I
t’s okay now. Ashling’s al
l
right
,”
I said, meaning it.

Balor reached over and took my hand. “You are an amazing woman, Quinn. I see why Bres loves you so.”

I blushed, not sure what to say, opting for
a
simple. “Thanks.”

Cora took my other hand. “You will not be here long.”

“What?” I whispered, confusion filling me. I was dead
.
T
his was where dead people went, to be with their ancestors.
I’d felt my heart stop beating, felt my body die.

“Why are you here?” I asked Balor.

He shrugged, a soft smile lighting up his face.
“To say goodbye, I think
,” he
answered.

Balor turned me to face the water. “What do you see?”

I squinted, the images dancing over the waves
,
be
c
ame
clearer. Ashling was bent over my body, her mouth open wide in a scream I couldn’t hear. Bres grabbed her, pulled her away from me,
and
put his fingers to my neck.

Then Ashling was there again, her hands on my face. She shook her head.

But what
surprised me was Don. He was on the beach, and he had put
one
hand against my chest and one on my forehead.

Balor
gently
turned me back to face him. “I did you wrong
;
I
judged you based on a skewed prophecy
, instead of who you were, who you are.” He cupped my face. “Can you forgive me?”

I nodded, tears streaking down my cheeks. “Yes. But only because I know you did it for Ashling, because you love her
too
.”

He touched his forehead to mine, then turned and walked away. I blinked and he was gone
;
all that was left of him
were
his footprints in the wet sand.

“I too need to ask forgiveness, and say goodbye
,”
Cora said, her hands turning me to face her now.

“No, you said you wouldn’t leave me
,”
I whispered. “I don’t know you as my grandmother, but you
are
my friend.”