The Gossamer Gate (20 page)

Turning to Ronan, she smi
rked. “As for you,” she said, approaching him. He looked down at her expectantly. She stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear, “Don’t come near me ever again, or I will finish what I started nine years ago. Then you’ll be one dead pixie.”

As she turned to walk through the portal, she heard Liam’s shout of warning. She ducked out of the way as the faerie blade shot just past her head. Khiara turned to see Ronan glowing darkly, surrounded by an inky black fog that pulse
d around him. With determination, she leapt toward the weapon that had embedded in the throne just behind her, struggling to dislodge it from the wood. It was a long knife, more like a short sword, meant for hand-to-hand combat instead of throwing. Her hand was firm around the faerie knife, but it was still not coming loose. As she struggled with it, something tackled her, pinning her to the floor. Her arms stretched to the limit over her head as she continued to cling to the hilt of the knife. She dimly heard Liam’s cry of protest as Ronan’s hand closed around her throat, and the other pinned her wrist. The suffocating death and earth magick pulsed around her, trying to choke her into unconsciousness. She knew that she had to defeat him, or become his prisoner. If the latter happened, there would be no chance of escape the second time around.

With all her strength, she yanked the blade free and sank it into Ronan’s back, between his shoulders. He shouted in pain as the knife pressed deep into his flesh. Khiara felt the warm blood on her hands, but ignored the strange sensation, pushing harder on the blade until it could go no further.

She felt the prince gasping for breath and, for a horrible moment, she remained trapped beneath him as he succumbed to death throes. His hands tightened spasmodically on her throat and wrist. Fear took hold of her as she thought he would choke her or break the bones in her arm.

And then, mercifully, he died.

The faerie’s limp, dead body was surprisingly heavy. With a grunt of effort, Khiara shoved him off of her body and to the floor. She sat up slowly, hardly believing what she had just done.

“Khiara…” Liam was on his knees beside her, breathless
and wrapping his arms around her.

She shook her head and pushed herself to her feet, taking unsteady steps away from the corpse that lay between her and the gate. “I can’t believe I did that,” she finally said as she backed away until she hit the far wall. “I’m so sorry. I know what I’ve done was terribly wrong.”

“He deserved it,” Liam said, rising to follow her. He moved toward her tentatively, his hand outstretched, as one might approach a frightened animal. “Nobody could doubt that. He was a horrible tyrant and, if anything, the Otherworld should be thanking you. The only reason nobody did it sooner was because of who he was. Even our mother knew he was abusing his power. You were just the first person who managed to stop him.”

As he spoke, the door to the ballroom opened, and in walked five faeries.

Ronan’s former wife looked at Khiara with a smile. “You have saved us from his awful spells,” she said, her voice melodic. The lines of middle age had smoothed out, leaving her a beautiful young fae once more. “We are no longer bound to his will. These lands now belong to my sons, and it is my hope that they will be far more just rulers than their father was.”

She turned and, with a wave of her hand, indicated the people standing beside her.

“You have liberated these noble families, and now they can tend to the business of making these lands prosperous and productive once more. We owe you a debt of thanks.”

Closing her eyes in exhaustion, Khiara took a deep breath, then looked at the faeries and shook her head. “I am tired of faerie debts. You owe me nothing. I only want you to prosper. That is thanks enough for me.”

“You are a good woman.” The princess approached her and took both her hands in hers. “I would be pleased to call you sister-in-law one day.”

Khiara glanced at Liam, then back at Ronan’s former wife. “I don’t know that I can grant you that opportunity.”

“You will.” The princess squeezed her hands and nodded with certainty. “Go home for now. We will look forward to seeing you again, my dear friend.”

With a weary smile, Khiara waved at the faeries, all of whom waved back joyfully. She turned to Liam. “I’m sorry to have to say goodbye again. It seems like we
’re always saying it to each other.”

“Then stay and never say goodbye,” he whispered, taking her hand and leaning h
is forehead against hers. “Please, Khiara. Don’t leave me.”

“I have to,” she said, feeling tears prick at her eyes. “I need time to think about everything and to decide what I want.”

“I felt your hesitation with Sean. It was me you spent last night with, not him. You know what your decision should be. You know what it will be.” The conviction in his voice made her heart skip a beat and she held back a sob. “You know you don’t want to leave me,” he said, reaching up with his other hand to cradle her face. “You belong here, and we belong together, forever.”

“Forever is a very long time,” Khiara whispered. “I’m not nearly as certain as you are.”

“You are,” Liam insisted. “You just don’t want to admit it.” His voiced sounded like it was on the verge of breaking, a sound that drove itself through her heart like a knife. Khiara looked at the gate. It pulsed with the energy of the mortal world, calling her home. It was a faintly familiar sensation, but alien at the same time after she had spent so long in the Otherworld.

“I will let you go
.” Liam sighed as he watched her. “Only because I love you and I know you have unfinished business at home. But I will come for you, and when I do, you will know what you want.”

Khiara heard the implied sentiment in that statement as clearly as if he had said it.
You will know that you want to be with me.

She pulled her hand from his and turned to face the window. The last thing she remembered seeing was the green luster diffusing over the once-barren land outside one of the other windows as she stepped through the gate.

Chapter 20

“Khiara’s back!”

“She’s really here?”

Both Cate and Felisa star
ed at her, then squealed and tackled her. Khiara looked around, realizing they were standing in her living room.

“You made it home!” Cate grabbed her in a fierce hug.

Khiara hugged her friend in return, still dazed from the sudden shift. “Where did Sean go?”

“I’m right here, and I’m fine,” he said from behind her. “Are you alright?”

She turned to smile at him and nod. “I think so.”

“Khiara! We’re so happy to see you!” Felisa stepped up for the next hug. “Oh my Goddess, we missed you so much, and we were so worried about you!” Khiara felt almost choked by the hug, but it was good to know her friends had been keeping an eye out for her. “I know,” the Witch said, backing away from her with a smile. “You need a chance to breathe and get your bearings, and you don’t do hugs.”

“How long was I gone?” Khiara asked, scanning the room.

“No more than an hour or so,” Cate said, “but it felt like so much longer than that. Sitting here, waiting, and not knowing whether or not you were going to make it home. It was so difficult to do. We didn’t know if you might get hurt or even killed while you were gone. We were afraid we would never see you again.”

“It would appear that I am home, though,” Khiara said with a wink. “And you are seeing me again.”

“Well, you certainly didn’t hurt your smart-ass sense of humor.” Cate hugged her again, grinning from ear to ear. “I couldn’t have lived without you, Khiara-koo! I would have missed you so much!”

“Alright, that’s enough. We need to give her some time.” Felisa took Cate by the hand. “Let’s give Khiara and Sean some space to get settled. They’ve both been through a lot, and we can hear all about it tomorrow.” She looked at Khiara with a motherly smile. “There’s nice, hot calzones waiting for you in the kitchen. We weren’t sure how long you would be gone, but we ordered some dinner for ourselves and didn’t want to leave you out. We also grabbed some ginger ale for you. Please call us tomorrow, okay?”

“I will,” Khiara promised with a definitive nod of her head. “I’ll tell you all about it. Thank you both for everything. One of the things I was worried about was never seeing my best friends again, so you can count on hearing a play by play.”

“Aw!” Cate pulled her into another hug, but Felisa grabbed the other Witch and directed her to the front door. “Okay, we’re going, we’re going.” Cate sighed and added, “But call us!”

“I already said
I would.” Khiara laughed as her friends left. She turned to Sean and tilted her head. “So, what happens next?” she asked.

“Well, I’m pretty hungry. Why don’t we eat?”

Khiara nodded and led him into the kitchen. The calzones were from their favorite restaurant in town, and still steaming hot. Khiara pulled two plates and glasses out of the cabinets, and forks and knives out of the drawers. She set the table and Sean served the calzones, while she poured drinks. They ate in companionable silence for the first several moments.

“I’ll start,” Sean finally said, setting down his fork.

Khiara nodded and took another bite.

“I meant what I said there, you know. I don’t think I could live without you and I would die for you. You’re my best friend and I want to keep you in my life.” Sean fidgeted with the flatware. “It’s just that… Well, I’m not sure how to say this after everything we’ve been through together in the past few days. I don’t want to sound like an asshole, but I’m afraid I’m going to anyway.”

“No, you won’t sound like an asshole, because I agree with what you’re going to say to me,” Khiara said, as she reached for her glass of soda.

“You do?” Sean looked at her in surprise.

“I love you, and I always will,” Khiara said, “but I know now that I don’t love you in that way. It’s not a romantic kind of love. It’s the love of a friend and confidante. I love you the way I love Cate and Felisa. I know I can rely on you to be there for me, and that makes you like family. It’s a far different love than I thought it was.”

“Hmm,” Sean murmured, looking down at his plate. “So, are you telling me that this means we won’t be having sex?”

With a snort of laughter, Khiara punched him in the arm and shook her head.

“What about that faerie?”

“What faerie?” Khiara asked around a mouth of cheese and vegetables.

“Don’t give me that wide-eyed innocent look,” Sean said with a shake of his head. “You know it doesn’t work with me. You’re both clearly interested in each other.”

“You can tell that?”

“I might be a guy, but I’m not an idiot.”

“Ah.” Khiara wiped her mouth with a napkin. “So I suppose you must have something to say about the subject?”

“Do you love him?”

Khiara did not have to consider the question for even a moment. “I’m pretty sure I do.”

“Does he love you?”

“He says he loves me. Nobody has ever made it that easy for me, though. It’s weird. I’m not sure it’s supposed to be that simple. But,” Khiara sighed, “maybe I’m due for somebody to make it easy on me, after all the crap I’ve gone through in my love life.” She took a swallow of soda and then continued. “The only problem is he kept doing things just to make sure I couldn’t leave the Otherworld. He wanted to be with me almost constantly, and I couldn’t get him to leave me alone half the time. He kept me safe and helped me to get home, and then he said that he would be coming to find me after I’ve had some time to think about things.”

“Wow. That sounds like love to me,” Sean said. “If I felt that way about a girl, I would probably do the same thing – try to keep her near me at all times, protect her, and make plans to see her after we spent time apart.”

Khiara considered his words. “Well, my logical mind tells me to get to know him better, the way I know you. But my heart says… As silly as it sounds, it says this feels right.”

“It sounds to me as if you’ve pretty much always followed your head,” Sean mused. “What do you think might happen if you follow your heart for once?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Is that what freaks you out about the whole thing?”

Khiara looked at him across the table and felt realization dawn. “Yes, that’s exactly what freaks me out,” she answered with a grin, as she laughed at herself. “I have no idea what will happen if I just go with my emotions.”

“You’re a smart girl, but it doesn’t hurt to gamble once in a while.” Sean rose to rinse his dishes and set them in the sink. “He said he would give you time to think. My advice to you, not that you asked for it, is not to think too much. It will only confuse you.”

He kissed her on the top of her head, a surprising gesture of affection, and then left her alone.

****

The day of Lughnassadh dawned bright and hot. Khiara looked out the window and waved at Cate and Felisa, who had just arrived to begin decorating the back yard. She turned to the mirror to make sure everything was in place.

It felt strange to have been back in th
e mortal world for the past month. She was unable to shake the experience of traveling through the Otherworld, no matter how hard she tried to put it behind her.

But t
here had been no contact from Liam.

Sean encouraged her to seek Liam for herself. He seemed to sense that she was pulling away from the mortal world, even as she tried to keep her mind and body firmly in it. Their friendship was stronger than it ever had been
, which left Khiara to wonder if adversity was what it took to remind people of what was important in life.

Both Cate and Felisa seemed strangely disappointed by Khiara’s choice to return to the mortal realm. Once they had heard the complete story, they had pressed her for every detail about Liam. Khiara answered their questions and, from that day forward, they would check with her daily to find out if he had been in touch with her. Her friends’ expectations were almost exhausting.

“So?” Cate said as she trotted up the stairs to Khiara’s room. “Are you going to see how everything looks?”

“Sure,” she responded distractedly as she gazed at the mirror.

“Oh no, there you go again.”

“What?” Khiara turned to look at Cate in surprise.

Cate rolled her eyes as she planted her hands firmly against her hips. “You’ve got that faraway look in your eyes, like you’d rather be somewhere else.”

“I do not.” Khiara studied her reflection.

“Felisa and I already know very well where you want to be, and who you want to be with. My Goddess, just be honest and let the cat out of the bag.”

“What cat?”

Cate shook her head in annoyance. “You don’t really want to be here, do you?  I mean, what was that whole thing last week about making sure your assets were turned over to me?”

“That was a just-in-case scenario, that’s all,” said Khiara. “Everybody should be prepared.”

“Felisa suggested it and you went along with it. That means something, Khiara. And, by the way, every time we mention Liam’s name, you look more and more disappointed. He hasn’t come for you yet, and no matter how hard you try to live in this world, you want him to bring you back to the Otherworld.”

Khiara scoffed and said, “That seems to be what you and Felisa want to see – some dashing faerie prince come and drag me out of here, to take me to my happily ever after.”

“What we want is for you to be happy.”

“Excuse me?” Felisa
came into the room to stand behind Cate. “It’s time to begin.”

Cate gave Khiara one final, searching look, then turned and went back downstairs. Felisa came into the room. “Don’t mind her. She just doesn’t want to lose you again, but at the same time she wants to see you happy. She’s probably just as conflicted as you’ve been.”

“What makes anybody think they could possibly lose me?”

Felisa pulled Khiara into a hug. “We know you went through a lot. Things change. You were happy and content here, and now you’re not. It’s time for you to move on, and we all know it.”

“Move on to where?” Khiara asked dazedly.

“I think you know where.”

With a shake of her head, she answered, “I couldn’t get there even if I tried. I have no connection, no bond to the Otherworld. I’ve tried to recall every single moment and sensation I felt there, hoping it would somehow bring Liam to me, but it hasn’t worked.”

“Look, just go do your ritual and think about what I’ve said.”

Khiara felt tears coming to her eyes. “Is this you and Cate trying to get rid of me, so she can take my place as High Priestess?” she said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“No, of course not
.” Felisa laughed and hugged her again. “This is us accepting that what you really want isn’t in this world. It’s in the other one.”

****

Khiara ran the ritual as if she were in the middle of a waking dream. It flowed beautifully and raised potent energy. She almost thought she could feel the power of the faerie realm in that energy, mirroring the magick they worked. Games in honor of Lugh followed, and the party lasted well into the night as the coveners and their guests celebrated the first harvest.

Cate and Felisa were the last people to leave.

“Do what you were meant to do,” Felisa whispered in Khiara’s ear. “We love you.”

“I love you
too,” Khiara answered as she embraced her friend. Felisa reached up to wipe at her eyes, turning as if to hide the gesture.

“Thank you for everything,” Cate said as she stepped up to Khiara and hugged her.

“Stop it. Nothing has changed.” Khiara shook her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Cate looked at he
r with one eyebrow raised, but said nothing else.

As the ladies departed, Khiara felt tears on her cheeks. She had no idea if they were hers, Felisa’s
, or Cate’s. “Goodbye,” she whispered to their retreating forms.

Khiara turned to see that
other guests had already done most of the work of cleaning up. They had returned the yard to its normal state, put the trash and recycling in their proper bins, and the decorations back in their boxes. She looked at the bonfire as she sank down on one of the lawn chairs. She could not understand why everyone was so convinced that she was leaving, let alone wanted to leave them again.

As she looked into the fire, she could see the Otherworld. It flashed before her like flickers of long-ago memories. She closed her eyes, but the reminiscences were just as vivid
beneath her lids. She could almost hear the sound of the raven, Liam’s faithful familiar, which had warned of danger so many times. She could almost feel the mist of the faerie lands that made her skin tingle with ethereal magick.

Even more potent than that, she could feel Liam’s magick – the mirror image of her own: fire and steel, the sort that forged weapons and passionate, lasting bonds. She opened her eyes to gaze into the fire again, to realize that she actually could see the Otherworld. It was the forest where she had first met Liam. The raven was watching her, cocking its head this way and that.