Unshapely Things (36 page)

I could almost see the darkness in my mind now. It was biding its time, like it knew it would win eventually. I laughed. It was only going to win a dead body.

The Fomorian was snuffling along the perimeter of the wall now. He was looking for me, and he would find me. I felt bad about Briallen. I hoped she wouldn't be too disappointed. I fumbled in my pocket for the cell phone. I decided to leave a message for her if she woke up. She would need to know what she was up against. No signal. I tossed the phone away, wincing at the pain. The Fomorian swung his head around at the noise and moved toward it.

I wished she could know I had my ability back at the end. She would have been happy for me. My head felt heavy, and I let my chin fall to my chest. I tried to will away the pain and focus on happy memories. Times when I didn't know how tough it was going to be, when I thought practicing simple levitations in Briallen's house was the tough stuff.

I picked my head up. The darkness in my head hadn't won yet. It was returning, but I could still feel my abilities. I still had them, and I was about to die an idiot. I had one more shot. It would probably kill me, but I had to try. I placed my hands against the ground and pulled as much essence out of the earth as I could. My vision flashed red as my mind screamed at the effort. I was the only one who could reach her. I didn't need a fucking cell phone. When I couldn't hold any more, I released all the essence in one massive sending. I called Briallen.

Exhausted, I collapsed to the ground. Blood stung my eyes. I pawed at them feebly. The creature still haunted the edges of the fort. My vision blurred as I let my head loll against the ground. I stared up into the sky, the strange moon a pale blur. Its surface seemed to ripple. I tried to clear my vision, but the moon just rippled again. It folded in on itself, a twist of white light that cascaded down from the sky like an unwinding ribbon. Soundlessly, it hit me like a tidal wave.

My body convulsed as essence coursed through my veins. Spikes of pain shot through my broken body, and I screamed. I think I did lose consciousness for a moment. I opened my eyes. The darkness had fled from my mind again. The pain went with it. I couldn't feel anything. Nothing but Power.

Amazed, I pulled myself to my feet. My body vibrated with more Power than I had ever felt. I could feel Briallen. My eyes swept the parade ground, but didn't see her. But I could feel her. Realization swept over me. She was inside me. Somehow, I could feel Briallen's essence inside me. And feel her Power. I could tap it.

I lifted the dagger. The runes on the blade flared with a ghostly pale fire. It became a thing alive in my hand, pulsating. And growing. Essence flowed down my arm. The blade stretched and grew into a burning sword of red flame.

Sensing the surge of power from me, the Fomorian turned. I watched his eye home in on me. He charged through the fog, black lighting coursing around him. I grasped the sword with both hands and pointed the blade. With a shout, I tapped all the essence inside me. A crackle of blazing red energy burst from the focused tip of the blade. Crimson fire raced across the field. A ball of fierce hot light engulfed the Fomorian, blinding me with its intensity. I heard a screeching wail of pain.

And then nothing.

Phantom black spots flickered in my eyes as my vision cleared. The Fomorian was gone. Scorched earth marked the spot where he had stood.

I swayed on my feet. My body felt like an empty husk. I couldn't feel anything inside. Not Briallen. Not even my own essence. I had purged everything out of me. The darkness in my head settled back in, cutting off any ability to tap essence. Again. I fell to the ground.

I watched the seawall fall back and heard the crashing surge of a flood outside the fort. The strange moon faded away, and the stars came out. Cold, crisp stars in the blanket of night sky. Only for a moment though. The clouds that had hung over the city all day swirled back and blotted out the light.

Time felt suspended. I don't know how long I lay there. I could feel blood and sweat saturating my clothes. I could sense broken bones and worse inside me. But I didn't feel any pain. A bad sign. A very bad sign. Not far off, Corcan and Shay lay, still not moving. In the dark entryway to the fort, I could make out Murdock's inert body. And Keeva. Keeva, I didn't feel at all. Not her essence. Not her body. Nothing. She was gone. Meryl had dreamed it. She had seen this final moment. It was going to end with everyone around me dead and me not far behind. I whispered an apology to all of them.

A fat drop of rain hit me on the face. Then another and another. Curtains of water gushed down as the clouds opened. It felt cold and good in a distant way. In the darkness of the passage beyond Murdock, something moved. A tall, pale shape shimmered there, moving toward me. The image resolved itself into that of a woman walking. She paused on the edge of the parade ground, seeming to take in the carnage. Slowly, she came to me across the grass, stark white and beautiful. Even her hair shone white. She smiled through tears streaming down her face. Gently, she reached out a hand and placed it on my forehead. "Sleep," Briallen said. And I did.

An insistent beeping roused me from deep sleep. I had the vague notion I should fling my arm out and destroy an alarm clock. The thought woke me even more, but only mentally. My body felt leaden. The beeping sound clarified, resolving into a steady rhythm. I recognized it now. It wasn't an alarm. It was a heart monitor. With an effort, I dragged my eyelids up.

Old acoustical tiles covered the ceiling. Directly over my head, someone with a probably annoyingly cheerful personality had put a yellow smiley face sticker. I could feel an essence comfortably radiating against my side. Curled into a ball near my waist, Stinkwort slept. Next to the bed, Briallen sat in a vinyl-covered armchair. She was sleeping, too. I hadn't imagined her at the fort. Her skin was paler than ever, and her hair was stark white.

The heart monitor beeped away. An IV stand with several bags dangling from it stood at the head of the bed. A tangle of plastic tubing ran from the bags and disappeared under wads of white tape on my arm. A brace on my right leg made the bedcover look like a mountain range. A plaster cast was on my left arm. The doorway and windows in the room were wreathed in lavender and dill. Using my famous skills of deduction, I realized I was back in Avalon Memorial.

A vase on the nightstand held a bouquet of black roses. Careful not to rouse Stinkwort, I reached for the card. The front had another smiley face, this one with two black Xs instead of eyes and a tongue sticking out of its mouth. I opened it.

Dear Connor. Don't Die.
XXOO, Meryl. P.S. Nice going on that whole end of the world thing.

I smiled. I guess I was wrong about the relentlessly cheerful smiley face owner. I placed the card back on the nightstand. It slid off and fluttered to the floor. I didn't even try to catch it.

"We have to stop meeting like this," said Briallen.

Exhausted, I moved only my eyes to look at her. She was sitting up straighter, but however long her nap had been didn't erase the fatigue from her face.

"How's Murdock?"

"He's fine. He's two floors down."

I frowned. It was unusual for Avalon to treat humans. "Why's he here?"

"Power backlash of some kind. It's playing with his essence, but he appears fine. He doesn't remember anything after showing up at the fort. Want to tell me what happened?"

"First, tell me about the others."

She leaned forward. "Shay's exhausted, but fine, at least physically. When they brought him here after Castle Island, he woke up screaming. Apparently he was having blackouts and his memories came back. He was at some of the murders. Gillen found the remnants of a possession spell on him."

"Makes sense," I said. "I couldn't figure out why Shay kept having so many connections to what was happening. Gethin must have used him to find victims and gain access to Corcan Sidhe."

Briallen nodded in agreement. "He's blaming himself for what happened, but, really, he was defenseless against someone like that."

Poor Shay. I hoped he was strong enough to get past it. "What about Corcan?"

"I'm told he's healthier than ever. The ritual had a positive effect on him." She paused.

"Keeva's dead," I said.

Briallen took my hand and squeezed. "No, hon'. She's alive. Why did you think she was dead?"

Relief swept over me. "I thought I watched her die. What did she say?"

"She said she put a barrier over the fort to contain the spell."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

I nodded. Keeva being modest was interesting.

"Okay. Me. What's wrong?"

"Let's see ... a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung, torn knee ligaments, your arm is fractured in three places, a concussion ..." She smiled. "You've been out of it for nine days. Let's just say for now that you're not dead and leave it at that."

I didn't say anything for a moment. I could feel emotional heat rise in my face. Briallen knew me pretty well. She knew I didn't like crying. "I had my ability back, Briallen. It's gone again, but I had it back and I still failed."

She rubbed my hand. "You didn't fail. You beat the thing, averted a catastrophe, and everyone escaped relatively unharmed."

"Relatively."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I won't argue with you today."

"Was that really you at the end?"

She leaned back in her chair. "Yes and no. Your sending blew the door off my sanctum. I knew I wouldn't get to you in time. So, I sent as much of my essence to you as I could.

"I almost killed you, too, didn't I?"

She smiled. "I won't lie. I took a huge risk and drained myself almost to nothing. But you didn't almost kill me."

"How did you send the image of the moon when you were in a trance?"

She gave me a curious look.

"I saw a full moon when there shouldn't have been any. A gargoyle told me it wasn't my moon. It's what made me think of you. I thought you sent it."

She shook her head. "I don't know what you saw. You were in a dimensional vortex. Who knows where you really were at that moment? The Wheel turns as it will, Connor. I have no idea why a gargoyle would know that about the Power of the Moon, but I'm glad it did."

We didn't speak for a long moment. Talking of the moon brought me back to the fort. I remember watching the fireworks and the flits and the thought crossing my mind that it felt familiar. It wasn't just Meryl's dream either. She had seen the end—the bodies and the injuries. I had seen flashes of everything else before that. The lights. The sword. And the bug-eyed monster. In retrospect, I realized what that meant.

"I dreamed the whole thing," I said. "Well, not the whole thing. Most of it. Just not enough. Like you said, I'm not a Dreamer, at least I wasn't that I knew of. I didn't understand that I was dreaming the future until just now. I thought I was just having nightmares."

Briallen tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. "Maybe this mystery thing in your head is forcing your abilities in new directions."

"I don't want new directions. I want my abilities back."

She sighed. "One of these days you're going to be pleased by the curves that life throws you, Connor, and I, for one, can't wait to experience the novelty."

I smiled at her. "So tell me about this dagger that turns into a sword."

She shrugged. "Actually, it's a sword that turns into a dagger."

"And ... ?"

"And, that's it. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

I let it lie. Briallen would tell me what she wanted me to know in her own good time. I glanced down at the still-sleeping Stinkwort. "What happened to Gethin?"

"I'll let Joe tell you. It's his story."

There was a knock, and Keeva stuck her head in the door. "Oh, sorry, I can come back."

Briallen stood. "No, I was just leaving. If Gillen Yor finds me still here, he'll raise bloody hell. He's a little territorial." She bent over and kissed me on the cheek. We looked at each other in silence for a moment, small smiles on our faces.

She turned and nodded at Keeva. Keeva lowered her gaze and bowed as though she were at court. It was nice to know she respected somebody. She waited until Briallen was gone before she dropped herself into the armchair. She placed an envelope on her lap.

"I thought you died," I said. She looked like hell. Not as pale as Briallen, but definitely not her usual vibrant self.

She gave me a disgusted look. "That spell you gave me ricocheted and bound me into the damn wall." I suppressed a smile. Of all methods I had envisioned torturing Keeva with over the years, trapping her in a wall hadn't come up. She ran a hand through her hair. "Fortunately, the binding broke when you killed the Fomorian."

I tried to sound reasonable. "So, I did a good thing."

"And when the seawall fell, I got sucked out into the harbor in the backlash. I had no energy left to fly, and it took me three hours to swim back in."

"Trapped in a wall and swept out to sea. Bad day." I lost the battle with the smile. We both laughed. It felt good.

"I thought you died, too," she said.

"I don't know why I didn't."

She grew very serious. "Never question life, Connor. Question its point all you want, but not life itself."

"So now you're a philosopher, too?"

"I'm just saying we don't always get to know why things work out the way they do."

She opened the envelope, pulled a picture out, and handed it to me. It was a black-and-white of a crowded street. One figure's face was circled. Gethin macLorcan.

"That was taken in Munich early last fall," Keeva said. "He lived there with his mother. That's her next to him." Gerda Alfheim looked tall and elegant just standing in a long dark coat. Her eyes had a furtive look but she didn't seem aware of the photographer. I didn't particularly go in for elves, but I could see why macDuin had been attracted to her.

"As a known terrorist, Gerda Alfheim was under surveillance. From what macDuin told me, Gerda lured him to Germany because Gethin was dying. MacDuin refused to help with the blood ritual. It was all a ruse though. They knew he would refuse. Gethin secretly came here while Lorcan was there, somehow got his hands on some passwords, and gained access to the Guildhouse. He stole the stones and a couple of old grimoires."