Lorcan licked his lips. “Ah my pet, fear will taste so good on you.”
On his command, the demons began to lash out, burn, scratch, and bite at her. She screamed and cried for help, for mercy, for the pain to stop. But there was no mercy here. Her screams were only answered with more pain.
Devlin watched in horror as Rowan was now on her knees, arms stretched and screaming in pain. She looked terrifying.
“Stop. Please stop. I beg you,” Rowan pleaded. She let out another scream and tears trailed down her face.
Adam got closer to her and watched in horror as red angry burn marks gave way on her arms and over her torso. “She’s getting burned!”
Ugly red handprints and scratches were showing up one after another on her body and Rowan let out with a shrill that all but burst Adam’s eardrums. Ava sank to her knees and started rocking while she prayed. This has gone too far.
Desperate for help, Devlin sat in the corner of the room scanning every memory he had from their joining. There had to be something else he had missed. Something that was going to shatter this nightmare and bring her back to him.
Visions of Ro as a small child playing outside, blowing out candles on her birthday cake, running in the woods, fishing in lakes. Ballocks! None of it was helpful. Searching, searching Devlin didn’t stop: Ro’s sitting in a tree reading, high school graduation, college parties, laughing in her studio, dinners on the beach. By the Gods, there must be something he can use! More and more memories flooded his mind until he was sick and dizzy. Then he slowed them down and realized something. Almost every single memory had someone else in it. There was another girl with Rowan. A blonde. Rowan had called her Brinley.
He had no idea how he was going to find this woman, but he had to try. Racing out of the house and towards his own, Devlin wanted to find Rowan’s cell phone. He’d start by calling every number until he found the girl in his head. She was connected to Rowan in some way. If he couldn’t reach Rowan, maybe this Brinley could.
Chapter 15
Christine was sound asleep in her quiet bedroom. The baby monitor was humming with light static, the little red light glowing assurance that it was working. Christine was cuddled up to her husband in an attempt to warm up in the chilly room. She’d been thinking about the past a lot lately. They were moving out of state for her husband’s job in a few days. Packing up boxes and going through stuff in storage, she’d been doing a lot of reminiscing. Tonight, she dreamed she was in her old house.
“Mommy,” someone chimed. “Mommy, come play with me.”
The voice was her son’s and she followed the sweet sound down the hallway and towards her old bedroom. A black dog stood in front of the door denying her entry.
“Mommy, mommy come play with me,” he said from the other side of the door.
The door knob jiggled.
Something wasn’t right. Christine was getting scared.
“Mommy, let me out. Let me out.” The voice grew deeper and deeper, morphing into a sound that was not her son. “Let… me… out…”
The dog reared its head, hairs standing on end, as it started gnashing its teeth at the door.
Christine woke up with a jolt. Her arms covered with chills, she was trying to catch her breath while she scanned the room for danger. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing there.
Now, Christine is a practical woman. She is always looking for the logical explanation for things. Clasping her hand around the gold cross on her neck, she said a prayer. She never thought much of ghosts or the boogey man, regardless of her friends’ tales, but she didn’t dismiss them either. You didn’t have to see something with your own eyes to believe it exists. Some things you just know.
But something was wrong, she could feel it. And only one word popped into her head: Rowan.
Grabbing her phone, she dialed Rowan’s house and got nothing, her cell, her studio, nothing. She left messages and texts. Next she dialed Brinley. The phone picked up on the fourth ring and Christine explained to Brinley what happened in the dream. This was not a drama oh-my-gosh-it-was-so-scary dream. This was a holy-shit-something-bad-is-about-to-happen dream. Brinley tried to calm Christine down and promised to call her as soon as she found out something. Christine was a natural at being a Mother Hen about things, Brinley, on the other hand, didn’t get herself into too much of a snit over anything.
It was early in the morning and Brinley had stayed up late doing paper work. Tired and groggy, she dialed Rowan’s house slowly and got the machine. Next she called Ro’s cell and the voice that picked up was deep and rushed.
“Yeah, hey,” yawn “Can you give Rowan the phone, I need to speak her with pronto.”
“Nay, lass, I cannot. Who is this?”
His voice was sexy as hell, deep and demanding. Brinley couldn’t help but smile and she sat up in her bed. “Uh, put her on the phone. What the hell are you doing answering her phone to begin with?”
Silence.
“Hello? PUT RO ON THE PHONE, ASSHOLE!”
“I... I cannot. Are ye Brinley?”
“Yeah, who are you?”
“Where are ye? I need to come for ye now. Rowan is in great danger lass,” his voice was a mix of relief and panic.
“Woah buddy. Put Rowan on the phone or I’m calling the cops. I’m not fucking around.” Rowan had that tracking app on her phone so Brinley hoped the cops could find her. Brinley hated making empty threats.
“Brinley, please listen to me. Rowan is in serious trouble. I need to come get ye. Now.”
“Um. No. I’m calling the cops if you don’t give the phone to Rowan right now. I fucking mean it.”
“PLEASE LISTEN TO ME! My name is Devlin O’Connor. Rowan is with me and she’s trapped in some type of trance we canna break her out of. She’s suffering and I’m desperate. We need your help.”
To anybody else, that might have sounded like a Mad Hatter spouting out lunacy on the other end of the line. But Brinley wasn’t just anybody else. And her friend was in trouble. Brinley had a moment where déjà vu slapped her brain with memories of Rowan stuck in dreams and trances growing up; this isn’t the first time her bestie has gotten herself into hot water.
That combined with the phone call Christine just gave her, Brinley knew this wasn’t a joke. The man said Rowan was in a trance, no serial killer would make that kind of bullshit up to lure her in. Fuck. This was the real deal.
Brinley gave him her address and then packed her bag quickly, all the while thinking, Rowan, what the hell did you do now?
Devlin went racing Sidhe-style, back to Adam’s. The scene in the living room hadn’t improved, but wasn’t much worse either. Rowan was splayed out on her back, arms and legs stretched out and sweat was pouring off of her. She was crying and whimpering but wouldn’t relax her limbs. Adam had gotten a basin with ice water and some rags to cool her down and soothe her burns. Ava was praying and singing to her in a language Devlin didn’t know.
Devlin tried to look past the scene and focus on what he needed to do. “Adam, I need you to come with me. I hope I’ve found someone who can help us, but we must travel through the trees to get her.”
Adam didn’t wait for more of an explanation. There was no time. If a hope was all they had, then so be it – they were desperate.
Together, the men dashed out of the house and into the woods. Marching towards the sacred circle, they clasped hands together and the world turned upside down. Devlin had a lot more practice with traveling this way so when they landed on the other side he was still upright and braced to sprint. Running away from the Scarlet Oak, they raced up the path and towards the manor house. His speed was as fast as Adam’s now, having transformed to part Sidhe.
Grabbing the keys, they got in the Audi and headed towards the address Brinley had given him. Devlin prayed to the Gods that the woman could indeed help Rowan. Every minute that ticked away, her pain was worse and danger was deeper. Devlin was absolutely sick with grief
and heartache and the distance between them now was killing him. The sooner they returned, the sooner he could hold Rowan and find a way to bring her back.
They pulled up to a little one-floor house with bright colored flower pots lining the front steps, each holding mums just starting to bloom for fall. Devlin hopped out of the car and left the engine running while Adam waited in the passenger seat.
Approaching the cheery blue door, it opened before he had a chance to knock. A young blonde wearing a black sweater, jeans and UGGs stepped outside carrying a black backpack stuffed till the seams all but burst. Not waiting for introductions, she pushed past him, slamming the door behind her, and said, “Take me to her.”
Adam watched the two march out of the house in a hurry. The woman seemed all business and looked like pure pleasure. He didn’t say a word.
Brinley was scared, but that emotion usually morphed into fury for her. “I don’t understand any of this, and I don’t really care at this point. Just get me to Ro as fast as you got yourself here.” She vaguely noticed a body occupying the passenger side so she slid into the back seat.
Devlin smiled a bit as she barked her orders. Aye, no wonder Ro and the lass were friends. The wee sprites were cut from the same cloth that was for sure. Devlin slammed the car in reverse and peeled out of the driveway and back towards the manor house and the Scarlet Oak.
Brinley didn’t bother with sugar coating. “So what the hell happened? I find it hard to believe that Rowan came up with this idea all by herself. She hasn’t done shit like this for a very long time. And for good reason too. The girl’s got some fucked up nightmares that seem to follow her around like bad karma.”
Well, boy, didn’t she hit the nail on the head.
Adam spoke first, “Rowan was trying to help us. It was I who pushed her to do it. I was blinded by selfishness and forced her to try and speak with spirits to get some much needed answers. We know of her nightmares. And we know what she did to bring such darkness to her doorstep.”
Brinley froze, surprised by his deep, dark, and dangerous voice. How come Brinley just noticed him sitting there? She swallowed hard. “Who are you?”
“Adam, my dear. Although I hardly see this as a time for proper introductions.”
Brinley nodded her head and kept her eyes on the road. Adam. His name was Adam. Brinley rolled his words around in her head, playing his voice over and over again like a sexy scene in a movie. Her body was light and jittery though she couldn’t figure out if it was adrenaline from this adventure or the result of Adam’s voice. She leaned over to the middle of the car to get a better look at the man.
Man was not the word. Warrior was better. God was even closer still. Holy shit, he was sexy. Short black hair, clean shaven, and eyes like Frank Sinatra. Brinley felt a pull low in her belly and a heat rising from lower down. Oh boy. Now was not the time for distractions.
“Apologies, my dear,” Adam growled. “I know this is asking a lot from you. We meant no harm to Rowan, but my bad decisions have made –”
“We are all to blame, not just Adam,” Devlin interjected. “Rowan was the only one who could get to the other side and have our questions answered. She agreed to it, though not without some reservation. We thought we were safe, protected.” Devlin growled as he choked the steering wheel like it was someone’s neck. “We were verra wrong.”
With a huff, she righted her body in the backseat and reprimanded herself for getting sidetracked with lusty thoughts when there was a damsel in distress to save. Brinley sat in the backseat, the hairs on her arms stood up, and her mind was racing. Every time she’d go to open her mouth to ask a question, she’d shut it again. Her thought process was all jumbled and she couldn’t tell if it was from the adrenaline of what she was doing, the fear for her best friend, or the affects from the man in the passenger seat.
They pulled up the driveway showcasing a long a fence with horses galloping in greeting. A huge manor house tucked away in the trees was the color of butter. Brinley’s favorite color was yellow. It’s such a happy color, she thought - which was quite possibly the stupidest thing to be thinking at the moment.
They pulled into the garage and promptly went back outside towards the woods. Brinley followed without question, trying to figure out if she was an idiot for doing this or not. It could be a trap. There are some fucked up people in this world that would happily lure a woman into the woods far from help. But no, something in her gut said that this was all real and that these men would not harm her.
They walked up to a huge tree deep in the woods. Like a fiery gem, its leaves brighter and richer than any other tree surrounding it. It was breathtaking. Brinley stared up at the tree, mesmerized by its colors when Devlin said, “Hold hands with us, lass. We must hurry.”
Brinley broke her gaze away from the branches and stepped closer to the gentlemen. They were standing side by side already and looked like sexy, deadly bookends. One slightly taller than the other, they were each a huge mass of muscle, power and confidence drizzled in sexiness. It was enough to make her swoon right there in the dirt and crunchy leaves. Shaking herself out of distraction (damnit!) she grabbed Devlin’s hand first. It was twice the size of hers, warm and rough.
“What are we doing here? Where are we going?” she asked while reaching over and grabbing Adam’s offered hand. A jolt of electricity went sizzling up her arm and down the rest of her body. She gasped and snapped her head to look at him.
“To Ireland,” he answered.
There was only one hot second where she saw his eyes burn like a thousand suns searing right through her when she felt a pull and whoosh! Falling, falling, falling Brinley thought she was in one of those horrible nightmares where you have to wake up before your body hits the ground with a splat. Everything was tumbling and morphing and twisting around her. She briefly wondered if she was going to see the Wicked Witch of the West on her broomstick fly by when her feet hit the ground hard and she was knocked on her ass.
“Oof!” She got herself back up to standing and cursed under her breath. Rubbing her butt, she felt slightly embarrassed at being the only one who fell but was so thrilled with the ride she just smiled. That. Was. Awesome.
Brinley liked anything that went fast. Turns, loops, dips and slopes, she loved them all. Her last time at Hershey Park she got on the Super Duper Looper three times in a row - Rowan stayed put on the solid, unmoving ground and held her sunglasses and purse for her the whole time. Breaking free from that memory, she took a step towards the gawking men.
Ireland. She was in Ireland, that fast.
Well, this confirmed it. Rowan has definitely gotten herself mixed up with more magic than she could chew now. For some reason, this wasn’t a big surprise to Brinley. There was always something about Rowan that had Brinley thinking there was more to her than what she was saying. Brinley believed in the things most others didn’t. You had to, to be friends with Rowan.
Brinley was now a woman on a mission. “Which way boys?”
Adam studied Brinley from a few paces back. The lass was an enigma. He’d had not met a woman the likes of her in all his days in the human world. Much like Rowan, she had a spine made of the purest steel. She’d not hesitated to come when hearing her friend was in trouble. She wasn’t a scared meek mouse when they led her to the woods, and trusted them fully. Spilling out of the chaos they’d traveled in, she fell down upon landing and got herself back up. She relied on no one but herself.
Hair the color of sunshine and eyes big and round, full of light, she was slender and tall. The woman obviously took care of herself. Her body did all the talking as she walked behind Devlin and in front of Adam. The woman was hot as Hell. Adam couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Snapping out of his thoughts he snarled at himself with disgust. Distractions… Adam didn’t like them.
Hearing the growl coming from behind her, Brinley startled and her stomach flip-flopped. She turned around expecting to see a wild animal, but all she saw w
as a beast with Frank Sinatra eyes staring at her. Oh God, he was gorgeous. Slowing down her pace, she had to pick it up again to quickly catch back up with Devlin who was all but running towards a clearing. She stepped out of the woods and was facing the Garden of Eden - at least that’s how it looked to Brinley.
They went past a gate that led to a lush garden patio. The colors within so bright and cheery it didn’t seem real – especially for this time of year. It was October in the cold wet moors of Ireland and this place dripped of warm exotic scents of summer. The flowers stretched and weaved towards the sun. Tiny birds and insects fluttered everywhere. A fox was running through a thatch of roses and up a cobblestone path. It made her skin tingle and goosebumps ripple down her body. This is what magic feels like to Brinley. It had been a long time since she felt the prickles of static down her spine. She smiled automatically, eager for more.
They went towards the back entrance to an absolute mansion. The house was gigantic. White and regal, it boasted windows that nearly took up the whole house itself. Brinley loved windows; more sunlight could shine in that way.
Shatter - Sins of the Sidhe Page 15
