Rowan watched as the dagger’s killing magic spread like a black plague over Lorcan’s body, slowly turning him to hard glass. It crackled and moved up his struggling arms and tattooed back, down his beautiful face and neck. He let out a scream of terror and betrayal while she screamed back in his face, never breaking her stare. Rage, rage, she kept screaming her rage.
Lorcan tried to reach for her, to kill her too, but it was no use. He wasn’t strong enough to fight off the magic in that blade. The Shadow Lord was bested by the queen. His screams were silenced when his lungs seized up and heart stopped beating. Before long, Lorcan was nothing but a kneeling, screaming statue of solid black glass.
Rowan. Kept. Fucking. Screaming. Her. Rage.
She’d gone so deep into her dead zone; she couldn’t climb her way out. The world was blocked out and she was consumed by the fire inside herself. She didn’t move, rooted to the spot in front of the darkness that was on his knees. Rowan thought he looked like a painfully frightening fallen angel. Lorcan’s death was on her hands, and it had not been painful or slow enough for her.
Somewhere, in the darkest depths of her soul, she mourned. She lost a piece of herself this day. A part of her died. Rowan fought the suffocating urge to get more power. It felt so good she couldn’t help but want more. Shaking those evil temptations out of her head, Rowan tried to calm down and not feed the fires anymore. She needed to come back to herself but was struggling to do so.
Quieting down, she felt lost, scared, and alone. Exhaustion was setting in. Rowan needed to find her ground before she lost herself completely. But she couldn’t feel anything. Rowan was oblivious to everything around her, except for the magic that surged through her body, and the heartbeat that swished in her ears.
Her anchor, she needed her anchor.
Rowan steadied herself. Lightheaded and numb, she was completely exhausted. That familiar push and pull came again. It was Devlin. She felt him grasping feebly for her in the back of her mind, and his earth was calling for her to sink into him. She grabbed that lifeline, as weak as it was in that moment, and pulled herself out of her dead zone. It took a lot for Rowan to snap back to herself, but she managed. Strong and stubborn was she.
So caught up in reining herself in, Rowan didn’t notice that the composition of the dark statue was starting to change. The sounds of cracking, snaps and clacks were echoing in the bedchamber. The pops and cracks were getting louder and faster, ringing alarm bells in her head. It was so familiar. Oh no! Rowan knew what that was; she recognized it from spending so many nights in her studio. It’s the sound that comes from hot glass being plunged into coldness.
“RUN!” Rowan looked over to Devlin and screamed for him to run. She tried to sprint when she realized what was happening, but her feet didn’t move fast enough. Her mind and body were once again out of sync. “RUN NOW!” she screamed to him again.
Rowan covered her face as Lorcan, the Shadow Lord who had turned to solid black glass, exploded like a bomb. Shards went flying with the force of bullets and shrapnel, spraying the room with razor sharp glass.
Devlin broke free from the remaining demons and held his arm over his face as he tried to run towards Rowan in an attempt to block her from the force of thousands of deadly pieces of glass cutting through the air. But he was too far away and he wasn’t fast enough. The blast hit her full throttle with no mercy.
He ran over to Rowan and stared at what was left of his beautiful wife as she collapsed to the ground. She was covered in glass, some the size of daggers and arrows were stuck in her arms and chest. She’d taken off her armor in an attempt to look more vulnerable and appealing to the Shadow Lord, and it had cost her dearly. She was bleeding everywhere.
Devlin tried to pluck out as many pieces as he could, but some were embedded too deep. She was shaking from the trauma and was going into shock. Rowan could do nothing but stare up at the man she loved. She was scared by the look on his face but not dissuaded.
We did it, she said silently. Fuck! It hurt like hell to move. Hissing in pain, she tried to keep up her bravado. It was hard to breathe there was so much that hurt.
Devlin didn’t speak. Instead he poured all the love and pride he had into her. He stared at his wife, still looking on the bright side of the dark side, as was her talent, and tried to not crumble under the heartbreak. She was a warrior unlike any other, the love of his life, and she was beyond wounded. How could this have happened? Why did he not realize what it meant when he heard those cracks?
“I couldna stop it, mo chroí. I didna realize what was going to happen until it was too late. The cracking… I … I didna ken what was going to happen.” If he had known, he could have gotten to her faster instead of being distracted with the sight before his eyes. She had no armor, no guard, nothing.
Rowan looked at him and tried to breathe through the pain she felt. It came out in short pants because anything more was excruciating. She didn’t want to show her pain though, not when Devlin was giving her so much love.
“We won. Lorcan is gone. That is… a good thing.” Rowan trailed off with her own thoughts for a minute. She’d done something good today. She’d made the world a better place. Her mind clouded over from pain and Devlin pulled her back to him.
“Dinna leave me now lass. I’ve got ye.” By Danu, what can he do? She was a mess; his hands were soaked in her blood that was seeping out of too many wounds. By the Gods, there were too many wounds!
Rowan tried to sit up, but it took a lot more effort than it should, and she gave up the fight. She felt disoriented and hazy. Looking around her, the room seemed so different now. It was quiet and calm. No loud hissing of cicadas, no shrieks and screams, and no more fire. Looking out at the doorway, Rowan saw a blur coming towards her. She reached her hand out to stop it, but it halted immediately in front of her.
Adam bent down, looking like he’d been in a fight with a tree shredder. Flesh was torn from his body, deep cuts marred his beautiful face, and his armor was ripped and broken. Adam looked at Devlin. No words were spoken between them, at least none that Ro could hear.
“Oh! My dear, we need to get you out of here,” Adam said soothingly.
“Ava … is behind … the bed. She’s hurt.” When seeing Adam’s confusion she tried to explain more, but it took a lot of energy from her to do so. “It was never… Brinley. Ava changed herself… to look like her. Lorcan grabbed the wrong one.”
Adam ran over to the lump behind the bed. Ava was breathing and awake, but was out of sorts. Unchaining her body, he realized why. Lorcan had bound her with iron and her Fae-side was weakened from it. She had also been badly beaten. Once freed from her chains, she was able to recover faster. She came over to where Rowan was and gasped at the sight of her friend. Trying to hide the shock from her face, she bent down and looked at Rowan in the eyes with a tender smile.
“Oh Rowan!” Ava had to calm her emotions down before she was able to talk again. “It took a great deal of courage and love to do what you’ve done tonight.”
Ro just stared at Ava. She was having trouble understanding words. Still wrapped in Devlin’s arms, Ro tried to get up. Her body convulsed as tremors ran through her and tears flowed down her cheeks, the salty drops stinging her cuts. Fumbling, she couldn’t understand why nothing on her body was working right.
She wasn’t just out of sync, she was completely broken.
“We have to save them. Free the rest of them.” Rowan was busted and she was struggling, “I made… a promise …and I won’t be breaking it.” She was so damn stubborn. Rowan was determined to reach the mass of souls waiting for her out in the great hall.
Devlin tried to stop her from moving, but he knew her mind was made up. It was heartbreaking to hear her talk and struggle through the pain. “We got everyone out lass. They’ve been freed from their cages and chains. They are able to leave.” He didn’t want her to think they were still locked away frightened and alone.
“I have
to see them. I have to see them …with my own eyes.” Rowan forced herself to keep going, keep breathing. She tried to sit up on her own, bullheaded and willful was she. Devlin swiftly picked her up and carried her out of the room. Blood trailed behind them from deep wounds in her body.
“Wait! I need that blade. Ava… get me… my blade.”
Rowan’s vision started fading in and out. Her legs and arms were going numb and she was so very tired. Her eyes were having trouble staying open. Ava ran over to get the Beagalltach from the floor that was stained with blood and buried under black glass. She placed the blade across Rowan’s chest while Devlin cradled her. It was a pitiful sight. Ava tried not to cry, she didn’t want her friend to see anything but happiness before her but her tears slid quietly down her cheeks anyway.
They stepped outside of the bedchamber and into the great hall. Souls were lined up everywhere. Thousands of them. Some clung to the ceiling and walls, but most were standing and waiting for Rowan. Devlin brought her closer to the boy called Seamus. His eyes gave away his fear when he saw her, but he didn’t let the look last long on his face. He bowed down low and swept his arm out, “My Lady, we owe you a great debt. You have saved us from a fate worse than death.”
Many of the spirits made approval sounds and murmurs. Some were still shadows, but most were apparitions. They hadn’t turned yet, and were most lucky for it.
“You owe me …nothing. It was an honor… to have met you …Seamus. You are a sweet boy. Please, all of you…” Ro’s voice trailed off along with her vision. Everything faded to black. “Devlin. Devlin where are you?” She couldn’t see anymore. She couldn’t feel anymore. She was scared and alone in the dark.
“I’m here lass. I’ve got ye. I’m holding ye in my arms.” Oh God. This isn’t happening. This can’t be the end for them. Devlin was starting to crumble under the pressure of his breaking heart. His wife was going to bleed to death in his arms. One more death that he could not stop. Rowan’s head lolled back and she tried to hold his face in her hands, blood dripping down and splattering on the floor.
“Tell them. Tell them…to go to the light. Tell them to go…” she didn’t finish. Her head fell back and she went still. Slowly, her hand wilted down from his face.
Staring in horror at his beautiful wife, Devlin let out a cry that shook the Heavens themselves. Falling to his knees, he rocked her slowly like a wee babe in his arms. He could do nothing but cling to her and whisper sweet words in her ear.
Ava fell to the ground in tears and prayers. Adam turned away, unable to bear the pain of what he was seeing.
Souls, one by one, came closer to the couple on the floor. Seamus looked around at all of them and nodded his head at their silent decision. Gathering his energy, Seamus flew through Rowan’s body. Then another flew through her, and then another. Swarms of spirits and shadows zoomed through Ro’s lifeless body, each giving her a piece of their energy.
Within moments, they became a blur flying harder and faster in and around her. Ro’s body floated up and out of Devlin’s arms and into the air from their force. Never stopping, the souls kept zooming in and around her. She was covered in them. Hair flying, electrified by their energies, her hands and legs stretched out.
Pulsing and beating in a potent rhythm, magic and energy thrived in the room. The hairs on the back of Devlin’s neck stood up and a shiver went through his body. Starting as droplets and then picking up force like a line storm, it started to rain bloodied shards of glass down on Devlin, Ava and Adam. They backed away from the storm but never broke their stare from what was happening. Devlin watched as each of the souls took a piece of their energy and healed a part of his beloved.
As the last piece of glass fell, her wounds closed, and blood no longer dripped to the ground, slowly they lowered Rowan back towards the stone floor. Devlin was there to catch her in her decent and he wiped the hair from her face.
“Rowan! Rowan, come back to me. Please come back to me.” Devlin pleaded silently, willing her to open her eyes and look at him. She fluttered in his arms, hummingbirds in flight, and opened her emerald eyes. Lost in the moors again, he stared at her with the love and compassion of a thousand angels. “Oh Gods, she’s alive! She’s alive!” he sobbed. Devlin let out a shuddering breath and held her even tighter. She was not lost to him. And he was not letting go.
As if she hadn’t missed a heartbeat, she looked at Devlin, “Did you tell them to go into the light?” Rowan was still focused on her duty. Bullheaded and stubborn was she.
“Aye, my lady, and we did.” The answer came from the woman in the blue dress Rowan had brought back from the darkness earlier. “You are the light,” the woman said while wringing her hands, nervous and excited.
Rowan was confused but as she watched the nodding heads and smiling faces surrounding her. She turned a questioning look to Devlin. “They saved ye lass. Each sacrificed a piece of their energy for ye to live.”
His words were slow to register. It was difficult to grasp such a thing, but the meaning slowly sunk in as Rowan thought of the glass in her body and the excruciating pain she’d been in just a few moments ago. It was all too much to comprehend.
Doing a silent inventory of her body, she realized the pain was gone, the haziness gone, fear gone. Rowan felt so much better than she had just minutes before. More than better, she felt whole. Solid. Alive. Grateful.
Rowan did the only thing she could think of, “Help me stand up.”
Devlin eased her feet onto the floor and helped her gain some balance. Determined to finish what was started, Rowan held her hands out and focused her energies and her magic. Just as she concentrated on her hate and anger to kill Lorcan, she now used her love and joy to help the watching spirits.
This time, the power in her felt like a tightly closed fist that slowly opened to reveal the magic that was hiding within. It bloomed like a flower in her body, and was warm and rich. On a rush of energy, light burst from her eyes and radiated in the dark cave until everything beamed and shined. One by one, the other shadows and remaining demons turned back to their former selves.
Taking a deep breath, Rowan focused on the dark doorway leading to their salvation. It opened in swirls of brightness and the souls burst through to the other side like bees from a hive. Shouts of thank yous and other forms of appreciation echoed as they slipped through the opening and out into the light.
“The veil is thin now, ‘tis Samhain. They will easily make their way to the other side this day.” Ava held Rowan’s hand and kissed her gently. “You were an angel, love. A fierce warrior and a true friend.” The last had Ava’s eyes swelling up with tears again.
“Why did you do it? Why did you pretend to be Brinley?” Rowan just couldn’t understand it.
“Free will, love. I gave myself over as bait knowing he would come for her and knowing you would too. We all have a purpose, and mine was to protect what is precious to you, and guide you to your fate.”
Ava stopped her before she could ask any more questions, “Before we continue there is someone else in need of saving. There is one other still here.” Ava turned to look at the men, “I heard Lorcan speak of him to his demons. He is locked away, over there in those tunnels. His name is Ruark but I don’t know any more than that.”
They all exchanged looks, then Adam and Ava went to find the lost prisoner.
As they reached the entrance to the maze of tunnels, Ava stopped. “You need to feed, Adam. Your wounds are too great. Please,” she held out her small arm and offered him her vein. Bloody holes from her iron shackles still oozing blood gleamed and beckoned Adam to have a taste.
“No, I will not take your blood Ava. I will heal fine on my own.”
She clucked her tongue in aggravation and insisted once more, “I’m not asking you Adam, I’m telling you. You have lost too much power because of your stubbornness. Have you not learned from this battle? You have shied away from who you truly are Sidhe Warrior. Be yourself, Ad
am. Drink.” She held out her arm and watched as his eyes flared from the temptation.
She was right. His stubbornness had nearly cost him dearly this night. Adam gave in on a sigh and clamped down on her vein. Sweet, hot serenity flowed down his throat. The power in her veins was surreal and he didn’t need much to feel a thousand times stronger. The Warrior’s superficial wounds healed instantly, the larger, chunkier pieces of marred flesh took a little longer. Eyes like peacocks rolling back in ecstasy, Adam relished in the savory flavor of her blood and then released his mouth from her arm. It had been so long since he had blood from another Fae, he’d forgotten how intoxicating it was, and with Ava’s angel-side, its potency was doubled.
“Better?” Ava smiled with a you-know-I’m-always- right face.
“Aye, thank you my friend.” Adam kissed her head and stood taller and stronger. Moving forward, Adam didn’t want to waste any more time than was necessary in this forsaken place. Adam was looking this way and that. “Which way do we go, Ava?”
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