by Kari Edgren
I held my breath, half expecting Cate to slam a hand into Paddy’s chest, and half disappointed when she just sat on the dais a few feet from Ailish.
“Is Cailleach waiting outside for you?”
“That she be,” Ailish groaned, “making sure I’ve done her bidding.” She darted a look at me. Red tinged her cheeks, I assumed from being so near Cate. “But I won’t do it, no matter what.”
Cate’s gaze drifted to the top of the cavern, trailing a slow line along the wall and back to the floor. “Carmen’s power remains here, though neither she nor her descendants can wield it. Which tells me the curse remains in place.” She tipped her head toward Ailish. “Only a Tuatha Dé can alter the curse, yet none of the gods and goddesses can come inside. Rather brilliant of King Bres, wouldn’t you say, Miss O’Bearra?”
Ailish didn’t answer, just continued to stare at the tips of her boots that peeked out from beneath her hem.
“Except a goddess did get inside, didn’t she?”
I narrowed my eyes, not sure what Cate could mean.
“Well, maybe not directly, but her voice got in and that’s all she needs to change things.”
A slight nod, and Ailish buried her face farther into her lap.
“Cailleach believes the balance off between our kind,” Cate continued, “and wishes Selah dead before she grows any stronger and moves beyond the goddess’s reach for good.”
“You know what she wants from me then, and why I won’t be leaving with you.”
Paddy cursed. Tom moved beside Henry, his sword sheathed. “Nothing like a bur in the boot after a long fight,” he muttered.
Except this bur was my friend, who had been ordered to betray me. “Ailish, what happens if you disobey Cailleach?” The words wobbled against a sudden knot in my throat.
She managed to shrug one shoulder while keeping her face hidden. “Banishment or transformation, I suppose. The goddess isn’t one to mix much with her descendants, so there’s only tales o’ those who disobeyed.”
The knot tightened until breathing grew difficult. Ailish intended to stay in the cavern, to sacrifice herself rather than trap me. And she was just mule-headed enough to do it.
Henry put a protective arm around my waist and pulled me closer. “There’s got to be another way.”
“I’ve been through it,” Ailish replied, “and me staying be the best for everyone.”
Paddy made to touch her shoulder, only to let his hand fall back to his side. “Not for me. I’ll not have you give up your life for some lady you just met.”
“And I’ll not have Selah trapped,” Henry said, his voice low with the hint of a threat.
The two men glared at each other. Paddy’s fingers twitched while Henry tightened his grip on the spear, raising it ever so slightly.
Good heavens, we’d had enough fighting for one day. “We’ll both stay then, until we can find another solution.” I started forward, not about to let Ailish carry this burden alone.
“I propose a swap,” Cate said, setting me back on my heels. “One I’m sure would please the goddess.”
Ailish tilted her head to the side to look at Cate. “And what would that be, milady?”
“I will stay in Selah’s place.”
My mouth fell open. “Never—”
Tom closed his hand on my elbow. “Let her finish, Selah,” he murmured.
“Why would you do that?” Ailish asked.
“Selah means a great deal to me, as you must know.”
“I see that you love her.”
Creases appeared at the corners of Cate’s eyes. “What guidelines did Cailleach give you?”
Ailish slid another look at me. “I’m to trap her in here is all.”
The flaw was glaringly bright, so much that Cailleach must have considered Ailish an acceptable sacrifice to achieve her ends. “But you get what you give, and trap yourself in the process.”
Cate shook her head. “Not if she’s using Cailleach’s actual voice, then it would be as though the goddess were speaking and the consequences would fall to her instead of Ailish. Much like the way Brigid’s blades work for us, except in this case only a select few are able to wield her voice without being destroyed.” She looked at Ailish. “For how long are you to set the curse?”
“Till death, milady.”
I gritted my teeth. Damn that old hag to hell.
Cate tapped a gloved finger on the dais. “Whose death?”
“The goddess didn’t say.’” Ailish scrunched her nose in thought. “I assumed she meant Selah’s.”
“A reasonable assumption.” Cate continued to tap her finger for a moment longer. “Or perhaps she meant her death. What do you think of that, Miss O’Bearra?”
“I don’t know—” Ailish’s breath caught, and she sat up ramrod straight, her eyes pinned on Cate’s. “I see where you’re going, milady.”
“Would you be willing to seal it to Cailleach then?”
Ailish didn’t answer at once. Her gaze dipped to the floor while a storm of emotions flew over her face. Half a minute passed before she looked up again, her eyes lit with determination. “I’ll do it, milady.”
Cate sighed. “Very good. I suppose blood is required, though hopefully not near the quantity required to break the curse, as we’re merely locking the door rather than throwing it open.” She withdrew Brigid’s blade from the folds of her skirt. Ailish saw it and sucked a hard breath through her teeth.
“Just a small poke,” Cate assured her. “And I shall add mine to further secure the door in case Carmen still has a descendant in the mortal world with a mind to claim her power.” She pushed the knife’s point into her forefinger. Blood swelled on the surface and ran to the floor.
“No!” I cried.
Tom squeezed my elbow again. “Trust her, Selah, as she trusted you with Julian.”
Ailish held a finger up. A moment later, her blood dripped to the stones where it bubbled and fizzed with Cate’s.
“Now say the words, Miss O’Bearra,” Cate instructed.
Ailish nodded. All I could do was watch and to trust them both. When she spoke, her voice sounded so altered, I didn’t recognize it. “Catria Ni Brid, theorannú mé tú go dtí go bás an Cailleach.”
... I confine you until Cailleach’s death.
A hiss of air passed over me, setting my teeth on edge. It rushed toward Cate, where it ruffled her cloak and blew through her auburn curls. She jerked upright, her torso rigid. Pain pinched her face. It lasted only a second, then her shoulders drooped and she exhaled a long breath. “I believe it is done. Go now, all of you.”
With a somber look, Ailish stood and crossed the distance between us, Paddy close behind her. “I’m sorry, Selah.”
“It’s not your fault. Cailleach should never have set us against each other like that.”
Her thin frame sagged. “I would have stayed afore I hurt you.”
And paid with her own life. “You are the bravest, most headstrong person I’ve ever met.” My arms ached to hug her. “But we’re in this together, Ailish O’Bearra, and I’d not have left without you.”
She nodded and a faint smile wavered on her mouth. “You’re lucky to have such a grandmam watching over you.”
More than I ever imagined before today. “Will your plan work to free her?”
“The lady thinks so. Pray to heaven she’s right, or it’s the devil to pay once I leave here.” Ailish glanced at the tunnel. “Cailleach be waiting for me.” Dropping her head, she walked by, like the condemned to the gallows.
Henry laced his fingers through mine. “Let’s go, Selah.”
I pulled my hand free. “What about Cate? It makes me sick, leaving her here alone.”
Still holding my elbow, Tom gently nudged me in the dire
ction of the dolmen. I pushed back, but his strength was too much. “Go now. I’ll stay with her till it’s over.”
Nora took my other hand, and I allowed myself to be led from the cavern. My feet slowed at the very edge. Looking back, I saw Tom and Cate sitting side-by-side, his arms around her as she leaned into him for support.
Please let this work...whatever it was that Cate and Ailish had planned when binding my grandmother’s freedom to an immortal’s death.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A Tribe of Gods
We shuffled through the tunnel, Sean gripping a lantern in the lead with Marin close to his side. I kept hold of Nora’s hand as we were tugged back into the mortal world, and the stone and dirt of the dolmen appeared. We moved forward quickly to give Henry room, who was the last of our diminished group to leave.
Stepping from the entrance, I pulled my cloak tight in preparation for the storm that continued to rage. Gray light streaked the sky with the first hint of dawn. Deidre had labored through the night, and judging by the continued lightning, had yet to be delivered.
My feet came to an abrupt stop as my grip clamped on Nora’s fingers. She yelped from surprise, then stopped with the same suddenness. Justine and James stood unharmed near a clump of trees whose branches hung listless around them. Marin, Sean and Ailish remained huddled together at the dolmen’s edge.
Four figures formed a line across from us, each surrounded by a soft swell of light. They were unusually tall and stood with unnatural stillness. Skimming their faces, my eyes latched onto Brigid, and her last words came back in a flash.
“Till we meet on the other side...”
At the time, I had no idea she meant this side, nor so soon.
Henry came behind me, his body near enough for me to feel the weight of him. Without seeing his face, I knew he was studying the figures and would have seen Lugh by now. The other two figures were unfamiliar, a goddess pale as death and a god with a darker complexion and brown hair that fell to his shoulders.
Cailleach and Nuada. I would have bet my last shilling on it.
“The witch is dead?” Nuada asked.
“Yes,” Henry said. “Murdered by her son two days ago.”
Lugh narrowed his eyes. “Yet we still sense her power. How is that possible?”
“It remains trapped in the cavern. Her two living descendants have been defeated and will never bring her power into the human world.”
The sun god smiled and looked over our small group. “You have done well.”
The pale goddess stepped forward, and her frigid stare hardened on my face. My breath froze and frost formed on my eyelashes. Slowly, she shifted her gaze to Ailish.
Ailish squeaked next to me, but there was nowhere to hide from those cold blue eyes.
Cailleach lifted her chin. “Come to me, child.” Ice sounded in her voice, beautiful and lethal.
With a heavy breath and an equally heavy gait, Ailish walked the few steps to meet her first mother, the goddess of death and disease.
Pulling her hand from mine, Nora also moved, though toward the dark-haired god, who had stepped away from the others. I stayed and waited.
Cailleach skimmed me with another look, and I pressed closer to Henry. His arm moved around my waist, his chin resting on my head.
“You disobeyed me,” she said to Ailish.
My knees swayed from the beauty of that voice, as pinpricks scratched at my skin.
“I altered the curse just like you ordered, but Catria Ni Brid agreed to take Selah’s place.”
Surprise transformed Cailleach’s face. “Catria...” My great-grandmother’s name fell from her tongue, a hiss and a byword. “Is it possible?”
“Aye, she loves the girl and wouldn’t have her suffer so.”
Lightning flashed overhead. Thunder boomed in the same instant, and I glanced up at the heavily clouded sky. Wind and rain continued to lash the trees, yet none of the elements reached us below. Even the sounds were muted. I blinked from the phenomenon, as though we were standing beneath a glass dome.
“Did you seal it unto death?” the goddess asked with fevered excitement.
“Just as you ordered me.”
While they spoke, Lugh and Brigid moved to either side of Cailleach. Nora stood away from the group, her head bent toward Nuada in hushed conversation. James watched at a respectful distance.
“I would know everything,” Cailleach pushed.
Ailish widened her stance and drew in a deep breath. “Once I pricked me finger, I used your voice to say, Theorannú mé tú go dtí go bás...an Cailleach.”
Silence reigned. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath high above in the treetops.
“An Cailleach?” the goddess asked. Ice crystals formed around her. They hung weightless for a moment before falling to the ground.
“Aye, that be it.”
The air snapped like a whip around Ailish, and she staggered back a step from some unseen force.
“Idiot, child!” Cailleach screeched. “What do you mean sealing it unto my death?”
“Had to seal it to someone. You’re immortal, so I used your name to be safe.”
Lightning cut a handful of fingers across the sky. Thunder exploded, shaking the earth and mixing with Cailleach’s wild keens. Rage twisted her face. The air writhed with her power, turning the space around us a frosty white that stung my skin. My instincts began to spin, demanding distance like two magnets forced together. I pushed into Henry, wishing myself outside the barrier in Deidre’s storm despite her attempts to tear Ireland apart. Henry held me to him, a calming force amidst the chaos.
The thunder quieted first. When the wails died down, Brigid looked at Ailish, a hint of satisfaction perched on her mouth. “My sister may be immortal, but she dies in this world every Bealtaine as I die every Samhain. By sealing the curse to her death, you trapped my daughter until May Day.”
Her meaning spun into shape. May Day—the first day of May. Oh, Saints above! Relief flowed through me like a rush of warm water. Cate would be free in less than six months.
Ailish dropped her head. “Forgive me, mistress. I thought to be serving you.”
The goddess glared at Ailish before turning to Brigid. “I demand balance,” she hissed.
“What do you imply, sister mine?”
Cailleach thrust a slender finger at me. “The scales tipped toward life with this one’s birth. Now that Adair has faded, only Selah’s sacrifice will restore order.”
I blinked at her. Adair... Deri. She must have sensed her daughter’s transformation as Brigid had sensed my impending death.
A low growl rumbled through my back from Henry. I should have been growling as well, having Cailleach demanding my death, but with Brigid so near I felt no fear.
Brigid stared fire at her sister. “The loss of your daughter is balanced by the loss of my son. No other payment is required. Leave it be, and I shall not seek retribution for your trickery in Carmen’s prison.” She flicked a glance at Ailish. “By law your child belongs to me until Bealtaine, when Catria goes free.”
Ice flared in Cailleach’s eyes. “I have every right to reestablish the balance.”
“The only balance you know is when the scales tip in death’s favor. Demand my daughter, and we shall take it to the Dagda.”
Cailleach hissed through her teeth. Frost spread over the ground, nearly reaching my boots when a line of fire cut over its path.
“Watch yourself, sister,” Brigid warned.
“She will be mine—”
Lightning and thunder collided as one, a dozen bright spikes that tore through the sky as the earth quaked in response. I grabbed onto Henry to keep upright. More lightning struck, and treetops exploded overhead from the impact. There was just time to draw breath when a sus
tained flash of light vanquished the darkness altogether, and I threw a hand over my eyes to shield them from the numberless bolts that spread like spider webs through the clouds. Henry stumbled this time from the thunder, barely keeping his footing. The dolmen stones cracked and groaned from the strain, and I swore Deidre would kill us all before she was done.
I braced myself for another round, when the woods released a shuddering breath and everything went quiet. No wind stirred. No rain pounded the earth. Tree branches hung unmoving, soaked and bedraggled.
Cailleach tipped her head skyward and drew a long breath. “Can it be...” she murmured.
I did the same, filling my nose with the scent of damp earth.
She inhaled again, even deeper this time, and a slow smile crept over her lips, revealing sharp white teeth. “All is well. Order has been restored.”
“Deidre’s babe,” Ailish whispered.
“Yes, child, and he will be a force the mortal world has rarely seen before.” Cailleach cupped Ailish’s chin with her long elegant fingers. “Your foolishness is forgiven.”
“Thank you, mistress.”
Cailleach released her hold and nodded to Brigid and Lugh. Turning, she passed silently into the woods. Near an ancient oak, the air rippled around her like water, and two gigantic hounds appeared. She stroked each of their heads, and together they vanished from sight.
Ailish heaved a breath and glanced to the woods, a strange excitement creeping into her expression. “I best be going.”
“Where to?” I hated the idea of her out in the world alone.
“Oh, I’ll be for Deidre’s first to help with the babe.”
Death’s blood...life’s enemy. I forced back the harsh words in lieu of something less contentious. “Do you still intend to go to London for work? If so, I’m sure Lady Dinley will help you find a good position once she’s free.”
“Maybe someday.” She stole a quick look at Paddy, who stood several paces to her side.
A knot clenched in my chest. “He has no claim on you, Ailish. You don’t have to go anywhere with him.”
Ailish considered him for a moment, her nose twitching in thought. “He’s asked me to come back to the farm.”
