Tethered Souls

by Jessica McCrory

  “Aengus, will you fill Abby’s life with happiness as long as you live?”

  “I will.”

  “Abby, will you fill Aengus’s life with happiness as long as you live?”

  “I-” Then their luck ran out.

  Abby heard the yell and turned to see Caipre banging on an invisible wall at the edge of the trees where Myria had been chanting.

  “We need to keep going. Eight minutes to midnight.” Sheamus chimed in as he moved to stand blocking Abby.

  “I will,” Abby replied quickly.

  “A binding is made.” Myria wrapped on of the ends of the cord over Aengus’s hand.

  “Aengus, will you-” Suddenly Caipre came bursting into the clearing. Abby watched helplessly as Sheamus was thrown to the side and he came running full force at her. Isleen ran at him, but she was shoved back as well, being held by some invisible force.

  Everything began happening in slow motion. Aengus pulled Abby behind him and Myria held her hand up and Abby saw a ball of light form. She threw it full force at Caipre. It hit him square in the chest, but he still kept coming. Aengus turned to throw Abby onto Eamon’s back and she screamed as she saw the blade come through his chest.

  He fell to the ground and Abby collapsed next to him. “No! Aengus, love please no. Hold on, just hold on!” She stood anger and grief welling up inside of her.

  Caipre stood in front of her grinning. “I warned you bitch. I told you what would happen.”

  She charged him. Myria had given her a dagger just in case and she pulled it out of the sheath she wore at her waist.

  Sheamus grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back. She hadn’t even seen him get up, but suddenly he was dragging her back as she screamed.

  Abby watched as Myria charged Caipre her entire body blazing. She threw everything she had at him and Abby watched with grim satisfaction as he was driven back into the wood line.

  She turned her attention back to Aengus who lay bleeding on the ground. Myria collapsed next to him and was chanting over the wound, but Abby saw the hopelessness in her face.

  “Aengus, I’m so sorry.” She cried, the tears falling onto his face. “Please don’t leave me!” She yelled.

  “I. Love. You. Abby.” He lifted his hand to her cheek and she held it there. “I would do it all again if I had to please know that.”

  “I know my love. Please don’t leave me Aengus.”

  “Tell our baby,” he coughed and Abby saw the blood. “that...”

  “Aengus, you can tell them. Please, please don’t go!” She screamed at him. She knew the moment he had died. She collapsed onto his chest and the grief washed over her.

  The ground began to shake. Abby grabbed Aengus tightly and held on as she felt the wind begin to pick up. She gripped the dagger in her hand ready for a fight but one look at Myria and she knew it wasn’t Caipre who had caused it.

  “Its one-minute to midnight,” Sheamus yelled at Myria.

  “There’s still time Abby!” Myria yelled at her.

  “What?” She yelled back afraid to let go of Aengus.

  “You can still save him! You have to fight Abby! Fight with all that you have! Do not give up! We will come for you!”

  Fight? What was she talking about? Abby suddenly felt herself being torn away from Aengus. She gripped him as tightly as she could, but he slipped just out of reach. She was sucked into a vortex and everything suddenly became clear to her. History was repeating itself. She would fight and she would kill the bastard this time.

  When everything stopped moving, Abby was being torn from a carriage. She was tossed onto the ground by a guard. She didn’t fight him this time, she reserved her energy and kept her dagger hidden in her skirts as he drug her to the bottom of the tree.

  Caipre came and knelt in front of her, just out of reach. “So we're back here are we?” He laughed in her face. “I warned you what would happen. I gave you the chance to save him, to save all of them. Now he’s dead and we are right back to where it started, only this time I have no intention of being interrupted.” He threw up his hands and the trees around them began to close in forming a wall.

  “Lift her.” He said to the guard. When he came around, she turned and drove the dagger into his chest. It took all of her weight to do so and she felt a sick feeling as she watched him die. Caipre stood smiling at her.

  “I told you that we were the same.”

  “We are not the same.”

  “You just killed him. Much like you killed my Annie.”

  “He was going to kill me.”

  “We would have cleansed you Aine. You could have been clean and we could have been together. Now, you will just die.”

  “You did cleanse me Caipre. You killed my body, the one you had touched, tainted.” She added and saw the change in his eyes.

  “You know what I did for you then. Tell me Aine, do you remember what it was like to be underneath me?” He licked his lips and Abby bit back the vomit that threatened to come out.

  “You took advantage of me, of my love for my sister. You are a fool to think I ever wanted you. That had been the single most disgusting night of my life and there was no amount of bathing I could have done to get your stench off of me.”

  “YOU THINK TO MOCK ME?” He yelled. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF?” He raised his arms and rain began to pour onto them. She stood her ground, buying time for Aengus and Myria to arrive, as she knew they would.

  “You don’t scare me Caipre. You are nothing more than a pathetic waste of space. You pined for me while I loved another. You would have never had my heart.”

  He threw a ball of flame at her and she dodged it but felt the bite of pain as it grazed her arm. She threw herself at him with her dagger and felt the give as it entered his body.

  He screamed in agony as she twisted it and she felt herself being thrown to the side. He jumped on top of her and she fought him off.

  “Aengus!” She screamed and Caipre laughed.

  “He’s not coming bitch! I killed him!”

  Caipre was lifted and thrown off of her. She saw Myria standing behind him, her body glowing again. Caipre moved to attack her and she threw him back against the tree.

  “Finish him, Abby. It has to be you.”

  Abby grabbed her dagger and charged Caipre again.

  “You won't win!” He howled with rage as Abby drove her dagger into his heart.

  Abby jumped away from him as he fell to the ground. “You could have saved me.” He muttered. “I loved you.”

  “There was no saving you Caipre, you are evil, and evil doesn’t love.”

  He reached for her and she backed away further. When he fell face first to the ground, she turned to face Myria. Guards burst in through the trees behind her, but Aengus wasn’t with them.

  “I don’t understand.” Tears filled her eyes and the grief hit her.

  “Abby,” She came to her and wrapped her arms around her. “Don’t lose hope. The nights not over yet.”

  Abby felt the first wave of hope as the ground began to shift below her feet. She clung to Myria and they were being flung through the vortex for the second time that night.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  When she felt the ground finally become steady below her feet, Abby let go of Myria. She turned and her heart leapt when she saw Aengus walking towards her. “It's about bloody damn time.” He grabbed her and crushed his mouth to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her hands in his hair.

  “Aengus, I thought you were dead.” She kissed him again afraid he would disappear if she weren’t touching him.

  “So did I.” He released her and turned to face his sister who stood with Sheamus by her side. “Why are you wet? What exactly happened?”

  “Let's get home and I will fill you all in.” Myria looked to Abby. “I don’t know about you, but I am freezing.”

  Aengus’s eyes flashed with alarm. “Are you cold?” He asked Abby.

  “A l
ittle.”

  He lifted her onto Eamon and climbed on after her. They rode gently though the woods back to the house.

  Once they were dry, she sat bundled in blankets on Aengus’s lap. Myria and Sheamus sat close on the couch and he had started a fire in the hearth.

  “What happened Myria? Why were we sent back?”

  “Sent back?” Aengus asked her. “Sent back to where?”

  “Because the curse broke at midnight and the handfasting hadn’t been completed, we were sent back to the night that she had been killed, before I had ever cast the spell to bring her back. She was given the opportunity to choose one last time.” She paused to gather her thoughts. “Because Abby killed him, he was never here to kill you.” She looked over at Aengus.

  “I’m so confused.” Sheamus laughed and wrapped his arms around Myria.

  “Honestly, I am too.” Myria laughed.

  “But if that’s the case, then why are we here? If Abby killed him, then that means he never killed her in which case you never would have cast the spell in the first place.”

  Myria opened her mouth to answer her brother, but Isleen appeared and began to speak.

  “Your souls are all tethered here.” She stood in the corner of the room, smiling absently. “Myria’s soul is tied to Sheamus and Abby’s to Aengus’s. Since Abby had technically been born in this century, she had to return. And when one soul is tied to another, it follows it wherever it may be.” She smiled and gestured to Sheamus. “How did you know that?” Myria asked her.

  “My sister.” She smiled at Abby “It was the end of a story you used to tell me.”

  Abby smiled at her emotion welling in her chest. “I remember.”

  “I have to go now.” Isleen turned and looked behind her. “Molly says to say hi.” She gestured to Sheamus. “And your parents are very proud of you two.” She looked at Myria and Aengus. Tears began to fall down Abby’s face as she moved to stand in front of Isleen.

  “I love you Isleen, so very much.”

  “Will you tell your baby stories?” She looked down at Abby’s stomach and then back at her face.

  “Yes, I will.” She choked out through tears.

  “Happy ones, like you always told me.”

  All Abby could do was nod her head. She felt Aengus’s arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him.

  “I love you, sister,” Isleen said as she began to fade away. When she was out of sight, Abby turned into Aengus’s arms and cried.

  Abby lay facing Aengus later that day. They had been in bed for most of it and for the first time since she could remember she felt completely at ease. Grief for her sister lingered in her mind, but she was happy knowing that Isleen had been given the chance to move on.

  She traced her fingers over the light dusting of hair on Aengus’s chest where the sword had pierced him.

  “I’m fine Abby.” He lifted her fingers to his mouth and kissed them.

  “Twice now, I’ve seen you die, I don’t know that I will ever be able to get the image out of my head.” She closed her eyes and a tear escaped.

  “Technically I didn’t die in the fire.” He joked trying to lighten her mood. “In which case, we are even.”

  She smiled at him and then she heard Caipre’s words echoed in her head. “He said I was just like him Aengus. That I was no better than him because of what I had done to Annie, and the guard back in that clearing.”

  “You are nothing like him, Abby.”

  “I was glad that I killed Annie and I felt no guilt at killing the guard.”

  “Annie would have killed you, Abby, she was just as evil as Caipre was. That guard was going to kill you as well. What you did was done out of defense, not malice. Nothing Caipre did was done for any other reason than he was an evil person. Don’t ever confuse that Abby.” He kissed her forehead. “You are the kindest person I have ever met in my life, and I’ve been around a while.” He smiled at her and she felt relief at his words.

  “It's all over now?”

  “Yes, love. Now we get to start the next adventure.” He pressed his hand to her bare stomach and she felt the warmth spread through her body.

  “Can we start now?” She asked.

  He laughed and rolled her on her back. “Whatever you want my love, it's yours.” He covered her mouth with his and all was right in their world.

  Later that next day Abby stood in the center of the once desolate garden. Plants had begun growing in every corner of the area and everything was green. She smiled and knelt to the ground next to the pond she had used to sit by as a child. She smiled and rested her hand on her stomach.

  She felt a peace over her that she couldn’t remember ever feeling. Even when she had been a child she had always felt as if something was out of place and she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Now with Caipre gone and her memories back, everything was perfect.

  Aengus came up next to her and sat just as they had when they had been kids. She leaned into him and felt him kiss the top of her head. She could never have imagined this would have been the outcome of her vacation to Ireland, but she couldn’t have asked for a better ending. They had been given a second chance and Abby had no intention of wasting a single second of it.

  Epilogue

  “Sheamus!” Myria held one hand under her stomach and stood in the doorway. “It's time!”

  Abby and Aengus stood watching as Sheamus ran down the stairs with the overnight bag in hand.

  “Okay I have the bag now I need the-” he trailed off, patting his pockets. Aengus held out a set of keys and he grabbed them gratefully.

  “Okay we’re ready let's go, oh let's go!” He yelled, his excitement battling the worry for his attention.

  “As soon as we get the baby up we are going to head your way!” Abby yelled as they walked towards the car they had pulled in front of the house. Aengus walked back up the sidewalk and pressed a kiss to her lips.

  “They make quite the pair don’t they?” He asked smiling.

  “That they do.” She shut the door and they walked to the couch together. Myria and Sheamus hadn’t done much traveling, at least not past a few trips to America with her and Aengus to gather the rest of her belongings. They had built a second house on the property so they could all stay fairly close. She couldn’t have been happier in Ireland.

  It had been nearly a year since the spell had been broken and Abby was grateful each and every day for the second chance they had been given. She looked down at her hand where the ring that had once been Aengus’s mothers glinted on her finger. They had finally gotten officially married and she had the life she had always wanted.

  Still painting, most of her gallery shows were in Dublin now with a few scattered around the globe every year.

  The baby monitor went off and she smiled to head up the stairs.

  “Shhh now baby girl.” Abby reached down to lift their daughter from her crib. It had been the secret project Aengus had been working on. She smiled down at her and felt Aengus come up behind her. He was already wrapped around their little one’s finger and Abby fell more in love with him each time she saw the way he looked at her.

  “How’s our little Isleen doing?” he asked.

  “Wonderful.” She smiled down at the beautiful baby in her arms. Yeah, she thought to herself, life didn’t get much better than this.

  The End