PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “Aodhan,” I heard Aengus hiss between clenched teeth. “Another pleasant surprise.”

  “You like torturing the innocent, do you?” Aodhan asked as he yanked Aengus’s head back further.

  “Just kill me and get it over with,” Aengus spat.

  “Oh, no. That would be much too easy,” Aodhan growled as he pulled a cord out of his pocket, the dagger still held firmly to Aengus’s throat. “How do you like being tortured?”

  Aodhan secured Aengus’s hands behind his back and lifted a length of steel chain from a cargo pocket at this thigh. He put the dagger between his teeth and wrapped the chain around Aengus’s throat.

  Aengus groaned, and his knees buckled out from under him. Aodhan shoved him to the ground and looked up at me. I could only stare back in silence. There was something familiar about this guy.

  His gaze flickered over my shoulder. “Take care of him,” he snarled.

  I looked back and saw Niall approaching cautiously. His eyes remained on the sprawled form of Aengus lying face down on the pavement. Without a word, Aodhan approached us and gently lifted Liam up.

  “Come on,” Aodhan said to me, his Irish accent thicker and harder to understand than Liam’s. “We need to take care of his wound.”

  I nodded and followed Aodhan up the deserted street toward his motel. The bartender had told us the city had imposed a curfew, and there wasn’t a soul out now that dusk had fallen.

  Aodhan’s room was on the second floor, but he carried Liam up the flight with no trouble at all. He pulled out a key card and unlocked the door, pushing it open and laying Liam on the bed.

  Relief flooded through me that he wasn’t bleeding as much as I‘d feared, but his shirt was ruined.

  “Get the towels from the bathroom and fill the basin with hot water,” Aodhan instructed.

  When I came back with the supplies, he had Liam’s shirt off, and I could see that the dagger stuck just below his rib cage on his left side. His milky-white skin was covered in a sheen of sweat and streaked with a rivulet of blood.

  “I’m going to pull this out. When I do, I want you to immediately apply the towel to the wound.”

  I unfolded the towel and knelt by Liam’s side. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was shallow.

  “Ready?” Aodhan said.

  I nodded.

  The blade made a wet, squishy sound as he pulled it out in one swift movement.

  “Now.”

  I applied the towel, holding the gaping wound together with as much pressure as I could.

  “Good, it will only take a few minutes for the bleeding to stop. It’s not as bad as I thought.”

  He walked over to the chair by the window and opened a duffel bag. Inside was a small first-aid kit.

  “Should we get him to a hospital?” I asked, biting my lip.

  Aodhan leveled me with his gunmetal eyes. “No, he’s just unconscious. His body is trying to heal itself.”

  He walked to the window, opening the heavy drape just a crack. The muscles in his jaw were tense as he scanned the night.

  “Aodhan—” I began.

  Aodhan held up his hand, effectively silencing me. He turned away from the window, eyeing both me and my father thoughtfully. His gaze rested on Liam.

  “I knew I recognized him . . . Aoife’s pet.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that, but Aodhan wasn’t done.

  “I’ve grown accustomed to Niamh’s minions following me all these years. But,” he said narrowing his eyes, “for the life of me, I can’t imagine what Liam would want from me.”

  The way he spoke, so low and empty of emotion, filled me with cold fear. I could feel my heart pounding in the tips of my toes, like flames licking at ice.

  “It was me who wanted to find you,” I said, my voice taut.

  He slowly turned to me, and it was all I could do to keep from shrinking back. “What is it you want from me?”

  I closed my eyes and scrounged for every shred of courage I could find. “My name is Allison, I’m Liam’s daughter,” I began.

  “My mother was kidnapped by Breanh. I was hoping you could . . . could,” I stuttered. “ I was hoping you could help me get her back.”

  “Breanh,” Aodhan said, but it came out as a low growl.

  “Liam has Aoife imprisoned in a fey globe.” I stole a glance at Liam before launching into the full story.

  Aodhan leaned against the wall as I spoke, not interrupting, only nodding occasionally. I told him about Niamh and Liam showing up in Stoneville and the black birds that were everywhere, always watching. I told him about the night my mother had gone missing and that Niamh had gone back to TÍ r na n’Ó g without us, effectively shutting us out. I even told him about the dreams I’d been having for months. There was something trustworthy about him.

  When I finished talking, Aodhan straightened and walked to the tiny table in the corner of the room. In one fluid motion, he pulled the dagger he’d held to Aengus’s throat from its sheath on his hip. Then, from a wooden box, he pulled a small square of red cloth with which he began to wipe the dagger.

  Without turning around, Aodhan spoke, his words clipped. “Do you know where he’s taken her?”

  “We’re assuming he’s taken her to Aoife’s home in TÍ r na n’Ó g.”

  There was a knock at the door, and for a second Aodhan just stared at it. He walked over to open it. Niall stood there with a tall, black-haired woman I assumed was BlÁ ithÍ n, his partner. His eyes flickered in to me and then Liam before resting on Aodhan’s massive chest.

  “We wanted to see if Liam was okay,” BlÁ ithÍ n asked, running her fingers through her short, spiky hair. She, unlike Niall, obviously had no problem meeting Aodhan’s fierce look.

  Aodhan stepped aside, and let them into the motel room. BlÁ ithÍ n hurried over to the bed and placed her hand on Liam’s cheek.

  “Where’s Aengus’s dagger?” she asked, looking between Aodhan and me.

  “There on the floor, just under the bed,” I whispered.

  Aodhan had gone back to leaning against the wall, clearly uncomfortable with all the company.

  “This dagger is steel, just like I thought,” she said, toeing it with her boot. “It looks like the tip is broken off, too.”

  “Come on, Allison,” Niall said. “We’ll take you and your father back to Niamh's house in Wheelwright. He needs to see a healer to get the tip of the dagger out. Hopefully Eithne is still there.”

  All three Danaans looked at me expectantly. If I went with Niamh’s guards, I’d be expected to wait on Niamh’s whim. I needed Aodhan to come, too.

  I looked at him, silently praying. He hadn’t agreed to help yet.

  He met my gaze. “I’ll take her,” he told the guards simply.

  ***

  BlÁ ithÍ n walked to my motel with me to grab my bag, so that we could go back to Wheelwright. She didn’t say much; she only spoke when it couldn’t be avoided.

  I caught sight of Niall and Aodhan walking toward us as we left, belongings in hand. Niall held Liam easily in his arms. They all had a silver glow to them, their glamours hiding them from the eyes of passersby. I looked over at BlÁ ithÍ n, and when I squinted I saw she had a glamour on as well.

  “Should I put on a glamour, too?” I asked her quietly, scrunching my face at the strangeness of the question.

  She laughed. “Allison, you are glamoured.”

  “Oh,” I looked at my skin, and for the first time realized that I had the same glow as the others. How could that have happened without me even knowing it?

  I sighed, trying to focus on our next move. I assumed we’d be running—that made the most sense, I guessed—but I wasn’t sure how I felt about being carried by Aodhan. He was so intimidating, and it had been awkward enough with my own father.

  Liam looked so helpless lying in Niall’s arms, and I realized that somehow in the past few days I’d actually grown to trust him. Maybe even care about him.

  Aodhan nar
rowed his eyes at me, and I tried to even out my features. I didn’t have a choice of who I went with, so I needed to just accept it.

  “Liam made me go to sleep last time we...traveled. Do you know how to do that?” I asked.

  Aodhan almost smiled. “I do. It would make it less harrowing for you, but I don’t have to do it.”

  I gritted my teeth and held up my hands. “It’s fine,” I said.

  With one last look at me, Niall disappeared into a run, BlÁ ithÍ n on his heels.

  Aodhan took a step toward me, and the last thing I knew he was staring hard into my eyes.

  Chapter 9

  I’m standing at the top of the Magliaro’s driveway, watching Ethan walk out his front door. He starts toward his truck but turns around, as if someone called his name.

  I see myself walk out the door and over to where he’s waiting. He wraps his arm around me and gives me a gentle squeeze. But when his fingers make contact with my skin, my form wavers. It’s not me at all. It’s a tall, ivory-skinned girl with long, brown hair and sapphire eyes.

  Ethan hooks his finger in hers, and her features turn back into mine as they walk together toward his truck. When he turns his back to her, the corners of her mouth turn up into a grin, wicked and predatory.

  I jerked awake to find myself propped up on an old wingback chair. Aodhan knelt on the wooden floor in front of me, his thick arms held out like he was about to shake me. I wasn’t sure if his expression was fear or astonishment. He raised his eyebrows at me but didn’t say a word as he rose to his feet.

  The sitting room at Niamh’s house was straight out of a museum of 18th-century living. There was a huge fireplace in front of me with a mural painted directly onto the wooden paneling above the mantel. The shelves held all manner of crockery, and on the various tables sat brass oil lamps.

  I stood up slowly, wringing my hands as I walked to the window that looked out onto the barn. I could feel Aodhan watching me from the sofa across the room. I ran through the dream of Ethan in my mind, trying to make sense of it.

  “What is it?” he asked, his voice gruff but not unkind.

  “I had one of the dreams I told you about,” I said.

  I looked down at my clasped hands before continuing, “It was of a fr-friend of mine, Ethan. I saw him walking with...with me. Only, it wasn’t me. The girl he was with was glamoured to look like me.”

  “Does that mean anything to you?” Aodhan asked.

  “Well, I don’t know. These dreams never really make much sense,” I said.

  “The Danaans don’t think like humans. You must second-guess everything. Their actions often don’t make sense, but they always do things for a reason. And if one of them has your friend, my guess would be they are trying to get your attention.”

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I had to call and check on Ethan. To my surprise, I actually had service. But his number went straight to voice mail. That wasn’t a good sign.

  I decided to try his parents’ house. His father picked up, and I asked if Ethan was home.

  “No, I haven’t heard from him.” He paused. “But didn’t he leave with you not too long ago?”

  My breath caught in my throat. He hadn’t left with me, but if my dream was turning out to be true, he thought he had. I had to think fast.

  “Uh, yeah. He just dropped me off, and now his phone is going to voice mail,” I lied. “I can text him. Thanks, Mr. Magliaro.”

  I hung up and looked over at Aodhan. “They think Ethan’s with me. I think Breanh really has taken him.”

  “Eithne and Diarmuid went back through the portal a few hours before we arrived. Your father needs a healer immediately, so I’ve arranged to go with him to TÍ r na n’Ó g to find Eithne. We’ll find your friend and bring him home, too.”

  He stood and gestured for me to follow him. I exhaled, and swallowed back my fears. I had to be stronger than that. “And what am I supposed to do? Just sit here and wait?”

  Aodhan didn’t answer. Instead, he led me outside, where Tagdh was opening the weathered wooden door of a flat-stoned entryway. The structure was dug into a low hillside, assembled with moss-covered stones held firmly in place by the earth surrounding them. A still unconscious Liam lay in the grass just to the left of the hill. Niall was talking in a low voice to BlÁ ithÍ n just a few feet away.

  Tagdh turned around as we approached. He nodded respectfully at Aodhan.

  Niall bent to gather Liam in his arms again, and he and BlÁ ithÍ n joined us at the door.

  “We ready?” she asked.

  “Let’s go.” Aodhan said. He nodded at me. Okay, I guess that’s my answer.

  BlÁ ithÍ n went in first, glancing back at us as she walked. Niall ducked through next, walking sideways to keep Liam’s limbs from hitting the frame.

  Inside the door, crumbling stone steps led down to a dim root cellar. The arched ceiling was made entirely of rock, and old wooden shelves lined the stone walls. Each one held dusty glass jars and bottles, some broken and lying on their sides.

  An acute sense of dÈja vu struck me as I looked around. This room was from one of my dreams, too. The only difference was that in my dream, Liam had been leading the way.

  I turned and looked at Aodhan. He also was from my dream—the gigantic man, I was positive. He looked back at me blankly.

  The room was only about fifteen feet long. At the far end, BlÁ ithÍ n placed her hand on the stones and blinding light filled the space. I reflexively turned away, but Niall and BlÁ ithÍ n walked into to the light and disappeared.

  Squinting and averting my eyes to the floor, I took a deep breath and followed.

  The light swallowed itself, and we appeared in a gathering room of sorts. In the center of the room was a wooden table long enough to seat ten. The edges were carved with spiraling flowers that matched the scrollwork on the chairs. The whitewashed ceiling arched up, supported by thick, knobby roots. The room itself felt wild, like a part of nature.

  As I examined it, I realized that the tree that was attached had actually grown to form the room’s frame. Windows showed hints of trailing flowers in a multitude of colors just outside, and on the wall was a little alcove that held a sphere similar to the one I’d seen in my dream. I walked toward it, looking at the little shimmering ball. Inside were only bubbles that sparkled in the light.

  Niall and BlÁ ithÍ n disappeared through a hallway in search of Eithne. No one had said it in quite as many words, but it was clearly urgent to remove the iron from his body. And judging by the pallor of his skin, the sooner the better.

  Aodhan ran his finger along the flowers and looked up at me. “We need to be armed.”

  I laughed, not because the need for weapons was funny, but the idea of me using a weapon was ridiculous.

  “I don’t really know how to use any weapons.”

  My face flared at the look he gave me, as though what I said was the most preposterous thing he’d ever heard. He smoothed his hands over his buzz-cut and gestured for me to follow him.

  He led me down the same hallway the others had gone through. As I walked, I felt disoriented, as if I went through too quickly and hadn’t taken enough steps. I shook my head and looked back. The length of the hallway didn’t match the amount of time it took to get through.

  We entered a room similar in size and shape to the gathering room, but instead of a table, the room had couches and cushions arranged in a circle. Against the back wall, a stone staircase curved up to a second floor. As I followed Aodhan up, I lost my equilibrium and had to hold tight to the wooden railing to stay upright. He looked back at me, his eyebrows drawn together.

  I laughed at myself, but it came out more like a shaky breath. “Give me a minute, I just got a little dizzy.”

  “Time and space are different in this realm,” he explained. “Your body needs a chance to adjust.”

  At the top of the staircase we entered a room with bronze helmets decoratively set on stone pedestals. Aodhan walked over to kn
eel in front of a polished stone case. He opened it to reveal three bronze swords and two bronze daggers lying on a cushion.

  “This was once Deaghlan’s weapon collection. When he and Saoirse bonded he inherited the weapons of the High Court, but there hasn’t been a need for them in a very long time.”

  “Which one is Deaghlan again?” I asked. My mind swirled with all the new names to remember.

  Aodhan turned and looked at me, swallowing roughly. “Niamh and Aoife’s father.”

  BlÁ ithÍ n appeared at the doorway then. “We need to go to the Bruidhean. Eithne isn’t here.”

  Aodhan rose and handed me a scabbard before sliding one of the swords into a strap across his back.

  He cast a look at BlÁ ithÍ n.

  “In English, Bruidhean means Fairy Palace,” she said. “It’s the home of the King and Queen.”

  I nodded as I flipped the dagger in my hand. I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to do with it.

  “You never know what they’ll do,” Aodhan said, his voice thick with disdain. “It’s best to be prepared.”

  I followed them out of the room, muttering to myself. “I guess I could poke someone just as well as anyone else.”

  ***

  The sky in TÍ r na n’Ó g was bluer than I’d ever seen it at home. It was like stepping into Oz and I was Dorothy. Everything here was richer, more vibrant than I could have imagined.

  Niamh’s house was built into a low hill. The windows and doors were round and merry like an oversized hobbit hole. The lush flowers I’d seen through the window covered everything, making it nearly impossible to see what the actual house was built from.

  I found it hard to focus on the fact that Liam’s life was in jeopardy or that my mother and Ethan had been kidnapped by a psychotic faerie. Everything in TÍ r na n’Ó g was mesmerizing.

  The sound of the Danaan’s boots hitting the dirt directed my gaze to the dusty path they walked. I took a deep breath and quickened my steps to catch up. Rich, moist air filled my lungs leaving a sweet taste like honey on my tongue.