by Talia Vance
I doubt much surprises Joe after a few centuries of living with the Sons, but the cigarette falls from his lips and lands on the table before he can close his mouth.
“I found a way to bring him back. Obviously. I mean he’s not dead.” God, I’m rambling. “But it’s draining my magic. I’m not a bandia anymore. Not like I was.”
Joe smiles. “You were never the conventional type.”
“Well now I’m not the conventional anything. Do you think it will make a difference to the Sons? I’m no threat now.”
“Brianna?” A guy’s voice calls across the pub. “Brianna Paxton?”
I panic at the sound of my name. Both Blake and Joe said the Sons weren’t going to be here until Friday. But plans change. I search the room for a familiar face, and stop when I get to a boy two tables over. He’s cute and I know I’ve seen him somewhere before, but I don’t place him right away. He waves and stands up, leaving two other boys at the table to their pints as he walks over to me.
I recognize him now, Braden Finley, baseball player and senior class stud. His dark hair is shorter than I remember, in a close-cropped buzz cut, but his easy-going smile and perfect white teeth are hard to forget. He goes to Rancho Domingo High, or at least he did before he graduated this past spring. His locker had been next to Haley’s, and he used to ask her out to lunch every day whether he had a girlfriend or not.
I wait for him to get all the way to our table before I say anything. “Braden? What are you doing here?”
“Bumming around Europe before I start college in September. This is wild. What about you?”
“Staying with a friend.” Austin’s hardly a friend, but it sounds better than the truth: hiding out with a dethroned god and trying to figure out how to realign myself with a bunch of demigods before they make good on their threat to kill me. Or Liam does.
Braden eyes Joe. “Him?”
“Oh. No. Austin Montgomery?”
Austin went to a different school in R.D., but Braden nods like he knows exactly who I’m talking about. “I knew I should’ve made my move when I had the chance.”
“I’m pretty sure you did.” The day I came to school without my bracelet to keep me invisible, Braden had asked me to lunch instead of Haley.
“That’s right. Shot down.” Braden laughs easily. He nods toward his table. “You want to join us for a beer?”
“Maybe later?”
“Ouch. Shot down again!” His smile doesn’t fade. He pulls a phone out of his pocket. “Give me your cell so we can sync up while we’re both in town.” When I don’t do anything, he holds his hands up. “Just to hang out. It’s nice to see someone from home. Someone who speaks English I can actually understand.”
I can’t argue with him. It is nice to see someone familiar. Someone who doesn’t want to kill me or use me or hurt me or ask me for more than I can ever give. We exchange numbers before he walks back to his friends.
Joe watches him the whole way. “How do you know that guy?”
“From school. You haven’t met? I should’ve introduced you.”
Joe lifts his chin toward the table. “I know that bloke he’s with.”
I follow Joe’s gaze to a tall boy with dark, spiky hair sitting at the far end of Braden’s table. Either his eyes are rimmed with black eyeliner, or he has the darkest lashes I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to tell from here. When he lifts his beer, I recognize a hint of a Greenpeace tattoo on the part of his forearm bared by the pushed-up sleeve of his sweater. “Did you two serve together?”
Joe laughs. “You might say that.”
Wait. Joe looks eighteen, but he’s been alive for centuries, which explains how he managed to spend time on an anti-whaling ship in the nineteen-seventies. The guy with Braden doesn’t look any older than me. “He’s giolla?”
“Not surprising, really. What with the Gathering and all.”
“The Gathering?”
“Austin moved the gateway. The reopening always sparks a Gathering of the descendants of the gods. That kind of thing will draw others.”
“Austin didn’t open the gateway. Liam did.”
Joe’s face looks blank.
“Pwil?”
Joe’s face still doesn’t change, but his fingers shake ever so slightly as he picks the cigarette off the table. “Bad time to be powerless.”
“Why? What does the Gathering mean?”
“It means you won’t be able to avoid the Sons, or even the other bandia. Pwil will call you all to the gateway and attempt to force a battle.” He puts the unlit cigarette back between his lips.
“When?”
Joe shrugs. “Pwil and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms. He’s been below for a very long time. I imagine he’ll do it as soon as he thinks you’re ready.”
“Me?”
“You and the other bandia. He won’t set up a fight he doesn’t think he can win.”
Braden grins at me from across the pub. He lifts a glass of dark beer toward me in a silent toast.
I turn back to Joe. “Can you get me a meeting with Rush?”
He’s silent for a long minute before he answers. “I’ll see. How about you? You okay?”
“I’m really not.”
Joe stubs the unlit cigarette in a small planter next to us. “Then God help us all.”
TWENTY-ONE
Everything is quiet back at Austin’s. It’s strange to move through the giant halls without seeing anyone. I hear a footstep behind and spin around, but there’s nothing there. Nothing behind me, and no magic to grasp. Every little sound sets me on edge. It’s one thing to be hunted by a bunch of demigods when you’re capable of taking them out in your own right. It’s another to be powerless prey.
Mick took me to a library on the first day here when I got the grand tour, but I can’t for the life of me remember where it is. I search through both wings on the main level, but I don’t find it. I head upstairs, finding another drawing room, and two empty bedrooms. I’m nearing my own room, when I notice a light on under a large door across the hall. I knock, but no one answers.
I try the door, and it turns. I push the door open just wide enough to stick my head through. The bedroom is huge, at least twice the size of mine. A king size canopy rests against one wall, covered in brown drapes that match a plush duvet. An L-shaped leather couch and giant flat screen television sit off to the right. The limestone floor is covered with a large brown faux fur rug. At least I assume it’s faux. It’s too big to be real. A stone hall disappears through an arch in the opposite wall.
“Mikel?” Austin says from beyond the alcove. “Is that you?”
“It’s me.”
Austin comes through the archway in jeans and a thick cabled sweater, the wool dyed a deep, rich blue. “Looking for me?”
“The library, actually.”
“In my bedroom?” He raises his eyebrows, and I’m all too aware of how this must look.
“Right.” I back out of the door and into the hall.
“Brianna.”
I poke my head back in. “Yes?”
“I shouldn’t have left you at the gateway. Liam could have- I’m sorry.” His brows furrow, but he doesn’t look angry. At least not with me.
“It’s no big deal.” I can’t stop staring at the lines on his face. I’m not used to seeing any imperfections beyond his crooked smile. I’m sure that’s all it is. It’s a strange thing to see a god look so imperfect. So vulnerable. The little pang in my chest is just a natural reaction to seeing someone weakened.
He leans against the wall of the alcove, but doesn’t move closer. “I’m not as patient as I used to be.”
“You were never patient.” That’s one thing that hasn’t changed.
“Was I always so jealous?”
“I don’t know. Are you jealous now?” Of what? I have nothing to be jealous of. No family. No friends. No Blake.
“Eternally.”
“Ha.”
“Ironic, I know. But some things sur
vive even death. Especially emotions. They’re tied to the soul. You humans can’t ever seem to let them go.”
“Well, you did keep trying to get me to kill Blake until you finally succeeded.” I say the words matter-of-factly, without my usual venom.
“It’s definitely worse. Now I want to do it myself.” He takes a breath and I realize that the lines in his face aren’t the only thing that’s changed. There’s emotion behind his eyes, not jealousy exactly, but something sadder.
“Austin?”
He closes his eyes. “I love the sound of my name on your lips.”
I let myself smile while he’s not looking. Last night, when I tried to get Austin to kiss me, it had been nothing more than a twisted attempt at revenge. A way to forget the pain and inflict some of my own. But now I can’t stop thinking of the way he felt over me, his teeth grazing my neck. I shudder and close my eyes, trying to block the image from my mind.
“What are you looking for?” Austin asks.
I focus on my reason for searching out the library. Research. “What’s the Gathering?”
“Did you see Liam?”
“Joe. And a giolla I’ve never seen before. He was with a guy I know from R.D.”
“One of the Sons? I never should have left you—”
“Chill. Just a guy from school who’s spending his summer hiking through Europe.”
“Who just happens to be passing through the Irish backcountry a week after the gateway opened? With a giolla?”
It does sound odd, but why not? Braden is an Irish name, it makes sense that he’d want to see the land of his ancestors. Crap. Braden is connected to Ireland. To all of this. “If he’s not a Son, what is he?”
“More trouble.”
“Killian killed the other demigod lines once he got his own power. And Blake would have tested Braden back in R.D. for the Killian gene. He’s not a breeder.”
“The Seventh Daughters and the Sons of Killian are all that remain of the demigods. But the gods weren’t the only magical creatures to grace our homeland. Nor were they the only ones to suffer when the Milesians drove magic underground.”
“The giolla?”
He nods. “The giolla have always aligned with power. They blend easily with humans since they can compel human emotions and create memories, but they prefer to surround themselves with magic. So they don’t have to pretend.”
“You can use compulsion too.”
“Not like they can. The giolla can create thoughts and feelings from nothing at all, but they don’t like to. I can only bring forward feelings that are already present. More of a magnification.”
That explains why Austin couldn’t make me want him after I bonded with Blake. “But Haley?” She had nearly drowned herself under Austin’s power.
“She’s more troubled than you realize.”
I sit down on the edge of the leather couch. “Poor Haley. I knew things were bad at home, but I never imagined.”
Austin finally walks out of the alcove and into the room. “The Sons needed the giolla to pass down their history. A lot is lost in seven generations. It’s been a mutually beneficial relationship.”
“But the giolla don’t all serve the Sons. Mick has been here serving you, and the boy I saw today was with Braden.”
“A thousand years is a long time. Even for the giolla. Especially for the giolla.” Austin looks past me to a painting on the wall by the bed, a dark picture of a male angel being stabbed in the back by a smiling, handsome man. “Friends die. Loyalties shift.”
“Braden is not a giolla.” Joe, Mick and the guy at the pub all had similar builds, tall and lean. And there was something else. Everything about Mick and Joe is slow and deliberate. Braden was too flirtatious. Too alive.
“I imagine not.” Austin sits on the couch next to me. As he does, his thigh brushes my knee. His touch doesn’t fill me with a rush of heat the way Blake’s does, but it’s nice.
I try to clear my head. I focus on the stories my grandmother told me about ancient Ireland. “Faeries?”
“An old wives tale.”
“What then?”
“Kelpie, maybe. More likely fuath, if he’s here for the Gathering.”
“Help me out.”
“Kelpies are water horses. Dark creatures that lure people to their deaths by posing as horses and then taking the person on a ride to the bottom of the sea.”
“Lovely.”
“They haven’t been active since shortly after the Milesians began their crusade against magic. They choose to stay below rather than risk detection and persecution topside. The fuath are more dangerous. They regularly mingle with humans. And they’ll take more chances if they think they can advance their station with the gods.” “What are they?”
“A more advanced form of water beast. They can appear as humans, but in their true form, they have the body of a horse and the tale of a whale. They are among the most beautiful creatures. And the most sinister. They feed off human emotions, but they prefer to feed off magic. If they’re here, it will be at Liam’s invitation.”
“The Gathering?”
Austin sets his hand down between us, but he doesn’t touch me. “He’s opened the Gateway and put out the call. The others will answer as well. They just don’t know it. If Liam called the fuath, he means to align with them. He probably offered them a position in the new world.”
“He’s building an army.” I stretch my fingers until I feel Austin’s pinky on the couch next to me. I trail my finger from his nail to his knuckle.
“The Seventh Daughters have turned out to be a bit of disappointment.” Austin looks down at our hands where I’m touching him. He takes my hand in his, flashing that crooked smile. His eyes flit to the giant bed. “I’ve never had a girl here before.”
I pull my hand away. “You still don’t.”
“Don’t I?” His eyes burn into mine.
I try to ignore the heat that rushes to my cheeks. I still need answers, and Austin has them. At least that’s what I tell myself when I don’t immediately leave his room. “So the Gathering, it’s meant to bring us all together in one place?”
“Liam intends to speed things along. He will force our hand. Soon.”
“Can the fuath take out the Sons?” I set my hand in my lap, clasping it with the other one. Anything to keep it from wandering back over to Austin’s side of the couch.
Austin picks up a curl of my hair and twirls it around his finger. As he moves the hair away from my neck, his knuckles graze the skin. “Not alone. But they’re clever. They’ve stayed hidden for centuries, biding their time while the Sons and Daughters killed each other. They won’t fully align with any one side until there’s a clear winner.”
“So their loyalty is still up for grabs?” It’s all I can do to keep from leaning into his hand.
“The fuath are loyal only to themselves.” Austin drops the curl, like he’s only just realized he was touching me. “You should stay away from them.”
Stay away from Liam. Stay away from the Sons. Stay away from the fuath. Stay away from town. I may not have powers, but it’s not like I can be effective locked away and doing nothing. “I’ll find the other bandia. The Sons think Sherri is already here. And I’ll see what I can find out about Braden. Joe’s is going to set up a meeting with Rush.”
Austin laughs. “I don’t suppose there’s any point to locking you in a tower.”
“I’ll find a way out.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Austin eyes dance with golden light.
I can’t help but smile.
Austin brings his fingers to my chin, deliberately this time, letting them slide down my throat. “Ask me to kiss you again.”
My lips part involuntarily. But he was right to stop things last night. We’re not friends. We’re not anything. Besides, I’m terrified of kissing him. I might want to do it again.
“No.” I hope his ability to use compulsion doesn’t allow him to see the little seed of longing that flutter
s in my chest.
From the way he smiles, I’m guessing it does.
I stand up quickly. “Where is the library anyway?”
“Three doors on the right.” He waits until I’m at the door to speak again. “One question?”
I hesitate.
Austin leans forward, his elbows on his knees. His hair falls in his eyes. “Why didn’t Blake agree to help you?”
“I didn’t ask.” I didn’t bind Blake to me and I didn’t ask him for help. But I maybe I got something else I didn’t realize I needed. Closure. “And I won’t.” My hand is fixed on the doorknob, but I don’t turn it.
“You should go.” Austin grins. “Or I might not wait for you to ask me to kiss you again.”
I scramble out the door and into the hall.
Last night, I had wanted Austin to make me forget. Today, I don’t know what I want. I had let myself think that Blake was more to me than he was. I had confused physical attraction for something more. I won’t make that mistake again.
Besides, Austin has never cared for anyone but himself. He’s a killer. He made me one. And no matter how much he seems to want to help me now, I can’t let myself forget what he’s done.
TWENTY-TWO
I find the library right where Austin said it would be. It has floor to ceiling bookcases built into the walls, each shelf filled with leather bound volumes and more modern books.
My eye is drawn to a thick book on a table. A Brief History of Cath. I flip through the pages, scanning through the stories of the town’s heritage. I stop when I get to a story of a fire that destroyed half of Main Street a hundred and fifty years ago. The book describes a historic lightning storm and a strange blue fire, now believed to be caused by the natural gas that fueled the new street lamps.
My stomach twists into a tight coil. I knew that I was coming home, but this is closer to home than I realized. This is the town my seventh generation grandmother burned to avenge a heartbreak.
No wonder the townspeople don’t want me here. It’s a relief to be powerless. To know I can’t hurt anyone like that. But how am I going to stop Liam from assembling an army to kill off the Sons? If one demigoddess with a broken heart could inflict so much death and destruction, what would happen when the gods regained control of the earth?
