Rua (Rua, book 1) (18 page)

“Ethan, I thought that was you,” Kara said.

“Uh huh,” he said. “What do you want?”

“We need your help.”

“Right, you said that. What?” he asked.

“We need to find a powerful
Sidhe
. She’s taken a couple of humans, and we need to get them back.”

He shifted his weight. “This doesn’t concern me,
Tuatha
.”

He began to disappear, solid skin morphing into murky shadows.

“Wait!” Celeste shouted. She grabbed his arm before it faded. Her purple light shot out, wrapping them both in fire.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He filled his form in again. He removed her hand from his arm and placed it gently in his hand. “And who is this ravishing creature?” He leaned close to her, squinting at the purple flames engulfing her skin.

She felt Rylan’s presence behind her, closing in on her protectively. She ignored him.

“Please.” She grabbed his other hand. His eyes were purple too, but dark, like a plum. “Please help me. They’ve taken my friend, and it’s all my fault.” Tears ran down her face. “Please,” she said again.

He tilted his head to the side. “New
Tuatha
? You are a sight for sore eyes, and your light,” he said, running his cool fingers across her arm, “why, it’s simply intoxicating.” His lips parted in a smile. His teeth were pointy, but she did not to recoil. “I’m at your service, Miss…?”

“Celeste. You can call me Celeste.”

“Celeste. Oh, how fitting. Like the heavenly celestial bodies in the sky.” When he said the word “bodies,” his eyes roamed up and down hers.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Rylan stepped up beside Celeste.

“I mean no offense.” His deep purple eyes traveled to Rylan, then back to Celeste. He raised her hand to his cold lips, pressed them against her skin, then released her hand. “What is it you will need, my lady?” His eyes focused only on Celeste.

“We need to find Fayga. She has my friends,” Celeste said.

“Done.” He faded again, but she felt him moving inside her as he crossed over.

“Wait!” Kara said.

He reappeared. “Yes?”

Kara pointed at Rylan. “Take him with you, please.”

“The halfling?”

Rylan glowered at him, but stepped forward. He turned around so he was standing next to Ethan, staring at Celeste. “It’ll be okay.” He smiled, then disappeared.

They moved through her then were gone.

She turned to Kara. “Now what?”

Kara pulled her purse higher up on her shoulder. “Now, we wait. Can we go inside? You might as well get some rest.”

Celeste looked at the time displayed on her cell. 11:00. It was late, and she should be tired, but there was no rest. Just a cycle of thoughts through her head. Worry about Tink, agony over what could have happened to him, worry for Jennifer, and the new worry about Rylan’s safety.

She walked inside without another word, Kara following close behind. The living room had one overstuffed couch in front of a flat screen TV. Judging by the thin layer of dust on the screen, nobody spent a lot of time here.

She sank into the couch, resting her head on the cushions. The couch squeaked when Kara sat down on the other end. She tried to close her eyes, tried to rest, but the gaping pain in her chest wouldn’t relent.

Kara turned on the TV, but kept the volume low.

“Can you read his mind?” she said to Kara.

“Whose?”

“Rylan’s.”

“No.” Kara said.

“How do you know Ethan?” Celeste asked. She shifted so her back was against the arm of the couch, facing Kara, legs crossed in front of her.

“When they pass through the portal, after a while, you get to sense their distinct entities, and their personalities. Sometimes they will try to communicate with you, come to you with their disputes. Ethan came to me when I first became
Tuatha
. He was curious. He’s a little snaky, but is very interested in humans; way more than the others,” she said.

“Why is that?”

“Because we are different, and it interests some of them.” She slid her purse off her shoulder and set it on the glass coffee table. “Since we are more human, we are more ruled by emotion, and we are somewhat mortal. Wouldn’t you be interested, too?”

“I suppose.” She pulled out her cell and looked again. Only twenty stupid minutes had passed. “Is it normal for them to take this long?”

“Yes,” Kara said. “Especially if she has carried them somewhere distant.”

“Distant?” Celeste echoed.

“She could move them anywhere in the world or keep them trapped on the other side.”

Celeste pictured Rylan freezing in the arctic in his pajamas and t-shirt or being forced into a dirty market in some remote village. She shook her head to try to clear her thoughts. She needed to stay positive, stay strong.

“How do they move like that? Are they teleporting?” Celeste said.

Kara smiled. “In a sense, yes. They aren’t restricted by the same physics we are. They just go. Rylan is very lucky to have retained that. Most halflings cannot.”

Rylan’s name brought a sting of anxiety with it, but then she felt an internal pressure. “I think they’re coming.”

On cue, they burst through the door.

Rylan’s face was grave. Ethan was smiling.

Celeste ran into his Rylan’s arms. He embraced her, pulling her tight.

“What is it? Where are they?” she asked.

“Outside of Aberdeen. Scotland. He’s in bad shape. We need to go.”

Chapter 16

“What?” Celeste choked back a flood of tears.

Ethan spoke up. “I popped in, very quickly. I didn’t let her see me. There was a male and a female, both tied up, both bleeding. The male had a low life force, almost gone.” He frowned, bringing his hand up to his face to examine a fingernail. “I think your halfling broke my nail.”

“Oh, God.” Celeste turned to Kara. She was busy riffling through her purse. “What do we do?”

“We have to send her back to the other side. I don’t want to ask you to put yourself in danger, but I need your help. We don’t have time to gather any more
Tuatha
,” she said.

“No, I’ll go. What do we need?”

“A bit of luck, I think,” Kara said. She set her purse back down. She had a knife in her hand. “Ethan, can you help us?”

“This is not my fight.”

“At least help us get there,” she said.

He turned to Celeste. “Celeste, would you like my help?” He smiled at her with his strange pointy teeth.

She met his eyes. “Yes, please.”

“Anything for you, love.”

“We need to go soon,” Rylan said.

“Right.” Kara nodded. “We need to push her back through the portal to the other side.
Sidhe
are extremely difficult to kill, so let’s make forcing her back our focus instead. Celeste, follow my lead.”

Rylan wrapped his arms around Celeste, pulling her close to his chest. “This is going to hurt. I’m sorry.”

She scrunched her eyes shut and prayed it’d be a short ride.

It wasn’t. Her insides lurched in her body, lunch crawling its way back up her throat. Pressure filled her body, her head pounding inside and out. Her eyes opened involuntarily. Black shiny light swirled around them, like they were inside darkness itself. Screams filled the air around her. It took her a few seconds to recognize them as her own.

The darkness gave way to light, and it was so bright it burned her skin and eyes. Her feet were on solid ground, and Rylan was still holding her. He gently lowered her to the ground. She rolled over and lost the rest of her last meal.

She closed her eyes, clawing her fingers into the ground. They tangled in something pliable and wiry. Grass.

“Don’t scream. She doesn’t know we’re here.” Rylan knelt beside her, whispering into her ear.

She opened her eyes. They were at the base of a hill. As far as she could see, green pastures rolled away from her in every direction. Farmhouse buildings dotted the scenery, but they were very far away.

She sat up. The world stayed level, her stomach stopped lurching. “I’m okay.”

A nearby groan brought her attention behind her. Kara lay on her side on the ground, moaning. Ethan sat beside her, knees folded up to his chest, smiling and twisting a blade of grass around his finger.

Kara rolled up slowly, much like Celeste had.

As soon as she did, Ethan started to disappear. An idea flitted through Celeste’s mind, something she should do.

“Ethan!” she hissed. “Get Sergeant Grimes, the Skinwalker.”

He showed her all his pointy teeth, but then he was gone. She had no idea if he’d heard her or not, or even if he had, if he’d follow through. It was strange, though, that Kara hadn’t thought of that.

“Okay, now what?” she said.

Rylan nodded toward the top the hill, motioning for them to get down. They all did, dragging themselves with their hands to the top of the hill. Several small posts lined the front of small stone cottage.

Celeste wasn’t sure what the posts were for, and she didn’t care.

Tink was tied to one of them, his hands over his head. He was barefoot and shirtless. Blood ran out of his ear, down his face, and all over his torso. Red, angry lines crisscrossed his bare chest. His eyes were closed, and he was too still. She stared at his chest, willing it to move. It did. He was breathing, which meant he was alive.

“Oh, Tink. What has she done to you?” she whispered to no one in particular.

“Jennifer seems to be in better shape,” Rylan said.

Celeste forced her eyes to look away from her best friend. Jennifer was tied to a post a few feet away from Tink. She was bleeding too, but not as much. She still had all her clothes and shoes on. She was awake, breathing rapidly, red swollen eyes darting around.

A force crashed into Celeste, sending her rolling down the hill. She landed at the bottom, her head still spinning.

“Celeste!” Rylan shouted.

She sprang to her feet, just in time to watch Fayga stride down the hill. Her black hair was free, waiving around her wildly in the stiff breeze. She was barefoot, wearing a tight bodice with skin-tight pants.

“Celeste. I was hoping you would come.”

Rylan charged Fayga, knocking her off her feet. Both of them rolled down the hill. Rylan recovered first, grabbing a fistful of her hair, pulling it back, and punching her repeatedly in the stomach. She only smiled then pushed him off her with both of her arms.

He flew twenty feet in the air then landed in a nasty heap. He didn’t move.

“Rylan!” Celeste screamed.

But she didn’t have time to react, because Fayga was coming at her again. Celeste held her ground, forcing the purple light through her, but Fayga lifted her hand and hit her across her jaw. She fell back, landing with her back against the cold stone of the cottage.

Fayga pinned her to the cottage, holding her shoulders down. Her lips twisted into her version of a smile. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

“Let them go! Please let them go.” She wrapped her arms around Fayga’s wrists.

“No, I shall not let them go. I will kill both of them while you watch, then I will kill the halfling, then I will kill you,” she said in her oddly melodic voice.

Celeste knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help it. She looked for Rylan, wanting to see him one last time.

He was gone.

Fayga followed her gaze. “Looks like your mate has left you alone.”

She struggled against Fayga, but her strength was unbreakable.

Kara appeared on the hill behind Fayga. Kara would know what to do. She’d save her. She returned her attention to Fayga. She could not betray Kara’s presence.

Fayga had already seen it. She turned around and saw Kara, then turned back to Celeste. “Oh, you think she is here for you? She is not.”

Kara moved to them slowly. She did not look up, did not break stride.

Fayga smiled in her strange way. “Kara, tie Rua here up. The rope’s inside.”

Kara nodded once, then moved to the opening to the cabin.

“Kara!” Celeste screamed. More wetness rolled down her face before she could stop it. She’d been betrayed and now her friends would pay for it. “Why?” she asked. “What did I do to deserve this?”

Kara paused outside the door, keeping her eyes on her feet. “She has my daughter.” She looked at her with watery, sad eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

Fayga rolled her eyes, and stepped away from Celeste. Fayga let her go, and Celeste slid down the wall of the cabin. “Go!” Fayga said to Kara.

Kara wavered at the door, eyes moving to Tink, Jennifer, then back to Celeste.

“Ava is near. I’d hate for something to happen to a child,” Fayga said.

Kara returned her gaze to her own feet. “I’m sorry.” She stepped into the house, leaving Celeste alone with Fayga.

Fayga pulled a knife out of a holster strapped to her thigh. “I’m going to finish carving your witch friend up. I insist you watch.”

“No!” Celeste launched herself at Fayga, throttling her throat with all her force. Purple flames shot out of her hands and into Fayga, making her flicker. Her eyes widened, then got very dark.

Celeste flew through the air, fireworks exploding in her vision. She landed on her back. She tried to move, but couldn’t.
Get up. You can do this.
Time passed, but she couldn’t tell if it was seconds, minutes, or hours. Finally, she stood slowly, unsteady on her feet. Fuzzy blackness encroached around her vision, but she could still walk.

She moved toward Fayga, who was crouched over Tink, drawing the knife across his chest.

“No!” She stumbled forwards.

Then she remembered her birds. She called them to her. They burst into existence.

Fayga flung her knife aside and stared at the sky above her.

The birds swarmed Fayga, clawing at her face, tangling in her hair. She swatted them away, but they picked at her skin. She screamed, then ran at Celeste, birds and all. Fayga’s cold fingers closed around her neck, and Celeste burst forward with all her purple flame, forcing it to move down Fayga’s body. Fayga emitted the most in-humane blood-curling scream, then started to fade.

Celeste closed her eyes, and pushed with her power.

Then Fayga was gone.