Tressa's Treasures (The King's Jewel Book 1) (30 page)

I heard him sprint up the stairs. He came into the room carrying an IV pole and two bags of saline. I berated myself for not thinking of this human therapy myself. Perhaps I had done Alexander a disservice by relying only on my healing powers.

"I learned how to do this in the service," Matt said. He hung the bag from the pole and then got ready to insert an IV needle. "I spent some time assisting the medics in the field."

"Mattie, do you plan to stay awhile?" Mamó asked.

"Yes, if it's okay with you guys."

I thought it would be good for Alexander to have Matt around, and I told him as much while I watched how he went about starting the IV.

Once the saline began to hydrate him, Alexander's skin color improved. The purple around his neck quickly faded. I let myself be hopeful. Perhaps this was the boost needed to bring him through this. The hex couldn't last for much longer.

"If Matt's staying, Shamus, I need you to deliver a message to my son," Mamó said.

The unusualness of Mamó's remark took my attention away from my patient. "You're sending Shamus to Uncle Lomán? Why not send a Pixie?"

I couldn’t remember a single instance when she had used Shamus to do a simple message delivery. Shamus himself looked startled by the suggestion.

"This is too important. Shamus, I can't trust anyone but you." The wiry-haired man nodded. "I will take my leave from you as well," she said to me. "I need to have a conversation with Gilleagán. It cannot wait any longer."

"Of course, Mamó. Thank you for your help. Matt will take over." Matt nodded his agreement.

My grandmother went over to Alexander before she left. She leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Remember all I have told you of the treasure." She turned to go.

"You know I believe his color is coming back," she remarked, pausing before she slipped out the door.

When we were alone, Matt looked me over critically. "Tressa, you don't look good. Most of your sparkle is gone."

A laugh rose in my throat spontaneously. I knew he was being literal, but it was ironic how perfectly his words described how I felt inside.

"Yes indeed, I have lost my sparkle."

He looked at me with concern, "You should get some fresh air. You've been inside the house for too long. It's a beautiful day."

The suggestion sounded appealing. The breeze on my face and the smell of the forest would truly refresh my spirits. Maybe I could take a short swim in the lake. Mamó had said his color was returning, and I was sure she was referring to his aura, not his skin.

"I'm supposed to be eating and resting now," I said, hesitating.

"I brought sandwiches; they're down in the kitchen. Why not take one down to your spot by the lake?"

I touched Alexander's forehead. His skin was cooler. The purple webbing had receded to where I saw none on the front of his neck or shoulders. Alexander stirred when I pulled at his shirt to see the webbing on the back of his neck. He mumbled something I didn't quite catch. I leaned closer to him.

"Say that again," I said.

"Go. Go to the lake, see Brenna."

"You want me to go?" I said, hurt that he would dismiss me.

"I'll be here when you get back." His voice drifted off.

"He's concerned about you," Matt said. "I am too. You need to get out of here for a little while."

Alexander's slight nod at Matt's words decided it for me. I would do as they asked. "If I'm not back in an hour, will you come wake me up?"

"Sure."

"Don't forget."

"I won't." He crossed his heart with his finger, a gesture stolen from Sophia.

One step outside into the fresh air made me realize how stifling the air in the house had become. The pleasant weather boosted my belief that all would be fine.

I took several deep breaths as I walked, sandwich in hand, toward the lake. The Northern Catalpa trees were in bloom. The fragrance from their white flowers dominated the scents coming from the forest's edge.

The screech of an owl shattered the fragile peace surrounding me. I recognized the voice of this particular owl. The sandwich slipped out of my hand, forgotten as I ran the rest of the distance to the lake.

I thought my heart would stop when I saw her. She sat on the ground by the Pixies' tree trunk. She appeared as a young, beautiful woman today, though that wasn't always the case.

Dressed all in white, her pale yellow hair hung straight and long pulled over her shoulder. The Pixies, subdued for once, sat all in a row on a branch near her head.

She reached her arms out and I fell into the Banshee's embrace, tears streaming uncensored.

"Bridget, don't take him. Please, don't take him," I begged, though I knew it was futile. Banshees weren't reapers of souls, although it often appeared that way. They tended to only turn up just before someone passes, in order to help their family mourn their lost loved one.

She stroked my hair.

"Tressa, darling, you know I don't take them. I don't even know for whom I am here. You know this."

She must be here to mourn Alexander with me. Who else could it be? He had been at death's door for the last three days.

I jerked up, realizing I was wasting valuable time. Why had I come out here? I should be with him. What if he passed away and I wasn't there?

I ran three steps and flitted to the farmhouse door.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Before I could go in, I heard shouts from the Manor House. Keelin and Rosheen screamed my name as they ran toward me. I was momentarily torn, but I couldn't ignore the girls' cries for help. I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand.

They reached me before I had even taken a step in their direction. Something black was covering their face and clothes. I touched Rosheen, and the blackness came off onto my fingertips. In one horrified second, I realized the substance was soot. There was a sharp odor of smoke in the air.

"Tressa, come quick," Rosheen cried.

I wanted to go with her, but I couldn't make myself move toward what was obviously a fire.

"We can't find Mamó," Keelin wailed.

I looked at her, wanting to believe it was a hoax, a silly drama my cousins were playing. The truth was evident in Keelin's wild eyes.

A panic hit me more violently than my fear of the fire. I ran back with them. We didn't go far before I saw the flames shooting out of the Manor house's second story windows.

How could the fire have spread so fast?

Connor and Jenny came around the corner of the building, supporting Holly between them. At the same time, Connor used his cell phone to report the fire to the emergency services.

They helped Holly to the ground under a tree a safe distance from the burning building. I guided the twins over to them and encouraged them to sit with Holly.

"Where's Mamó?" I shouted at the newcomers. They all denied seeing her. Mentally taking a head count, I shouted to Connor, "What about Gil?"

He shook his head, and we all looked around us. Gilleagán emerged from the corner of the house, following the same path the others had just come. I ran towards him, but I stumbled and tripped. He reached for me, but I fell to the ground. I hastened to my feet and grabbed his arm.

"Mamó? Have you seen her?" I shouted.

"No," he said as he turned and watched the house burn. I shook his arm.

"She said she was going to talk to you. Didn't you see her?"

A piece of the roof crashed in, flames leaping up through the hole. The glass on the window closest to us burst out and I screamed, imagining the flames coming at me.

"Shamus told me she wanted me in her bedroom suite. On my way there I heard people yelling."

I didn't understand how he could be so calm when I was nearly hysterical. Someone said something behind me, but I wasn't listening.

"You mean she's still in there?" I screeched, staring horrified at the burning house. I took a few steps toward it, but when I felt the heat of the fire I froze. "Where's Shamus?" I looked frantically for him. The fire wouldn't hurt a Brounie.

"He flitted somewhere after he spoke to me," Gilleagán said.

Mamó had sent him to the Otherworld. He couldn't help her. The heat from the crackling fire wafted over me. I took a jagged breath as I fought the nearly overwhelming urge to run away. However, my desire to save my grandmother gave me unknown strength. I took a step toward the burning building. Then another.

Someone behind me pulled me back. I turned to see it was Bridget. Her sympathy-filled cry told me it was too late. She had come to mourn my grandmother.

"No, no, no!" I yelled at her. I had to get Mamó out. No one else moved to help her, so I had to do it myself. Blinded by tears and rage, I ignored the suffocating fear and ran toward the house. I tripped over a root and fell again. I sat on my knees and screamed in anguish as the rest of the roof collapsed.

Then Alexander was there, kneeling next to me. He wrapped me in his arms and pulled me to him. I leaned on him and sobbed; deep, painful sobs. He made soothing noises as he rocked me like a child. I heard the women around me crying as well.

When the keening started and Bridget began her awful wail, I knew Mamó was gone. I grabbed onto Alexander's shirt and buried my face in his chest.

Suddenly, a pain shot through me like a strong electrical shock. I stiffened and let out a gasp.

"Tressa, what's wrong?" Alexander asked.

I wasn't able to answer him. My mind felt scrambled, as if electrical pulses were bouncing around inside of me. Finally, the sensation stopped, leaving me with a mammoth headache. I closed my eyes to block out the pain.

When I opened them again, nothing looked the same. The color of the flames was more intense. The fire seemed to be alive. Huge thick clouds of unfamiliar colors surrounded me. No two clouds were the same color. They too moved as if they were alive.

Gradually, I understood. My grandmother had bestowed her gift of Aura Sight on me. I was seeing the auras of the surrounding people. Aura Sight evidently affected the way everything looked, not just people.

I remembered that Mamó said she had been overwhelmed by the auras at first, but she learned to control how much they dominated her vision.

I stared at someone who stood away from the rest. The color of the aura was a mixture of earth tones: greens, browns, and creams. Whoever the person was, they stood perfectly still, which is why I tried gaining control of my sight with them. However, after a minute of staring I still couldn’t break through to see the person beneath.

There was a group gathered close together under a tree. Their auras, though they touched, were quite distinct and separate from one another. I tried to remember what Mamó had said at that tea that seemed so long ago; something about auras having varying degrees of light and dark.

With that knowledge, I found it easy to separate the clouds between human and Sidhe. The Sidhe auras were markedly lighter than the human auras, although each individual had a different color and pattern indistinguishable by race.

Alexander still held me. I looked at his aura and at mine. His was much lighter than the other humans, so the contrast in shade between his and mine was less noticeable. Perhaps this was because he was part fae. I couldn't be sure.

Regardless, our auras weren't as distinct from one another as the others’ were. They reacted and fed off each other: the edges swirled and wove together wherever they touched in a constant movement, as though caressing each other. The effect was that of making the two auras into one large patchwork aura.

I knew instinctively that this was the reason Mamó was adamant that Alexander was my
Anam Cara
. This was why our energies were so in tune. The sight of our interlocked auras gave me an odd sense of comfort.

I reached out blindly to touch him. My hand landed on his chest. I ran my hand up his neck, to his face. When I touched him, his physical being started to emerge until finally, every detail of him down to the smallest scar on his cheek was visible.

He looked the same, yet more intense. His dark eyes were a richer chocolate and more penetrating when he looked at me, which I never would have considered possible. More importantly, he looked wonderfully alive.

"Tressa, talk to me."

"You're okay." My voice was barely a whisper. "The hex has passed."

"Yes. I'm still weak, but better."

He helped me to my feet and then pulled me close again, allowing me to lean on him. The sounds of sirens wailing in the distance were coming ever closer.

"Mamó," I sobbed.

"She's gone, my love, I'm so sorry."

I nodded, unable to speak.

The firefighters arrived and worked to put the fire out. They looked like scurrying splotches of color and patterns. I turned away, not wanting to watch them, and looked to my right for the first time.

A mere three feet away stood a menacing, dark, soot and smoke colored aura. Instinctively, I stumbled backwards to get away from it. I tripped over Alexander in the process and nearly knocked us to the ground again, but Alexander kept both of us on our feet.