An Immortal Descent (16 page)

My chin tilted up a notch. “How fortunate that I don’t belong to you, nor anyone else for that matter.” I leaned farther on the step in challenge. “Please excuse me, I’ve nature’s call to attend.”

He didn’t budge an inch. “Come, come, me lass. That’s no way to treat your new master.”

The man truly thought he owned me. “A pox on your delusions, Calhoun. I’d rather die than be tied to a thieving scoundrel.”

“You saucy brat,” he growled, raising a hand. “I’ll teach you to talk back.” I braced for the strike, but he just brushed a finger over the eyepatch.

“Why you want her leashed?” Ailish asked innocently, though the answer was beyond obvious. “Worried she’ll try to run?”

I gave him an expectant look that bordered on a smirk.

Calhoun dropped his hand, and I heard the distinct sound of teeth grinding together. “The idea crossed me mind, you numbskull. Now do what I say or you can both piss in a pot for all I care.” He turned and stalked away to wait.

Ailish tossed something on the floor near my feet. I glanced down to find a pair of walking boots. “Put those on.” She turned back to the cabinet to rummage some more.

Retreating back inside, I leaned against one of the barrels for better balance and pushed my toes into the worn black leather. The fit was a bit snug but better than the alternative, as my boots and every other possession had been left behind on the
Sea Witch
.

Ailish moved to my side, a coarse rope clenched in one hand. “Hold your arms up, Selah.”

I eyed the rope, rather annoyed at the prospect of another trussing. “Is this really necessary?”

“That all depends. Do you want out o’ the caravan or not?”

“Fine,” I snapped, while thrusting my arms upward. “Just don’t make it too tight.” The ring of bruises still marred my skin from Julian’s stunt with the tree root, and I had no desire to aggravate the wound. Nor any of the other scrapes and bruises I’d manage to collect since leaving London, though in truth, none hurt so much as the burn on my neck.

Oh, to be able to heal myself...

A breath cut through my nose from the trail of ice that crept over my skin, just beneath Ailish’s hands. I shivered once before she completed the knot and scurried out the open door. Judging by the pink tinge to her cheeks, the close proximity had been equally distressing, and if nothing else, would serve as a reminder of the need to part ways sooner rather than later.

Calhoun turned the moment our boots scuffed against the dirt. “Go that way.” He pointed to a section of woods directly across from the caravan. “And be quick about it, afore the bandits come out and strip us bare.” He swept a nervous look from side to side.

Ailish moved with seemingly little care for any bandits. I grabbed my skirts and followed close in tow, shooting furtive glances through the heavy fog that grew thicker at each step. Calhoun remained on the road, his amber cloak standing out against the dark red caravan.

We walked about five feet apart, Ailish leading the way over the thorny vines and past several thin tree trunks. I started to wonder at her destination when she stopped at a gigantic ash and patted the rough bark. “This should do.” Sparing no consideration for additional privacy, she squatted over the tree roots, her green woolen skirts bunched to the side.

I looked over my shoulder, catching a glimpse of amber still near the caravan. “Have you thought of my offer?” I whispered.

“That I have.” She glanced up at me, her face blank. “The pissing be easier down on your hunkers, you know.”

“Save the instruction.” I lifted my own skirts to join her. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to know what to expect. Are you willing to let me escape unharmed?”
Or must I devise another plan.

Standing, she nodded. “I’ll not be stopping you.”

Excitement leapt inside me. “When should we do it?” I stood and brushed out my gown.

“Is it a tea party you be having in there?” Calhoun bellowed. “Hurry up, or I’ll thump you good and hard.”

The rope tugged on my waist. “Come on,” Ailish said.

I fell in line beside her. “Tell me when,” I hissed.

She didn’t answer, just quickened her pace until I was trotting to keep up.

“Ho, there you be,” Calhoun said when we reached the thorns and grass. “Damnable fog. I feel them bandits breathing down me neck already.”

Ailish stopped in front of him. “Where you taking us first?”

“Home to see Paddy. He’ll be mighty pleased to have you in his bed at last.”

“You can’t make me marry him—”

Calhoun struck fast, the back of his hand cracking against Ailish’s cheekbone. She fell to her knees, pulling me down beside her on the road. He bent over us, his face white with rage. “I can and I will, mind you.” He raised his hand again, ready to strike another blow.

Power leapt to my palms. “Leave her alone,” I said, my voice low with menace.

Calhoun straightened and glowered at me. “I’ve Cailleach’s blood, Miss Kilbrid. Touch me, and you’ll get the same in return.”

I glowered back. Well, that answered my questions about his heritage. The power receded, chilled by his blatant reminder of the law that governed our different kind.

Ailish hadn’t made a sound yet, not even a whimper when he’d struck her. She shifted and slowly pushed to her feet. I stood as well, brushing dirt and pebbles from my hands. “Don’t worry yourself, Eanin,” she said meekly. “Calhoun knows what be best.”

I had to bite my tongue to keep from yelling. How could she just give in to him so easily? And why did I even care? They were the same blood. They deserved each other.

Calhoun chuckled. “That I do, me lass. Now get inside and don’t let me hear another word. If’n we work the horses, we’ll be home by sundown.” He strode off toward the front of the caravan. “Paddy’ll be pleased as pie to see us...” The rest of his words trailed off as he climbed to the driver’s box.

Ailish scrambled up the steps to the door. “Wait here,” she told me, ducking inside.

I hardly had time to breathe before a saddlebag hit me square in the chest. “Take this.” My arms moved instinctively, and she jumped to the ground, holding two ratty mushroom-brown capes and a burlap sack.

“What are you doing?” I asked, dumbfounded by the series of actions.

“Running away.” She slammed the door closed, louder than necessary, and flipped the latch in place.

My mouth fell open with surprise. “But...but—”

“Hush up afore he hears us.”

A whistle cut through the air, followed by the snap of a whip across the horses’ backs. The caravan rolled away, slow at first, then picking up speed. I didn’t move a muscle, just watched until it vanished into the fog.

Chapter Ten

The Barest Form of Life

Another minute passed before the sound of pounding hooves and spinning wheels faded to nothing. Silence settled around me, and I blinked several times, hardly believing the sudden turn of events.
Heavens above!
I was free of that horrid man, free to find Henry and my friends, free to save Nora from Cailleach’s wretch...

My thoughts slammed to a halt. “What were you thinking?” I demanded.

Ailish inhaled a deep breath of misty air, releasing it with a look of pure joy. “That it be a fine time to leave Calhoun.” She drew another breath, then eyed my waist. “Take off that rope, will you.”

My fingers worked over the knot, and I tossed it to her. Stuffing it into the burlap sack, she passed one of the brown capes to me. “We’ve two hours’ lead if’n we be lucky.” Offering no further comment, she swung the other woolen cape around her skinny shoulders and started along the road in the same direction as the caravan.

“Where are you going?” I asked, hurrying to catch up. Her pace didn’t waver, and after a handful of steps, the fog thinned enough to reveal that we were approaching a crossroads.

“Thought you said we be for Wexford.”

I stopped dead, nearly dropping the saddlebags. “Oh, no, no, no. I never said
we
were going to Wexford.”

Ailish stopped as well, confusion tugging at her brow. “Have you decided on another town?”

“You don’t understand.”

“Ahh, I see what you’re thinking.” She tapped her temple with one finger, her hazel eyes sparking with excitement. “You want to throw Calhoun off our scent by taking another way. That be a clever head you got there.”

“That’s not at all—”

She held up a hand to interrupt me. “Give me a moment to think on the details.” Ambling the few steps into the crossroads, she turned a wide circle as though inspecting the various routes. I followed her movements, turning a smaller circle while she spoke. “Some roads be more dangerous than others this time o’ year. The bandits we can manage, but there’s no cure for the rivers and mud. Dublin be a fair hike, but we can make it in a week. Faster yet if’n a cart goes by to give us a lift.”

“You’ve got it wrong, Ailish. My destination hasn’t changed. I’m still going to Wexford, not
we
. There was never any
we
involved in this.”

A moment of silence passed between us, and her face grew deadly serious. “There you be wrong, Selah.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, knowing perfectly well that I was knee-deep in right.

“‘Twas
we
the very minute you stepped foot on the
Sea Witch
. Calhoun crossed our fates, and like it or not, we still be twined together.”

I snorted a laugh. “That’s absurd. We could never be entwined.”

Moving the sack to the crook of one arm, she planted a stubborn fist on her hip. “Are you always so blind to the truth, or just when you’re lost in the fog?”

“We’re mortal enemies, Ailish, and in case you’ve forgotten, mortal enemies don’t travel together by choice.” It seemed ridiculous to have to explain something so basic, and I could only think that she’d lived an even more sequestered life than I had while in Calhoun’s care. “And I’m not lost,” I added for good measure.

She didn’t reply at once, and I used the brief respite to scrunch my eyes together in an attempt to stave off another headache. Or was it just a continuation of the headache from the rowboat? Swallowing once, I felt a scratch in my throat, which also may have been left over from earlier, though it hinted to something more.

Please don’t let me get sick
, I silently pleaded to anyone who might be listening. As though in response, a sneeze gathered in my nose. I tried to force it back to no avail.

Ailish scuffed a boot over the ground, and I opened my eyes to find her staring at the dirt. The fog pushed closer, pooling at our feet and creeping into the folds of our skirts. Tiny water droplets clung to the tips of her lashes and the fine downy hair above her lip. With her small stature and heart-shaped face, she would have looked the very image of a woodland fairy if not for the swollen eye and bruised cheek. A red swell lifted the skin of her other cheek, and it would only be a matter of time before it turned a deep purple like the rest.

She raised her eyes to mine. “I’ve an easy way to settle our dispute.”

“How’s that?”

“I’ll agree to go me own way, seeing that you can point the way to Wexford. Agreed?”

My lips pressed to a thin line. “Very well. Have it your way.”

It took a minute to reset my bearings. Trees loomed on all sides, and with the fog, it proved somewhat difficult to distinguish one direction from the next. I turned a slow circle, guided by deduction and a bit of intuition, and soon had myself facing north again.

Let’s see...
The crossroads offered four possible choices. Recalling the map from Cate’s library, I envisioned a northeast line from Dunmore to Wexford.
But we’ve been traveling toward Waterford for over an hour.

The port town was located northwest of Dunmore, if my memory served, and straight west from Wexford as the crow flies. I looked to the left first, then to the right, while making mental calculations as to the horses’ speed and direction.

I looked toward the sky next, but the fog blocked any signs of the sun’s location. No matter, based on everything else, the town of Wexford was to my right.

“This way!” I said triumphantly. Turning, I strode off with new purpose, my too-tight boots punctuating each step.

“Are you sure?” she asked after I’d gone several yards.

“Would I be walking this way if I weren’t?” I called over my shoulder. Even so, uncertainty slowed my feet, and I shot a furtive look at the empty tree branches overhead.

Peals of laughter sounded behind me. “Make sure to say hello to the folks o’ Limerick for me.”

Hell and furies!
I spun around, my teeth clenched hard enough to crack.

“Do you have any messages for your friends in Wexford?” Smiling, she turned and started walking away.

Blood burned in my cheeks.
Blasted girl.
I would have had the right road if she hadn’t done those circles earlier. More likely than not, she’d done it on purpose, feigning ignorance to my real intentions just long enough to confuse me.

Ailish continued to walk, her slight form nearly one with the landscape. I fixed my eyes on her back as a small war raged inside me—common sense on the one side and a mountain of pride on the other. In truth, I knew my behavior to be childish, but my feet refused to move. Then another sneeze took me, and when I looked again, the fog had swallowed her whole.

My heart gave a sudden jump. Fog swirled across the road, hovered like a legion of specters in the woods. Cold seeped from the ground into my feet and legs.

Damnation.
I couldn’t stand here all day, rooted like a tree to the road. Nor would I walk to Limerick just to spite her. With an inward groan, I readjusted my grip on the saddlebags and ran after her.

She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of my approaching steps. “Pleased you have some sense, Selah. Pride be a lonely companion on these roads.”

“Better than a tedious sauce box,” I muttered, coming along beside her. When a shiver ran over me, I veered off at an angle to put some space between us.

“That be good,” she said. “Nothing like Brigid’s blood to make me feel a bit queer.”

“You’re one to talk. I’ve not been warm since we met on the
Sea Witch
.” At the time I thought it the remaining effects of wet clothes and travel. But this cold ran deeper, as though the marrow had been chilled in my bones.

She gave a mirthless laugh. “And I be too warm, like I’ve a fever all over me skin.”

“You’ve no idea what I’d give to be—” The remaining words exploded in a sneeze. Drawing breath, I sneezed three more times. Along with the headache and rough throat, it could only mean one thing. “You gave me a cold.”

She gaped at me. “How can you say such a thing when you’re the one who be giving it away? Me throat’s afire, and I’ve terrible aches all over me body.”

“You think this is my fault? For heaven’s sake, I heal people! You’re the one descended from the goddess of death and disease.”

Her mouth tightened with anger. “Cailleach be more than that. She be a lot more than you can ever understand.”

I rolled my eyes in reply.

“Think what you will, but I’ve no gift o’ sickness and couldn’t give you a cold if’n I wanted to.” She huffed a breath and pushed her weight to one hip. “I’ve seen your power. Stop complaining and heal yourself just.”

Dropping my gaze, I scraped the toe of one boot over some loose pebbles. “I can’t.”

“Why not? There be a law forbidding it?”

“No law, I’ve just not learned how to yet.”

She considered me for a moment. “What a shame, having the gift o’ healing for everyone but yourself.”

My back stiffened from what sounded like pity. “I’ve been practicing and can almost do it,” I lied.

“But not yet,” she said quietly.

I sneezed again and shook my head.

“That be a piece o’ bad luck.”

“More than you know. This cold is nothing compared to the burn you gave me on the ship.” I tilted my neck to the side, easing the skin into a tentative stretch. A burst of icy pain brought a quick end to the action. “I think it’s getting worse.”

“Got one o’ me own to reckon with.” She turned her hand over, revealing an inflamed palm. “You’re the first o’ Brigid’s kin I’ve ever touched. Calhoun swore it wouldn’t be so bad, but the scoundrel lied through his rotten teeth.”

For a split second, I actually felt guilty for my part in her injury. Then I remembered who’d instigated the attack when all I wanted was to help. “Well, you get what you give between us.”

“That be the truth—” Her breath hitched over the remaining words.

I peered at her, surprised by the sudden reaction. “What is it? Did you hear something?” Fear ran up my spine, and I darted a quick glance around. Dark trees loomed nearby, and with the fog, could house any number of dangers. When nothing appeared, I turned back to Ailish for answers.

Her eyes met mine. “You get what you give.” She repeated the law slowly as though the words had found new form in her mouth.

“Yes,” I said, hesitant at the strange behavior. “We’re both painfully aware of the consequences.”

She shook her head. “Think about it, Selah. You
get
what you
give
.”

I gave her a blank stare.

“Tell me this, will you. When I touched your neck on the
Sea Witch
, what happened? Did you go somewhere different?”

“I got pulled to the Otherworld,” I said dryly. “Right after my skin almost exploded with ice.”

“Just like I guessed.” Her gaze dropped to my neck. “It’s got to work.”

I hugged the saddlebags closer, wondering if she’d received one knock too many from Calhoun. “What’s got to work, Ailish?”

“Don’t you see it?” Excitement hummed in her voice now. “I sent us both to the Otherworld.”

She’d missed the part about the ice and my skin, though the omission didn’t irk so much as her recounting of the other part. “You nearly killed me,” I corrected her. “And I’d rather not dwell on the experience, if you don’t mind.” The burn throbbed on my neck in full concurrence.

Frustration knotted in her forehead. “I only gentled you away from your body for a time. Nothing more.” She exhaled an exasperated breath. “But you’re missing the point. From the law we got between us, there’s no better blood than mine for healing you so.”

My eyes bugged with understanding. “You can’t be serious.” Did she really think I could heal her, and in turn heal myself? I drew another breath to speak, only to sneeze twice more.

Ailish sneezed next.
“Dia Linn,”
she said in Gaelic, wiping her nose on a sleeve.
God be with us.
It was an appropriate blessing for the situation, though at present it seemed to encompass a lot more than a few sneezes.

After our first experience, how could she even consider mixing our power again? The repugnant idea rolled through my stomach, and I would have crossed myself if not for the saddlebags.
God be with us indeed, and keep us safe from ill-conceived folly.

She gave me an expectant look.

“It will never work,” I told her.

“And why not, I ask you?”

I opened my mouth to explain the many reasons, then clamped it shut for a lack of words. In truth, I didn’t know why not, except that it went against the natural order of things.

“There be no law to forbid it.” In her excitement, she rolled onto the balls of her feet. “I say we’ve nothing to lose for trying.”

Except for my sanity. Which must have already been slipping as I found myself seriously considering the idea. At the moment I could think of nothing worse than touching her, and the thought alone was enough to send a shiver to my toes. But what if she was right and it really worked? What if we could both be healed of our wounds?

Mist clung to my lashes, much like the indecision that dampened my brain, and I soon found myself wondering what Henry would do. He was no coward, but neither was he stupid. Pressing my eyes closed, I recalled his last words to me at the theater.
Take care, Selah.
Did that include entrusting my life to the likes of Ailish O’Bearra? Probably not unless there was no other choice.

You get what you give.

“You’re thinking awful hard.”

My eyelids cracked open. “How do I know you’re not trying to trick me?”

Ailish settled back on her heels. “Because there be no cause for it.”

I studied her face beneath the mask of bruising. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen years, though a quiet wisdom seemed to fill those hazel eyes. And try as I might, I saw no sign of guile or malicious intent. But nothing would ever change the fact that she was Cailleach’s descendant, and therefore my enemy.

Sniffing, I considered the options. The illness and burn on my neck were worsening in equal measures. Much longer, and I could be incapacitated, and incapable of making the journey to Wexford. Worse yet, I would be left a sitting duck for Calhoun to track down and recapture.