BRIDGER (31 page)

Liam was wedged between Mom and the counter, still trying to keep Mom up and not be crushed in the process.
 
Mom wasn’t big, but Liam wasn’t the next Olympic bodybuilder, either.
 
He repositioned her to get a better view of the conversation. “How did you know Ankou left?
 
I didn’t think we knew those kinds of things.
 
We don’t have an informant.”

Memaw smiled slyly.
 
“Ah, but in a sense, we do.
 
Your mother has been practicing finding cracks on her own.
 
She found a few Changelings speaking as they prepared to cross back to Neamar.”

I looked up in shock.
 
Tess has been running her own reconnaissance mission the best she could.
 
No wonder she wanted a more viable option rather than slinking around in forests on her own, hoping to overhear something. Memaw continued to explain. “A Changeling saw her and tipped off Ankou over here in America.
 
Knowing he had limited time before I would arrive in Ohio to try to preempt whatever he was up to, he moved in and made his play for Chris.”

Mom was finally becoming coherent.
 
At least, she had stopped her monologue and was supporting her own weight against the counter beside Liam.
 
He was still eyeing her suspiciously, one hand on her back in case she decided to break down again.
 
“What does Ankou want with Chris?
 
He can’t kidnap him now; he’s a grown man in their eyes.
 
What more could he want?”

“I believe he wants to use Chris as a bartering chip for Ashlyn in the end, but for now, he wants an informant.
 
Someone who can stand at the crack and run errands for Ankou,” Memaw said.

“What do you mean, stand at the crack?” I asked.

It was Liam who answered this question.
 
“Humans can’t cross over into Neamar.
 
Only Changelings can.”
 
He then looked at Memaw.
 
“Or you and Mum, it seems.
 
Same goes for going to Adaire.
 
Faeries can come and go between the human realm and Adaire, but can’t go to Neamar.
 
You can go everywhere.”

“You and Tess are the Bridgers of the human race, each in your own respective way,” Memaw said.
 
“Chris is simply human, though he descended from me as well.
 
It seems you were the lucky one,” she smiled as she finished. We both knew that the luck she spoke of was relative to the situation at hand. Right now lucky wouldn’t be the first adjective I’d use with what was going on.

“So what does it all mean?” I asked.

Memaw answered again.
 
“Ankou wants you.
 
He’ll use your brother as a way to get to you, knowing you’ll go to rescue him if the opportunity were to present itself.
 
You must not prove him correct.
 
He wants to bridge Neamar with Adaire, freeing the Changelings to come and go wherever they want, just like you and Tess.
 
You’re the catalyst once you realize your full potential. You will be able to connect or burn the bridges that allow faeries to come and go in the human realm.”

“If you think I’m going to just let Chris be used, you’ve lost your mind,” I said, squeezing the back of Memaw’s chair tightly.
 
“I can talk sense into him.”

“Not when Chris believes you
are
a Changeling and you kidnapped his real sister,” Liam said.
 
“Remember my reaction to you?”

I flinched, remembering the hate in Liam’s face that day.
 
My hand instinctively reached up and rubbed the spot where Liam’s blade had dug into my shoulder. Liam saw the involuntary movement, and the corners of his mouth turned down.
 
I knew he felt awful.
 
Him hurting me had physically hurt him.
 
He had a matching gouge in his shoulder as well. Eight stitches apiece. Any injury I incurred would in turn injure him as well, no matter what.
 
He would bear my scars as a reminder of how he had failed to do his job properly.
 
After finding that out, staying out of trouble as much as possible became a high priority.
 
“Why would Chris believe that?”

“Because that’s what Ankou told him and Jamie is backing him up, telling Chris she had been protecting him since she met you, that you were the danger all along,” Memaw said.
 
“We didn’t tell Chris anything about us for the same reason we never told Liam.
 
Ankou used that to his advantage, filling Chris in on things a bit differently than they actually happened.”

Indignant, I punched the back of the seat Memaw where Memaw was seated.
 
My knuckles cracked against the wood.
 
It hurt, but it felt oddly satisfying to be doing something. Liam began to rub his knuckles on the other side of the kitchen. That was going to get old fast.
 
There wasn’t even a way to vent frustration without hurting him.
 
So much for being a Protector.
 
“You said not to tell anyone!
 
I didn’t even know what Mom knew until today.
 
How am I supposed to keep a good façade going if I don’t even know who we’re trying to fool and who’s allowed to be in the loop? And how is Liam supposed to be my protector when all I do is hurt him? This is insane!” I was seeing red.
 
I knew my eye color would match my frustration.

Liam put his hand on my shoulder.
 
“Ash, it’s okay.
 
Emily, do you mind letting her process?
 
Letting me process?
 
Please?”

Memaw puckered her lips in distaste.
 
“I suppose it might help.
 
We’ll talk in a few hours.
 
If you leave the house, please be careful.
 
This realm isn’t safe for you, Ashlyn.
 
The only safe haven you have is Adaire.”

I nodded.
 
I turned and looked at Mom, who was still against the countertops.
 
Her eyes were red, but she was done crying. She seemed to have accepted what was going on, although in a normal, mundane world, this would have sent us all to the psych ward post-haste. Gazing her way, there was no need to ask for what I wanted.
 
She tossed the keys in the air and I caught them.
 
“Don’t wreck the car, please.”

Grabbing Liam’s hand, I practically dragged him to the garage.
 
“Let’s go.”

* * *

We drove around Fairborn for what felt like forever.
 
The town isn’t big, so we drove down Main Street and Broadway Avenue at least a dozen times apiece.
 
I knew this place like the back of my hand.
 
It was comforting to drive around, even in the middle of the catastrophe we found ourselves in.

Liam looked at me out of the corner of his eye while we sat at the red light at Hebble and Broadway.
 
This was the thirteenth time we’d been to this light.
 
The ride had been fairly quiet.
 
“You’re only human, Ash.
 
It’s okay to be scared.”

“That’s the thing, Liam.
 
I’m not human.
 
You are, but I’m not.”

“Then what are you?”

I punched the side of the steering wheel, trying to avoid the horn.
 
It didn’t work.
 
The little old lady in front of me turned and flipped us the bird.
 
Nice.
 
“I dunno, Liam, some kind of mutant?
 
I’ve got a kidnapping faerie locked away in my body somewhere and freaky crap in my DNA from Memaw.
 
I can shift into other people and change physical features at will.
 
Does that sound remotely human to you?”

He shrugged offhandedly, trying to make light of the situation.
 
“Well, it’s different.”

I laughed bitterly.
 
“Yeah, different.
 
Only a little.”

He looked longingly at the Wendy’s to the right of us.
 
“Ash, I know it’s not a great time, but Wendy’s is amazing.
 
Can we please…” He trailed off hopefully.

“Sure.”

I pulled through the drive through and Liam ordered what seemed like one of everything on the menu.
 
Dumping it onto his lap, he looked at me.
 
“Can we go somewhere to talk and eat?
 
Outside of the car?”

I nodded.
 
“There’s a good place not far from here.”

We drove to a Baptist Church that sat on a hill nearby.
 
I always loved sitting on the hill with friends when we were younger.
 
We’d sit there and talk about life while looking at the stars.
 
Even though I’d never attended a service at that church, the place felt safe, sacred.
 
That was exactly what we needed at the moment.

We sprawled out on the green grass that was wet from the light rain earlier in the day. We looked down on the town, watching the cars pass.
 
The moment felt like it should belong to someone else.
 
It was too normal, too boring.
 
I loved it.

Liam was obliterating the food.
 
“You Americans have a wonderful ability to make everything deep-fried.
 
It’s like an art form.”

I snorted.
 
“Yeah, have you seen ‘Super-Size Me’?
 
Because that’s what happens to us.”

He laughed and poked my side.
 
“You look alright.”

I shook my head and returned to watching the cars.
 
Liam laid back in the grass, putting his hands behind his head.
 
“You know, I’m glad we met.”

“You’re glad you’re in constant mortal peril?
 
I knew you weren’t all there. Tess must have dropped you on your head as a baby.”

He smiled and closed his eyes.
 
“No, I’m glad I have you in my life.
 
It’s great to finally know what’s going on.
 
It’s even more amazing to know you love me.”

Love?
 
Did he just spout off the ‘L’ word?
 
Really?
 
I said nothing.
 
I didn’t know what to say.

Liam sat up.
 
“Or not?”

I looked at him seriously. He didn’t look anything like what I had imagined an Irishman to look like.
 
His deep blue eyes always caught me off guard.
 
They didn’t belong with black hair.
 
I had never seen the combination before him.
 
He was incredible.
 
Mysterious.
 
I would probably never figure out why this quiet young man was interested in me.
 
Maybe it was better that way.
 
“Do you love me, Liam?”

His eyes burned.
 
“If I didn’t, do you think I would be sitting here right now?”

“You haven’t said it.”

He looked away, smiling.
 
“You’re really going to make me say it first?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Then yes, Ashlyn.
 
I do love you.”

He pulled us closer together and gently lifted my head with his fingertips.
 
Where he touched, it felt like electric sparks were connecting with my skin.
 
He leaned in close and whispered it again.
 
“I love you.
 
I will protect you every day of forever.” His face burst into a huge smile – my smile – and he continued. “I’ll even one up that kiss of Reese’s he mentioned if you’ll let me.”

I looked in his eyes.
 
Opening my mouth to speak, it was suddenly very busy. His arms pulled me down onto the grass with him, wrapping me in a strong embrace. My fingers ran down his back, and I felt him sigh under my touch. His full lips melded into mine. There was no way to think of anything else but him. He was everything in that moment. He was right, this was as amazing as I could imagine.