BRIDGER (43 page)

We hit the surface, which brought him back. Gasping for air, his eyes opened wide. “Ash…you’re okay.

“Of course I’m okay. You shouldn’t have done that!”

He was still sucking air. “I did it because I’m your Protector. You needed it.”

His eyes closed. Blood was pouring from his head. I started to pull us back to the shore.

The minute we touched the grass, there were no webby things anywhere on my body.
 
No clue what had happened, I was still thankful it occurred.
 
Where was Memaw?

Looking toward the house, Memaw was in a crumpled heap by the deck. “Liam, we’ve got to move. We need to get Memaw.”

His noncommittal moan reminded me that he wasn’t fit to be moving. I grabbed his waist and helped him back to the house at a frenzied pace, laying him down beside Memaw.

“Memaw! What’s wrong?”

She sobbed into my shoulder the minute I crashed beside her.
 
“Chris is gone.
 
Ankou took him.
 
I couldn’t save him. I failed.”

Mom was sitting on the steps of the deck behind us, eyes far off and by the looks of it, completely in shock.
 
Ankou had managed to take another McVean.

It was in the following moments three things became undeniably clear.
 
The first was that we were on a hit list that no one, not even the committee, could save us from.
 
Secondly, I possessed more abilities than anyone had imagined, which made me the most sought after of all.
 
Third and probably most importantly, the longer that Memaw and I were in the same place in the human realm, the more danger we put whomever we were around in. Together, it we were just a ticking time bomb.

While it was obvious we could take care of ourselves, the area surrounding us was full of carnage.
 
It bore evidence that the people we loved were not quite as capable when up against the magic that was part of our lives.
 
Chris was scared and being held hostage with Ankou and Jamie.
 
Mom was catatonic by the looks of it.
 
Liam lay still beside us, blood pooled around him. I looked at Memaw, trying to find sense in the mess.

What I found was another broken heap.
 
She shook from the sobs wracking her entire body. She was beyond words; her desperation was evident. A mother’s love had overtaken her and reminded her of losses I would probably never understand, even if I did live forever.

Crouching down beside her, I gathered her up in my arms, her blonde hair covering her face. Putting the wild mess behind her ears, I pulled her chin up to look in her eyes. “Memaw, we’ll get Chris back.”

She was beyond encouraging.
 
“We’ll never get him back.
 
For three hundred years I’ve tried to find a way to get MaKenna.
 
There’s no way.
 
Chris is gone just like MaKenna and Aiden.”

She fell back into sobs and pushed me away.
 
I didn’t push her.
 
Instead, I crawled over on all fours to see how Mom was faring.

Mom was rocking back and forth and staring into space.
 
She was repeating Chris’s name.
 
I took her hands in mine, squeezing them in a feeble attempt to bring her back to earth.
 
“Mom, listen. Mom, it’s okay.”
 

I squeezed a little harder, putting one hand on her shoulder.
 
“Mom, you’ve got to listen.”

With a jolt as though she had been electrified, she focused, grabbing my shoulders.
 
“Ashlyn, you have to get him back. You have to save your brother.”

Nodding, I tried to pry her hands away from my already sore shoulders.
 
“I know, Mom. We’re going to get him back.”

She understood my abilities although she hadn’t seen the extent of them. “You can do more than Emily. You can go to him. You need to bring him back.”

Looking back at Memaw, I knew what needed to happen. Squeezing Mom’s hand once more, I looked at her once more. “How much cash do you have?”

She looked at me funny. “I don’t know, why?”

I looked at Liam who was out cold on the lawn resigned myself to doing the very thing he would hate me for. “Mom, I need to get to Ireland.
 
Tess will know what to do.”

Mom nodded, not understanding but trusting I had a plan.
 
As she stood shakily, I walked back to Memaw and placed my hands gently on her shoulders.

“We’re getting Chris back. MaKenna and Aiden, too. You won’t ever have to hurt again.”

Memaw looked up at me, shocked. “Ashlyn, you don’t know what you’re saying.
 
You can’t do that.”

“Why not?
 
I’m a Bridger, right? I can cross to Adaire and to Neamar. Don’t act like you don’t know this.”

Memaw looked down. “This isn’t your battle.”

“Are you serious? How is it not my battle?” I said, thrusting my arms to either side of me to display the damage around us. “Ankou took Chris, Liam’s little brother, and your daughter. You’re broken from this; admit it. Mom, Liam, Tess, and me, too. We all are. Ankou’s ripping us apart piece by piece and I’m the only one that can do anything about it. I’m not letting him do this to us.”

“I don’t want to lose you, too. There’s more to this than you know –”

I cut her off before she could even tell me anything more. “Look, I don’t want to hear it. It doesn’t matter.
 
This is getting taken care of. I’m going to Tess. She knows something you haven’t explained and I know it. Quit acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Memaw looked slightly abashed, but started in another direction. “You can’t leave Liam. You need to be here with him. He’s not even conscious and you’re going to run off? You’re going to be the death of that boy.”

I hung my head. It was true that at some point I was going to be the reason Liam was dead. There was no way around it. It was just a matter of time. I had to find a way to avoid that as well. “Memaw, don’t remind me.”

Walking over to Liam, I moved his body ever so slightly to wrap a piece of my shirt around his bleeding head.
 
He groaned, obviously in pain.
 
Leaning down to rest my arm across his chest, I began to sob. Truth be told, the reason everyone was falling apart was me. All I did was leave a path of destruction in my wake. “Liam, I’m so sorry.
 
I’m so sorry I can’t be normal for you. I’m sorry I’m hurting you. We’re going to find a way to fix this, I swear.”

There was a hand on my shoulder. It was Mom. “Ashlyn, you have school next week. How are you going to do this?”

Not breaking my gaze from Liam, I responded.
 
“I don’t know, Mom.
 
Maybe I’ll do correspondence school for the rest of the year.
 
It’s only a couple months.
 
Maybe I’ll be right back.
 
I just don’t know.”

There was silence.

Lifting my head, I saw Mom had pulled herself together.
 
She was an amazing woman.
 
“Do what needs to be done.
 
I don’t understand what’s going on, but I know you can handle it.”

Nodding, I turned back to Liam.
 
Not quite peaceful, I leaned to his ear.
 
“Liam, this is for you.
 
I’m going to set things straight and bring back Aiden.”
 
Pausing, I looked over at Memaw, who was watching intently.
 
“Liam, if you can hear me, I love you.
 
Do you hear me?
 
I love you.”
 
With that, my lips found his for what I was hoping wasn’t going to be the last time.

THIRTY-FOUR

After Memaw promised she would fix Liam and keep him at bay long enough for me to get out of the country, I ran to my room to find a few things to stuff in a carry-on.
 
I grabbed what few clothes that weren’t dirty to last me a few days in case of emergency.
 
This was the first time I would travel alone.
 
It scared me considering today’s events, but there was no way I was going to voice that right now.

Mom drove to the airport, both of us in a stunned silence at the day’s events.
 
Mom watched me from the corner of her eye.
 
“Please tell me you know what you’re doing.”

I smiled wryly.
 
“Do you want me to lie?”

“I think I do.”

“Then I have everything completely under control.”

Mom laughed as we grabbed my small carry-on bag and wheeled it into Dayton International.
 
“Be careful, Ash.
 
I know you can take care of yourself.
 
Bring yourself home in one piece.”

I hugged her tight.
 
“I will, Mom. With Chris.”

She nodded as we pulled apart. “With Chris.”

The plane tickets were a small fortune on such short notice. I was thankful Mom had given me her credit card to pay with.
 
Hugging her once more, I walked through the security checkpoint.
 
There were a lot of things that needed sorted out, but the desire to save Chris was firm in my heart no matter what.

Over the fourteen hours between leaving Dayton and landing in Cork, I realized just how important it was for me to learn what I was capable of.
 
It was also important to do it fast.
 
Many peoples’ lives were counting on it.
 
By the time I touched down in Cork, I had a general idea of what needed to happen, but Tess’s help was absolutely necessary.

After getting through customs, I walked to Tess’s house.
 
She didn’t know of the upcoming arrival and I needed the element of surprise on my side.
 
After an hour and a half of walking, my feet had turned into one giant blister.
 
I reached the front door of the tiny house that had begun my journey at sunset.
 
Sighing, I grabbed the old brass knocker on the door and pulled it twice.

“I’ve told you before Desmond, there’s no need for you to sleep over every stinking night…”

After opening the door, Tess stopped halfway through her tirade, wiping her hands on her apron convulsively at the sight of me.
 
I must have looked like death walking.
 
Things had happened so fast that I was still wearing the clothes I had worn while in Adaire.
 
That included the strange black jacket.
 
Tess saw the jacket and gasped, everything clicking together.
 
“Liam…”

“Is fine,” I finished for her.
 
“Well, he will be.
 
Memaw is taking care of him at my house with Mom.
 
He’s healing.
 
Ankou came for us.”

Tess’s face lost all color.
 
“Ashlyn, is everyone okay?”

“Physically, yes.
 
But I need some help.”

“Anything.”
 
I was glad she promised before I told her the plan.

“Good.
 
We’re going to be busy,” I said, taking a step nearer to the door.

Opening the door wide, she gestured for me to come in.
 
“Busy is good if it’s for a purpose.”

“Is seeing Aiden again a good enough purpose?”

Tess’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.
 
“Can I?”

“I think so.”

“Come in.”