The first thing that hit me was that my skin was cold and tingling. Stretching above my head, I wiggled my fingers and toes and took a deep breath. Then I opened my eyes—only to find that I was unable to see anything.
I sat up, twisting first one way, and then the other. Running my hands over my face, I wondered where it was that I’d ended up. There was cold stone below me, and the air was a sharp bite on my lungs, frosted so heavily that breathing the air hurt my throat.
Footsteps echoed around me, though they sounded as if they were fading into the distance.”Hello?” I called.
The steps stopped; then they started back toward me, a small orange glow of light flickered before them. “Hello, please, could you say something?” I asked, my hands fluttering to my waist where my dagger rested. I didn’t like this; it wasn’t anything like when Bres had come to me, or even Ashling. Always before when I’d Called someone, they’d come to me. It seemed Cora had been right; I’d been drawn to where Lir was. Where ever that was.
“Are you Quinn?” His voice reminded me of the sound of waves crashing through rough surf, strange as that may seem. There was no doubt in my mind that I was speaking to Lir.
“Yes. Please, I need to ask you some questions,” I said, twisting my hands in front of me.
The light bobbed closer until I could tell it was a lantern on a pole; it hung between us and I got my first glimpse at the man who might be my father.
He was a little taller than me, with a build similar to Luke’s. Lean, taunt muscles made for swimming corded his arms. The light hovered at eye-level, effectively keeping me from seeing his face.
“How is it that you Called me?” he asked. There was no anger in his voice, only curiosity.
I didn’t expect that question. Time to dive into the deep end. “You can Call on people that you love or who are family. That’s what I’ve been told.” I swallowed hard. “Lir, you are my father, aren’t you?”
His arm flexed and I watched as his muscles bunched. The metal handle creaked under the pressure he was exerting on it. Was he angry? Then his hand slowly relaxed. “Yes, I am your father, even if only by blood.” He stepped more fully into the light and I blinked up at him. His face was the same shape as mine, even his eyes—though they were a blue—were shot through with large flecks of gold.
“I remember your mother. She is . . .”
Lifting my hands I nodded, “I know, she’s an awful person and she probably tricked you. But what I actually came here to find out is if you’re truly trapped. Or is that a lie?” I asked, hoping to keep things moving. My breath puffed out, visible as I spoke in the frost-kissed air.
Silence fell heavy around us. I swallowed hard. “Please. I need to know.”
“My oldest son, Card, lured me here. I thought… well, that does not matter now. I am an old, sentimental fool. But yes, I am trapped here.” He lifted a hand to my face, a fingertip tracing the bottom of my jaw. “You look like her; you have her beauty, but your heart is not after hers. That pleases me.”
Emotion swelled in my heart. “Thank you. That means more to me than you could possibly know.”
Again the silence fell around us, the light unwavering in its glow. “Why did Card trap you here? Just to take over?” I asked.
Lir shook his head. “No, he has made a deal with Balor. In exchange for helping the old Fomorii, he will get a prize any man would fight for.” He tipped his head. “Though Card is hardly someone for you to worry about, now that you are coming into your powers.”
“What’s he doing for Balor?”
Fingers flexing on the handle, he tapped the glass top of the light. “He is the cause of the earthquakes. Card was always better with earth than water; his mother’s blood runs true. He digs deep for the prize I hid so long ago; that I was a fool to tell him about. You know of what I speak, do you not?”
“Chaos.” I whispered the word, but I might as well have shouted it by the way Lir flinched.
“Yes. Card wanted me to trust him, and to prove it I told him where to find her. I thought he would prove to me he could be trusted,” he said, the pain in his voice obvious.
“He sent that shark after me, didn’t he?” I asked.
Lir nodded, his face grim. “I knew, as did Card, that your powers would rival his. He sought to end your life. It was good you were not swimming in warmer waters,” he said.
The thought of the size of shark Card could have commanded if indeed I’d been in warmer waters chilled me almost as much as breathing the cold air did.
“How do I get you out?” I asked.