“Let all know you for the monsters you are; for the battle hungry, death seekers that you have taught your people to be,” Nuadha said. He lifted his sword. “Balor, you and yours will be spared the curse, and thus be the reminder to your people of how you once were, and by whose hand they fell from grace.”
The world stilled for a breath and then Balor rushed Nuadha with a war cry. Nuadha lifted his shining sword to meet his opponent.
There is another place we must take you, the voices said and everything started to go fuzzy.
“Wait! I want to see!” But we had already left.
Sand shifted under my toes, hot sand that had baked in the sun for too long. I hopped on one foot and then the other. A flash of creamy white to the left of me caught my eyes.
Lir stood in the waves wearing a cream-coloured shirt that gave glimpses of a his chest covered in white scars; a small eddy of water swirled around him. In this full light his face looked even more like my own. I ran into the water, never taking my eyes from him. Even if he couldn’t hear me, or see me, I wanted to be close to him. A geyser of water shot into the sky off to the side of us. Then Balor, his arms folded over his chest, stood across from Lir,
“What do you want, Lir?” Balor growled. “You already made it quite clear you weren’t interested in helping me.”
My father nodded. “That holds true, but I would offer you another alternative. One I think might be of interest to you. You know of the prophecy?”
Balor nodded. “Of course. Evils of the land wiped away, and all that ridiculousness of a Chosen one.” His sarcasm was not lost on me or Lir.
“You know that the Tuatha are now changing it?”Lir asked, his blue and gold eyes reflected in the water around him.
Balor’s mouth dropped. “What? How can that be? The prophecy was for both Tuatha and Fomorii!”
“Of course. But things change and people rise to power who should not. That a child of the serpent will rule, they won’t deny. It is too important to them. But the other aspects…”
The Fomorii leader began to pace in the water, one hand to his chin, the other swirling the ocean’s currents. “What do you propose?”
“My daughter is a child of the serpent. The stars have been read; she is the one we have waited for . . .”
“Then why do you need me?” snarled Balor.
“Because if the Tuatha have their way, they will convince her to destroy the Fomorii, which is not as it should be. We need her to have a reason not to.”
Balor lifted his eyebrows. “A reason?” His fingers drummed on his arms. “Like a lover?”
Lir shook his head. “No, something more powerful than that.”
The waters around us gurgled and I held my breath, hoping to hear the rest of the conversation. I was in luck.
Violet eyes flashed. “You mean someone who means more to her than anyone else.”
“Her mother is . . .” Letting out a deep sigh, Lir went on. “Less than motherly. I chose poorly. However, it has presented us with the perfect solution. If Darcy were to have a second child, then my daughter will not be alone, and she will have a reason to protect your people.”
Very slowly, Balor nodded. “Yes, I can see that; a child of mine, a sibling to her. I have no qualms with that.”
I closed my eyes, pinching them shut tight. “Ashling.”
They continued to speak and finally I understood the promise Balor had spoken of to the Banshee Queen.
Lir stepped closer to his rival. “Nuadha wants my daughter dead; he believes that he is the answer to the prophecy. Promise me that not only will you stay your own hand from harming her, but that you will stay Nuadha’s from harming her too.”
Balor grunted. “Why don’t you protect her?”
Shaking his head, Lir took a deep breath, the water around him swirling. “The oracle forbade me from contacting her. You know that even I cannot cross that barrier.”
“So be it. I will protect her as best I can from Nuadha, and I’ll not harm her myself. You have my word.”
The waves receded and I was shifted again. Everything was dark; I couldn’t feel anything; then a sharp pain suddenly struck me and my limbs stiffened. Letting out a low moan my eyes fluttered, and for a moment I could see Luke sitting beside me, his hands working a cloth over my face and shoulders.
Then I was outside myself again. I looked down to see festering pus seeping out of the bite wound, and I watched the black sludge that slipped past my lips with grim horror as my body shook with a violent spasm. Luke’s mouth formed words that I still couldn’t hear, but it was easy to see what he was saying.
“She’s slipping, we’re losing her!”