Maybe it was already too late, maybe we just couldn’t swing this, or maybe I was too tired to deal any more. “I wish Ashling were here,” I said.
Aednat cocked her head to one side. “That your sister?”
Nodding, I looked around us. “If she were here, she could heal me; I’d be able to keep going. Right now, I can barely stand.” As if to prove my point, my legs collapsed underneath me; I hit the ground hard.
“Yes. You really are too weak to fight.” She considered me for a moment and then reached into the small leather bag she wore. She pulled out a silvered mirror, about the size of a laptop screen.
“Now, you Call little sister, and she heals you. Then we can go.”
“I don’t know, can she really heal me through a mirror?” I asked. Mind you, the Fomorii had been able to reach through the mirror, so why not Ashling? Or better yet, why couldn’t I reach through? Surely the two of us were stronger than a Fomorii guard.
I sat up, my heart pounding. “What if she’s afraid of me?”
“Little sisters always love big sisters, no matter what. No matter what big sister does,” Aednat said, her eyes thoughtful. I had a feeling she was not talking about me and Ashling.
Propping myself up on a log, I leaned back and took the mirror from Aednat. If nothing else, it was worth a try. “Where’d you get the mirror?” I asked, stalling for a moment, needing to gather myself.
Aednat winked at me. “Stole it from my big sister.”
I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped my lips, though my muscles contracted painfully. Tightening my hands on the gilt edge, I stared into the mirror. “Come on Ash, I need you. Please, please answer this.”
With my eyes closed, I imagined her in front of me. Green eyes, blond curls like my own, smiling, happy to see me. That’s how I saw her. But, when I opened my eyes, I saw that for one thing, she wasn’t happy; for another, she wasn’t alone.
13
“Quinn!” she shouted and ran to the mirror, her eyes full of unshed tears. Bres was hot on her heels.
“No, Ashling, don’t!” he shouted, the anger with me—and fear for her—obvious in his voice. He glared at me. “I warned you to stay away from her!”
“Wait, please. I . . .need her help,” I said.
“You’re sick, I can see it,” Ashling whispered, putting her hands on the mirror. I nodded as Bres snarled.
His violet eyes glittered dangerously. “That’s impossible, Tuatha don’t get sick. She’s just doing it to get close to you.”
Ashling pushed him back. “You don’t know Quinn. You may have swapped spit with her, but that doesn’t mean you know her. She would never hurt me, why can’t you believe me?”
This was interesting. Maybe I still had a chance to get Ash out of there. Before I could say anything, Bres tried to pull the mirror off on the other side. Shit, if he broke it I was royally screwed.
Ashling fought him. “No, she needs me, let me go!” Her shouts galvanized me like nothing else could.
“Bres, don’t you hurt her!” I shouted through the mirror, wishing I understood the how of reaching through. Then again, no time like the present to give it a try. I did my best not to think of how the Fomorii had attacked me through the mirror. That had ended with an arm on one side and a body on the other. Not really what I was aiming for this time around.
Holding the mirror with my left hand, I took a breath and placed my right hand on the surface of the small mirror. Pushing, I thought about the entrance to Lir’s prison and how I’d slid through it to the other side.
With a pop, my hand shot through. With the last bit of my strength, I threw a bolt of power at Bres, knocking him backwards. Ashling ran forward and grabbed my hand, tears streaming down her face. “Quinn, I know you won’t hurt me. They don’t understand.”
I felt the pressure well up behind my eyes. “I know that too Ash. But right now, I need your help; I need you to heal me or this toxin will be the end of me. Luke’s in trouble, we’re trying to stop the earthquakes and Balor . . .” I didn’t know how to tell her that her father was digging up an ancient evil that would be bent on destroying the world. Chaos.
She shook her head. “You leave these boys to me; go save Luke, he’s too cute to die.” Her lips gave me a tremulous smile, shaking at the edges. So brave, so much braver than I’d ever been.
“You should have been the one of the prophecy,” I whispered. “You’re better at this than I am.”
Ashling gripped my hand, the flow of her Healing abilities washing through me. “No, Quinn, you were always the strong one, you just didn’t see it.” She glanced over her shoulder as Bres stirred. “He’s going to have a headache.”