My throat closed on me, filling with the pain of holding back sobs that were welling up in my chest. Why couldn’t he believe me? Why didn’t he understand that there wasn’t anything in this world that would make me hurt my baby sister?
“Bres,” I whispered. “Are you saying that you would face me in battle?” The very thought that I would face him, not as friends or lovers but as enemies, was almost as bad as knowing that he thought I would kill Ashling.
“Yes,” he said. Though there was no malice in his voice that single word cut straight through me. “We are done, this is done. It has to be this way.” His eyes pleaded with me while his words sliced into my heart. “Don’t call on me again, Qui . . .Tuatha.”
He turned his back to me; faded from sight as I crumpled to the ground. A low keening sound filled my ears, and though I knew it was me making the noise, I couldn’t stop it.
Wake up, Quinn, you are dreaming. Cora’s voice roused me a split second before Luke’s.
“Quinn?” His voice came to me across the dark room. In the dim light from outside I could see that he’d slept on the couch to give me privacy.
“Nothing,” I said, my voice soft. “Just a bad dream.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.
“No.” I paused, wiped my eyes. “Just go back to sleep.”
The shuffle of blankets told me he’d settled back down, taking my words at face value. I lay there, the pale light from the moon filtering in past the lacy curtains, my heart aching. Sleep eluded me, and the rest of the night dragged as I tried to find a way to deny what Bres had said. But I had to believe that if we met again, he would face me as any Fomorii would, and fight to the death. My whole body revolted at the idea and I slipped from my bed, stumbling to the bathroom.
Sitting next to the tub on the cold linoleum floor, my mind wouldn’t let go of Bres’ words. What had Balor shown him that had turned him against me? He said that he’d witnessed me killing Ashling, that he believed it would come true. Lies, everything around me was lies and deception, and that pissed me off.
Anger fuelled me and I stood. Gripping the edge of the sink, I knew that the fire inside me would help me through; that it would help me survive.
The face I stared at in the mirror was my own, but there was an edge to it. I was no longer the soft twenty six year old that I’d been just a few short days ago.
“Okay Bres, you’ve got it,” I said softly. “We are done. But don’t think for one instant that you’re going to keep me away from my sister.”
The air around me crackled, the hairs rising on the back of my neck. There was no one behind me, no one in the mirror. But I heard his words as clearly as if he stood with his mouth pressed against my ear.
“Don’t be pushing this, Quinn. We both know who would survive an encounter between ta two of us.”
My eyes narrowed; I flipped off the light and went back to my bed. The sheets had cooled, and Cora lifted her head in a silent query.
“I’m fine,” I whispered, though my heart pounded with anger, drumming hard enough to keep my eyes wide open, sleep so far away I knew there was no chance of rest. Bres thought the outcome between the two of us was a sure thing, that I would have no chance.
Maybe he was right, I knew I couldn’t stand against him in a physical battle, but that didn’t mean I was going down without a fight. I thought about the blue flame Bres had shown me how to create, and my heart gave one final twinge of loss. I’d thought then that maybe the prophecy was wrong . . . but now I could see how very right it was. A single tear tracked down my cheek, trailing down my neck.
The truth of his words, my understanding of what was to be, settled over me; it ended whatever dreams I might have had.
Bres and I were done.
4
The next morning dawned bright, the sky cloudless, the blue so brilliant it stung my sleep-deprived eyes.
“Did you not sleep last night, Quinn? You look as though you’ve been pulled through a knot hole backwards,” Luke said.
I grunted at him, dressed and then made my way outside. Summer wind whipped past me, the scent and taste of salt on the air. Looking out over the ocean, the whitecaps were abundant, the sea lions dark spots on the waves; their distant barks a perfect companion to the whole scene. Picturesque. That was the word for it. Too bad I knew what lay under the waves.
Luke followed me, Cora looped over his arms. “Sorry Cora,” I said. “I didn’t mean to leave you behind.”
She gave a sniff. “Dreaming hot and heavy last night were we? Once you fell asleep you kicked and moaned, leaving me no space on the bed.”