Stone of Destiny(12)

“You have to fix this. Fix him.” Fear shot through me and I couldn’t keep the panic out of my voice.

I’m going to take him inside. Nobody else is here now.

I nodded, fighting back the familiar guilt. People I cared about went mad, and whether I meant for it to happen or not, it was directly related to me.

We walked into Liam’s house. He’d added several pieces of furniture. An overstuffed couch, some chairs and two end tables were arranged in his living room. Niamh got Ethan to lie down on the couch without speaking a word out loud. I didn’t ask how she did it.

She knelt by his head and closed her eyes as she placed her hands on his temples. Seconds ticked past as I waited for her to tell me whether she could help him or not. I started getting anxious that something was wrong when she fell back, eyes bright and chest heaving.

“Oh my god, Niamh. Are you all right?”

She blinked and turned to meet my eyes. Her placid mask slipped back into place, but not before I saw her troubled expression.

“I’m fine, it’s just a more intense compulsion than I’m used to dealing with. My coercive talents aren’t the strongest.” She almost sounded sheepish.

She picked herself back up and put her hands back in place. The front door opened and Liam and Aodhan walked into the kitchen. I stood to meet them just as my father caught my eye.

He waited for me to come into the kitchen before he spoke. “What’s up?” Hearing the expression in Liam’s Irish lilt sounded so odd and I was close to losing it.

“Deaghlan messed around with Ethan’s mind. Not just his memories of Tír na n’Óg, but by compelling him to be mean to me. Niamh’s trying to undo the compulsion, but I think she’s having some trouble.”

Aodhan had his back to us, but I saw him stiffen at my words. He turned around slowly and looked from me to the living room, but didn’t say anything.

Liam looked thoughtful. “Niamh doesn’t have a high level of compulsion. Nothing compared to Deaghlan.”

I followed Liam into the living room and stood next to the couch. Aodhan leaned against the doorway, eyebrows drawn together.

Neither Ethan nor Niamh moved when we came in. Niamh’s eyes were closed tightly in concentration. The only sign that she was doing something difficult was the rapid rise and fall of her chest.

“How long has she been at it?” Liam asked.

“Too long,” I said. “There was a point when she — “

Before I finished speaking, Niamh crumpled to the floor. I only saw a blur, but in an instant Aodhan was there. I lurched forward to help, but froze when Aodhan rose fluidly with Niamh cradled in his arms.

“She just needs to rest. I’ll take her to your guest room, Liam.” He left the room without taking his eyes off Niamh’s face.

Liam cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows at me. “Right, then. Ethan seems to be doing well, for his part.”

I knelt down where Niamh had been only seconds before and softly brushed my fingers against Ethan’s cheek, up to his forehead. His skin was soft and warm. I slid my hand down to check the pulse at the base of his neck — strong and healthy.

Dropping my hands to my knees, I looked up at Liam. “Physically, he seems fine. Is there any way of knowing if his mind is okay?”

“I think only time will tell,” Liam said quietly.

“I tried so hard to keep him out of all this,” I whispered. “I don’t know how to keep everyone around me from getting hurt.”

Liam sat down on the coffee table behind me. From the corner of my eye I saw him lift his hand like he would pat me on the back. His hand stopped mid-air and he put it down again.

“I know I’m not one to talk — the guilt of what I’ve done to your mother eats at me every day. From what I’ve seen, Ethan wants to be with you and I really doubt anything you would stop him. What Deaghlan did to him doesn’t surprise me.”

I remembered all the times Liam and Aodhan warned me that the Danaans don’t feel emotions like humans. “I know. It just makes me so angry. I feel helpless and I hate it.”

“Please don’t berate yourself for things you can’t control,” he said with a tight smile. “I’ve spent enough time doing that for both of us.”

I heard footsteps and looked up, expecting an update from Aodhan. But it was Deaghlan who walked in. His black button down and dark jeans gave me the impression he’d been out on the town last night and was just coming in.

Liam put his hand on my shoulder and I turned. He gave me a pointed look that practically begged me to let him handle Deaghlan.

“Well isn’t this a fun surprise,” Deaghlan said with saccharine sweetness as he walked over to Liam’s refrigerator. He pulled out a container of orange juice and sniffed it.