Stone of Destiny(30)
He looked at me, his eyes wide. “I don’t think Sam should go with you. She’s got a life here, a job. I agreed when I thought she was just coming to warn you and Liam. But not this, I don’t want her getting mixed up in this.”
Samantha pushed him hard enough that he stepped back. “I’m already mixed up in this,” she said. “Besides, what kind of life do I have? My parents think I’m crazy. They barely talk to me if they can help it. Maybe I can help somehow.”
She met my eyes, and hers were so blue, so like Aoife’s, but with one major difference. They were full of emotion.
“Allison?” I swung around to find Ethan walking up the driveway. “Your grandmother said you went for a run with Liam and I heard voices up here. What’s up?” He glanced at the group gathered on Liam’s front lawn.
A lump formed in my throat. “Hey,” I said, rubbing my hands together. “We were just… making plans.”
I turned to Liam. “I’m really thirsty. Is it okay if I grab some water inside?”
Liam gestured toward the house. “Of course.”
“Come with me?” I said to Ethan. I wanted to tell him what was going on in private.
I led him into the foyer and shut the door behind him. He followed me to the dining room and when I sat, he took the seat beside me. He caught my eyes and raised his brows expectantly.
“Niamh asked me to go to Tír na n’Óg with her and Liam.”
“What, you mean go right now?” Ethan asked.
I nodded. “She doesn’t want to wait until Aoife makes a move. In a way I agree with her.”
“Did you tell me you needed to talk so you could just tell me you were leaving?”
I glanced up at him. “Yes, I hoped you’d understand.”
“No Allison. I don’t understand,” he said, jumping up so fast the chair nearly fell over.
I hesitated. “Niamh came by after you left last night. I know there’s a lot going on here, but I’ve thought about it all night. The sooner we take care of the threat Aoife poses on all of us, the better.”
Ethan stared at me, his face hard. “I understand that part. But I told you whatever happens, I’m coming with you.”
“What?” I said, shaking my head. “You can’t.”
“Like hell I can’t.” He crossed his arms, eyes narrowed. “You’re not leaving me behind this time.”
He was angry, but the glint in his eyes shone with fear.
“If there was something dangerous you needed to do, would you do it without me?”
“Not if you asked me not to.”
“There’s no way for me to know how long we’ll be gone. It could be a few hours, or weeks. I can’t ask that of you.”
“You don’t have to ask. Wherever you go, I go.”
With a sigh I relented, selfishly glad to not be leaving him behind.
“Okay,” I said. “Niamh is going to send a decoy to cover for me, hopefully she can do the same for you.”
When we went back outside, the air was still thick with tension. I looked at Niamh who stood beside Liam watching the internal ping-pong match between Samantha and Ciarán.
Ethan wants to come with us.
She nodded as if she knew, and she probably did.
I’m beginning to think we should just go on without these two.
Liam turned to me and Ethan. “You haven’t heard anything from Aodhan right?”
“Not since Friday.”
“All right,” he said frowning. “I suppose I should leave him a note.”
“Should I take my truck to wherever we’re going?” Ethan asked.
Liam’s brows rose. “You’re coming?”
I sighed. “Yep, he doesn’t want to be left behind.”
“No, I think that’s good,” Liam said and I did a double-take.
“You do?”
“If Aodhan isn’t coming this time, the more of us keeping an eye on you the better.”
I scoffed. “You make me sound so precious.”
Ethan nudged my side. “That’s because you are,” he said softly.
I shot him a look. “I didn’t mean that in a good way. More like pathetic.”
“Anyway, yes,” Liam said. “You might as well take your truck. Leaving it on the street wouldn’t be good.”
“I don’t know the way,” I said. “At least not by regular roads.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ethan said.
I rolled my eyes at how absurd it would sound. “They don’t use cars. They don’t need to.”
“What she means is we travel faster on foot. We can get to Wheelwright in a few minutes if we run,” Niamh said.