The Geis: Awakening Part 28

I mouthed Zoey's name to Josh.

"She didn't come home on the bus. She probably went to a friend's house or something. Will you call me if she ends up over there?" Mom didn't have any idea what kind of danger Zoey might be in.

I hung up, willing myself not to panic.

"Zoey is missing."

Josh and I exchanged glances. He pushed on the gas and got us to Aunt Avril's apartment in record time.

The rich smell of chocolate hit me as I rushed in the door. Mom was at the stove, dipping cream fondants into chocolate.

"Hi, McKayla. I thought you were spending the night at Christa's."

"I am, Mom. I forgot something. Did Zoey come home yet?" I grabbed my bag, which I had readied earlier with a flashlight, a first aid kit, and the salt-studded dagger.

"No, I'm about to call Kinley's mom and see if she went over there." Mom picked a few chocolates off of the waxed paper and put them in my hand. "Don't worry about Zoey. Have a fun time."

"Thanks, Mom." I hugged her, and she squeezed me tight. For a moment I was tempted to tell Mom everything, but I didn't know how she would react. She might not let me go, and Zoey needed me.

The drive up to the Intermittent Spring took longer than I remembered. Josh took the narrow turns at breakneck speed, and I hoped that no one would meet us coming down the canyon.

"It's too early," I said. Josh didn't answer-he knew what I meant. If the banshee had taken Zoey, then a peaceful exit was not an option for Rourke. I watched the snow-covered trees flash past, praying that Zoey would be safe.

When we reached the walking trail, Josh drove around a barrier and maneuvered his car until the trail became too narrow. I was out the door and running before Josh stopped the car. The snow was deeper here than in the valley. It covered my calves and filled my shoes, but I didn't care. Josh soon caught up to me. When we got to the joining of Swift Creek and the water that flowed down from the spring, Josh pulled me back.

"We've got to slow down. It would be better if Cliona didn't see us coming."

We hugged the side of the mountain, staying off of the trail where we would be more readily noticed. I knew Zoey was here somewhere-I could feel her fear, and it rubbed inside my chest like an open wound. The roar of the waterfall started drowning out the sounds of the forest, but soon I could make out the sound of voices, and someone crying.

"Zoey," I whispered. Josh pulled me back and put a finger on my lips. I could hear her, but I couldn't tell where the sound was coming from. We crept forward, careful not to make a sound. A few more steps and we were around the corner to where the trail rose up to the spring.

The mountains jutted high on either side. From where it bubbled straight out of the rock, the water cut a path through the snow and cascaded down the waterfall until it emptied into the river. Straight above the spring, the mountain curved back and up where the wind had scooped it into a staggering cliff.

Josh pointed up the trail to where a rockslide had carved a wall from the mountain, near the trail. Rourke crouched behind the wall, and I was surprised to see Leah there with him.

We stepped in the footprints they had left in the snow until we were concealed behind the wall. Leah hugged me.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered to Leah.

"I'm going with Rourke." Leah's eyes spoke of her uncertainty, but there was excitement there as well. She reached for Rourke's hand. He put his arm around her, but his eyes scanned the mountainside.

I shook my head, thinking of how Leah had talked to me at the feis a few days ago, not knowing any of this. "How did you find out?"

Leah looked at Rourke. "He tried to tell me goodbye, but I wouldn't let him."

Rourke focused his dark eyes on me.

"Where is Zoey?" My voice broke when I said her name.

Rourke pointed over my head.

Zoey cowered on a ledge halfway up the mountain, a good seventy feet from the ground. She sat in the snow, clinging to a lone pine tree that had rooted itself in the rocks. I tensed, and Josh grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. It took all of my willpower not to shout out to Zoey.

"We won't leave until Zoey is safe." Leah's voice was full of concern.

Cliona is using Zoey as bait, Rourke signed.

"How do we turn the tables on her?" Josh asked.

She doesn't know we are here. Otherwise she would have come for us. Rourke pointed to Josh. If I draw her out, do you think you might be able to get to Zoey?

Josh looked up at the ledge. "It's pretty high, but I think I can climb it."

I scanned the face of the mountain, looking for a way to climb up. How did Cliona get Zoey up there anyway?

"I have experience with rock climbing." Josh said.

"That's a long way to fall, Josh," I objected. "What will you do when you reach her?"

"We'll worry about that when we come to it."

We all looked at each other. I didn't like it. But we were running out of time.

I'll draw them away. McKayla, you stay out of sight. Josh, get to Zoey and keep her safe. As long as Leah stays with me, we'll make it to the portal and draw the banshee after us. Then McKayla can go for help.

Rourke was signing so fast it was hard to keep up. I knew this meant goodbye. "Thank you for helping us, Rourke." I blinked back tears.

I embraced Rourke. He held me with one arm. Then it was Leah's turn. She smiled through tears and whispered, "Good luck, McKayla."

We're Irish, Leah, Rourke signed. We make our own luck.

Then the lizard was there, hissing softly at our feet. A foul wind swept down the canyon. It smelled out of place in the winter landscape, like rotting leaves and overripe fruit. Josh wrinkled his nose. He smelled it too.

It is time, Ansul, Rourke signed.

The afternoon sun was already behind the western mountains, enshrouding the canyon in their shadow. Leah gripped Rourke's arm, and they followed the lizard up the trail toward the spring.

They were halfway to the opening when a screeching wail filled the air. It bounced off of the mountain walls, multiplying into an echo that sounded unreal. Not one, but three hooded creatures stood on a ledge above Rourke and Leah. The banshees were gray, from their tattered cloaks to the tips of their long, claw-like nails. I shuddered, remembering the whispers in my own ear.

Cliona materialized out of nothing. She perched above the spring where the hollow had been scooped out of the mountain. She was still Mrs. Saddlebury, but she had grown younger and even more strikingly beautiful. She wore a cloak like the other banshees, but Cliona's was white, like the frosty hair that framed her pale face. She stood confidently, with a deadly resolve etched in her perfect features. A triangular amulet hung from Cliona's neck. A dragon encircled the three corner gems that matched the ice blue color of her eyes.

I clutched the pendant hanging from my own neck-Rourke's amulet.

Cliona's fingernails elongated into claws, and she gestured to Rourke like an executioner to the condemned. "Come, Rourke, it is time to awaken from this dream. The geis that binds you here is fulfilled. We shall see what it means for you and yours." Her voice was calm and calculating.

Rourke and Leah stopped where they were. I couldn't see the lizard anywhere. Shadows lengthened as the sun fell further behind the mountains, turning the sky brilliant with peach-colored hues as the banished prince and the Arbitor stared each other down.

Josh whispered to me, "I've got to get closer. You stay here out of sight."

My own fear was amplified by the emotions that spiked from everyone around me. I panicked, holding onto Josh's arm. I needed him with me. If he left, I wasn't sure I could do this.

Josh must have seen the overwhelming emotion on my face. He gathered me to him. "It will be all right, I promise," Josh said, a moment before his lips brushed mine. Every nerve in my body tingled at his touch. Josh broke away and smiled down at me, wiping a tear from my cheek. The love I felt from him gave me strength. I smiled to show him that I understood, and he let me go, creeping toward the cliff wall.

When I turned around, Rourke was signing to the banshee. My voice, he gestured to his throat. Cliona flicked her wrist and Rourke coughed.

"Cliona, you have troubled me for the last time!" Rourke was speaking. His voice sounded rich and deep, laced with an Irish accent and filled with the emotion I had often felt from him. Leah covered her mouth with her hands.

Rourke walked forward, straightening with each step. He used his cane out of habit more than need, and loomed, larger than life, over the banshee. "Cliona, your time of reckoning is at hand." His voice grew louder. "You have overstepped your bounds as Arbitor, and interfered with the mind and spirit of the geis. When I return home, you will be stripped of your power, and those to whom you have caused grief can do with you as they choose. Once, your life was taken from you, but you refuse to leave your grief behind and go to your eternal rest. Now h.e.l.l will open its gates wide for you, where you will find the company of those who chose their own misery."

Cliona watched him speak, a smug look on her face. I wondered why Rourke's words did not upset her. She did not seem ruffled by his accusations.

"Let this fool's quest go, Cliona. Saoirse will not bring Keevan back. He has gone to his rest, where you should be." Rourke took a deep breath. "I'll give you one chance to postpone the judgment that awaits you. Let me and what is mine pa.s.s, and let the young la.s.s go. I will say nothing to the council of Arbitors. You can retain your position as you like. And whether you give up on your half-life and join your Keevan in eternal rest, or go on to haunt someone else's dreams, I care not."

Cliona's face twisted in rage. I knew then that this would not end well. A movement caught my eye. The other banshees had managed to surround Rourke and Leah. Cliona had allowed Rourke to speak only to keep him occupied while her cohorts encircled him.

"Rourke!" I screamed out in warning.

"No, please don't!" Zoey's voice sounded tiny and lost in the canyon. She saw the banshees too.

Everything happened at once. Rourke let his walking stick go. He opened his mouth and a haunting melody filled the air. His fingers moved impossibly fast, forming glowing symbols that hung in the air, creating a protective bubble around both him and Leah. When a banshee tried to rake a symbol with her claws, it erupted and sent a shockwave in the air, pus.h.i.+ng the banshees back.

Cliona shrieked, filling the air with such a repugnant sound I immediately felt sick, and doubled over at the searing pain that attacked my ears.

The other banshees recovered and advanced on Rourke again, joining in on the shriek. Rourke never slowed, his voice combining with the movement of his arms and legs in an elaborate dance, specifically ch.o.r.eographed to produce the glowing runes. Leah held onto Rourke from behind, burying her head in his jacket.

As Cliona and the banshees advanced, their shriek lowered in pitch to a wail. I could see the sound wave rippling across the bubble that Rourke barely held in place. The symbols released their energy, repelling the banshees, but the combined a.s.sault was too much. The symbols were collapsing faster than Rourke could make them, and the bubble shrank ever closer to Rourke as he struggled to keep up.

When the protection was gone, Rourke and Leah would die. Leah's fear rolled down the mountain toward me.

Help them! I screamed inside. I don't know when I left the safety of the rock wall, but suddenly I was running up the snow-covered trail toward Cliona. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I was way past thinking.

Cliona's focus on Rourke was so intense she didn't notice my approach. Coming at her from the side, I picked up Rourke's fallen cane and swung it as hard as I could. The heavy cane struck Cliona across her back and neck. Cliona staggered, but did not fall. I was pretty sure a blow like that would have killed a normal person, but the banshee straightened, popping her neck and fixing her fury on me. For the first time, I noticed the tiny jewel that studded her nose.

The wail of the banshee struck me like a freight train. Darkening sky and the rocky ground mixed in a blur as I tumbled head over heels. Then, miraculously, I was on my feet. My body had been flung like a rag doll across the landscape, but I felt no pain.

The banshee's face screwed up in a confusion that mirrored my own. I shouldn't have survived her attack. Beneath my s.h.i.+rt, the amulet Rourke had given me glowed blue and felt warm to the touch. I covered it with my hand, a newfound confidence springing up inside of me. Rourke broke off the attack of the three other banshees, who seemed to lack the strength of their leader.

Cliona snarled and raised her claws in challenge. She rose straight in the air and then rushed toward me, and I raised my arms to protect my face. Then, right before Cliona struck, Josh came out of nowhere, plowed under her arms, and slammed her to the ground. I knew Josh was a state champion wrestler, but he couldn't stand against the banshee for long.

Cliona opened her mouth to wail, but Josh slammed her on the rocks again, knocking the breath out of her. She raised a clawed hand and raked Josh's chest as she fell. I cried out. Josh grunted as bloodstains spread on his s.h.i.+rt. With a jerk, he pinned her arms beneath him and held her deadly claws in place, burying her face in the snow.

Zoey screamed for help, and the other banshees closed in on Rourke and Leah. Josh had surprised Cliona, but I knew he couldn't hold her forever. I looked around for help. There was none.

There was a grotesque popping sound as Cliona's joints rearranged themselves around Josh. Her neck twisted so that she was now facing Josh on her back. Her legs locked around his waist, and she clutched him close, as if in a lover's embrace. Cliona smiled at me as she bent close to whisper in Josh's ear.

My mind exploded in fear as Josh quit struggling. I reached in my satchel and gripped the hilt of the dagger Avril had given me. But before I could use it, Cliona pushed Josh off and he rolled onto his side, unconscious on the ground.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, knife in hand.

"You are weak." Cliona advanced on me. Her words were filled with contempt. "The magic is wasted on someone like you."

An enormous boom rocked the canyon. I covered my ears. Not thirty feet away, Aunt Avril stood with both feet planted firmly in the snow. She had fired a warning shot in the air. "Get away from my niece, you wretch!" Aunt Avril said. She pointed the long barrel of a .454 Casull at Cliona. My heart jumped to see my aunt.

Aunt Avril's cloak billowed around her like a battlefield banner, and her unruly hair escaped from beneath a pair of protective earm.u.f.fs. The snake ring on Aunt Avril's trigger finger glinted golden in the setting sun.

"You never give up, do you?" Cliona showed no sign of slowing her advancement on me. I wasn't sure what good I could do with a dagger I was never taught to use.

Aunt Avril switched targets and shot one of the other banshees. The force of the blow picked it high in the air and slammed it against the rocky mountainside. The banshee thrashed in pain as it began to shrivel up and rot away until it crumpled to dust.

Rourke's glowing runes flared and knocked the other two banshees back again. But Rourke was looking tired and now staggered as he moved. Josh still lay motionless on the ground.

"Oh, I've put something a little extra-special in these bullets." I'd never heard Aunt Avril speak with such venom. "I've chased you for far too long." Avril fired at Cliona, striking her in the shoulder. The force knocked Cliona back, but she stayed upright, floating in the air.

"I've witnessed the death you've left in your wake." Avril pulled back the hammer. "I try not to get personally involved in my cases." Cliona hissed as she writhed in pain. Her wounds shriveled inward, like a whirlpool sucking in the surrounding waters.

"But when you threaten my family-" Avril fired again, opening another wound in Cliona's chest. "Well, then, you might as well dig your own grave." Cliona was driven backward, falling to her knees. She fought against the pain, hatred written on her face. Avril pulled the hammer back. "Leave, and never come back." Avril's voice was deadly.

She fired one last time. The bullet struck Cliona in the face, taking flesh and bone off the right side. Cliona fell backward to the ground, writhing as the wounds threatened to swallow her whole.

I ran over to Josh. Purple veins rose up beneath his skin and marred his face. I put my ear to his lips, and relief flooded through me when I felt his shallow breath on my cheek.

Aunt Avril reloaded her weapon, and the remaining banshees melted into the forest. Rourke collapsed with exhaustion. Leah called his name, her voice filled with concern.

Cliona's form lost definition. In the failing light she s.h.i.+fted, twitched, and took on a translucent cast. Then she stood up, her face twisted into a grotesque mask of death.

Aunt Avril fired again and again, but the bullets whizzed through Cliona's new form as if she were made of smoke.

"Wretched human, you can't kill what's already dead." The banshee threw back her head and laughed. "You've been an entertaining distraction all these years. How I've loved toying with you-letting you get close enough to think you could catch me, only to chase me again and again, all over the world." Cliona narrowed her eyes. "I might even miss you when you are dead."

Aunt Avril stepped closer. "That's where your weakness lies, banshee-you underestimate the human spirit. But you won't be able to carry on this masquerade much longer. I've already told the police where the body of Mrs. Saddlebury can be found."

Cliona bared her teeth, giving her full attention to Aunt Avril. "Your magic is weak, a mere shadow of things past. When the geis is awakened and the prince fails to return to my world, all of you will die." Cliona said it calmly. "And my task will be complete."

Cliona screamed at Avril and let it descend into a low wail. The sound wave left Cliona's hands, and I watched it ripple through the air as if it were in slow motion. The sound blasted into Aunt Avril, tearing the gun from her hands, slamming her into a pillar of rock jutting out from the stream. The water seemed to boil at her feet as she struggled in place, the protective charms and baubles on her necklace cracking and bursting as the sound destroyed them. Finally, the pillar of rock itself cracked and split apart, leaving its ma.s.sive top unsupported.

I reached out as if I could stop what was coming. As the sound held Aunt Avril in place, the pillar tipped forward and collapsed on her with a flash of light, burying her under a giant ma.s.s of solid rock.

I stood there with my mouth open, too stunned to process what I had just seen. Memories of my Aunt Avril from the time I was too young to walk until she'd bought me my Irish dance dress flashed in front of my eyes. And now she was gone. I opened my mouth to scream, but I heard Zoey's scream instead.

One by one, a dozen banshees emerged from the spring. My heart froze as I realized we were not going to make it. Cliona turned her grotesque face to meet my gaze. Her face narrowed, withering in on itself, and as I watched, her skin knitted, smoothing over the wounds. We were all going to die. Rourke had lost his strength, and lay with his head cradled in Leah's lap. Her hands brushed his hair away from his face as she whispered words of comfort.

I looked down at Josh. I realized that I loved him so very much. He had taken this hideous creature to the ground to save me. I thought of how he had decided to learn Irish dance just to get close to me. I remembered how he came to my defense when Lucas insulted my honor. I didn't deserve him.

And now Cliona and her cronies were going to kill him. Zoey sobbed softly as they advanced.

A slight movement caught my eye. Josh's body was limp, but to my surprise I saw him move one hand to the other. Help Rourke, Josh signed before slipping back into oblivion.

How could I help Rourke now? He said the Irish made their own luck. Why did he give us hope that we could stand against a supernatural creature that could not die? Why didn't he have a plan?