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A rush of frigid air has me longing for Sion’s jacket. “Wait. No.” I flap my arms for him to stand. “Don’t ask me to go back in time with you.”
He stands and grabs my waist. “It’s the only way.”
I drop my head. “Impossible.” The risk of stepping through the Veil to barely post-medieval Ireland makes my head spin. I’m glad Sion has me in an iron grip or else I might sink into the damp ground.
A flash of Sion snatching me into his arms again to whisk me through time without my permission snaps me on guard. Flattening both palms against his chest, I push him away. “I’m not going with you.”
The corners of Sion’s lips curl into sharp commas. “Well, ain’t that grand the way you can step away from those who you see are needing you?”
“I’ll still help.” I put more distance between us to avoid being forced through time. “You go and gather all the intel you can. Pop back here, I’ll help you make sense of it, then you can return and grab the artifact.”
Sion shakes fists at the sky. “It’s on my own I’ve been failing them.” Tears make his eyes shine.
It isn’t possible to feel any crappier. This man is trying to save souls, but he’s asking more than I can give. We’re at a standoff. His pleading slams into my complete and utter incapability of surviving in a world that’s already relegated to the crispy pages of a history book. I wouldn’t begin to know what to say, how to act, or keep myself from being identified as wrong. For the love of sanity, back then, they torched people for being odd.
When I was six, a rabbit shot out of the bushes onto the path of Central Park where Máthair and I were making our way to the carousel. It froze, black eyes stretched wide, taking in what must have appeared as two giants ready to stomp it. The rabbit dropped dead. Right there. One second it was hopping in search of munchies, and the next, bunny was stone cold past tense in the middle of the path.
I’m that rabbit. Not strong or brave enough to pop into the sixteenth century and chat up the locals without dropping dead from fright.
The variety of noises coming from Sion are quite extraordinary: trills, growls, clicks, and all matter of rumbles. He bends both arms, pulling them into his chest and sets his chin atop fists, the cherry on an ice cream sundae. Bending his knees, he drops into a crouch. His display, so like an exotic bird warning off predators, works well. I have no desire to go near him.
He rakes the hair straight off his face. Sion’s forehead catches the bluish tint of moonlight. “If you go with me, I’ll help you find what you’re looking for.”
I’ve seen Sion Loho angry, wry, sarcastic, mean, frustrated, desperate, witty, earnest, almost sweet, impatient but never pathetic. He has as many facets as a cut gemstone. Turn him to the light and there’s no telling which surface will pick up a reflection. It’s brutal to face this stripped raw Sion, especially when it’s my cowardice that broke him.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could meet things head on without a second thought, but I can’t. The most I can do is try to help you unravel what you find. Figure out the key for each of the souls.”
“You’re not hearing me.” Sion’s hand pinches the finger with Máthair’s ring. “If you go with me, I’ll help you find her.”
Find me.
I barely have enough breath to speak. “My grandmother?” Is it possible? Can Sion, the fánaí, take me to Máthair?
“It’s sacred rules we’ll be breaking if I help you try to contact her, but I’ll do it in trade for you traveling with me.”
My thoughts tumble. Can I handle this if it means seeing my grandmother again?
I grip the charm around my neck. For Máthair, I’ll find courage. The possibility to see her again is worth any risk Sion asks of me. My thumb rubs the symbol cut into the metal disc. I’ll find strength, no matter how deep it’s buried in my bones.
“If you swear you’ll keep that promise, then I will take a single step with you.” I cover Máthair’s ring with my hand. If traveling with Sion is horrible, I’ll never do it again. He’ll still owe me his part of the deal. “You’ll help me find my grandmother.” I’ll even endure madness once for her.
Sion peeks at me through his lashes.
“What?”
“I’m asking for more than a single step. I need you by my side for all the souls before we set out to find your gran. There’s no time to spare for sidestepping.”
I want to pound his shoulders with my fists and demand an escape clause, and then my heartbeat quickens, remembering the tormented cry of the souls.
He crosses his arms, knuckles glowing as white as the moon. “You’ve got to understand. In four days, we win or we lose.” Sion flings an arm at the tower. “They win or lose. I’ll not be bargaining any more with their eternity.”
On his face is the raw truth of the matter. This is more than life or death for the spirits trapped in the soulfall. It’s their forever. In a crazy twisting reality, I’m connected to them.
“What if I say the wrong thing? What if I give us away?”
His smile downgrades the tempest raging in my chest to a squall. “I won’t let you. I’ll keep harm from touching you.”
“Is that a promise you can keep?”
