But there was something about fighting on the side of good to set the balance right again that made everything clear. Easy, even. He was working his way through a line of attackers when he felt a stinging pain in his side. Cathal glanced down to find blood trickling from a wound.
The injury was small. Since no one could see him, it was likely just a lucky shot from somewhere. He didn’t think anything about it as he continued his annihilation. It wasn’t long before he fell to one knee, however. This time when he looked down, the wound was center mass on his thigh. That wasn’t a chance shot. It had been taken on purpose.
As a Reaper, he healed quicker than a Fae, but it wouldn’t be fast enough. Cathal climbed to his feet, gritting his teeth from the pain. Then he looked around, trying to figure out who was aiming at him—and how.
Seconds ticked by with nothing. He stood still, a perfect target for someone trying to aim for him. Unless…he narrowed his gaze as he studied every face. Still, he found nothing, but he had a theory. He moved to an attacker near him and punched the man in the face, knocking him down.
Immediately, an orb came flying right at the spot where Cathal stood. He moved to the side, letting it pass. Someone had figured out that he was veiled, and they were waiting to see where someone went down seemingly on their own, allowing them to take their shot. It was smart. Almost too clever.
And if they could do that to him, they could do it to Aisling. He hurriedly scanned the area for her. As soon as he spotted her, he jumped to her location and grabbed her, swinging her away right as a ball of magic came at her.
“What the actual fek?” Aisling asked as she looked at the orb.
Cathal met her red eyes. “Someone figured out what we’re doing.”
“But…how?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Perhaps we can ask that after we find the arsehole.”
“It’ll make keeping the attackers back more difficult.”
“It’s a challenge I’m up for,” he said with a smile.
Her lips lifted in a grin. “Let’s get to it, then.”
It was all Sorcha could do to remain in the house. She debated whether to go back up to her father’s room, but decided to respect his wishes. No doubt her uncle was with him, which explained why no one had come to check on her.
She hated not being able to see Cathal and make sure he was all right. Then again, the fact that he could remain veiled gave him an advantage. She wouldn’t like it if he were fighting against her, but she certainly enjoyed it when he was on her side. There were so many questions she wanted answers to regarding Cathal. Her father’s reaction to hearing that he’d died but was alive kept running through her head.
It had sounded odd when Cathal had told her that before, but then again, she knew very little about the Fae. For all she knew, there was a magical way they could be killed and come back. It wasn’t as if the Skye Druids had classes on the Fae. Everyone knew the basics, and that was it.
She felt safe with Cathal and Aisling. Not once had she thought that she was in danger or that they meant her harm. Then there was the fact that she had fallen for Cathal. Hard. She used to laugh off love at first sight, right up until she experienced it herself. It existed, and she was proof of that.
Twisting her hands nervously, Sorcha thought she spotted where Aisling or Cathal might be. A couple of the attackers looked as if they’d tripped over the air and went down hard, not moving again. There was a smile on her face as she silently cheered Cathal and Aisling on. And, if she were honest, she wished she could be out there helping them.
But she hadn’t done magic in ten years, and she couldn’t be veiled. Those things kept her sidelined. Though, the truth was that she had no clue what to do in such a battle. Being a Halfling didn’t automatically instill such knowledge in her. Fighting was learned, and she didn’t have any skills.
Her thoughts skidded to a halt when she saw an orb of magic land where she believed either Cathal or Aisling might be. Two more balls of magic alit in quick succession, landing near the first. It was almost as if the first strike had painted a target for the others, because that’s where the orbs began to condense.
A knot of foreboding settled in her stomach. All this time, she believed that Cathal and Aisling were nearly invincible because they could stay veiled. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Thinking he could remain invisible and safe had allowed her to imagine that Cathal could always be hers. After all, he had been killed and was still walking around now. To her mind, it meant he couldn’t die. She was coming to understand that she’d had a false sense of security regarding Cathal.
And the idea that she might lose him sent her spiraling into an abyss of fear and panic.
Cathal tried to get to his feet and move out of the way of the incoming orbs of magic, but his body wouldn’t listen to him. He finally gave up trying to stand and just rolled out of the way. It was a good thing, too, because several more balls of magic landed where he had been. He didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened had he still been there.
He was a Reaper with some of Death’s magic in him that heightened his senses and increased his power, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be killed. The fact that most Fae didn’t even realize the Reapers were real kept them from being singled out or hunted. Yet something was going on now, and he didn’t like it at all.
A part of him wanted to call for the other Reapers for help, but if someone at this battle knew what he and Aisling were, then he would only succeed in bringing his brethren into a slaughter. It was better if the others didn’t know.
He managed to get on his hands and knees. Fae lay dead all around him. More and more of the guards at the manor were being killed now that he and Aisling had been sidelined. Cathal looked up and searched for Aisling to find her leaning against the building, wounded. He couldn’t tell how badly she was hurt, but the fact that she had taken refuge told him she was in pain.
His gaze lifted to the upper floors of the manor. He didn’t want Sorcha’s father to die, but once his life was over, then those after her would cease in their attacks. The use of poison on a Fae wasn’t very common. In fact, it was rare. Mostly because poison of any kind had a unique and horrifying effect on the Fae. They could last for days in pain as their bodies desperately tried to heal the toxin until the body finally gave up. He’d never seen a Fae who had been poisoned, but he’d heard about it. It took someone truly evil to kill a Fae in such a way.
“Cathal!”
The sound of his name on Aisling’s lips brought his head up. Her expression told him that he had to get moving. He glanced over his shoulder to find a group of five Fae advancing on his location. Two of them wore the navy uniform of the manor guards, while the others were in regular clothes. The Fae were a mixture of Light and Dark, both male and female. Something about the way they carried themselves said they knew they were powerful and dared anyone to challenge them. He’d seen something similar not so long ago.
That’s when he realized who they were. These were the Fae trying to become something similar to the Others. And they had somehow managed to immobilize both him and Aisling.
Cathal didn’t know if they were here for him and Aisling or for Sorcha. Frankly, he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to allow any of them to be taken. Especially Sorcha. She didn’t deserve such a fate after everything that had happened to her family.