Ashling groaned as she shifted her head to the side, jerking Eoin from the light sleep he had found still sitting at her bedside. She had been asleep for only a few hours, dawn not yet breaking. The rest of the house was quiet now after Seamus and Declan temporarily covered the broken windows, leaving the rest of the damage to be dealt with later, and then headed off to try and sleep. Eamon was sitting with Cian in his room, watching over his now mostly healed wounds.
He moved to the edge of his chair, reaching to enclose her hand in his. The zap of her magic was back, still weaker than normal, but steadily getting stronger.
"Ash? Are you awake?" he asked quietly. If she was still asleep, he didn't want to accidentally rouse her.
"I feel like I got trampled," came the quiet reply. Her voice was rough from sleep and pain, Eoin's heart clenching at the sound.
"That would be what magical exhaustion feels like." Her head turned towards him, her eyes opening just the slightest amount to find him. He moved from his chair to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching to place his palm once more on her forehead and then downward to cup her cheek, hoping to soothe some of the pain away. Her fever was gone, thank the gods. He had been worried it was getting too high.
"Magical what?" she asked, leaning into his touch. His cool hand felt good on her skin.
"Exhaustion. Your magic saved us all, Ash. Do you remember anything?"
Her brow scrunched in concentration, thinking about what had happened before she blacked out. "I remember running to the kitchen. And then Cian...Cian!" She sat up quickly, blankets flying as she tried to get out of bed. She didn't get far before she swayed.
"Ash, everything is ok. Cian is fine. Eamon healed him, mostly. He is going to have some scars, but he is completely alright." He wrapped an arm around her waist to support her weight, leading her to sit back down on the bed. She leaned fully onto him, waiting for the dizziness to pass, eyes closed tightly. His hand rubbed up and down her arm in silent comfort.
"What were those things?" she asked, keeping her eyes closed, the full right side of her body pressed to his left, letting his presence ground her against the blackness trying to creep back into her mind.
"They are called scáthanna. Essentially, they are shadows that are brought to life through magic for violent purposes. They can be sent after one's enemies, but it is very dark magic."
"They were after me, weren't they?" She asked, knowing the answer before he could say it.
"More than likely. Someone must have realized we found you and are trying to stop you before you can come to Ireland." He grits his teeth in agitation. How the hell had someone found out already? Did they have a seer working for them? That would be the only possibility that would make sense. One day after finding her, they were already dodging attacks on her life.
"Someone knows about me then. Or at least that you think I might be the woman from the prophecy." He didn't bother to point out once more that she was the woman from the prophecy. They would talk about that later.
"Tell me what else you remember."
She took a deep breath, thinking back. "I-I panicked. I didn't know what to do. You had been thrown through a window, Eamon was busy fighting off other monsters, Cian was hurt, Dec and Seamus were gods know where, and I felt useless. I kept thinking that everyone was going to die and there was nothing I could do." Her voice cracked, emotion tightening her throat as tears gathered. "I just remember thinking over and over about what I could do to try and help. Then there was a bright light. What was that, anyway?"
"That was you," Eoin grinned, pride filling his chest. Even not knowing what to do, she had fought to protect them somehow. "Your magic answered your thoughts, even if you didn't fully know what you were doing."
"Really?" she asked, shock colouring her words. Her eyes were open now, turning her head to look up at him. "I thought that had been you or Eamon."
"No, neither one of us is capable of that large of a burst of power. We are strong fighters, but that was pure defensive magic in a potency I have never seen before." His fingers found her hair, combing through it to push it away from her face before settling on the back of her neck. He felt her shudder against him. "That was all you, Ash. You are just as amazing as I knew you would be."
"I was so scared."
"I know, love. So was I." Wasn't that the truth? He had never felt such fear in a fight before. He had no one to risk losing in battle before, though. He pressed his lips to her temple quickly before standing again. "You need more rest, Ash. Your magic is still trying to recover." She only nodded, allowing him to move her back into bed and quickly fall back asleep.
After adjusting the blankets around her, he moved towards the door, hesitating for a brief moment. He was reluctant to leave her, but he had a very serious conversation to have with her brothers. One better had when she wasn't there.
_____________________________________________
Cian was in the kitchen when Eoin entered the room, making a pot of coffee. Eamon was there also, hovering nearby in case he was needed, eyes trained on Cian, carefully watching his movements for any signs of pain. He moved to grab the cups from the high cupboard when Cian grimaced at the pain caused by trying to lift his arms. Eoin noticed Eamon's odd attentiveness, filing it back in his mind to discuss with his friend later.
"Good morning," he said, moving to the kitchen island to lean against the counter. "How are you feeling, Cian?"
The man in question turned, movement careful. "I'm ok, thank you. A bit sore, but Eamon said I should be fine by tomorrow or the day after. That healing magic is amazing stuff." The last sentence was directed at Eamon, who was still hovering quite close to the other man.
"Yes, well," Eamon started, seeming just a tad flustered, "I'm not the best healer, but I can manage."
"I'm pretty sure that, if it wasn't for you, I would be dead. So don't sell yourself short." Cian moved back to the coffee pot after taking the cups from Eamon's hands. Eamon's features were frozen in a horrified expression for a moment before he schooled his emotions once more. He looked towards Eoin, whose eyebrow was raised in question. The blonde man shook his head, indicating that now was not the time.
Movement sounded from the hallway, followed by the two other McCoubrie men entering the room. Both looked worse for wear, the dark circles under their eyes stark against their fair skin.
"Good morning," Eoin greeted them, receiving only grunts in response. Seamus took a seat at the kitchen table, slumping over to lay his head on its surface. Declan moved to the coffee pot, shooing his younger brother away with a gentle push. "I'll do it," he muttered. Cian shrugged slowly, mindful of his wounds before moving to sit at the table as well, Eamon standing behind him, leaning on the wall.
"How is Ashling?" Declan asked, back still turned to everyone.
"She's alright," Eoin answered. "She woke briefly just a little bit ago but is sleeping again. Her fever has broken." Declan nodded but said nothing. "I am glad everyone is here. We need to talk about what is going to happen now."
"What do you mean?" It was Cian who asked. Eoin turned to face the man, appreciating the apprehension in his eyes.
"That attack was just the beginning. Someone knows that Ash is the one from the prophecy and is trying to make sure she can't fulfill it."
"How could someone know that? How is that possible?" Seamus asked, his head finally raising from the table. "Unless you told someone? Or you were the ones who made those things in the first place?"
Anger shot through Eoin at the accusation.
"I would never-" he began, before Eamon cut him off, stopping him before his anger got the best of him.
"They more than likely have a seer," he said, arms crossed over his chest, glaring in Seamus' direction. He, too, seemed furious at his accusation, though he always had more control of his emotions than Eoin did. "They can do more than see parts of the future. They can see what is happening in the present, but in different places around the world if they concentrate hard enough."
"Plus, in case you missed it when you were running to hide upstairs," Eoin clipped, "I was thrown through a damned window."
"Ok, ok! I'm sorry I accused you, but what the hell?" Seamus said, throwing his hands up in frustration. "I have no idea what is going on!"
"None of us do, Seam," Cian pointed out, obviously the voice of reason in the trio of brothers.
Declan, who had been silently watching the exchange, suddenly asked: "What do we do?" He hadn't been able to protect his siblings. He had always been the one to look out for them, but this time, he was utterly useless against those beasts. He was forced to acknowledge, reluctantly, that Eoin and Eamon were their best shot at surviving whatever the hell was going on.
"We need to get Ash to Ireland," Eoin answered, glad to be finally making some progress with the eldest McCoubrie. "There she will be protected by the whole of our garrán and can begin to learn about her magic. To learn how to control and use it."
Cian looked to Eamon in brief confusion at the strange word Eoin had used. Meeting his eye, not needing him to ask the question, he responded with: "It means grove in English. It's what we call our community." Cian nodded and then turned back to Eoin.
"We each have lives here, jobs and school and friends. How are we supposed to just up and walk away from everything?" Seamus asked, still agitated.
"You don't have to," Eoin muttered. "Ashling is the only one who has to go."
"We are not just going to abandon her to go through all of this alone," Cian asserted, determination clear on his face.
"Our lives will be here when we get back, Seamus. I can take a leave of absence from work, and you can take a deferment at school. Just until all of this is over." Declan reasoned. Eoin didn't have the heart to tell the larger man that they had no idea how long this journey would take before it was all over. Best not to burst their bubble of a quick resolution.
Seamus sighed, then nodded in reluctant agreement.
"That settled then?" Eamon queried, looking at each of the brothers in turn. When all three nodded, his gaze moved to Eoin. "We're off back home then."