Page 56 of Her Irish Treasures
:Nothing,:he said firmly.:Let your treasures handle this threat.:
Lightly, he set me down on my feet in the parking lot beneath a streetlight.:Okay—:
I fell. Something jerked my legs out from under me. I grabbed at the lamp pole, but it was too late. I skidded across the pavement on my ass, feet pointed straight at the damned fountain.
Not again. I don’t want to nearly drown…
My feet slammed against a parking curb. Something popped in my lower right leg with a sickening crunch.
I screamed, my stomach clenching with the pain. I flung my arms up, reaching for Doran. I couldn’t see him, but I heard the flap of his wings. He seized me, talons digging into the waistband of my jeans. Another hand in the back of my sweatshirt. He heaved with a loud roar, but it was like I suddenly weighed ten thousand pounds. His wings pounded the air, his talons screeching through the ground, leaving deep grooves in the concrete and grass as we tumbled closer to the fountain.
Not even the mighty Stoneheart could lift me off the ground.
11
If Doran can’t fly me out of this…
I couldn’t even finish the thought.
Aidan and Keane grabbed hold of Doran’s left arm, Ivarr on the right. Every impressive muscle straining, all four of them fighting to keep me out of the fountain. Yet nothing could stop our slide toward the circular pool.
I closed my eyes, trying to relax and let the magic flow. I was their conduit. They couldn’t lose me. I couldn’t bear to lose them either.
The wheel spun in my mind, pouring out streams of gleaming, sparkling light. The spokes were balanced. Magic flowed, thick and free despite my terror, though I couldn’t help but notice the absence of Warwick’s green power mixing with ours.
Aidan’s magic clashed like swords with the force of thunder. Ivarr blazed like a captured sun. Keane blazed with all the might of immense hunger, fueling our will. Doran’s wings pounded the air, his big body straining. But it wasn’t enough.
:It’s no good,;Aidan said.:I tried smashing the center but the magic just bounces off.:
:Same.:Normally Ivarr’s voice flowed like honey through the magical wheel, but now he rasped, hoarse and strained to the breaking point.:We’ll have to disable it from the other side.:
The spinning wheel squeaked. No, that was me.:What’s on the other side?:
Grim silence echoed through the spokes. Great.
Ivarr thought the frog fountain meant a bog. That wouldn’t be too bad. Surely.
Famous last words.
Doran managed to lift me up a little so at least I didn’t crash feet first into the decorative ring around the pool. My breath oomphed out, my body bending over the concrete edge. I gripped the ledge, straining to stay out of the icy water.:Don’t let go!:
:Never,:he swore.
My arms quivered. My leg throbbed so badly I was afraid I’d broken it. I stared down at the water, dreading the shocking cold. A thin sheet of ice ringed the outer edge but the rest of the fountain was still open water. I couldn’t see my reflection in the cold, dark murk. How deep was it?
My hand slipped. I pitched forward, even though Doran threw his considerable weight backward, trying to haul me back. My clothes tore. Hands gripped my arms. Aidan’s forearm locked around my throat. His breath panting in my ear, straining—
I hauled in as much air as I could. Icy cold bathed my face. Shards stung at my skin like shattered glass. Everything rolled and pitched, my head down, my feet up. But then the world was upside down too. Head spinning, I fellup. Panting, I stared up at a gray, stormy sky. Cold and wet, it took me a second to realize I wasn’t underwater. The fountain was gone.
So were my guys.
I jerked upright, my heart in my throat. “Doran!”
I twisted around, looking frantically for any sign of them. He swore he wouldn’t let go.:Where are you?:
Silence echoed in my head.
The magical spinning wheel was gone. I couldn’t feel them. Anywhere.
