‘We have to get out of here,’ I say, pulling him towards me.
He opens his mouth, but his words are strangled as tendrils of shadow from the figure wrap round him and flow into his mouth.
His eyes cloud black, then he’s lifted off the ground and pulled backwards into the darkness.
I run after him. ‘No!’
A gunshot explodes and I fall to the ground.
The world erupts in horror.
Three voices – bird, woman and goddess – scream in unison.
As my consciousness fades, I catch a dry, wind-like whisper: ‘Brigid.’
Chapter Twenty-One
The beeping gets louder and voices pull me from the darkness.
Lights pierce my eyelids.
The crowd. The Morrigan. That voice.
‘Brigid,’ I mumble.
The swirling shadows.
Dad.
‘Dad.’ I bolt upright and there’s a gasp beside me.
‘Michael!’ Mum kisses my head.
What’s going on?
‘Dad. Where’s Dad?’
‘He’s OK. They found him beside you.’ Aunt Sheila is sitting on the other side of the bed, her face pale, her eyes wet.
I try to sit up, but Mum is holding me too tight, pressing my soaked clothes. ‘Mum, please.’ She moves away as a doctor steps up to the bed.
She’s young, dark hair pulled back. ‘You had us worried there, Michael. I’m Dr Atwal. Do you know where you are?’
The beeping, the thin sheets, the metal rail on the bed. ‘A hospital. Where’s my dad?’
Dr Atwal smiles. ‘He’s having some tests done.’
‘I need to see him.’ I go to move, but my head swims.
The doctor readies her stethoscope. ‘I need to check you’re OK first.’
‘No, please. I need—’
‘Michael.’ Mum takes my hand. ‘I promise we’ll go see him as soon as the doctor says. We need to tell her about the fainting.’
‘How did I get here? What happened?’
‘Someone found you both lying in the road and called an ambulance.’ Mum swallows. ‘What happened? Why were you even out last night? There was a riot just down the road. You could’ve been…’
