Understanding came quickly. Having traversed the pathway, he now lacked the power to cross over. The Otherworld continued to beckon, pulling against Julian’s dead weight, and I was soon caught in a contest between the two.
Ballocks! Justine had told me not to let go, but that presupposed I had a choice. What would happen if my grip failed? Would Julian return to his body at the inn, or be stuck here between the worlds? This last thought terrified me most, of Julian drifting aimlessly in the darkness like a rudderless ship.
The Otherworld grew more persistent, and my hands started to slip.
“Help him!” Justine cried.
In a fit of panic, I sent a burst of fire straight into Julian. He jerked, and I clenched my hands tighter around his. The light momentarily grew stronger inside him, followed by the slightest movement. Sending another burst, I pulled for all I was worth. This time the Otherworld grabbed hold, propelling us forward. The darkness shifted to a familiar mist. Relief flashed through me, intense and short-lived as my feet touched the ground a split second before I found myself yanked off balance.
A sudden impact jarred my teeth together. The mist settled over me like a thick blanket, playing havoc with my senses. Disoriented, I stayed absolutely still except for the unsteady breaths that passed through my nose. Dirt scratched at my bare legs and feet, while something just as solid yet infinitely softer pressed against my cheek. With a tentative hand, I started to pat the area around me, freezing the moment my fingers curled around well-formed biceps.
A gasp hit the back of my throat. I had landed atop Julian, who was sprawled on his back, apparently unaware of his part in breaking my fall. The whole of my torso rested on his, and under different circumstances I would have given more thought to the close contact, and how we were separated by nothing more than two thin pieces of linen.
I lifted my face from his chest and strained my ears for any hint of sound. A full minute must have passed before I glanced back at Julian. The mist clouded his face, but from such a close distance I could see that his eyes were closed.
“Julian,” I whispered.
He didn’t respond.
“Julian!” The whisper turned to a frantic hiss.
Nothing.
I shook his shoulder to no avail. The man was dead to the world.
Bugger. Scooting off him, I stood and moved the few steps to where the grass began. Life seeped into my feet, vibrant yet significantly older than the garden linked to my home in the Colonies. The very air throbbed with ancient power, just like the garden at All Hallows.
My thoughts spun to Cate, and it took every bit of control not to run. Julian will never make it back, I reminded myself. And Justine would be well put out if I just left him here in the mist.
With a slow breath, I forced myself to consider the facts. The garden may have felt like the one I had recently visited, but that alone did not make it the same. To be sure, most of the sidhes in England and Ireland would have a similar feel, as they were opened centuries, if not millennia ago. At more than one hundred miles from London, chances were we had linked through Wales, or been pulled across the Irish Sea.
The notion calmed me somewhat. Steeling my nerves, I dug my toes into the ground and leaned forward to see past the mist. Trees and flowering plants came into view along the garden’s edge. Thick grass carpeted the interior, and a cloudless sky stretched overhead. Brigid’s fire pulsed through it all, rendering the colors more vivid and the scents richer than anything I had ever experienced in the mortal world.
A small spring gurgled near the center, with a silver cup nestled on its grassy bank. Sunlight dappled the surface, reflecting from the one source that could restore Julian, so long as I could get him to drink.
Narrowing my eyes, I did a slow survey of the perimeter for any signs of life or flash of white amongst the vegetation. I even closed my eyes to better listen for the smallest noise. Everything appeared as it should, at the peak of life and entirely void of other goddess born. Satisfied, I turned to retrace the few steps, dreading the prospect of dragging Julian all the way to the spring.
The mist immediately thickened, and I moved with extra caution so as not to trip over him. One delicate step followed another, and then another when the toes of one foot snagged on what felt like Julian’s shoulder. Raising my sheath to mid-thigh, I squatted behind him and patted blindly around in search of his armpits to secure a hold. Using my legs for leverage, I hoisted his upper body off the ground and stepped backward, heaving him with me.