She’d seen Eddie by the cottage down the emerald slope, and she’d felt the rattle in her chest. She had loved her time on earth, loved her nephew Sean, her beautiful Kat, and so many of those who had surrounded her.
There were others who had gone before her, and they, too, would be waiting. Her father, her mother, brothers…so many friends. The years, the rough ones and the easy ones, they had all in their way been good. But her time had come.
She wasn’t afraid.
Aye, she was, she thought, laughing at her own brave lie.
There was a flurry of activity all through the house, and she was aware of it. They thought that she had slipped into a coma, and that she couldn’t hear them. But she could.
The doctor was there, and her priest, Father O’Malley, was intoning the last rites in Latin.
Sean was there, sitting gravely at her side, holding her hand. Kat was sobbing, and Bridey wished that she could do something, say something, to help her. Bless Kat; she knew how to love.
Amanda didn’t come into the sickroom, and she had heard someone say that Zach had left early that morning. She missed Zach, of course. He was such a support to her, and to the others. But it was Kat and Sean who mattered most.
They were certain she was already beyond them. The doctor had given her morphine to ease the pain in her chest. He had told them that it was just a matter of time.
Caer was there, too. She wasn’t in the room the way the others were. She was there as she really was.
The others couldn’t see her; they didn’t know.
She was holding Bridey’s other hand, and she was with her as they rose above the others, as the room and all those in it began to fade into the distance.
“I am here,” she told Bridey. “I’m here with you, and it will be an easy voyage, I promise you. You’ll smell the earth again, the sweet flowers of the fields. The air will be soft, and you’ll ride through the heavens. You’ll feel the warmth and comfort, and you’ll touch love, all the love of the ages, of all those who knew you and have gone on. You’ll feel no pain, not ever again, and you’ll cross into a world of beauty, a reward for all the kindness you’ve shown others. You’ll have my hand and my strength while you need them, and you will find only glory.”
How sweet her voice was! So many never understood. They thought the banshee came in darkness and evil. But the banshee came as a mourner, one who loved, one who helped.
“You won’t leave me yet? Please, I know I shouldn’t be afraid, but—Lord, help me, I am,” Bridey said.
“I’m here, and the coach is coming. It’s a grand coach, Bridey. Plumed horses will pull you through the darkness to the light. The coach is black, because it blends with the shadows of life and death, and it is hidden from mortal eyes. Don’t fear the darkness, for it brings you to the light.”
“There were birds, but I knew they weren’t for me.” Bridey frowned suddenly; looking downward, she saw her body—so frail and thin—on the bed far, far below, and she was even more afraid, but not for herself. She looked at Caer, who was dressed in long black silk, her beautiful dark hair blowing in the breeze where they stood on a great green hill above the world. She was so lovely, her features filled with such gentle compassion and tenderness. “I can’t go. Not now. There are birds. It is my time, I know, but Sean…it isn’t his time. And my precious Kat…”
“I will be there to guide and protect them.” Caer looked at Bridey. “And Zach is there, too. He loves your family. You and Sean were there for him and his brothers, and now he’ll be there for them. He will not fail them.”
As she looked down again, Bridey heard Kat let out a sob, saw Sean move to hold on to his daughter.
She wanted to touch Kat so badly, to comfort her.
“Lean down,” Caer said. “It’s not as far as you think, and you may touch her cheek, help her understand that you’re all right.”
Bridey reached down and stroked her great-niece’s cheek.
Kat looked up, wonderingly, and touched her face where Bridey’s hand had been.
“She felt me,” Bridey said, awed.
“Aye, she’ll know,” Caer assured her. “And look at you! Already, I see the youth and strength returning to you.”
Bridey heard the horses then. Heard the coach approaching. There were eight black horses, beautifully plumed. They pawed the air in a strange majesty. Then they set down upon the emerald hill, and the coach door opened.
Caer led her over. The step might have been high to her once. No more. And there was a warmth and light within the coach that beckoned.
Bridey turned, and hugged and kissed Caer. She was ready. She stepped into the coach, then turned, looking into Caer’s eyes. “If you ever need me…You love him, I know. It must be so hard, knowing you’ll have to leave him. Protect him. Protect them all, and especially protect Sean.”
“I will,” Caer vowed.