“Well, the Carlin might try,” Gillie said conversationally as he drained the last of his tea. “Does she know?”
“I… I don’t know what she knows,” I admitted. “Balor—I think he’d been spying on us. I think they—they all thought he was playing games with me.”
“And are you sure he wasn’t?” Nua asked, staring at me hard.
To my surprise, Gillie snorted before I could answer. “You’ve forgotten the snotty mess he was when he fell to his knees on our doorstep? He was distraught. He was barely coherent.”
My heart clenched. “What did he say?”
“He begged us to help him find Ogma because the Carlin had ordered him to kill you. He said he’d give us anything if we helped him.” Gillie gave me a little smile. “He said he loves you.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, the worry for him warring with the unimaginable happiness I felt hearing those words. He’d said it to me when I couldn’t remember. I wanted to hear him say the words when I could say them back.
I shoved up from the table. “I’m going to find him.”
“Wait.” Nua hurriedly rose to his feet. “I have an idea.”
I stopped to look at him. “What?”
Nua looked down at Gillie, still sitting at the table. “Let Gillie try and see first.”
My brows twitched. “What do you mean?”
“Visions,” Gillie rasped. “I’ll take my mushrooms and see if I get anything.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to?” I asked anxiously. “Anything that can help Lonan?”
He got up from the table and went over to his apothecary cabinet. “We can try. It won’t take long.”
I nodded, chewing on my lip as I followed them into the living room. Gillie got settled on his back on the sofa, Nua perched beside him and clasping his hand.
Gillie looked over at me and smiled, silver eyes crinkling at the corners. “I’ll see you in a bit, lad.”
“Be careful,” I said, having absolutely no idea why. He wasn’t going anywhere. “Um… just… I hope you don’t see anything scary.”
Gillie chuckled as he chewed on the mushroom he’d brought with him in a little wooden bowl. Nua took the bowl from him and set it on the floor as Gillie let out a long breath and closed his eyes.
Nothing happened for a couple of minutes. We waited in silence, staring at Gillie’s stretched out form on the sofa. It just looked like he was sleeping.
Then he suddenly tensed up. His brows drew low over his closed eyes. I jumped when he spoke, then froze when I realised his voice was… different. It wasn’t as deep, and it was husky. He’d lost his brogue.
“Ash.” He trembled, brows pinched. I could see his eyes dancing behind his closed lids before they flew open. His silver irises had turned jet black. “Ash. Ash. Ash. Ash. Ash.”
My heart was pounding as my gaze darted between him and Nua, wondering if I should do anything. But Nua shook his head before looking back down at Gillie, his brows drawn as he clasped his hand.
Gillie let out a sob as his eyes slid shut again. “Ash I’m sorry I tried.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat and approached the sofa to kneel beside him.
“I found her I got my name.” Gillie was mumbling without breaks, like a single stream of consciousness. “I got hers too I was so close I just wanted to keep you safe I’m sorry I’m sorry.”
“Fuck,” I choked out, glancing at Nua. “Can I—can I ask him anything? Will he respond?”
Nua shook his head, lips pursed into a grim line. “He won’t hear us.”
“I can’t get out,” Gillie mumbled. “Trapped. Leg is stuck. Stuck to her. Can’t fly away no matter how hard I try.”
Fly? I stared at Gillie. Was Lonan stuck as a bird? The crow or blackbird? How?