Chapter 15: Frost and Stone

"Your dad has it, and I think he's in trouble." He put out his hand, and she clasped it. The flow was still there, but muted. They ran down the stairs together and out the door. The snow turned into rain and everything was getting coated with a thin sheet of ice. Siobhan thought of her dream and shivered, but she kept running.

She had no idea what time it was. The rain fell past streetlights forming halos. Few houses had lights on and there were no cars on the road. She might as well have been in one of those movies where everyone disappears and it was just her in the world. Only the warmth of Pwyll's hand told her that he was present. She didn't feel anyone. She hadn't since she'd kicked that horrible grey man. Somehow he'd taken her awareness of people, but how had he done that and left the energy?

She recalled the kiss in the hallway and knew the answer. He was hoping she'd get lost in the energy. Her aunt warned her about addiction. It made sense now. She pushed all awareness of the energy away but the faintest trickle to keep her connected to Pwyll.

He never wavered. When he changed directions, he used their joined hands to swing her around the corner without losing speed. They came to the top of a long hill and began to slide. Instead of fighting it, Pwyll set his feet like they were on an invisible board and slid down the hill. Siobhan tried to emulate him, but she wasn't as steady. He caught her other hand and held her up. He looked her in the eye and grinned, then he hooted at the top of his lungs and she couldn't help but scream as they picked up speed.

"You have to trust me," he said to her.

"Why? What?" she said.

"Just watch me and don't falter."

Siobhan didn't have time for any more questions. They were almost at the bottom of the hill and traffic whizzed by on the street across the bottom.

"We have to stop!" she said, but he gripped her hands.

"Trust me!"

She looked ahead and closed her eyes, expecting a car or truck to slam into her at any second. Nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see that they'd past the intersection without being hit. She looked at him and was going to say something, but he mouthed something at her, then fell to the road with her on top of him. They slowed rapidly before he hit something that made him grunt and sent her rolling away from him.

She climbed to her feet and ran back to him. He still lay on the street.

"Ooof," he said, "didn't think about stopping soon enough. Your dad is over there." He pointed from where he was lying. "I think he's hurt, he must have slid down the hill too. Go, find him. I'll be Ok."

Siobhan ran in the direction that Pwyll pointed. The pavement got rough suddenly and even with the ice her feet didn't slide. Her father lay in a heap on the road. He was still breathing, but just barely. Blood poured from a wound on his head.

"Dad," she said, lifting him to a sitting position. "Dad, I'll get you help."

His eyes opened and looked at her, but there was nothing. No frown of disappointment, no recognition.

"I must have fallen," he said. "Thank you for stopping to help an old man."

"Not so old," she said.

"I feel old," he said, "I feel the weight of every year as my failure piles upon me," he tried to smile and ended with an awful grimace. "But I shouldn't be telling my woes to a stranger, not a young girl like you."

"Don't you recognize me?" Siobhan said, "It's me, it's Siobhan!"

"Sorry," he said, "I've met so many people over the years. I can't keep track of them all." To her horror, tears flowed down his cheeks. She recalled what she'd said to him, filled with light and power. Go away and forget you ever saw me.

She screamed with the pain of her heart breaking, and turned the scream into a word to send it up into the uncaring night.

"Help!"

People came from the cross street. They were shouting and slipping on the ice. Cars with flashing lights appeared and then finally an ambulance. They took her dad from her arms and put him in the ambulance.

"Thanks for your help, miss," her dad said as they lifted him in. She wanted to climb in with him, but she couldn't find the words she needed to explain how she was the daughter of a man who didn't know her. They drove away and left her in the dark with a police officer and her partner.

"Can you tell us what happened?" she asked.

"We were sliding down the hill," she said.

"We?" the officer had her book out and was writing carefully.

"My...boyfriend and I. It took us by surprise." She looked over to where Pwyll should have been sitting rubbing his side a little. All she could see was a darker patch on the pavement.

"I'm so sorry," the officer said, "we didn't know he was your friend. We're so sorry."

Siobhan hadn't thought anything could hurt worse than holding her father while he didn't remember her. Because she had cursed him.

This was worse. Pwyll had died on the road alone while she ignored him. Didn't even think of him. Sobs tore at her throat as she ran to the dark patch. The cops tried to stop her and she heard herself snarl like an animal. One cop flinched and Siobhan pulled herself away. She ignored the cold on her knees and put her hand on Pwyll's blood. The grey man had said blood could be used to curse, and he was killing her mother with it.

Maybe it could heal.

The blood had just the tiniest hint of his energy left. She pulled everything she had. Everything she was and sent it in an arrow to chase down Pwyll and somehow make him whole. It wasn't until she let the arrow fly that she thought she should have kept something for herself.