Free BRIDGER by Megan Curd Page A

f-a-i-r-y variety. These are f-a-e-r-y. They exist. They took my brother.”
    I tried not to roll my eyes. “And you know this how?”
    “I can show you if you want.”
    For some reason, his intense gaze convinced me I wanted to know. Maybe it was just the fact that I was a sucker for him, even if he was nuts. Either way, I’d heard Memaw talk about Changelings before, so maybe it’s just in the Irish blood to be superstitious. After everything that had happened at home, though, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give him a shot.
    He took me further down the road to a dilapidated building, one that had to have been burned to the point of no repair. It sat on the property desolate, its lone company being a weeping willow tree along the right side of the house. Thick ivy had taken over what was left of the front of the house.
    Liam stopped short on the lawn. “This was where we used to live.”
    Oh. This could explain some of the darker tendencies. I didn’t know what to say, so I mumbled an apology of some sort. My inability to console someone was probably unmatched.
    He continued without my prodding. “Mum, Dad, Aiden, and I all lived here. This was before I believed in the folklore. Before things changed.”
    “What changed?”
    He sighed. “He came. Ankou came.”
    “Ankou?”
    “I don’t know who he is, really. A really, really bad faerie, I guess. One with a grudge of some sort. We don’t know what he’s after, or why he targeted us. Mum and I have been almost in hiding ever since. That’s when we met your grandmother. She’s supported us through losing Aiden. Through Dad leaving.”
    I snorted. “That doesn’t sound like the Memaw I know.”
    Liam looked at me, sincerity in every word. “Emily has helped us a lot.”
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to question you.”
    Liam closed his eyes, the pain evident. “So Ankou sent a Changeling for Aiden. It happened gradually, the change. Aiden just stopped being, well, Aiden. He was moody, sullen, and downright hateful at times. Then all of a sudden, he was gone. Ankou came and confronted Mum, talking about bridges and how he would make one through Aiden and her. Mum obviously didn’t know what he was talking about, then all of a sudden your grandma barged in the house. Never seen her in our lives. She…she took care of Ankou. There was nothing she could do about the fire that Ankou started when he’d come to confront Mum. Nothing to fix the fact that Aiden was gone. It was too late for that.”
    I didn’t know what to say. It felt like he was being honest with me. There was no way I could swallow the story, but he seemed so fervent, it was hard not to. “And your dad?”
    “He just up and left,” Liam said, anger burning away every other emotion. “Said he was going to the grocery store the day after. Never came home. Haven’t seen him since. He’s a coward. It’s Mum and I now.”
    He took my hand once more and led me around to the back. There was a jagged hole kicked out of the wall in one area. He let go of my hand, stooped down and walked through. Smiling, he turned to look at me. “You coming?”
    “Is it safe?”
    “I wouldn’t bring you here if it wasn’t.”
    Not wanting to be left alone, I opted to crawl into the hole. Liam was leaning against the doorframe of the room. It looked like it could give way and any second. “This was my room.”
    “Do you come here often?”
    He sighed. “Not really. Only when I need to be reminded of why I do what I’m doing.”
    “What’s that?”
    He didn’t respond. His blue eyes burned as he fought back the tears. “I vowed to my mum that I would kill the Changeling that tore our family apart. It’s his fault half my family is gone. We won’t find Aiden’s body, because there’s no body to be found. He’s gone to their realm.”
    I walked across the room and wrapped my arms around him. “Liam, I’m so sorry.”
    He rested his chin on the top of my head. After a moment of silence, he