“Don’t talk to my sister like she’s a lunatic.” The man glowered. “You need to listen to her, and fast. We don’t have much time.”
“You don’t know who you are.” The woman gawked at Rose. “Oh God, you need to know who you are.”
“I know who I am, gorgeous, and who I am is a slightly freaked-out bartender two seconds from calling security on your ass.”
“Niamh, we don’t have time to deal with an ignorant human. We have to go.”
“She’s not an ignorant human. Okay, she’s ignorant but she’s important, Ronan Farren,” Niamh snapped at him. She turned back to Rose, irritation changing to earnestness. “More important than anyone else in the world.”
Taking a step back, Rose’s earlier fear returned tenfold. Niamh was either a great actress or desperately believed Rose was the Second Coming. And how the hell did she know her name? Had she asked one of the other bartenders? Probably. Fear wasn’t a usual emotion for Rose, and the fact that this extra from the Lord of the Rings movies was freaking her out pissed her off. “Yeah, you two need to leave. Like, now.”
“There are two paths, Rose. I see them clearly. At the beginning of one, you die, and if you die, the world as we know it will be over. I don’t know why or how, but I know it’s true. The other path, the one where you don’t die, we all live.”
She was so sincere, so believable, a chill cut to Rose’s core. Anger immediately followed the unsettling feeling. “You need to get your tiny ass out of this club right now.” Rose charged toward her. “You think this is funny? Is this some shtick the two of you do to complete strangers? Well, not to me. Not tonight. Go fuck yourself and while you’re at it, get the hell out of this club.”
Ronan moved toward his sister, but she shook her head. “She’s strong, but she has no power. Not with that spell on her.” She bit her lip, studying Rose like she was a high school science experiment. “We have to remove the block.”
“Nee, we need to go. Does she die tonight or not? Because if not, we can come back.”
“Is that a threat?” Rose swallowed, trying to look unafraid as she searched the staff room for a potential weapon.
“No. I’m not here to hurt you and you’d know that if there wasn’t a bloody spell on your mind.” Niamh froze, eyes wide, her mouth open as if in a silent scream. Her head began to shake from side to side in small, frantic increments.
“What the hell …”
“Niamh.” Ronan grabbed his sister, pressing her close and turning his body toward Rose as if to shield Niamh from her.
Uneasiness held Rose in place. “What is happening? Is she seizing?”
He cut her a dark look. “She’s having a vision.”
An impatient Rose threw her hands up in the air. “Of course, she is. Why wouldn’t she be?”
As abruptly as his sister had started seizing—for lack of a better word—she stopped. Her small, elegant fingers curled into her brother’s biceps. She looked up at him, seemingly shocked. “He’s close. We need to go.”
“And her?” Ronan gestured to Rose as Niamh released Ronan and started backing toward the door.
“I understand now,” she whispered, staring at Rose in awe. “Only she can deliver us from him.”
Ronan glanced from his sister to Rose. “Are you sure, Niamh?”
Niamh nodded, a small, strange smile on her lips. “You have to trust him, Rose. Even when he makes it impossible. Don’t let us down now.”
At that, Ronan grabbed his sister’s hand and the two of them raced out of the room.
“Okay, then!” Rose called after them, even though they were gone. “Thanks for the mind fuck, assholes—ah!” She jumped in fright at the sudden appearance of Ivan.
He braced his hands on the door frame, filling the entire space. “Who are you shouting at? Is everything all right?”
“Did you see them?” Rose asked. She pushed past Ivan to glance both ways down the dark corridor. The awful aluminum lighting blinked in the darkness, like it was on the fritz. There was no one in sight.
“See who?” Ivan peered over Rose’s shoulder, deliberately pressing his chest into her back.
She half turned to face him. “The two lunatics who accosted me in the staff room. How did they get past you?”
He frowned, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “No one got past me, Rosie. You sure you are all