“They took my grimoire,” I whispered quietly, as Katie and Patrick came into the room.
“What?” Orin asked.
“They took my grimoire,” I repeat a bit louder. “They took everything! My grimoire, Brann’s notes, Patrick’s book…”
“And now, they know we are trying to find a way to kill them,” Brann added gloomily.
Katie sat on the armrest of my chair, and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry Keir. We’re still one step ahead of them. We know what we are looking for, and where to find it. We are still ahead of the game.”
“Then get going,” Patrick urged. “Don’t worry about the house. Just do what you need to do. I’ll take care of this mess.”
“See? Listen to Packy,” Katie said.
I could feel my heart cracking like the ward outside. Ha. Some ward. Even using my blood, it didn’t slow them down. They literally waltzed into my home and turned it upside down. There was hope before, but now, looking around me, I felt it slipping through my fingers. “This isn’t going to end, is it?”
“It will. There will come a day when you won’t have to look over your shoulder, I promise you.” Weylyn said.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Weylyn cupped my chin in his hand and forced me to look up at him.
“I. Promise. You.” he said sternly.
“We all do,” said Orin, nodding his head. Brann gave a dark smile, and Keegan lets out a cheery “Aye!” Katie and Patrick gave me a curt nod.
“Now’s not the time for you to go doubting yourself Keira,” Patrick insisted. “You and Katie go and pack your bags. All of you need to get on the road tonight. It’s not safe here anyway.”
I exhaled loudly and pushed off the chair. “Right, let’s get to packing.”
Bing Bong. “Yooo Hooo!”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Nice timing, LeAna.”
LeAna poked her head in through the open door, and then sauntered in, looking askance at the devastation around her. “Maid’s day off, dearie?”
“I just had my house destroyed by evil super-beings. Did you really need to come here to bust my chops?”
“Well, you left the party in such a hurry…”
“What do you want?”
“To help, of course. I have something more you need to know before you go dashing off.”
“A cute little Bed and Breakfast in Bantry?”
“That dump? You wish.”
Nichole stepped in before we started pulling hair. “I kept reading the book after you and Katie left,” she started. “In order to kill an immortal, you will have to draw blood from the victim twice with the Bone knife of Donn. The first cut will strip them of their powers, but the second must be a fatal blow. It is the only way to ensure the immortal a mortal death.”
“Shit,” Katie said.
“That’s not all,” LeAna added, suddenly ever so helpful. “You must be very careful with the knife, Keira. If it is true that you now have the power of the Morrigan—”
“It’s true.”
“Then this knife can also be used against you.”
“What?!” yelled Weylyn. “You can’t be serious?”
“We’re very serious,” LeAna goes on. “If Keira even scratches herself with the knife, all her power will be stripped from her. She will be just another helpless mortal… again.”
“You may be invincible with the Bone Knife,” Nichole added.
“If you find it first,” LeAna chirped, cheerfully.
Nichole took up again. “But if it falls into the brother’s hands, they can use it against you, and that means that no one is safe.” Nichole said.
“Not even us,” LeAna said, suddenly all grave and serious.
No pressure, right?
“Oh fuck me!” I yelled out. My temper has always been a slow-burning fuse. But right now, I was at the end, and all I wanted to do was explode. Just when we take one step forward, we end up falling back five. “I mean, great. The fate of the world now rests on my shoulders. How fucking festive can you get?” I grabbed Katie by the wrist, marching out. “Now, if you don’t mind, we’re going to be on our way.”
As I passed Weylyn, he whispered “Don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you.” Then he loosed a tiny but passionate growl, adding “And you’ll be on your hands and knees...” Of course he made me laugh. Dear Weylyn. All of them. Not a single one questioned our mission. I knew that now. They would follow me through the gates of hell, or in our case to a phantom island.
Happy fucking birthday to me.
Catch of the Day
- Brann -
As I stared off at the ocean, toward the horizon, I couldn’t stop thinking about the past three days. Highly irregular, it was safe to say. The morning after Keira’s birthday, we all hopped aboard Keegan’s SUV and set off on our drive to Bantry. Weylyn and Keira managed to sleep the entire ride. Orin sat and stewed in his thoughts. Katie and Keegan bantered (okay, make that bickered) the entire way.
As for me, from the moment we left Cóis Dara I tried to mentally reconstruct everything I had gathered on Dagda, and the phantom island of Hy-Brasil. Everything the Triple Dipshits had stolen. But Patrick had given us a couple books from his library, and promised to forward some other writings to us in Bantry.
As we followed the motorway toward the western coast, I spent my time absorbing all the data available, reviewing every angle to help us locate the Bone Knife of Donn. It seemed like no matter how much I reviewed and analyzed, the only important question now was ‘Where would Dagda hide this weapon?’ I was still coming up short, and time was running out.
I massaged my throbbing temples. It was bad enough having to read in a moving car, and now, every answer only brought three more questions. The whole quest seemed as blurry as my tired eyes. I grumbled and slammed my book shut. “I can’t read anymore, I’m going cross-eyed.”
Keegan looked in the rearview mirror. “That’s a first. You’re always deadly
