It's in His Kiss Holiday Romance Collection (11 page)

“There!” Ronan yelled, pointing. Cathy took the sharp turn, careening onto the path between the trees, taking some branches and leaves with her as she straightened out the car inside the deserted tunnel of thick green foliage. She stopped the car for a moment, not quite sure she should continue. Then slowly she started moving again, thinking this was probably not a good decision.

“I don’t remember it being this dense with leaves and vines, especially this time of year,” Ronan said, almost in a whisper.

“Me neither, but we’ve been gone a long time,” she answered in a whisper.

“I know, but this looks as if it’s hardly traveled on. The road itself has grown over with foliage.”

“I don’t understand. It’s the only way out to the main road. It’s as if no one’s driven here in years.”

It was almost as though the tunnel vibrated with multiple shades of green as twisted dark-colored branches wove their way under the canopy of leaves. It seemed as if it went on forever, and was as high as the sky. Neither Cathy nor Ronan spoke as they drove deeper into it, and instead focused their attention on the getting to the end. Cathy sped up a bit, wanting to be free of the confinement.

It seemed to go on endlessly, and just when she could feel her chest begin to tighten with panic, they broke free of it and the wall that once protected the tiny village from marauders, loomed before them in the distance like a testament to the scourge that had befallen their once vibrant home.

The world around them reflected the winter’s rain and the rolling hills were a deep green. But the dark gray skies still seemed ominous, and gave off a menacing feeling of evil lurking in the tiny village ahead of them.

They were home, but nothing seemed or felt familiar.

“Wow, this isn’t how I remember it at all,” Ronan said. “The sky used to be so blue it took my breath away sometimes just to look across the valley. I loved this place as a child. I was happy here. Now it looks isolated and sad. A nasty, cold place to live.”

Cathy pulled up the collar on her parka, as if it might protect her against the rain and cold.

“It’s the leprechaun’s scourge that’s on this village, and you and your cousins are the only lads who can restore its beauty.”

“Let’s hope the plan to lure out Adhamh works. I had no idea it had gotten this bad here.”

A fine mist hit the windshield, causing Cathy to turn on the wipers which didn’t do a very good job of keeping the glass clean. Streaks of water across the glass distorted what was in front of them even more, making everything seem surreal.

“You didn’t want to know,” she said softly. “Thankfully you’ve changed and now there’s at least hope for the people of our village.”

She glanced at him, smiling, then sped up. “Let’s get this thing going. The sooner we can get Adhamh to show his nasty face the better chance you and your cousins have at catching him.”

“I only hope we’re not too late to turn things around and this works.”

* * *

Ronan knew his two cousins, Rourke and Kasey, had already arrived in the village, preparing for Tommy’s funeral. He’d gone over his plan with Kasey about luring the leprechaun out in the open using the fake coin he’d commissioned a jeweler to make using little Sarah’s two-sided Play-Doh impression. Kasey had told him to get Adahamh to the fountain in the town square. “Try to catch him, and I’ll make sure help is there to do the rest,” Kasey had said … whatever that meant. He’d also learned the leprechaun had threatened someone close to Tommy, Delaney Belough, which was probably the reason why Tommy had decided to finally sell the gold.

As dangerous as it might be, Ronan and Cathy felt as if they were essentially on their own in this one. There was no way Ronan wouldn’t find a way to apprehend Adhamh and throw his sorry ass in jail for cursing Tommy and causing his death, even if it meant leaving the nasty leprechaun right there in
Talamh an Óir
for trial.

Rain began to sporadically pelt the windshield. If Ronan had any chance of getting the leprechaun out in the open, he better get going or the streets would soon turn into slick ribbons of mud.

“Kasey’s right about the fountain in the town square. That’s the best place to set the trap,” Cathy said as they made their way along the narrow broken cobblestone streets of the seemingly deserted town. There were a few people mulling around, dressed in black, looking grim, but gone were the groups of kids playing stickball on the sidewalks, or the older men of the village taking their daily excursion while they talked of days gone by. And where were the women?
Talamh an Óir
had some of the most beautiful women in all of Ireland.

Not anymore.

“There’s no
we
about this. I’ll do it while you sit safely in the car on the other side of town.”

“I didn’t come this far for you to drop me off somewhere. Besides, there’s no place safe as long as he’s free. He has tremendous powers. Just look at this town. It’s completely run by Adhamh. Did you notice all the empty storefronts and all the shoe repair shops? That’s a sure sign an evil leprechaun has taken over. There aren’t enough shoes in all of Southern Ireland to support these shops. They’re all a front for his evil deeds. It’s a travesty is what it is, and I intend to help catch the little demon.”

She pulled her knitting needles out of her large purse. “We need to stab him in the foot with one of these. That’s the only way you can catch a dirty leprechaun.”

“Put those away. They scare me. How’d you get those on the plane?”

“In my checked bag.”

Ronan grabbed the needles and shoved them back in her purse. “I brought a few weapons of my own. I won’t be needing yours.”

“You smuggled in a gun?”

“No. They’d throw me in jail if I carried. I brought a taser and handcuffs.” He pulled the taser out of his shirt pocket. It looked small but it was powerful.

“You can try that. And when it doesn’t work, consider my needles.”

He chuckled. “Whatever you say.”

Though he had no intention of using those nasty needles or allowing her anywhere close to this apprehension, he simply didn’t want to say no to Cathy. Not now and not ever if it meant she would continue to look at him with those warm, sweet eyes of hers. No, he definitely wasn’t about to jeopardize her or her love by doing or saying something stupid. He’d just have to figure out how to keep her out of harm’s way.

Cathy drove the car into an open area, then parked next to a row of four other cars that were all several years old and so caked with mud they looked as if they hadn’t moved in months, maybe even years.

Town center was only a block or so away, and normally it would be teeming with villagers not matter what the weather.

Not today.

“You stay here,” Ronan said, as he pulled a black stocking hat over his hair.

Cathy lifted the hood on her red parka. “I told you, I’m coming with you. Besides, I have the coin, remember?”

Damn.

He’d forgotten she had taken it from the jeweler and was supposed to have given it back to him, but never did. Stubborn, beautiful woman. Now what was he supposed to do?

She grabbed her purse and they both exited the car at the same time. They each walked around to the front of it in the direction of the fountain. Church bells rang out, and Ronan said a quick prayer that this would go well. Somehow knowing the Church of the Nativity was still functioning gave him a kind of inner strength. If the good priests could still have services in the face of everything that had been going on in this village, certainly Ronan could redeem himself and his cousins by putting Adhamh behind bars.

“Cathy!” Ronan yelled as she began to walk faster and the rain intensified. It was getting difficult to see her up ahead of him.

She ignored him, and walked faster.

Ronan picked up his pace to try and catch up. Unfortunately, the rain caused the mud to start moving and the cobblestones turned as slick as ice. He was having trouble staying upright, but Cathy kept on motoring ahead.

Then he completely lost his footing and grabbed the side of a building for support, scraping his hands on the rough wooden siding, almost falling right on his ass, and grateful that he hadn’t. Problem was, by the time he looked up again, Cathy was gone.

“Shit!”

He tried to pick up his pace as the rain began to let up a bit and he turned the corner in time to see Cathy standing next to the ruins of what was once a beautiful fountain with a statue of the Faerie King, Manannan Mac Lir, in the center. Water had once poured out of urns that were placed above and all around him. Now his face was crumbling, his full head of hair had broken off in chunks, his beard was half gone, his arms chipped and cracked and the urns were mostly in pieces. Mud swirled along the base of the fountain and covered the ornate triskelions, symbols of Manannan Mac Lir’s power. Most every surface was covered with a thick layer of dark green moss.

As Ronan made his way toward Cathy, she pulled the coin out of her purse, and held it in her open hand, chanting, “Leprechaun Adhamh, come hither for I have thy missing gold coin.”

And before Ronan could reach her, Adhamh One Shoe appeared as if out of nowhere, and snatched the coin so fast it hurt to watch.

Ronan snuck up from behind, his taser at the ready, but before he could point and shoot, Adhamh, looking as nasty and as green-faced as he remembered him, had jumped to the opposite side of Cathy and said, “Oye, this be not my coin. You dare to trick me?”

“No. ‘Tis real, this coin. ‘Tis gold it is,” Cathy said.

Adhamh hopped around so fast Ronan couldn’t keep him in view. He was a blur of green and red, with only his one pointed black shoe lagging behind his quick movements.

“Nay, ‘tis not my coin.”

He held up his other hand and Ronan knew a curse was coming, based on the description he’d heard about Tommy’s curse.

“Nooo!” Ronan yelled as he tried to use his taser on the beast, but missed when Adhamh jumped up on the fountain’s ledge.

“May ye age a hundred years, and never pass this way again.”

Ronan watched as Cathy’s purse dropped from her shoulder and the knitting needles fell to the ground. He darted for a needle, just as the leprechaun jumped down from the fountain. Then Ronan turned with lightning speed and swung with every once of strength he had in him, connecting with Adhamh’s shoeless left foot, piercing it with such force that the dirty leprechaun fell to the ground, pinned to the soft, muddy earth, the knitting needle solidly through the center of his gnarly foot.

The leprechaun screamed so loud the ground shook, and more pieces of the faerie king crumbled off. The sound of his voice pierced Ronan’s ears, causing him to want to close his eyes in pain, but he remembered enough about lore to never take his eyes off a trapped leprechaun or the miserable little troll could disappear.

“Stop!” Ronan yelled, and Adhamh had no choice but to obey. Once a leprechaun was caught by a mortal, he had to grant his every wish. “We meet again, you miserable son of bitch.”

“Aye. Let me go and I’ll grant thee whatever thee wishes.”

“You lying rat. If I let you go, I lose my power over you and you’ll put a curse on me just as you did on Tommy and now, Cathy.”

“Let me go and her curse will lift.”

“You keep lying like this and I’ll call down Manannan Mac Lir to put his own curse on you.”

Just as Ronan voiced his threat, a great roar came from the sky as the sun broke through the cloud cover and shone on Ronan’s face. Still, he did not take his eyes from the leprechaun. The sound of female laughter filled the air, and suddenly the fountain rumbled and seemed to repair itself. Ronan could hear the sound of rushing water and feel the gentle spray as it touched his face. Adhamh One Shoe cringed and hid his eyes from the sun’s light. Then miraculously the statue of Manannan Mac Lir came to life, and Ronan knew he no longer needed to keep his eyes on the cowering leprechaun.

Instead, he stared in wonder at the majestic vision of Manannan Mac Lir in all his regal glory as a beautiful lithe crane circled and landed on the fountain’s edge.

“You called,” the now very much alive faerie king said.

Cathy turned toward Manannan and Ronan could see that her hair had turned gray, her shoulders were slumped and her lovely face was now heavily lined.

“Please, oh great king, help us.” Cathy’s voice trembled and sounded weak. “Help this village. Relieve its people from this curse. Think not of me, but of the citizens of this suffering village. They have endured enough from this evil leprechaun’s black magic.”

Without hesitation, Ronan said, “Spare my love.” He reached out his hand to Cathy. She took it, and he wrapped his fingers in hers. “Remove this curse.”

“Who do you think I am? Some kind of magic genie? Like I can show up and solve all your problems?”

Ronan chuckled. Somehow he didn’t think this deity would be so savvy. “Well, I—”

“Hush!” he roared. “You dare to laugh at me? I can tear off your head with a single whack, or push you into the sea where you will certainly drown.”

Ronan and Cathy took a step back. “Please forgive him, your most gracious. He has forgotten his place in front of you.”

“That is a much better attitude. He has my forgiveness.”

“Thank you, kind king,” Ronan said, feeling a bit foolish talking to what was only a moment ago a stone statue.

The king let out a high-pitched laugh, holding onto his ripped stomach as he laughed. “You should’ve seen the looks on your faces. Priceless!”

Adhamh never looked up. Instead, he stood rock still, not even blinking.

“Okay. Let me get serious here. Cailan Ronan Kelly, only you have the power to restore Cathleen Fian O’Toole to her current beauty. Your heart will guide you. And, I agree the village has suffered enough, especially my sorry statue. That truly needs to be restored. But what shall I do to this waste of air?” He pointed to Adhamh.

“That is up to you,” Cathy said.

“Right answer.” Manannan Mac Lir looked down at the cowering leprechaun. “You, you waste of skin and bones, will give me whatever gold you have left as the price you must pay for cursing a mortal and causing his death. Without your gold, you will have no power and be considered less than a mortal. It shall take you two hundred years to win back my favor, and even then you will stand trial for any misdeeds you may have commited during that time.” Then he pointed a long finger at the leprechaun and said, “You must grant Cailan one wish.” He turned to Ronan. “So, tell us, what’s your wish … as if we don’t already know.”