The Forest of Aisling: Dream of the Shapeshifter (The Willow Series Book 1) (36 page)

With flashes of anger in her eyes she pointed her
index finger at Quinn and raised him up from where we stood, drawing him
close.  She grabbed hold of his ear as he dangled off the ground and threw
him into the center of the Fomorians. Quinn lay on the snow, his head hanging
as if in deference to the queen.

Cyril laughed and knelt down to face Quinn. 
“Ah, young man, lucky for you I am in a pardoning mood.  If it were up to
my queen she would have tossed you to the sea to be food for the fishes.”

Quinn looked up at Cyril with an astonished look
in his eyes.  He then looked to me and winked.  I channeled his
thoughts, “Food for the fishes?  Do they know what I am?” He smirked, then
lowered his head.

“I have always appreciated a curious sort of human
so I will answer your question boy.”  Cyril reached down and took hold of
Quinn’s chin, holding it up. “I have always known where the Eye is… that is not
what took the time.  What took the time, young man, was finding your families…
and sending them to the otherworld.” 

Cyril’s words still burned in my ears.  I
felt unsure what he was talking about.  What did he mean, otherworld? Was
he talking about the sidhe?

I had to tell Bram what had been said. “Bram,
Cyril just said he sent our families to the otherworld.  Does that mean
what I think it means?  Did he hurt our families?”  I felt an intense
tightness in my chest.

Bram was silent.

I looked over at him.  He wouldn’t return my
stare.  He was still focused on the knight.  I wondered if he had
heard my mindspeak.  I tried again, “Bram, did you hear me?”

“I heard you, Willow.  I don’t believe
it.  He’s trying to rattle us.  Stay focused.”

“On what?  What am I staying focused
on?”  I was losing all concentration and completely consumed with the idea
that our families might be hurt.  I had to remind myself that I’d spoken
to both Dad and Aaron, that Bram was right.  Cyril was toying with us.

“Channel Quinn,” Bram ordered.

When I did, Bram reminded both of us to target the
knight with whatever power we might manage to come up with.  Shifting
wasn’t an option now and seemed it would be more of a burden than anything
else. Before Quinn would even have a chance to get to the sea the Fomorians
would put an end to him.

If we could channel and take charge of our powers,
we stood a fighting chance.  The thought that Cyril was lying to us about
our families stirred up a rage in me that felt almost uncontrollable.  I
wanted to attack them as they stood there, but knew I had to wait.

Carissa grabbed Quinn and tossed him aside like he
was an old hat.  He crashed at our feet.  Bram and I helped him up
and he took his place alongside me once again.  I reached around his back
and pulled him close.  I knew he was thinking about his family.

The Fomorians moved to the Giant’s Eye, each
staking out an adjacent corner, and then held up their outstretched
hands.  Cyril began chanting in the ancient language and everything grew
eerily silent.  The breeze and the snow had stopped, as well as the sound
of waves washing up on shore.  It was as though the world as we knew it
had come to a complete and sudden halt.

After a few minutes of chanting, Cyril raised his
arms straight up into the foggy sky.  His voice rang out loud, the only
sound that was heard.  “Olc Mogall Suile, Olc Mogall Suile, Olc Mogall
Suile.” He dropped his head as if he were in a trance, then raised his voice
again, “Bailcbheimneach, Onoir me.”

Simultaneously I heard the chant in the old
language and in English.  He had been saying
, Evil Eye, Evil Eye, Evil
Eye.  Balor, honor me
. He repeated this four times; then each of the
other Fomorians chanted it as well.  Individually they all recited the
command; then the four raised their arms into the darkened sky. 

My mind flashed to the picture we had seen of this
very ceremony at Aaron’s house.  I held tighter onto Bram’s and Quinn’s
arms and directed my stare to the knight.  Nothing was happening with him.

 I could see the early stages of lightning
forming at Cyril’s fingertips and watched him slip into a trancelike state.
“Look at Cyril’s hands; he’s calling on the lightning.  Maybe now’s our
chance while he’s distracted,” I channeled to Bram and Quinn.

The lightning shot forth from his hands and
connected to Carissa’s on his left and Corman’s on his right.  They both
jerked their heads back as though they were having some sort of fit. 
Corman’s right hand then began to glow from the charge; small electrical
currents discharged from it. 

“Visualize this thing off of us,” Bram ordered,
looking down at the belt still attached to his and my waist.  We both
stared at the leather strap and within seconds watched it fall off into the
snow at our feet.

The electrical currents flowing from Corman’s hand
were now making their way to the knight.  The armored man reached out and
was ready to make his connection when sheer panic shot through me.

“No!” I yelled as I sprinted towards the
boulder.  Cyril quickly snapped to attention and shot a charge of
electricity through his eyes that hit me squarely in the chest.  It sent
me reeling.  Once I landed I was unable to move.  My legs were pinned
to the ground with a bolt of lightning that was springing from the boulder
itself.  I struggled against the charge but that only caused my legs to be
forced down deeper.

Bram watched in horror as I flailed against the
current.  He grabbed hold of Quinn and pointed; then the two focused all
they had on the knight and Carissa.  Amazingly, charges of electricity
shot out of Quinn’s eyes and were connecting with the current from
Carissa.  She screamed and fell back but quickly recovered and was close
to uniting the current with the knight.  Bram had his hand pointed at the
knight and was actually moving him!  It looked like some kind of bizarre
game of chess.

I stared at the lightning that had forced me to
the ground.  I centered all my energy on the bolt and felt a burning from
my eyes.  My vision was blurred but I could still make out the flash
holding me down.  I directed my stare at the static and felt energy
building up inside.  I narrowed my eyes and concentrated everything within
me on that bolt.  In a flash its hold was broken and, like a light bulb
burning out, it flickered and then vanished.  My vision cleared. 

I stood and looked over towards Cyril.  His
face was warped and looked like a negative from a photograph.  His eyes
were glowing at me, sending a small charge. I lunged into the air to avoid the
second hit he’d directed my way.  I somehow had managed to land on the
cliffs, which stood a good thirty feet above the boulder.  I looked down
and saw that Corman had closed his connection to the knight.  Our only
chance now was to prevent the link attempted by Carissa. 

Quinn was losing ground in his attempts at holding
her back and Bram was starting to lose control of the knight, allowing him to
slide back to his position on the square.

Cyril then bellowed out a loud cry and reached his
arms even higher which brought more lightning to his hands.  I could see
him sending it through the Fomorian receptors.  The connection with Quinn
was cut, forcing his body into the air, then propelling him into nearby
boulders.  His head rammed back into the stones with a sickening crackling
sound that echoed up to the cliffs where I stood.  He lay there
motionless.

“Quinn!  Are you ok?”  I asked in
mindspeak.  No answer.

Bram had attempted to regain control of the knight
but was now caught up in a bolt directed at him from Cyril, who still managed
to maintain his link to Carissa and Corman.  The bolt had Bram dangling in
the sky like a ragdoll, unable to move or do anything.

I looked to the Fomorians and saw the light show
that was taking place with the connection of the three corners. I panicked when
I saw Carissa just inches away from uniting forces with the knight. I knew when
that happened the Eye of Balor would be in Cyril’s possession and all would be
lost.

Then I heard Dad’s voice in my head.
Do what
you gotta do
.  I couldn’t be sure if Dad was safe or not –or Aaron or
Kelleigh or any of the other wonderful people I had met on my trip to Ireland
–but I had to believe they were, and that the only way they were going to stay
safe was what we were doing right here and now.

A new strength built inside of me as I stood and
jumped down from the cliff.  I raced to Bram’s side and raised my hands,
willing the electrical force of nature to travel through me and stop the evil
that was holding Bram in the air.  Charges shot out of both of my palms
and blasted through the bolt that held him captive.  It immediately burned
out and disappeared.  Bram fell to the ground but quickly recovered. 
He nodded at me and without a word we simultaneously blasted the knight who
now, quite literally, was becoming the pawn in our chess match with the Fomorians. 
We managed to hold off Carissa’s connection by diverting it to the
cliffs.  Boulders shattered like glass and came pouring down in a huge
landslide.

A shot from Cyril connected to Bram, causing his
charge to fizzle out and dropped him to his knees.  Carissa was now
screaming and trying to create another charge from her eyes.  It wasn’t
working.  She was weakened.

I held the lightning and prevented the knight from
connecting with Carissa’s bolt that was now making its way back to her
hands.  She screamed with each inch that was lost.  I held firm and
sent my own bolt to the knight, which pushed him back farther.  I felt
strong until a tremendous discharge came from Cyril and Corman’s unified force
and connected with my side.  It sent me flying back to the wall of the
cliff where I crashed, unable to move. 

Paralysis kept me from turning my head but from my
peripheral vision I could make out magnificent flashes and charges that
resembled a Fourth of July fireworks show.  I prayed that my friends were
ok, that we were able to do what we were born to do. Then I passed out.

When I came to, there was no longer any electrical
storm or lightning bolts or fireworks display.  I opened my eyes to the
night sky and looked straight up, seeing nothing but stars.  The clouds
and fog had passed and the night was clear.  I tried to sit but had to
roll over and ease myself up since my back felt like it had been run over by a
car.  I slowly lifted my head and looked towards the Giant’s Eye.  It
stood there alone, in the distance, intact and in the same place.

My heart raced as I thought about Bram and
Quinn.  I fought the pain and jumped to my feet and ran to the area where
I’d last seen them.  No one was there.  They were both gone and so
were the Fomorians.  I called out but nobody answered.  I channeled
them both with my mindspeak but nothing came back.

I stood alone in the moonlight next to the Giant’s
Eye and wondered if it all had been some kind of incredible dream.  Then I
heard it…his voice.

“Willow! Willow!”  Bram came running from the
beach and grabbed me, spinning me in circles.  He lowered me down and
kissed me.  My head was spinning, wondering if all was ok, losing myself
momentarily in his kiss.  

“Wait, where’s Quinn?”  I asked him, praying
for the best.

“Come on,” Bram said, taking hold of my hand and
pulling me to the sea.

When we reached the shore, there off the coast
about thirty feet away swam the remarkable pilot whale.  He jumped up on
his tail and flipped himself back, all the while making his laughing sounds.

“What happened?” I asked, clearing a tear from the
corner of my eye.

“He was pretty hurt.  I thought if I got him
to the water maybe he stood a better chance of healing.  There’s another
ability we didn’t know about, but it seems to have worked.  He’s feeling
so good now he said he just wants to loosen up and swim.” Bram waved at his
friend as he jumped and sped through the water.

“What about the Fomorians?”  I asked looking
him squarely in the face so he could read me.

“We did it, Willow.  That last strike you
lodged on them shot the knight into the cliffs. That took him far enough away
that when Carissa tried to reconnect to him, she couldn’t because she was so
weak.  Then Quinn came to and he and I joined forces and shot currents
into her. She split like an atom and disappeared.   Cyril then shot
one gigantic bolt at Quinn…I thought he was a goner.  I ricocheted off the
bolt Cyril had on him and sent it back their way.  It hit Corman. 
When that happened the rest of them disappeared too.”

He reached over and brushed my hair out of my
eyes.  “How are you feeling?  You were amazing out there.”

I wrapped my arms around Bram and held on as tight
as I could.  I listened to his heart and took a deep breath.  For the
first time in I couldn’t remember how long, I could breathe easy.  Then I
remembered Cyril’s threat. I looked around at the incredible place that on any
other day would be a joy to behold, but right now all I wanted to do was get
back to town and see how our families were doing.

I sent Bram a question, “Do you think it’s really
over?”

He leaned down and kissed the tip of my
nose.  “It’s over for now and hopefully forever.  Let’s get back to
town.”

I watched him eagle shift and soar above the
ocean.  He dove down and tapped Quinn on the nose.  It made me
smile.  I wolf shifted and held my head to the breeze, happy to be in this
form for no other reason than to run and feel free.  I was amazed at how
the aches and pains of my human self were disappearing in this form.  It was
like Bram said; healing came faster when we had shapeshifted.

Looking out to the sea I watched as Quinn
disappeared into the distance.  I turned to the starry sky and caught
sight of my eagle and followed him home to Killarney.

When we reached the town limits, we shifted human
and stood amazed.  The devastation was far reaching; many of the quaint
little shops and businesses in town were ripped apart.  Windows were
shattered; roofs lay in pieces on what was left of the streets.  The asphalt
had cracked apart and created deep crevices.  Despite the fact that the
rain and snow had stopped, water was still rushing about, pouring into drains
and creating pools in awkward places.

We stepped carefully through the muck and looked
about for any activity.  Inside a few of the shops we could see people
clearing out the debris and beginning the burdensome job of rebuilding their
livelihood.  Some of the businesses even had their lights on, which meant
the power company was slowly reestablishing energy to the townspeople.  It
was only four a.m. so activity was still pretty limited.  Some emergency
vehicles were making their way around but no one else was on the streets.

As we turned the corner and approached Aaron’s
office Bram paused and caught his breath when he saw his father’s
business.  It was bad.  A gigantic hole pierced the side of the brick
building and a small fire still smoldered inside.  Bram rounded the side
of the building and stepped over the crumbling brick into what was left of the office
space.  An inch or so of water covered the tile floor.  Overturned
furniture was smashed beyond recognition.  Bits and pieces of paper
floated in the pools of water and the fire was being fed by what must have been
a desk, its charred skeleton breaking apart and falling to the ground.