The Forest of Aisling: Dream of the Shapeshifter (The Willow Series Book 1) (38 page)

“As I was telling your father, Willow, no need to
worry about a thing here at the house.  I’ll keep an eye on it until you
all get back here next summer and then you can decide what you’re going to do
with it.  It’d be too much to have to go through this now, after what
you’ve all been through,” he said, his voice sounding so much like Grandpas.

“And as far as the funeral, well, your dad wasn’t
much for that ya’ know, Jacky –and taking into account the state that much of
the town is in, it would take a while to get a proper funeral set up. So I’ve
spoken to Father Doyle, and considering everything, he’s agreed to a small
ceremony tomorrow before you leave.  The funeral home has been notified
and Conor will take his place beside Shannah right after the service,” Eagan
said, flicking the ashes from his pipe into the fireplace.

“Thank you, Eagan, we appreciate it,” Dad answered
as he stepped forward to shake hands.

“Ah, think nothing of it m’boy, like I said,
you’re just like the son I never had!”

Dad broke out laughing.  “That’s it, I’m
going to have to tell John you keep saying that,” he kidded.

“John?  Oh, right!! Johnny boy, why in
heavens do I keep forgetting that lad?”  Eagan winked, scratching his
head.

I left the two to iron out the details of
Grandpa’s estate and all the legal drudgery that seemed to be a part of it and
went back into the study.  I scooped up all the pictures that were
scattered in the desk and placed them in the box.

While I sat in the study I heard a knock at the
front door along with muted voices.  Soon the door to the study opened and
in walked Kelleigh and Quinn.  I jumped to my feet and wrapped an arm
around each one of them.  I hadn’t seen or spoken to either since
yesterday morning and was so happy to be with them.  Kelleigh pulled back
to wipe a tear from her eye.

“I hear you’re leaving tomorrow.” She sobbed,
dabbing a Kleenex to her eyes.

I felt a lump rise in my throat at hearing her
words.  I nodded and pulled her close, wiping her tears with my sleeve.

“C’mon on, Kell, let’s be a tough little soldier
now, shall we?” said Quinn as he joined us wrapping his arms around us both.

“You be a tough little soldier!”  Kelleigh
blurted out angrily. “I’ll cry if I want to!”

I had to laugh.  Leave it to Kelleigh to have
me laughing and crying at the same time. 

“You do know I’ll be back next summer,
right?”  I asked, wiping my own tears now.

“I know, but that’s like ten months away.”

Quinn moved over to the loveseat, plopped himself
down on it and rested his head against the back of the sofa.  He rolled
his eyes when I looked his way and moved his hand in a circle motion to the
side of his head, signing “cuckoo.”I smiled as I held Kelleigh and listened to
her whimpering, all the while cracking up at Quinn.

Uncle Eagan called for Kelleigh to come into the
other room, which gave me a small reprieve from comforting her.  I joined
Quinn on the sofa and took his hand in mine.

“We’re a heck of a team, we three,” I whispered
proudly, raising our hands in the air.

“You know it!”  he shot back,
satisfied. 

“It’s pretty unbelievable; I mean the whole thing,
isn’t it?”  I asked.

“Aye, unbelievable until I reach back here and
feel the knot on my head,” Quinn said, laughing.

I felt the lump, which was about the size of a
baseball, then showed him the stab wounds on my legs from the Goatmen. 
After about ten minutes of sharing war injuries, Quinn got more serious.

“Have you talked to Bram?”  he asked.

“Yes, I’m going to see him after we’re through
here.  I still have a lot of questions,” I added, rubbing the back of my
neck.

“Questions?  For Bram?”

“No, not really, more for Aaron.  Like, I’m
still not real sure of how this all works when I’m going to be thousands of
miles away,” I wondered, looking to Quinn, who met my gaze.

“Wow. Really, how does that work?”  Quinn
questioned scratching his head.

We both just looked forward and stopped talking,
lost in our own thoughts.

“I thought you might like to go back to the park
before you head out tomorrow,” Bram said as he looked in the rearview mirror of
the blue VW.

I bit my lip, thinking about whether or not I did
want to go there, but then decided Bram was right; I needed to be there again
before we left.

I had gotten into the habit of going into
mindspeak with Bram.  It became second nature to simply shoot my thoughts
his way.  What was funny about it, though, was that he usually answered me
in his voice instead of his thoughts.

“Yea, let’s go to the park. Do you think we should
check out the sidhe?”  I asked.

Bram slowly pulled onto what was left of the road
and maneuvered the car around the potholes and fallen tree limbs.

“Sure, if you want to,” he answered.  “Gotta
admit, I’m curious about how it looks now, whether or not it’s sealed closed.”

We arrived at the entrance, only to find it
blocked by a large downed pine tree.  Bram parked the car alongside the
road and we climbed over the tree making our way into the park.  Once over
the tree, the road to the visitor’s center looked relatively untouched and the
various paths to the parks attractions were in pretty good shape.  Workers
were busy with chain saws, cutting back the downed trees and piling the wood
into a large truck.  A park official who seemed to be in charge saw us and
waved his hand.  He rushed over to where we stood.

“Sorry, folks, the park is closed until we get
some of these trees out of the way.  Wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt or
anything,” he said with a deep, gravelly voice, then put his hands on his hips,
asserting his authority.

Bram and I looked at each other.

“Ok, the park looks better that I thought it
would,” Bram offered, turning his head, looking around.

“Aye, not bad here at the entrance, but there’s
areas deep inside that are in terrible shape.  Plenty of spots will be
closed indefinitely,” he puffed, then pulled off his hat and wiped down his
damp brow.  “Be careful climbing over that tree, ya hear?”  He added
before turning and bellowing more orders at the waiting crew.

We went back and scaled the fallen pine once more,
then stood at the car.

“Well, what do you think?” asked Bram, a slight
smile creeping across his face.  I was pretty sure I knew what that smile
meant.

I turned and walked a few feet up the road then
began running; once I was in a good stride, I shifted wolf and took up over the
hillside.  It was exhilarating to shift mid-run. I hadn’t attempted it
before but found it was just as easy as shifting while standing still.  My
nostrils flared as I took in huge breaths, filling my lungs with copious
amounts of oxygen.  Instinctively I sprinted through the woods and
followed the familiar scents. 

Overhead, I heard the eagle’s cry and caught sight
of Bram as he lowered, then lifted himself back up above the tree canopy. 

“Show off,” I snickered.

Bram’s laughter filled my head as we closed in on
the area of the sidhe.  I slowed down and inhaled my surroundings.  I
was a few feet away.  I padded my way to the ancient mound and shifted
human.  When I was fully changed I brushed the dirt from my clothes and
looked to the sidhe.  There, sitting comfortably on a rock, was Bram, with
a very self-satisfied expression.

“Finally!” he shouted.

I picked up a rock and threw it his way.  He
instantly caught it which ticked me off even more.

“I could so take you in a foot race!”  I
grumbled, as I joined him on the sidhe.

“I should hope so, considering you have four!” he
laughed as he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me near.

I broke out laughing as well.  We wrapped our
arms around each other’s waists and turned to the opening of the sidhe. 
It was sealed.  There were no longer any rocks lining the edge.  In
fact the only rock now on the mound was the one I had just thrown at
Bram.  It was impossible to even distinguish exactly where the opening had
been.

“Well that’s good,” I said, kicking the dirt.
“It’s sealed.”

“Yeah, let’s hope it stays that way.”

We shifted animal again and scoured the
forest.  A lot of damage had been done.  It reminded me of the time a
forest fire had wiped out areas of New Mexico.  Dad and I had gone to see
it.  This was similar.  We toured the forest for several hours and
ended up at the lake where Quinn had his first shifting experience and where I
had battled the creatures of the sidhe.  It was in pretty good
shape.  The small island in the lake had burned trees along the shoreline.

We sat on the same boulders we’d sat on when we
came to the lake with Aaron.  That seemed so long ago.  Bram took
hold of my hand.  I scooted in closer and rested my head on his shoulder
as we gazed out at the lake.  The sun was setting and the colors were
muted.  It wasn’t a bright orange and red sunset but a subdued one, with
shades of lavender and blue taking dominance.  The interspersed clouds
passed over the sun, causing beams to shoot out above the horizon and lose
themselves in the passing haze overhead.

It was beautiful in its restraint and fit the mood
of the day perfectly.  A bittersweet feeling came over me at the thought
of saying good-bye.  I held tightly onto Bram’s hand and watched with
wonder as the darkening sky squeezed back the last bit of remaining sunlight
from the day.

Bram turned and reached over, taking hold of my
chin.  He leaned in and kissed me, a soft gentle kiss, lasting longer than
any kiss I’d ever had before.  I didn’t want it to end. 

The screech from a passing seagull caused us to
pull apart.  Bram held his hand to my cheek and looked deeply into my
eyes.  Sadness was there that I hadn’t seen in him before and it tugged at
my heart.  I fought back the tears and leaned in once more for another
kiss.

We rested our foreheads together and sat quietly
for minutes.

“I guess we should get back,” I said, not wanting
to move.

“Yeah, Da wants us to meet him at his
office.  He wants to say good-bye.  Quinn will be there too.”

I laid my head against Bram’s chest and listened
to his heartbeat.  That was becoming one of my favorite things to do.

“I wish you didn’t have to leave,” he said in
mindspeak, wrapping his arms tighter around me.

“I know,” was all I could get out before the tears
started falling.

We stepped into the crumbling building that housed
Aaron’s office, dodging debris and pools of water that still littered the
space.  Bram led us down the steps to the safe room.  Aaron and
Quinn’s voices echoed up the staircase.  We walked in to find them standing
at the table in the corner, backs to us, engaged in conversation. 

“I understand that, Aaron, but my question is, how
do we prevent anything like that from happening again when Willow’s going to be
halfway across the world?” Quinn asked, unaware of our presence.

“I’d like to know the answer to that also, Quinn,”
I interjected before joining them at the table. 

Quinn spun around and immediately began signing to
Bram. 

“Hello, Willow,” Aaron said reaching out for my
hand.  He pulled me in for a hug. “Feeling well?”

“Yes, but I’m confused about a lot of things,
Aaron.”

Aaron nodded and pulled one of the chairs out and
motioned for me to sit.  He signed “Hello” to Bram and pulled out the
other chair.

“Quinn, be a good sport and run upstairs and bring
the bench down here that’s by the door,” he asked before going over to the
safe.  He entered the combination and pulled out folders full of papers
regarding Lugh and the Fomorians.

Quinn returned with the bench and sat it alongside
the table.  He sat down as we all watched Aaron close the door to the room
and slide the lock in place, securing our privacy.

He joined us at the table and carefully opened the
folders, arranging the contents on the table.  We exchanged stares back
and forth among the three of us while Aaron mumbled to himself, placing the
papers in a specific order.

“Ok, this looks right,” he said as he put the last
page on top of one of the piles.

“I understand your confusion and need for
answers.  All three of you were thrust into this so quickly that there was
very little time for explanations.  I lacked sufficient knowledge to
advise you until just recently.  So, with that in mind, let’s get our
facts straight.”  Aaron looked over the top of his glasses at each one of
us.  “Fortunately I’ve been able to translate even more of this since the
attack; that is, with the help of Kelleigh.  You were right, Quinn, she
certainly is beneficial.  She truly has a knack for research.  With
her help I was able to make copies of all the fragile documents and elaborate
on the information contained in the original pages,” he said, narrowing his
stare to the stacks of information.

“So, with that being said, perhaps the best thing
is to let you ask your questions and we’ll go from there.”  Aaron rose,
went to the coffee maker, poured himself a cup of coffee and then sat
down.  He leaned back and searched each of our faces. “Anyone?”

“The big question for me is what I think Quinn was
just asking…how can we withstand another Fomorian attack when tomorrow I’ll be
going home and there will only be two guardians here.  I mean, isn’t that
what caused the whole problem to begin with, Lucy leaving the Triquetra
vulnerable?”  I watched as Quinn signed my question for Bram.

“Yes and no,” began Aaron. “Yes, Lucy’s leaving is
what led the Fomorians to be able to create the opening in the sidhe, thereby
allowing them access to the surface which then, in turn, left Shannah
vulnerable to their attacks – but that alone didn’t cause the problem.  As
you yourselves noticed, the Fomorians gain strength through chaos and
destruction, whether it be environmental or the physical destruction of the
guardians or the disruption of the Triquetra.  That was the only way they
could secure any power; that is, until they could take control of the Eye of
Balor.  The Eye is the earthly object that would give them unlimited
power.”

“Ok, so when Lucy took off, the Fomorians gained
power because she left the Triquetra vulnerable?”  I asked, getting a
clearer picture in my head.

“Exactly.  If she’d have turned over the
water pendant to a successor instead of just abandoning it to Shannah, this
most likely could have been avoided.  Shannah was unable to take on the
duties of two guardian’s; no human can.  The Triquetra is, well, just as
the name implies: tri meaning three.  It takes three humans to make the
Triquetra whole, which is how Lugh set it up.”  Aaron pulled a primitive
drawing from his stack of papers. It showed the three sections of the Triquetra
joined together as one.

“Then the Fomorians started coming out of the
sidhe?” asked Quinn, with a confused look.

“Yes, in a way.  They are very limited in
their physical manifestations until they acquire more power.  The first
form they assume is that of the mist.  It’s shown here,” Aaron grabbed
another paper and pointed to a vaporous shape that seemed to be literally
draining the life out of a dazed human.

I looked at Bram.  “A mist; that explains all
those weird run-ins I was having,” I said in mindspeak.

“Right,” he answered aloud then directed himself to
Aaron.  “So the mist was going after Willow.  Is that what hurt
Shannah?”

Aaron pursed his lips then frowned, “Hard to say
for sure, but considering how many times you encountered the mist, Willow, I’d
say it’s very likely that’s what weakened Shannah.  That in turn
strengthened the Fomorians and enabled them to work on the opening of the
sidhe.  Of course that, along with Lucy Mallory’s departure.”

Just then a knock came at the door.  Aaron
rose quickly and slid open the lock, letting Kelleigh in.

“Hi, everyone,” she shrilled, carrying an attaché
in her left hand.  She slid up next to Quinn on the bench, moving him
aside.  He rolled his eyes and pressed himself against the wall in an
effort to get away from her.  Aaron returned to the table and sat next to
Kelleigh.

“More translations, boss,” she said matter of
factly and slid the attaché across the table to Aaron.  He opened the case
and quickly skimmed the dozen or so papers inside before nodding at Kelleigh.

“Nice work,” he said as he placed the new pages on
top of the documents already lining the table.

I smiled at Kelleigh and reached my hand across,
grasping hers for a split second in hello.  She smiled back and winked.

“Now where were we?” Aaron asked before sipping
his coffee.

“Well, I understand now how the Fomorians came
into power and if I’m getting this right, they became more powerful with
Grandma’s death, which then allowed them to leave the sidhe and begin stirring
up the storms, which gave them even more power?”  I said, more as a question
than a statement.

“They were already leaving the sidhe in the form
of the mists, but yes, when Shannah passed away they were able to begin
creating powerful storms, which fed them even more power.”  Aaron’s hazel
eyes darted from mine to Bram’s then to Quinn’s.

Quinn stopped signing to Bram for a minute while
he scratched his head.  I could tell by his expression he had more
questions.

“Ok, well, I get all of this, where they got their
power stuff. What I still don’t get is, how do we keep them from coming back
when the Triquetra will be split up tomorrow when Willow goes home?” 
Quinn asked vocally, then signed his question to Bram.

Aaron grabbed hold of several of the pages he had
just removed from Kelleigh’s attaché case.  He laid the three pages in a
neat row in front of Bram and me and motioned for Quinn to join us on the other
side of the table.

“This is where your sister has truly
excelled.  I completely misinterpreted this document that spoke of the
power of the Triquetra.”  He took hold of a sheet we had seen before at
his house that showed Lugh on some clouds looking down on three guardians with
their hands raised, each holding a piece of the Triquetra and uniting it in the
air.  “I believed this was saying that the power of the Triquetra was its
ability to call on Lugh when the three pieces were joined,” he pointed to the
drawing which showed that very thing, “which is, in part, accurate.  The
joining of the three pieces will summon Lugh.  However, there’s even more
to this picture than that.  Go ahead; tell them, Kelleigh,” Aaron urged,
sitting back on the bench.

Kelleigh smiled and cleared her throat.  “Ok,
well, what this is actually saying,” she began as she pointed to the ancient
language barely visible at the bottom of the page, “is that the power of the
Triquetra is
within
the three guardians.  Lugh can be called upon
when the three pieces are joined, but it also says here that the three carriers
of the Triquetra have the power to call upon
each other
from wherever
they are.  The picture here is showing this as a final blessing from
Lugh.”  Kelleigh tapped her finger repeatedly on the photocopied print of
the drawing of Lugh on the clouds.

“What do you mean, a blessing?”  I asked,
staring at the picture.

A sly smile stretched across her face.  “What
I mean is that each of you has, in that garish little piece of jewelry you
carry around, the ability to open up a…hmm, what did you call it, Aaron?” 
Kelleigh teased looking over to Aaron.

Aaron leaned forward and kept his attention on
Bram as he signed, “You each have the ability to open up a gateway with your
piece of the Triquetra.”

Bram looked at me then Quinn.  “A what?” he
asked with a perplexed expression.

“A gateway,” I answered in mindspeak.

“A gateway?” Quinn mumbled and signed
simultaneously.

“A gateway?  You mean like some kind of
doorway?”  Bram asked.

“Yes, exactly… a doorway.  So, if Willow
needs to return here to Ireland quickly, her capacity to do so lies in this
primordial piece of jewelry,” Aaron answered while he reached his hand to Bram’s
neck and lifted the silver chain from under his shirt, resting the pendant in
the palm of his hand.

Quinn and I both took hold of the chains hanging
around our necks and stared at our third of the Triquetra.

“How does it work?”  I wondered, running my
index finger along the silver curves of the piece.

“Ah ha, now this is where it gets interesting,”
Kelleigh chimed, pointing once more to the paper lying on the table.  “See
this writing here?” she directed us to a miniscule area on the corner of the page. 
A picture of the Triquetra filled the two-inch-square space, with practically
invisible writing running along the top of each section. 

I held the paper close to my face but could only
make out a few of the letters.

“Here,” Kelleigh said, offering me a magnifying
glass.

Bram snickered, “You really come prepared.”

“If it weren’t for that magnifying glass I never
would have seen this writing,” she replied.

I handed the glass to Bram who was able to make
out more of the letters.  “Can’t you just tell us what it says?” he asked
impatiently.

“Very well,” Kelleigh huffed, grabbing the paper
and holding it up.

“This says GAOTH DORAS O Lu TOSAIGH, translated,
means
wind doorway of Lugh initiate
. DOMHAN DORAS O Lu TOSAIGH means,
earth
doorway of Lugh initiate
and UISCE DORAS O Lu TOSAIGH, translated is,
water
doorway of Lugh initiate
.  See, above each section of the Triquetra
are these words – Gaoth, Domhan, and Uisce – which, translated, are Wind,
Earth, and Water.”  Kelleigh pointed to the small writing directly above
each curved section on our individual Triquetra’s, then continued, “This
writing here, Doras O Lu Tosaigh, translates to
doorway of Lugh initiate.
”

Kelleigh then rummaged through the papers she had
brought with her and pulled out another photocopied sheet.  The original
paper had been a page-long handwritten note with scorched edges from what must
have been a fire.  I recalled having seen the original at Aaron’s
house.  The handwriting was elegant and seemed almost too perfect to have
been done by a human hand.  At any rate, Kelleigh laid the paper in front
of us and began translating the text. 

It had been a water guardian’s accounting of how
they opened the gateway and for what use.  It depicted a tremendous battle
with the Fomorians and the death of one of the guardians.  Another
candidate lived in England and the guardian needed that person to come and
fight the Fomorians.  The water guardian described how he recited the
passage that Kelleigh had just shown us, and how a black hole appeared before
him.  The water guardian said aloud the name of the candidate and stepped
into the void.  Instantaneously he was transported to the candidate,
nearly giving that person a heart attack.  The candidate agreed to take on
the role of guardian and took possession of the third of the Triquetra. 
The water guardian returned home by reciting the passage, bringing forth the
gateway, and saying the name of his town.  He was immediately taken back
home, and the new guardian returned to England the same way.

I stared at the silver, curved Triquetra in my
hand, in awe of its power.  I looked at Bram, who was looking right at me
with a big grin.  I didn’t need mindspeak to know what he was
thinking.  This would be a great way for us to stay in touch after I’d
gone home.  Aaron must have picked up on our expressions because he began
shaking his head no.

“Sorry, you two, but the gateway can’t be used for
leisure travel.”  He grunted as he pulled out another page laying it in
front of us.  “This tells of another guardian who did just that, tried to
use the gateway to travel all around.  She had gotten in the habit of
using the doorway to transport herself back and forth between here and
Switzerland, where her brother lived.  After about the tenth time, she
ended her visit with her brother, called upon the gateway, bid her brother
farewell, and stepped into the void.  Instead of returning her to her
home, the gateway exploded and shot the Triquetra out of the eruption into the
hands of the brother as he stood there.  He never saw his sister again.”