The Forest of Aisling: Dream of the Shapeshifter (The Willow Series Book 1) (4 page)

“It’s not the Irish who have the accent, it’s the
yanks.” And with that he pulled back the blankets and climbed out of bed. 
“You hungry?” he asked, stretching out his arms.

“Starving!” I answered simultaneous to my stomach
rumbling.

“Well, let’s get a move on, lots to do today.”

After stuffing ourselves with a huge breakfast
consisting of Irish sausage, potato bread, scrambled eggs, pudding, and tea, we
jumped into the car and headed a few miles outside of Killarney.  The plan
was to visit Dad’s uncle Eagan and his family.  Still no word on when or
if we were going to visit Grandpa.

“Here we are,” he smiled, pulling up to the old
farmhouse.  “The place hasn’t changed in thirty years.”  He climbed
out of the car and stepped up to the gate, staring at the house, lost in his
memories.

It was cottage-like, white with red trim and a
dark roof.  Ivy grew along the house and well-manicured evergreens stood
on either side of the gate leading to the front door.  It was starting to
rain which gave the house a sparkly and misty appearance, like something out of
a Charlotte Bronte novel.  The front door opened and a tall man with gray
hair appeared, wearing a driving cap and smoking a pipe.  He held his hand
over his head to block the rain and rushed to the gate.

“Get yerself in here, Jack, m’boy, you’ll be
soaked to the bone,” he chuckled as he reached out, motioning for us to come
in.  “And who might this lovely lady be?”  He put his arm out for me to
take hold of.

“This is Willow, Uncle E,” Dad replied as he
patted Uncle Eagan on the back.

“Pleasure to meet you miss,” Eagan said with a bow. 
The sweet smell of tobacco circled out of his pipe and wafted straight into my
nose.  Usually I can’t stand tobacco smell but this was different – sweet,
fruity smelling.

I bowed. “Pleasure to meet you sir,” I giggled,
then wondered what the heck I was doing.  So not like me to be all cute
and giggly, but something about Uncle Eagan made me feel like I was in a
different time, and I sure was in a different place.

“After you, m’lady,” Eagan motioned for me to go
ahead.

I giggled again.
For Pete’s sake,
I
thought,
get a hold of yourself Willow,
and stepped up the stairs and
through the front door.  The first thing I noticed was a delicious smell
that filled the air.  I couldn’t tell you what it was; all I knew was that
something was cooking and it smelled heavenly. 

“Meriel must be doing some baking.” Dad observed
it as well taking in a deep breath.

“You know Meri, once she learns of guests coming,
she’s in the kitchen.  Best go see her, Jacky, I’ll bring Willow in
momentarily,” said Eagan as he put his arm around my shoulder. “Come this way,
darlin’, I’d like to introduce you to my grandchildren.”

Eagan led me past some stairs into a hallway where
I could hear the sounds of music and laughter.  “Young people need other
young people. I think you may enjoy the company of these two,” smiled Eagan as
he opened the door to a music room.  Sitting at the piano were two kids
about my age.  They were playing a song, singing and laughing
hysterically. 

“Hey, you two hooligans, meet your second cousin
Willow, from the US of A,” Eagan boomed, shouting over their laughter.

Both kids spun around in their seats.  The
boy had red hair, bright blue eyes, and a very friendly face.  He immediately
stood up and came over. “Hello there, Willow, I’m Quinn, ‘tis a pleasure, and
this is my sis Kelleigh.” He took my hand and led me over to where Kelleigh was
sitting at the piano.

“Hi, Willow,” Kelleigh stood and extended her
hand.  She had green eyes and brownish red hair, similar to my hair color. 
She looked sort of like Quinn but definitely had her own look.  Quinn
looked like my idea of a typical Irish kid –red hair, freckles –but
Kelleigh…not so much. She had a darker complexion and actually reminded me of
Moms’ cousin who used to come to visit, kind of a Native American look about
her.

“Take care of Willow for a bit, you two. I’m going
to show her Dad about, then I’ll bring him back here for you to meet,” Eagan
said ruffling Quinn’s hair.

“Fine, Grandpa,” they said at the same time,
looked at each other, and laughed.

“Come, let’s have a seat, shall we?” said Kelleigh
as she took hold of my hand and led me to a nearby sofa.  After we sat
down Kelleigh immediately began the task of sizing me up, not indiscreetly I
might add.  When her eyes finally made their way back to mine she smiled a
one sided smile. “Well I must admit, we do look like we’re related!” She
snickered, “Which is a bit of a surprise, don’t you agree, Quinn?”

Quinn smoothed back his hair then returned to the
piano, grabbed a cell phone and joined us on the sofa.  “No, considering
we’re all Whelan’s. Anyway, never mind her, Willow, how are you enjoying your
time here?” he asked as he sat next to me. 

“So far so good,” I said, watching him text
away. 

“Put that away, Quinn.” Kelleigh reached over me
and tapped her brother on the arm. “Now is not the time.”

“But I need to check in with the lads,” Quinn
replied with a whine to his voice.

One look from Kelleigh was all it took and Quinn
quickly tucked away his prized possession.  “You’ve become quite power
hungry lately, Kell. Not very attractive.”

“Ha, and neither are you when you’re on that phone
all the time,” she replied, her green eyes squinting.

All righty then
, I thought,
how weird is
this to be sitting here between two strangers having an argument
. I had no
idea what to expect next when Mom’s words echoed in my head, “Enjoy yourself;
make the most of this trip, Willow, you’re going to meet some amazing
people.”  I felt pretty comfortable with these two and decided to take
Mom’s advice and let myself relax.

“How long will you be staying Willow?” asked
Kelleigh her eyes still on her brother.

“Just a few days; we leave soon after the
funeral.”

“Ah yes, the funeral.  Must be a bit strange
to go to a funeral for someone you didn’t know, yes? Grandfather Eagan
explained to us that you never met your grandparents,” Kelleigh commented
sympathetically.

“Very. I thought my mom should be here, but my
parents wanted me to come.  They said this was a chance to meet other
relatives and see where my dad came from,” I replied, looking back and forth
between brother and sister.

“Why didn’t your mum come as well?” Quinn asked as
he leaned forward grabbing a candy from a tulip-shaped crystal dish.

“She’s an artist and has a gallery opening this
weekend.  She needed to be there to show her work.”

“Very cool.  What kind of art?”  Quinn
asked, offering me a candy.

I shook my head no.  “She paints, uses oils,
watercolors.  She does portraits of Native American people, animals and
landscapes, that kind of thing.”

“And what’s your opinion of Ireland, Willow?”
asked Kelleigh while she leaned over me, hitting Quinn and motioning for him to
go to the door.  Quinn looked at her with a puzzled expression, but she
just hit him again and pointed.  He then nodded knowingly and crept to the
closed door.

“Don’t worry, Willow,” whispered Kelleigh, “just a
precaution.”  She watched Quinn as he put his ear to the door,
listening–for what? I had no idea.  He turned to Kelleigh and nodded, then
came back to us on the sofa.

“Willow, I know this must all seem very peculiar,”
whispered Kelleigh, “but some people around here have big ears. What do you
know about your grandmother Shannah?”

“Nothing, my Dad refuses to speak of his parents. 
Up until a few days ago I didn’t even know her name.”  I felt myself
tighten with the change of tone in the room.

“I thought as much,” Kelleigh said with a hushed
voice.  “Ever since Grandfather Eagan heard of you coming he’s been acting
very suspicious, whispering to our parents and everyone else for that
matter.  At one time I heard him say straight out to my father, ‘Make sure
you stay mum on this situation when Jack’s girl gets her.’”

“Jack’s girl, meaning me?” I asked looking back
and forth between the two.

“Of course…his daughter…you!” Kelleigh’s eyes were
darting all over my face, studying me.  I felt as though I was under some
kind of microscope.

“But…but why?”  She was sitting so close now
I could practically count the number of freckles on her face; suddenly I felt
awkward and uncomfortable.

“Why exactly!” she mumbled and moved in even
closer.  “I’ve been trying to catch some of their conversations.  The
only thing I’ve been able to make out is that some people are of the belief
that your grandmother, Shannah, may have died under suspicious circumstances.”

Quinn edged in at this point and hushed Kelleigh.
“I thought you were going to keep that quiet until we had a chance to find out
more.  Don’t freak out Willow unnecessarily!”

And freaked out I was.  Here I sat between
two complete strangers, listening to them speak about my grandmother, another
complete stranger – and what was even worse, they were insinuating that my
grandmother “may have died under suspicious circumstances.” It felt like some
sort of bad practical joke and at any moment these two strangers would start
laughing and say they pranked me.  Only judging by their expressions, that
wasn’t going to happen.  They both looked dead serious.

Kelleigh touched my arm, “Sorry, Willow, I guess
I’m being a bit too abrupt about this, but I was so hoping you would have some
knowledge as to what may be going on here.”

“Did you hear someone say those exact words, that
‘she died under suspicious circumstances’?” I worried; the questions were now
swirling around in my head.

“Yes, Grandfather Eagan’s housekeeper,
Meriel.  Sometimes she would go over and help out your grandparents. 
She was at their house days before your grandma died and came back here very
upset; remember, Quinn?” she asked without loosening her stare or grip on my
forearm.

“Aye, she was upset.  Grandpa hurried us out
of the room and we listened at the door.  Meriel was breathing heavy and
crying.  She told Grandpa that something was going on over there and that
Shannah was getting worse and that the doctor couldn’t find an explanation for
her illness,” Quinn added, lowering his voice to a whisper.

“So what do they say she died from?” I asked,
realizing I hadn’t even asked that question of Dad before now.

“Well, in the paper it said she died after a
lengthy illness, which is completely false.  We know that for a
fact.  We were with Grandfather Eagan just last month when he went over
there to drop off some jam that Meriel had made.  Shannah was there and
served us cookies and tea.  She was fine, sweet and friendly as
always.  If she was sick then, she hid it well.” Kelleigh suddenly looked
to the door as though she heard something. “Never mind, we’re ok.” 

She continued talking in an almost frenetic pace,
whispering then raising her voice at times.  It was hard following all
that she was saying; something about Shannah’s past catching up with her and
then something about Grandfather Conor and Dad’s argument from long ago. 
She jumped from scenario to scenario trying to piece together what little
information she had into a possible conclusion. 

Just when she was about ready to explode with what
she had decided was the most logical explanation, she again looked to the door
and said “Shush.” We could hear footsteps in the distance closing in on
us.  Jumping up, Kelleigh grabbed her brother and sat back at the piano
and softly tickled the keys.  The two jumped right into a song as though
the whole scene of the last few moments had never even happened.

The door opened part way and we could hear
whispering for a few seconds before Dad, followed by Uncle Eagan, entered the
room.

“Just listen to these voices, will ya, Jack, have
you ever heard anything quite so…ah, what’s the word, pitiful?” laughed Uncle
Eagan as he joined the two at the piano. “Move over, let me show you how it’s
done.” 

Dad made his way to me on the couch and took my
hand in his.  He had a soft smile and winked.  I was happy to see
him.  The last few minutes had been so surreal and looking into his eyes
brought me back to reality.  I wasn’t sure what to make of my time with
Quinn and Kelleigh, but I knew they had me more than a little worried and very,
very curious.

Uncle Eagan began playing the piano, a song I’d
never heard before, and singing in a language I’d never heard before either,
soon to be joined by Kelleigh and Quinn.  The song was lovely; it almost
sounded spiritual, like a hymn from church.  The three of them harmonized
and performed as though they were on stage.  What a sharp contrast to the
craziness of my conversation with these newly acquainted relatives.  If it
weren’t for the fact that I’d just learned that my grandmother may have died under
some dark cloud of suspicion, this would have been one of those special moments
you never forget. But between the lyrics of this lovely hymn I couldn’t help
but hear a frightening voice in my head asking,
how did my grandmother die
?

The sunset was spectacular that evening in
Killarney.  The sky cleared up after an entire day of rain to finish off
with gorgeous shades of red, lavender, and pink.  Looking out from our
hotel window I was amazed at the variations in the sky’s palette. 

Outside, near the walkway heading up to the lobby,
I noticed movement in a large group of rhododendrons.  I narrowed my eyes,
trying to see what had caused the bushes in that area to sway, but didn’t see
anything, only the last few branches returning to their former place.  It
was strange because I couldn’t make out a specific form – only a sense of
movement, like when the wind rustles the leaves.  
Must have been
an animal,
I thought.

 As I kept staring, a definite shift happened
in the area. I blinked my eyes in an effort to focus on what could only be
described as a kind of glitch in the atmosphere around the plants.  Something
was there, something I was unable to focus on; then it shot off leaving only
the movement of the bushes along with what seemed to be dust floating in the
air.  It felt as though whatever had been out there was watching me. 
A chill ran over my body, so intense it caused the hairs on my arms to stand
up.  I grabbed my jacket to try and warm up.  Reaching my hands into
the pockets I found a folded slip of paper.  I opened it and was surprised
to read,
Willow, give us a call tonight at 0712449087 we’d like to pop over
for a visit. Kelleigh.

“Ready to get a bite to eat, Wils?” Dad’s voice
echoed from inside the bathroom.

“Yeah, ok,” I kept my eyes focused outside trying
to see if I might catch a glimpse of whatever had been there just a few seconds
earlier, then looked back down to the note in my hand.  I wanted a chance
to talk to Kelleigh and Quinn again; I just hoped Dad would be up for visitors.

After a filling dinner we walked around the
grounds of the hotel.  I was surprised at all the beautiful flowers still
blooming that time of year.  The air was cool but comfortable.  It
felt like a good time to ask Dad about Kelleigh and Quinn.

“Dad, Kelleigh left a note in my pocket today.”

“Oh?” he responded.

“Yeah, she wants to come over to our room for a
visit tonight; would that be ok?”

Dad stopped in his tracks, stared straight ahead
then turned to me, “Why?”

“Why? Just to be friendly, we got along well at
Uncle Eagan’s.  I like spending time with her and Quinn.  Remember,
Mom said this would be a perfect time to meet some family here.” My pace
quickened as I walked in front of him.  I felt angry.

“Slow down, Willow, of course they can come
visit.  I just meant did they have a special reason or something. 
Let’s get back and you give them a call, ok?”  Dad remarked as he caught
up to me.

“Ok, thanks,” I mumbled, embarrassed for clearly
overreacting.

Back
in our hotel room, Dad made himself scarce so he could talk to Mom privately. 
While waiting for Kelleigh and Quinn, I switched on the TV.  It was
interesting to see how different TV was in Ireland compared to home.  It
seemed calmer, relaxing even.  Just as I was getting into a program about
a vampire and his girlfriend, a knock came at the door.  I jumped up,
looked out the peephole, and saw Kelleigh mussing Quinn’s hair with him
twisting her arm behind her back. 
Is that what’s it like to have a
brother?
  I wondered.

“Hi there,” I opened the door just as Quinn came
crashing in.

“Oops,” he laughed, almost totally losing it and
face-planting on the floor.

“Quinn, you really are quite an embarrassment,”
Kelleigh sneered as she grabbed him by the arm, leading him into our room.

“Where’s your pop, Willow?” Quinn asked, scoping
out the room.

I tilted my head towards the bathroom.

“Ah, ok,” they both said in unison.

“Willow, do you think your Dad would let you go
out with us to meet some of our friends?  They live just across the way,”
said Kelleigh as she plopped on the bed.

I wasn’t sure how he would feel about me going out
– wasn’t even sure how
I
felt about me going out – but I tapped on the
bathroom door. Dad opened it a crack, exposing one side of his face and the
phone. “What is it, Wils?”

“Dad, I’m going out with Kelleigh and Quinn to
meet some of their friends, they live close, ok?”  I asked, pressing my
eye to the crack at the door.

“They’re the O’Keefe clan, Jack, over on Popper
Road, just a stone’s throw from here,” Kelleigh shouted from the bedroom.

I could see Dad was not happy about this; the
visible side of his face broke into a frown and he glared at me with one
squinty eye.  He was always the over-protective one, never comfortable
with me “venturing off.”  Most times it took Mom to reassure him that I
wasn’t going to disappear or anything.  He definitely didn’t like being
the one to say o.k.  I looked at him pleadingly, hoping Kelleigh and Quinn
wouldn’t pick up on our wordless conversation.  Then Dad spoke softly into
the phone filling Mom in on my request.  After a few grunts and nods, he
finally said yes.

“Not too long, eh, Kelleigh; so you’re driving
now?” He opened the door further and looked toward the bedroom, waiting for an
answer.

“Been driving for a year, best driver in
Killarney.” Kelleigh sprang up and stood behind me facing Dad.

 In the bedroom we heard a sarcastic snicker
from Quinn, “Righto.”

“No more than two hours. Willow, take your phone
so I can be in touch if need be, and no funny business, you three.”

“Of course not, Jack! We sing in the Sunday choir,
don’t ya know,” Kelleigh added holding her hands together in a prayer pose.

Dad opened the door fully, “No funny business.
No
kidding
,” he said, glaring at Kelleigh.

Kelleigh quickly stiffened and nodded. “Sorry,
Jack. We’ll be careful, I promise.”

I smiled at Dad and reached in through the door,
touching his hand.  His face softened and he winked. “Have fun,
sweetheart.”

“Thanks Dad.”

 Quinn shot out the door and down the
corridor doing handstands.  Kelleigh took my arm in hers and pulled me
close. “Your dad is a worrier, isn’t he?”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I
didn’t. 

As I walked with Kelleigh I started feeling a
little uncomfortable.  After all, I was in another country and what did I
know about these two other than that we were second cousins?  Plus the
conversation at Uncle Eagan’s had taken such a bizarre turn. I hadn’t even had
any time to absorb their theory about my grandmother dying under suspicious
circumstances.  I decided to take advantage of my time with these two and
try and get some questions answered.

Kelleigh was right; her friend’s house was very
close.  We pulled into the driveway just as three people came charging out
of the house.  “It’s about time, you!” yelled a tall girl with pink
streaks in her blonde hair. 

Following close behind her was another girl with
short red hair and a boy who was easily over six feet tall.  They ran to
the car and opened the doors.  Kelleigh laughed and hugged the girls and
then the boy.  “Missed me that much, have you?  Time for some
introductions; Willow these are my BFF’s Melissa and Sinead, and the giant over
there is Bram.” 

The blonde girl came over and put her hands on my
shoulders, “Hello, Willow, so nice to meet you, I’m Melissa and this is
Sinead,” she said, reaching back to the red haired girl, “and I’m sure you can
figure out who Bram is.”  The tall boy just smiled and did a kind of
salute.

“Nice to meet you all,” I said with a soft
voice.  I felt a little intimidated, but Kelleigh’s friends were so
welcoming that those feelings quickly wore off.

Kelleigh whispered in my ear, “Bram is deaf,
Willow.  He does a good job at communicating with us and we’re all learning
sign language.  He talks and sometimes he can figure out what we’re saying
just by watching us.”

“Oh,” I remarked as I looked over at Bram. 
Obviously aware of what Kelleigh had just told me he smiled and waved again and
signed a few words.  I had to remind myself to stop staring…not because
I’d just found out that he was deaf, but because he was so good looking. 
And it wasn’t even just good looking; something more…something almost familiar
about him. 

“He says, ‘Nice to meet you,’” Kelleigh interpreted.

I smiled and waved and bowed my head. Why? I had
no idea.  Like bowing my head meant something.  I felt a warm rush
come over my face and watched Bram smirk and shrug.

“Let’s go out back,” said Melissa as she grabbed
Kelleigh and led us around the house to a covered patio area.  We went
inside where it was warm.  A small fire was burning in a chimera and
pillows were lying all over on the floor.  A couch and table sat on the
opposite side of the room.  This seemed to be their hang-out.  They
each grabbed a seat either on the floor or couch and stretched out, making
themselves comfortable.

“Come sit,” motioned Kelleigh patting the pillow
on the floor next to her.  I sat down, unsure of what to expect
next.  These kids were at least one or two years older than me, except for
Quinn, who told me himself he had just turned fifteen.

“Kelleigh tells us you’re from the US, Willow,”
spoke Sinead in a soft melodic voice.

“Yeah, I’m from New Mexico,” I stuttered, suddenly
feeling like I was in the spotlight. While we spoke I became aware of Quinn
using sign language with Bram.  Bram’s eyes focused on Quinn; then he
glanced my way and signed something to Quinn.

“New Mexico, eh? Is that near Mexico, the
country?” Quinn asked, obviously interpreting for Bram.

“Yes, we’re on the border of Mexico.” I found
myself speaking louder, like Bram would somehow be able to hear me. Duh.

“Interesting,” Bram said, “we studied a bit about
Mexico and the war between Mexico and the US.”  His voice was warm and
strong and gave no indication of a person who was deaf.  I couldn’t think
of anything to say so I just nodded my head and smiled.  Kelleigh signed
something to Bram, who in turn laughed. 
Great,
I thought,
now
he’s laughing at me.

 “Bram lost his hearing when he was eleven
after having meningitis.  He’s actually lucky to be alive.  He was
very ill,” Kelleigh added, watching Quinn interpret for her.  “And this
one,” Kelleigh smacked her brother with a pillow, “he picked up sign language
faster than he learned to talk and he still hasn’t quite mastered that –
learning to talk, that is.”  The whole group broke out laughing with Quinn
doing a mock laugh in Kelleigh’s face.

Seeing Bram sitting there with Quinn laughing and
talking, I had a hard time imagining him being sick.  He seemed now to be
the picture of health. He was tall and slender with broad shoulders.  He
wore a pair of sunglasses on the back of his head and kept running his fingers
through his brown hair, mussing it up more each time.  I couldn’t take my
eyes off him.  He had these intense brown eyes that narrowed while he was
reading Quinn but would then grow wide with delight once Quinn finished signing
his half of the conversation.  He caught my gaze one time and smiled. I
immediately turned away feeling like I’d been caught doing something I
shouldn’t have.
Lord, Willow
,
you really need to relax.

It seemed as though Quinn was Bram’s regular
interpreter. Watching him sign for Bram was amazing.  He would speak the
words while he signed them, sometimes with sound, sometimes silently mouthing
the word without actually saying it.   At times Bram seemed to be
correcting Quinn and laughing, like Quinn had completely signed the wrong word
or misspelled it or something. 

After about half an hour or so I started feeling
restless, wondering if I would get a chance to speak to Quinn and Kelleigh
again about Grandma.  I was happy to be here with them all, but my
thoughts kept returning to the conversation at Uncle Eagan’s house.

“Willow’s mum is a Native American,” Kelleigh
informed the group.

“Really?” Melissa sat up. This seemed to pique her
interest.

“Yeah, she’s Lakota,” I added, looking to see how
Quinn would interpret that word.  I couldn’t make out a single sign but a
series which led me to believe he had spelled out the word, Lakota.  I
remembered learning the alphabet in sign language when I was in first grade and
what Quinn had done looked similar.

“Ah, so cool… so then you’re part Native American
too!” Melissa’s face lit up. She was really impressed with the fact that Mom
and I were Native.

“Duh, Melissa, of course if her mom’s Native
American so is she,” teased Quinn.  Melissa hit him square on the head
with a pillow.  That started a huge pillow fight.  They were laughing
uncontrollably and pillows were flying everywhere so I backed out of the way.

“Oh no you don’t,” cried Kelleigh as she pelted me
with a long rectangular pillow.

My face stung but I didn’t care; I was happy to
blow off some steam.  I got Kelleigh back with an overstuffed red pillow
with a hard leather backing.  She jumped up reaching for a cushion from
the couch.  I stood, trying to get out of the way, when I backed up right
into Bram.  He grabbed my shoulders and leaned me to the left just in time
to avoid getting smacked in the face with the cushion.  I looked up at
him, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he said smiling down at me, his
brown eyes holding my stare. Before we knew it pillows were flying this way and
that.  Bram dodged a few but one finally caught him off guard and sent him
tumbling to the floor.  He sat there laughing until Quinn’s voice broke
through the commotion, “Quiet down, I’ve got a call.”

Everyone froze as if we had all just been hit by a
rush of arctic wind.  Quinn put his fingers to his lips motioning for us
to be quiet. “Sure Grandpa, Kelleigh and the gang are here right now. We can go
out and look around for you.” He nodded his head as he spoke. “Ok Grandpa,
we’ll be right over.”