by Emmett Swan
“Jessica!” called Conall. “Oomph! Bastard!” he groaned grabbing his crotch. “Jessica, bring me my sword. Quickly.”
Jessica hesitated. What will Conall do with the sword? Would he kill Thallach now?
She grabbed his sword and handed it to him, deciding to trust him. He held it up in the air with the point directed at Thallach’s invisible body, while Meyler and Laughlin held him in place.
“Either you stop struggling and regain visibility, or I will pierce whatever lies beneath this sword.” When nothing happened, Conall raised the sword higher, poised to stab, his eyes focused directly in front of him. His jaw was set with determination. He yelled loudly, “And I mean now!”
“All right!” cried Thallach. “I’ll do it.” A second later, Thallach appeared, still holding the red vial in one hand and a green one in the other. Before he could insert them in his pocket, Conall snatched them away.
“Hey! You take my mirclair and my norl? So who is the thief really?”
“Well, this mirclair is made from my family’s gold, I think,” said Conall. “And I take your norl to keep you out of mischief.” He turned to Laughlin. “Now, tie his arms and legs. We must immobilize him.”
They tied his arms behind his back and his ankles together and let him squirm on the floor, testing the bonds.
“I’m sorry to do this to you,” said Conall, “but we can’t have you interfering with our plan. Besides, you may be lying to us. If all ends well, we’ll return later and release you.”
“You cannot do this!” cried Thallach. “If you are to take the mirclair to Keeva, at least release me. War will be unleashed upon my homeland, and I must warn them. Many lives are at stake. I wish you no harm.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t trust you,” said Conall.
“Please,” continued Thallach. “It is a simple matter. Do you see this mark on my forearm? The cross with the circle around it? Just one drop of the red elixir and I will be gone from here. I will be out of your hair, and I can prepare my people.”
“We’d better not,” cautioned Meyler. “He may return with friends and attempt to take the elixir before we reach Keeva.”
Jessica was torn. If innocent people’s lives were at stake—perhaps even children—they should heed his words. But then what if he was lying? They knew he was a thief. Could he be trusted? She didn’t know and she didn’t trust herself enough to take a stand either.
Why did I get involved?
She kneeled beside Thallach. “I promise you we will return immediately after the curse is lifted and free you. You will have time to warn your people.”
“You don’t understand,” said Thallach. “Keeva knows you may bring her the mirclair. She would have warned her father to have the army ready. I fear that the second the red elixir is in her hands, the attack will launch. They will seek surprise.”
“I am sorry,” said Conall. “I hope, for the sake of your people, that is not so.”
“Wait,” cried Thallach. “You have plenty of time, right? Another day? Just go yourself to Panagu and warn them. Use the mirclair and leave me bound. See the tattoo on my forearm. Copy it on your own arm and drop the elixir. You will be transported to Panagu.”
“I don’t think so,” said Conall, frowning at the proposal.
“Too risky,” added Meyler. “We have no notion of the reception we would receive. Your people may try to detain us.”
Jessica, who was still kneeling beside Thallach, pulled out her notebook. She was almost convinced Thallach was telling the truth, and she wanted to have all their options available. They may change their plans, and they needed to be flexible. They had been able to defeat Thallach and capture him, but Keeva? Jessica just didn’t trust her.
“This is the correct rune?” she asked, pointing to one of Thallach’s tattoos.
“Aye.”
“And how would we return?”
“Use the one next to it, closer to my hand.”
“I see,” said Jessica, copying the rune. “And this third one? It must be for Derfaria.”
“Yes. You are a smart lassie, aren’t you. Talk some sense into these lads, will you?”
“And these other two runes, on your other forearm? They are to become visible and invisible?”
Thallach scowled. “Why do you ask?”
“Jess, why are you bothering with this now?” asked Riley
“He’s right,” said Conall. “We can’t risk going to Panagu. We might get delayed.”
“Or worse,” added Meyler.
“Maybe so. But we have both elixirs. It would be a shame to not know how to use them.”
“That’s my sister for you,” said Riley. “Always looking after the details.”
“Sweet lassie, will you not warn my people? I beg you. My family. They will die. Don’t you see?” He looked sincerely into her eyes, whispering his last hope.
Jessica stared back at Thallach, lips pursed and eyebrows knitted together. Feeling compelled to release him, she felt the weight of life on her shoulders. She ignored her instincts before, and someone died.
“Sorry, old boy,” said Conall, breaking her thoughts. “But like we said, we will return. But after.”
“After! After!” cried Thallach. “After the children of Panagu are dead. Shredded in their sleep by giant gryphons unleashed by the evil Derfarians! Are you so heartless?”
“Let’s go,” Conall said to the others. The boys exited the workshop with Thallach tied up on the floor, heaping curses upon them as they left. Jessica paused at the exit.
She watched Thallach writhe on the floor. She hoped she was wrong, or she didn’t know how they would live with themselves.
Surely she didn’t become a heroine—a giver of life—just to turn around and destroy innocents. But it was the Kyne brothers’ fight. Their lives were at stake. She couldn’t blame them for wanting to live again.
She took one last glance at Thallach and joined the others.
Thirty-Four
Jessica, Riley, and the Kyne brothers departed the Donny Hills the way they came, trekking across the green pastures of County Galway. They were silent, though rolls of thunder could be heard in the distance. Stacks of dark clouds hung in the sky.
Conall held the red vial. Jessica the green. Both gave off their own glow and each in the party glanced at them frequently as they walked.
“I don’t want to start a war and be responsible for innocent people dying, but I did not ask for this,” blurted out Conall. “We were placed in the middle of all this against our will. What are we to do?” He stopped and faced Jessica directly as if challenging her to question his actions.
“Before today, we didn’t even know Panagu existed,” said Laughlin. “Thallach could have made it all up.”
“And why should we care about people in some distant land?” asked Meyler. “Either we lift this curse or our lives are doomed.”
“Meyler’s right,” said Riley. “You can’t just go back to being trees.”
Jessica didn’t say anything. She just looked into Conall’s face, reading his eyes. They were dark and clouded with uncertainty. It was a heavy decision—a decision of life and death. She didn’t envy him and wasn’t sure herself what they should do.
Conall lowered his head, turned, and continued walking, his gait steady and determined.
All fell quiet again, walking quickly. A light drizzle began to fall, but no one seemed to notice. Jessica was thinking about all that had transpired and about the immediate future. If only there was a way to fix all of it with no lives at risk. She reached down and squeezed Conall’s hand. He returned her squeeze and smiled absentmindedly.
The inner struggle she sensed inside Conall made her feel closer to him. It was heartening that he didn’t take this decision lightly or thought only of himself.
As the party entered Saler Swamp, the rain became heavier. Dark, angry clouds were thick in the sky. The thunder was more frequent.
Jessica glanced at the vial of r
ed liquid Conall held and noticed a scar on his arm. “That’s an odd scar,” she said, trying to examine it upside down as Conall’s arm swung back and forth. Conall stopped and held his arm up so she could see it.
“It looks like ‘J + C.’ What does it mean?”
“A most lovely lass put it there for me,” said Conall, giving Jessica a sly smile and a wink.
“Oh,” said Jessica, not at all masking the disappointment in her voice. “You have a girlfriend.”
“Well, perhaps one day she will be mine.”
Jessica nodded. “I see. Then from what I know of you, she must be a fine girl.” But then she gasped. “Oh my gosh! By now she must be…” Jessica couldn’t finish her sentence, realizing the imagined woman would be long since dead.
Conall smiled. “Don’t be sorry. I had no special girl back in those days.”
“But you said—”
“Aye. But this scar is of recent vintage.”
The realization dawned on Jessica. “Oh my God! I did that. When you were still a tree!”
Conall looked at the scar. “Fortunately, your man Curtis and I have the same initial.”
Jessica’s eyes widened at the thought of carving into Conall’s skin. “Conall, I’m sorry,” she said, but then she brightened up. “You called me a lovely lass.”
“Yes, I certainly did.”
She took Conall’s hand again and leaned into him as they walked, a new sense of curiosity rising within her. She wanted to know him better in a way she hadn’t wanted to know anyone since Curtis. Curtis’s face came into her mind. She stiffened at the thought and dropped Conall’s hand, pretending to smooth a lock of hair behind her ear.
“You okay back there?” she asked, turning to the boys trailing behind. They all nodded.
Jessica mentally kicked herself. What was she doing? Why hadn’t she thought of Curtis before now? Her life with Curtis seemed years away at the moment, and there seemed to be a new space around the memories. She couldn’t understand it—just less pain, less heaviness. She felt she could breathe now when thinking about Curtis and what happened. It was more manageable, or something. Was she forgetting?
And then the guilt descended, clouding her eyes. A stinging feeling pricked behind her lashes. She blinked. Don’t think about that right now. We have a new mission.
They continued through the gloomy swamp to the clear pool where Jessica and Riley had summoned the Lady of the Mist.
All of them stood around the small plunge pool where the little fountain gurgled, raindrops striking the pond’s surface. Riley looked at Jessica. “Sorry Jess. We need more gold.”
Jessica sighed and took the gold pendant from her pocket—all that remained of the necklace Curtis had given her. She rolled it around in her palm, thinking. It felt different. She had memories of Curtis, but the edges felt less sharp, less painful; she could tolerate it. It was still tragic. Loss of life—especially young life—was awful, but what did a piece of metal really mean? If it meant keeping three other lives on earth, was it worth it? Yes, of course it was.
She fingered the pendant for a moment more then tossed it into the pool without regret. She and Riley began chanting, “I call the Lady of the Mist.” The three brothers joined in.
Soon, the dark shadows began swirling above the pond, and the bright tiny spot of light appeared. It expanded to an oval portal and then the wispy form of Keeva appeared before them, hovering above the surface of the water. She gave them a sweet smile.
“You have returned,” she said, looking at Jessica. “I was worried for you. And I see you have company. Three boys I met many years past. Should I presume that Thallach has been destroyed and that you have something for me?”
“We have the vial of mirclair,” said Conall, holding up the red ampoule.
Keeva’s ghostly hand extended beyond the pool, reaching for the red vial. Her hand caressed the vial lovingly, but in her ghostly incarnation, she was unable to grasp it.
“Yes, real mirclair. But alas, I cannot take it. As you see, I am the Lady of the Mist, and in this form I am little more than a thought. But my domain is a land called Derfaria, and in that land I am whole. It is a beautiful land, and I welcome you to it. I will instruct you of the correct symbol to draw on your forearm. Use the black mud of the swamp. Once you arrive in Derfaria, I will show you how to return here, leaving the vial with me. Only one of you need make the trip. No need to waste the precious elixir.”
A crack of thunder exploded nearby, and heavy rain began pummeling Jessica’s back.
“We know the symbol,” said Jessica. She took out the purple magic marker and drew the rune on Conall’s arm as Thallach had instructed in his lab, shielding his arm from the rain with her notebook.
“Will this rain affect the power of the elixir?” she asked.
“It will not,” said Keeva. “Once the elixir strikes the rune, the spell is cast. It does not matter if the elixir or the rune is then washed away.”
Conall held the vial over the drawing on his arm and tilted it. But before the drop detached from the thin neck, he turned the vial upright. He looked at his brothers and at Jessica and Riley, looking for guidance. No one had any to offer.
“What is the delay?” asked Keeva. “I will not harm you. From this location, you will materialize in my bedroom. Perhaps I can repay you in other ways.” As she said this, her voice, already sultry, became a note lower and raspy. Her flowing robes, always moving as if blown by the wind, parted slightly, revealing a glimpse of her porcelain-like skin and full breasts.
Conall looked at Keeva and then at the red vial. He shook his head.
“We have spoken to Thallach,” he said. “He says you wish to attack Panagu.”
“What? You let the evil magician speak?”
“Yes,” said Jessica. “And he still lives. I don’t think he is evil. He says you wish to send an army to Panagu and to destroy its people.”
“Lies!” cried Keeva. “Thallach is full of lies. He has bewitched you. Do not believe his magic words. We wish to acquire the mirclair to prevent Panagu from attacking Derfaria.”
So Keeva really was all about the mirclair!
But that meant it was probably Keeva who turned Conall and his brothers into trees to begin with. And now she was flinging accusations and making demands. Daunting though she may be, Jessica doubted her even more.
“Then we should just pour it out here,” she suggested. “That way, nobody harms anyone.” She grabbed the vial and slowly titled it, acting as if she were about to dump it out.
“Do not dare!” screamed Keeva, her eyes full of fire. “I will have that vial.” The swirling shadows around Keeva became more unsettled and agitated.
“Settle down,” said Conall. “We are here to bargain.”
Keeva calmed herself and looked at Conall with narrowed eyes. “What is it that you want?”
“We know you anointed us with a magic elixir under the pretense of giving us true seeing. But instead, you transformed us into trees. For two hundred years my brothers and I have lived in a forest under the power of your curse. We also know the death of Thallach would have had no effect on our plight. Only you can remove the spell permanently.”
“Thallach’s lies,” replied Keeva but with less emotion.
“Enough!” burst out Conall. “The deal is this. You permanently remove the curse, and we give you the vial. Do you accept?”
Keeva looked them over, considering.
After a minute, she spoke. “It is a fair exchange and I accept the deal. But you must come to me so that I can administer the elixir. You and your two brothers.”
“What!” said Meyler. “So you can capture us?”
“And why would I do that?” asked Keeva.
“We do not know your motives,” said Laughlin. “You may have some reason.”
“He’s right,” said Conall. “Lift the curse first, and then I bring you the vial.”
“Well, that is all well and good, but it is somethin
g I cannot do. I tell you this truly. You must be before me in my full form. Only then can I properly apply luth. The mirclair I use, as you can see by my ghostly form, only partially works. And any elixir I carry here with me has its potency altered.”
“Yet, you cursed us well enough two hundred years ago,” pointed out Laughlin.
“Yes, but as you know, the application of elixir was flawed. It took many minutes for it to activate, for you were well on your way to Thallach’s workshop before the transformation took place. And once you were trees, you could move and speak in the light of a full moon. Another shortcoming is that I can only reverse your transformation for short periods. These flaws are not present when luth is applied at full strength. You must come to me in Derfaria.”
Conall looked at Laughlin and Meyler.
“Why would she lie?” mused Laughlin. “She has nothing to gain by keeping us cursed.”
Conall nodded. He handed the magic marker to Laughlin and Meyler, and they copied the rune onto their arms. He once again held out the vial over his arm and watched a drop of glowing red elixir slowly form at its tip.
A horrible scene flashed across Jessica’s mind. She envisioned children and women running and screaming for their lives, holding babies while deadly creatures flew down and scooped them up, tearing their bodies into pieces.
“Stop!” erupted Jessica. “Wait.” They all looked at her. Her skin was white and her face contorted with the terrible burden of her thoughts. “We can’t do this,” she said. “We can’t allow war to break out.”
“You have been enchanted by Thallach,” wailed Keeva. “But he and his kind are evil. They have assaulted the citizens of our peaceful and beautiful world and wish to destroy us. It is Derfaria that must be protected. If we hold the mirclair, those warmongers on Panagu cannot reach us, and they will know we have the capacity to strike back if they managed to acquire more.”
“Perhaps,” mused Jessica. “Thallach tells us a different story.”
“Lies!” Keeva hissed.