The Spell of Three

by Casey Morgan

  I tapped my foot as I thought.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted, looking at both Ryan and Brody. “That’s still up in the air.”

  “Well, I don’t mean to be rude, Ms. McDonnell, but there are more things – more people – to consider here than just you and your own best interests or in-the-moment jollies,” said Ciara, looking at me, her green eyes pleading. “My brothers mean the world to me. I won’t see them broken hearted or wronged. Just so ye know.”

  “Yes. I get it,” I replied.

  She was clearly only trying to take care of her brothers.

  Ciara nodded back at me. She looked like she wanted to say something more, but she didn’t know what. Finally, she sighed and left us, heading in the direction that led back to Hennessey House.

  The three of us stayed in the side street. I still felt off kilter from Ciara’s worry. Was I just thinking of myself? I looked down and hugged my arms to my chest.

  “That was a bit strong, eh?” said Brody.

  He put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

  “I’ll have a talk with her when we get back.”

  I looked up at him and he grinned.

  “No, that’s fine,” I said, reaching up to take his hand. “She’s protecting you. Watching out for you. It’s what I’d expect from someone who grew up in your family. I wish I had that kind of support from my own family, but I clearly don’t. She’s just as noble and caring as you two are. So, you’re lucky.”

  “Aww, sweet,” said Ryan, giving me a kiss.

  I took both their hands and we continued to tour the festival. The longer we walked it, the less people seemed to stare at us, or the less I seemed to care. We finally found Devin, the leprechaun, who had his own table selling turnip pies.

  “Ms. McDonnell,” he greeted, tipping his red cap to me. “Care for a slice of turnip pie?”

  I smiled gently at the little man.

  “I just had turnip coleslaw a while back,” I said warily. “Not sure if it agreed with me.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said and winked at me. “I know the coleslaw you mean, and this isn’t anything like that muck. This is well cooked and sweetened.”

  He handed us a sample that we could share. Brody held the plate while Ryan and I each got forkfuls. We all tasted it and it was actually good.

  The texture of the cooked turnip mixed with sugar and raisins made everything taste sweet. The flaky crust balanced the entire thing out.

  “Wow, this is really good, Devin,” I said, after licking my fork. “I don’t know how you made it, but I’d like to get the recipe.”

  “Old family secret,” he said.

  He put a finger up to the side of his nose and winked at me.

  “Would never part with it, I’m afraid.”

  “Well, how about making some of these pies for Hennessey House?” asked Brody. “I’m sure we can work out a deal.”

  Devin paused, and pulled on his white beard. The boys looked worried.

  “You’re not thinkin’ about the rumors floating about the village?” asked Ryan cautiously. “They’re nothing to be worried about.”

  “Oh, I know. Don’t really care for rumors or gossip,” dismissed Devin. “What folks do in their private time is none of my business. I was just wondering how much I can charge ye blokes.”

  He winked at me, then turned back to the guys.

  “Here’s my card. I’m sure we can do business together. Nice to see you again, Ms. McDonnell.”

  “Nice to see you too, Devin. I’m looking forward to more of your pie!”

  As we left Devin’s booth, Brody leaned down and whispered in my ear.

  “Leprechauns! They’re always scrambling for cash.”

  I thought of Devin’s shack full of gold. There was no way he was hurting for cash. But I couldn’t tell that to the boys, so I just nodded.

  It would remain a secret, between Devin and me. I was grateful I had made a friend here – someone who wouldn’t judge me for the love I had found with Brody and Ryan.

  Love? I asked myself, my head spinning.

  Did I just call it love?

  What the hell was in that turnip pie?

  Chapter 20

  Shanna

  As the sun started to set, Brody and Ryan and I moved to a field just off the town square, where the town officials had planned in advance to put off a fireworks display. The boys and I found a grassy spot on a little hill, just to the side of the other festival goers.

  The hill had a small tree we could lean on. We sat under the stars and kissed. There were still some murmurs and clucks of disapproval, but I didn’t care. I was starting to enjoy being the “scarlet witch”.

  “Shameful!” I heard one woman gasp.

  “Who does she think she is?” I heard another say to her husband.

  Most of the men didn’t seem to care, although there were a few that got all religious about it. One guy randomly quoted Bible verses in our direction, about marriage being between one man and one woman, and about honoring the marriage bed and keeping it holy.

  Fortunately, though, most people didn’t have the guts to confront us openly. Last time I got chased by a mob because I was outnumbered, but this time, I figured with the three of us there together, there would be no one brave enough to bother us.

  Boy, was I wrong.

  Just as the barest hint of sun was looming on the horizon, the McDonnell boys found us. All of the McDonnell boys. My five big brutish cousins came stomping through the field and through the crowd to glare at us from the bottom of the hill. A few of my female cousins joined them.

  Terry seemed to be the ring leader this time. Peter stood by his side. Donnie, Billy, and Ronald stood a few feet back.

  Their actions were starting to draw the attention of the crowd and people gathered. Terry glared at me with cold, milky eyes.

  “Look at this filth they let into a family festival,” he hissed. “Best be moving on now, cousin. The rest of us McDonnells are sick of ye flouting ye slutty ways.”

  Brody and Ryan rose to their feet and stood shoulder to shoulder. Brody took off his coat; he started unbuttoning his sleeves, and then rolled them up to show his strong, thick arms.

  “Now, Terry,” he muttered. “I don’t like ye disrespectin’ women of any kind but is that really the way to speak to your own flesh and blood?”

  Ryan’s deep green eyes began to glow. He put his hands on his hips.

  “I’ve thrown ye each out of our pub before. I can throw ye out of here.”

  Nervously, I got to my feet behind the elves. I tried to move to Ryan’s side, but he motioned for me to stay back.

  The McDonnell boys laughed. Their dirty teeth and greasy black hair gleamed in the sunset.

  “Now, elf,” Terry said. “I recon ye could handle one or two of us. Maybe even three of us to the two of ye. But we have five brothers here to ya two.”

  He gestured to the men surrounding him.

  Brody laughed, dramatically slapping his sides.

  “Witch, please,” he gasped. “Donnie’s too dumb to fight. He’ll probably end up hitting ye. Billy is a coward and Ronald is already tryin’ to sneak home. Give it up and go on!”

  Terry grunted, then spat on the ground. He raised his hands and moved his fingers, twisting them into a floating spell. Several baskets of turnips lifted off a table at the nearest stall and flew in our direction. They hit Ryan straight in the face.

  The impact caused him to back up a bit. He wiped the leaves, mud, and turnip juice off his face and out of his blonde hair. His green eyes turned fiery, as he glared at my cousins.

  “There was no need for that, Boyo,” he spat. “We were just mindin’ our own business. Leve us be.”

  “Weak arse elves,” muttered Peter.

  He shifted his weight next to his big brother and took a wide legged stance.

  “Leave the dirty lass be, elf. No McDonnell needs to be consortin’ with the likes of you.”

  He pul
led a small spell bottle from his pocket. The contents inside looked a murky gray. He shook the bottle and threw it our way.

  Brody raised his hand, twisting his index and middle fingers in a stopping spell. The hex bottle froze mid-air. His pointed ears reddened with the exertion.

  “Give ye brother a hand, lad!” he yelled to Ryan.

  Ryan sent a bolt of lightning over. It zapped the bottle and the contents started to boil.

  “Oh, no,” I whispered.

  Elves didn’t deal with a lot of stirred magic. Heating the contents of a hex bottle was not a good thing to do. The liquid bubbled, and the cork started to work its way out of the mouth of the bottle.

  “Get back!” I yelled, just as the hex exploded and covered the whole field in gray droplets.

  The festival goers around us grumbled and yelled as they patted the acid-like substance off their clothing. A few had droplets hit their faces and they now had boils growing. It was a nasty spell.

  A sprite flew up to us. He was wearing an official Turnip Festival uniform. He glared at us and tapped his foot mid-air. “Now fellas, you and the lass move on. This be a family event. No spells.”

  “It wasn’t us, Glen,” Ryan argued. “It’s the McDonnells. They be thrown’ hexes!”

  I looked at the sprite. I recognized his gray beard and grandfather-like face. He was the kindly sprite I met on the road during my first day in Luck’s Hollow.

  Glen looked over at Peter, Donnie, Terry, and the others.

  “Always making a ruckus, you three.” He tapped his foot again. “Be off with ya. Don’t make me get the other sprites.”

  Terry rolled his eyes.

  “Go find ye sheep, old man!”

  He grabbed a stone from the ground and chucked it at the sprite.

  Glen avoided it easily. The little man put his hands on his hips.

  “Bad luck and leprechauns! Now you’ve done it.”

  He glided up and away, leaving us to face the angry McDonnells alone.

  Terry grinned, showing his dirty, uneven teeth.

  “Now, whore, you and the elves leave Luck’s Hollow before we have to run you out. This is our town and we won’t have you ruining the good McDonnell name.”

  Brody scoffed. “Your town? The Hennesseys were in Luck’s Hollow before the McDonnells were even a family. My clan started in the forest just up north. This is elf land.”

  Ryan’s ears reddened. He held up his hand, cupping a good-sized fireball.

  “I suggest you and your lot shove off, Terry. Shanna’s happy with us. Just leave us be.”

  Brody raised his hand in the same way, with a fireball that mimicked his brothers.

  “Me brother said get on with ya.”

  Both of the elves’ ears reddened to a dark maroon shade. I could tell they were hopping mad. I didn’t want things to get out of hand but if we didn’t stand up to my cousins, we were never going to have peace.

  I elbowed my way between the boys. I twisted and danced my hands in the pattern of a joining spell.

  The fireball in Ryan’s hands lifted and joined Brody’s over my head. Flames grew and expanded until a ball the size of a small car floated and rocked gently over our heads. It was an impressive threat.

  I could see that Ronald had already made his way off through the crowds. Billy and Donnie, their eyes wide, started to follow. It was just Peter and Terry now. Peter looked behind him and his face paled. He didn’t like being abandoned by his brothers.

  I looked Terry in the eye. He was holding fast but I knew he would give up if I pressed.

  “Go on, cousin,” I murmured, mimicking his accent. “Don’t mess with the elves and the witches who love them. I’m American, I’m not scared of you.”

  Terry opened his mouth to speak. I gently moved my left index finger, flicking a tiny spark from the inferno I was carrying overhead onto the lapel of his dirty jeans jacket.

  Terry closed his mouth and patted the spark quickly. Then he nodded.

  “Got the McDonnell powers, I see. Ye strong for a witch, lass. We’ll leave ya be now, but ye won’t be around those elves forever. Ye best watch yer back.”

  He nodded in turn to Ryan and Brody, and then guided Peter away from us.

  I waved my hands in a release spell, dissipating the fireball. Darkness surrounded us. Even the crowds started drifting away, now that the show was over and nothing too dramatic had happened.

  I sat down on the ground quickly. I was totally exhausted. Ryan and Brody sat on each of my sides. Ryan put his hand on my knee and Brody rubbed my back.

  “Ya did good, darlin’” Ryan whispered. “I’m proud of ye.”

  A few seconds later, Glen and an army of twenty sprites buzzed over to us. Glen eyed the area and looked disappointed.

  “Those gits leave?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “Shanna scared them off,” Brody told them with a grin. “Right fancy magic user she is.”

  The sprites dropped their hover a few feet in disappointment.

  “Ah, well, good for you, lass,” chimed Glen. “It’s always good to hold ya own.”

  He winked at me.

  “Next time let me have a bit of the fun, eh?”

  With that, then sprites flew off.

  A few seconds later, the sky burst into colors as the fireworks display started. I leaned into my elves, finding comfort in their warmth and strength, and watched as the colors from the fireworks tinted their handsome faces.

  After the fireworks, we headed back towards Hennessey House. The various vendors were putting away their tables for the day. They would be back again tomorrow.

  I’m not really sure if the village benefited much from the festival. Everyone who was milling about seemed to be local residents. It wasn’t like people were coming all the way from Dublin just to see turnips.

  It was pretty crazy that I had come from the States for that. But it wasn’t just that, I reminded myself. Even though it had been my ex’s idea, I had thought that Luck’s Hollow was a nice enough place to honeymoon or I would have protested more or rejected the idea outright.

  Plus, in the end, the thing that won me over to the idea was that I had truly looked forward to meeting my Irish family members.

  Well, some things didn’t turn out the way we think they will, I realized. And sometimes, such as right now as I walked snuggled in between the two brothers, that was for the best.

  When we arrived back at Hennessey House, we found ourselves alone. I stood in the lobby with the boys. I gave each one of them a kiss.

  “Thank you for coming to the Turnip Festival with me,” I told them. “It was even better than I imagined. All thanks to you two. You guys coming upstairs with me?” I asked.

  “If you’ll have us,” said Brody.

  He grinned.

  “Remember, the disapproving eye of the entire village is upon you!”

  We laughed. I was glad we could joke about it now. It made the whole chase with the mob and the fight with my cousin seem like a bad dream.

  Ryan peeked into the pub. Things seemed to be running smoothly. He waved to Quinn, who was in charge for the night in their absence.

  “Lock up tonight, brother?” he called.

  “Aye, I will!” came the reply.

  We headed upstairs. I was excited to celebrate the public outing of our love.

  Love? That word again. It just keeps popping into my head, uninvited. Is that what this is?

  As my heart beat faster and my pussy clenched tighter, I had to admit that it sure felt like it. But only time would say for sure. Yet, time, as Ciara had just reminded us of back at the festival, was something that wasn’t on our side for long.

  Hopefully I could figure all of this out, and soon. There wasn’t long left now before I was supposed to be returning home to Love’s Hollow.

  But now that I had grown so close to Brody and Ryan, I couldn’t imagine going anywhere without them. It was already beginning to feel as if anywhere my two elves weren
’t at could be anywhere that truly felt like “home”.

  Chapter 21

  Brody

  I don’t know why. Maybe it was the turnips, but I was horny as hell. I had never been with a woman like Shanna.

  I felt like something had awakened in her, and I was experiencing it first hand. It had made sex for me into something that was a brand new experience again.

  It was as if she had deflowered me all over again. And just like teenagers, we couldn’t wait to take our clothes off and do it as many times as possible.

  As soon as we got inside the honeymoon suite, I made sure the door was locked behind us. With all the villagers nosing around our business, it was just a matter of time before they talked to one of the maids and asked her to get an update. But without my master key, none of maids were getting in.

  I took Shanna in my arms and kissed her. Then I spun her around towards Ryan, taking off her jacket in one flourishing move as I did so.

  She made a surprised noise and then went on to kiss Ryan while I hung up her jacket. Ryan started to pull her tucked-in shirt out from her jeans. I pulled my sweater over my head and threw it onto a nearby chair. I came up behind her and helped pull her shirt over her head.

  “Ah, there we go,” I said. “Much better. I don’t like you with all these clothes on.”

  She giggled and flipped her light-red curls.

  “Do ye expect me to walk around naked then?” she asked, in her mock Irish accent. “Because I guarantee the village wouldn’t shut up about that. You saw how they looked at us when we had all our clothes on!”

  “Prudes,” said Ryan, taking off his shirt. “We shall all be naked, all the time. It would save us a fortune on laundry.”

  “You guys are fun,” smiled Shanna.

  “Some say we’re too much fun,” I joked.

  I picked her up and threw her onto the bed. Ryan and I both started taking off our pants, while she pulled down hers. She took off her bra and revealed those fantastic breasts of hers.

  God, they were a sight! Big and round and perky. I could just lick and kiss them all day.

  I threw off my underwear and socks, and Ryan did the same. Shanna took off her panties and then started touching herself. She looked up at us and bit her lip. Her pussy was hairless and smooth, like the girls you see in pornos. She could be one if she wanted to, that’s for sure. Shanna was as sexy as a woman could get!