Fire and Fantasy: A Limited Edition Collection of Urban and Epic Fantasy

by CK Dawn

  I flew off toward the farm, my heart heavy. I didn’t belong in the human world, and I didn’t belong with the supernatural. The secrets were starting to pile up, and I didn’t like it, not one bit. The creature, the truth behind who was stealing magic, the doorways to the fae realm, my hidden nature… What if I had something to do with it all?

  Below, the farm came into view, and I spied Roy and his tractor crossing the far field, making for the yard. Reaching the spot where I’d changed, I landed and returned to my human form.

  Lacing my boots back up, I began to feel a sharp pain in my back. The more I dwelled on what I’d learned, the more uncomfortable I became.

  The Ten of Swords. Thinking about the tarot card I’d drawn my first morning in Derrydun, the more I believed its message.

  Betrayed by a power that has no mercy or feeling…

  For the first time since I began remembering, the sky was clear.

  Sitting in the garden behind the cottage, I gazed up at the stars, studying the silver points of light. There was no moon, and it only made them shine brighter, the universe infinite compared to my insignificant life.

  Wracked with guilt and worry, I hadn’t ventured inside. I could still see the craglorn in my mind’s eye, its hideous black eyes etched in my memory for eternity. Definitely not one I wanted to keep. My ribs ached, and I rubbed my palm against my chest. Maybe it was time to find somewhere new to live.

  Behind me, I heard the kitchen door open and close.

  “Are you coming inside, or are you going to sleep with the carrots?” Aileen asked, standing over me.

  “The carrots seem nice,” I muttered.

  She sighed dramatically and sat on the grass beside me. “I keep forgetting you’re a man and not a boy.”

  I stared at my hands. “I’m not sure whether to be offended by that or not.”

  “You may have forgotten your past, but you haven’t forgotten how to live.”

  “But I’ve forgotten magic…”

  Aileen lifted her chin and peered at the stars.

  “I spoke to Mrs. Boyle this afternoon,” she said after a moment.

  I snorted. Old Mrs. Boyle, the crazy women who lived along the main road and scared away children who dared come too close to her fence with her broom. I knew there was anger in her, whether it was from a past hurt or something else, I didn’t know, but she seemed to tolerate my presence. I trimmed her hedges and pulled the weeds from her garden beds, then she handed me thirty euros. I couldn’t see what she had to do with any of my stupid decisions.

  “I’ve never heard her speak so highly of anyone in my life,” Aileen went on. “What did you say to her?”

  “Nothing,” I replied, wondering where this was going. “I just tended to her garden as promised.”

  “Hmm,” the witch said thoughtfully. “When I was a girl, she frightened off a con man who was doing the rounds of the village. No one suspected a thing, and he almost took off with the life savings of a few residents. Before he left, he decided to tangle with Mrs. Boyle. I never knew what happened, but he ran off with his tail between his legs, and the local constable chasing after him down the road. The next day, everyone got their money back.”

  “What does that have to do with me?” I asked sullenly.

  “Mrs. Boyle has an impeccable eye when it comes to shady characters.”

  “Did I come from there?” I murmured, placing my palms on the earth.

  “Where?” Aileen sounded surprised I’d even asked.

  “The hawthorn…”

  “From the fae realm?” she asked, aghast. “Of course not. Why would you think something like that?”

  I lowered my head, my unruly hair covering my eyes.

  “Boone, like me, you’re human. The only difference is you were born with magic in you. That’s all.”

  My shoulders sank in relief, but my heart was still heavy.

  “There’s more worrying you,” she said.

  “Do you trust me?” I asked straight out.

  “Of course, I do. What kind of question is that?”

  “If you do, then why didn’t you tell me the truth about the hawthorns? You could’ve told me everything, and I wouldn’t have…” I hissed and turned away. “I wouldn’t have forced you to reveal your magic to half the parasites in Ireland.”

  “It is what it is.”

  I couldn’t accept her answers. Everything she said came with ten different meanings. She explained her reasons yet left out everything that mattered, expecting me to be okay with it. Was it a witch trait or something more?

  “Why can I help you?” I asked. “If the hawthorn isn’t strong enough to hide what you did today, then more of the things could turn up.”

  “I’ve been protecting Derrydun for a long time,” she replied. “I know what I need to do, and you… You need to settle and come to terms with who you are before you think about becoming more.”

  “But you said you might not be able to protect the village on your own.”

  “Perhaps not indefinitely, but I won’t allow it to come to that. We are only human under all the supernatural, after all. I won’t force you before you’re ready, Boone.”

  “I’m a full-grown man, yet I feel like a child,” I said sharply. “I don’t belong, I don’t understand, and I don’t remember. I can’t get past it. All these jobs I’ve been doing are just bollocks. A stupid distraction. I’m make-believe, Aileen. Even my name isn’t real.”

  “Bollocks?” Aileen asked with a snort. “Mrs. Boyle can finally see her garden path thanks to you, and she’s a sight friendlier. It’s been a week and counting since she’s chased a child with her broom of doom. Roy values your hard work and likes that he doesn’t have to tell you what to do, that you just do it. The animals flock to you like bees to honey, and that farm has never run smoother. Mary is free to expand her business because you’ve taken over her deliveries and don’t charge her a premium. Everyone at the pub is happier, and all you do is wash dirty plates and glasses. You show Mairead a little kindness every so often, and now she doesn’t hate everything anymore and is nicer to my customers. And Sean McKinnon has been fifty percent less drunk since you’ve become friends.” She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “None of that is bollocks, Boone.”

  I scowled, and she lifted her hand and slapped me on the back of the head.

  “Ow! What was that for?” I rubbed my palm against my skull.

  “You’re being a selfish little toad,” she declared. “Boohoo, you can’t remember your past because someone locked your memories away and threw away the key. Toughen up, Boone. You’re alive, among new friends who actually care, and you’re safe. You made a mistake today. Am I angry? You bet I am, but we’ll get over it. Stop dwelling on the things you can’t change and worry about those you can.” She jabbed a finger toward the village. “Those people matter, and so do you.”

  A wave of nausea swept over me, and I bowed my head. She was right. I’d retreated into myself, and all I could think about was the bad things that had happened to me. I thought I’d tried, but I hadn’t at all.

  “Would you draw another card for me?” I asked, pulling at the grass.

  Aileen placed her hand on mine to stop me destroying her lawn. “I thought you didn’t believe in them.”

  I shrugged. “Perhaps I’m starting to convert.”

  She laughed softly.

  “Will you?”

  “Tomorrow,” she said with a smile. “I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day, don’t you?”

  Eight

  Staring at the giant amethyst cave perched in a glass cabinet inside Irish Moon, I fidgeted nervously. Its energy was doing nothing to calm me, especially when I could see Aileen’s reflection behind it.

  As promised, she’d dragged me into her shop so she could draw me another card from her tarot deck. After the events of the last few days, I wasn’t sure I was ready to see what it said about me. The first card had begun to show its meaning in more ways than I
’d been expecting, and I wasn’t keen on having my misdemeanors shoved into my face yet again.

  “Are you ready, or are you more interested in amethyst?” Aileen called out from behind the counter.

  Sighing, I turned and moved toward her as she shuffled the cards. As I sat beside her, she set the deck on the glass countertop and placed her palm over the cards before sweeping them to the side.

  “You know the drill,” the witch said. “Pick one that calls to you, and we’ll see what it reveals.”

  Reaching out, I allowed my hand to hover over the fanned out cards. The gold foil design on the backs sparkled as I moved until I finally felt my fingers dragged toward one end. Choosing my card, I drew it out and set it face up on the counter.

  The card held the image of an angel with two chalices, a wave of water flowing between the two. The card was upside down this time, whereas the Ten of Swords had been the right orientation.

  “Temperance but reversed,” Aileen said, announcing the name of the card. “Major Arcana this time.”

  “What does it mean?” I asked eagerly. An angel didn’t seem as confronting as a man with ten swords stabbed into his back, and I hoped it was a good sign. I desperately needed one.

  “It can suggest you lack a long-term purpose, and you feel unbalanced because of it,” Aileen replied. “I would say that was fairly accurate, wouldn’t you?”

  Grunting, I nodded.

  “You should probably focus on finding your happy place,” she went on, explaining the meaning behind the card. “Lack of direction and meaning is causing stress and may manifest as impatience, excessiveness, or reckless behaviors. In this instance, balance is the key to finding purpose.” She tilted her head to the side and made a face. “I can attest to the reckless part.”

  Choosing to ignore her and not dredge up yesterday’s misadventure, I asked, “What kind of balance?”

  Aileen shrugged. “It could mean balance in your day to day life, your ability to control and master your abilities, even your greater purpose, or it could be a mixture of them all. It’s hard to say.”

  “So, I should think about the message and what it would mean to my current state of mind?”

  The witch smiled brightly and nodded. “See, you’re finally beginning to get it. Tarot isn’t so bad after all, right?”

  “Temperance is about balance,” I mused aloud. In life, spirit, and my connection with who I was. The shapeshifter, the human, and my new identity as Boone.

  “You’re out of balance now, but it doesn’t mean it’s forever,” Aileen declared.

  “I have to find a purpose,” I said, scratching my chin. “Maybe helping people in the village is what I’m supposed to be doing…”

  “You’re much stronger now,” Aileen said, watching me in that witchy way she had. Like she was seeing my aura or something. “Your confidence is growing. You seem to be forming an identity.”

  I scowled even though I knew she was right. I wasn’t sure if knowing my past would have any effect on who I was now. That man was gone, and all that was left was Boone. He was who I was now. Boone, the jack-of-all-trades, the secret shapeshifter, the mysterious man of Derrydun.

  Aileen protected me, mostly from my own curiosity, but I also fancied I protected her. At least, I could someday.

  “You’ve got today off, don’t you?” she asked. When I nodded, she said, “Then why don’t you go out and take a walk or fly or whatever it is you do. It’s better than sitting in here all day.”

  “I don’t mind.” It was true since the horde of crystals around us were so soothing.

  “I do. You’re cramping my style.”

  Raising an eyebrow, I stared at her.

  “Every time you’re in here and a bus shows up, sales dip,” she explained, shuffling the tarot cards absently. “All the women are too busy fawning over the ruggedly handsome Irishman and not my stock.”

  “Me?” I snorted.

  “Yes, you.” She rolled her eyes, doing her best to hide her laughter. “Get out and have some fun.

  After leaving Aileen, I walked as far as I was able through the forest before doubling back toward Derrydun.

  The tower house loomed over me, and I gazed up at it as if I was seeing it for the first time. I’d flown over it dozens of times, but I’d never really stopped to look at it before now. There was no particular reason for it, but I supposed it was a part of the landscape like the forest or the village.

  Approaching, I felt a tingle in the base of my spine. It might’ve been the thrill of discovery, or it might’ve been something more, there was no way to tell. My senses were kicked into overdrive. It didn’t worry me, so I ventured forward, glad there was something new to be discovered within the boundary of the hawthorns.

  Half of the structure had crumbled, leaving the interior open to the elements. Moss, vines, and grass had grown in every available crack, making it hard to imagine anyone had lived here at all. Further inside, I could see the distinct remains of three floors, and in the far corner, an alcove where spiral stairs had been set into the tower wall.

  Surrounded by trees, it was secluded enough, and as visitors were not allowed to trample over the grounds, its wildness was beautiful. In the distance, I could hear the hum of the village, but it was almost drowned out by the comings and goings of nature. Birds sang, creatures burrowed and foraged, leaves rustled, and trees creaked. The air was close, almost as if a cone of silence had been dropped over the entire ruin, sealing me inside.

  Sitting on the crumbled wall, I stared up at the sky, studying the clouds through a window right at the top. I wondered who used to live here. Ancient graffiti was carved into a stone here and there, but there was nothing left to give me a clue as to who they were.

  A bellow echoed across the hill, the sound bouncing around inside the ruin. My head turned at the call, and I listened. Another sharp yell echoed over the fields, and not even the ruined walls and the strange sound barrier muffled it.

  I could feel surprise, pain, and a tinge of fear… Something was happening, and it wasn’t good.

  Placing my palm against the wall, I gasped as an image flashed before me. I could see it as plain as day. Roy facing off with Bully. Like I was dreaming, it exploded into my mind’s eye. The bull was readying for his charge, and the old man was stuck against the fence with no way out.

  Bursting into a flat-out run, I careened out of the ruins and down the hill toward the farm. Leaping over the drywall, sheep scattered as I passed, bleating their annoyance as my feet pounded on the grass. Vaulting over another fence, I landed on the dirt road that led down to Roy’s house and the pen where he kept the giant bull, creatively named Bully.

  Rounding the house, I saw the top of the bull’s back, but there was no sight of the old man anywhere. Bully lowered his head, the sound of his stamping hooves reaching my ears. It was then I realized I couldn’t see Roy because he was already on the ground. I couldn’t be too late.

  “Boone!” Sean called out in a blind panic. “Stop!”

  Spying Roy through the palings, I ignored Sean’s cry and sprinted across the yard, but I wasn’t fast enough. Bully’s hoof came down hard on Roy’s leg, and the old man bellowed in pain as the bone split. I heard the crack as plain as day, and I sprang into action.

  It seemed I’d stopped thinking a long time ago and had allowed my senses to take over because I did the exact thing Roy—and Aileen for that matter—had warned me not to do. Run head first into danger without thinking.

  Vaulting over the fence, I landed beside Roy and moved between him and Bully. My appearance startled the beast, and he moved backward, lowering his head and showing me his horns.

  Bulls were stubborn creatures, highly temperamental and extremely dangerous if not handled correctly. Roy had taught me you had to show them who was the boss, or they would charge. It was a constant struggle for dominance. I wasn’t sure what’d happened, but Bully had decided he was king of the yard and skewered the old man.

  I
had to bluff my way through this or else Bully would trample us both. I’d heal given enough time, but Roy might never walk again.

  “Boone, get out of here!” Roy cried.

  Ignoring him, I held up my hands, never taking my gaze off Bully. The bull snorted, his eyes rolling, and stamped his forefoot on the ground.

  “Whoa, Bully,” I said soothingly.

  The bull snorted again, his eyes rolling. I wasn’t sure if it was my magic or the affinity I’d created when I first touched his hide all those weeks ago, but I could feel his anger. The air felt hot around him, much like the sensation that overcame me when Aileen used her powers.

  Roy moaned behind me, struggling to drag himself through the mud to the gate. Bully’s attention was drawn to the sound, and I whistled, bringing his eyes back to mine.

  “Eyes on me, Bully,” I said, edging to the side, drawing him away from Roy. The bull followed me, lowering his head and stamping on the ground. “That’s it, you big pile of shite.”

  “Sweet mother of God,” Sean exclaimed. “He’s going to charge ye, Boone! Get outta there!”

  Bully spooked at the sound of Sean’s voice and galloped forward. I had no idea what overcame me at that moment, but I leapt straight for him. One ton of pure muscle and a pair of menacing horns rushed toward me, and time slowed down.

  My fingers hit metal, and I grasped the bullring through his nose. Tugging as hard as I could, I jerked Bully’s head back down. He let out an angry bellow as I slipped under him, my head colliding with his chest and my legs almost trampled in the process.

  Bully came to a halt, snorting and shaking his head, and my boots slipped on the churned mud as I righted myself. We were eye to eye this time, my grip on his bullring the only thing keeping him from bucking and ramming me in the chest.

  “Sean,” I said, still focused on the bull. “Get Roy out of here. Now.”

  I was vaguely aware of the commotion behind me as I stared down the bull. He was looking right at me, his bulging eyes staring right into mine. I felt his anger and pain, the metal pulling on his nose to the point he was in agony, and I let go.