“A fresh start.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I still have Dad’s beach house, though.”
“So a reason to come back.” He smiled, clearly thinking there was a chance.
There was something that hadn’t occurred to me. What happened after the battle to end all battles? What if it never came in my lifetime? What if I were eighty and with a walking frame when I stood on the frontline against Carman? I would have to rock up on my mobility scooter with a crocheted rug over my knee to save Ireland’s magical people from annihilation. Good luck with that.
The more I thought about it, the more I wasn’t sure what my future held anymore. My destiny was with the Crescents…or was it? Was I bound completely to the survival of magic, or did I have a choice? What if there were no more of us left? Would some other coven step up and take the baton and fight Carman? I didn’t even know if there were any other witches out there.
As far as I knew, I was alone in this. Alone and without anyone else but Boone to confide in. Robert O’Keefe, the leprechaun lawyer, didn’t count because he’d disappeared over the rainbow after Aileen’s funeral and hadn’t come back.
Alex represented a normal life. One without fear of death or monsters.
Boone, on the other hand, was part of the life that wanted to kill me.
That was the choice Alex’s reappearance had thrown in front of me, for better or worse.
“So how long are you staying here?” I asked.
“Dunno. Depends. Is your boyfriend going to chase me out of town with a pitchfork?”
“For your information, he might work on a farm, but he’s not a yokel.”
Alex snickered, clearly not impressed. He was a city person, so it wasn’t any surprise when he didn’t understand.
Returning to the main street, I saw Sean McKinnon lingering outside of Molly McCreedy’s and held Alex back. The last thing I needed was for Sean to see us together and start ranting. When he went into the pub, I moved off again.
“So what’s so special about this town?” Alex asked as we passed the handicrafts store. “And why is there a tree growing in the middle of the road?”
“That’s a hawthorn,” I said. “It’s a sacred tree here. They’re said to guard the doorways into the realm of the fair folk.”
“The fair who?”
“Fairies,” I replied. “The Irish can be superstitious, so they won’t cut down a hawthorn tree, no matter where it grows.”
“But in the middle of the road?”
“Even in the middle of the road.”
I pointed out the various stores and locals as we walked the length of the village center. “There’s Mary’s Teahouse, which is owned by Mary Donnelly, a lovely old lady who makes the best scones with clotted cream you’ll ever taste. That’s the pub, Molly McCreedy’s. It’s covered in Virginia creeper and dates back hundreds of years. Up the street is a little service station, and see those traffic lights? No one ever pays any attention to them. Red, green, whatever.”
“There’s never any accidents?”
“Not that I’ve seen. The drivers here are mental, but they know courtesy.” Pointing to the coach bay, I continued, “There’s a pretty stream down behind the car park, and see that low fence just there? That’s where Fergus sits with his dog and donkey, weaving crosses of St. Brigid out of rushes for the tourists. His dog sits on the donkey’s back. You would never believe the amount of money he rakes in even if I told you.”
“A dog riding a donkey?” Alex scratched his head, looking bewildered. “This place sure does sound…interesting.”
“There’s a ruined tower house up on the hill that was supposedly where one of my ancestors lived.” I pointed over the top of Irish Moon where the top of the tower could be spotted over the trees even though the sun was almost completely set by now. “It dates back at least five hundred years.”
“Cool.” He scuffed his toe against the crack in the footpath. “So…you’re happy here?”
I shrugged. I had a lot on my plate I couldn’t talk about, but I suppose I was happy enough.
“You sounded happy just now, talking about the donkey and the ruins and the traffic lights.”
“Alex…”
“I’m going to stick around for a few days,” he declared. “Get to know this place, boyfriend be damned.”
“Boyfriend be damned?” I repeated, making a face.
“If you want to stay here, then I’m going to make sure it’s right for you.” He glanced up at the sky, then checked his watch. “It’s getting late. You’d better go home to checkers.”
“Checkers?” I snorted, knowing he was taking a dig at Boone’s choice of shirt. Red and black checks were his, but not Alex’s, thing. “I wouldn’t call him that to his face.”
“I know. I get the feeling he might punch mine in.”
I wasn’t going to argue with that. I’d never seen Boone’s face that shade of red before.
“Don’t let me keep you here,” I said in an attempt to discourage him.
“See you tomorrow, Skye.” He gave me a little wave and practically skipped over the street to where a lone car was parked by Mary’s Teahouse.
Knowing trouble was brewing and not comforted by the fact that magic had nothing to do with it, I legged it down the street and disappeared around the back of Irish Moon.
But when I got back to the cottage, Boone wasn’t there.
Chapter 5
It was a somber mood at Molly McCreedy’s the next night.
After an entire day at the shop with no visit from Boone, I went to have a drink to drown my sorrows, but mostly I went so I could get a decent meal in lieu of the Iron Chef’s disappearance.
I was sitting at the bar, picking at the remaining chips on my plate, when someone sat next to me. Assuming it was Sean McKinnon, whose favorite pastime was riling me up whenever I was there, I turned to give him a piece of my mind but found Alex instead.
“Hey,” he said like nothing was amiss. “I drove over to Sligo today. There’s some good food over that way, and I saw their football team practicing. I’ve never been into soccer, but it was cool to watch them run through their drills. Hey, have you tried Guinness before? Man, that’s a complicated drink. You need to be a rocket scientist to pour a pint.”
“No one drinks Guinness here just like no one drinks Fosters back home.”
When he realized I was glaring at him, he paused. “What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me,” I retorted.
“Bad day?”
“You’re seriously asking me if I had a bad day?” I wanted to slap him one, but he knew exactly what he was doing. Alex might be a ‘good guy,’ but he knew how to work a situation to his advantage. Playing dumb was one of his go-to tactics.
“Yeah?”
“Everyone knows why you’re here,” I declared. “The whole village is talking about how you want to win me back. You want to know whose side they’re on? It’s not yours.” And it wasn’t mine. Even though the villagers had accepted me into their weird and colorful world, they would still choose Boone over me any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
He glanced around the pub and shrugged.
“I went to Mary’s for breakfast this morning, and she gave me a speech about fool men like you. Then I ran into Roy from the farm just outside of the village, who told me this crazy story about a bull and a heifer that was slightly offensive if you ask me. Then Father O’Donegal started reading me bible versus when I went to get lunch. And Mrs. Boyle brandished her broomstick at me menacingly as I walked back to the shop! I thought she was going to whack me over the head with it!”
Alex listened to my tirade with a smirk on his face. “Who’s Mrs. Boyle?”
“Who’s…” I made a face. “She’s the menace of Main Street! She’ll chase you for a mile if you give her half a chance! Usually, her main target is school children, but she wanted a bigger fish to fry today, thanks to you.”
“You know, if you wanted me to, I w
ould move here,” he said, keeping his voice low. “If that’s what you wanted.”
I dropped the chip I’d just picked up and stared at him. “Have you hit your head or something?”
“Skye, I made a mistake…”
This was not happening. This had better not be one of those power of three law things I saw in that TV show Charmed. What you put out comes back at you times three. Was that a real-life witch thing? Oh, shit, the Three of Swords! The universe was going to serve me three awful cans full of middle-finger salutes. That was what the card was warning me about.
“Hey!”
My heart leaped at the sound Boone’s voice behind us. I turned, hoping he hadn’t heard the last thing Alex had said to me, but from the look of pure anger on his rugged Irish face, I had more chance of seeing a pig fly backward and upside down singing ‘Kumbaya’ while doing laps around a campfire.
“Boone,” I said, sliding off the stool. “Let me explain…”
“Explain what?” he asked, glaring at Alex, who’d stood beside me. “I heard plenty.”
“I don’t know why you bother with this guy, Skye. Since I arrived, all I’ve ever seen him do is disrespect you. You deserve better.” He grasped my arm to get my attention. “Let me make it up to you, and you’ll see. I should never have let you go.”
“You’re mad!” I exclaimed. “I said no, Alex.”
“I should’ve taken bets,” Sean McKinnon declared from the other end of the bar. “Two to one for Boone.”
“Shut up!” I screeched at him.
“Bualfidh mé an cac asat!” Boone exclaimed, glaring daggers at Alex.
“What does that mean?” I cried.
“It means he’s goin’ to kick his ass,” Sean replied. “Two to one for the Irish.”
Like the farmer had shouted the word go, Boone launched himself at Alex, fists flying. His knuckles smacked into my ex’s face with a crack, and my mouth fell open in shock as I stumbled out of the way, my plate of remaining chips forgotten.
Alex’s head snapped to the side, but he recovered quickly. Before Boone could duck, he was punched in the nose, then Alex rammed his shoulder into his guts, and they fell to the ground, sending a table and chairs flying. They began wrestling, both their faces red with anger as they tried to get shots in.
I’d never seen Boone raise his hand to anyone other than the craglorn and the wolf, and it was shocking to see him brawling with my ex-boyfriend. Alex I’d seen get into punch-ups on the footy oval but not bar fights, and especially, not over me. I wasn’t that special! I was just a smart-mouthed witch with a crystal shop on the ass cheek of Ireland, not some bloody supermodel siren with a trust fund and a private plane. That I could believe.
“Stop it!” I yelled. “Get off…” I kicked Boone up the ass, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“Stand back, Skye,” Sean declared. “I’ll help you!”
The farmer wobbled over to the thrashing men, stood over the pair, and tipped his beer all over them. The liquid hit, but it did nothing to stop the fight.
“What did you think half a pint of beer was going to do?” I exclaimed.
He shrugged and went on watching the pair with amusement. “I told you. Two to one!”
I flailed helplessly, not sure what to do. No one else was stepping up to break the two morons apart before they tore the pub to shreds. Boone was on top with his fist about to slam into Alex’s eye when I felt a telltale buzz in the air. Magic. Boone was using his magic to get the upper hand. I couldn’t believe him!
Reaching behind the bar, I found the hose Maggie used to make drinks with. The one with carbonated water. Pointing it at the two men, I fired. There wasn’t much oomph behind the jet of water, but it did the trick.
Soaking the pair of buffoons within an inch of their lives, they broke apart, cursing loudly. Boone in Irish, and Alex in plain old English.
“Stop it!” I yelled, dropping the hose. “You’re fighting like children!” Shoving Alex away, I grabbed Boone’s arm and began dragging him away. “Get outside.”
“Oh, he’s in trouble,” Sean said with glee. “Um ah!”
Shoving the door open, I towed Boone out into the night, closing off the commotion inside Molly McCreedy’s. Dragging him all the way underneath the hawthorn in the middle of the road, I began blasting him.
“I can’t believe you! You used your power against him!”
Boone’s scowl deepened, and he glanced away, rubbing the back of his hand over his bloodied nose.
“He might be a dick, but he’s still a human. You fought dirty.”
“He’s musclin’ in on you!”
“And I told him no!” I said, seething and seeing a healthy dose of red. “You’re always telling me off for using my magic away from the hawthorns. Only under the branches, you say! Not one inch outside or you’ll attract a craglorn, you say! And what do you do?”
“Our magic doesn’t work the same way,” he argued. “I’m not as powerful as you.”
“Seriously? You want to measure the size of our magical dicks now? Is that what this is really about?”
“No!” he shouted. “It’s about him stealin’ you away from me!”
“So you punch him in the face with your magic?” I snorted. “That’s not the point, and you know it. You were one step away from changing completely, weren’t you?”
He glared and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Ugh,” I declared, throwing my hands up into the air. “By the way, I said cock sandwich the other night. Cock as in dick. More specifically, yours.”
He paled before pouting and turning away.
“I can’t even look at you,” I said, roaring in frustration.
“Then don’t,” he snapped, turning on his heel.
“Boone!” I called out as he strode away into the darkness.
He didn’t listen. Powering right past Molly McCreedy’s, he disappeared around the back where a moment later, I caught a flash of white taking off into the sky.
Typical. He’d flown away rather than take responsibility for his actions. There was more going on here than just Alex, but hell, if I knew, when he wouldn’t tell me.
Walking back to the pub, I leaned against the wall and seethed, not quite ready to go inside and face the destruction. What was happening to us? We were supposed to be a team. We’d saved each other’s lives…
The light overhead dulled the street around me, making the night even darker. The only thing I had to fear around here were magical creatures looking for a feed, but I was aware of those things more and more, so I wasn’t bothered. Wasn’t it ironic that, as it turned out, it was humans I had to be wary of?
The door opened, revealing a disheveled Alex, and I rolled my eyes. Being stuck in the middle was the worst. Was this one of those annoying love triangles? Unlikely, I would have to want both men for our powers to combine or some stupid thing.
“I’m sorry,” Alex said sheepishly. “I shouldn’t have egged him on like that.”
Narrowing my eyes, I retorted, “No, you shouldn’t have.”
“You’re right about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“This town is nuts.” He laughed, not bothered he’d gotten into a fight at all.
“You’re going to have a black eye,” I declared out of spite.
“A real shiner.”
“Good.”
This was becoming a real pain in my backside. Alex being here had been a real blast from the past, but he just wasn’t getting it. We were over, and nothing he or I did could turn back the dial and bring my mother back from the dead. That was the only way I would be free of the Crescents and able to live my own life. The problem with that was I didn’t want to go back. Not after seeing the things I’d seen, and especially, not after knowing Boone. Not the Boone from tonight, the Boone who’d pledged himself to the Crescent Witches. The Boone who’d kissed me by that spring after saving my life. The Boone who’d given me his heart.
“A
lex, it’s nice to see you and everything, but I’m with Boone now.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
I sighed, hoping he would take the hint and back down for all our sakes. Nothing was going to change even if I wanted it to. Which I didn’t.
“But that’s just for now,” he said with a wicked smile.
“Alex…”
“Oh, and don’t worry about cleaning up inside. I took care of it. Unlike your boyfriend, who just left you standing out here in the dark on your own.” He rolled his eyes. “He’s a real catch, Williams.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m one of your football buddies.”
“You know, that’s what I love about you most, Skye. You don’t bullshit. You just say it like it is.”
I tensed at the word love. “You should go home, Alex. Go home, and find some nice girl who you don’t have to fruitlessly convince to love you. How’s that for telling it like it is?”
He smiled, my barb bouncing right off him. “I’m not ready to give up on us yet. We were amazing together. I’m sorry, I let you go, and I promise to make it up to you. You can trust me again, Skye. You’ll see.”
Leaning against the wall with a groan as he sauntered off into the night to find his car, I cursed the day the Crescents called me home. This wasn’t in the witchy handbook. Not one scrap.
I continued to sulk on my own, but Maggie appeared, forcing me to wipe the sullen expression off my face.
“Skye! What the bleepin’ hell is goin’ on?” she exclaimed. “I go on me break for ten minutes, and the place falls apart. Then Sean tells me Boone punched that Australian moron in the face?”
“If anything’s broken, I’ll get it fixed.” I snorted and rubbed my eyes, not giving a stuff if I smeared my mascara.
“Don’t worry about that,” she said, waving her hand at me. “What about you? You don’t still love him do you?”
Crescent Prophecy Page 4