"Maybe so, and if you guys were smart, you'd do the same. Because whatever your friends thought they were accomplishing in killing that girl, what they've actually done is bring the leaders of all of Ireland's factions right here to Galway. They all want to know what the hell is going on in this city, and I don't intend to be here when they get here."
"She's hiding something," Jeff said again still watching me.
"Stop doing that," I hissed. "And I'm not lying about all of the visitors Galway got today. You guys are in way over your head."
"I can't help it," he answered matter-of-factly before turning to Nina. "And I think she was probably telling the truth about that last bit."
"You can help whether you share it with the class."
Jeff shrugged, which wasn't remotely helpful.
"Look," Tate said, standing up beside me to gently touch my elbow, "I don't know what you're running from, but I do know that we're all more powerful together than apart. The witches, the vampires, all of them, they're only stronger because they have each other."
"And, you know, consistently strong abilities that literally make them creatures of myth and legend," Tom adds, not entirely helpfully before taking another sip of his beer.
After looking over my shoulder, I turn back to the group in front of me. "Let's pretend two things, just for a minute. The first, is that I don't think you’re all completely insane. And reckless. And most likely dangerous. The second is that I am running from something. How would you be able to help?"
"What do you mean?" Nina asked.
"You want me to use my connections to help dig you all out of the mess you've made, or to use my powers to help subvert the summit, or whatever. How can you help me in return? Make me an offer?"
To my surprise, Nina's expression twisted from annoyed to amused in the span of a heartbeat. "Well, what is it you need?"
Hmm. Good question. I needed a lot of things, and most of them weren't possible for Nina or anyone else to give me. Unless one of them could somehow control time and convince my past self to keep her mouth shut. But even if that wasn't possible, that didn't mean help was out of the question. There was an opportunity in front of me, and I had every intention of taking as much as I could get from it.
"For tonight, somewhere to hide where I can't be tracked, specifically by witches but the broader the protection, the better. If you can manage that much, and if every single one of you and every person you're connected to swears not to go anywhere near Katie Murphy ever again, we'll call it even for that whole kidnapping thing." I paused for a moment, waiting to see if anyone was prepared to stop me yet, to tell me thanks but no thanks."
"Then, if by tomorrow morning, you've managed your end, I might be able to offer you something a little more valuable. I don't know how it can help, but I can promise it's useful." It being me, who I was and what that meant. It was all kinds of bizarre to consider spilling my secrets to a group of strangers, but since several other people already knew, and they were all already in my city, having a few more witnesses who would notice if I was straight-up murdered in the next few days might help me more than it would help them.
And if in the process, I managed to get somewhere safe for the night ... bonus!
Instead of answering me right away, everyone still at the table, turned to Jeff. "Her intentions are genuine, and she believes what she said."
"Okay," Nina answered for the group, "that's a start. You've got yourself a deal. Let's get out of here. We could all probably use a good night's sleep. We'll figure out next steps in the morning."
Well, that was one problem solved. There were about a dozen left to go, and I knew I was still taking a chance with these people, but it still felt like I'd finally made some real progress.
By burying my head in the sand, avoiding as much of the supernatural world as I could, I'd missed a lot. Too much. It looked like war was brewing on every possible front. It was probably too much to hope that all this would be enough to distract everyone from the news of my rediscovered existence, but for one night at least, I could let myself pretend I was safe.
After paying our tab, I followed Tate and Nina's group out of the pub, doing my best not to look as paranoid as I felt. The witches could have easily made it back to town already, and for all I knew they were already tracking me.
But if that was the case, I was already screwed. Without meaning to, my free hand found the top of my jeans, trailing the edge of the rough material until I connected with the hilt of my gun.
No, I chastised myself, forcing my hand away. We're not there yet.
Where exactly there was, I tried not to think. I wasn't in any way prepared for a shootout against a coven of witches in the middle of Quay Street.
I wasn't prepared for any of this.
If I could give them credit for nothing else, at least my new group of companions were moving quickly, all five of them weaving through the pedestrian street with ease, always casually watching their surroundings, never losing sight of one another. Or of me.
Whoever these people were, I was with them now. For whatever good that would do me.
Apparently, not much.
When the group stopped not at a car, or even a road, but another pub, I had to reconsider exactly what their priorities were.
"Umm, sorry guys, but no time for another pint right now," I said, my gaze moving from person to person in search of any clue about what was happening.
Nina opened the door, ushering the light and music from outside onto the street. "Just follow Tate and try and look like you know what you're doing okay?" She didn't bother waiting for me to answer before passing by me and straight into the building.
With a semi-reassuring nod, Tate did the same. With everyone else still behind me, I did as I'd been told and followed Tate inside.
Unlike the pubs on Galway's main strip, this one hadn't been built with tourists in mind and was far quieter as a result. A few old men in plaid caps sat at the bar, each with his own Guinness and watching a soccer match on the TV overhead.
Only the bartender looked up as we passed. She was a short woman, with round cheeks and dark eyes. Eyes that I could have sworn were watching me, and me alone. I offered her a polite smile, and looked away as quickly as I could.
That was pretty much as good as it was going to get for me pretending like I knew what I was doing.
Our little group made their way past a few more empty tables to the back of the bar. We stopped in front of two near-identical doors. Ladies. And gents.
By that point, I was at least starting to catch on to the fact that there was always way more going on than I was aware. Sure enough, with one last glance over her shoulder, Nina pushed the door open and stepped inside.
I did my best not to look too surprised when Tate did the same a moment later.
"Geronimo," I mumbled under my breath, not bothering to wait and see if anyone heard me. I was too busy trying not to throw up when as soon as my body passed the threshold I was sent tumbling, no, flying forward. The world around me spun, too fast to make out anything at all as it felt like everything, from my teeth to my skin to my soul, were flying off in every possible direction.
Then we stopped. I stopped? I was back in one piece and standing in a large hall that was definitely not the ladies room in a pub or anywhere else.
Tate reached out to steady me as I found my equilibrium again, trying to take in everything around me all at once. Behind me, the sound of a thousand bubbles popping at once filled the air, but I knew if I tried to turn around, I'd likely fall right over.
"Um, what did I miss? What happened? Where are we?"
Tate chuckled as he helped me take off my backpack, setting it with my laptop case against a nearby wall. I was starting to feel a bit more like myself, but was still all kinds of confused. "We're about thirty minutes outside of Galway."
"Was I drugged?"
The popping noise came again from behind me, and this time I turned, just in time to see Jeff ap
pear right beside where Sebastián was standing.
"Teleportation?"
"More or less. It's a rabbit hole," Tate said by way of explanation.
Except, maybe it was the whole being moved from one place to another by magick thing, but I was more confused than ever. "Yeah, I have no idea what that means."
"Really? They're all over England and Ireland. It's one of the quirks of this area, two spots connected that shouldn't be, needing specific requirements to be met in order to function. Nobody knows where they all are, but their existence isn't exactly a secret. Lesser magick, greater magick, everyone knows about them."
Tate was watching me like he was expecting some sort of explanation about why I'd be in the dark about something apparently so basic, but I wasn't ready to have that conversation with him or anyone else. Off in the distance, I could hear the soft murmur of conversation, which was as good an excuse as any to change the subject. "There are other people here?"
Nina stepped in. "We can worry about all of that tomorrow. We promised you somewhere safe for the night, and that's what you'll get. Grab your bags, and I'll find somewhere for you to bunk down for the night."
"You're trying to get rid of me."
Nina half-shrugged, but she didn't argue. "A deal's a deal, right? There are some people here who might not love the idea of a surprise houseguest that none of us have met before. I'd rather get things settled with you ..."
"Out of the way?" I guessed, leaning over to pick up my backpack all over again. How much longer would I have to lug this thing around the city?
At least my laptop bag offered a decent counterbalance as I held it in two hands, hanging in front of me as I followed Nina up a wide set of stone steps a few minutes later. Wherever we were, it didn't look like any house in Galway I'd ever seen before. Everything, from the furniture to the art, was modern and stylish, but the bones of the building were clearly far older. Not that that was saying much. There were easily hundreds of buildings across Ireland that were steeped in history that had been decorated with the trappings of today. But no matter how you dressed these buildings up, they could never really shake their history.
It was only once Nina and I made it to the top of the stairs and stepped into a corridor that was probably three times as long as my entire apartment building, that I began to suspect this wasn't any old building.
"This is a castle?" I asked, quickening my pace until I caught up with my de facto tour guide. "Which one?" Property by property, my mind raced through all the grand buildings I could remember seeing in the county.
"Welcome to Castle Elegan," Nina answered back, turning to smile at me just as she stopped in front of the last in a long series of closed doors. "This room’s free, so unless you have any objections, I'll leave you here for the night. There's an en suite and towels if you need them." She opened the door but didn't step inside, leaving me to go first.
One look around the room was all the convincing I needed that I'd been going about things the wrong way this whole time, living in a flat in the city. A king-sized bed sat in the middle of the room with a nearly ice-blue blanket draped over top. Rows of bookshelves lined an entire wall, on the opposite side of the room was an overstuffed armchair, a dresser with a flat-screen, and a door that presumably led to the bathroom. A desk and a full-length mirror made up the rest of the furniture. More than enough to keep me happy.
Nina said goodnight, leaving me to enjoy the facilities and promising to collect me in the morning. As soon as the door clicked shut behind me, I dropped my bags to the floor, clicked the lock in place then sprawled out on the bed, waving my arms and legs around as though I was making a snow angel.
Damn, it felt good to be somewhere warm and quiet.
However, no matter how much I wanted to enjoy my temporary accommodations, as soon as I peeled off my clothing and climbed into the shower, the events of the last day started to catch up with me. Waves of exhaustion rocked my body, forcing me to finish my shower as quickly as possible.
Ten minutes later, I was still awake enough to appreciate the small amount of comfort of sliding into a bed with clean sheets, wearing my own pajamas, in a room I could lock tight. I'd made it through another day. The bed was comfortable. Tate, Nina, and the others seemed decent enough. And I was in a freaking castle.
And sure, I wasn't totally convinced that I could trust the people I'd met, but as my eyes started to droop closed, I was more than happy to latch on to whatever comfort I could find.
Chapter 15
All around me, people were talking over one another, most seemed friendly enough while others seemed to be on the edge of arguing with one another. I was just trying to eat my porridge.
I’d woken up that morning clearheaded and well-rested, feeling confident in my choice to align myself with the people here, whoever they were, but my resolve was shattering by the second.
Spooning another bite into my mouth, I tried to consider my options. The problem was, I didn’t really have any. A look out of the window in my room this morning showed nothing but green for as far as I could see. Even taking Nina at her word that we were still close to the city, I didn’t actually know where I was. When Tate had come to show me where I could find breakfast, we’d walked past the same front hall where we’d appeared the night before. The massive front door had been open to the driveway, and I hadn’t been able to find anything that looked like it might be a doorway back to the pub.
Until someone was willing to drive me home, I was stuck in this place. And home was another problem all together.
My phone was quickly filling with unreturned messages from Taya. Where was I? Was I okay? She really was sorry? And oh yeah, where was I?
The only break in her badgering was another message from Ethan, checking in again to see if I was okay. This time around, I made myself respond, not sharing too much but at least giving him something resembling an all clear. He’d been helpful to me, nice even. If he’d been human, and just some guy I met at a pub, he’d be someone I’d want to spend more time with. Against my better judgement, I liked him and knew he’d deserved some kind of answer.
But when it came down to it, he was still one of them. And I didn’t know for sure how involved he was with the idea to out some of the lesser magicks to the humans, just to see what would happen.
So where did that leave me? Wolves and witches lurked in Galway, and they knew who I was. The vampires and fae should have arrived by then as well, and there was a very good chance they’d been filled in on all the big news. Someone had tried to kidnap the Alphas daughter; the same people may have killed one of the fae to prove a point. And that child of prophecy from a million years ago? Oh yeah, she’s here too.
My throat going dry, I took a long sip of juice to try and force the rest of my food down. It was the first time I’d considered how my involvement was going to look. The factions learned of my whereabouts right when everything else started happening. Sure, I’d been here all along, but even I could admit the whole thing was a little strange.
"Are you alright?"
It took me a long moment to pull myself back out of my own head and remember where I was, and what had gotten me there in the first place. Beside me sat a man with nearly white hair, though he only looked to be in his forties or so. His brown eyes, etched with concern, studied me "Sorry?"
"I don't mean to bother you, but you looked worried and I wanted to see if I could do anything to help. You've just arrived?"
"Last night. It's been a weird few days. I'm Melanie."
"Patrick. It's a pleasure to meet you. And I know exactly what you mean. Not three days ago I was back home in Glasgow, enjoying a pint with a couple of friends when I got a text saying I should hop on a plane and head to Galway."
"For what exactly?" I asked. "I'm not sure I totally understand what everyone is doing here."
"That's a good question. I suspect that everyone here will give you a different answer. We’ve all been hearing rumors for months now about t
he summit, what it means for anyone with a drop of supernatural blood, and then what it could mean for those of us who aren’t part of the factions. Me? I was mostly curious. Faction leaders are going to be coming to Ireland from all over the continent. An event like that is practically unprecedented. I thought maybe if we could learn a little more about what to expect, we could find a way to get a seat at the table, have our voices heard.”
“That all sounds really nice,” I countered, running my finger around the rim of my near empty bowl, “but from what I’ve seen so far here, you people are thinking a little bigger than that. The kidnapping, the fae girl, that’s all a little bigger than just wanting information or a vote in what happens to all of us.”
“I heard about that,” Patrick said, shaking his head. “It’s a damn shame. And reckless to boot.”
“And, you know, murder.”
Patrick scratched at the stubble on his chin. “That too.”
“Do you know who did it?” I asked, my eyes leaving Patrick's to scan the still full dining room. The only people I knew were Jeff and Sebastián, and now Patrick. But there were at least ten more people eating and chatting. People who had come from all over on short notice to do what exactly?
"No. I don't. And I'd like to keep it that way. I'm not looking to hurt anyone, and I would hope most people here feel the same way. But if there truly is a war coming, then we're going to need people who are willing to get their hands dirty to keep us safe. If that's not you, I can absolutely respect that. I admire it even, but that doesn't mean we don't need the other kind of people too."
"You can't mean that ..." I said after making my best attempt at wiping the look of disgust off my face.
"Do you see that man over there? Black hair, mid-thirties, gray sweater?" I nodded as a lump formed in my throat. "That's Eugene Taylor. The woman beside him with the long brown hair is his wife, Michelle. Eugene is an empath, and not even a very good one. He and his family have lived among humans their whole lives. That's how he met Michelle." That much I'd been able to see for myself. Everyone else in the room was followed by a distinct, colorful mist, labeling them as possessing lesser magicks, at least to my eyes.
Magic in my Bones (Lesser Magicks Book 1) Page 11