* * *
Eight minutes later…
“Perfect!” Cailean shouted and stood up with the spell, “Alright everybody, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”
Brian raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “Great words of encouragement.”
“Oh, shush and watch me become your hero,” said Cailean with a crooked smile.
Cailean searched around the room for dirt or dust, but the room was spotless. Frustrated, Cailean yelled out to Remus, “Do you have to keep such a tidy palace? By the grace of the gods, Remus, no other royal is as clean as you.”
Remus chuckled at his friend’s frustration, “Well not all of us can be as flawed and filthy as you, Cail.”
Cailean unsheathed his dagger and chipped away at the stone walls. He moved to each corner of the room, removing small pieces of wall.
Aghast, Remus shouted out, “Cailean, what in Hades are you doing to my walls?”
“I need something from each corner of the room for the spell to work and since you have no dirt, this will do nicely.” Cailean put away his dagger after digging out a small portion of the fourth wall. “Should have kept a messier house, Rem” Cailean muttered with a grin as he passed Remus.
Cailean moved to the center of the room with the spell and the four tiny chunks of wall in hand. He shook the pieces nervously in the same motion one would shake a pair of dice.
“Alright, I can do this,” Cailean said, looking at his brother and psychically saying ‘I hope this bloody works.’
Cailean stood with his feet shoulder width apart to steady himself. He was not positive how the spell would react, if it worked at all. He took a deep breath, held out his right hand with the stones and recited the spell. The paper fell from his hand as he closed his eyes. He worked so intently to get the words perfect that he knew it by heart.
“Am seasmhach anois, a ligean ar deighilt am...”As Cailean performed the spell the stone pieces trembled in his hands. Faint gold light circled the stones as they floated into the air. “… Camadh ár mbraighdeanas a bheachtú tríocha.”
As soon as he finished the incantation, the four stone pieces rose above his head and each soared to a different corner of the room. The stones whistled through the air and gold light trailed behind them, enveloping the room. Each stone piece traveled to the corner from which it had been carved and blasted a small hole in the wall.
When the gold light subsided, smoke poured out of the tiny holes created by the shards. One soldier walked over to get a closer look and touched the small crevice. He yelped in pain and wrenched his hand back, shaking it as the singed skin begged for cool air. The hole was smoldering hot. His fellow comrades roared in laughter and shouted different insults: “Are you blind, Cornelius? Did you not see the smoke?” “My own mother could handle pain better!” “Nice yelp, Corn! Didn’t know you were part dog.”
“Easy, men. Cornelius, are you alright?” Remus asked the young soldier. “Go see one of the Gaels and they’ll heal your hand. We don’t need a soldier wounded because he was too curious for his own good.” The soldiers laughed louder as even their king jested at Cornelius’ expense.
Cailean still stood with his hand held out. Breathing shallow with a look of shock on his face as Brian walked up to him.
Brian gripped his brother’s shoulder firmly. “Cail? You alright?”
“Ummm, I think so…”
“Well you don’t appear to be injured. Maybe its mental shock that you pulled off a complicated spell without it backfiring,” Brian laughed, tightening his grip in approval.
Remus rushed over to the two brothers. “Did it work? I promise, Cail, if it worked and we survive this battle I will make you and Brian here the richest men in any kingdom.”
“Let’s gander out the window shall we?” Brian pointed to the massive windows.
The three men rushed to the nearest window. It was so high up they had to push one of the long oak tables underneath it to stand on. Despite all three being over six feet, they were barely tall enough to peer through the stained glass.
Other soldiers around the room did the same, desperate to see if the spell worked. The men looked like little boys spying as they strained their necks to see out the window.
“What exactly are we looking for?” asked Remus.
Cailean nervously prayed for any evidence. “Well, time in here is moving thirty minutes to every day out there. Which means…” Cailean scrunched his forehead.
“Don’t try and do math little brother. It’s not your strong suit,” Brian poked fun at Cailean’s painful expression.
Cailean jabbed an elbow into Brian’s ribs. “I don’t see you answering his questions.”
“Look at the bird! And the trees!” Remus shouted, ignoring the brothers’ quarrel.
A bird flew so fast across the sky it was nearly impossible to follow. It zipped across the skyline as a colorful blur of royal blue and yellow. The tall pine trees that used to dance in the wind now rocked back and forth as if waving at the childlike men.
Remus and the o’Conaills jumped down from the tables, smiles stretched tightly across their faces. “Congratulations, Cail! Looks like your spell is a success,” Remus beamed as he patted Cailean’s back.
“Yes, indeed. Congratulations. You gave us a fighting chance,” Brian said proudly.
The soldiers followed their leaders in thanking Cailean. They took turns walking up to shake his hand, pat his back, and bow their heads in respect. Cailean humbly thanked them for their gesture, but inside his inner child performed summersaults.
Remus walked over to the throne room doors and placed his hand in the middle where the two doors met.
From behind him, Brian eyed him suspiciously and asked, “What are you thinking Remus?”
“I am thinking there is one more spell we can try.” Remus looked determined.
“Do tell,” the brothers curiously said in unison.
“The connection my brother and I share. Since we can feel what the other feels, I believe we might be able to share thoughts as well, or at least view the same thoughts together.”
“What do you mean?” Brian asked cautiously.
“I mean that with your help I might be able to reach Romulus one last time. Instead of just dredging up old emotions through talking, I can make him remember with me,” Remus explained and pointed to his head.
“You were able to feel what the other felt because your hands were in the same place at the same time. In order to accomplish what you are talking about, the two of you need to be in the exact same place. Neither of you could move for this to work. And with the time spell Cailean casted, you would be trapping Romulus for hours to your minutes,” explained Brian, unsure if the spell would work or be worth the pain it would cause his friend.
“We could immobilize them both, “Cailean added, “by holding Remus against the spot of the wall where Romulus stands with a simple binding spell.”
“Brian, we have to try everything we can. Our people are all in jeopardy here,” Remus pleaded. “If we spare any lives today, it is worth it.”
“I agree with Remus. It would be a shame to let anything happen to that pretty face of yours,” Cailean said and lightly tapped Brian’s cheek.
Brian shook his brother off. “If you want to go through that emotional toll, I will help.”
Smiling, Remus clapped his hands loudly and rubbed them together. “Let’s have a go, shall we?”
The Phoinix: Age of Demigods Page 20