by Jamie Davis
The team moved over to the door as the man unlocked it and then stood back as Gibbie pulled it open and held it for them to enter. The ladies nodded to the man in greeting as they passed him and stood inside the entrance. Once Kristof, Gibbie, and Dean entered, Gibbie introduced them all.
“Dean, this is Dougie, proprietor of The Irish Shop.”
Dean stuck out his hand, and the shop-owner shook it. “I’m surprised,” Dean said. “I expected, uh…”
“Someone shorter, perhaps?” responded the man, his thick Irish brogue evident right away. “I know, I’m not what you’d expect from a leprechaun. I’m half human, and that is the half that decided to show up in my size. Believe me, I hear it all the time from my full-blooded brothers and sisters.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Dean said. “Seriously, no offense.” He held his hands up in surrender.
“Don’t you be worrying about it,” Dougie said. “It’s not like it’s something I haven’t heard before.” He turned to look at Gibbie. “What happened at the Barrens? I saw a brief something on the news last night, but the coverage wasn’t much. I figured it was being covered up to keep away from human eyes.”
“It’s bad, Dougie, bad, bad, bad,” Gibbie said, shaking this head. “The whole neighborhood is a total loss, and there are a lot of bad injuries. Plus, we haven’t accounted for everyone yet either. No one is sure how many dead there are.”
“That’s not good,” Dougie said. “I heard through the grapevine that it was another attack by those human thugs.” He looked briefly at Dean. “No offense intended.”
“None taken,” Dean replied.
Gibbie continued. “We saw a lot of things tonight, bad things. Dean here thought it might be a good idea for us to sit and talk about it a little bit before we all went home for the night. I thought sitting in an Irish pub like Mulligan’s over breakfast might be a good change of pace.”
“I suppose it might be at that,” Dougie said, smiling. “A bit of the Irish morning sunshine can brighten any soul. Alright, follow me.”
The large half-leprechaun led the group back to the rear of the shop. They went behind the sales counter to the back of the store and into the storage area for the store out front. There were shelves lining the walls with all sorts of knickknacks, and boxes stacked everywhere. The most notable thing in the room was the large, bright green door set in one wall. It was the sort of green that was the color of new grass shoots coming up in the spring. It was also hard to stare at for any length of time. Dean found he couldn’t look right at the door for long without seeing it sort of waver or move, with a haze coming over it like you saw on a distant highway when it was baked with sunlight on a hot day. Dougie took a large iron key from his pocket and inserted it into the keyhole below the door’s antique white porcelain knob. Turning the lock, he removed the key and handed it to Gibbie.
“When you come back, Gibson, leave the key on the counter by the cash register and make sure the door latches out front when you leave,” Dougie said. “I’m going back to bed. I’m not a creature of the night as you are.”
The team members all murmured their thanks as the shop’s proprietor left them standing there. Then they all stood back as Gibbie pulled the door open. On the other side was a small room with a worn hardwood floor. On the other side of the small wooden room, there was a plain, six-panel wood door set in the far wall. Gibbie gestured for them to enter and he came in behind them, closing the green door. He then worked his way through the group to the front as they all waited for what was next. Gibbie grabbed the handle of the other door, smiled at them all and opened it.
Dean’s eye’s widened in surprise. He wasn’t sure what he expected to see, but it wasn’t a bustling pub common room with sunlight streaming in the windows at the far side of the room. As they went through the door and closed it behind them, a woman with an apron tied around her waist walked by with a tray of food. It smelled delicious. She looked at them in passing and gave a smile.
“Just take a seat anywhere, folks,” she said. “We don’t stand on formality here at Mulligan’s.” Obviously, she was used to people coming in through that entrance. Gibbie led them to a table away from the windows and the bright sunlight shining through them. That direct sunshine would be painful, if not fatal to the frumpy vampire. Gibbie took a seat at the back of the table, settling into the shadows against the wall. The other five sat down around the rest of the seats at the round table with him.
“This is nice,” Marian said. “I didn’t know this was here.”
“It’s not technically ‘here’ in Elk City,” Gibbie explained. “We’re in Dublin.”
Dean looked around and soaked up the old-world aura all around him. This was what he would think of, if he were to picture an Irish pub or restaurant. The name of John Mulligan was painted on one wall near the ceiling next to the bar. The place was full of people, and he could hear the Irish brogue in the English spoken all around him. There were people seated at the bar eating, as well as at the tables along the wall where they sat. He was still looking around when the cheerful waitress came back; this time empty handed. She looked at the group of them.
“Americans?” she asked. They nodded. “I’m Wendi. We are always happy when Dougie sends his friends over to visit us. When you go back though, make sure you tell him not to be such a stranger.” She winked at them. “Now what can I get for you?”
Gibbie spoke up before the others could answer. “Wendi dear, my friends will all have the full Irish breakfast. I’ll have a nice cup of hot tea.”
Wendi looked him over and leaned forward so as not to be overheard. “We have several blood types on the menu if you’d like, sir. Unless I miss my guess, that might be more to your tastes.”
“That’s alright, I’m not that hungry,” Gibbie said. “Just the tea is fine.”
“Suit yourself,” she said. “I just don’t like sending anyone away from here hungry, that’s all. I’ll be right back with your breakfasts. Tea all around for the rest of you, too, or would you prefer coffee? Our barista is quite accomplished. Better than that overpriced Starbucks stuff.”
“I think coffee would be nice,” Dean said. Wendi nodded and went back to the kitchen to get their orders started. He would have to remember this place. Maybe he could bring Ashley here sometime when things calmed down. He looked around at the CERT team. He was happy to see they seemed much more relaxed. This change of pace had been a perfect choice. Gibbie had been right, and Dean would have to remember to tell him that later. He let the small talk continue, listening as the twins shared their thoughts on the best local Elk City night spots for young adults while Marian listened, perched on the edge of her seat, as usual. He caught Gibbie’s eye at one point and nodded his approval. The vampire returned his grin.
It didn’t take too long for Wendi to return with their breakfasts. Each of them got a plate full of food including two fried eggs, pork sausages, fried potato hash, and toast. When the plate was set in front of him, Dean’s stomach growled loud enough for the others to hear.
“Someone’s hungry,” Wendi said with a laugh. “There’s more where that came from, so eat up. We don’t like to send anyone away without a full belly.” She set the steaming coffee cups in front of each of them and left a small bowl full of sugar and sweetener packets, along with a small white pitcher of fresh cream.
They all dug into their plates as soon as the waitress left. Gibbie sipped his tea and watched as the others devoured the food in front of them. Dean knew that nothing made him hungrier than a long stressful shift of high-energy calls. They all had burned through their reserves that night, and the food was recharging them while he watched. He let them settle into some normal conversations as they ate. They chatted about life in general until their plates were empty. Dean decided it was time to debrief them and talk about the events of the fire.
“I’m glad you’re feeling a little better,” Dean said. “The addition of some calories back to your systems, as
well as some fluids, is healing. That’s normal. It’s also normal to have some residual bad feelings, or sad thoughts about what you all saw tonight at the Barrens. Gibbie is a bit older than the rest of us, and he has seen the most so I’ll ask him to go first and share his thoughts and feelings. You don’t all have to take a turn - but it helps, I assure you.” Dean looked to Gibbie and the vampire nodded.
“I am not new to death and dying,” Gibbie began. “I am a vampire and, on top of that, I’m more than four hundred-years-old. I’ve seen people die in a variety of ways, from illness and disease, as well as from injury. Saying that, though, I have to say that tonight is one of the more horrific things I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s because fire is one of the few things a vampire has to be afraid of, or maybe it’s because the smell of burned flesh seems to stick with you for a long time. All I know is, what I’ve seen tonight will stay with me for a while.”
“Thanks, Gibbie,” Dean said. He looked at the others. “I’ll go next while you all decide if you want to take a turn.” He then proceeded to tell them about Nura and how he found baby Flynn. He had tears in his eyes by the time he was finished, and the others were struggling with tears of their own. “Would anyone else like to go next?”
Marian spoke up before either of the twins could answer. “I’m just mad. I mean I’m really pissed off.” She leaned forward and continued with a harsh whisper. “I want to find the people who did this, shift to wolf form, and tear them to bits. I don’t think that they understand what could happen to them when they came after one of the pack. Those fairy-folk aren’t technically part of the pack, but they might as well be. If they came after us directly, it would be a lot different than attacking a community of fairies. That is what I have to say.” Her eyes had taken on a feral gleam while she was talking, and he thought he saw her canines elongate, and her fingernails start to lengthen to claws. Dean needed to calm her down, or there was going to be an incident with a teenaged American Werewolf in Dublin.
“What you are feeling, Marian, is completely normal,” Dean said, trying to soothe with his voice. He hoped it was working. “I’m angry, too. I want to change what happened. I want Nura to live to see her baby grow up, maybe to be a paramedic like me. Anger is part of what you should be feeling right now. I’m glad you shared with us.” He finished with a friendly grin at her.
She nodded and returned his grin with one of her own. She seemed to calm down a bit, but he would have to watch her closely to make sure she didn’t carry this inside for too long. He knew adolescent lycans were pretty volatile. Brynne had taught him that they were difficult to control and often lacked the self-restraint to keep from shifting in stressful situations. He had not considered that when taking her out on patrols in the evenings. The stress from this night’s incidents could add to that volatility. He would have to say something to her parents when he and Gibbie dropped her off. Wim cleared her throat, and Dean looked at her with a smile.
“I think that I was most upset because I could see it happening to me,” the dryad said. “The trees all around the Barrens, and in among the trailers were crying out in pain from the fire. Many were injured like the people.”
“Yes, I was most upset by the trees,” Dora said. “I mean, the dead bodies were awful, but all I could hear was the trees crying out in agony. Is that wrong?”
“There isn’t any right or wrong in this, Dora,” Dean said. “We all respond differently to this type of thing. Some of us feel anger, some fear, and some, sorrow. You are more connected to the trees and feel their pain in this event. There is no right or wrong answer, and your feelings may evolve or change over time as you talk with others about this, and you should try to talk about it. I’m not asking you to violate patient privacy. But you can describe your feelings, and how what you saw makes you feel while your brain tries to process it all. That’s what I want you to take away from this breakfast and debriefing. Plus, remember that my door is always open for you if you decide you need to talk one on one some more with someone who was there with you.”
They all looked at him and nodded in understanding. At least, that is what he thought they were showing. They could all still be in shock. He wasn’t a trained counselor and was nearly as new to all of this as they were. He would keep an eye on them moving forward and check with James to see if other, professional resources could be made available. Wendi came around then and took their empty plates, asking if they wanted anything else. He suggested that they would just like the check. It was time for them to all return to Elk City and the problems that they had left behind there. At least they had gotten away temporarily. It was a start.
Chapter 71
Their return through the magical portal to The Irish Shop in Elk City was uneventful. They had spent an hour and a half in the Irish pub on the other side, and it had created the desired effect as far as Dean was concerned. The team was laughing and joking with each other again, and the haunted looks they had before breakfast were gone for the most part. He wasn’t so naive as to believe that the trauma was completely healed. They were going to need more time to process what they had seen at the Barrens fire, but this was a start for them to realize that their lives would go on, that they could go on.
Gibbie turned the large iron key in the big green door to lock it behind them and placed it on the counter next to the cash register as Dougie had requested. The vampire said he was going out to warm up the van and asked Dean to make sure the shop door was latched behind them when everyone else left. The three women were chatting about their trip to Ireland and what they were going to tell family and friends as they walked out the shop’s entrance to the street outside. Kristof followed them out. Dean double-checked that they had left nothing behind and then pulled the shop’s door closed behind him, tugging the solid door until he felt the latch click. He checked to make sure it was locked and was turning to walk across the sidewalk to the van when chaos erupted on the street around the team.
Two black SUVs raced up and screeched to a stop next to the van, and six men dressed in black pants, and black hooded sweatshirts jumped out. They tossed a loop of shiny, silvery cable around Gibbie’s neck. The tubby vampire shrieked in agony as his hands went to his neck to try and pull the loop free. Dean saw smoke coming off the cable where it contacted his skin. Four of the men pulled at Gibbie and shoved him into the open back lift gate of one SUV while two others were wrestling with Marian. The teenager screamed at first, and Wim and Dora’s screams of fear joined hers as the two dryads shrank away from the violence.
Marian’s scream turned into a long, ripping snarl as she started to shift in front of Dean’s eyes. He had never seen a lycan shift so quickly. To his knowledge, it took a full minute or more most of the time. This transformation only took a few seconds as her hands sprouted talons, her face elongated, and her mouth sprouted large canines. The transformed teen werewolf turned and bit down hard on one of the men’s forearms. It was his turn to scream in fear as he let go, clutching his arm and staring at the bite in horror. The other man let go of his grip and backed away, but not fast enough. Marian’s clawed hands swiped across his face and chest, leaving bloody slash marks through the sweatshirt and across his face.
The two wounded men backed away and then stumbled over to their SUV. They struggled to climb over each other to get back inside, away from the angry werewolf racing up behind them. The other black-clad men had finished loading Gibbie into the back of their vehicle. When they saw that the fight had shifted, instead of coming to help Marian’s would-be abductors, they opted to load up into their own vehicle. As soon as the last of them had climbed in, before the last door was closed, both black SUVs peeled out with screeching tires, driving away into the night. Marian chased after them for half a block, howling at the escaping attackers. It had all happened so quickly; Dean had barely taken two steps from where he had stood at the door to The Irish Shop. The dryad twins were huddled together in fear next to Gibbie’s van, Kristof had moved over to comfort them, an
d Marian was stalking back towards them, half in wolf form and half in human form, snarling and growling the whole way. Dean moved out into the street to intercept her.
“Marian,” Dean said, trying to adopt a soothing tone, despite his racing heart. “The danger is past. You can return to human form. Can you hear me? Listen to my voice.”
He kept talking as she walked up to him, her wolfish face tilted to one side as if questioning his words. He kept up the running dialog, trying to talk her back down. She stopped a few feet from him and stared at him for a moment, then, with a whimper, shifted back to human form. She collapsed to the street, sobbing, tears flowing down the restored teen girl’s face. When Wim and Dora saw she had shifted back, they ran over and crouched to comfort her.
Dean stood in the street in front of Gibbie’s van and looked around in the darkness. There were no other cars in sight. No other signs of danger to his team. Not that there needed to be. The Cause had come prepared to kidnap a vampire. That metal cable must have contained a silver alloy of some sort. It was toxic to vampires and leeched away their strength as long as it was in contact with their skin. As prepared as they were for Gibbie, they obviously weren’t as prepared for a shape-shifting teenager, and judging from the looks on the one man’s face, weren’t properly inoculated against Lycanthropism, the disease that caused shape-shifting. Marian’s bite had almost assuredly infected him. Dean wondered what The Cause did with members who became Unusuals. Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t a good thing.
Dean took out his phone and dialed 911, telling the dispatcher that he had to report a kidnapping. He stayed on the line, giving the details of what he had seen while he waited for the arrival of the police units that were on the way. Wim and Dora helped Marian stand and took her over to the van. Dean saw Gibbie’s keys lying on the street next to the driver’s door. While he talked to the dispatcher, continuing to answer the questions she had on the other end of the phone line, he walked over and picked up the keys. He could hear sirens in the distance, coming closer. Soon, a police cruiser with lights flashing and siren blaring, turned the corner, drove up and pulled to a stop in front of the van. Dean notified the dispatcher on the phone that the police had arrived and was advised to hang up the phone and talk directly with them.