by T L Harty
He stretched his hands out across the table. I looked at them, palms up and put my hands in his. “That’s the most honest string of sentences you have spoken to me,” he said. “I’ve always been fascinated by how people talk about trust, as though it’s to be earned. But, it’s impossible to earn anything unless you are willing to make the initial investment. If you can find a way to scrape together enough trust for your first investment in me, you won’t believe your gains.”
He rubbed my hands, while we looked into each other’s eyes. Slowly, as though it was choreographed, we rose from our seats. There was a knock at the door before it swung open. We immediately released our hands.
“There you are,” Bridget said. “I need to get started with you, Muriel.”
“But, I haven’t had the chance to show Muriel the upstairs yet,” Bruce told her, with a devilish smile on his face.
Bridget was confused initially because she knew very well what was upstairs. She looked upwards and then in our direction. “Yes, well, maybe another time,” she suggested. “Come along, Muriel, we have work to do.”
Following Bridget out of the room, I looked back at Bruce. He winked and smiled at me, making me flush all over. Whatever Bridget and I were going to work on today would never compare to Bruce’s tour of the upstairs…that was for certain.
We went down the hall, into the library. Bridget shut the door. She took a seat at the table, placing her notebooks down.
“Before you bore me with any conversations or questions about Bruce,” she announced, “let me just finalize some facts. You two are perfect for each other. You can either have a relationship with him or not. If you decide against it- your life and this council will suffer. O.K., moving on…”
“I understand that you have traveled to Kildare,” Bridget stated. I nodded affirmatively. “You no doubt had visions while you were there,” she assumed. “We’ll talk about those in a moment. First, let me explain that in Kildare is where the main division of our ancestors took place. Kildare was a huge druid stronghold and place of worship. When the foreigners came, they brought their own beliefs with them. They built large churches or abbeys on the sites of all druid areas of worship or gathering. The foreigners believed their God dwelt in the buildings; our kind believed that gods moved in nature.”
“The foreigners came and brought the idea of one God,” Bridget went on. “There was a time where the druids and Christians were able to come together in a similar belief. The foreigners added some of the druid statues or practices into their worship and our ancestors reciprocated the gestures.” Bridget looked at me, and asked, “Did you see any of this information in your visions?”
“Yes,” I said, sadly. “The druids eventually became disgruntled with all the rules of the foreign church. They grew tired of paying for the buildings when they were in need of food. Their daughters, because of their beauty, were often used as pawns in the church’s games. The lands the druids had inhabited for centuries were stripped from them. There came a point when they started to stand up against these foreign entities, but it was too late.”
I looked to Bridget to see if she wanted me to stop, but she nodded, signaling for me to continue. “The druids were forced to go deeper into the woods,” I continued. “They were labeled as pagans which, at the time, merely meant they were without religion. Pagans became a people shrouded in mystery. At times, they were hunted down like animals, but they were also sought after for their gifts of healing or other abilities.”
“All true,” Bridget acknowledged. “The Toec people could mark their end at Kildare. It was the last stronghold of the lifestyle. Between the fire temple and the tower, it was easily identified as a spiritual area to the foreigners- the perfect place to build their cathedral.”
“There were three paths to choose from,” Bridget explained. “Our people either maintained their lifestyle, traveling deeper into the woods or they assimilated into the culture at large. Many of the women joined nunneries.”
I waited for the third course of action. “That’s only two paths,” I pointed out.
“Yes, well,” Bridget confessed, “the third path included moving deeper into the woods, but throwing off their peaceful natures. They used their gifts and abilities for a darker purpose. Revenge, theft, murder, sacrifice, sorcery and all other manners of evil were now their driving force. The fear they instilled made it impossible for others outside the evil practices to be honest about their heredity. Women were no longer held in high regard and were often separated from one another, which eventually reduced their knowledge and power.”
The situation for our ancestors was dismal, but I could understand the reasoning for all three paths. There was a piece of me that might consider the darker path, had my life been stripped away or if I was forced to give up Deidra. However, being void of any passionate beliefs in my life, the situation was not very easy to imagine. Was there anything in my life I would die for besides Deidra? I was annoyed with my own dramaticism, and decided to think about it later, (a little ashamed nothing else came to mind).
“I’ve always wondered something about my namesake, St. Brigid,” Bridget mused. “How did she really become a bishop? Even in modern times, there has never been another female bishop.”
“She used the sweat spell,” I shared, smiling. “The future of her people was in question. She knew if her title was announced as a bishop in the ceremony, it would afford her more power, even in the foreign church. There probably wasn’t a man within ten miles that hadn’t been under a sweat spell used by herself or one of her nuns.” I laughed at the thought of it. “It maintained harmony, though. What I can’t understand is why the women started to view visions of their mothers and so many relationships broke down.”
“That was dark magic. A man’s dark magic,” Bridget shared. “In order for the men in the druid society to be powerful, they had to temper the women’s gifts. Inserting discourse between the generations caused mistrust between women in general. When druidesses saw their mother’s dark thoughts or actions, it caused them to question other women as well. That’s why this council has the potential to be so powerful. If all of us can come together with trust, there isn’t much we can’t accomplish.”
“What is the goal of the council?” I wondered.
“We’re figuring that out,” Bridget said. “We are preparing for what is to come, but we have little knowledge of what that entails. Right now, we know that the ancestors of the druids that took that third path are still active. There will come a time very soon where only we can stop them.”
“Ah, the standard good vs. evil shtick,” I surmised.
“It’s almost that simple,” Bridget sighed. “I suggest you first decide which side you’re on.”
“You’re joking, right?” I asked.
“No,” Bridget answered, plainly. “Your actions while you are at the castle are being judged, but you will still have to make a decision…pledge yourself to one side or the other...light or dark.” She looked at me with concern and reminded, “You were born of fire. That means your potential for evil is just as possible as anything else.”
“It doesn’t really seem like I have a choice,” I mentioned. “If I decide to leave here, Macy has hinted that it would be dangerous.”
“Yes, but you would not be harmed by us,” Bridget explained, looking at me with confusion.
“I don’t understand…” I trailed off.
“The people that killed your grandparents,” Bridget said. “They are after you and Deidra too.
“That was an accident,” I corrected.
“I spoke with your mother at your grandparent’s gravesite,” Bridget told me. “It wasn’t an accident at all.”
Suddenly, the revenge-seeking, murderous route became a very realistic option.
Chapter 16- Close to Home
My junior year of high school started in two weeks. All the school supplies and a couple new outfits had been purchased. I was ready for school, but nothing was m
ore exciting than Jed arriving in town tomorrow.
We had only been apart for a couple of weeks, but we missed each other already. Jed was allowed to call me from his house twice a week. Dad wouldn’t allow me to call him at all. He said if Jed wanted to talk to me, it would have to be on his dime. Dad believed these little tactics would discourage me or put Jed off, but he was wrong.
“Don’t forget, Dad,” I reminded. “We’re taking Jed out for dinner tomorrow night when you get home from work. It’s to welcome him to the area and show him around.”
He poured milk over his cereal, sitting down at the table. “How could I forget?” he asked. “Every day, you give me the current countdown of when Jed is going to be here. I’ll be glad when he’s here, so I don’t have to hear this every morning.”
“Will you really be glad when he gets here?” I wondered.
He furrowed his brows, and effortlessly said, “No.”
“Dad,” I scolded, “you really need to be nice to him. I’ve been putting up with your girlfriend, Brandi, and that is no fun.” His girlfriend turned out to be ten years younger than him, not real bright and had a laugh that could not be more annoying. She was pretty, but beyond that, I was really searching for other redeeming qualities.
He only shrugged. “It’s hard for me to be nice to someone who wants to seduce my daughter,” he remarked.
“Dad!” I shrieked. “He wants no such thing!”
He shook his head in disbelief. Luckily, he had to get to work soon. Even if we started an argument, it wouldn’t last long. As he ate his cereal, I decided not to push the point. Instead, concentrating on Jed’s arrival was more important.
“Where do you think we should take Jed for dinner?” I asked, further proving my obsession with his arrival.
Dad got up to rinse out his cereal bowl, after wolfing down his meal. “I was thinking about McDonald’s,” he suggested. “You really can’t beat the ambience.” He was very pleased with himself, trying not to laugh. Before leaving, he grabbed his briefcase and kissed me on the cheek. “Stop worrying about Jed,” Dad advised. “Everything will be fine. This is how life works. Dads aren’t supposed to be excited about their daughter’s suitors. That’s not life in the real world, kid. Have a good day.”
Dad always made me think of things from a different vantage point, and I suppose he was right- not that I would tell him so. But living in the real world, up to this point, had not been without its disappointment. The fact that Jed was willing to do so much to be geographically closer to me, was proving to be enchanting. It sometimes made the real world appear farther off.
It would be so nice to have a girlfriend to talk to about all of this, but spending my summers at Grammy and Gramps made close friendships very hard to maintain. It’s pathetic that my best friend is my Dad, especially now that the topic of conversation has turned to boys.
I wasn’t sure what to do with my day. The thought of Jed was monopolizing most of my time. Usually, there would be plenty of chores to keep me busy, but Brandi had been helping around the house in an effort to impress my father. She was angling to move in. It was a tactic I’d witnessed before, with other girlfriends. However, it did mean my chore-load was lighter, so there’d be no complaints just yet.
Right before hopping in the shower, the phone rang.
“Hello,” I said, into the receiver.
“Hi, beautiful,” Jed answered, on the other end of the line.
That surge of excitement from merely hearing his voice made me feel equally ridiculous and wonderful. He was all I could think about; making me fear that there would be no going back. I was falling in love with him. Even though there was no previous experience with love quite like this, there could be no other explanation.
“So, I can’t talk long,” he announced, “but, can I call you again around noon?”
“Of course,” I encouraged. “I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. Are you excited to move?”
“More than you know,” he said. “I gotta run, but I just wanted to make sure you’d be around when I called. Talk to you soon.”
“O.K., talk to you then,” I said. I hung up the receiver. “I think I love you,” I whispered, wondering what the words sounded like out loud.
After showering, it was only 9 a.m. in the morning. Whatever my plans were, they now included being by the phone before noon. After reading for a while, I decided to get some sun in the backyard. There was no need to be out for too long, maybe just an hour or so. When 11:30 came around, it was back in the house to impatiently await Jed’s call.
I made a sandwich and flipped through the channels on the T.V. Every now and then, I’d glance over at the phone. Five minutes before noon, I picked the phone up very quickly, just to make sure there was a ring tone. This behavior would have been mock-worthy a few weeks ago, but now I was a woman possessed. I considered not answering the phone at all, attempting to play it cool.
There was a knock at the door, making me practically jump a foot. The ring of the phone was expected, but this sound was unwelcome. Dad didn’t want me answering the door when he wasn’t home. It was a rule. I should see who it was, because sometimes the neighbors would check on me or bring food over for us. Single fathers were not common in my neighborhood, so casseroles were regularly delivered. Even if it was someone known to me, I wouldn’t open the door in my swimsuit.
Peeking around the curtains in the living room, I could only see the back of a man. When he turned to look out in the street, I saw that it was Jed. It took no time for me to fly to the door. I unlocked it, jumping into his arms. We embraced for a while on the porch.
“Come in,” I said. “Quickly, before the neighbors see. They keep an eye on me for my dad.”
“Look at you,” he said, looking me up and down. He hadn’t seen me in a swimsuit since we were little kids. “Somebody needs to keep an eye on you. You are stunning!” he exclaimed.
“I have missed you,” I said, practically weeping.
We kissed, slowly…passionately. It almost made me forget where we were. No boys were allowed in the house when Dad wasn’t home and no opening the door to any boy or man- two rules broken before noon.
“What are you doing here?” I wondered. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow.”
“The waiting was killing me,” he confessed. “I couldn’t stay away any longer. I enjoyed talking to you on the phone, but it made me want to hold you that much more.” He stroked my hair. “You should go put some clothes on,” he suggested. “I can’t be accountable for my actions when you look this good.”
I laughed, running upstairs to throw on a t-shirt and shorts. “I’ll be right back,” I said. “Make yourself comfortable.”
In the two minutes we were apart, he only made it to the couch. I was back downstairs in no time, jumping on the couch right next to him. We kissed. The back of the couch faced the large front window, where something on the street caught my eye.
“Is that your truck?” I asked.
“Yep,” Jed answered.
In the front of my house was a large, dusty pick-up truck filled to the rim with furniture and belongings. Never mind that trucks like that were not often spotted in this neighborhood. The load of belongings alone would serve as a beacon for the neighbors. They were not circling the truck like a school of sharks yet, but the scent of blood was definitely in the water.
“We have to go,” I said, jumping up. “My neighbors will ask all kinds of questions about your truck if we don’t get out of here.”
“But I just got here,” Jed whined. “I’ve been on the road all morning.”
Pulling Jed up off of the couch, I said, “I know, babe, but any relationship we thought we could have is over once my dad finds out you were here without his permission or while he wasn’t home.”
I grabbed my wallet. “How about I take you to lunch?” I suggested.
“I could eat,” he realized.
“Perfect! Let’s go,” I urged.
> Mr. Fenton was outside watering his lawn. He lived two doors down from us, and was the only neighbor that wouldn’t concern me. He was retired and his wife scolded him if he meddled in anyone’s business. He was also very old-fashioned, rarely speaking to my father because of our family situation. Mr. Fenton didn’t appear to have any relationship with his grown children and couldn’t understand how my father and I got along so well. The obligatory wave was exchanged between neighbors before Jed and I drove off.
Picking a restaurant was not an easy task. Dad and I went to several in the area. He knew many people around town, so I had to choose a new deli that had just opened. Jed refused to let me pay, even though he drove all that way.
“This is pretty good,” Jed said, with a mouth half-full of food.
“It’s a difficult thing to screw up a sandwich,” I observed.
We looked at each other while we ate, smiling now and then in disbelief and excitement.
“So, I can’t move into my dorm until tomorrow at noon,” Jed shared. “I was hoping your dad would let me stay the night.”
The soda almost escaped my mouth and flew across the table. I choked it down, which made my eyes water.
“Are you O.K?” he wondered.
Even though I felt sick about what Jed had just suggested, I shook my head affirmatively. My mind was occupied for the next few minutes trying to come up with a plan. There was only one way this would work.
“Can you drive me to a gas station?” I asked. “I want to call Gramps.”
Jed was confused, but he drove me anyway because he needed to get gas. Convincing Gramps to help in this situation was a no-brainer. He would want to help his great-nephew out and my dad would do just about anything to repay even a small portion of all the summers I spent with my grandparents.