by Jana LaPelle
It’s not until the next morning that we venture out for some breakfast and start to make plans for the day. Because of my queasy stomach yesterday we opt not to take the charter cruise to the islands, even though I feel fine today. Instead, we decide to see some of the local sites, in particular, the ruins of Kilmalkedar Church.
There is a group tour heading out that way from the hotel, so we make our way to the bus and take our seats. I freeze as the last two passengers get on the tour bus. It’s the blonde stranger and his female companion. Once again, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I watch them take their seats. I clasp Colin’s hand tightly in my own, and I find that I’m hyper-aware of the couple as the tour gets underway.
“Joanna, I can sense your unease. We’ll give them a wide berth. Everything should be fine.” He traces lazy circles on my wrist with his thumb trying to soothe my nerves.
It doesn’t take us long to get to the site of the ruins, and everyone disembarks the small tour bus. Wearily I watch the unusual couple make their way to the ancient looking cemetery while everyone else moves towards the stone walls of what is left of the church. I’m always so fascinated with the ruins that I have visited during this trip. The States have nothing like this. It’s a shame really, but as the human race continued to evolve they discovered that wood framed structures were easier to build, all be it, they were less durable, and that is the foundation and legacy that America was built on, whereas, these stone structures have been around since the dawn of time here in Ireland and I love this island for all the history and ruins that the States lacks.
For most of the day, we are able to steer clear of the couple that has been wreaking havoc on my nerves. That is until we begin our trek back to the tour bus to head back to the hotel. I quickly realize that we are going to end up sitting next to the odd couple and panic ensues. Colin senses my unease and leans in to garner my attention, “Joanna, breathe. We’ve got this.” Leaning in he kisses me deeply, and I can’t help but succumb to his gentle kiss.
From beside me, I hear someone clear their throat and chuckle all at once, “Ya two must be newly-weds? Don’t stop on account of us.”
Pulling back Colin cups my face and smiles at me before addressing the man seated next to us, “We’re on our honeymoon.”
“Are ya in Dingle for a while?” His question seems harmless.
Colin grasps my hand to still my trembling fingers, “Our car should be repaired and ready ta go by morning and then we can continue our tour of the coast.” All the while he is attempting to calm me.
“Then we should have dinner together. My name is Derek, and my companion is Willow. Will ya join us for dinner? We’ve not really met anyone on this trip that we would consider worthy dinner companions. I know that sounds as if we’re snobs, but it’s true. ”
“It’s very nice meeting you both, I’m Colin and this is Joanna. If my wife is feeling up for dinner then we will meet ya in the hotel pub this evening, say… seven o’clock?”
“See ya then. Good to meet ya mate,” Derek says as we stand to exit the bus.
Back in our room, I’m shaking and nauseous. Colin pulls me in and whispers, “Joanna, it’s okay. Everything will be fine. He has no idea as to who we are.”
“How long do you think that will last? Obviously, he is intrigued by us and do you think the name Derek is by coincidence. This is the Daerok! This is the Druid that you’re ancestors have been avoiding for as long as they have been relegated to this realm. I’m sure that I’m right.” I’m just moments away from hysteria when Colin takes my hands in his own and brings them to his lips and gently kisses my knuckles.
“We can do this Joanna. It’s just dinner if we don’t show it will look suspicious, don’t ya think?”
Chapter 11
Does the woman ever have a bad day? Willow looks as if she is ready to step out on a runway, while I struggle with pregnancy nausea. Not that I will admit that to this couple. I’m sure that I appear somewhat green as we take our seats opposite from the couple before us.
Colin seats me and takes my hand as he sits next to me. “Sorry that we were somewhat late, but Joanna was not feeling well. Have ya ordered yet?”
Derek is very accommodating, “No we were waiting for ya both, but I thought that we would start with seafood chowder.”
Colin defers to me, and I nod with a brief smile, “That sounds good, actually. You know how I like my seafood.”
The conversation around the table begins to become comfortable, and I slowly start to relax. The terrible hair-raising feeling has started to lessen as the four of us begin to get to know the other. We learn that Derek is a hotel mogul visiting Brenners on business and Willow is his assistant. I sense that she is really more than just an assistant, but I let that go for now. Colin continues to gently rub circles on my back between my shoulder blades, and I find his touch oddly comforting.
After our meal comes to an end, Derek leans forward and narrows his eyes while assessing Colin before saying, “Well, I haven’t been able to place where I’ve seen ya from before now. Ya know the resemblance is bloody uncanny. I can’t believe that I haven’t put it together before now. It’s been a long time and generations have come and gone, but I see it now.”
I’m feel as if I’ve just been blindsided and I know that Colin feels it too as he stiffens beside me before replying, “Derek, I’m sure that we have na ever met before today.”
Laughing, he replies, “Yer right, Colin, we have never met before this weekend, but I was very well acquainted with yer ancestor. In fact, I was very disappointed that he left my service so very soon. He was young, and I should have known what he was planning, but I was blinded by me anger at being cast out of me homeland. I had high hopes and plans for me youngest prodigy.” His studies Colin and his stare becomes predatory.
Colin stills beside me and takes my hand under the table while removing the cloth napkin in his lap to place on the table before replying, “Derek, Willow, I’m sure that ye’ll understand that this conversation has become odd, ta say the least, and neither Joanna or I are following ya. On that note, I think that it’s well past time that we bid ya a good night. It was nice meeting ya both, but we have a very long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Derek chuckles, the sound of which sends shivers up and down my spine before he says, “Not so soon, I’ve been looking for ya for a very long time, Colin, descendant of Faolin.” At that moment I want to hurl, but I squeeze Colin’s hand as he continues, “Yer family has eluded me for what feels like forever in this realm. Finally, the cloaking spell has worn off. I now know why ya were so intriguing to me.” His handsome smile is tinged with dark desire.
“How did you know?” Colin is direct in his interrogation.
“Some moments ago the cloaking spell dissolved, right before me eyes actually. Imagine my surprise when I realized my dinner companions were… my enemy.” With that last pronouncement his eyes hood.
“Derek, we are not your enemy,” Colin reasons.
He cocks his head, the action reminds me of that of a reptile, “But aren’t ya? Ya and yer line threaten all that I want. It’s nothing personal, but ya and yer line must end.” He no longer seems oddly handsome, just rather cold and calculating.
Colin rises to the challenge, “Ya will not do anything here tonight, that would raise too much suspicion.”
“Na, yer correct, Colin. Ya know I always liked Faolin. Yer grandfather, somewhat removed, he was a good kid and so very devoted. I never once thought that he would be the one of my faction to defect. What a bloody disappointment he turned out ta be!”
Colin grabs my hand and retorts, “As far as I’m concerned, my ancestor did what needed ta be done. Yer wicked Daerok, and we want no part of ya. It’s been a pleasure, but we need to leave.” Colin throws a wad of cash on the table, and we start to turn to leave.
“Make no mistake, Colin of Faolin’s line, we will meet again and when we do ya and yer pretty little-kindred will na surviv
e. Ya must die.” Daerok’s face is a mask of quiet resolution.
We pause for just a moment and then Colin and I calmly exit the pub to make our way up to our rooms. My kindred is frantically throwing our belongings into our bags. I grab him by the biceps, “What are you doing? We can’t go anywhere tonight.”
“Joanna, anywhere but here.”
“Colin, he will not strike tonight. We can rest easy for tonight. Tomorrow is another story.”
Neither of us really sleeps over the course of the night, Colin placed a call to his parents before we went to bed explaining the situation. At which point they advised him to set out at first light. Easier said than done when you’re waiting to have your car repaired and are not sure at what point the repairs will be complete. At some point in the wee hours of the morning, we turned to one another for comfort, to reaffirm our connection to one another, and to just find solace in the others touch.
Hours later we find ourselves exiting Brenner’s and heading to the repair shop our baggage in hand. After a quick account of the repairs that were needed and an explanation of the outstanding bill, Colin quickly settles up, and we are on our way. My heart is racing with my need to put as much distance between Daerok and his assistant behind us and is in my foremost thoughts as we settle into an uncomfortable silence.
Hours later we are feeling rather calm and enjoying the scenery around us as we head south down the coast. The ocean to our right appears turbulent and disturbed, and I can’t understand the feeling of unease that has begun to wash over me. As we round the bend in the road, I see Daerok up ahead on the rise of a hill to our left, “Oh my God, Colin,” I shout in warning. The hill to our left is covered with rocky outcroppings. He stands above us with several cloaked figures at his side along with his female companion. From this distance, I can make out that they have begun chanting.
“Hold on Joanna!” Colin commands as he steps on the accelerator. The car lurches forward in our attempt to get past the deranged lunatic on the rise. Just as we approach a wicked curve in the road, the car jerks and I watch in fascinated horror as Colin struggles with the steering wheel. The car jerks to the right again. Oh, God. Not to the right. On our right, the cliffs drop at a jagged angle to the ocean below us.
“Colin, what’s happening?” I croak.
He shakes his head as if in disbelief and continues to struggle with the steering wheel. I glance down at the speedometer and see that we are now traveling at a rate of one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour as Colin takes my hand, “Joanna, I’m na in control of the car.”
At that moment we both know what is about to happen, just before the car lurches to the right we both brace for what is to come. The car hits a dip in the road and jerks one last time to the right sending us airborne over the rock fence lining the outer edge of the road. For an instant, we sail through the air clearing the rocks below. Before the car begins to drop, plummeting toward the water below us. I hear a scream echo around the cabin of the car before I realize the scream is coming from me. Just before we hit a jagged rocky outcropping in the water, Colin throws an arm out in front of me trying to keep me safe from impact. The car hits the jagged rock and then flips end over end in the air, and then we feel the jarring impact of crashing into the water.
In mere seconds, the car begins to fill with the cold salty water. Colin’s determined gaze finds mine, “Joanna, no matter what, ya need to survive this.” He grabs my bag and thrust it into my hands, “Keep a hold of this, it has yer passport and my wallet. Whatever ya do, don’t lose this.”
I sling the strap over my shoulder and onto my back and then begin to struggle with my seat belt, and it won’t unfasten, “I can’t get out!” The water is filling the car quickly.
“I love ya, mo chroí, always and forever.” He kisses me urgently, “Now be ready, as soon as ya are free, roll the window down to get out and swim to shore. Do na look back.”
“No! No… What about you?”
“Ya first, Joanna,” He begins cutting through the seat belt with his pocket knife. There is barely any air left in the cabin as the car continues to sink. “Now Joanna, take a deep breath.”
“What about you?” I repeat, tears clogging my throat.
The interior is growing dark, but I can still make out his handsome features, and he smiles a sad smile, “My foot is lodged, and I’m trying ta get it free. I will do everything in my power ta follow you.”
“No, I’ll help you!” My cry is desperate.
“Joanna, the babe, ya have to live. We’re out of time! Ya have to go!”
Taking a deep breath, the cabin of the car fills completely at that moment, and the car is sinking further and further into the dark murky depths. I roll down the window and slide out of the car. I turn to see Colin struggle to break free before turning to me and urging me on. His face becoming eclipsed with the shadows of the dark water below, for a moment his face softens before he says what looks like, “Go, I love you.” bubbles flowing out of his mouth.
I reach for him and mouth the words, “I love you.” I quickly realize that I’m running out of air and survival instinct kick in, in my desparate need for air. I turn from Colin to kick to the surface. All the while my soul is screaming. “No, no, no!” For a moment I don’t think I’m going to make it, but suddenly I breach the surface of the cold, choppy waters. Gasping for air, I look around wildly, hoping that by some miracle that Colin was able to follow me out. Then, I feel him. Colin. It’s as if he is all around me, I feel love and peace through our bond and it surrounds me. Then there is a flickering, like the light of a candle as it is about to go out and then nothing.
My mind and soul are screaming, I can’t lose him, I just found him. In frantic desperation, I dived back down into the water, but I can no longer see our car in the fading light of day. Surfacing I try, again and again, each time growing more and more exhausted. In my heart, I know it’s useless. All my attempts to get back to my kindred are futile. Our connection to one another has gone cold, and my heart has been torn asunder. Ripped to shreds and I know that I will never be the same again, not as long as I live.
My handsome Irishman, my Colin died that day, drowned in an accident that should never have happened and there are no words that I can write that express what that moment was like for me.
I was broken, completely shattered as I tread the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean amongst the rocky outcroppings of the shoreline and I was alone, utterly alone.
Chapter 12
The bagpipe’s haunting melody of Oh Danny Boy hangs heavy in the air. Tears are streaming down my face as I watch from afar, hidden in the shadows of the trees that surround me as the funeral service for my kindred is now underway. My silent despair over the loss of my soul mate is a raw gaping wound that I fear will never heal. My only consolation is that I know now that I carry his child, a child that deserves every chance to thrive in this unfair and wicked world and therefore no one, not even Colin’s family should find out that I survived. I will need to do this on my own.
I almost come undone when the next song begins, Amazing Grace. I have always loved the bagpipes. There could be no better tribute to Colin than what his family has planned. I stand stoically silent as I watch my beloved’s casket lowered into the ground. It is almost more than I can bear, my throat is tight, clogged with emotion, and tears fall silently as I watch the proceedings, my hand clamps tightly over my mouth to prevent my muffled cries from being heard. There is a spot for me as well beside Colin, but I know that casket is empty. The news reported that they think that my body was washed out to sea after our accident. Ultimately, Daerok can never know that I survived. If he ever found out that I’m alive and carry a child, then we will never be safe.
I linger for hours. I wait until the last of the friends and family leaves this sacred place before I come out of the shadows and make my way down to my love’s final resting place. The rain clings to me as day turns
to night. I fall prostrate on Colin’s tarp-covered grave and weep. I weep for what seems like hours. I weep for the loss of his handsome smile, his soothing touch, for our too short time together, but mostly I weep because I can no longer feel the connection to my kindred. I’m not sure how long I lay there crying in the dark, damp night when I feel a gentle hand lay on my back.
Startled, I pull away to look up to see Siobhan. I must look a mess because her face is a mask of concern. She pulls me up and into her warm embrace trying to comfort me. I cling to her until something clicks in the back of my mind. I pull back, shaking my head and I accuse, “You knew! You knew this was going to happen!” I’m shivering now from the cold, wet, rain and I stutter through chattering teeth, “We… we… could have, sto…oped it!”
“No my dear, we could na have stopped it. My visions of ya and yer child never included Colin. Na one.” Her face morphs to one of loss and grief before she pulls me to her and whispers, “Go, child, protect the child that grows within ya. Colin will be with ya till yer dying breath, always. He be with ya in spirit. He will always be in yer heart. This child ya carry is the future for us all. Go now! Flee from this place and raise this child knowing that ya can rely on us to protect ya always. Ya and dis child, yer family.”
I look over Siobhan’s shoulder to see Gwen and Keagan hugging a devastated Nessa. Their faces are lined with grief and regret. My heartbreak is barely contained when I whisper, “Nessa, we should have listened to you. I’m so sorry we didn’t. I love you all,” but before I turn to disappear into the night, Siobhan presses a tightly folded piece of paper in my hand and then I flee, not looking back because if I do my resolve will break. I flee back to my country, and back to my old life. Back to the appearance of ordinary, never again to walk on the wild side of what majic can do. I throw that behind me as I board a flight to the States. I think I ran out of tears just before we touched down in Orlando International Airport.