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Estrada stood beside Michael just inside the dark inner chamber of the tomb. As he ran his hands along the spirals, the sun rose, and a shaft of light filtered down the long rectangular passageway. The cruciform chamber had three recesses. The one on the left housed a huge solid granite basin. This was the place the priests had placed the cremated ashes of the dead along with grave goods. As the chamber filled with light, the spectators gazed up at the intricate corbelled roof high above them.
Slipping his hand into his pocket, Estrada retrieved the vile and pushed off the cork with his thumb. Then, running his hand beneath the back of Michael’s coat, he scattered what remained of her ashes on the earth of the inner chamber. You’re home now Primrose, where you belong.
Just past Michael’s shoulder, he suddenly saw her. Pressed up against the wall, she glimmered like the stars, her shape shifting as her corporeal form melded between earth and air. Smiling, he put his arm around Michael’s neck and touched the frittered edges of her faerie form. Wavering like the air on a hot sultry day, her aura blossomed, and joined the sun in filling the entire chamber.
In the blink of an eye, she’d filled his heart with ecstasy. The kind that could never be found in a pill, but was born of true magic. The magic of love. Recognizing what he’d been searching for as long as he could remember—the attainment of his heart’s desire—he realized he could neither hold nor keep her, for she belonged to the Otherworld. She always had. And his grief lifted in her joy.
As he placed the empty vial back inside his pocket, Estrada’s fingers brushed against the charm Josh had given him in the cave. For a moment, he twirled it between his fingertips, and then he slipped it into Michael’s pocket. Josh had given him far more than a round cedar bead that morning, and now it was time to pass it on.
- End -
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank family and friends who read my work and supported me throughout this journey. The characters in this novel are fictitious; however, most settings in British Columbia and Ireland are real places I explored and suggest you do as well. I take artistic liberty, but in every case attempt to be gracious. With this in mind, I would like to acknowledge and thank the following:
Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre for continuing to allow modern humans to experience the magic of our Neolithic past via Newgrange and Knowth at Tara; Tig Coili and Taaffes, both fabulous traditional pubs in Galway, and also The Quays, for warmth, brilliant music, exquisite décor, and hospitality; Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery where Maggie meets the Good People; Drumcliffe Cemetery in Sligo where WB Yeats is buried; Fureys in Co Sligo where the craic was ninety; the quaint village of Cong in Co. Mayo; Shop Street in Galway where Primrose reveals her talent for performance art; and finally, the folks at Boghill Centre in Co Clare who taught me to play Irish traditional music.
Ireland, its people and places touched and changed me in ways I cannot fully explain. As this beautiful land became a part of me, it became a part of my story, and I am most grateful for that.
Thank you to artist Judi Gardnner for feedback on my first draft and for creating the original cover. Many thanks to Joanna Joseph for designing this fabulous cover. And, thank you to Shane Joseph at Blue Denim Press for sharing his publishing expertise and services.
I am grateful also to two great authors: William Shakespeare for his magnificent play Macbeth (1606), whose themes and threads interweave this story, and whose phrases are chapter titles; and WB Yeats for The Celtic Twilight (1893, 1902). Like Yeats, Estrada and I long to see faeries.
Finally, to Estrada and Michael: “you’ve been whispering in my ear for years now. Thank you. Without you, there would be no stories.”
Author Bio
WL Hawkin completed a BA in Indigenous Studies at Trent University, and PBDs in Humanities at SFU, Canada. Fascinated by her Celtic and Tuscarora ancestry, she explores history, myth, and spirituality in her work. She is passionate about literature, nature, and writing, and is happiest wandering by the sea. Born in Toronto, Canada, she currently lives in British Columbia, but dreams of living in Ireland. Visit her website: www.bluehavenpress.com and follow her on Twitter @ladyhawke1003
To Charm a Killer (Hollystone Mysteries Book 1) Page 32