The Forest of Aisling: Dream of the Shapeshifter (The Willow Series Book 1)

by D. S. Elstad

  Aaron rejoined us and we all stood in a circle. “Go ahead, Quinn.”

  “So then, whichever one of us agrees to this will have the ability to shapeshift into some kind of sea creature?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “And then some sort of sensitivity will make itself known as well?” Kelleigh added.

  “Yes; like I told you, the air guardian shifts into the eagle and then an innate sensitivity to sight becomes pronounced and enables that guardian to keep watch out for the Fomorians. The earth guardian shifts to wolf form and a heightened sense of hearing becomes one of their weapons.

  “You, as the water guardian, will be spending your time in the ocean, lakes, or whatever sort of waterway is required. Your sense of feeling becomes pronounced. The water guardian is able to pick up on any out of the ordinary activities in the earth’s bodies of water with the use of echolocation.”

  Quinn was hardly able to contain himself. “Echolocation – you mean like sonar, like bats?” he asked excitedly.

  “Exactly like bats. You’ll have the ability to locate objects by sending off high-pitched sound waves that will literally bounce off of an object and return to you, letting you know where the object is. This is an invaluable tool in keeping track of the Fomorians, since they favor use of the sea.” Aaron said.

  Kelleigh and Quinn stood in our circle staring at each other. I wished I was able to read their thoughts, but this new ability of mine required some discretion, as well as knowing how and when to use it.

  The wind began to pick up and the skies continued to alter, getting ready to unleash what appeared to be another tempestuous storm. Raindrops had begun pelting our heads when Kelleigh finally spoke up.

  “I believe that since I’m the oldest and have more knowledge of this, that I should be the obvious choice…I’m sorry, Quinn, but that’s how I feel,” she said, raising her eyes to the stormy heavens. As the rain picked up Kelleigh became visibly agitated by the soaking that was imminent. She quickly pulled up the hood from her coat and covered her head.

  “Stupid rain, I just got my hair done…now it’s going to do nothing but frizz.”

  Quinn stared at her then looked at each one of us, shaking his head. “And you think you can be the water guardian…you can’t even take a wee bit of rain on your head without freaking out about your hair. How are you going to jump into the lake when needed without being more concerned about how you look?” he continued, motioning to the lake beside us. “You don’t even like the water, Kelleigh!” Quinn shouted in an effort to be heard above the thunder that was closing in.

  “Quinn was on the swim team for the last three years and won four ribbons,” Bram interjected. Kelleigh immediately blasted him an angry stare.

  “I’m just saying…” he added, raising his eyes to the sky.

  The storm began picking up in intensity, so we all made our way back to the vehicles. My heart sank, thinking that we hadn’t been able to settle this yet and feeling sorry that Kelleigh was hurt and disappointed. I hated that she and Quinn were angry with each other and hoped that somehow we’d be able to resolve it.

  Just as Kelleigh opened her door to get into the car she looked back over to Aaron. “All right, Quinn’s your man,” she mumbled, unable to hide her disappointment.

  Quinn jumped out of the car and ran over to his sister. He grabbed her by the shoulders. “Are ya sure, sis?” he asked.

  “Yes, I guess. But you’re wrong about me not liking the water…I love the water! I just hate what it does to my hair,” she answered, pulling her hood tightly over her head.

  Quinn laughed and hugged her and soon Kelleigh herself was laughing, pushing her brother aside.

  Aaron walked over to Quinn taking hold of his hand. “Here you go, Quinn,” he said as he laid the water pendant on his palm.

  Quinn looked down at his third of the Triquetra and gulped. “This was really made by Lugh himself, the god of light?” he asked with a trembling voice.

  “Sure was,” Aaron said.

  Quinn stared at it with deep respect. He gently lifted the chain and placed it over his head. He positioned his hand over the Triquetra and took in a deep breath.

  Kelleigh leaned over and studied the pendant now hanging around Quinn’s neck. “Well, now I’m really angry. You didn’t tell me there was jewelry involved!”

  Quinn pushed her away. “It’s not just jewelry, you twit, it’s the Triquetra.”

  “I know, I know,” Kelleigh smirked. “But it is a lovely necklace. It’d definitely look better on me than on you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The down pillow was such a welcome cushion for my tired head. I relaxed my neck against its softness, letting myself sink into the billowy comforter that lay on top of my hotel room bed.

  Bram and Aaron dropped me off so I could reconnect with Dad and try to relax a little. We were all showing signs of exhaustion and fully aware that we had a ton of work to do. Starting with Quinn getting back to the lake and hoping, praying, that he would be able to shapeshift. Aaron himself was unsure exactly how to go about the whole process and said he needed a few more hours to try and exact an answer from the documents lying in wait in his basement safe. Hopefully with Bram’s help an answer would show up quickly.

  I appreciated the quiet hotel room and felt myself grow sleepy the more relaxed I became. Soon I was dreaming. Images of Balor’s face haunted me, along with passing glimpses of Quinn, Kelleigh, and Bram. We all were being swept away in a tornado; below stood my dad and Aaron, their arms, stretching out, trying to pull us away from the grasp of the squall.

  I awoke with a start and was surprised to see I had actually been asleep for two hours. It felt like ten minutes. I heard Dad in the bathroom and called out to him.

  “I’ll be right there, Willow,” he answered.

  I stepped out onto the balcony and was surprised at the drop in temperature. It had to have been at least thirty degrees cooler than when I arrived back at the hotel. The rain had subsided but the air was damp and threatened more moisture.

  The sky had an ashen feel to it, not only in color, but it felt as though there were small particles floating in the atmosphere, like the ash that drifts after a volcano erupts. I held my hand up and caught hold of a miniscule piece of dust that disintegrated almost as soon as it touched my skin. Looking out into the distance I could make out trace amounts of the stuff floating in the air, reminding me of early snowfalls.

  “Holy cow, it must be twenty degrees out here!” Dad observed as he stepped out onto the balcony. He began buttoning his cardigan sweater. “I got back just ten minutes ago and it was nowhere near this cold. The weather is doing some crazy stuff, isn’t it?” he asked, putting his arm over my shoulder.

  We stepped back inside and sat at the small table and chairs in the corner of the room. I was anxious to hear how Grandpa was doing –and less anxious to hear about the forensic pathologist.

  Dad pulled out a pipe and began loading it with sweet-smelling tobacco. I could only stare, since I’d never seen my father smoke anything other than a bubblegum cigarette, and wondered where this newfound penchant for tobacco was coming from. I looked at the pouch of tobacco lying on the table and recognized the label as the brand that Uncle Eagan was fond of. As Dad lit the aromatic leaves in the bowl of the pipe I had to admit, it smelled nice. The sweet scent of cherries along with a citrusy undertone wafted up into my nose and immediately made me think of Eagan.

  “Really, Dad?” was all I could say.

  He smiled and inhaled deeply sending swirls of billowy smoke around the room. He opened his mouth and made a feeble attempt to create a smoke ring, like the ones Eagan skillfully crafted. Only Dad’s looked more like smoke blobs.

  He shook his head and with a snicker put out the tobacco with his thumb. “It’s just not me,” he chortled, laying the pipe on top of a coaster. “Eagan thought it may help me relax.”

  “Not so much?”

  “No.” He sealed the p
ouch, tossed it aside and took a sip of water. “I’ll relax when we get home.”

  There it was again, that word…home. Weird, how my whole world had completely changed in such a short amount of time and how the one place that had always been home to me now seemed so distant and obscure.

  “So how’s Grandpa doing?” I asked, hoping for good news.

  “Pretty well. They want to keep him for at least a week. It appears as though he’s had a few small strokes. They’re not sure when, though, if they happened before or during his time in the hospital.” Dad leaned back into his chair and stretched his arms overhead.

  “He asked for you again.” A smile outlined my father’s lips. “You made quite an impression on him, Wil.”

  “I really want to see him, Dad. Any idea when that can be?”

  “Sure, we can go this evening if you’d like.”

  The thought of seeing my grandfather again gave me joy. So much had transpired since I last saw him and I was looking forward to doing something somewhat normal, if you can call a trip to the hospital normal. “I’d like that.”

  I knew tomorrow would be a difficult day since we had planned to take Quinn back to the lake and see if he might be able to shift. I wasn’t sure how much time I’d have with Dad. That, along with the weather disturbances, left me with the feeling that I needed to tie up these loose ends with Dad and Grandpa. After seeing the family portrait in Grandma’s locket I was convinced that part of the problem must have something to do with whoever that other little boy was. I wanted answers, and now seemed like the perfect time.

  “Dad,” I began, “I wish you’d tell me what it was that caused you and Grandpa to stop talking to each other.” I bit my lower lip, hoping to finally be a party to whatever the problem was that drove my father out of Ireland at the age of eighteen.

  Dad narrowed his eyes and stared deeply into mine. He blinked slowly, then rubbed the back of his neck. I prayed that my timing wasn’t way off. He took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

  “I don’t know, Willow; this has been holed up inside of me for so long, I’m not even sure how to begin.”

  An image floated across my mind, the small locket that Shannah wore with the picture of my Grandparents and two children. “Did you have a brother?” The words escaped from my mouth before I even had a chance to think about what I was saying.

  My father wrinkled his brow and squinted once again studying me intently. He didn’t seem surprised by my question. He pursed his lips and scratched the bearded shadow that was taking over his chin.

  “How did you know about that?” he wondered aloud.

  I inched further to the edge of my chair. “When I was in the morgue, Grandma had a locket on. I couldn’t help but look inside. There was a picture of Shannah, Conor, and two little boys. Who was the other little boy?”

  He took another deep breath and dropped his head, looking to the floor. I’d hoped I hadn’t upset him.

  “I didn’t even see that she had a locket on,” he mumbled, speaking more to himself than me. “Looking back on it all now, it seems so stupid, so very stupid. Too much time lost, too many missed opportunities. For you and your mother to never have known Shannah, and all because of…” He paused, looking once more to the floor.

  “Please, Dad, what happened?” I reached my hand over and gently touched his arm. It felt as though a change in our relationship was occurring with this moment. I was no longer his little girl whom he had to protect, but a confidant who might be able to help him deal with his pain from so many years ago.

  “You know, Willow, I’m not even certain what happened myself anymore. The more time that passes, the less clear the reasons become.” He shook his head as if trying to jar the memories loose, and then looked at me with tired eyes.

  “In answer to your question, yes, I did have a brother… a twin brother. His name was Joseph. He was only five when he died and the memories I have of him are vague. I know from what Shannah told me that Joseph and I were very close. ‘Two peas in a pod,’ she would say, ‘where one would go the other had to follow.’ Sometimes I can remember things…like Christmas, most probably the last one we had together. I remember both of us getting bikes. Joseph had the blue one and I had the red. He wanted the red so we traded even though I’m pretty sure I didn’t want to.” Dad smiled fondly at his memory.

  “There are other things that at times pop up, like birthdays, parties, stuff like that. I do remember one time when we were outside playing with some neighbor kids, one of them got angry because we lost his rugby ball. It was new and he was proud of it. Joseph had kicked it across a field that was overgrown and rocky. The ball disappeared from our view and we all ran to the direction Joseph kicked it, but, lo and behold, the ball was gone. We must have spent an hour looking for that thing but couldn’t find it. The boy got mad and ran home. His dad came over to our house and yelled at Dad and the two almost came to blows. Dad finally threw the man some money and told him to leave. Days later Joseph and I were out in that same field and sure enough, there hidden in some underbrush lay the boy’s brand-spanking-new rugby ball. Joseph grabbed it, tucked it under his shirt, and hid it the minute we got home. I still remember his answer when I told him we needed to give it back, ‘Da paid for this fair and square, it’s ours now.’ I remember that clearly.”

  Dad cleared his throat and went to the bathroom to get another glass of water. He sat back down in his chair and stared at the floor, lost in his thoughts.

  “So what happened to him?” I asked as he raised his focus back to me. Sadness came over his face, the gray in his eyes taking on a stormy feel, almost like the insidious storms making their way across Ireland.

  “My memories are vague and somewhat disjointed. I’m not sure what’s a real memory or if it’s something Shannah told me about. Anyway, I know the day it happened – the accident that is. Joseph and I were excited about our sixth birthday which was coming up. Shannah had planned a party and Da had an early birthday present he wanted to give us. I remember Ma being put off with him because she wanted to wait and surprise us at the party, but Da wouldn’t hear of it. ‘All those little rugamuppets will want to get on their gift,’ he said to Ma. Finally she agreed. Da said we needed to go somewhere special to open the gift, so he took us to one of the lakes at Killarney Park. Once we got there he had us stand in front of the car, facing away from the lake and told us not to look back at him. We could hear him open the trunk and shuffle something around.

  “Joseph kept trying to sneak a peek and Da threatened to take us home and not give us any presents if he didn’t stop. He stopped.” Dad smiled at the thought of his brother. “We were jumping up and down and going crazy waiting for him to give us the word to look. When he finally did, we both turned around and saw the most beautiful little red and white schooner boat that you can imagine, sitting at the water’s edge.” Dad’s eyes were flashing now with a kind of joy as he recalled that moment.

  “Da would take Joseph and me out on his old canoe to go fishing and to check out the islands off the lake. One time when we were out we saw a kid in a schooner boat and begged Ma and Da for one like it. We never expected in a million years that we would actually get one, but there it sat, freshly painted, red and white, with four shiny oak oars resting inside. On the back of the boat, in bright blue letters was, J & J.

  “Joseph immediately ran up to the boat and hugged it, then hugged Da. He jumped into the little schooner and grabbed an oar, raising it over his head, shouting to the world, ‘Happy birthday to me!’Da laughed then looked over, motioning for me to come join him.

  “Joseph was the one who had no problem speaking up, good or bad. He could start a conversation with a total stranger. He always asked questions, had ideas, and knew what to do. He got us into trouble on more than one occasion.” Dad grinned plaintively, losing himself as he spoke about his brother.

  “I remember Ma saying that he got all the confidence and I got all the heart,” Dad continued, as he stared at
his glass of water.

  “We sat down in the boat and begged Da to take us out farther into the lake. After a lot of begging and pleading he finally agreed and went to the car to get our life jackets. Joseph and I sat in the boat, laughing and planning all the places we were going to take it. Suddenly a wave washed up and the boat began drifting into the lake, almost like it was being towed out. I remember seeing Da pull the life jackets from the trunk, turn around, and panic when he saw the boat moving away from the shore. He wasn’t that far from us but as he started to run our way, something weird happened. It was like he’d been hit,” he said, his face reliving the confusion.

  “Hit? What do you mean hit?” I leaned forward anxiously.

  “Something stopped him. It was as though he ran into a wall. I remember seeing dust flying around him, from the dirt road I guess, and then he dropped down and lay there dazed for a minute. There was nothing there and it didn’t look like he tripped. It was like he ran into something, the way he stopped then dropped. Joseph saw what happened too because he stood up in the boat and yelled. He was screaming like he saw what it was that hit Da. He started crying and jumping up and down, and when he did, the boat began rocking.

  “Da yelled at him to sit down but Joseph just kept crying and calling to him. I don’t know what had him so upset. It was like he’d seen something I hadn’t.” Dad rubbed his eyes.

  I held onto to my father’s arm.

  “And all the while, the boat was drifting further out into the lake. I grabbed an oar and tried to paddle us back in but…and I know this is going to sound crazy, Wils, but…I swear, something grabbed that oar out of my hands. ” Dads eyes were glassy with tears. He shook his head and went on, emotion threatening to choke off his words.

  “Da stood up and raced to the lake. He jumped in and swam towards us. Joseph grabbed the other oar and stuck it into the water…” Dad stopped suddenly, caught up in the moment’s reflection.