“What kind of debt?” I made myself look directly at am so as to not be distracted. It didn’t help that I had already finished my third beer. I felt a little like a magpie wanting a shiny object, except instead I wanted the glittering energy.
His face turned solemn. “Durin’ World War One, some of us wee folk decided we ‘ad to get involved. Although most stayed behind the scenes, me ‘eight allowed me to join the fightin’. At the time, there were seven of us who made it into the British Forces. We worked our charms so that we stuck together.
I don’t think that any of us quite knew what we ‘ad signed up for, though. The life of a leprechaun is quite naïve, in that we usually only pay attention to ourselves. Soon enough we discovered ‘ow much of a mistake it ‘ad been to volunteer. Me kind is not designed to ‘old a weapon, and tis’ not in our spirit to kill. Within six months, I was the only one of me folk still alive.”
“Whoa,” was the only response I could muster. I hadn’t expected the conversation to turn so intense.
He continued, “Durin’ a battle near Bourlon Wood I was shot in the chest. I lay there fer ‘ours, waitin’ fer death to take me. Night fell, and the shellin’ eventually stopped. T’ree people passed by me, presumin’ me dead, before Connor found me and got me to a medic. He saved me life, Alex. And the code of me people states that I must then do the same for ‘im, so I remained bound to ‘im by a powerful magic.”
I was still processing. “Did you say World War One?” I couldn’t hide the confusion in my voice.
“Aye, that’d be correct.” He looked pensive for a moment; I could see he was trying to decide how to proceed.
“Look, unless you’re keeping some big secret, you should tell me whatever it is you’re thinking.”
He looked at me again, raising an eyebrow. “Albright. But then you tell me somethin’.”
“Agreed.” I was more than intrigued at this point.
“I ‘ad no idea of the contract that I was bound to once Connor saved me life. It wasn’t ‘til after the war when we parted ways that I realized what was ‘appenin’. I felt me soul bein’ pulled out of me. I ‘ad no choice but to follow it. It wasn’t ‘til I got to Cork, Connor’s ‘ometown, that I knew that I was linked to ‘im. I just didn’t know why.
I sought out Soairse, an elder leprechaun who I knew lived nearby. I told ‘er me story, and she informed me of the bond that linked me to Connor. To break it was simple: I ‘ad to save ‘is life. For the first year, I followed Connor wherever he went, waitin’ in the shadows for some sort of misfortune to ‘appen to ‘im. He was oblivious to me presence. I soon realized I ’ated the person I ‘ad become: I ‘ad started to wish for bad things to ‘appen to Connor, just so I could be free.
Eventually, I decided to approach ‘im. It took ‘im a while to believe me, but eventually he came aroun’. I became ‘is friend, though he still thought of me as a bit of a nuisance. I finally came up with a solution. If I gave ‘im immortality, then I would be savin’ ‘is life, wouldn’t I?”
“You made him immortal? You can do that?”
“We can do lots of things, none of which should be taken lightly. It took every ounce of me energy to do it, an’ it took weeks to fully recover. But there are limitations to me magic I ‘adn’t anticipated. Connor will live forever, but he is not indestructible. He can still be wounded or even killed. Thus, me contract remains intact, and now will last indefinitely.”
“Do you regret it?” I asked quietly.
“Ev’ry day. It’s selfish, I know, but I’ll never get accustomed to this life, Alex. I can never feel alone. Even now I feel the pull of me soul. He’s close enough though that it isn’t that strong.”
“How does Connor feel about it all?”
“Well, he was never too keen on the idea in the first place. I kind of tricked ‘im into agreein’ to it. I made ‘im want to be rid of me. I thought I was bein’ quite clever, except when it didn’t work properly, we were both worse off.”
“How was Connor worse off?”
“Alex, he didn’t want to live forever. He ‘ad seen ‘is share of death in the war, an’ he ‘ad no desire to see more. Now he would outlive ‘is parents, ‘is brothers an’ sisters, an’ ev’ryone else he ever loved. Plus, he ’ad to become nomadic, never stayin’ too long in one place so as not to draw attention to ‘is lack of agin’. It’s only recently, now that he ‘as found Nic, and he feels he can belong somewhere, that some of the resentment ‘as waned.”
“So, he found Nic, and now heads up the Innovations Department?”
Dermot broke out into high pitched giggles. “Alex, you’re so naïve! Do you ‘onestly think that’s a real department?”
I thought about that. “Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit ridiculous.” He continued to giggle. “So what does he do then? What do they all do?”
He stopped laughing and looked at me inquisitively, and before he could make up his mind whether to answer me, I decided for him. “Out with it. I can handle it. For some reason I believe you’re a leprechaun, so how much more can my world be turned around?”
He seemed amused. “Albright. But first me question.”
“Fair enough.”
“What be you lookin’ at? Behind me, I mean?”
Had I been that obvious? The bright blue force line blazed behind Dermot, beckoning me. I had thought I was keeping eye contact throughout the conversation, but I realized now that I had been easily distracted, watching the line billow gently in the wind. I had reached out to it a few times already, taking little bits of energy whenever I could get away with it. Except I hadn’t gotten away with it; Dermot was too perceptive.
“Um,” I hesitated, debating if I should lie but deciding against it, “there’s a force line behind you.” It felt weird to say the words out loud.
“You’ll get used to it.”
“Can you see them too?” I felt excited at this prospect.
“No, not force lines. But we leprechauns see other things. Rainbows, for example, are ev’rywhere. It’s a bit distractin’.” He smiled and reached his hand out in front of him, swirling it around in something I couldn’t see. “We should get back inside. I feel a storm brewin’. ‘ighly unusual this time of year mind you,” he added thoughtfully, gazing at the clouds.
We started to head back to the house, but I felt hesitant. The translucent rope called to me, and I turned one last time to look at the sparkling force line. I reached out quickly, jerking at the line; I felt the instant gratification in my muscles. The taste followed soon after, and I savored it, rolling my tongue around in my mouth. Reluctantly, I turned back to the path, luckily only a few steps behind Dermot. He hadn’t noticed my minor digression. It was easy to catch up to him with all the energy flowing through me. I felt recharged, better than I had felt in days, and I could feel myself smiling. I was drunk, and not from the beer.
The rain began before we made it back to the house. By the time we were inside, we were both soaked. Dermot was already pouring two more pints, and the sight of him made me start to laugh: he was soaked to the bone, but only concerned with perfecting his pour. He hadn’t been wearing his trademark stovepipe hat, so his red curls fell in a soggy mass over his eyes. I assumed I must look equally as messy, because when he looked up at me, he started laughing too. He handed me my drink, not before spilling some on the floor due to his trembling laughter. So much for the perfect pour. I tried to slurp some before I spilt some too, but I failed, only making us both laugh even harder. I heard Dermot snort, and looked to see he was making a sour face.
“Up me nose!” he whined. That did it. I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe. My ribs didn’t care for this level of laughter but I didn’t care. I headed into the living room unsteadily, plunking down on the sectional while Dermot made a fire, both of us still in a fit. Just as we started to compose ourselves, I saw the overturned chessboard on the ground and started laughing even more. My ribs shrieked at me with pain, but it had been so lo
ng since I had laughed that I ignored it.
Finally we calmed down, both having to wipe tears from our eyes in order to see properly. As I started to focus again, I noticed Dermot’s tears scintillated in the light, like tiny prisms. They were dazzling, reminding me of what he had said earlier about seeing rainbows everywhere. “You know, you never answered my question before,” I reminded him.
“What’s that?”
“About Connor. What does he do? And what do all those people do on the twelfth floor?”
“Well,” he said coyly, “I could tell you, but I best leave that to Connor, seein’ as he’s about to walk in.” He caught my raised eyebrow and tapped his chest in response. “I can feel it, remember?”
As if on cue, Connor walked through the front door. He didn’t see us immediately as he was too busy hanging up his jacket. He paused for a brief moment, noting the empty hook from which I took the grey hoodie I was now wearing, and turned slowly to look into the room. His eyes fell warily on me, and then darted to Dermot.
“You took her outside? What were you thinking?” His anger shocked me.
“Relax, no one be ‘round fer miles.”
“That’s not the problem! Can’t you see her? She’s practically glowing! She must have drained a line out there!”
Dermot looked at me and I saw the flash of recognition cross his face. I didn’t like the way this conversation was turning.
“Hey,” I interrupted, “give him a break. He didn’t know I did it. Besides, what’s the big deal? It made me feel better.” I felt a little tingle shoot through me, but I ignored it.
“That’s the problem! You don’t know what you’re doing!” he was exasperated now, shaking his head. “You need to be taught. You need to know what you’re dealing with. You can’t just go stealing energy. It has to go someplace or you’ll burn out.”
As if on cue, a loud roll of thunder shook the house.
“That sounds close,” Dermot muttered, under his breath. “Very unusual fer a thunderstorm in the winter, I say.”
I felt another tingle, and this time it hurt. “Ouch!” I yelped. I felt like I had been zapped with an intense static shock.
The thunder responded, closer now.
It was hard to miss the look of fear in Connor’s eyes. He stood frozen, staring intently at me. I wasn’t sure what was going on. I felt mad at him, though he really hadn’t done anything to me. I was more upset that he treated me so childishly. I stood, ready to defend myself against his next outburst, but felt another shock ripple through me.
This time, I saw the flash outside the window from an unseen bolt of lightning. The thunder growled.
“What’s happening?” I shrieked as everything around me started to move in slow motion.
Connor was racing to me, the short distance taking him too long to get to me. Another flash, and electricity shoot from my hands in response, one bolt hurtling through the window, sending shards of glass in all directions, the other smashing through the TV in a shower of sparks, the surge knocking the power out. More thunder.
Connor reached me before the next flash, his hands locking into mine. I felt the slow drain as he absorbed some of the energy from me, but the storm raged on, and the next flash sent a surge through me so strong he was flung across the room.
“We have to get her outside!” Connor shouted, his voice far away.
I felt Dermot’s hard grip throw me over his shoulder. My ribs protested meekly, no longer the greatest source of pain in my body. He didn’t seem to notice the electric shocks I felt myself inflicting on him. He didn’t drain any of my energy away either, as I had hoped. I wished desperately for whatever was happening to stop, but I had no control over my body. Dermot had me outside in seconds; I felt dazed as he set me down. I opened my mouth to speak, but the sky lit up again with another flash and immediate roll of thunder, and my body reacted involuntarily to the charge. My hands flew up, shooting electricity out to the nearest tree, a massive, aged cedar. It cracked loudly, splitting in two. The air filled with smoke as the tree smoldered, the flames hissing in the rain. Another flash and my hands flew up again, this time destroying the sleek Audi. The explosion was loud, and the heat from the fireball was intense. Sparks showered around me.
I was grateful when I realized that there were no more electric shocks. The storm had stopped almost as quickly as it had begun. I fell to my knees, sobbing with exhaustion. What the hell was happening to me? What had I done? I looked up. The tree was in ashy splinters, and the car was totaled. The pouring rain had kept the fiery wreckage contained, and it was almost out at this point. Beside me, I saw Dermot trembling in shock, his hands charred from where he had held me. He had felt the electricity after all.
Inside, I could see Connor getting up from where he had hit the wall, but I looked away before our eyes met. I could have killed him. All he had done was look out for me, trying to protect me from this very situation. What had I done? The tears streamed down my face, but I the rain was still pouring, and I couldn’t tell the difference.
“Alex,” Connor whispered, beside me now. “I’m sorry, but I have to do this.” He touched my trembling fingertips, and I felt the last bit of energy seep from my body. I felt my body start to fall, but he caught me, scooping me up like a child and carrying me back inside.
He sat on the hearth, holding me in his lap while the fire warmed me. The tears did not stop, and I continued to sob quietly into Connor’s shoulder.
“I’m so sorry,” Connor whispered into my dripping hair.
I looked up at him, wiping my eyes with the sleeve of the drenched hoodie. “Don’t… I’m sorry. I… You…” I stammered, trying to find the words. “I’m so sorry I hurt you,” I finally choked out, burying my head back into his shirt.
“Ssssh,” he hushed. “I’m not hurt. And Dermot will heal in a few hours. It’s you I’m worried about. Are you okay?”
“Physically, I’m really… tired. Emotionally…” I trailed off, feeling the tears returning, “I’m cold.”
I felt him reach for the hoodie, and I didn’t fight as he took the wet, heavy burden off my body. My t-shirt underneath was also damp, though not nearly as much as the sweatshirt had been. He moved closer to the fire and squeezed me tighter, rubbing my arms trying to create some warmth. I snuggled in to him, absorbing the warmth wherever I could. We stayed like this for some time, neither one speaking. When my tears finally stopped, I moved my stiff arm up to wipe them away, but Connor beat me too it, gently brushing away the final drop that stung my cheek.
“I think you should get some sleep,” he whispered.
Before I could reply, he was lifting me again. I didn’t fight it; even if I had wanted to protest, my body felt too weak to cooperate.
I felt him shift me to one arm as he used the other to pull back the duvet. He tucked me in gently, brushing away a stray strand of hair from my eyes. I looked up at him, and could see that he looked so much more human, so much more vulnerable. His face was creased with worry, and his eyes were sad. Yet, he was more beautiful now than that first day I saw him in the sandwich shop.
“What is it?” he smiled, meeting my gaze.
I felt my face flush, warming my cold skin. “Don’t go,” I whispered, my voice cracking with exhaustion. I wasn’t sure why I wanted him to stay. Part of me didn’t want to be alone in this big room, especially after the day I had, and another of me was worried that if Connor left, I wouldn’t see him again. The latter thought terrified me.
He put his cool hand to my cheek. “I won’t go anywhere,” he whispered back.
I shifted over, taking his hand from my cheek and pulling him behind me. He climbed in behind me, wrapping one arm around my waist, and maneuvering the other arm under me. He pulled my body close to his, and I could feel his warmth radiating through his clothes. Despite both being fully dressed, there was a level of intimacy between us that I had never felt before. I felt my heart start to race, and he sensed it too, bringing his lips close to my e
ar.
“Sleep, Alexis,” he whispered. He was too easy to obey, and I relaxed, falling into a deep, dead sleep.
Chapter Seventeen
When I woke up, it was still dark. I didn’t know how long I had been asleep, but it had been mid-afternoon when the storm hit, so it was at least eight hours later. Connor still held me tightly, and I as I started to maneuver out of his grip, he squeezed me tighter.
“Going somewhere?” he chuckled quietly.
I rolled over to face him. His eyes sparkled in the dark. I thought about answering him, but instead I just pressed myself closer to him, my hands flat against his chest. He leaned his head into mine, and inhaled deeply into my hair. Neither of us spoke for some time, though I knew he hadn’t fallen back asleep. I was afraid to ruin the moment, but my mind was racing with questions.
“Connor?” I whispered quietly into his chest.
“Yes?” his voice was calm, as though he had been expecting this.
I looked up at him. “I don’t understand what’s happening to me.”
He met my gaze, and even in the dark I could see the emotion in his eyes. “Alex, make me a promise.”
I stared intently at him. I wasn’t the kind of person to break my word, so I usually didn’t go about making promises before I knew what they were. His expression was solemn, and there was a hint of fear behind his eyes.
“Okay,” I agreed reluctantly.
He took a deep breath. “I need you to stay away from force lines for a while. If you see them, you need to resist the urge to drain them. You’re becoming addicted to them.”
Addicted? I pushed away from him in disgust. “You say that like I’m some sort of drug addict.”
“It’s similar. If you keep using them way are, you won’t be able to live without them.” His voice remained steady, so I was sure that he couldn’t see my face in the dark.
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