Chapter 4
A necktie hung from the door of Ella’s apartment when Karina arrived home, she took this as a sign that she had company and not to enter. Still reeling from her run in with Xavier, and now this, Karina stomped down the hallway and out onto the street. She was tired, upset and hungry. Only one thing could make her happy now and that was an over sized pub meal with all the trimmings. Something with gravy, melted cheese, way too many beer battered chips to be healthy. Then, wash it all down with a beer. In times of crisis she always turned to food for comfort. Karina took off her frumpy matron looking nurse’s shoes and slipped on the pair of ballet flats she kept in her car for emergencies. Unfortunately there were no spare clothes to change into so she had to settle for her navy blue skirt and white blouse with Basinview Area Health stitched onto the chest as she walked the few blocks into town to the Grand Hotel.
From the outside the ornate cornicing and terracotta and cream heritage colour scheme made the place look almost respectable, but once you stepped inside you were transferred to a parallel universe. Thick plumes of stale smoke greeted you as loud 80’s rock classics blared from the static sounding jukebox in the far corner, next to a cigarette machine. Pool tables lined the far wall and poker machines the other. In between was a bar and what one could only suppose was meant to be a dance floor, but on a Friday night was transformed more into a fighting arena. This place was renowned for its not so blue collar cliental. Bikers and drug dealers were more the norm here, but it did have one of the best bistro’s Karina had ever eaten in. She quickly made her way across the bar and through the swinging saloon style door to the bistro that adjoined it, keeping her head down so not to make eye contact with any of the patrons. The bistro was modestly furnished with cream walls and plastic plants, which were covered in a layer of dust. Prints of the pub in its glory days hung on the wall, gentlemen in collared shirts and trimmed moustaches all lined together. If these men could see the place now, I’m sure they’d turn in their graves.
Karina took her order to a small table in the corner. The light flickered above her but she didn’t mind, all she wanted to do was eat in peace and go home feeling gluttonous and content. No sooner than she had taken her first bite then she was joined by a tall handsome man. “Xavier!” Karina almost choked on her dinner as she beheld the man before her. “Are you following me?”
He gave her a smug grin and took one of the chips off her plate. “The same could be said for you,” he mocked as he threw the chip into his mouth. “I didn’t ever expect to see someone like you in a place like this.”
Karina rested her chin seductively in the palm of her hand, leaning against the table. “Now what exactly do you mean by someone like me?” she goaded.
He leaned forward and emulated Karina. “I mean a pompous, uptight control freak like you. I saw you walk in here, you almost ran through the bar like you were worried someone might see you. I bet no one knows you’re here.”
She pushed her plate away from her and stood to leave. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
Xavier grabbed her wrist and his face softened. “Sit. I’ll go,” his hand was hot on her skin and she felt her heart beating faster, her anger subsiding as she looked into his dark smouldering eyes. “Tell me more about these Tuatha De Danann.” Karina whispered as she sat back down in her seat.
Xavier was silent for a moment taking in Karina’s face again. “What do you want to know?”
“What are they?”
“Celtic faeries, I told you.”
Karina laughed nervously and shifted uncomfortably in her chair, she was trying to listen to what Xavier was telling her but it was all sounding farfetched.
“What do you imagine when I say the word faerie?” he asked her “Diminutive pixies that live in toadstool houses? Tinkerbell? They are all children story characters, works of fiction. The Tuatha De Danann were fierce warriors, a race of nomads who broke away from the Pelasgians in 1900 B.C. They left Greece and called themselves the Tuatha De Danann and migrated north, eventually settling in Ireland. They took with them their four sacred treasures, The Stone of Virtue, the Sword of Lugh, the Spear of Victory and the Cauldron of the Gods.”
“Ireland was ruled by the Firbolgs at that time. Their stories say that the Tuatha De Danann arrived in a mist. They fought the Firbolgs and took over as the rulers of the land, until the Milesians invaded. There were long ongoing battles between the two which was ruthless and bloody. The three kings of the Tuatha De Danann were killed. The survivors refused to succumb to the ways of the Milesians. Eventually, they came to an arrangement with the Milesian leader Manannan, that in exchange for their freedom they would take their sacred treasures and seek refuge in the Otherworld, under the sighe. They would make no further claims to the land. Manannan agreed to their request and built an invisible wall around their glades, and made them immortal. He took one of the Queens of the Tuatha De Danann as assurance they would not go back on their word. She impressed the Milesians with her wisdom and they made her a Goddess, assuring her peoples freedom.”
Karina looked at Xavier with disbelief. “So if they are an ancient tribe of hill dwelling faeries, why did you call me Tuatha earlier?”
Xavier looked away almost embarrassed then back to Karina. “The Tuatha De Danann were said to be the descendants of the Goddess Danu. Who was described as being tall and graceful, with deathly pale skin, lips as red as rowan berries, eyes of startling blue, and long fair hair.” Xavier reached out and twisted a strand of Karina’s hair around his finger as he said this to her, a faraway look on his face. “She also had the ability to shape shift.”
Karina found herself leaning closer, hanging off every word Xavier was saying. “What could she change into?”
His eyes now searched hers. “Many things, a vixen, she-wolf, a hag were just some of them.”
Karina rolled her eyes at his discrete insult; she hardly noticed that his hand was no longer touching her hair but had moved to the table and was touching hers.
“Danu was also said to have been a passionate lover.” Xavier’s voice was low and sexy. Karina wanted nothing more at that moment than to lean forward and kiss him. The sound of glass breaking brought her back to where she was and she quickly moved her hand from under Xavier’s. A fight had broken out in the bar and the sound of people shouting echoed through the doorway. Karina felt anxious and wanted to leave, she grabbed her bag but Xavier stopped her from standing. “You should wait till things settle down out there before you walk into the middle of it.”
She looked toward the door, people were crowding around and police sirens approached. Karina sat back down and looked at Xavier. “You think I look like Danu? That’s why you called me Tuatha; you think I’m one of them?”
“It’s a strange coincidence that you have been named Tuatha, and you share a striking resemblance to them.” Xavier replied.
Karina shook her head. “But I’m no warrior; I can’t go into an elevator without hyperventilating. I’m a doormat, people walk all over me all the time. I have spent my whole life doing what other people tell me to do, what I think will make them happy.”
Xavier smirked “You can’t go in the water either.”
“But you said the Tuatha De Danann arrived in Ireland in a mist. They would have had to travel over water,” she pointed out.
“That was part of the spell Manannan put on them. They could only live on the hill and in their Otherworld fortress.”
“So how could I possibly be descended from them if my family is Greek and not Irish?” Karina pointed out.
Xavier shrugged. “Maybe you should look into your family tree. But if your family named you Tuatha, I don’t think you’ll need to dig too far.”
Karina looked around, the bar was now quiet. She took this as her queue to leave. “I really should be going.”
“Let me walk you home,” Xavier offered as he stood to follow Karina.
“That’s ok; it’s only a few blocks. Thanks anyway.”
She hadn’t completely ruled Xavier out as a stalker; letting him walk her back to Ella’s apartment was the last thing she wanted and she turned and left.
The Beast Within Page 4