Descending

by C E Dimond

  So, we sat across from each other she carefully relayed her story to me. It was simple really, frighteningly simple, and strangely enough, after everything I’d already learned about our family dynamics, it completely made sense.

  From her understanding, our mother had faked Iseult’s death. She had staged an accident in attempt to protect her from the prying hands that were so desperate to get control of her powers, the same prying hands it seemed that were now after my own.

  “I didn’t really remember anything” she assured me. It was somewhat of a relief to know I hadn’t been the only one blindsided “For most of my life, I lived in Boston with Thomas Dunne, my uncle, or I guess I should say that I thought he was my uncle. He always told me my parents had died when I was two. His brother had named him guardian of their daughter,” she explained. “Which, it turns out his brother and sister in-law had actually died in a car crash,” she admitted.

  “But-” I interjected, clearly she’d figured out she hadn’t been part of that crash.

  “But when I was 13, we both finally figured out that I wasn’t his niece, in fact I wasn’t even related to him at all. Whoever that child had been she had died in the car with her parents.”

  “And that’s the body that’s buried at Broadhaven.” I said suddenly.

  “So it would seem, if there is even a body there at all.”

  “What did he do?” I asked curiously. I couldn’t even imagine the discovery like that. I had been blindsided sure, but my mother had always known that I didn’t belong to just her, so there was no manner of shock for her when the truth had started to crumble the foundations of my own life.

  “It doesn’t matter” she said, shortness in her tone and the hardness in her voice told me it hadn’t been a touching revelation. “We found out because our father found me,” she started.

  Immediately, I felt my muscles tense at the mention of him. I moved to stand and her hand grabbed my wrist tightly, preventing me from leaving the table.

  I was suddenly less willing to listen to her story, and I didn’t like being handled in such a way. That shock that had let her lead me there was fading, and quick. I narrowed my eyes at her and leaned forward.

  “I swear to God,” I threatened “If you’ve just lured me here to hand me over to him, I will not hesitate to hurt you. You’re not a sworn member of the coven.” So I would be breaking no rules, not that they had stopped me before.

  I could do whatever I wanted to her without breaking any of the coven rules, not that I hadn’t already crossed that line, but she didn’t know that. At least, I didn’t think she knew. I was beginning to doubt just exactly what sort of information she had driving her. Her cold stare back had twice the intimidation power of mine and made me wish I could quickly take the words back, but it was too late for that.

  “Calm yourself sis,” she said the last words with such disdain I was tempted to run again. “I’m not handing you over to anyone. I’m here to warn you that whatever you think you know, isn’t the truth.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The power, the awakening, the prophecy, all of those things are real but that’s not what Cormac wants with you, with us. Whatever they told you about him, it’s not the truth.”

  I hated that she was playing into my insecurities, into the doubts about Cormac I’d already been harboring. There was a big part of me that wondered just how truthful the others had been about my father, but their hate for him had been all too real. “But there are others out there who do want to use you, use us both. Now with you here, they have you precisely where they want you. And that’s dangerous, even for special cases like us.” She cleared her throat then before adding, “especially for special cases like us.”

  “If it’s not Cormac who wants to awaken the power than who is it?” I asked.

  “He does want to awaken the power, but the prophecy they’re spinning to you is all wrong. He wants to protect you! Protect us, that’s all he’s ever wanted to do.”

  “Protect us from who?”

  “If I knew, I wouldn’t be following you around trying to keep an eye on you,” she pointed out. “You need protecting. Why do you think he was coming to get you in California?”

  I narrowed my eyes at her wondering how much I could trust the words escaping her mouth. She was blood, but she wasn’t exactly family. Family was a status you had to earn, it wasn’t simply granted. A liar was a liar, even if they were your long-lost, formerly dead sister, a fact I still had no concrete way of knowing was true.

  “How do I even know anything you’re saying is true? How do I know that I can trust you?”

  “You don’t,” she said simply. “But I would hurry up and make up your mind before someone else figures out you’re here.” It was her final warning as she stood up from her place, then turned to leave. I was going to ask one more question before she stopped again, her startling eyes turning back to me. “I mean it Finn, get out of here, and don’t go back to Broadhaven either; you need to get as far away from magic as you can. It will destroy you.”

  ***

  The forest was dark, but vast and they had soon discovered it was the only place near the Shannon they could remain hidden. Each night they ran and with the help of those they trusted and those met along the way, that envied their love, they remained hidden.

  It was beginning to feel as if their hiding was in vain as the hunt was ever going. They would never rest until the two of them were found, he knew this better than anyone.

  His guilt had long faded upon beginning his new life and he slept soundly each night next to the woman he loved, the woman whose actions had started a war, who had placed a target so willingly on his back.

  It had been undoubtedly worth it.

  Still, in the midst of their running he had sworn to make their love right. They had taken their vows and created a bond that not even the greatest warrior could break.

  They lay together in the darkness of the seaside cave, the only light came from the moon reflecting off the water. He watched her sleep in awe, timing each breath she took until he discovered they were in time with his own, their hearts also beating as one.

  She had meant her promise; she had stayed by his side, left a life of castles for a life of caves, cottages and any form of shelter they could find along the way. Her love for him had been true, even in spite of the actions she had taken to get them there.

  The daughter of a king had pledged her life to a warrior and despite his guilt, he was glad for it.

  Stories of their journey had spread quickly across the lands and soon enough it would something of legend, a half-truth spun into existence through the words of the poets.

  A half-truth that could never hold a candle to the reality.

  6

  The talk with my supposed sister had certainly given me a lot to think about, but I wasn’t sure I believed her enough to obey her requests without an investigation of my own.

  In fact, I wasn’t in any position to obey her requests at all. I wasn’t leaving, I’d already decided that even after hearing her warnings. I had a mission to complete, even if it was one of my own devise. I wasn’t about to abandon my quest for knowledge because a woman I barely knew told me to.

  The real question that plagued my mind was where we went from here. She had started a stranger who’d accosted me on the street. In reality, we were sisters, but aside from this label, we were still complete strangers.

  We had our basic similarities; on the surface we had both spent our entire lives believing we were different people. Now, we’d been thrown together with nothing more in common than our genetics, oh and our possibly, or possibly not, sociopathic father.

  ​The biggest part of me wanted to trust her, if only because in some ways, we were on the same side. Both of us were victims of our mother’s rash decisions. We were both two teenagers on the run from something that neither of us truly understood.

  I had forgotten who I could trust, I’d thought once that the
answer had been simple, a black or white choice but who could have known in this life of magic, that there were so many shades of grey.

  The truth had been much easier before I’d started my own quest for knowledge; the coven was good, my father was bad.

  Now, and not just from the words of Iseult either, but my few interactions with my father had me questioning everything I’d been told.

  Yes, I had been frightened by him, uneasy even and though not completely terrified. He had seemed enraged when I’d suggested that he’d killed Niamh.

  Is that what they told you?

  His words rang out in my mind again and again. He had sounded so sincere and so defensive.

  Why would he react so defensively if he’d done it?

  I had thought, once, that I was generally good at picking up deceit, but this world ran a whole different game than I was used to. They were playing by a different set of rules.

  Spells, potions, dream walking; it was all new to me and it, without a doubt, altered my perception of things.

  The only thing I was certain of any more, was that there was only one person I could trust, and that was myself.

  For that reason alone, my quest was going to continue unchecked until I had discovered what I needed to know.

  I spent the next few days hauled up in the archives again.

  With each new page I read, I was gathering little pieces of information. Anything tidbit I could find about my families was going into the notes.

  In my own frustration, I found rather quickly that I wasn’t getting much further than when I’d started.

  So far I had gathered this; we were the people of the lakes. Our kingdom had been lost in the Norman invasion of the island, and the status of it eventually vanishing entirely as it became absorbed into Leinster.

  In short, I had learned that my birth-mother’s ancestors had taken control of the McLoughlin territory. That realization had sent a cold chill to run beneath my skin.

  It all came together now in some kind of twisted logic.

  No wonder Cormac had fought so hard for their union.

  If the prophecy was true, then together with their children, with Iseult and I, they could have taken back control of the old Kingdom. He could have separated the land again and taken, in his mind, his rightful place.

  Now, my birth mother was dead.

  If, God forbid, he managed to succeed in this plan, any rightful claim on the Cavanaugh Kingdom would fall into Brendan’s control, and then to Declan.

  That thought worried me.

  I might have been a Cavanaugh by blood, but Iseult and I had no claim to anything, not with the way their succession worked.

  The real reason it was worrying me was, not knowing what Cormac planning from here on out. Were my Uncle and Cousin in danger?

  After taking some time to sort out my own thoughts, I finally went back to the hostel.

  I had intended to crawl into bed and get an early night. I needed to head back to the archives early the next day to continue the search.

  It seemed like that wasn’t happening.

  I walked into the room to discover that I was about to be dragged out for a pub night.

  “Temple Bar,” Keilan advised. “You have to come it’s practically a rite of passage for any tourist” she prodded.

  Going out was really the last thing that I wanted to do, but I’d told them I was there on a trip. All I’d done so far was bury myself in books and paper.

  I tried to come up with some excuse on the spot that didn’t sound as lame as that.

  “Come on!” She said again before I even had a chance to think of one. “It’ll be just us, girls’ night out!”

  I offered a weak smile that I hoped was convincing enough.

  On one hand, going out with the girls sounded like fun, but it also sounded like an opportunity to draw a lot of unwanted attention my way.

  There was of course, the argument I was already posing to myself. I was staying in a hostel, where there was never a moment’s peace. It was the epitome of public. People were always coming and going which meant, someone was always watching.

  Besides, I was starting to run out of excuses. It was the evening and I obviously wasn’t going to be able to go to the archives now.

  With their eyes watching me expectantly, I smiled and with a sigh agreed to go.

  The biggest problem, in their eyes it seemed, was that I hadn’t really packed anything that was worthy of wearing to go out. Luckily, it seemed like my new roommates were fine with sharing.

  By the time we’d reached the bar I was dressed in a long sleeve black wrap dress, Keilan’s burgundy leather jacket and a pair of knee-high brown leather heeled boots that were just the tiniest bit too small for my feet.

  I tried to hide the discomfort from my make-up covered features as I followed them inside. They went straight to the bar and left me standing amidst a crowd of strangers.

  “Fun,” I mumbled trying to weave my way through the people. Normally, I might have been more excited to be there, but now, the idea of crowd had my in high alert.

  Cormac could be anywhere, and if Izzy was still following me, one or both of them could very well show up at the bar.

  Luckily, there was live music in the corner and I found myself heading in that direction.

  The music was good, upbeat and for a while I felt myself lost in the sounds that were roaring around me. Soon, my body was swaying in some form of dance and I let myself begin to enjoy the night.

  I had almost forgotten I’d come there with the others until I felt a tap on the shoulder. I turned and my eyes settled on Keilan as she held out a beer toward me.

  “Here,” she shouted over the music and I looked at it with a blank stare.

  Right, she thought I was eighteen, which was the drinking age in Ireland.

  I was tempted.

  Taking a moment to think over the pros and cons of losing myself in a drink, I quickly shook off the temptation. I reminded myself that I wasn’t really there to be a tourist.

  I was there on a mission and not to have fun.

  Going out had been already diverging from the plan. There was also the fact that I was in a foreign country and didn’t want to risk getting in trouble. My magic was still limited, I wasn’t sure how well my magicked identification would stand up to all the police scrutiny if it came down to that.

  “I’m good,” I assured her with a smile.

  Just as I was going to turn away from her, a chill ran down my spine. In addition to the chill, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck were suddenly standing on end.

  I wanted to ignore it, but unfortunately, I had begun to recognize that feeling.

  I could feel the warmth leave my face and I turned, searching through the crowd for what, or who, was putting me so on edge.

  My eyes finally settled on a tall man who looked just out of place. Around him the crowd bustled, friends talked, strangers met.

  Not him.

  He was unmoving, his arms crossed over his broad chest, his darkened blue eyes watching me with an intensity I didn’t appreciate.

  I looked away and started to move again. I was trying to get myself lost in the crowd, but I could still feel his gaze following me. The nervousness kicked in and my pulse began to race.

  I was just being paranoid right?

  I was remembering something that Patrick had said; that there were others like us out there, ones that still had power, but hadn’t inherited their family’s seat. Warlocks that had been cast out of the coven all because of an accident of birth.

  Maybe he was one of them, or maybe he was just a bad guy. I decided that it didn’t really matter. Either way, I could no longer ignore the magic I was sensing from him. It was simple, my instincts were telling me to go.

  So I did, I kept moving through the crowd of people, only this time making strides away from my friends. There was no time to explain.

  “Where are you going?” I heard Keilan call from the distance.
>
  I turned back and just gave her a wave, trying to tell her I was fine. Then, she was out of my sight and then, I was lost in the sea of people, fighting my way against the current.

  I just knew that I needed to make it outside unnoticed.

  Once the cool night air filled by lungs I turned and without given a thought to any particular direction, I took off running.

  I couldn’t move as quickly as I might have liked in the borrowed outfit. The slightly too tight shoes squished my toes in pain.

  Before I could make it very far, I turned the corner and found myself on an abandoned quiet street. Too quiet, especially for what I’d become familiar with in Dublin.

  The click of my uncomfortable heels echoed as they hit against the pavement with each step forward. My breath created a fog in the chilly night air with each nervous exhale.

  Then I felt it again, that different chill. I looked up and there was a man in front of me, another two steps and I could have touched him.

  I stepped back, instinctively crossing my arms across my body.

  It wasn’t the same man from the bar, even in the dim street lights I could tell.

  He was however, giving off the same kind of energy.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” A voice rang out behind me and I knew the words hadn’t come from his lips.

  I turned to the side and saw the first man, the one from inside the bar. He had followed me outside, and it looked like he wasn’t alone.

  Standing where I was now, my back was to the buildings, the strangers on either side of me, my eyes managed to keep them both in my sights.

  His accent, to my surprise was American. I supposed then, that if they worked for my father, it shouldn’t have been that surprising.

  Although, from what very little I had learned about Cormac. He didn’t quite seem like the kind of person who would have enough trust to hire henchmen, but of course, I didn’t know him that well.