by C E Dimond
“What's going on?” I croaked, turning my eyes back to Cormac. This was not what he said would happen. I turned to Iseult, and she looked just as unsure as I felt.
Her hand began to tremble and our father’s look remained just as confused as we were. I waited for an answer but he seemed speechless, for the first time since I had met him, Cormac McLoughlin was at a loss for words.
“Dad?” Izzy cried out, her expression pained. Whatever had just happened, had not been in the cards. Something told me he didn’t have an answer for this.
“I- I don’t know.” Was all he could muster up in response to my question. For once, I believed him without a doubt. His speechlessness was real. “This isn’t what was supposed to happen, your blood was supposed to-” he caught himself for a moment and looked to Iseult and then to me. I could almost see the wheels of his braining turning over as he tried to piece everything together. Then, his dark eyes shifted from confused, to angry. “Who are you!?” He demanded.
I turned, looking at my sister with confusion. Was it on her? Was she the reason that the spell hadn’t worked?
“I- I’m who you said I am!” She stuttered.
Then he began to look between the two of us as though he was trying to deduce which one of us was the culprit.
We didn’t have any more time to discuss it as the ground beneath our feet began to tremble. It was gradual at first, almost unnoticeable until the slight tremble shifted into an earth-shattering quake. The bowl shook, tipping over and I watched as our blood disappeared into the grass at our feet.
I tried to stand up, but the trembling made it difficult. It felt like the whole earth was going to crack beneath us.
My father, however, was already on his feet reaching his hands out for us, nodding with his head behind him, indicating for us to follow him. If he was saying anything, I couldn’t hear it over the sound of the quake.
Before taking his hand, I turned, and I grabbed for Iseult trying to pull her away from the stone. She wasn’t moving. Whatever had just happened seemed to have shaken her to the core.
“Izzy!” I shouted moving to take a step toward her.
Before I could do anything, I heard the deafening crack. The stone before us split down the middle and the earth surrounding it was beginning to separate.
A jolt threw me back off my feet, and I lost any chance of grabbing ahold of my sister. When I sat back up, I saw she had been thrown in the opposite direction and was lying, unmoving on the grass. Then, I looked around for Cormac and couldn’t see him there.
An uneasy feeling came over me at the thought that he had simply vanished.
The ground shifted violently beneath me and I let out a loud scream.
It looked like the island was unhappy, to say the least. Was this some form of magical rejection? Had our spell failed?
I thought perhaps, at that moment, that we had disturbed something we never should have been messing with.
I felt another rumbling crack and this time my head felt like the noise from it had rattled the brain within the skull itself.
The rock before us continued to crack further, the sound continued to be deafening. In fact, I couldn’t hear anything above the noise and now, the ringing in my ears was the only true indication that anything was still happening.
I couldn't even hear the second scream escape my own lips, as the rock cracked directly in half, and the land around it finally giving way beneath me. The mouth of the beast was opening wide.
I closed my eyes and resigned to it as I began to fall into its depths.
19
I felt a strong grip on my arm and my eyes flew opened. I had expected to see my father’s face gazing down at me.
Instead, it was Keilan.
Relief came over me. She had followed us there.
Whatever tears I had been holding back during the ritual, began to spill over now streaming down my cheeks as my life hung in the balance.
The relief was short lived however and was soon replaced by concern for her safety. She needed to run.
I tried to scream it up to her, but I couldn’t tell if I was managing to get anything out. The ringing in my ears was drowning out my own words.
If I was managing to say anything at all she was ignoring me. Soon, I realized that she wasn’t alone. A dark-haired mass appeared next to her and it only took me a moment to recognize who it was.
Eamon.
His green eyes were unmistakable even in the darkness, the only light around us all now was the glow emanating from the large crack in the earth’s surface beneath me.
I was pretty sure that I had never been so happy to see someone in my entire life. Not as happy as I was to see the two of them at that moment.
Eamon was speaking to me, shouting probably. I could see his lips moving, but I couldn't hear a single word he was saying.
My eyes narrowed at him in confusion and after I watched Keilan’s lips move, he suddenly seemed to understand that I couldn't hear him. His words were being wasted on deaf ears.
With that, he gave up trying to talk to me and I watched as he turned to look over his shoulder, before reaching down to help Keilan take hold of my arm.
The earth was still trembling and I knew it was only a matter of time before they too would be thrown over the edge.
“Let go!” I begged, though I doubted they could hear me. Even if they could, my instincts told me neither of them would bother to listen.
This was the opposite of what I wanted. They were in direct danger, this was supposed to protect them.
I could feel the ground they were resting on trembling. I knew that it would soon give way to the power. If they didn’t let me go, they were going to fall in with me and they wouldn't be able to fix whatever we had done.
I felt now, like Cormac had not been the mastermind behind it all. I believed his story, at least, I trusted that he believed in what he thought would happen. Whoever had organized this, would soon have access to one of the most ruthless armies in history, and a great magical being.
This was not going to end well.
And I wasn’t even going to be around to warn the Coven that Cormac hadn’t been their biggest problem.
If Fionn was going to rise, it would not be in the way Cormac had intended, not to help restore the magic.
It was then that three more familiar faces appear. If I could have smiled, I would have. Unfortunately, it was not the time or place. Looming death had a way of putting a downer on the moment. Besides, the pain in my head was excruciating and the confusion was overwhelming any other emotion I may have had.
Here I was, hanging on for my life as I was being reunited with my friends.
I was a bit otherwise occupied to say the least.
“Go!” I cried again. Why wouldn’t they listen?
They refused to listen. Which didn’t surprise me, but did irritate me.
Instead, the four Warlocks began to chant together. I couldn’t hear it, but It was unmistakable. They were all saying the same words, their lips moving in unison, their eyes focused on me. I felt a calm surround me, one I hadn't felt in weeks, and I could feel their power working.
The earth around me was calming, and it gave Keilan enough time to pull me up and to safety. As she lifted me up, Eamon helping her, he took me into his arms and he placed his hands over my ears and slowly, the sounds around me became clear again.
Once he pulled his hands away, I could see the crimson stain of blood and I reached my own hands up to investigate. My ears had been bleeding from the blast, that had been the reason I couldn’t hear. My eyes stared at him in a blank confusion. How? He couldn’t heal, none of them could.
“How did you...” I started but there was no time to finish, in a matter of seconds the ground began to tremble again, and he pulled me to my feet.
Keilan was steering the others toward the tree line in the distance.
I turned around quickly, my eyes scanning the ground, trying to find Iseult. Then they stop
and settled on her body slumped on the ground a few feet from me.
“Caine!” I called and broke away from Eamon, running to her side. Her ears too had bled and her eyes were shut. The shake was growing louder as I attempted, and failed, to lift her up.
Caine appeared beside me, his expression a combination of both concern and confusion.
“Who is this?” Caine yelled over the sounds of the shaking earth.
“Please just grab her!” I demanded, this wasn’t something we could get into now, not if we all wanted to get out of there safely.
I waited for him to take my sister into his arms and my eyes scanned the rest of the area, hoping to see Cormac there. I had no such luck.
I watched as Caine lifted her with ease, one arm beneath her knees, the other under her back.
“Got her!” He confirmed before we all started running.
I could feel my body pushing itself as we raced towards the nearest safety. Keilan was out running all of us, leading the way.
In this case, she was leading the way to the nearest cover, which seemed to be the trees nearby. It was only then that I realized John was with the group.
Once we reached the edge of the woods, we came to an abrupt stop. Now, we were undercover and far enough away from the danger that we could take a moment to catch our breath. It seemed like the further we ran, the less and less I could feel the tremble.
I glanced back, casting my eyes over my shoulder only once.
But it was in that moment that I saw him, my father.
How? I had been sure the ground around us had been vacant.
I called out for him.
“Cormac!” I screamed out, but my sound wasn’t traveling far enough to reach him.
Eamon’s eyes shot up and he moved to my side and grabbed hold of my arm.
“Finn! What are you doing?!” He asked and I realized he couldn’t understand, he didn’t know what I knew, not yet.
Cormac couldn't see me from the distance, that I knew. The light from the ground was illuminating only him now and by the look on his face he looked like he believed, somehow that I was down there.
No! I thought forcefully. We’re not there!
As if on cue, he lifted his gaze and my breath caught in my throat as he locked eyes with mine.
Could he see me?
It didn’t seem possible. I was too far, and under the cover the trees.
As much as I wished he could see me in the distance, I knew that even a Warlock didn't have the gift of night vision. We were cloaked in darkness, surrounded by trees. It was next to impossible.
Still, I didn't dare to breathe in fear that the small, gentle motion could push him over the edge. I watched from the distance as he stood there, a look of pure despair on his features and his gaze shifted to his hand, the same one that bore the mark from our first encounter.
I knew, before he had even taken a step what he planned to do.
“NO!” I screamed, as my mind shifted to the possibility of our connection. I tried to run forward, and Eamon held me back. It was too late, and I watched him step off the edge of the earth and vanish beneath the surface.
My scream of protest soon turned into a cry of pain as I lurched forward, out of Eamon’s hold and fell to my knees, my hands gripping at my abdomen. I felt as if I was being torn in two.
“No!” I screamed again, my eyes burned with tears.
He thought we were down there, he thought he had lost us and if what he said was true, he would no longer be able to protect us.
“No, no…” I wasn’t sure if I was screaming now, it felt like more of a distraught whisper.
The pain radiated through my body, the tears a steady stream down my face.
“Finn!”
I had fallen from my knees into a prayer position against the ground and Eamon soon appeared in front of me, hands on my shoulders he lifted me back up.
“What's wrong?” He grabbed my face. “Finn?” He said again, trying to pull my attention to him, but I could barely breathe.
I parted my lips for one last cry, but before I could manage it out my eyes began to lose focus.
The sounds around me became distant, and what little light there had been in the distance faded as my body crashed hard into the ground.
20
If this was death, it sucked.
So far there were no pearly gates, no angels, no… anything. In fact, there was nothing but a cold, dark void.
I glanced around and knew that I did not feel at peace. I was afraid, cold, and alone. More so, I was completely consumed with despair.
It took me a moment to remember what had happened.
My father, Cormac, who I had only known, in person, for a few hours, was gone.
He was gone.
He had wanted to protect us, thought he failed and taken his own life in the aftermath.
How would we ever get our answers now?
More important than answers, was the fact that I had finally discovered he had been telling the truth. I knew now that he hadn’t killed Eamon’s mother, and if he hadn’t killed Miriam, there was a good chance he hadn’t killed Niamh either.
He would never know now, that I believed him.
Unless, he somehow could know.
Which begged the question; if I was dead, was he here with me?
“Hello?” I called out, and the words echoed around me.
I waited.
No response.
It sounded like I'd been left in the middle of a deep cavern, so remote that light had been forsaken there.
I knew that I was on my feet, but each step I took felt uncertain. The darkness surrounding me ensured no safety. For all I knew every step I took could have sent me plummeting in an abyss.
That was of course, assuming that I wasn't already in one.
“Hello?” I called again, but the reply once more, was only the echo of my own voice.
A sigh escaped me.
With my arms out in front of me, I turned to the left, making my way further into the darkness.
My eyes began to focus on something in the distance, a light. With each step closer, I narrowed my gaze trying to see where it was coming from and with care, I continued to make my way toward it.
“Oh my god.” I whispered as it slowly came into focus. My father’s words ran through my mind as I stared. My stomach sinking as the reality sunk in.
'Instead of death, he was met with an eternal sleep and lies hidden in a cave somewhere beneath the Island'
“Fionn.” I said my tone still hushed.
I stepped forward, closing the space between myself and what looked like a tomb.
How was I here?
My mind wandered back to the story my father had told us on the hill. Our blood had needed to be sacrificed to find him, to wake him.
Yet, it hadn't happened.
Sure, our blood had been spilled, but it hadn’t mixed properly, and we’d never even had the chance to sound the horn.
The horn!
I stopped in place and my hands rose to my ears. The blast had deafened me, my ears had been bleeding! I lowered my hands again to see they were free from blood now.
My heart sank and I wondered if that was the reason I was here now, the reason I'd been stopped in my escape. I had been dying and now, I was dead.
I had thought Eamon had fixed them, I had been able to hear before the pain had sent me into the darkness.
I shook my head, trying to clear it from the mess of thoughts that were weaving a confusing web.
There was only one thing missing now.
Had my father fallen with the horn? Had he held onto it when he’d taken the leap? Had he survived? Was it here? Was I beneath the earth’s surface? Beneath the rock above?
Okay, perhaps there was more than one thing missing. I had replaced all my other life affirming questions with a slew of new ones.
Hurrying forward to search, I was suddenly stopped in my tracks as a voice sounded through the darkness.
“Finn!”
It echoed around me. Familiar, but it didn’t make sense in this setting.
I froze, every muscle in my body unmoving.
“Finn come on!”
There is was again and it sounded really, really familiar. I turned carefully from the tomb, my eyes shifting around, trying to pin down the direction of the voice.
“Eamon?” I asked, my voice a gentle whisper.
It sounded like his voice, but why was he here? Had he fallen like I thought he would? Had we both died?
I took comfort in the fact that maybe, I wasn’t there alone.
“FINN!” the last cry was a desperate scream and awakened something around me.
I stumbled, and my forehead began to tingle as though someone had placed peppermint oil against it. I raised my hand to touch my fingers to it and everything around me started to shake.
Panic set in.
I had been through this before, and I had no desire to relive it so soon after.
“No wait!” I cried, but it was only a matter of seconds before I completely lost my footing.
Before I could stop myself, I was falling, and I could do was scream.
21
My eyes flew open, and I gasped for air. My body felt as though it had slammed onto the bed on which I found I was now lying.
My eyes met the intense, and dare I say concerned, eyes of Eamon O’Neill.
“Holy crap, it's the living dead!”
Another voice chimed in and as I turned my eyes to look around me. I saw that everyone was there. It took a moment, for me to get my bearings, my breathing still rapid, my heart racing.
Caine, Declan, Neely, and Eamon. They were all there, the whole Coven. Not to mention the concerned gazes of Keilan and John. They had all come for me. I blinked staring at Keilan with questions in my eyes before they darted to John and then back to her. She smiled, shrugging her shoulders gently.
“Seemed like as good a time as any,” she offered in explanation.
I had to disagree. The chaos of everything that had happened, didn’t seem like the ideal time to introduce her human boyfriend to all things magic. What had me even more confused, was how relatively calm he seemed.