Alainn grimaced as the movement seemed to cause a pain within her body and soul. She forced a smile for Killian who glanced at her with concern in his eyes.
“Why do the fairies not touch you? Always before they couldn’t wait draw near to you, to graze your skin and sense your wondrous magic. It has always been so every time in a fairy glade. Why now do they purposely avoid you?”
Alainn had little time to reply for she noticed not only had the fairies distanced themselves, they had now congregated together to form a large circle around the humans.
Alainn glanced toward Danhoul to see the spirit of Shylie O’Rorke had appeared beside him. Shylie had made herself scarce the entire journey. She was often known for offering her opinion and though well intended, on consistently meddling in Alainn’s life. Although Shylie was actually Alainn’s aunt, she sometimes thought of the spirit as her niece or perhaps even a somewhat bothersome and mischievous, but much loved younger sister.
Alainn had initially believed even as a spirit, Shylie was ill at ease and felt somewhat unsettled being so far from Ireland, where she had lived and died. But now she knew with the magical abilities Shylie possessed and maintained as a spirit, she sensed the deep level of evil growing within Alainn. She perhaps was unable to bear it and therefore kept her distance from Alainn and stayed close to Danhoul.
Shylie whispered something in Danhoul’s ear and his eyes grew wide. He too looked intently at the large formidable circle the creatures of the fairy realm had formed. He called out immediately.
“Killian, I think it best we return to our world, as there is certain to be further unrest between Clan MacDonald and our men!” Danhoul blurted from where he stood although he did not take his eyes from the fairies that had suddenly begun to move in closer.
“Aye, I agree.” Alainn nodded for although she didn’t know the reasoning entirely she recognized the fear and uncertainty on both his and the young spirit’s faces, and the fairies encircling and hovering around them.
Killian looked suspiciously at both Danhoul and Shylie, and then at Alainn.
“And none of you sensed this before? Are your abilities lacking then?” he said once more with a trace of sarcasm in his voice. “Or do you have other tribulations on your mind that you continue to conceal from me?”
“We should leave now, Killian!” Danhoul urged.
“We must leave immediately!” Shylie insisted.
“We will all leave straightaway. I will see to it Mary is taken to a concealed location so the MacDonalds will not know of her presence!” Alainn stated. “We must make haste and leave the glade!” she informed them.
“We’ve much to discuss, Lady Alainn!” Conner began, but apparently seeing the look of determination on Alainn’s face and noticing Killian’s grim expression as well, he nodded.
“Aye, but I’m not through talking with ye, Mary!” Conner gently took the woman’s arm and Alainn noticed his eyes were not only filled with concern for the woman, but with love and longing as well.
“You’ll be given ample time to continue your discussion!” Killian assured them as he, too, seemed to notice how deeply the Scotsman was affected by Mary’s presence.
When they had all gathered in the necessary positions to make the mystical journey through the stones, they were startled by a loud noise similar to thunder and an eerie unnatural glow. The fairies began to scatter immediately.
Mary emitted a quick and terrified scream and Conner took her in his arms as his eyes grew wider in awe of the brightening light. Alainn also noticed each of the three men had their hands on their empty scabbards even knowing they contained no weapons.
Alainn felt a warm feeling on her cheeks and her face as she looked at the enchanted glow. She wasn’t aware the glow had entirely encircled her until she saw Killian step closer and the light brightened and the heat grew. Killian’s green eyes grew more intense as he was unable to enter the circle of light surrounding Alainn.
“I will not be harmed!” Alainn assured her husband.
“What the hell is happening, Alainn!” Killian persisted in attempting to break through the hazy glow, but to no avail.
“It is a protective aura, a warded barrier intended to shield me and sent to me by Aine.”
“Why would you need protection in a fairy glade? The fairies have always seen you as one of their own since you are of a fairy lineage, and the demons can’t enter the glade!”
“Aye, tis true! A demon or any other creature filled with evil cannot enter the glade without being shunned and driven out by the fairies and benevolent creatures!”
Danhoul’s eyes met Alainn’s and Shylie’s in understanding. The fairies and magical creatures of the glade had felt the evil within the child Alainn carried, and they were fearful of him. Although fairies were mostly peaceful beings and did not care for violence to occur in their realm, they had aptly sensed they may need to protect themselves from the unborn child’s abhorrence. They would have banded together and taken the drastic measure of ending Alainn’s life if it was deemed necessary in order to protect the harmony and peacefulness within their realm, and to keep the evil from being allowed within.
When the imposing figures of Aine and Lugh appeared before them the fairies scattered completely and disappeared. Conner, who still held Mary in his arms, moved back and protectively placed himself between the gods and the woman. Although Conner had seen Aine before, Lugh was a formidable sight to see for he was large, tall, and muscular.
Killian, too, seemed inclined to further protect Alainn, but when he recognized the deities, he relaxed somewhat.
“We shall escort you safely from the glade. The fairies have become unusually ill at ease with so many strangers here in their realm!” Aine lied as she looked directly at Killian.
“I am no fool, Aine. I see that it is Alainn they appear to have an aversion to. I’d like someone to finally tell me what in hell is happenin’ or I swear I’ll be prone to wreak some havoc of my own, fairy glade or no!”
“We will discuss this further in the human realm!” Aine authoritatively declared.
Killian’s eyes narrowed and his jaw tensed and it was evident he considered challenging Aine, but in consideration of Alainn and maintaining the peace in the fairy realm, he thought better of it.
When the hazy glow widened and encompassed all the humans, Alainn grew unusually tired and she vaguely remembered Killian’s arms around her before she succumbed to sleep.
When she awoke they were in a location Alainn did not recognize.
Chapter Ten
“Where are we?” Alainn questioned in a weary voice laced with unnatural sleep.
She rubbed her eyes and stretched, attempting to alleviate the sense she couldn’t waken completely.
Aine placed her hand to Alainn’s forehead and finally she was capable of clear thought. “Back in the human realm… yet far away from both the agitated creatures in the fairy glade and the fierce clan who desired to see your husband and his warriors harmed.”
Alainn glanced around at their surroundings and surmised they must surely be far to the north in the highlands of Scotland. The mountains were tall and rugged. It was evident few people had settled in this largely untamed area.
“I thought it best to keep you separated from most other humans for a time. There are small villages nearby, but no cities. You must avoid fairy glades for the time being and you must continue your search for your father. I sense that there will be those who can aid your quest in locating him.”
“Aine, why can’t the gods find my father for me, sure it would be much simpler. If he is a searcher for the gods, you must have some indication where he is.”
Aine, as always, attempted to keep her thoughts hidden and her face without emotion, so Alainn could not read them, but she failed in her efforts.
“Do you actually know where my father is?” Alainn asked with mild impatience in her tone.
“Not the exact location, no,” Aine admitted. “It is believ
ed he has once more gone through a magical portal. Your father possesses unusual magic as well, not as powerful as your own, but extraordinary to be certain. He can create portals of his own accord, and he claims the power of concealment. If he does not wish to be located, even the gods cannot find him. I see you have inherited that ability and it surely grows stronger as well.”
“Aye, well, it seems to me all this powerful magic appears to have done for me is made me a target for the demon. Now, with this evil being growing within me, surely at an unnaturally swift rate, even the peaceful fairies fear me and threaten to take my life. My magic seems ineffectual in meeting this quandary and even though I sense employing my magic may be the only way to keep the demon at bay and to search for my father, you have told me it is mostly inadvisable to call upon my magic. I oft desire to simply be a human woman with entirely no unusual magical abilities.” She lamented as she sighed deeply.
“Even gods do not always live the life they might if they truly had a choice. Our destinies were decided long before we were born.”
“And do you see what is destined for me, Aine? I despise the sensation of absolute abhorrence with me, I loathe his movements, and I will not endanger Killian or any of those who are dear to me. If the gods cannot see the evil gone the night of the summer solstice and by the light of the full moon, they will take more drastic measures, aye?”
This time Aine met her eyes at her perceptiveness and did not attempt to shelter her. “It is sure to be true, for the council of the gods could not allow you to fall in with the demon or his legions, not any time, but most especially when you carry the evil within you. For if you should be driven to side with Odhran…” She stopped speaking mid-sentence.
Alainn respected the goddess for being truthful with her. “Do you have any indication where Odhran is to be found?”
Aine shook her head and a distinct consternation crossed her strikingly beautiful face. “Even the combined power and wisdom, and all the many supernatural abilities of the gods have not in all these centuries been able to determine where he has been hidden all this time. He, too, enlists the power of concealment.”
“How do you know then that he actually exists? Perhaps he is truly dead and gone to the depths of hell for all the torturous pain and evil, he has caused.”
“No, my kin, many of us are able to sense his presence for his level of evil is unmatched. We simply cannot sense his actual location or even what era he might live. It is believed your father and another of our searchers are close to discovering his location. Perhaps that is why your father conceals himself now, lest Odhran suspects he is near.”
Alainn shook her head at the continued muddled state of her life, and took Aine off guard when she demanded information on another subject. “I need to know why Diadra and Ardal must be parted and only allowed to be together for one week every other year for sure it must be to do with Odhran.”
“It is believed Odhran learned of Diadra’s journeys through time when she was a searcher, and that he followed. Because he has never been seen or heard of since, it is thought he is perhaps trapped somewhere within the future. Yet he maintains the ability to control the demons as henchmen from where he remains. It is believed that he cannot return to this time period in the human world.”
“But why must they remain parted?”
“Odhran’s jealousy of Ardal is unrelenting and it is believed he can sense when Ardal and Diadra are together.”
“Would it not be possible to send them to the realm of the gods so that they might be together there?”
“Diadra wishes to be close to Danhoul even though she cannot tell him of their familial connection. They will not risk Danhoul being harmed by Odhran. When his abilities become more developed, only then they will tell him he is their son and all will be united.”
“But why are Diadra and Ardal allowed two weeks every other year?”
“The gods guard the many known portals during those weeks in exchange for all Diadra and Ardal have done to keep peace and in the efforts for finding Odhran, for Ardal is almost always occupied with that burdensome quest.”
“But if it is believed Odhran may be in the future, why do you intend to send Danhoul there yet again?” Alainn felt an undeniable urgency in learning more.
“Your powers grow. Both Danhoul’s and your own. Soon it will be time.”
“It is the gods’ intention to send me forward in time to a future where I will meet with the other two witches, so that we will rectify wrongs and seal portals… and battle with Odhran?” she shivered at the consideration.
“It is hoped the searchers will determine the possible locations Odhran may be found, and that with the abilities of the triad of powerful magical witches from three separate centuries you will be strong enough to detain Odhran. But the battle will not be fought in the future, it has long since been determined it must take place in the same location and the same century as the last battle.”
“So I am to travel forward in time and then backward with Odhran in tow?” Her mind felt muddled with attempting to discern the complexity of the destined scheme.
“Do not concern yourself with the details of the intended journeys for the gods will assist you when the correct time arrives.”
Alainn’s eyes had filled with understandable uncertainty and dread.
“For now, do what you must to locate your father. In truth, because of your blood connection, you will be able to determine his location with greater precision than the gods.”
“How am I to accomplish anything with this abomination growing within me?” Alainn whispered.
“When the moon is full, you will be taken to the realm of the gods; there we will find a way to terminate this.”
“One way or another,” Alainn whispered to herself, but Aine nodded again.
“Until then, accept the assistance of the many beings who will aid you in your search.”
Alainn shrugged at the ever-confusing and vagueness with which Aine spoke, and wanted much to quibble with the goddess or tell her once and for all what opinion she had of the gods and their confounded muddled ways, but instead she posed a simpler query.
“When will Killian and the others waken?” Alainn glanced down at them as they remained in a deep sleep upon the grass. “And why has Danhoul not yet risen?”
“It was necessary for Danhoul to be kept in a state of unconsciousness to allow you and I to discuss his parental connection. If he knows the truth, it will be easily read in his thoughts. The demon will alert Odhran or use the information to benefit him.
“Diadra and Ardal are spirits so their thoughts are much less easily discerned. The demon is not so readily able to hear your thoughts, but because of the evil growing inside you, he is ever aware of your location and perhaps soon your thoughts as well. Do what you can to never allow those thoughts of Danhoul and his true parental connection to enter your mind.”
Alainn threw a disenchanted look at Aine and shook her head, uncertain how she would accomplish that especially knowing she was not to think of it.
Aine spoke on. “Your companions will arise as soon as I take leave. Be cautious, my kin, we will do what we can to ensure you are kept from harm, but the demon has many allies and with the darkness growing inside you, it is likely he will remain ever near. Since you no longer wear your amulet, you will not have its protection to ward off evil.”
“Aye, well, I’m not certain it was serving its intended purpose so well at any rate, but it began to burn my skin upon wearing it. Since it is to glow brightly and produces magical heat when evil is near, it was surely alerting me to the evil child I carry within me. I attempted to place it within my pocket, but it burned straight through the fabric.”
Aine noticed the raised burn upon Alainn’s chest where the amulet had singed her skin. The mark was of the triquetra, a Celtic symbol of Alainn’s lineage. Each druid lineage chose a pagan symbol often used as a means of protection. Aine touched her hand to the burn and it disappeared wi
thout a trace of a scar.
“I will return when the time of the ritual is upon us. In ten days, as measured in the human realm, during Samhain it shall be so. I will come and transport you to our realm.”
Danhoul was beginning to move and he sat up in time to see Aine disappear. He stood though it was obvious he remained unsure on his feet, and his voice sounded as though he’d been at the drink.
“The combined powers of the mighty Celtic gods have simply sent us to the northern highlands of Scotland?” he queried as he surveyed their surroundings.
“Aye, apparently my father will be found somewhere in this location.”
“Well, pray we don’t get caught in the middle of a fierce war of the clans for the Scots are perhaps as bad as the Irish for fighting amongst themselves. The only time they seem to unite is if they battle a common enemy.”
“Well, it is to be hoped, we will not be perceived as that enemy,” she stated as she noticed the others had now begun to waken.
*
“We can’t keep wandering aimlessly about without any indication as to where we might find your father, Alainn. Sure riding all day in search of the remote villages and settlements and askin’ if anyone has seen a tall light-haired Irishman, who in truth may very well be posin’ as a Scot… well it’s getting’ us nowhere.”
Alainn could sense Killian’s discontent and she was beginning to feel undeniably discouraged as well.
“Aine has told me I would be capable of sensing where my father would be found, but I have had no powerful or compelling premonitory visions. Thus far, we’ve also encountered no unusual creatures who might present a notion as to where we might look to find him.”
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