She was also concerned by how difficult it had been for her to track him. Grainne had just barely sensed his presence at all, and that was because she’d sensed his movement. She’d almost convinced herself that she’d imagined it until she felt him rush for the door, while she was distracted with her assistant.
Grainne had smiled when she sensed his thoughts and was able to take his name out of his worried mind. She’d only been able to track his mind for a few seconds before it was blocked from her again. This young man was receiving help from powers Grainne hadn’t sensed for centuries.
She still wasn’t sure if what she’d sensed was possible. For just the instant that she’d made a connection with him, Grainne was shocked to feel the powers of Faolan and Donal coursing through his veins. It should have been impossible to have both bloodlines running through his veins.
To be sure that he would not become a thorn in her side, Grainne had sent some of her most deadly and powerful warriors to destroy Sean. It should have been easy, but somehow, he’d managed to destroy them all and escape.
When she had finally controlled her anger, and visited the site of the rare defeat, Grainne realized she’d achieved a victory of sorts. Even though Sean had escaped, he’d only managed it with help from someone Grainne knew well. Ashling had come to Sean’s rescue.
It was the first time she’d sensed Ashling’s presence in over three hundred years. It was very faint, but it was there. Grainne was now sure that she could narrow her search from the Western U.S. to the Pacific Northwest. Time was running out for the traitors who’d betrayed her and followed Eamon and Ashling into hiding.
Chapter Thirteen
May you get all your wishes but one,
So you always have something to strive for
~ Old Irish Saying ~
Young Ailbe hadn’t been this excited in years. After endless hours of trying to convince her grandfather to purchase modern farming equipment, he’d finally relented.
“What kind of tractor will you be lookin’ to buy, Granda?” Ailbe asked.
“There’s only one kind of tractor worth spending hard earned money on, my dear Ailbe,” Aengus said cheerfully.
“Let me guess–a John Deere, right?”
“Saint’s be praised, you did hear some small piece of what I’ve been tryin’ to teach you, lass.”
“I’ve heard plenty of what you’ve had to say, Granda,” she replied, giggling.
“Oh, aye and sure it’s true that you’ve chosen to ignore the most of what I say.”
“Not most of it, Granda. “Just the parts that make my life miserable.”
“Fair enough, child. Here we are at Riley’s Farm Equipment,” Aengus said, in a cheerful tone. “Can you believe the size of this place? Sure, and it’s true that we could grow our entire corn crop on the acres he’s using to show off his farming equipment.”
“Welcome to the twenty-first century, Granda,” Ailbe said between giggles. “It’s your first trip outside of Rundimahair since I was born.”
“Which wasn’t so long ago, dear child,” Aengus said.
“And when was the last time you’ve been to Eugene, or any other mortal town?” she asked.
“Longer than I care to remember, Lass. If you were old and wise enough to truly understand the dangers around us, you might understand why such trips must be few and far between,” Aengus said solemnly.
“Saints preserve us! My old eyes must be playing tricks on me this fine day. For a moment there I thought I saw me old friend, Aengus, driving onto my lot.”
“Oh, it’s me you blind old robber,” Aengus said cheerfully. “I’ve come to see if they’ve thrown you in jail for charging three times what your little tractors are worth.”
“Three times what they’re worth?” Riley said, frowning. “If I sold them any cheaper, I’d be giving them away–so I would.”
“Oh well, then, Riley. I wouldn’t want to be taking bread out of your wee little one’s mouths,” Aengus said.
“I’m afraid they’ve not been little ones for some years gone by, Aengus. I see it’s the same with young Ailbe. She gone and grown into a beautiful young lass,” Riley said sincerely.
“That she has, Riley. I can barely believe it myself, but she’ll be eighteen years next month,” Aengus said with a touch of sorrow in his voice.
“Here now, they’ll be no sorrow for our young ones growing up,” Riley said, as he slapped Aengus on the shoulder. “If she wasn’t so grown up, you’d have no one to drive your computerized tractor.”
“I don’t own such a contraption yet,” Aengus said.
“It’s only a matter of time, once you see the old friend discount I’ve set up for you,” Riley said.
“Sure, and it’s true that I like the sound of that,” Aengus said. “Especially since we are very, very old friends!”
“That we are, Aengus, that we are,” Riley said. “It’s a dirty shame you didn’t come see me before you bought that old wreck of a pickup you’re driving.”
“Me old cow got stuck in the muck once too often,” Aengus said, smiling. “Ailbe and a friend of hers finally convinced me to buy a truck. I must admit it’s more than fair to middlin’ useful around the farm.”
“It’s true I did nag him something awful, but I was hoping he’d buy one that wasn’t as old as him,” Ailbe said, chuckling.
Riley laughed loud and hard and said, “One step at a time, me darlin’. The tractor he’s taking home today is so new that the massive rubber tires have yet to touch dirt.”
“We’ll see about that,” Aengus said cheerfully. When Ailbe saw the brand-new shiny tractor her Granda was eyeing, she knew Riley would send that very tractor home to their farm.
For the next hour, Riley showed Aengus and Ailbe a few of his best tractors. It was obvious that it would take Aengus some time to master the high-tech equipment on the John Deere that he finally selected. Fortunately, Ailbe picked up on the technology quickly and easily. It was no surprise to her that he’d selected the same tractor she’d guessed would be going back to the farm with them.
The paperwork would show that someone else had purchased the tractor, and that it was delivered to a small farm in Idaho. In reality, the new tractor had already been sent to Aengus’ farm, via magical portal, created by Ashling and a few close friends. If anyone ever bothered to check, there would be no paperwork showing that Aengus had ever visited Riley’s fine dealership or ever purchased a tractor there.
* * *
Ailbe had convinced Aengus to do some shopping, since they were on a rare trip to the mortal world. She’d talked a lot about stocking up for things they needed around the farm, but she spent most of her time in the stores with the latest clothing fashions for teenagers.
By the time they’d stocked up on all they needed, the camper on the back of their old truck was full to the brim. It would slow them down a bit on the way home, but it had been a nice end to a wonderful day.
“How will we get the tractor to the farm?” Ailbe asked as they drove out of town.
“Nothin’ to be worrying yourself about, dearie,” Aengus said. “Riley has his own magical ways of transporting equipment to secret destinations. He told me he’s already shipped four tractors to Rundimahair so far this month.”
“But none so fine as ours,” Ailbe said.
“Truer words were never spoken, my dear girl,” Aengus said with a smug grin.
They drove on through the night for another hour or more. Ailbe had drifted off to sleep in the passenger’s seat. So it was that she didn’t notice her Granda looking at the rearview mirror, almost as often as he looked at the road ahead.
“What is it that’s troubling you?” she finally asked, after she stirred from her sleep.
“It looks like we’ve got company tailing us for the last hour,” Aengus said grimly. “They seem very anxious to find out where our final destination might be.”
Ailbe was sitting up and looking out the back window in a flash. “We
can’t lead them home, Granda.”
“Not to worry, Ailbe. I veered off the road home once I was sure they were following us. “My greatest concern is that if they take us alive, it won’t be long before they know that we are from the lost tribe. Even though I’ve changed course, we are only a hundred miles or so from home.”
“And if they find out who we are, they’ll be so close to Rundimahair that it will only be a matter of time until they find us,” Ailbe said.
“So, it’s either us or them,” Aengus said grimly. “And you can bet your bottom dollar that they brought plenty of firepower.
“Aye, I’m afraid you’re right,” Ailbe said thoughtfully. “But I might know how we can even up the odds.”
* * *
“It’s Ailbe!” Ashling shouted to Eamon and Sean. “I knew someone was reaching out to me.
“What in the blazes could they be wanting at this late hour?” Eamon asked.
“Aengus and Ailbe went to Eugene to buy a tractor,” Ashling said.
“Tell the truth, dear girl,” Eamon said. Aengus wouldn’t be caught dead using modern equipment.”
“It’s a long story, but it’s true. They were on their way home when they realized they were being followed.”
“Saints preserve us!” Eamon shouted. “How close are they?”
“They quickly changed direction, away from Rundimahair, once they realized they had company,” Ashling explained. “But I fear they were only an hour from us when they changed direction.”
“So even if they can lead them away,” Eventually, Grainne will track back to where they were going. That will narrow her search area dangerously close to Rundimahair. I’m thinking that they may soon be right at our back door,” Sean said.
“Perhaps not, if they don’t live to tell the tale,” Eamon said thoughtfully.
* * *
Aengus and Ailbe had been forced to switch from one road to another, trying to evade whoever was following them. The problem with that strategy is it led them onto winding roads that forced them to keep their speed down.
“We haven’t got a prayer of losing them on these back roads,” Aengus said.
“We don’t have to lose them, Granda. “Just try to stay ahead of them until help arrives.”
“You’re that sure that help is on the way?” Aengus asked.
“You know Eamon and Ashling better than I do,” Ailbe said.
“Right you are girl. If they said help is coming, then it’ll be here,” Aengus said.
“It actually looks like they are farther back than they were a few minutes ago,” Ailbe said, looking through the truck’s rear window.
“I was thinking the same thing, but I don’t understand why. We’re barely keeping our speed above fifty on these winding roads,” Aengus said.
When they came around a wide, slightly uphill turn in the road, Aengus said, “That’s the why of it right there in front of us.”
Ailbe turned to look through the front windshield and felt her hopes for escape sink. A half mile ahead was a highway patrol car, with red lights flashing, parked in the middle of the road. There was also an eighteen-wheeler truck lying on its side. The truck was blocking both narrow lanes of traffic.
“We’re in the soup and the fire’s getting hotter,” Aengus grumbled.
“I hate to think what’s hiding behind that truck,” Ailbe said.
“Aye, they won’t make a fair fight of it for sure,” Aengus said. “You can bet your bottom dollar they’ve got us outnumbered ten to one.”
“They’re coming up fast behind us too,” Ailbe said.
“They’ve got us trapped now, so there’s no point in hanging back,” Aengus said. “I know I’ve held you back on using your magical talents, my dear. It’s not that I didn’t want you to develop your gifts. I just wanted you to learn how to do things with your own two hands and not always rely on magic.”
“I know, Granda, I know.” Ailbe said, while patting his shoulder.
“Well then my dearie, they’ll be no holding back from either of us this night. If it’s magic you’ve got, then now’s the time to use it!” Aengus shouted, as he accelerated to full speed and rammed his sturdy, old truck dead center into the highway patrol car.
The collision caused a huge fireball to explode all around the two vehicles. It quickly spread to the eighteen-wheeler, causing its large gas tank to explode moments later.
Ailbe and Aengus were no longer in the pickup when it struck the patrol car. She had the ability to move from one place to another in seconds, and she used it to great effect just before the collision. To anyone watching, it would seem that she had simply disappeared. In reality, she had moved to another location. If she was touching another person when she disappeared, they would simply go with her. She’d taken Aengus’ hand in hers, just before disappearing.
“Good to know you can still move about at will,” he said, once they reappeared, on a stone ledge, fifty feet to the left of the fiery crash.
“It does come in handy at times,” Ailbe agreed. “I just wish I could push us farther away.”
“That will come with time, dear girl. With Ashling as your teacher, I’ve no doubt you’ll be moving from one continent to another before you reach your thirtieth birthday.”
“I hope you’re right, Granda, but I wish I didn’t have to wait until I’m old,” Ailbe said.
Aengus barked out a laugh and said, “Thirty is still a babe in arms, in our world, my dear girl. Now let’s move on and see what we can do about avoiding a fight to the death with these creatures from the pit of hell.”
“Keep in mind I can only push us through space a couple of times before my reserves of strength are worn down. It could be an hour before I can do it again. Maybe we should hold on to the second one for an emergency exit,” Ailbe said.
“When you’re right, you’re right, Ailbe. Let’s try to slip away on foot before they get that fiery wreck under control.”
As they walked down the back side of the ledge, Ailbe asked, “Do you have any warrior powers that I don’t know about?”
“Sad to say that I don’t,” Aengus said. “My powers always lent themselves to working with the earth under our feet. I could always grow almost anything, and I used my powers to grow them in abundance. I’ve always loved working on the land, but growing a carrot larger than any man has ever seen isn’t much use in a battle.”
“It depends on how big you grow it,” Ailbe said, smiling.
“Then there’s the problem of how long it takes to grow it,” he said.
“So it is with me,” she said. “Other than moving us from one place to another, most of my powers are more on the artistic side of things.”
“I suppose we’re not much good in a fight, but we do make the world a better place to live in. If only we could ever get everyone to stop fighting,” Aengus said.
“Well said, Granda,” she replied. “Although there is one other skill that Ashling has been helping me develop.”
“And that might be…?”
“Communication over distance. It’s a bit like moving myself about. Only it’s my mind’s thoughts that travel.”
“How far can you communicate with your mind then?” he asked.
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t know. I’ve communicated, mind to mind, with Ashling quite a bit. The best we’ve done so far it’s from one side of Rundimahair to the other.”
“Very impressive, my dear girl. I had no idea you could do such a wonderful thing. I suppose you tried to contact her once we knew we were being followed.”
“Oh aye, I’ve tried many times, but I don’t think I was successful.
“You don’t think you were?”
“For a moment or two I thought I’d touched her mind, while we were still in the truck. I could even see her sitting in her kitchen. It was only a for a couple of seconds that I could feel her mind touch mine.”
“Do you suppose you should try again?”
“Here’s the rub wit
h that, Granda. When I try to use my mind-to-mind communication, it weakens my ability to move us physically from one space to another.”
“And we might need that ability if things get too difficult out here,” he said, nodding his head. “Very well, then. Let’s keep moving and put as much distance as we can between us and them.”
* * *
When Ashling, Sean and Eamon arrived at the crash site, Ailbe and Aengus were nowhere in sight. There was a smoldering fire still burning around the remains of a large truck and two other vehicles. There were also several bodies, or at least the burned-out remains of bodies. Two of them appeared to be human corpses. In the back of the truck there were a dozen more. They were obviously the remains of the grotesque creatures Grainne had created to do her bidding.
“It appears that Aengus rammed his truck into the police car and the truck,” Eamon said, thoughtfully.
“But there are no bodies in his pickup,” Sean said.
“These tracks make it clear that whoever was following them was able to avoid the deadly fireball from the crash. A vehicle moved off into the brush this way. That tells me that Ailbe and Aengus are still alive and fleeing on foot.”
“It looks like they were going to try to trap them on the road and force them to stop,” Sean said. “But Aengus surprised them by slamming his truck into the police car at high speed. How could they have survived that?”
“Ailbe has been working on her powers to quickly move from one location to another,” Ashling said. “I suspect that she took hold of Aengus and moved them away just before they rammed the police car.”
“I didn’t realize she’d developed that power so well,” Sean said.
“She and I have been working on it very hard for the past couple of months. I knew it would be a power that would come in very handy if a battle ever occurred,” Ashling said.
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