Rundimahair: A new hero for a new adventure

by Larry Forkner

  “That’s my worry as well,” Carla said. “The problem is, we don’t have any other option. You’re the only one who has the powers to not only see through their defenses but also how to get past them.”

  After a few moments of consideration, Grainne said, “I think you’re right. Go get some rest because we’re leaving at midnight.”

  Carla nodded, while quickly grabbing her cellphone as she left the room. Once she was gone, Grainne muttered softly, “You’d better be right about this, for both our sakes.”

  * * *

  “We’re on,” Ashling said suddenly.

  “We’re on what?” Sean asked.

  “Grainne took the bait,” Ashling said, smiling.

  “How do we know that?” Sean asked.

  “Could it be because I am a woman of unsurpassed magical ability?”

  “I’d buy that,” Sean said, smiling.

  “It could be,” Ashling said, returning his smile. “But in this case, we have someone on the inside.”

  “You mean we’ve got a spy in their midst?”

  “We used to have several,” Ashling said, as she stood and stretched. “But Carla is the only one left. Fortunately for us, she is also the closest to Grainne. I was reasonably sure Carla would be involved because she is the best tracker they have. She wouldn’t leave the search for our hidden city to anyone else.”

  “So, if we have someone inside her organization, doesn’t it stand to reason Grainne may have a mole among us?” Sean asked.

  “It’s very rare, but we’ve found a few over the years,” Ashling said. “We usually discovered them when they try to get information to the outside world. It’s impossible to get a message out while inside of Rundimahair. Anyone who leaves, for any reason, is tracked closely. Fortunately, we intercepted them before they could betray our location.”

  “What happens to them when they’re caught?”

  “What do you think, Sean? We’re talking about the survival of our people. A traitor deserves and gets a quick and sudden death.”

  “When was the last time that happened,” he asked thoughtfully.

  “I executed the last one over a hundred years ago,” she said.

  “That must have been difficult for you.”

  “Indeed it was, but I have no regrets. They were trying to sell out their own families and loved ones. They left us no choice,” Ashling said.

  “I suppose the same would be true for this Carla if Grainne discovers she’s a traitor,” Sean said.

  “Only her death would be slow and painful over the course of several days. It would also be done in front of everyone, so they understand what happens to a traitor.”

  “Then let’s hope she isn’t discovered,” Sean said uneasily.

  “I’ve put a protective mind block and false memories in Carla’s mind that even Grainne shouldn’t be able to penetrate. So far it’s kept her safe.”

  “She must be highly motivated to live with such a risk day after day,” Sean said.

  “Her motivation is her husband and two children, who live two blocks down from our house.”

  “I can’t think about that anymore or it’ll drive me crazy,” Sean said with a furrowed brow.

  “Join the club, my dear,” Ashling said as she leaned in and embraced Sean. “I pray every day that the Creator will watch over her and bring her home safely to her family.”

  “The same thing I do for you each time you leave,” Sean said as he embraced Ashling.

  “And I you, my love,” she whispered in his ear. “Right now we’d better get some rest since we’re going to be at our fake headquarters before midnight.”

  “You mean she’s coming all the way from Ireland tonight?”

  Ashling smiled and said, “She has a small compound in Northern California where they’re staying now.”

  “Maybe we should just attack her there. They’d never expect that,” Sean said.

  “Too risky and the chance of success is small. She always has an escape plan in place wherever she goes. If we attacked, she’d be the first to leave and let her people die alone. If we can destroy her main compound in Ireland, we’ll also destroy many of her followers. That would give us something even if we happen to miss her.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” he said thoughtfully. “But I really want to make sure we get her. You know what they say, if you want to make sure the snake is dead, cut off its head.”

  * * *

  “I hope she didn’t bring half her army,” Sean said, as they approached the counterfeit Rundimahair site.

  “She won’t bring many of her forces until she’s sure this is the right place. I’m guessing they’ll be no more than a half dozen of her best warriors,” Ashling said.

  “If they’re anything like what we’ve fought before, maybe we should have brought Eamon,” Sean said.

  “First of all, we aren’t planning on fighting them. We’re only leaving a trail to make them believe this is Rundimahair. Aside from that, Da and I can’t be in the same battle unless it’s absolutely necessary,” Ashling said.

  “Don’t want to lose both of you in a single fight?”

  “Exactly so.”

  “So, I’m expendable, is that it?”

  “Stop being a baby. We’re not fighting tonight. We’re just setting a false trail that will feel recent to them. If all goes well, we should be long gone before they arrive.”

  “Famous last words,” Sean grumbled.

  * * *

  “This is it,” Ashling said softly, when they arrived at the false site in Idaho.

  Sean looked down and could see clearly in the dark night, since he was in his red-dragon self. Ashley was flying alongside him but suddenly swooped downward.

  “It does kind of look similar to the land around Rundimahair,” Sean said softly, when he glided in beside her.

  “That was the plan,” Ashling said. “Except this is in Northern Idaho, instead of on the Oregon coast.”

  “I can feel the magic from the protective shield,” he said. “It’s strong, but not as strong as the shield at Rundimahair.”

  “We don’t want to give away all of our secrets,” Ashling said. “This is a very powerful shield, which should be convincing. It’s the same shield we had over Rundimahair until a hundred years ago.”

  “It might make her feel overconfident if she realizes your magic hasn’t grown much in the past century,” Sean said.

  “Exactly the point. We want to convince her and keep her overconfident. That will be to our advantage if she ever does find the real Rundimahair,” Ashling said.

  “Wait! I can see homes and other buildings down there,” Sean said.

  Ashling gave him a surprised look and said, “Your powers really are growing. I didn’t think you could see through this shield.”

  “Piece of cake,” he said, although he’d had to really push his powers to penetrate the shield at all.

  “We’ve built an illusion of a town similar to Rundimahair. We even have farms, rivers and streams built into it.”

  “Totally awesome,” Sean said. “I wish I could do that kind of magic.”

  “We all have our own talents, Sean. Illusionary spells just aren’t your strong point.”

  “Not yet,” he said. “Just give me a little time to learn that stuff.”

  “Okay Mr. humble. Let’s do a series of routes above the town. I want it to look like a lot of dragon traffic has been coming and going. I’ll make some of the traces old and faint and others like they just happened earlier tonight.”

  “Man, it’s so great to have you for my honey babe,” Sean said.

  Ashling was about to complain about his new nickname for her, but on second thought she decided that she kind of liked it. Instead, she just said, “Let’s crisscross each other’s patterns, and then I’ll do the work disguising them.”

  They spent the next hour flying routes across the valley above the phony Rundimahair site. On some of the runs they broke through the barri
er. This would make it appear as though the Dragons were going in for a landing inside the protected city.

  When they developed the false site, they’d added entrances from the air and from the road. They’d taken the time to move trucks full of equipment in and out of the area. This movement would be detectable to someone with Grainne’s powers, although it would push her limits.

  The idea of the subterfuge was to give Grainne the impression that it was an active site. She would be able to catch a vague impression that this was a hidden city protected by very powerful magic.

  They wanted her to have to work hard and use all of her great powers to detect it. If it pushed her magical limits, she wouldn’t suspect it was a trap. It was a fine line between making sure she found it, while she also believed only someone with her great powers could detect the hidden city.

  “That should do, Sean,” Ashling said, after they finished flying their routes.

  “You think we’ve done enough?” Sean said.

  “I can barely detect the site, and I know it’s there,” Ashling said.

  “If I were here by myself, and didn’t know it was there, I’d never find it,” Sean said.

  “That’s good to know since your magical abilities are growing so quickly. It’s getting to the point that only a rare few still exceed your powers,” Ashling said.

  “And Grainne would be one of those rare few?” Sean asked as they began to fly away.

  “Let’s hope so. Otherwise all of this hard work will go to waste,” Ashling said.

  * * *

  “You’re sure this is the area?” Grainne asked doubtfully.

  “It’s got to be close,” Carla said.

  “We’ve been at this for hours with no hint of anything,” Grainne said. “If this keeps up, we’ll be flying around in broad daylight.”

  “Wait! I can feel something,” Carla said. “It’s that feeling I had before of rare and powerful magic at work.”

  Grainne was about to say something sarcastic, but took a deep breath and let go of her frustration and doubts. She realized she’d been flying around with the attitude that Carla was wrong and Cassiday had given them bad information.

  She slowly spiraled downward over the open fields surrounded by rolling hills. All outside thoughts and doubts were banished from her mind. Her entire focus was on seeking any touch of magic in the air.

  Suddenly, Grainne arched quickly to her right and weaved back and forth. After crisscrossing the sky several times, she pulled up and soared back to where Carla waited.

  “Anything?” Carla asked.

  “You know for a slow moving gray dragon, you do all right, Carla.”

  Carla smiled and said, “You found it!”

  “Dragon trails,” Grainne said, smiling. “They’re faint but unmistakable. I’ve locked onto the magic concealing them. You were right, it’s some serious stuff. Even with all my powers of detection, it’s taken hours to just get a whiff of it.”

  “If it’s that strong, will we be able to break through it?” Carla asked.

  “It’s going to be a serious challenge, but there is no doubt I can break it down.”

  “What now?” Carla asked.

  “I’ve got everything I need to prepare for the final assault,” Grainne said, showing a wicked smile which bared her viciously sharp and deadly dragon teeth. “Let’s head back.”

  Grainne was a magnificent, black dragon, which was even more rare than a red dragon. As far as she knew, she was the only black dragon still alive.

  “Wait up,” Carla grumbled as Grainne streaked across the sky.

  In response, Grainne’s voice echoed in her mind, saying, “I’ll meet you back at the base. I’ve got too many things to do to wait for a slow gray dragon.”

  Carla felt insulted, but she was glad Grainne had surged ahead. It would give her a chance to check in with Ashling.

  * * *

  Sean and Ashling were already back home when she felt Carla’s mind touch hers. “She bought it!”

  Ashling did a return touch on Carla’s mind for just a second. It was enough to let her know she’d received the message. They didn’t dare leave any traces of Ashling in Carla’s mind. Grainne could and did access her mind from time to time.

  Carla’s message also confirmed that Grainne would lead the assault on the false Rundimahair site. The good news there was they were now certain that Grainne was locked in on the false site. The bad news was that they wouldn’t be eliminating her when they attacked her main compound in Ireland.

  When Ashling confirmed this to Sean, he asked, “Why don’t we attack her when she’s occupied at the Idaho site?”

  “I’ve contemplated the same question. I’m not sure why, but I know we’re supposed to hit the Ireland compound instead,” Ashling said.

  Sean sighed and said, “Yeah, I got the same feeling when I had the prophetic dream about her stronghold over there.”

  “Those types of promptings have never led us down the wrong path,” Ashling said. “Since you and I were both told to attack Ireland, we’re going to trust the Creator has his reasons.”

  “I know you’re right and all,” Sean said with a downcast expression. “I would just like to take her out sooner rather than later.”

  “It’s a frustrating situation to be in, but I believe there’s a good reason why we’re supposed to attack the Ireland site. We’ll get her eventually, Sean. If we ignore the guidance we’re given, we could be going into a disaster that we know nothing about. For now we stick to the plan and attack the Ireland compound,” Ashling said.

  “I’m with you all the way,” Sean said. He embraced Ashling, kissing her passionately. When he finally came up for air, he asked, “Are we married yet?”

  Ashling let out a deep sigh as she rested her head on his chest. “Not yet. Let’s both get through this attack in one piece. Once we’re back home safe, it will be time to remedy that situation.”

  “Just so I’m sure that I understand all the rules,” Sean said with a quiet smile. “When we angels of light get married, we get to sleep in the same bed, right?”

  Ashling looked up into Sean’s fierce blue eyes and said, “Heaven help anyone who tries to stop us.”

  “Amen to that!” Sean said.

  Chapter Eighteen

  These things I warmly wish for you-

  Someone to love

  Some work to do

  A bit o’ sun

  A bit o’ cheer

  And a guardian angel always near.

  ~ Old Irish Saying ~

  “How many dragons did you say they have?” Sean asked nervously?

  “Well now let me see,” Eamon said. “If we assume Grainne will bring all but a few of them with her; I’d estimate they’ll be no more than a dozen for us to deal with.”

  “A dozen?” Sean asked nervously. “I know we’re fighting on the side of the angels and all, but we’ve only got eight dragons altogether.”

  “True enough. But their dragons are all grays except for Grainne–who is the only known black dragon in existence. You’ve fought the grays before, Sean. They’re no match for a red, green, brown or blue dragon.”

  “I understand that, Eamon,” Sean said. “The thing is, they could double or even triple team us with their browns and grays. On top of that, most of our eight dragons are young and inexperienced. They are still learning how to deal with their dragon-selves.”

  “What you say is all true, Sean,” Ashling interjected. “That’s why we’re only bringing two of them with us.”

  “Says who?” Eamon asked with a furrowed brow.

  “I already told you this, Da. Even the two we’re bringing don’t have any battle experience,” Ashling said. “Those who have just released their dragon selves would get slaughtered against their experienced grays. I mean, it’s not like we are all red dragons.”

  “True, but a brown dragon will whip a gray dragon anytime and anyplace,” Eamon said.

  “Experienced browns would. These
new dragons are not ready to fight.”

  “Nor was I when I went into battle for the first time,” Eamon said stubbornly. “If I say so myself, I did pretty well on that dark day.”

  “Come on, Da,” Ashling said wearily. “You had a full year’s training before your first battle. On top of that, you were surrounded by experienced dragons who kept an eye on you.”

  “And how do you know all about my first battle since you weren’t even born yet?”

  “From Mom and from you! You both told me the story often enough.” Ashling said with growing irritation. “You know as well as I do that it’s not fair to compare your first experience in battle what these children can offer.”

  Sean decided it was time to intervene between father and daughter, even though he really didn’t want to get between them when they were arguing. At this point, he had no choice.

  “I’ve got to side with Ashling on this point, Eamon. Other than David and Susan, the others who’ve recently accepted their dragon selves are not close to being ready. Even with those two, I wish we had more time before they’re thrust into battle.”

  “Didn’t you say that Susan is a golden dragon?” Eamon asked.

  “That she is, and her powers are already exceeding our brown dragons,” Sean said. “While she has awesome potential, there’s no way she should be going into battle without more training.”

  “We have no choice but to bring David and Susan with us,” Ashling said. “Bringing the other six young dragons into battle before they’re ready would be like killing them ourselves. It’s nothing short of a miracle that we’re seeing new dragons after centuries without even one. We can’t sacrifice this gift from the Creator to their own inexperience.”