The Spell of Four

by Casey Morgan

  “Since my mother passed, I mean, all I had was my fish and I gave them away,” I admitted. “I really don’t have anything holding me back from staying here.”

  “All right, so you have to ask yourself the question, do you want to stay here? It’s really that simple. Sounds to me like you’re a lot like I was – you have nothing to lose. I figured that if it didn’t work out, I could always go back to my shitty life in America.”

  “Yeah, and you at least had something to go back to,” I said. “I really have nothing. No family, no career – Nothing. This could be a fresh start for me. If I can handle the sex.”

  “You’re gonna wanna use a lot of lube the first few months,” laughed Shanna. “And, oh my God. You’re gonna have three elves. You’re gonna have me beat if you pull this off.”

  “It’s so nuts. I never thought of anything like this before in my life.”

  “Neither did I. And trust me— trust me— you’re gonna love it,” promised Shanna. “My sexual inhibitions went right out the window after that first time and I never looked back.”

  “I’d ask if you ever did anything kinky, but the whole situation is already pretty kinky already,” I laughed.

  “Oh, we did some naughty stuff,” she assured me. “Trust me, there’s some stuff you can do.”

  “What? Like toys?” I asked.

  “Try like two in the same hole,” she squealed.

  I was shocked. I had never heard of such a thing. It sounded kind of dangerous, but also fun.

  “What? How?” I asked, blushing away.

  “It takes a bit of positioning, but it’s possible. The boys just get right up in there and…”

  Shanna made a motion with two fingers and we both burst out laughing. Oh, my God. I never learned this much about sex from the sex ed teacher back home.

  “In all seriousness, whatever you do, just be open and honest and communicate,” she said. “It sounds corny, but it works. Tell the boys what you want and see if they want it too.”

  “I will. Is Aiden still here?” I asked.

  I was suddenly inspired to start taking her advice to heart.

  The sooner the better, for sure. She’d convinced me.

  “Yeah, he should be finishing up his shift,” she said. “But listen, if you go for a walk, stick to the paths near the B&B. It can sometimes be a little dangerous this time of night. Some of the other guests have had issues in the past, okay?”

  Well, that was a little scary, and surprising. Luck’s Hollow seemed so peaceful and serene. But I guessed every place had its bad areas or times.

  “I will. Thanks for the talk, Shanna,” I said.

  “Any time, dear,” she smiled.

  Chapter 14

  Aiden

  I was bartending in the pub, thinking back on the day.

  I had blown it with Mila. She didn’t seem as interested in me as she was in the Odells. I supposed that made sense, since they were billionaires with a lot more money than I would ever have.

  I was feeling pity for myself, letting it all out in my mind, wishing I could have just done what I fucking wanted and taken Mila into my arms the moment I saw her, and whisked her away from the other two.

  The sexual frustration was really getting to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about her curvy body and pretty eyes. I almost got hard just thinking about it, but my resentment at not doing what I wanted earlier on stopped me from being able to get too turned on.

  “What wrong, lad?” asked a little sprite as he flew around the bar.

  “Oh, nothing. I just – I’m wrapped up in my own thoughts, I guess,” I said.

  “I guess so,” he said. “I come here to drink all the time and you never even ask my name.”

  “I’m sorry. That was rude,” I said. “What’s your name, sir?”

  “You think I’m going to tell you now?” he joked. “Nah, it’s all right. They call me Kensy. My mates and I used to all drink here. But that was ages ago. They’re all gone now. I’m a very old sprite.”

  Well, that was impressive. Sprites lived to be a very old age but he had already surpassed the death of all his friends, so he must have been exceedingly old.

  “I’m sorry, Kensy,” I said. “But at least you’re alive, eh?”

  “Yeah,” he said, looking away. “Although my wings don’t work that well any more, and that’s why I keep flying down low and resting on this bookshelf. Anyway, enough about me. No one cares about an old sprite. So, what’s got you all down in the dumps? Probably a girl, right? It’s always a girl.”

  “Yeah, it is,” I said. “I like her, but my mates like her, too.”

  “Oh, yeah,” nodded Kensy. “Classic problem. Me and my lads used to chase the same girls sometimes. Girls come and go, son, but yer mates are forever.”

  “Not this girl,” I assured him. “This girl is special.”

  “Aye, aren’t they all?” he asked. “Look, whatever you do in life, do with confidence, boyo. You look that girl right in the eye and tell her how you feel, right? And if she don’t feel the same way, you took your shot and you move on. If she does, then ye got something, all right?”

  That seemed like pretty good advice.

  “Yeah,” I said, agreeing. “I’m going to do that.”

  “Good. Now be a good lad,” he said. “Pour me another beer.”

  He held up his thumbnail-sized mug and I poured Kensy’s beer and considered his words. He was right. I had to put myself out there for better or worse.

  What other way was there to do this? I decided that whenever I saw Mila again, I’d take her for a stroll, ask her point blank to be my girl and let the cards fall where they may.

  Letting the bubbles settle, I was waiting to continue the pour – I always had to make sure those little mugs were filled all the way to the top or the sprites, who could be the angriest of customers, never liked it – when Shanna walked in.

  Oh, fuck.

  She didn’t normally come into the bar at this time.

  I hoped I wasn’t in some kind of trouble.

  “Aiden, I need you to do something,” she said.

  She pointed across the pub. Standing near the door was Mila, looking lovely. She waved at me.

  “Will you go escort Mila on her walk? I’ll mind the bar,” she said.

  I didn’t question why or how she knew I needed to talk to her.

  “Can you finish pouring Kensy’s beer?” I asked.

  “Aye,” she replied.

  “Good luck, lad,” said Kensy.

  I rushed out from behind the bar and got to Mila.

  “Hi,” I smiled.

  “Hey,” she smiled back.

  We exited out the front and head off down the street.

  “I wanted to talk to you,” she said.

  “I’ve been wanting to talk to you too,” I replied.

  This was good, right? I mean, if she wanted to talk to me, she must have something to say. Unless that something is bad.

  Oh, no. Had she already chosen one of the others? No.

  Was I too late?

  “Let me go first,” I started.

  “Well, I should probably go first,” she said.

  “Maybe we should just walk quietly for a little bit and then see how we feel,” I said.

  I took her hand. It was nice. It felt like I had a girlfriend. If she was going to drop me right there, at least I was going to feel like I had a girlfriend for a few minutes.

  “I like you, Aiden,” she suddenly said. “I mean, I really like like you.”

  “I like you too, Mila.” I said.

  I moved to kiss her, but she put her hand to my lips.

  “Wait, there’s more,” she said.

  More? What more could there possibly be?

  Oh, no. Was she married? Was she leaving to return to America already? Did she have some kind of disease I didn’t know about? What the hell could possibly come after she said she liked me?

  “Although I have feelings for you, I also have
feelings for Killian and Donovan,” she confessed. “How do you feel about them?”

  “They’re my friends,” I said. “They’ll always be my friends.”

  “I don’t want you to be apart from your friends just because you’re with me,” she said. “I want us all to be together. What do you think?”

  “All of us?” I said, a little surprised.

  “Are you mad?”

  “No, it’s just—”

  “It’s just disgusting, is what it is,” said a voice from the shadows.

  We jumped, startled, and turned toward the shadow. Into the light walked Peter McDonnell. He looked even bigger and menacing than when I saw him at the farm house.

  I told myself not to be a fucking wimp. I knew that as an elf I was physically bigger than he was. But he also had magical witch powers that could overtake my elfin powers.

  Peter had curly hair that had been shaved on the sides and cut around like a bowl. His lips and nose were almost too big for his face, which had a big sloping forehead.

  People who said Neanderthals died out never met Peter McDonnell. He was living, walking proof that proto-man survived.

  “Four people in a couple? That don’t make no sense,” he said, while looking at Mila. “What you need is a proper boyfriend, aye?”

  “Don’t you touch her,” I threatened.

  “Shut up, Aiden,” he dismissed. “I’m not here to talk to you, ye wee pansy. Your girlfriend, Mila, better get back on that plane and to the States, right?”

  “Or what?” she demanded.

  “Never mind the consequences. I don’t want you riling up me ma and da, understand? It’s not right. They’re old,” he said. “Go back to America.”

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” I demanded. “You can’t talk to her that way. Put up your hands.”

  “Fight yew? Oh, stop it, ye pansy,” he dismissed. “I don’t want to hurt ye.”

  “Well, I’ll hurt you.” I threatened.

  “Stop threatening me,” he said intensely. “I don’t like it.”

  “Then get away from us,” I ordered. “Or I’ll hit ye.”

  “You hit me, you’ll be making a big mistake, Aiden,” he said. “Remember when I stuck you in the trash can and rolled you down the steps at school?”

  That was a terrible day. I went home all battered and bruised, smelling like garbage. I didn’t go to school for two days after.

  I might just bloody well hit him now. He deserved it.

  “That’s terrible,” said Mila, to Peter. “Why would you do that?”

  “It’s funny,” said Peter, astonished. “But it’s not half as funny as what I’m going to do if he doesn’t put down his fucking hands.”

  “Back off, then,” I insisted.

  “No. You.”

  “No. You.”

  I shoved Peter.

  You have to understand – he picked on me constantly at school. Here he was again, bullying me at my most important moment and right in front of Mila.

  No. I would not have it.

  “Did you shove me?” he said in disbelief. “You actually laid a hand on me?”

  “I will punch y-y-you, in the… face,” I threatened.

  My threats were not very well thought out. It was like I was searching for the most appropriate words for the threat. It came natural to a guy like Peter, who threatened just about everyone he’d ever met.

  “I am going to break you, little man,” he said, moving forward.

  “No. Leave him be,” said Mila in defense.

  “Listen, I’ve had about enough of you,” he said. “Get out of the way. I don’t normally hit a lady, but I might make an exception.”

  “Go ahead,” Mila said defiantly.

  “Now see, this ain’t fair,” said Peter.

  “How is it not fair? You’re about to beat up my friend,” she insisted.

  “He’s standing there threatening me. He pushed me first,” insisted Peter.

  “You pushed me lots of times in school,” I insisted.

  “Yeah and I got punished for it,” he said. “The nuns would hit me or give me detention and all. I suffered the punishment for my crimes and now here you are committing the same crimes against me.”

  “Now you’re the victim?” I said, outraged. “I’m the one who suffered by your hand and you try to make me feel sorry for you?”

  I took a swing at Peter. I was furious. He easily ducked the blow.

  The momentum made me spin around. I gathered some magic and threw some lightning bolts at Peter. But he quickly erected a magical shield to ward them off. That was one of the McDonnell’s witch powers – they were really good at making shields. Peter then grabbed me during the swing and put me in a headlock.

  “Calm down, all right?” he said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Let him go,” Mila screamed. “I’ll scream. I’ll call the cops on you.”

  Peter let me go and I fell to the ground. I scrambled to get back up and moved away from Peter.

  “All right, I’ll leave him alone,” said Peter. “If you agree to leave.”

  “What? No. I’m not agreeing to that.”

  Peter held up my wallet, which he had somehow stolen during our struggle.

  “Got yer wallet, lad,” he laughed.

  Peter promptly threw it into the dark grass off the path.

  “There, now you got something to do,” he joked.

  “That wasn’t my wallet,” I said. “My wallet is black and that was a brown one.”

  Peter now pulled my wallet out of his pocket and I snatched it away.

  “Yeah, this is mine,” I said.

  “Ah, fuckin’ hell,” he said.

  Peter started searching around in the grass for his wallet. We took the opportunity to leave. We got down the path a little further, but Peter eventually came running up with his wallet, huffing and puffing.

  “Wait a minute,” he said, a little out of breath. “Ye got to leave Ireland and never come back.”

  “Will you stop asking me to do that?” Mila said. “I’m not listening to you.”

  “Fine,” he said grabbing me by the shirt. “I’m gonna punch your boyfriend then.”

  “Let him go.”

  “Leave Ireland.”

  “Let him go.”

  “Leave. Ireland.”

  Chapter 15

  Aiden

  As if he had no other choice, Peter wound up to punch me, but a set of headlights illuminated the area. The car stopped and two familiar figures jumped out. It was Killian and Donovan to the rescue.

  They shot lightning bolts at Peter. This time, he was too busy holding onto me to erect a shield, so they got him in the arm. I felt it twitch, but he kept his grasp on me.

  “You want to fight,” said Donovan, “pick on someone your own size. Y’know, like Bigfoot or Andre the Giant.”

  “Let him go, Peter,” warned Killian. “You can’t fight all three of us.”

  He too shot lightning in Peter’s direction, hitting him hard enough to make him flinch. Reluctantly, Peter loosened his grip and pushed me towards Killian and Donovan.

  “You’re both lucky I don’t want to fight,” said Peter. “Just say away from mi family and we won’t have a problem. Otherwise…”

  Peter smashed his fist into his hand and then shook off his hand like he had hit it too hard.

  “Guys, I don’t need a protector,” said Mila. “I can handle him. He’s pathetic.”

  She looked a little frustrated as she said, “If only I could gather enough strength to work my own magic, I know I could take him. But it’s been really hard to do while I’m under these curses.”

  Peter stopped and walked back.

  “I’m pathetic, am I?” he said, angrily, obviously still stuck on that part of what she’d said. “You want to go, little girl?”

  Mila, who looked as if she had bitten off more than she could chew, stood her ground. She seemed to be concentrating very, very hard on somethin
g. Donovan and Killian and I stood alongside her.

  Suddenly, Mila grabbed both of our hands. We all felt that familiar zap of electricity. Then she harnessed a giant fireball. She held it in her hand and threatened to throw it at Peter.

  “Woah,” Peter said, and stopped in his tracks.

  He looked like he was trying to gather fire as well, but was failing. Donovan and Killian and I didn’t even try to help Mila out because, just as she had told us, there was clearly no need to do that. Our little lightning bolts were nothing compared to what Mila had in her hand.

  Peter made an angry face, muttered something to himself and then walked away.

  “Good job, honey!” Donovan exclaimed.

  “That was crazy!” I shouted out.

  “I know,” Mila said. “My mom told me that when I broke the loneliness spell, I could harness great amounts of witch power. I suppose I finally did it! Thanks to you guys!”

  All of us hugged each other.

  “I guess my mom was right that finding my family members would help me enact a spell to break the curse of loneliness, but it didn’t necessarily have to mean the McDonnell clan. Family is what you make of it. You guys are my family,” she said.

  “We sure are,” Killian said.

  “So how did you guys know what was going on?” I asked.

  “We saw him following you when we passed the market,” said Killian. “It’s a good thing we happened by, eh?”

  “I had the situation under control,” I assured them. “I was so angry, I think I could’ve taken him.”

  “Sure champ, sure,” agreed Donovan. “Just like you did in school.”

  “School was different,” I said. “I wasn’t in good shape back then. I didn’t have a growth spurt.”

  “He’s still a head taller than you,” said Donovan. “I mean, I think I could take him alone, but it would be tough. And it’s not like you could take me.”

  “Oh, I could take you,” I assured him.

  “Now you’re just being daft,” dismissed Donovan.

  That was it. I had had enough of being pushed around.

  I charged at Donovan and shoved him to the ground, but he pulled me down. We started wrestling in the grass.