by Casey Morgan
“You’re my kin, dummy,” he corrected.
“No, I’m not,” I insisted. “I was raised far away from here. I was raised to be a good person, with good values and etiquette. Look at you, Peter.”
“What?”
“What? Look at what you’ve become. The entire village looks down on you and the McDonnell name,” I said.
“No it don’t,” he half-laughed.
“Yes, it does,” I insisted. “I’ve heard that total strangers in bars react to just the very mention of the name McDonnell around here. And you know what they say?”
“What?”
“That the McDonnells are not good. That they are very bad, downright evil, witches, who use their power to wreak havoc on the world instead of bless it. That they lie and steal. But it doesn’t have to be that way,” I assured him. “You don’t have to do that stuff. You can be a good witch. It just requires a little work on your part. Just a little. Believe me. I know, because I’m a good witch, not a bad witch like most of you other McDonnells.”
“What are you on about?” he asked suspiciously.
“You. I’m talking about you and the rest of our cousins,” I explained. “You can be nice to people if you want. You could stop bullying people, right now, today. It’ll make your life better and your family’s life better, too. If you’ll just be a good witch instead of a bad one.”
“How’s that?” he asked.
For the first time, just for a moment, I thought I had reached him.
“Because when you’re nice to people, they’re nice to you,” I said.
He laughed dismissively.
“It’s true,” I said. “It’s just that the McDonnells have a reputation that’s been around so long — It might take months before you can turn the tide. But you can turn the tide. I promise you.”
“And what? What for?” he said, not understanding.
“Then people will be nice to you,” I assured him. “You’ll get smiles instead of angry looks. You’ll have friends instead of enemies.”
“What, like – even you?”
“Yeah, I’ll be your friend if you’re nice, Peter,” I said. “That’s part of friendship, being nice to each other. But what you did so far— what your family did— makes you hard to trust.”
“So you want to be my girlfriend, then?”
“What? No, no, you’re misinterpreting what I meant—”
“Yeah, right. Because I’m ugly, right. Not even good enough for your cousin, eh?”
“Peter. Calm down. We’re related.”
“You have to leave the village,” he whispered. “Right now. Go back to Hennessey, pack your shit and I am taking you to the airport.”
His voice was low and frightening. I had to admit, he was scaring me. I had no idea what he was capable of doing to me – only that he was very used to using his powers for bad, not good.
“All right, all right,” I said, trying to placate him. “I’m just going to use the bathroom and then we’ll go.”
I got up and walked toward the ladies’ room. As soon as he turned his back, I moved to a side door, near the restroom entrance. I was outside on the street before he could see me.
Chapter 21
Mila
Unfortunately, once I was outside, I realized that I couldn’t walk directly to Hennessey House without going past the café. I would have to circumvent the building by about two blocks and then circle around.
I rushed down the street as fast as I could, but the map in my head wasn’t very accurate. The layout of the old village wasn’t nice neat blocks, like back home, but rather it involved a series of twisting streets.
Pulling out my phone, I used the GPS. That worked fine, except that it was taking me back the way I came, past the café. I had to walk further so that the GPS could give me a different route.
I followed it for several minutes and soon realized that even Peter would’ve been suspicious about the amount of time I was in the bathroom. He was probably back on the streets looking for me.
That was a big problem. Peter knew these streets, and I didn’t. No wonder Shanna had warned me about bad guys lurking in the shadows here. I was quite sure she was talking about our own relatives!
I was half tempted to follow the GPS down a dark alley, but I was afraid of getting caught by Peter in a dark place. He seemed a little unstable and that made me afraid. The way the boys talked about his strength, there’d be no way I’d have a chance of getting away from him if things went south.
I saw what looked like him in the distance, rushing around the corner looking for me. I ducked into a clothing store and pretended to look around. He rushed by the store, glancing in the windows, but not seeing me. I waited.
“Excuse me,” said the clerk. “Can I help you with something?”
“Oh, uh, I was just looking,” I said, momentarily distracted. I decided I better make up a realistic-sounding question fast. “Are all your clothes new or do you have a vintage section as well?”
“It’s all new, dear,” she said. “If you want to try something on, the changing room is right over there.”
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Maybe another time. All of the clothes you’re selling look really awesome, though.”
I walked outside and didn’t see Peter anywhere. I figured my safest bet now was to head back toward the café.
I retraced my steps. I also kept my eye out for Honora. At one point, I thought I spotted her and rushed away from Hennessey House, but the woman stopped to get into an Uber and I realized it wasn’t her.
I turned around to walk back to Hennessy House and ran smack into Peter. He grabbed me, hard.
“Hold on, then,” he said. “You and I are going to the airport. And don’t try to get away. If you do, I will hurt you.”
“Let go of my arm, Peter,” I warned.
“Or what?”
I kicked him in the nuts as hard as I could. He collapsed on the pavement and I rushed off. I could hear him getting to his feet.
My choices at this point were to try and outrun him to Hennessey House or lose him in a crowd. I chose the latter, blending in with a group of people and keeping my head down.
Peter came to the edge of the crowd and looked over everyone, as if trying to spot me. He was holding his crotch painfully. I ducked into a local restaurant, but I think he saw me.
“Can I get you a table, miss?” asked the host.
“No, I’m meeting someone,” I said.
Fortunately, I was still dressed like I could be meeting someone in a restaurant. Peter was not. He looked like he just got out of a gym or out of soccer practice.
When the host stopped him, he became flustered and the host looked suspicious. I got to the restroom area, spotted a fire exit and ducked out.
Now I was somewhere on the other side of Hennessey House, on a street I had never seen before. Rather than slow down to look at my phone, I just decided to run a block, then turn the corner.
I caught my breath and then peeked around the corner to make sure I wasn’t followed. The street was empty. I looked down at the GPS. I was now three blocks away from where I wanted to be, and the only way back was a very roundabout way or a dark alley.
No way I was going down any alleys. I decided it was better to take the long route than to risk running into him.
I must’ve walked six blocks out of my way. Now I was getting tired and thirsty.
I tried calling the boys, but they didn’t answer. I guessed they were still in the meeting.
I was also reluctant to involve them or worry them, so I didn’t leave a message. I was used to taking care of myself and having amazing witch powers. But I may have met my match in my own relatives, which was a scary though. I wasn’t used to having to rely on others to help me.
By the time I was back on the street where Hennessey House was located, I had become confident I had ditched Peter. I was about half a block away, but right then he stepped out of a shadow and surprised me.
Peter knew where I was going and just waited there for me. I guessed he wasn’t so dumb, after all.
“You fuckin’ around with me?” he snapped.
Peter grabbed me by the arms and shook me. I began to feel just how strong he was. I was like a rag doll in his hands. I screamed and he squeezed my arm, hard.
“Ow. Stop.”
“You stop,” he threatened. “You come here. Set my family off and all. Tease me. No. I protect my family. You’re goin’ back to America if I have to drag you there meself.”
I tried to kick him in the balls again, but this time, he let go of my arm and blocked it with his hands.
“Haha, not this time ye—”
Before he could finish that sentence, I hauled off and punched him in the groin as hard as I could with my free hand. He fell to ground, moaning and crying.
“Ye bitch. Ye wee bitch,” he squealed.
“Hey. What’s all this then?” said a voice.
I turned around. It was the Garda, one of Ireland’s cops.
“Peter, I’m going to make you a deal,” I quickly whispered as he approached. “You could be in a lot of trouble. So much, you’re going to jail. If you leave me alone and stay out of my way, I’ll save you right now.”
“Fine, whatever,” he gasped.
“I mean it. I will go down to the police station the moment I see you again,” I hissed.
“Yeah, yeah, all right,” he panted.
“Everything all right here?” asked the Garda, now that he was close.
“Yes, so sorry, officer,” I apologized. “I tripped and he was trying to help me. Ended up hurting himself, I’m afraid.”
“Oh, yeah?” said the Garda suspiciously. “Oh, aye? Is that you, Peter McDonnell? Keeping your nose clean then?”
“Yes, officer,” said Peter, reluctantly.
The Garda sized us up. He was suspicious, but he was also apparently very busy. He shrugged and turned away.
“Right. Carry on then,” he said, sounding resigned.
I dropped Peter’s arm and started heading back toward the Hennessey House. Peter tried to grab my leg, but I shook him off. Just then, Donovan, Killian and Aiden skidded to a halt nearby and jumped out of Donovan’s convertible.
“Hey, hey,” shouted Donovan to the Garda. “You just gonna stand there?”
“That’s Peter McDonnell,” said Aiden. “He’s been harassing her.”
“Guys. Guys,” I called.
I rushed over and pulled them away from the Garda, who was now lingering.
“I’ve made a deal with Peter,” I said. “I don’t want to start a feud. He’s agreed to back off.”
“This true, Peter?” asked Killian.
Peter nodded his head. Snot was running down his face. Aiden took a picture of him in that pathetic state.
“Delete that, ye wee prick,” snapped Peter.
“Fuck off, Peter,” said Aiden. “Leave her alone or this is going viral, for all your tough McDonnell family members to see what a fucking wimp you are.”
It was good thinking, for Aiden to blackmail Peter like that. Plus, I admired his patience for not sharing it right now, after all that Peter had put him through in school.
Aiden was remarkably controlled and calculated. I loved that about him and I could already see how he was turning into an even stronger, better elf than the one I had met before we got into a polyamorous relationship. I think this thing we had going was good for all of us.
The boys drove me back to Hennessy House and we slipped into the pub to have a pint and relax. This time, I really needed a drink.
“How’d you guys even find me?” I asked.
“Well, I went into work and Brody told me you were meeting some woman that he thought was a McDonnell, so I called the lads,” explained Aiden.
“We drove around looking for ye,” said Donovan. “At one point, we spotted Peter and tried to confront him, but he ran away.”
“You must have been busy confronting him when I was calling you about him,” I said.
“Oh yeah, maybe,” Donovan said, checking his phone. “No, I don’t even have a missed call. The damn service around Luck’s Hollow is awful.”
“That sucks,” I told him. But secretly, I was proud of myself for working it out on my own and not needing them, even though I was glad they still tried to come to my rescue. “Thanks for the help.”
“No problem. Peter looked pretty guilty, so we were trying to find him when we ran into you and him,” explained Killian. “Guess it was just good timing, eh?”
“Well, I did get to talk to Honora McDonnell before Peter arrived,” I explained. “She’s my grandmother.”
“Saints be praised,” gasped Donovan. “So you finally connected to a real McDonnell, eh?”
“Aye,” I said. “She was forced to give my mom up after she got pregnant out of wedlock. Isn’t that horrible?”
“Aye,” said Killian. “But that’s the way it was for a long, long time around here. We had heard the rumors, but never confirmed them. No doubt the McDonnells wanted to hide their family’s shame.”
“But it’s not a shame anymore,” I insisted. “Right?”
“Well,” said Aiden. “It’s not exactly… smart.”
“Aiden,” I gasped. “She shouldn’t have her whole life ruined and her baby taken away.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said Aiden. “Seems to me that if she really wanted the baby, she would’ve fought to keep it. People don’t just give up their children, right?”
“She didn’t just give it up,” I insisted. “She was forced to. And it wasn’t right. What the nuns did to her, wasn’t right.”
“That’s true,” Aiden acquiesced, and I was glad, but this issue was important to me.
I had seen how sad Honora felt about everything. I knew she had wanted my mom but had done things the only way she could. I could tell she had wanted the best for her. Besides, it set in motion the path that led me to my three elves, and I wouldn’t change a thing – except that of course I wish my mom was still around.
But all of this was helping me deal with my grief and break that powerful spell it had had over me. It was as if I had been motionless, cursed with grief, and now I was finally starting to be able to truly live again.
I knew that my mom wouldn’t want me frozen in grief. Nor would she want me to be mad at or judgmental towards her own biological mother. Things were working out exactly as they should, and I just had to trust the process.
“So, what’s Honora doing now?” asked Donovan.
“Well, she told me about my grandfather and how he went to Dublin for a job, but never sent for her,” I explained.
“Why didn’t she go see him?” asked Killian.
“I offered to take her, but she wouldn’t go,” I said sadly. “She got real upset and stormed out. That’s when Peter came in.”
“Sounds like a lot of family drama,” noted Donovan. “You gonna contact your grandpa? I mean, do ye even know where he is?”
“I got a name. She said he’s back in the area,” I said. “Unless he’s off the grid, I’m sure I could find him.”
“Take a look,” said Killian.
I did a quick search on my phone. He popped right up.
“Here he is,” I said. “Burt McBain. Age 73. He’s the only one with that name in this area that’s the right age. That has to be him. Google says he lives in the village of Condlay.”
“That’s not far at all. Maybe ten minutes,” said Donovan. “Do ye want to go?”
I thought about it. Did I really want to go?
It seemed like Burt went to an awful lot of trouble not to contact anyone. Why would he be interested in a granddaughter he never met?
Still, my mother wanted me to seek him out. I had to do it for her. It was her last wish. I finished the rest of my pint and slammed the glass down.
“Lads, let’s go,” I proclaimed.
As we got up to head out the door, it opened, and, to my surprise, Honora
walked in. She was teary eyed.
“I’ve come to a decision,” she said.
Chapter 22
Mila
“I was being selfish,” said Honora. “I don’t care if my secret shocks anyone anymore. You deserve a chance to know your family. We should go to your grandfather and see what the story is there.”
“We got the van,” said Aiden. “Let’s ride it over and find Burt.”
“You all are coming?” asked Honora. “You don’t have to go to so much trouble. What nice friends you’ve already made in Ireland, Mila.”
“It’s no trouble at all, ma’am,” Donovan assured her. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“The lads are my… boyfriends,” I explained, a little sheepishly.
“Oh,” said Honora. “Well, it’s not my place to judge. I’m the last person who could throw stones. Shall we?”
We all piled into the van, with Donovan at the wheel. Before he drove off, he decided better of it and let Killian take over.
“He was taste testing a few things after the meeting,” explained Killian. “It’s definitely better that I drive, just to be safe.”
Killian drove us to Burt’s village and the local pub. He said it would be the hotbed for gossip and the most likely place that we’d find Burt or someone that knew him. After a round of pints, one of the locals directed us to a small cottage outside of town.
“Oh, I’m so nervous and a bit giddy, too,” said Honora. “How do I look?”
I checked Honora’s hair and makeup. I touched her up and straightened a few things. But there was a new glow about her that I hadn’t seen before.
“You look beautiful, Grandma,” I said and smiled at her.
We got back into the van and drove out to the edge of the village. There, standing by itself, was a tiny cottage.
Honora was shaking. I held her hand for support and helped her out of the van. Before we could knock, an old man walked from around the back garden and frowned at us.
“Hey now,” he said hoarsely. “Watcyeh doin’ here on my property?”
Honora turned toward him and the look on his face— well, it was one of absolute shock.