by Mary Swift
“I love you too.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” Killian smiled. “But I think we should get going.”
Killian supported Tom’s other side and together they hurried down the alley and onto the main path of the circle. They stopped at Devin’s narrow little house and rapped loudly on the door. Several people passed by and stared at them. Killian began knocking again when suddenly the door opened. Devin looked at Killian and pulled him inside. He stepped out and helped Nora with Tom.
“What are you doing here?” Devin asked once the door was shut. “Are you here on orders from the Master Enchanter?”
“No. We’ve just escaped from him.” Nora said.
“But you’re his wife.”
“We’ve had an irrevocable parting of the ways.” She glanced at Killian in the darkness of the hallway. She couldn’t believe she had told him how she felt, and he loved her, he really loved her.
“They’ll be looking for you.” Devin said. “You can’t stay here.”
“Do you have a room I can put my brother in?” Nora asked. Tom’s eyelids were fluttering. “He’s a mortal and he’s been in the workhouse.”
“I don’t think-” Devin began.
There was a noise at the end of the hallway. An old man with a walking stick suddenly appeared followed by Killian’s first wife Talia. Nora thought she heard Killian swear under his breath.
Talia looked first to Killian and then to Nora, anger flashed in her eyes. She pushed past the man with the walking stick and Devin. Suddenly she was in front of Nora. “This is an enchanters’ circle, you have no business here.” Talia pointed a finger in Nora’s face.
“I need some help for my brother.” Nora said. She couldn’t hold him up much longer.
“I’ll take him.” Killian said. “I don’t even want to know what you are doing here Talia.”
“Put him in here.” Devin said to his son. Together they guided Tom into an adjoining room.
Once they were gone Talia poked Nora in the shoulder. “What are you doing with him?”
“He’s my brother.”
Talia glared at her. “You know what I mean. Why are you with Killian?”
“I’m trying to help him get back to Lucy.”
“Talia, leave her alone.” the man with the walking stick said.
Talia looked back at him. “This has nothing to do with you.” She turned back to Nora. “Lucy is in Wildbush.”
“I know. That’s where we are going next.”
“We?” Talia sneered. “You have no business with Killian.”
Nora felt herself getting angry. She began to sense the Firesea energy around her. She suspected if she touched Talia she could hurt her. “Why are you here?”
“How dare you question me mortal.”
“Then I will ask.” Killian was back in the hallway. He grabbed Talia’s arm. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to rescue you and Lucy.”
“Lucy has escaped. She’s in Wildbush looking for us.”
Talia pulled her arm free. “Why are you with her?” She pointed to Nora.
“That’s none of your business.” Killian said. “Why don’t you ask what’s happening to our daughter? She escaped with a man.”
“The councilman said he’s not dangerous. He’s an outcast like you. I’ve sent Logan back to find her.”
“That’s the most sensible thing you’ve said so far.”
“You still haven’t told me why you’re with her.” Talia said.
Killian smiled. “I love her.”
Talia’s face became red. “No you don’t.”
“I do actually.”
“She’s a mortal.”
“Get out of my way, I have things to do.” Killian started to walk away when Talia punched him in the back of the head. Killian stumbled and crashed into the wall.
“Talia!” the old man shouted.
Nora was furious. She intended to give Talia a good hard shove. As soon as Nora touched her she went flying down the hallway, narrowly missing the old man, and crashed against the backdoor. “There’s more where that came from.” Nora warned. “So keep your hands off him and everyone else.”
Killian got to his feet and rubbed the back of his head.
“Are you going to let her treat me that way?” Talia cried. “She’s a mortal and I’m an enchanter.”
“I like her this way.” he said.
Talia stood up and walked unsteadily towards them. “Oh come on Killian. You can’t be serious about her. So she’s got some freaky ability. She’s not nearly as pretty as me.”
Killian grabbed her arm roughly. “I told you to leave me alone.” He pushed her against the wall. “Shut your mouth and go find someone else to harass. And if you lay one more finger on me I will knock your teeth out. You’re in Firesea now, you weren’t born here. You don’t have any rights.”
Talia stared at Nora as they walked past her and into the backyard where they went about setting protections with the pen against Dante and the inevitable force that would come down upon them.
Chapter 84
Finnegan sat on a hill overlooking Wildbush. The sun was starting to set; it shone on the steeple of the church. He was in a dilemma. He had a choice to make. The smart thing for him to do was to return to Chilton and resume his life as a lawyer. The dumb choice was to seek out Lucy. She had left Firesea with a ranger. Finnegan suspected it was the one that had first found them, Arden Cormenic. He had seen the way he looked at Lucy. But could he be trusted? The thought of passing by Wildbush and not checking on her seemed wrong.
He sighed and looked down at the grubby undershirt he was wearing. He had no shirt because he had given it to Killian. Everything always came back to his little brother. Finnegan had hated him for so long. He had ruined his relationship with their mother and changed the family forever. But those were the jealous thoughts of a boy. He was a grown man and things had changed. He didn’t hate Killian, he couldn’t. In the back of his mind he knew the truth, he had grown to love his brother.
Finnegan smiled to himself. He loved Killian. It was true. All that time he spent resenting him had prevented him from realizing the truth. He wasn’t alone in the world. Killian and Lucy were his family, they were all he had.
He stood up and tried to straighten his clothes. He was filthy and he was sure he smelled worse, there was nothing he could do about that. He started walking, it took him a while to navigate through the weedy bushes and tall grass. It was nearly dark by the time he reached the main street of town. No one seemed to recognize him, although a couple of people made a not so quiet noise indicating that he smelled.
Killian’s house was just ahead. There was a light coming from the first and second floors. This was it. He took a deep breath. He could still turn around and leave. Instead he climbed the steps and rang the bell. A few minutes passed. Finally the door opened. Arden stared at him. “You’ve got some nerve coming here.”
Finnegan was tempted to turn around and start running. He forced his feet to remain where they were. “I want to see my niece.”
Arden stepped outside and poked him in the chest. “Do you want to finish what you started? Do you want to tie her up and try dumping her in a ditch again? Or do you want to kill her?” A man walking by slowed down and looked at them.
“I want to help her.” Finnegan said. “The rangers will be coming for you, you know that. They’ll take you and she’ll be left alone.”
“They won’t take me.” Arden didn’t sound convinced.
“I don’t want to hurt Lucy. I really want to help her.” The man on the street was staring at them. Finnegan lowered his voice. “Do you want the mortals involved?”
Arden grabbed him by the arm and shoved him inside. “You had better be telling me the truth.”
“I am.” Finnegan’s knees were shaking. He didn’t like being pushed around and he was afraid Arden might hit him.
Arden called Lucy’s name. A minute later
she came down the stairs. “How dare you come to my home.” she said angrily.
“I’m here to help you.”
“Oh sure, like when you kidnapped me and then tried to dump me in a ditch?”
“I know that was bad.”
“Bad?” she cried. “You’ve ruined everything. My father is gone because of you. Now my mother has left to look for him. I was happy until you came to town.”
This was harder than he had imagined. “I know it is tough Lucy but-”
“Tough? What do you know about it? My father-”
“I’ve been with your father.”
She shook her head. “You’re a liar.”
“I know.” Finnegan said. “But I have been with Killian, he’s in Firesea.”
“Then he’ll never come home.” Lucy started to cry. “What do you want here? Maeve is dead.”
“I know. I’m here to help you. I know that’s hard to believe, but I mean it. I owe you and Killian everything. First I have to know if this man forced you from Firesea. Did you leave of your own free will?”
Arden tensed up. Lucy took his hand. “I wanted to leave and he did too. He helped me. He’s been very kind.”
Finnegan noticed Arden blushing. “The Firesea rangers will come for him. They’ll take him away.”
Lucy shook her head. “The circle will help me.”
“I can defend myself.” Arden added.
They were so young. They had no idea what they were up against. “I want to help you Lucy.”
“I don’t need you.”
“If your father comes back he’ll be arrested for murder.”
“This is your way of helping?”
“I’m a lawyer. I can defend him and I know I can win.”
“Do you think I believe you? You hate him.”
“I don’t hate him anymore. He’s my brother, he’s my family.”
Arden suddenly raised a hand. “Rangers.” He pushed the curtain aside on a nearby window and looked out. “They’re close. I can feel their energy.” He looked at Finnegan. “Can’t you?”
Finnegan shrugged. “Not really.” He never was a very perceptive enchanter.
“There are a lot of them.” Arden said.
Lucy looked terrified. “Will they come in here?”
“Not yet. They’ll wait until daybreak.”
“I want to be your uncle.” Finnegan said. “I want to make up for what I’ve done, not just to you, but to your father. I love him.”
“You stink.” Lucy said. “Why don’t you go upstairs and take a bath?”
“Lucy-” Arden began.
“I believe him.” she said. “I’m probably a fool, but for some reason I believe him. He didn’t have to come back here. I think he should stay.” She looked at Finnegan. “There are plenty of clothes in my father’s room, they should fit you. Upstairs, the third door on the right. It’s the room with the blue striped wallpaper.”
“Thank you.” He made an awkward sort of bow and went upstairs. He had made his choice; there was no going back to his mortal life now.
Chapter 85
Devin set out a meal for Killian and Nora in a tiny kitchen at the back of the house. Killian had not eaten much of anything in days, he was so famished that he didn’t care that he was shoving food into his face as fast as he could. Nora at least made an effort to eat in a civilized manner. Devin sat in a chair and watched them.
As Killian’s stomach began to fill he leaned back and took a long drink of water. “Thank you. I was starving.”
“I can see that.” Devin said. He looked at Killian’s hair. “I still have trouble believing it’s you.”
“I know I look different.”
Devin put his elbows on the table. “I never thought I would see you again. I had resigned myself to that.”
“I never thought I would know where I came from.”
“Did they tell you anything about yourself?”
“No, just that I wasn’t wanted.”
A pained expression crossed Devin’s face. “Never, never. I admit that you weren’t planned. I was a foolish young man back then. I had been married at sixteen to a sweet girl but she died a few years later. We never had any children. The circle then arranged an engagement to a beautiful young woman. She had red hair too, although hers wasn’t as coppery as yours.”
Killian told himself to ignore the comment. “It was Maeve that you were engaged to?”
“Yes.” Devin said. “She would have made an ideal wife; she came from a prominent family. She was a powerful enchanter too, the red hair and all. Anyway, I’m ashamed to say that I was unfaithful. I began spending time with Leah Murphy; she was a widow a few years older than me. She wasn’t beautiful like Maeve but she had a spirit that was like no other. I should have ended my engagement, but I was ambitious, I didn’t want to lose Maeve and her connections.
“Everything changed when Leah told me that she was pregnant. I didn’t know what to do. Leah wisely told the council about her pregnancy and my engagement was broken for me. I was furious at the time, but she was right to do so. The council insisted that we marry.”
“Did you love her?” Killian asked.
Devin hesitated. “I did, but you have to understand that Firesea is a place of ambition, status, and wealth. She had none, her dead husband was unpopular and her son was the rightful heir to the Master Enchanter’s robe. People wanted her to be disgraced. Leah could offer me nothing that Maeve could.”
“Except me.”
Devin nodded. “Yes. My new stepson Finnegan was a bratty boy, he was probably the worst thing about Leah. But then you came along Killian and the minute I saw you everything changed. Maeve, my place on the council, my own ambition was gone. I had a son, I had you.”
Nora squeezed his hand under the table.
“I nearly killed Finnegan when I found out what he had done.” Devin said. “As you know an enchanter’s spell, even from a twelve year old cannot be changed. We had to send you to Wildbush.”
“But couldn’t the Master Enchanter have intervened?” Nora asked.
Devin looked surprised at her question. “Yes he could have. He chose not to. You don’t understand the way Firesea works. No one does anything if it doesn’t personally benefit them. The Master Enchanter at the time had no connection to Leah or myself. He didn’t care.”
“Then why didn’t you go after Killian yourself?” Nora asked. Her tone was accusatory. “Couldn’t you have gone to Wildbush and found him? Why let your only son be sent away?”
“No one leaves Firesea without permission. I couldn’t just walk out of the front gate.”
“Then why didn’t you escape?” Nora asked. “Lucy managed it. I don’t understand how you could allow your son to be taken from you.”
Devin’s face was red. “You’re a mortal, you don’t understand. I’m sorry Killian; I did the best I could. It killed your mother in the end. She slipped into a grief that she never recovered from. We had a daughter after you left but the baby was so weak; she only lived for a few months. Leah died a few days later.”
“What happened to you? Did you get everything that you wanted?” Killian asked.
“No. I faded into obscurity. They drag me out occasionally for my opinion on something, but it’s rare these days.”
“What’s your spell?”
Devin smiled. “Peace. I hate war. It’s pointless. I enchanted a quill that would write peace treaties.”
“A quill?” Killian took the pen from his pocket. “This is my spell. Whatever I write happens, mostly.”
Devin reached for the pen. Killian pulled it away. “You can’t touch it. Your fingers will fall off.”
“What?”
“Your fingers will fall off. It’s a new spell I recently created for it.”
Devin withdrew his hand. “You’re very clever son.”
Killian had never been called son before. He felt his face getting red; he stared at the floor.
“I’m sorry, is it
something I said?” Devin asked.
“No. I think you caught Killian off guard.” Nora said. “He’s quite shy.”
“Really? You weren’t like that when you were a child here with us.”
“I wasn’t encouraged to talk when I was growing up. Rather I was encouraged to keep my mouth shut and stay out of the way.”
“Henry told me he raised you.” Devin said.
“Yes.”
“Were you happy with him?”
Killian hesitated. He didn’t want to hurt his father. It would be easier to just say yes. He looked at Nora.
“Tell him the truth.” she said.
“No, I wasn’t happy. Henry and his family hated me. He and the council arranged my marriage to Talia. The only reason that he wanted me to stay in the family was because I was from another circle. I’m the most powerful enchanter in Wildbush; of course that’s not saying much.”
“But you and Talia divorced.”
“Yes, I had to do it. She, she-”
“What is it son?”
Killian sighed. He was afraid of disappointing his father. Everyone in Firesea was strong and ambitious, he couldn’t live up to it. He hadn’t done anything special in his life. He had no profession and no prestige and he wasn’t interested in gaining any.
“What happened?” Devin asked. “You can tell me anything.”
“Talia beat me.”
“Beat you? Do you mean physically?”
“Yes.”
“And you couldn’t overpower her?”
“No, I could have.” Killian said. “She has two violent brothers who would have killed me if I had laid a hand on her; I had to stay alive for my daughter. Besides it wouldn’t have been right, and I don’t want to be like her. I’m afraid I’m not much of a Firesea man.”
“A Firesea man?” Devin scoffed. “That’s nothing to aspire to.”
Killian took a drink of water. “The only good thing that came out of the marriage was Lucy.”
“She’s a strong willed girl.” Devin said. “I’m afraid I didn’t get much of a chance to know her. She left so suddenly.”
“She’s remarkable, without her-” Killian stopped and took a deep breath. “She’s everything to me.”
