The Great Fury

by Thomas Kennedy

  “When the spell kicks in he’ll be starving,” she added.

  “Spell?” Oengus asked.

  “Medicine,” the first nurse said with a glance at the second.

  “He favors coffee,” Oengus added.

  “No problem,” the second nurse said and both nurses left the room.

  “Strange type of nurse’s uniform?” Oengus commented.

  “They are elves. They wear elfin clothes,” Beag explained. “But don’t let that fool you, medically speaking they know their onions,” Beag added reassuringly.

  Oengus shook his head in disbelief and then regretted it as the pain hit. He looked at Beag. Such a dwarfish man and probably a nut case? He wondered.

  There was a groan from behind the screens.

  Then Oengus heard John’s voice call, “Nurse!”

  The nurse arrived in practically an instant. Over her arm she had a long white hospital shirt. She went in behind the screens.

  “Breakfasts,” the first nurse said arriving with a trolley containing three trays.

  “He wants to talk to Danu,” the nurse said coming out from behind the screens. “I told him to put something on.”

  As she spoke she pulled back the screens. John was sitting up in bed struggling into the long hospital shirt while maintaining his modesty with the blankets. He gave Oengus a smile but not until after he’d scowled at Beag.

  “After breakfast,” the first nurse said.

  Both nurses distributed the trays with breakfast.

  “You must drink the juice first,” the first nurse instructed. “It’s a pick me up and very good for your injuries.”

  The nurse then departed.

  “You beat me again,” Beag said to John, “I’ll give you that.”

  John just grunted and drank his juice.

  As Oengus sipped his juice he felt he’d burst with questions. Where was he and why and how did they get here and when could they go home? But he held his peace and ate his breakfast.

  It was good and he immediately began to feel well. By the time he was finished he was ready to jump out of bed.

  “I don’t know what they put in the juice but it sure gives a lift,” Beag said.

  “You betcha,” John said, sliding out of bed. The white hospital shirt reached down to his ankles.

  Oengus realized that he himself was stark naked in the bed. He blushed.

  The first nurse came in, presumably detecting John’s movement.

  “John, please take a shower and get dressed. Your clothes are washed and ready.”

  “Right,” John said heading into the en-suite bathroom. The second nurse followed him in carrying his clean clothes on her arm.

  “Puca Beag!” the first nurse said sharply. “Shape shift into a fully dressed male adult this minute!”

  “All buttons closed,” the nurse added as an afterthought.

  Startled by the sharpness of the tone of instruction, Beag did as he was told straight away and then slid out of the bed.

  “Now back on duty,” the nurse added, indicating to the door.

  Oengus watched in amazement. Beag now resembled the fishermen he would see on the dock in Dunquin, but maybe a little less tall.

  “See you,” Beag said as he departed.

  “Sure,” Oengus replied with uncertainty.

  The nurse stripped Beag’s bed and disappeared with the linen.

  Left alone Oengus just sat still. He wondered where his clothes were. The pain in his head had disappeared and he felt fit and ready to go. But he’d need his clothes.

  The second nurse came out of the bathroom with John fully dressed on one arm and the hospital shirt on the other.

  “Your uncle will be in the day room,” she said and led John away.

  “My clothes?” Oengus managed.

  “We’ll be back shortly and then the other nurse and I will get you ready,” she said as she went out and left Oengus alone again.

  “I’m Eifa and my colleague is Nilas,” the first nurse said as they came back into the room. Oengus had lain back down and was just chilling and waiting for something to happen.

  “Feeling fit?’ Eifa asked and began to unwind the bandage around Oengus’s head.

  “Very good,” Nilas said leaning in as Eifa finished. “Sit up please.”

  “My clothes?” Oengus asked.

  Eifa smiled. “ Nilas, he says he wants clothes,” she said.

  “Pity,” Nilas said with a grin.

  “Are you sure? It’s nice and warm in the hospital,” Eifa teased.

  Oengus could feel his face get red. “Please,” he said.

  Eifa went into the en-suite and came out with a large white towel.

  “We’ll have your clothes ready after your shower. We need to measure you,” she explained.

  Puzzled, Oengus took the towel and well wrapped he went into take a shower.

  When he looked in the mirror he was surprised to find that there was no mark on his head and it didn’t hurt anymore.

  When he emerged they were waiting for him. Nilas was holding a measuring tape. They smiled and this unnerved Oengus.

  “What?” he asked.

  “We have very good tailors here,” Eifa said.

  They started by measuring his back and shoulders and then his waist. Nilas measured and Eifa took notes.

  “Inside leg?” Nilas asked.

  “No way,” Oengus replied.

  “Then you’ll have to wear a dress.”

  “I’ll hold the top of the tape,” Oengus agreed reluctantly.

  “It won’t take long,” Nilas said. They left him standing in his towel so he went and sat on a chair. Already they had stripped the linen from the beds and he didn’t feel he should sit back on the bed.

  When they returned he realized that he was sure of one thing and that was that there was no way he could go home in the clothes they provided. He took them into the en-suite while they waited for him to re-emerge.

  The pants and shirt were of green silk and golden edged in medieval style along with a ‘robin hood’ style of cloak and a pointy hat with a feather. That plus green pointed leather shoes with golden buckles. Even the stockings were of green silk with matching golden rim.

  In the absence of anything else he put them on and was surprised that not only were they a good fit but they were comfortable also. But ‘cool’ they were not.

  “Cool,” Eifa said when he re-emerged. Nilas just smiled.

  “I’m not wearing these,” Oengus protested.

  “Perfect,” Nilas said.

  “I want my own clothes back.”

  “Oengus they were damaged and soiled when you crashed in, but they will be ready in time for your return to Dunquin, should you decide to leave,” Eifa said in no argument tones.

  “But first you have an interview with the Goddess Danu. She is most insistent on seeing you and instructed that you be properly dressed,” Nilas added.

  “I have to meet a woman who thinks she is a God and I have to be dressed like this?”

  “Everybody thinks she is a Goddess. She is the Goddess of the Thuaithe de Danann.”

  “Is she nuts? Are you all nuts? Who is she exactly and why does she want to see me?”

  “Too many questions. Do come along,” Eifa said and turning she led the way while Nilas took up the rear. Reluctantly Oengus decided to go along with things. That is until he could escape.

  As Oengus followed Eifa he discovered that it wasn’t a hospital after all. It was a palace. His head was swimming.

  “How can this be?” he asked but Eifa and Nilas ignored him and strode purposefully on.

  “I was on Great Blasket Island,” Oengus said.

  “We know but Oengus
just listen and learn. You are safe but you are in a different world,” Nilas said.

  “But am I mad? I fell in the Clochan and woke up here?” Oengus checked.

  “Listen Oengus, the Clochan is the portal that connects Otherworld and Earth. Beag was the sentinel. But I expect he fell asleep. He always does that when he is a rock. This is the second time your Uncle has bested him,” Eifa explained.

  They had reached a central corridor. Everywhere there was marble and gold and all the colors of the rainbow. But there was nobody about.

  “Where is this?” Oengus asked.

  “This is the green and gold room of the palace of the Faerie Queen. Danu is her guest and has been given this wing.”

  “Why is there nobody about, it feels empty?”

  “Danu said she needs a very confidential conversation with you and your uncle. So everyone is banished from this area until the three of you are finished. We will come back and collect you.”

  “Collect me?”

  “We will be in the yellow wing. It goes best with our uniforms.”

  “Please what do you mean by Otherworld, where is it?” Oengus asked, alarmed that they were about to leave him in an empty hall.

  “Otherworld is a huge place,” Nilas said.

  “How huge?”

  “Nobody knows but it is vast and includes the Faerie Kingdom and the Underworld and of course Tir na Nogh where Danu normally resides. You are very honored that she has deigned to come to see you.”

  “I am? I don’t think so. This is gross. I’m not going a step further,” Oengus insisted.

  “Just go with the flow,” Eifa urged with a warm smile.

  “Like, I’m a teenager. I like TV and the Internet. I don’t do faerie palaces,” Oengus added.

  “But Oengus here you are. You are in this reality and you have to live it,” Nilas pointed out kindly.

  Oengus stared at her. She had a beautiful honest open face without any trace of guile. He wondered would he cry or scream. He really felt he’d like to talk to his Mom. She was well grounded. Instead here he was dressed as a prat.

  “Go on,” Nilas urged, meeting his eyes in a friendly way.

  “After the meeting you can ask to go home,” Eifa suggested.

  “Where is the meeting?” Oengus asked.

  “Go through that door with the diamond and sapphire handle. Follow the corridor and it will lead to Danu.”

  “Can you come?” Oengus asked.

  “Sorry but no one may be in the presence of a God without an invitation. It’s just you and your uncle John and Danu.”

  If asked Oengus would have guessed Danu to be in her thirties. She was an attractive woman with clear blue eyes and dark black hair that was long but bound back by a golden clasp.

  Her dress was long and although low at the neck it showed no cleavage, but she had in Oengus’s opinion, a lithe full figure with just the right amount of curves, the figure of a Goddess.

  The dress reminded Oengus of the pictures of Celtic Princesses he had seen in history books. But he could see no jewelry other than the golden clasp that held her silken hair.

  They were sitting opposite one another on low lounge couches and they both rose as Oengus entered.

  Oengus was very self-conscious in his strange costume and gave his uncle John an embarrassed smile.

  “Elfin clothes suit you Oengus,” Danu said warmly, adding, “Do sit beside me.”

  There was a large silver tray on the table and a golden dome covering whatever rested there. Danu took off the dome to reveal cakes and beverages.

  “We won’t be disturbed but do help yourselves. I know you have had breakfast but don’t be shy. The cakes are excellent and we have coffee and tea and some bottled ‘water of life’ for you John in view of your condition,” Danu explained.

  “Try the Kimberly biscuits Oengus. They are fresh,” she added.

  Oengus took one to be polite but in fact Kimberly was his favorite biscuit.

  As Danu poured him a cup of tea in a delicate cup of unknown provenance, Oengus wondered that everything seemed normal but nothing was normal. Maybe a doctor would arrive and declare them all insane? But he decided that in the meantime he might as well enjoy a fresh Kimberly biscuit.

  He realized Danu was looking at him in an appraising way. But she had soft eyes and a soft expression. He felt embarrassed but not threatened.

  “It is good to see you Oengus,” she said gently.

  “What’s going on?” Oengus began but Danu held up a hand.

  “Listen a while Oengus and then you will understand. Let John explain why you are both here,” Danu said and turned to John.

  “John?” she prompted.

  John looked nervous as he met Oengus’s eyes. He took a sip of his coffee and then cooled it with the bottled water. It seemed to give him strength.

  “First, Oengus I hear the Kerryman newspaper gave me a splash when I was involved in rescue work as a fireman at the nine eleven attack. Is that so?”

  Oengus frowned, wondering where this was going.

  “They said you were very brave. Mom was very proud and read the article over and over. It was the first time they made mention of your existence.”

  “Good, good. But you see Oengus I got some dust in my lungs. So I was sent to a doctor. As luck would have it I was alright in the lung department, but they ran tests.”

  “Yes?” Oengus prompted.

  “And the tests explained why I was feeling so unwell. It seems I have cancer.”

  “Where?”

  “Everywhere Oengus. At that stage there were secondary’s all over my system. The good news was they could keep me going with drugs but the bad news was that I had just months to live. And the way I feel it won’t be long now.”

  “But why did you come back John? Why did you want to see me? Oengus asked.

  “Let me get to that. I’m sure the events so far have been a terrible shock to you Oengus and we need to get you through this.”

  “Feel free, we will both listen,” Danu said graciously.

  John put some more water into his coffee and sipped. He looked earnestly at Oengus.

  “You ok kid?” he asked.

  “A bit freaked out.”

  “Ok but stay with me. Oengus no doubt you have listened to fairy stories around the fire in winter?”

  “Not since I was a kid.”

  “Have you ever heard of stolen children?”

  “Mom used to turn off the television and read to us. There were stories about faeries stealing healthy children and putting a sickly one in its place or maybe a log of wood.”

  “Exactly,” John said sounding as if he had just proven a major point.

  “Of course I didn’t believe them, they were just fairy stories,” Oengus countered.

  “Naturally,” Danu said with a smile.

  “When I was young I was a bit wild,” John continued.

  “Right?” Oengus asked.

  “Forty years ago I was a holy terror. They used call me the Devil of Dunquin.”

  Danu gave him an indulgent smile.

  “What did you do?” Oengus asked, feeling the need to get John to come to the point.

  “Our land on Great Blasket included the Clochan that we visited. Oengus over the centuries our people were close to the magic, for they had seen strange things at the Clochan.”

  “There was magic everywhere when the people believed,” Danu said.

  “This place reminds me of a posh hotel my dad brought us to one year for Sunday lunch after he got a great price when he sold the spring lambs,” Oengus said. “I’m not sure it is a magic place.”

  Danu was surprised at this viewpoint.

  “This is Otherworld,” she said. �
��It is vast.”

  “Yes,” John added. “The key thing is that here time is different.”

  “We are relatively different as time moves in a different way here,” Danu explained but Oengus didn’t feel any the wiser.

  “And where are we?” he asked.

  “Presently we are in the reception area of the palace of the Faerie Queen. All the gold trim you see is real gold and all diamonds are real. This is not just a hotel I can assure you Oengus,” she added.

  Oengus shrugged. “And Danu where do you live in all of this?” he asked.

  “I live far away in Tir na Nogh,” Danu said.

  “The land of the young,” John translated unnecessarily. “It’s another part of Otherworld.”

  “The Land of the Young maybe but no offence, not that young,” Oengus replied.

  “To a sixteen year old everyone over twenty is old,” John said with a smile.

  Danu laughed. Her laugh was warm and musical and as she laughed she smiled with her eyes. Oengus felt himself warm to her. His mother sometimes looked at him like that.

  “As it happens I am thousands of earth years old,” she confessed.

  “A pensioner?” Oengus managed.

  She laughed and so did John.

  “I like a sense of humor,” she said.

  “The Clochan is the place where the magic of Otherworld touches earth,” John continued.

  “Why there in particular?” Oengus probed.

  “Oengus there is magic everywhere, but in some places there is a lot more than most. It was decided as a matter of policy some time ago that as human kind became more technical we would withdraw gradually the close connections between earth and Otherworld,” Danu explained.

  “But not at the Clochan?” Oengus asked. He knew he was having a crazy conversation but Danu seemed sane.

  “Not everywhere. I’m sure you’ve heard of Leprechauns?” John asked.

  “With a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow and three magic wishes if you can catch one,” Oengus summarized.

  “Right but did you know we can use the leprechaun rainbow as a transport beacon between Otherworld and wherever we want to go?” Danu asked.

  Oengus decided he’d better have another biscuit.

  “Great Blasket is still touched by magic as is the Dingle peninsula,” John interjected. “Also there are places in Africa, India, China, where magic is still present and the local people accept and live alongside magic.”