Emerald Isle (A Stacy Justice Mystery)

by Annino, Barbra

  She whipped her head around to see a hologram of a young woman approach the children of her vision.

  Present-day Birdie smacked her head. That’s right! The chaperone. Birdie couldn’t recall her name, but she remembered what the compassionate woman had told her.

  Stay true to yourself, my dear, and you’ll never go wrong. She had lived her life by that motto. She hoped she had instilled that same value in her children and her grandchildren.

  The older Birdie flicked her eyes to Anastasia for a moment. “I learned a lot here.” Then she glanced back at the veiled young woman approaching the childhood Tabby. She couldn’t quite make out her face, but she could see the determination. It emitted from her core, a fiery red wave of resolve. That’s when Birdie remembered what had happened next.

  She looked at Anastasia. “You know, the only time I saw the Seeker’s locket…”

  Suddenly, her granddaughter rushed forward, grabbed Birdie’s arm, and said, “We have to go.”

  But it was too late. Thunder clapped in the sky, and a jolt surged from Anastasia to Birdie.

  A flash, an image.

  And she knew.

  Of all the moments to stroll down memory lane. Geesh.

  “Birdie, we have to go. Now,” I said again, as firmly as I could.

  My grandmother swallowed hard, her green eyes cloudy. She nodded and led us up the hill toward the Stone of Destiny.

  I was ever so grateful for that, but I could see it in her face. A recollection, or some distant memory, had just washed over her. I only hoped I wasn’t in it. Not because I feared what might happen if she knew, but because I feared what might not happen. I needed her strong, I needed the full power of my grandmother for what we were about to do. If there were any doubts in her mind, even a hint of haze about the person she was and how she got that way, well, let’s just say I knew from experience those nigglings piss off the fairies.

  We trekked up the hill the short distance to the stone. Birdie seemed to shake off whatever had just come over her by the time we reached it.

  “Stand back,” she instructed.

  I did.

  She took a deep breath, raised her long arms to the sky, and began moving her lips so rapidly, not only could I not make out what she was saying, but I wasn’t even sure she was speaking English.

  And maybe she wasn’t.

  Her voice grew louder with each passing second. The wind picked up velocity in tandem with her words.

  “Cumhacht de an tulach…”

  Definitely not English.

  Her eyes were closed, her feet planted, and her arms flexed as she continued to chant to the heavens.

  The sky cracked open, and a streak of lightning hit the stone just as she laid her hands on it. The bolt ricocheted off the rock, and I dove for cover, tumbling down the hill in a fast-paced spiral.

  After a moment, the wind died down and I heard, “Anastasia?”

  “I’m okay.”

  She popped her head over the crest and said, “Quit fooling around. We have work to do.”

  Chapter 32

  I pulled out my copy of the spell and studied my role on the drive from Tara, crunching on a granola bar Birdie had given me.

  It was a watchtower call. I was to be east; Ivy, west; John, south; and Birdie, north. Each of us would weave a different chant, the idea being that our magic, the power of the gods, and the assistance of the ancestors would all link together to form a powerful pull that would call to the lost cauldron, requesting that the treasure reveal its hiding place.

  On the way, we picked up John and Ivy from the train station. They both assured me there were no glitches in their treasure connections and they were ready to cast the spell.

  We arrived at Fourknocks early in the evening. We left Ethan in the car, and I and the three other corners hiked to the top of the towering ancient mound the gods called the Hill of Summoning.

  We clasped hands, each cloaked in a veil of grounding white light. Birdie gave the signal, and she began to chant first.

  “Watchtowers of the north, come forth. May the gods come out to aid our course.”

  Ivy was next. “Watchtowers of the west, send your best. May the ancestors assist us on this quest.”

  John stepped forward. “Watchtowers of the south, come out. Cauldron, pave a path to your route.”

  Then me. “Watchtowers of the east, all meet. Unite the magic in our hearts and below our feet.”

  Instantly, the mound shook and shuddered, and a surge of electricity shot between our fingertips.

  Birdie shouted, “Keep the flow going as it was written.”

  We broke, still chanting, each of us moving backward step by step, first to the edge of the mound, and then, once there, we all turned to face the crest of our corner. I slowly descended the hill, as instructed in the spell. The circumference of the mound was vast, and Birdie had concluded that by encompassing the entire curvature of the landscape, the spell would be all the more efficacious. The ground was still rumbling, so I half jogged, half slid down the hill, somehow dislodging my sword in the process.

  Birdie had warned us not to break the circle of energy, so I kept chanting, finally reaching the bottom of the mound, where I turned and kneeled toward its belly, eyes closed, willing the image of the cauldron to come to me.

  The image of the cauldron flashed, briefly, along with a street sign.

  Then, another image.

  A man I recognized from somewhere, though I couldn’t place him, sneering at me with hatred so vehement, it had a heartbeat.

  I mentally shoved him out of the way, and focused again on the cauldron, my eyes squeezed shut.

  It flashed again, several times, and I knew exactly where it was.

  I was about to stand to head back to the car, when a gloved hand clamped over my mouth. Another pinned my arms to their sides.

  The ethereal voice of the riddler ghost curled through my brain. Beware of the wrath of a rival, and the one who will betray.

  Panic flooded my gut. Who was this? Ethan? John? Was it the rival or the one who would betray?

  I kicked, tried to bite, scratch, scream, even as I was being dragged away from the mound. I had a sinking feeling that my companions could not see me, nor I them. The instructions had been that when the spell was over, when we all felt like we had emptied our well and no more information would come forth, we were to meet back at the car. Would they be able to spot me from the roadside?

  I looked down. Black gloves. Couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.

  Goddess, please don’t let it be Ivy.

  The dagger was strapped to my thigh. I wasn’t sure I could reach it, even if I could wrestle my arms free.

  But then the sword called to me. Actually called to me. A low hum buzzed in my ears, the tiniest of vibrations, but I somehow knew what it was. I focused on it, the three-muses grip, the shiny shaft that glimmered when Badb had blessed it. The sharp point of the blade.

  As my feet knocked into dirt and rocks, and I was still being hauled off to Goddess knows where, I honed my mind’s eye and pictured the sword in my hand. Imagined that I wasn’t simply calling on Badb, but that her spirit was within me. That I was the embodiment of the warrior goddess herself.

  I managed to elbow my attacker, freeing my arm. I stuck my hand out, and without hesitation, the sword flew into my grip. I swept it behind me, swift and low, taking out the legs of the person who had held me.

  Free from the grip, I whipped around, the sword hot in my hand, and faced the one who would betray.

  Aedon was already back on his feet.

  “Hello, Miss Justice.”

  I was completely confused. He was the one who had called me to this quest in the first place. “What are you doing?”

  He tightened his gloves. “I think it’s time you and I had a private chat.”

  “About what?”

  “Your reason for being here, of course.” He stepped forward. I felt a wave of anger swell from him.
/>   What was that? Why did he hate me? Did he know about the web? About my chaperoning the field trip?

  But I hadn’t done anything to Aedon.

  “I don’t think so.” I whipped out my cell phone.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Aedon said. “After all, the spell is incomplete. Should you call to them, or phone them, you’ll break the enchantment and the cauldron will never be found. The council would frown on that, I believe. We wouldn’t want to upset them with your mother’s release so close.”

  I smirked at him. “That’s where you’re wrong, Aedon. The spell worked. I already know where the cauldron is. I’m sure the council will be pleased with my work.”

  He feigned surprise. “Is that so? Do tell. Where is the treasure?”

  The horrific realization of the message behind his sarcasm hit me like a brick. “You already know, don’t you, Aedon? Because you put it there.”

  But why? Why would he steal the cauldron only to call me to look for it? Was this about Birdie?

  He widened his eyes in surprise. “Why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know. But I’m sure the council will force you to tell them when I drag your ass in.”

  Aedon scratched his chin. “Well, this I must hear. How do you plan to drag me in, as you say, Miss Justice?”

  I gave him a duh look and rallied my sword.

  Aedon slid his eyes over my sword and paused for a moment, as if contemplating. I could tell he was enjoying this like a cat plays with a mouse before it pounces. He was powerful, that was sure. He had a lot of years behind him to perfect his craft. But I was swift, my muscles toned, my heart pure. And my mission stemmed from love, not hate.

  Aedon said, “While that is an impressive tool, I wouldn’t put too much stake in it. It’s not the instrument that holds the power, but the person who wields it.”

  We were far from the mound. They wouldn’t hear me if I called. Best to handle this jacknut myself. I pocketed the phone.

  Gripping the sword with both hands, I took two strides forward and snapped my leg behind me in a twirling midair launch. I twisted the sword, intending to slam it flat against Aedon’s back to knock the wind from him.

  What happened instead shocked even me.

  The sword leaped from my hands toward Aedon.

  I crumbled into a heap on the ground, recovered, then reached out, attempting to will my sword back to me. My energy was focused only on that as I concentrated on the blade. It hung in the air for several moments, as if trying to decide which side to choose.

  Damn you, Pearce, for tainting my weapon! Was he in on this too?

  Aedon flicked his wrist, and the sword Birdie had given me long ago snapped in half and flung itself into some far-off shrubs.

  Uh-oh. That was a new trick to me. I whipped my head to face Aedon. Climbed slowly to my feet.

  He gave me a sinister smile. “I graduated at the top of my class. Telekinesis was my specialty.”

  Of course it was. I should have maimed the kid when I had the chance.

  There was a pocket full of herbs and a pouch of crystals in my coat, but nothing more powerful than that. Except the athame. There was also the broom, charged with the power of generations of my clan.

  I decided to keep both hidden for the time being, lest they follow the fate of my sword.

  I reached into my pocket.

  “Don’t touch the phone, Miss Justice.”

  Could I reason with him? His eyes were fierce, but the rest of him was stoic, still.

  “This is insane, Aedon, I don’t know what’s going on with you. I’m calling Birdie.”

  “You do that and I do this.” He pulled a remote control out of his pocket.

  I just stared at it, a new wave of panic passing through me.

  “You know that cauldron you flew all the way over here to find? Well, this”—he wiggled the device—“is linked to a bomb beneath its belly.”

  Oh crap. Oh no. No, he wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t. I shook my head, tucked the phone away, and hit what I hoped was the record button. Pulled my hand back out of my pocket and held it up. “No, Aedon, you couldn’t. I know you couldn’t.”

  He stepped forward and said, “My dear, you have no idea what I am capable of.” He added, in a frighteningly steady tone, “And if you truly know where the cauldron is, then you know what will happen if I detonate the bomb. Not only to all those people who will likely starve to death, but to the one thing you truly came here for.”

  I swallowed hard, a chill rippling through me.

  My mother.

  He said, softly, “Boom.”

  “You’re mad. You would blow up your own castle?”

  “Not if you leave this between you and me.”

  “What do you want from me, Aedon?”

  “What I want,” Aedon said, a vein throbbing in his temple, “is an eye for an eye.”

  He advanced on me.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” I stammered, stepping back, scanning the landscape for the other three corners. “I’ve done nothing to you.”

  “Revenge, my dear, can be a complex emotion.” His eyes were dark, focused, burning a hole through me. “It’s true what they say. It really is best served cold.”

  “Revenge? For what?”

  “For the life your mother took from me. My only son.” He removed his gloves, tossed them on the ground. “Now, I shall take her only daughter.” He shrugged off his coat, carefully placing the detonator on top of it, and crouched into a karate stance. “Right before your confirmation and her release. Poetic, don’t you think?”

  This could not be happening. He seriously wanted to fight me?

  “If it’s revenge you want, then why not just kill me?”

  “What would be the fun in that?” He circled around me like a shark. “I intend to deliver your body bruised and beaten as my son was delivered to me.”

  “He was going to kill me. She was only protecting me.”

  I sidestepped closer to the hill. Birdie, if you can hear me, tell John to get his gun. Tell him I’m just beyond the hillside, near my watchtower.

  I wasn’t sure if John had brought his firearm, but I never knew a cop to travel without one.

  Aedon snapped, “That’s a lie. My son was sent to retrieve the locket. He was there on orders.”

  The locket. Had my mother given it to my father to hide? If so, where had it come from? Had it been hers? And how had Aedon’s son known she had it?

  “Whose orders?” I asked.

  “That is not your concern.”

  Suddenly, I remembered the letter I took from the secret room in the library. I hadn’t had a chance to read it yet. It was still folded up in my pocket.

  Aedon said, “Did you know I was once a Warrior?” Then he cracked his knuckles.

  Perfect. I was going to get my ass handed to me by Clint Eastwood.

  “I’m not going to fight you, Aedon.” The detonator was still behind him. If I could get him to circle farther away from it, I could reach it. Remove the batteries or something.

  “You will, or I will kill not only you, but your family as well.”

  I turned, scoped out the hill. Where was John? Birdie? Ivy? Ethan?

  “Come on, then. Let’s get on with it,” the old man said, stretching his legs.

  I faced the man who wanted me dead, suspecting he was a pawn in a much larger game.

  Who had sent Aedon’s son to steal the locket?

  The head of the council was growing impatient. “Come on, then.”

  There are about a dozen pressure points in the head and neck that can kill or paralyze an assailant. I knew this from my training. I suspected Aedon knew it too, because he had no weapons that I could see.

  I crouched into a fighting stance, circled with him. It wasn’t going to be easy to maneuver in this coat, but there was a vial of deadly nightshade in my pocket and a dagger strapped to my thigh, so I wasn’t about to give up that insurance.

  T
he remote was still a few feet away.

  Aedon delivered a swift kick to my chest that sent me reeling. I lay on my back, dazed, for a moment, until he came at me again. Quickly, I reached my palms behind my head, flattened them into the earth, and bowed my legs, jumping into a kip-up. I delivered two swift roundhouse kicks, one to his stomach, one to his neck.

  The one to the neck stunned him, and I dove for the remote. He came from behind me, chopped at my neck, but I squirmed away, flipped over, and head butted him. We somersaulted together into a pile of dead wood, and I somehow lost the remote. I didn’t see it anywhere and had no time to hunt, so I advanced on Aedon.

  Going for the kill shot. A quick, explosive jab just under the nose.

  Before I reached him, he waved one arm in my direction, and I was airborne. I crashed into a tangled briar patch.

  So we’re going to play like that, are we? If he was going to use telekinesis to incapacitate or injure me, I’d have to be a lot faster. And deadlier. With the force of his strength, Aedon could easily snap my neck. I couldn’t give him the chance.

  I unsheathed the athame, tucked it into my sleeve. Then came out of the brush, crouched low.

  “You’re better trained than I thought,” Aedon said. A trickle of blood ran down his cheek from where I had connected with my skull.

  “You seem to have an unfair advantage.” I took a few deep breaths and charged in a whirly pattern, kicking his head and sending a slew of uppercuts to his gut.

  He collapsed and I grabbed the athame.

  “That I do.” Without warning, he catapulted up and rushed forward. He chopped the air with his hands in quick successive motions, focusing so intensely that his wound split wide open.

  I screamed, tried to scramble away as my ankle twisted grotesquely until it finally broke. It made a hideous popping sound like a burst balloon. Then my index finger bent all the way back to my wrist until it snapped too, and I dropped the dagger. I thought that pain was unbearable until my knee shattered. I may have passed out for a moment then, because the next thing I knew, my shoulder was dislocated, my nose was gushing blood, and Aedon kept coming.

  I prayed my neck wouldn’t be next.

  “Stop,” I whispered. “Please, Aedon.”