by Suzi Davis
“Hi ya? Where to?” the cabbie asked, his strong accent and quick words flowing together so thickly I struggled to understand him.
I shrugged out of my backpack, waiting expectantly for Sebastian to answer. When I glanced at him though he was grinning, smiling just as expectantly at me.
“Well? What’ll it be? Where to?” the man demanded somewhat gruffly. I had a sudden sense that he might not like foreigners. I threw Sebastian a dark look for putting the pressure on me like this even though it was I who had jumped into the cab.
“Oh… umm…” I stalled nervously. The man tapped his thick, calloused fingers against the steering wheel impatiently. I couldn’t see why he was in such a rush – the meter was already running so really it was to his benefit that I was dawdling.
“Don’t ya know where you want t’go?”
His eyes met mine in the mirror and I was surprised by the warmth in their aqua shades, despite his harsh-sounding words.
“No, I don’t know,” I admitted honestly. Sebastian cocked his head to one side, watching me curiously and silently, that look of expectation still in his eyes. I tried my best to ignore him. “About two thousand years into the past should do,” I added a little testily, realizing the ridiculousness of our situation. Where were we going? What did we really expect to find? “Sorry for wasting your time. We’ll just wait for another taxi while we figure out–”
“Nah, I know exactly where t’take yous.” The driver put the car into gear as he spoke and began pulling away from the curb. “Only one place near Belfast that’s old enough for what you’re lookin’ for. The Giant’s Ring’s ‘bout five thousand years old and a mighty fine sight at sunset to boot. I won’t wait for ya while you walk round but if you have a phone, another cab’ll come get ya when you’re done. Tourists always want t’see The Giant’s Ring. Not the first time I’ve taken a Yank straight there from the airport.”
It took me a minute to fully process what he’d just said – or at least I thought I understood what he’d said. I was having a much harder time than I’d expected understanding his accent. What the heck was a Giant’s Ring? And had he just called me a Yank?
“I’m Canadian,” I corrected as politely as possible.
The man shrugged as he drove us away from the airport and into the city of Belfast.
“Ah, it’s all the same, ain’t it?”
“Not at all,” Sebastian disagreed, speaking up for the first time. “But I reckon ya know that.”
I looked at Sebastian, surprised by the sudden change in his voice. His typically light and pleasant accent was suddenly just as heavy and difficult to understand as the cabbie’s. For a split second, I’d almost thought he wasn’t speaking English.
“Ah! I thought you looked t’be an Irish lad,” the driver declared with a pleased grin. “A Northerner too, I’ll bet. Been travellin’ have ya? Found somethin’ you wanted t’bring home to show your folks, then?” He laughed heartily at his own joke, completely ignoring me now that he realized I was the only foreigner in his cab.
“And did your parents teach ya how to speak proper Irish then, lad? Or have you been traveling with your pretty Yank too long to remember?”
I strained to understand what the man was saying as his accent appeared to thicken even more and his rapidly flowing words somehow increased in pace. One word stood out easily enough though.
“I’m Canadian,” I repeated, annoyed at how quickly I’d been forgotten. Sebastian laughed, his eyes quickly meeting mine over his smile.
Sebastian and the driver began to banter back and forth, both grinning and laughing and obviously thoroughly enjoying their conversation. I could barely understand a word of it. It actually took me several minutes to realize that they weren’t even speaking English anymore though I couldn’t honestly say at what point they had switched to Gaelic. It didn’t surprise me at all that Sebastian spoke the language with such obvious ease and fluency.
I ignored their chatter and turned my attention to the sights we were passing out the window. I only had a few hours of daylight to enjoy the sights of Ireland and I was determined to absorb as much of it as I could in my limited time. Of course, we might have time in the morning still – if we didn’t find the answers we needed tonight, if the Others hadn’t caught up to us yet, if we were still alive… I pushed the morbid thoughts away, knowing that if I spent too much time allowing myself to fully realize the depths of our situation, I would become too hopeless and terrified by despair to move forward. And we had to move forward – it was our only choice.
As we drove further away from the airport and into the city of Belfast, I examined everything we passed with great interest. The city itself was an intriguing combination of old Victorian-style buildings and renovated, modern storefronts. Here and there were hints of the damage that the city had suffered during the recent “Troubles” and conflicts between the Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists. There had been a lot of violence and even bombings in the city, and we still passed the occasional sight of Loyalist graffiti or Protestant flag.
As we traveled down one street, I caught a glimpse of the two giant cranes, nicknamed Samson and Goliath, that loomed high over the city’s busy harbor. We traveled away from the ocean and in land through the south-west of the city towards the more residential streets. I gazed out at the small, brick homes we passed in wonder, idly imagining Sebastian and I marrying and moving to Ireland together to live in one of those quaint and cozy-looking houses. As we traveled further west and out of the city, I stared in wonder at the curious murals we passed on the sides of some of the buildings.
I was about to ask Sebastian about them, but just then he caught my eye and gave a quick yet subtle shake of his head before launching into another loud and laughter-filled debate with our driver. The murals must have something to do with “The Troubles” then, I guessed. Sebastian had warned me about the precarious political situation in the city and how even though the worst of the conflict and turmoil had passed, it was still recent enough in everyone’s minds that just the smallest spark could ignite another raging fire.
The Giant’s Ring turned out to be just outside of the city in a rural part of Ballynahatty. It didn’t take long at all for us to drive there, barely thirty minutes. The driver pulled into a parking lot just off the road. The lot was surrounded by surprisingly thick and tall trees, and though it was obvious they thinned ahead, it was impossible to see just exactly what the trees were hiding.
“Out you go then!” the man declared cheerfully, abruptly switching back to English. “Show yer pretty Yank around The Giant’s Ring and then get on home. I’m sure yer Mam’ll be itchin’ to meet ‘er.”
Sebastian and the man shared a grin. Sebastian thanked him heartily and shook his hand before climbing out of the cab. I remained in the backseat, digging through my wallet for the correct amount of fare.
“Nah, nah! Put that away,” the man instructed as he saw what I was doing. He shook his head adamantly. “I’ve already told your lad that I won’t be chargin’ ya - this time. Welcome to Ireland,” he added in a rough voice but with a smile.
“Thank you – that’s very generous of you. Thank you very much.”
“My pleasure. Now get out.”
I grinned back at the man, suddenly liking him a lot more as I put my wallet away and climbed out of the car. As soon as the door closed behind me he pulled away, one hand thrust out the window in a quick wave as he drove back down the straight and narrow street, past the country homes and fields and back towards the city that rose up on the north-eastern skyline.
“So what were you two so busy talking about?” I asked Sebastian curiously. He smiled in his most charming way as he linked his fingers through mine and we slowly started walking towards a path at the edge of the parking lot that led through the tall, gently swaying trees. The path led into the long shadows as the sun had nearly set on the day and a cool, evening breeze was picking up that stirred the branches above us and swept
my hair back from my face.
“Just idle chit-chat,” Sebastian assured me. “Apparently, I reminded him of one of his sons. He shared some tales of his youngest’s debauchery that I wouldn’t want to translate. They’d make you blush.”
“Oh, please. I’m not that innocent,” I objected. Sebastian wisely chose not to answer. The corners of his mouth twitched though as if he were fighting a smile. I felt my cheeks warm – only from annoyance, I assured myself.
“Where are we?” I brusquely changed the subject.
“The Giant’s Ring, a mysterious and sacred site that surrounds a five thousand year old henge. And it’s also a popular tourist attraction and great place to walk the dog,” he added with a grin as a couple were approaching us further down the path with a little Scottish terrier trotting along beside them.
“Have you been here before?”
“Yes, a long, long time ago. I traveled here after… after Caoilinn passed away. It was one of the first places she had wanted to come to after we left the temple but of course, we never made it this far together…” He frowned, the lines in his face deepening with the shadows in his eyes. We fell into silence as we passed the elderly couple and their dog, exchanging polite smiles and nods.
It was cooler in the shade of the trees and I let go of Sebastian’s hand to zip up my hoodie; he barely seemed to notice. The woods were thinning ahead and I could now see the green meadow we were approaching, the tall grasses swaying ahead of us and ripples running across the sea of grass like waves in the wind. Leaves and branches crunched beneath my feet and a sudden cool gust of wind whipped my breath away from me and made the tall, old trees above us groan. All I could see was the sea of bright green grass ahead and the flowing dip and roll to the land. A strange sensation was beginning to tingle over my scalp, trickling down my spine and chasing over my skin in a magnetic, electric current. I could feel it in my heart too and in my soul, and I knew that this was a powerful place, the magic of it hung heavily in the very air. I fought the urge to run ahead, to charge out into the large open area we were approaching.
“I feel like I’ve been here before,” I whispered as we emerged from the shade of the trees and out into the fading evening sun. My breathy words were swept away with the wind and out over the knee-high grasses.
Sebastian didn’t look at me as he answered. We both stared out at the beautiful sight before us as it filled our vision and overwhelmed us in so many ways.
“Caoilinn told me of this place. She wanted to come here, it was important to her but she never told me why. She described it as if she had been here herself, though I’m not sure if she truly understood the nature of it.”
“No,” I agreed, the words coming to me without thought. “The magic here is wild, unharnessed. I can feel it in the earth and the air, in the stones. What is it?”
My hair stood on end as I waited for him to answer. The power in the air so undeniable I found myself looking around almost nervously, as if expecting lightning to suddenly strike from the clear and cloudless sky that arched endlessly above us from horizon to horizon.
We stood near the edge of “The Ring” on the brim of a massive bowl in the earth. The steep banks were built up at least 15 meters high all around and sloped down to the flat centre. It formed a huge, perfectly round ring in the earth that looked to be about 200 meters wide. I could see the path led all the way around the ring, there was a solitary man walking opposite us on the far side. Down in the center of the ring, there was a gathering of several large stones, piled up and balanced on top of one another somewhat precariously. Two teenaged boys tossed a ball back and forth just beside the stones, the everyday activity seeming unnatural and out-of-place in this strange, enchanting place.
“The Druids used this place but even Caoilinn didn’t know exactly what it was they did here. Even in our time, the stones had already stood for thousands of years. The ring holds centuries of secrets within it.”
“But did Caoilinn bury her secrets here?” I wondered aloud.
“I’ve searched here before, both after her death and several times in the hundreds of years since. If she hid something, it would have been in the tomb but I’ve never found anything, no matter how badly I wanted to. I wonder though, if perhaps she never meant for me to know all her secrets, perhaps, she only left clues for herself.” His eyes focused on the stones at the center of the ring as he spoke. There was a strange edge to his voice that I chose to ignore. Instead, I nodded my agreement.
“Let’s walk the perimeter while we wait for the locals to leave,” I suggested.
Sebastian took up my hand in answer and together we began walking around the top of the rolling bank. It was strangely peaceful walking there together. I gazed out over the nearby fields, looking as far as I could see and feeling as if I were walking backwards through time into the magical world of the past. I was awed by the massive sky above me and the sacred feel to the earth around me. I was spellbound by the powerful magic of this place and for a long time, I could do nothing but stare at it all in silent wonder as I watched the sun dip down, sinking lower in the sky.
“It feels like a dream, being here with you,” Sebastian commented softly. We paused on the path, turning together to look down into the now-empty ring. The setting sun was falling on the stones at the center at an odd angle that made them seem to glow beneath the surreal light.
“It does,” I agreed. “This place is so… intimidating but I feel so peaceful at the same time. It feels right to be here, especially with you by my side.”
Sebastian looked at me, his eyes alight with an emotion stronger and brighter than even the fiery, setting sun. For a second I felt certain he would pull me into his arms and kiss me. My whole body suddenly longed for his embrace, my breath swept away from me by the sudden intensity of my desire. Unexpectedly though, he closed his eyes and angled his body away from mine slightly.
“I want you by my side forever. But for that to be possible, we must stop the Others. We both need to really focus. You have to remember how to control your magic.”
“I know. No pressure but it’s all on me,” I muttered, feeling slightly annoyed at the way he had ruined the moment between us.
He turned back to me with an amused smile.
“My whole life, my whole existence – it has always been about you. Why should now be any different?”
“Right. No pressure at all.”
Sebastian laughed and grabbed my hand, tugging me towards the edge of the bank playfully as his mood instantly lightened.
“Come on, let’s see what’s waiting for us.”
We raced down the steep slope, our steps carried on the wind. It was a rush to charge down the bank and to jog together towards the ancient henge at the center of the ring. With each step, my heart beat a little faster and my legs moved a little slower until I took my last faltering step and came to a stop, standing in awe before the five thousand year-old tomb.
The henge consisted of five large boulders balanced together with a huge capstone on top. There was nothing blocking visitors from approaching the stones or even from climbing on top or underneath them. There was a small, pebbled path worn into the grass around the rocks from the many visitors’ circling feet and there were obvious marks both from graffiti and hands and feet from those who had more thoroughly “explored” the site.
The boulders themselves were actually quite smooth in appearance and looked to have an almost unnatural texture. Before I knew what I was doing, I was walking right up and placing my hand on the cool rock, gently stroking the smooth sides and marveling over the energy that seemed to radiate outward from it.
“It’s like it’s alive,” I muttered, mostly to myself as I began to slowly circle the tomb, my hand sliding along feeling each curve and crevice in the stones.
Sebastian didn’t comment. He stood back slightly, silently watching me with an ancient and indistinguishable emotion in his eyes.
The sun sank low on the horizon, tinting th
e sky with a pinkish-orange wash of color. A new magic settled into the air under the strange twilight. Its presence was obvious and undeniable though it was nothing I could harness or focus on specifically. The eastern horizon had faded into a dark, bluish-black, reminiscent of Sebastian’s eyes, the stars that began to dot the far sky like echoes of his mischievous sparkles. Night was rapidly approaching and I still had no idea what I was doing.
I crouched down and peered under the capstone and into the small space between the rocks. I shook my head in disappointment, both at the lack of revelations and the traces of graffiti I found on the ancient passage tomb’s entrance.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I admitted, suddenly feeling defeated. I blinked back my frustration. “There’s something here, I can feel it but I don’t know how that’s going to help us.”
Sebastian watched me with patient and sympathetic eyes.
“It’s alright, Gracelynn. I didn’t expect it to be easy. Like I said, I’ve been here many times and I’ve never found anything but frustration before either.”
“Then why are we here?”
Sebastian pressed his lips together, an unreadable expression crossing his face as he debated how to answer. For the first time since we’d arrived in Ireland, a shadow of nervous unease settled in and around my heart.
Just then, a shooting star burst up from the horizon, arcing across the darkening sky in a blaze of pure white light before abruptly blinking out and vanishing from existence. It had been some time since I’d seen such obvious evidence of Sebastian’s strange effect on the world and I found myself forgetting for a moment to breathe.
“We both want for you to be able to control your magic. We both want to escape the Others. We both want to be able to decipher the clues hidden within my tattoos and so we will. It’s all going to work out – that’s all I want and need to know.”
I slowly nodded, trying to feel reassured by Sebastian’s calm and confident words.
He slowly smiled at me, an idea occurring that sparkled within the depths of his eyes. He shrugged out of his backpack, then suddenly spun and leapt forward, bounding up on to the top capstone in three graceful steps. He crouched down and held out his hand to me.
