The Forest of Aisling: Dream of the Shapeshifter (The Willow Series Book 1)

by D. S. Elstad

  Aaron stepped down off the porch, rubbing his chin in concentration. “We need to move quickly. First thing is to try and find the water Triquetra pendant. Then we may be able to find a replacement for Lucy. But without the pendant no one else can take over.” Aaron began pacing, wringing his hands between signs. “If only I’d have gone to see Shannah before she died. She could have confided in me what was going on and perhaps given me the pendant.”

  “There’s no way you could’ve known she was going to die,” Bram urged, sensing the desperation in his father.

  “No, but the situation was becoming dire and I should have known the fact that Shannah entrusted her earth pendant to me meant that she was dealing with more than she let on. I can’t believe I didn’t press her into telling me what was happening.” Aaron crouched to the ground and grabbed a nearby stick, scraping it against the concrete walkway.

  I looked at Bram who only shook his head, then stepped over to Aaron.

  “Aaron, you’ve done so much. It’s because of you we’re able to figure this thing out. We’d be totally in the dark. Even though I never met my grandmother, I’m sure she wouldn’t want you blaming yourself for any of this.” I reached my hand out and pressed it to his shoulder.

  When he looked up at me, I could see through his glasses, his hazel eyes, clear and focused. “Thank you Willow, that’s kind of you to say.” He turned his head and stood up. “You remind me of her. I see a lot of Shannah in you.” He smiled and held my hand, gripping it tightly, then looked to Bram with renewed purpose. “All right, we need to find the water pendant. Let’s think where she may have put it.”

  “I’ve been to Grandma’s house twice and didn’t see anything like the pendant Bram has. Of course I was only there for a short time. Maybe I can get Dad to take me back so I can search around,” I offered.

  Aaron pondered my suggestion. “It’s possible she hid it somewhere in the house, but knowing Shannah, I think she may have felt that was too predictable and easily discovered.”

  “Right, but if the mist was beginning to take effect, she may have had no other choice. She might have been too ill to put it anywhere else,” Bram added, joining his father.

  Father and son debated back and forth, considering any and every possibility for a hiding place, while I sat back on the step thinking about Shannah. Her face flashed across my mind – the youthful face from the pictures Grandpa had shown me – and I tried to put myself in her shoes…to contemplate what I would do with something as powerful as the pendant.

  My focus then moved to my shoes as I began clicking my heels, thinking of Dorothy Gale and “no place like home.” I ran the scenario over in my head…almost too sick to move, the need to hide a powerful, but small object, responsibility…responsibility…responsibility.

  “I have an idea.” I jumped up and stood in front of Bram, ensuring that he could see my face. “I was just sitting here thinking, what would I do in this situation? And if I am like my grandmother – like you say I am, Aaron, then, if I couldn’t hide it in my home…I’d never let it out of my sight,” I said, feeling sure that Shannah was somehow giving me a hint as to where the pendant might be.

  “Meaning what?” Bram questioned.

  Aaron was smiling which led me to believe he knew what I was thinking.

  “Meaning, I wouldn’t let go of it. The pendant has to still be with her.” I felt excited and convinced I was right, almost as though Grandma had whispered it in my ear.

  Bram’s face tightened into a puzzled expression of doubt. “I don’t know, Willow, you may be reaching there. I mean, the people at the funeral home would have found the pendant on her and removed it before they buried her.”

  “Not if she wanted to be buried with it. Maybe she told Conor or someone, or maybe she left a note saying she wanted to be buried with it, I don’t know. As resourceful as you say my grandmother was, I got to believe that she would make sure that the pendant was safe…even if it meant going to the grave with her.”

  I searched Bram’s face for understanding and saw only uncertainty. He just wasn’t buying it.

  “Willow, it doesn’t make sense. Why would she do that? That would leave us doing exactly what we’re doing now, which is trying to figure out where the pendant is. By taking it to the grave with her, that’s as much as setting the Fomorians up for victory.” Bram’s eyes were wide and intense, desperately trying to point out fault in my assumption.

  “Aaron, when exactly did Lucy turn her pendant over to Grandma?” I asked.

  Aaron raised his head in thought then lowered his glasses, looking at his son. “I believe it was just before she got sick. Go ahead, Willow, tell us more,” he said calmly, signing at Bram and nodding.

  “Bram, I don’t think that she expected to die but everything happened so quickly she had to act fast, right?”

  He bowed his head in agreement. “Right.”

  “Well, think about it…she’s ill, probably barely able to move. She has the pendant. She knows the Fomorians are rising. She doesn’t know if she’ll recover, and in case she doesn’t, she needs to hide the pendant. What does she do?”

  “Why wouldn’t she arrange for Da to get it?”

  “I’m thinking everything went down very quickly. Kelleigh said they saw her a couple days before she died and that she was fine. All I know is that I felt horrible after the encounters I’ve had with the mist and I’m sixteen years old. How must she have felt at seventy-five?” A sharp pang rose up in my stomach as I thought about what Grandma might have had to endure.

  “As well as how many attacks may have been launched at her,” Aaron added. “Along with the fact she was still acting as the earth guardian. It appears that she may have assumed the role of both guardians, something unheard of as far as I can tell in my research. The burden that was placed on her body and mind…” Aaron stepped over to me and gently draped his arm over my shoulder.

  “I guess she just didn’t have time. I mean, she got my pendant to Aaron; maybe she hoped Lucy would reconsider and return. Who knows? But something tells me that despite it all –or maybe because of it all – she made sure the pendant would go with her. Am I wrong or did you say, Aaron, that if the Fomorians get all three pieces of the pendant then the end, really is inevitable?” I blurted out, practically choking on my own words.

  Aaron looked at me with a glassy expression and shook his head. “I never told you that, Willow, or you, Bram,” he signed to his son, “but that’s exactly right. The pendant is the key to the return of Balor’s Eye; not just a piece of the pendant but the pendant in its entirety. Once each part of the Triquetra is in its rightful place, its power transfers to the holder. I never told this to either one of you.” A surprised look covered Aaron’s face. “How did you know?”

  How did I know? I wasn’t able to answer that question.

  “Does it even matter, Da?” Bram interjected.” It’s kind of obvious that’s what may happen, right?”

  Aaron agreed, but I could tell by his expression he wasn’t going to let go of the fact that I somehow had knowledge that should be unknown to anyone but himself. I wondered how I knew this, but couldn’t give it too much thought, with everything else we were trying to deal with.

  “Back to the pendant. Willow, did you bring the box from the park?” Bram asked.

  I remembered my backpack and pulled it out of the car. I unzipped the top pocket and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the box safely tucked inside. I took hold of it and walked over to Bram, holding it out to Aaron. He carefully opened the box and removed the key.

  “Wait here,” he said as he headed towards the house. After several minutes he returned. He stood in front of me, taking hold of my hand then placed the earth pendant in my palm.

  I stared down at the piece of jewelry. Varying images flashed through my mind with one in particular freezing me in place. Grandmother. I thought of her wearing this very necklace for all those years, and of all the family members who wore it before her. A
lump of emotion formed in my throat, threatening to spill out and render me a complete basket case. I choked it back and blinked my eyes, refusing to give in to the tears. Not here, not now, later, when I could allow the emotion to wash over me privately. I raised it over my head and let it hang around my neck. I held onto the pendant, raised it to my lips, and kissed it, then tucked it under my shirt.

  Aaron gripped my shoulders. “Your grandmother would be very proud.”

  Bram wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. “She sure would,” he agreed.

  We all stood quietly for a few minutes, then continued our conversation, wondering where the water pendant might be. I felt convinced that Grandma still had it. I flipped my phone back and forth between my hands, my mind racing for solutions, when a single thought seemed to answer the question.

  “Lord, it’s all making sense,” I said as I absent-mindedly scrolled through the last few text messages on my phone.

  “What?” asked Bram and Aaron at the same time.

  “You know they’ve exhumed Grandma because of the questions surrounding her death.”

  Both O’Neill’s nodded simultaneously.

  “And now they’re bringing in a forensic pathologist to explain why there’s no decomposition of her body…” My voice grew tight as I began to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

  “Oook…,” urged Bram, looking at me as if I’d gone a little crazy. “Go on.”

  “Think about it!” I raised my hands, wishing I knew how to sign, grateful that Aaron was there to interpret. “Shannah isn’t decomposing because she has the pendant! It makes sense, right? The pendant is protecting her body even though she’s dead. Is that possible, Aaron?”

  Aaron took a deep breath and walked over to the car. He flicked a random leaf from the shining black hood of the BMW before finally looking back at Bram and me.

  “By God, Willow, I think that’s it. It makes perfect sense. The pendant is still protecting Shannah in the only way it can…to prevent her body from decaying or at least by slowing it down. I can’t believe that didn’t occur to me!” Aaron said, tapping himself on the side of his head before signing to Bram.

  “If the pendant is doing that, then why wasn’t it able to protect her while she was still alive? This is something I hadn’t considered, Da – does this thing protect us?” Bram stepped between Aaron and me and pulled the pendant out from under his shirt.

  Aaron reached over and rested his hand on Bram’s shoulder, considering the question, then began signing to him.

  “Obviously it can’t protect you from the powers of the mist; we know that from what happened to your grandfather. Protect isn’t the right word. What it must do is keep the abilities alive in the guardian who is still in possession of the pendant. Perhaps just by doing that, it’s somehow slowing down the whole degenerative process. Nothing in the ancient records has been written about this so I can’t be sure.”

  “Maybe nothing like this had ever happened before, or at least it wasn’t recorded. We’re basically writing the book now, eh, Da?” Bram said, tucking the pendant back into his shirt.

  Aaron smiled and patted his son on the back. The two were so similar, not just in appearance but in mannerisms and even the tone of their voices. It occurred to me… the importance of family and why Lucy may have felt way too lonely to take on the enormous task before her. Even though Shannah and Bram and Aaron were there, being the last surviving member of your family would take its toll.

  Bram stepped over and laced his fingers through mine. “So, how do we go about retrieving the pendant then?” He tightened his grip as he posed the question.

  “There’s only one way; I have to go in and see Grandma at the morgue,” I stared at Bram with determination in spite of the inner trembling I felt.

  Bram and Aaron exchanged nervous glances before looking at me.

  “Are you quite sure you’re up for that Willow?” Aaron wondered aloud.

  “There’s no other way. The hard part will be convincing my Dad to let me go see her.”

  “Plus, will the garda allow it?” Bram added.

  “Only one way to find out. We need to hurry before the pathologist gets there. Once he’s there then I’m sure I won’t be allowed to see her. I need to get back to the hotel and try and talk Dad into letting this happen.” I tucked my phone into my pocket and headed towards the car.

  Aaron opened the door and put his arm around my shoulder. “I’ll wait here, Willow, unless you’d like me to come.” Looking into his eyes I could see firsthand how Bram came to be so understanding and compassionate. He had a great role model.

  “Thank you, Aaron. I’ll have Dad with me. I’ll just wing it from there,” I replied, pulling the car door shut.

  “All right then.” He smiled and patted the back of my hand.

  Bram jumped in and started the engine, then signed something to his father. I was curious what he said but decided against asking. He looked at me, grabbed my other hand, kissed it, then slowly backed out onto the road.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” said Dad, second-guessing his decision to allow me to see Grandma.

  We walked slowly through the swinging doors of the historic Killarney government building. The attendant at the front desk motioned for us to step up to where he sat. Dad explained to him that we were there to meet with Sergeant Taylor. He pointed us in the direction of the sergeant’s office.

  Before we entered the office I pulled Dad back and leaned in to his shoulder. “Thanks, Dad, this means so much to me.” He offered a quick hug, then opened the door.

  After introductions Taylor led us down a series of hallways and to an elevator. It said Service elevator, closed to the public. We entered the small chamber and watched as Taylor pressed the button to the basement level. He looked Dad and me over grimly without saying a word. Dad met his stare and smiled.

  Once we were in the basement, Taylor escorted us to a set of green doors at the end of the hall. Over the doorway, the word MORGUE stood out in intimidating letters. I felt myself gasp slightly, which caused Dad to tighten his grip on my hand.

  “You’ve got exactly thirty minutes. You’ll find Mrs. Whelan through there; first door to your left. My sympathies, sir, miss,” mumbled the sergeant, which came as a complete surprise considering the way he looked at us on the elevator ride. He shook hands with Dad, gave me a slight nod, and left us there at the entrance to the morgue.

  Dad grasped my hand firmly. “You’re sure about this, Willow?” he asked again, about the tenth time since agreeing to my request.

  “Yes, like I said, I never got to meet her, and considering the situation we’re in right now, this is the closest I’ll ever be to her. You said yourself that it was like she was sleeping, she looked so peaceful. Give me this chance for closure with my grandmother.” I returned his grasp with one of my own, hoping to impart to him how important this was – in more ways than he even realized.

  I wondered if I should confide in him, tell him the whole story then and there. I knew it wasn’t the time, it certainly wasn’t the place, and I would tell him, just not right then. I had to stay focused on the task at hand, which was retrieving the water pendant.

  He slowly pushed open the door which led into another hallway with four other doors, all closed. Grasping my hand, he walked to the first door on the left and turned the knob. Before he opened the door he looked back at me and swallowed hard.

  I stepped into the cold, dank room. Directly in front of us was a large metal table. I focused my attention away from the table, and who was on it, to the cabinet-type doors lining the back of the wall, six of them. I couldn’t help but wonder if anyone else was in those cabinets. Lord knows I’d seen my share of horror movies with zombies and such resurrecting from the morgue, but this room lacked that scary-movie atmosphere and had a sterile, depressing feel to it.

  I felt somewhat nauseous and lightheaded from the smell of what I could on
ly assume were chemicals used to treat cadavers. I also felt depressed thinking about all the lifeless bodies that found their way to this green, steel-furnished room before they were finally returned to the earth. Death hadn’t played much part in my life at all up until then. My mom’s parents died when I was little. I could barely remember them. And when Dad’s friend Tony died last year, even though I went to the funeral with my parents, it didn’t really affect me.

  Mom had a way of approaching death that, looking at it now, I could fully appreciate. Whenever one of our pets died she would have us do a small ceremony in which she spoke about its spirit returning to Mother Earth. She taught me that death was as natural as breathing and not to be feared. Standing there in a room that literally reeked of death, I wished I had the same approach to mortality.

  “You ok, Wil?” The sound of Dad’s voice brought me back and reminded me of what I had to do.

  I nodded and stepped near where my grandmother lay. A crisp white sheet lay over her body up to her shoulders. The floral-patterned hospital gown covering her contrasted with the atmosphere of the room. It was pretty, cheerful. The room was anything but.

  I made my way to the side of the table in order to look at Grandma’s face. I froze and felt as though I was captured in some kind of dream. To finally look into the face of the woman who had been so much a part of my world this past week, and would be from now on, was almost too much. I felt light-headed and grabbed the side of the cold steel table to brace myself. Seeing my unsteadiness, Dad stood behind me and took hold of my shoulders.

  “You don’t have to do this, Wil,” he whispered into my ear. Part of me wanted to look up at him and say ok and turn and run out. Just like I did my first day of pre-school when I stood crying at the door. He wrapped me up in his arms and told me I could wait and start school the next day. Only there was no putting this off until the next day.

  “I’m ok, Dad, just wasn’t prepared for her being so… so real.”