by D. S. Elstad
“I’m here, Willow,” Bram spoke out loud. I reached my arm down through the hole and felt his fingertips touch mine.
“Are you ok? Is there anyone there with you?” I asked, laying my cheek against the cold stones and pressing myself down as far as I could, relieved to feel him so close.
“I’m fine and completely alone. Weird how they all vanished.” He managed to grab hold of my finger.
“Bram, I saw him. The one you said was my father, only…only, that can’t be my father!” I felt tears well up in my eyes but quickly shot them down, determined to stay focused on getting Bram out of the sidhe.
“You’re right, it can’t be. I don’t know how to explain it, but it isn’t him,” he said, tightening his grip on my finger.
“How can we get you out of there?” I asked, rising up and looking over the area for any other kind of escape. Nothing stood out other than to simply move as many of the rocks as it took to allow Bram to shift and fly out.
I quickly grabbed hold of a stone and tossed it aside. When I looked back, it had replaced itself. I tried another and the same thing happened. Over and over again the rocks put themselves back in their places along the opening of the sidhe. Frustrated, I screamed out and began kicking them, dislodging one after another only to turn around and find them all replaced.
“I can’t believe this!” I sent to Bram.
“What’s happening?” he asked.
“Every time I move a stone it puts itself back. Why?” I screamed, the sound reverberating in my head.
“Calm down, Willow, we’ll figure this out,” Bram replied. “Get a hold of my da, maybe he’ll have read something about this.”
I quickly channeled Aaron and posed the question to him. He said he needed a few minutes, that he’d get back to me. I stood up and could make out the low roar of thunder in the distance. It was miles away and along with it were flashes of lightning. I knew that had to be the Fomorians on the move. They were looking for the Eye.
“Willow,” Aaron’s voice began, “I’m not seeing anything that talks about gaining entrance or exit from the sidhe but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. I’ll continue looking but I think we need to try and come up with our own solution.”
I paced back and forth, kicking at the stones aligned on top of the sidhe only to watch them return to their original spot. Frustration was closing off my ability to problem solve and the snow and cold weren’t helping matters either. I stood in place and stared into the small baseball-size opening, watching Bram’s shadow pass back and forth beneath it.
“Aaron, you said that the sidhe opened because of the gap left in the Triquetra, right?” I asked, hoping I hadn’t lost connection. I focused on Bram and directed both mine and Aaron’s thoughts to him.
“Correct.”
“So wouldn’t it make sense that the Triquetra is the key to opening this thing?” I asked, running my boot over the hole.
There was no response from Aaron for a full minute when his voice finally answered back, “Very possibly.”
“Aye, Da, think about when we were at the lake with Quinn. Remember the charge that passed through the three of us when we hugged?” Bram asked.
“I do!” I answered. “It was a serious jolt, almost like what the Fomorians used to pull themselves out of the sidhe. I watched it. They drew on electrical energy from a lightning bolt and then rose up to the surface. Is it possible we could do something like that?” My heart was pounding with excitement.
Aaron’s voice began breaking in and out just before I lost connection with him. Neither Bram nor I could make out what he had been trying to say.
“We’ve got to act fast, Willow. I think the answer to getting me out of here is to use the force of the Triquetra. I think we’re gonna need Quinn, though.” Looking down into the hole I could see Bram’s brown eyes staring up at me.
I nodded. I quickly focused my mindspeak on Quinn.
“Quinn, where are you?” I asked.
After a few seconds of static Quinn’s upbeat voice broke through. “Almost to the Causeway. You two close?”
“No, we’ve got a problem. I think you may have to come back.” I explained the whole situation to Quinn – that we needed him to return and try to get Bram released from the sidhe. He quickly agreed and said he was on his way.
I reached into the sidhe opening and felt Bram take hold of my fingers. I hoped and prayed we were on the right track and that he’d soon be free and back on the surface.
When Quinn arrived, the snow had piled up a good four feet all along the sidhe, but for some reason the sidhe and the stones that outlined the opening had only traces of snow. Quinn told us about how he had to shift human at one point to cross over land and get to the sea. He said he was surprised at how fast his human self was able to move with just him visualizing it. More powers were revealing themselves to us as we went along.
“So, what’s the plan?” Quinn asked as he peered down into the hole, waving at Bram.
I took us into mindspeak so we could discuss what we needed to do.
“We all three need to be touching,” Bram said, “Remember the lake? That’s when the power surged.”
“Ok,” Quinn said as he dropped to the ground, reaching his hand into the hole. He held his other hand up to me. I grabbed hold and tightly gripped his fingers. Nothing happened.
“I don’t have a very good grip on you, mate,” Quinn said while twisting his body trying to reach farther into the hole.
“Hang on,” Bram said, “Let me find something to stand on so I can reach you.”
Quinn stood up and stretched out his arms and neck.
I peered down into the hole and watched Bram step away from the opening. After a few minutes he returned pushing a large stone, positioned it directly under us, then climbed on top of it. I stretched out my arm to him and felt him grasp hold firmly. I then reached my other hand up to Quinn. He gripped hold and knelt alongside me wrapping his other arm over my back.
I closed my eyes and focused my thoughts on bringing Bram to the surface. I pulled severely and raised myself with my other arm. Quinn lifted along with me, still holding onto to my waist and hand. A slight tug stopped me and made me worry that we might be hurting Bram. I became aware of an electrical current passing from Quinn’s hand to mine and on to Bram’s. I focused on that energy and pictured him rising out of the sidhe, similar to the way he’d gone in, also similar to the way the Fomorians had risen. One more yank and he stood before me, transparent and stretched out of shape. In the blink of an eye he became solid and was his normal self. He grabbed hold of me and held tight.
“Thanks,” he whispered into my ear then looked over and patted Quinn on the back.
I let myself sink into his chest and took in a deep, relief-filled breath. I looked up into his eyes and kissed him before going into mindspeak, “Please don’t ever do that again,” I said.
Bram smiled, “No danger of that.”
He then looked around the sidhe and kicked at the snow. “Wow, this piled up fast.”
I nodded. Thunder boomed again but this time sounded like it was near town. I told Bram.
“We’ve got to get to the Causeway,” he said. “We won’t make it there until morning. I hope that won’t be too late.” A look of worry washed over Bram’s face.
“We can make it there before that!” Quinn answered excitedly and explained to us how he’d been able to speed up. As he began his trek to the Causeway he felt like he was moving too slowly. Then he pictured himself –his whale self –moving in fast motion, and it happened. He sped up instantly.
“You and Bram need to try it!” he said, his voice screeching.
Bram smiled at the mere thought of flying even faster than he had been. “Can’t wait to try that out,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“Ok, Quinn, I’ll take you until we get to the water. Just give me a minute, though; I have to check something.” I closed my eyes and channeled Dad. I had to hear his voice, to
remind myself that he was safe, in town and most probably taking care of things at the hospital.
“Dad…Dad, are you there?” I sent my thoughts to him.
Within a few seconds he answered. “Willow! Are you all right, what’s going on?”
“I’m ok, Dad. We’re fine. I’ll explain everything when I see you. I just wanted to check and make sure you’re ok.”
“Don’t worry about me, hon, I’m fine. We got the generator running again so no problem there. It’s like a blizzard here, though. Is this part of what you’re dealing with?” he asked.
“Yes, it is. They mess with the weather…it’s how they gain their strength,” I answered, the sound of my own voice cutting in and out.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you sweetheart, be safe.”
The sound of Dad’s voice gave me the reassurance I needed to continue and head to the Causeway. I hadn’t a clue as to why the Fomorian, Cyril, was the spitting image of my father, and at the moment, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Bram, Quinn, and I get to the Causeway before they did, and put an end to their terror.
Quinn had been right. All it took for Bram and me to triple our speed was to picture it in our heads. Bram tried it first, flew out of my sight like a flash, and was back even quicker. I stood on the sidhe and pictured myself running at top speed, opened my eyes and began to sprint. Every part of the forest that I passed became a blur. I was back at my starting point in a few seconds.
“How was that?” I channeled Bram.
“That was awesome! All I could see were the tracks you were leaving in the snow,” he answered, perched above me on a pine branch.
“What other things haven’t we discovered?” I wondered.
“Right, guess we’ll find out as we go along. But for now, we’d better head to the Causeway.”
“Ok, but…I don’t know where that is,” I said as I lowered myself, allowing Quinn to climb on my back.
“Just follow me, I’ll stay low so you can see. Also Quinn knows; he’ll guide you.”
“All right.”
By the time we got to the Giant’s Causeway the snow had finally stopped. Lightning still flashed in the sky and was drawing near. We knew that meant they were getting close. We all shifted human and stood together on the cliff that overlooked the Causeway and the Atlantic Ocean. The view was nothing short of spectacular.
Even with the piles of snow, the majesty was indisputable. The interlocking basalt columns formed stepping stones from the foot of the cliff, and then disappeared into the ocean. Most of the columns were hexagonal and stood almost forty feet high. Bram explained that it was the result of prehistoric volcanic activity.
“What about Finn McCool?” Quinn asked, smiling.
Bram nodded, then turned to me. “There’s an ancient legend of how the Causeway came to be, and it has nothing to do with volcanic activity,” Bram began. “There was a great Irish warrior named Fionn mac Cumhail, or as we now call him, Finn McCool. He built the Causeway in order to walk to Scotland to fight the Scottish king, Benandonner. Finn fell asleep before he got to Scotland, so the much larger Benandonner came looking for him. In order to protect him, Finns wife threw a blanket over Finn and pretended that Finn was actually their baby son. When Benandonner saw the ‘baby’ he assumed the baby’s father, Finn, must be even larger than himself. This terrified Benandonner and he destroyed the Causeway as he fled home, in case Finn tried to find him.”
Explosions of thunder drew even closer and jolted us back to the reason we were there.
“So where do you think the Eye is?” asked Quinn surveying the area.
“Follow me,” Bram said as he headed away from the cliffs. We hiked down the hillside until we were just off the shoreline. Bram stared out at the sea, and then looked to the sky. He walked purposefully towards a spot about thirty yards in, then began dusting the snow away with his boots. He uncovered an area about twenty feet by twenty feet. A boulder five feet wide by four feet tall stood in the center. Bram brushed the snow from its surface.
“This is where Da figured it most likely would be,” he said wiping his hands on his pants.
Looking closer at the stone, I could make out the vague shape of an eyeball. I ran my fingers across the top and scraped the snow from the grooves that had been worn. Once I had dusted away the excess snow I was surprised that something so unique could be formed by nature.
“This is a rounded corestone of basalt blocks…like those over there.” Bram pointed to the huge columns jutting up into the sky. “These have been beaten down by the weather. Around here they’re known as ‘Giant’s Eyes’.”
Quinn stepped closer inspecting the ancient stone.
“Well, it looks like an eye, I guess,” Quinn replied, “If I close one eye and do this.” He closed his left eye and leaned his head way to the side.
I laughed and poked Quinn on the arm. “One thing I wonder about…”
Bram and Quinn both looked my way while Quinn signed to Bram.
“If it’s called the Giant’s Eye, why didn’t the Fomorians come here right away, why are they still out there looking for it? I mean, geesh, it’s labeled and everything.”
Quinn started cracking up. “Blimey, they must be stupid! What’d they need, a map?”
“There’s a few of these formations around,” Bram said, touching the boulder with his boot, “not just this one and they weren’t labeled Giant’s Eyes until the Causeway itself was named, which really wasn’t that long ago. Da pinpointed this one based on the distance from the shore, the night sky, stuff like that. Let’s just hope he’s right and this is the spot. If it’s not, then –”
He stopped and spun around as a flash of lightning lit up the sky directly behind us. Quinn and I turned in the direction of the flash and watched as the lightning hit the ground to the side of us. A tremendous bolt shot up from the ground and ran high into the sky overhead. Bram, Quinn, and I were shot back from the mere charge of the powerful strike and landed several feet away. As we regained our footing, the bolt, still glowing from the current surging through it, broke apart into four separate pieces. Each piece flashed and came apart onto itself creating the confetti effect I had witnessed at the sidhe. The glowing confetti transformed itself into the four Fomorians.
It took them a few seconds to reconfigure and become fully whole. They were all looking to the ground and weren’t even aware of our presence. I grabbed hold of Bram’s and Quinn’s arms, fearful of what was coming and ready to make a run for it.
Cyril was the first to look up. It was like looking at my father all decked out in some crazy Halloween costume. He smiled broadly and took a few steps our way.
“Well, well, well, what have we here?” he asked. “The three disciples of Lugh are here to welcome us back from the great beyond. Is that not a truly courteous thing to do? ”
He glanced back over his shoulder to the now moving Fomorians. They took their places at his side, looking somewhat bored and disinterested.
“I suggest you three run along. I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt…not just yet anyway.” He laughed, waving his hands towards the sea.
Quinn began signing to Bram. Cyril watched in amazement. “What is this you are doing? Are you trying to communicate with him? Do you not hear me, boy?” he bellowed, tilting his head the same way Dad would when he was trying to grasp something. It freaked me out to see him do that.
He began laughing a boisterous laugh and pulled on the other Fomorians pointing to Bram. “See here? And you were worried! The guardians are nothing more than children and this one isn’t able to communicate without the aid of his friend! They could not find adequate champions for their cause. This… is… priceless. If my comrades here weren’t in such a hurry to put an end to this tedious business, I’d be fascinated to watch you two speak to each other.”
He smoothed out the front of his robe, then lifted his hands. “But, alas, the time is now. We have waited far too long to drag this
out any longer. You’ve no idea how tiring it is being trapped just below the surface, aware of each and every passing day, lost in the anticipation of a golden opportunity to once again resurface and lay claim to what is rightfully ours.
“Many times we readied ourselves for a triumphant return, only to have the moment squashed by one of Lugh’s minions. Countless times we came close to the freedom we now can taste and will finally achieve.” Cyril looked to his companions and reached his hands over to touch their shoulders. He stared at us, almost with a remorseful expression.
“But, alas, young warriors, your time is at hand. Be not saddened at the passing of your life, but joyous at having it snuffed out by a Fomorian…the greatest race to ever set foot on this desolate land. My people brought order and beauty to these islands and graciously worked alongside the lower classes until the barbarian Tuatha came. You should realize that you are on the wrong side. The Tuatha destroyed and divided instead of creating and uniting a simple people unable to even care for themselves. We gave them knowledge, showed them how to work with the earth, how to –”
“Do you ever stop talking?” I shouted, then realized it actually came from my mouth and wasn’t one of my thoughts.
Quinn immediately stopped signing to Bram and shot an astonished look my way. I met his stare and shrugged my shoulders. “I meant to think it, not say it,” I whispered to his still startled expression.
Cyril narrowed his eyes and looked intently into mine. I tried to look away but felt as though I was held captive by his stare. He stepped towards us a few paces and put his hands on his hips. He then looked me up and down and shook his head.
“A pity such impertinence still exists. I see the human race has not evolved beyond that of the obtuse.” He shook his head from side to side and paced slowly between his three companions, all the while maintaining his icy stare. “I will resist the desire to make your ending a long and tortuous one and simply terminate your existence in one fowl swoop. After the admirable way you three challenged and defeated the creatures of the sidhe I was prepared to offer you…guardians…another chance to sit alongside us, your superiors, and serve. But your disrespect has left me weary.”
