“My father was unable to come and I have in his stead.” Aodhan took a couple of steps towards her. “Where is Eion? Where is the Druid? I did not see him when you entered the house. Is he still here? Who was with you? We must leave.” He looked around his eyes scanning the area.
She took another quick glance at the stairs and heard the faint thumping of music. Kedryn was in his own little world and she glanced at the phone. The glowing red light was on showing he was using it. “
“I’d bet twenty bucks he is talking to Lisa.” she whispered. Lara refocused her attention back to the man in front of her.
“Aodhan, right?” she asked and he nodded yes. “Enough of the twenty questions. Who is this Eion you are asking about? I’ve never met anyone with that name. You said a Druid was looking for me?”
She heard thuds coming from the other room of Kedryn jumping down the stairs. He was half way down when she heard him call for her.
“Hey mom, can Lisa…” he stopped in mid sentence when he saw the rain soaked man standing in front of his mother. He jumped to the landing at the bottom.
“What is going on? Who’s this?” Kedryn noticed a black and blue bruise starting to form on the man’s chin. He looked at how his mom was standing away from him with her arms crossed.
“Should I call the cops?” Kedryn asked as he pulled out his cell phone.
“I got it covered.” Lara said as she reached for her purse and pulled out a small pearl handled pistol taking a few steps back raising the gun. After the last stalker she took no chances.
Aodhan looked at Lara in shock. “Wait a minute, you have a son? You have a son?”
Lara looked at him with a frown on her face and could almost see the gears of his mind reeling at the information. She decided to lower the gun.
“For a whole almost seventeen years I’ve had a son. And the problem with this is?” she asked getting defensive. Lara thought to herself if he even says anything about baggage he’ll end up with worse than another bruise.
“The Seer never spoke anything about a son. Not that we know of anyway. This is not how it should be. My father told me word for word what Kiara said. The words that could be understood.” Aodhan glanced Kedryn’s way.
“What is he talking about?” Kedryn asked.
Aodhan took a step toward Lara. “This changes everything. I have to get both of you out of here.”
She lifted the gun. “Not one more step. Start talking. Kedryn let me know if he’s for real. Now Mr. we have to get out of here I need more.”
Aodhan ran his fingers through his hair impatiently. “Too much time has passed.”
He glanced at the rain through the door and to the puddle that Lara slipped in. Aodhan walked over to the door stepping over the puddle that was steadily growing bigger. He closed it and turned back to Lara.
“I have waited for two days for you to show up because I was not able to track you.”
Aodhan’s mind wandered to who and what was coming and he grew even more anxious to leave. He knew he could handle a couple on his own and get away. Having to worry about someone, now two someone’s, would be distracting.
Kedryn glanced at his mom. “I need more. Two days? Where have you been staying? Why exactly are you here and why do we need to leave?”
“I picked the lock in the small house behind this one and . . .”
Lara gave Kedryn a look and interrupted. “You forgot to set the alarm in the carriage house again didn’t you?”
Kedryn stood trying to look innocent. “Priorities. It was at least locked. Wasn’t it?” he asked and was a bit relieved when Aodhan shook his head yes.
“Why do we have to leave?” Lara asked impatiently and slightly lowered her gun.
“There are men coming for you. Some want you dead and the others I am not certain. I have been thinking about it from the time I came through the portal of how to leave with you without being followed. I have come up with a plan of how to at least delay the Firbolg and Trackers or at least reduce their numbers.”
“What do you think?” Lara asked as she looked over at Kedryn as he slowly put his cell phone down.
“He is telling the truth and this is completely mental.”
Lara reached over setting her gun down on the table. She walked into the kitchen, grabbed a towel and walked over to the landing putting it down to soak up the water. She kept an eye on Aodhan the whole time. He didn’t make a move and she started pacing between the dining room and her Tuscan style kitchen.
“You said that trackers and Fir what’s are coming? This has got to be some kind of twisted joke!” She made a show of looking around. “Where are the cameras?” Lara stopped pacing and walked up to Aodhan and stopped an arm’s length away from him.
“I just can’t leave. I have family here, friends, a job and Kedryn has to finish his senior year. We have a life here. A life I love.” her emotions were hitting a new level and she felt her control slipping.
Aodhan stepped back from Lara and she lowered her gaze. The feeling of confusion that he had felt hit him drifted away. He thought it was a fluke when he felt it when she first started swinging at him. He looked at Lara surprised and looked over at Kedryn who seem to be unaffected. Aodhan took control of himself and wondered if she even knew.
“You and your son will either leave, die or be captured. Even if we ended up fending them off. It will not stop. You will always be looking over your shoulder wondering if someone was behind you ready to kill you, your son, family and friends if you stay. I think our best plan of delaying them is if we make them believe that you are dead or taken.”
“Excuse me? Dead? What the hell? You are truly mental.” Lara said as she crossed her arms glaring at him.
Patiently he tried to explain the best and as simply he could. “If either thinks the other has taken you they will go after each other. Neither would believe that I would have harmed you.” Aodhan said and looked Kedryn’s way “Neither knows about your son.”
Aodhan looked at her and out the kitchen window. He saw that the rain had turned into a mist again. Now for the part they really will not like. There was no way of telling her the next part without upsetting her further.
“People of this realm have to believe you to be dead too. I do not want anyone here searching for you and following us to the portal and find it. The secret of the portal between the two realms must stay that, a secret.”
“Dead? I can’t do that. I don’t even want to think of what that would do to my family. There has to be a better plan.” Lara’s voice wavered as she thought about how his plan would affect everyone in her life.
“Kedryn? Tell me please.” she asked hoping that the man in front of her was absolutely one hundred percent spreading lies about to get them to leave with him. Even though she had a strong feeling he wasn’t.
“He’s telling the truth. I really don’t want to find out what is coming after us. Kind of want to keep my skin intact. We will keep a close eye on him. I’ll get the keys.” He walked over to the table where he earlier saw his mom toss the keys.
Lara heard Aodhan let out a relieved sigh and studied her son for a second. She reached out and stopped Kedryn as he started heading to the stairs. She questioned again not quite believing what she was hearing and not wanting to believe the circumstances she and Kedryn were in.
“Are you sure we can trust him? How do you know that your truth meter isn’t on the fritz?”
“Hey . . . It’s me.” he smirked at his mom and she gave him a disgruntled look.
“Seriously. You know how it works. No matter how anyone tries to get around their lies. I know.” He ran his hand over his forehead and wiped off some drops of water. Annoyed he shook his hair to get more of the rain out of it. Kedryn looked up at the skeptical look on her face.
“Yes. He’s telling the truth. So I’ll miss the rest of my senior year. Guess I should have graduated early like I could of. I just wanted more time with Lisa and hang out more with Mikkel, Brett and
Austin before we headed to Greece. We should head out. I’d rather deal with mental man than a deadly group of men right now.”
“We have one plan. Can’t we at least think of any other way around it?” Lara asked.
Kedryn shook his head and had a look of uneasiness on his face. “I hate to say it but his plan isn’t all that bad. If he is right we can make a clean get away.”
“We really don’t have time to think of one, do we?” Lara glanced from Aodhan to Kedryn.
“I apologize. We do not.” Aodhan said
Out of the blue Kedryn realized he hadn’t been properly introduced. “When in Rome.” He said to himself and walked up to Aodhan held out his hand.
“I’m Kedryn Ashton O’Broin, Lara’s son.”
Aodhan looked a bit shocked at the gesture. From what he gathered of the people in this ream chivalry had been forgotten. He paused and grasped Kedryn’s forearm.
“Aodhan MacCionaoith.”
Kedryn released his grip and turned to head up the stairs to grab some things. Aodhan looked Kedryn over as he walked away. Tall with a strong grip and could be of use in a fight. He observed not the same hair color as his mothers they boy had sandy blonde instead of dark auburn red. Aodhan chastised himself for thinking about something else besides getting them out of there. He glanced over at Lara and walked over to the window to peek outside.
“How does he know such things?” he asked
Lara shook her head and laughed. “Kedryn is a smart kid. He always seems to be able to think quickly on his feet. To be able to see all sides but talks a bit too much though.”
Kedryn stopped at the middle of the staircase and gave her the best fake glare he could come up with and headed up the rest of the way to his room.
“No, I mean about the other thing. What was it the truth something you called it?” he asked and watched as Lara walked over and sat on the arm of her leather couch. She glanced at the staircase and back to Aodhan.
“Kedryn has an uncanny ability to tell if people are telling the truth or not. I trust him when it comes to the truth meter.”
“Interesting.” Aodhan said and wondered what else he didn’t know about this whole situation. “Let’s deal with the present problem.” he glanced at the door as the rain started to pelt harder against it.
Lara looked through the tiny window in the back door and at the rain falling onto her old beat up yellow 1984 Jeep Renegade. Her former fiancé, Wash, had fixed it up for her. Lara thought to herself it was a wonder that thing still even runs. She smiled remembering him saying Drive it till its dead a bit of ironic to her. Something occurred to Lara as she was looking at her jeep.
“You said you couldn’t track us. I wonder if that was because we left in the jeep. Would that mean they couldn’t follow us either?”
“I hope so.” Aodhan said in a quiet voice. “It is a possibility though that if I had seen you leave I would have been able to follow or not. I do not wish to chance it.”
Lara looked down at her living room floor noticing the mud and water. It was all over the redwood floors in the dining room that Lara and Kedryn had just refinished. There was even mud on the rug she had brought back from Germany. She let out a huge aggravated breath. Ever since Aodhan had come through her door everything including her life had become a huge muddy mess.
“We can take my jeep. What are we going to do about everything and how is this going to work? What are we going to do before we trip the alarm and Kedryn calls 911?”
“What is this 911?” Aodhan asked noticing the mud too as he watched her look at the floor.
She walked over and picked up the phone. “People here use this and call a number, the police, for help.” She said as she placed the phone back down.
“The police?” he looked at her and raised an eyebrow “Like a small army.”
“Where are you from again?” she asked as she set the phone down and pushed her hair over her shoulder.
“Not of this realm.” he said and watched as she tried to braid her hair and it fell out. “Everything around here is foreign to me.”
“I was beginning to get that impression.” Lara said as she gave up on her hair. “How are we going to make everyone believe that we are injured or dead? It’s not like I’m a magician and can pull a dead me out of thin air.”
Aodhan pulled his dagger out of its sheath. He took a quick step to her grabbed Lara’s arm and cut it. She grabbed the top of her arm and held her hand over the cut to stop the blood flow.
“Bloody hell, what are you…” was all she was able to breathe out as she sprung up from the arm of the couch so blood wouldn’t drip on it.
“Watch.” Aodhan said interrupting her. He pushed her hand aside and put his hand over the cut. A bluish white glow surround her arm and when he pulled his hand away her arm was completely healed. Not even a scar. Seeing that convinced Lara even more he was telling the truth.
“How? Never mind. Everything about this is insane. Where should we start?” Lara looked around at her antiques in the living room and dining area struggling to decide on where to start.
“Let’s do this upstairs like they caught us in our rooms. I really don’t want blood all over . . .” she motioned to the surrounding room “ . . . this. Everything upstairs is replaceable. Mud I can get out on the other hand the blood…”
Lara walked over to the window in her living room and took a quick look through the curtains. Aodhan quickly pulled her back.
“Not a really good idea.” he said.
“Can you sense if they are close? Can we grab a couple of things first? Wait, can they sense you?” she asked.
Aodhan stood still and concentrated. “They do not have the power to sense me. Please, we should move quickly.”
He looked at the stairs that Kedryn had walked up a few moments ago. He admired the craftsmanship of the Celtic knot work of the railing and motioned to the stairs.
“Let’s get this over with.” Lara said as she walked over to the foot of the stairs.
“Lead the way. If we start up there I believe it should be made to look like you were taken down the stairs and outside.”
Without thinking Lara grabbed Aodhan’s hand and started leading him up the stairs. She realized what she had done and quickly let go of his hand. She yelled to Kedryn who was in his room.
“Kedryn did you unpack yet?” she heard him yell back.
“Only the dirty clothes. I’m grabbing some clean clothes to put them in the gear pack when we head out.” he said.
Ever so practical she thought to herself. Kedryn stepped out of his room with the clothes in his hands. Lara looked at her son thinking about all they are leaving behind. He saw the look of dread on his mom’s face.
“It's ok mom. I know.”
“Quickly now.” Aodhan said growing even more impatient “If you want grab a couple of things do it now. We are losing time as it is. The Hunters may beat the Firbolg here. It seems that Liam wants you alive and Lady Paili does not.”
Lara quickly stepped into to her room and picked up an ancient dagger from her nightstand that she had found in Egypt close to a dig site. She pulled it out of its sheath, checked it over and stuck it through her belt loop.
It would make a good weapon if needed. That’s why it stayed by her bed on the nightstand “You never know.” she once told Kedryn. Lara hurriedly walked out of her room and practically ran into Kedryn as he stepped outside her room. She pulled the dagger out of her pant loop and gave it to him.
“Please take this to the dining room table and put it by my coat. I don’t want to forget it.” As he got to the top of the stairs she said to him. “Keep an eye out and get your coat too.”
She stepped back into her bedroom and found Aodhan studying it with a look of appreciation on his face. Lara stepped up beside him and looked around for what she realized might be the last time.
“It’s a perfect replica of an ancient Egyptian bedroom. I designed it myself and finished it a year ago.” S
he gestured to an open door at the side of the room. “It even comes complete with a side room that has a tub even the Egyptians would envy.”
“Egyptians? You will have to tell me their story sometime. By the looks of your room it seems they are an interesting race.”
Lara walked over to her perfect replica of Cleopatra’s bed. She ran her hand across the plum and chocolate colored silk bedspread and looked at the matching sheer and velvet curtains. There was also a Cleopatra style chase lounge which was cattycornered from an Egyptian carved curio cabinet she hand painted herself. It held her newly bought flat screen inside.
“At least I got to enjoy it while I could.” Lara said as she turned to Aodhan and held out her arm. “I’m letting you do this because the alternative sounds a lot worse. Let’s get this over with.”
Holding out her arm Lara took in a deep breath and looked away as he sliced it. She cringed at the pain and tried not to look at it as she felt the blood flow through her fingers covering the gash. Lara paused for a second and thought about the show her and Kedryn’s favorite TV show and some of the bloodier scenes. Who knew she would actually use it as a live reference.
Lara looked around with a knot welling up in her stomach and she whispered to herself “Just do it and not think about it.”
She ran a bloody hand down her bed spread and rubbed her arm on her pillow. Whipping her arm out little splatters of blood landed on the wall, ceiling and Papyrus hanging on it. She walked out of her room dripping blood on the floor.
She grabbed the staircase railing smearing and dripping blood down the stairs. Aodhan opened one of the double doors and quickly glanced around. He motioned her outside and watched as Lara left a bloody handprint on the bottom step of the stairs and she hurried out the door onto the porch and left a trail there too.
“Good enough?” she asked .
Aodhan looked around and quietly. “Yes.” He quickly grabbed her arm and healed it.
“Jesus mom!” Kedryn said as he examined the blood. Lara gave him a sharp look and he cringed. “Sorry. Slipped. Guess I know what to do.” Kedryn said as he watched as his mom’s sharp look softened.
Celtic Rain (The Battle Raven Series) Page 3
