by Tom Mohan
I must be mistaken.
Johnny was dead, nothing but a spirit in the woods that surrounded Tír na nÓg. The man turned and looked directly at her, and she was certain it was the same person. The smug look of arrogance had been replaced by one of sadness and confusion, but she was certain it was him.
The crowd grew louder. Liza turned her attention back to the drama unfolding in front of Brianna’s house. She had missed Jacob’s last words, but whatever they were had stirred the crowd to a frenzy.
“I say bring her out here and make her tell us the truth! Drag her dark secrets into the light where her evil ways can be exposed for what they are.” Jacob turned toward the house, his back to the crowd. “Dark magic hides behind the friendly faces of the Finns. Darkness that must be revealed.” His voice was low now, low enough that Liza had to hold her breath to hear his words. He took a few slow steps toward the front door. To the crowd, he appeared cautious, but Liza knew he was afraid. He might incite the crowd to barge into the house, but she knew damn well that Jacob Yoder would not go in with them.
A police SUV pulled into Brianna’s driveway, red-and-blue lights flashing. The crowd’s attention turned to the vehicle as the chief of police shut off the lights and climbed out. Jim Murphy hitched up his belt and looked over the people in Brianna’s yard before settling his gaze on Jacob.
“What’s going on here, Jacob?”
“Howdy, Jim,” Jacob said.
“I asked what’s going on.”
Jacob waved his arm toward the crowd. “These good folks have some questions for Brianna, that’s all. Seems she doesn’t want to come out and talk.”
Murphy’s gaze slid toward the house and then back to Jacob. “She ain’t feeling well. You know that.”
Jacob’s smile turned to a scowl. “Don’t bring me into this. These folks want answers, answers you have, Jim. The police have been in on this since the beginning.” Jacob turned back to the crowd, his voice raising as he pointed at the police chief. “Jim Murphy and the rest of the Mill’s finest have been hiding the truth about the Finns for years. How do you think they get away with their dark magic? The police cover it up, that’s how!” He turned back toward Murphy. “They’ve lost control of it, haven’t they, Jim? They’ve lost control of the magic, and that’s why Conall went rogue and killed those people.”
The murmur of the crowd grew louder. “Conall Finn is responsible for the killings that have been going on around here,” Jacob yelled. “His own sister, Fallon, is near death in the hospital because he attacked her.”
Liza could see anger roiling in the faces of the townsfolk. It appeared that their love for Fallon was not so easily forgotten. They began shouting at Chief Murphy.
“What’s this about, Jim?”
“Why have you hidden this?”
“If we can’t trust the police, we’ll have to take care of this ourselves!”
Murphy put his hands up to calm the crowd even as they moved toward him. Liza wondered where the rest of the Halden’s Mill police force was—all three or four of them.
“Just calm down now, folks. The Finns are good people. You all know—” He grunted and fell back against his car as a baseball-sized rock thrown from the crowd slammed into his forehead. The crowd converged on the dazed man as he wiped blood from his face.
Liza nearly screamed as the door beside her popped open. She turned to see Johnny Caperelli outside the truck.
“Hurry,” he said. “You need to get out of here before Jacob comes back.”
Liza looked from Johnny to Jacob. She didn’t know who to trust. “Why would you help me?”
“Because you’re in big trouble. Get out of the car. We need to get out of here.”
“You hate the Finns,” Liza said. “Why aren’t you over there with the rest of them?”
He looked at her with his deep blue eyes. “I don’t hate the Finns. I love them. They set me free.”
If he was lying to her, Liza saw no trace of it in his face. He certainly looked like the same young man who had taunted her in the woods—even sounded like him.
“He tied my hands and feet.”
Johnny opened the car door. “Let’s get your legs free first.” He leaned in and began loosening the belt. Liza’s gaze jerked to Brianna’s house as the noise of the crowd grew frenzied. “What’s with Jacob?” Johnny said. “I thought he and his mom were friends of the Finns.”
“He wants the power of Tír na nÓg,” Liza said.
“Jacob? How has he managed to hide that? He was with the Finns all the time.”
Liza continued watching the man she thought was her friend as he provoked the townspeople to invade Brianna’s house. “His grandfather was an Old One, and his mother had complete access to all of the Finn secrets. My guess is he was so close that no one paid attention to him.” Her voice grew quieter. “I think that was part of the problem. He became invisible to them.”
The belt around her ankles loosened and fell away. She flexed her feet and realized she couldn’t feel them. She leaned forward so Johnny could see her bound wrists. He snapped open a knife and cut her free.
Johnny took her by the arm. “Come on. We have to get out of here.”
Liza swung her legs out of the truck and tried to stand. She stumbled into Johnny, her feet numb. “I can’t feel my feet.”
A commotion from the crowd caused Liza to turn and see them pressing toward the house. She met Jacob’s gaze. His eyes grew wide and then angry. He started toward her and Johnny, but the frenzied crowd blocked his path. She spun back, tripping over her own tingling feet. She still didn’t know if she could trust Johnny, but she couldn’t think of any other options at the moment.
“Hurry, this way,” Johnny said. He kept hold of her arm and guided her across Brianna’s neighbor’s yard and into the trees beyond. The feeling in Liza’s feet was returning. Johnny helped her over a small creek, up an embankment, and across another yard to a road. A police car waited there. He led her to the passenger door and helped her in.
“You’re a cop?”
“One of the Mill’s finest. Been out of town a few days and came back to find things had gotten more interesting while I was gone.” He slammed the door and hurried around to the driver’s side. “We need to put some distance between us and Jacob Yoder.”
“We need to go back and help Brianna,” Liza said. “We can’t just leave her to them. And Chief Murphy. Why didn’t you help him?”
His face muscles tightened. “I wanted to. You have no idea how hard it was to stand back and watch, but he gave me specific orders to get you out of there. He told me that no matter what happened, you had to be kept safe.”
Liza wanted to scream. “Why does everyone think I’m someone special? I’m no one. I’ve always been no one. I shouldn’t even be here.”
Johnny cast her a sidelong look. “Is that what you really believe? That you’re no one? Liza, I don’t think you could’ve stayed away from here if you’d tried. The Mill has been calling you since you were just a kid. Tír na nÓg has been calling you. You would have come eventually.”
Liza was so tired of cryptic talk that meant nothing to her. She didn’t belong here. You can’t deny how familiar it all feels. You can’t deny how comfortable you felt in the woods. Liza’s own thoughts betrayed her, even as the Finns and Jacob had.
“I’m no one,” she muttered once more, if only to convince herself.
“Too much has happened for you to believe that,” Johnny said as he pulled the police car away from the curb. “I’m going to take you to see someone who might be able to help you understand.”
“Who?”
“One of the Old Ones.”
Liza closed her eyes to think. “Wait! No! We have to go back to the Finns’ house. Jacob stabbed his mom before he took me. We have to go back and help her.”
“I’ll radio for an ambulance. We can meet them there.”
Liza had never been one for prayer—she didn’t even know if she believed
in anyone to pray to—but at that moment, she asked anyone who might be listening to please let Ruth be alive.
Brianna shrieked as something crashed through the front window. Fortunately, the thick drapes kept it and the glass from hitting either Paulie or herself. She could no longer pretend she wasn’t scared. Nothing like this had ever happened, not to her or any ancestor she’d heard of.
She had always been in complete control of her world. Outside, she could hear the angry voices of those she’d considered her friends. Didn’t they understand what she had sacrificed for them? Of course they didn’t. How could they? Brianna’s gaze locked on the drapes that covered the broken window. Could something come through there? Not that it mattered. They would drag her out the front door soon enough.
“We should leave,” Paulie said.
“I can’t go outside, Paulie. You know that.”
Paulie looked agitated, an expression Brianna was quite familiar with. “Not out there. Out there.” He again pointed through the wall toward the back door.
Brianna’s mind spun. She had never felt so confused. Something hit the front door hard enough to crack the frame. Her heart pounded so fast she wondered that it did not crash through her chest. Her lungs felt compressed, and she couldn’t get enough air. Brianna knew she was giving in to panic but was helpless to stop it.
“Come with me, Brianna. I’ll take care of you.” Paulie’s voice carried a tone she’d never heard in it. A tone of confidence and knowing. He held his hand out toward her, something he had never done before. For all his simple love and warmth, Paulie did not like physical contact.
Still, she hesitated. She was unaccustomed to the unknown. Her life had always been dictated for her, her little world ordered and steady. Another crash on the door left little doubt as to her next move. She reached out a shaking hand and took Paulie’s. His was cool and soft. He pulled her to her feet, excitement clear in his face. “You’ll be OK, Brianna. Watch—I’ll show you.”
Brianna allowed Paulie to guide her through the kitchen to the back door. Her heart pounded as she contemplated what they were about to do.
The Great Nothing! How could they open that door and look upon it? And the very thought of stepping through! Without hesitation, Paulie unlocked the deadbolt, grasped the doorknob, and turned.
For a moment, Brianna wondered if it would even open. As far as she knew, it never had—ever. Paulie smiled at her and pulled the door ajar. Brianna instinctively stepped back, but Paulie’s grasp on her hand didn’t allow her to go far. She looked over Paulie’s shoulder at what lay beyond the portal. She half expected to see nothing but her backyard, a sight she had never seen. What she saw instead brought a cold sweat to her brow. It was exactly what she had always been told—blackness, nothing.
Without hesitation, Paulie stepped through the opening. “See, Brianna, it’s okay.” The ground at Paulie’s feet glowed with a flickering light as he stepped through. The light did not shine very far, illuminating only his immediate path. He gave a gentle tug on her hand, his soft face smiling with confidence.
Behind her, the front door splintered, and she allowed him to pull her through. Paulie guided her another step. The area around his feet had a dim, white glow for about three feet in front of them and two feet to the sides. She gasped as she took a closer look. The illumination came from tiny dots of light floating in the darkness below them, like stars on a clear night. She grabbed hold of Paulie as a sense of vertigo flooded her. She felt as though they were standing in space, nothing around or below them but the dark night sky.
Paulie giggled. “See, Brianna! See how pretty it is!”
Brianna could not speak. She turned to look behind, ready to bolt back into her house and take her chances there. Behind was only blackness. Her house was gone.
That settles it then, doesn’t it?
There was no going back, only forward, led by the simple mind of a young friend dressed as Batman. Here she was, the woman to whom everyone else came for knowledge and advice relying on one whom most in society wouldn’t even notice.
The irony wasn’t lost on her.
Paulie led her further into the Great Nothing. The path continued to light their way, showing only their next steps without any hint of where they were actually going. There was no sound—even the tread of their feet was silent. The air in the Nothing was cool, though not cold.
As she breathed, Brianna had a sense of taking creation itself into her lungs, where it then spread through her body. She experienced something like the mental connection she had enjoyed throughout her life, the connection that gave her knowledge of the outside world, but instead of flowing through her, it surrounded her. She felt as though if she were to connect with it here, such vast knowledge and power would annihilate her completely.
As they continued, Brianna moved alongside Paulie, his hand never letting go of hers. The path widened, allowing them to walk side by side. “Paulie, are we on a path, or will the lights shine wherever we walk?”
Paulie stopped and scrunched his face in thought. Then he smiled. “Watch this!” He took half a step to his left, and his foot slid off into darkness. He gripped her hand tighter and bent his right knee, his left foot and leg disappearing down into nothingness. “See, it’s a path!”
Brianna held Paulie’s hand so tight she felt she must be hurting him and slid her own foot into the darkness. The path fell away. She grabbed Paulie’s arm with her other hand and pulled herself against him. There was nothing below them! What if the path ceased to light the way? What if they were stranded out here?
“Paulie, do you know where we’re going?”
“How could I know where we’re going, silly Brianna? I’ve never been here before.”
“You’re not scared?”
He smiled. “Nope. Are you?”
She nodded.
“Don’t worry, Brianna. You have to have faith.” Again, his voice had that confident, self-aware tone to it that she’d never heard in him before. “It’s okay, Brianna. You’ll see. My friend is waiting for us on the other side.”
“The other side of what?”
He shrugged. “The other side of us.”
• • • • • • •
JACOB WAITED OUTSIDE the small house. The crash of destruction poured out as the people who had stormed the house tore it apart in search of Brianna Finn. Not all of them had gone in. A dozen or so stood around mumbling to themselves, unsure about whether they were doing the right thing. Jacob didn’t care what they thought.
He glanced to where Murphy’s police car sat in the driveway, the body of the chief lying either unconscious or dead beside it. The idiot should have stayed away. A new reality was rising, and he could have been a part of it if only he’d dropped his worthless allegiance to the Finns and their time-worn ways.
He looked toward his truck, still fuming that Liza had gotten away. Caperelli would pay for his interference. Jacob turned his attention back to the house. Finding Liza again would be easy enough. Her blood sang. She couldn’t hide from them.
Jackie Sanders stepped through the broken front door of the house, his arm still in a sling from the beating Liza had given him at the bar. Jacob had spent considerable time convincing Jackie that he’d had no idea Liza was capable of such a thing. That was a lie, of course. The whole idea had been to try to get her to unleash her power. The presence of the Rakshasa had ensured it would happen.
“There’s no one in there,” Jackie said as he stepped off the small porch.
“What do you mean there’s no one in there?” Jacob said. “She has to be in there.”
Jackie shook his head. “We looked everywhere. The place is empty. Heck, it’s not that big. There’s no place to hide.”
Jacob couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He approached the house. The place had always given him the creeps. It had always been a conflict of identity, so peaceful on the outside and yet the source of a power beyond human understanding. Jacob stepped onto the porch a
nd realized that the power that had always made him feel somewhat nauseated was no longer there. The house felt empty.
He walked through the front door for the first time since he was a young boy. Except for the damage Jackie and his buddies had caused, it looked the same as he remembered.
He stepped around an overturned chair and stood before the table that had been placed in front of the big window. It had been a peek out that window when he was seven years old that had stirred the whispers of Tír na nÓg in his mind and heart. Though he had not understood what he had seen, the land of the fae had visited him in his dreams for months afterward, calling him as it had called others for countless centuries.
He reached across the table and pulled the heavy drape aside. Through the smashed glass, only the mortal world greeted him. Gone was the misty, magical world that he had seen so long ago. He let the drape fall back and slowly walked around the tiny house, coming finally to the back door that stood open to the yard. He turned to Jackie, who had followed him.
“Did one of you open this?”
Jackie shrugged his good shoulder. “It was open when we came in. I figure she got out that way. I told you we should have kept an eye on the back.”
“She shouldn’t have been able to leave at all, you idiot.” Jacob shoved the man out of his way and stormed outside. The house was more than empty. It was dead. The power Brianna Finn carried had vanished with her, leaving the house an empty husk of what it had once been.
Where the hell did she go?
Jacob turned back to Jackie, who had been joined by three of his friends. “People are coming. Some are already here. They hear the power calling them, just as you do now that the Finns are no longer hoarding it for themselves. Gather them. Gather the strangers and take them to the woods. Follow the calling.” Jacob could feel the call himself, but he did not need the proximity of Tír na nÓg to find it. As the right hand of the Prince, it was already his. He only needed one more thing to complete it.
“What are you gonna do?” Jackie asked.
