CHAPTER THREE
THE THREE OF them walked by a park a ways down from the Garda station. Catherine found a wooden bench to rest on. She felt weak from the exertion of their errand. She hadn’t been out of bed, let alone the house for some time. Bowen and Danny gave each other glances of concern when they saw how exhausted she was. Bowen leaned against a tree not too far from the bench. Danny sat down next to his sister with a worried look across his face.
“Catherine . . .” he put his arm around her.
“I’m okay, Danny. I’m just tired,” she lied.
“You’re stupid if you actually think you can fool me. Who do you think has been staying at home making sure you weren’t suicidal?”
Catherine looked at her brother. He was too right for her to roll her eyes at him.
“You need to start regularly eating again, no excuses. I don’t care if you don’t feel hungry,” he continued.
“Hm,” Catherine wrinkled her nose and frowned, “you’re a good brother, Danny,” she said with a smile. The first smile Danny had seen in a while.
Danny grew more serious now, “Catherine, why is this guy hanging around us still? I mean, who is he really? Did he ever tell you?”
Catherine turned away as she thought how to explain.
“Too many weird things going on to keep on without answers about him. It’s creepy really . . .” he sighed, scratching the back of his head with his free arm.
Catherine looked down, fidgeting with a piece of string from the fabric of her pants. She knew he would believe her, but she was reluctant still. A moment passed before she looked back up at Danny and said, “Yeah, he told me who he was . . .”
After Catherine glanced over at Bowen, she turned back to her brother to tell him Bowen’s true identity, the curse, and who the strange woman at the Garda station was. Danny seemed to take the news well, considering. Afterwards he was silent, then excused himself to take a walk alone. Before leaving, he passed Bowen. Danny furrowed his brow, and seemingly tried to examine his face for evidence of his very advanced age. Catherine held her head in embarrassment. Bowen stared right back at him, completing the awkward moment. Bowen’s eyes followed Danny until he disappeared into the park. He sighed to himself as he came over to sit next to Catherine.
Catherine had gotten over her brief embarrassment. She leaned back on the bench and looked up at the sky like she usually did on a nice day. The sun was covered by clouds today though. There was no warmth on her face, which always brought her happiness, but rather a chilled breeze that brushed her cheeks and made her shiver. But she embraced it. The clouds appeared to be moving quickly high above. The leaves on the trees wildly blew around their grasping branches. Catherine smiled to herself and shut her eyes. She wanted to feel something familiar that she enjoyed again. A feeling she’d had when life was more real to her, more normal. She missed that time. It felt so long ago.
Bowen looked at the grass between his shoes. He wondered how many blades, if any, were the exact same shade of green. Realizing his mind was wandering, he brought himself back to think of what to do next. He felt lost and frightened, but he knew he had to find a way to stop Conall. He took his right hand off his knee to place under his chin.
And then Bowen became distracted again, this time by the beautiful Catherine at his side. He found himself fixated on her every feature and movement. He noticed her thick eyelashes that gently brushed against the top of her cheeks, the curve of her lips as they went into a smile. He wondered what she was thinking about. Her lovely neck was outstretched as her head was held back. The red hair normally dangling well past her shoulders was in a thick braid that she laid casually over a shoulder to hide in between the folds of her jacket. Bowen’s own dark brown mass of hair usually covered most of his forehead, but was blown aside in the increasing cold wind that swept around them. He cocked his head sideways on his hand.
“Bowen?” Catherine said with a smooth tone, unchanged from her position, her eyes still closed peacefully.
Bowen’s eyes remained fixed on her, “Hm?”
“Do you know what we should do about the bad druids yet? Got a plan?”
Bowen chuckled to himself at her phrase, “the bad druids.”
“What’s so funny?” Catherine asked, curious.
“Never mind. No, I don’t have a plan yet,” he said.
Catherine caught the hint and peeked sideways over at her bench companion. He stared back intently. She snapped back, eyes shut, and ignored the flushed feeling that spread from her chest up to her face and into the roots of her hair. She continued on and said, “I’m going with you, Bowen.”
“It’s too dangerous,” he said. “Though there is no point in you leaving Ireland to run from them. No, I must hide you somewhere close by . . .” he mumbled.
“I’m not leaving you to deal with this alone. Wherever and however you’re going to stop them, I’m going to be right behind you.” She rubbed her face with her palms and looked at him, “So you might as well let me handle it with you.”
Bowen just smiled slightly. This made Catherine uncomfortable. He was too handsome to be how she imagined an ancient druid. For a moment she wondered what his ancient clothes had looked like. Even when he annoyed her she found him charming. This bothered her. She smiled a quick smile back, and busied herself with something, anything, in the small purse she’d brought. Though Catherine didn’t see it, Bowen’s smile got bigger.
Catherine and Bowen heard some footsteps rustle the grass not too far away and they twisted to see Danny returning. Síne was with him.
“I’ve agreed to be her surety,” Danny said immediately.
“What?!” Catherine yelled, and stood up.
“If what you told me is true, then she can help,” he said with confidence as he stopped behind the bench.
“But Danny, she’s one of Conall’s followers. Who knows her motives? She could be just as mad as he is!”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, it’s okay if she’s insane then?”
“Don’t! I’ll watch her. That’s what a surety does.” Danny was more than frustrated now.
“And precisely where did you get the money to bail her out? You’re supposed to be saving, not blowing it on anything right now!”
“Catherine, please . . .” he said, closing his eyes and taking a breath. “The Gardai have no idea who she is or what to do with her. They’ll be less suspicious if she’s not hanging around them.”
“What about how dangerous she could be? You’re going to watch her like a hawk every waking moment?” she replied.
“I said I’d watch her . . .”
Catherine took a deep breath and controlled her voice, “Okay . . . I’ll trust you. I’m sorry, I know you’re just trying to help, and what I told you was a lot to take in after all.”
Danny nodded. He figured if Síne did try to escape, she would lead them to Conall. Either way would be a win-win, he thought.
Catherine looked from her brother to Síne, seeing her angry gaze, then back to her brother. She threw up her arms in exasperation as she abruptly walked away. Bowen just stood in silence. When Catherine walked away he caught Síne’s glare towards him before he turned to follow.
Danny shifted his weight where he stood, and glanced at the woman next to him. Síne was persistently defiant, but less so whenever Bowen wasn’t around. Danny was an intelligent person, he felt this was the right choice to make. It was going to help bring about the end of the horrific nightmare that caused Kathleen’s death. Danny kept holding onto that thought. He had to stop Kathleen’s killer. He had to protect Catherine. Danny felt guilty about not being there for both of them. Maybe he could have stopped it. Fraught with guilt now, he buried it deep. He wouldn’t dare burden Catherine with it. He could see she had enough problems to deal with.
Bowen caught up with Catherine as she paced around the park. “Catherine, it’ll be okay, I’ll watch out for both of you. I won’t let Síne get away with anyth
ing,” he said.
Catherine seemed a little calmer at this.
“I do have a plan, Catherine. Remember, since we can’t kill them, we have to trap them again.”
Catherine’s eyes got wider, “How are we supposed to do that with that many people? We can’t involve the Gardai, and we don’t have an army to drag them away to jail.”
“No, we don’t. Nothing will hold them.”
“What do you mean then?”
“Except . . . we have to cast the curse again,” he said seriously as he looked down at her.
Catherine wrapped her arms around herself to stop the chill that went up her spine. She did not have a good feeling about this. “How?” she asked.
“We have to find the remnants of my people, and,” Bowen paused to think, then he mumbled “Arlana may have left something for me to fix this there, in case it happened.”
Catherine figured Arlana must have been the priest’s daughter who cast the curse in the first place. Putting one hand in her pocket, and massaging her temple with the other, she said, “So we have to somehow find a message from 2,000 years ago in the ruins, which could be buried by the way. Also cast a powerful curse, and that’s only if we can figure out how to?” Catherine couldn’t help but sound skeptical.
The corners of Bowen’s mouth curved into a small grin, but he was quite serious when he said “It’s the only way . . .”
Catherine saw the grin, but chose to ignore it. “Fine, so what do we do first?”
“There are a couple of things we need to retrieve. The first is easiest I think.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“A staff. It belonged to the high priest,” Bowen answered.
“Okay, where do we find this staff then? Buried with the ruins, I suspect?”
“No, traditionally it stays with the high priest.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s buried where his ashes are enshrined, which isn’t where the ruins of my people are.”
“Okay, enough with the cryptic speech please. Just where do we have to go to get the staff?” Catherine huffed.
“He’s hidden away in the mountains, with the staff next to him. When the people of our religious order die, it was said they should be buried in a secret and sacred place so that enemies couldn’t disrupt their remains, or rob them. The mountains were both sacred and a place of secrecy.”
“Do you happen to know which mountain, Bowen?”
“Traditionally yes, the same mountain was used for many generations. However, since he died after the curse was enacted I wasn’t around to know for sure. It’s possible they moved on to another one, but I doubt it.”
“Great. How is this easiest?” Catherine sighed.
“The journey shouldn’t be long, but we should go right away,” Bowen stated.
“I have my job still. I can’t just leave, especially after being absent for so long already,” Catherine said. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get out of work for who knew how many days more without losing her job. They were being understanding since they believed her sister was missing, but she would have to return on a regular basis soon.
“It will be a mistake if we wait. There isn’t time.” Bowen seemed agitated.
“I’ll just go in now and see if I can talk to them,” she replied, and turned to go.
Bowen gently grabbed Catherine’s shoulder, “What about Danny?”
Catherine looked over at the distant figures of her brother and Síne. She didn’t realize they had walked so far away.
“I’ll call him later. I can’t be around that hateful woman right now,” she said meeting Bowen’s eyes with her own again. And with that she left, Bowen following close behind her.
*
On the way out of the museum, after speaking with her manager, she was looking for Bowen when she ran into an older man who had been lurking around a corner outside the building.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” she said startled, and scrambled to pick up her phone.
The man was tall and burly, with leathery skin. His graying brown hair was tied back into a small bun at the base of his skull. His hawk-like eyes caught Catherine’s when she stood straight again. It unsettled her.
“It was my fault,” he replied with a nod of apology and a polite smile.
“No, I was walking too fast, excuse me,” she said as she waved. The man just stood still. She felt awkward as she walked away, but that quickly passed as she called Danny and explained everything Bowen had told her. Meanwhile, she eventually found Bowen waiting for her on the sidewalk in front of the museum as she finished her argument with Danny.
“What’s wrong?” Bowen asked when she reached him. Clearly he had overheard her frosty tones.
“Danny wants to come with us, and of course that means bringing Síne,” she replied.
Bowen considered. “It could be safer for Danny if all three of us were watching her.”
Catherine shrugged, exasperated at the idea of having to be around Síne. She hadn’t agreed to being her surety, and wanted to keep as much distance as possible. It was yet another annoying thing on her back that she had to worry about.
“Your job understood?” Bowen asked.
“Yes, I have to go in tomorrow, but then we can leave.”
*
A line of attached two-story houses all laid unlit in the dark evening, except for the house on the end. All the cars were in their regular spots for the night. The street was quiet, but eerie because of a slight fog. Some brawny men appeared through it, their faces hidden by the robe garments they wrapped around themselves. The night’s shadows aided their stealthy approach near the house on the end. Suddenly, they set it ablaze. The men gathered again, and after surveying their work they turned and disappeared.
*
Bowen appeared outside Catherine’s museum right as she left the next night. He had been waiting only a short time, knowing she would be working late. To any passerby, Bowen might seem to be lurking in the dark, stalking Catherine from a short distance behind.
Walking home, Catherine felt good about her work day as she remembered how fun it was helping on a project with an archeologist intern named Sharon. The intern was a very hard worker, and it was nice to have the extra hands for a couple of hours. Catherine mentally checked off everything that was finished since she had to close her department alone. She was looking forward to soaking in a bath. Though she had a few hours of time to herself while she worked, she managed not to think about Kathleen or Conall all day.
Bowen was a different story. She wondered what he was doing. A chill suddenly came over her, and she shivered as she bundled her jacket around herself tightly. The day had been unseasonably cold and bled into the night. The street was mostly empty, except for some walking alone like herself. The night was too quiet for her taste. Her shoes noticeably slapped against the sidewalk and echoed back to her.
“How was your day?” Bowen suddenly strode up next to her. She gasped loudly, startled.
He smirked, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you . . .”
“Sure, I’m only alone walking home at night; it wasn’t scary at all!” she replied irritably.
Bowen looked down, bemused. Catherine glanced over at him a few times. She noticed that Bowen was a quick learner, especially when it came to her. He obviously tried to avoid pushing her buttons, though he failed more times than she would like. Still, she was always pleased when he showed up. Catherine had noticed he was fast and agile, and his hands were smooth. Perfect for a doctor she thought.
“My one day back was good, thanks,” she said curtly. He nodded. “And yours?” she asked.
He stopped abruptly, “Catherine, you can’t go home.”
“What? Why not?” she pivoted toward him.
“It’s on fire. Some men of Conall’s destroyed it thinking you would be there at this hour.”
Panic struck, Catherine dropped her purse and grabbed his arm. “No! Danny?” She felt sick
thinking about it.
“He wasn’t there, he wasn’t in danger,” Bowen reassured.
Catherine took deep breaths to calm herself. A second passed before she felt the worry return, “Did anyone else get hurt?”
Bowen shook his head, “I can’t say. I left straightaway to come watch over you,” he said.
Catherine thought a moment, wrinkling her brow, “But a fire doesn’t make any sense, Conall wants to kill me himself, I’m sure.”
“Maybe. I don’t know, there is no way to be sure. Conall is unpredictable,” he said.
Catherine merely nodded calmly, though wide eyed. Then it hit her, “What am I going to do? All of my things. I have insurance, but still—” she said, realizing everything left of Kathleen was gone too. She felt shaky and tried to push the thought away.
Bowen stretched his arms out and held her shivering shoulders. In his smooth deep voice he said, “I think you should take advantage of this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone thinks you’re dead, including Conall, for a while at least. This will give us time.”
She began to shake her head, “Oh, no, no I don’t think I can do that . . . I mean that’s too out there for me, Bowen,” she said doubtfully.
“You don’t have to do anything. That’s the beauty of it. Don’t contact anyone you know, and keep yourself hidden from familiar places or people. Outside of that don’t give people too much information about yourself,” he said, dropping his hands off of her.
Catherine still felt unsure, “What about my car? We need one to get around. And my family and friends will be told we’re dead, this seems a little heartless . . .”
“It’s necessary. It may even keep them safe. As for the car, ask your friend Bella to borrow hers again. She doesn’t know anyone else you know, so she’ll be able to keep it secret, at least long enough for us to hopefully succeed.”
“How do you know about Bella?” she asked.
“Danny told me he was returning the car to her that day . . . when you borrowed it before,” he responded carefully.
“Oh,” Catherine looked back in the direction of the museum, lit up by the street lamps, “My job . . . everything. I can’t come back from faking my death, Bowen,” she said with sadness in her voice. Yet another thing taken from her, she thought.
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