by Dee, Bonnie
Nolen’s smile dripped with condescension. Brigid was right on target with her assessment of his ego. And Gabe’s own opinion was confirmed—there was nothing in plain sight that was truly important. If only he could be alone for a few moments.
“Your lordship? I’m quite sorry to disturb you, but Gortham is still having trouble with that grinder we picked up this morning.” Mrs. Scathan had appeared at the library door neatly dressed in gray, a starched, white apron covering her figure.
“Can’t he manage on his own?”
“I’m afraid not, sir. Can you give him a hand for just a moment?”
Lord Nolen served up a forbidding glance. “I really don’t feel it’s polite to leave my guest alone, Mrs. Scathan.”
“Please, go right ahead. I’ll occupy my time with this wonderful copy of Yeats’ poetry. A first edition, I see.” Gabe leafed through the leather-bound volume, seemingly immersed in the elegant verse of one of Ireland’s foremost authors.
Nolen looked from Gabe to Mrs. Scathan. He shrugged, his disdain evident in his voice. “If you’re sure you can amuse yourself for a while. It won’t take long.”
Gabe waved his hand. “I’ll be fine.”
Lord Nolen made his decision. “Enjoy your reading.”
Gabe waited only until the door closed behind the couple, then sprang to his feet. He wouldn’t have much time. The circular card table in the center of the room had earlier caught his eye. The top was divided down the middle into two leaves. He hardly dared to think that it would open up, but it would only take a moment to try.
“Easy does it.”
His breath caught in his throat as the wooden semi-circle fell back. A six-inch deep recess held a mirror, cup and knife, all elaborately carved and bejeweled. Quickly, he replaced the tabletop.
He moved behind the immense desk, trying the drawers in the hope that Nolen would be careless with locking them. One, two, three drawers locked up tight. Then the last one, small and narrow, slid open. Several passports lined it. As he reached for the one on top, he heard Nolen’s voice in the hall. He shoved the drawer shut and dived for his chair, picking up the poetry volume.
“Gabe, I’m afraid I must cut our delightful visit short. Something has come up. Estate affairs, you know. Let me see you out.”
All of a sudden, the man couldn’t wait to get rid of him. Had Brigid and Ethan been caught? No. Nolen would be interrogating him now, and not politely, if that were the case. He would have to return to the cottage and wait for them. With luck, they’d be there already.
“Give my regards to your lovely wife. So sorry we weren’t able to get together. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Ireland.”
“Thanks again.”
Gabe hurried to the small rental car and turned it around toward the town. He was glad to leave the Destroyer’s lair. He’d seen enough to offer the others something to think about.
* * * *
Nolen strode to the Sacred Grove, stripped off his everyday garments and donned his special robe. As he and Gortham were clearing the grinder, he had felt a jab in his groin. Something was amiss within the Stone Circle. He paced to the juncture of the two circles of power. Ba’al’s prick and testicles were undisturbed. He entered the Circle and knew at once where the trouble lay. Giving up his dignity, he ran to the tumulus. The cairn! Only someone who knew the precise position of the stones would notice that they had been disturbed. He cast them aside, tossing them unheeded onto the dirt. Reaching deep within the small hiding place, he let out a furious roar. Gone! The hands of the twelve men were missing.
“By Ba’al’s cock, who has defiled this place?”
There were only two other people who knew what lay there—Mrs. Scathan and Gortham. But wait. Could that motley trio from his past have dared to enter Ba’al’s Circle and remove the hands from their resting place? He snorted in disbelief. He had planned on killing them. Now, he would take pleasure in torturing them first to find out if they had removed his most treasured sacrifice.
Taking his dagger from its sheath, he carefully pricked the vulnerable skin covering his larynx. He pictured the men in the glade and called to them. Would they come to his beckoning? He would know soon enough.
Chapter Seven
30th April—Mid-afternoon
“Brigid? Ethan? I think something happened over at Lord Nolen’s. He practically kicked me out the door. He almost caught me rifling through his desk drawers. For a moment there, I thought you’d been taken.”
Not waiting for a reply, Gabe strode into the parlor, stopped dead in his tracks and cursed aloud. Brigid and Ethan sat across from each other at the table, a pile of bloody leather bags in front of them. “So, something did happen. What the hell is in those bags?”
“Hands.” Brigid’s voice sounded leeched of all expression, cold as the grave.
“Hands?”
“Hands!” Ethan slammed his fists on the table and reared up from his chair, knocking it over. “Hands! Hands! Hands! Are you deaf, man? Here, see for yourself!”
He ripped open one of the bags and tipped the contents onto the polished wood tabletop. Left hands, right hands, hairy hands, callused hands. All bloodied, all cleanly severed. Each looking like something cut from mummified corpses in a horror film.
Gabe’s gorge rose in his throat. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Thankfully, there was no smell of putrefied flesh. “You found them at Nolen’s. Where?”
“From within a cairn in Ba’al’s Circle. Do you think Nolen learned that they were disturbed and that’s why he threw you out?” Brigid asked. “We took a chance when we retrieved them, but they called to us. We couldn’t leave them there. They belong with their owners.”
“Of course they do.” Gabe picked up the chair Ethan knocked over, turned it around and straddled it. “These were brave men who deserved better. We have a change of plans then. We bring the hands to Dagda before we head to the campsite.”
“That’s what we thought. We hope he can match them with whom they belong.” Ethan gathered up the pitiful extremities and returned them to the sack. “I owe these men a chance for a proper burial. It was my fault they were unable to defend themselves.” His words were bitter with recrimination. “I remember moving their bodies back into the Circle of Life.” He sighed. “It was all I could do for them then.”
“You mustn’t blame yourself. You only played your harp to save them.” Brigid stroked his hand, consoling him.
Biting back a caustic remark, Gabe moved behind her, lightly massaging her shoulders. She closed her eyes and leaned back against him, relaxing in the security of his familiar touch. He shot Ethan a triumphantly challenging look and Ethan inclined his head. Challenge acknowledged and accepted.
Brigid rolled her tired muscles, opened her eyes and picked up one of the sacks, cradling it like a mother holding a baby. “Let’s get to the cave.”
Gabe grabbed another sack. “I saw some intriguing items at Nolen’s. Let’s wait until we get to the cave to discuss them with Dagda. I’m eager to meet him.”
Ethan placed his harp upon his back and picked up the last bag. “We can enter through the back as Brigid did. Less chance of meeting anyone.”
“Just lead the way.” Gabe turned off the lights. “I’ll be right behind you.”
* * * *
“We’re here,” Brigid said.
Gabe blinked, his eyes adjusting from the darkness of their underground journey to the sudden brightness of an immense fairytale chamber lit by dozens of torches. Their glare cast a blazing, flickering light. A cauldron suspended over a fire emitted a tantalizing smell and his stomach rumbled.
Damn, I’m starving. Fine thing, I’m meeting my father-in-law and all I can think of is food!
His hunger fled as he took in the man standing before him. Tall, muscular, with hair as golden as Brigid’s and eyes just as blue as hers. The power radiating from him was among the strongest he had ever encountered.
Dagda rose to greet them as they
moved forward, his voice booming. “Welcome, Gabe Kawsantower. My heart rejoices to meet the mate of my beloved daughter … and a fellow Terran.” He grinned. “So, you are a Protector, I take it?”
He grasped Gabe’s outstretched hand and peered at the sack he gripped so tightly and frowned. “What have you brought here with you?”
“The hands of your loyal lieutenants. Brigid and Ethan found them in Ba’al’s Stone Circle on Nolen’s property.” He placed the sack on the immense oak table, standing silent as Dagda reached toward the others that soon joined it.
“The Grove lies adjacent to it, creating a door to Ba’al’s domain,” Ethan added.
Dagda’s visage darkened as he absorbed their information. “Tis worse than I feared but we still lack vital knowledge. I’ll take the hands later to my comrades and place each with their rightful owner.” He sighed deeply. “I know every mighty fist as if it were my own.”
He put the bags in one of the chests and gestured to them to sit, forcing himself to act the welcoming host. With great ceremony, he ladled out the succulent stew and poured cups brimming with crystal clear water. “Come, sup from the cauldron while you share what else you learned.”
Gabe savored the dish, though he couldn’t identify the flavor of the meat. “What’s in this? It’s delicious.”
“’Twas created ages past from the meat of the Red Deer, with vegetables and fruits from all four corners of Eire and seasoned with rosemary, sage and woodruff. Blessed to nourish whoever tastes it, the cauldron is never empty. ‘Tis what saved Roisin, Brigid’s ancestress, when she almost perished from the famine.”
“It gave me strength and helped to heal my hand,” Brigid cut in.
“And will serve to renew the energy you all have lost.” He paused and turned his attention to Gabe. “So, Gabe, what has happened to the Terrans elsewhere since we sought to isolate ourselves from our brethren?”
“We joined together to protect the world from corrupt individuals—Terran or human—who would destroy the world and those weaker than them. Our group is called Keepers of the Environment and Nolen is a Destroyer.”
Dagda interrupted him. “And Ba’al? What would you call this pox? He is a Master Demon and his greatest goal has been to rule the human world. To serve him, one would need to offer up blood and bone sacrifice.”
Gabe swore. “There have been Destroyers over the years who may have aligned with Ba’al. His hunger must be enormous.” He gazed at Dagda with bleak eyes. “Nolen is a piker compared to sacrifices like those from World War II.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Over six million in one group alone and records indicate that there may have been over seventy million in total. And still these lives weren’t enough to placate him?
“What can Nolen be planning that would destroy more than this number in order to open wide the door for Ba’al’s dominion?”
Dagda held out his hand to Brigid, twining his fingers with hers. “And why must thwarting his plan involve my daughter?” He sighed. “The seer foresaw this. It cannot be changed. But I don’t have to be at peace with it!”
He kissed Brigid’s palm, folded her fingers to keep the kiss and smiled at her. “And now, my child, what else have you discovered?”
Quickly, Brigid related what she and Ethan had observed at Nolen’s. Dagda appeared visibly shaken when she finished.
“Ba’al’s prick and the Stone Men. I hoped they had been destroyed.” Dagda slammed his fist against the table. “What is he planning to do with this army?”
“What exactly are the Stone Men?” Gabe said. “I’ve never heard of them. We lost touch with the Terrans who remained in Ireland so long ago, we know little of their past.”
Dagda started to speak, but Ethan interrupted him. “It’s for me as the Singer of the Terrans of Eire to tell the tale. This song I remembered when we entered the Circle.”
He picked Ceol Mhor and began.
“And in the early days of the Terrans of Eire, a race of mighty warriors marched against them and their human allies. Though they fought and died, they couldn’t dam the waves of troops who flooded the land. They retreated back, back to the rocky fastness of Dun na ngal and there, Dagda, his twelve mightiest Protectors, his daughter, Brigid, his harper, Uaithne, and the pitiful few humans who fought at their side, made their final stand.
“Mil of the thousand captives viewed them with disdain and chose not to waste his men’s strength in that last confrontation. And so he enjoined Nimhnach the Venomous to invoke the bodyguard of the great Ba’al. To do so, he sacrificed the hostages they’d taken. He built a great bonfire and burned them alive. Their agonized cries split the cliff face and ripped the Stone Men from the mountainside. Nine times nine invincible creatures were summoned to do Nimhnach’s bidding.
“The opposing forces met at the great cleared field at the foot of the Derryveagh Mountains. The Stone Men crushed those few humans who fought with Dagda. The swift arrows of Brigid’s female archers had no effect. Brigid’s arrows flew straight and true and struck down Ba’al’s minions. Dagda’s mighty hammer smashed to dust those who dared approach too close. Ceol Mhor’s brilliant tones splintered the bodies of the stony soldiers who heard the piercing notes.
“But there were too many of Nimhnach’s horde and Dagda pulled back with his meager remnant through the birches to the caves that shielded his rocky retreat.
“Nimhnach’s advance was diverted. The Stone Men were reduced to sixty-four. They turned upon Mil’s troops and it was only with great effort that Nimhnach leashed them and hid them from sight.
“I played my harp and Brigid slept. Dagda took her spirit and shielded it. The twelve Protectors were next. They slept as though already dead, safely hidden, I believed. At last it was Dagda’s turn. Upon him I set even more safeguards and spells. And prayed that my power was strong enough to protect those I held dear.”
Visions rose before the listeners’ eyes as Ethan sang and plucked the strings. The last tone faded away and he put down the harp.
Dagda placed his hand on his shoulder. “You did your best, my friend. And now I’ve awakened to aid you in the great task we have before us. Until today, no one knew where the Stone Men were. Now we do, but we still don’t know what Nolen plans to do with them.”
Gabe spoke slowly, considering each word. “When I was at his home I found a chalice, a mirror, a dagger and a carafe containing a thick fluid which looked like blood, hidden within a wooden table.”
“Ceremonial items of great strength. They’re used in a variety of powerful demonic spells. It’s what we expected.” Ethan’s lips tightened into a thin, grim line.
“Nolen also has several passports. I didn’t get a chance to examine them, but it seems clear that he plans to leave Ireland.”
“At this point, he can’t. He doesn’t have enough power—demonic magic—that’s it! That must be his plan!” Brigid smashed her cup on the table, drops of water splattering the surface.
“Demonic magic always requires a sacrifice,” Dagda reminded them.
Ethan snapped his fingers. “Tom Brennan! His hands were cut off. I wonder if Nolen has Tom’s body.”
Brigid smiled with satisfaction. “If he needs the hands of the twelve Protectors, he’s going to be seriously pissed.”
Gabe cut in. “I don’t think he’s going to delay the sacrifice and retrieve them. With all that’s happened in the last few days, he can’t afford to change his plans.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Damn, whatever he plans has got to be soon!”
“It must be tonight. ‘Tis the eve of Beltaine—the month of Ba’al’s fire,” Dagda said.
Another idea struck Brigid. “Ba’al’s fire. My strongest element is water. That must be why I’m here. Water can overcome fire. We’ll have to return to the Circle with Cull and the others and face Nolen there.”
“With Dagda at our side…” Gabe began.
“I cannot come with you.” Dagda’s voice was filled with regret. “I may offer advice, but I
cannot be granted the pleasure of a victory won by my own hands.”
“And that’s because my spell wasn’t strong enough,” Ethan said.
Gabe stared at him as though he had lost his mind. “Not strong enough? You may be one of the strongest Singers I’ve ever known. To be able to infuse your music with such potent magic…”
Ethan shook his head. “The spell goes no further than the cave. If Dagda leaves… And there are still great gaps in my knowledge.” He clenched his hands. “I can’t recall the notes I played to destroy the Stone Men.”
“At least you and Brigid have weapons.” Gabe’s voice reeked with frustration.
“Can’t you tear the Stone Men apart with your bare hands and great Protector strength?” Ethan inquired with feigned innocence.
Dagda spoke, defusing the situation before it erupted into a physical battle.
“I have a weapon for you, Gabe. Let me arm you with the spear borne by Lugh, one of our mightiest Protectors. Whoever bears it becomes the finest fighter.” He opened one of the chests and picked up a long, narrow leather case etched with runes and swirling, gold designs. “Here. It will cleave to your hand when you fight and always return after it’s thrown.”
Gabe loosened the leather thongs and drew out the powerful weapon. The long wooden shaft was smoothly polished, the bronze spearhead sharp and still bloodied. He touched the point, pricking his finger and the spear point absorbed the bead of blood that welled. The weapon seemed to leap in his hand. It vibrated with energy, pulsated with life and imbued him with an animalistic fierceness. He wanted to kill something.
“Put it in its case,” Dagda commanded. “Its desire to destroy is great and should not be loosed except in battle. You’ve given it some of your life essence and now it will fight as you command it.”
“Thank you for entrusting it to me.” Gabe carefully returned it to its case. It clung to him, reluctant to leave his hand.
“We have little time,” Brigid said. “We must leave. Now.”
