by Gavin Green
16
Brody reluctantly agreed that Kate was right - he stank like a locker room. He also felt the kind of soiled that came from being slightly ashamed of himself, accounting for a morning of impulsive reactions and destructive outbursts. After they walked off the site of the Flinn Festival and got in her car, he asked if they could make a quick stop back at the cottage so he could clean up. He hoped a quick scrubbing would give him a fresh start to a day already half gone. Making the best of what was left of it was worth a try.
After a short shower, Brody found Kate at a computer in their office. While she checked her stock investments and the Rose Foundation status, he let her know he'd be ready to go in just a minute. While standing in the office doorway with wet hair and a towel around his waist, Brody inadvertently noticed the files of the two properties that he still hadn't visited personally. He'd planned to see them - obvious by how they sat in the center of his workspace - but was engrossed with prior responsibilities.
He wasn't sure why it was becoming a growing interest lately, but it seemed natural enough to want to go see those houses. They were his after all, so why not?
Stepping into the office and past Kate as she began closing her computer windows, Brody picked up the files and reminded himself the house's names; he'd looked at them repeatedly since returning from the states, but wanted to refresh his memory. Both only had a single photo each with their listings. The little house called Cranndarach looked aged and small, with a big oak tree in the front. It was a sad-looking place; other than that nice tree, it held no appeal whatsoever. No wonder it was such a steal.
The other listing, however, was strangely intriguing. The photo was a close-up of a two-story house built with local stone over one hundred years ago. None of the property could be seen from the picture, although the description said that it held nine acres of "sheep grazing" land. The house was named Stonemoor - Brody could only imagine because of the dark gray masonry. It was dilapidated and probably structurally unsound; he thought refurbishing wouldn't be worth it. There was absolutely nothing visually appealing to the crumbling old place, but it inexplicably had his interest nonetheless.
Kate drove while Brody navigated them around Lough Gaell and into the narrow lanes east of it. Following a simplified map, the couple eventually turned onto a dead-end lane that was only wide enough for one car and hemmed in on both sides by bushes and trees. Because there were only a few other homes on that constricted half-mile of gravel with a grassy center strip, they didn't have to worry about traffic.
The lane ended at a stack-stone wall with rusty wire fencing at the top. Just prior to it on their left was a wide, unadorned lawn - Stonemoor. They pulled into the half-circle drive and stepped out into the afternoon sunshine to look around.
South across the lane from the old stone house was a secondary rotation field for livestock that hadn't seen much use. To the east was the large paddock whose wall halted the lane. The surveyor's map showed that it was part of Stonemoor's acreage; the property itself formed a large reverse-L around the home and lawn. The nearest neighbor to the west was blocked from view by a line of mature evergreens which edged the lawn and continued toward the north field out back.
Stonemoor itself looked drab past its downtrodden state, with no colorful shutters or shrubbery. Father Doyle's work crew had visited, though; a pile of debris and rubbish had been piled in a corner of the recently-cut front lawn. Brody had to focus to see the potential for the large and level grounds, let alone the house. He and Kate quickly decided to look at the rest of the property before daring to look inside Stonemoor, hoping the rear of the house offered a nice view.
They strolled around to the left, on the wide swath between the evergreens and the derelict dwelling. They came to a stop on the small cobblestone patio connected to Stonemoor's back door and took their time to silently study the multi-acre parcel of land.
The ground was strewn with rocks and boulders on a terrain that dipped and swelled, all of it on a modest decline away from them to the north. In that direction, the property ended at a long stretch of gravel shore bordering a shallow lake. Brody guessed distances of a few hundred feet from house to the water, and three times that of shoreline which claimed the eastern end of the lake.
Some stones jutted from the ground while others seemed more gradual in their emergence. A particular section further out in the east field had rounded boulders protruding, like a herd of undulating whales breaking the ocean's surface. There was a small pond near where evergreens dotted the property line; on the far side of the pond, a gnarled tree had found purchase and hung partly over the water. A few small shelters and troughs dotted the property - all were in poor shape. There were large pockets of grassland and bare bedrock, but the rock formations dominated the acreage.
"Sheep grazing land, indeed," Kate quietly commented. "I'm not sure if I'd call this ruggedly beautiful or the perfect place to host an ankle-breaking contest. Everyone would win."
"Aw, it's not that bad." Brody glanced down and saw Kate's skeptical expression. "Well, you might have to watch your step here and there, but I think it looks pretty cool. It's like rock heaven; playing here as a kid would have been awesome."
Kate put her arm around his waist. "You must have been a wild child."
"Nah, not really," Brody answered while putting his arm around her shoulders. "I just mean stuff like hide and seek, or jumping in that pond off that boulder by the tree. Maybe the lake is good for fishing, or even swimming in the summer. C'mon, let's look around."
Holding hands as they walked across the short back lawn toward the field gate, Kate grinned up at him and said, "Found your inner child, have you?"
"Oh, he's always been there, I guess," Brody answered as they strolled into the field, meandering around large rocks and patches of wildflowers. "But there hasn't been many chances lately to stop and look at things like a kid would... like I used to."
"I think we should find the time to do that more often, love - both of us." Just after Kate made her suggestion, she spotted a boulder that looked easy enough to step up onto and which might offer a good view from its fairly level top. "I see a spot to get a better perspective. Follow me."
The five feet of higher elevation on that boulder gave them a surprisingly good panorama of the open, rocky field and the lake to the north. They first took in their immediate surroundings, and then turned this way and that to look out over Stonemoor's land. Brody swiveled to briefly study the old house from that angle and then turned back to gaze at a few rocks that inspired ideas for abstract sculptures.
Brody then noticed a mound out near the northeast corner that seemed unnatural; it was an abrupt lump in a relatively smooth area of thick turf. From ground level, it was partially hidden behind a craggy outcrop of bedrock, but from the higher angle he could see all of it. Stranger still, that grassy little hill had fencing encircling it. Frowning as he continued to stare at it, he asked Kate, "Darlin', see that weird lump out there? Is that a big-ass boulder covered in dirt and grass or somethin'?"
Kate's eyes followed his finger and saw it as well, partially obscured by a few overgrown bushes. Her tall fella had a better view, being a foot taller, but she could still see it for what it was. "Not quite, love. You'd learnt of them when we were so involved with our fae studies, if you'll recall. To most people, that'd be called a fairy mound. Most farmers fence them off from fear of collapse if their livestock stood on them."
"Wait a sec - are you saying they're hollow?"
"So it's said," Kate replied with a shrug. "Most folk have enough respect for the old tales not to go trifling with them. Barriers are also set because of superstition, out of respect for any fae who might be dwelling within. Those mounds go by other names as well - fairy hills, hollow hills, hill forts, raths, covered... cairns..."
When Kate's voice drifted off, Brody interpreted it as a rare lapse in her memory. "Don't worry about quoting every title, darlin'," he said while he gazed about the landsca
pe. "We could call 'em land moles for all I care; Ireland's little melanomas."
"No," Kate replied quietly, ignoring his attempt at levity, "that one should definitely be called a fairy mound." She was unaware of Brody turning back to her and then following her stare out to the little hillock - she was fully intent on what she saw. "Two sparkling nimbuses just emerged from it."
"Well, hell," Brody muttered. "What do you think we -" He stopped his own question when he saw Kate stepping back to a lower elevation and hopping off the boulder. "I guess that answers that," he mumbled to himself. He jumped down from his spot, landing next to her as she strode forward. "Slow down there, darlin'. We don't know anything about these fae you see. I know you wanna make friends, but use a little caution, okay?"
Kate paused to look back at him. "I'm a bit surprised, love. This is your property, and two fae are on it. Moreover, I suspect they live on it... or in it, perhaps. I thought you'd be more curious."
"Yeah, it's mine, but I - we don't live here, Kate," he replied with a near-whisper, unsure if the invisible fae were within earshot. "Just read their colors from here for now, alright?"
Conceding to his request with a quick nod, she turned toward the fairy mound again. After a few moments she quietly said, "I still see two nimbuses - they're quite small and keeping near to each other. They're nervous, probably scared... I think only a small part of that is because they know I'm aware of them. Something else has them at their nerve's end. Maybe we should... oh, shit. Oh shit!"
