The Forest of Aisling: Dream of the Shapeshifter (The Willow Series Book 1) (22 page)

My grip on the pendant tightened while the rain
continued, making driving next to impossible.

“Might be a good idea to head back to the hotel
and wait this out,” Dad suggested.

I nodded while I grabbed my phone and shot Bram a
text urging him to meet me at the hotel.  A sense of panic was taking
over.  As Dad fought for visibility I opened my window and tried to help
guide him through the storm when suddenly something rear-ended us, spinning us
into the other lane.  Dad quickly regained control, put the car in park
and jumped out, looking for another car.  Only thing was, there was no
other car, only empty, flooded streets.

Dad jumped back into the car, drenched, shaking
his head. “What the hell was that?”

I didn’t need to see it or even ask Dad what he
saw to know what it was.  The Fomorians were becoming bolder and were
ready to do whatever it took to prevent us from getting the water pendant to
another guardian.

My throat felt dry and my heart pounded. 
Suddenly the reality of what lay before us hit me hard and left me breathless
and dazed.  The vibration in my hand from my phone brought me back as I
read,

“I’m here Willow.”

I exhaled a long breath and closed my eyes, trying
to focus on Bram’s face.  Something about it calmed me and I felt relief
as we pulled into the hotel parking lot.  Running for the lobby Dad and I
held onto each other, splashing and drenching ourselves in the puddles that had
formed.

Once inside I shook the droplets of rain from my
hair and wiped my face with my soaked jacket sleeve.  Bram joined us at
the doorway.  There was a look of urgency on his face which I immediately
understood.  The connection between us transcended words or even signs. 
An unspoken language seemed to be passing through us.

Dad suggested Bram join us in our room while we
all took a few minutes to dry off.  Bram and I texted, sharing our
experiences.  Bram told me that something had sideswiped his car as well
while he was on his way to the hotel.   He saw the mist quickly
disappear after it made contact.

Dad got on the phone and called Eagan, asking
about Grandpa and if they were ok.  I took advantage of his conversation
and reached over to Bram taking hold of his hand and turning it palm up, I
placed the pendant between his hand and mine, holding tight.  After a few
seconds I let go.  He looked down at the pendant. “Brilliant,” he said
under his breath, smiling.

Quickly, the storm started to subside.  I
stepped out onto the balcony and shook my head at the amount of damage that had
occurred in less than an hour.  Trees were stripped of their fall foliage
and branches lay all around the hotel grounds.  Looking farther out I saw
traces of blue on the horizon.  Bram joined me as Dad continued his
conversation with Eagan inside.

“We need to get this to my da,” Bram urged,
“before they get stronger and launch another attack.”  I nodded as he took
my hand and returned the pendant. 

Dad was agreeable to my leaving with Bram. 
He wanted to connect with Eagan and get his take on things, and also to see if
he had heard anything from the forensic pathologist.  After a hug and
plans to meet back in the room in a few hours, Dad jumped into his car and I
left with Bram.

Pulling up to Aaron’s house reiterated in visible
and frightening terms the need for speed as we faced the whole pendant
challenge.  The beautiful chestnut tree in the front yard had an enormous
severed branch wedged between the house and the tree itself.  The branch
left several deep scratches along the side of the beige stone building, just
missing the large picture window.

Bram jumped out of the car and ran up to the tree,
examining the breaking point with his fingers.  He tugged at the
fifteen-foot branch but was unable to budge it.  I stepped over to his
side and tried to help him.  It was wedged so tightly that the only way it
was going to be moved was by cutting it down into smaller, manageable sections.

The rest of the area looked as though a tornado
had gone through it.  Trees were stripped of the reddish-orange leaves
that had graced their branches just hours earlier.   Sticks and
smaller branches were strewn about, along with upturned patio furniture and the
random, out-of-place trash can.

The strangest part was that their neighbor’s
house, which sat nearby, was virtually untouched, other than dampness from the
rain.  Their trees were still loaded with autumn leaves and the lawn was
simply damp and unblemished.

“It’s hitting a bit too close to home. 
They’re targeting us in a big way now,” Bram said. 

I began picking up some of the litter lying around
when Bram grabbed my hand. “We don’t have time for that; let’s go find Da.”

Aaron was sitting on the floor of his living room
surrounded by books and sheets of paper.  He looked up as the door slammed
shut and weakly smiled at us.

“I needed to spread these things out…much easier
to look at it all,” he signed to Bram, motioning to the pile of
information.  “I’ll deal with that mess outside later.”

“What is all this, Da?” Bram asked, crouching down
beside his father on the floor.

“More research.   These are some of the
documents that had been locked up. After our last talk with Willow, I had to
check over a few things.  You both brought up some good questions so I
took the opportunity to try and come up with some answers.  The weather
disturbances are a sure sign of the Fomorians rising,” Aaron stated, shuffling
papers aside before signing to his son.

I sat down on the floor beside Aaron. “So, are the
Fomorians Cyclops?”

 “Well, Balor was the leader of the Fomorians
and he was a Cyclops, but their race takes many shapes.  They can be
giants, sea creatures, and other forms. They’re a vicious breed.  They
feed off of wars and friction and long ago took it upon themselves to drive out
any other races trying to inhabit Ireland.  The Tuatha fought with them
and eventually, with the help of Lugh and his spear, defeated Balor and drove
the remaining Fomorians into...well, I’m not exactly sure where.  All I
know is that they were banished.”

Aaron reached down and handed me a book, aged and
dusty.  It was opened to a page written in an ancient language with
several small pictures of the one-eyed Balor and the race of Fomorians. 
It was so contradictory because some of the Fomorians were very attractive
people who almost seemed like royalty.  The others were like Balor,
one-eyed and hideous, like the creature of the mist that attacked me.  The
last group of Fomorians pictured looked almost like sea creatures, with long whale
tails and human-like upper torsos.  They reminded me of mermaids.

“Fomorians take many shapes, as you can see. 
They were notorious for creating chaos and bringing about disturbances in
nature.  Their weapons of choice are storms, fog, and snow, anything
within nature that can be used to destroy or compromise humanity.  And as
I explained before, they draw their power from those forces of nature. 
It’s all quite extraordinary.”

I had to smile as I listened to Aaron go on about
the Fomorians.  He reminded me of a little kid, fascinated with dinosaurs.
I wondered how this man became a car salesman instead of a professor.  As
he talked, I found myself trying to picture the creatures creating the weird
weather we had just experienced, when I suddenly remembered: “Wait, wasn’t Lugh
the grandson of Balor?”

“Aye,” Bram answered, handing me another book with
a rendering of Lugh, regal looking and very handsome.   “He was half
Fomorian but had none of the qualities of his grandfather.  If it weren’t
for Lugh setting up the power of the Triquetra, and the guardians, well, who
knows where we’d be.”

Aaron began straightening his piles of notes and
books and stood up, stretching out his back.  “The main concern right now
is the water pendant,” he added.

I stood up and reached into my pocket, grabbing
hold of the pendant.  I held it out for his inspection.  He took hold
of it and held it to his heart.  “Thank God,” he whispered.

“Now, we have a chance.  I have to admit, I
was worried.  There’s nothing in this wealth of information about the loss
of a piece of the Triquetra,” he said, spreading his arm out over the stacks of
books and papers.  “Granted, I’ve only been able to translate a fraction
of it so we can’t assume it hasn’t happened before.  But, I’ve found
several documents that spell out the next step we need to take.  We best
return these to safety,” he added as he began stacking the books.

Bram and I helped Aaron pick up his ancient
library and carefully placed the oldest books and manuscripts in the airtight
waterproof cases he had for them.  The rest we put into his files
folders.  The whole thing consisted of about a dozen books and at least
ten folders.  We made our way into the basement where Aaron had a safe
embedded into the concrete wall.

After we deposited the irreplaceable stack of
documents into the safe, Aaron pulled the heavy iron door shut, slammed down
the handle and spun the combination lock.  He then reached alongside the
wall, pulled out a metallic face plate, and carefully fit it into place over
the safe door.  He covered the plate with one of Van Gogh’s sunflower
paintings.  After fidgeting with the painting for a few minutes he stepped
back.  “I’ve always loved Van Gogh,” he said, tilting his head and
admiring the work of art.

Aaron turned to Bram and me. “We best be
going.  We’ve a lot of things to discuss.  Number one being, who is
going to become the water guardian?”  Aaron raced up the stairs while Bram
and I stared at each other, wondering just who that would be.

We piled into the car waiting outside. Aaron sped
out of the driveway, almost running head-on into a passing van.  He
frowned and mumbled a few choice words before apologizing, then continued onto
the highway.

“Where are we off to?”  Bram asked.

“You’ll see,” he answered, looking at Bram, then
pressed his foot on the accelerator.

After about twenty speechless minutes we pulled
into the Killarney Park gates.  Aaron took a sharp turn and headed away
from the area we had gone the few times I’d been there before.  The twisty
road ascended above the forest area and came to a clearing which overlooked a
lake.  The landscape was breathtaking.  Blue-gray water reflected the
passing storm clouds and surrounding horizon.  Trees were scattered about
sporadically, nothing like the dense forest of the lower elevation.  This
area was all about the lake and the rolling hillside encompassing it. 
Surprisingly, it didn’t have any damage from the storm that had hit town, aside
from a few small puddles here and there.

After we parked, Aaron grabbed a small attaché
case and quickly made his way to the cliffside.  A steep, craggy path
escorted visitors down to the rock-filled shoreline.  Aaron became like a
mountain goat and sure footedly descended the rock walkway, leaving a trail of
dust and disengaged pebbles in his path. 

Bram looked on and laughed.  “The man’s part
goat, I tell ya.”  He reached his hand back and we followed Aaron to the
edge of the lake and sat on a couple of boulders that outlined the beautiful
body of water.  Bram and Aaron began discussing options while I found
myself mesmerized by the crystal clear water as it played upon the mossy rocks.

There was no doubt about it…whenever I was in
Killarney Park, I felt as though I were home, on a very deep and profound
level.  Something I’d yet to understand but could definitely feel. 

“We have to make a decision here and now as to who
is to become the water guardian,” Aaron ordered as he pulled a stack of papers
from the attaché.  “Considering the urgency, and from the small bit of
information I’ve garnered from the ancient books, the only recourse for us
would be to find another descendant of the original guardians.”

 He also removed two folded cloths, tattered
and yellow with age.  He gently unfolded the first one, roughly the size
of a sheet of paper, laid it on his lap, and then unfolded the second.  On
each one were pictures of shields, painted in intricate and amazing detail.

“Are they coats of arms?” wondered Bram as he
stared at the fabric.

“Aye, in a manner of speaking.  These are the
symbols of the chosen lineage, selected specifically by Lugh.  They
represent the descendants and also show which lineage is able to carry on the
appointed duties.  From what I can tell, each guardianship–the water, air,
and earth–was given three descending families to carry on, leaving us with a
total of nine possible sources to go to.”  Aaron cautiously laid the
cloths on the top of his attaché case and pointed to four of the shields.

“I was able to trace which families these four
represent. The first was the Grady clan,” Aaron tapped the shield at the
top.  It was colored with reds and golds and blues.  On either side
of the shield stood griffin-like creatures, each one holding onto a flag with a
Triquetra emblazoned on it. “I traced this to Lucy’s family, so we know this is
of no use to us since Lucy has departed.” 

“And she has no other relatives, none at all?” I
asked.

“None, at least as far as I can tell. 
There’s no time to do a more thorough check so we’ll have to focus on
these.”  Aaron then pointed to another shield.  “This is the Monague
clan; our ancestors, Bram.” Aaron smiled proudly. 

Bram grabbed the fabric and studied the image
intently. He nodded approvingly at the shield with its black and red emblem,
framed at each side by large, powerful black wings and inscribed with a red
Triquetra at its center. “Nice,” he said, signing the word
wings
.

“What’s this one?” he then asked, pointing to a
golden shield decorated with a dark blue Triquetra nestled in the branches of a
tree.  The leaves of the tree were red and orange; on one side of the
shield stood a bear with a wolf howling on the other.  “Or do I need to
ask?” Bram added, grinning.