The Great Fury (9 page)

“Whatever, so Greyman, you and Leanan deal with it,” Morag instructed. “You'll have to visit Hugo. He doesn't like talking on phones and he'll expect cash money in his hands before he talks,” Morag added.

“OK,” they agreed.

“Think about it,” Morag said.

They regarded her with interest. She was respected for her intelligence and insight.

“Oengus is of magic provenance?” the Greyman prompted.

“He might be valuable if we can kidnap him?” Leanan suggested.

“Also we don't know what he is or why he is here but we must find out in case it has a bearing on our plans,” Morag said.

“This is tricky team. It will need a deft touch but I'm sure we will handle it,” Morag added.

They nodded in agreement.

“We need to move on to the main project. The Greyman has lead on this and he has been busy. Could you update the group?” Morag asked, deciding enough had been discussed on the matter of Oengus and his uncle and it was time to move on the agenda.

“We are set to start on Tuesday,” the Greyman began...

The details took them late into the night.

Chapter Ten

Instead of his usual breakfast of porridge followed by eggs and bacon with boxty potatoes and black pudding rounded off with a mug of tea, Oengus found he had to make do with something called muesli with only coffee to drink.

“I'm afraid I have no special pigeon food,” Maedbh said, referring to Puca Beag.

Beag flapped his wings in disappointment but stayed perched on the back on one of the four seats at the breakfast table.

Maedbh went and opened the window.

“Shoo!” she said and Beag hopped onto the outside windowsill.

Maedbh put some dry muesli on a saucer and placed it beside him. Then she shut the window. No way was she risking pigeon droppings in her apartment.

At the same time Venus was having her own breakfast of a saucer of milk on the kitchen floor alongside a bowl of cat food. When she was finished she jumped up onto one of the kitchen chairs and wiped her whiskers.

“Time for a discussion,” Venus said.

“A what?” Oengus asked without interrupting his chewing.

“What are you doing in New York Oengus and why?” Venus asked in businesslike tones.

Maedbh stopped her spoon and waited for the reply.

“I have a mission to find a stolen Sword. It's called ‘The Great Fury,'” Oengus explained.

Maedbh gave a snort. “A lot of trouble was gone through to get you here?” she said.

“I have to find my uncle,” Oengus added.

“Why find your uncle?” Venus asked.

“My uncle may know where my father is,” Oengus said.

“How would your uncle John know this?” Venus asked.

“My father was also called Oengus. He committed a grave offence and was deprived of his name and his powers and sent to a place of punishment,” Oengus explained.

“Who told you this?” Maedbh asked.

“My mother Danu.”

“The Goddess Danu?” Venus asked in astonishment.

“The very same,” Oengus said confidently, catching Maedbh's eye. Maedbh looked equally astonished.

“What did he do?” Maedbh asked.

“At the time he was acting God of Love and no one could resist him. He became very vain, or so I'm told, but still charming.”

“Your mother, did he seduce her?” Maedbh guessed.

“And she is his sister,” Oengus said with an embarrassed blush.

“And you their child?” Venus said gently.

“So who is God of Love now?” Maedbh asked.

“No one, currently no one has the job of growing love in the universe,” Oengus said.

“There's a lot of love about,” Maedbh contradicted.

“Yes but they say something has to be done for love is losing its momentum.”

“So you have to find him?” Venus asked.

“Yes, I must recover his sword. It is called the Great Fury. When I return it, it will become the sword of the God of Love.”

“Wow,” Maedbh commented.

“And then?” Venus prompted.

“I'll be accepted into the world of Tir na Nhog, Danu's world. I will no longer be a lost boy rejected by those who know me.”

Maedbh and Oengus continued with their breakfast in silence while Venus gave the revelations some thought.

“Do you have any powers?” Venus asked.

Oengus looked at them both as if wondering whether to reply.

“Well,” he began. “I'm told I have to be an apprentice and to learn about things. Specifically I'm to spend some time on earth.”

“Powers?” Venus prompted.

“For a start I am to be the God of Inconsequential Things.”

“What does that mean?” Maedbh asked, waving a spoonful of muesli.

“Danu said it was like a gap year. I'm to study human ways and practice with small things.”

“Will you go to high school?' Maedbh asked.

“I'm not in need of much education. I took a long time to get to sixteen. My mother arranged for a mountain man called Gentle Michael to give me lessons. He was small but he knew a lot.”

“I once knew a leprechaun called Gentle Michael,” Venus said. “But Danu says I led a sheltered life in Kerry. I must live with humankind, both good and bad,” Oengus added.

“Will you get a job?” Venus asked.

“I have a job. I am an apprentice God. And I have a credit card for essentials.”

“OK, so show us what a God of Inconsequential things can do,” Venus challenged.

Oengus screwed his face with concentration. Then he grinned a wide warm grin. “I'm not great at this,” he said.

They waited.

“Would the fall of a lump of sugar from this bowl be an inconsequential thing?” Oengus asked.

“I suppose so,” Venus said.

“I agree, it would be an inconsequential thing,” Maedbh said.

Oengus put his hand over the sugar bowl. Without him touching it, a square of sugar lump tumbled on to the table.

“There, that was an inconsequential thing,” he said.

Venus gave a cat laugh and Maedbh grinned.

Embarrassed, Oengus braced himself and took a first sip of coffee. It was bitter sweet and he was glad he'd added milk and sugar.

“This coffee will take a bit of getting used to,” he joked to hide his embarrassment.

After breakfast Maedbh took Oengus into the campus of New York University. It was alive with students. Venus snoozed in her arms seemingly oblivious to the world about her.

“I have to go to class,” Maedbh said.

Oengus understood immediately that he was required to cope without her.

“Class?” he asked.

“I'm doing Math, Physics and Chemistry,” Maedbh added.

“I thought you were a witch?”

“Apprentice witch,” Maedbh corrected, “There's a lot to learn and magic is easier if you understand the laws of physics. When I have my PhD I will move on to witch training proper, but not of course, at New York University.”

In her jeans, shirt and casual jacket Maedbh looked very young to Oengus.

“You'll need lots of brains to be a mathematician,” he remarked.

Maedbh smiled. “I got in on a scholarship. They do scholarships for high IQ people regardless of age. It's for advanced intelligences. You have to be clever to be a witch,” Maedbh explained without seeming self-conscious.

“O.K.” Oengus agreed, unable to think of anything else to say to detain her further.

“Will I meet you later?” Maedbh offered.

“Sure. Right now I'm going to find the Bronx.”

“The Bronx?”

“Yes, my mother gave me Uncle John's address in a place called the Bronx. I understand it is a place of penitence?” Oengus explained.

“Be careful, all big cities require the exercise of common sense and I understand the Bronx can be rough,” Maedbh cautioned.

“Don't worry I sent Puca Beag out as a pigeon to reconnoiter.”

“Try Google maps, it's better,” Maedbh offered.

As she spoke she smiled and handed Venus over. Venus woke with a startled mew and then settled back in Oengus's arms. She liked an after breakfast nap. Maedbh turned and left them to it.

Oengus felt a bit self-conscious walking the streets of New York with a cat in his arms and a pigeon on his shoulder. But no one passed remarks.

Venus on waking up, had suggested a better way to keep a low profile would be if Oengus would keep conversation with herself and Puca Beag to a minimum, suggesting that talking in an animated way to a cat and a pigeon might draw attention.

“Fine,” Puca Beag said, but informed Oengus that based on his reconnoiter the Bronx was not to be found in Manhattan.

“And don't spend your time looking up at the Skyscrapers. That will single you out as a tourist and you might get mugged,” Venus added.

Oengus would have been happy to spend the morning absorbing the bustle of Manhattan but he knew he had a mission.

“I should have come to New York sooner,” he remarked.

“You needed a catalyst,” Venus mewed supportively.

“I don't think we'll find the Bronx just wandering about. We need a map,” Oengus decided.

“We need a taxi,” Venus countered. “But Puca Beag will have to fly. No pigeons in taxi cabs.”

“I do have an address in the Bronx,” Oengus said, cheered by the suggestion of a cab.

Beag followed the yellow cab, riding the air currents between the skyscrapers. Beag was delighted with his new job. His previous job as a portal guard had been boring but now he could soar and fly.

Venus paced purposely around the rear seat of the cab and mewed with emphasis.

“The cat all right?” the driver barked over his shoulder. “If it does its business, you pay.”

“It's ok,” Oengus reassured. He pulled Venus onto his knee so she would sit and draw less attention to herself.

“Say again?” Oengus asked.

“I said you need a strategy to realize a vision and to realize a strategy you need objectives and you need to break the objectives down into key tasks and measures of achievement of the objectives,” Venus repeated patiently.

Oengus considered Venus's advice. He wondered if Venus was trying to find out his intentions under the guise of trying to get him to structure his thoughts.

“Getting to the address will be a key task in the objective of finding Uncle John,” he offered.

“Further objective?” Venus pressed.

“Finding my dad.”

“On finding Uncle John what will be your strategy?”

“Venus, I will attempt to assess his state of mind.”

Venus closed her eyes. She wondered if Oengus did not want to reveal his true strategy.

“You seem to know a lot about strategy,” Oengus added.

“I was once the Corporate Planner on the Council of State of the Faerie Queen,” Venus explained.

“Then how is it you are the cat of an apprentice witch?” Oengus inquired.

The cab driver observed his client in the mirror. Apparently he was in conversation with a mewing cat called Venus. Normally the cab driver would start a conversation with a view to working a tip. But he wondered what if the conversation stimulated an apparent nut case? He decided to stay quiet as he worked his way through traffic while keeping a wary eye on his passenger. He'd be ready if the nutter made a false move.

“I was downgraded due to misbehavior,” Venus confessed in a muted mew.

“Misbehavior?”

“Well I also became and outlaw tied to an evil druid called Druid Lochlain. But then things changed and Lochlain got a job working for the Faerie Queen. But I was exiled to earth.”

“As an apprentice witch's cat?” Oengus checked.

“Yes. They were afraid that if I linked up with Lochlain we might do evil.”

“Are you evil?” Oengus though he'd better ask.

“Not really, just loyal. Druid Lochlain is now chief minister to the Faerie Queen. Now that he is on the side of the established order I am happy to be a witch's cat.”

“Is Maedbh a kind boss?”

“It is just something to do. In fact she is kind. And I don't want to be declared redundant.”

“Fine,” Oengus agreed.

Oengus turned his attention to the journey. The buildings they were passing had a run down appearance and there seemed to be a lot of adults just hanging about on steps or in basement areas.

The cab came to a stop in front of the steps leading up into what seemed to Oengus to be a derelict building.

“This is it,” the driver said.

As Oengus paid the fare, “looks derelict?” he remarked.

“Nah just looks that way. Good luck son, have a nice day,” the driver said, satisfied with the tip but also anxious to get back off the side streets. He gunned the engine and left Oengus standing on the sidewalk, cat in hand, pigeon hovering.

Puca Beag made a good landing on his shoulder and Oengus faced the steps looking towards the building.

“Hey man!” a voice shouted.

It was then Oengus noticed that there was a group of Negro teenagers lounging in the well of the steps to the basement.

Venus tensed. Beag took off.

“Hi,” Oengus replied with a bit of a smile.

“What you want man?” the voice demanded, sounding aggressive.

“My uncle John. He lives here. He's a fireman,” Oengus explained.

A young man of about twenty came up out of the group. “This is our street man,” he said.

“This is his address,” Oengus replied looking the young man in the eye. The others began to drift up out of the stair well. They weren't smiling.

“Leave him be Hugo,” a girl said.

Oengus realized there were two young girls amongst the group.

“He don't talk American,” the other girl said.

“I'm Irish,” Oengus interjected

“I'm Hugo,” the young man said, sounding neutral, but not friendly.

“Oengus.”

Hugo held out his hand, palm up. Oengus remembered a TV series he'd seen and slapped down a friendly slap. Hugo did a twisting movement around Oengus's hand and then he smiled.

“Your uncle is the last man standing,” Hugo said.

“What?”

“Only white man in the building. Do you always walk around with a cat?”

“No just today. Ignore the cat. I just need a talk with my uncle and then I'm out of here,” Oengus explained.

“I'll take him in. Hi, I'm Nina,” the first girl who had spoken said warmly.

“Hi, Nina.”

“Go man,” Hugo said. He grinned at the group and they grinned back. Nina liked to have a bit of fun and kid around. The group drifted back to the stairwell.

Nina led Oengus up the steps to the building. “We all live here,” she said as she opened the front door with a key.

“I live on the fifth with my mother,” she added, leading Oengus to the elevator. The walls of the corridors were dirty with an underneath coat of cream paint. The elevator felt like it could use a good overhaul.

They smiled at each other on the way up.

“Brace yourself, this is your uncle's floor,” Nina said as the elevator door opened.