The Forest of Aisling: Dream of the Shapeshifter (The Willow Series Book 1) (34 page)

“What kind of opportunity?” growled the first man.

“Not only is the Eye within our grasp, but do you
realize how close we are to taking possession of the Triquetra itself? 
Can you fathom what that may mean, to possess both the Eye and the
Triquetra?”  Cyril’s voice echoed below the surface.

A woman’s laugh sounded from the depths. “My
darling Cyril, you are a mastermind.  To have the Eye and the Triquetra
guarantees us both eternal life and ultimate power.  How could we have
ever doubted you?” she said, her voice nearing the opening of the sidhe.

“Precisely, my dear,” Cyril replied. 

“What about the other two…Lugh’s disciples?” asked
a third male voice, sounding farther away than the others.

“We will find them, and when we do, we must
destroy them all together,” said Cyril. “To take possession of the Triquetra,
all three of Lugh’s disciples must die at precisely the same moment.  Once
that happens, the holy power of the Triquetra will be ours for the taking.”

Laughter resonated among the
Fomorians.   I quickly turned my head and lost connection to the
sidhe, yet Cyril’s voice kept repeating, “…must die at precisely the same
moment
.
”I shook my head again and looked around, shocked at how much
snow had accumulated.  I was buried in it up to my neck.  I tried to
regain my connection into the cavern and hopefully hear what the Fomorians were
planning.  Nothing was working.  I’d lost the connection and wouldn’t
be able to get it back until my power had recharged. 

I hated feeling so helpless.  To think of
Bram down there, below the surface with the most evil creatures ever to walk
the earth, caused me to shiver uncontrollably.  The cold was nothing
compared to the dread that was overtaking me.  I repressed an overwhelming
urge to run and never look back, knowing deep inside that that wasn’t even an
option.

Then Quinn raced across my mind.  I decided
that what I needed to do was to try and get to Quinn.  Bram was safe, at
least for the moment.  The Fomorians were clear in their intention to do
away with all of us at the same time and leave Bram where he was until they
captured Quinn and me.

I was just about to rise from my snowy grave when
a series of lightning bolts hit, once again striking the area of the sidhe
opening.  I narrowed my eyes, keeping close watch, wondering what was
coming.

A monstrous bolt struck and plunged itself into
the opening of the sidhe.  Within seconds I saw the beings who had just
been speaking.  They rose from the opening, one by one, riding the electrical
charge like some kind of escalator.  Their bodies morphed and adapted to
the small opening.

The first, ghostlike in appearance, rose through
the narrow opening before he solidified in human male form.  He was
dressed in clothing from centuries ago – layers of dark-colored robes over
leather pants and boots.  He had long brown wavy hair with braids hanging
at the sides and stood with his back to me.

The second man rose in the same way and took his
place across from the first.  He had long blonde hair pulled back and tied
with a leather strap. He also wore layers of robes with leather pants and
boots.   His reddish beard was braided and rested against his chest.
He stared out into the forest, which caused me to lower myself deeper into my
snowy refuge.  

The third figure that rose was a woman who took
her place adjacent to the other two.  Her raven hair was partially
obscured by a violet-colored hood that offset her pale complexion. She had ruby
lips and eyes that almost looked purple.  The long flowing velvet cape
that brushed the snow at her feet moved gently in the breeze as she transformed
from her ghostly appearance.

Another man ascended and took his place opposite
the woman.  He was dressed like a knight, a sword sheathed at his side,
gauntlets over his hands, with a silvery metal chest plate covering his torso.
On his head was a helmet with a face mask that hid his features. After the
knight stepped off the lightning bolt, it rose back into the snowy sky and
disappeared.

 The four Fomorians stood quietly without any
movement until the man with his back to me reached up into the sky. He breathed
in the frigid air deeply and began to catch snowflakes in his hands.  He
did this for a few moments then turned to his companions.

“How marvelous it is to be back, is it not?” he
asked of the others.

They all stood silent, staring at the man
speaking.  I recognized his voice as the man named Cyril.

“Let us take pleasure in this moment.  It has
been far too long since our senses were allowed to rejoice in the simple things
offered here on the surface.”  I was surprised to watch Cyril reach down
and take a handful of snow and press it to his face.  He laughed
wholeheartedly and was enjoying the experience like a child.   The
other three looked on and appeared annoyed as they watched him.

“You will not join me in a playful moment, my
beloved?”  Cyril reached out to the woman standing to his right.

“There will be time for fun and games after we
resolve everything, my love,” she answered in a haughty voice.

“Well, I see you are anxious to get on about our
business, and so we shall.” He held his hand out to the woman, who grabbed hold
of it.  He pulled her close and extended his other hand to the man across
from him.  The man grimaced.

“Come now, enough of your games, Cyril. Let us be
done with this,” said the blonde man impatiently.

The man named Cyril tilted his head in
disappointment and said, “Tsk, tsk.  I had so hoped we could make the most
of this, Corman, but I understand your sense of urgency.”

“Shall we then?”  Cyril asked, raising his
arms into the sky.  Lightning bolts raced down and implanted themselves
into his palms.  He then reached his right hand over and took hold of the
woman’s hand.  The current visibly coursed through her as she lifted her
other hand and held it out to the blonde man.  He took hold of her hand
and reached out to the knight.  The knight grabbed hold and the current
raced through the four.  The Fomorians had recreated the picture we’d
looked at in the ancient documents. A quick flash rose off of each of them,
leaving them luminous. 

“Let us be off.  You all know what to
do.  The first order of business is to locate the Eye.  When we’ve
done that we will then rid ourselves of Lugh’s disciples,” Cyril ordered as he
stepped away from the others.

One by one they took their place inside the four
corners they had created by holding hands.  First to go was the blonde
man.  His face was glowing as he raised his hands and, in a flash,
disappeared into the night.  Cyril reached out to the woman.

“Now you, my love,” he said, leading her to where
the blonde man had just stood.  “Soon, Carissa, soon.”

The woman smiled and raised her hands.  She
quickly disappeared.

The knight stepped up and without a word raised
his hands and quickly vanished.  Cyril shook his head and laughed, then
took his place inside the four corners.  Once inside he began glowing just
as the others had, but he didn’t immediately disappear.  He looked around
the area and up into the sky as though he was drinking in all the sensations he
could.

Then he turned and faced the area where I lay
hidden.  I was frozen with fear and prayed the snow had me camouflaged enough
so that he wouldn’t see me.

He just stood there staring, his face
shimmering.  As I watched him, feeling as though he was staring right at
me and seeing him clearly through his illumination, a horror rose up deep
inside, so intense that I had to bite my tongue to keep from yelping out.

The familiar features of the man flared into my
vision with each flash of lightning that was now surging around him.  The
curve of the nose, the side smile of the mouth, the dimpled jaw…all were too
familiar, and the eyes, the gray-blue eyes that even now reflected the
brightness of the sky on this stormy night.  Features that were all too
familiar… and loved.

Features of my father.

I stayed cowered, my body covered by the freezing
snow.  The image of Cyril’s face had burned itself into my mind’s
eye.   I shook my head lightly to clear the snow but also to shake
away the likeness of my father. 
There must be some explanation,
I
thought.  There was no way that the man who just stood before me, the man
who rose out the sidhe, was my dad.

I heard a rustling sound coming from the sidhe and
quickly snapped to attention.  I stood and walked over to the opening,
then shifted to my human self and peered down.  The area was dark with the
exception of a small light coming from the right of the cavern.

I went into mindspeak.  “Bram, please tell me
you’re there.”  I lowered my head as close to the opening as I
could.  A shadow crossed the dim light and was soon standing beneath the
opening. 

“I’m here, Willow,” Bram spoke out loud.  I
reached my arm down through the hole and felt his fingertips touch mine.

“Are you ok?  Is there anyone there with
you?”  I asked, laying my cheek against the cold stones and pressing
myself down as far as I could, relieved to feel him so close.

“I’m fine and completely alone.  Weird how
they all vanished.” He managed to grab hold of my finger.

“Bram, I saw him.  The one you said was my
father, only…only, that can’t be my father!”  I felt tears well up in my
eyes but quickly shot them down, determined to stay focused on getting Bram out
of the sidhe.

“You’re right, it can’t be.  I don’t know how
to explain it, but it isn’t him,” he said, tightening his grip on my finger.

“How can we get you out of there?”  I asked,
rising up and looking over the area for any other kind of escape.  Nothing
stood out other than to simply move as many of the rocks as it took to allow
Bram to shift and fly out.

I quickly grabbed hold of a stone and tossed it
aside.  When I looked back, it had replaced itself.  I tried another
and the same thing happened.  Over and over again the rocks put themselves
back in their places along the opening of the sidhe.  Frustrated, I
screamed out and began kicking them, dislodging one after another only to turn
around and find them all replaced.

“I can’t believe this!” I sent to Bram.

“What’s happening?” he asked.

“Every time I move a stone it puts itself
back.  Why?” I screamed, the sound reverberating in my head.

“Calm down, Willow, we’ll figure this out,” Bram
replied.  “Get a hold of my da, maybe he’ll have read something about
this.”

I quickly channeled Aaron and posed the question
to him.  He said he needed a few minutes, that he’d get back to me. 
I stood up and could make out the low roar of thunder in the distance.  It
was miles away and along with it were flashes of lightning.  I knew that
had to be the Fomorians on the move.  They were looking for the Eye. 

 “Willow,” Aaron’s voice began, “I’m not
seeing anything that talks about gaining entrance or exit from the sidhe but
that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.  I’ll continue looking but I think we
need to try and come up with our own solution.”

I paced back and forth, kicking at the stones
aligned on top of the sidhe only to watch them return to their original
spot.  Frustration was closing off my ability to problem solve and the
snow and cold weren’t helping matters either.  I stood in place and stared
into the small baseball-size opening, watching Bram’s shadow pass back and
forth beneath it.

“Aaron, you said that the sidhe opened because of
the gap left in the Triquetra, right?”  I asked, hoping I hadn’t lost
connection.  I focused on Bram and directed both mine and Aaron’s thoughts
to him.

“Correct.”

“So wouldn’t it make sense that the Triquetra is
the key to opening this thing?” I asked, running my boot over the hole.

There was no response from Aaron for a full minute
when his voice finally answered back, “Very possibly.”

“Aye, Da, think about when we were at the lake
with Quinn.  Remember the charge that passed through the three of us when
we hugged?”  Bram asked.

“I do!” I answered.  “It was a serious jolt,
almost like what the Fomorians used to pull themselves out of the sidhe. 
I watched it.  They drew on electrical energy from a lightning bolt and
then rose up to the surface.  Is it possible we could do something like
that?”  My heart was pounding with excitement.

Aaron’s voice began breaking in and out just
before I lost connection with him.  Neither Bram nor I could make out what
he had been trying to say.

“We’ve got to act fast, Willow.  I think the
answer to getting me out of here is to use the force of the Triquetra.  I
think we’re gonna need Quinn, though.”  Looking down into the hole I could
see Bram’s brown eyes staring up at me.

I nodded.  I quickly focused my mindspeak on
Quinn.

“Quinn, where are you?”  I asked.

After a few seconds of static Quinn’s upbeat voice
broke through. “Almost to the Causeway.  You two close?” 

“No, we’ve got a problem.  I think you may
have to come back.”  I explained the whole situation to Quinn – that we
needed him to return and try to get Bram released from the sidhe.  He
quickly agreed and said he was on his way.

I reached into the sidhe opening and felt Bram
take hold of my fingers.  I hoped and prayed we were on the right track
and that he’d soon be free and back on the surface.

When Quinn arrived, the snow had piled up a good
four feet all along the sidhe, but for some reason the sidhe and the stones
that outlined the opening had only traces of snow.  Quinn told us about
how he had to shift human at one point to cross over land and get to the
sea.  He said he was surprised at how fast his human self was able to move
with just him visualizing it.  More powers were revealing themselves to us
as we went along.

“So, what’s the plan?”  Quinn asked as he
peered down into the hole, waving at Bram.

I took us into mindspeak so we could discuss what
we needed to do.

“We all three need to be touching,” Bram said,
“Remember the lake?  That’s when the power surged.”

“Ok,” Quinn said as he dropped to the ground,
reaching his hand into the hole.  He held his other hand up to me.  I
grabbed hold and tightly gripped his fingers.   Nothing happened.

“I don’t have a very good grip on you, mate,”
Quinn said while twisting his body trying to reach farther into the hole.

“Hang on,” Bram said, “Let me find something to
stand on so I can reach you.”

Quinn stood up and stretched out his arms and
neck. 

 I peered down into the hole and watched Bram
step away from the opening.  After a few minutes he returned pushing a
large stone, positioned it directly under us, then climbed on top of it. 
I stretched out my arm to him and felt him grasp hold firmly. I then reached my
other hand up to Quinn.  He gripped hold and knelt alongside me wrapping
his other arm over my back.

 I closed my eyes and focused my thoughts on
bringing Bram to the surface.  I pulled severely and raised myself with my
other arm.  Quinn lifted along with me, still holding onto to my waist and
hand.  A slight tug stopped me and made me worry that we might be hurting
Bram.  I became aware of an electrical current passing from Quinn’s hand
to mine and on to Bram’s.  I focused on that energy and pictured him
rising out of the sidhe, similar to the way he’d gone in, also similar to the
way the Fomorians had risen. One more yank and he stood before me, transparent
and stretched out of shape.  In the blink of an eye he became solid and
was his normal self.  He grabbed hold of me and held tight.

“Thanks,” he whispered into my ear then looked
over and patted Quinn on the back.

I let myself sink into his chest and took in a
deep, relief-filled breath.  I looked up into his eyes and kissed him
before going into mindspeak, “Please don’t ever do that again,” I said.

Bram smiled, “No danger of that.”

He then looked around the sidhe and kicked at the
snow.  “Wow, this piled up fast.”

I nodded.  Thunder boomed again but this time
sounded like it was near town.  I told Bram.

“We’ve got to get to the Causeway,” he said. 
“We won’t make it there until morning.  I hope that won’t be too
late.”  A look of worry washed over Bram’s face.

“We can make it there before that!”  Quinn
answered excitedly and explained to us how he’d been able to speed up. As he
began his trek to the Causeway he felt like he was moving too slowly. Then he
pictured himself –his whale self –moving in fast motion, and it happened. He
sped up instantly.

“You and Bram need to try it!” he said, his voice
screeching.

Bram smiled at the mere thought of flying even
faster than he had been. “Can’t wait to try that out,” he said.  “Are you
ready?”

“Ok, Quinn, I’ll take you until we get to the
water.  Just give me a minute, though; I have to check something.”  I
closed my eyes and channeled Dad.  I had to hear his voice, to remind
myself that he was safe, in town and most probably taking care of things at the
hospital.

“Dad…Dad, are you there?”  I sent my thoughts
to him.

Within a few seconds he answered.  “Willow!
Are you all right, what’s going on?”

“I’m ok, Dad.  We’re fine.  I’ll explain
everything when I see you.  I just wanted to check and make sure you’re
ok.”

“Don’t worry about me, hon, I’m fine.  We got
the generator running again so no problem there.  It’s like a blizzard
here, though.  Is this part of what you’re dealing with?” he asked.

“Yes, it is.  They mess with the weather…it’s
how they gain their strength,” I answered, the sound of my own voice cutting in
and out.

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you sweetheart, be safe.”

The sound of Dad’s voice gave me the reassurance I
needed to continue and head to the Causeway.  I hadn’t a clue as to why
the Fomorian, Cyril, was the spitting image of my father, and at the moment, it
didn’t matter.  All that mattered was that Bram, Quinn, and I get to the
Causeway before they did, and put an end to their terror.

Quinn had been right.  All it took for Bram
and me to triple our speed was to picture it in our heads.  Bram tried it
first, flew out of my sight like a flash, and was back even quicker.  I
stood on the sidhe and pictured myself running at top speed, opened my eyes and
began to sprint.  Every part of the forest that I passed became a blur. 
I was back at my starting point in a few seconds.

“How was that?” I channeled Bram.

“That was awesome!  All I could see were the
tracks you were leaving in the snow,” he answered, perched above me on a pine
branch.

“What other things haven’t we discovered?”  I
wondered.

“Right, guess we’ll find out as we go along. 
But for now, we’d better head to the Causeway.”

“Ok, but…I don’t know where that is,” I said as I
lowered myself, allowing Quinn to climb on my back.

“Just follow me, I’ll stay low so you can see. Also
Quinn knows; he’ll guide you.”

“All right.”

By the time we got to the Giant’s Causeway the
snow had finally stopped.  Lightning still flashed in the sky and was
drawing near.  We knew that meant they were getting close.  We all
shifted human and stood together on the cliff that overlooked the Causeway and
the Atlantic Ocean.  The view was nothing short of spectacular. 

Even with the piles of snow, the majesty was
indisputable.  The interlocking basalt columns formed stepping stones from
the foot of the cliff, and then disappeared into the ocean.  Most of the
columns were hexagonal and stood almost forty feet high.  Bram explained
that it was the result of prehistoric volcanic activity. 

“What about Finn McCool?” Quinn asked, smiling.

Bram nodded, then turned to me. “There’s an
ancient legend of how the Causeway came to be, and it has nothing to do with
volcanic activity,” Bram began.  “There was a great Irish warrior named
Fionn mac Cumhail, or as we now call him, Finn McCool.  He built the Causeway
in order to walk to Scotland to fight the Scottish king, Benandonner. 
Finn fell asleep before he got to Scotland, so the much larger Benandonner came
looking for him.  In order to protect him, Finns wife threw a blanket over
Finn and pretended that Finn was actually their baby son.  When
Benandonner saw the ‘baby’ he assumed the baby’s father, Finn, must be even
larger than himself.  This terrified Benandonner and he destroyed the
Causeway as he fled home, in case Finn tried to find him.”

Explosions of thunder drew even closer and jolted
us back to the reason we were there.

“So where do you think the Eye is?” asked Quinn
surveying the area.

“Follow me,” Bram said as he headed away from the
cliffs.  We hiked down the hillside until we were just off the shoreline. 
Bram stared out at the sea, and then looked to the sky.  He walked
purposefully towards a spot about thirty yards in, then began dusting the snow
away with his boots.  He uncovered an area about twenty feet by twenty
feet.  A boulder five feet wide by four feet tall stood in the
center.  Bram brushed the snow from its surface.

“This is where Da figured it most likely would
be,” he said wiping his hands on his pants.

Looking closer at the stone, I could make out the
vague shape of an eyeball.  I ran my fingers across the top and scraped
the snow from the grooves that had been worn.  Once I had dusted away the
excess snow I was surprised that something so unique could be formed by nature.

“This is a rounded corestone of basalt blocks…like
those over there.”  Bram pointed to the huge columns jutting up into the
sky.  “These have been beaten down by the weather.  Around here
they’re known as ‘Giant’s Eyes’.”

Quinn stepped closer inspecting the ancient stone.