Chapter 6
The following Monday started with a thin fog and low threatening clouds. Cora reluctantly let Jane stay home from classes, and called the school for the absence. She then checked once more on her pallid daughter before heading off to work at the library.
As soon as it felt safe, Jane quickly dressed and hopped in her little Fiat. Looking out at the misty conditions and denser patches of fog on her way to Brody and Kate's cottage, Jane couldn't keep her imagination from stressing her already taut nerves. Behind every building and house, and then every clump of trees and large bush, she kept expecting to see tiny dancing lights, or worse, a monstrous ogre to jump out in her path. She couldn't remember the short drive ever taking so long.
As Jane's car rolled to a quiet stop just past the open gate to the cottage, she saw Brody and Kate out on the back lawn with their dogs. The couple was bundled in heavy coats, and their breaths plumed in the cold, damp air with laughter and talk while they tossed Hurling balls for the dogs to play fetch or keep-away with.
Jane watched through her driver's window as Kate leaned back into Brody, and he wrapped his big arm around her while saying something in her ear. Jane never failed to be surprised at the disparity between the size of them, or simply at Brody's size and brawn all by himself. That she knew of, the expat stuck to no rigorous workout routine; his build, however, still somewhat evident through his leather coat, was nonetheless near that of a bodybuilder or fitness expert.
Jane was glad she had Brody and Kate to turn to; she didn't realize what a true comfort they were until that moment. They both treated her as an adult, and with caring compassion. With Brody near, she felt safe and protected; she supposed that was partly from when he saved Kate and her mam from those evil men a few months back. He'd always reacted to her as he would any of his older friends, and the rare moments of awkward conversation were in the past.
Brody had quickly joined the list of those whom she wanted to make proud with her singing; he was one of her most abiding supporters, just as Kate was. She'd always had a calm, composed way about her, but lately she was mixing those traits with a soothing demeanor and profound understanding of people. Almost contrary to that, Kate was also more social, interactive, and as ready with a grin as her big fella was. Jane was happy to see her formerly sheltered sister smiling with much greater frequency of late.
As soon as Jane shut her car door after stepping out, the dogs began barking, either of warning or welcome. Honey and Keller stayed near their master, but strange-eyed Pearl came running to her with a lolling tongue. Brody and Kate followed slowly after, arm in arm.
The couple was smiling as they approached, but those faded to ill-concealed frowns of worry upon better seeing Jane's pallor and nervousness. They both gave her a quick hug in greeting before Brody excused himself to his workshop. Kate took her younger sister by her cold, trembling hands and brought her inside to warm up. Jane weakly smiled her thanks and accepted the offer of warm tea.
After setting a mug with Cinnamon's picture on it in front of Jane, Kate sat across from her at the kitchen table with her own steaming drink. "Something obviously has you shaken," Kate said calmly and with a reassuring smile, "so let's get it figured out."
Jane looked down, letting the hot tea warm her face, and said, "I have no idea where to start, Katie. I've thought about this all night and I still have no clue how to start explaining this."
Kate held her own mug to warm her hands while she replied, "Most people would say to start at the beginning, but why don't you start with the part that's upsetting you the most and we'll go from there." As Jane looked up at her, Kate added, "You know, like eating the beets first so you can get on to the mashers afterwards."
Smiling at the analogy, Jane let her gaze go back to her mug and nodded. She took a calming breath and said, "Someone may be after me."
Kate wasn't prepared for the ominous statement, and so hesitated before responding. "This isn't something the Garda can help with, is it?" Jane looked up at her with a touch of surprise at the insight, but then shook her head. "Then tell me more about it," Kate said softly, "and we'll get this sorted."
With a miserable expression, Jane said, "It's so outlandish, Kate; it's like something out of a daydream and a nightmare all at once. Even with the things I can show you to prove it, you still might think me mental or at least hallucinating. Sometimes I have trouble believing it myself."
Kate took a quick look at her sister's nimbus, and then leaned forward, saying, "Try me; you might be surprised what I'll accept."
Jane looked up with hope slowly dawning in her dark green eyes. Kate thought she saw chartreuse flecks in her sister's eye color, something she'd never noticed before.
Jane reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the jewelry box. Setting it on the table between them, she said, "This was given to me. Take a look inside as well."
With delicate fingers playing over the encrusted gems, Kate looked back to Jane with widened eyes. "These aren't costume gems, are they?" When her sister shook her head in mute reply, she asked, "Janie, have you gotten in with travelers or some such? Was this pinched?"
With a shrug, Jane said, "Not really; it was more like lost then found. It has nothing to do with any gypsies, and I wouldn't think anyone is looking for it anymore." With a hint of sarcasm, she added, "I truly doubt there are any laws covering this sort of thing."
"This must be worth a fortune if these aren't fake stones."
Jane tapped on the box that her sister was admiring. "What's inside is more valuable to me."
Kate removed the seven photos and studied them. Comparing one shot to the next, she said, "These look like photos of artwork - strange artwork. Is that a Mickey Mouse hat on that table?" Jane nodded with an odd grin. Kate looked them over again before she said, "Let's see, then; you have these shots, apparently all from a perspective within a spacious log cabin, and with, let's see, two of those with a distorted figure in the foreground. The subject matter is, em, let's call it eccentric, but the artist had an eye for detail." She looked up to Jane. "What else am I supposed to take from these?"
Jane frowned before answering, "Those aren't photos of art, but that's how they came out when I took them. I'm sure it had to do with where I was."
"And where were you? Wait, wait," Kate said as she put her hand up to signal a stop where the conversation had led to, "let's take a step back. You started with saying that someone might be after you. Then you show me this box that's apparently worth a mint, but say that no one wants it back or is searching for it. Are you sure those two bits of information aren't directly related? Could it be that someone is looking for you to retrieve this jewelry box?"
"I doubt she could care less about the box, even if she knew about it. It's me she's after."
"She?"
Jane nodded. "They called her Saraid. They said she'd be after me for what I can do."
"They?"
After dropping her head with a deep sigh, Jane said, "I suppose I have to tell the whole story. Some parts aren't easy to explain, and I doubt I can condense most of it."
Kate took a sip of her tea and said, "I have a couple hours, two good ears, and an open mind. Go ahead."
Jane looked at her sister's patient, expectant countenance before she began with, "I can make doors that lead to special places." She then took two large gulps from her own mug before she started from the beginning, scantly looking at Kate in the process.
Jane told how she had found a way into a special room, her play room, when she was much younger, just after Kate had gone off to uni in Dublin. She explained how the room worked and how she used it over the years. Then the persistent dreams of 'one room, two doors' began not long ago. She finally followed her own subconscious suggestion and made another door in her play room. That's when the shit hit the fan.
She then described how the lights - wisps, they were called - led her out, as if spellbound, into a strange, desolate land. Jane didn't delve into her own
harrowing flight of terror once she regained her senses, but rather kept it simplified. Next came her being found by Macklin and Mix, followed by the monstrous ogre; more detail was given of those encounters to reinforce the story's validity.
Jane mentioned Macklin's beautiful land and magical cabin before describing Vaughn the leprechaun and his warning. She finished by telling Kate about taking the photos before she was urged to return home. Once finished, she kept her eyes averted while the ensuing silence lingered between them, not daring to meet her sister's eyes. She waited for Kate's response without much hope.
Kate's pause after hearing Jane's story was not for effect; she was simply trying to decipher some of the clashing secondary colors in her sister's nimbus. Finally, she said, "A few things are obvious. First, I think you truly believe all that happened." After those words, she saw Jane sink even further into herself. "Secondly," Kate went on, "you took quite a liking to Macklin." Jane sat straighter and looked at Kate with a curious frown. "Lastly, although it scares the hell out of me, I also believe that it all really happened."
A slow smile crept onto Jane's face while she asked, "You do? You believe me? You're not just, like, humoring me, right?"
With a somber expression, Kate replied, "I wouldn't lie to you about this, Janie. Not even a white lie to save your feelings."
Jane's smile came into full bloom, but she had no words for her appreciation. That beaming smile faltered when she asked, "How did you know how I felt about Macklin? I didn't mention any feelings for him."
Kate hesitated once again before saying, "I saw it in your nimbus; your, em, emotional colors. I thought your fae gift might be in your angelic voice, and that may still be true, but I didn't expect... I didn't know what to expect. I certainly didn't see anything of this magnitude coming. This is serious; from what Liadan taught us, I can see why you'd be valuable."
Eyes squinted in confusion, Jane said, "Nimbus? Liadan? You're rambling, Kate. I'm the one who was supposed to be telling the mad tales here, remember?"
Looking away as she nodded, Kate was thinking of how to handle the situation. She first had the idea of having Liadan erase Jane's knowledge of her gift, but decided that not only would it not solve the problem, it was also manipulative. Jack's minor fogging was simply to elude the need for a strange conversation, and she felt no guilt for it. This, however, was far different, far more serious. Removing Jane's memory of her gift wouldn't remove the possible danger she was in.
Taking a simplistic tact to ease her anxious little sister into some form of familiarity, Kate said, "Janie, we've both heard the fables and all the old stories of the Good Folk, or the Other Crowd; namely, fairies - fae. Now you know they truly exist, don't you? Just not in the way the old tales describe, is that right?"
Jane nodded quickly but emphatically. "What I saw is far beyond fucking fairytales."
Kate leaned forward on crossed arms, as if to speak conspiratorially. "Let me tell you now, little sister, some of those tales are pure shite, and others are near the mark."
"No offense, Kate, but how would you know? How could you?"
Keeping her pose, Kate answered, "Remember when I was heading off to Dublin for Uni, and you did all that research for me? You studied the city maps, and made a list of local vernacular, and even chatted up some of your mates who've been there with their parents, and then gave all that to me in a folder the day before I set out?" Jane nodded her head with a soft smile. "Well, Jane, this time the roles are reversed, and it's time I returned the favor."
Leaning forward herself, Jane asked, "How are you going to do that, Katie?"
"You've been there, tricked into visiting the Lore, and you even learned a thing or two about that alien place. I, on the other hand, haven't seen it, but I'll wager I know quite a bit more about it and it's... people than you. I've done my own research, and have instruction from someone in the know. Actually, I have more interactive experience than I'd prefer."
Jane sat back, surprised. "So, you - down to earth, nose to the grindstone, serious Kate - study fairytales in your spare time? I want to believe you, sis, but it seems a stretch. I know that sounds bad, what with the story I just told, but it goes against everything I thought about you."
Kate didn't seem offended. "A year ago, even less, I would have said the same of myself. I suppose I'm asking for the same faith and acceptance that you came here looking for. I'm not letting on to spare your feelings, Jane; I'm dead serious." She saw that her words had quelled her sister's doubts somewhat, and so continued. "There's so much to explain, but it really begins with your grandfather, mam's real da."
"Granda Owen? Didn't he die when she was barely out of the cradle?"
Releasing a heavy sigh, Kate said, "I'm sorry, Janie, but there was no Granda Owen. It was a lie created to shield you - shield all of us - from a fantastical truth. Sometime soon, you, mam, and I will sit down and get the real story explained, as it was to me. You real grandfather is a fae named Aldritch - Aldritch of the Old Wood, so his full title goes."
Jane's eyes shaped with disbelief. "Stop the lights. You can't be feckin' serious."
"My hand to God, Jane, that's the truth of it. Skipping a generation, gifts through Aldritch's fae blood have passed to us. But even from what I've heard mentioned, I've never heard of anything like what you can do."
Pushing her mug out of the way, Jane leaned forward again. "You're saying we're part fairy, and that you have a 'gift' as well?"
Kate nodded. "Mine isn't as tangible as what yours apparently is, but, like I mentioned before, I have nimbus sight. I can see the feelings of others like some fae can, in colors. Right now, you're scared, but you feel safe at the moment. You're beginning to believe me; you want to, but so much has been told and shown to you in such a short time that goes against reality that you're having trouble processing it."
"Well that's about spot on," Jane grumbled.
"There's more, but that's what is important for now. When you mentioned Macklin, your nimbus began to shine with ardor. I know you could say that I merely intuited all that from your reactions, so I have an idea. As the proverb goes, 'I hear and I forget; I see and I believe; I do and I understand'. You've already heard words that are hard to take on faith, as have I. You already understand what you can do with your gift." Kate stood and gestured for Jane to come with her. "Now it's time to make a believer out of you."
Jane got up slowly, following Kate out of the kitchen. "Where are we going?"
Shrugging into her coat, Kate said, "There are no secrets between Brody and me. He has his own perspective on all this. Don't let the dogs out, there's a wee mist on."
As they walked briskly across the drive and onto the new gravel path to Brody's workshop, Jane asked, "Who is this informer you keep talking about?"
Holding her hood in place over her head as the wind picked up, Kate said, "Her name is Liadan; she's one of the Other Crowd. We consider her a friend."
Before Jane could question that outrageous statement, they reached the shed's closed wooden door set at the near end of the stone building. Kate knocked on it once and then entered. Jane followed in and pulled back her own coat hood.
The interior of Brody's workshop was about 12x20, dry and warm from a space heater. Near the entrance, half of the outbuilding's interior was lined with sturdy shelving, starting from near the packed gravel floor to above Jane's head. The shelves were filled with dozens of sculptures that ranged from the size that would fit on key-rings to pieces as big as a microwave. At a glance, there was a variety of shapes, from shamrocks to abstracts to animal busts and figurines.
Brody stood at the other end with a pair of bulky safety glasses on his face and a surprised smile underneath them. The far end of the shop was lined with raw material, from cut blocks of various stone to big, rough local rocks. He stood in the center of the far side, next to a wood stump pedestal with a big block of veined marble on it. Jane didn't see a hoist; she wondered how he got the block of stone onto the ped
estal.
Dressed in dusty brown coveralls, Brody stood with a chisel in one hand and a ballpeen hammer in the other. His pleasant expression still showed that he wasn't expecting company. Pulling the strapped glasses down to hang around his neck, he said, "Doing some shopping, ladies? I have reasonable prices, and I'm willing to haggle."
"Not at the moment, love," Kate said with a light grin. She then picked up a smaller piece of gray stone from the floor and handed it to Jane. "That's granite, I believe."
Holding the chunk of hard, heavy stone in her hand, Jane replied, "Em, thank you?"
Kate then plucked it out of her hand. She turned to Brody and offered it to him.
As he accepted the piece of granite from her, Brody asked, "What's this all about, darlin'?"
"Brody, we have big news," Kate said. "Jane has been keeping her own fae gift a secret for years, and it has very recently come to full bloom. However, it comes with a complication."
"Oh, shit," Brody replied. He didn't look as surprised as Jane expected him to. "Is this about the singing?" He looked at Jane and said, "By the way, I've been listening to that CD you gave me for Christmas over and over; my favorite track right now is -"
"Now's not the time, Brody," Kate said politely. "Jane is having issues accepting the whole truth, and you can give her some proof to validate my words."
He frowned at her. "Seriously, Kate? Couldn't we just get Liadan or something?"
"I don't ask this lightly, love. I know you're not one to flaunt your ability, but this is for Jane. She needs people she can trust right now."
Jane stepped closer and asked, "What, now he's part fairy as well?"
"Fae," they both answered in chorus. "And, no," Kate answered, "not exactly." She turned back to Brody. "Please, just show her."
His face set with resignation, Brody took a step toward Jane and held the chunk of granite out in front of him in the palm of his hand. As he placed fingertips from his other hand on the stone, he said, "Our friend Liadan thinks I may have been what they call 'graced' by one of the Other Crowd. I guess it's like they give you some of the special abilities they can do to repay a good deed performed or something. This," he said as he applied fingertip pressure onto the chunk of granite, "is an uncommon ability that she calls the gift of stone."
Jane's eyes widened in wonder as Brody's big fingers began to manipulate the stone like it was thick clay. Within a few minutes of first broad forming and then giving detailed impressions with his fingertips, Brody held a rudimentary sculpture of a large-tusked boar in a sitting pose. "I got the inspiration of this shape from one of the fae we've met, although he didn't look this calm at the time." He offered the newly-formed piece of granite to Jane.
Her eyes kept shifting from the stone to Brody's hands and then back again. Almost reverently, she softly said, "Completely savage. This is... so unreal." As she gingerly held the hard stone in her hand, feeling its new, smooth surfaces, Jane's eyes then flickered between Brody and Kate. "You mean, like," she asked with awe, "you've actually met one, here?"
Kate stepped forward and said, "Yes; I've already mentioned our friend Liadan. But if you meant 'here' as in the this property," she glanced up questioningly at Brody, who nodded, "then, yes, we've met most of them here. As mentioned, there's Liadan, and Oriana, who holds a haven somewhere nearby. Then, of course, is your true granda, Aldritch. He has quite a presence."
"We've also had run-ins with a few others," Brody continued for Kate, "one of which is an instigating little prick named Lorcan. Then came Kazimir; he's a morpher than can turn into a huge-ass boar."
"And an equally large owl," Kate reminded him.
"Yeah, that too, although I didn't see him in that shape; only Kate did. And then we had a little problem with a fae named Devlin."
Kate looked up at him, surprised. "A little problem?" she asked rhetorically. "You very nearly bled to death before you pucked him into submission and beyond."
The figurine in her hand forgotten, Jane listened with awe at their casual comments of meeting, befriending, or fighting fairytale creatures. She finally got her slack jaw to work and almost shouted, "Bled to death? You almost died, Brody?"
"It wasn't as bad as Kate says."
Kate's expression was incredulous as she slowly shook her head at him. "You were covered in your own blood, and your clothes were in ribbons. Brody, you're my hero, mo ghile mear, for so many reasons... and you saved me from Devlin that day, but you also almost lost your life in my defense. Please don't act valiant for me and play it off as something trivial; I've never been that afraid. We were lucky Liadan showed when she did."
Brody grinned at his own confusion. "I don't know what, uh, 'mo gyill uh marr' means, but it sure sounds pretty."
Jane stifled her chuckle and smiled instead to explain. "It's an old Irish ballad; it means 'my gallant darling', or, 'my hero', like."
Brody nodded. "Oh, okay." Putting his big hands on Kate's slender shoulders, he said, "Darlin', I'd do anything and everything to keep you safe. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat for you. You're what kept me alive, Kate; you won't lose me so easily." They stood with loving eyes fixed on each other, and shared an emotional smile. For a moment, all else was forgotten in their mutual gaze.
Jane's voice was hushed once more when she asked, "You're not just letting on, right? You both are really telling the truth, aren't you?"
Brody reluctantly turned from Kate and looked at her sister. "Jane, since I've known you, I've been straight with you, and never pulled any punches when you asked me a direct question, have I?" She shook her head. "And from what I can tell, you and Kate have always been honest with each other, like sisters should. This time is no different." His voice acquired a deeper tone of sincerity. "No bullshit, Jane; we're telling you what we know and what we've seen, up close and personal, and I think you need to know it now, too."
"Let's get on with it, then," Kate said firmly. "Jane, let's see this door of yours."
Brody asked of no one in particular, "What door?"
Jane walked closer to them and found a piece of chalk used to outline designs and cuts onto stone. Breathing deeply, she set the boar statuette down and went over to stand before the closed door of the workshop. Hesitant at first but then with decisive strokes, Jane drew an outline of a simple door.
She turned to them and said, "I have no idea if this'll work with you two here or not. It's never gone off when other, normal people have been in sight. Then again, you aren't really that normal anymore, are you? I suppose it's got sort of a built-in safeguard, my doors, so that I'd never get caught or have to try to explain it."
Turning back to her outline, Jane concentrated on it for only a few seconds. Suddenly, the outline became tangible with dimension; she had created a door within - upon - a door. She turned to them with a broad grin and squealed, "It works! You're both as mental as I am!"
Jane giggled at her own joke; Brody and Kate could only smile weakly as they continued to stare at the door that was created by nothing but drawn lines and a moment's focus.
"Does that lead to the Lore?" Brody asked.
"No, no," Jane said, "It's just my play room. Well, it's really a fae-bridge, but only if I open another door inside of it."
"Oh, right, I forgot; Liadan mentioned something like that." Brody looked down at Kate, and she up to him. They both felt the hair-raising excitement and anxiety of being just a few feet away from stepping beyond the mortal world.
"Come see," Jane said giddily as she put her hand on the imagination-created door. With a simple push, the door swung inward, revealing nothing but a stygian void within.
The couple inched forward, marveling at a portal leading to elsewhere, set upon a common door that led to a soggy paddock. At Jane's insistent and impatient invitation, Brody and Kate slowly stepped hand in hand into the pitch black, unearthly room. With their hands gripped tight, they both waited for something to happen, yet afraid of what that might be. They both felt like children play
ing a scary game.
When Jane stepped in next to them and shut the door, the room automatically illuminated itself. Brody and Kate stood in place, mouths agape, and looked around what appeared to be a teen's attic room.
While Kate remained silent as her head turned this way and that, Brody murmured, "Holy shit."
"Does that mean you like it?" Jane asked enthusiastically.
Brody glanced at her, but then back to a decoration over her writing desk. "No - I mean, I love this gift of yours, how you made this out of literally nothing, and the room is awesome."
"But?"
Brody turned to Jane with a crooked grin. "But you've got a poster of the movie 'Twilight' on your wall. Is that a joke?"