Chapter 8...
It was two hours later before Isabel made it back to the house. She had walked through the park and stopped and had lunch. She gathered the trips in the garden to have a talk about that morning’s events. Everyone was on edge and their father hadn't been heard from since his exit during this morning’s initial conversation.
The tension was hanging over the room like a fog rolling in from the ocean. Meckenzie couldn't help but feel an overwhelming desire to hide in her room and sleep, but she knew that sleep, no matter how tempting, would bring no relief.
Isabel started slowly, "I appreciate your concern for me Meckenzie. It was very brave of you to try to come save me. But you must understand, there is nothing that would hurt me more than for you to be discovered here. I cannot say this enough, you have to be careful. And running out into the street to follow someone who is following me is beyond careless."
Meckenzie opened her mouth to protest, but Taggart placed his hand on her.
"I think Isabel has a point. You put yourself in harm’s way. That guy was huge and he saw you. If we hadn't ducked into the coffee shop and put on a heck of a ruse, I think he would have figured it out. That is if he hasn't already."
"He saw you?" Isabel questioned.
"Yes," Taggart responded. "He turned and looked right at Meckenzie, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her into Coffee World. We got some coffee and hung out for a minute. Then we headed further away from the house and doubled back. That's when Meckenzie saw you in front of the Museum."
Meckenzie thought about telling all of them how his eyes had met her own and that there had been a spark of recognition. She was sure that the stranger knew who she was, but she didn’t know why he had not tried to harm her in some way. After a moments contemplation, Meckenzie decided not to share that information with the group, it would only worry them more.
"I think we have to do some protection spells for the house and you guys. I need to get a few things from upstairs, but you stay here. I'll come back and we'll try some things. I also want you to describe him to me, I never saw him. I just felt his presence."
Isabel ran up the stairs and left the trips to contemplate the upcoming spell casting.
Kellan was the first to speak. "What do you think this is going to consist of? We aren't going to have to kill a live chicken and drink it's blood are we?"
"Chicken?" Taggart was laughing so hard that was all he could manage to say.
"I think it is a reasonable question. I don't want any part of killing some animal so that we can be safe. I am not about to get all witchy because Isabel says we should." Kellan protested with a hurt look on her face.
"Kellan, I think it will probably be herbs and chanting. She did a calming spell on me earlier and all she did was chant some weird words and stare at me."
"I'm not sure I’m any more comfortable with that. I have some serious reservations about everything that is going on. I am not sure I want any part of this." Kellan responded. She seemed to be lost in some thought process as she stared at the water bubbling in the garden fountain. "I really would just like everything to go back to normal. I love you both, but I'm not sure I'm willing to put my life on the line for people I don't know."
"I'm not sure we are going to have a choice. If everything that we are being told is true then we have people coming after us and they don't seem like the type of people who would just let us disappear into the world. The guy from earlier was huge and he looked like he could hurt someone without even trying. Plus he had some battle scars that looked like he may have already hurt someone." Taggart stumbled through this statement trying to get Kellan to snap back to reality. "I know that we had lives planned. I'll never be a doctor now. I don't think that is really fair, but I don't think I have a choice."
Kellan burst out, "A choice! We have a choice. We can just send Isabel away and just ignore it all. I don't think they will come for us if we don't have Isabel here drawing attention to us and she is the one that went into the park and exposed us. She is the one who wants to do magic and the one that wants to take us back. Dad would support us. He would protect us. We can just disappear into our lives. I could go play ball. You could go to Harvard. Meckenzie could..." Kellan paused. "What is it that you would do Meckenzie if we didn't have to go rescue a world of fairies?"
"I don't know." Meckenzie responded. "I think I’ve been drifting through my life because this is what I'm supposed to do. I won't lose some future I haven't planned. I don't want you guys to have to give up your plans, but I don't think I can do this on my own. I think we have to do it all together."
Kellan began to speak when Isabel started back down the stairs. She paused knowing what she would say would only met argument from both of her siblings and this woman who was here to protect them. She just couldn't imagine that any of this was really the way life was supposed to turn out for her. Kellan needed more proof.
Isabel looked at the group with fascination. "With all this tension and quiet, it would give a girl the impression that you guys were talking about me."
"What do you expect? We are being asked to believe a story that is written in a fairy tale book. We are being asked to give up our lives for people we don't know. Did you think we would just all sign up and go to our deaths for you because you say you’re our great-great aunt or whatever?" Kellan's anger was turning her complexion a curious shade of crimson. She seemed to be growing larger, her body was expanding. It was like she was one of those balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving parade.
Isabel looked at Kellan and giggled. This only instigated Kellan's anger more. She didn't know what was happening to her.
"Kellan, look at me. Breath. Your experiencing something called ar fheabhas fás colainn. It roughly translates to super body growth. Your anger has triggered it, so you have to relax. Let Taggart and Meckenzie hold your hands, we are going to calm you. Everyone hold hands."
Meckenzie and Taggart took Kellan's hands which were already twice their natural size.
"Now you two join hands and we are going to repeat the ciúnaigh spell I used earlier. So everyone close your eyes."
Kellan looked horrified as she stood there at well over seven feet tall. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. She was losing some of her anger as fear took over. She seemed to have stopped growing.
"Now repeat after me. Ciúnaigh reacht. Ciúnaigh stuaim. And then repeat it. Ciúnaigh reacht. Ciúnaigh stuaim."
Isabel started circling the triplets as she spoke these words aloud. Taggart and Meckenzie picked up the chant, finding the right resonance and annunciation. Finally Kellan joined in and it felt as if a low voltage of electricity was flowing through their bodies in a circle.
Then with a jolt, Kellan began to shrink back down to her normal size. She slowly returned to her normal self and the group dropped their hands. Everyone was exhausted.
Isabel was excited. She didn't seem exhausted, she seemed rejuvenated.
"That was fantastic. You guys are so much more powerful than I thought. Kellan you seem to have a very special gift. I've only heard of one fairy that could ever ar fheabhas fás colainn, King Treigold. You are truly the progeny of the King."
"So all you have to do is get me really angry like the Hulk." Kellan said in a huff. "Kellan grow big." She said mockingly. "I guess I should be glad I didn't turn green."
Taggart laughed, "You were a little red in the face though."
"I'm glad I could amuse you." Kellan laughed, though tears still stained her cheeks.
The mood seemed to lighten. Meckenzie wondered if the spell had worked on all of their moods. She had a sense of well-being that everything was just alright.
Isabel sat on the wall of the fountain and watched the triplets closely. They had done something amazing. They had cast a spell so effective that it had returned Kellan to her normal state without taking hours. It would have
taken Isabel and several other fairies hours to effect any change in Kellan. The power in these three was so great that they could perform great feats, if she could just get them focused and on the right track.
"You three are very powerful. That spell should not have worked so fast. It is a sign of your power that it only took minutes. I believe with a little training you will be great and powerful Fae rulers."
The trips looked at her confused. Rulers? Were they intended to rule Aquinas?
"Rulers?" Meckenzie was confused.
"Of course, you are the heir's to the throne. Your mother rules Aquinas now. You will obviously rule the kingdom, you are the Trefoil. With your power you will free all the kingdoms and unite them again to be ruled peacefully." Isabel was obviously as happy as a kitten. She seemed to not see the problem with this scenario. In order for them to rule, they had to leave their home and they had to fight a war. They had to win, yet none of them had been trained to fight or trained to rule.
Isabel stood and began organizing the materials that she had brought downstairs with her.
"We will start by casting a protection spell for the house. It will work like a smoke detector. When someone enters the house that means you harm it will sound a warning buzz. Anyone with enough Fae blood will be able to feel the buzz, so we will need to warn your father about them.” Isabel started piling some shiny black stones in front of the trips. “We will need to place these throughout the house next to doors and ground floor windows. But first we have to cast the spell on them."
Meckenzie picked up one of the shiny black stones that Isabel had placed in front of her. They were round, smooth, and black. She thought they might be obsidian.
"Is this obsidian?"
Isabel smiled, "No, they are the hearts of gnomes. Gnomes are the guardians of the passages between lands. It is considered an honor among the gnomes to have you heart taken after death. If the heart is pure, it is the best stone for protection."
Meckenzie dropped the stone. It landed on the floor with a ping like it was hollow.
Isabel cried out, "Careful! They are very rare. We would be at a loss if we broke one."
Taggart picked up the gnome heart and placed it on the top of the stack of hearts.
"Taggart, place the hearts in three triangles with their points touching, it should look somewhat like a clover. Meckenzie take this powder and draw a circle around the hearts. Kellan, drink this tea; you are probably drained from the change and the spell casting. Don't worry it's just herbal, no chicken blood." Isabel was trying to lighten the mood; she didn't know how accurate her comment was to Kellan's fears.
"Okay, the three of you will stand at the base of a triangle outside the circle. I will speak the words with you, but you will be performing the spell. So like before you'll need to join hands and close your eyes and speak the words clearly. The inflection is important, so listen carefully."
The trips took their positions and joined hands. They closed their eyes as Isabel began to speak.
"Cosain culdin. Cosain colainn. Cosain intinn. Cosain anan. Daingnigh croi seo. Okay, when it is working the hearts will glow red for a moment. You should be able to feel it. Like a humming in your body. Okay, ready."
They all nodded. They were all a bit scared. Meckenzie was curious as to how they would know the hearts were glowing red, seeing as how their eyes were closed.
Isabel began the spell again, "Cosain culdin. Cosain colainn. Cosain intinn. Cosain anan. Daingnigh croi seo. Cosain culdin. Cosain colainn. Cosain intinn. Cosain anan. Daingnigh croi seo."
The trips began to recite the words over and over again in the same cadence as Isabel had taught them. The buzzing began in their hands, slowly working its way up their arms. It was like the hum of electricity coming from the power lines. It gradual worked its way into their chests. Spreading down to their feet, and finally working its way into their heads. As they continued their chant, the world seemed to fade away. The only thing in existence was the three of them, the humming and the words they were speaking which seemed to hang in the air around them.
Just when Meckenzie began to think that the spell wasn't working, there was a faint red light that was growing in the center of her mind, it began to take shape. It was the triangles of hearts that Taggart had built. Each stone became clearer, glowing red like an ember from a fire. The glow throbbing in time with the cadence of their voices.
As if some internal alarm had informed them that the spell was complete they finished the last word of the spell and opened their eyes.
"Did it work?" Kellan asked.
"You tell me, what did you see?" Isabel answered.
"For me, at least, I saw the hearts appear as they are here, but glowing red. They keep time with our words, then they glowed bright red and solid for a moment and we stopped." Meckenzie responded.
"What did you feel?" Isabel asked
"It was like a buzzing of electricity. It started in my hands and worked its way up my arms. Then, it filled my chest and traveled down my legs with the buzzing sensation. Finally, it filled my head and that is when the hearts appeared in my mind." Taggart chimed in.
"Then it is complete. How do you feel?"
“Tired.” All three responded at the same time.
"Then let’s place them around the house. We'll do it together so that you know where they should be. We will start by leaving one here in the garden, over here near the wall." Isabel placed one of the hearts in the ivy that grew up the wall that faced the street.
"Then we will need to put one near the front door. They do better if they are near soil, so preferably in a potted plant. We will need to move a plant into the elevator and place one there. Though I doubt an intruder would use the elevator, it is better to be safe than sorry. We'll place one on every floor."
They set off on their task of setting the protection hearts throughout the house. Ending their task on the top floor next to the door that led to the roof patio. Meckenzie realized that it would be better if Isabel stayed with them from now on. She knew she should talk to her father before moving Isabel into the house, but it seemed like an emergency. They did have the spare room on the top floor and with all that was going on, the more eyes the better.
Just as she was about to ask Isabel to stay, Taggart looked at her.
"Did you say something?" He asked. He knew that she had not spoken out loud, but he had definitely heard her.
"No." Meckenzie replied.
"I heard it too." Kellan said.
Isabel looked at the three of them. "What were you thinking Meckenzie?"
"I was thinking that you should stay here, in this room. That it was better to have you here with all that was going on. That the more eyes we have here the better."
"That is what I heard,” said Kellan.
Taggart interjected, "Me too."
"Let's try something." Isabel walked over to Meckenzie. "Face me, and think of a number between one and five. Put up the number of fingers so I can see them. Then try to send the number to Kellan and Taggart."
Meckenzie faced Isabel and thought of a number. She held up two fingers and concentrated on sending the number to her siblings.
"Two." They said together.
"Good. Try it again." Isabel said.
Meckenzie held up a fist.
"Zero." They both responded.
"Okay, I think you might have a couple of talents. Though it is possible that you share a bond that allows you to communicate with each other."
Meckenzie remembered hearing Kellan's voice this morning while she was laying hurt in the gym. She had forgotten all about it and she hadn't told anyone that she had heard Kellan. Could Kellan have been calling out with her mind?
"I heard Kellan this morning in my room. I heard her call my name, and I went looking for her. That is when I found her in the gym with the broken arm."
Isabel smiled, she seemed
to be enjoying this day more than the trips. Every hour revealed something amazing.
"Let's try it with Taggart. Turn around and we will do numbers again. But this time we will use one through ten."
Taggart turned around and put up seven fingers. He then projected the number in his head.
This time only Meckenzie responded. "Seven."
Kellan looked confused. "I didn't hear anything."
"Let's try it again." Isabel said.
Taggart held up one finger and waited.
This time Meckenzie paused to see if Kellan would get it. Maybe she had just been too fast.
Kellan began to laugh, "One, but it was Meckenzie's voice I heard not Taggart's."
"So it seems that Meckenzie can send and receive messages. Since you three performed the spell earlier, she may be tied into your brains. So it is really easy for her to hear. I think we have all had enough excitement for today. I'm going to go get my things from my apartment, I'll be back in an hour and then I'll make protection charms for the three of you. Don't leave the house and try to get some rest, eat something. You'll need to cast the spell on the charms after I complete them."
Isabel headed downstairs and left the siblings to their own devices. Meckenzie walked into the spare room to check the sheets and towels. The sheets would probably need to be changed. No one had slept in the spare room in a very long time.
"I'll get some sheets. You are really loud in my head right now." Taggart shouted as he headed down the stairs.
Kellan joined Meckenzie in the guest room and sat down in the chair.
"This is really happening isn't it."
"Yes it is. I think we just have to accept it."
"Well at least you got something cool as a power. I turn into a she-hulk."
Meckenzie’s eyes grew sad as she replied, “I'll trade my dream for your she-hulk any day."