Deadman's Blood (21 page)

“I can’t help but think this is some kind of key to something,” Josh thought.

“My thoughts exactly,” Dominic agreed.

“Look, Melanie, what Josh found,” Dominic said as he handed the item to Melanie.

“Wow. Look at that. What do you think it’s for?” Melanie asked.

“Well, I think Josh is right. I think it’s a key. The question is, to what?” Dominic answered.

“It must have something to do with the prophecy, since it was with it,” Melanie said.

“Maybe. Of course until we find what it unlocks, I guess we won’t know, but it is very intriguing,” Dominic admitted.

“Have you come up with anything else on the prophecy?” Josh asked.

“After seeing everyone’s new ‘abilities’ of late, I think that it was these new abilities that the prophecy was referring to when it said ‘The four will have allies with great power and that power will be quadrupled by the destruction of ‘ones heart’ as payment for their good deeds’,” Dominic explained.

“Speaking of that, I forgot to tell you that I have discovered mine,” Melanie said quietly.

“Your ability?” Josh asked.

“Yes.”

“Why, what happened?” Dominic asked.

“Well, when you, Mr. Brenner and Dr. Rowe were smoking cigars and Josh and Anton were warring it out at basketball, Anne and I were helping Bernard with the dishes. Mrs. Brenner couldn’t see the knife under the soapy water and she cut her finger, pretty badly,” Melanie explained.

“Was she okay?” Dominic asked.

“Yes. It wasn’t terrible, but she asked me to bandage it for her,” she said.

“Yeah. Mom can’t stand the sight of blood. They have to draw blood from her lying down because she passes out every time,” Josh admitted.

“Yes, well, while I was drying her hand my fingers kind of lit up and Bernard and I watched the cut close up and heal right before our eyes,” Melanie exclaimed.

“What did you do?” Dominic asked.

“The only thing I could think of was to put a band-aid over where the cut should have been,” Melanie laughed.

“Quick thinking but what if she removes the band-aid?” Josh asked.

“Well, as long as she waits a day or two, she probably won’t think too much of it. I told her it wasn’t a very bad cut,” Melanie reassured.

“In this family, I think we will find a great use for that ability,” Dominic chuckled.

“Yes. I think that the reason Josh didn’t scar as badly as Dr. Rowe thought he might, is because of me,” Melanie added.

“That’s great. It was so early on after the stone was destroyed, you probably didn’t even realize you were healing him,” Dominic said.

“That’s my thought. I know for a fact that my fingers didn’t glow. I think I might have remembered that,” she said jokingly.

“No doubt,” Dominic laughed.

“Maybe I can help Blake,” Melanie said hopefully.

“I hope so, Dear, but he should be able to do that himself,” Dominic said.

“I know, but a little more healing mojo can’t hurt, right?” Melanie thought.

“Indeed, Sweetheart, Indeed. Let’s hope so,” Dominic said gratefully.

*****

The morning was bright and beautiful with Devon lying beside her in their amazing little world so far from all their past troubles. Darby admired her sleeping prince beside her as the sun spilled in the sheer, white-curtained windows, threatening to wake his sweet slumber. Darby looked over at the night table beside her to grab the book that she’d set there the night before. To her surprise, there was nothing there. She instinctively looked on the ground thinking maybe it had been bumped during the night and fell to the floor, but again, there was nothing there.
How odd
, she thought to herself.
Where could I have put it? I was so sure I put it there last night.
As she retraced her activities the night before in her mind, the slumbering prince inhaled loudly and stretched.

His sexy, smiling face made her immediately forget what she had been thinking about and nothing else mattered as he reached for her, wrapping his strong safe arms about her, and pulled her to him.

“Good morning, Sweetness,” he said as he kissed the top of her head and hugged her tightly.

“Good morning, handsome,” she replied.

“It is indeed,” he whispered softly.

“So what is the plan for today?” she asked.

“Well, I have to go into Dublin to meet with an electrical contractor to work out the details of what needs to be done for the upgrade. You’re welcome to come with me if you like,” Devon offered.

“No. I think I would like to wander around here. Maybe do some gardening,” Darby admitted.

“Okay. Just so you know, around back is a potting shed with any tools you might need. I don’t know what shape they are in, but I’m sure you can find anything you need in there. You can make a list of things you want and we can pick them up tomorrow. The plumber will be starting work tomorrow. He’ll have a better idea what the cost will be and what needs to be repaired once he tears into a couple of the walls,” Devon explained.

“Sounds good. How about I go downstairs and start some coffee and see what we can scrounge up for breakfast?” Darby said.

“Meet you down there after my shower,” Devon said.

“It’s a date,” Darby said, kissing him and jumping out of bed.

When Devon made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen he found Darby cutting up some fruit that someone anticipating their arrival had put in a basket on the counter.

“I found this fresh fruit in a basket left for us…your doing, no doubt,” Darby said.

“Well, we had to eat something, right? I had a gal who lives nearby drop some things off. She keeps an eye on the house for us when no one is around. Are you finding everything you need?” Devon asked while Darby handed him a bowl of freshly cut fruit and a cup of coffee.

“Yeah. But we do need to get some things from the market. We can’t live on just this for very long,” Darby joked.

“On my way home I can pick up some necessities, or I can come home, grab you, and we can go together,” Devon suggested.

“No. That’s okay. Get something for tonight and then we’ll go into to town when the plumber is here and do some heavy grocery shopping.”

“Perfect…any special requests?” Devon asked.

“No. Not really,” she said.

They ate their breakfast and Devon kissed her on the head as he headed out the door. “Oh, by the way…our cell phones don’t work out here too well, so you’ll have a hard time getting ahold of me…plus the phones aren’t hooked up yet, so if you need anything the neighbor just up the road knows we’re here. If there’s an emergency you can go to her. Her name is Moira Hannigan.”

“Thanks, Sweetie, but I’ll be fine,” she said and she waved to Devon as he drove off in a dusty old car that had been stored in the garage.

Darby smiled and shut the door, turning back towards the kitchen when she spied the book she had thought was on her nightstand on a table near the door.
How the heck did you get down here? I don’t remember coming down here last night.
She shrugged her shoulders and carrying the book, she headed back to the kitchen, setting the book down on the table, and then ventured out the back door to find the potting shed.

There nestled snugly among the waist high grass and wildflowers she spied the potting shed. Its boards were bleached a gray-white and seemed in need of some attention. It was nice sized, maybe eight feet by eight feet and had at least one window that she could see from her angle. The rusty latch that held the door closed was stubbornly keeping access from her. With a hard tug and a bit of brute force it finally relented and opened. It was a spider haven. Webs were thickly spun and draped here and there with a haphazard pattern over most everything.

Darby looked like she was dog-paddling in the air as she made her way to a table where she found some leather gloves, a dusty old straw hat, a sturdy basket, and a trowel. She grabbed these items and spied a shovel leaning in a ‘v’ between the table and the wall, and a window above shedding shafts of glittering, dusty light among the shadows of the shed. Just as she reached for the shovel, a weathered face appeared in the window, making Darby jump and squeal in her shock. She held her hand to her chest as adrenaline went rushing through her body. She grabbed all her items and headed out of the shed to greet the stranger.

As she came out of the shed, dropping the items in her hands, she brushed herself of any straggling webs that had attached to her as she’d passed through them, only to jump once more as the face that was at the window, appeared just feet in front of her.

“You startled me!” Darby said.

“I’m sorry, child,” the woman apologized.

When Darby was done brushing herself off, she wiped her hands on the thighs of her jeans and offered her hand in greeting to the ancient looking woman.

“I’m Darby. Darby O’Reilly.”

“O’Reilly, huh? Good Irish name, my Dear,” she said.

“Yes. And who might you be?” Darby said, trying not to be rude, but wondering what this woman was doing lurking around and peeking into windows.

“I’m no one of consequence, just an old peller,” she answered.

“Would you like some tea? We don’t have much, since we’ve only just arrived, but I do believe I saw some tea in the cupboard,” Darby offered.

“That would be lovely, child,” the old woman said.

“Great, follow me,” Darby said and led the strange woman to the back door of the house. The woman entered the kitchen looking around, almost as if she were looking for something in particular. One of her hands gripped a small leather pouch around her neck, and the other went around touching anything and everything. Suspicious, Darby watched her as she made her way around the entire kitchen. She didn’t enter the living room, but she did peek her head in and took a long look around. Then she continued her investigation of the kitchen. When she had completed her circle in the kitchen the last thing she touched before she sat down was the book that had mysteriously vanished from Darby’s bedside table. The old lady’s hand lingered on the book as if she were reading some kind of energy from it.

Darby wasn’t scared of the woman, but she certainly was puzzled by her. Her brightly colored clothes somehow made her look older than Darby suspected she was. The tea kettle started its high pitched squeal and Darby poured the steaming beverage into two cups and deposited them on the table where she had already set out some lemon, cream, and sugar.

“So tell me, ‘no one of consequence,’ what is a peller?” Darby asked.

“Very good question, my Dear. In Gaelic it would be ‘cailleach’ (pronounced: kyle-yewkh), but seeing as you’ve a US sounding accent, you might call me a witch or doctor of sorts. People around here might even sense this of you, if truth be told,” she said.

“Me? Why would you say that?” Darby asked.

“I sense these things. We who hold the power can sense it on one another,” she said matter-of-factly. “I followed my senses right to your potting shed. Your powers are strong too.”

“You sense this about me?” Darby asked.

“Yes. You’ve inherited your powers, where mine were bestowed on me by one of the wee folk,” she said.

“The wee folk…you mean Faeries?” Darby asked.

“Among others. You say that like you’ve never seen one?”

“I haven’t,” Darby admitted.

“Hmm…That’s surprising,” she said.

“Why? Why is that surprising?” Darby asked.

“Well, considering you are a Seer, I assumed you had seen them,” she explained.

“A Seer? What is a Seer?” Darby asked.

“You mean your were not taught in the ways of a Seer?” the woman asked with surprise.

“No. My sister and I know we are from a family of witches but it was thought best by our parents and grandparents that we not use our powers to fit in better,” Darby explained.

“Saints preserve us. What a lot of hogwash. I just can’t understand why those who are blessed with a gift do not embrace it. You have a duty to bestow your help on those who lack the power. Why else would you be given such a gift? Your family was blessed as being one that could handle the power, as it grows in strength with each generation.

“A Seer, my Dear, is one that can see, converse, and commune with those from the other realm. In some it manifests itself in prophecy or seeing the future; in others it is merely a different form of communication with those on a different plane,” she said.

“So you’re saying I can see the future?” Darby asked.

“No. I’m not sure how your power will work, but it will show itself when it thinks you are ready,” she said.

“Well, that’s not very helpful,” Darby admitted.

“I didn’t make the rules, that’s just how it happens,” she said.

“Are you a Seer?” Darby asked.

“No, but I can communicate with the others if they need my services,” the woman explained.

“Then what is it you do?” Darby asked.