Emily's House (The Akasha Chronicles) (10 page)

Once we’d settled into our room, we all crashed for a while before heading out to find maps of Ireland. Then we grabbed some coffee in the self-catered kitchen and discussed our situation.

“What is it that Hindergog said?” Fanny asked.

“About what?” asked Jake.

“You know, about where to go. Didn’t he give us a clue,” Fan replied.

“I don’t know,” I said. “It seems so long ago that we talked to him. In fact, I’m not even sure we did. Doesn’t this all seem sort of like a dream to you guys?”

They both just stared at me. Could they see that I was losing my steam? Could they see, even without the ‘sight’ that I was close to bagging out?

“You’re not chickening out, are you?” asked Fanny.

“No, I’m not chickening. It’s just, you know, we don’t even know where we’re going. I mean, this is just stupid. We could end up sitting here in this frickin’ hostel for days without knowing where we’re supposed to go!”

“Calm down Em,” said Jake. Other folks in the eating area were starting to look at us. “It was real – it is real. That little dude was there. We all saw him. We all heard him. You gotta’ get a grip so we can figure this out.”

Jake does have a way of calming me. For such a little guy, he seems big sometimes.

“We have to use our brains and our technology to figure out these clues,” said Jake.

With that, he whipped out his laptop and got some Wi-Fi action going. We started talking out the things that Hindergog had said, and before long, Jake had a list of old churches and monasteries that were around at the time of Saorla. He found the Slieve na Calleigh hills on the map, and that helped us narrow down the list.

Jake read the list out loud and talked about the area where each was located. He pointed them out on the maps we had spread out on the table in front of us. I was only half listening, bored as hell with Jake’s lesson in Irish geography and history. Yawn. And I couldn’t get what he was saying anyway because he was trying to pronounce the old Gaelic names and botched it badly.

Then suddenly I had goose bumps going up and down my whole body. It was like something had jolted me right out of my bored stupor.

“Wait,” I practically shouted.

“What?” said Jake.

“Read back what you just said. What was the name of the last one?” I asked.

“Monasterboice,” said Jake.

I got a chill down my spine when he said it. “That’s it!”

“How do you know?” asked Fan.

“I don’t know exactly, but when he said that, I got all goose bumpy and tingly. I’ve got chills going up and down my spine.”

Jake and Fanny looked at each other like maybe they weren’t sure whether I was off my nut or they should listen to me. Then Jake played with his maps some more, and before we knew it, he figured out how to get there.

“We need to go north. County Louth,” he said at last. Jake examined the online bus schedule, then said, “Really not too far and won’t take long. We can hop on a bus here and be at a little town south of Monasterboice before you know it. There are small inns and a few hostels up there; we can find a place to stay when we get there.”

With that, he closed his laptop, packed up his maps and stood to leave. “Let’s get going then,” he said. “There’s a bus in 45 minutes – let’s be on it.”

I felt like I couldn’t move. I had complained about how long it could take to find answers, but the truth was I didn’t care if it took forever. It was moving too fast.

“Shouldn’t we spend the night here, you know, and start fresh tomorrow?”

Jake shot me a look that I swear felt like he knew exactly how scared I felt inside. Sometimes it feels like he’s the mind reader! But Fanny agreed (‘I need my sleep’ she had said). If Jake knew then what was ahead, he would have thanked me for being chicken.

18. The Inn

Jake was right, the train ride was pretty quick. We got to Drogheda and called around for lodgings and found an inn to stay in. We decided it was best to go to Monasterboice at night seeing as how we might have to dig in the ground and all. Grave robbing – probably going to be frowned on by the locals!

The innkeeper was a friendly little guy who went by the name Paddy. He wore a tweed cap and he had red, round cheeks and beefy hands. He didn’t seem to question at all that there were three American kids wanting a room for the night. He did ask what we were about.

Jake thought quick and blurted out sightseeing. “We’re planning to go to Monasterboice first, you know, to take a look at those crosses.”

Like all the Irish we had met so far, Paddy was quick to offer his help along with a few stories and suggestions for other places to visit.

“You didn’t come all the way to Ireland just to see a few Celtic crosses, now did you lad?” he asked with a chuckle.

“No sir,” Jake replied. “But that’s first on our agenda anyway. Could you suggest how we might get there seeing as how we don’t have a car?”

“Oh, not a problem. It’s about eight to nine kilometers from here. My mate Mack O’Donohugh, he has a cab. He can take you there.”

“Eight kilometers? How many miles is that Jake?” I asked.

“It’s about five to six miles lass,” Paddy offered.

“Okay, thanks Paddy,” I said as Paddy walked us to our room.

“Here you go youngsters,” Paddy said as he opened the door for us and showed us into a tidy room with one double bed and one twin bed. It had old red wallpaper and cream-colored carpet and walls. Paddy looked like he was going to stay and chat with us some more until Fanny faked a big yawn.

“Oh, you’re tired from your long journey. Some jet lag, huh? Well, you let me know if you need anything,” Paddy offered as he walked out, the door slamming shut behind him.

Fanny and I plopped ourselves onto the little beds to rest. I think we were both almost asleep when Jake yelled at us. “You can’t sleep! We have to get out there,” he whined.

“Sleep first,” Fanny said as she rolled over then with her back to us.

“You don’t have time for sleep now,” said Jake. “Come on, we have to make a plan for how we’re going to get that torc.”

“Calm down nub,” said Fanny. “We’ve got time. Plan later. I need sleep.”

“Come on Fan, Jake’s right,” I said. I wanted to sleep too, but Jake had a point. We needed to plan first, sleep later.

“You two plan without me. You haven’t needed me so far. You don’t need me now,” Fan replied.

We’d been a trio since pre-school, and there’s usually an odd man out. As the only sister to four older brothers, Fanny was pretty used to being the center of attention when she wanted to be.

“Fan, you know we need you,” I said.

“No you don’t. Jake’s enormous melon brain will come up with all the plans you need and now that you’re like a warrior goddess or whatever. . . well, you don’t need my talents anymore.”

Ah, that was it. Fanny was used to being the muscle. She may be small, but Fanny is one of the strongest people I’ve ever seen. Ever since second grade when she kicked the crap out of this huge third-grader, Tommy, when he tried to take her lunch box from her – well no one messed with Fanny again. The teachers had to come pull her off his chest, and she was still wailing on him. She was half his size and not a scratch on her but Tommy got led to the office with his nose bleeding buckets.

Between that fight and the fact that Fanny is the star player of every sport there is, everyone pretty much steers clear of her. She’s been like my bodyguard ever since the Greta incident that started it all for me. It doesn’t make her popular, but she stands by me to make sure no one messes with me.

I went and sat next to her. “Fanny, I need you. I’ll always need you,” I said.

“Em, you’re strong too. You can take care of yourself,” she said without turning over.

“Yeah, I’ve got some power building in me. But Fanny, you know I'm a big coward. I don’t have your courage. Your bravery makes me stronger. I can’t do this without you,” I said.

There was quiet for a while. I heard a few sniffles but didn’t say anything about it.

After a few minutes, Fan turned over, her eyes rimmed with red. “You know I’ll do anything to help you, don’t you?” asked Fan.

“Yeah, I know that,” I said as I hugged her. “And I’ll do anything for you – for both of you. We’re in this together.”

Drill sergeant Jake interrupted our beautiful moment.

“Are you two done with your Lifetime TV moment? We’ve got to make a plan and then get some sleep then head out to find this thing. . . ”

Fanny and I both grabbed pillows and threw them at Jake, stopping him midsentence. Fanny threw hers so hard it knocked him over.

“See,” I said. “You’re still the biggest muscle here.”

We laughed then promised Jake we’d listen. He didn’t actually need us to come up with a plan. We mainly nodded as Jake outlined his strategy for the evening. Finally, we all decided to get a few hours of sleep before we set out. Soon we were going to be runaways and grave robbers. I doubt any of us will ever get into college. Good-bye scholarships.

19. Things Go Bump in the Night

We woke up around 10:00 that night, packed just the stuff we needed into one bag and crept down the stairs. People were eating and drinking in the pub below. They didn’t seem to notice us as we left.

“Okay, we’re ready except for one thing,” Jake said.

“What’s that nub? A blankie,” joked Fanny.

“Cut it out Fan, I’ve had enough of your crap,” said Jake. He was tired and testy. “We need a shovel, okay? Unless you want to dig with your hands.”

“Where are we going to get a shovel?” I asked.

“They have to have a shovel here somewhere,” offered Jake. “Maybe there’s a shed or something out back. We can lift their shovel then return it when we get back.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Fanny as we left the room.

We had one flashlight between the three of us so we pretty much had to stay clumped together to see anything in the pitch black. We crept around to the back of the large brick inn and found a small building. It looked promising until we noticed that it was locked with a padlock.

“Crap, it’s locked,” I said.

“You give up to easy,” said Fanny. “Padlocks are no problem,” she said. “Jake, hand me the pack.”

Jake flung the pack off his back and onto the ground. Fanny took the flashlight and rummaged through the bag until she found what she was looking for.

“What ‘ya got?” asked Jake.

“A pair of tweezers.”

“What are you doing with a pair of tweezers in the pack?”

“You’re a guy - you wouldn’t understand.”

“Understand what? What use could you possibly have for those on this mission?”

“You never know when you’re going to need to tweeze Jake,” Fanny said matter-of-factly as she got down on her knees and started working the lock. In a couple of minutes, we heard a click as the lock opened up.

“How do you know how to do that?” I asked.

“You don’t wanna’ know,” she replied as we walked into the shed behind her. It was black as the blackest night in there, not a speck of light except for what was put out by the small flashlight. We were huddled together so tight if one of us tripped we were all going down.

“See anything,” I asked.

“So far all I’m seeing are old cans of paint and some crates of unknown origin,” said Jake.

We just stood still in the center of the room as Fanny swept the flashlight from one side of the room to the other. After a few minutes of slowly sweeping the room, we saw something metal glint in the light.

“There,” said Jake. “Go back a bit. Back there, in the corner.”

Fanny did what Jake asked and as our eyes adjusted to the light we saw it. A garden shovel caked with dirt and grass. Perfect.

“Go get it,” Fanny commanded as she shoved the flashlight into Jake’s hand.

“What? No, we’re all going to get it. All for one, remember?”

“Come on Jake, you’re the guy here. Man up.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake Fanny,” Jake said as he grabbed the flashlight from her. Jake left us in the dark as he slowly walked toward the back corner of the shed.

“Got it,” we heard him say. Fanny and I were in complete darkness now so I hoped he’d walk fast so we could get out of there.

“Come on Jake, let’s get the hell out of here,” I said. We heard Jake’s feet shuffling along slowly then all of sudden a loud crash.

“What happened?” Fanny asked.

“I tripped,” said Jake. Then a few seconds later, Jake let out a loud scream. The small beam of light cast by the flashlight moved erratically.

“What’s going on Jake,” I screamed.

“Something just had my leg,” he said as he came bounding toward us. “Come on – move – there’s something in here!”

We all ran with Jake to the door of the shed and escaped outside. When we got out, Fanny grabbed the flashlight from Jake.

“What are you doing? Come on – let’s just get out of here!”

“Calm your panties Jake,” said Fanny as she shined the flashlight back into the shed from just outside the door. She moved it back and forth until it caught the glow of something – eyes – looking back at us.

“There. That’s what attacked Jake,” she said.

Jake and I both cowered on either side of Fanny as she shined the flashlight onto Jake’s attacker. There were two beady eyes looking right at us, reflecting the light in that creepy way animals’ eyes do. And in the light of the small electric torch you could see the eyes were surrounded by black fur.

“It’s a cat!” I said.

Fanny started to laugh so much I thought she’d have a seizure.

“Okay,” she said as soon as she stopped laughing enough to talk. “I concede Jake. We no longer send you to do ‘man’s’ work.”

“Shut up Fan,” Jake said as he grabbed the flashlight from her and stomped away.

We ran to catch up with Jake, neither of us wanting to be left in the dark Irish night without a flashlight. When we got to the sidewalk in front of the inn we followed Jake up the street. He looked like he knew where he was going.

20. Monasterboice

“Jake, you know how to get there?” I asked.

“Sure. We take this street about four miles then we go left, then we should be there in another mile or so. Easy.”