The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (56 page)

I sat and watched him for a little while, not really seeing him, but taking comfort from his presence. The steady thunk-thunk of his fists on the bag was reassuring in my crazy world. Dec wasn’t back yet either and I was trying to keep a brave face. I really, really wanted them to be with me tonight. I felt our bond more than they did and my mood was affected by how close or far they were from me. I got crankier if I went too long without seeing one of them. It wasn’t hard to explain this. It wasn’t magic. It was simple human emotion. They were my family and I missed them. Sean and I would celebrate my birthday with friends that didn’t include Dec, Killian, or Dani. Other than Sean, these were the three people I cared about most. It almost seemed pointless to try to celebrate anything without them there. With a heavy sigh, I got up to go for a walk.

Sean tracked us down a few hours later. Domino and I had just wandered out of the woods when he appeared on the path. With tongue lolling, Domino ditched me and threw her dignity out the window to chase a stick into the yard.

Shaking my head in wonder, I mused, “Do you think she was one of your ex-girlfriends in a past life?”

Laughing at me, he said, “Could be…Are you okay? You’ve been gone awhile.”

More seriously, I said, “I’ve changed my mind about tonight. I don’t want to go out.”

“You don’t? Why not?”

“I’ve been thinking and I realize my birthday just isn’t that important anymore. There are much bigger things to worry about and I just don’t care that much now. Can we go someplace, just the two of us? We could…travel someplace nice for a few hours.”

“I suppose we could do that. Do you want to pick the place or do you want me to surprise you?” He lifted an arm in invitation and I snuggled underneath it.

“Surprise me. Just make sure I’m dressed so I don’t freeze!”

Just as I was about to lay down for a nap, Sean asked if I was ready to go. He wore jeans and a heavy wool sweater with the black combat boots that went with everything he owned. The heavy sweater was a clue. I raised an eyebrow and he grinned.

“It
is
February. Dress warm and don’t wear girly shoes.”

Ten minutes later, I was ready to go. I’d thrown on my own jeans with a couple of shirts layered under one of his oversized wool sweaters. I loved the sloppy look and it was much warmer than any of my jackets. My Uggs completed the winter look. With a last kiss for Domino, he took my hand and brought me to paradise.

Icy wind nearly knocked me off my feet as we landed on a cliff overlooking a coast. The sleet hit me like machine gun fire and I instinctively hid my face against Sean’s shoulder.

“Sorry!”

The next time I opened my eyes, we were standing behind a house at the end of a short dark street. The houses were small and nestled together as if trying to keep warm in the frigid air. Curious now, I peeked around with interest. Behind us, a dog barked with authority and I jumped. Sean took my hand in his and led the way.

“You look happy.”

“I’m always happy here. This is home.” He waved a hand to include the little houses and smiled. “I miss it when I’m gone too long.”

“We’re in Ireland?” I nearly pulled him off of his feet with the force of my hug. “Oh, wow, Sean! This is so cool!”  I swung around and looked at everything at once. It did look like Ireland…

Pulling me into a dimly lit doorway, he leaned down to kiss me. “I hope you like it.”

The warm stuffiness of the pub surrounded us the moment we walked in. The rich tang of pipe tobacco floated on the air and the soft sounds of music added to the mellow atmosphere. The pub was clearly very old as the heavy wooden beams and chunky stone walls suggested. There was a large fireplace on one side and several old men sat around drinking beer and keeping warm.

A cheery baritone voice greeted us. “Sean O’Cahan! As I live and breathe, come in, come in!”

Sean’s entire face transformed at the sound of his name. He smiled broadly and clapped the burly bartender’s back with genuine affection. The older man smiled showing several gaps in his teeth, but he was sincere as he bustled around us. Feeling a little out of place, I hovered behind Sean as he chatted with the man. Remembering his manners though, he drew me forward to introduce me.

“John, I want you to meet my fiancé, Mica. Today’s her birthday.”

Sean draped his around me and said, “Darlin’, I want you to meet one of my oldest friends, John O’Hara. His family’s owned this pub for generations.”

John’s expression was curious as he shook my hand and looked me over. With a cheeky grin, he kissed me on both cheeks and welcomed me to the pub. Sweeping other people aside, he led us to a little table near the fire and left to draw a couple of pints.

After dragging another chair over to our table, John sat down and grilled Sean on how we met. “You’ve been away so long, son, we’ve just about written you off as dead. And now you show up with a pretty little American.” He nodded good-naturedly at me. “The young ladies will be devastated around here, lass.”

Smiling easily, Sean disagreed. “Don’t listen to this old man, love. I’ve never dated any of the girls here.” Lowering his voice, he added, “So keep your claws sheathed!”

He grunted as I stomped on his foot under the table.

Under my breath, I said, “Oh? Not in this century at least…”

“You’re not gonna let that go, are you?”

Smiling hugely, I said, “No, probably not.” My stomach chose to fill the silence with a loud demand for something besides beer. “Sorry. I’m a little hungry.”

John grinned around his glass as he drained most of it in one swallow. “I like to see lasses with an appetite, love. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ve got just the dinner for a proper birthday party.” Bowing slightly, he lumbered off towards the kitchen.

“He’s not going to bring me haggis, is he?” I asked tentatively.

Snorting a laugh, Sean looked down his nose at me. “That’s not Irish food. Haggis is Scottish. Either way, I’m pretty sure you’re not getting anything that comes from the organs of a farm animal.” He reached across the table and took my fingers in his.

“Happy birthday, Mica.” He kissed my fingertips lightly and I glowed with normal human happiness.

Leaning across the table, I kissed him and teased, “You called me your fiancé earlier. Tell me, Mr. O’Cahan, does it sound funny to you?”

“Not even a little bit. Although calling you Mrs. O’Cahan sounds a bit odd. I’ve never been married before.”

“Hmmm, Mica O’Cahan…it has a nice ring to it.” I tilted my ring finger to catch the glow of the lamp and smiled at the turn my life had taken.

“Nice rock, Princess.”

“Dude, the traffic was horrible. Sorry, we’re late!”

With a most unladylike whoop of joy, I swung around to find Killian and Dec standing just behind me. Dec raised a few eyebrows when he swung me around in a wide bear hug. John had to dodge my legs on his way to our table. With a noisy kiss, Dec passed me off to Killian who was a lot more dignified.

He held out his hand to me and I showed him my ring. Smiling stiffly, he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it with a slight bow. “I’m happy for you.”

“I’m so glad to see you guys! Now my day is perfect. Come on, sit down.”

The atmosphere inside the pub had cooled just a little when they settled in. The other people were glancing over at us like we were going to blow the place up. The two old men who’d been sitting next to us got up and moved to a booth on the other side of the room.

“You know how happy I am to see you both, right?” They nodded. I waved a hand over the general direction of their commando black. “You didn’t think to change first? I think you're scaring the locals.”

Sean stifled a grin and said, “It’s not the clothes, love.” 

Nonplussed, I asked, “Then what’s the trouble?”

Killian said, “It’s possibly the smell of dead demon that’s bothering them.”

“What? They know?” I nearly shrieked and Sean clapped a hand over my mouth.

Chuckling near my ear, John leaned down to me and said, “This is the Old Country, love. There are no secrets here.” He sat down a plate full of fries and crunchy battered fish. My mouth watered immediately.

“Oh! It’s fabulous, John! Perfect!” Passing the plate, I shared my food with Dec. He was always hungry.

“Any news?” Sean asked quietly.

Killian said irritably, “Yeah, but not good news.” He leaned forward to keep his voice from projecting. “I feel it, but I can’t find it.” Absently, he rubbed his chest.

“Has it been hurting you?” I asked.

He shifted uncomfortably and said, “No. It’s fine.”

I leaned back and crossed my arms. “Really? That's strange because I’ve been getting these random pains just here.” I tapped a finger against my heart. “Do you want to answer that question again or should I just assume I’m under another kind of attack?”

He flushed and scowled at me. “You shouldn’t be feeling anything now. I took care of that with the rune.”

I placed my hand flat on the table and leaned towards him. The rune was still a pale scar. “Oh, yeah, I remember the plan was to break our connection so I wouldn’t be destroyed by your immense power.” I smirked at him and Sean squeezed my knee under the table.

“You have something to say?” Killian asked evenly. His eyes were intensely blue as he assessed mine across the table.

Bolstering my courage, I said, “It didn’t work. First of all, the rune didn’t repel the demon that attacked me on Christmas and second, I was able to channel your power to destroy him--with exact precision. So your plan didn’t work. You left me unprotected and still in possession of your power.”

“Oh, and the nice demon gave me six broken fingers for Christmas. I blame you for that.” I waggled my perfectly healed fingers at him to make my point.

Incredulous, he stared at Sean using that annoying telepathy. Finally, he looked back at me and his shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry you were hurt. I don’t know how that could’ve happened. I miscalculated something. Sean says you were completely controlled though. Did you feel that way at the time?”

Dec snorted rudely. “Dude, she was like a real avenging angel! She scared the hell out of both of us. She sliced that demon into pieces with her
mind
.” He paused to give me a high five. “And she knew exactly how to bring her body back to normal by herself.”

“Is that true?” Killian asked Sean. He seemed torn between guilt and pride.

“Yes, it’s true. She really had it under control. I was proud of her.”

Not wanting to hurt his feelings, I reached across the table to soothe Killian’s clenched fist. “Hey, I’m not mad about it. I just thought you should know I still have your powers but not your protection. It feels a little unbalanced.”

Sighing with resignation, he agreed, “We’ll have to fix that at the house. I don’t want to leave you without protection.”

John approached but hung back respectfully. “Come over and join us, John. What’s new with your family?” Killian invited kindly.

The rest of the evening passed in comfortable warmth and camaraderie. The pub wasn’t busy so John sat with us and caught up with Killian and Sean. He was obviously used to their ways and wasn’t at all surprised when Dec pulled out his blade to clean it off. The midnight hour was upon us when Sean stood up and stretched. His eyes were heavy with fatigue and I knew he was ready to go. Domino was waiting for us at home and we needed to get back.

John gave me a warm hug and whispered, “You’re always welcome here, lass. Visit any time.”  He pressed a small doggy bag into my hands and kissed my cheek. Before I could thank him, Sean took my hand and we landed in our living room.

“Whoa! Is that okay? We just vanished in front of him!”

“He’s cool. His place is a sort of safe haven for us. You can always go there if you’re in trouble.”

“Nice. I have no idea where we were though and I have to take planes,” I pointed out with not a little sarcasm.

Killian agreed but added, “I have an idea. Mica, take my hand and project your image of the place into my mind. Let’s see if I can find it for you.”

“I can’t travel. This won’t work.” I looked dubiously at them. But Sean and Dec agreed it was worth a try, just to see how far my powers were progressing.

“Okay. Here goes.” I took Killian’s hand and waited for his mind to open to me. I was used to connecting to his mind so I let him slip in easily. I imagined the pub in as much detail as I could remember and let it fill my mind so he could see it too.

I sensed the change instantly. I opened my eyes and we were standing inside the darkened building. It was empty but still warm and inviting. Blinking in the darkness, I wandered around to be sure it was the same place.

Killian breathed, “Damn.”

“Wow! That’s so cool! Let’s try someplace else that you’ve never been to. Maybe you subconsciously brought us here and it wasn’t me at all,” I suggested. He told me to think of anyplace I wanted to go.

I held his hand and imagined the sandy beach of a deserted island in the South Pacific. I’d always wanted to see one of those…in a heartbeat I was caressed by the warm salty air of the ocean. Opening my eyes again, I was stunned by the beauty of the sandy cove around us. We stood on a tiny strip of black sand that butted against a tropical jungle. The beach ended in a jumble of rocks that jutted out from a hardened lava flow. Turquoise water gently lapped at the shore and a sea bird dipped its head into the water just off shore.