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  Danu

  The Line of Enya – Book II

  © 2018 T L Harty

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:

  TLHarty.com

  Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9982854-3-6

  This book is dedicated to

  the people that insisted there was

  more to the story…

  when I foolishly thought I was done.

  You know who you are…

  Contents

  Chapter 1- Conchobar

  Chapter 2- Abroad

  Chapter 3- Tracy

  Chapter 4- Westward

  Chapter 5- History Lesson

  Chapter 6- The Land of Eire

  Chapter 7- Round Table

  Chapter 8- Kildare

  Chapter 9- Aine, the Pixie Queen

  Chapter 10- Pagan Faith

  Chapter 11- Coventina the Water Nymph

  Chapter 12- Lift Off

  Chapter 13- St. Brigid

  Chapter 14- Jed

  Chapter 15- Bruce Returns

  Chapter 16- Close to Home

  Chapter 17- Morrigan, Goddess of Battle

  Chapter 18- Interrogation

  Chapter 19- Out With the Old

  Chapter 20- Aftermath

  Chapter 21- Cliodhna, Queen of the Banshees

  Chapter 22- Spring Break

  Chapter 23- First Council Meeting

  Chapter 1- Conchobar

  We sat at the table, waiting for Rick to leave for work. Deidra could barely contain her excitement. When Rick started putting his coat on, she looked over at me and raised her eyebrows, smiling from ear to ear. Deidra raced off her chair so she could open the door for her father. He was touched by her gesture, not realizing that her actions were motivated by selfish impatience. Yet another not-so-stellar trait she inherited from me.

  Rick’s backside had barely cleared the doorway when she closed the door and locked it. “Finally!” she spoke into the air. Deidra returned to the table and announced, “We are going to have the best time today! There is so much to talk about.”

  The two of us were about to have a conversation that I had dreaded since giving birth to Deidra. Our opposing perspectives would make for an interesting discussion. “I am going to need another cup of coffee,” I said. “This talk is not going to be enjoyable, sweetheart,” I explained, as I filled my cup. “I’m not sure why you’re so excited.”

  “Are you kidding?” she asked. “Being an Oris is gonna rock!”

  “First, let me explain what it means to be an Oris, share some of our history, and help you get used to the changes that are coming,” I offered, trying not to get emotional while looking at her beautiful face. “You will not have a normal life.”

  This statement did little to change Deidra’s positivity. She giggled and said, “Um, I have lived a normal life for almost thirteen years and it’s not that great. It’s actually pretty uneventful and a bit of a snooze.”

  A smile of disbelief crossed my lips. A normal life is not that great. Well, in Deidra’s defense, that was not a statement I could comment on because my childhood could be explained by a lot of adjectives, but not “normal.”

  Deidra interrupted my train of thought, and further explained, “And I don’t think you understand, Mom. When I said we needed to have a talk- I am going to inform you about a couple of things.”

  Oh no, is this the teenage know-it-all stage already? She won’t turn thirteen for a couple of months! I need time to prepare.

  “First of all, you need to be careful,” she warned. “Had I not interrupted you and dad this morning, you would have gotten pregnant. As a matter of fact, you need to release him from your spell.”

  After nearly spitting out my coffee, I blurted out, “Excuse me.”

  “Yep,” she confirmed. “Dad may not have known about the birth control pills in the Jell-O box until recently, but you have visited that box for years with me around. I had no idea why until recently.” Deidra didn’t pretend to be a fan of this part of the discussion, but who could blame her? No one in their right mind wants to think about their parent’s sex lives.

  “What do you know about any spell?” I asked.

  “Technically, it’s not a spell, but a chemical in our sweat glands,” she explained. “Only a few Oris still have this gift, although many may possess it, but not realize. I’ve already tried it out on my principal and Charlie at school.”

  That news was horrifying. “You did what?!” I practically yelled.

  “Mom, it’s no big deal!” her voice shrieking as loud as mine. “I was running around for PE and the principal was on the playground. When he approached me, I grabbed his wrist, pretending to trip. And, Charlie…well, Charlie’s just so darn cute!”

  “This isn’t a game Deidra,” I told her, very upset by what she had just shared.

  “Relax,” she shrugged. “The strength of my sweat is nothing compared to yours. When I speak the word Conchobar to them, they will barely remember me.”

  “Exactly how do you know all of this?” I interrogated. “Why is my sweat stronger? Why would you want the principal obsessed with you? What is going on?!”

  “Mom, chill!” Deidra instructed. “Now I get it. Grammy always said that you ask too many questions. I need a couple of uninterrupted minutes to explain some stuff. So shush.”

  I slammed myself back in the chair, utterly annoyed at having my daughter treat me like this. She already seemed to know more than me so perhaps this was a good time to listen, and forgive her sudden rudeness.

  “Let’s play a little game,” Deidra suggested, calmly. “Whoever is holding the salt shaker gets to speak. If you are not holding it, you don’t speak.” She picked the salt shaker up and smiled. “These are really simple rules, Mom. Do you have any questions before we start?” she asked.

  I shook my head no. She placed her finger to her lips, giving me the internationally accepted signal not to speak, and looked at the salt shaker in her hand. She could be such a smart-ass. It was obvious where she got that trait too.

  “Perfect!” she exclaimed. “O.K., first, let me answer the questions you already asked. The most disturbing of which is about the principal being obsessed with me.” She made a face like she was eating her least favorite food. “That’s just gross, Mom. The sweat spell is age appropriate, so the principal will have a desire to protect me just like a father would. Basically, I will never get in trouble at school,” she giggled. “He’ll still be in love with his wife! He will just do my bidding…if I have any.”

  “Second,” Deidra continued, holding up two fingers, “I am not positive how the sweat spell works, scientifically speaking, but it does get stronger as an Oris ages. As a woman’s beauty fades and her child-rearing time passes, the sweat gets stronger to ensure her subjects remain loyal. Older Oris women were running things back in the day. Apparently, if someone ingests enough of the sweat, even Conchobar won’t release them.”

  I tried to swipe the salt shaker out of Deidra’s hand, but she quickly moved it out of my reach. “Tsk, tsk. Not yet, Ms. Impatience,” Deidra scolded. “Anyway, your best question has yet to be answered: How do I know all of this?”

  She was correct. That’s what I wanted to know most of all. When did she come upon all this knowledge? Did Grammy leave her a letter? One that was more thorough than mine?

  “It’s always the elder Oris’ responsibility to inform younger Oris about our lot in life. The day that Grammy died, I had my first vision,” she announced. “I was coming downstairs to tell you, but you were crying on the floor. As soon as Grammy died, I must have started my junction.”

  “I’m not sure how much you really know about being an
Oris. I’ve seen visions of you being pretty stubborn or difficult over the course of your life,” she said. “I’ve been bombarded with information. It’s still being given to me- in my visions. For five days straight, there have been pictures taking up all the space in my head. I had to use the sweat spell on my principal because I was zoning out so much at school. Teachers were sending me to the principal’s office constantly.”

  The tears tickled the corners of my eyes. I put my hand out in hopes that Deidra would let me have the salt shaker. She kindly gave it to me. I sniffled and said, “Grammy left me a letter. Why wouldn’t she have shared all those details?” I looked at Deidra, waiting for an answer. Remembering the salt shaker, I gave it back to her.

  “Mom,” Deidra said, softly, “Grammy wrote that letter two years ago. She would write one every couple of years. This one may have even been a little older because we were all spending Christmas together. She planned to tell you everything she knew at that time and encourage you to start exploring your gifts. In the past two years, she had learned a lot more about your capabilities. She knew people were looking for you, and that she couldn’t wait any longer.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, completely ignoring the salt shaker. “Why the rush?”

  Deidra laughed out loud. “Grammy did the opposite of rush when it came to you,” she said. “Since you’ve turned sixteen, she has been writing you a letter every two years. She should have spoken to you…let you know the truth, but she let you maintain this illusion of ‘normal’ you dream about. Grammy was a tough lady, but quite a softie where you were concerned. I think that I am being flooded with visions to help you, until you accept your position.”

  “You mean as Ellowee?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Deidra responded.

  “But I already have,” I confirmed. “Went to my first meeting and everything.”

  Deidra was shaking her head no, her dark locks of hair swaying back and forth. “You are gifted and you don’t use your gifts,” she accused. “You have abilities that you suppress and avoid. You go against your nature when speaking to others, and you are not following your intuition.”

  She wasn’t done explaining my short-comings, and added, “You are the head of the Oris foundation which has these ridiculous meetings where we accuse others of planning and plotting, but turn a blind eye to our own hypocrisies. Changes need to be made. But, first things first, Mom,” Deidra announced, handing me the phone. “Call Dad and speak the word Conchobar.”

  Placing the phone back down, I questioned, “Just like that? How can you be so flippant? This call will possibly end our marriage and you are fine with that?”

  “I have to be, and this call will end your marriage,” she stated, almost void of emotion. “If you choose to stay with Dad, you will get pregnant sometime over the next month. Whether it was your haste to get to your grandparents’ house or other things were on your mind: you haven’t taken your birth control pills in over five days,” she reminded me. “Dad and you haven’t been together lately, but we both know that won’t last long which, by the way, I find really disturbing. You are both kind of old to be carrying on like teenagers.”

  There were no words or questions formulating in my brain, so I just continued to listen. The only thing good about this conversation was that Deidra was now the one person in the world that knew me completely. If she didn’t know everything, she would soon.

  “Where are we headed?” I wondered. “You have to give me a little more to go on if I am expected to end my marriage and leave my home. And you are sorely mistaken if you think I’m just going to let you go. You’re still a minor.”

  “Grammy held up a piece of paper a few days before the car accident,” Deidra explained. “The paper had a woman’s name and address on it, with the word go in big, capital letters. The message was probably for you, but we all know how good you’ve become at avoiding those,” she jabbed. “I saw this in a vision when we were at Grammy’s house after the accident.”

  “How did you know that Grammy wrote that note right before the accident?” I wondered.

  “That’s easy,” Deidra answered. “A calendar was in the background with the days crossed off. It was easy to see.”

  “So, Mom,” she went on, “you have two choices. You can stay here with Dad and your new baby or you can leave with me to fulfill your true destiny- what you were born to do. I have to leave regardless of your decision.”

  “You know the book of Deidra is nonsense,” she accused. “I’ve had visions that may point to it being an offshoot of another book entirely. Things need to be sorted out, with or without your help. It may fall on me to fix things because you haven’t taken responsibility for who you are. I leave tonight.”

  The scene was moving in slow motion. Deidra stood up, releasing the salt shaker. It rolled out of her hand, and onto the table. Watching Deidra climb the stairs, the steam rising from my coffee, the tears traveling down my cheeks- it all overwhelmed my senses.

  Deidra just presented me with a paralyzing ultimatum. The fact that she had to leave because of my inadequacies troubled me deeply. Denial had brought me to this day, and not embracing reality had brought me face to face with a very serious decision. There was no time to evaluate outcomes or measure important questions. My life would be forever changed after this evening. Stay or go…decide.

  My inclination was to go with Deidra. Having another child could never fill the void of her absence. This fact was excellent motivation, but not a foundational reason. Searching my brain, I hoped to come upon something that would make this decision easier or without error.

  It angered me that Deidra worried about all this Oris nonsense. When I was twelve, school and sports activities were my focus. I’ve said it hundreds of times. I just wanted… life would be so much better if… I only desired…

  And that’s when it all became clear. “Normal” was never the ultimate goal; it has only been the truth that brought me fulfillment. Not that the truth is always comfortable or welcome, but it is real, and it is constant. Picking up the phone, I dialed Rick’s work number. He would already be in his office because it was less than a half hour away.

  “Hello,” answered the deep, familiar voice at the end of the other line.

  “Hey babe,” I said, trying to hold it together. “This is not going to make any sense to you, Rick, but Deidra and I are going to go on a little trip. We’ll call you when we get to our destination.”

  “You just got back,” he complained. “Well, at least I can see you when I get home.”

  “No, you can’t,” I announced. “We’ll already be gone. Nothing for you to worry about- just a couple of girls doing girl stuff.”

  “What the hell!” he raised his voice. “Do I not have a say in anything, anymore?”

  “No, it’s not like that, Rick,” I pleaded. “I just need you to understand right now. This is something that has to be done. Please trust me.”

  “How can I trust you when you won’t tell me where you’re going or what you’re doing?” he questioned. “How much longer must you constantly get your way?”

  “Conchobar,” I whispered, through tears. I hung up the phone and pulled the cord out of the wall. It was apparent that Rick wasn’t willing to listen to anything I had to say.

  The stairs to my bedroom felt more like a mountain range, but they were slowly conquered one by one. There was no going back now. The unpacked suitcase from my arrival last night remained downstairs, where I left it. The only thing needed was a pair of pajamas. I breathed deep when entering my bedroom, running my hand along the bed, the dresser, and looking out the window. Choosing to go with Deidra tonight meant leaving here one last time. I felt it in my bones.

  Deidra peeked into the room, noticing tears tracing my face. She walked up to me, arms spread wide and we hugged. It occurred to me how much she had grown, the top of her head reaching my eyes.

  “Mom, don’t be upset,” she consoled. “Once we understand everything, it w
ill make this easier. I promise.”

  That statement almost made me crack a smile. Looking into her eyes, I said, “You sound so grown-up all of a sudden. I think that is the first time you have ever said anything like that to me.”

  We separated from our hug, and she grinned. “When do you think you will be ready to go tonight?” Deidra asked.

  “How do you know I’ve made up my mind?” I wondered.

  Deidra rolled her eyes and said, “I know we leave here together. It was in a vision. There is no telling what happens after that, but we get that far. And the sun was still up in my vision so I know we leave before nightfall.”

  “We have to leave soon,” I announced. “Your father could very well be on his way back home. I would like to change and grab a pair of P.J.’s,” I said. “We could be on the road in a half an hour. Are we even taking roads?”

  “Yes. For now, the roads are a good start,” she acknowledged. “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

  Twenty minutes later, my car was backing out of the garage. I stopped in the driveway, waiting for my courage to catch up with my actions. Deidra pushed the button to the garage, and it slowly closed.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “Vermont,” she answered. “There is someone there we need to meet.”

  “I’m going to run in and get my heavy coat,” I said. After a couple of minutes, I returned to the car.

  Vermont was not down the street. This would take us two, maybe three days by car. It was also coming into winter, which meant snow. “Your grandparents are in Vermont. We’re not going to see them, are we?” I asked.

  “We’re not going to see them,” she confirmed. “But, it’s going to be hard to go anywhere if we just stay here in the driveway, Mom,” she complained, as we had been there for a few minutes.

  Deidra’s tone was a little too big for her britches. “We’re not going anywhere until you fasten your seatbelt,” I instructed, trying to claim some of my authority back.

  She buckled up. I looked over at her, patted her leg three times, and said, “We’re off like a herd of turtles.”