Unlocked: A Druid's Turn

Chapter 9 - Part 1

It was a gorgeous night. As Diarmud opened the back door, a cool breeze slipped past Eoin’s face and cleared the thick, ale-scented air that hung inside the pub. The summer outside was fresh and clean, smelling of grass, earth, and a faint sweetness that might be a turf fire if it weren’t too warm for such.

As he admired this Loughnavalley night, Eoin had to admit it was great to get away from the city for a while. The sky was so dark that the stars appeared twice as bright and a hundred times as numerous as in Dublin. He was awestruck for a moment and lingered there with his neck bent back. Light shining through the darkness, Eoin thought, like hope and faith and possibility. A pleasant feeling of expectation and promise grew inside him as he gazed.

“You’ll remember them now,” Diarmud teased him, “they’re called stars. I’m sure they don’t have those in the dirty ol’ town.”

“Well isn’t that the beauty of stars?” Jane asked, catching up to them. “That you can see them no matter where you are?”

“Not like this, though,” Eoin said. And then he thought, Aisling would love it out here.

Reluctantly, the group moved on, walking past the dumpster and a stack of empty aluminum kegs before reaching the street. Barry had a busy night inside, and the cars of his patrons lined both sides of the road. The group crossed without bothering to look for traffic. Anyone who would drive this road at this time of night was already parked on it.

They were traveling with quite a crowd now, and Eoin glanced around to see that their numbers had grown. He hadn't noticed the Connor family inside the pub, but Jane had appeared before, and now he found Mr. and Mrs. Connor and Sean behind him. Pádrig, the youngest Connor, wasn’t with the group. In fact, none of the younger family members were out tonight. From what he could see, Eoin was the youngest of the bunch. Apparently, the kids in town had better things to do.

Everyone fell into single file as they reached the other side of the road, where there wasn’t much space between the parked cars and a ditch. Reaching Loughnavalley’s outer limit, their line snaked around the town’s welcome sign and continued into the next village. Slán agus Béannacht, the sign read, blessing them as they went. The other side welcomed travelers with Céad Mile Fáilte, Lochan an Bhealaigh, Loughnavalley.

Some ways down, the front of the line turned right and followed a stone wall that cut into a field. Eoin was shocked to see that his father was leading the way. He turned to Will to comment on his father’s uncharacteristic position at the head of the pack, but Will was no longer by him. He couldn’t see him at all down the line.

They continued on like that for some time. Finally, well away from Fox’s and deep inside the rural silence, their single-file line bunched up. Eoin peered around those in front of him to see his father stopped at a gate. It was secured by a padlock, but Seamus pulled a key from his shirt pocket that slipped right in. The lock came off easily, and Seamus held the gate open to let those behind him pass through.

Eoin’s stomach tightened. He’d have to walk right by his father. He just hoped that, with the Jameson’s help, he could do it without an argument.

Waiting for his turn, Eoin realized that he wasn’t familiar with this pasture. He had no idea who owned it. Even though they weren’t technically in Loughnavalley, they were close enough that he should know the land. Yet, he’d never noticed this farm or its stone wall before, and that baffled him. He stepped aside and let the group pass to find Will, who it turned out was bringing up the rear.

“How’d you end up back there?” Eoin asked. Will just shrugged. “Whose land is this?” But Will was silent again, only answering with a one-sided smile as he lowered his head.