Quinn - A Tuatha Dé Danann Novel

Chapter Nine

"Okay Binne. I'll prepare." She ran off to arrange whatever surprise she had in store for me. Rowe followed her out, on his way to work. I wondered if Eamon told him what was coming, and if he swore him to secrecy as well. Aengus and I were the only ones left in the kitchen. It was the first time we were alone since my big blow up the other day. We both sat in silence, eating our breakfasts. When we finished our food, we put our plates in the sink, avoiding each others gaze. I was still mad at him for lying to me, but also didn't think holding on to my anger would do either of us any good.

"I guess we better get over to Maeve's before she yells at us for being late again." Aengus made for the door.

"Wait, Aengus." He stopped, but looked like he still wanted to keep going. "I'm sorry."

"What do you mean you're sorry? I'm the one who should be apologizing. I sold you out just because I was afraid of what Nuala would think if she found out that I actually considered you a friend."

"You consider me a friend?"

"I mean, I hadn't planned on it, but yes I consider you a friend. You didn't ask to be one of us, and yet you accepted us. You taught me it doesn't matter where you come from. There are good and bad people all over the world. What matters is what's in your heart. And you, Henry, have a strong heart."

"Thank you. For the first time since I've arrived, I do not feel like an outsider. I feel accepted, even if it is only by one person. I mean your parents are nice and so is Maeve sometimes, but I still feel like they're cautious of me because I am a human."

"You are not just a human. Just like I am not just a Tuatha. We are both people with lives and families. Who are we to judge each other just based on where we were born. I hope someday we can all look past where we came from. Maybe then the Tuatha and humans can live together as one."

"I hope so too." Aengus' views on everything were uplifting. If he could see the world becoming a better place, then I could too. I had a newfound respect for him. He wasn't like Nuala who only saw me for my human nature. He saw me as a person. It was time I started seeing him as a person as well, not just Tuatha. We ran out the door hoping we wouldn't be late for Maeve's class. For once I was able to keep up with Aengus without him pulling me through the village.

"When did you get so fast?"

"The other day, when I was mad and running away from everything, I just sort of started running faster."

"Interesting. Your magic is tied to your emotions. I would be careful to stay calm when using magic."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because emotions can affect spells in ways we didn't mean to. A simple harmless spell can become dangerous if you are angry enough. Another reason why our magic is bound until we are fourteen." Magic was turning into something very real and very dangerous. What had I gotten myself into learning?

We made it to Maeve's baile just in the nick of time. She was just about to yell at us for being late, but we walked in her home before she could draw a breath towards our tardiness. Nuala looked at the two of us smiling and laughing with disgust. I didn't care what she thought. I for once in my life had a real friend.

"Oh," said Maeve. "You're here. Good. Today we can start work on simple spells." She beckoned us to sit down in her living room. She wasted no time getting right to work on the day's lesson. "Magic is all around us. Everything is made of magic. It travels through us. It creates nature and life. And yet it also has the power to destroy. We Tuatha choose to use magic to create rather than destroy."

She grabbed a small seed from the table in between us and held it in her hand.

"In this tiny seed is the most powerful magic. A seed has so much potential to grow and become life that it is bursting with magic. Earth magic is very strong. Difficult to master, but once you do so the power you can unleash is unstoppable."

"How could something so small have so much magic," said Nuala. "Even Henry has to have more magic than that seed.

"Lay off, Nuala." Aengus wasn't letting her get away with picking on me anymore.

"Just because a seed is tiny does not mean it has a small amount of magic." Maeve continued her lesson, ignoring the snide comment from Nuala. "On the other hand, just because a boulder is huge does not mean it contains vast amounts of magic. Magic is the potential an object has to change. A boulder can only become stone or pebbles, but a seed can become so much more. It can become a tree full of life, which means it is full of magic. That magic has to come from somewhere, and it all starts from this very seed."

She held the seed out to us. It was no bigger than a pebble. It was hard to believe that one day a hundred years from now this seed would become a towering tree. She handed the seed to her granddaughter, then grabbed two more seeds and handed each to Aengus and me.

"Take these seeds and connect your mind to them. Then I want you to encourage them to grow."

"How are we supposed to do that?" I was no farmer and I sure didn't see a pot of soil lying around anywhere.

"With your magic connected to the seeds, tell the seed to grow. If the seed believes your magic strong enough it will listen." I still didn't understand what she was saying but I gave it a shot anyway. The only thing that made things easier was seeing the same confused look on Nuala's face.

I focus my mind on the seed until I heard the high-pitched frequency it gave off. I poked my thoughts at it feeling a strong connection. The seed and I were one. Again I had the sense that I was complete, and a part of me long kept asleep was now waking up. The seed poked back at my thoughts, curious to see who I was. In my mind I thought one word: Grow. I opened my mouth to say the word aloud, but when I said the word, it was not in English.

"Fás." The seeds magic melded with my own listening to my thoughts trying to figure out what I wanted it to do. I could hear Aengus and Nuala chanting the word as well. I repeated the word again this time with force. "Fás!"

The tiny seed obeyed me and out of its shell came a small sprout. The green vine twisted and turned through the air growing larger by the second. What would have taken months took moments, and once the seeds magic had been spent, a small sapling about a foot in length sat in my hand. The roots wrapped around my wrist searching for nutrient rich soils. I was shocked. I didn't know how I did it, but right in the palm of my hand was the beginnings of a tree.

"Congratulations Enri." Maeve was smiling at me. "You have successfully performed your first spell." Aengus and Nuala looked up from their un-grown seeds. Aengus face lit up with joy and he came over and gave me a strong clap on the back. Nuala on the other hand looked back at her seed and continued to try and make it grow. Her face reddened and sweat came down her brow, but after a few moments the seed listened to her and sprouted a sapling of her own.

"And congratulations to you, Nuala. Your sapling looks wonderful." She motioned for us to follow her outside, where a small patch of soil was freshly churned for our small trees to be planted in. I carefully unwound the roots from my arm, and dug out a small hole for them to sit into. Once the tree was planted I pushed back the dirt around its base, setting it firmly in the soil. I reconnected to the sapling and could tell it was happy to have a home.