Free Emerald Isle by Barbra Annino Page A

today’s humans,” Badb said, reaching for an apple from the fruit bowl on the table.
    I glared at her.
    Danu circled around her throne and stood behind it. “I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve brought you here, Stacy Justice.”
    “The thought did cross my mind.”
    “It seems that my cauldron has gone missing, and I want it found.”
    She stared at me, searching for a sign of recognition.
    I said, “I heard something about that.”
    “You see, the Cauldron of Abundance was passed to my son, Dagda, but I encouraged him, before we departed for this land, to gift it to the island and her people.” She frowned. “Had I known that you would be so careless with it, I wouldn’t have suggested it.”
    “Sorry about that.” I had no idea why I was apologizing. It’s not like I misplaced the thing myself. Maybe because I was afraid the two of them would turn me into a hedgehog.
    “Yes, well, it isn’t the first time, and I suspect it won’t be the last,” Danu said. “Do you know what happened the first time the cauldron was stolen, Stacy Justice?”
    I shook my head.
    The woman worked her hands into a frenzy, circling her fingers round and round, faster and faster, until finally,a large bubble popped out from her palms and floated through the air.
    I watched as the bubble puffed and expanded to the size of a Ferris wheel. It settled in the center of the room. Within seconds, a scene emerged, or rather several scenes all at once. Emaciated people, pale and gasping for breath; children crying as their mothers looked on desperately, helplessly; men in rags wandering the streets, begging for food.
    “The Famine.” My heart felt heavy and my stomach lurched as I watched all the pain and suffering.
    “Precisely. We don’t want that to happen again, do we?”
    I shook my head.
    The red-haired beauty smiled. “Good.”
    I looked from her to Badb. “But what does this have to do with me?”
    Badb said, “Seriously, Danu, are you sure she’s the one?”
    Danu shot Badb a look. Badb shrugged and bit into her apple.
    Danu rushed at me, grabbed my shoulders, and stared hard into my eyes. “It has everything to do with you, Stacy Justice, because you are going to find the cauldron.”
    She said it so convincingly, I almost believed her.

Chapter 11

    Birdie hurried upstairs to answer the call from her mirror. She hadn’t expected to see the face staring back at her so soon.
    “Aedon, what an inconvenient surprise.”
    “I know you didn’t expect to hear from me so quickly, but the natives are restless, so to speak, and they are calling for swift action. I’ve arranged for a private charter to pick you up at the regional airport. You’ll fly in to the west, to a private landing strip, where a driver will be waiting to transport your party to the castle.”
    “When?”
    “They’ll be expecting you on the plane by nine o’clock in the morning, your time.”
    Birdie was flabbergasted. “Aedon, you cannot be serious. That isn’t enough time to pack and plan, let alone rest.”
    “This is quite serious, Birdie, and I put my tail on the line promising the council that you and your Seeker could complete the task. Do not make a fool of me. Should you fail, I cannot guarantee to keep my promise.”
    Birdie stiffened. What was she going to do? Anastasia was missing, her daughter was imprisoned, and there was a cauldron to find.
    Her old fetching spell had to work. It just had to.
    “I assure you, Aedon, we will not fail.”
    Aedon gave Birdie the rest of the transportation details. She jotted them down and cut the connection.
    She exited her room feeling nauseous, nervous, and incredibly frightened for the first time in many years. The matriarch of the Geraghtys knelt before the huge painting that hung ceremoniously on the wall of her home, said a silent prayer to Danu, and fluttered down the back stairwell to prepare for the most important spell she would ever cast in her life.
    Birdie bumped into Chance and