Free Emerald Isle by Barbra Annino Page B

Derek on her way through the kitchen. They carried the lumpy rug that concealed the chief of police.
    “Jesus, Mrs. Geraghty, what you got in here, a body?” Derek asked.
    Fiona bit her lip. “Don’t be silly.” She looked at Birdie. “Just having the rug cleaned. Careful, now.”
    Birdie watched in horror as Chance banged his end of the rug into the refrigerator. She was pretty sure that was where the chief’s head was tucked.
    “Just set it right by the back stoop.” Fiona held the door open. “That’s it. Nice and easy. It’s one of a kind.”
    Derek tripped over the rug.
    “Watch your step,” Fiona said. “Now, everyone sit down and we’ll bring out the soup. Stacy shouldn’t be but a moment.”
    Birdie went back inside and grabbed a tray with five soup cups. She brought it to the stove as Fiona sashayed through the screen door.
    “Would you like to tell me what that was about?” Birdie asked.
    “It isn’t my fault.” Fiona patted Birdie’s pocket. “Check the spell. We need nine loved ones present for the retrieval. I thought it best not to take any chances.”
    “You have no idea.” Birdie filled Fiona in on the call from Aedon.
    Fiona said, “Then there’s no time to waste. You should know that Lolly is perfectly lucid.”
    Birdie reached for spoons as Fiona picked up the tray with the soup cups. The younger sister stopped, a cloud of concern crossing her face.
    “Birdie, what is it?” Fiona asked.
    Birdie took a deep breath, paused a moment. Then she shook her head slowly. “Something is wrong. I can’t feel her.”
    Fiona’s eyes widened. “She’s gone deeper into the web.”
    Birdie said, “There’s no time to waste.”
    The two women stood there, staring at me expectantly. I finally spotted Thor, snoozing softly near the fireplace, one ear trained on me.
    Birdie never covered this in my lessons. There was no chapter in the Blessed Book on dealing with powerful hallucinogenics that conjured up visions of ancient talking goddesses who were unimpressed by your witchiness.
    Of course, there was the possibility that they were the real deal. That I had indeed been sucked into another dimension just like that damn rhyming ghost warned me about.
    Yet, knowing all the enemies my family had collected over the years, the chance that these two weren’t goddesses, but simply powerful sorceresses who wanted to thwart my plan to bring my mother home, seemed far more likely.
    “If you are who you say you are, then why can’t you find the cauldron yourself? Why do you need me?” I asked.
    The one who called herself Danu looked at me like she was the Great Oz and I was the scarecrow searching for a brain.
    She stepped back, her eyes angry. “Have you not been listening? I told you it was gifted to your people and the fertile land that was once the home of the Tuatha. It no longer belongs to me.” She stepped toward the bubble and tapped it. “It belongs to the island.”
    A gorgeous view of a lush green hillside came into focus. Then, with a flick of Danu’s finger, the bubble spun and the scene changed to a waterfall cascading down a mountain. Another wave of her hand sparked the image of a vast forest, filled with towering pines. A slideshow followed then, and I saw a huge lake, dotted with islands and tiny fishing boats, then ocean waves gently lapping a sandy beach, giant cliffs perched along the edge of the sky, winding roads that passed castles and cottages alike, until finally, the bubble stopped spinning, coming to rest on an image of a huge stone protruding from a grassy knoll.
    “The Stone of Destiny, planted thousands of years ago. It still stands at the Hill of Tara,” Danu said. “Have you heard of it?”
    “Yes. Legend says that it roared when touched by the high king.”
    Badb stepped forward to gaze at the picture. “Tara was once a place where heroes gathered. I aided many a soldier in the valley that is called Boyne.”
    “Felled many too.” A mischievous smile