Participles and Portents (27)

Loss of Clarity


They rose very early. Though the car was relatively silent, the atmosphere seemed more companionable and content than anything else. Ian had plugged in his IPod and was manning the music. His tastes were widely eclectic, but for the trip he had put together a playlist of Irish music through the ages, from The Clancy Brothers, to The Chieftains, to U2, Clannad and even Snow Patrol. Nana actually enjoyed most of it, though she did have a few issues with both The Clancy Brothers and U2 as both groups included rhythm structures and language that she found either grating on one hand or inappropriate on the other. This led to a short debate on the philosophy of music and its importance within culture. Not surprisingly, everyone had an opinion or something to add, so the trip back to the village flew by in a barrage of music with interruptions for a bit of verbal sparring. Overall, it was a wonderful return journey.

At the cottage, they unloaded and cleaned up a bit from the drive. Lin announced that she wanted to go check on her "patient." The rest of the family decided to go too, so they set out with light hearts and the thrum of Irish ballads in their heads. The wind along the strand was strong with just a bit of bite, causing Fiona to pull her scarf up and wrap it around her head as she had done at the Burren. The boys zipped their jackets and braced their chins on their chests, pushing headlong into it. Lin was attempting to combine her mother's option and the boys', threading the silk from around her collar to use as a scarf, when they ran into Roary. He looked like he had slept under a sand pile. His hair and clothes were wrinkled and covered with grit and he was carrying an empty whiskey bottle.

The boys were the first to see him. They ran up to say hello and stopped short when they noticed how disheveled he looked. Fiona, never one to pull a punch, asked him directly, "Did you finish that on the shore and end up sleeping on a rock, Mr. James?"

Smiling weakly, with his eyes squinting into the sun, Roary raised the bottle like a visor shield to his brow. "Hello, Mrs. Blake.  Actually, that is pretty much exactly what I've been doin'. Can't say it was the best decision," he finished with his crooked smile just a bit bigger.

"Well, I hope you have some clean clothes and a cup of tea waiting for you," replied Fiona. "It looks like you will be in sore need of some care and comfort today."

"That I will," he replied.

Lin was busy fussing with the silk as she listened to the interchange. She had managed to get the silk free, but the wind was playing havoc with her attempts to wrap it around her head. It kept snapping up an end and trying to sweep if from her grasp. Finally, with a bit of frustration, she unfastened the pin she was wearing and made to use it to fasten the silk to her jacket so that it would at least be anchored on one end as she wound it around. She held the silk to her jacket lapel just over her heart and had the pin poised to bite in. Roary looked up just before she sunk the needle's edge into the fabric.  He said something to her, but it was carried away by the wind, much like the silk would have been if she had not stabbed the pin through and made it fast with the pin. The look on Roary's face was one of complete horror. Lin stared at him. She had no idea why he looked so stunned. Women used pins on silks and scarves all the time. As this thought passed through her mind, there was a sudden change in the feel of the wind and the sun's light was briefly blotted out by a roil of emerald, indigo, amber and sapphire, then a burst of pure light hit her in the eyes. The light was so incredibly bright that she felt blinded by it. She could just make out the figures of the boys and her mom holding their arms up to shield their own eyes.

Inside the light, a figure seemed to be taking shape. It appeared to be hunched over, the size of an average person with long stringy hair and a robe that fell to its feet. The light's intensity began to fade,  and it seemed to recede into the figure. As the light slid into the figure, it began to change. Slightly at first, a slow unbending of the spine, then a gradual filling out of the hair. As this change took place, the family and Roary moved to be clustered together. Roary moved between Fiona and Lin, and the boys stepped in front of the two women, like guardians. Watching the transformation, they saw an old crone shed the cocoon of age and become a startlingly beautiful woman with wild dark hair that cracked in the wind and clear emerald green eyes. "That's her," whispered Sean. "Who?" asked Ian. But there was no answer as that was when the figure stepped forward and pointed to Lin, pulling her forward to stand between the boys without Lin's seeming to move on her own at all.

Roary was stunned. He had just seen the old woman from his childhood and the one who had so recently tended his hand step not only out of the light but out of her aged form. It was not that he did not believe in the old myths and legends, some small part of him always had, he just never expected that he would actually confront a person from out of time face to face. He simply could not move or speak given the swell of emotion running through him, from awe and pleasant surprise to a gut-wrenching fear and sense that something was about to take a very unexpected and ugly turn.

Sean unconsciously reached for his mother’s hand. It was not clear if he was giving or seeking comfort. It was clear, however, that of the three people who stood facing the wild, green-eyed woman, only Sean recognized her. Ian moved closer to Lin. They stood together, the three of them as if bracing against a foe.
Fiona moved as if to take her place with her daughter and grandsons and found that she was held in stasis. No muscle would move and she could not speak. She felt trapped and wary. There was something happening that felt charged, almost electric, and definitely like her family should be seeking shelter from whatever was about to come. She wanted to pull them back and tell them to run. But she had no voice and no power to move. She was compelled to simply watch. The most she could manage was a sidelong glance at Roary. He seemed to be struggling under the weight of what was transpiring as well.

Lin weighed the woman in front of her. She seemed oddly exotic and out of time. If asked if she thought the woman was benign or malignant, she would not have been able to give an answer. She felt mostly that this woman was on the edge and that one feather-light touch would tip the balance. She was not afraid of her, yet she knew she probably should be.

The wind picked up, heaving the sea against the rock behind the woman they faced, only to recede and become a constantly throbbing pulse that seemed to match the racing of their hearts.

“Well met,” said the woman quietly yet firmly. Her voice was like thick honey. It poured over you with warm tones and finished just a bit too sweet.

Lin said nothing; she just continued to look at the woman, waiting for what was next.

“I see ye are adept at listenin’ when ye need to and that is a good thing as I will’na be repeatin’ my words to ye. I have only a small bit of time to take from ye what I will and to give to ye what you must know,” said the woman.

“Who are you?” asked Lin.

Sean replied before the woman could, “That is Aiofe, the King’s second wife, the jealous one.”

Lin smiled a bit and rubbed his head. “That tale is ancient, dear, and only a tale at that. She cannot be Lir’s wife.”

“The blood is strong in his veins, that is sure,” said the woman. “He can see me for who I am. Ye probably could too if ye weren’t so damn stubborn. But I’ve a feeling your pox on faery-tales and such is about to crash around yer ears. Come a bit closer,” she gestured.

Lin stepped out from the boys and walked over to the woman. They stood now, roughly five feet apart looking directly at each other, eye to eye.

“No fear though, that’s good. Ye’ll be needin’ to hold on to that part with what ye’ have pledged to,” said the woman just loud enough to be heard.

“What I have pledged to?” repeated Lin.

“Aye, you made a solemn promise to those that were once my kin. Now I hold you to that geasa. Ye must do all that ye can to save Roarke from his plight, and that means saving the others as well, and to see that ye have proper incentive, I plan to take ye up on the second part of yer’ offer. I’ll be takin’ that which ye can give as surety that ye will take up the cause and make this right, finally.”

“I don’t understa…,” replied Lin.

As the words formed in her mouth, Lin turned to follow the path of the swath of colored light that streamed from Aiofe’s hands. Twisting spirals of amber, indigo, and sapphire flames shot forward. They cleaved directly through the wind and wound themselves in a frenetic dance around the boys. As she watched in stunned disbelief, her children slowly began to change. Where the fire touched them, their bodies began to mold themselves into a new form, hands were replaced with large padded paws and heavy rough fur, and muscular legs became large hindquarters curving into graceful backs and long tails. Once complete, her boys were gone and in their place stood two magnificent Irish Wolfhounds.

Aiofe moved to them, silk flowing over the strand, and patted their large mangy heads. "I believe ye will do well in these forms. I give ye one gift, as long as you remember who ye are and what ye mean to each other, ye will be able to talk to each other without real speech. But bear in mind, once ye take to the form's true ways, this gift will leave ye. Ye will have to guard the gift.”

She turned to Lin, “I can be gracious at times. I’ll give ye a minute before I set them free. Ye can think with them if ye try.”

Lin ran to the boys, throwing her arms around their huge lion-like necks. “Please remember you are your brother’s keeper.. It goes both ways. I will do anything to bring you back to me. I love you. Nana loves you.”

The hound that was now Sean, a tall soft grey with a broad sweep of dark grey running down its nose and back, pushed his head into her hand. “Love you too, Ma. This feels really funny, but it doesn’t hurt, so don't worry. Things will work out.  And until they do, this is kind of like a cool experiment, right?”  The look in the hound's eyes was clearly a search for reassurance.  All Lin could do was hug him harder and try not to drown in her own tangle of emotion.

Fiona felt like she had been hit with a sledgehammer directly in the center of her chest.  She could not breathe.  All of her muscles seemed to have clenched themselves tight.  Her throat was entirely constricted.  It flashed through her mind how easy it truly might be to faint.  She had always thought that action was somehow unreal, but now she knew it was possible to lose control to that degree.  She swayed from the lack of oxygen and gound herself propped up by Roary James.  Roary James, who was somehow a part of all of this, and she flashed on the image of her grandsons their tall, proud young frames, now transformed into hounds.  That was when the blackness engulfed her.

Roary was completely shaken by what he had just witnessed.  His momentary delight at being in the presence of this figure from the legends of his youth was shredded.  He wanted to throttle the old witch for what she had just done.  His hands were clenching and unclenching, his jaw grinding as he tried to hold onto himself and defuse the anger that boiled in him. From the corner of his eye he saw Fiona start to crumple and moved just in time to catch her before she fell to the sand.  Standing there with Lin's mother in his arms, he stared at Aiofe wishing that he had the power to force her to reverse what she had done, and cursing himself because he knew he did not.

Ian’s bulky, blonde hound head pushed into Lin's other hand. “Find us a way home, Mom. I’ll take care of Sean. I will try to make sure that we stay around this spot so we don't get lost."  He was almost a hand taller than his brother and his eyes shone with a desire to protect both his mother and his brother. "If Emma calls tell her I'm just away for a bit, no use having her worried too." It was an attempt at humor that hung limply in the air. They wanted to say more, but a tug at Lin’s jacket pulled her back toward Aiofe.

Roary helped Fiona stand as she came back to herself, moving a bit more roughly than he intended.  He moved toward Lin in an effort to help her stay with the boys, or hounds as they were now.  He found himself blocked by a wall of air.  A wall of air that was as solid as rock.  He simply could not move through it or around it.  Frustrated and angry he turned back to help Fiona. Side by side they bore witness to the soul shattering emptiness that seared Lin's face.  Without even thinking about it they linked hands in silent support.
“That was lovely,” said the Aoife. “Now look, boys, I have a treat for ye’ both, and she brandished two fine-looking bones that she threw into the waves. The two hounds took off with wild barking and jumping, racing toward the sea. Lin, Roary and Fiona watched with horror as they galloped directly in and were simply swallowed by a wave. They waited, holding their breath, but the hounds did not re-emerge.  Stunned the trio simply stood there unable to do anything more than pray that somehow what had just happened was a collective nightmare.

“Now don’t go gettin’ all fretful, the hounds have just moved off a bit. They will be perfectly safe if they stay together. I suspect they might even find their way back to this little spot, if they don’t make up their minds to stay hounds, that is,” said Aiofe.

Lin was caught between the impact of the loss of her boys and her anger at the woman who had caused it. Anger won in the end, “What in the bloody hell gave you the right to do that to my children?” she demanded. “Bring them back this instant and give them back what is theirs.”

Aiofe laughed, “Right? Do ye honestly think I am worried about that after all this time? Besides, the fool over there set this in motion,” she said pointing to Roary. “I warned him not to let the young one down near the sea. I told him long ago to find the pin ye wear, but he could never do it. Seems yon boy was the one that Lir finally trusted enough to let it go to. And the eldest boy, well, I let the silk out into the world when I bound Roary’s hand with it. But it was the eldest child who sought it and gave it to ye. And ye, well, ye are the one who Roarke and the lot trusted enough to let tend them and ye’ did accept the geasa to do all that you could and give all that you could to save the poor weary lad. So, it seems I really did not do much, while ye did quite a lot. Ye’ even managed to put the two pieces together and call to me. I don’t need rights when ye are steppin’ over the faery lines like that on yer own, love,” finished Aoife.

“Fine,” replied Lin in a snipping tone. “Let’s assume that I accept all of this as my doing.”

“I wouldna’ be discounting their parts in it,” said Aiofe pointing to the two other adults on the beach, “nor the boys for that matter, but sure, if ye need to shoulder the blame ye have the most of it.”

“What in the blazes do we have to do? Stitch the bird up and teach it to fly?”

“Ye’ weren’t really listenin’ when yer young lad told ye the tale, were ye, Lass?’ said Aoife.

“There are three silks and you need all of them. Ye miss but two. The Sidhe took them from me long ago and I havena’ seen them since. But they may help ye’ to win your children back. Find the silks, bind the birds together with them and use the pin to finish the binding. It’s that simple. The swans will be whole again and ye may see yer boys again if boys they still are.” Aiofe was almost smiling now. Her emerald eyes sparkling with what looked like suppressed laughter.

“But how?” began Lin. That was as far as she got, as the wind struck up a howling frenzy at that moment and Aiofe spun into it, turning as fast as the wind. She became a blur of color that suddenly winked into a shaft of blindingly pure light. And then they were alone on the beach with the boys' clothes and packs at their feet.

Roary, Lin and Fiona, stood alone with the staggering events of the last few minutes. In a fit of indignant anger Lin began to wrestle with the pin. She wrenched it free and made to cast it into the sea, when a strong hand covered hers and stopped her forward momentum.

“I’m thinkin’ that ye will regret that vera’ soon. We need that to tend to Sean and Ian, “ said Roary in a calm and definitive tone.

“Damn it to hell,” shouted Lin, then she turned and slapped him hard with her free hand. “I do not believe in fairy or faery tales, so what am I doing living through a nightmare in one?”

Roary took both hands and lowered them down to her sides and turned her toward her mother. Fiona was still staring at the spot in the sea where her grandsons had disappeared.

“I think there are some people who need ye to stop hidin’ from things so much and start just lookin’ for answers. Don’t you?”

With a big sigh, Lin let her shoulders slide from battle posture to surrender.

She stepped away from Roary. “Well, Mom, Mr. James, I think we had best start. First things first, does anyone have any idea where we can find the boys, I mean the hounds?”

“That, I’m thinkin’,  isna’ going to happen until ye have given Aiofe what she seeks,” replied Roary.

Fiona turned to him, tears brimming in her lovely blue eyes, nodding in agreement, then she returned her gaze to the sea.

“Not everyone gets what they want,” announced Lin.