Doon - ch 3

Ruth grabbed the field hockey sticks from the back seat of the SUV and slung her loaded gear bag across her shoulders. “The reason why Julia gives you such a hard time, Lupe, is because one; she’s the devil incarnate and two; she’s jealous of you. She may be team captain but you are a heck of a better attacker once you get that ball than she is. You have saved her hide on the field as well as the team’s so many times that you should have legs checked.”

“My legs checked?” said Lupe as she climbed out of her side of the car with her gear in tow.

“Yeah, because I think they are made out of gold.”

Ruth met her teammate in front of the car. Lupe was a full head and half shorter than Ruth who was tall and built like a workhorse. “Hey, do you want me to talk to Coach Sister Francis about the picking? I mean, Julia won’t dare mess with me because I am best goalkeeper in the district. See these legs?” she said as she lifted her field hockey skirt a bit. “You know what they are made out of too?”

“Gold?” smirked the smaller dark haired girl.

“GOLD!”

Lupe snorted in spite of herself. "You dork." She took her stick from Ruth and shouldered it. “I appreciate you sticking up for me but you don’t have to tell coach. I’ll figure something out myself.”

The two entered Ruth’s house and went straight to the open aired kitchen-dining room. Mrs. O’Neil, who was still wearing her office work clothes, was bent over the stove top frying chicken. Ruth’s two older brothers, Joshua and Thomas were chopping up vegetables for a tossed salad. Like Ruth all three of them were stretched tall and had the same sandy brown hair that seem to have a mind of its own in waves and curls. Thomas had his sleeves rolled up and was wearing an apron while his brother couldn’t be bothered and had shards of carrots flying up into his over sized sleeves.

“Hey, Peanut. Hello, Guadalupe. ” chimed Joshua who was the first to see the girls enter.

Ruth gave a quick nod at her brother before collapsing in one of the dining room chairs. Lupe gave a tight smile, hastily undoing the thick braid she had done up for practice. Her long hair fell across her shoulders like a cascade of night. She softly combed it with her fingers and sat down next to Ruth, crossing her legs like a lady. She looked at Joshua again, giving him a proper almost lingering smile.

Joshua nervously glanced at his brother who was trying to suppress a laugh.

Mrs. O’Neil broke up the scene. “Ruth, Adam and Emily along with the kids are going to be joining for dinner tonight. So, make sure your door is closed if you don’t want them to go in your room again.”

Ruth groaned. The last time her niece and nephew were over they had snuck into her room to play video games and had spilled grape juice over her laptop.

“Lupe,” Mrs. O’Neil continued as she turned over a few wings in the skillet, “Your parents know that you are having dinner with us tonight, right?”

“Yes, but it‘s only asking my mom this time. My dad is out to sea again.”

“For how long?”

“About four weeks. Not that long at all. Oh, yeah, and mom says, ‘Thank you’ for inviting me.”

“Tell her, ‘We‘re always happy to have you.’ So how was practice, girls?”

Lupe was about to open her mouth when Ruth hissed, “You know, if this wasn’t our senior year I would so kick Julia’s teeth in.”

“Ruth Macha O‘Neil!” scolded Thomas who stopped chopping cucumbers and looked aghast.

“She is still bullying everyone,” Ruth protested greatly, “You should see what she does to Lupe!”

The smaller girl turned bright red as she seemed to be studying her grass stained sneakers.

Turning from the stove, Mrs. O’Neil placed her hands on her hips, “Guadalupe, what has Julia been doing to you?”

Lupe shot her friend a dirty look and mumbled, “Don’t worry, ma’am, it’s nothing.”

The air took on an uncomfortable feeling as Ruth returned the dirty look. She coughed a “tellthem,” and kicked the front of Lupe’s sneakers. Lupe shook her head briefly.

Everyone went quiet as they stared at the petite girl who was now fiddling with the edge of her olive green skirt.

Thomas started chopping again, “Well, Lupe, remember I am studying to be an accountant so, if you wished I could screw Julia’s credit score. She wouldn’t be able to buy as much as a toothpick on credit until she’s 85. Of course, all you have to do is say the word.”

A small smile peaked from the girl’s melancholy face. Joshua caught it and played on what his brother had started.

“Plus, I am majoring in philosophy. I may not be able to mess with her finances but I could argue that technically, she doesn’t even exist.”

“And if those two don’t work I could simply hit her over the head with a frying pan,” finished Mrs. O’Neil as she mimed the action of taking Julia down with said pan.

Lupe giggled. Now she knew where Ruth got her tough girl streak. She felt better and thanked everyone who in turned grinned back. Rising to her feet, the girl excused herself to use the hallway bathroom to change into her street clothes.

Ruth went over to the island where Joshua had started chopping again as well. She popped a slice of carrot in her mouth.

“Ugh,” groaned Thomas, “You haven’t even washed your hands yet.”

Crossing her eyes at her brother, she stole another slice. “Thanks for lending me the car, Mom. But to answer your earlier question if you leave out Julia, practice went fine. I think we have a good chance of capturing the title again this year.”

The sound of the front door opened. A man’s voice called out a “Hello?”

The three siblings raised their heads and spoke in unison, “We’re in the kitchen, Pop.”

“Oh,” Ruth continued on as she reached for another slice of carrot. Thomas smacked her hand away. She curled her lip at him. “Mom, I have a game in two weeks on a Saturday. Us versus IHM. It’s being held at our field.”

“I’ll mark the calendar.”

Mr. O’Neil walked into the kitchen while undoing his tie and trying to flatten out a cowlick on his coal black hair. Like everyone else in the room he was stretched tall but his broad shoulders underneath his suit revealed his athletic build. He kissed his wife and took out a can of soda from the fridge.

He began to ask how was everyone’s day when Lupe returned from the bathroom. Her uniform had been replaced by a pair of cream hued shorts and a rust colored shirt with a screen print of Billie Holiday painted off on the corner.

Joshua spotted the shirt. “Holiday, Lupe. Good choice.”

The girl blushed softly as smoothed the shirt with her hands. Ruth rolled her eyes as she grabbed her and the girl’s gear. “Come on,” she ordered Lupe shoving a duffle bag and stick into her arms, “We’re putting this in my room so the rug rats won’t use it for….whatever.”

Leaving the kitchen, they trampled up stairs.

With Lupe close behind her Ruth began to snicker, “Joshua wouldn’t have said that if he knew you were wearing that shirt because you know Billie Holiday is his favorite singer.”

“I like Holiday.”

“Prove it. Name one song she sings.”

“Gloomy Sunday.”

Ruth stopped. She shrugged her shoulders, “I’m going to have to give you that. The only song I know she did is “Summer Time”.”

Lupe let out a laugh. With a soft shrug of her shoulders she confessed, “Ruth, you’re brother is really nice. And, yeah, I like him.”

The taller girl began to make a gagging noise.

“What’s wrong with that?” asked Lupe as it was her turn to stop in the middle of the stairway. “He’s tall. He’s smart. And at nineteen, he’s only two years older than me.”

Ruth amplified her gagging sounds. The smaller girl scrunched up her nose in disgust.

“See, Ramirez,” Ruth began knowing she had to explain herself for her displeasure, “You did not grow up with six brothers. Testosterone flying everywhere. Smacking you square in the face the moment you got up in the morning. It’s all smuggled porn, dirty boxers and pieces of food with bite marks in them shoved into the back of fridge until the bits are all green and fuzzy. It ain’t pretty, sister.”

“Well, at least you have siblings. You know who were my siblings growing up? My dolls. I had teddy bears for brothers and fashion dolls for sisters. And none of them looked like me.”

“Of course not,” said Ruth, “They’re all adopted.”

She turned around and marched up the rest of the stairs with Lupe in tow only to stop once more half way down the hall. Lupe asked what was wrong. The taller girl answered her with an extended finger pressed against her lips. She leaned in and whispered into her teammate’s ear. “I hear a man’s voice coming from my room.”

Peering around the short haired girl, Lupe leaned in for a listen. A voice, deep almost melodic, was coming from the closed bedroom. The girl had to step on her tip toes in order to whisper back in Ruth’s ear, “Do you think it’s one of your brothers?”

“No, everyone’s down stairs.”

“Computer?”

“Sleep mode.”

“Then I am going to get your parents,” Lupe began as she carefully put down her gear.

Ruth shook her head, “Don’t.” She put down her bag but kept hold of her stick. Gripping it tight in her hands, she took a step towards her room, “I can handle one guy.”

Lupe reached for the girl’s shirt, wanting to tug her back but knew that Ruth would only smack her hand away. She glanced over her shoulder towards the inviting staircase and then back up at her friend who was almost at the bedroom door. With an exasperated hiss, she grabbed her stick, quickly sneaking up behind Ruth. Ruth gave the girl a pleased nod.

The bedroom door cracked open with the two girls taking in a peek.

A slim thick shouldered man was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to them. He was wearing a gray coat with knot work embroidery of a black bird with its wings spread out behind two crossed silver swords done across the back. A pair of black triquetra that made Ruth recall military ranking bars graced each sleeve. The stranger’s hair was a burnt toffee brown and wavy with individual curls licking around his ears. His voice carried an Irish accent as he spoke.

“Yes, I can do this just fine.”

Ruth charged in, holding her stick like a bat. She swung sending the stick across the stranger’s right shoulder. The two connected and the man’s body soared against the headboard. Something flew out of his hands and landed on the floor. He let out a low groan as he banged the back of his head hard. His vision went milky only for a moment before it came to focus on the powerful looking girl who was now pinning him against the bed with a field hockey stick.

“Who the fuck are you?” the girl spat baring her teeth in a way that made the man think of fighting pit bulls.

“I-I,” he stammered. He tried to move his hands but couldn’t because the girl had her legs right on top of each of them. Pain was shrieking from all directions. His mind didn’t know whether to think or shut down to deal with the ache. The only thing it could do was be completely confused about what was going on before him. One moment he was talking to the cup and the next…

“I said, who the fuck are you?” the girl repeated, putting all of her weight on the stick the was beginning to bruise his chest despite the thickness of his coat.

Another wretched moan poured out from the man as his face twisted in agony.

“Ruth, stop! You‘re going to end up killing him!” a voice behind his capturer begged.

The stranger rolled his head as much as he could to see past the girl. A second girl, much smaller than the first with olive skin and long dark hair stood at the foot of the bed.

“What if it turns out that he’s one of your brother’s friends?” she added as the thought occurred to her. The O’Neil house was always crawling with friends and family; brothers, visiting Aunts, Uncles, and cousins from the up North and friends who stood still long enough to be declared “family”. The house was more bed and breakfast sometimes than a regular home. Why couldn’t this man be one of those revolving people?

“I am! I am!” coughed the stranger trying to find his voice from under the weight of the girl.

Easing up slightly, Ruth studied the man’s eyes with her own. She pressed back down making him groan again. “Which one?”

Which one? The stranger’s mind raced. Aw, feck it all, missy, how should I know? He wondered if he should just toss the girl off of him and make them both fall asleep. But then, the girl could put up a fight and there could be others in the house just outside of the door who would run in at the sound of any more struggling. No, if I can talk my way out of this mess all the better. Less damage. Less energy spent that I can use elsewhere like healing the bruises this brute of girl has given me.

“Which one?” hissed the girl, “Make me repeat myself again and I’ll shove this stick up your-”

“Okay,” said the man. Give her a name, eejit! But there are billions of names out there. Which one do I choose? You’re in America. Pick a typical American name. Feck, what is a typical American name? Every name on God’s green Earth is in this country. Any name. Any Tom, Dick or Harry name. There, just pick one of those.

Closing his eyes in silent prayer, he sputtered out, “T-Tom!”

“See!” the small girl cried as she leaned over the bed, “He’s Tommy’s friend.”

The stranger bit his tongue to prevent himself from laughing in relief.

Still, the taller girl kept the stick firmly in place, “Then what is he doing in my room?!”

“I went to use your toilet. I felt a bit dizzy and had to sit down. This was the first room I stopped at.  I wouldn‘t have done it if I had known how much it would have upset you.” His eyes went big and soft like a puppy’s, trying to convince the girl of his right innocence. “I’m sorry.”

Ruth glared at the man through suspicious slits for eyes. They relaxed as she took a deep breath going over her thoughts in her mind. For a moment she looked like she would release the stranger but she spoke otherwise, “Guadalupe, go get Thomas.”

The smaller girl nodded. Rolling his eyes, the man moaned against the bed. He was going to have to fight after all. So much for the Irish gift of gab.

“Oh, geez,” squealed Lupe as she stumbled back, “I almost fell. Hey, Ruth, he dropped something.”

The stranger flexed his hands and realized what he was no longer holding. His tensed face went pale with fear as the girl bent down, disappearing at the edge of the bed to pick of something.

“Give it here,” ordered Ruth, “Let me see.”

Shaking his head violently in protest, the man bellowed out, “Don’t touch it!” He watched as Lupe tossed the object to the girl. The cup arched its way through the air and brushed against Ruth’s hands as the man pushed up. He knocked the girl off of him and down she went, slapping the cup against the edge of her desk. Her body slammed against the ground, giving her a harsh carpet burn at her elbows and making her head hit one of the desk’s legs. She let out a muffled groan as the cup above her smashed into shards of baked clay.

The stranger was now up and steadying himself over and against the bed, wincing at the bruises that were pulsing at his shoulder and the back of his head. He looked at the cup and then glanced at Lupe who was hunched down low in fear and beginning to tremble. She looked like a frightened kitten, so much so, that the man stepped back. But he spotted the cup and remembered them touching it.

“You thick children” he moaned as he ran his fingers through his hair, “Oh, God, you have no idea what you have done.”

Ruth grabbed the man’s ankle with both hands and pulled with a heavy tug. The man lost his footing and fell to the floor. She was about to pounce on his again when he took hold of her wrists and shoved her against the side of the bed.

“Let go or I’ll scream!” hissed Ruth.

The man released one hand and snatched her up by the throat. Ruth stared in disbelief as the man’s eyes went from soft brown to a pale blue that almost seem to engulf the entire white. “Tace!” he said with great command.

Her throat burned for a flash as if she had swallowed the sun, itself. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Not even a hoarse whisper. She blinked wildly at the man whose eyes had returned to brown. Her body stiffened up as confused panic washed over her face. Her mouth snapped opened as she attempted another scream but still silence came. Shoving the man back down on the floor she scurried off of him until her back hit the wall next to the bed.

“Ruth!” Lupe was pointing at the cup that only a moment ago had shattered. “Look!”

In a jolt, the stranger sat up and all three stared at the cup whose pieces were sliding across the carpet towards each other like long lost friends. When two bits joined, the seams welded to each other and disappeared. Another two bits joined and moved towards the fixed parts of the pottery until the clay reformed back itself into its original shape.

The stranger grabbed the vessel and smiled, “Clever little cup, you are.” He stuffed it into his coat and inspected the two girls who were now staring at him in pale faced bewilderment.

Lupe had grabbed her field hockey stick in her ghost knuckled hand. She stood fast in her place with her feet firmly planted in her attacker position. Climbing to his own feet, it was only now the stranger saw how tiny the dark haired, olive skinned girl was and how silly looked threatening him with a simple field hockey stick. But then he felt his shoulder and remembered that a minute ago another stick had taken him down. He would be a fool not to take caution.

“I am not going to hurt you. I promise.”

A stuffed armadillo hit him in the back of the head. He turned around to see Ruth on her feet with the same battle ready stance as her friend. In her arms was a hoard of plushies.

“Oh, would you lay off, already?” The man held up his hands in example of peace. “I am a good guy.”

“You’re not Tommy’s friend, are you?” Lupe asked still gripping the stick.

“No, I’m not.”

“Then who are you? What are you?”

“A complicated mess, darlin‘.”  He put down his hands and leaned against the desk. “This whole thing, the rumble and tumble in the room. The bruising,” he said rubbing the back of his head. He gestured at Ruth, “The voice, wasn’t supposed to happen. What was the plan was me coming out of that mirror there and flying out that closed window there without anyone seeing me.”

“It’s broken.”

“What?”

“The window. It’s broken. The only way you could have opened it was to have shattered the glass.”

“Oh, bloody feck,” the man hissed as he glared up at the ceiling, “Are you trying to make this impossible for me?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and collected himself. “Kids, here’s the deal. You touched the cup. You weren’t supposed to touch the cup.”

Lupe gasped in fright, “Is the cup poison?”

“No, no,” the man said trying to calm the girl down. He felt the lump in his coat that was the pottery. The warmth of the cup came through the fabric. For a moment he was at peace. “The cup is the complete opposite of that. It’s life. It’s hope. And most of all, it’s faith. However, it’s also very traceable power wise, which is why touching it was a big no-no. You have a little bit cup on you.”

The girls looked at him confused.

The man scrambled trying to find a something they could relate the trouble to. He snapped his fingers, “Right, have you ever been to a club where they've stamped your hand with that god awful ultraviolet ink? Now, at the beginning of the night that ink is on one spot, the back of your hand, but as the night progresses it somehow travels. The ink find its way all over your face and clothes, it’s on your mate’s face and clothes and somehow it even winds up on that one guy who always arrives pissed faced and talks about his ex for three hours. And by the end of the night there’s ink everywhere and everyone looks like they’ve had a roll around with a ghost.”

“No,” said Lupe with Ruth shaking her head.

“Well….anyway, it’s like that. “ He carefully took a move over to Lupe and seized her stick. She held on tight at first but then allowed her grip to slip. “Good girl.”

Motioning for her to take a seat at the bed, which she did, the stranger turned to Ruth. She still wore a snarl against the man. Holding a penguin doll like a hand grenade, she was ready to toss her soft weapon at the slightest misstep of the stranger. The man lifted his hands in peace again and slowly patted the empty spot on the bed next to Lupe. Ruth shook her head in defiance and smacked the doll against her throat.

The stranger paused trying to figure out if he should just knock the girl out but he decided not to because that would mean having to deal with a panicking Guadalupe. Instead he nodded and crooked his finger at her to come closer. Glaring at him dead in the eye, she seemed to wonder if she should take the chance. Her need for her voice back won as she tossed the dolls aside and with great hesitation nudged her body towards the man. The stranger held out the hand that took her voice and with quick motion shoved his palm up against her mouth.

“Loc!”

Ruth jerked back in reflex as her throat felt coated in ice. “Hey,” she yelped and paused to laugh once she realized her voice was back.

“Yell again and I’ll take it away once more,” warned the man.

“Can you do something about this then?” she asked presenting her skinned elbows. They were painted scarlet with her blood. “You hurt me.”

“You hurt me, too!”

“You’re an intruder in my room!”

The two stared at each other until the man sighed, “Fair enough.” Gently he took the girl’s elbows and shut his eyes and whispered something Ruth couldn’t make out.

The girl gasped as heat followed by coolness bathed her arms. She examined them, squeezing the skin as the stranger pulled back. To her amazement, they were still bloody but underneath the mess the flesh was healed. She turned back to the man who was now trying to find something to wipe the blood that was smeared over his palms from touching her. He finally settled on cleaning them on the back of his black pants.

“Now,” he said to her, “Take a seat.”

She obeyed.

Sticking out his hands, palm side down, he asked the girls to do the same.

“What are you going to do?” asked Ruth.

“I am checking to see how much of an energy imprint the cup has left on you.” He wiggled his fingers. “C’mon, hands out.”

Lupe did as such. “Are you going to tell us why touching that cup is so bad….uhm…”

“Doon,” answered the man as he got down on his knees before her. He began to inspect the small girl’s hands, feeling how much of a trace the cup had left on her. Narrowing his eyes in concentration, he could make out her faint aura and the burning aura of the cup. The part where her hands came into contact with the vessel glowed an intense pearl mixed with a glorious gold. “Yes. See, I ran away with this here cup to prevent it from being used as a weapon and now some people are chasing me after it.”

“Evil people?”

“Worse, desperate.”

“Desperate for what?” asked Ruth.

The man grew quiet with his eyes cast downward as if he was in lost in troubling thought. A sick grayness sank into his skin that made Ruth think of mourners. His mouth opened seemingly wanting to say the answer but instead all he did was thank Lupe for her cooperation.

He turned to the other girl and said in low sad voice, “It’s your turn.”

Ruth put her hands out ready for inspection. She did not ask her question again.

Taking her hands into his, he paused out of surprise. For a moment, he swore he could see a flicker of light yellow and violet dance away from a part of the palm where the cup had not touched. With a blink, the hue was gone replaced by the same normal color as Lupe’s, a mixture of reds, blues and greens. Dismissing the flash as trick caused by his tired mind, he went on to see how much the cup had effected her.

The cup had indeed left a deep mark on the two girls as he had feared. They were walking Christmas trees lit up with energy that could be seen by anyone with second sight.

Lupe, still swimming in confusion asked another question. “Are you going to tell us what you are? Are you a wizard?”

“Am I a wizard?” the man laughed. He caught the genuine look of concerned on the girl’s face and excused his rudeness. “No, I am not a wizard. A mage, maybe. But, no, not a wizard. I’ll tell you what I am since I put you two in all of this mess. I’m a Sidhe.”

Ruth gasped, slipping her hands out of the Doon’s and clasping them over her mouth. No longer did she see the scruffy hair, weary looking being before her as man. He was something all together different. Something that she could not believe existed.

The Sidhe snickered at the girl’s reaction. “You would know what I am, wouldn’t you?” He motioned at the desk behind him, “I noticed that myth book you had there.”

“What?” asked Lupe smacking her knees in excitement, “What is a Sidhe? Is it an alien?”

“Alien?” Doon snorted in shock, “Where did you get an alien from?”

Ruth shook her head, “No, it’s an elf.”

Doon turned to the other girl with the same flustered expression, “It‘s not an elf either! And if you really read that book or any book about my kind you know we hate being called that.”

“Fine, elf like!” the girl snorted back.

“Oh, Jesus, elf like, really?” He shrugged his shoulders, “Doesn’t matter what you call me anyway in the long run.”

“Why not?” asked Ruth.

“Because, kids, it’s only going to take me a few minutes to camoflage this mark on you and then I am going to wipe your memories. You aren’t going to remember me at all.”

Biting her lip, Lupe began to inch away from Doon. “Why are you going to wipe our memories?”

“Because I can’t leave you with thoughts of me. The people who are after me, like I said, they’re desperate. They have magic that’s incredibly more impressive and dangerous than mine and with no qualms on using it to stomp on any little human anty that gets in their way. Believe me, there will be no shedding of tears on their behalf as they rip your head off and allow their hounds to tear the rest of you apart. These are soldiers. And as far as they are concerned, I am sure, me taking this cup was a declaration of war.”

He took the girls by the hand. “If they so much smell me on you, you’re dead.”

Lupe let out a scared little whimper to which the Sidhe caught. Tears that were hiding behind her eyes were almost starting to peak through. Doon felt awful but he had to make them understand the danger they were in. “Darlin‘, don’t worry. I can fix this. I may not be strong enough to erase the marker on you but like I said, I can camouflage it to the point that no one will notice. By the time I done, this room as well you, two, will be like as if our paths never crossed.”

“And what about you?” Lupe said softly, gazing straight into the Sidhe’s soft brown eyes. “Where are you going to alone?”

“London,” answered Doon forcing a smile in order to make the girl at ease. “But I won’t be alone though. I have friend who is going to help me out.”

“Another Sidhe?” asked Ruth.

“No, a human like yourselves. But he’s also a mage who bleedin’ deadly with a spell.” He thought of Marcus sitting in the overstuffed comforter in his flat, his glasses pushed back on his head like a headband, an ancient tome in his lap and him trying to figure out how to translate it into working magic. The image made the false smile on the Sidhe’s face become real. “Probably the best mage I have ever come across.”

“But it’s just you two,” said Ruth deflating Doon’s dream. “Against what? An army?”

“…yeah.”

“And you wanted to be in London but you came out of a mirror here.”

Doon pinched the bridge of his nose again as the pain in the back of head was making itself known once more. He was starting to feel incredibly foolish. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. It wasn’t my intention to come here to America but this was my first time using a mirror as a means of traveling. I don’t even really know how to use it. But I had to learn, quick.”

Cocking her eyebrows, Ruth crossed her arms, “You are making up the plan as you go along, aren’t you?“

A red blush swam up Doon’s cheeks. “Sort of,” he confessed. “Yes, I am eejit but I am a fast eejit who knows this world and all of its nooks and crannies better than the ones chasing me. And that’s what’s going to save my hide.”

“You’re nothing like the Sidhe I’ve read about.”

“And thank God for that.” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “Now, Ruth, was it?”

The taller girl nodded.

“Since this is your room, I take it, this is your house. So, I need for you to go to the kitchen and get me a thing of salt. And since you are an American, I am also guessing you have a load of bottled water in that fridge of yours?”

The girl nodded again.

“Filtered or Spring?”

“Spring.”

“Fantastic. Now, please tell me you have honey as well.”

“Yes, I just bought a bottle yesterday to make some baklava.”

“Baklava,” Doon hummed as he licked his lips. For the past few weeks he had been living on whole fruits and vegatable and simply prepared beef and stews. Food that he once regarded as the finest in all the world but after living with humans for so long and tasting all the millions of flavor combinations in dishes they had to offer, Sidhe food had never tasted so boring. Right now, his belly was hungry for a warm gyro, a soggy plate full of chips and a desert of sticky sweet bakalava.

He shook his head remembering that now was not the time to daydream. “Okay, I need all those things; the salt, the water and the honey. I am going to use the salt to cast a circle; you are going to stand in the circle while I bathe your hands in honey and wash it off with the water. A few little words. Hocus, pocus and we‘re all done. Then I will have you sit at the laptop and you… Guadalupe?”

“Just ‘Lupe‘.”

“Pretty name. Right, I’ll have you sitting on the bed with a book in your hands. I’ll cast another spell which will wipe your memory and put you under for a minute while I leave. You’ll wake up like nothing has happen and most likely will count the lost time here as not paying attention to the clock. Are we all understood?”

The girls nodded their head and in unison replied, “Yes.”

“Good,” he gestured towards the door, “Ruth, would you ever be so kind and get the ingredients?”

The taller girl rose to her feet and stepped past the two. Lupe stayed sitting, staring at the Sidhe with continuing concerned eyes. “Doon?”

“Yes, darlin’?”

“Good luck.”

He nodded in gesture, “Thank you, young lady, ‘cause I am going to need it.”

“Doon!” cried Ruth.

Both he and Lupe turned to the girl who was standing in front of the standing mirror. The reflecting glass was vibrating wildly even though nothing around it was moving. A light was starting to build under the surface.

All color drained from the Sidhe’s face. “God, no.”

He grabbed Lupe by the hand and yanked her off the bed. She fell forward, stumbling towards the floor but was caught by Doon. He scooped her up and tossed her over his uninjured shoulder. Grasping Ruth by the wrist, he yelled, “Run!”

“Huh?” she said still staring at the mirror which was now bright as a lamp.

“They’re coming!” he shouted pulling her along.

Lupe dug her hands in the fabric of the Sidhe’s coat, holding on as tightly as she could. Her voice broke in fear. “The soldiers!? The soldiers are coming?”

Ruth tumbled after Doon, nearly falling as well. She caught herself in time and found herself be tugged out of her bedroom out into the hallway. “But we still have the cup on us!” she cried looking at the Sidhe, “What are we going to do?”

“Another mirror!” Doon answered examining up and down the long plain corridor.

“We are going through a mirror? But you don’t know how to use it properly!”

“It’s either that or stay behind and fight who or what ever comes out of that mirror back in your room. Just me versus how many bodies? I don’t know.” He tugged her close to him. His face was within inches of her own. “I have no weapons on me to speak up save for my boot dagger. And they will be armed to the teeth and be backed up by hounds as big as horses. You will die. Lupe will die. And I will most certainly will be killed. But the worst thing is that they will have the cup. And if that happens, everyone one will be dead or worse.”

“What is that cup?!”

“No time for chatting, Ruth. Where’s a mirror?”

“My brother, Joshua’s, room.” She started to pull him down the hallway towards the stairs. “Here.”

Down in the kitchen,  Mr. O’Neil looked up towards the second floor. The noise of stomping feet and muffled yelling came traveling down and was starting to alarm everyone.

“What is your sister and her friend doing up there?” he addressed his kids.

Thomas dropped the last of the chopped vegetables into a bowl. He wiped his hands on his apron, “I’ll go check.”

Ruth swung the door open to Joshua’s room. The place was a mess. Clothes, both clean and dirty littered the floors. Papers with college notes and text books lied across the rumpled unmade bed. A bowl of half eaten ramen noodles sat next to a laptop on a makeshift desk that stood next to an old television. Posters of Sinatra and the rest of rat pack lined the walls.

“Oooooo,” said Lupe in awe as she forgot the terror behind her for a moment. She had never been in a boy’s bedroom whom she wasn’t related to before let alone someone she had a crush on.

Ruth led the Sidhe to Joshua’s closet and opened the door. A full length mirror was glue to the inside.

“Brilliant.” With a bit of difficulty, he undid the top of his left handed coat with his right hand and took out the amulet. He placed it against the surface of the glass.

Ruth grabbed the Sidhe’s arm to get his attention. Her eyes were almost swimming in tears of distressed, “My brothers, my mom, my dad, they’re all below. What about them? Will the soldiers…”

“No,” assured Doon. “They haven’t touched the cup and they’re human. They’ll be ignored.”

“What about us? Lupe and I?”

Doon cast his gaze away from the girl and stared at his reflection. This was the third time he had seen it today and with each passing glance he was beginning to hate the person he saw in the mirror more and more. A man, exhausted with life and yet wired like a frightened rabbit stared back at him. This pathetic man looked like he could be eaten alive. This was not a Sidhe who deserved to survive let alone thrive. He buried those emotions as he felt the weight of Lupe on his shoulder. He touched the lump that the cup made underneath his coat once more. Now was not the time to be so selfish.

Straightening his body out in attention, he tried to look as much as the soldier in his uniform as he could. His eyes flickered blue and back to brown. “Just stay with me,” he said to the girl, “Now hold on to my coat.”

The girl threw her arms around the man and hugged him tight. She had the strength of an ox behind her hold to Doon’s surprise.

“Where are going? Where are going?” cried Lupe as she began to kick like a little kid.

“YaMai noch ni Shevolah!”

The mirror surface lit up and vanished. Ruth’s eyes went wide as moons staring into the vast cavern before her. Doon wrapped his arm around her shoulders. With all of his might, he shoved himself along with the girls through the opening. The mirror closed after them.

In Ruth’s bedroom the the surface of her standing mirror vanished. A raven flew out of the opening and landed on the bed. The bird watched as a wolfhound squeazed his way through, followed by another one. Then from the opening darkness a heavy leather boot took a step on the shaggy pale carpet, pulling General Cathal into room. The mirror entryway behind him closed. He rapped the surface with his knuckles to see how solid the glass was. The sound of tapping told him it was very solid indeed. In his left hand he held a living key amulet as bright red and gleaming gold as the one Doon carried. In his right, he held open a yellowing parchment. The instructions on how to use it.

Rolling up the parchment, he placed it and the amulet in the deer hide satchel that laid across his chest and drew his sword and his hand dagger. He sniffed the room. The stench of the renegade Captain was every where.

“Ruthie!” called a voice from the hallway.

The hounds lifted their heads and began to snarl. Making a clicking nose with his tongue, the General called them over to him. They stood by his feet, glaring at the door.

In a low hiss the General cast a spell, “Sgáth.”

The room crackled with a rapid snap of electricity making the laptop screen flicker. A quiet fell over everything the next moment as the Thomas walked in the room.

“Ruth?” He looked at around, seemingly past the General and his companions who were all staring back with blank faces. The incantation prevented the young man from perceiving them. They were by no means invisible, only unnoticeable making his eyes hurt and wanting to turn away whenever Thomas looked in their direction. He rubbed his eyes as a dull throb was started to form in the back of them.

“Ruthie? Are you here?” he called out again.

The hairs on the back of his neck began to stand on end as a wave uneasiness washed over him. General Cathal had moved like darkness across the room and stood an inch away from Thomas. He leaned down his towering body until his sharp nose almost brushed the human’s cheek. Even at this range the spell worked on the young man’s sight, making the General blind to him.

The queasy feeling strengthened. Thomas patted his stomach, wondering if the jitters were coming from hunger.

Taking in a strong inhale of the human‘s scent, the Sidhe narrowed his eyes into slits. O’Neil, his mind declared.

In a low commanding voice that sounded like song, he uttered one word, “Léicea.”

Thomas shivered as if someone had stepped on his grave. He took a step back. A new desire erupted in him. Gone was the feeling of disturbance replaced by an overwhelming urge to walk out of the room to any where. There wasn’t a destination as far as he was concerned. He just had to walk.

He left the room quickly, practically running down the hall.

The General cast his glance at the bird who sat quietly on the bed preening her feathers. He snapped his fingers and pointed out the door in a search order.

The bird obeyed and flew with the hounds trailing behind.