Chapter 47: Aoífe
"What do you mean she was taken?" Dutch snapped.
Hosea had tears in his eyes. "The werewolf that attacked you took her, Dutch."
Dutch slowly sat up and held his head. "No. No no no, this can't be happenin'. Did you guys see which way they went?!"
"No. It used a portal to get away."
Dutch snarled. "God dammit! We need to get a hold of Lilly and Arthur."
"We have a telephone system, but I couldn't reach them at The Balmoral Hotel. They're gone on missions right now," Charles said. "I let Patrick know, though. He's on his way after them as we speak."
Patrick was riding Seamus hard down the road on his way to Perth. Lilly and Arthur had left hours ago but he had to catch up quickly. They had to know what was going on. He'd been driving his horse to the brink of exhaustion as Seamus was foaming at the mouth, so Patrick slowed his steed to a gallop. The horse was still grunting, though. Patrick pat his horse on the neck.
"I'm sorry, boy, but this is an emergency," he said.
Patrick steered Seamus off the road to a nearby stream to let him get some water to drink and rest. However, he saw some stables nearby and had an idea. Perhaps there was a fresh horse he could borrow for the time being. After letting Seamus rest and drink for five minutes, he rode Seamus quickly to the stables. He noticed a gentleman in blue overalls standing near the door.
"Can I help ya, sir?" the man asked.
"Yes. I was wondering if I could buy a horse off ya. Mine needs a rest and I'm in a bit of a hurry, ya see," Patrick explained quickly.
"Well, if it's speed ya need, I got a nice Arabian in here you can buy for eight hundred pounds sterling."
"Done."
Patrick had the horses switched quickly and he mounted the black Arabian named Malvina. He immediately got back out on the road and was satisfied with the increased speed of his traveling.
Arthur and Lilly had stopped for dinner on the way to Perth, setting off the main road a ways and killing some rabbits for a quick meal. Lilly was in the middle of cooking one of them when Arthur sat down behind her and started rubbing her shoulders. "How you doin', mo stór?" he asked.
Lilly smiled and cracked her neck. "Anxious about our mission. Think we can do it?"
"Of course. We can do anything, as long as we're together."
Lilly smiled and looked back at him. "So encouragin'."
She leaned back and kissed him softly. "Food almost done?" Arthur inquired.
"Mmm. Just about, mo chuisle."
Lilly examined the rabbit. It was cooked just right. She cut a piece of meat off it and fed her husband. "Mmm, rabbit is real good."
Lilly giggled and cut off another piece, feeding herself. "So, once we're done here, you wanna get back on the road?"
"No."
Lilly giggled as Arthur put a hand between her legs. "My God, man, you're feckin' insatiable!"
Arthur nibbled on her earlobe and growled. "Oh, you know you love it."
Lilly moaned as he started massaging her womanhood. "I do." Suddenly Lilly heard noises and she perked up. "Someone's comin'."
"What?" Arthur asked.
The couple got up and pulled out their guns in the direction of the noise. It was Patrick on a new horse. Brian and James started barking and ran up to him, scaring the Arabian a bit. "Patrick? What are you doing here?" Lilly asked.
Patrick slowed to a stop. "Darach ar an gCnoc was attacked."
"What?!"
"Yeah. They took Aoífe."
Arthur perked up immediately and Lilly held a hand to her chest. "What? Who?!" Arthur demanded.
"A werewolf! It came and kidnapped Aoífe!"
Lilly started sobbing and covered her mouth. "They took my baby?! Where did they go?!"
"I need to contact my mother!" Adair said.
"I don't know."
Arthur snarled and punched a tree over. "What do you mean you don't know?!" Arthur snapped, his face red with anger.
"I mean they used a portal tah escape!"
Lilly was still crying. Arthur walked to her and held her. "Lilly, calm down sweetheart."
"I canna calm down! Carman stole our daughter!"
Arthur, with tears in his eyes, pulled his wife close to his body. "We're gonna find Aoífe, and we're gonna kill that bitch Carman. You hear me, mo bhean chéile?" [my wife?]
Lilly sniffled and nodded. "We need The Morrigan."
"Lillian?" The Morrigan said inside Lilly's head.
"Oh thank God. Morrigan, Carman kidnapped Aoífe."
"Yes, Adair told me. We're going to find out where she's at. For now, you and Arthur need to focus on the Nuckelavee, the Cait Síth, and the Biasd Bheulach."
Lilly's heart sank. "How can we focus on those monsters when my daughter is gone?!"
"What's she saying?" Patrick and Arthur asked.
"Oh as ucht Dé..." Lilly grabbed both Arthur's and Patrick's hands.
"You have to trust me, Lilly. We are going to find your daughter. I promise. Adair, it's time."
"Time for what?"
"Patrick, Arthur, you should probably stand back for this."
Patrick and Arthur let go of Lilly as light enveloped her. Suddenly she felt pain everywhere and she fell to her knees. Lilly shut her eyes and took heavy breaths as the pain increased. The light got brighter and brighter, becoming electrified, and the pain made Lilly scream out. Arthur reached for her but pulled back when he touched the light. "Ow!" he shouted.
Lilly screamed louder, feeling as if her whole body was being torn in half. She gripped the ground intensely with her fingers as the electricity moved through her. Suddenly there was a blast of light and a loud boom which knocked Patrick and Arthur off their feet. All the horses went running as did the wolves. The electricity and light dissipated and Lilly took shallow and loud breaths. The pain was gone. A hand reached out for Lilly and she looked up to see Adair staring at her. "Wh...what just happened?" Lilly asked breathlessly.
"I ascended," Adair said.
She helped Lilly up and the Irish woman looked shocked. "I don't...I feel strange."
"So do I."
Lilly tilted her head to one side, looking at Adair oddly. "You look just like me."
"I know."
The men both grunted as they sat up. "What the hell was that?" Arthur asked with a groan.
Lilly walked to Arthur and helped him up while Adair went to Patrick and held out her hand. "That was Lilly and I being separated," Adair explained.
Patrick looked up at Adair with a smile. "Ya got yer own body now?"
Adair pulled Patrick up and kissed him gently. "Yes."
Patrick wrapped his arms around Adair and held her close. "Good. Now I wilna feel so bad once we, well..."
Lilly stared at Patrick. "Is everyone else okay at home? What about Junior?"
"Some men were killed by a barrage of werewolves, and Dutch might have a concussion from the attack but he'll live. Junior is fine."
Lilly leaned her head on Arthur's shoulder. "Why was Da hurt?"
"He was in the nursery with the kids when the attack came."
"Why would they only take Aoífe?" Arthur asked.
"Because Carman only needed one child to take from you," The Morrigan said behind them, holding the reins of all three horses.
All four people turned to look at The Morrigan and Adair bowed her head. "Mother."
"Daughter."
Lilly walked over to The Morrigan. "Where is my daughter?"
"Patience, Lilly."
Lilly scoffed. "Patience?! She's just a baby! What does Carman want with her?!" Lilly sobbed.
The Morrigan wrapped her arms around Lilly and pat her back. "I don't know, but we're going to find out together. We need an oak tree." Lilly nodded while The Morrigan put an arm around her shoulder as they walked. The others followed. "Look, Adair and I know how evil Carman is but if she wanted Aoífe dead, that werewolf would have killed her on the spot."
Lilly wiped her tears, finding little comfort in The Morrigan's words. "That doesn't make me feel better."
They found an oak tree and The Morrigan put her hand on it. "She's alive. That's the important thing, Lilly. Now come. Put your hand on the tree." Lilly shut her eyes and put her palm on the trunk.
Mountains. Blue skies. Grass. Lightning. Thunder. A small alcove in a cave. Carman standing with a man who has a sharpshooter slung over his back. Carman holding a sleeping Aoífe in her arms.
"Such a sweet child," she says. "She will not replace my son, but she will be my new daughter."
"Will you be making her into a werewolf?" the man asks.
"No. Magic runs in her veins. She will be far more useful as my apprentice."
"Why didn't you take the boy?"
"The boy has no magic."
"Then why let him live?"
"An eye for an eye. She kills any more of my sons, I will kill him too. But for now, I will take joy in raising my new daughter."
Carman looks down at the sleeping baby with a smile. "She really is a precious little thing, isn't she..." the man says.
Carman nods. "I had a daughter once. So full of life and magic.""What happened to her?"
"She died...and I was not there to save her. And neither was Adair or The Morrigan, and they should have been."
Lilly backed away from the tree with tears in her eyes. She turned to look at Adair. "What is it, Lilly?" Adair asked her.
"...Who was Carman's daughter?"
Adair frowned sadly. "Her name was Olena."
"Carman said you guys didn't save her. What did she mean?"
Adair averted her gaze to the ground. "I..."
The Morrigan clasped a hand on Lilly's shoulder. "It was a long time ago, and it's not important."
Lilly glared at The Morrigan furiously. "You both better come clean right now!"
Adair lifted her eyes with tears in them. "...Please don't make me talk about it."
"Talk about what?" Arthur asked. "What the hell is goin' on?"
Lilly approached Adair and put her hands on Adair's shoulders. "Adair, you need to tell me what happened."
"What happened with Olena isn't important right now! What's important is getting Aoífe back!" The Morrigan exclaimed.
"She's right. Lilly, we can address this later," Patrick said softly.
Lilly let go of Adair and sighed. She knew they were right, but she also knew the subject of Carman's daughter Olena was of great significance. Still, she wouldn't press it...for now. "Morrigan, how do we get her back?"
"I recognized that mountain in the vision. It's far north, on the Isle of Skye."
Lilly looked at Arthur knowingly. "That's where the Biasd Bheulach is."
"Mmhmm. A shapeshifting demon now bent to Carman's will...as is the Nuckelavee and the Cait Síth."
Lilly turned to The Morrigan. "That man with Carman...any idea who he is?"
"No, but I will find out."
Lilly nodded and crossed her arms. "So, you got a plan?"
"Yes. You two should continue your missions and Adair and I will get your daughter."
Lilly gaped at The Morrigan. "You can't be serious! You think I'm just gonna...not go save my own kid?"
Arthur crossed his arms. "I'm with Lilly on this."
"Lilly, Arthur, Carman is a very powerful sorceress and you two don't stand a chance against her," Adair said.
Lilly narrowed her eyes as she looked at Adair. "I don't care! Aoífe is our daughter!"
"And you won't be any use to her if you're dead. You're human. Mother and I are not. Just trust us on this. Please."
Lilly's eyes filled with tears and she began to sob. "But she's my baby..."
Arthur wrapped his arms around Lilly. "Lilly, they'll get her back. I trust them and so should you."
Lilly cried into Arthur's shoulder. "But what kind of parents are we if we don't get her ourselves?"
Arthur held her closer and shushed her. "They're gonna get her back."
The Morrigan and Adair put their hands on Lilly's shoulders. "We promise."
Lilly nodded, hating herself for agreeing to the plan but knowing they were all correct in their assessment. Carman was just too strong for a human, even for people such as Lilly and Arthur. Patrick went and hugged both Arthur and Lilly.
"What can I do?" Patrick asked The Morrigan.
"You can go back to Edinburgh and inform the others at Darach ar an gCnoc...with your...communication device...of the situation."
Patrick chuckled. "Telephone. Yes, I can do that."
