By the time the next day rolled around, Ashling felt like she was back to her old self, and Cian's pain was long gone, meaning they were now able to begin their journey to Ireland. How that was going to happen, was a bit of a mystery to Ashling. Eoin and Eamon never really explained the plan. No plane tickets or layovers were discussed. To say she was curious was an understatement.
Eoin had instructed her to pack some clothes and essentials, but not too much as they could only bring so much with them. He told her that they can always go to the stores in the nearby towns to get anything she might forget or would need while they were there. Taking his suggestions seriously, she decided to only pack one week's worth of clothes, deciding that she can, at the very least, do laundry and then continue to wear the same rotation.
Her brothers were off doing the same thing, leaving her alone with her thoughts. What a crazy few days it has been! She had gone from a regular, nothing special local historian to a druid who is supposedly destined to save the world. Just the thought made her head spin. She still wasn't sure how the hell she was supposed to do any of that, but she pushed that to the back of her mind for now. One problem at a time.
"How're you doing, love?" She blushed at the new nickname he had picked up for her somewhere along the way. Turning, she saw Eoin leaning against her door frame, looking as devastatingly handsome as always. His dark hair was a carefully groomed mess. The black long-sleeve shirt he wore clung to him in places she shouldn't be thinking about with his sleeve rolled up, showing off his muscular forearms. Don't even get her started on his jeans. Her thoughts would just take a nosedive into the obscene.
If she had seen Eoin out in the world under any other set of circumstances, she would never in a million years get up the courage to approach him. He was the kind of guy that she knew she would never have a chance with. But this wasn't any other circumstance and his attention seemed firmly set on her for some reason or another. She tried not to think too much of it. He was a warrior. He had said it was his job to protect her and that was it. Thinking anything else was dangerous, at the very least, for her heart.
"I'm done, I think," she said, turning back to close her suitcase to try and clear her mind from her previous train of thought. She heard him move from the doorway to fully enter the room, coming to sit next to her suitcase on the bed.
"Good. We're wanting to get moving soon. The sooner we get you to the refuge, the better." Her stomach swooped. She was going to a magical community of druids. What was her life turning into? "You alright?"
"Just nervous," she answered, moving her suitcase off the bed, and then taking its place to sit next to him. She tried to keep a bit of space between them, but then he was filling it, moving slightly closer so their knees touched.
"Everything's going to be ok, Ash. I think you'll like it there," he said, ducking his head slightly to try and catch her eye. "Plus, you'll get to meet some people that have been waiting for this moment for a very long time."
"What do you mean?" she asked, curiosity beating out every other emotion now. "What people?"
"Did you think that your parents didn't have any other family at all?" She froze in shock, even her breathing stopping for a moment.
"We have family there? Relatives?" She whispered the question. Her parents never mentioned family, and downright refused to talk about it at all.
"Yes."
"Who?" She leaned forward then, hand reaching unconsciously to grip the forearm she had been ogling at not that long ago.
"They've asked that I not tell you. They want to do that themselves," Eoin said, looking apologetic, covering her hand with his and squeezing, "but I wanted to let you know they were there. Something good to look forward to, you know?"
"We've always thought there wasn't anyone," she started, not sure what to make of the sudden news. "Even after they died, there wasn't a will or a number to contact for relatives to help. Nothing. Poor Declan was left to take care of everything, including three younger siblings, all by himself."
"Your brother is a strong man. Your whole family is, Ash. Through such a tragedy, you all stayed together. That is an incredible feat." He looked into her eyes, hoping to convey the sincerity of his words. "But now you will have people to lean on. Including me, you know." He leaned more into her, bumping shoulders with her, flashing one of his smiles that made her heart stutter in her chest.
"Thank you, Eoin."
_____________________________________________
Once everyone had packed, they met in the living room. It was an awkward scene. Eoin stood behind Ashling. Eamon hovered just as closely by Cian, who was sending the blonde confused and curious glances every so often. Seamus and Declan simply stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do with themselves.
"Everyone ready?" Eamon asked, looking around at the four previously magically ignorant people in the room.
"I suppose," Seamus grumbled, still not happy about any part of the situation. Everyone else just nodded. The nerves were back in Ashling's stomach. Not so much like butterflies, but more like boulders.
"Alright then," Eoin said, moving from his spot behind her, "Let's go." Instead of walking to the front door, like Ashling thought he would, he moved towards the back door, taking her suitcase with him. She looked at her siblings in confusion before she hurried after him, her brothers following, and Eamon closing the house up behind them.
They walked into their backyard where Eoin was kneeling, scratching something into the ground with a stick.
"Um, Eoin?" Ashling asked, standing next to his crouched form.
"Yes, love?" That nickname again. She swore he was trying to give her a heart attack.
"Don't we need to go to the airport or something?"
"Oh, no! We have a much better and more efficient way to travel long distances." He stood, turning to face the family of four. "We are going to use magic."
"Like teleporting?" Seamus asked, looking excited for the first time since this whole event started three days ago.
"Pretty much," Eamon said, joining the group now that the house was locked up. "We only use it for long-distance travel, since it uses so much of our magic, leaving a single caster pretty much empty on the other side. But with Eoin and I both doing the spell, we will be tired, but still able to function or fight if needed."
"You're both pretty powerful, right?" Cian asked, looking towards Eamon. The taller blonde puffed his chest in pride.
"Best in our garrán," he answered, placing a fist on his chest in a show of bravado. Eoin looked in Ashling's direction, rolling his eyes at the display of his friend before he winked at her. She laughed quietly at the antics of the two friends.
"If you're done showing off, Eamon," Eoin said, mirth still in his voice. "We need everyone to stand in a circle around the rune and join hands." Ashling looked at the symbol he had dug into the ground, the swirls of it almost making her dizzy. She felt Eoin beside her before he gently folded her hand into his.
Eamon moved to stand directly opposite Eoin, pulling Cian to stand beside him, hanging on tight to his hand. Declan stood between Ash and Eamon and Seamus moved to stand between Cian and Eoin. Once all hands were joined, a light rose from the symbol. Knowing what must be happening, she turned her head to catch a glimpse of Eoin's face. Sure enough, his eyes were the same brilliant gold as they had been outside of her office, and just like then, the sight made her insides turn to jelly.
Suddenly, the Earth felt as if was crumbling beneath her feet. For a moment, she thought she might fall, but Eoin's strong grip kept her from moving too far from his side.
Eoin and Eamon's voices rose together, speaking the language she had heard both from Eoin in the trees and Eamon during the attack. The faces of her siblings showed both wonderment and fear and they, too, struggled to remain on their feet through the shaking.
"Taisteal chuig tearmann an deiscirt" was the crescendo of the beautiful words the two Irishmen were speaking, the authority and power palpable in the air. The shaking grew in strength, the light from the symbol growing. Suddenly, it felt like she was falling, air rushing past her body, her stomach rocketing up into her throat. Her eyes squeezed shut as she fought off the strong desire to scream. She clung to the hands of Eoin and Declan for dear life, terrified of what happened when the fall ended.
Just as suddenly as it started, the rush of air and weightlessness ended, and she was standing on solid ground again. She waited for half a beat for her stomach to place itself back where it was supposed to be inside of her before opening her eyes. Eoin and Eamon stood strong and straight, if not a little windblown as if nothing had happened. Her brothers (and herself, she was sure), on the other hand, looked like they had been caught in a tornado before somehow landing on their feet. Hair was everywhere, clothes mussed and all of them looking particularly green.
Seamus let go of the hands to either side of him, placing his hands on his knees instead, taking in big gulps of air. Cian was still clinging to Eamon for the moment, his arm that had been outstretched to his brother now also clutching at Eamon's shirt sleeve, the latter looking perfectly happy with the entire situation. Declan had walked away from the group, hands on his hips, chest heaving like he had run a marathon. Ashling looked towards Eoin, taking a shaky step to turn to him.
"How're you feeling? Any lightheadedness?" he asked, his other hand resting on her shoulder to steady her. "It takes a few trips to get used to the feeling."
She nodded slowly, not doubting that for a second. "I'm ok, I think. Just a little like a shaken-up snow globe."
A laugh broke free from his chest. "Well, I've never heard it put like that, but it's an apt description."
She also giggled; his laugh was contagious. "Are we there then?" She finally felt ok enough to look around. She heard water and when she turned, she noticed the ocean not too far from their backs, just past a small cliff near where they stood. They were in a wide-open area; green hills broke up by small crops of gray rock. They were actually in Ireland!
She turned to their other side and saw a small stone structure. It was small, she would just barely be able to stand in the first section that had an open face, like a doorway. It was made of slabs of stone, crudely cut and rather jagged and moss-covered. The first section had one large stone for each wall and another balanced on top of the roof. The second section was attached to the first and looked exactly like it, just a little shorter with a stone on the back to close in the whole structure. She would have had to stoop to stand in that part.
Something about the structure captured her attention. It was very old, that much was obvious, but there was something about it. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she could almost feel emotions coming off it.
"Almost," Eoin answered, smiling at her studious inspections of their surroundings. "We are just outside of Toormore. We still have to enter Tearmann an Deiscirt."
"How do we do that?"
"Through there," he said, pointing towards the stone structure she had been so focused on. "That is one of the doorways that protect our people."