Page 14 of Dark Medicine

“Jesus, this keeps getting better and better,” said Adam, running his fingers through his dark hair. “What do you think, Kane? You’re the one with the investigation background. Where do we go from here?”

“Well, I get married,” he said, reaching for Aislinn’s hand. “That’s the most important thing in my world right now. But I also think we all need to stick together. We are stronger as a team. We feel it, and maybe others will as well. I also think we are together for a reason, maybe sensing we all needed one another. There are too many coincidences for me to not question things.”

“And when you all return to the states?” asked Fiona, looking sad and alone.

“Let’s deal with that later,” said Adam. His stomach did a sharp turn and then a double round-off back handspring. A life without Fiona in it? That wasn’t appealing at all, and when the fuck did that happen?

“And what about the men who were trying to take me up on the mountain?” asked Fiona. “They said someone wanted me for my ‘healing’ abilities. If someone is actually sick, I guess I could help. But what if it was something else? Someone else?”

“We need to find out if those gypsies were sent by someone or if they were actually coming on behalf of a sick person,” said Adam. “I’ll send Flip and Spook up there tomorrow to do a little digging.”

“They usually make their camp on the western side of the Wicklow. You’ll find travel trailers and tents everywhere. They are very suspicious of strangers, and you should be careful. They’re usually armed.” Caroline stood easily and shook her head. The first time in ten years, she was able to stand and shake away the dust of time.

“I’m headed to bed,” she said, grinning. “I may not creak when I walk anymore, but I still get tired at nine o’clock.”

“We’ll head back to the bed and breakfast,” said Adam. “We’ll see you both at the wedding. But Caroline? Angela? Be careful and watch out for anyone lurking around your home. If they know we’ve been here, they might think you know things that could help them.”

“Don’t worry about us,” said Angela, “we’ve fairies protecting the house.” The older women kissed them as they left, and Kane drove the van back toward their bed and breakfast, the oddity of driving on the opposite side of the road an easy transition for him. He’d certainly done it many times on deployments.

Fiona laid her head against Adam’s shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head. Kane smiled at his friend with a knowing grin.

Love certainly seemed to be moving fast on his little band of brothers, but it wasn’t love he was worried about. Someone was manipulating the lives of those with gifts. More specifically, someone was manipulating their lives.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The large mansion house that served as a bed and breakfast was quiet when the group returned. The small bar located in what was once the parlor had a few patrons seated, but all seemed like lone holiday or business travelers staring into their drinks. Flip nodded his head to Spook, and they moved to a large empty table as the others followed. Spook ordered beers for everyone and carefully set each glass on the table.

Sitting around the table, which suddenly felt too small, the six friends sipped their beer in silence, contemplating the events of the evening.

“What do you make of it all?” asked Fiona to no one in particular.

“I’m as confused as ever,” said Aislinn. “I’ve wanted to be rid of this ‘gift’ for so long, and now I find out that I may have a whole family of people with gifts as well, and I’m not sure anymore. It makes me feel connected to all of you in a way I didn’t before.”

“We are an odd family, aren’t we?” smiled Flip.

“The oddest, my friend,” said Adam. “I think we do need to try and find any others. If we assume that Kane and I are the oldest at thirty-seven, then we work forward from there unless we find someone older with gifts.”

“Why would it have started with you two?” asked Fiona.

“It may not have, but we’re the same age and yet don’t recall seeing one another at the base at all. We didn’t go to school together. We didn’t play together, nothing. That is odd in and of itself. But to think that the pink dust only appeared after we were there is even odder.” Adam set his beer down and looked at his friends.

“Kane? Do you remember the pink dust always being around?” asked Aislinn.

“I-I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. I was so little when we were there. I think so,” he said, feeling unsure.

“If we could pinpoint when it appeared, it would make it easier to figure out where it came from and who was potentially exposed. One thing we haven’t flushed out,” said Aislinn, “is whether or not any of our parents had issues. That might prove a correlation to age.”

“I know mine didn’t,” said Flip. “My parents were older when I was born. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters. My dad died of a heart attack, and my mom died a few years ago of a stroke. Trust me. They were as ordinary as they come.”

“My parents died in a car wreck, and then my grandmother took care of me. We know that Fiona’s parents’ died in a house fire. Adam, you said your mom died when you were young, but your dad was alive up until a few years ago.”

“Yea, as far as I know, the old man is still alive, but I can’t be sure.”

“Van?” Aislinn looked at Spook and waited for his response.

“Dead.” He looked up from his beer and stared at the group sitting around the table. “Doesn’t that seem odd to anyone? All of our parents are dead.”

“It does and doesn’t,” said Aislinn. “They would have all been older, but several died relatively young, which does seem odd. A few also died in unusual circumstances. Car wrecks and house fires, although common, it seems too easy in this situation.”

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