Page 16 of Heart of the Wren
“It’s a small village. Bullseye ran out of options after his fifth child.”
“He has five children?” Dara sounded impressed.
“No,” I said. “He has seven. Can’t keep his skinny mickey in his trousers, that fella.”
“Why do you call him Bullseye?”
“The night he lost his virginity, he got the girl pregnant.”
Dara snorted a laugh.
“They were both only 14 at the time. Aine, she’s called. She had twin girls. It was a fierce scandal at the time, so it was. Her parents were mortified. They almost sent her away to a mother and baby home. He promised to marry her, though, as soon as they were old enough. And he did, in fairness, but not before they’d had another daughter together.
“Now, Carol’s always been… a handful. She wants to be a vet so I’ve been showing her what I know about the animals on the farm. She and Bullseye have these blazing rows every now and then. She comes here for a day or two to cool off. You don’t mind, do you?”
“It’s your house,” Dara said. “But with everything going on, do you think it’s a good idea?”
“Oh, uh, I’m asking because she usually sleeps in your room.”
“Ah!” Dara’s eyes lit up. “I’m an eeijt. Of course, of course, no problem. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
I sized it up. Then did the same for Dara. “I can’t imagine you’ll be very comfortable. Plus the dogs sleep in here.”
Carol returned with three cups of tea on a tray.
“I’ll sleep in the van, so.” Dara took one of the cups and a Rich Tea biscuit. “Sure it was the plan in the first place, anyway.”
“Wait,” Carol said. “I’ll not have you sleeping outside on my account.”
“It’s fine.” Dara waved his hand. “You take the room.”
“No, I will, but why don’t you sleep in the other spare room?”
“No way.” I snapped the words out before I could stop myself. “It’s full to bursting with crap. Mam and Dad’s old bed frame is in there. And some mattresses. And some… some other things.”
Carol held her eyes wide. “Okay, so. Why not your room, then?”
Dara and I exchanged glances.
“There’s plenty of space on the big rug at the end of your bed,” Carol said.
“Oh,” I said.
“Right,” Dara said. “Of course.”
Chapter 10
DARA
I LEFT Lorcan and Carol and went upstairs to the bathroom. I didn’t have time for a full bath and so I settled for a quick wash at the sink. I’d spent too many mornings crouched over a stream or river to ever take hot running water for granted. As I dried my face, Michael shouted for me outside. I opened the bathroom window and waved down to him.
“Get a feckin’ move on, baldy!” He stormed off, shaking his head.
I wasn’t sure if I preferredhippyorbaldy. There were times when I wished I was allowed to use magic to alter someone’stemperament. Michael had made me wish it every day since I’d arrived. No matter what I did, no matter how hard I worked, how fast, how careful, no matter how friendly I was, Michael always found fault.
“It’s just his way,” Eddie had said. “He’s the same at home. Fionnuala and me can never do anything the right way. Fionnuala is his wife, if you didn’t know. My aunt. I don’t know how she puts up with him.”
Magic comes with its own set of rules. Chief among them was never to use it to alter someone’s mind. Never take someone’s choice away from them. Witches believe what we put out into the world — the intent behind our actions and spells — returns to us, threefold. It serves as a warning to anyone who would be tempted to try anything malicious.
