Overcomer - The Journey, Judy Colella [book reader for pc txt] 📗

to have been born in?”

“Well, let’s say it was quite a while before Cian.”

“No kidding,” Katie said. “Cian’s a teenager, and you’re – no offense, sir – you’re older than… ” She paused, giving Croghan a closer look. “Huh. I can’t tell. Well, lots older than Cian, anyway.” She looked back at Cian. “I wanted to talk to you yesterday and get some answers, but we couldn’t find you at school, and then you said you were going to come over here, so I figured I’d ask you now. But dude, I never expected anything like this. What’s going on? And what story? You all look ready to explode.”

Mr. Croghan smiled. “I like you, young lady. What was your name?”

“Katie, and it still is.”

He chuckled, nodding. “All right. The story.” He turned to Cian. “Do you want me to tell them?”

“Yes. My memories are starting to come back, but I seem to have forgotten a great deal more than I remember.”

“Ah. You make a good point. Mind you, now, this no mere story, but the truth, and it begins around 500 B.C.” He poured himself another glass of tea and took a hefty gulp. Putting the glass down, he turned to Mrs. Kelly. “I’m afraid I’ve finished your tea, and without asking Katie if she wanted some.”

“Mm-hmm.” She stood and picked up the pitcher.

With the sounds of Mrs. Kelly busy at the sink and stove, Croghan continued. “I’ll backtrack a bit for Katie so your wife doesn’t miss anything, Mr. Kelly.” He explained once more about Cian’s ancestor and the god he worshipped.

“As I told the Kellys, this god was called Crom-Cruach in Ireland, who was worshipped by the Drunes I spoke of earlier.”

Katie held up a hand. “Wait – what are droons?”

“An evil sect of the Druids, Ireland’s ruling class at that time.”

“I’ve heard of those guys, at least. We were talking about them in class the other day.”

“Well the members of the Drunish sect had a priesthood, and among them was a man who denied his faith in protest because of a law he didn’t like. As a consequence, he and his family were in danger of execution by these Drunes… ” Croghan spelled it. “So he went to the Druids for protection, speaking with a man named Amergin. The former priest and his family were brought to a place where a Door into the Hub of Time was being guarded by the Druids, and that, I believe, brings us all to the same place in the story.”

“Hold on, harp teacher. What’s the Hub of Time? I mean… is this serious, or are you just telling some weird fake story?”

“Serious? Oh, yes, Katie. There’s nothing ‘fake’ about any of this.”

“Katie, chill.” Celeste shook her head at her friend. “This is probably what Cian was going to explain to us yesterday. I have a feeling it’s all going to make sense soon.”

Mrs. Kelly returned, the pitcher full once more, and put a glass in front of Katie as she set the tea on the table. “Okay. Let’s hear the rest.” She sat, casting a quick glance at Cian. Arms crossed, she switched her attention to Croghan, her eyes narrowing.

Looks like she’s decided not to believe him. That’s not good. Cian wondered if he should try to reassure her.

Before he could speak, Celeste put both elbows on the table, propping her chin on crossed fingers. “Tell us about Amergin.”

Cian smiled at her eagerness. She, at least, wasn’t objecting to the account. But did she believe it?

“Ah, Amergin!” Croghan gave her a big smile. “He was a man loved by all who followed the Druids, a bard of rare ability, knowledge and kindness who had a firm grasp on what they called magic. Of course, much of that is what we now know as science.

“But I must continue. Once through the Door, Amergin brought the man and his family down the Halls of Time to the Hub, a hill at the very center of all the pathways. There it was that I met him and learned of his plight. I called upon an angel named Celesta to help.”

Katie snorted. “An angel. Really? How do you ‘call upon’ an angel?”

Croghan raised a brow. “Yes, Katie. An angel. And to call her to me, I need only play a specific chord on my harp and sing out her name.”

“And what – she poofs onto your hill thingy?”

Croghan developed a look that Cian had never seen on his face before. A second later, he burst into gales of laughter. “Oh, my!” Gasping, he regained control. “Oh, Katie, what a mind you have! No, there’s no, er, poofing.” He gave another short laugh. “What happens, is that the air in front of me crystallizes into droplets of glimmering, sparkling silver, dazzling the eyes with shimmering radiance. The cascade of luminosity is formed in part by joy. When it fades, the angel is standing there, so beautiful that the average human would find it hard to breathe at the sight of her.”

I wonder if that makes Celeste an angel… Cian told himself to stop it, and pulled his gaze from Celeste’s eyes to Croghan’s face.

“Mind you,” the harper was saying, “angels don’t look a thing like what you’ve seen in paintings and such. For one thing, they’re much larger than we are, and for another, the majority of them have no wings, nor do any of them have halos.”

“All right, but why did you need to call on her in the first place?” Mr. Kelly, too, Cian saw, was behaving as if none of what was going on was unusual. Not at the moment. That, he knew, could change.

“Because the Hub grants access to every moment and every place in the history of the universe. The Darkness cannot gain access to the Hub, or its creatures would be free to travel back in Time and create chaos. It never ceases to try, of course, and sometimes one or another of the dark beings will almost break through one of the Portals. The only way to chase them back and keep them from getting all the way inside is to play the Songs of Light. The melodies are more powerful than any dark being could hope to be.”

Mrs. Kelly poured herself another glass, moving the pitcher closer to Katie when she was done. “I would like to hear the part that includes Celeste.”

“And so you shall, madam.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

TWELVE

 

“Wait! Hold on a second!” Celeste, feeling the blood drain from her face, her stare riveted on Gerald Croghan, gripped the edge of the table with an unexpected realization. “I remember! It was you! You were the one on the hill in my dream last night – the one who told me to… to play always… to keep… keep away the darkness… warning me!”

A slow smile curved the Croghan’s lips, and he nodded at Mrs. Kelly. “As promised.” Then he turned to Celeste, his smile wider. “Yes child, it was.”

A tear spilled down Celeste’s pale cheek. “I don’t understand.”

“Your visions,” said Katie. “This is part of it all, right?” She looked at the Croghan. “Did you give them to her?”

“No, Celesta did that.”

“Why?”

“To prepare her for... this.” He spread his hands to include all of them. “And most of all, him.” He nodded toward Cian.

Now Celeste frowned, sniffling. “So… what you said to my Mom… you knew I would realize all that, right at this exact moment?”

“More or less.”

Gaping, Eileen squeezed Celeste’s hand between her own and cleared her throat. “How do you do something like that? How did you know she’d remember?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been around a long time. I think the expression Katie had been about to use is ‘older than dirt.’”

Katie giggled.

“Now if you like, I’ll continue so you may get some more answers.” He looked around the table.

“I would definitely like some more answers,” said Celeste, allowing herself a brief glance at Cian. The way he’d been staring at her before, while somewhat disconcerting, was also pleasant in a way she doubted she could explain. Her father’s reaction, however, left no doubt it would be a bad idea to make a lot more eye contact with her enigmatic new classmate.

“Very well. Now – ”

“Mom, it’s really cold outside and w- … um, what’s going on?”

Celeste started, having forgotten all about her sister. Tara, her nose and cheeks reddened by the cold, had burst into the kitchen through the back door. “What were you doing out there all this time?”

Tara opened her mouth, but paused, frowning. “I… I don’t know. I mean, I thought someone told me to go out and call my friends over to hang out with me, but… Mom? Did you tell me that?”

Eileen’s look of surprised morphed into a glower that she aimed at Mr. Croghan. “I don’t suppose you…”

“You suppose correctly. She’s too young, and it was necessary.”

“Hey! Tara here. I can hear you. What’s happening?”

“We’re just having a discussion about Celeste’s new friend,” Donal told her.

“Oh, yeah. Him.” She smiled at Cian, the redness in her cheeks deepening.

Cian, Celeste noticed, offered Tara a smile in return, but looked down at the table right after. How… odd.

“Wait a minute.” Eileen tilted her head. “You invited someone over?”

“Stacy and Nadine.” Tara had answered her mother in a dreamy voice, her eyes still on Cian.

“Tara!”

She jumped but stopped staring. “Mom!”

“Look, why don’t you get your friends – I can’t believe you left them out there in the cold. Anyway, bring them upstairs; just don’t make a big mess in your room.”

“And stay out of Celeste’s.” Katie waggled a finger at Tara.

“Fine. But why does everyone look so freaked out?”

“Maybe because we are.” Celeste wanted to get back to the story and was getting frustrated by all the interruptions. “Please shut up and go away, Tara. Just this once.”

Sticking out her tongue, Tara went to the back door. “Fine.” She opened the door and yelled, “Hey, guys! Come inside – we’ll hang out in my room!”

A second later, two girls came bundling in through the door and rushed through the kitchen in Tara’s wake, flashing Eileen and Donal a quick wave as they passed.

      “You’ve quite a household,” said the Croghan. “But to continue...”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“I explained to Celesta that I had to escort the man and his family to a new time, told her why, and asked if she would play back the Darkness in my absence. She agreed, told Amergin he was free to return to his people and time, and produced her harp.”

“Why couldn’t she use yours?”

“Well, as I mentioned, Katie, angels are much bigger than we are, at least that kind. My harp would have been like a toy in her hands.”

Katie nodded. “Makes sense. Sorry.”

“That’s all right – it was a good question. So! Once Amergin had left, Celesta said I should take as long as I needed; I knew that if she grew lonesome, she could find someone with whom she could talk.

“Now by ‘talk,’ I mean something different than what humans mean. As an angel, Celesta can search out specific minds, merge her own with them, and allow them to see things in their thoughts that she has seen or is seeing. In this way, Celesta can encourage them, or if necessary, suggest certain ideas