A Semester Abroad

"Uh, yeah, sure." I slipped a piece of paper onto the page I was reading and closed the book.

"So, you're from the States, are you?"

Smiling, I nodded. "New York."

"What can you tell us about it?"

This was sort of weird. I gave them a basic overview, trying to dispel the myth of the rude New Yorker and the entirety of the state being Manhattan. The one girl kept up a steady stream of questions as the other two sat and listened.

"And how long..."

She paused and looked over my shoulder. Grace sat down, kissed my cheek and wrapped her arm through mine.

"Go on, Kelly. What were you going to ask my man?"

She flushed. "Oh, ah, nothing. Just wanted to know about New York. Was it like the movies, is all."

"Well, did you get your answers?"

"I did." She stood. "It was a pleasure to meet you, William."

The three of them left.

Turning my chin towards her, Grace lifted her lips to mine. When she pulled back, she was flushed. "I don't get it, but they seem to like the accent."

I mock frowned. "And you don't."

"Nah, I prefer Italian or French."

I put my hands over my heart and pretended to be offended. "What? How can I make it up to you? I didn't realize that I was burdening you with my uncouth accent."

"Dinner?"

"I can do that."

"Stay over?"

"I can do that, as well."

Almost seven weeks had gone by and I'd never felt about a girl like I had about Grace. I was depressed, knowing that my time in Ireland was coming to an end. It took my little sister to pull my head out of my ass.

"What does Mom do for a living, William?"

"She manages the money and oversees the businesses. You know that."

"Yup. I sure do. How many businesses?"

"I don't know. Tons."

Cynthia sighed. "And what did you say Grace is going to school for?"

"She... Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

Grace was going for a degree in business management and wanted to get an MBA.

"You never play the money card, William. Use it now. Get Mom to get her a job. Get Dad to get her accepted in a good school here. I can tell you really like her. She might be the one. Don't let this be something that haunts you down the road."

How did my kid sister get so smart? Grace's father had died years ago in a job-site accident. Her three older brothers were good men, but they took their roles as surrogate fathers too far. Her sister was married, and they hadn't seen each other in years. Grace's mom was a nice woman, but they weren't particularly close.

She'd probably at least consider getting her degree in New York. I owed it to her to ask. And honestly, I owed it to myself. I hadn't felt this strongly about anyone since Marisol, and I was just a kid when I had a crush on her. I wasn't sure, but this might be love.

Grandma would be back soon and I'd introduce her to Grace. We'd sit down and talk about New York and I'd let her make her own decision. In the meantime, I wanted to talk to Alistair about Aoife. He was a psychiatrist and might have some suggestions. I bought Aoife an iPad so we could video-chat and stay in touch.

I took off that Monday to see Aoife. I packed a large basket full of food and wine. She was a friend and had helped make this lovely town feel like home. I knew that she had hoped for more, but what we had was good. Maybe I'd see her when I returned in the future.

"So, you bring me more gifts while still carrying the stench of your whore?"

Stunned, I stopped. She had been waiting for me in a small clearing and was clenching her fists tightly as she glared at me.

"What are you talking about?

"Do you deny it? I have known. I have known for weeks. You were mine and you were giving yourself to another. Forsake her and beg my forgiveness."

It took me a second to respond. "Look, I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt you. There was a reason why we never discussed being exclusive. It just never got that far." Pausing, I tried to consider how to proceed. What did she want from me? Shifting the basket from one hand to the other, I glanced at the trees before looking back at Aoife.

I continued. "I still care for you and want to be your friend, but all we've done is make out a few times, and we haven't done that in weeks. You had to know we weren't going anywhere romantically. If it's too difficult to remain friends, I'll understand.

"Remain friends? Are you daft? We are destined to be together. You are mine, William Corrigan. You are mine!"

"Okay, this is getting us nowhere. I'm just going to leave this basket and I'll try to come back to see you before I head home."

She was a lot worse off than I had thought. This wasn't some social anxiety disorder. My friend, the woman I cared about, was insane. She was screaming my name in anger as I turned and walked away. I went to the Reflected Glory and drank for the remainder of the night.

I didn't have much longer in Ireland and I was preparing for my departure to kill some time. I spent an afternoon with some of the friends I had made and purchased gifts for relatives. When I got back to Mrs. O'Barrows, she seemed distraught.

"Are you... Is everything okay?"

"No. I found this on the door when I came home."

She handed me a note.

William,

I'm so embarrassed by my behavior. I hope that you could find it in your heart to forgive me. I don't know what you said last night while you were in your cups, but the Coughly brothers heard that we are no longer together. Someone told me that they were coming for me tonight. I'm going to hide in the woods behind the orchards. I'm hoping and praying that in the name of the friendship we had, and hopefully still have, you will come.

I'm not like Aunt Daisy, who's not afraid of anything. These woods were freaking me out. Not the sort of thing a 19-year-old guy likes to admit, but it was true. It was dark and spooky and just somehow...off.

I heard Aoife calling to me, but I couldn't pinpoint where she was. The note she left was simultaneously vague and desperate and all I could think about was the Coughly twins. If they had touched her, I was going to kill them.

The smell of decaying vegetation was thick in the air but other than her calls, the night was silent. I finally saw movement. The ground was soft underfoot as I stepped into a clearing and I saw what I feared. The brutish twins were waiting for me. Well, surprise, motherfuckers, I was happy to be found.

They'd been spoiling for a fight since I'd arrived in the small town. The two of them were large and were bullies. Likely they were always bigger than the rest of the kids as they grew up. Together, they probably stomped anyone that stood up against them. In their minds, I was going to be the same. They were about to find out how big a mistake that was.

"You better pray to whatever gods you believe in, 'cause if you touched her, I'm going to kill you. Where is she?"

Her voice spoke from my left. There must have been one of those powerful portable halogen lanterns nearby, as she was lit up in a weird light.

"I'm right here, my beautiful man."

Have you ever felt rage and sadness at the same time? I had when Marisol took her life. I was a kid, but I loved her. I felt it now. They had torn at her like animals. She was wearing some weird white flowing dress, but there were chunks missing. It was as if she'd been bitten in the side, face, leg, and neck. My training started as a toddler. I knew that I should never, ever keep my back to an opponent, but I couldn't move. What sort of animals were they?

"What have they done? What... if... oh my God." I had to push down the nausea. I needed to get her to a hospital. "Stay there, Aoife. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll get you back to the village." I turned to the twins. They were smirking at me. Smirking! My voice dropped an octave. "You pieces of shit! I'm going to break you and I'm going to enjoy every second of it."

She spoke again. "No, you won't, my William."

Turning back, I saw the light around her had grown and had a sickly red hue. Something was off. Looking down, I realized that her feet were off the ground. She was floating in the air. Floating. In. The. Air.

As Aoife slowly raised her arms, people came out of the woods. Mr. Seville, Mrs. Cleary, Old Man Caruthers and a number of others all stepped into the clearing, gave Aoife a short bow and moved towards me.

Shocked? Yes. Befuddled? Hell yes. "The... What's going on? What's happening?" I looked down at her feet again and a shiver ran down my spine. The red nimbus, her floating; it was as if I were being revisited by Mab.

"You're to be my escort, young Master Corrigan. Forever. But according to the Old Accords, you must accept willingly. Like all of our kind, my way in was through your dreams. But that didn't work, did it? Your quim of a sister blocked me at all times. Once you are mine, I'll concentrate on her. I'll find a way in and eat her mind from the inside. And your loathsome beast of a dog did this."

She gestured to her wounds.

I didn't understand any of this. All I knew was that I was in mortal danger and a woman I was starting to think of as a sister wasn't a woman at all. It tore at my soul. We'd buried Dink years ago, but he was still protecting me. And she was threatening Cynthia? Hell no. That's not the way this was going down. My panic was quelled and replaced by cold fury.

It had to be. She had just put my sister in danger. I didn't have the luxury of freaking out. My training took over. Year after year after year of rolling with Aunt Daisy, sparring with Uncle Tommy and dodging uppercuts from Jim became instinct.

A long branch was on the ground next to me. I picked it up and tore off a few growths on its side. It had decent balance and good heft. I looked around me. There were nine of them. I'd been training for this all my life. I'd been abducted as an infant and it changed everything. My mother became paranoid and Aunt Daisy began training me to fight when I was a toddler. Uncle Tommy soon joined in.

They wanted to ensure that I could defend myself. What they did was create my family's next generation of protector. I knew how to shoot, studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, western boxing, free-style wrestling, hapkido and Krav Maga. She was threatening my sister? I was done holding back.

"Is Aoife even your name?"

"It was the name I was Christened with when I was alive. I took the ancient path as I grew older and now I've conquered death. I have other names, but for you, I'll always be Aoife."

"And this is what you want? We can call a truce while you go back to town and get some more flunkies. 'Cause honestly? These idiots won't even slow me down."

She smiled and for a second I saw beneath what she wanted me to see. The long-dead creature of the bog shone through. Her skin was alabaster white and pocked with black circles that had thin tendrils snaking out of them. Aoife's eyes were red orbs that radiated malevolence. It was horrible and my heart froze.

"Such confidence. You shall make a perfect consort."

"Okay, creature. Have it your way."

I channeled my aunt, stilled myself, extended my arm and did my best Bruce Lee. Raising my hand and curling my fingers back to myself in the universal "bring it" gesture, I called them to me. It seemed that servants of Irish bog hags liked Bruce Lee movies as much as I did, as they came at me. I began spinning the impromptu staff.

The cowards that they were, the twins hung back. Mrs. Cleary had brought me soda bread the first week I was in the village. She told me that I reminded me of her brother who died in The Troubles. Whenever I'd walked to the bus, she'd wave from her porch or garden, sometimes stopping me to chat. At least once a week she'd have some baked goods for me. I was too skinny, she said. Now I felt like Hansel, and that she had been fattening me up. The snarl on her face was frightening. She went down easy.

Old Man Caruthers was surprisingly agile. He was a bit of a letch, telling me about all the girls from his youth and recommending towns that were notorious for having girls whose virtue was questionable. It was charming in its way. He was at least 40 years past his prime and stared at every pair of legs that walked by. Now he stood back and hurled rocks at me until I lunged in and brained him.

Mr. Seville had been the town's goodwill ambassador. Always happy to recommend a pub, a car service or a market; he could be relied on to finish every conversation singing the praises of the village. A plump middle-aged man, he was never without a smile. Until now. He wasn't snarling like Mrs. Cleary, he just had a blank expression and kept mumbling something incoherently. A blow to his knee put him down.

The others fell, one by one until all that was left were the twins. They approached opposite sides, which was smart. It would have been smarter if they ran. As they closed, I thrust one end of the staff into Seamus' face, crushing his nose. His brother jumped towards me and immediately back again. As I turned towards him, I felt two cold hands close on the side of my head.

I began to black-out and fall when I heard a distant barking and growling. I wasn't sure if it was in my head or not. The hands dropped and I tumbled forward. Like with Mr. Seville, I took out Brian's knee and ran.

Her voice was warped and sounded as if it was coming through rushing winds. "Come back, my love! You were made for me. We will rule together!" Her words followed me as I scrambled in the darkness, trusting my feet to take me where I needed to be. It was dark, it was confusing and it was terrifying.

Two hours later, breath coming in ragged gasps, I rushed into the house. Mrs. O'Barrows was singing some song in Gaelic in the kitchen. Stumbling in, I saw her working on some dough, her back to me.

"Mrs. O'Barrows... It's Aoife." I tried to catch my breath, my heart in my throat. "She... she's some sort of, I don't know. Witch or creature or something."

Her back still to me, she spoke. "Cailleach feasa, dear. And yes, I know. She's my great gran's sister. And you belong to her."

She turned, a cleaver in her hand and stepped towards me. The world had gone mad. I hurried back towards the door and yanked it open. Aoife floated there, a non-existent wind blowing back her flowing hair and the cloth I now recognized as a partially rent burial shroud.

As her hand touched me, it went through my chest and clutched my heart.

The whispered words invaded my mind, again, sounding as if they were formed of rushing wind.

Awaken. Open your eyes and see what you have cost these people. Accept and you shall be a god amongst them.

Her voice rebounded in my head, echoing and pushing out all thought.

My arms were aching and my chest felt numb. It took me a minute to open my eyes, and when I did, I realized that I was suspended from the roof of the town hall, their Old Ways Congregation, overlooking the tidy garden. My feet were on a small wooden outcropping and my wrists were tied over my head with the other end of the rope tied to a wooden pinion a foot higher than my fingers could reach. There was a small battle raging on the cobblestone street ahead of me.

It was bizarre. People from 20 to 80-years-old were fighting, half of them wearing green blazers. None of them knew how to fight, but all of them were doing their damndest to kill each other.

As I watched, trying to flex and work out the pain in my shoulders, I heard loud jaunty whistling coming from around the side of the house. Mr. O'Shaughnessy came strolling towards me, a ladder over his shoulders. Amidst the chaos, it was as if he didn't have a care in the world. Leaning the ladder against the building, he climbed up next to me and pulled out a long knife. He was stone-cold sober and was smiling widely. I began thrashing and pulling against the ropes.

"None a that now, lad. I'm not gonna hurt you. The Green Lady sends her regards. We been watching over you, we have. Can't be having the Throne-Breaker marrying that hag, now can we? Didn't like keeping our mouths shut, but it's the way of things. The decision had to be yours."

He began sawing at the ropes.

"Throne-breaker?"

"Aye. We know who you are and what you did. You and that great beast of yours. The hag is one side of the coin. The Green Lady is the other, and she's grateful. Mab was the worst of them and you ended her."

I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs. I hadn't slept well since I arrived in Ireland and everything was catching up to me at once. "The Green... Who's the Green Lady?"

"You want to discuss this now? Mab's counterpart. Now hush up, son. We'll have you down in a..."

The old man thrust himself against me and tightly grabbed onto my forearm. Looking over, I saw a knife sticking out of his back and noticed Seamus standing in the yard with that fucking smirk.

Mr. O'Shaughnessy's eyes were watering. "Not... not to worry lad. I've done what I wanted. Made some calls. They're on their way from the States. You're going to be fine. You're..."

He fell to the ground.

The pushing in my head grew. So many deaths, beloved. And your nan coming to visit. We'll have such fun with her. Say the words. Say them and be free. You will be by my side for all time. All this suffering will end. Say the words, William. It will all be over if you just...

I couldn't understand what was happening. Her voice in my head was growing louder, more all-encompassing. There was suddenly a pressure under my palm. It didn't make any sense, but it somehow felt right. It was almost as if I felt fur and pressure. My fingers instinctively curled, as if to scratch the head of my best friend. There was a scent of wet dog making its way past the clutter of my mind. Hearing a growl, I noticed the voice begin to fade and dwindle away to nothing.

The fighting continued and the green blazers kept falling. They were older than the others and outnumbered. They were dying for me and I had no idea why. I'd been hanging there awake for a good half hour and I couldn't take it any longer.

Monsignor Cavelle kept pushing people. He must have weighed 250 pounds, but little of it was muscle. He couldn't bring himself to hit his friends and neighbors. Katherine Slaidy caved in his skull with some sort of walking stick. Turning and looking up at me with a snarl, she missed seeing Peter Mulder hit her with a hoe.

Billy was a giant of a man and a bit slow of thought and speech. I'd spent time with him as he carefully explained how to ferment apples and how no one knew he loved Leslie Darnum. She knew. I knew. Everyone knew. He had a small hatchet stuck in his shoulder and was holding Alderman Bonet off the ground by his throat.

"Hold on, William! I'll come get you. I'll come..." Widow Gallagher slammed into Billy with her moped and they both went down. Sprawled on the ground, he was struck by a hurled rock. I looked over and saw little Meghan pick up another stone. With a snarl on her face, she threw it at Billy. That stone missed him but broke my heart.

These people were dying for me, someone that was practically a stranger. Tears were sliding down my cheeks.

"Stop! Stop, I'll do it!"

Everything stopped. The thing I thought of as Aoife was down the street, watching the melee. She slowly twisted in the air, white rags fluttering and stared at me.

Her voice wasn't in my head for once. "Then say it. Say the words, beloved. I take thee to be mine, forever more. Speak the words and it will be done."

"I..."

"You do nothing! Shut up, William."

Aunt Daisy was walking down the middle of the street from the opposite end to Aoife. If she was here, so was Jim. Maybe they'd called Alistair in France. Corpses littered the ground between the two and a showdown was looming. Daisy looked like Death, come to collect his due. There'd never been a day in my life when I was afraid of my aunt, but if this wasn't fear, it was a close cousin.