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“YOU KNOW, I’VE PUT up with you telling me what to do for as long as I can remember, and now, well...” Teagan paused her tirade when she tried to kick a small rock on the one-lane dirt road and stumbled, almost falling over. She caught herself quickly but could still feel the flush creep up her neck and cheeks. It wasn’t like anyone was watching but Her. “Now that I need your advice, need you to show me where to go, you’ve simply abandoned me.” This time she did yell.
“Pardon. I didn’t catch what you said dear?”
Crap. Teagan had no idea she was talking so loud. No one was supposed to overhear her. The words she’d spoken were for the annoying voice in her head, who seemed to be annoyingly ignoring her.
“Excuse me, sir.” Teagan said. “I’m sorry.”
“And a good morn to ye lassie, I be Ian McFarland. What can I be doin’ fer ye this fine morn?” he said as he tipped his hat towards her.
“Good morning.” The lightness in his voice was contagious, and it softened her mood. “Can you tell me where this road leads?” she asked as she pointed down the long-looking dirt road.
“That road there be takin' ye to County Maggy if ye follow it long enough. It be greens mostly and leads to the Curragh.” Teagan cocked her head to one side listening intently, trying to make out words in his thickly authentic accent.
“I won’t be trespassing if I walk through a field, will I?” Teagan asked, still not sure if it was the direction she should head, but he had said the name of another county. That was promising, at least.
“Be ye from the States then lassie.”
Teagan didn’t think it was a question, so she didn’t answer him.
“Nobody round here will be mindin’ where it is ye be goin’ lassie. O that ye can be sure.” He smiled warmly at her.
“Thank you, Mr. McFarland.” Teagan said graciously. “It has been my greatest pleasure meeting you.”
He smiled at her.
“Make sure and put a jumper on, it’s fierce weather out there, lassie?” He said.
Having no idea why she’d need a jumper for rain, Teagan just waved at him and continued her journey. She walked in the silence of the calm morning for about a half-mile humming softly to herself. The road had changed from charmingly cobbled to a dirt mixture with rocks jutting out of it every few feet. Teagan looked up at the clear sky and shrugged, thinking it didn’t look much like rain to her. Hedges lined the one-lane road for about another half-mile, making Teagan wonder where a car would go if it met another car on this part of the road.
“For that matter,” Teagan said aloud to herself, “where would I go if a car came along right now?”
She hurried past the hedging, not wanting to find out the answer to her own question. Soon the boxed-in feeling faded away, and the road opened to reveal an endless sea of rolling, green hills. Flowers littered the hillside sprinkled amongst the clusters of horses, and she remembered reading that Kildare was famous for its horses. Seeing the famous breed horses was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for her. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to ride one. The crisp scent of grass and rain soothed her battered senses.
“Rain,” Teagan said aloud, “Hm, it does smell like rain.” A welcome distraction.
Looking up at the sky, she watched as the sun darted behind a cloud, and as it poked back out a downpour of rain came with it. The fat drops soaked her instantly, causing Teagan to squeal. She spotted a cluster of trees and ran — laughing at her misfortune — through the field toward the shelter the grove offered. Stumbling and out of breath, Teagan found the largest of the trees and huddled under it, hoping that it would shield her from the weather, and that it wouldn’t rain for very long. The morning had been warm, but the rain chilled her to the bone, and she wished she’d thought to bring a jacket in her mad race to leave the half-way house.
The sky darkened again, but the rain softened into a drizzle. A fine mist crept along the ground, working its way through the field toward the trees she was huddled under. Teagan watched in amazement as the fog rolled and ebbed like gentle waves on a moonlit beach. It engulfed the space under the trees.
“Do you feel it?” the voice whispered on the breeze.
The voice? Her voice?
Teagan wasn’t sure.
Not knowing what came over her, Teagan raised her arms, suddenly feeling energized. She inhaled the richness of the land around her. The grove smelled of wet earth, fresh grass, and invigorating rain, with a hint of something more. Teagan smiled to herself and imagined it was the smell of magic floating in the mysterious mists that surrounded her. She closed her eyes and stood there, feeling a deep unexplainable connection with her surroundings, with the earth. She felt empowered.
She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, in the stillness of the moment with her arms outstretched, welcoming the soft spray that coated her, but Teagan became aware that the rain had stopped. She opened her eyes and lowered her aching arms, seeing for the first time an odd cluster of stones a few feet away. Moving that way, she saw that the dolmen was made of three massive stones which towered at an impressive height over her. Two of the tremendous boulders stood upright, firmly planted in the ground, and a third boulder sat atop them, bridging them horizontally.
It was amazing that Teagan had not noticed it before. She moved closer, as if mesmerized, feeling unexplainably pulled in the direction of the stones.
“Closer.” The voice yelled.
She floundered, her hand shooting out in reflex, and caught herself on the side of the rocky edifice. Teagan jerked her hand away and hissed.
“It’s hot!” Teagan said, stunned, shaking her hand. “Seriously hot.”
Rocks in this kind of weather should be cool. Using caution, she touched the stone again, reconfirming its heat. It wasn’t her imagination. Standing back, she examined the rocks in awe. The formation looked like a doorway that stood in the middle of nowhere. Through the stones, there appeared to be a mound of earth with much greener grass than the immediate area around it. Her mind reeled with memories from her youth, and the fascinating stories of an older woman, she thought might be her grandmother, splayed vividly through her mind. They were stories of fairy mounds that dotted the Irish countryside, and the dolmens were said to be gateways into their magical worlds.
Teagan laughed aloud. They were just silly, superstitious stories, but a cool breeze rustled past her, causing a shiver. She turned to leave the eerie place. Whispers, quiet at first, barely decipherable from the gentle breeze, reached her ears. They grew with intensity and speed, causing Teagan to stagger backwards in rising alarm. Louder and louder, to the point where she had to cover her ears. She couldn’t understand the words. It was another language, perhaps. Old. Magic. Not wanting to find out what was happening, Teagan tried to run back to the road, but an unseen forced stopped her, like a hand reaching out to grab her leg. She was frozen to the ground, unable to run, unable to move.
The winds picked up.
“Teagan, don’t fight it. The ancients call to you.”
“Oh, that’s just great,” Teagan yelled over the wind. “I’m about to get sucked into Neverland, or Oz, or some shit, and now you want to talk?”
She felt more than heard the voice’s disapproval.
“So what. You’re not the boss of me! I make my own destiny, and I don’t need you mucking it up.”
“How far do you think you’d have made it on this journey without me?” The voice questioned.
“You seriously want to do this now?” Teagan yelled.
“Do you feel it? Do you feel the magic?”
“Shut up,” Teagan said.
She’d grabbed onto a branch of the closest tree, trying to keep herself righted, when all of the sudden a gale force blew her backwards through the dolem.
“Helllllllllp!”