Killarney, Ireland, 1840
Kian O'Braonain was the best friend anyone in the world could ever have. He could run as fast as lightening, climb like a cat, and hit a bird with a stone from twenty yards. While Aaron seldom had a chance to play with his friend now that he was older and had more responsibility, his Ma usually didn’t mind if he walked home with Kian after mass, and the boys would spend several hours running around the base of Torc Mountain, tossing stones in the lake, or running through the village scaring the chickens and the cows.
Today was a bit different. Last night, there had been several taken from various homes around Killarney, and though the village was rather large as such towns went, the numbers were starting to dwindle. Not only were people being taken in the night by the Dark Ones, rumor had it that some of those who had been claimed were members of the Order, ones that were supposed to be left alone according to the agreement. Aaron heard the whispers, not only from the adults in his own home, but from behind hands in the market, in church, and as he and Kian made their way through the village. The weight of worry rested over Killarney like a woolen blanket, and despite their need to revel in the freedom of a few hours’ break from chores, Aaron did not feel like giving chase to his best friend that day.
“I suppose you’ve heard what they’re all whispering about,” Kian said, sitting down next to Aaron on a large stone which was part of the ruins of an ancient castle they often came to explore.
“Yeah,” Aaron muttered, his hands folded in front of him. “I’ve been hearing it for a while, but… do you think it’s true? The agreement is over?”
Kian shrugged. “I don’t know. I ne’er hear my ma or da say two words about it. All I know is what my grandma told me before she passed away—not to worry because I am of Hunter stock, whatever that implies.”
“Right,” Aaron nodded. He wasn’t sure either. “And my granddad insists we’ve nothing to worry about either. But I’m not so sure.”
Kian scratched the back of his blond head. Aaron had always thought it was odd that his hair was so fair. He didn’t look like many other people he knew. He wondered if that had anything at all to do with the agreement or the Hunter stock he spoke of. “I don’t suppose there’s much we can do about it anyway. I’ve heard that once they get ahold of you, all you can do is pray that God takes you good and quick.”
Aaron shuddered at the thought. “But what if they turn ya, and you don’t go to God right away? Then what?” he asked.
Shaking his head, Kian said, “My grandma said that we can’t be turned. Only the others, the ones without the agreement, can be turned. That’s why we have the agreement.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” Aaron replied, biting the corner of his lower lip. “My ma said that Seana O’Malley was turned just last week, and she’s been thinkin’ she was safe because of the agreement for almost sixty years. That’s what my ma said anyway.”
“I think your ma must be mistaken,” Kian interjected, picking up a rock off of the ground and tossing it nowhere in particular. “I think the O’Malley’s weren’t ever really part of the agreement. They’ve been boasting all along, but they are really just others like everyone else.”
“You say it like being an other makes a person worth less,” Aaron pointed out, thinking of all the people he knew from church and town who were not protected, one in particular, who happened to be an O’Malley herself.
Kian shrugged. “Maybe they are,” he said. “I mean, there must be some reason why the Dark Ones stay nigh of us.”
Unable to reason that through his brain, Aaron just shrugged. “It seems to me that everyone should be able to go to bed at night without thinkin’ they might awake to a pale face and large teeth hovering above their bed.”
“And it seems to me that the others might find a way to better protect themselves,” Kian replied, dismissively. “Now come on; let’s go back into town. I’m starving.”
Without further argument, Aaron pulled himself up off the rough stone and followed Kian back toward the village. From here, they could see a sprinkling of houses, all small with thatched roofs and missing chinking. Most everyone had a plot between one and five acres; only a few had larger sections of land, and those people were considered a bit more important, whether they were others or not. The land was hilly with lots of little rocks, and Aaron could remember how he’d helped his granddad gather the stones when he’d first started tilling the land up several years ago, when his da had gone off to serve the landowner and they’d been given a larger plot. Though they grew a few other crops, mostly for sale, everyone here depended upon the potato. And the ones who were said to live in the hills and only came out at night depended upon the others.
Neither of them felt like running today, and as they began to make their way past the houses on the outskirts of town, they heard lots of hushed voices and whispering. Clearly, everyone was still uneasy about the rise in deaths and turnings at the hands of the Dark Ones recently. Despite what Kian’s grandma or his own granddad said, Aaron was apprehensive, and not just for himself or his own family. As he plodded along, his thoughts turned to the beautiful face that had caught his mind’s attention earlier, and he hoped he might spy her on his way through town.
He was lost in a daydream and might have walked right past her if Kian hadn’t nudged him and pointed to the yard near Renny O’Malley’s house, who happened to be her uncle. “There’s Aislyn,” he said in a whisper, “the girl you’re always gawking at.”
Aaron turned to look at her, and without disagreeing with Kian’s chide, he felt a smile envelop his face. She was the most beautiful site he’d ever seen in all his eleven-and-a-half years. Though she wasn’t but nine, her green eyes twinkled, and her smile made his heart catch in his chest. She had long red hair that fell down her back in curly ribbons, and he loved to see it billow in the breeze. Today, she wore a simple brown frock, but it never mattered what she had on; she always looked lovely.
“Are you plannin’ on starin’ at her all day, or are you going to say hello?” Kian asked, nudging him hard enough to knock him forward and out of his stupor.
“Oh, right,” Aaron replied, a shade of red creeping up his neck. He waved at Aislyn O’Malley, and she raised her hand slightly in recognition before she smiled in return, which lit Aaron’s heart on fire. Then she turned away, following her mother across the yard.
“You’re such a dolt,” Kian said, a smirk forming across his face. “One glimpse of Aislyn and you turn into a blabbering fool.”
Aaron felt a bit embarrassed, but he knew what his friend said was true. “I guess I just can’t help it,” he replied, running his hand through his light brown hair. “She’s… beautiful.”
“You’re going to marry her someday,” Kian teased, his voice sing-song.
“I hope so,” Aaron admitted, putting an end to the song. If what Kian said was true and the O’Malleys were never part of the agreement, then Aaron knew the sooner he married Aislyn, the better. He’d do anything he could to protect her from the Dark Ones. Of course, being only eleven and a half, he was aware that it would be several more years before he could marry anyone. Nevertheless, he vowed that day to always keep Aislyn safe, no matter what.
Over the next several days, the Dark Ones went on a spree that left many homes missing loved ones, a few of whom would return in nights to come to other homes nearby to make their own claims. And as each day went by, Aaron became more and more concerned, not just about the welfare of his own family and Kian’s but of Aislyn’s as well.One afternoon, while working next to his granddad to clean the potatoes they’d just gathered, he decided to broach the one topic he was forbidden to discuss. At this point, it seemed like it just might be a matter of life or death.“Granddad, can I ask you a question?” he asked as he brushed the sod from the brown vegetable.“I think you just did,” his granddad replied, smiling at him through several missing teeth.Aaron laughed only slightly at his grandfather’s attempt at humor. His heart was heavy. “I mean, I’d like to ask you a question, though I’m afraid y
Killarney, Ireland, 1846Aislyn was standing next to the well, the one that most townsfolk used to water their animals when they were out on the commons as her family’s sheep were now. Though he had no animals and no reason to be congregated near the watering hole, he realized he was approaching, and there was nothing he could do to prevent himself from doing so.At fifteen, she was just as lovely as ever. Her hair was longer still, and she almost always wore it in a single braid down her back, though he still liked it best free and billowing in the wind. She had the loveliest green eyes and the kindest smile. Her porcelain skin looked soft and creamy, and though he’d never run the back of his hand down her cheek, he’d imagined doing so would feel like touching fine silk linen.He’d taken to speaking to her whenever he could, and he was beginning to think perhaps she fancied him, though he knew she couldn’t be nearly as fon
It seemed like a thousand years passed before Sunday finally arrived, and while Genty was nearly as excited for Aaron to attend the cross-roads event as he was himself, his mother seemed apprehensive. With Channing off with his new wife and Genty promising she’d only stay at home as long as Aaron was there, Bree seemed in no hurry to see her youngest off and wed.He wouldn’t go far, though. His granddad had arranged for him to rent a plot of land a bit closer to the mountain but within easy walking distance to his mother’s home. The land would need cleared, which would take time and effort, but everyone would join in building a new home and removing the rocks and other debris; in Killarney, they each took care of one another the best they could.“Look at you!” Genty exclaimed as Aaron made his way outside to meet her. “You’ve pressed your trousers and patched your shirt!”Aaron shrugged as if he didn’t feel t
The fiddler had been joined by a drummer and harpist, and the first song was a joyful jig. As they began to do the steps together in sync, the rest of the dancers melted away, and Aaron found himself entranced by those green eyes and jubilant smile. The touch of her hand, the feel of her in his arms, the way she twisted and turned, had him completely enthralled, and as the night wore on, he wondered why he had never attended the cross-roads before. Aislyn was an angel, floating around him on gossamer wings, and he felt as if he were the luckiest lad in all of Ireland, perhaps the world, to have the honor to be her partner for the evening.Though others had tried to come betwixt them, the only time they left each other’s side was when the set called for it, and even then, Aaron kept his eyes interlocked with hers, only losing sight of her in a turn now and again. There were other young men who clearly had their eyes on the lithe beauty, but he was certain now that Aislyn
Nothing seemed out of place in the nightscape around them. There were a few trees and bushes, but nothing peered out from behind them, and the clearing on either side of the road seemed unthreatening as well.“What was that?” Aislyn asked. Aaron could feel her heart beating so quickly it reverberated in his own chest.“I’m not sure,” he managed. “Hopefully, whatever it was, it keeps its distance.”“Do you think it was a…”He cut her off, “Don’t say it, Aislyn,” he warned her, looking into her green eyes, which were narrowed in fright.She nodded in understanding, fully aware that many believed speaking of them aloud would bring them in. “We should go.”Aaron agreed, and as wonderful as the evening had been, he would feel much better once Aislyn was in her home where at least she would be indoors and probably safer. He wrapped his arm around her shoulde
The walk home shouldn’t have been long, but he was reveling in his thoughts and the memory of her body pressed against his. It was almost impossible to believe that Aislyn had agreed to marry him. How had he become so fortunate to have the most beautiful lass in the world as his own?Soon enough, he found himself standing outside of his own door, and he realized he was also quite lucky that nothing had snuck up on him out of the shadows as he made his way home since he was paying absolutely no mind to his surroundings and would have been an easy target should anything, earthly or other worldly, chosen to claim him.He was still soaring when he quietly opened the door. However, he needn’t thought of disrupting his family members’ sleep, as all three of them were up, and clearly something was not right. Genty sat in a chair near the unlit fireplace, her mother on the floor beside her, holding her hand while Granddad stood behind her, his hands pressing
Killarney, Ireland, 1847The potatoes were nothing but black mush. He’d spent hours tilling the ground, removing the rocks, tending the soil, planting the seeds, and now, all he had to show for it was a handful of black death. While he’d had the forethought to plant a few other crops as well, the potatoes were the only way they had to make any money, and with the little home the villagers had helped them build at the end of last year when he and Aislyn had tied the knot, needing a bit of repair already, he could have used the money. Now, it would be nearly impossible to even buy seed for next year’s planting.“What you got, lad?” Kian called, stepping through his acreage to Aaron’s. “All rot?’“Yes,” Aaron assured him. “Nothing but stink and filth. You?”“The same,” Kian nodded, his hands resting on his hips. “Shannon will have a conniption when she hears.&r
There were a few locations in town where one might seek out knowledge, but the best place was the tavern, and so they decided to try their luck there. Despite the early hour, the doors were open, and more than a few citizens gathered inside, their complaints and worries reaching the ears of the newcomers before they’d fully stepped inside.Many spoke of the rotten potatoes, how there was no end in sight, how the Englishmen refused more than a token show of help, and how the Irish were left to starve or forced to move away. Only a few hinted at the rising death toll in the village attributed to the others, and no one dared speak those words. One man, who’d clearly been there for quite a while, was crying about the death of his son just a few days earlier, and while his friends attempted to console him, it was the mead that began to quiet him after some time.“There’s nothing that can be done, then, to save the crop?” Kian was asking a group