Chapter 465
By the time we landed at Shannon International Airport and drove to Lahinch, in County Clare, the sun was coming up, and we were getting close to the time the portal should open again. On the ride over, my sister confirmed our Irish team, led by none other than a tall red-head named Moira who could’ve been Merida’s direct descendant if the Disney princess were a real person, was in position, and so far there’d been no Vampire sightings.
We were all pretty quiet. The nap on the plane had done me good, but I needed to focus. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to go as planned. I seriously doubted we’d show up, Moria’s team would hold off the bad guys, and Christian and Aaron would come strolling out of the portal like they’d just returned from a weekend getaway to the Poconos. No, something was bound to go wrong. I just hoped we were resilient enough to fix it on the spot because I was tired of thinking about portals.
Ireland is beautiful. Sitting next to Brandon, holding his hand, I had a totally different opportunity to take it in than I had Rome. Ever since my sister had visited here a few years ago, and I’d seen pictures of how green the landscape is and how crystal blue the water is, I’d wanted to come here. Now, I was here, and I was going to take as much of it in as I could. Especially when we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher.
We parked in the visitors parking lot, even though it wasn’t open yet. Moira assured us we wouldn’t have to worry about any staff showing up or early morning sightseers out for a peek at the crack of dawn. She had all of that taken care of. We could see her team’s vehicles, too. There aren’t a whole lot of options for how to get into this place. It’s basically one way in, one way out. So either the Vampires would be parking here and following us, or they were already there, waiting for us. Since Moira hadn’t reported anything, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be much of a show for Holland’s group. If she’d fallen out of the sky, dead, somewhere over the Atlantic, we’d be home free. But when I felt out into the universe for her, I could sense she was still there. She was blocking me from knowing exactly where, but her life force was definitely present.
We followed a long, windy trail, climbed some stairs, and eventually got to the top of the cliffs. There’s an ancient observation building there, O’Brien’s Tower, that’s over three hundred years old and sort of looks like a castle. I would’ve loved to go explore the historical site, but something told me I wouldn’t have the chance to do so on this trip. Instead, I followed my sister over to the edge of the cliffs and looked down on a seven hundred foot drop.
Brandon only glanced over and then backed away. “I’ve had enough of steep drops for one lifetime.” He smiled at me and then went over by Dax and Heather who were comparing weapons and also didn’t seem to want to look down. Everyone else who came over also took a quick peek and backed away, just leaving me and my big sis.
The ocean below us was beautiful and powerful at the same time. Jagged rocks emerged from the surf, worn and ragged but still standing firm as wave after wave of white foam slammed against them. Out in the distance, the Aran Islands were visible, golden and green in the new rays of light from the rising sun. If Aaron did come back here, to his homeland, near the islands that bore his name, it would be fitting. I hoped we had the right location and that he was able to finally find his way home.
Our silent reverie was broken when I got the sensation that we were not alone. The Vampires were making good time. I wondered if they’d been waiting for us to get into position and then came out from hiding places near the bottom of the trail. At any rate, they were closing fast, and Moira’s people were getting ready for a battle.
To my sister, I said, “They’re here.”
She turned around like she didn’t know I’d been standing there. I took a few steps closer to the edge and looked straight over. “Dang, that’s a long way down.” I was glad I could levitate so if I did slip, I could pull myself back up.
Cadence put her hand out, telling me I was too close for her comfort. I stepped back. “Where are they?”
I hooked my thumb over my shoulder, and she turned to look. They were visible now, across the wide field behind us. I could tell immediately who she was looking for, and I couldn’t blame her. I was wondering the same thing. “Maybe she just flew back to Hungary or Australia,” I offered. “Do you think she could go that far?”
“I don’t know. But if she tried, someone would see her. We’ll just watch for dragon sightings on the evening news.”
I giggled. That wouldn’t be a good thing, though. We’d have to run all kinds of interference on that one, and Christian was the one with all of the expertise in that field. If he came back alive, he’d be awfully busy if anyone happened to see a dragon flying by their airplane window.
“How’s Brandon?” my sister asked, gesturing at him with the crown of her head.
It was a complex question. He wasn’t quite himself yet, but I thought he would get there. No reason to go into all of that now. “Brandon is good.” Cadence smiled at me, and I blushed a little. Then another thought occurred to me. “He gave me Alex’s phone. He said there’s a message on there for me, but I haven’t looked at it yet. I’ll wait until this is all over.”
She nodded sympathetically. Cadence knew what it was like to lose a friend. “I hope whatever it says, it gives you some peace of mind.”
“Yeah, thanks.” I hoped so, too.
