Chapter Three: Names
1656 Words
Chapter 3
Joey sat staring out the large window of his office, lost in thoughts of a beautiful auburn haired woman. A woman with the most amazing green gold eyes. A woman with the most amazing smile.
He found himself in awe of Cailleagh Flannery. It had been some time since a woman managed to do that to him. The last woman he had been in awe of tried to swindle him and his father out of money. After Tamara, he hadn't trusted another woman. Now, however, he found himself wanting to try again.
Cailleagh was different. He knew it. Could feel it. She was not like other women. She was... otherworldly somehow. Like, in a strange sort of way, she had one foot in this world, and the other foot in a realm of something magical.
Magical? Really? Dude...
But what other adjective was there to describe Cailleagh Flannery? She was special. So, if magical was what described her, then why argue the point?
He noticed the shop where she came out of The Crow & Dragon, a shop full of crystals, and specialty items that pertained to pagan beliefs. And, while he had never really been interested in those sorts of things, he found himself drawn to the shop.
Drawn to Cailleagh.
Drawn to her world.
Then, there was that f*****g crazy dream. Who was the woman in the dream? And, for that matter, what was the language she was speaking? The woman and the language had been familiar to him, but he didn't know why. The whole feel of that dream plagued him. Made him think of things long forgotten. Made him long for... what? What was he to be longing for?
Cuimhnich, no mhac. Cuimhnich ce tu fein.
But what did that mean?
Even now he could hear the woman's voice as it had drifted on the wind toward him. The voice was soothing and melodic, almost ethereal. But, more than that, she sounded sad, almost regretful. Like she was apologizing for... letting him down?
He snapped out of his stupor. He decided right then he would go see Cailleagh, see if she wanted to have lunch with him again. He wanted to be near her again. The feelings she evoked in him made him happy for the first time in his life.
It also made him need to have a private conversation with his c**k.
Standing, he walked around his desk and left the office.
***
Cailleagh remembered somewhere it was said that to speak a faerie’s true name was to have power over it. Indeed, Moira had said that if she spoke Glanconner’s name the next time she encountered him, he would have no choice but to do as she said. But that was only part of the problem.
The Three, as she had taken to calling the siblings, were the ones who foiled her on the names. She didn’t know their names, therefore, she couldn’t control them.
What was a gal to do?
To strengthen the theory about names, she looked up names in a faerie book. By doing so, Cail found out that if one gives a faerie a name, one has power over it.
Aha! Now, she had a weapon to use against her four tormentors. Glanconner would be the hardest to deal with, as he wanted her to believe he was Joey, a man she was attracted to. All Cail had to do was become aware in her dreams that the man she saw was not Joey, but a seducer out for the kill.
The Three, on the other hand, would just be given names. That was simpler than encountering Glanconner: they seemed to be following her everywhere.
Moira was pleased with her ideas about her bullies. And she had changed somewhat, preferring to let her handle customers rather than taking them away. Letting her actually work at the shoppe. Which was good, because Joseph came in a few hours later.
At first, Moira and Cail looked at each other. Was he the real Joseph? Or was he a malicious faerie in disguise? Knowing she had to test the waters, Cail stepped out from amongst the bookshelves and approached him.
“Hey!” His smile lit up his face.
Cailleagh smiled back. “Hey back at ya!” She hugged him, suddenly aware of the masculine smell that came from him: spicy and fresh. She whispered one word in his ear, Glanconner, but she should have known this was not the Love Talker. What she felt with Joey was different than what she felt with the faerie. And this Joey was warmth and gentleness. The faerie, come to think of it, was a bit cold to the touch and didn't have the same warmth.
Thank the Goddess, Joey didn’t hear what she’d whispered. Those eyes were still bright and twinkling, the long lashes curling at the corners. His smile was genuine. This would not have been the case had he been someone else.
He was Joseph Royo, Jr., and Cail slightly shook her head at Moira. She let out a small breath and went back to her work.
He was eyeing a silver chain with a quartz pendant. “This is where you work?”
“Sometimes,” Cail replied, shrugging sheepishly. “It’s my mother’s shop. She’s a Wiccan. My brother, too.” She looked up at him. He was Joey, and he was genuine.
“Cool,” was all he said. That was it. She couldn’t believe it. She was prepared for: Do you really believe in this stuff? Or Oh, I see… That’s usually what she got and then she’d never see the guy again.
Not Joey. His “cool.” was all he said and that was that. Apparently he didn’t mind what her family’s beliefs were.
“What brings you here?” Cail asked, wanting to get rid of the sudden awkward feeling that hovered in her stomach.
His lips quirked a bit. “I thought we could have lunch again?” He smiled again. He was still looking at the necklace as he talked. "I couldn't stop thinking about you," he said coyly.
He couldn't stop thinking about me? Wow!
“That one is nice,” she commented as she caught a glimpse of Patrick rolling his eyes. “Quartz is a good cleanser. It brings purity and harmony. It balances your energy.”
Joey looked at her then. “This gives me purity?” His lips curved in a wicked smile. “I’m a lot of things, but pure is not one of them.” A brow arched as he said this.
She couldn’t help it. She laughed. No, he didn’t mind at all what her family’s beliefs were.
“This one it is,” he said, those hazel eyes twinkling with mischief.
As he moved toward the counter, a stillness suddenly passed into the store. Then, she walked in, the eldest of The Three, her silks floating in the air behind her.
She had an appointment to keep.
Cail was right. She glided right to her in that same regal manner she had exhibited before.
“Hello, Cailleagh,” she said with an air of authority.
Time to put the idea to the test. “Since you know my name, might I have the privilege of yours?”
She just smiled at her waving a hand. “Why bother with such superfluous things?”
“Well,” She glanced at Moira, who nodded, “I have to call you by your name, right?”
The woman clicked her tongue. “You may address me as you would any stranger.”
Cail smiled at her. “I could. But, you see, you have my name at your disposal whereas I don’t have yours. That's not fair.”
Her eyes narrowed, wondering what I was up to. “Names are nothing. What does one need with a name? It is not who you are.”
By now, Joey was making his way back to Cail. She held a finger up to the faerie, letting her know to wait. She let him know she had to help this customer. He said he would wait for her next door at the café. Then smiling, he kissed her cheek and left.
Now, she could put her full attention on her visitor. Moira had put the “Out to Lunch” sign on the door and locked it, and Cail went back to the faerie.
By now, she had recovered her composure but Cail was not going to let the conversation slide. “No,” she said as if they hadn’t been interrupted. “You are wrong.”
“Wrong?” Her fine brows rose.
“Yes. You see, names are important and are a source of power. You know my name and that means you have power over me. I can’t allow that to happen.”
She stumbled a bit, her stoic and regal manner fading. “You... can't?”
She stepped into Cail's trap. She eyed the faerie intently, c****d her head to the side. “Nope. Can't and won't. You see, I need your name.”
A look of fear passed over her face. “I cannot...” she said in a strange voice.
“Then I’ll have to name you," Cailleagh said. She tapped her chin. "Oh, and your siblings.”
The color drained out of the faerie's face. “Wh—What?”
Cailleagh leaned in and smiled at her. “Hello, Hemlock.”
This time, the Farris woman nearly fell to the floor, glancing at Cail with the most horrible look on her face. “Treacherous girl!” she seethed.
“Not so easily snowed, am I? Hellebore! Henbane! Come out!”
As soon as their names were spoken, the other two appeared next to their sister.
“Wicked one!” Helbore snarled at her, stomping his feet.
“What do you wish?” Hemlock spat.
“Tell Finvarra to leave me alone,” Cail replied. “I am not going to the Realm, not now, not ever.”
“But you are one of the Seelie!” Henbane wailed.
“So what? This is my home, Above, this is where I stay. Tell my father I have made my decision, like it or not.” Cail huffed at them. And, then, she turned and walked out the door toward the café.
- Writer
