Twilight Siege

9

4 I had enjoyed every minute of my weekend trip with Cat. On Sunday we took our time driving through several small towns on our way back to Belfast and then had dinner in the city before I dropped Cat at home and returned the rental. Come Monday morning I was wishing I had another day to recover from my weekend. Despite being tired, the morning passed relatively quickly and at lunch Cat found me eating a sandwich in the employee lounge. “Dear Lord, I’m knackered.” Cat set her sack lunch on the table and sank into the chair next to mine. “You’re telling me. It’s amazing how exhausting two days on the road can be—we didn’t even do that much but I can barely keep my eyes open.” “Well, I do have a bit of good news that should help—the elders want to meet with you.” I sat up taller in my chair and immediately felt more awake. “That is good news, I think. Do you have any idea what they want to talk to me about?” “No, they don’t tell me anything.” “I suppose there’s only one way to find out—when and where do they want to meet?” “Tonight, seven o’clock at the Central Library. On the ground floor there’s a study room right off the main reading area.” “Will you be there?” “No, not that I didn’t plead my case, but my mum said the elders wouldn’t allow it.” My spark of excitement fizzled but I nodded my understanding. “I would have loved to have seen a friendly face, but I’m a big girl, I can go on my own. Thank you, Cat. I really appreciate all your help.” “No, thank you. You’re the most exciting thing to come to town in my lifetime.” She ended with a teasing smile and I couldn’t help but laugh. Unlike her, I could have used a little less excitement in my life. “I don’t think it had anything to do with me, per se. The issues with the Fae would have happened regardless, but I’m glad to help bring some pizzazz to these dreary Belfast skies.” “You’re not entirely correct. If it hadn’t been for you working here at the museum, I never would have been privy to any of it.” “Just so long as you don’t go getting more involved than you’re supposed to—I have enough to worry about, I don’t need to add you to my list.” She held her right hand across her heart. “Don’t you worry, I’m entirely too scared of my mum to do anything stupid. I’d never hear the end of it.” She scarfed her lunch as we discussed more mundane work-related topics before she wished me luck and headed back to her desk, her red curls bouncing as she left the room. A short time later, I sat at my desk and daydreamed about what I would learn at the meeting and hoped I might gather more information about the sword to help us locate it. As if the meeting wouldn’t be nerve wracking enough, that night was also my first training session with Lochlan. I was anxious about that for half a dozen reasons and with both events looming over me, I found myself chewing away at my fingernails while my leg bounced restlessly under my desk. Recognizing my need to expel some nervous energy, I left my desk and began to walk the halls of the museum. Losing myself in the artwork was just the distraction I needed. No matter how many times I had seen the same pieces, I could still appreciate new aspects and see new elements from different perspectives. The break was cathartic for me and as my thoughts settled and I began to lose myself in the exhibits, I found myself standing before The Quarrel of Titania and Oberon paining. I hadn’t visited the painting since Fergus, my flamboyant Scottish boss, first told me about its background. Titania, stood with a child hiding behind her while arguing with Oberon. He looked nothing like the Fae man who had been its muse and Titania looked nothing like the Fae queen I had met. The piece depicted a scene from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which the two argue over who would keep a young boy who had been orphaned. According to Shakespeare, Oberon had won the argument and raised the boy as one of his knights. Oberon taking on the upbringing of a boy, making him into one of his knights, sounded strikingly similar to how Lochlan had been raised by Alberich. The imagery may have been all wrong, but could this painting be related to how Lochlan ended up with Alberich? I would have to ask him when the time was appropriate, and who knew when that would be. We always ignited a passion in each other, sometimes that passion was of a carnal nature, other times it was more murderous. A small part of me wished our relationship could be as simple as it had been in my dream—no posturing, no distrust, no pretense—just the two of us together without the burdens and complications of life. It was simple and beautiful and totally unobtainable. A relationship couldn’t exist in a vacuum, and our world was filled with danger and deceit. Overcoming those circumstances would be an insurmountable feat. I chose not to analyze why that thought had weighed on my heart, and instead started back to the office. I drove to the library dressed in active wear for my training session with Lochlan—full length leggings and a mint workout top with a large cutout in the back to reveal my strappy grey sports bra. The wardrobe choice had been entirely practical as I didn’t want to get too hot, or at least that was what I told myself. I certainly wasn’t going to admit that it had anything to do with who I would be seeing. Nope. Not one bit. The library and the museum were both stately buildings and while they were similar in style, the library was constructed in red brick instead of the museum’s white stone. The library was also much smaller without the modern extension on the back like the museum. I walked into the dated building and found the stairwell down to the ground floor, or what I would have called the basement back home. The reading room was spacious and accommodated several long wood tables, each outfitted with reading lamps. Two patrons occupied the space that was otherwise empty, and I scanned the area for where I might find the study room that Cat had mentioned. I spotted a door off to my right and as I approached my nerves evaporated and instead my brows narrowed in profound confusion. There were two men and three women sitting around a table talking, among them were Fergus, Detective Maura O’Brien from the PSNI, and a woman that looked like an older carbon copy of Cat.