The Shadow Grove Chronicles - Book II: Dark Artifact

CHAPTER TWO

“You two be good for Aunt Hazel. I’ll give y’all a call when we get to the hotel, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jessi and Tammi said in unison to their mother.

John had already loaded their bags into the back of the “Green Beast,” his hunter-green Jeep, and replaced the canvas top over the roll cage to protect his passengers from the winter weather on their way to Dallas. Becca was already sitting in the middle of the back seat. Allie’s teenage girls practically lifted her off her feet as they came in to give her a farewell hug. 

They were a close-knit family, but the last time their mother left for more than a couple of days without them, they had been kidnapped by their father, Derrick, and almost sacrificed to a dark god. It was just as best that they didn’t know which god if they wanted to be able to sleep at night, which is why they were never told. Even Allie didn’t know and she was on the rescue team that went in to save them. Becca had her suspicions, but Rowan had known from the shape of the circle that had been painted on the floor of the altar chamber, in calves’ blood, what dark horror their father was in league with.

It was a good thing that Becca had managed to talk Hazel into watching the girls. One wouldn’t know it by looking at the diminutive woman in short blonde ringlet curls that she was quite possibly the most vicious of all the adults that had gathered. As the Arch-Druid of the Waco Chapter of the Order of the Harper, a subset of the Old Order, she had on-call an entire cadre of druids and acolytes that could act as guardians for her and her charges. Not that she needed them. Anyone who has ever tilted with a small woman knows not to do it again. She may be small, but she also tends to be deadly quick and has no compunctions about fighting fairly. Especially against a man, who would be lucky to retreat from the encounter still in possession of his testicles.

To get her to agree to the responsibility, Allie and Becca made her take a rain check for their fun and games until after they got back from the “mission.” She accepted begrudgingly, but managed to coax them out of another kiss each to seal the deal. Rowan kissed her forehead as he had gone past to get started packing for the trip. 

“Alright,” Allie said as she almost fell into a thin pile of snow. “I love you both too.”

She kissed the tops of both of their heads then lifted herself into the jeep. Both she and Becca waved at the girls as they pulled out of the round driveway. Hazel looked at them.

“So, which one of you two thinks they can whip me at Mario Kart?”

The girls’ eyes widened in happy surprise and all three of them ran back into the warm house.

***

They turned onto Highway Seventy-Seven towards the Circle in Waco, the only traffic circle left in the city. It was the convergence of three major roads; Valley Mills Drive, La Salle Avenue, and Robinson Drive, which was part of Highway Seventy-Seven. In the center was a giant five-pointed star, the Great Seal of the state. It would be there that they would catch Interstate Thirty-Five up to Dallas. The snow was bright on the horizon as they coasted down the battered asphalt.

“How many of these reliquaries are there?” Allie had turned around to ask Becca this.

“In the state, country, or world?”

“That many?”

“There’s only three here in Texas. Around the world there are maybe five-hundred in all. That’s just our Order. You have to remember that The Vatican has been collecting toys like this for about as long, not to mention several agents of various States all over the world. What’s important is that the artifacts are properly conserved and protected. It’s one of the duties of The Harpers.”

“How many are usually at our cashes for weird s**t?”

“No more than twelve at a time. But usually three to seven. You know, magick numbers. It’s part of the wards to protect them, and to protect other people from them. Some of these objects of power out there can practically melt souls, so we do what we can to make sure they don’t.”

“So, this dagger we’re going after, was it really used by the actual ‘Nehmain,’ an actual Tuatha de Dannan?”

“As far as the histories go. It’s not like the Ancient Druids kept written records. They were lucky enough to get what had survived written down between Avonsey and Saint Patrick. We had to adapt, but they didn’t do it soon enough. A lot was lost, but the artifacts were kept mostly safe and documented.”

“Now, I had already known about the Lia Fail, the stone of destiny, from my grandmother. There were three more she used to talk about. What were they?” Allie bit her lip in thought as she tried to remember.

“I think you’re talking about Dian Cect’s cauldron, the spear of Lugh, and the Dagda’s harp,” John said, his eyes focused on the road ahead, watching out for black ice.

“Yeah, those.”

“Those are examples of artifacts that have been lost to us. Well, except the Lia Fail. It’s currently being held by the English Royal Family. It’s been in their hands since they took over Ireland,” Becca had continued. “The other three were lost during Saint Patrick’s pogrom through the island. There are rumors of them being found from time to time, like that archeologist out of New York… Oh, what was her name? I can’t remember…”

“She was on that history show on cable, right? Oh! I like her!”

“I know, right!? Way smarter than that chick that got topless. Anyways, she was at a site where the Spear was supposedly found about a decade ago. It was just that, a rumor. The Harpers even sent in an investigator to see if they could find it. They never did.”

“Let me see if I remember what it did. It was supposed to be unstoppable when thrown and would always stay on target, and like Thor’s Hammer it returned to the wielder's hand, right?”

“There’s a bit more to it than that, but yes, that’s the gist of it.”

“What did the other two do?”

“Dian Cect,” John said, “was the great healer. His cauldron was able to heal anyone who bathed in its waters.’

“And the Dagda’s harp was able to make anyone who heard it play feel rested and content.”

“Those are just the four that are considered common knowledge? Then there’s lots more?”

“Innumerable, Allie-baby,” said Becca with a smile.

“Whenever someone does a great work, a spell or something like that, part of the power they channel is imbued into a possession of theirs, making it easier to cast again.” John gave Allie a smile.

“Just how bad is it that this “talon” is out in the wild?”

“It’s pretty bad, chica. I read the write-up from when the Order found it the first time. It was during the Easter Rebellion, when Ireland gained its independence from England. It was found by an Irish anarchist who didn't have love for either the British or the IRA. He managed to use it once before the Harpers found him, but the damage had been done. To this day, neither side has released the records of the skirmish. It was too gruesome…”

“Both sides got a bit too ‘happy-happy’ with their bayonets… on their own fellow troops…”

“Ugh!”

“Ugh is right.”

“John,” Allie started. “What are you able to sense about this case?”

“I’m not entirely sure. I can somewhat see the mind of the man who orchestrated the thief, but it’s hazy. It’s like trying to look through thick fog. I’m sure that it will lift the closer we get to Dallas.”

John drove through the Circle and onto Valley Mills, quickly turning off to catch the onramp onto the northbound side of the interstate.

“I’m sure that it will, hon,” said Becca. “Proximity should help.”

“True. It usually does.”

“Do y’all mind if I turn on the radio?” Allie’s hand was close to the controls.

“Not at all, Allie-baby. I was going to get a nap anyway.”

“Go ahead, Allie.”

Allie fiddled with the knobs and buttons on the face of the radio, turning it into the local rock station, “The Bear.” Becca nodded off as John sped the Jeep along the long road to Dallas. Allie stared out her window as she thought about what they might be getting into.