Eire of Hostility



  Eire of Hostility

  Book three of the Eire series

  By Gavin Green

  Copyright 2014 Gavin Green

  Also by the author:

  Eire of Intrigue (book one of the Eire series)

  Eire of Mystery (book two of the Eire series)

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events are purely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or situations is purely coincidental, and in some cases, wishful thinking.

  Dedication

  To all the people I've pissed off; accounts of your indignation and/or loathing have given impetus to many of the confrontational dispositions and dialogues herein. The rest come from my own chafing personality.

  Chapter 1

  Jack McCarthy lurched suddenly, almost violently, to his feet and yelled at the top of his lungs.

  He was formerly stretched out on his old plaid couch in his living room. His wife, Fiona, sat at their small dining room table, inputting data of their stonemasonry transactions into her new laptop. Their children, Ella and Shey, were already asleep in their rooms upstairs.

  Jack had been relaxing after a long weekend day checking job sites and continuing an online negotiation with a potential commercial client. He'd finally dragged himself home after helping to finish an overdue residential job with his two main employees, the Gavin brothers.

  After a filling meal, Jack spent time with his family and then helped put the children to bed, a routine that he and his wife happily shared. They chatted about common topics while Fiona updated the books and he reclined on the couch with a magazine. His exhaustion outweighed the energy to chat and the house was left with a comfortable silence. Jack's eyes had begun to lose focus, and the magazine drooped on his stomach from a loosening grip.

  Without warning, an image of Jane, his youngest sister, flashed in Jack's mind. Her pretty face was set in a rictus of fear, her dark green eyes wide and ablaze with flickering terror. She was in grave danger, alone and terrified. Jack's body sprung from the couch before his frantic mind was aware of it. Along with the sudden jump to his feet, he bellowed her name in a booming, desperate tone.

  Fiona hopped in her chair from the shock of his outburst, sending her wavy brown hair into disarray. Receipts flew from her hand. "Jaysus, Jack! What the -"

  "Jane!" Jack blurted out again but not as loudly. "She's in trouble, Fiona! Oh God, she's so scared!" He didn't even hear the muffled cries of his little boy upstairs, upset from being abruptly woken.

  Fiona rushed over to her husband, grabbing his trembling hands and noticed his eyes welling with emotion. Jack stared into his wife's eyes. "She's lost, Fiona. Jane's lost and alone and running from... I don't fucking know what, but it's bad - very bad!" His strong hand gripped Fiona's almost painfully. Knowing that his innocent little sister was in such a helpless, terrified state made Jack's heart ache. "I have to go get her. I need to go. She's so -"

  Fiona squeezed his hands as hard as she could, and then gave a hard yank to get his attention. "Jack! You need to calm down. You can't help Jane if you're a right mess, sure. Ease down, love." She saw her husband take a deep, shuddering breath.

  Fiona had helped him in this palliative fashion before, but luckily they were rare, and never with as strong of a reaction as he currently had. They'd chatted about Jack's 'gut feelings' since early in their marriage. It had started with only slight disturbances to him, and apparently only centered on family or those close to him.

  Some five years back, Jack had run outside of a building under refurbishment and stabilized a scaffold before Tom Gavin completely lost his grip. A few years ago, he knew that his da was in hospital before Fiona had a chance to tell him. She remembered Jack's frantic cell call from somewhere near Galway on the morning that Brody's criminal cousins made their play.

  So it came as no surprise that Fiona received a call from her husband a few weeks back while she sat in the clinic, seeing to a bout of nausea. He joyously knew that she was pregnant before the doctor had a chance to inform her.

  It seemed that Jack's intuitions had radar of sorts, as well. He knew without recent radio contact where Tom was on the job site, as well as Liam's exact location in the factory he worked at when the angina hit. Jack's divination had sharpened since; he knew on that fateful morning of the Wagner's lawless visit that his mam had been put into a car's boot, and that Kate stood in the rain out in one of Brody's paddocks.

  He was a proud man, her husband, and only spoke to Fiona in-depth of his feelings on the matter. Jack didn't want to have to explain himself if he could avoid not having to; he didn't want anyone thinking him mental. When it came to spikes in events of loved ones, he was a gauge and compass all in one.

  Luckily, Jack's normal hot-headed nature had abated over the last few years. Fiona attributed it to yet another child to be raised; everyone else, including Jack, gave the credit to her. Despite his temper, Jack's strong demeanor still drew her to him like a magnet; he said how he felt and left nothing hidden, good or bad. He was smart enough, but Jack led with his big heart more often than he should.

  He'd kept those qualities that Fiona adored, but had been tempering them with forethought more and more often. However, when the rare intuitions hit, Jack was always lost to the flood of emotion that accompanied them. Until he could somehow address those visions, his logic took a back seat.

  Fiona looked intently into Jack's red-rimmed eyes. "Do you have control, love?" Her voice was soft but the words were meant more as a demand than a question. Jack took a moment, holding in a deep breath, and then nodded while he let it go through his nose. She squeezed his hands once more, but gentler. "Good, now find her."

  Jack swiveled both his torso and head to one side and then the other, trying to sense her general direction. He let go of Fiona's hands when he turned all the way around in the living room, retracing short movements in his slowly spinning search.

  By the time he turned full circle and faced his wife again, Jack's eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape. Goosebumps rose on his neck and arms as he stared absently at Fiona. She'd never seen that look on his face in all the years they'd been together; her own skin prickled in response to his haunted, horrified visage.

  Jack's words came out as a whisper. "She's not anywhere."

  A chill ran through them both. Fiona cupped a hand over her mouth as her eyes lost focus. She had no other logical options but to assume the worst. The sight of her stunned reaction somehow galvanized Jack into action.

  While he swiveled again, searching with his 'gut feeling' for his sister, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed. Jane's phone answered with an unexpected busy signal. He then dialed another number and impatiently waited until the call was answered on the fourth tone. "Da... yeah, I know it's late. Look, is Jane there?" He paused to listen. "Not long ago, you're sure?" He listened another few seconds before saying, "It doesn't matter. Stay up; I'll be over in a few minutes."

  Jack ended the call and shoved the phone back in his pocket while he reached for Fiona with his free hand. His firm hand on her shoulder brought her widened eyes back to his.

  He looked at her with false confidence and said, "I'm going to my da's to make sure. I probably just got it wrong this time, and she's in her room going over Uni brochures... or asleep." A good reason had to be given, if only to quell Fiona's fears. "Maybe she had some brickin' nightmare, and that's what I picked up on." Jack, however, knew he wasn't wrong about Jane being in peril, or possibly worse.

  "Do you think that's all it was?" Fiona asked doubtfully.

  "Don't worry, honey, I'll get this sorted. Da said she's back at the gaff and grand, sure. Go calm Shey down and keep your phone handy. I'll give a bell as soon as I give Jane hell for s
carin' the shite out of me." He gave his fretting wife a quick peck on the lips and then hurried to the foyer to grab his coat and truck keys.

  Fiona stood motionless, engulfed in fear. She distantly heard the noises of the front door clicking shut and Jack's truck starting a few seconds later, as well as Shey's cries, which had tapered to sporadic wails and whimpers.

  Feeling cold and helpless, Fiona knew that Jack was trying to soothe her fears… and maybe his own in the process. He'd never been wrong about his visions before, ever. Somehow, something went unbearably wrong. She had no answers for the swirling, screaming questions in her mind. It simply made no sense.

  As she sat on the edge of the couch, Fiona's mind kept producing hundreds of flickering images of her younger sister-in-law. Jane had a bubbly laugh, and her smile was one of the best features on her cute face. Those forest green eyes sometimes revealed her occasional devil-may-care moments and daring spirit.

  Jane had just turned seventeen, but her playfulness and naiveté could make her look younger. Alternately, when Jane was in serious thought or conversation, or especially when she sang, she seemed years older. Her form had become a woman's and attractive, much to the worry of Liam and Jack, but Jane's constantly ponytailed hair and impish grins were a reminder of the young girl residing within.

  Fiona's father-in-law, Liam, was protective of his youngest girl, and had lavished her with praise and attention for as long as Fiona knew them. Her mam, Cora, on the other hand, was a daunting presence, even with her own short stature. In depriving Jane of certain allowances and freedoms in order to keep her daughter safe from a sometimes harsh world, Cora's stern sheltering somewhat kept Jane from natural maturation.

  In their own ways, maybe both of the parents had a hand in their youngest daughter's lingering emotional innocence. That Fiona knew of, Jane hadn't had the chance to acquire any inner calluses to prepare her for some of the hardships of life. She was certainly not equipped for whatever state that Jack's vision saw her in. Sometimes unforgiving realities slowly eroded adolescent views, and sometimes took it away in chunks. From Jack's horrified reaction, Jane's innocence was being ripped from her all at once.

  Trying not to let her mind wander to her darkest fears, Fiona resolved to be strong for her family, and as well for Jack's, if need be. She went upstairs and into Shey's room. In the dim glow of the nightlight, she found her little boy still awake but groggy, fussy from his sudden awakening. Fiona sat next to him on his small bed, easing him with whispered words while she smoothed his soft hair.

  She thought Shey looked exactly like his father, except with darker hair. He had even begun to show signs of the same disposition of Jack's bold demeanor - so full of life, just like Jane. Fiona continued to stay with her son even after he'd gone back to sleep, the mere sight of him a reminder how precious and fragile life was. She hoped to bolster her resolve if the outcome was what she most feared, that somehow Jane was dead. Instead, Fiona held a sob in check while she made silent, desperate prayers.