Saving the Orc: Orcs of Clan Cumhdach
Preface
Othana walked over to where the fireflies had settled upon the cold metal barrel of the old shotgun that had somehow found its way through time to arrive in her possession.
“It’s about time,” Othana said, as a slight sweep of her hand caused the fireflies to once again take flight. “I’ve been waiting for you to arrive here. I know of another whose very future depends on you,” she said to the shotgun. Othana laid the weapon carefully in the center of the circle. “Would you be so kind as to make sure this gets to the right lady?” she asked, turning back to look at the fireflies hovering nearby.
The fireflies lifted into the air and landed gracefully on the shotgun where it lay on the ground.
Othana began to open the portal, but then remembered that she had only but a part of the equation ready to go. “Oh, I almost forgot!” she exclaimed. She held her hand out and in it appeared the small canvas bag that held additional shotgun shells. She quickly walked into the circle already spinning with the opening of the portal and dropped it beside the shotgun. Some of the fireflies settled atop the bag as well. Othana stepped out of the portal and watched defiantly from the side as the weapon and ammunition disappeared from view.
“I thought we weren’t allowed tah change the past if we wanted tah be sure that the future is the same.”
Othana turned with a bright smile on her face. “Gavin! How lovely of you to come visit. And you’ve brought Angus!”
“Hello, Othana. Who will we be helping this time?” Angus asked as he performed a perfect bow to her.
“No one, I’m afraid. This one must work itself out,” Othana said.
“Ye just sent a weapon, though. That could change the future if we don’t oversee things,” Gavin said.
“I truly hope that the poor dear manages to change things this time. I’ve had more than enough of watching the poor girl race after her beloved only to find him gone each and every time.”
“It’s not always him that’s gone. Sometimes it’s her.”
Othana nodded sadly. “I noticed that, too. The last time she arrived only to find him mourning her and couldn’t even find a way to let him know she was there right beside him. She’s more than earned herself a new opportunity. And I’ve thought on occasion that she might find a way to change things for herself. But it never seems to work out. My hands are tied — figuratively of course. I can’t change the past, it would create so much chaos, but if something happened to find its way through the portal, she might be able to change the course of things. With the right tools, of course. If she happens to find them, and has the courage to put them to use.”
“Won’t it change the future, though?” Angus asked.
Othana smiled. “I truly hope it does. Her future, anyway. It’s all up to her now, though.”
~~~
Somewhere in the past, long, long ago a woman weary of both body and heart leaned against the trunk of a young oak tree planted intentionally with a handful more to create the shape of a large circle. Her skirts and blouse were tattered and worn. Her hands and face stained and dirty. The listless lean of her body and dullness of her eyes spoke of her near inability to continue on. She was broken — on the verge of giving up. Her heart could take no more disappointment, no more pain. You could only watch your love die so many times before you lost the will to continue with life at all yourself.
With only a slight indication of movement the grasses in the center of the circle began to wave in a hint of breeze. Fireflies began to ride the breeze, outlining the swirl of the winds as they traveled inside the circle of oaks. She watched as the winds peaked, then died down to nothing as though they’d never been at all, leaving behind only the fireflies where they sat covering whatever it was they’d landed upon.
The fireflies rose into the air, dancing through the air to her, then back to where they’d been resting.
She watched as they did this twice more before she was finally enticed to approach the area they kept returning to. “Alright, ye obviously want me tah see something,” she said as she forced herself to walk over to where they gathered in the middle of the circle. Her eyes grew wide when she saw what they rested on. She reached down and picked up the weapon, holding it out before her as she examined it. It was the ultimate affront to everything she and her sisters had been raised to believe. It was pointless to try to move a weapon of any kind into the past for personal gain. Still, it hadn’t stopped her from trying several times. Each time she had, when she’d arrived at her destination her weapon of choice was gone, nowhere to be found. And yet here the circle, and thereby the Fae, had gifted her the very thing that she’d not be able to achieve on her own. A weapon was now at her disposal. She gripped the weapon almost lovingly as her heartbeat sped up.
The fireflies covering the canvas bag still on the ground flickered several times to catch her attention.
“What else do ye have for me?” she asked, moving closer and kneeling beside the canvas bag. The fireflies dispersed, and when she looked inside the bag she could barely hold back tears. “Thank ye,” she said, her lips trembling as she lifted her face to the sky above her. “Thank ye. I might actually have a chance this time.”
She looped the canvas bag over her shoulder and stood, holding the shotgun at her side as she took several steps toward the perimeter of the circle of oaks.
The fireflies began swarming her, seemingly trying to keep her from leaving the circle.
She stopped walking and watched the fireflies. “What do ye want me tah do?” she asked, just as the breeze began to gently swirl around her. Realizing the portal was opening and she’d not opened it, Nora simply gave in to whatever the fates had planned. She held the weapon close and made sure the bag of ammunition was secure over her shoulder and waited to see where the fates, the Fae, and their guardians — the fireflies — would take her to begin her next attempt at saving her mate. Wherever it was, whenever it was, she felt in her soul that this would be the last chance she’d have. Whatever happened this time, would seal her fate and his.