Chapter Twenty-Seven
Joey
How the hell did Fulvio and his fellow goons find me here? In the frigging past? Oddly, I experience a brief sense of déjà vu as if I've seen things I couldn't have seen. Sure, that makes complete sense. You're losing your ever-loving mind, Finnegan .
Time travel will do that to a guy.
I have my arms strapped over my chest, just like all the Scots who've gathered around us. Kieran has a sword, and I have a dirk. I assume the other Scots have weapons as well. But Fulvio and his goons have firearms. They could mow us all down in one fell swoop without even breaking a sweat.
Guns trump swords. I'm sure of that.
I glance at Kieran, hoping his decades of battle experience might offer some insight into our current predicament. His eyes are narrowed as he assesses the situation with a warrior's calm that I can only envy.
"Ye best be dropping those strange weapons," Kieran growls, his deep voice carrying across the tense silence. "Ye've no business here in our lands."
Fulvio's lip curls into a sneer. "Oh, we have business all right. With him ."
He jerks his chin in my direction.
Great. Just great . I've managed to drag my twenty-first-century mob problems into sixteenth-century Scotland. This is not how I pictured my day going when I woke up this morning. I figured I'd get razzed by a bunch of muscular Scots and maybe get dunked in the loch. But this...
"Listen, Fulvio," I begin, "I don't know how you got here, but this isn't the place for...whatever this is. These people have nothing to do with our beef."
Fulvio's eyes narrow, his grip tightening on his pistol. "You think I care about these savages? You owe us, Finnegan, and we're here to collect. No matter where---or when---you try to hide."
I feel Kieran tense beside me. He clearly does not appreciate being called a savage. I throw him a warning glance, silently pleading for him to stay calm. The last thing we need is for him to charge at the bad buys with nothing but a sword. The mob guys have guns.
"Okay, okay," I say, raising my hands slowly. "Let's talk about this. Just you and me. But first, I want to know how you got here."
Fulvio chuckles darkly. " An Bodach gave us a lift. He's got a major hard-on for destroying your girlfriend's daddy. And I've got one for slitting your throat, Joey boy."
Here I thought my number one enemy was Alisdair MacLeod.
"Yer in the midst of a clan gathering, ye olach ," Kieran tells Fulvio. Yeah, that's the Gaelic word for a eunuch. "Go back to whence you came before the might of twelve clans rips you to shreds."
"Twelve clans, huh?" he scoffs. "And how many of them have guns, old man?"
I swear I can feel the tension in the air ratcheting up another notch. The Scots may not know exactly what guns are, but they can sense the danger. I hear the soft rasp of steel as more swords are drawn from their scabbards.
"Give it up," I say, trying to keep my voice calm. "You've made your point, Fulvio. You found me. But this isn't New York. You can't just start a firefight here without consequences."
"Oh yeah?" Fulvio challenges. "What consequences? These barbarians wouldn't know a Glock from an AK-47."
He and his buddies chuckle derisively. What jackasses.
More men from the twelve clans have joined our group, forming a wall of plaid and steel.
I feel a shift in the air, a sudden chill that has nothing to do with the Highland breeze. The hairs at my nape lift, and I catch a glimpse of movement from the corner of my eye. Rachel. She steps forward, her eyes blazing with an otherworldly light. The air seems to shimmer, and I swear I can hear the faint whisper of ancient words carried on the wind.
"Ye bring strange magic to our lands," she says, her voice resonating with power. "But ye forget, this is our home. Our magic runs deep in the very soil beneath yer feet."
Fulvio's smug expression falters for a moment as he takes in Rachel's appearance. I can see the doubt creeping into his eyes, the first flicker of uncertainty.
"What the hell is this?" he mutters, his gun wavering slightly.
The earth beneath me trembles beneath my feet. The ground seems to ripple, like waves on a loch, and a low rumble echoes through the glen. Fulvio and his goons stumble, struggling to keep their balance.
"What the fuck?" one of them shouts, his eyes wide with panic.
I watch in awe as tendrils of mist rise from the earth, coiling around the mobsters' legs. The fog thickens rapidly, obscuring their lower bodies and creeping upward. Fulvio fires his gun wildly, the shots echoing across the hills, but the bullets seem to dissolve into the mist harmlessly.
"Rachel," I whisper, "what are you doing?"
She doesn't answer, her eyes glowing an eerie blue as she continues to chant under her breath. The mist swirls higher, now reaching the mobsters' chests. They're shouting in panic, flailing their arms and trying to wade through the thick fog, but it's like quicksand, holding them in place.
"Finnegan!" Fulvio screams, his face contorted with rage and fear. "Make it stop!"
I wish I could, but I'm just as bewildered as he is. I observe while Rachel weaves her spell, her expression a mask of concentration. The air crackles with energy, and I swear I can see faint, glowing symbols swirling around her.
Kieran strides forward, his sword gleaming in the strange, misty light. "Ye've brought yer fight to the wrong place, laddies. Highlanders dinnae take kindly to intruders."
The mist continues to rise, now engulfing the mobsters completely. Their muffled shouts fade as they disappear into the swirling fog. I watch, transfixed, as the mist begins to coalesce, forming distinct shapes. To my astonishment, the fog transforms into towering, humanoid figures---misty giants looming over us all.
"Holy shit," I blurt out, unable to tear my focus away from the spectacle.
Rachel's voice rings out, clear and commanding. "Guardians of the glen, protectors of our people, I call upon ye to banish these intruders from our lands!"
"Wait!" I shout, as a sudden thought strikes me. "Rachel, we need to know how they got here! We can't just send them back without---"
Before I can finish that thought, the mist creatures evaporate.
The enforcer and his pals wear stark expressions. None of them has ever seen magic before, I'm sure. They still hold their guns, but they seem incapable of moving or speaking. Their shock wears off too quickly, though.
Fulvio nods to one of his goons.
While the rest of us are still reeling, he snatches Lachina away from her family and holds his gun to her temple. "Touch any of us and this old hag will get a bullet in her brain."
Old hag? Lachina is fifty-three. That might be old in the medieval world, but Fulvio's from the twenty-first century. Besides, Lachina is pretty and looks half her age.
I raise my dirk at Fulvio. "We've got more swords and knives than you've got guns. Twelve clans, remember?"
"Yeah, but you've got the joker card, and I've got the ace."
A swirling mass of darkness grows beside Fulvio, who doesn't seem perturbed at all, like he expected this to happen. He keeps his arm tight around Lachina's throat.
The dark mass resolves into...a grizzled, gray-haired man with huge biceps who must stand at least seven feet tall.
Fulvio smirks. " An Bodach is here, and he's very interested in the MacTaggart magics."
An Bodach glowers at Fulvio. "Silence, ye fool. A laddie with a wee bigealais is of no interest to me."
The creepy old coot glances down at Fulvio's groin. I'm guessing " bigealais " is another word for "dick."
Kieran snarls through gnashed teeth, "Release my aunt now, before the wrath of the clans is unleashed upon you."
An Bodach 's gaze sweeps across our group, his eyes glowing with an eerie light. "The wrath of the clans? Ye have no idea what true wrath is, ye cacan . Did ye enjoy meeting my beithir ? I conjured him just for you two."
I snort. "Gee, thanks, jackass. Your silly purple teddy bear was about as terrifying as a squirrel."
Can't let this evil bastard know that his beithir sent us running through the woods to escape from the magically created monster.
With a flick of his wrist, An Bodach sends a shockwave of energy rippling through the air. I feel it hit me like a punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of me. All around us, Highlanders now stumble and fall as their weapons clatter to the ground.
Rachel stands firm, her eyes blazing with defiance. "Ye may have power, old man, but this is our land. Our magic runs deep here."
An Bodach 's lip curls into a cruel smile. "Aye, lass. And that's precisely why I'm here."
He turns his attention to Lachina, still held captive by Fulvio. "You, hag. You have the gift of the Two Sighs, do you not?"
Lachina's eyes widen, but she says nothing. Her gaze flicks to Rachel, a silent warning passing between them.
An Bodach chuckles darkly. "No need to play coy. I can sense the power within you. The MacTaggart line has always been strong in the ways of magic."
I glance at Rachel, hoping for some clue as to what's going on. Her face is a mask of determination, but I can see the fear in her eyes. Whatever this An Bodach character is after, it can't be good.
"What do you want with my aunt?" Kieran growls, his hand tightening on his sword hilt.
The old bastard ignores him, his attention fixed solely on Lachina. "You will show me the way to the ancient standing stones. The place where the veil between worlds is thinnest."
Lachina's eyes flash with defiance. "I'll do no such thing, ye demon."
An Bodach 's face contorts with rage. He raises his hand, dark energy crackling around his fingers. "You'll cooperate, or I'll tear the knowledge from your mind piece by piece."
I feel utterly useless, my modern skills no match for this supernatural showdown. But I can't just stand here while this creep threatens Lachina.
"Hey, Old Man!" I shout, drawing An Bodach 's attention. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
Okay, not my best taunt, but it does the trick.
An Bodach 's eyes narrow as he turns to face me, his lips curling into a sneer. "Ah, the time-lost fool speaks. And what would ye know of power, small one?"
My first impulse is to spit an insult right back at him. But then I feel a chill slither down my spine as his gaze locks onto mine. I resolve to stand my ground---no matter what.
"Maybe not much," I admit, "but I know bullies when I see them. And you, grandpa, are nothing but a schoolyard thug with a fancy light show."
The old man's face contorts with rage, and I feel the atmosphere crackling with energy. Maybe antagonizing the evil wizard wasn't my smartest move.
"Joey, haud yer wheesht," Kieran hisses, but it's too late.
An Bodach raises his hand, dark tendrils of smoke coiling around his fingers. "Ye dare mock me, ye wee scunner? Well, it's time to prove who has the power. Hold on to your corsets, ladies."
Rachel steps forward. "Not so fast, ye auld devil. Ye forget where you're standing."
She raises her hands, and I feel the earth beneath my feet shift. The air grows thick with an energy I can't explain, like static electricity mixed with the smell of ozone before a storm.
An Bodach 's eyes narrow. "Ye think yer wee tricks can stop me, lass?"
"They're not tricks," Rachel replies, her voice eerily calm. "This is the magic of the land itself. The magic ye seek to corrupt."
Suddenly, the earth erupts. Roots and vines burst from the earth, wrapping around An Bodach's legs. He snarls, dark energy crackling around him as he tries to break free. Fulvio, momentarily distracted by the chaos, loosens his grip on Lachina. She seizes the opportunity, driving her elbow hard into his solar plexus. As he doubles over, gasping, she twists free and darts away.
"Lachina!" I shout, racing toward Fulvio. He's distracted by Rachel's chanting, and I seize Lachina easily, racing back to the others. But there's no time to celebrate.
An Bodach roars with fury as dark tendrils of energy slash through Rachel's vines. The air crackles with conflicting magics as he and Rachel face off.
"Ye cannae hope to match my power, girl," An Bodach snarls, hurling a bolt of shadowy energy at her.
Rachel deflects it with a shimmering barrier of light, her eyes blazing. "Perhaps not alone. But I'm far from alone."
For a moment, I don't understand what she means. Then it becomes clear. This battle will be like no other.
Magic. Steel. Twelve clans. Four mobsters.
This battle has just turned epic.