Messiah of Burbank - An Urban Fantasy (Quinn Henaghan Chronicles Book 3) by Paul Neuhaus

Author:Paul Neuhaus [Neuhaus, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crabapple Cove Press
Published: 2018-06-19T22:00:00+00:00

Quinn was hijacked as soon as sleep found her. She felt as though she’d been grabbed and thrown into the world of her visions. She smelled familiar air. It was the wind off the African veldt and she had smelled it once before. When Reginald Verbic gave her a glimpse into a forgotten age.

Henaghan now stood on a balcony overlooking the grassy lands far below. The sun was setting behind a single, gnarled tree rising high above the flat terrain around it. A baobab tree. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Quinn turned to her left and there, within touching distance was another woman, a petite, red-headed woman in a long, intricately embroidered dress. It had finally come to pass. Quinn stood in the presence of her mystical forebear. “Aisling.”

Aisling nodded. “Quinn Henaghan. I’ve been listening to your echoes,” she said. “Across time and across circumstance.”

The two women stood on a high balcony above the ancient city of Devālaya. The city the Asura had built and Aisling had taken. Aisling had renamed it Iarmailt which meant “Heaven”. “Home of the gods”. The enormity of the place shocked Quinn. Thousands of tiny structures far below stretched nearly as far as the eye could see. They stopped when they reached a high wall.

“Someday, all of this will be covered by water. After the lands move away from one another. I’ve seen it. The world turns. Time moves on. Until it doesn’t. Come here. I want to show you something.”

Henaghan followed Aisling to the right side of the outdoor space. To her left, she saw the balcony was attached to Aisling’s personal chamber. The furnishings inside were more austere than Quinn had expected. Not the appointments of a princess but rather a simple girl from a simple village far to the north. She joined the original Aja at the rail.

“There’s a courtyard down there. Do you see it?”

Quinn saw it. The area her host referred to was distinct compared to the architecture around it. Broken trees and columns. Flagstones torn up from the ground. The courtyard was the only area that had not been rebuilt like the rest of the city. “I see it,” she said.

“After we took Devālaya, Mhalbog, the deamhan, reappeared. We thought we’d killed him. We hadn’t killed him. After I’d won my greatest victory, I suffered my greatest defeat.”

“There was a fight in that courtyard…”

“Yes. Mhalbog took my love from me. His name was Morfran. We were children together. We grew into lovers. An unstoppable team. But Morfran isn’t dead. Not really. Here, give me your hand.”

Quinn didn’t think twice. She gave Aisling her hand and Aisling laid it on her belly. Henaghan felt the new life stirring inside. It was strong, yet it also carried a burden of sadness. At first, Quinn was surprised at the revelation of Aisling’s pregnancy, but then she realized: If Aisling had never reproduced, I wouldn’t be here. Aisling let go of Henaghan’s hand and Henaghan dropped it to her side.

“The builders have asked me to allow them to reconstruct that courtyard.

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