The Bloodstone Quadrilogy by Calinda B

Author:Calinda B
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Calinda B

Chapter 23

Day 6, early afternoon - Siobhan

Siobhan tromped along the ground-floor hospital corridor, heading for her car and “Destination Forgiveness.” Each footfall brought a new sense of determination and resolve. As she strode, she nibbled on an energy bar she’d purchased in the 2nd-floor cafeteria. Her stomach rumbled as she chewed, grateful, no doubt, for the nourishment. When was the last time I ate a proper meal? She honestly couldn’t recall. Meals, it seemed, consisted of finishing Paul’s leftovers, grabbing a burned piece of cod and chips the cook at the pub had left in the fryer too long or wolfing down dry cereal with a toss-back of milk. That’s got to change.

Thudding footsteps rang out from behind her.

“Siobhan! Wait for me,” Cillian called.

She paused her stride and pivoted. “What for?”

“We need a plan for you to invoke a passage from the Carmina Gadelica. That’s the ritual I need to guide you through, remember? I need to give you a copy and go over the steps. I’ve got one over at the rectory.” He didn’t seem a bit breathless from his sprint.

Siobhan, however, felt winded from clumping down the stairs. She used to be fit and healthy. That’s going to change, too. I’m going to start walking more and maybe going to the gym.

“You knocked some sense into me up there. I couldn’t think for a moment.” He smiled, striding through the auto-doors alongside her. “Stop by the rectory in the next couple of hours. We can go over it. Then, you’ll need to head to the cemetery to perform the rite.”

Siobhan stopped. A light rain spattered her hair and face. “You’re going with me, right?”

Cillian shook his head. “No. You need to do this alone.”

Doubt swamped her thoughts. What if I’m incapable of forgiveness? What if I fail? Then, her thoughts drifted toward Paul, lying deathly still in his hospital bed upstairs. He deserved the moon from her. He deserved to see his mum happy and at peace. Most of all, Paul deserved to live.

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and said, “All right. I’ll be there.”

Cillian nodded. “Good woman.”

She glanced up at the dark skies. The wind and rain began to increase. No surprise there. “Can I give you a lift, Father Ward? You can’t exactly walk to Ballynagaul from Waterford City.”

“I’d be much obliged.” He smiled one of his “all’s-right-with-the-world” smiles. “But I’ve done it more than once…the walk I mean.”

“Seriously? It would take hours. And, you’d be a soaked rat and not a laughing one. And, I’d be heading to the cemetery at midnight if I had to wait that long.” Siobhan, for the first time in forever, returned a matching smile.

“And that’s exactly the time you need to arrive at the cemetery—midnight,” Cillian said.

Siobhan sobered. The middle of the night? What will I do until then to keep my anxiety at bay? With a sigh, she led him toward her Subaru.

During the hour-long trek to her home, Cillian instructed her on the ritual.

“It’s deceptively simple, really.

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