“Is Seamus helping us?” Griffin crossed his arms, feeling peeved at the news he should have known.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Grandpa frowned. “He has his own treasure to guard, so I don’t know why he’s interfering with ours.”
“You think he took the real stone?” Griffin hated that he was at such a disadvantage.
“We have to follow whatever leads that come up.” Grandfather shookthe note and laid it on the table. “He planted this Morrigan to sit on the airplane next to you. Find her and question her, then keep her imprisoned until you recover the real Heart of Brigid.”
Griffin recoiled at the harsh tone. “I can’t go around kidnapping innocent women. You’re going to have to go over this with me again, because right now, I’m drawing a blank.”
“Humpf, I keeptelling you.” Grandfather opened the annals and huffed. “Your neglect of your story is disgraceful. You were supposed to keep the annals up to date. Where is that green notebook you always carried around?”
“Lost?” Griffin turned his palms up. “I’ll be more diligent in writing my story. Promise. But right now, I’m so very tired.”
“Ah, yes, the seizures tire you out, and you must bejet-lagged.” Grandfather rubbed his shoulders. “You’re excused from tea. Sleep and dream, but write everything down when you wake.”
“I always promise to,” Griffin said on autopilot, not even knowing where the thought came from. “Without memory, there is no life.”
“There is only faith,” Grandfather finished.
“Yes, faith that tomorrow will bring new life, because I surely cannotremember the old one. I die many times, and I always wake up. If I find my true love, she will cure me from dying, and I will always remember her face.”
“Yes, my dear Griffin. Yes.” Grandfather patted his shoulder. “Your grandmother was the one who saved me. Bless her heart. Your father was lost in perpetual forgetfulness. You must avenge him and save yourself at the same time. You readthe note in the back of the book, didn’t you? The one I wrote?”
“Yes, I did. You accuse my Brigid of being a changeling. Why?”
“That wasn’t for you. That was for your father. He never found his true love. Instead, he was lured away by a wild woman.”
“Was she my mother?” Hadn’t someone recently told him? But who? Trying to piece the puzzle together was like looking into a brokenmirror. Nothing matched or made sense.
“She was a Morrigan,” Grandpa huffed. “An evil fairy who lures men away from their destiny. She destroyed him. He lost what little he had left of his mind, and he was never able to rebuild memories again. You, on the other hand, must find this new Morrigan and take her to her grave.”
Griffin shuddered with the feeling of skeletal fingers crawlingdown his spine. “I don’t think I can hurt anyone.”
“What happened to you? I can’t believe how much you’ve changed. You know the story well, and you were so eager and aggressive to fulfill the prophecy.”
“Which was?” Griffin blinked through bleary eyes.
“The restoration of true Ireland,” Grandfather said. “The reanimated Brigid will take you back to the twelfth century anddestroy Richard ‘Strongbow’ de Clare. The Normans will retreat from Ireland, and the British invasion will never happen. Ireland will belong forever to the Tuatha Dé Danann. The Otherworld will become Our World. All the trees, flowers, and grass will grow back, and Ireland will be green again. The seas surrounding us will be filled with magical mist, and the veil of protection will surround our EmeraldIsle, shielding us from all invaders.”
“Is this my destiny?” Griffin felt as if a mantle of responsibility had been placed on him, weighing him down and choking the air from his lungs.
“Yes, it is what the goddess Brigid would want. This duty has been entrusted to the Gallagher line. We have all failed. Your grandmother was not Brigid. Your mother obviously was not. It is up to youto bring Brigid’s heart to her, to sacrifice the Morrigan to destroy Richard ‘Strongbow’ de Clare and save Ireland for all ages!”
Grandfather raised his fist in a defiant salute. “Éirinn go Brách.”
“Ireland to Eternity and Beyond.”
Griffin felt like a fool.
A complete and utter fool.
He’d not only failed his destiny, but he’d lost his memory and the plan he and his ancestors were supposed to fulfill.
“Master Griffin,” the butler said as he opened the door. “You rang? How did your visit with your grandfather go?”
Griffin tossed and caught the egg-shaped quartz.“Not good. Not only did I lose my green notebook, but I lost the Heart of Brigid. You see this? It’s a worthless quartz.”
The butler took it from him and examined it. “This is disappointing. What are you going to do now?”
