Chapter 25
Clare screamed and put up her hands to ward off the attack. The fake Heart of Brigid she was holding onto as a souvenir went flying. It hit the wall with a clink at the same time Griffin collapsed. He dropped the cell phone. It cracked, and the flashlight went out.
In the pitch-dark, she tried to slip by the person who hit Griffin, but a strong set of hands grabbed her. She did the only thing she could—dropped her weight and fell to the ground, landing on top of Griffin.
“Are you okay?” she shouted in his ear while the same rough hands grabbed her. The fabric ripped on her gown, but she struggled and rolled away from the man, kicking with herhiking boots.
“Griffin, Griffin,” she called for him, hoping he would respond. She tried to lift the Heart of Brigid from the chain around her neck to leave it with him, but the attacker slammed into her and knocked the wind out of her.
Grubby fingers felt along her neck, pulling at the chain.
“Stop it. It hurts; leave me alone,” she protested, not wanting the robber to takethe diamond.
He felt it and let go but cinched a dusty sack over her head, then tightened the string around her neck, choking her.
“You and the Heart of Brigid are coming with me,” he spoke. The voice belonged to Seamus O’Toole, the conman who’d ripped Clare off.
She tried to pull away from him. “Why are you here?”
“I’m taking over the plan, since that loon you’re conningis incapable of seeing through your tricks.”
Clare dug in her heels and yanked against his grasp. “What plan?”
“I’ll explain after we get the Heart of Brigid into the skeleton and bring her back to life,” he said.
“What skeleton? What are you talking about?”
“Let’s go.” He dragged her along the passageway.
She couldn’t see anything through the bag over her head,just the light that leaked from Seamus’s flashlight. She tripped and stumbled, scraped her arms, and bumped her head.
“We can’t leave Griffin there,” she said. “He might have a seizure. I thought you were his friend.”
“Frenemy,” Seamus grunted. “He won’t die. He never dies. Move faster.”
Seamus twisted Clare’s arm, and even though she tried to lag, she was scuffed and bumpedand cold. Pain radiated from her buttocks where she’d landed on the ground, and her head throbbed. A sticky wetness ran from her nose, possibly blood, and she limped on the ankle she twisted.
“You should at least let Griffin’s grandfather know where he is,” Clare said. “He might be hurt.”
“He’ll be fine. Let’s just say he disappeared down a fairy mound to the Otherworld. I’m surehe’s having the best time with all of those ethereally beautiful and fascinating fairy princesses. I doubt he’ll want to return.”
“How did you find me?” Clare asked, ignoring the fake flights of fancy from the mouth of Seamus the trickster. From the cartoons she watched, she knew that making a criminal talk was the best way of delaying whatever calamity he had planned for her.
“Youthought you were so smart, but I installed an app on your cell phone,” Seamus said. “I tracked you from San Francisco to Dublin. I knew Griffin was over his head when he succumbed to your seductions.”
“I haven’t seduced him.”
“Oh yeah? Then why the wedding clothes and the kissing? The fool was going to let you have the diamond.”
“He only put it around my neck for safekeeping,”Clare said.
Seamus guffawed. “You? Safe? Your thievery almost ruined the plan.”
“What plan? What did you have to do with me and Griffin?”
“I put you on the airplane together, knowing you’d ask him to invest in your movie,” Seamus said. “I figured he’d agree and then use the fake Heart of Brigid to lure you into the trap.”
“You creep.” Clare kicked in the direction ofSeamus’s voice but missed. “You stole my money so I would have to beg it from a stranger? And no, for your information, my cousin bought me the first-class ticket.”
