"Okay, so, come on now. Mom told me some of the rumors but is it really haunted? Is there treasure? Why can't people go there?" Keelin's inquisitive mind had a whole list of questions for Fiona and she peppered her with them as she tagged along.
Fiona stopped walking and turned to look at Keelin.
"You must always respect the cove. It is from there that your powers come. You are a part of it as much as you are a part of this earth. Haunted, not haunted, treasure or not – you must always respect it. The cove will do as the cove does. You can no more examine it and categorize it than you can predict it. The cove simply is."
"There is no way that I can believe that. There is an explanation for everything," Keelin said as she stared into Fiona's stubborn eyes.
"Keelin, if you do not take proper respect and let it be – you will be hurt or die. I cannot be more serious about this point." Fiona's breath began to wheeze and Keelin realized that the old woman was starting to panic.
"Okay, okay. I got it. Respect the cove. I will do as you say." Keelin ran her hand gently down Fiona's arm. She would reserve her opinions on the cove for later.
"The cove has a long and varied history. I'm sure your mother filled you in on most of it. All I can say is that the cove has power. Whether the chalice lies there or not, the cove will reveal its secrets to whom it chooses. Some come here for help in becoming pregnant. Others come to take the water for healing those who are gravely ill. Only those who properly respect it will walk away unscathed. You can only enter these waters with a purity of purpose. Treasure hunters are often hurt or killed. Grace's Cove is as close as you can get to sacred waters. Grace O'Malley made her living on the water and while she was a ruthless woman, she pledged her heart to the sea, and the sea alone. Her greatest gift to it was coming to this cove and enchanting it. At the end of her life, she came here to rest in these waters."
Keelin had always loved folklore, especially those tales related to the sea. Pirates, sirens, and mythology always enraptured her and left her usually logical mind daydreaming for hours. She had a fiercely romantic side that often left her in tears.
"She came here to be at one with her only love she could trust – the sea," Keelin murmured. Her eyes pricked with a soft sheen of tears. There was something so very sad about how Grace O'Malley chose to end her life yet, at the same time, it was strangely romantic. Keelin understood the call of the sea. The sea was a tempestuous woman, roughly angry one day, silkily soothing another. No other natural phenomenon reflected their moods as deeply as the sea. It was beauty. It was wrath. It was everything. Keelin could identify with Grace's last wish. To become a part of – one with – the sea was enchanting. Keelin's blood hummed at the thought.
Fiona led Keelin over a rocky path that wound through the pastures with the punk-rock sheep. The gentle breeze picked up speed as they neared the cove and the seabirds circled looking for their lunch. They approached the edge of a ledge and Keelin gasped as her soul sang.
CHAPTER 9
The cove stretched before them, its waters a crystal blue hugged by jagged cliffs. The steep cliffs cupped the water and allowed a small opening for boats in the exact middle of the cove. The cliffs tapered in a perfect half-circle, meeting at a small sand beach, hundreds of feet below them. A narrow path switch-backed down the steep cliff to the beach. The cove was impossible in its beauty, untouched in its rawness, and so quietly alone. There should have been people on the beach, dogs running, and kids splashing in the water. Nothing marred the beauty of the beach. The birds flew over, never dipping into the water. The hum in Keelin's blood increased.
"Welcome to Grace's Cove. You'll be safe walking along the path. It isn't until you reach the beach that you should be concerned. We'll begin our protection at the beach."
"Grandma, do you hike this by yourself? This is not an easy climb." Keelin's breath huffed out as she began to scramble down.
"Ah, you Americans. This is but a small walk. Try climbing Mt. Brandon if you'd like a nice hike." Fiona breezed on down, years of hiking the hills making her steps confident. Keelin followed more slowly. Her klutzy side was bound to make her trip and go rolling off the path to meet her death on the sharp rocks below.
Keelin watched as her grandmother gathered flowers on the way down. She kept up a constant lesson of various herbs and bushes, and Keelin began to notice that many of them were tied with ribbons.
"What are the ribbons for?" Keelin asked.
"I harvest herbs based on the moon and other astrological elements."
Keelin laughed.
Her grandmother stopped and looked at her. She shook her head and kept walking. Keelin could have sworn she heard her say, "There is more to heaven and earth, Horatio…"
"Shakespeare?" Keelin asked. Fiona nodded and kept walking.
"Okay, then." She blew out a breath and made a note not to laugh about the astrology stuff. She couldn't knock some of it. Even science had proven that the sea's tides were governed by the pull of the moon. Perhaps there was more to these forces than she knew.
They approached the bottom of the path and Keelin steadied her breathing as the necklace hummed at her throat. Stepping from the path onto the warm sand, Fiona reached out a hand and stopped Keelin from proceeding further.
"No further. Just look." Fiona spread her hands out andturned. Her face creased into a smile and the sun shone its warm light onto her. She laughed and held her arms up to the sky, looking like a yogi doing a mountain pose.
The cove spread before them, infinite in its beauty. Here, the wind was sheltered and the sun's rays were soft. The cliffs, which were so scary from above, cradled them, creating a feeling of safety. Keelin wanted to rip her clothes off and dive in and float in the effervescent waters. It was the most private of places, a piece of her, and she felt that she had come home.
"I know," Fiona said. "This is home."
"It – there are no words. I feel giddy," Keelin said. She wanted to dance naked on the sand. She could almost feel the cool caress of the water and the weightless feeling as she floated, unencumbered, and stared at the sky. Dizziness hit her, and she grabbed her water flask and took a sip to clear her head. Never had the call of the ocean hit her as hard as this.
"It calls to you. To anyone, actually. Those who are too weak often go running right in and are pulled out to sea. It beckons." Fiona nodded towards the water. "You must never go past this point without saying a prayer or giving an offering. Remember that."
Fiona pulled the bundles of flowers she had tied on the walk from her bag. With a small stick, she drew a circle in the sand and pulled Keelin into it with her.
"It is with purity of purpose, the greatest of admiration, and respect for the power here that we ask to enter the cove. As descendants of Grace O'Malley, we enter the cove with love, as is our birthright." Fiona laid the bundles of flowers outside the circle and handed a bunch to Keelin.
