Caomhnóir - 39

As he drove north-west towards Galway, Keegan’s rage turned to an icy calm. When it did, and he was able to think again instead of just react, he realized there had been something more in to Darius’ message. Reaching down to retrieve it from where he thrown it on the passenger floor mat, he opened it one-handed. At the bottom were a set of numbers, co-ordinates if he didn’t miss his guess. He punched them into the GPS system that came with the vehicle. It took only a moment for it to tell him where he was to meet Darius.

He realized that he was to enter the city proper, and shuddered, pulling off to the side of the road because he needed to think. He knew from what he’d been told that his going into Galway would be virtually impossible for him. Unless—

He nodded slowly. The Geis was placed to keep him from entering Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe. What if that meant the part of Galway where he had grown up, inside what had later become the walled city. He studied the GPS map again, realizing that the spot Darius had chosen was at the foot of O’Brien’s bridge which crossed the River Corrib. At the far end of the bridge was the area that had, in his youth, been his home. Now, he knew, it was just another part of the modern-day city.

“Just be there Darius, with Thom,” he growled as he pulled back onto the highway.

It was just past two in the morning when he saw the lights of the city ahead of him. Steeling himself, he continued driving, following the highway until he could pull off onto the narrow city streets. As he did, he felt ever so slightly repelled, as if something was trying to force him to turn back. He knew it was the Geis beginning its work and did his best to ignore it. The closer he came to his destination the harder it became to do that, until for the safety of the few drivers around him he pulled to the side of the street and parked.

From there, he began to walk. If it weren’t for his love for Thom and the overpowering need to save him from Darius’ clutches, he would have run away, so powerful was the urge to do just that.

Finally, fighting the Geis with everything in him, he arrived at the foot of the bridge leading across the Corrib. By now it was close to three a.m. and the area was deserted, and dark except for a few street lights.

Then, from the shadows across the bridge, he saw Darius approaching, followed by a large man holding a chain. At the other end of the chain was Thom, his head bowed as much as possible considering the thick collar that encircled his neck. As they neared him, Keegan could tell that Thom’s hands were shackled as well. He growled in anger, stepping into the pool of light beneath a streetlamp.