Finn Finnegan (24 page)

“Will it really go dark?” Finn asked. “Like at night?”

“No, ‘tis only a partial eclipse,” Mac Roth said. “The moon's too far out in its orbit to completely block the sun.”

Finn crammed half a slice of buttered toast into his mouth. “So what's the plan?” he asked in a spray of crumbs. Catching Gideon's expression, he hastily wiped his lips.

“Lay out every blade in the back yard, so we can observe them all without missing anything.” Gideon looked up at the clock, and chugged the rest of his tea. “We best get started.”

An hour later, Finn nudged open the screen door with his toe, an assortment of knives and daggers in his arms. “Okay, that's the last of them.” Carrying them to one side of the practice dummy, he placed them with the others on the ground, then stepped back. He studied the various knives, daggers, and even a few hatchets scattered on the grass. “None of them look special, so I really hope this works.”

“Aye, as do we all.” Gideon arranged the weapons in a circle.

Finn squinted up at the morning sun, careful not to look directly at it. “I can't tell if it's started or not.”

“Very soon.” Gideon checked his watch, then the sky. “Finn, go stand opposite of Mac Roth. And if ye see anything out of ordinary, anything at all, then sing out.”

Finn took a position, his eyes wide as his gaze darted around and around the circle. While he watched, shadows began to gray as the moon slipped between the earth and sun. The unnatural fading of light and color sent a chill up Finn's spine.

I can see why ancient people freaked out during this, and made up all sorts of rituals to bring the sun back. It's creepy to
me,
and I know what's going on
. Pressure began to build in his lungs.

The Knights jumped at Finn's sharp intake of breath.

“Sorry,” he said, sheepishly. “I forgot to breathe.”

Mac Roth muttered something about feeble-minded apprentices, while Gideon shook his head and resumed the vigil. His eyes moved from blade to blade, face expectant. Blushing, Finn looked down, hoping to be the first to find the Spear. Several more minutes passed.

The sky grew lighter. Shadows deepened and colors glowed as the moon rolled away. Birds chirped from the tree in the corner. A breeze from the woods brought the scent of warm pine. The Knights raised their heads and stared at each other, sharing a look of dismay.

“Ye gods, Gideon. It's not here.”

“Perhaps ‘
the dark sun'
means something else.”

“Could Iona have been wrong? Or, could we have missed something?” Mac Roth tugged at his beard. “I think I'll ring her up, right now.” Before Gideon could protest, Mac Roth hurried inside. After several long minutes, he returned, scratching his head.

“Well?” Gideon and Finn asked, at the same time.

“She says she has recently discovered more information about the Spear, but she'll only speak to us in person.”

“Us?” Gideon knitted his brows in suspicion.

“As in, ye and me. She said that if ye truly desire her help, ye are going to have to come to her.”

The Knight clenched his jaw. “Is there no other way?” He growled in frustration when Mac Roth shook his head. “Once again, we have to play her chess game of life and death.”

“‘Tis the only way, me friend.” Mac Roth hesitated for a moment, then continued in an undertone. “I know ye believe she had a hand in what happened with—”

Gideon's eyes flashed blue ice. “Not
believe
. I
know
she did.” He tried another tactic. “One of us needs to stay and observe. The Spear may yet reveal itself.”

“Let me stay,” Finn interjected. “I'll watch, while you go talk with Iona.”

“Are ye daft? Leave ye alone here, after what happened last night?” Gideon shook his head. “Not bleedin' likely.”

“Actually, the boy has a point,” Mac Roth said. “We only need one pair of eyes here. And he's safe enough, now that we know the Amandán's little trick. Anyway, yer house is secure against attack, so he can always take refuge inside.”

Gideon studied Finn. “Promise me ye'll go directly inside if they come back? No heroic attempts to fight them off?”

“I promise,” Finn said. A thrill shot through him.
The Spear might, still do its thing, and I'll be the one to find it. Then I'll be a legend, too!
His scalp tingled at the thought. Schooling his face, he added solemnly, “I won't do anything stupid.”

The Knights were still laughing two minutes later, as they pulled out of the driveway and drove away.

Finn picked at a scab on his elbow until it peeled loose. He flicked it away. Leaning back on his hands, he sat on the grass and stared at the circle of blades. A glimmer of amber caught his eye. Scrambling to his hands and knees, he crawled closer, his gaze never leaving the simple knife. Holding his breath, he leaned closer.

“Rats. Just a reflection.” Settling back down, he crossed his legs and plucked a stem of grass. After folding it lengthwise, he held it to his lips and blew gently, trying to make it whistle.
Got to get Rafe to show me that trick again
.

The thump of running feet and faint voices echoed from the other side of the ravine. As he jumped up, they began to fade.
I bet that's Rafe and Savannah. I thought they ran with Mr. Steel earlier in the morning
.

Hurrying over to the wall, he hoisted himself on top and stood. The bronze-clad rocks were slick beneath his feet. As he watched, two figures raced away from him, along the trail winding through the trees and up into the hills, the smaller one in the lead. They disappeared over the top of the ridge.
Savannah is
so
going to make the cross country team
, he thought.
I wonder what it's like to go to school. All day. Every day
.

With a
swoosh
of wings, the first crow flew past.

Finn jerked his head up. His shoes slipped from beneath him on the smooth metal. Flailing his arms, he tumbled into the yard, landing awkwardly on one knee. More birds passed overhead. Their caws split the morning on their way to the foothills. Following his friends. His heart flip-flopped as he remembered the Amandán's words during the attack at the lumberyard.

We'll hunt yer mates down, soon enough. Give them a taste of what happens to humans who join up with ye De Danaan
.

Finn tore his eyes off the crows. He stared down at the ring of bronze weapons, their tips all pointing toward the center. Thoughts ricocheted back and forth inside his skull.

Rafe and Savannah are out there. What if the goblins go after them? They don't know how to fight. Rafe will try to save his sister, but the monsters will grab them. Just like Asher. They'll grab them and then…and then…

But what about the Spear? He doesn't say it, but I know Gideon thinks the Amandán are going to finally finish us off. That we are doomed as a people
.

“Ye gods, what am I supposed to do?” he whispered. “Go, or stay here?”

Finn hesitated, his gut twisting. Then, he tightened his lips and grabbed two knives from the circle. As he knelt down to slip one into his ankle sheath, he froze and stared at the gap left by the two missing weapons.

The gap helped form a new shape; an unfinished circle with open ends.

Like a torc.

Finn ran. He tore uphill, along the trail, with a knife clenched in one hand, gasping a line from the Song. “‘I am a wind on the sea'.” His legs burned as he shot over the crest. Catching his wind on the downhill, he sucked in a deep breath and shouted Rafe's name, his voice echoing through the silent forest. He slowed to listen.

No answer.

Picking up speed, he turned a corner and followed the trail as it ran parallel to the slope. He hurtled along, banked around another curve, and plowed up the next hill. Reaching a three-way fork in the trail, he skidded to a stop, his chest heaving.
Oh, crap. Which way?
Cupping his hands around his mouth, he hollered again, swerving side to side. “Rafe! Rafe, where are you?”

Savannah's scream ripped through the woods.

Finn whirled toward the sound. Stumbling over a root, he fell to the ground with a grunt. The gravel tore his hands and knees, while the knife sailed into the underbrush. He lurched to his feet and dove in, cursing as he pawed through the vegetation. Locating the weapon, he gripped the handle, ignoring the pain of his bleeding palms. A red trickle ran down one wrist.

Savannah cried out again, her voice rising in anger.

He took off, running north. Ahead of him, an outcropping of rock appeared, towering over the tops of the nearby trees. He knew what lay at the cliff's feet.

The place where Asher had died.

Finn sprinted the final yards. With a shout, he hurtled through the bushes surrounding the clearing.

Savannah shook Rafe's restraining hand off her arm. “Stay behind me,” she yelled, swinging a branch as the monster from a nightmare crouched a few feet away.

“Yeah, right.” He crowded next to her, trying to grab the stick from her hand. “And give me that.”

“No way. Get your own,” she gritted through her teeth, taking another swipe.

With a stroke of its paw, the Amandán smacked the branch out of Savannah's hand. It spun away and landed by the foot of the rock wall.

“
Nar
, if it isn't the De Danaan's little friends,” the creature rasped in delight. “Ever since that whelp killed two of me mates, I've been wanting to meet ye.”

“Oh my gosh, it
talks
” Savannah breathed.

Rafe raised his chin. “What do you want with us?”

The Amandán licked its lips. “Why, to invite ye to supper.” A twisted grin split its muzzle, the smell from its yellow mouth sour as vinegar. Spreading its massive arms wide as if to embrace its prey, it lowered its head and charged.

At that moment, a figure leaped into the clearing.

“Shut your eyes!” Finn landed between the goblin and his friends. With a grunt, he buried his blade in the beast. He ducked his own head as the Amandán exploded, ash blowing everywhere. The knife fell to the ground with a clatter.