Chapter 2

Killarney, Ireland, 1840

Kian O'Braonain was the best friend anyone in the world could ever have. He could run as fast as lightening, climb like a cat, and hit a bird with a stone from twenty yards. While Aaron seldom had a chance to play with his friend now that he was older and had more responsibility, his Ma usually didn’t mind if he walked home with Kian after mass, and the boys would spend several hours running around the base of Torc Mountain, tossing stones in the lake, or running through the village scaring the chickens and the cows.

Today was a bit different. Last night, there had been several taken from various homes around Killarney, and though the village was rather large as such towns went, the numbers were starting to dwindle. Not only were people being taken in the night by the Dark Ones, rumor had it that some of those who had been claimed were members of the Order, ones that were supposed to be left alone according to the agreement. Aaron heard the whispers, not only from the adults in his own home, but from behind hands in the market, in church, and as he and Kian made their way through the village. The weight of worry rested over Killarney like a woolen blanket, and despite their need to revel in the freedom of a few hours’ break from chores, Aaron did not feel like giving chase to his best friend that day.

“I suppose you’ve heard what they’re all whispering about,” Kian said, sitting down next to Aaron on a large stone which was part of the ruins of an ancient castle they often came to explore.

“Yeah,” Aaron muttered, his hands folded in front of him. “I’ve been hearing it for a while, but… do you think it’s true? The agreement is over?”

Kian shrugged. “I don’t know. I ne’er hear my ma or da say two words about it. All I know is what my grandma told me before she passed away—not to worry because I am of Hunter stock, whatever that implies.”

“Right,” Aaron nodded. He wasn’t sure either. “And my granddad insists we’ve nothing to worry about either. But I’m not so sure.”

Kian scratched the back of his blond head. Aaron had always thought it was odd that his hair was so fair. He didn’t look like many other people he knew. He wondered if that had anything at all to do with the agreement or the Hunter stock he spoke of. “I don’t suppose there’s much we can do about it anyway. I’ve heard that once they get ahold of you, all you can do is pray that God takes you good and quick.”

Aaron shuddered at the thought. “But what if they turn ya, and you don’t go to God right away? Then what?” he asked.

Shaking his head, Kian said, “My grandma said that we can’t be turned. Only the others, the ones without the agreement, can be turned. That’s why we have the agreement.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Aaron replied, biting the corner of his lower lip. “My ma said that Seana O’Malley was turned just last week, and she’s been thinkin’ she was safe because of the agreement for almost sixty years. That’s what my ma said anyway.”

“I think your ma must be mistaken,” Kian interjected, picking up a rock off of the ground and tossing it nowhere in particular. “I think the O’Malley’s weren’t ever really part of the agreement. They’ve been boasting all along, but they are really just others like everyone else.”

“You say it like being an other makes a person worth less,” Aaron pointed out, thinking of all the people he knew from church and town who were not protected, one in particular, who happened to be an O’Malley herself.

Kian shrugged. “Maybe they are,” he said. “I mean, there must be some reason why the Dark Ones stay nigh of us.”

Unable to reason that through his brain, Aaron just shrugged. “It seems to me that everyone should be able to go to bed at night without thinkin’ they might awake to a pale face and large teeth hovering above their bed.”

“And it seems to me that the others might find a way to better protect themselves,” Kian replied, dismissively. “Now come on; let’s go back into town. I’m starving.”

Without further argument, Aaron pulled himself up off the rough stone and followed Kian back toward the village. From here, they could see a sprinkling of houses, all small with thatched roofs and missing chinking. Most everyone had a plot between one and five acres; only a few had larger sections of land, and those people were considered a bit more important, whether they were others or not. The land was hilly with lots of little rocks, and Aaron could remember how he’d helped his granddad gather the stones when he’d first started tilling the land up several years ago, when his da had gone off to serve the landowner and they’d been given a larger plot. Though they grew a few other crops, mostly for sale, everyone here depended upon the potato. And the ones who were said to live in the hills and only came out at night depended upon the others.

Neither of them felt like running today, and as they began to make their way past the houses on the outskirts of town, they heard lots of hushed voices and whispering. Clearly, everyone was still uneasy about the rise in deaths and turnings at the hands of the Dark Ones recently. Despite what Kian’s grandma or his own granddad said, Aaron was apprehensive, and not just for himself or his own family. As he plodded along, his thoughts turned to the beautiful face that had caught his mind’s attention earlier, and he hoped he might spy her on his way through town.

He was lost in a daydream and might have walked right past her if Kian hadn’t nudged him and pointed to the yard near Renny O’Malley’s house, who happened to be her uncle. “There’s Aislyn,” he said in a whisper, “the girl you’re always gawking at.”

Aaron turned to look at her, and without disagreeing with Kian’s chide, he felt a smile envelop his face. She was the most beautiful site he’d ever seen in all his eleven-and-a-half years. Though she wasn’t but nine, her green eyes twinkled, and her smile made his heart catch in his chest. She had long red hair that fell down her back in curly ribbons, and he loved to see it billow in the breeze. Today, she wore a simple brown frock, but it never mattered what she had on; she always looked lovely.

“Are you plannin’ on starin’ at her all day, or are you going to say hello?” Kian asked, nudging him hard enough to knock him forward and out of his stupor.

“Oh, right,” Aaron replied, a shade of red creeping up his neck. He waved at Aislyn O’Malley, and she raised her hand slightly in recognition before she smiled in return, which lit Aaron’s heart on fire. Then she turned away, following her mother across the yard.

“You’re such a dolt,” Kian said, a smirk forming across his face. “One glimpse of Aislyn and you turn into a blabbering fool.”

Aaron felt a bit embarrassed, but he knew what his friend said was true. “I guess I just can’t help it,” he replied, running his hand through his light brown hair. “She’s… beautiful.”

“You’re going to marry her someday,” Kian teased, his voice sing-song.

“I hope so,” Aaron admitted, putting an end to the song. If what Kian said was true and the O’Malleys were never part of the agreement, then Aaron knew the sooner he married Aislyn, the better. He’d do anything he could to protect her from the Dark Ones. Of course, being only eleven and a half, he was aware that it would be several more years before he could marry anyone. Nevertheless, he vowed that day to always keep Aislyn safe, no matter what.