GAISCE (Call to Arms, Book 3, Part 1 in Baile Series)

Chapter 1 A Grand Quest

April

"What if he doesn't know how to get us there?" Alick asked for the hundredth time.

"He'll know. He's like a thousand years old." I reasoned, snappy dozens of photos on various Snapchat filters.

Alick was silent for a full second before he continued to torture me with the sound of his voice. "Say if he does, what's to say we can get there? We could go through some trans dimensional gateway and end up all mushed together as arms and legs on the other side."

"Can you fucking hear yourself right now?" I gave him an annoyed look. "You're overthinking this."

"And you're not thinking enough." He fired back. "We are talking about heading to another dimension, not another state or even a planet. This is entirely different."

"Then go back home to mummy and daddy." I said in a mocking tone.

Alick sighed, his head leaning back on the seat of the bus.

"Remember why we are doing this." I told him in a gentler tone. "Isla needs us."

He nodded in agreement, riding out until we reached our destination, Clifden, in Country Galway. We stepped out at the bus stop, breathing in the briny air of the coastal town. It wasn't hard for Alick and I to get the directions to the house we planned to visit and on which the success of our quest rested upon.

"We should've caught a taxi." Alick was already complaining after a few minutes into our walk.

I turned back to watch him waddle with his bandaged left leg. "You're not the only one sporting injuries." I unconsciously reached for my knee and my neck, one healing from a bullet wound and holy water poisoning and the other healing from a bite from a Harpy of a grandmother.

"All the more reason." He persisted.

I ignored him, picking up the pace as we walked uphill across the uneven track. I checked the number of the house before entering through the front gate, pausing for a moment as a large grey rabbit bounded across the cobblestone path before me. I knocked on the front door that was painted a bright green.

The door swung upon and the rabbit raced inside behind its owner.

"April! What a pleasant surprise." Artair Ross, my old Biology teacher welcomed me.

"It's nice to see you too Mr. Ross." I let him pull me in for a hug.

"And Alick?" He peeked over my shoulder. "Please come inside, make ye self at home."

I entered his quaint cottage, which had photographs and oil paintings scattered over the walls and all sorts of rare and unique trinkets stacked on the mantelpiece and half made shoes piled in nooks and crannies. It was a picker's dream.

"Take a seat, I'll make ye some tea." He went into the tiny kitchen as I sat with Alick at the rickety wooden table that looked handmade, setting our backpacks down on the floor.

"I hope this works." Alick rubbed his leg under the table. "I don't want to go back home and face my parents."

"It'll work. And again, you're not the only one with parental problems." I lectured.

"You're right. Your family is worse than mine."

I kicked his leg under the table and he bit down on his lip hard to not cry out. I smirked as he made the funniest faces while clutching his leg for dear life.

"So, what brings you out this way?" Mr. Ross set a cup of tea down each for Alick and I before sitting down with us.

"We actually came to ask for your help." I answered, taking a sip of the honey and lemon tea.