Lucky

Chapter 14

Deaglan knew next to nothing about warfare. He knew nothing about battles, strategy or tactics. He didn't know how to hold a sword properly, and he certainly didn't know how to swing one. In fact he was sure that if he did try and fight side by side with the other Mac Tuatha, he would only get in the way and cause more death on his side than the other.

What he did know, was that the Fomorian had the Spear of Lug and the Sword of Light. With these two weapons in their possession, their army would be unstoppable. The Tuatha could plan and prepare all they wanted, but it would be for naught if they didn't somehow remove these magical artifacts from the hands of Calor and his brothers.

Deaglan wasn't a fighter. He wasn't a warrior or a soldier. What he was, and this was a result of thousands of years of literal breeding, was a thief. Soldier of no, there was no-one more capable in the city of Falias to steal back the Spear of Lug than he. So that was what he planned to do.

Kaie demanded that she spend the night with Deaglan, citing the fact that she didn't trust him one iota and had to keep an eye on him the whole time. She was right in this assertion.

The two slept in the same bed, with no funny business of course. Even had they wanted to, both would have been far too stressed out and nervous about the following day to even comprehend such a thing. Rather they simply spooned, snuggled, and slept in one another's arms. For Deaglan it would have been the most romantic, and possibly greatest night of his life had he not spent the entire time plotting how the heck he was going to sneak out without Kaie noticing.

As luck had it – Deaglan was really starting to get the hang of this thing called luck – it was early in the morning, around the time he was starting to plan his escape, when Kaie suddenly snorted in her sleep and rolled over to the other side of the bed. He hadn't been expecting it one little bit, so when she did roll over he kind of just froze, half expecting her to wake up in a flurry. But no. Instead she lay there, with her back to him, still in a deep slumber.

Deaglan saw his chance and took it.

He slipped from the bed as quietly as he could. He was so soft on his toes, so careful in his movements that he felt like a ghost drifting through the air. He had never really gotten a hang of his Leprechaun abilities, but something told him that he was utilizing them to their fullest. He wouldn't have been surprised if he'd started jumping up and down and still failed to make a noise.

When he reached the door he creaked it open, inch by inch. It didn't so much as make a sound. And then, with it open, he was about to slip through its crack and into the hall when he paused. He turned back and took a final look at Kaie. Fast asleep, face snuggled into her pillow, she was the epitome of perfect. Never would he have thought that in all of this he would find someone he cared for so deeply, but he had.

Where some might have used this as a reason to give up and not go on, Deaglan saw it as the opposite. Whether he died of lived in his mission was inconsequential. What was important was that in doing so, she might live. That was what being a hero was.

A final look and he slipped through the door and closed it softly behind him. He stared down at the handle when he did, wishing there was some way he could lock it. But he couldn't. Instead he told himself that if he was fast enough, if he hurried, he could have this whole thing done with before she woke. And even if she woke up before hand, by the time she realized what he had done, it would be too late to stop him. At least that was what he hoped.

The streets of Falias were eerily quiet as Deaglan hurried through them. As there was never a cloud in the sky, the streets were well lit by the morning 'sun' or whatever it was that provided light. But even still, the early morning sky had taken on an orange-red color, as if it knew of the upcoming battle and the blood that was about to be spilled. This in turn added to the ominous feel and sent prickles up Deaglan's neck as he walked.