Suspecting he’d soon see more, he entered the cave. A raucous blend of music, laughter and merry female squeals wafted from its depths. Tom crept deeper into the cave and found a marble staircase. Down he went with the golden bean in his mouth.
Soon he came to a torch-lit room. He stepped inside, and the sounds of revelry faded. Three grey-haired women sat at golden spinning wheels spinning golden thread. From their plain attire and listless air, he judged them to be mortals.
He took the bean from his mouth. «God save all here.»
The women’s hands flew to their faces. The oldest of the three blessed herself. «Mother of God, who are you?»
«I’m Tom O’Byrne of Ballymote. I’ve come to save a mortal woman called Doreen.»
An exchange of desolate looks preceded the women’s responses. «Ah, poor thing,» said the youngest.
«You must hurry,» said the woman neither young nor old.
The oldest spoke again: «I warned her not to taste the fairies’ food, but mortals must eat, and she won’t hold out long. After one bite, she’ll be like us, a prisoner for the rest of her days.»
«There’s naught you can do for us,» said the youngest, «but you can save the healer, Tom O’Byrne.»
«I mean to try. Where is she?»
«In the banquet hall.» The woman neither young nor old turned and pointed behind her. A door appeared in the wall. «Go quickly, and take great care. The King of the Fairies wields powerful magic.»
Tom returned the golden bean to his mouth. As he stepped through the door, the noise of the party resumed. He followed the din to a glittering golden banquet hall. Torches blazed high on the walls. Candles flickered in massive chandeliers. Two narrow bench tables ran the length of the long wide room. A third bench, undoubtedly the head table, ran perpendicular to the other two, forming a three-sided rectangle.
Cloth made of rose petals covered the tables, where men and women, handsome and human in appearance, sat swilling down meat and drink from golden plates and goblets. Tom assumed that the few vacant seats belonged to the fairies dancing near the biggest hearth he’d ever seen.
He knew the King of the Fairies by his elaborate attire and privileged place at the head table. Yellow-haired and clean-shaven, the rogue had a muscle or two beneath his fancy dress. Tom had trounced bigger men, and he thought he’d like to tap his knuckles into Finvarra’s face. Yet magic was afoot here. Despite Sorcha’s bolstering supper, Tom realized he might never see home again if he challenged the King. Rescuing Doreen must be the priority.
She sat unsmiling beside Finvarra. Her thick dark hair flowed past her shoulders. Her pallid face and haunted eyes melted Tom’s heart. He would save her from this place or die trying.
If he could touch her, he’d have a chance. No one saw him tiptoe towards the head table.
The King’s handsome face suddenly darkened. «Your healing arts have cured my foot, yet you persist in refusing my generous offer of thanks.»
Doreen raised her chin. Her blue eyes blackened with hatred. «When you first brought me here, you said it was your knee that needed curing. Make up your mind. If you really want to thank me, let me go home.» Both pride and fear played in her pearly voice.
Finvarra pounded the table. Silence fell over the banquet hall. «You insult us by refusing our food, woman! We’ll see how long you last on an empty belly. Lock her away!»
A liveried guard seized Doreen’s arm and yanked her from the table. She jerked herself free of him. He flinched at her ferocious glare, and Tom smiled. Standing tall, she turned her back on the scowling King. With the flustered guard at her heels, she stalked from the hall ignoring the muttering crowd that parted to let her pass.
Tom scurried to intercept her. Eyeing her up and down, he understood why Finvarra wanted the well-formed beauty. He wouldn’t have her if Tom had his way.
She came right at him and might have walked through him if he hadn’t seized her hand. The screams and shouts that erupted around them told him she’d disappeared. They could see each other, but the golden bean kept them from the fairies’ sight.
Doreen’s black look changed to one of disbelief. She stuttered before she spoke. «You! You came for me!»
Afraid to reply lest he lose or swallow the bean, he raised a finger to his lips and nodded towards the door. Doreen nodded back.
They bolted towards the exit. The crowd stampeded after them. Tom wondered how they knew where he and Doreen were until he realized the flames on the candles were flickering as they passed.
Plates and goblets flew at them. One struck Doreen’s arm. She stumbled out of Tom’s grasp and fell in an undignified heap.
«There she is!» the fairies screamed.
Tom plucked Doreen from the floor, and a new round of hostile shouts reassured him she’d vanished again. Dragging her with him, he shot from the hall, past the spinning women and up the marble stairs, up and up and out into the night.
If the moon and stars cast no light down here, it seemed the sun did. Or would, when it rose. The sweeping darkness had brightened, and though night would reign a while longer, the pebbled path still glowed in the budding dawn.
Tom and Doreen ran to the silver oak tree. The crystal lark sang in its branches, and Tom knew they were safe, at least for the moment. Still holding Doreen’s hand, he plucked the golden bean from his mouth and slipped it into his pocket. They sat on the ground to catch their breath.
What would he tell her? How would they get home? He must try to find Sorcha.
Doreen had no worries, it seemed. With a great fond smile, she twined her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Joy he’d never known filled his soul. He kissed her back, gently at first, then as firmly and deeply as she kissed him. He held her close to his heart so her breasts pressed against his chest. Lost in their kiss and the sweet perfume of her long dark hair, he reeled like a drunken goose. Faster and faster he whirled, until he was falling. falling.
Stiff and sore from the graceless position in which he’d fallen asleep, Tom struggled to his knees blinking at the well and the woods around it. No one was near. The adventure had been a dream. A pleasant dream, he thought as the fairy world dissolved from his mind like tendrils of smoke. He retrieved his cap and lurched to his feet.
«Are you all right?»
The woman’s question came from behind him. Cap in hand, he twisted about, expecting an aged arthritic. The lady who’d spoken stood in the gloom of the woods. A young mother then, come for a cure for her ailing child.
She stepped into a patch of sunlight and asked again: «Are you all right?»
Tom’s mouth fell open. The heart-shaped face of the healer Doreen frowned at him from the top of the path. He gawked at her, unable to speak, powerless to offer even a nod.
Wariness sharpened her probing gaze. Tom, in turn, inspected her. She wore her dark hair fashionably twisted up beneath a brown brimmed hat. A lacy neck-to-chin collar gave her a well-heeled look. Her hip-length coat, tailored to her slender waist, covered the top of a long black skirt loose enough to pedal her bicycle.
Yes, he thought. The bicycle. He must have had a glimpse of her, and she found her way into his dream.
She remained where she stood. Did his towering frame frighten her? He set his feet apart and affected a nonchalant air to appear less threatening. «God be with you, ma’am. I’m Tom O’Byrne of Ballymote.»
His proper greeting seemed to ease her apprehension. She strolled towards him. «God and Mary be with you, Tom O’Byrne. Dolly Keenan from Tubbercurry.»
Dolly. Not Doreen.
Appearing more confident now, she came towards him, brushing bits of dry leaves and grass from her sleeves. The curve of her bosom enticed him. As she drew nearer, he noted the lacy silver work on the buttons of her smart tweed coat. A decent enough coat, he thought, though he’d seen finer garb on women in the cities. Still, her attire outshone the frippery his sister wore.