Thoughts of despair flew away when Rob noticed my dad in human form floating face down in the water.
“Dad?”
He didn’t move.
Thankfully Enbarr knew what to do. She swam under him and carried him on her back over to the boat. Gently, we lowered him in and lay him on his back.
Enbarr wasn’t done though. Standing on top of the water once more, she brought her nose down to nuzzle my father. When she made contact, droplets of water flowed from her and surrounded my dad before entering his, nostrils, ears, and mouth.
For a breathtaking moment he appeared to be dead. Then he heaved up a large amount of water.
After a coughing fit he sat up and looked around.
Even though I’d seen my dad in the flesh a handful of times over the past few days, when I observed he was conscious and in his right mind, it was as if I really took him in for the first time.
His hair had more gray sprinkled in between the orange. More than I remembered. He was thinner too. Haggard almost. Wrinkles surrounded his eyes that had not been there when he disappeared several years ago.
He cleared his throat and blinked a few times. “Hey Sean.” His eyes darted over my face taking in the change since the last time he’d actually seen me. He noticed Gavin behind me. “Hi Gavin.”
If he was puzzled by Charice, Rob and Enbarr, he didn’t show it.
I did not realize how the sound of his voice would impact us brothers. Water filled Gavin’s eyes. Mine too.
“Hey Dad,” I whispered. “It’s been a while.”
“Where are we?”
“We’re in Tir na nOg. Just left Hybrasail.”
Dad smiled at me. “I always knew you were a late bloomer Sean.”
“Yeah. I got Luck magic, Dad.”
He grinned and tried to move. “Ooof. That hurts. What have we been up to?”
“We’ve been trying to heal you, Dad,” said Gavin.
“Heal me? Why?”
“You’ve been trapped in the body of a German Shepherd for the last few years.”
Dad’s eyes twitched between me and my brother, then they narrowed. “It feels like I’ve awoken from a long, four legged dream.” He tried to recall the dream. “Yes. I remember bits and pieces. I’ve been living with you, Sean. Right?”
I nodded.
“And before that. With your mom?”
“Yep.”
Dad’s eyebrows furrowed. “We’ve been fighting a lot of monsters lately haven’t we?”
“Yeah.”
Dad looked at me and Gavin again. “You boys are so grown now. You’re men. How’s Aiden?”
“Getting big,” said Gavin. “He’s in middle school now.”
“No way,” said Dad. “How’s Mom?”
“She’s holding up,” I said. “Aiden keeps her busy.”
“What about Anna?”
A lump lodged in my throat.
Dad’s eyes shifted to Gavin, then back to me.
Finally Gavin broke the silence. “Her tombstone is next to yours, Dad. Happened right before you disappeared. Remember?”
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Dad’s eyebrows furrowed. His mouth opened, but no words came out. He blinked several times. “Oh.” A faraway look stole his gaze. “Now I remember.”
Sniffles overcame the three of us.
“How did I go missing anyways? How’d you figure out I was Tain?”
Nehemiah’s face invaded my mind like a Trojan horse, unleashing all sorts of jumbled emotions, warring against me from the inside.
Dad noticed.
In brief, I explained to him the wizard’s treachery, how he left my dad in the hands of the Dearg Due who tried to kill him, and after that, what happened to him was a mystery. “But Gavin and I took out the Dearg Due for what she did to you. And others.”
“Where’s the wizard now?”
I felt a need to prove to my dad how much it hurt me. “Don’t worry about him, Dad. After I found out what he did, I nearly ended him. But it turns out I didn’t need to.”
A strange look overcame my dad’s face. I’d expected him to be pleased that I’d fought for him, not...sad.
Disappointment spread across Dad’s face. But why?
My dad asked the question again. “Where is Nehemiah now?”
“He’s at home on his deathbed. All that Bad Luck finally caught up to him.”
I reached into my jacket of holding and produced the wineskin broth from Dagda. “Forget about him dad. He and the Dearg Due are the whole reason our family is torn apart. But it’s okay now because we have this.”
Dad stared at the wineskin, the broth that could return him back to normal for good.
“Do you know why Nehemiah turned on me?”
“Sorta.”
“You ever met his oldest son?”
I shook my head.
“That’s because the Dearg Due kidnapped Nehemiah’s son from his first marriage.”
Sorrow welled up in me. I didn’t know I could feel that for an enemy. I railed against it hard.
Dad continued. “Nehemiah did what he did because the Dearg Due threatened his son, and by extension, his new family. It wasn’t right. But understand why he did it.”
Blood red wrath boiled my face. “What are you saying, Dad? That I should just laugh it off ask him, won’t you be my neighbor? Should I just pretend nothing he did has any consequences? What about you? Mom? Aiden? His actions have left scars on our family. No. He’s getting what he deserves.”
I offered the broth to my dad, but he pushed it away.
“There’s a way to hold Nehemiah accountable and move on.”
“How?”
“Forgive him.”
I gritted my teeth and turned my head away from Dad. I couldn’t meet his eyes.
“That’s what they want, Sean. To see us divided. If you don’t forgive, then Chaos wins.”
I found an Achilles heel in my Dad’s logic. I hated to go for the low blow, but his justification for Nehemiah’s actions forced me to. “Then what about Donn? Should I forgive him too?”
“No. Mass murderers like him, or the Dearg Due, who have warped and taken so much life over and over without remorse have forfeited their lives.”
“Nehemiah took a life.”
Dad eyed himself up and down. “Did he? Is there blood on his hands? Or did he simply walk away when I needed help? There’s a difference son.”
I shook my head. I wasn’t trying to hear it.
Dad changed the subject. “I miss your mom so much.” He breathed in heavy. “I missed you guys, my boys. But I guess I’ve been around all along.”
“We’re going to get you better, Dad. Don’t worry,” said Gavin, patting his shoulder. “You’ll be able to see Mom and Aiden in no time. But first we gotta get back home.”
Out of nowhere Dad groaned. “Ugh. Feels weird being in a human body. I feel like I belong on all fours. You don’t know how good a bowl of dog food sounds right now. That’s gross huh?”
A sudden look came over his face. He paled. “I don’t have much time boys. I feel like I’m tired and need to fall into a deep sleep. I don’t want to, but I don’t think I can hold onto this much longer.”
“Just drink Dagda’s broth,” I said.
He didn’t knock it out of my hand. He did not yell. He simply whispered to me. “You know what you have to do with that.”
He reached up and brushed both of our faces with his rough hands. “In case I never… just take care of Mom, boys. I know you already are. Keep doing it. For me. I love you both. And Aiden. Make sure him and Mom know I love them.”
We both nodded, tried to smile, and sniffled some more.
“There’s something you should both know about Donn. He’s after an acorn seed. I accidentally planted it in the front yard. If he ever—”
I had to cut my dad off. “We know, Dad. We think Donn figured out where the tree is. We’re heading home right now. Tonight is Samhain.”
Dad’s face paled again. As fast as it did, the color returned and he gritted his teeth. “I wish I could be part of this fight. I didn’t understand what I had in my hands, what I planted in the front yard, until it was too late. You boys finish what I started. You hear me? Protect your mom and brother. Donn will do anything to cut that tree down.” His eyes bored into me and Gavin. “I know this isn’t fair, that it’s up to you two to fix my mistakes. Fight as hard as you can. He must be stopped. You can do it. You have to. Otherwise Mom, Aiden, and everyone else we love are doomed.”
We nodded.
“Swear it. Swear to me you’ll stop him.”
We swore.
“Good luck, boys,” he smiled and sighed. His eyes glazed over.
Then Dad faded. Left just like that.
In his place, Tain stretched out on all fours, wagged his tail, and gave us a joyous bark.
I scratched Tain behind the ears.
My knuckles tightened on Jade. “I’ll slaughter the lord of the dead.”