Rundimahair: A new hero for a new adventure by Larry Forkner (dark books to read .txt) 📕

saw it was a very realistic, plastic gun. She had very angry thoughts in her mind, but I realized she hadn’t intended to actually do him physical harm. She only wanted to humiliate him, just like he’d done to her.”

“Still, it seems like she could have gone from thinking about humiliating him to actually doing him harm, if she was that angry and unstable,” Margaret said.

Sean nodded and said, “I took the fake gun from her and told her I wanted her to report this to a student counselor or I would. She promised she would talk to Mrs. Williams, a very well-liked counselor at our school. I told her I’d give her until the next morning, and that I’d be watching closely.”

“I assume she complied,” Fergus said.

“She didn’t show up at school the next day, or any day after that. Rumor was that she’d transferred to another school. I probably should have turned her in, but I had a strong notion we’d never see her again, which turned out to be the case,” Sean said.

“Did anything like that every happen again?” Margaret asked.

“Nothing that dramatic, but from time to time, I realized I could feel or hear other people’s thoughts,” Sean said. “It troubled me at first, but it happened so infrequently that I just put it off as a weird physic anomaly. I’d read about similar things on the internet, and now I assumed I was just one of those peculiar people.”

“You didn’t tell anyone–not even your folks?” Margaret asked.

“What would I tell them? I couldn’t just blurt out that I had awesome psychic abilities that seemed to show up occasionally. I did my best to ignore this weird ability and eventually it faded away.”

“Use it or lose it,” Aengus muttered.

“In Sean’s case, I believe it’s not so much lost as put away until needed,” Ashling said. “I’ve picked up some vibes since I began working with Sean, that indicate his psychic sense is alive and well. A bit dusty from lack of use but the powers remain.”

“That would jibe with other experiences we’ve had over the years,” Aengus said.

“Indeed so, Aengus,” Ashling replied.

“Any other unusual abilities you might have noticed, Sean?” Fergus asked.

“Only one that felt like it might have involved a touch of magic,” Sean said.

“Say on,” Fergus said, with a touch of eagerness in his scratchy voice.

“Coincidentally, it occurred less than fifty miles from here on Highway 101,” Sean said. “It was a foggy, rainy Saturday afternoon in late September about two years ago.”

“Nothing coincidental about it, Sean,” Ashling said. “The proximity to our incredible magic power source had everything to do with what occurred. Being so close to such a marvelous magical power source, is what allowed you to trigger your own great powers.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Sean said. “Looking back on it with the knowledge I’ve gained, I believe Ashling may be correct.

“Sorry to interrupt. Please continue, she said.”

“I was hurrying to an investor meeting, related to a large parcel of land I later purchased and developed,” Sean said. “As I came around a bend in the road, I was shocked to see an eighteen-wheel truck and trailer less than ten feet in front of me. I could see the driver slumped over the wheel, either asleep or unconscious.”

“Does anyone else feel like someone with dark powers may have been trying to kill Sean before he grew into his powers?” Margaret asked.

“Sure, and true, Margaret, the same thought just occurred to me,” Fergus said, as several others around the room nodded in agreement.

“If it’s true that a sinister force meant me harm, another powerful force must have been defending me,” Sean said. “In the blink of an eye, the huge truck was back in its own lane, as I drove safely past him. Despite my shock, I noticed the driver was sitting up straight in his seat, looking alert and refreshed.”

“I pulled over to the side of the road, until I could stop shaking and tried to make sense of what had just occurred,” Sean said. “Of course, I couldn’t make any sense of it and eventually convinced myself that I’d imagined the entire incident.”

“Let me assure you, Sean, the event was very real,” Ashling said firmly. “While working with Sean to develop his magical gifts, I’ve seen so many of the experiences of his life–mind to mind. This particular experience had the stench of dark magic all over it.”

“Are we to assume that he was able to tap into our shields on that occasion as well?” Fergus asked doubtfully.

“Highly unlikely,” Ashling said. “He was too far away to be able to access its power base – especially at such a young age. I believe he sensed the power, without really understanding what it was.”

“Then how could it…? Margaret stopped in mid-sentence and slapped both hands on her desk. “As you say Ashling, it must be he himself what did this!”

“Da’ and I were thinking the same thing.”

“So, you’ve already begun the search for his ancestors?” Fergus asked.

“I have, and It’s not too surprising to find that his troubled mother is descended from our lineage.”

Fergus and Eamon spoke almost in tandem, saying, “Why did ye not tell us?”

“I’ve only just learned the truth an hour before the meeting started,” she said. “I wasn’t sure you wanted to share it with the entire council just yet, so I thought I’d tell you two in private.”

“Do you know where she joins with us then?” Eamon asked.

“She left our people at least a thousand years before we fled to the Oregon Coast. Her name was Orlagh. “I’ve not had time to read all of her family history here, but it was said that she was always fascinated with the human world. She disappeared without a trace one night and was never heard from again.”

“How can you be so sure Sean is related to her?” Fergus asked.

Ashling appeared to be a bit embarrassed and hesitated before finally saying, “I borrowed a bit of Sean’s DNA and