Aedan Calahan and the Silver Hand

Chapter 15

Keeper's Grotto woke to find the last stubborn leaf buried beneath the fresh foot of snow.

Nobody told Aedan that the Keeper's Castle changes based on the season. The outside of the Castle, which was the color of oak when Aedan arrived, would have been completely white if it weren't for the few grey berries and red vines that clung tightly to the walls.

The Winter Solstice was coming, which meant so was Christmas. Holiday break for all was around the corner. Aedan was disappointed to find that both Callum and Shannon would be returning home. When they asked him why he wasn't returning home, he pretended that he didn't hear the question.

It was thinking of the holidays that Aedan decided he should write to Maggie, to ask her how he could go visit his mum. He learned that when Druids wanted to send a letter, they tossed it in the nearest Rowan Tree for it to be transported to the Druim Cetta for delivery.

Shadows Loch was the body of water right beside the Fortress of Shadows. It was frozen over now. Rumor had it that one of Poet Cinn's winter lessons was sword fighting on ice.

Ash was undefeated after beating Yew in their last match, tied with Willow for first place. Despite the interruption during their first game against Rowan, victory was handed to Ash because Aedan technically scored the last goal needed to win.

The ruling had earned Aedan a lot of enemies in Rowan.

Aedan often walked the halls with both Shannon and Callum. "Watch out for the cheaters," Rowans would say to each other loudly as they passed. Or, if it were just Aedan, they would say something passive like, "Nice shot!" or "You're Callum's little brother, right?"

Nobody was more passive-aggressive and condemnatory of Aedan than Savannah Bethros.

"You need to let it go," Shannon always told Aedan, when he complained about Savannah. "The Brethos are one of the most powerful Druid families, ever. Ever, Aedan, got that? Let it go because this is not a battle you can win."

Aedan never listened, of course. Did they really think he was going to let her harass him, after he had spent a lifetime of dealing with thieves and thugs in the streets of Dublin? For goodness sake, his boss was Cheddar. The Cheddar. No, he wasn't afraid of Savannah or her powerful family.

There's a great advantage to mischief in plain sight, especially during the day. Aedan knew this to be true because he was a daytime thief, always had been. He did his best work under the light of the sun because he knew that, as long as you were not caught in the act, and only caught by suspicion alone, lying would get you out of any sort of trouble. Why? Because no authority ever thought he could be so foolish to steal silver coins during the day, when surrounded by people. The struggle to accept reality when faced with preconceived notions can be a great personal challenge. This was especially true with authority because often times they think they were the ones determining everyone's reality.

So, when Savannah taunted him, he fought back. During the day, in plain sight.

The first time he struck was during Transfiguration—the perfect class because who in their right mind would be mischievous during the class with two poets?

Twice Aedan had gotten her with the same trick. She had a skittish sheep. When she wasn't looking, he would gently push the sheep from behind, sending it sprinting for the trees.

"Well," Poet Thomas Quinn said, "what'cha lookin' at me fer? That' yer sheep, girl, go be gettin' him back!"

Savannah, bewildered that anyone would talk to her like that, stormed off. Both times it took her the remainder of class to corral her sheep back. Holly let it slip to Eimear who joyfully told Aedan that Savannah's grade was suffering because of it.