Celtic Evil: A Fitzgerald Brother Novel: Roarke (13 page)

“Yeah, it’s bloody
convenient how she shows up right now,” Kerry scowled, putting his
cup down and leaving the kitchen just as Cameron Young was coming
in.

“Mike says there’s a Rolls
Royce coming up the drive,” he reported, knowing who that would
be.

Kerry rubbed his neck and
nodded. “Go up and stay with Roarke. If he wakes up while she’s
here he could get upset.”

“No doubt on that, pal,”
Cam muttered but he did so without question, which was odd for
him.

Kerry paused at the front
door to gain his full strength and center his power, looking up the
stairs and glad this happened while his brothers were
asleep.

Dealing with Kathleen Murphy Fitzgerald’s
arrogance and temper would be bad enough without having to cope
with Ryan’s temper since he learned what he has.

Stepping from the manor, Kerry walked slowly
down the steps so he was waiting when his maternal grandmother’s
large black Rolls Royce pulled up and stopped a few feet from
him.

Born in Carrick on Shannon
some seventy years ago, Kathleen Murphy married Sean Fitzgerald
when she was seventeen and of their six children, only their eldest
son, Toryn, lived to marry and have children of his own.

Her beloved husband had died many years ago,
leaving her mistress of the ancestral home in Fitzgaren until her
son’s marriage to the Kerrigan girl.

Kathleen had moved to
Waterford with her son’s marriage as was custom but she always
tried to keep a stern hand in his marriage and life. After the
death of her son and daughter-in-law, Kathleen made the choice for
her grandsons’ living arrangements even though Kerry had fought her
bitterly about it, but she had won as always.

Pleased that she still had
some control, she still traveled to the grand manor that would one
day be hers again a few times a year. Though she had to admit her
eldest grandson’s attitude had been less than friendly the last few
visits.

Stepping from the car, she
patted her salt and pepper hair that she kept tied in a tight bun
before lifting a regal hand to wave to Kerry, who was waiting for
her.

A tall woman, Kathleen was
nearly 5’9” and proud to say she could still do as she did thirty
some years ago. Dressed in a pale blue silk suit with a matching
pair of low-heeled pumps, she smiled charmingly as he approached
the car.

Coming from a family long
with magical powers, Kathleen had always had powers and used them
to her advantage. Her smile faded a little when she realized that a
shield existed on her eldest grandson’s thoughts.

“Kerry, my darling, it’s
been so long,” she held out her arms to him and smiled as he leaned
down to lightly kiss both her flawless cheeks. “I know I’m early
but I was sure you wouldn’t mind,” she waved to her chauffeur to
begin unloading her bags. “It’s been so long since we’ve had a real
chance to visit.”

Staring at the older woman
who he came to realize long ago was keeping her flawless, ageless
looks with the use of glamour spells, Kerry stopped her with a hand
on the arm before she could breeze by him into the
house.

“Actually, I do mind,” he
replied, stopping the driver with a single look. “I told you last
time that there was no reason for you to keep visiting like
this.”

Kathleen frowned slightly,
not caring for his tone or attitude. “Kerry, you know as I get on
in years I treasure these visits with my eldest grandson,” she
tried to soothe but encountered a brick wall in her attempt to get
past his shields.

Kerry could have laughed at
that but kept his face neutral. “Really, and how many times have
you visited the others?” he challenged.

“What?” she stared at
him.

“How many times have you
visited your other grandsons, Grandmother?” Kerry repeated, his
tone going colder. “I’m especially curious on how many times you
visited Roarke.”

This time there was no mistaking how his
grandmother looked at that question as she pursed her lips and
turned to look toward the horse fields.

“Darling, as much as I
adored you boys, I’m much too old to be going all over the country
to visit each of them,” she waved it away casually.

“Well, that’s just odd
since you were in County Mayo enough right after it happened to
visit your friends the Walshes,” Kerry returned evenly, his eyes
changing as he fought to stay calm. “I’m guessing you saw Roarke
enough then. Was it before, during or after one of his so-called
‘punishments’?”

Kathleen clasped her hands
in front of her, not caring for this discussion. “I do not know
what you are talking about, Kerrigan, and I do not care for your
tone. I will have tea in the parlor so please…” she stopped when he
stepped in front of her.

“You do not give orders to
me in my house, Grandmother,” Kerry informed her, his tone going
cold and firm. “You stopped giving orders in this house the day my
mother moved in, and it became mine when they died, and you will
not step foot in it while my brothers are here.”

Her temper simmered but the
last comment made her turn quickly. “Your brothers?” she repeated,
clearly upset about that. “How many are here? Why?”

“Sebastian decided to
return as I’m sure you know,” Kerry shrugged. “The spell Mum and Da
cast to banish him must have worn off and it’s time to face it
again. He made moves on all five of us so it’s only natural for all
five of us to be under the same roof, right?”

“Kerry, you don’t want to
go through this,” she argued, pressing her thoughts forward but
gasped, as they were repelled. “I tried to warn your father to let
it go but that woman he married just…” remembering where she was
and to whom she was speaking with, Kathleen was quick to correct
herself.

His eyes flashed
dangerously. “You mean my ‘mother,’” he stressed lowly. “You wanted
my Father to ignore the threat Sebastian posed and to let him break
the Circle of Five even though it meant the death of one of his
sons. That’s why you were so angry that day when you arrived to
learn that Da had gone to Skelling Michael with Mum and
Roarke.”

There was no longer any
question or doubt in his mind as he stared at his stone-faced
grandmother. There was just a slow burning anger.

“You knew what would happen
on that island,” Kerry stared at her in disbelief. “You expected
Sebastian to kill my mother and brother. Why?”

Kathleen didn’t reply at
the accusations, waving them away. “Clearly someone has been
manipulating your thoughts, darling,” she laughed, again trying to
go around him but his fingers caught her arm. “Kerry.”

“Why did you do it?” he
asked again, more demanding this time. “Dammit, tell me
why!”

“Because she was never good
enough for my son, that’s why!” Kathleen snapped back, whirling
away to glare at him with a hatred he had never seen before. “Ever
since I married your grandfather I heard about the prophecy of the
Five and what it was expected to do. Well, Sean and I had six
lovely children but only your father, my beloved Toryn,
survived.”

Kerry remained silent as
the older woman began to talk, rant actually, in her anger of his
attitude.

“Toryn had so much
potential for his future but he went and met that Galway whore,”
Kathleen was so angry that she was unaware that her emotions were
causing the sky to darken. “Then he defied me and married her when
I had picked out a beautiful girl that would have matched him
perfectly.”

“Then they had five sons
and you realized that the prophecy would happen with us and that Da
would protect his sons with his life,” Kerry sighed, having hoped
he was wrong in his assumptions.

“I knew that Sebastian and
your father had been battling for years and after Ian was born I
knew what would happen if not stopped,” Kathleen twisted a ring on
her hand and saw nothing wrong in her actions as she explained so
the boy would understand.

“You must understand,
darling. I had forbidden your father from having any other children
after the whore bore him his first four but again due to her, he
disobeyed me and Ian was born,” Kathleen shook her head in disgust.
“I knew what would happen so I had, of course, to protect my son
and his sons.”

His eyes went flat as he
listened to his grandmother’s words. “Protect his sons? How did you
figure on doing that with his wife and one son dead?” Kerry
demanded.

Kathleen clucked her tongue
at him as if chiding. “Darling, I had to choose the lesser of two
evils. If Toryn only had four sons then the prophecy wouldn’t
happen and Sebastian would be happy to leave him alone so another
generation could take the risks of the Circle. Plus your father
could be with a nice wholesome girl as I had chosen.”

“But it didn’t work out
that way, did it?” Kerry asked, stomach flipping as he hoped his
brothers stayed asleep. “Da decided to go to the
island.”

“Yes, again he defied me by
going with your mother and brother to that island,” she stomped a
foot as she recalled, shaking her head. “I had to keep you from
going until later than you planned, hoping to salvage what I could
but… Sebastian failed.”

“He killed my parents so I
don’t think he failed,” Kerry snorted, feeling her anger as she
whirled back to him.

“He was supposed to kill
the whore and her brat, not my son!” Kathleen snapped angrily.
“Kerry, I had to protect you, Ryan, Patrick and Ian as best as I
could after that dismal failure, so that’s why I sent them away to
be raised by nice families and your lovely brothers prospered so
much, didn’t they?”

There was silence as he
digested this. “What did Roarke do to you that you would want him
dead?” he finally asked.

A wave was his answer but
finally she did look over her shoulder. “He wasn’t supposed to be
born, darling. He was supposed to die in the womb but your Mother’s
power and her own mother saved him. The mark of evil was on him
since that night, so it was alright for him to die.”

Kathleen sighed in disgust.
“That boy was meant to die that day but instead your father died in
his place. For those sins, it didn’t matter what happened to him
and you shouldn’t concern yourself with such an evil, twisted boy
that…” She drew off as she saw the anger flash in his
eyes.

“Is that why you sent him
to Mayo to friends of yours instead of letting Bridgett and Padric
take him in when they asked you?” Mac Fitzgerald’s voice asked from
the top of the steps where he had been sitting during most of this
conversation.

Whirling at the unexpected
voice, Kathleen Murphy Fitzgerald started to smile at her second
born grandson but stopped when she saw that Mac’s normally
handsome, smiling face was unsmiling and hard.

“Darling, how handsome you
look,” she cooed, but got nothing but stony silence in return.
“Bridgett had eight little ones to care for and then you. She
couldn’t have handled another, much less one as wild and untamed as
that one. Ida and Felan were much more capable and had less to care
for.”

“You mean, they had more
land and needed the slave labor to do the work so their own
worthless brats wouldn’t have to,” Mac threw back, standing
slowly.

Narrowing her eyes, she
pointed a long finger up at him. “Now, you watch your tone, lad,”
she warned, sniffing. “They were a wonderful couple that had their
hands full constantly with that boy and had to react accordingly.
Spare the rod and spoil the child, as they say.”

“Or in this case, it was
use the rod, the whip, hands or whatever else they could on the
child,” Kerry murmured, recalling the scars he’d seen and what he’d
felt. “You ordered them to abuse him. Your eleven year old grandson
who had seen his parents murdered and you knew he was being abused
and raped and did nothing!”

Kathleen whirled and on
instinct and anger raised her hand to slap but had it caught. “He
should have died and needed that sin destroyed so what did it
matter how they used him?” she screeched, some of her glamour spell
fading and making her true age show. “I wanted him dead and he
would have been if that interfering girl and her friends hadn’t
come. Now Sebastian or I’ll have to…”

Lightning seemed to come
from the morning sky as Kerry’s eyes darkened and Mac started to
come down the steps. “You will not touch that boy again,
Grandmother,” he spoke lowly, anger plain. “So long as I’m alive,
so long as my brothers live, this house is ours and for this
betrayal you are not welcome here.”

Shocked by this, she was
silent for a long time then laughed. “You honestly think all your
brothers will agree with this?” she asked, almost mockingly. “Ian
doesn’t even know him and Ryan has hated him since that day
so…”

“Maybe, but he’s been my
little brother for twenty-six years and I’ll tell you the same
thing I once told Liam McCarthy, who was fond of being a bully;
Roarke’s my bratty brother and no one picks on him but me,” Ryan
spoke from where he was leaning in the now open manor doorway just
finishing buttoning his shirt up.

Unknown to Kerry, his three
brothers had felt the emotions raging outside and had been hanging
around eavesdropping until they felt he needed backup, and while
both Mac and Ryan had tried to get Ian to stay inside, the boy had
shown his stubborn Irish roots.