Stone of Destiny(52)

Liam stiffened, no doubt from the mention of our business here. “Taney Hardware is just a block away.”

“Do you have any idea how long it takes to get to Tara from here?” I asked.

“It’s just about a forty-minute car ride. You two can take a cab. If it’s all the same, I’d prefer going on foot.”

I frowned. “Do you really think it’s a good idea for us to split up?”

“Oh, no worries there. I’ll find you quickly.”

I wasn’t so sure, but I knew being in a car for any length of time made Liam nauseous, even with the fháillan band around his arm warding off all that steel.

“Okay, then that’s what we’ll do,” I said, just as the waitress arrived with our food.

We ate in silence. I couldn’t stop looking at the clock above the bar. The minute hand was racing forward, I could feel every tick of the second hand with the beat of my heart.

I turned and glanced at Liam. He pushed his plate away without having eaten very much. His jaw was carved from stone and his fists were balled up on top of the table.

I felt anxiety blossom in my belly. We still had more than two hours until we had to leave for Tara. I was half-wanting to just get it over with and half-wishing the time would never come. While we were making plans, I’d been focusing on being positive, not stopping to consider what would happen if it didn’t work. Now the fear of failing gnawed away at me.

Saoirse wouldn’t have let us come here if she didn’t think we’d be able to succeed. That’s what I kept telling myself. I wished I understood how her visions worked better. She could see the future with absolute certainty, couldn’t she? So why were there no guarantees we’d achieve what we came here to do?

I shook my head to clear out the negative thoughts. That way led to madness.

Eventually the waitress came back with our check. I looked at the clock for what must have been the millionth time. An hour had passed. It was now 1:35. Time was officially standing still.

Liam picked up a napkin and tore it into four pieces. He crumpled the pieces in his hand and put his hands in his lap. When the waitress walked past, he flagged her over. Picking up the check she’d left, he passed it back to her along with the crumpled napkin. “Keep the change,” he said with a charming smile.

Stunned, I just sat there watching her take the torn up napkin as if it were the biggest tip she’d ever received.

“No way, man,” Ethan said. “That is so wrong. But so cool.”

“I don’t do it often, I assure you. But there are times when it comes in handy. Don’t let it bother you, Allison. I’ll send a large check to make up for it when we get back home.”

I raised my hands. “Hey, whatever works.” Liam’s moral fiber was the least of my worries. I just needed to keep him from becoming Aoife’s drone.

“You might want to take a few of these so we can get the chains,” Ethan said, stuffing a handful of napkins into Liam’s palm with a smirk.

I shook my head as I got up and headed for the exit.

We walked down the cobbled sidewalk to the hardware store. Liam’s steps faltered when we walked through the door. Of course the place was packed with steel. In the first aisle I grabbed a few steel dog leashes, holding them up for Liam’s approval.

He nodded, looking rather green. I carried them up to the register, figuring the faster Liam got out of this store the better.

Even though Ethan had been teasing Liam about bringing the napkin with him, he did pull them out to pay for the leashes. Ethan had to walk away from the check out counter, he was laughing so hard.

Outside the store, an enormous fountain shaped like a mermaid sat in the center of the square. We crossed the street to sit on the bench next to it.

“So, I was just thinking about something,” Ethan said, resting his elbows on his knees and steepling his fingers. “Let’s say we pull off the whole plan, we have Aoife in chains and everything. What are we going to do with her when we’re done?”

My mouth dropped open. We’d planned the entire thing as far as capturing Aoife, but that’s as far as we’d gone. I glanced over at Liam who’d gone from green to ghastly white.

“Well, I don’t actually know,” he said, blowing out a breath.

“How could we have skipped over this detail?” I said.

“Are you able to run and carry Aoife?” Ethan asked.

Liam nodded. “I am. The steel might slow me down a bit, but I’ll still be able to do it.”

“Where would he take her?” I asked.

“To Tamhnach? It’s just a thought,” Ethan said, shrugging.

“It could work. As long as we can hold her long enough,” Liam said, a faraway look on his face.