Killarney, Ireland, 1837
Voices from beneath the loft, off in the corner by the hearth, awoke him, and Aaron stilled himself to see if he could tell exactly what his mother and granddad were talking about. They were whispering, but in his eight years, he\u2019d become an excellent eavesdropper. Though his older sisters and brother snored next to him on the mat they shared, he was closest to the ladder, and so he could easily lean just a bit over the edge, and with some concentration, make out what the hushed voices were saying.
\u201cThat makes half a dozen this week,\u201d his mother, Bree, was saying as she leaned in next to the elderly man who sat in a rickety chair next to her. Her hair was a dark auburn, curly, and unkempt. Though she was only in her late thirties, she looked tired. Her face was gaunt, and her shoulders stooped, even when she wasn\u2019t leaning forward as she was now. Birthing six children and taking care of the four that survived past the age of two had taken its toll, and Aaron had noticed a significant change in her demeanor since his father had passed away almost three years ago. The mother he remembered from when he was younger smiled, sang him songs, spoke to the chickadees in the backyard. Now, everything seemed draining, and he often worried that something might happen to her as well.
He knew his granddad, Ferris, was only sixty-one last spring, but he, too, looked haggard beyond his years. He often spent his days hunched over in the field, taking care of the meager potato crop, and while Aaron did his best to help, his mother insisted that he also learn to read, write, and do simple arithmetic so that he might have a proper profession someday. While Aaron thought all of that was important, he wanted to be like his older brother, Channing, who was ten and no longer had to sit with his mother for a few hours each day to study.
Ferris McReynolds ran a tired, age-spotted hand through his thinning gray hair and said, \u201cI know, Bree. And it\u2019s takin\u2019 its toll on the wee ones, too. They can hardly do without parents. The more they take, the harder it is for everyone to survive.\u201d
\u201cThe English will do somethin\u2019, won\u2019t they?\u201d Bree asked, her expression changing from concern to despair in a second. \u201cSurely, they\u2019ll send someone who can handle them.\u201d
\u201cThe English do not care about the Irish,\u201d Granddad said, his voice teetering on losing its whisper. \u201cThat I can assure you.\u201d
Bree nodded, as if she truly didn\u2019t need the reminder after all. \u201cWell, if things continue as they are, the resources will all be gone soon enough. Then, the treaty is liable to be broken, and our families will be next.\u201d
Ferris shook his head. \u201cNo, that cannot happen. We have an agreement. It must continue to stand.\u201d
\u201cI do not think the Dark Ones care anymore for the Irish than the English do,\u201d Bree replied, clasping her small hands in front of her body. \u201cPerhaps it will be up to our children to make a new arrangement, one where the Dark Ones do not always have the upper hand.\u201d
\u201cBite your tongue!\u201d Ferris snapped, his whisper becoming harsher. Aaron found himself scooting back a bit away from the unfamiliar sharpness of his granddad\u2019s voice. \u201cIf they hear you\u2026 we will feel their wrath.\u201d
\u201cIf they can hear me in my own home, while the sun is rising, we are already at their mercy far more greatly than I had ever imagined,\u201d Bree reminded him. She stood and began busying herself around the hearth, preparing breakfast for her brood of children who would be up and starving soon. Aaron watched as his granddad opened his mouth and then closed it, as if he wished to say something but wasn\u2019t sure what to say. Eventually, his mother turned back to acknowledge her father-in-law and said, \u201cI will not lose my children.\u201d
\u201cGod willing,\u201d Ferris replied, his face turned upward and his expression thoughtful.
\u201cGod or no God,\u201d Bree mumbled, turning back to the pot she\u2019d placed over the fire.
Aaron rolled onto his back and looked up at the thatched roof so close to his face he couldn\u2019t even stand upright if he\u2019d wanted to. Though he was not completely sure of what his elders spoke, he knew about the Dark Ones. Some called them Banshees or Wraiths, but his mother always called them the Dark Ones despite their alleged translucent skin because they almost never came out to feast unless it was nighttime. Though some of his friends in the village were fearful to climb beneath the blankets at night, Aaron was never afraid; his granddad had explained that the Dark Ones had promised never to hurt the McReynolds clan. Now, hearing his mother\u2019s words, he began to wonder if he was really safe or not. Perhaps he should also begin to fear the rising moon and the falling sun.
* * *
Later that afternoon, once his lessons were finished and he was allowed to join his siblings working in the field, Aaron tentatively worked alongside his oldest sister, Genty. She was the only member of their family with brown hair, like him, the rest having taken after their mother. Often, people remarked that Aaron looked like his father, Justin, who had been a laborer in the lord\u2019s service when he\u2019d been killed in an accident. Aaron still wasn\u2019t exactly sure what had happened to his da, but his mother was adamant that she did not want to discuss it. He had been a good provider for their family, and now that he was gone, Granddad did his best to make enough from their meager farmland to pay the rent and feed the family.
Genty wore a bonnet; her skin was so fair she could burn even on a cold winter day. Aaron had heard his mother tell the story many times before of how she\u2019d taken just one look at her fair-skinned child and said she looked like a field covered in snow in winter, thus earning her the name Genty, which meant \u201csnow.\u201d She was tall and strong and nearly twice his age; he always thought about how he would miss her when she would leave someday soon to become a wife and mother herself. Genty told him not to worry\u2014there were no lads around that she fancied more than him, and he would giggle and hug her. He never said so, but she was his favorite.
\u201cGenty,\u201d Aaron said as he dug a small potato out of the ground and tossed it into a basket, \u201chave you ever wondered where potatoes come from?\u201d
\u201cThey come from America,\u201d Genty replied, with a smile.
\u201cOh,\u201d Aaron said with a shrug. \u201cI thought they came from God.\u201d
Genty laughed gently and ruffled his hair. \u201cThat, too. They come from God, by way of America, silly boy.\u201d
Still not exactly sure how both could be true, Aaron moved to the next potato and wiped his brow on the back of his dirt-covered hand. \u201cGenty, do you ever listen to Ma and Granddad talking, when they think we are still asleep?\u201d
Genty paused for a moment, stretching her back as one eyebrow arched over a green eye. \u201cDo you, little one?\u201d
\u201cI\u2019m not that little,\u201d he reminded her. \u201cI\u2019m nearly nine.\u201d
\u201cPardon me,\u201d she said, stifling another giggle. \u201cNo, I don\u2019t listen to Ma and Granddad. It wouldn\u2019t be right to listen to a conversation I\u2019m not part of.\u201d
Aaron considered her statement. He knew she was correct, and yet, he still didn\u2019t feel too awfully bad for eavesdropping; knowing as much as possible about what was happening around him always felt most important. \u201cI heard them talking about the Dark Ones this morning, Genty.\u201d His voice was a whisper, and even though his other sister, Onora, and Channing were nearly half an acre away and Granddad was further still, he felt compelled to lower his voice. Perhaps, he thought, they were listening.
Genty cleared her throat and averted her eyes, focusing back on the crops she was collecting. \u201cWe are not to speak of them, Aaron. You know that,\u201d she reminded him.
\u201cYes, I know,\u201d he said, wondering why she would not look at him. \u201cBut Ma and Granddad were, and now, I\u2019m a little frightened, Genty. Do you think they might be after us?\u201d
She looked up from the black earth and into his eyes now. \u201cWhat would make you think such a thought? Granddad has told us we are safe. We have an agreement.\u201d
\u201cI know, but Ma said that she didn\u2019t know how much longer they would keep the agreement. What if\u2026 what if they come for us, too? What if we awake in the night to see them leaning over us in our bed?\u201d
\u201cAaron, don\u2019t worry about that,\u201d Genty assured him, but her smile looked forced, and he was not reassured. \u201cIf Granddad says we are safe, I believe him. Besides, we have more important things to worry about right now than the Dark Ones. We need to gather enough potatoes to make this month\u2019s rent. You know how hard it\u2019s been since\u2026.\u201d
\u201cSince Da died,\u201d Aaron finished. She could say it. He\u2019d stopped crying over a year ago. They all missed him, but their mother had made it clear crying did little good.
\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d she said with a nod. \u201cNo more need to fear the Dark Ones, little sprite. Now, let\u2019s get these potatoes in before they become overripe. Heaven knows we can\u2019t afford any spoiled potatas.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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