Through the Door (The Thin Veil) - By Jodi McIsaac Page 0,66
with them.” He gave her a significant look. “Beneath.”
“So how do these boots work?” Cedar asked, trying to change the subject. She didn’t need to be reminded of her status among the Danann.
“They work rather splendidly, if I do say so myself. Slip them on your feet and you can travel a thousand leagues in a single step.”
“How far is that?” Cedar asked. She wasn’t trying to be cheeky, but the leprechaun seemed to take it that way. He rolled his eyes.
“About three thousand miles, if you must think in such mundane terms. But this is magic, my dear, not geography. And it’s also a one-time offer. I’ll tell the boots where to go, and that’s where they’ll take you. Once you arrive, they will become ordinary boots until they are returned to me. The magic does not reside in the shoe, you see, but in the shoemaker.”
The others returned from the kitchen and Rohan said, “All right, Logheryman. We’ll direct you to a store of gold in return for the use of these boots, provided you can ready them immediately.”
“Mmm.” Logheryman put a finger to his lips. “One store of gold will get you precisely one pair of boots.”
“There are nine of us, in case you haven’t noticed, not that I expect you know how to count,” snapped Murdoch. “You think you need nine stores of gold?” He looked around the cramped, dingy cottage. “What would you even do with it?”
“I hate to be the one to point this out, but there are now only eight of you. And what I do with my gold is no one’s business but my own,” Logheryman replied, seemingly unperturbed. He looked at Cedar and winked. “Perhaps I have a great dragon in the cellar that sits on it and keeps it warm.”
“I’ve been in your cellar and there’s nought there but cobwebs and whiskey,” Murdoch said. He turned to Rohan. “Even if we do make this bargain, who’s to say the boots won’t end up drowning us in the middle of the Atlantic?”
“We accept,” Rohan said to Logheryman. “Finn, Murdoch, Anya, and I will take the boots and travel back to Halifax that way.” He held up a hand to stop Logheryman’s inevitable question. “Yes, that means we will direct you to four stores of gold. Riona, you stay with Molly and Cedar and catch the next flight you can find.”
“Wait. Cedar comes with us,” Finn said.
“We don’t have time to argue about this,” Rohan said. “We need to get our best warriors after Nuala, and she’s not one of them.”
“It’s fine, I really don’t mind waiting,” Cedar said.
“I’m not letting her out of my sight,” Finn argued. “We don’t know what else Nuala may have told her to do. If I leave her…”
“I’ll stay,” came Anya’s voice from the back. “I’m not much use for fighting right now. Besides, I want to bury him here, in the old country.”
Rohan glared at Finn, but nodded curtly after a moment. “So be it. Logheryman, bring us the boots,” he demanded.
“Not quite yet. I have one other minor condition,” Logheryman said.
Rohan stiffened but said nothing, waiting.
“It’s a delicate matter, of course, because I do not wish to imply that the Tuatha Dé Danann could ever be duplicitous in their dealings with lesser folk. However, it would put my mind at ease if you would make use of the goblet of Manannan mac Lir while sealing this agreement. Am I correct in assuming it is in your possession even as we speak?” Logheryman raised a grizzled eyebrow at Rohan.
Cedar had no idea what the goblet of Manannan mac Lir was, but she could sense the Tuatha Dé Danann’s offense.
“You doubt my word, leprechaun?” Rohan’s voice was low and icy.
Logheryman didn’t seem threatened. “Not at all, Rohan Donnelly,” he said, stressing Rohan’s human name. “I simply prefer to do business this way.”
Rohan gave the leprechaun a stony look, but then pulled something out of an inner pocket of his coat. It was a small, plain silver goblet that looked more like a child’s toy than anything an ancient being would use to seal contracts.
“You have maps, I presume?” Rohan asked Logheryman.
“Old and new,” Logheryman chirped. He stepped out of the room and Cedar could hear his footsteps going down the stairs to the cellar.
While he was gone, Cedar turned to Felix and asked, “Does anyone in your world ever help anyone else just for the sake of it?”