Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Characters introduced in this chapter:

Michael O'Neill III

Grand Master, Mike and Pat's maternal Grandfather, 5'-10" tall, 185 pounds, appears to be 62 years old, but as a Sorcerer is actually much older, red hair going gray, green eyes

Laura O'Neill

Michael's wife, Mike and Pat's maternal Grandmother, 5'-6" tall, 140 pounds, 38C-27- 38, 54 years old, brown hair going gray, hazel eyes

Seamus Cullen O'Neill

Micheal and Laura's oldest son, Sean's twin, 5'-9" tall, 140 pounds, 18 years old, bright auburn hair,

gray eyes

Sean Evin O'Neill

Michael and Laura's younger son, Seamus's twin, 5'-9" tall, 140 pounds, 18 years old, bright auburn hair, gray eyes

On the afternoon of Tuesday, the 31st of January, Pat and I were in the grove of the Eternal Flame doing a little cleanup work when the Eternal Flame appeared, much to our surprise.

"Michael Sean O'Connell, and Michael Patrick O'Connell," the Eternal Flame formally addressed us as soon as it appeared. "I have a mission for the two of you to undertake. It will require you to be absent from this Reality for some time."

"Gone?" Pat asked in shock.

"From this Reality?" I followed, just as confused.

"Yes! You will be going to your Grandfather's Kingdom in the Reality of Continuous Magic. There are problems with those lacking the Talent who are working to suppress young people with strong Talents, so that they might eventually take control of your Grandfather's Kingdom themselves. They are greedy men who don't realize what trouble they would create for themselves. There are those in that Reality who would be glad to see your Grandfather's Kingdom weakened so that they might take portions of it for themselves using their Sorcerers and Magic. You must go there and assist Michael O'Neill in quelling this growing insurgency," the Eternal Flame told us.

"When must we leave?" I asked.

"Today is the 31st of January. Tomorrow is the 1st of February in both Realities. It starts the celebration of the festival of Imbolc there, which marks the beginning of the end of winter. People will begin moving around again. It will be a good time for you to begin tracking down those causing the trouble," the Eternal Flame informed us.

"Inform your Parents tonight that you will be leaving in the morning. The 'Book of Dreams' will teach you both the correct spell tonight so that you may move between the Realities easily. The spell takes a considerable amount of Talent to perform it, but you two have more than the needed amount of Talent. The 'Book of Dreams' will be on call for your use while you are in the Reality of Continuous Magic," the Eternal Flame added.

"How should we dress, and what do we need to take with us?" Pat asked.

"Dress warmly for the trip, as it is still cold there. Your Grandfather will supply new clothing and the other things that you will require there," the voice in the Flame assured us before vanishing.

Later that afternoon, after we had finished our work in the grove, Pat and I found both sets of our Parents together at my house.

"Have you finished?" my Dad, Aengus, asked us.

"Yes sir," I answered before adding somewhat cautiously, "We were visited by the Eternal Flame while we were there. He has a mission for us."

"Us?" my Mom, Annie, asked.

"For the two of us," Pat answered.

"Just you two?" Pat's Mom, my Aunt Sara, asked.

"Yes, that was all that he mentioned," Pat told his Mom.

"Just what is this mission?" Pat's Dad, my Uncle Sean, asked.

"He wants us to help Grandfather O'Neill in the reality of Continuous Magic," I told the four of them.

"And just how are you supposed to get there? Our Father, who has a very strong Talent, had a lot of difficulty and needed help getting here when we rescued our Mother from the FBPI," my Mom demanded.

"The 'Book of Dreams will teach us the spell tonight," I told her.

"The 'Book... ?" Mom started. "But it... ?"

"Remember Dear, that the 'Book' only teaches what you need to learn for a particular situation, and what you are able to accept at the time," my Dad reminded Mom.

"This is all so sudden!" Mom said in distress.

"The Eternal Flame doesn't always give an early warning," Dad reminded her.

After a good dinner that night, I went to bed early. The 'Book of Dreams' was in my room waiting for me. I was asleep as soon as I lay down, and didn't awaken until 6:00 the next morning. The long complicated spell for moving between the Realities was fresh in my memory, as well as the powerful, complicated glyph that accompanied it.

Pat showed up for breakfast in our kitchen at 7:00. He was overdressed for our Realm, but had on the same items that I was wearing for the trip.

"Have you checked the spell?" I asked him.

"Yes. Long isn't it?" was his only reply. Pat and I left after saying goodbye to our Parents, and we were at the grove by 8:00 AM. The Eternal Flame appeared just after we did.

"Are you ready?" It asked.

"Yes," we both answered with some trepidation.

"Stand on either side of me," It requested, "And start the spell." We did as directed and shortly we vanished from the grove and from our Reality.

We reappeared almost instantly in the reception hall of our Grandfather Michael's castle in Franfort with the Eternal Flame still between us. We definitely caused quite a commotion by suddenly just appearing out of nowhere, past all of the guards and attendants, and directly in front of where our Grandfather was seated on his throne.

"Guards! Guards!!" one of his assistants shouted immediately in shock on seeing us.

"Hold, Guards!" Michael O'Neill III commanded, as we saw his personal wards appear around him and his people.

"Welcome, Eternal Flame. Who are these strangers that have appeared with you?" he asked loudly for all in the hall to hear.

"Greetings, Michael," the voice from the Flames replied. "These two young men have come to see you. I served only as their guide."

"Welcome, strangers!" Grandfather said loudly. "Why have you come here?"

"Good day, Grandfather," Pat and I both replied just as loudly. There is a six hour difference between Georgia and Franfort (Frankfort). A shocked expression appeared on not only our Grandfather's face, but on the faces of all of those there.

"Do you claim to be my Grandsons?" he asked recovering quickly.

"We are the sons of your daughters Anna Catherine and Sara Elizabeth O'Neill and their husbands, our Fathers, Aengus and Sean O'Connell," I informed him.

"But ... that would mean that you come from the Reality of Less Magic!" Grandfather Michael exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, Michael. They are your Grandsons, and I accompanied them. However, they used the spell to transfer themselves here. They are powerful enough to make the trip alone, and only needed me to guide them to the proper location" the voice of the Eternal Flame told all of those present. This shocked all of those within hearing.

"Thank you for seeing that they arrived safely, Flame," Michael III said just before the Eternal Flame vanished.

"Well, what are your names, young Grandsons?" our Grandfather asked.

"I'm Michael Sean O'Connell, your Daughter Anna's son," I told him.

"And I'm Michael Patrick O'Connell, your Daughter Sara's son," Pat informed him with his usual grin.

"And how are my daughters, your Mothers?" he asked.

"They are fine, sir. They each also have two daughters, twins. Our Fathers and Mothers are Professors at the University of Georgia. They are in charge of the Magic program there and run it with the help of our four older Aunts, and our Grandparents," I informed him.

"Excellent! I'm glad to hear that they have done so well. Unfortunately, you come at a time when my own Sons, your Uncles, that is your Mothers' younger Brothers, are away on a trip," Grandfather told us.

"How old are both of you?" he asked next, and then added, "Excuse my forgetfulness. Evan, bring my Grandsons some chairs." Chairs quickly arrived, and we were seated.

"We both turned sixteen three months ago," Pat told him. "Mike is the older by two days."

"My Sons are just over eighteen," he told us. "Immediately after I rescued Laura, your Grandmother, and we returned here, she became pregnant and delivered our twin boys, Sean and Seamus. They are away on a mission to the Russians at present. There has been some trouble and discontent there." Grandfather had only just finished speaking when another commotion interrupted us, as several women arrived in the hall.

"Ah! ... here is your Grandmother now," Grandfather Michael told us, as the women moved up the hall to where we were. Pat and I rose from our chairs.

"We heard that there were visitors," an older woman said, as they arrived.

"Laura, my Dear, these are your Grandsons, Michael Sean, and Michael Patrick," Grandfather said to the lady in the lead, who was obviously our Grandmother. She bore a very close resemblance to our Mothers, but was obviously older.

"Welcome," she said. "How are my Daughters?"

"Our Mothers are fine, Ma'am," Patrick told her with his signature grin.

"They and our Fathers are Professors of Magic at the University of Georgia. They are in charge of the Magic program there," I added.

"My Daughters appear to have done very well for themselves. Are you their only children?" Grandmother Laura inquired.

"No, Ma'am. Our Mothers each have twin Daughters, our Sisters," Pat told her.

"So! More twins. They definitely run in our family," Grandmother said with a smile, and I began to suspect where Pat got his from.

"They are also prevalent in the O'Connell family," I told her. "Our four older Aunts are two sets of twins, and our Grandmothers are also twins," I reminded her.

"Oh my! Yes, I remember your Grandmothers, Margie and Katie. I wasn't aware that their Daughters were twins also," Grandmother Laura told us.

"You said your OLDER Aunts! Are there others?" she asked very perceptively.

"Yes, Ma'am!" I answered. "When our older Aunts got pregnant with their Sons, and our Mothers got pregnant with our Sisters, our Grandmothers just couldn't resist, and each of them had another child. Grandmother Katie had a Daughter, our Aunt Grace," I told her.