“Was he there to witness these horrible acts?” asked Fitz.
“For some, yes,” said Tanner. “From what we can tell so far, more than thirty victims occurred during the time that the troupe was in the western part of Ireland. No doubt, O’Shan was convinced he had to continue his quest long after the priest left.”
“What was the criteria? I mean, we know it was age related, sort of. And we know he didn’t want dark-skinned people. But what exactly is the perfect person he was looking for?” asked JT.
“Of that, we’re not sure,” said Riley. “If he spoke to Joseph, maybe he could go back and ask on the premise of helping him find the person. I don’t know. I’m not exactly an expert at ghost fighting.”
“It’s worth a shot,” said Joseph. “He seemed fine speaking with me.”
“What do we know of Péter István?” asked Marc. “Is there anything remarkable about him?” Riley nodded at them once again.
“It’s a good question. He was married at one time with three children. They all died from the Hungarian Disease. At that time, there had been years of constant warfare, destroyed farmlands, and marching armies which resulted in severe localized famines. Like many places in that time period, as people starved and sanitation collapsed, the country was swept by epidemics.
“Most notable was something called xanthomatous typhus or historically called theMorbus Hungaricusor Hungarian Disease. Although the records aren’t clear, it appears that his wife and children died of this. It’s also possible that he went mad afterwards and began wanting others to suffer as he had,” said Riley.
“Okay, so we have a chieftain who took the advice of a madman and began killing people believing they could save him. We’ve got the madman priest whom we cannot even speak to because, at least I assume, he died somewhere other than Ireland,” said Joseph.
“He died in Hungary, many years later,” said Tanner.
“Damn,” muttered Rory. “What do we do now?”
“We don’t do anything,” said Joseph. “I go back and try to speak with him. I’ll tell him what we know and see if that matters at all to him. If not, I’ll see if I can’t find out what his criteria is for the victim he’s trying to find.”
“It’s late,” said Riley. “All of you get some sleep. We’ll be trying to find any angles on this end.”
The screen went black once again and they all leaned back, taking in the information they’d been given.
“Well, I’m going to bed,” said Julia standing, the entire room of men standing with her. “Thank you for a lovely day, Sean. I saw Dublin like I’d never seen her before.”
“That was what I wanted,” he smiled. Julia turned with a smirk to Joseph, batting her eyelashes.
“Don’t worry about me. Michael is taking me upstairs to safety.” Joseph flared his nostrils.
“Am I going to have to vanquish two ghosts?”
CHAPTER TWENTY
It was obvious that something had changed in the group at breakfast. The conversation was still floating effortlessly. The talk about ghosts and evil, ever present. But at the end of the table, the master of the house looked like a schoolboy with an undeniable blush and eyes filled with affection.
Beside him, a beautiful woman had a glow that told the world she now belonged to the only man she’d ever loved. Julia couldn’t help but feel joy for Rose. She deserved this kind of love and so did Conor.
“I think we have to go back to the castle today,” said Joseph. “I need to speak with him again. I also think we need to visit the caves at the bottom of the cliff. If there are more bodies inside, it could be helping to hold the ghost to the property.”
“You’re right,” frowned Julia. Joseph looked at her expression and laughed.
“Is that so unusual?”
“No,” she laughed, shaking her head. “No, you’re right that other spirits could be in the cave continuing to cause issues for O’Shan and any visitors at the castle. Especially if they were his guards, men who followed him and believed in what he believed. They could still be attempting to help him.”
“Conor have there been any unusual ship wrecks along that part of the cliff and sea, or maybe unusual storms?” asked Rose.
“Maybe in that time but not recently. No one gets close to the cliffs because they know of the shallow rocks and the danger. But in the 1600s or even the 1700s they may not have known.”
“Alright,” nodded Joseph. “We only need a few to go today. He didn’t hurt me or attempt to hurt me, so I’ll hope that he keeps with that theme today.” Joseph stood, bent down and kissed his wife. She held his hand and smiled up at him.
“Stay safe. Don’t do anything foolish.”
“I have every reason to come home,” he smiled. “You. JB and Tobias, Remington, Eden and Melvin, and now Grayson and Asher. What more could a man ask for?”
