Page 19 of Dark Visions

Dr. Angela Brennan, PhD – Department of Paranormal, Parapsychology, and Dream Study

“This is her?” asked Kane.

“Yes. I spoke to her a while ago, and she was very interested in speaking with me. She sounded nice, but I just couldn’t force myself to come alone.”

“Well, you’re not alone now. I’m here.” Kane knocked on the door, and the soft lilting voice called from behind the oak.

“Come in now.”

Kane opened the door slowly to see a small white-haired woman hidden behind stacks of books and papers. In fact, the entire office was filled with stacks of books and papers. The utter chaos of the room sent his need for order into overdrive.

“Dr. Brennan?” he asked.

“That’s right, and you are?” she said, smiling up at him.

“My name is Kane Jackson, and this is my girlfriend, Aislinn Carter.”

“Aislinn? We spoke a few months ago, yes?” she said with a hint of an Irish accent. “Come in, come in, child. Aislinn. That’s a fine Irish name if ever there was one.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Aislinn, smiling at her. “My mother was born in County Wicklow.”

“Wicklow! Is that a fact now? Well, Wicklow is a magical place indeed. Please, sit, sit.” She looked at the two leather chairs piled high with folders and books. Grinning, she lifted the stacks and set them on the floor. “Sorry for the mess, my grad student left me, and I haven’t had any help in a while. Now then, what can I do for you?”

“When we spoke, you said you might be able to help me, Dr. Brennan,” said Aislinn.

“Remind me, dear. I’m old.” She smiled at the couple, and Aislinn smiled back.

“Sorry, of course. I have dreams, more like visions. I touch someone and…”

“Oh, yes! Of course, of course! I was very interested in speaking with you when last we talked. Your gift is rare, rare indeed. Wicklow? You said your mother was from Wicklow, is that right?”

“Yes, ma’am, that’s right.”

“Was she fae?” Kane’s brows furrowed in confusion, and he looked at Aislinn, who shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what that means.”

“Fae. Like the magic fairy people,” she said, smiling at them.

Confusion filled their faces, and then concern that perhaps Dr. Brennan wasn’t all there. The old woman giggled, her blue eyes laughing at them.

“Fairy people? Dr. Brennan…”

“Angela, dear, just call me Angela.”

“Alright, Angela. Fairy people don’t exist. I can assure you my mother was not a fairy.”

“Ahhh, that’s right. You Americans only believe in what you see and touch. The Irish, well, the Irish people know there is more to the world than what is in front of us.”

“Forgive me, doctor, Angela,” said Kane, “but I’m a soldier. I was trained to believe in what I see and feel.”

“And were you not trained on your other senses as well, Kane? Were you not trained to look for what you couldn’t see? What you couldn’t feel?”

“I was trained to look for things that weren’t visible, yes.” He said it in the most unconfirming way he possibly could. This woman was bat-shit crazy, but for Aislinn, he would sit through it.

“Listen to me, child. Your mother was most likely from a long line of people who were able to see visions. You can call them fae or psychic or whatever you like, but it’s an inherited trait for sure. Many of the old folks in Ireland believe in fae, and they believe in fairy hills, leaving them undisturbed.”

“That sounds magical, Angela, but my visions are violent, filled with blood and murder. There is nothing magical about it.”

---