Read Online The Keeper by Darragh Martin - Free Book Online

grasping woman who wanted the contents for herself. They fought and the Dagda mustered a great wind, scattering the contents across Ireland. Over the years, some of the items have cropped up. Every warrior in Ireland claimed to have An Freagarach at some stage. There have been rumours about the books, but none has been found. Until now.’
    Oisín felt the air in the room getting heavier, the way it did when it was about to rain. How could the strange little book he had found in Granny Keane’s study be so important?
    â€˜Why am I its Keeper?’ he asked, feeling responsibility creep over him like clothes he wasn’t sure he could fit into.
    â€˜The Dagda was the original Keeper of the Books,’ Madame Q said. ‘The Keeper of a magical book is the one responsible for it. Unless dark dealings are involved, the Keeper is the only one who can use it to its full capacity. The Keeper also has the power to sign the book over to another owner. Whoever had this book last signed it over to you.’
    â€˜But why him? What does he know?’
    Oisín glared at Stephen, but the question was one he wanted answered himself.
    â€˜That I don’t know,’ Madame Q said, continuing to fix her silvery eyes on Oisín. ‘But I’m sure we’ll find out. It’s not everybody who has a book for their croíacht .
    Oisín had to ask. ‘What’s a cray-och-thingy?’
    â€˜Cree-ocht,’ Jimmy said gently when Madame Q ignored the question. ‘It’s related to croí , the Irish word for heart. Which is sort of what it is: your magical heart.’
    Jimmy pulled out a small wooden spoon from his apron.
    â€˜Every druid has one special item that helps them do magic,’ he continued. ‘Once you’ve found your croíacht , it starts to become part of you. It means you can do all sorts of different magic.’
    Jimmy stirred the spoon in his soup. Slowly, the yellow liquid started to change, growing roots and stretching upwards. Jimmy continued to stir until a small tree popped out of the bowl, sporting bright yellow cabbage flowers. Jimmy picked one off and bit into it happily. Oisín thought about the feeling he’d had when he had picked up the Book of Magic, as if his body was suddenly whole.
    â€˜So anything can be a croíacht? ’ he asked.
    â€˜Pretty much,’Jimmy said. ‘Usually it’s an ordinary object that’s been waiting for the right owner. Sometimes it takes a while for a druid to find the right fit. Tom hasn’t found his yet, but he will soon enough.’
    A look passed between Cathleen and Jimmy, as if this was something they worried about.
    â€˜Usually your croíacht relates to the kind of magic you want to do,’Jimmy continued. ‘So Caoimhe has a pen that she uses to heal. Cathleen has a wrench for her inventions. Antimony has a slingshot. And … er … Madame Q has –’
    â€˜Had quite enough of this chatter,’ Madame Q said quickly.
    â€˜Can’t we just use this thing to get back home?’ Stephen said, impatient with all the talk.
    â€˜Yes, that is possible,’ Madame Q said after a pause. ‘Though I’m not sure it wants to go back yet.’
    â€˜Well, he can just sign it over to you and we’ll head back to Dublin and leave you to it,’ Stephen said, standing up as if he’d solved the problem.
    Oisín glared at him again and wished he’d got the DART on his own. He couldn’t part with the Book yet. Thankfully, Madame Q didn’t want him to either.
    â€˜That wouldn’t quite work,’ she said, pushing the Book back towards Oisín. ‘The Book must stay with its Keeper for the moment. It can only be transferred on a day of special magic, during one of our festivals. We’ve just celebrated Bealtaine in May so the next will be Lughnasa.’
    â€˜Is that in August?’ Oisín asked, remembering a Celtic