Emerald Isle by Barbra Annino

watching from that floating HD monitor.”
    A raven came swooping down then, a piece of paper stuck on its beak. I pulled it off and scanned the writing. It looked like Birdie’s spell. The bird flew to a low-hanging branch.
    Not exactly what I had in mind, but I figured I’d take what I could get at that point.
    I passed the paper behind my back to Birdie.
    She whispered, “Oh, thank you.”
    Doherty was making pretty good time down that hill, and I wondered if I had misjudged her age.
    Birdie clutched my skirt tighter, and a sickening thought occurred to me.
I may be able to help her now, but what about the next time, and the time after that?
If I was pushed back through the web, then who would protect Birdie? I suspected Lolly and Fiona had never gone to this school. That would explain why Birdie had taken on the leadership role for the family when her mother died. Or perhaps her sisters had already passed through and Birdie was the last one. The best one. But if they weren’t here, that would mean she was all alone, with no one and nothing to count on except herself and her magic.
    Magic. That was it.
    Tracing a finger around my neck, I lifted the locket over my head and turned to face Birdie. I cradled the piece in both hands, put it to my third eye, and charged it with the power of Tara, the gods and goddesses, and the ancestors who wore it before me. I still had no idea of its function or importance, but I knew with every fiber of my being that I was supposed to give this heirloom to Birdie right now.
    What had the card on the box read?
For Stacy Justice. When the time is right.
    So maybe the time wasn’t right when I opened it. The ghost didn’t tell me to open it. She just moved it so I’d pay attention to her.
    “Birdie, listen to me.”
    The little girl my grandmother had been looked up at me with such fear in her eyes, I wanted to break the legs of whoever put it there. I slipped the locket over her head.
    “I want you to wear this at all times, for protection. When you’re feeling scared, or uncertain, just click it open”—I flicked open the latch—“look at the clock, and remember what I told you today.”
    She glanced down at the necklace. “Is this…?” She turned the locket over and gasped. “It is.” She looked me straight in the eye for the first time, and a flutter passed between us. “I’ve only read about it. No one knows what it actually looks like, but it must be.” She examined it closer. “This is a Seeker’s amulet.” Her eyes strained to memorize my face. “That means you must be—”
    Doherty came around me then, and Birdie shoved the locket under her shirt.
    As Tallulah laughed, the woman grabbed Birdie’s arm violently. “Practicing magic, when I specifically restricted you from doing so, is grounds for dismissal.”
    “I didn’t, I swear,” Birdie cried.
    In two strides, my hand was on the teacher’s throat. “Let her go.”
    She did, and so did I.
    Doherty swung toward me. “I will deal with you too, Justice, make no mistake!”
    “Fine. So who will deal with Tallulah?” I asked. “She must be disciplined for stealing and intentionally destroying property that does not belong to her.”
    Mrs. Doherty straightened out her pantsuit. “I heard mention of no such thing. Only that Brighid cast a spell.”
    The children had descended the hill by then, so I stepped sideways and leaned in to speak softly. “You and I both know that is not true, now, don’t we?”
    She glared at me.
    “Look, I understand the kid’s father is some big shot, but don’t you think—when Daddy’s little girl gets herself killed because she has no clue how destructive magic can be when you don’t know how to use it—that he’ll trace her failure right back to this school? Back to those who were supposed to teach her. Back to you?”
    Mrs. Doherty frowned. She obviously had not considered that possibility. She flicked her eyes to my young grandmother. “Brighid, go wait on the