Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht: Read, Part 6

We return to our read of Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht. Last time, Liam had secured a job and gotten Mary Kate to agree to marry him. To catch up or review, see Part 1, Part2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

Enjoy!

SPOILERS!

Chapter 11

Liam asks Father Murray to marry him and Mary Kate, but Father Murray seems to hesitate before agreeing. Still, Liam is happier than ever before. Despite being a May wedding and incredibly nervous, the whole affair goes off well. Father Murray warns Liam at the reception to stay out of trouble in Belfast and that he too will be living there as he’s being transferred.

Reader Comments: Yay! They’re married. Again, happiness for Liam makes me worried about what is in store in later chapters. I’m also rather worried about his IRA ties, which I suspect will throw him into even worse peril.

Writer Comments: This chapter is transition and foreshadowing. Such is needed in books, especially ones like this, which cover lots of time. However, Leicht makes the transitional elements easier by couching them with happiness for our hero, who, by this point, more than deserves a good dose of joy.

Chapter 12

Settled in a small flat in Belfast, Liam has started working for the taxi company, but he and Mary Kate aren’t enjoying wedded bliss as he’d hoped. They often fight, and Mary Kate is often moody. For the fourth day in a row, she comes home from class and immediately runs to the bathroom to throw up. Worried, Liam insists she see a doctor, something they don’t have money for, but Mary Kate refuses. Instead, Liam calls Father Murray and asks him to come over and talk Mary Kate into sense. Despite Mary Kate’s annoyance at this, Liam leaves them to talking. By the time he finishes getting his taxi ready for its inspection, Father Murray tells Liam that she does need a doctor and that he’ll take her tomorrow while Liam’s at the inspection.

Reader Comments: So, it really looks like Mary Kate is pregnant and not happy about it. Also, since Liam woke one night and she was sleeping on the couch, I’m a bit worried she’s started to see something of the fairy in him and become a bit scared.

Writer Comments: As expected, once Liam gets his bit of happiness, Leicht throws him back into misery. Heroes can never be left to joy. It ruins a book if they’re happy before the end.

Liam meets Oran at the taxi inspection, and Oran has Liam drive him back to Liam’s flat for some drinks to wait on the news of Mary Kate. There. Liam discovers that Oran is part of his IRA unit. Their lieutenant comes, and Liam learns that he’ll be the driver for some bank robberies to “raise money” for future activities. Liam gets a phone call in the middle of this from Father Murray that Mary Kate will be fine, but they’re keeping her in the hospital overnight. It was some sort of bad virus. She’ll also stay at her Aunt Katie’s for a few days until she’s well enough to come home. Father Murray will say no more, and the dark creature inside Liam demands that Liam kill him, that he’s dangerous. But true to his word, Father Murray delivers Mary Kate home a few days later, and all seems somewhat better.

Reader Comments: Clearly this isn’t confirmed in the story because Liam is clueless and intentionally left out, but I suspect Mary Kate was pregnant and Father Murray helped her get an abortion. Just my theory. No definitive proof, but there it is.  If he did so, I’m a little surprised that a Catholic priest would help a woman get an abortion.

Writer Comments: Because the dark creature never reacted like this before, I surmise that either it’s responding to Oran, who’s going to get Liam into lots of trouble, or Father Murray. If Father Murray, then the creature knew Mary Kate was pregnant and had an inkling as to Father Murray’s part in an abortion, assuming my theory is correct. In either case, in this section, Liam starts talking back to the creature and telling it off. In that and the creature’s apparent ability at foreknowledge or instinct, Leicht reveals more of its character and abilities. An author ought to reveal more and more layers with each scene.

Thank you for joining me for these chapters of Stina Leicht’s Of Blood and Honey. Join me next Monday for the next section and Wednesday and Friday for further forays into books, the speculative, and life.

Have a safe and wonderful 4^th of July!