by Leigh Fallon
Without a word, Áine jumped out of the car and ran off into the woods.
“Where is she going?” Cú asked.
“Who knows,” Rían replied, standing up on the step of the Jeep and leaning over the roof.
A few moments later, Áine reappeared. Her knees were covered in snow, and she had a bulge in her coat.
“What is that?” Adam asked, climbing out of the car.
“I heard him calling. He was cold.” Áine unzipped her coat. Inside, a fox cub was nestled against her sweater.
Cú pulled the baby fox up by the scruff. “He’s a scrawny little fella. Looks like he’s been out all night.”
“He was waiting for his mother to come back, but she didn’t,” Áine said, taking the cub from Cú. “What should I do with him?”
Cú wiped his hands on his pants. “Put him back where you found him.”
Áine rubbed the shivering cub. “But he’ll die! He’s frozen as it is.”
“You can’t intervene with wild animals, Áine. The strong survive. The weak do not. It’s the law of nature.”
“But don’t you see? This fox cub called to me. I normally have to call to them.” Áine gave Cú a cold look. “He’s special.”
“Your senses are just maturing. He’s not special,” Cú said gruffly, getting into the car. “Now, come on.”
Áine stomped back toward the house, muttering to herself.
“What are you doing?” Cú shouted out after her. She didn’t answer.
Adam smiled. “That’s Áine. She’s not going anywhere until that cub is warm and happy.”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake! Áine, wait!” Cú got out of the car and jogged after her.
Adam leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. “So what’s the story with you and Chloe?” he asked Rían.
Rían scowled. “Nothing.”
“Didn’t look like nothing this morning when you were creeping out of her room.”
Rían moved close to Adam. “Just keep your trap shut. If Cú finds out that we’re hooking up, he’ll spaz out.”
“So what, you kissed and made up?”
“Look, I’m as pissed as you that we were conned into coming here, and I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could chuck her, but . . .” He backed away from Adam, and grinned. “I kinda dig the good-chick-bad-chick thing she has going on.”
Adam scowled and kicked the snow. “You’re twisted.”
“It gets better. She’s coming back to Ireland with us.” Rían laughed and jumped into the car.
Adam winced. “What?”
The sound of the front door closing signaled the return of Cú, followed closely by Chloe and Sebastian.
“They’re coming with us?” Adam asked, glaring at Chloe and Sebastian.
Cú smiled. “Where I go, they go. Sebastian, you take the rental.”
I nudged a reluctant Adam into the Jeep and gazed back at the house. “Where’s Áine?”
“She’ll be out in a minute,” Cú said, starting the engine.
A second later, Áine ran out of the house with her bag on her shoulder and a huge smile across her face. “He’s all wrapped up warm by the fire.”
Cú held his head in his hands and grimaced.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Just a headache, is all. Come on, let’s get going.”
We stepped off the plane into the cool, damp air of Ireland, so different from the icy, dry cold of Sweden. I speed-walked for the cover of the terminal, pulling Adam closely behind me. Áine dashed past us. “What’s the rush?” Adam said, half laughing.
While Cú, Sebastian, and Chloe waited for the luggage, I walked through customs with the DeRíses and into the arrivals hall.
My breath caught when I saw Fionn. He stood rigid, anger etched in the lines of his face.
Without a word, Áine powered by him, heading straight for the exit.
“Áine!” Fionn called after her.
Before we could figure out what she was doing, Cú came up behind us. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the ghost of Christmas past.”
Fionn swung around and gasped. “Cú? Is that you?”
“It is,” Cú said, opening his arms. The two men hugged. Fionn stepped back, keeping one hand firmly on Cú’s shoulder.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Fionn shook his head in bewilderment. “I tried to track you down, but nobody in the Order knew where you were. I can’t believe it.” He smiled warmly. Then his eyes dulled. “Hang on. Are you with Chloe?” He dropped his arm from Cú’s shoulder and looked at the rest of us with such an expression of betrayal that I had to look away.
“I have much to explain,” Cú said softly.
Fionn closed his eyes as if fighting to stay in control. “Not here!” he said through his teeth. He turned and started walking to the exit.
The rest of us hurried to keep up. When we got to Fionn’s car, he spun around.
“It’s just as well I came in to meet you. Adam, you take Chloe and her comrade in your car. Don’t take your eyes off them,” he instructed.
“Fionn, it’s not like that,” Rían protested.
Fionn held his hand up. “I don’t want to hear it. Go get your motorbike, and follow Adam. And where the hell did Áine go?”
“I’m here,” Áine piped up from behind Fionn’s car.
“Good. Megan, Áine, you’re with me. Get in.” He held the door open, and we didn’t dare argue. Cú got into the front seat. Áine looked nervously over at me and squirmed.
“Áine, what is up with you?” I pulled up short when something rancid hit my nose. “Holy crap, what’s that smell?”
She pulled me out of sight of Fionn and Cú, and unzipped her coat.
“He peed all over me,” she whispered.
“What!” I peered into her jacket and saw two big eyes peeking out at me.
“You didn’t think I’d really leave him, did you?”
“How did you get through security?” I asked, trying not to breathe through my nose.
“Do you remember that security guy who waved us through the gate, then started hitting his head and talking to himself?”
I nodded, recalling the man who had to be taken away by his colleagues after we’d cleared. “That was you? How?”
She leaned closer to me. “You know how my powers have been weak lately? Well, all that just changed in Sweden! It’s like something inside me suddenly turned on. I’ve been able to go deeper than ever before. Megan, I’m able to tap into people now. People! Do you know what this means?”
“That you’ll be able to force airport security to allow you to smuggle animals into the country for the rest of your life?”
She gave me a wry smile. “Well, yes, that . . . but so much more.”
Fionn looked in his rearview mirror. “Jesus Christ! What the hell is that hideous odor?”
“Watch this,” she whispered, then turned her gaze to the back of Fionn’s head.
Fionn’s eyes slid from the rearview mirror, and he turned up the music and burst into song. My mouth dropped open. Fionn never sang.
Cú glanced over at his brother with raised eyebrows and then back at us and his gaze darkened. “I’d know that smell anywhere.”
Áine stifled a laugh and turned back to me. “The problem is, it doesn’t last very long, and it leaves the person a little agitated.”
“And you’ve figured it all out since this morning?”
Her eyes lit up. “I’ve been practicing.”
I gasped. “You better not have been messing around with my head.”
She flushed. “Of course I haven’t. Oh, look, we’re home.”
Fionn stopped singing abruptly and blinked hard several times. “What the hell?” He glanced around the car in confusion. “What is that stench? ÁINE!” We got out of the car, Fionn still bellowing. “Áine, get that creature into a box and to a vet! If you’ve brought rabies into this country, you’re on your own!”
Áine hesi
tated. “Is Matthew still here?”
“Yes, but he’s out,” Fionn snapped.
Adam walked over, wrinkling his nose. “What’s that god-awful stench?”
Fionn shot him a killer glare that silenced him. “Everyone in the house, now.”
We filed into the kitchen and sat down. Fionn stood at the head of the table, scowling at Cú. “Chloe’s presence and your appearance is obviously no coincidence. I’m guessing you’re involved with the Knights, and judging by the obedient lapdog you have there”—Fionn waved his hand in Sebastian’s direction—“you’re quite senior. How could you, Cú? Our family has struggled to clear our name for over a century. Now, thanks to you, history is set to repeat itself.”
“Enough of the dramatics, Fionn. This is a bit more complicated than you think.”
“How so?” Fionn asked with sarcasm. “You join the Knights, avoid contact with me, and send your personal guard not only to spy on us but, even worse, to get involved with a Marked One! Then you turn up here with my family by your side. Tell me how it’s more complicated than that?”
Cú rolled his eyes. “You haven’t changed at all, Fionn; you automatically think I’m up to something bad. Yes, I joined the Knights. And whether you want to admit it or not, you need us.” He paused and took a deep breath. “And Chloe is not my personal guard; she is my daughter.”
“What?” Fionn’s piercing gaze flicked back and forth between Chloe and Cú.
“Listen.” Cú leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “We need to talk alone.”
Fionn eyed us, then flicked his head in the direction of the door. We all got up, even Chloe and Sebastian, and walked out to the yard.
We glanced at each other, all at a loss. Inside, the voices were rising.
“You’re the goddamn Grand Master of the Knights?”
Ouch. This was not going to be good.
Eighteen
SPARRING
It turned out I shouldn’t have worried about facing my dad. He tackle-hugged me as soon as he came in, then pulled a T-shirt and a pair of Eiffel Tower earrings from his bag.
“Thanks, Dad!” I went to put on the earrings and glanced up at Petra, who was standing behind him.
Her eyes held mine for a moment. “Right, well, I’ll get that kettle on. I’m parched.”
Dad zipped the suitcase back up. “I’ll just put this upstairs.”
“Sure, Dad.” I watched as Petra laid out mugs and tea bags. As soon as my dad was out of earshot, I rushed over to her. “Paris?”
Her steely gray eyes flickered from my face to the kitchen door. “Now is not the time to talk about this. Your father will hear.”
“But Paris? Why did you do that?”
She shrugged and went back to making the tea. “You needed a cover story, and your dad had always wanted to go. It seemed like a good idea.”
“And you did that all for me? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it, but you don’t have to buy your way into this family with grand gestures.”
A laugh caught in the back of her throat. “You think I’m trying to buy your approval?”
A stillness settled on me. “If this isn’t about seeking my approval, then why do it?”
“You needed to go after Rían—I enabled that. You should be thankful.”
“I am, but I don’t like lying to my dad.”
She eased herself into the chair at the head of the table. “I don’t like lies all that much either, but sometimes they’re a simple fact of life. Kind of like secrets. Nobody likes secrets, but life is all about keeping them, isn’t it, Megan?”
My heart skipped a beat.
She leaned forward. “So here’s the deal. I’m moving in, and we’ll keep each other’s secrets.”
Did she know enough of my secrets to use them as a threat? The sound of Dad’s feet on the stairs signaled the return of Petra’s smile and happy eyes, like she’d just flipped a switch.
Dad clapped his hands together as he walked in and sat beside her. “Now, where’s that cup of tea?”
“Right here, just the way you like it,” Petra replied.
Dad tapped the chair next to him. “Come on, Megan, I want to hear all about your weekend.”
Petra’s eyes met mine. “Actually, I was just telling Megan that we had decided to move in together.”
Dad suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Ah, Petra, I wanted to talk to Me—”
Petra clasped my dad’s hands in a reassuring way and gave him a dazzling smile. “It’s okay. Megan thinks it’s a wonderful idea, don’t you, Meg?”
I couldn’t speak. What had just happened? I couldn’t let Dad move in with this conniving, manipulative cow. But if I said something, she’d tell Dad about the last two days, and I’d be grounded forever. As fear mingled with my anger, I recalled her comment about secrets and the look in her eye. I got a nauseating feeling that she knew more about me than I cared to admit. But my Mark didn’t seem to think she was a threat, and the Sidhe hadn’t shown up. Maybe I was blowing this completely out of proportion. Maybe I’d just encountered the queen of man hunters, determined to get what she’d set her sights on. Okay, Petra, I accept your challenge, but you won’t win this game. No way. You will not hurt my dad.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, breathing in the comforting, warm, soapy smell of his neck. Fighting back the sting of tears, I hugged him tight and lied through my teeth.
“Of course, Dad. I’m so happy for you.”
As soon as Petra’s moving in was settled, she started hauling boxes over to our place. I couldn’t walk into any room without tripping over her stuff, so I decided to spend as much time as possible at Adam’s house, which was fairly crowded with Matthew, Cú, and Sebastian all staying there. It was comforting to have a little army watching out for us, though Fionn was quick to remind everyone it wasn’t us they were loyal to—it was our elements. Despite his reservations, Fionn looked more content than I’d ever seen him. He and Cú spent two days talking about old times over cups of tea, sitting on upturned buckets in the yard. Today, however, they’d gone up to Dublin to try to track down Hugh, who seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet. It had been nearly a week since he’d left, and we’d heard nothing from him.
In the DeRíses’ kitchen, Áine sat at the table jabbering away while Sebastian stared at the wall with a glazed expression. He’d been left behind to watch over us. He’d also—rather gallantly, I thought—offered himself up to Áine to practice her new power on, after Matthew gave her a resounding “NO,” and abandoned her in favor of Caitlin. Poor Sebastian had already suffered through two days of Áine rummaging around his mind as she tried to figure out what she could do. So far, she could influence people’s choices and distract their attention, but she couldn’t read their minds, and this bugged her. Giving up, she’d resorted to her more traditional methods of extracting information, talking Sebastian into submission.
He dropped his head to the table and tapped his forehead on the wood. “I think I prefer it when she’s messing with my brain.”
Undeterred, Áine plowed on. I had to hand it to the girl—she was chock-full of persistence.
“Resistance is futile,” Adam said in a robotic voice, and tapped Sebastian on the shoulder as he pulled me upstairs to his room, where I immediately flopped onto the bed.
“Are we practicing today?”
“Yes, as soon as Rían and Chloe get back.” It was hard to believe, but instead of falling apart, Chloe and Rían’s relationship had gotten even more intense.
“Any news from Dublin?”
Adam shook his head. “Not really. M.J. and Will said that Hugh showed up there after he left Cork and was blathering on about circles or something, then disappeared. They haven’t seen him since. It’s so strange of him to abandon us in the final stages of the alignment training. I’m actually really worried.”
“What about Hugh’s research that Rían was working on? Did Fionn and Cú locate it?”
“Yes, what was left of it, anyway. Hugh’s desk was trashed, and half his files were missing.”
“And M.J. and Will aren’t concerned?”
“I get the distinct impression that M.J. and Will are more anxious than they’re letting on. They said they’ll give him another week, but after that, they’re bringing in the Order.”
I lay on the bed with an uneasy feeling stirring in my stomach. “Circles,” I whispered. It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. “Are circles mentioned in the Scribes or something?”
“Not that I’m aware of. The only circles I see are the ones that we’re running in, trying to figure out all the rubbish surrounding us.” He laughed softly and dropped his lips to mine. I smiled against him and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him back. I felt the energy flow through us, twisting and turning, gliding over our skin. It moved like a molten substance, a mixture of air and water only visible when the light hit it a certain way. Ever since Adam had stopped fighting it, I’d been able to manipulate it, like a snake charmer controlling a python. I couldn’t take my eyes off it or I’d lose the control. But the point was: I had control.
A thud at the window snapped us out of our magical stupor. Pushing Adam’s element back to him, I glanced over and saw Randel perched outside.
“What do you want, Randel?” Adam asked, unwrapping himself from my embrace. He walked over, pulled up the old sash window, and stuck out his head.
“Time to work, lover boy.” Rían’s voice floated up from the yard.
“We’ll be down in a sec.”
While the alignment could technically be done anywhere, the Order was planning on using a place called the Hill of Tara in County Meath. I’d never been but couldn’t wait to see it. Apparently it was a huge mound of echoed land that the original druids had built for the sole purpose of alignment. The hill was surrounded by the burial chambers and tombs of generations of Order and Marked dating back to the time of Danu herself.
For the alignment to work, we had to stand ten feet apart, release our elements, and let them merge with each other at the exact time when the sun was at its highest during the solstice. With our constant practicing since February, we had finally gotten to the point where we were ready for the next stage: We could release our powers, then manipulate and hold them. But as we grew in strength, so did the elements’ desire to merge, and we needed Hugh back to go any further. If we merged our elements prematurely, we could inadvertently trigger an unbalanced alignment, which apparently would do more harm than good.
