As the night dragged on, more and more of the nasty things came out of the shadows like spiders hatching from an egg sac. The soft glow of the street lamps cast them in tones of peach and orange, and I could hear their low growls as they fought with one another under the cover of darkness.
“Last street, boys!” Dad called out, tugging on the tails of my brothers and rounding Bradley and Logan up with his scythe.
“Oh, come on Dad!” Bradley groaned. “Can’t we stay out a little later tonight?”
“Nope. We’ve been out long enough, and something’s got your little brother spooked.”
I blinked up at Dad in surprise. I couldn’t see his expression, but I could tell he was trying to study me through his mesh mask. He couldn’t see the ghoulies. No one could but me. Yet, he knew something was bothering me. Feeling relieved, I scooted closer to him and wrapped my arms around his leg, burying my face in his cloak.
Logan and Bradley groaned again and shot me acidic looks, but I didn’t care. No one could see the ghoulies, and so far, they hadn’t hurt anyone, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t. The sooner we got home and were safe inside our house, the better.
We were lucky for most of the next street, but as we turned the corner to start making our way back up our own road, the old dog that lived across the street from Tully’s house started barking wildly. I glanced up as Dad moved us across the street and blanched. The dog was surrounded by a pack of ghoulies, their ugly teeth bared and their skinny tails snapping back and forth. I remembered the dog’s owner calling him Bruno once, and I knew he was blind in one eye.
“Come on, boys. He’ll stop barking once we get past him,” Dad reassured us.
I knew better. He wasn’t just barking, but whining as well. The ghoulies were moving in closer, and a few of them darted in to bite him on the heels. He yelped and flattened his ears to his head. My heart tightened, and I stopped walking, staring across the dark street at the old dog. Although the front yard wasn’t fenced, Bruno always stayed in the yard. Right now, I wished there was a fence. A fence might have kept the ghoulies out.
One of the small monsters shrunk down on its haunches and then launched itself at the dog, landing on his back and sinking its teeth into his fur. Bruno yelped again, his tail tucked between his legs.
Without even thinking, I moved, running across the street as fast as my feet would take me. I wasn’t able to move as quickly or as gracefully as I had in my dream, but before I knew it I was on the lawn. What I planned to do I had no idea. All I knew was that a rage had begun boiling inside me. I still had the eucalyptus branch, so I lifted it up, hoping to use it to hit the ghoulies. When I had it raised above my head, I noticed something strange. The blue glow covering my skin had grown brighter and was crawling up the stick, bright sparks shooting out like magic from a wand.
A loud snarl snapped my attention away from the stick. Some of the ghoulies had noticed me and now had their black-pit eyes pointed in my direction. Swallowing back my fear, I swung the stick, hitting the first one upside the head. It screamed in pain as that strange blue stuff jumped from the stick and onto the ghoulie, sizzling over its skin and making it collapse to the ground into a fit of spasms before turning it to ash. Shocked, I blinked at the stick for a few moments, watching the blue sparks dance some more. Whatever this stuff was, it killed the ghoulies.
Setting my jaw, I went after the others, now backing the poor dog into a corner. I swung my stick like a sword, smacking one after the other, sending them to the ground, screaming and twitching in agony before disintegrating. Eventually, I got to all of them, and Bruno was free. He looked terrified and had a few bite marks on him, but other than that, he seemed okay. I dropped the arm holding the stick, my breath coming in sharp gasps. The dog looked at me with his good eye, his ears still flat in fear, but his tail wagging slowly.
“Good dog,” I managed in a shaky voice, holding up my other hand. The blue glow was gone, and my hand shook a little. Suddenly, I was very tired.
Bruno licked my fingers, and I smiled.
“Aiden! Aiden, get over here before that dog bites you!”
I shook my head, Dad’s voice cutting through the ringing in my ears. Funny, I hadn’t noticed the buzzing sound until now. I turned and looked at my dad. He was standing on the edge of the yard, his hood thrown back, and his face looking serious. He still held onto my twin brothers by their tails, and Logan and Bradley were standing next to him, gawking at me as if I had grown my own tail. And then I stiffened. Had they seen what happened? Did they see the strange blue glow on my skin?
With no other options, I shuffled over to them.
“Let’s get home,” was all Dad said, turning us all in the right direction.
“Dude, Aiden,” Logan murmured as we headed up the street. “What were you doing?”
“I can’t believe you did that. You know Mom and Dad always tell us not to tease dogs, especially ones that are barking at us!” Bradley put in, taking a hold of my stick and tossing it aside.
“Were you trying to get him to play fetch or something?” Logan asked.
So, they hadn’t seen after all. I shrugged, feeling that was the safest answer for the time being.
Ten minutes later, we were all piling into the living room. Mom greeted us all in her witch costume, asking us if we saw any ghosts or goblins on our nightly adventure. Bradley and Logan got busy telling her everything, which gave me time to gather my thoughts. Despite how terrified I was at seeing the strange red mist and then the armies of ghoulies, I was very proud of myself for helping Bruno.
“Okay, okay, you can tell me the rest in the morning. You guys stayed out later than usual, and it’s time for bed.”
My brothers groaned again but didn’t argue with Mom. Personally, I was more than happy to comply. Fifteen minutes later, my teeth were brushed, my pajamas were on and I was tucked safe and sound in my bed. As I lay there, waiting for sleep to come to me, I thought about that strange blue glow to my skin that had traveled along the stick I’d used to hit the ghoulies. Below the sheets, I lifted my hand and splayed the fingers in front of my face. The blue glow had returned, and small tendrils of brighter turquoise crackled along my fingertips. I didn’t know what this strange stuff was, but I knew that from now on, I wouldn’t be so afraid of the ghoulies anymore. With a self-satisfied smile, I let out a long sigh and closed my eyes, content in knowing my dreams would not be haunted again for a long while.
Acknowledgments
Once again, I’d like to thank my family and friends who understand what it takes to be an author, and for not holding it against me. Also, thank you to Monica Castagnasso, my fabulous editor, for taking the time to squeeze this project into her busy schedule. And finally many thanks to my readers, for encouraging me to get this small glimpse into Aiden’s life, as brief as it may be, into the hands of those always looking for more tales from the Otherworld.
About the Author
Jenna Elizabeth Johnson grew up and still resides on the Central Coast of California, the very location that has become the set of her novel, Faelorehn, and the inspiration for her other series, The Legend of Oescienne.
Miss Johnson has a degree in Art Practice with an emphasis in Celtic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. She now draws much of her insight from the myths and legends of ancient Ireland to help set the theme for her books.
Besides writing and drawing, Miss Johnson enjoys reading, gardening, camping and hiking. In her free time (the time not dedicated to writing), she also practices the art of long sword combat and traditional archery.
For contact information, visit the author’s website at:
www.jennaelizabethjohnson.com
Other Books by this Author
The Legend of Oescienne Series
The Finding (Book One)
The Beginning (Book Two)
The Awakening (Book Three)
The Ascending (Book Four)
Tales of Oescienne - A Short Stor
y Collection
*Read excerpts of these books here*
The Otherworld Series
Meghan’s POV
Faelorehn (Book One)
Dolmarehn (Book Two)
Luathara (Book Three)
Cade’s POV
Ehriad - A Novella of the Otherworld (Book Four)
Ghalien – A Novel of the Otherworld (Book Five)
Robyn’s POV
Lorehnin – A Novel of the Otherworld (Book Six)
Caelihn – A Novel of the Otherworld (Book Seven)
Meghan’s and Cade’s POV
Faeleahn - A Novella of the Otherworld (Book Eight)
Standalone Novel
Faeborne - A Novel of the Otherworld (Book Nine)
Aiden’s POV
Faebound - A Novella of the Otherworld (Book Ten)
The Morrigan’s POV
Faescorned - A Tale of the Otherworld (available in the Once Upon A Curse anthology)
*Read excerpts of these books here*
Connect with me Online
Twitter: @AuthorJEJohnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjejohnson
My Website: http://www.jennaelizabethjohnson.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/authorjejohnson/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/authorjejohnson
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/authorjejohnson
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Faebound: A Novella of the Otherworld Page 6
