Caelihn

by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

  Meghan laughed at my expression.

  “Oh, this I’ve got to hear, too,” I insisted.

  Meghan crossed her arms and arched one of her perfect eyebrows. “Think you can handle another one of my dramatic tales?”

  I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly gave myself a headache, then threw my arms out to my sides and said, “Duh!”

  Meghan laughed. “Alright, now would be a good time to take a break anyway. Let me see if I can scrounge up some more tea first.”

  We abandoned our chore for the time being and headed toward the kitchen, picking up a fresh pot of tea before seeking the comfort of the chairs in the library. I helped Meghan crack open some of the windows to let in the fresh, crisp air, welcoming in not only the cold, but also the rushing sound of the swollen creek below. The rain from earlier had stopped for now, but in the distance those dark clouds from this morning continued to linger on the horizon, not yet ready to get on with their task of drenching the landscape.

  “Looks like another big storm is on the way,” Meghan said with some trepidation.

  I shrugged. “Not to worry. We still have a lot of work to do in that study of yours. We won’t die of boredom.”

  Once we were each comfortably settled in our own stuffed chair, sipping at tea and listening to the gentle whisper of another fire Niall and his friends had lit for us, Meghan began the long tale of how she came to know the truth about Aiden. I listened to the story, my attention riveted like a cat watching birds through a window, while my friend wove a tale of intrigue and danger, bravery and valor. She told me all about how the Morrigan had kidnapped him, and how Danua had informed Meghan of the brother who had been placed with her family. She explained how her Faelorehn mother had set a geis on him to hide his magic, and how this act had made him appear autistic in the mortal world. Their biological father, it turned out, was Fomorian, the dreaded enemy race of the Faelorehn. During a diplomatic trip into Eile in which the Fomorian king had hoped to initiate a peace treaty, Meghan’s father had met Danua and fallen in love with her. It was the stuff fairy tales were made of, and I ate it up.

  “And so, Aiden and I are full brother and sister, and Danua has worked out a deal with my mom. Aiden has been spending his summers here so he becomes acclimated to Eile, and when he turns eighteen, he’ll come to live here permanently.”

  “And your father? The Fomorian one?” I pressed.

  Meghan sighed and sipped her tea, then shrugged, her face taking on a slightly sad expression. “He returned to Fomor after Aiden was born, and no one has heard from him since.”

  I slumped in my chair, my head spinning. “This is insane,” I said aloud, “you and Aiden being Faelorehn and the children of a queen, and me having connections to Eile.” My eyes suddenly grew wide. “What about Will and Thomas? And Tully? Could they have Otherworldly blood too, do you think?”

  Meghan grew unnaturally still, her face paling a little. Holy crap! Was I right? I opened my mouth to say something, but Meghan cut me off.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head and studying the teacup in her hands. “No. Just me and Aiden.” She looked up and smiled, her hazel eyes darkening slightly before returning to their usual, lighter color. “And you, of course.”

  I furrowed my brow. Something about the way she had brushed off my question wasn’t quite right. Meghan had been relatively relaxed, but now tension hummed just below the surface of her skin. Before I could prod her about it, the door to the library opened, and Devlin stuck his head in.

  “Ah! There you two are. Cade was wondering if you’d be interested in visiting the archery range while it is still relatively dry out. That storm hovering over the hills will be a nasty one, so if you want to shoot, now’s your chance.”

  I sat up straight and gave my friend a wicked smile, forgetting all about the unsettled edge to her composure. “Want to see what I can do with a crossbow?” I asked, waggling my eyebrows.

  Meghan blew out a breath of air and said, “Oh please! I’ve had two years to hone my archery skills. You’ve only had a few months. I’ll kick your butt.”

  We both bolted for the door at the same time, squealing in laughter and almost bowling Devlin over on our way to the entrance hall.

  And just like that, we were images of our younger teen selves once again: silly, slightly awkward and utterly carefree. No recent experiences with evil goddesses and their sadistic minions to damage our innocence. Nope. It was like all the darkness in our lives of late had been wiped clean. I knew it wouldn’t last, but I was okay with that. For an hour or so, at least, I’d enjoy this archery competition with my friend.

  -Chapter Seven-

  Revelry

  Before Meghan and I could seek out the archery range, I had to run upstairs and get Venom. She was carefully wrapped in a spare blanket I’d found on our bed and had been resting in the corner of the room since our arrival at Luathara.

  “There, there,” I murmured to the crossbow as I descended the stairs, patting the stock gently, “I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you, but I’ve been busy catching up with Meghan.”

  I reached the bottom of the staircase and turned to find Meghan, Cade and Devlin watching me. All of them had adopted a range of curious looks on their faces. Meghan’s eyebrows were raised, Cade’s were slightly furrowed and Devlin was fighting back a smile.

  “What?” I demanded, holding Venom even closer.

  “You know, if you needed to spend some quality time with your crossbow, you could have just said so,” Meghan stated. “It wouldn’t have hurt my feelings.”

  Cade turned toward Devlin. “Does this cause tension in your relationship?” he asked mildly.

  “You have no idea,” he grumbled in answer.

  I narrowed my eyes at all of them. “I can’t believe the lot of you. Jealous of a crossbow.”

  Before anyone could say anything else, a shrill cry cut through the cavernous space of the open entrance hall, and something white and small dove from the passageway of the third floor. It was a bird of some sort, about the size of a dove, and it came to rest on Meghan’s shoulder, chittering and nibbling at her with its tiny, hooked beak.

  Meghan laughed and scratched the creature on the back of the neck.

  “Robyn, you remember Meridian, my spirit guide.”

  The bird turned and looked at me with unnaturally intelligent eyes. She opened her beak and uttered a few more shrill notes before fluffing her feathers and settling in for what I assumed was a nap.

  “Yes,” Meghan said with a soft smile, “a friend.”

  I lifted my eyebrows. “Did she just ask you about me?”

  Meghan nodded and smoothed a finger down Meridian’s back. “She wanted to know if you were Faelorehn like me. I told her no, you were Lorehnin, and that’s why you were able to come to the Otherworld.”

  Meghan had told me once how she could talk with Meridian, mind to mind, but I still found it a bit unsettling.

  “How accurate is the telekinesis?” I asked, unable to help myself. “I mean, can you talk in full sentences?”

  “Just like talking to yourself, only in this case you get an answer,” Cade said, a note of cheer in his voice.

  I gave Meghan’s husband a dubious look. “Really?”

  Instead of answering me, he drew in a breath and bellowed, “Fergus!”

  A giant wolfhound came trotting down the hallway, his tongue lolling. My eyes widened. I had seen Irish wolfhounds before, but there was clearly something different about this one. He was huge, even for a wolfhound, and pure white, except for his characteristic red, spirit guide ears.

  Fergus came to a stop and stood gazing up at Cade for several moments, then turned and approached me. I took a step back. I wasn’t afraid of dogs, but this one was almost as tall as me, and I wasn’t about to let him knock me over.

  “He won’t hurt you,” Cade assured me, his arms crossed casually over his chest.

  The wolfhound circled me, sniffing at my jeans and then at Venom.
/>
  “Hey!” I hissed, when he licked at my shoe.

  Satisfied with whatever it was he had been doing, the dog moved to stand in front of his master once more. A few seconds passed, and then Cade burst out laughing.

  “What?” I demanded.

  “Fergus tells me you smell like the Weald, and your crossbow carries Enorah’s scent on it. He also says your shoe tastes bitter, yet sweet at the same time. He isn’t sure what scent or flavor it is, but that it is definitely something from the mortal world.”

  I felt my face flush a little and glanced down at my tennis shoes. “I spilled coffee on them, before coming to Eile. A vanilla latte. I thought I had gotten it all out!”

  I scraped at my shoe with the sole of the other one, trying to dissipate the remnants of the old stain. “He could sense all that?”

  Cade nodded, his smile still intact. “He is a very perceptive hound. Does that answer your question about accuracy?”

  “Yes,” I said, my voice dripping with wonder. “How do I get a spirit guide?”

  Cade let out a long winded breath. “It isn’t easy,” he admitted, “and it usually involves scraping and groveling before Cernunnos.”

  I lifted my eyebrows at that. “You mean, the Cernunnos? The antlered god of the Celts?”

  “The one and the same.”

  My eyes shifted to Meghan. “Is that how you got Meridian?”

  “No, Cade gave her to me.”

  Meghan looked at her husband with open adoration, and Cade returned the expression. Aww, how sweet. I wondered what would happen if I tried that on Devlin... Unfortunately, I was pretty sure most of my looks of adulation came off a bit too psycho stalker to be considered endearing. Oh well.

  “He owed me a favor,” Cade murmured, looking up at Devlin.

  “Devlin,” I said, in a voice with just a hint of sharpness, “I want a spirit guide. Think you could ask Cernunnos for one? You know, since you are more familiar with the ways of the Otherworld.”

  “Sorry, Robyn,” he said, stepping forward and pulling me close with one arm. “I already used up my favor from Cernunnos.”

  He kissed the top of my head, and then, Enorah’s story about Devlin taking me to the god of the wild after I had been stabbed by Mikael came flooding back to me. He had traded his favor for my life. Suddenly, I felt foolishly selfish. I buried my face into his chest, breathing in deeply and allowing his scent to send prickles of joy all over the surface of my skin. Ugh, I hadn’t meant to stir up that pot.

  “Then maybe I’ll ask him, if I ever run into him in the Weald,” I recovered.

  Devlin chuckled. “That is highly unlikely.”

  “You never know,” I insisted, pulling away from him a little. “I could stumble upon him on one of my walks, or when I go off by myself to practice target shooting with Venom.”

  Devlin became suddenly still, his brilliant blue eyes icing over a little.

  “If Cernunnos ever does happen upon you in the Weald, I want you to turn around and run as fast as you can in the opposite direction.”

  This time, I pulled away from him completely, only so he could see the look of troubled confusion on my face.

  “He’s right,” Cade agreed, his own voice hardening. “If Cernunnos approaches you, get away as quickly as you can.”

  I turned and glanced at Meghan, wondering if I was the only one who thought Devlin and Cade were acting crazy.

  My friend only shook her head, an expression of exasperation on her face.

  I turned my eyes back on Devlin. “Why?” I insisted.

  “Because,” Cade answered in a low voice, “he is nothing but trouble.”

  “He has a reputation for cornering young women in the forest and charming the sense right out of them,” Devlin added. “He’ll work his glamour on you, and you’ll end up following him to wherever it is he goes to hide from the rest of us.”

  “What? That’s ridiculous!” I insisted.

  “It won’t be your fault, Robyn, but it will happen.”

  I gaped at Devlin. His eyes were hard, and a slight aura of menace was pouring off of him. Ten seconds ago, we were laughing and joking. Even when I had unintentionally brought up the subject of my near death, he had remained relatively calm. What had happened?

  “You’re insane!” I stated.

  “No, he’s not,” Cade put in for Devlin’s sake.

  I turned to my friend, seeking her help. Meghan only sighed and lifted one hand, looking bored and tired with the whole thing.

  “There’s no arguing with them, Robyn. Cernunnos does exude more charm than the average Faelorehn man, but then again, he is one of the Tuatha De. He also has a talent for bringing out the aggressive possessiveness in Eile’s men, even when he is only being discussed and not actually present. Bonded males are especially sensitive to it. Don’t let it bother you. They’ll get over it.”

  My eyebrows nearly touched my hairline. In all truthfulness, I shouldn’t be all that surprised. Cernunnos was a fertility god, after all. Totally made sense that his aura should rub other males the wrong way. I just didn’t expect it to be so obvious.

  Shrugging, I let out a deep breath and said, “Well, I think we’ve been lingering too long here. How about we go get some good practice in before it decides to rain again?”

  And just like that, both Cade and Devlin snapped out of their semi-psychotic, overly protective moods, and we were all heading out into the grey world to enjoy what we could of the day. The stones of the courtyard were dark with a sheen of the morning’s light shower, and when we stepped out onto the road, I found myself avoiding more puddles than I could count.

  Instead of heading east toward the stables and flock of half-constructed buildings, we moved west down the road toward Kellston. The creek that was fed by the waterfall behind Luathara churned beside the road, the outer stone wall of the castle just on the other side of it. The wall continued on until it met up with the hillside where Meghan had showed us the twigrins the day before.

  The hill behind Luathara took up a large space on the edge of the valley, and about fifteen more minutes of walking brought us to a wide meadow of sorts that sat tucked into the hill’s side. The space was half the size of a football field, and several bales of old hay were set up strategically between the edge of the road and the base of the hill. A square of linen, painted with a bright red and yellow target, was attached to each hay bale. I peered at the closest target. Several holes punctured the fabric where previous archers had taken aim.

  “Looks like we’ll have an hour or so before the next wave of rain clouds gets here,” Meghan said, holding her hand above her eyes and gazing into the distance.

  I mimicked her, trying my best to make my own judgment about the rain’s arrival. As far as I could tell, those dark clouds were staying put right where they were. Oh well. It wasn’t raining now, so I was going to make good use of this break in the weather. We spent the next few minutes getting ready to shoot. Meghan, Cade and Devlin had to string their bows and don archery gloves. Me, all I had to do was pull Venom’s bowstring back and set it, then pick out my favorite bolt. I was ready to go a good five minutes before my comrades. As tempting as it was to make some snide comment about the awesomeness of my weapon of choice, I merely sniffed and waited with resigned patience.

  “The storm may grow worse by tomorrow,” Cade observed, reaching for one of his arrows.

  He nocked the arrow, then pulled the bowstring back to his ear and sighted down the arrow’s shaft. After several seconds, he released the bowstring. The arrow flew straight and hit one of the targets closer to the hollow of the hill.

  My eyebrows lifted, and I looked at him. His gaze was still fixed on the arrow, his mouth cut in a grim line. I wondered if he was thinking about the faelah he’d most recently killed. He couldn’t have been disappointed with that shot. It had hit the edge of the bull’s eye in the center.

  Standing as tall as I could, I rolled my head from side to side, my neck cracking slightly
in protest.

  “That’s my girl,” Devlin acclaimed, his Otherworldly accent thicker than usual, “as charming as a lumberjack.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him, then swung Venom into place, sighting one of the targets a little closer than the one Cade had chosen. I breathed deeply through my nose, feeling the beginning tingles of my docile glamour warming up. Any time I went into fighting mode, even during practice, my magic would tingle just a little. When I felt my nerves were steady enough, I squeezed the trigger, and the bolt went flying. It shot across the space in a flash, finding its mark several yards away, dead center in the target.

  Meghan stared, her mouth hanging open, and Cade gave a small, strangled cough. Devlin had the widest smile on his face, but it was all smugness and pride. It made my heart melt. Despite his teasing about my being attached to my crossbow, he had never failed to show me how pleased he was with my progress.

  “Impressive,” Cade said, true surprise in his voice.

  “How long have you been practicing?” Meghan put in.

  I shrugged. “A couple of months.”

  My friend’s eyes widened ever so slightly.

  “But how is your consistency?” Cade asked. He gestured toward the other targets with his bow. “Can you hit the target the majority of the time?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, his emerald gaze offering me a silent challenge. Very well. I accept. I reached down and grabbed another bolt. Once it was in place, I lifted Venom and took aim at another bale of hay. I shot, the bolt striking the ring surrounding the bull’s eye. Without waiting for more comments from my friends, I got another bolt ready and shot again. Several more times, I took aim with my crossbow and sent the bolts flying. Each time, they either hit the bull’s eye or very near to it. When finally I let Venom drop to rest beside my leg, every target had at least one of my bolts protruding from the center.