Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy

by Johnson, Jenna Elizabeth

  The strawberries were in the fridge, still tucked in the green plastic crates they always came in. I pulled them out, dumped them in a colander, and wandered over to the sink where I rinsed them off. Cade had been sitting outside for a good two or three minutes. Maybe five. I had better get this over with before he took it upon himself to knock on the door and proceed with introductions on his own. I picked up a knife and started to carve the green stems off of the red berries.

  “So, Mom,” I started off weakly.

  “Yeah hon?”

  Her back was to me and she was busy pouring batter on the griddle. I clenched my teeth. Just tell them already!

  “Remember the boy from the Otherworld, Cade? And how he had been very sick?”

  I waited for her response, and it seemed like it was taking her a long time. We had talked about Cade a few times before. They hadn’t been long conversations, but I had fed her enough information that she should remember him. I glanced over my shoulder to find my mom looking at me carefully. Uh-oh. I knew that look. I had her full attention now; no going back.

  “Well, he’s much better and, well, he’s . . .” I fished around for the right way to tell her he was currently sitting outside the front door, expecting to stay with us for a week. Before I could come up with the right words, however, the sound of Bradley’s voice cut through the room.

  “There’s an elf on the porch!”

  I almost choked. Oh crap!

  Several things happened at once. First, Mom’s attention got diverted from me. Okay, good. Then, all of my other brothers promptly stopped what they were doing to run to the window and peek through the blinds like Bradley. Third, my father stood up and set the newspaper down on the coffee table with a slap. And finally, Mom said, “What on earth are you talking about?”

  By this time everyone had migrated to the window. I could only bury my face in my hands, my cheeks turning bright red in mortification.

  Eventually, I said, “That isn’t an elf, that’s Cade. And he’s come to stay with us for a while. If that’s okay.”

  Good. I’d said it. But now everyone was staring at me as if I’d sprouted feathers. Ugh. This was not how I wanted this to go . . .

  “You’re boyfriend’s an elf?” Logan asked.

  “Logan! He’s not my boyfriend! And he’s not an elf.”

  My frustration was ringing clear, because everyone became silent, quietly watching me.

  “Look,” I continued, “can I invite him in? It’s kind of rude to just stare at him through the window, don’t you think? He met up with me down in the swamp and I asked him to wait outside while I broke the news to you.”

  “What news?”

  So far, Dad had remained relatively quiet, taking everything in with a grain of amusement. Now he looked serious again.

  Oh Dad, I thought miserably, you know what I’m going to say, don’t you?

  I let my shoulders slump and said, “I’ll be going to the Otherworld soon. Cade said I’ll be safer there and that we should be leaving in a week or two.”

  “Meghan, I don’t think you should just run off with this young man. How can you even know if you can trust him?”

  Mom would worry, and I couldn’t blame her. I decided to go with the truth without telling her everything.

  “Trust me, Mom. Cade and I have been through a lot together. I can’t tell you everything because it would make you worry even more. But believe me, he has my best interests at heart.”

  I could tell my parents didn’t like the situation at all, but they knew, as well as I, that I was eighteen, legally an adult, and that I could leave the house whenever I wanted to without their permission.

  “So, are we letting the elf in now?”

  “Bradley!” my mother hissed, then looked at me.

  I nodded and moved towards the front door, burning in embarrassment and hoping Cade hadn’t heard anything that had been said. I opened the door and stepped outside quickly, before my family could get a better look at him. He sat on the bench where I had left him, the hood of his cloak pushed back and his longbow resting in his lap. Despite the uncomfortable scene I had just left behind, I couldn’t help but smile. No wonder Bradley thought he was an elf; he looked like a character out of one of his video games.

  “Um,” I said, my hands behind my back, one still grasping the doorknob, “my family is ready to meet you.”

  Cade merely nodded, then stood, placing his bow beside his travel bag. My heart began to speed up again. Was he nervous? Would he scare my family? And more likely, would they scare him?

  I thought it prudent to warn him before we went inside. “My family,” I began, then took a deep breath. “They can be overwhelming. They are going to be curious about you, just so you know, and my brothers, and Dad and Mom, might ask you some awkward or inappropriate questions.”

  I gritted my teeth and studied my toes, feeling embarrassed again. The light touch to my shoulder brought my gaze back up. Cade was looking at me, his mouth turned into a crooked grin, a mischievous glint in his eye.

  “They can’t be any worse than my family, can they?”

  I stared blankly at him for a moment or two, wondering if he was referring to his mother, the Morrigan, his father, the Celtic hero Cuchulainn, his foster father, the Dagda, or his sister, Enorah, the wild woman of the Weald. It didn’t matter. His statement made me laugh and my anxiety instantly melted away.

  “No, I guess they couldn’t. Though my brothers can be fierce in their own way.”

  Cade smiled for real this time, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Good. I’ve always wanted brothers.”

  Before I could even fathom exactly what he meant by that statement, he gently nudged me aside and opened the door.

  -Three-

  Welcome

  To my utter surprise, my family’s reaction to Cade went quite well. After introducing himself to everyone as Caedehn MacRoich with an annoyingly impeccable display of manners, my brothers moved to ambush him, as I had anticipated. But just before pouncing, they stopped short and gazed up in awe at the Faelorehn man who now seemed to take up the entire room with his presence. I had to bite my lip to hide a grin as Logan and Bradley, and even the twins, all burst out with ridiculous questions. They wanted to know if he had magic like their sister, if he owned a sword, if he lived in the forest, why he was so tall . . . The only one remaining silent was Aiden, but that was normal. Instead, my autistic brother just watched the whole thing unfold from a distance, his eyes wary but curious.

  Mom was the one to pull me away from the scene. “You boys be nice to our guest. Logan and Bradley, why don’t you show him to the spare room and help carry his things in.”

  My brothers groaned but obeyed, chattering like chipmunks as they grabbed Cade by the arms, leading him away like a prisoner. He didn’t seem to be bothered by it at all. As soon as they disappeared around the corner, Mom grabbed my upper arm and wheeled me into the kitchen. “Oh Meg! What a nice young man, and so handsome!”

  I went crimson and nervously pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Careful Mom,” I murmured, trying to lighten the mood, “Dad will get jealous.”

  She snorted and waved my remark off as she promptly got me working on the strawberries again. Dad stood off in the living room, eyeing me carefully and making me feel even more awkward than I already did. When I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist, I knew Aiden hadn’t joined Cade and his flock of admirers. I glanced down at my brother only to find his eyes swimming and his lip quivering. I stopped what I was doing and took a steadying breath. I placed a hand on his head and whispered, “Not yet Aiden. I’m not leaving yet.”

  Cade emerged from the hall ten minutes later with a water gun in his hand. I arched a brow and paused in my current task of setting the table. He had a huge grin on his face and his eyes glinted.

  “Bradley and Logan have challenged me to a battle,” he proclaimed.

  I heaved a great sigh and placed my hands on my hips. “You know
you don’t have to cater to their childish demands, right?” I told him.

  The look he gave me was one of pure disbelief.

  “What? Forfeit and lose my honor?” he asked, placing a hand over his heart.

  I couldn’t help it, I laughed, and then my two younger brothers emerged from the hallway with their own weapons.

  “Don’t get too dirty! Brunch is in half an hour!” Mom called after them as they disappeared outside, the squealing twins right on their heels. Even Aiden left my side to go watch.

  Twenty minutes later, Cade stepped in through the door, followed by my brothers. They looked like a litter of puppies trailing after the alpha dog, eagerly leaping up and vying for his attention.

  “You have to teach us how to sneak around without making any noise!” Logan demanded.

  “And how did you duck away from me like that?!”

  Bradley’s face was glowing with admiration.

  I turned away and bit my bottom lip again as I carried a pitcher of orange juice to the table. This introduction could not have gone any better.

  “Boys," Mom said as she carried over a plate full of pancakes, "leave our guest alone and come to the table. Breakfast is ready.”

  We all took our customary seats, with Cade and Dad sitting at opposite ends of the table and the rest of us filling in on either side. I chose to sit closest to Cade and tried to hide a small blush when my mom gave a knowing look.

  The food was passed around and I noticed that Cade politely took a little of everything. For a few minutes, we merely ate in silence, and I couldn’t help but feel the knots growing in the pit of my stomach. This was where serious conversations took place, at the dinner table, and I was nervously waiting for one of my parents to break the ice.

  “Tell me, Caedehn is it?” Dad asked.

  My fork almost skittered off the plate as I missed the strawberry I was aiming for. Oh no. Here it comes . . .

  Cade carefully finished chewing his food before looking my dad in the eye and answering, “Yes, but please, call me Cade.”

  “Alright, Cade, do you mind telling me what your intentions are towards my daughter?”

  Oh good lord . . . The happy sound of silverware scraping and cutting came to an abrupt stop. The room went dead silent and I could feel my face going white. Cade reached under the table and took my hand, squeezing it as he straightened his shoulders in what I imagined was meant to be a confident posture.

  “I intend to bring her back to Eile, the Otherworld, so that she may learn how to use and control her power. I wish to be her friend and to provide what help I can.”

  That seemed to satisfy my dad for the rest of meal. Thank goodness. I was relieved, sure, but I was also disappointed. A friend? Was I just a friend to Cade? I cast him a sidelong glance, but he had returned to his pancakes. Sighing, I decided I should follow his example and not draw any more attention to myself.

  The rest of the day was spent sharing stories. Cade answered all of the questions my brothers threw at him and thankfully, Dad’s prodding followed a more typical male theme that didn’t fall under the ‘Let’s Embarrass Meghan’ category. Mom asked him about his own mother, and Cade had to pause before answering. I was the only one to see the dark expression cross his face, though. He never mentioned the Morrigan, but told my family about his sister and how she had helped raise him until the Dagda took him in. I laughed along with everyone else as he recalled some of his more rambunctious exploits as a boy. By nine that evening, everyone was ready to call it a night.

  “Oh, Meghan, I forgot to tell you,” Mom said as she got up with Dad to head to their room. “Robyn called while you were out this morning and wanted to know if you were going camping with them this weekend.”

  I winced. I hadn’t planned on it.

  “I think you should consider it, dear,” she gave Cade a quick look. “Your friends will be heading off to college soon and you’ll be going . . . well, you might not be seeing each other again for quite some time.”

  Yes, I would be going to live a new life in the Otherworld. She didn’t need to say it, and she was right. I should go camping with them. But if the faelah found me . . .

  “Cade could go with you,” Mom continued, smiling over at him. “Then your friends could meet him. It’s this weekend, so it gives you two plenty of time before you have to leave.”

  Cade cleared his throat and said, “It sounds like a great idea.”

  Mom smiled. “Good, it’s settled then. Goodnight you two, don’t stay up too late.”

  Despite a strong temptation to take advantage of some alone time, I bid Cade goodnight as well. I was tired and emotionally overwhelmed by the day’s events and I could use some time alone to think about . . . things.

  After Cade assured me he had everything he needed for the night, I gave him one last smile and headed downstairs with a slightly heavy heart. He’d been the perfect gentleman and it was clear that my brothers loved him and my parents, at the worst, tolerated him. Mom liked him, it seemed, but it was harder to tell with Dad. Sighing, I burrowed under my comforter and tried to focus on sleep. Only problem was, there were still so many questions I wanted to ask, but I had no idea when I'd get the chance (or gather the courage) to ask them.

  * * *

  For the next few days, Cade settled in with my family like a long lost friend. He played with my brothers, showing a patience I had seen only practiced by my parents. He helped my mom with preparing our meals and he took part in insightful discussions with my dad. After that first morning at the dinner table, when Dad had established his authority as my father, the tension surrounding all of us seemed to ease. I grinned, realizing that Cade had passed the rigorous Elam litmus test.

  The few times Cade wasn’t being held captive by my family, he accompanied me into the swamp and helped me eradicate any wayward faelah we stumbled upon. When I showed him how much my archery had improved by shooting one of the demented, Otherworldly squirrels that were common in the neighborhood, he smiled broadly and gave me a look that was enough to melt my heart. He even showed me some basic sword and fighting techniques, promising I’d be learning a lot more once we left for Eile.

  I enjoyed the training. Not only was it exciting and exhilarating, but it gave me one more excuse to be close to Cade. My favorite move, by far, was one which required him to wrap his arms around me in order to show me how to escape. I was really tempted to just succumb to the attack, but a girl shouldn’t be too obvious.

  One afternoon, after we were done with our practice for the day, but before we returned to the house, Cade invited me to sit next to him on one of the old, fallen eucalyptus trees that were so common in the swamp. I silently obeyed, wondering what he wanted to discuss. He had that look on his face, the serious one that meant something weighed heavily on his mind. My heart sped up, half fearful, half hopeful.

  “There is something else I’d like to teach you Meghan,” he said, his tone almost grim.

  Uh-oh. Why did he sound so reluctant?

  “Okay,” I answered, my fingers absent-mindedly pulling at the bark of the tree.

  “We, the Faelorehn, have another gift, one you have already started using to some capacity,” he went on.

  Okay, I said once more in my mind, subconsciously urging him to spit it out. What could it possibly be?

  “You see,” he dropped his head and joined me in peeling away old bark. “We have the gift of mind-speaking.”

  Huh? What was that exactly?

  My arched brow and silence must have expressed my confusion because he smiled at me and seemed to relax a little.

  “How do you communicate with Meridian?”

  I blinked, not expecting the question. “Uh, she tells me things, in my head and I answer her back the same way.”

  “How do you do it?”

  I shrugged. I couldn’t tell him. True, he had told me that when she was old enough, Meridian and I would be able to speak telepathically, but I couldn’t tell him how we did it. It just so
rt of happened.

  “It came naturally, correct?”

  I nodded.

  “The Faelorehn can also speak, mind to mind, to one another. I’d like to teach you how.”

  He went quiet again and that gave me a few moments to gather my thoughts. So, did that mean I could speak with him the way I spoke with Meridian? I shivered inwardly, delight suffusing me. To be able to communicate telepathically with Cade? It seemed so . . . intimate.

  I turned back to him and smiled. “I think that would be a useful skill.”

  He released a great sigh and returned my smile. Why was he so nervous about this?

  “I was afraid to tell you Meghan. I was afraid you might think I’ve been reading your mind all this time.”

  Ah, that explained his nervousness. And made me reconsider my earlier thoughts. I froze. Had he been reading my mind? And if so, what had he seen? Oh no, had he seen all those times I’d daydreamed about him? Could he hear what I was thinking right now?

  He must have noticed my panic, because he lifted a hand and moved over an inch. “Meghan, I swear to you, I’ve never once read your thoughts.”

  “Then how is it you know what I’m thinking right now?!” Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap . . . How mortifying! I could feel myself blushing to the roots of my hair and I stood up, ready to bolt.

  “Meghan, I don’t need to read your thoughts, they are written plainly all over your face.”

  There was laughter in Cade’s voice and darn him, he reached out and gently took my hand. It had the opposite effect of lightning, soothing me instead of jolting me.

  “Sit, and let me explain.” He patted the spot next to him on the fallen tree.

  Sighing and willing my burning cheeks to return to their normal, paler color, I sat down, grumbling under my breath.