“So basically you’re not going to help me.”
“There’s nothing I can do.” The druid stared at him for a long moment and then softened. “Have faith in yourself and the girl, Fehin. I do.”
And with that statement the druid disappeared.
14
“It would only be for a short time, Storm. Did you hear what I said about Wolf?”
Airy’s roommate appeared very put out, her frown drilling into Airy from where Storm paced. Outside the sun was shining and Airy longed to be out in it. The small room felt claustrophobic and stuffy. Why didn’t any of these rooms have windows that opened?
“How do I know this isn’t some ploy for the two of you to have sex?” her roommate demanded. Storm pressed her lips together. “I can’t understand why you’re attracted to the little geek.”
Airy ignored the geek comment, focusing on the sex part, which she found embarrassing and uncalled for. “There’s no way we’re going to have sex here or anywhere else!”
“Really? I saw you two kissing.”
Airy frowned. This could be one of two things: either she was a lesbian or she didn’t have a boyfriend and was jealous that Airy did. She was betting on the latter but it wouldn’t surprise her if her roommate were gay. She knew all about this after listening in on several conversations in the lunchroom. It seemed to be a popular topic of conversation. It was the same where she came from but mostly what others chose to do or not do was ignored unless it turned into some kind of a problem. And then the druids would be called to settle differences. “We like each other. And yes, I admit I’m attracted to him. But sex? If it ever happens it will be somewhere private, believe me.”
Storm let out a long sigh. “You do know that if you’re caught both of you could be expelled.”
“We know. But I’m telling you, that brother of his is a monster.”
Storm raised her eyebrows and then smiled wickedly. “Do you think I’d like him? I could take him off your hands if he’s as burly as you say. Is he cute?”
Airy shook her head in frustration. “I couldn’t see him since he was behind me when he knocked me out. But please, don’t let me stop you from dating a psychopath.”
“According to Fehin. Maybe that description is just a bunch of bullshit.”
“Fehin wouldn’t lie about this. I trust him. Now what is your answer?”
“Just at night?”
Airy nodded. “He’ll have to come in and out before the hall monitor comes by.”
“Okay, but if I don’t like the arrangement I want it to stop immediately.”
“Thanks, Storm.” Airy threw her arms around the other girl, nearly knocking her down.
“Good god, girl. Take it easy!” Storm yelled, pulling away. “I’m not a hugger as you might have guessed had you been paying attention.”
“Sorry. I’m just so grateful.”
“You won’t be if I decide to kick him out. Remember your promise.”
Airy gave her a quick wave before hurrying out the door and down the stairwell to where Fehin was waiting. “She said yes!”
Fehin grinned and then took her hand. “Let’s take a walk in the park now that your tempests are gone.”
“They weren’t my storms, Fehin. I…”
“Calm down, Airy. I’m just teasing, although I do think you were responsible for most of it. The same thing happened on the island before we figured out what was going on.”
“I have a class.”
“So do I,” Fehin answered, gazing at her. “But we also have important things to discuss.”
“You mean like how not to get caught and thrown out?”
A sheepish grin moved across Fehin’s face. “That and a few other things that occurred to me while I was waiting.”
“If I flunk out I’m blaming you.”
By now they were walking by the windows of the classroom Airy was supposed to be in. “They can see me!” she whispered, hunching down.
Fehin glanced at the window. “No one’s looking. They’re watching the professor. Now come on.” He tugged her hand and began to jog.
***
“With all the excitement I forgot to invite you to my grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving. Do you have plans?”
They had taken shelter under a massive pine tree and were huddled on a bed of pine needles that were still somewhat damp from the recent rain. The pungent smell of resin permeated the cold air and the drip of rain droplets that never reached them made it seem like they were enclosed inside a cathedral of trees. Airy breathed deeply, mentally sending out thanks to these ancient beings. Way better than sitting in a stuffy classroom.
Fehin fiddled with a twig he’d picked up and a moment later there was a tiny figure walking across the needles. Before Airy could comment the figure disappeared, leaving behind a puff of smoke. He looked up, his eyes meeting hers. “I don’t have any plans except maybe catching up on all the homework I’ve neglected since I met you. But I’m still worried about Wolf.”
Airy sucked in her breath. “He won’t follow us up there?”
“Don’t underestimate him. He’s been keeping out of sight until recently; I have no idea what he’s up to. I’ve tried probing his mind but he’s cut himself off.”
“Would you consider doing what he asked? If you did he’d leave us alone.”
Fehin’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding? Even if I could, which I doubt, I never would. The guy is seriously crazy. If I told you all the stuff he’s done…”
“Please don’t. I’m scared enough already.”
Fehin turned away and looked at the ground. “Gunnar thinks we make a good team.”
“Who’s Gunnar?”
“He’s the druid who brought me here. He travels through time.”
“I have a druid too.” Airy giggled. “If anyone overheard our conversations they’d put us in one of those places I’ve been reading about—insane asylum, I think they’re called.”
Fehin grinned. “They’re called mental hospitals now. At least they don’t burn witches at the stake anymore. That was shocking to read about. It happened not far from here.”
“Salem witch trials. I read about it too. Just think? I could have been one of them. Creepy. How can people live like they do here? They don’t even notice what’s all around—it’s like they’re locked inside their heads.”
“They’re lost in the parallel universe of electronics.”
Airy tried to smile but the reality of this statement wasn’t funny. “Is
that what we’re supposed to change? Because if it is, I don’t feel up it.”
“I don’t know. I agree it sounds pretty much impossible.”
A bird began to trill in the tree across from them, the complex song moving up and down octaves as it flitted from branch to branch. “The bird thinks we can do it,” Airy announced, looking up. “It says its species is being wiped out by pesticides.”
Fehin looked skeptical as he watched the bird fly away. “When you say, ‘it says’, what do you mean?”
“I told you before, it’s not in words. Maybe it’s more like when you communicated telepathically. It just comes into my head and I know.”
Fehin grabbed hold of Airy’s hand. “I’m so glad we met.”
“I don’t think we had much of a choice,” she answered, gazing into his moss-green eyes. “Now if we could only figure out the bridge thing.”
“Gunnar says we’ll know when it’s time.”
“Isn’t that what all of them say?” Airy shook her head. “I’m pretty sure MacCuill said something similar. Do you think they know each other?”
Fehin turned from conjuring a tiny horse and rider. “I know Gunnar travels to the Otherworld. And they are both druids. Pretty good chance they’ve met.”
“All of this is so strange.” She stared into space for a moment, and then slanted a look his way. “You never answered about Thanksgiving. Will you come?”
Fehin nodded and then pulled her to her feet.
“I’ve got another class in fifteen minutes and I can’t miss this one. It’s prep for a test.”
“Do you want to go to church with me on Sunday?” Airy asked. “It’s homework for my comparative religions class.”
“Sure. What time?”
“The service starts at ten. It’s only a couple of blocks down the road from the school.”
15
On Sunday Fehin dutifully accompanied Airy to the Presbyterian Church. They sat in a pew in the back whispering as the minister droned on about goodness and evil.
“He seems so separate,” Airy hissed into Fehin’s ear. “And everything he’s talking about is self-evident.”
“Maybe to you,” Fehin whispered back. “Remember you come from a place where people recognize the web of life.”
“But what he’s saying doesn’t have anything to do with the web of life. Remind me to tell you about the Crion,” she whispered back.
A woman in the row in front of them turned and frowned, shushing them with a finger on her lips.
“So who are the Crion?” Fehin asked once the service was over and they were outside the church.
“They consider themselves the keepers of the wisdom in the Otherworld. They keep the energy in balance. You would love them, Fehin. They’re only four-feet tall. Their eyes are this amazing shade of amber. They look sort of like what a fox would look like if it was human.”
“What they’re doing sounds similar to the Hopi. They’re a Native American tribe who consider it their job to keep the balance of the world.”
“Where are they? I’d love to meet them.”
“They live in the southwest of the United States but they keep to themselves. I think you have to have special permission to go to their villages.”
“I’m glad to hear about them. It makes me feel better about this country.”
“You wouldn’t believe what was done to the local tribes when the Europeans arrived. It’s sickening.”
“Could the bridge be about them? Maybe they’d help us.”
Fehin laughed. “We’d have to know what we were doing first.”
“Seriously, Fehin, I’d love to visit that part of the country.”
“Maybe we could take a backpacking trip together over summer break.”
“It’s a long way from here, isn’t it?”
Fehin nodded. “It’s on the other side of the country. We could take a bus or a train.”
Airy watched him, her eyes bright. “That sounds fun. I wonder if my grandparents would mind? I’m sure they expect me to come up there for the summer.”
“You wouldn’t go home to the Otherworld?”
Airy shook her head. “I haven’t heard a word from my parents and I’m pretty sure they want me to stay here since it’s my destiny and all.” She pursed her lips.
“Our destiny,” Fehin amended, chuckling. “I’ll look into the Hopi thing and see if it’s even feasible. My Native American Studies professor might have some ideas.”
***
Fehin felt very close to this girl he barely knew. The strength of the feelings surprised him since he’d never experienced anything remotely like it before. Maybe it was partially because they were both odd ducks in this place, or maybe because of the shared destiny. Was this a normal girl boy thing? And then he laughed. There was nothing normal about either one of them, how could they have a normal relationship?
But there were topics they couldn’t discuss, like his father. The last time he’d brought him up Airy had asked him to stop; she’d heard too many creepy stories about Brandubh from her parents. Fehin couldn’t blame her since the man had very nearly destroyed the Otherworld. He assured her his father had been banished, sent to a place he could never escape. But somehow Wolf had escaped from the same place. He was pondering this when he heard a voice.
“Are you coming to class today?”
He turned to see a boy in his math class staring at him. Gary was nice enough but for some reason Fehin didn’t feel comfortable around him. “I have to since we’re having a test.”
Gary laughed. “You missed the last one.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, you did. I saw you with that girl—the one with the red hair? Don’t say I blame you for skipping out.”
Fehin didn’t know he’d missed a test that day and hoped Gary was mistaken. Every test counted 25% of the grade. “I guess I’d better talk with the TA. I’ll have to make it up.”
It was sometime later in the afternoon that Fehin saw Wolf and Gary walking across the quad together. What the hell?
***
“Can you two please shut up?”
Fehin glanced over at the pirate. “Sorry,” he said, sliding closer to Airy.
“We probably should go to sleep now,” Airy whispered in his ear.
“How can I lying next to you?”
“If we can’t sleep then we can’t do this, Fehin. I’ll never make it on no sleep.”
“I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving,” Fehin whispered, trying as hard as he could not to grab her and pull her close. The bed was narrow and too small for two people but when he suggested sleeping on the floor she’d said no. He was trying to relax but her proximity and the scent of her hair and skin was driving him mad.
He finally fell into a fitful sleep with dreams of Wolf barging through the door and his feeble attempts to stave off the larger boy. When he woke in the morning Airy was not in bed. He turned to see her pulling on her jeans.
“I thought you were still asleep,” she said, flushing.
“Where’s the pirate?”
“She’s gone to breakfast. You better be careful. If she hears you call her that you’ll be out of here in a second.”
“Maybe she’d appreciate the name,” he muttered, swinging his legs off the bed. At Airy’s insistence he’d slept in his jeans. He reached for his shirt where he’d hung it over a chair and pulled it on. “Only two more days until break.”
Airy had turned her back to button her blouse. “I hope you can behave yourself while we’re up there.”
“Whatever do you mean?” he asked innocently, pulling on his socks and shoes.
“My grandparents are free thinkers but I doubt they’ll let us share a room.”
Fehin chuckled. “I’d be most surprised if they did, Airy. After all, we’re only sixteen.”
Airy laughed. “They’ll like you.”
“Who’s in there?” a voice called out. Fehin dove under the bed just before the door opened revealing the older girl who monitored the dorm. “Who were you talking to?” she demanded.
“Hi Sandy. I was talking to myself. I do it a lot,” Airy answered.
“If there’s a boy in here you’re in major trouble. You know it’s against the rules.”
“There’s no one in here but me.”
Under the bed Fehin waved his hands, deflecting the monitor’s attention and putting something else in her head.
“Are you getting along with Storm?” Sandy asked, as though that was the entire reason she’d come in.
“Storm and I get along great,” Airy answered.
“Well, good then. See you later,” she said before backing out the door and closing it.
Fehin slid out from under the bed and stood up, brushing the dust off his shirt and jeans.
“What did you do?” Airy whispered.
“Just a little magic trick.”
Airy shook her head and then hugged him. “We’ve got to get to class. Wait here until I tell you,” she said, opening the door and stepping out. A second later she popped her head through the doorway. “I think she’s gone, but hurry. ”
Fehin grabbed his pack and handed Airy hers before the two of them hurried down the hall and then snuck down the stairwell. “Meet for lunch?” Fehin asked.
“Not today. I’ve got to study for a test I’m taking this afternoon. I don’t get why they make us do this right before a vacation.”
“Would you rather do it when you get back? T
hat would mean worrying about it for the entire break.”
Airy grimaced and then headed off in the direction of the English building.
All the distractions of the night had kept Fehin from thinking about Wolf and Gary but now the entire scene came rushing back. Was Wolf enrolled here? How did he know Gary? He sent his thoughts out, searching for his half-brother, but there was no sign of him. Either that or he was completely locked out of his brother’s headspace. Not a good sign.
16
“Fehin, the car’s downstairs!” Airy called. Fehin was in his own dorm room packing and she hoped he would hurry because she hated to keep her grandfather waiting. She heard a clatter on the metal stairs and then he was there, his bulging pack on his back.
There had been snow the night before, leaving the flagstones slick and treacherous. “Follow me,” she said, heading across the quad as quickly as she dared.
Fehin trudged behind her and she could hear him muttering what sounded like curses. But he didn’t curse, did he? When she looked back he was looking down, his eyebrows scrunched. “What’s wrong?”
He started and then stared into the distance. “Stuff with Wolf. I’ll tell you later.”
A shiver of apprehension went up Airy’s spine. What now? But she couldn’t focus on it since her grandfather was standing next to the car with his arms held out.
“Sweetheart! It’s been too long!” He hugged her and then pulled back. “Look at you, all grown up!”
Airy turned as Fehin approached. “Grandpa, this is my friend Fehin I told you about.”
“Hello, young man,” he said holding out his hand. “Just call me Hank.”
They piled into the Volvo station wagon, Airy in the front passenger side and Fehin in back. “Your Dad just called me, sweetheart. Said he’d call again tomorrow when the family is all there. He’s concerned about you because of the changes since he and your mother moved away. There’s more poverty now but I don’t think it’s as bad as he imagines. Your grandmother and I are lucky because we have the farm and our savings invested in the stock market. It’s higher than it’s ever been.”
Airy glanced at her grandfather, noticing that his hair had turned more gray since the last time she’d seen him. But his hazel eyes were as clear and bright as ever. “I haven’t spoken with them since I’ve been here.”
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