* * *
The next several weeks passed with just a hint of bitter sweetness to them. Cade stayed away from the mortal world, like he promised, busy paying back the damage caused by his broken geis. He also kept his other promise and wrote to me at least twice a week.
Fergus was always diligent in letting me know if there was a letter waiting in the oak tree for me, but to be honest, I checked the knothole every day after school. Nothing thrilled me more than getting notes from Cade. He would start the letters by telling me how much he missed our archery lessons and how he was looking forward to showing me the Otherworld (without the Morrigan and her minions tagging along, of course). My heart would leap when I conjured up images of wandering those misty hills with him, to see him in his element. I also dreaded the possibility of my memories from that horrible night returning; when the Morrigan’s demons nearly killed me. Despite everything, however, Cade would protect me, I hadn’t a doubt.
As fall progressed, the days got shorter and my school work got more intense. Nothing I couldn’t handle, though. I mean, what was an impending calculus test and a biology report compared to the anger of a Celtic goddess? Hah! A walk in the park! If only I could convince myself such thoughts were true.
A few days before my birthday and Halloween, I dreamed of my childhood again. I had almost forgotten about it, what with everything I’d learned in the last several months. But I shouldn’t have been surprised. It came every year, and nothing had changed this year: the younger version of myself, wandering L.A.’s streets, clinging to a huge white hound.
When I woke up, however, I sensed the puzzle pieces of my mysterious past had finally fallen into place. Sure, they hadn’t been pressed together yet, but I envisioned all of them clearly, lying on the glass coffee table in our living room, each one lined up and ready for my fingers to slip them into place. I had been taken through a dolmarehn at the age of two, I’d already determined that much, but who had brought me to the mortal world and why?
I grumbled under my breath and shut off my radio alarm, another old question floating up from the depths of my mind to mingle with my other thoughts. Exactly who were my parents? I still didn’t know, and every time Cade had visited in the past, he managed to distract me with his essence, thus striking any other questions from my mind. Of course I loved my mom and dad, but some undetectable sense inside of me insisted on knowing who I had once belonged to.
Kicking off my bed sheets in frustration, I got up and decided to get ready for school. I would puzzle over my mysterious origins later. Time for me to think about something else. A few more school days remained before the weekend, until Halloween, the day I turned eighteen . . . What a daunting thought. I didn’t feel any older, and I definitely didn’t feel like an adult.
I cast my eyes around my room, wincing at its general, usual, untidiness. For Halloween this year, my friends and I had decided to have a stay-in party, hosted by myself. That meant cleaning my room. I glanced at my clock again and cursed. Housekeeping would have to wait until later. The shower beckoned and I needed to get going.
I spent the entire afternoon and the next working on making my room spic and span. Well, as spic and span as possible. I woke up early on Saturday to finish up, only to be delayed when my intrusive siblings dragged me upstairs to help them carve some last-minute pumpkins. Apparently, one for each of us didn’t measure up to my brothers’ high standards. I managed to escape in record time so that I could decorate before my friends showed up. I strung fake spider webs everywhere, the little arachnids belonging to them dangling from my spiral staircase. Tissue paper bats and ghosts added their own macabre presence, and bowls full of various, creepy foods sat on my desk, waiting to be consumed. I had also rented a few movies with a Halloween theme, one about vampires, the other a supernatural thriller.
I stood back and examined my work when I finished, grinning at the final result. I’d done a pretty good job. The clock next to my bed announced the time: four in the afternoon. I gasped and ran for the bathroom. My friends were due in an hour and I still had to get into my costume. While browsing through thrift stores two weeks ago, Tully, Robyn and I managed to find an old prom dress that fit me well. We all decided I should dress as some dead beauty queen. Normally, I wouldn’t have gone for it, but they had been so insistent. Besides, I liked the color of the gown, a deep blue, faux satin, and I thought that particular shade went well with my eyes. Well, at least when they seemed more blue than any of the other colors.
Tully showed up while I was finishing my makeup. I hoped the pallid powder and fake blood did the trick. Tully’s squeal of delight affirmed my suspicions. She had decided to mock Robyn by dressing as a Gothic witch. Robyn herself arrived next, toting Will and Thomas behind her. Robyn appeared to be a demonic fairy; Will a mad scientist and Thomas had adopted the garb of his favorite pop star.
“Nice blood Meg,” Will commented as he took a seat on my old couch with Thomas and Tully.
“Don’t mind if I take the bed, do you?” Robyn asked, plopping down on top of my comforter and depositing glitter everywhere. I shrugged and joined her. How pleasant to have a made bed for once.
The night progressed with us screaming and jumping at the movies I’d picked out. Every now and again I heard the doorbell ring followed by Mom’s best interpretation of a witch cackling as she tried to frighten the trick-or-treaters. I snickered and thought about sneaking around the house in order to jump out and scare a few of them.
A glance towards my sliding glass door made me quickly change my mind. It also caused my heart to stop beating for a good three seconds. There was something out there. As all four of my friends yelled at the actress who was about to get mutilated in the movie, I merely stared in silent horror at the thing, no, things, crawling across my backyard. They were not much bigger than housecats, but they had the arms and legs of monkeys. Some of them touted leathery wings, others curved horns. Several of them had large ears and teeth protruding from their lower jaws. They crawled along like zombies freshly raised from a pet cemetery and I wouldn’t be surprised if my theory proved true. Not a single patch of fur covered their wrinkled, mummy-like pelts, and all of their bones pushed out against their dark hides, creating a multitude of knobs and ridges. Their sudden appearance made my skin crawl.
“NO!” Robyn screamed right in my ear as our helpless heroine got cornered by a vampire.
I shouted as well, but more in response to Robyn’s outburst.
Everyone turned and eyed me as if I was crazy. Great. How would I explain this one?
“Sorry,” I grumbled, rubbing the back of my neck. “Thought I saw something in the backyard, and I got distracted for a moment.”
Of course, everyone turned to look. I cringed, but cast a wary glance myself. I breathed a mental sigh of relief. The faelah were gone. Not that I was worried my friends would notice them. Only I saw the faelah.
“I don’t see anything,” Will proclaimed.
“I know, like I said. I thought I saw something.”
To my immense relief, no more faelah came to pay my yard a visit for the rest of the evening. By ten o’clock, both movies were over and everyone decided to call it a night. I didn’t mind. After all, I had creepy crawlers haunting me and I didn’t need my friends around when they came back. I saw them out, and then returned to my room with the intention of washing off my makeup. The trick-or-treaters were gone and my brothers were slowly making their way to their own beds. Time to call it a night.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs, however, I found that I had a late night visitor. Fergus’s white form sat patiently at my sliding glass door. I walked over to give him a pat goodnight and to ask him to chase away any freaky faelah that might still be lurking about. I slid the door open and before I could so much as smile in his direction, he bolted towards the oak tree. I groaned. I looked forward to Cade’s letters more than anything else, but the last thing I wanted to do was go anywhere near the swamp on Halloween night, especially after seeing those s
trange creatures in the backyard just an hour or so before.
A sharp bark followed by a whine floated up from the equestrian trail. Gritting my teeth, I turned around and grabbed a flashlight out of my desk drawer. Feeling I needed more than light to defend myself, I picked up my umbrella as well. Yes, an umbrella proved a poor weapon compared to a bow and arrows, but I didn’t want to cart those down to the tree. It was only a few dozen yards away, and I hoped the pointed tip of the umbrella would work just as well at thwarting goblins and such. Besides, Fergus had gone down before me and he’d attack anything overly dangerous. Still, my nerves weren’t too happy with my decision.
I pulled on a sweater and stepped through my door. There wasn’t much of a moon this Halloween, so I was glad I’d grabbed the flashlight. I climbed down the slope that dropped behind our backyard and aimed my light towards the tree. I spotted Fergus immediately, his tall shoulders resting against the tree as he wagged his tail slowly. Wait, not leaning against a tree, but . . .
“Cade?!” I breathed.
I forgot about my fear of wandering around in the dark and, hiking up the long skirts of my costume, I ran the last few meters to reach his side. This time I exhibited a little more self-control and didn’t fling myself at him.
He stepped away from the tree and the dim light my flashlight provided showed me his grin.
“How are you Meghan?” he asked in that calm voice of his.
“Oh, you know,” I offered in a nonchalant manner, waving my hand around. “The same as any senior in high school. Keeping busy with homework and avoiding faelah. Thank you, by the way. For guiding me towards the, uh, pixies. They were beautif-”
I cut myself off when Cade grabbed my shoulders. He’d abruptly grown tense and for a moment my mind went blank. Was he trying to make me shut up? Was he going to shake me? Press me against the oak tree and kiss me . . . ? I waited in slight anticipation.
“What happened to your neck?”
His voice was cold and serious, and for several seconds I held as still as possible, speechless. My neck? My neck, my neck . . .
“And your face.”
He lifted one of his hands and caressed my cheek. He no longer sounded dangerous, but concerned.
Uhhhhhh . . . I think that single touch might have fried my brain cells.
My brain managed to revive itself and I became aware of what he was talking about.
“Oh! No, it’s nothing. Makeup for my Halloween costume! I decided to dress as a dead beauty queen this year.”
I tried grinning, but boy, did I feel stupid.
“R-really,” I stammered. “It’s fake blood, and only pale makeup for my face. It’s a stupid costume, really. Dead beauty queen . . .”
I trailed off and Cade took his time releasing me from the death grip.
“No, not a stupid costume,” he murmured, his voice more relaxed. “Well, perhaps the dead part is inaccurate, but . . .”
I wished I hadn’t dropped the flashlight, because I wanted so badly to study the look on his face right then. Had he just started to compliment me? A strong desire to clap my hands and jump up and down in glee took hold of me. To my unending relief, however, my common sense was awake tonight.
“So,” I cleared my throat to break the discomfiting silence and equally awkward moment, “what brings you to this side of the dolmarehn on Halloween night? Have you fulfilled your penance for breaking your geis?” Oh please say yes . . .
A sigh from the darkness in front of me told me no. I tried to contain my disappointment, but what he said next made it even worse.
“I’ll never be able to repay the debt I owe for breaking my geis.”
And you’re to blame for his broken geis . . . my conscience reminded me.
“Oh Cade, that is so unfair. Who placed the geis on you in the first place? Maybe we can talk with him?”
He flinched. Hard. “No Meghan. There is no reasoning with them, and I can’t tell you who did this. You must believe I do not regret my decision in the least.”
His words should have warmed me, but I hated that this was all because of me.
“Perhaps I can do something to help.”
The strain keeping him so rigid gave me his answer before he spoke.
“No. Please Meghan, don’t try to help me in this. Help me by continuing your longbow practice and getting ready to come to the Otherworld with me soon.”
My knees nearly melted. Terror and elation rushed through me at the same time. Go to the Otherworld, with Cade . . .
“You have been practicing, correct?”
“Uh,” I managed, “yes, as often as I can.”
I spoke the truth, but my definition of ‘as often as possible’ probably wasn’t enough to satisfy Cade. I made a mental note to make more of an effort from here on out.
Cade shifted his weight, and although I couldn’t see much in the dark, I sensed his head had turned towards the path disappearing further down into the swamp. I knew he had to leave soon. I so desperately wanted to hug him, to ask him if he had discovered anything more about my Faelorehn parents, to learn more about that night he had saved my life, when I thought he had kissed me . . .
“I must go Meghan, but before I leave, I want to give you something.”
Joy coursed through me, then guilt. He had given me so many gifts; the bow and arrows, the books on Celtic myth, the mistletoe charm I wore all the time, and the beautiful torque tucked away in my desk drawer. I never felt comfortable with the idea of wearing something so obviously from the Otherworld (I had a nosy family and even nosier friends), but perhaps I should reconsider.
“Cade,” I said quietly, lowering my head because I was sure he could see my face despite the darkness, “I can’t accept any more gifts from you. You’ve been too generous already.”
He shook his head and I thought I glimpsed the flash of his white teeth through the dark.
“Then let’s call this a trade, since I’ll be needing Fergus back soon. Though I’d rather like to call it your birthday gift.”
He knew today was my birthday? And trade? For Fergus? Before I could consider it further, he climbed behind the tree and pulled out a wooden container about the size of a shoebox. As he moved back towards the front of the tree, he bent down and retrieved my fallen flashlight, placing it in my hand. Carefully, he opened the lid of the box and gestured for me to shine the light inside. What I observed totally confused me. The object inside looked like a fuzzy, white tennis ball nestled amongst a bunch of dried grass.
“What is it?” I whispered, trying not to sound disappointed. Honestly, you’d think I was expecting diamonds or something.
Cade chuckled. “She’s a merlin.”
I blinked. “Merlin? Like the wizard?”
Cade only smiled, his face eerily lit by the wayward flashlight beam.
“A merlin is a small bird of prey, like a kestrel or a falcon.”
My cheeks began to burn. Oh, duh.
At that moment, the little merlin decided to wake up and make a fuss. It must have only been a chick because its wings were tiny and its eyes still closed. The minuscule bird opened its mouth and let out many demanding chirps.
I glanced up at Cade with a question in my eyes. Was he giving me this merlin? If so, why? How was I going to take care of something so small and helpless? What was I supposed to feed it?
“She isn’t just any merlin, Meghan. Look closely behind her eyes.”
I obeyed, having nothing better to do, and shone the flashlight back into the box. The poor thing, covered in fuzz and bald patches, looked like any baby bird. I examined the small beak, pallid eyelids and reddish-brown ear patches. Wait, reddish-brown? I shot my glance back up at Cade, my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open.
Eventually I spoke, “An Otherworldly spirit guide?”
Cade’s smile almost lit up the night.
“For me?”
“She’s all yours.”
Surprise hit me like a glass of ice water, and I brilliant
ly asked, “How can you tell it’s a she?”
“Spirit guides take on the gender of the master they bond with.”
“Um, are you sure she’ll bond with me?”
“Yes, of course, because she is just hatched and you’ll be the one to raise her.”
“What?”
My joy at his precious gift slowly turned to panic. I couldn’t raise a baby bird. Where would I put her without anyone seeing her? I knew most faelah hid themselves from humans by using their glamour, but enough spirit guides had been seen by the ancient Celts for them to conclude Otherworldly creatures were white with red ears. I’d learned that much in my research and from talking with Cade. The chances of one of my brothers stumbling upon her at some point in the near future seemed highly likely, and should she not have enough glamour to render herself invisible. . . ?
“Spirit guides are different than other faelah,” Cade continued. “They have much more power, even more so than many of the Faelorehn and they only reveal themselves to mortals when they wish to. They don’t have to return to the Otherworld in order to regain their glamour, and newborns are especially magical. No one will know she is here, except you.”
Oh, good. What a relief. But I had other questions.
“What do I feed her?”
Cade grinned again, a feature hidden due to a lack of light, but I heard it in his voice. “Fergus will hunt for you. You can feed her whatever he brings back, but it will get messy.”
I grimaced, even though I was no shrinking violet. Okay, maybe a little, but I was pretty sure handling raw meat fell within my range of abilities.
“Care for her well, and she will be a good friend to you. When she starts to fly you’ll be able to detect her, in here.”
He traced a gentle finger down my temple and I shivered, both at his touch and at the thought of having a bird messing with my head. Communicating telepathically might not be too bad, though. Cade didn’t seem to be burdened by Fergus.
“Goodbye Meghan, for now. Fergus will stay with you until your spirit guide is old enough to protect you.”
He began to depart, leaving me standing in the dark, in the stupid, blue prom dress with a wooden box in my hand.
Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy Page 3
