by Laura Howard
“Groovy,” Ethan said, and I could tell he was trying to lighten my mood.
“Something like that,” I said. “Another thing is everything is alive. Maybe that’s not the right word. Maybe sentient fits better. The plants and trees respond when you touch them, it’s extraordinary. The houses are made from the trees. The trees that grow on the hillside form their roots into the frames of the houses. Then the Danaans add on to make homes. Niamh’s house is this elaborate underground mansion. You have to see it to believe it.”
“I sort of remember Aoife’s place felt like a castle. In my memories, the walls were gray stone with tapestries hung from them.”
I looked out the window at the passing trees as we got further into the country. “Aoife’s house is in a cave. It’s much different from Niamh’s. And even more spectacular is the Bruidhean. That’s where the king and queen live. It means fairy palace in English.”
Ethan nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. “In one of my high school English classes we read this play about fairies. I can’t remember what it’s called, but Miss Bouchard got this weird, maniacal gleam in her eyes whenever she read parts of it out loud. Do you know what I’m talking about?”
I laughed, remembering the teacher he was talking about. She was an odd one. “Yes, it was A Midsummer’s Night Dream by Shakespeare.”
“The way you just described Tír na n’Óg reminded me of that.”
I smacked his arm. “You think I’m weird and maniacal?”
“No, no. Not that part. Just like you were in a trance remembering.”
“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” Ethan said, slapping his steering wheel.
“You’ll see. And I guarantee you’ll have a maniacal gleam in your eyes when you’re there.”
He swiped my hand off the bench seat and gave it a quick kiss. “I look forward to it.”
We got to the access road in about thirty minutes and bumped along for about a mile. It had been so long since a vehicle had been on this road that the indents from wheels were barely noticeable anymore. The trees rose on either side obstructing the blue sky with foliage. We saw our entire group waiting for us in a clearing, knee-high in grass. Ethan stopped the truck and we both jumped out.
“I think this is about as far in as you’ll get,” Liam said to Ethan. “There’s a ditch up ahead that isn’t worth the trouble. It’s only about a half-mile more.”
Ethan nodded and locked up his truck. Mosquitoes attacked us as we walked, creating a buzzing cloud around our heads. Luckily, it wasn’t long until I could see the old farmhouse. It was a pale yellow colonial built hundreds of years ago, but Niamh and her people kept it so well-maintained it was in perfect condition. There were a few outbuildings and a barn, but I didn’t know if they even used them. The most important part of the property was the root cellar behind the house that held the portal to Tír na n’Óg.
The front door opened and a tall, dark-haired figure stepped out. Diarmuid was Niamh’s adviser. He assisted her in decision-making and guarded the portal in her absence. Trailing behind him was his mate, Eithne. She was a slight girl with fair skin and long cinnamon waves down her back.
Too fast for my eyes to pick up, they were in front of us. Eithne gave me a tentative smile before greeting Niamh and Liam. But when she looked at Niamh, her expression fell. I knew Niamh was telling her who Samantha was. Eithne had been the one to give me the first inkling that Aoife had a big secret she was keeping from Liam. I still didn’t know exactly how or why, but I knew somehow Aoife had forced Eithne to hide Samantha in the human realm. And Eithne was terribly afraid of Aoife.
“Samantha, this is my adviser Diarmuid and his mate Eithne,” Niamh said, her voice smooth.
Samantha gave a little finger wave, but didn’t say anything. But Eithne stared at Samantha, her lips parted in wonder. As Eithne gaped, Samantha’s expression was marked with confusion.
“What? Is something wrong?” Samantha asked, glancing at Ciarán with wide eyes.
Niamh sighed. “Nothing’s wrong. Come on. We can talk inside before we go.”
Samantha gave Ciarán another perplexed look before they took off toward the front door of the house.
“Did I tell you Eithne was the one who had to find a place for Samantha after she was born?” I whispered to Ethan while we walked a few paces behind everyone else.
He laughed. “No, but I probably wouldn’t have remembered who you were talking about anyway. These people have some weird names.”
“True,” I said, grinning at him. “I wish I had a cheat sheet most of the time, and I’ve met a lot of them already.”
“Do you think Samantha and Ciarán are coming?” he asked, keeping his voice to a whisper.
I shrugged. “Beats me. I guess we just have to go along with whatever.”
Eithne held the door open for us and I thanked her and asked if she remembered Ethan. She nodded and tilted her head in confusion when he held out a hand to her.
“I guess shaking hands is kind of a human thing,” I said and Ethan quickly pulled his hand back.
“Oh, sorry. It’s nice to meet you,” he said, flashing her a sheepish grin.
“So nice to meet you, too, Ethan,” she said and we all walked inside.
We joined everyone around the enormous round table that took up the entire dining room. There were just enough chairs for all eight of us.
Niamh stood. “Before we make further plans, I want to clear up some confusion,” she said, glancing around the table.
“When you were born Samantha, Eithne was Aoife’s handmaiden. Liam and Eithne were friends, allies even.” She looked at Eithne, who had gone paler than usual.
“When Aoife found out she was carrying Liam’s child, she became irrationally jealous. She wanted Liam all to herself and was afraid a baby would steal all of his attention. So she hid in this realm during her pregnancy, keeping it a secret from all of us.”
“That’s just plain crazy,” Samantha said. “Who gets jealous of a tiny baby?”
“That is the nature of her feelings for Liam,” Niamh said, frowning.
Liam stared at his folded hands resting on the table top, jaw clenched.
“Anyway, Eithne was forced to find you someplace to live. She dropped you off at a hospital in Thunder Bay. The same hospital where your adoptive father works, Samantha.”
Samantha’s mouth dropped open. She glanced at Eithne and back to Niamh.
Eithne sucked in her lips. “I am so sorry. I didn’t want to. But I had no choice.” Her voice was barely a whisper. She looked at Liam, chewing on her lip again. But he didn’t look at her.
Of all the Danaan I’d met, Eithne was the most like a human. She reminded me of a newborn foal, skittish and shy. It must have been horrible being Aoife’s handmaiden, it was no wonder she was so nervous.
Diarmuid placed his hand on her shoulder. “Liam, Eithne tells the truth. Aoife forced her hand in this, both in commanding her to take Samantha away and keeping it a secret all this time.”
“Samantha met Aoife in Thunder Bay after she escaped the fey globe. That’s how Samantha found out about Allison and Liam,” Niamh said to Eithne and Diarmuid as she sat down again.
Eithne’s eyebrows rose and she turned to Samantha. “She told you about Liam?”
Samantha let out a breath. “She told me my father had another family and didn’t want anything to do with either of us.”
Liam’s hands came down hard on the table, but Niamh cut him off. “That is just not true, Samantha.”
“That’s why I didn’t want you to know I was there,” she said, looking at me and stealing glances at Liam.
“Unbelievable,” I said under my breath.
Liam cleared his throat. “Do you believe I didn’t know, Samantha?
” His voice was tight and his eyes were full of the same pain he held when he’d found out I was his daughter.
“Yeah,” she said. “I do now.”
“Why did Aoife even bother saying anything if she was just going to lie?” I asked.
“I’m wondering the same thing,” Niamh said.
“We should discuss your plans from here on,” Diarmuid said to Niamh.
“The first thing we need to know is if Samantha and Ciarán are coming with us,” Niamh said, raising her eyebrows at them.
Samantha folded and unfolded her hands and I could hear the click of her lip-piercing hitting her teeth. She shrugged one shoulder. “I think I should go,” she said, glancing at Ciarán from the corner of her eyes. “If you guys want me to, that is.”
“You don’t think she ought to go?” Diarmuid asked Ciarán, his thick eyebrows drawn in.
Ciarán shifted, placing both hands on the table. “No,” he said, swallowing. “I’m not sure what Aoife has planned, but I don’t want Sam to have any part of it.”
“Not,” she said, glaring at him “that it’s your decision to make.”
Ciarán pushed away from the table and jumped up, moving to the window in the blink of an eye. His back to the room, he said, “No, of course not.”
“I think the real issue is whether you’ll be able to stand up to Aoife when the time comes,” I said, looking at Samantha.
She tore her eyes away from Ciarán’s back. “You think I’d throw you to the wolves?”
I held up my hands. “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just being realistic.”
“Well, you’re wrong.”
“You shouldn’t be in that position in the first place,” Ciarán said, turning toward Samantha.
They continued to stare at each other, and as the seconds passed, I grew irritated.
Niamh stood and broke the silence. “While you two work that out, we will go on ahead.”
Ciarán visibly relaxed and Samantha looked deflated. But Niamh’s tone allowed no argument.
Liam watched Niamh, his lips forming a thin line. When his eyes narrowed, I figured they were discussing her decision internally.
I pushed myself up, ready to leave this place. “All right, let’s get this show on the road.”
Ethan followed me toward the door. I turned and looked at Samantha. She hung her head and scowled at the chipped polish on her fingernails.
“I’ll see you soon, Samantha,” I said, hoping to catch her eye before I left.
When her gaze slid over to me, her cheeks were flushed with anger. She nodded and quickly averted her eyes.
I hurried out the front door, Ethan in my wake. I spun around and widened my eyes. “Those two are going to strangle each other,” I said quietly.
“No kidding,” he said. “I was waiting for Ciarán to burst into flames from the looks she kept giving him.”
“You’re sure you want to do this?” I said. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”
Ethan leaned toward me as we walked around back. “I haven’t changed my mind. Stop hoping I will.”
“Just checking,” I said.
The front door slammed shut. Niamh and Liam appeared next to us.
Liam didn’t say anything, but his hands were clenched at his sides. I was betting seeing Samantha and Ciarán argue bothered him. It was hard for me not to tell them to cut it out, too.
“Diarmuid is going to have an earful for me next time I see him,” Niamh said with a laugh.
Ethan and I just looked at each other and I shrugged.
“I left him with Samantha and Ciarán. He’ll never let me forget it.”
I laughed out loud at that. “They do antagonize each other.”
Liam gave me a bland look, so I dropped it.
Niamh stopped at the battered wooden door built into the hillside leading down to the root cellar. She waved her hand over the rusty lock and I heard a click. I’d heard the Danaan could use their minds to manipulate objects, but this was the first time I’d seen it in action.
Niamh glanced over her shoulder at me and smirked. Waving her fingers again, the door creaked open.
Show off.
I could hear her chuckle as she went down the steps. Jealous.
Ethan gestured for me to follow Liam through the doorway. I stepped over the threshold onto the stairs. Several were cracked and loose and I made my way down carefully.
The door closed with a thud behind me and I heard Ethan’s steps coming down. The root cellar was a cool, musty stone chamber that reminded me of a burial crypt. Canning jars filled the shelves lining two of the walls.
Niamh put her hand on the far wall and a warm glow worked its way up her arm and filled the room. My eyelids fluttered shut against the intensity of the light. I forgot myself in that moment until I felt a hand at my waist gently pushing me forward.
I held my arms up to shield my eyes and took a few tentative steps toward the light. When the brightness faded, I opened my eyes. Everything seemed to slow down. Voices bounced and echoed in my head.
When my eyes focused, I saw I was in the familiar dining room in Niamh’s house in Tír na n’Óg. An enormous wooden table took up most of the room. White walls arched up around us, framed by thick roots growing to the floor.
I stumbled to the first chair and collapsed onto it. Ethan did the same beside me. I squeezed my eyes shut to wait out the vertigo assaulting my senses.
Once the feeling had ebbed, I glanced around the room. Ethan turned his head toward me. His eyes were wide and he shook his head.
“That was pretty intense,” he said as his fingers found mine.
I laughed under my breath. “You could say that.”
“How are you feeling?” Liam asked, leaning on the table beside me.
I swallowed. “I feel better than last time.” Maybe knowing what to expect made it a little easier to accept the loss of equilibrium.
“That’s good. How about you Ethan?”
“Honestly, I feel like I have a pretty good buzz,” Ethan said.
“That’s completely normal,” Niamh said from across the table.
“Just give us a minute and we can go talk to Saoirse,” I said, rubbing a hand across my eyes.
“Of course,” Niamh said. “I have a few things to take care of. Would you like to lie down for a while?”
I looked at Ethan who shook his head. “No, that’s not necessary. I could use some water, though.”
Leaving Ethan and Liam at the table, Niamh led me down a hall and up a winding staircase. We passed the weapons room I’d stopped in with Aodhan on my last trip to Tír na n’Óg.
When I thought his name, Niamh’s shoulders stiffened. She turned toward an arch and stopped, then stared at me for a moment like she was making a decision.
I haven’t said this to anyone else. But Aodhan’s absence from this journey has me worried.
She walked into the archway without waiting for me to respond. It led down a long, narrow stone passage. I heard the gurgling sound of water as we walked around a wide corner. At the end, the passageway opened into a cavern. I sucked in a breath. On one side, an underground stream bubbled past. From somewhere above, natural light poured in, casting the water a sparkling turquoise. Rocks formed a smooth ridge above the river that looked like the perfect place to sit and dip your feet in. And I was so entranced by it, I almost did.
Niamh stopped, gesturing for me to wait. I shook my head to clear it. The beauty of this place had put me under a spell.
This is where we bathe. The falls are up the river. Grab a pitcher and we’ll get some fresh water for everyone to drink.
What do you think is going on with Aodhan?
She took a deep breath and met my eyes.
I don’t know. But he was committed to making things right for you and your mother. Something is keeping him, but I haven’t any idea what it is.
I was sure Aodhan had gained several enemies over the years. His entire life was spent prot
ecting humans from Danaans. My mind went to Aengus. When we were in Thunder Bay, Aodhan had put him into submission and ordered Niamh’s guards to “take care of him.” I assumed that meant kill him, but I never asked.
Could Aengus be alive and had he tracked Aodhan down to Liam’s house?
Aengus is dead.
Niamh answered so confidently, I knew she was certain.
But what about the others? Beside Aengus and Ciarán, weren’t there more of Aoife’s guards in Thunder Bay?
Yes, two others. I wish we saw Aodhan before we left. Something feels wrong about him not being here with you.
She led me up a narrow, snaking lip between the stream and the cavern wall. Dappled light came from high above in what appeared to be naturally formed skylights. The echoing roar of a waterfall became louder each step we took.
I think he’s done more than enough for me. More than I ever hoped for. I wouldn’t blame him if he just wanted a little break.
As we rounded the next bend, the entire cavern opened to the sky about thirty feet up. The water poured from the top of one of the moss-covered walls into a clear pool.
Niamh held out her hand and I gave her the pitcher I carried in. It floated just above her hands and she stared at it as it flew across the pool and filled with water from the falls. With a tiny flick of her wrist the pitcher returned to hover in front of me.
“I try not to do things like that when we’re in your world. But since we’re here, I don’t have any reason to hide what I really am.”
I reached out and grabbed the pitcher and cradled it in my arms.
“That must be strange,” I said. “To have to hide so many things. Wouldn’t you be happier if you could just seal the portals and leave our world behind forever?”
“Yes and no,” Niamh said, as we picked our way back toward the heart of the cavern.
“What if Aodhan came back here with you?” I asked, surprised at my boldness.
“Before I met you, that was all I dreamed of.”
