Shivers radiated down my body like tiny earthquakes each time a gush of wind blasted over me. I wanted to jump up and run, but sensing someone was near I kept my eyes shut, feigning unconsciousness as I used what senses I could to figure out what was going on.
A fur of some sort rested over my body, making the cold blasts of air somewhat tolerable—a fact that told me whoever had me definitely wanted me alive. Waves crashed in the far distance, their roar no more than a faint whisper under the howling sounds of a vicious wind swirling from all directions. Like strong currents caught up in a tiny bay, they bellowed in from one direction and crashed against solid walls.
What I assumed were feet shuffled silently across the floor, obviously not wanting to wake me. Another cold blast of air whooshed in, sending a shiver skittering over the length of my body. I involuntarily gasped at the chill. Movement in the room stopped, and I could feel the unseen eyes on me. The breath caught in my chest, fearing the blanket’s movement might tell my captor I was awake. A warm rush of wind washed over me, filling my nostrils with an unmistakably human scent. Whoever was there with me hovered so closely I could hear their breaths, slow and steady. When my right side began to warm and the shadowy flicker of flames danced against my closed eyelids, it was all I could do to keep from scrunching my brow in confusion. Another gush of wind sucked away from me, and the person who had just lit the fire to warm me was gone.
What?
I reached way back in my memory, searching for the final events that would have led me here. Okay...the wishing pearl, the woods, running, the river, blue lady, and then the light right when I had resigned myself to die. But, I most certainly wasn’t dead.
By the way sounds played around the room, I could tell there was a wall to my left. Thinking it was the safest option I had, I cracked open my left eye and saw nothing but black rocky walls that reached to cavern roof overhead.
“You can open your eyes, child. I am not here to hurt you.”
I gasped, and both eyes shot open, my body going ramrod straight beneath the bear fur blanket.
Her voice sounded like a crystal wind chime dancing in a brilliant summer breeze. Rhythmic, melodic and slightly hypnotic.
In tiny jerky movements, I turned my head to see who the disconnected voice belonged to.
Everything about her was caught up in the winds that whipped through the cave—wild white hair flying like streamers, lose pants and a tunic-type top thrashing against her stately stature. Even the way she moved toward a chair at my side was wistful and longing like the wind.
“How do you feel?” She asked, leaning fluidly into me as she stoked the fire. Maybe it was stupid of me not to fear the woman, but I didn’t. She had a calming presence, and if she wanted to harm me surely she would’ve done it while I was unconscious.
“Like I swallowed the entire sea.” My throat burned like dry ash, and I was seized by a coughing fit, a feudal attempt to soothe it.
“Yes, I was almost too late.” Her face went serious for a moment, and she diverted her eyes to the fire. “Tell me, why were you sacrificing yourself to the water nymphs?”
“I wasn’t sacrificing myself,” I shook my head and leaned up onto my elbows, noticing for the first time how homey the cave was, complete with an earthy little kitchen where she had been cooking when I awoke. “I was looking for answers.”
The woman scoffed at my explanation, clicking her tongue against her teeth and shaking her head like a schoolmarm. “The only answer you will find down there is death, my child. Has no one taught you to keep your magic out of the water?” With a grand fluttery movement, the woman rose and half danced across the room to retrieve a tray from the countertop. She offered me a steaming mug of tea as she twirled back to my pallet, watching me closely with eyes too keen to be human. I said nothing, allowing my eyes to fall to the ground in what I hoped was an unreadable stare as I accepted the outstretched cup. “Well then, you have a lot to learn. I hate to think what would have happened had I not gotten to you in time.”
I’m not sure why her words needled me in such an unexpected way. Of course, I had a lot to learn. I didn’t need some old woman telling me that. The only reason I went into the water in the first place was to try to find the answers I knew I needed. And maybe I would have found them if she hadn’t ripped me away from the blue lady.
“What are you?” I sat up, glaring down my nose at her so she knew I didn’t appreciate her insult.
“My name is Ceila,” she bowed her head meekly, eyes cast downward as if she were suddenly unworthy. “I am an elemental of the air. A lowly servant to Apollo’s altar.”
“How did you know I wasn’t just some college kid out for a midnight run?” I brought my knees into my chest and turned to lean against the stone so I could study her more closely. She caught a laugh behind her elegant fingers before she answered, which did little to calm my temper. I gritted my teeth as she composed herself.
“Everyone knows you, Faye. We’ve all been very worried you might expose us.”
“Then why did you save me?” My eyebrows raised indignantly. “It would’ve been easier for everyone if you hadn’t.”
“I’m sorry if I have offended you, Faye.” Ceila’s hand rested over her heart and she leaned into me, her face a mix of concern and care. “I rescued you because of this...” She reached out and brushed her hand over the golden bracelet I had instinctively curled into my chest. My eyes went wide.
“You’re Sidhe?”
“No.” She shook her head and elegantly crossed her legs, turning to the tray she had sat beside us. Her thoughts calmed her features, and she began to spread jam onto a piece of bread. “I belong to the lord of air. Apollo was my creator.”
“I thought Apollo was the god of the sun?” I sniffed at her tea and then took a swig. Mmmm, chamomile.
“Exactly. Apollo rules the sun. The sun rules the sky, and the sky rules the air.”
“So, why would you save me if you thought I was Sidhe?”
“Because earth and air must work as one. It’s the only way to keep the precarious balance of this world.” She looked at me as if I was forgetting another fundamental rule of the gods. My face stayed just as blank as it had been before. With a sigh she stood up and waltzed to where a wooden disc—the only decoration in her cavern home—hung against black stone.
“Earth and Air live harmoniously together. Water is tolerated, but avoided.” Her voice was clear as a song, ringing along stone walls. Lovingly, she brushed her fingers over the carved circle before she plucked it from its nail and waltzed back to where I sat.
With great care, she placed it in my hand. The carving had a wavy line etched down its center like I’d seen on the Chinese symbol of yin and yang. One side held a bird of the sky soaring over a mountain—obviously representing the elements of earth and air. On the opposite half, a great wave swelled from the ocean’s depths—the element of water.
“The one thing the two sides agree on is that Fire, must be buried away beneath us all,” her voice was a whisper as she flipped the disc over in my hand to reveal flames of destruction.
Blood froze in my veins and I dropped the carving into my lap as I stared straight ahead into Ceila’s deep grey eyes. Realizing at that moment it wasn’t only Dayne and the Sidhe that feared fire.
Still, I didn’t move. Hot tears threatened the corners of my eyes and I swallowed hard against the lump that had just tied my throat in a knot.
That was the moment I knew I could never trust anyone but Dayne with the secret of what I was. Trying to find help from anyone else would be too dangerous. I sighed, utterly defeated before I’d even begun.
I said no more, retrieving the trinket from my lap and handing it back to Ceila. With my legs crossed I leaned forward, catching my forehead in the palm of my hand and shaking my head back and forth, feeling as if my quest was growing more impossible with each passing second.
Ceila watched me silently, studying my every move as if she were trying to
make up her mind about me. Finally, she put her teacup down on the tray and leaned forward, elbows on her knees.
“I sense your magic is new, yes?”
I nodded my head to answer without looking at her. She paused a moment longer, as if still trying to make up her mind, and then sighed.
“I’m afraid I would be a poor teacher. But, if it is answers you seek, I may know someone who could help you.” She paused and when I looked up, her face was twisted into a look that was as much pain as it was fear. “I cannot recommend you seek him out on your own, though. If you value your life, that is.” Her fingers steepled and tucked under her angular chin, eyes flashing dark with danger.
“Who?” I leaned into her.
“His name is Chassan. He is the only remaining son of Apollo left in this world.”
I leaned away from her, my eyes flaring as I looked around the cave, the light bulb going off in my head casting a brilliant new light onto my plan.
Yes! Of course that was the answer. There was no way I could seek help from another Sidhe. Daoine would find out about that. A son of Apollo, however, would certainly have the answers I needed and if I could choose my words carefully enough, he would never have to know what I really was.
Even better, he would have no allegiance to the Sidhe and no reason to alert Daoine to the fact that I was growing stronger and planning to come back for Dayne. As for the danger, Ceila didn’t really know what I was capable of. If Dayne, who was a Sidhe warrior, feared me, how dangerous could this Chassan guy be?
“And where is Chassan?” I asked, my mind already made up that I would search the entire forest to find him if I had to.
“He was once the Condor God of Machu Picchu, the Inca’s sacred city. He transported lost souls from funeral pyres to his father in the heavens.”
Again, a great wave of disappointment crashed over me. Machu Picchu was in Peru, a plane ticket that would be just as impossible to buy last minute as one to Ireland. My excitement began to wane once more.
“So, he’s like the grim reaper or something?” I shrugged my shoulders as if I was unimpressed.
“He’s much more dangerous than that.” Ceila’s eyes went wide to emphasize ‘much’.
“How so?” I narrowed my eyes, suspiciously. Ceila didn’t seem to have much magic in her, and she was also a servant of Apollo. It was reasonable that she would fear his son, but her reaction piqued my interest.
“Well, when the last worlds were ending, he murdered his brothers in cold blood so he could rule unchallenged when this world began.” The wind blew harder into the cave as if it had heard what we were talking about. Ceila froze, her eyes darting wildly around the room in fear.
“Murdered his brothers?” I wasn’t sure if I shivered at the gruesome thought or at the breeze that had picked up. “All for power?” Ceila nodded her head, and drew her face tight, mumbling something under her breath and casting her eyes to the heavens as if she were seeking protection from some higher power for mentioning the dead.
“Apollo’s descendants were decimated when the last ice age took hold. They were creatures of the sky and when everything froze, they froze with it. There was no LisTirna for them to retreat to. Chassan had no way of knowing he would have nothing to rule over when it was done. Apollo cursed him with life so he would have eternity to atone for his sins.”
Murder. Impossible location. Danger. I sighed. My plan to find answers was falling apart before my eyes and I felt just as lost as I had before.
I leaned back against the wall feeling as if the weight of the cave walls had just crashed over my shoulders. It was hopeless! I would never find the answers I needed to unlock my magic and find my way back to Dayne. Every time I thought I had it all worked out, I only smacked into another roadblock ever bigger than the last.
“Oh, cheer up child!” Ceila patted my knee, and then rose from the chair to gather her scarf and coat. “You will find your answers. As long as that bracelet stays on your arm, he has promised to come back to you.” She winked at me and pointed toward Dayne’s bracelet as I cradled it to my chest absently.
“That’s what I keep telling myself.” I pulled the bracelet away and looked at it. Such a simple token of love, yet the only promise I had that he would come back to me—a promise which, at that moment, was the only hope I had.
“Now, I hate to rush you, but if you’re feeling better, I have an altar to get to.” With that Ceila offered a hand to help me off the makeshift bed and pulled a cap low over her ears.
“People still worship Apollo?” I asked, zipping up my fleece jacket as we left her mountain top cave and began winding our way down an almost invisible trail in the misty light of dawn.
“This is California...everyone worships the sun!” Her laughter rang through the trees and the great canopy of leaves danced in response as if they had been called by an old friend. We came to a fork in the trail and she pointed out my way to the right.
“Take care of yourself, Faye. And don’t be a stranger! It gets lonely with nothing but trees for friends.” She patted my shoulder and took off down the opposite trail.
Chapter Nine
Letting Go
Campus seemed way too peaceful, silent as the mist clinging to its walls when I peeked around the last massive redwood that separated it from Mission Forest. I felt like an intruder as I stole my path, from tree to shrub, all the way back to Hawthorne Hall. Its stone facade loomed drearily in the early dawn, appearing as unwelcome to my eyes as it ever had.
Quietly, not wanting to wake the resident assistant whose room was immediately to my left, I slowly swung the doors open, sending up a quick prayer to whoever was listening that they wouldn’t squeak on their hinges. It took every bit of strength left in me—arms and legs strained to the max—to hold the doors back so they shut as quietly as possible. When they were both securely in place and I could breathe with relief, I tiptoed down the hallway to my room.
But my dorm room wasn’t any more capable of calming my restless nerves than the ghostly campus had been. It was the closest thing to home I had, but it still couldn’t settle me. Something was off. Something was really off, and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
My cell phone beeped from the desk, telling me I had a missed call. When I retrieved it, I was shocked there hadn’t been a search party scouring the woods for me. Ten missed calls from Mattie, six from Sam, along with a dozen text messages from them. The first few messages wanted to know if I had checked my email yet, the other half wondered where in the heck I was.
I shook my head and took a deep breath, even further unraveled. No way could I call them right now. I would have to pretend to be excited about whatever gift they had given me, and my mind was far to shaky to have a conversation with either of them at that moment—they would only ask me about my night, and I was too exhausted to come up with the clever half truths that would satisfy them.
A shower. A hot, steamy, shower. That always calmed my nerves.
Thirty minutes later I was emerging from the bathroom, scrubbed, shaved, and pumiced in every possible place. The ache had left my muscles, but something still wasn’t right. Thoughts swam through my head, though I couldn’t focus on one thought long enough to grab onto it.
“Faye?” I startled when the resident assistant called my name.
Great!
I let out a sound that was half sigh, half groan, certain she had seen me sneaking in, even though I hadn’t made a single sound when I passed her room. She was a burly girl, co-captain of the women’s rugby team. By the sweats she was wearing I assumed she had been on her way to an early morning jog when she spotted me and decided I needed a reminder of the dorm curfew.
“Isn’t this yours?” She asked as I walked down the hall toward her, already worrying how I would explain where I’d been.
In her hand she held a gold circle, and my heart dropped straight through the pit of my stomach into my toes. I swallowed the automatic vomit that rose in my throat, clutching my tow
eled torso, and gasping for air that seemed to have been sucked out of the hallway by some cosmic vacuum.
With great, spasmodic jerks, I nodded and she dropped Dayne’s bracelet in the outstretched hand I offered.
My body was incapable of anything at that moment. I simply stared at the bracelet in my hand, glancing to the wrist it had never left, and then to the RA who was watching me with shifty eyes.
I didn’t speak because I knew the only sound that would come out were bellowing sobs. Instead, I curled my fingers around the bracelet, cradled it into my chest and turned back to my room.
“You’re welcome!” She called after me sarcastically. “You should really be more careful with that. Most people wouldn’t be so honest!” The RA yelled at my back as I disappeared into my room.
I fell to my knees as soon as the door closed, clasping my bracelet, trying to force it back onto my wrist. Tears flowed like rain from my eyes.
How had this happened? How had it fallen off and I not notice? Why had it fallen off? Did he not love me anymore? Had he let me go?
That night in the woods—when he said the only way to love me was to let me go—was that his goodbye? Had he been trying to tell me for months that it was over and I was just too stupid to see?
My forehead smacked against the cold stone floor when sitting upright proved too much of a challenge. I fell forward. Sprawled over the floor in a wet towel, damp, stringy hair stuck to my face, crying loudly and not caring if anyone heard me. My life was over, right there on the damned checkerboard rug on the campus of a college where I didn’t belong.
I never should’ve left Ireland. I should’ve stayed and fought for him.
Forceful sobs racked my body so violently I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs and ended up hyperventilating, sucking sharp lungfuls of air past my throat in a way that made me sound like a dying sea lion.
But I didn’t care. If he was gone, what did I have left?
Nothing.
Son of Sun (Forgotten Gods (Book 2)) Page 7
