by Tara Maya, Elle Casey, J L Bryan, Anthea Sharp, Jenna Elizabeth Johnson, Alexia Purdy (epub)
Cade had removed the t-top, presumably to enjoy the fine weather, and was currently leaning slightly towards the passenger side. I watched in numb shock as he shifted the car into neutral and set the parking break. Then, reaching over, he pushed open the passenger side door.
“Get in,” he growled.
Tully and Robyn would have been horrified if they knew I was about to get into a car with some strange guy I had met only twice, and who had admitted to details only a stalker would know. I guess it was a good thing they weren’t around for once. The person I had been only a month ago would have been horrified as well. But I was different now, ever since I’d met Cade, and he had insinuated that my visions were not a product of my imagination. No, I still did not trust him. At least not completely. But I had two options to choose from: I could get into the car with him, or I could take my chances with Adam and his knuckle-dragging buddies. I had been wishing for a miracle, and if that miracle exuded danger and mystery and drove a fast car, well, heck, who could blame me if I was grateful? Beggars couldn’t be choosers, right?
I glanced back at my tormentors. Adam and his followers weren’t looking at me anymore; they were gawking at the Trans Am. Boys. I stepped forward and climbed into Cade’s car, and that was when the enchantment broke.
Adam stepped forward angrily. “Listen you little slu-”
Cade was up and out of his car so fast I wondered if he hadn’t vaporized and somehow reformed just outside his door. Although he stood with his back to the cars whipping by on the highway, his own vehicle acting as a barrier between him and my classmates, he must have looked quite intimidating.
“You no longer have any dealings with Meghan, and if you ever torment or insult her again, I’ll be sure to pay you a special visit at your earliest inconvenience.”
Something threatening must have showed on Cade’s face, because despite his calm voice, Adam paled and nodded his head. Or maybe it was the fact that Cade towered over them.
Adam grabbed his friends roughly and pushed them along, claiming that they had better things to do.
Cade got back into the car, this time at a more normal speed. He closed the door a little too roughly and snapped on his seatbelt.
“Buckle up,” he said, his voice hard.
I obeyed, too shocked from what had transpired in the past five minutes to do anything else.
He shifted the car into gear and pulled out onto the highway, gaining speed and heading north. The engine rumbled and the wind tossed my hair over my shoulders. Luckily, it happened to be another one of those ideal fall days, but there was a subtle chill to the air that drew goose bumps from my skin. I pulled my sweatshirt more tightly around me and glanced over at the boy, no, young man, sitting next to me.
Cade looked very much the same as he had the last time I’d seen him. He had on a different designer t-shirt, this one a little more fitted than the first one I had seen him in. I caught a glimpse of something metallic circling his neck. I squinted. It looked like a thick braided chain that didn’t quite meet up just in front of his throat. It seemed familiar, but at the same time, completely foreign. I shook my head and forgot about it as I studied him further. My eyes lingered on his shoulders then trailed down his arms to find his knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel more tightly than necessary.
I decided he must be a football player. Why else would he be so lean and muscular? Then I remembered that he probably wasn’t from this world. It had made me laugh at first, thinking that Cade might not be human. But if I was willing to admit his dog wasn’t of this planet, why couldn’t I bring myself to believe that Cade himself was from the Otherworld? The Otherworld. The information had been vague on the internet and I hadn’t found time yet to visit the local library.
I shook my head slightly and glanced at his face from the corner of my eye. His features were so well-formed, as if he was the final, perfect draft of several failures before. It was during my shameless staring that he decided to flick his eyes in my direction. I felt myself flush. Surely he saw me studying his profile and most likely he thought I was some gawking, moon-eyed teen. Well, I couldn’t blame him, I kind of was. I expected him to laugh and make some clever remark about my being attracted to him. Ugh, it would be mortifying. But when he finally opened his mouth, it was to release a deep sigh. His tense stance seemed to melt away, his arms loosened and his knuckles regained some of their color.
“Forgive me Meghan, I’m early. And I shouldn’t have spoken so gruffly to you earlier.”
I blinked in surprise. Of all the things for him to say, I had not expected that. Yes, he was a day early, but what did that matter when he rescued me from certain death? Okay, that was putting it a little dramatically, but it would have been pretty bad had he not shown up right when he had. Another coincidence? Or had I somehow summoned him as I had summoned the pinecone?
“I wasn’t angry at you, but I just finished work less than an hour ago and it oftentimes leaves me a bit rattled. Besides,” now he turned and gave me a mischievous grin, “those, uh, young men, didn’t help improve my mood any.”
Interesting . . . I couldn’t hear my conscience shouting out its warnings anymore . . . And young men? That was putting it kindly.
The wind tossed his dark auburn hair around and he reached up with his left hand to rub the back of his neck. I dropped my gaze for a while and glanced out his window. We were coming up to the top of the Mesa and a quick flash of the view of the Pacific Ocean, held at bay by the pale gold of sand dunes, rushed by. That sight always warmed my spirits, and despite the anxiety I now felt, it had the same effect. I turned and looked in the other direction.
“It’s alright. You helped me out, actually,” I finally said, my voice subdued.
I felt him more than noticed him stiffen beside me. Could he really be angry at Adam and his friends on my behalf? Suddenly, the butterflies I had felt when reading his notes were back.
To distract myself, I cleared my throat and said, “Why are you early?”
Another sigh from Cade. “I finished my assignment early and I had a feeling you would be needing my help.”
“Something to do with Otherworldly senses?” I braved. It was probably a long shot, but it wouldn’t hurt to fish a little.
He was quiet for a long while, but eventually he said in a voice as docile as my own, “You could say that.”
We both descended into silence after that. We came to the traffic light and turned left to go down the hill, leaving the corner market and the small collection of restaurants behind. As we made it to the bottom of the hill, I took in a great breath and asked, “Where exactly are we going?”
I didn’t want to sound suspicious, but as the fear of Adam wore off, my awareness of being in a strange car pushed itself forward.
“To Shell Beach,” Cade answered in a clipped tone. “The ocean calms me, and there is a particular spot that is a little more isolated than Pismo.”
A shiver ran down my arms and I suddenly had the desire to leap from the car the second we reached the stop sign in the far distance.
“I only wish for isolation because what we are sure to discuss cannot be heard by other ears. The beach is good because there will be other people around, in case you are worried I’m going to try something. And the waves make it impossible for others to overhear. Be calm Meghan, I mean you no harm.”
I relaxed, but only a little. Once Cade hit the main part of town, he down-shifted his car and took on a more leisurely speed. The hum of its engine helped soothe my nerves a little. The streets in town were busy with people trying to get their errands done before heading home, so the traffic was more dense than usual. I shot up from my slouched position. I was supposed to have caught a ride home after school.
“What is it?” Cade asked, sensing my unease.
“I have to call my parents. They think I’m going to be home soon.”
“When we get to the beach, you can call them. Tell them whatever you need to.”
; I nodded. I hated lying to my parents but if I told them a classmate and I decided to get together to work on some research after school, it wouldn’t be a complete lie. True, I was doing research, to some degree, but Cade wasn’t a classmate and I didn’t think any of my classes would require asking someone who was potentially from the Otherworld questions about Celtic gods and goddesses.
The spot Cade chose to have our talk was a familiar one to me. The access to the beach itself was along a small road that ran between the edge of a bluff and a charming maritime neighborhood. We both got out of the car and Cade didn’t bother locking the doors since the top was off. He offered to put my backpack into his trunk and I nodded in agreement. We headed down the staircase that spilled out onto the gritty sand below. Several more rocks and a half dozen or so sea stacks littered the beach and shore. I liked this spot in particular not only for the huge towers of rock and the tide pools off to the north, but also because the tourists tended to flock to the sandy and pier-adorned Pismo just to the south of this point. I didn’t like crowds and to me, long sandy beaches were a bit boring.
There were a handful of people walking below. A husband and wife and their two young sons; an older, fit woman playing fetch with her dog; a young college student and his girlfriend, perched upon a rock, waiting for the sunset. Not so many people that Cade and I couldn’t talk and not so few that, if he were to attack me, I couldn’t scream and draw their attention. He had chosen well.
Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my home number. To my great relief, Bradley answered the phone.
“Yeah,” he said, sounding a little out of breath.
I could hear my brothers screaming and chasing each other around in the background.
“Bradley? It’s Meg. Could you tell Mom and Dad I’ll be home a little late today? I’m going to be doing some research with a classmate for this group project we have to do.”
My brother turned and shouted something at the others, not bothering to cover the phone with his hand. I tried not to grin.
“Meg? Yeah, tell Mom you’re going to be late because of a school project, got it.”
“Thanks buddy,” I said, my shoulders slumping in relief.
“Kay, gotta go. Logan’s got a spray bottle and Aiden’s supposed to be covering me- Aaaaaagh!”
Chuckling, I hung up. “We’re all clear. I have at least two hours I think.”
I turned and looked at Cade. My skin suddenly started prickling. He was studying me so intensely I was beginning to wonder if he was of the same opinion as Adam with regards to my face. The recollection of my lunchtime nightmare made my face flame anew.
“What is it?” I asked self-consciously.
He sighed and let his hands drop into his pockets. “Nothing, let’s walk. Over there.”
He nodded towards the tide pools, the place furthest away from everybody else. I swallowed hard. If I were an ordinary high school girl and if he were an ordinary high school boy, I would be hoping for some romantic liaison on his part right then. But neither of us was ordinary and he was definitely not a high school boy. I had to work hard to get a hold of my wayward imagination. Even if he didn’t find me repulsive, it didn’t mean he was interested in me in that way. Besides, that line of thinking could get me into trouble.
I paused to take off my shoes and socks. I had this rule about always walking on the beach barefoot. Cade lifted a brow and followed suit. Even his bare feet were attractive. I shook that thought off as quickly as I would a wandering spider. We walked in silence for a while, listening to the waves crash along the shore. I could see why Cade would choose this place to calm his anger. The ocean was soothing; the primitive heartbeat of the earth.
When Cade decided we were far enough away from the other beach goers, he turned and looked at me, his hands still tucked in his pockets. I studied him for a while, still awed by how tall he was. His clothes fit him well and his shoes dangled from the thumb of his left hand. I hadn’t noticed his tattoos before; one on each arm, starting near his elbow and twining up to disappear beneath his shirt sleeves. Not surprisingly, they were Celtic in design, intricate, beautiful. It was then that I noticed the bandage on his arm. It wrapped around his wrist and went halfway up his forearm. Blotches of red bled through in many spots.
I darted my eyes up to his, the shock clear on my face. “What happened?”
He took a deep breath and turned his eyes, now a gray-green, towards the crashing waves. “Occupational hazard.”
He turned back to me, grinning without showing any teeth. That action turned out to be just as effective as the Mojave sun on an ice cube.
“And, what exactly is your occupation?”
He started in without any preamble. After all, we both had our suspicions of one another. We had both admitted as much those few weeks ago when he had lured me into the swamp and I had taken on his challenge to start my own research.
“I have a duty to fulfill to one who is far more powerful than I. To regulate and control those creatures who don’t follow the rules.”
I blinked, and not because of the salty spray which had just suffused the air.
“Basically, I am in charge of capturing the Otherworldly creatures that do not belong in this world. Or to punish those who have broken the rules in the Otherworld. I am, in a sense, the Otherworldly Police. Or, if you prefer something a little more dramatic, you could call me a faelah bounty hunter.”
I snorted, but not because I didn’t believe him. Hadn’t I seen him in action that night I had wandered into the swamp in my pajamas? I just thought the term Otherworldly Police sounded a bit ridiculous.
“And that is how you hurt your arm?”
He nodded and we fell back into nonverbal companionship.
“I’m sure you have many more questions Meghan. Do not be afraid to ask me, for I intend to tell you more than you probably wish to know.”
I swallowed. Hard. That sounded rather daunting. I didn’t want to know everything, I knew I didn’t, but from the look Cade was giving me, I knew he planned on telling me anyways. Taking a breath, I asked the question that had been bothering me from the beginning: “How did you know my name?”
He cocked his head to the side and smiled. “The internet.”
That time I really did laugh out loud. “Seriously?”
He nodded. That was getting annoying.
“It isn’t hard to find information on people these days.”
“But why did you want to find information on me in the first place?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Your home, Meghan, is very close to a gateway into Eile, the Otherworld. One I often use because of its convenient location in regards to my home on the other side, and because of how hidden and isolated it is. The scholars and historians call them dolmens, structures composed of rocks, forming a crude doorway of sorts. We Otherworldly folk call them dolmarehn. Not too far off the modern term, but if you want to say things properly . . .”
He rolled his shoulders, and I nodded.
“Dolmarehn,” I repeated the exotic word, trying it out on my tongue. It sounded creepy, like a word that might be found in a gothic poem.
“It was when I was passing through this dolmarehn that I first detected you. You see, when you spend time in the Otherworld, you absorb its magic. That magic lingers in your system for a while on the other side, here on earth. It wears off in time, almost like a residue, but it gives us extra powers, you could say. Mortals call it glamour. It also gives us the ability to shift our appearance or shape to a certain degree.”
An image of Hobo Bob came to mind, hunched over with the face of a very old man.
Cade took a step forward, moving closer. He leaned his arm against the sheer side of the bluff just beside me and looked me in the eye. His were closer to that dark green now and I wondered what color my own eyes were.
“When this residue is still fresh in us, we can easily detect others like us. If the residue is old, th
en we have to be much closer to each other to recognize one another. You just happened to be passing by on the trail that day.” He was quiet now, his voice barely audible over the waves.
“And, and, when was that?” I stammered. I felt like a fool, letting his close proximity bend me to his will.
“Several months ago. I kept an eye on you, did my own research. I was baffled, you see, for you give off a very strong aura, though I suspect you haven’t been to Eile in a very long time. Meghan,” he sighed and looked away for a minute, “like me, you are of the Otherworld. You are not human, but immortal. You are one of the Faelorehn.”
-Twelve-
Answers
I think I might have blacked out for a split second, because the next thing I remembered, Cade was holding onto my shoulder as if I was going to fall.
“What?” I whispered, my attention not on him anymore, but fixated on the fascinating shells being washed up by the surf. The grainy sand suddenly felt rough against my bare feet and the underlying smell of fish and salt made my nose sting.
“Here, come sit down a little while,” Cade murmured, somewhere a bit too close to my ear.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough sense to protest. He sat me down on a large, flat rock, its surface warm from the sun, and took a seat next to me. For a while, we just watched the waves, Cade most likely afraid to set me off into a fit of denial or rage, me, well, I was just trying to get a hold of my swirling emotions. Disbelief, for what he had told me couldn’t be true. Hilarity because, let’s face it, it was ridiculous. And finally fear. I thought, despite everything else, my fear was the strongest.
I couldn’t fully accept that what he had said wasn’t true, however, for I had seen things with my own eyes and heard things with my own ears that proved the existence of this mythical Otherworld. Just that very day, had I not enticed a pinecone to fly off the ground of its own accord and smash into the back of Adam’s head? But to be a part of it? To have emerged from such a place? To be immortal? I shivered. Despite my violent self-denial, deep down inside I knew it could be possible. After all, I had been found wandering all on my own when I was too young to have true memories, not a scrap of evidence to suggest who I was or how I had ended up in a sketchy section of Los Angeles by myself.
