PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  Liam paused, his eyes far away, remembering.

  “I soon began to long for her day and night. On the days I couldn’t slip away, I ached for her—”

  “Explain how this has anything to do with my mother,” I said. He expected me to believe this?

  He ignored my question and continued. “I was becoming physically addicted to her. Aoife and her folk believe that humans are their playthings. They think nothing of capturing a human and filling them with longing, only to dump them back into this world. After their encounters with the Danaan, humans are nothing but empty husks.”

  Niamh cleared her throat and Liam paused.

  “Not all Danaan are so callous,” she said. “Aoife is my sister, but we don’t share the same beliefs. She has been defying our laws and customs for some time now.” She motioned for Liam to go on.

  “One day, I begged Aoife to come home with me. She took me to her home instead. By then, I was completely enthralled by Aoife. She was all I cared about. I forgot about my family—they were totally wiped from my mind. And as time went on, I began to come back to myself, my mind began to clear. Just by living in TÍ r na n’Ó g, I was becoming immortal.”

  “Immortal?” I asked, laughing. “What? Like a vampire?”

  “We are as alive as you are, Allison. But unlike your kind, we don’t grow old,” Niamh said, her lips curving into a smirk.

  “So,” Liam went on. “I started to remember my life before entering their world. I longed to see my family. I didn’t realize that decades had passed here. It seemed such a short time in TÍ r na n’Ó g, because nobody aged there, including me. Aoife would leave occasionally, with only her handmaiden Eithne to watch over me. The first time I asked if I might join Aoife in her travels was in 1979. She agreed to take me along to Dublin.

  “Several years later at the Music in the Street Festival at Trinity College, I met your mother.”

  I thought of the photos I had of Liam and my mother, smiling and happy. Those must have been at the music festival. If any of this were to be believed.

  “I couldn’t stop thinking about her and planning ways to see her again. I hid her from Aoife. It wasn’t easy, but I had fallen hopelessly in love with your mother. It was nothing like the obsession I’d felt for Aoife—that was nothing like love.”

  Niamh looked away with an uncomfortable expression. When she caught me watching her, I quickly turned back to Liam.

  “By then I had become more Danaan than human. I’d stopped aging and had developed some magical ability. Nothing like a true Danaan, but magic nonetheless.”

  He frowned, and I noticed his eyes beginning to glisten.

  “Your mother and I were able to continue seeing each other for about five months before Aoife suspected anything. She assumed I was involved with Eithne, her handmaiden, and began watching me closely. It was nearly impossible to meet with your mother. She didn’t understand my situation, and I was too afraid to tell her the truth. I knew I was breaking her heart by staying away, but I didn’t have a choice.

  “When I returned to TÍ r na n’Ó g, Aoife was waiting for me. She’d figured out with whom I had been meeting and was infuriated I had a desire to be with another, let alone a human.”

  Liam blew out a shaky breath, and Niamh took over. “Aoife’s temper is well-known among our folk. But none of us had ever seen such fury as when she felt she was betrayed by Liam,” she said shaking her head.

  “What did she do to my mother?” I blurted out, anger coloring my tone.

  “She didn’t do anything to your mother—not directly anyway,” Liam said, his hands balling into fists by his sides. “Aoife placed a geis, an enchantment, on me so that I was unable to touch your mother,” his voice faltered. “And then I was forbidden to leave TÍ r na n’Ó g, and your mother left Ireland, thinking I had abandoned her.”

  I just stared at Liam, though he looked everywhere but at me.

  Niamh spoke again, and her face softened. “That’s not the worst of it, though. Like Liam said, when humans are abandoned by one of us, they are driven crazy with longing. He experienced it firsthand when Aoife stayed away for just one week. Your mother has been kept from your father for twenty-two years. She doesn’t have schizophrenia—she has an unfulfilled addiction. Until she is able to touch him again, she’ll never be more than an empty shell of what she once was.”

  I felt tears sliding down my cheeks as I listened to Niamh. If this story were true, maybe Liam really could help my mother. For that reason, I wanted it to be true. Another thought hit me hard and fast.

  “Where is Aoife now?” I asked, my chest squeezing. “Is she the one who you are trying to protect us from?”

  Niamh kept speaking as though she didn’t hear me. “During a recent gathering, I sensed something was very wrong with your father.”

  Niamh looked into my eyes, and I heard her voice in my mind again.

  I can read and speak to minds, so I could communicate with Liam without making Aoife suspicious.

  “Liam told me everything that happened. I agreed to imprison Aoife in a fey globe. It was the only way to stop her from keeping Liam captive.”

  Niamh stared into my eyes again. An image of a beautiful woman trapped in a shimmering sphere flashed into my mind.

  “Aoife may not be able to cause trouble now, but there are others who would restore her to power—”

  “I’ve seen her,” I interrupted. “The black-haired woman in the sphere, I’ve seen her in my dreams.”

  I looked at Liam. “When I first met you, I knew who you were because I’d dreamed of you. I knew you were my father because we look...so much alike.” I paused for a beat and swallowed hard. This can’t be happening. “And last night I dreamed of the woman with black hair. Aoife.”

  Niamh’s brow shot up. “I don’t understand why my mother didn’t tell me about this,” she whispered to Liam.

  Liam kept his head down. The muscles in his jaw were tense, his hands clenched at his sides.

  I couldn’t help wondering how her mother would know about me, but my phone rang just as I was about to ask. Ethan’s name showed on the display. I turned my back to Liam and Niamh to answer.

  “I need your help,” he said, sounding distressed.

  “Wh-what’s wrong?” I asked warily. I didn’t know how much more I could handle right then.

  “We have way too much leftover food here. Come help me eat it...please.”

  I let out the breath I had been holding. “Oh, okay,” I said, relieved that there was no more earth-shattering news.

  “Hey, is everything all right?”

  I swallowed the truth, wondering if the fact that my life had just turned into a Disney movie would be considered all right.

  “Allison,” Liam said from behind me in his thick Irish brogue.

  “Oh, is someone there with you?” Ethan asked.

  “Uh, yeah. I just bumped into Liam while I was out for a run.”

  “Okay,” he said, something off in his voice. “Just give me a call later then.”

  I put the phone back into my pocket and closed my eyes, trying to reconcile the image of Ethan’s face in my mind with everything I’d just heard. What would he think if he knew about all of this?

  The answer was simple: he could never know about any of it.

  I turned around just as one of the giant black birds landed on a branch just over our heads.

  “You have these dreams often, you said?” Liam asked, his eyes darting up to the bird.

  I nodded. “Almost every night for about six months.”

  Niamh’s gaze flickered between my father and me as I told them about the dreams. Liam stared at the ground, stroking the back of his neck as I recalled the different scenarios I’d witnessed.

  A loud caw came from the trees, and Liam looked up at Niamh, some kind of silent conversation taking place between them.

  I put my hands up. “Don’t do that. Don’t make it so I can’t tell what you’re saying. Not after all
you’ve put me through already.”

  Liam cleared his throat. “It was a mistake for us to have met with you out in the open like this.”

  “It’s time for us to go,” Niamh said. “It’s not safe to stay here any longer.”

  “So, that’s it? You’re just going to leave? What am I supposed to do now?” I asked.

  “I will see you soon,” Liam said, taking one more look at the house where my mother was.

  The black bird cawed again and flapped its wings in the tree above.

  Go home, Allison.

  Niamh and Liam turned as if they were going to walk away, but instead they completely disappeared.

  Chapter 6

  Monday evening I was at the hardware store closing out the cash register when the bells hanging over the door clanged. I looked up from the receipts to see Ethan strolling up the aisle.

  “Oh, hey, Ethan.” I looked back down, ignoring the jolt in my heart. I hadn’t called him back yesterday after my run-in with Liam and Niamh.

  “I was just wondering what time you get off work?”

  “Well, as soon as I finish counting up these receipts.” I kept my voice casual, keeping my eyes on the papers in front of me.

  “Something wrong, Al?” he asked in a low voice.

  I shook my head, pretending to be confused. “Not really. I just have a headache.”

  He shoved his hands in the pockets of his faded blue jeans and shrugged. “You busy tonight?”

  “The only thing I’ll be doing is taking an aspirin and lying down.”

  Ethan’s mouth tightened, but he nodded.

  I wrapped the totals sheet around my receipts and locked them in the safe, avoiding his eyes.

  “Everything else is okay though, right? You seem a little...distracted,” he said. “And you never called me back . . . ”

  “Everything’s fine,” I said. “Just busy.”

  I turned off the lights, grabbed my purse, and walked around the counter. He walked by my side to the door, his arm brushing mine as I reached past him to set the alarm. The air felt thick and charged.

  Ethan walked me to my car silently. I took a deep breath, and as I turned to face him, a flood of emotions washed through me. Who was I kidding? I’d loved him since before I could remember, reputation and all. But I had a plan: get through school, get a job, and take care of my mother. Being in a relationship was not part of it.

  I knew he wouldn’t walk away without a fight, but I didn’t want to pull him any deeper into my life than he already was. If all of these things with Liam and my mother made no sense to me, how would I ever explain them to Ethan? And if they were true . . . he’d be in danger. There’d be a rogue fairy out to get me.

  “I’ll talk to you later, okay?” I said softly.

  He was quiet for a minute, and I started getting even more nervous. “I took the day off Wednesday,” he said with an odd note of uncertainty. “I wanted to take you to lunch on your birthday.”

  My mouth went dry, and I realized I’d been holding my breath. I let it out in a puff. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

  Ethan swallowed and looked away, then cleared his throat. “I’ll...I’ll just call you Wednesday. Hope you feel better.” He tapped the hood of my car before turning and walking away.

  ***

  Two days dragged by with no word from Liam. I kept replaying the conversation with him and Niamh over and over in my head. They had answers for so many of the questions I’d had my whole life—why I’d never known my father, why my mother lost her mind. And, why I felt like I was losing mine. Their answers sounded crazy, but they explained it all so perfectly.

  They even acted like my dreams meant something, like I might not be going insane after all. Unless they were just as crazy as I was. Which was highly possible.

  I typed the word Danaan into the search engine on my laptop, tapping my chin with a pen as I scanned through the results. I’d spent every spare minute the past two days looking up Irish fairies.

  The Tuatha DÉ Danaan are magical descendants of the pre-Christian deities of Ireland who lived alongside the druids and Gaels. These human-like beings were forced to retreat under the hills of Ireland into another dimension of space and time with the rise of Christianity.

  It was reputed that only iron weapons could injure them. They became known as the people of the Sidhe (mounds) or fairies.

  Deities? As in gods? I scrolled through web pages on all manner of magic and fairy stories. Paintings of women wearing flowers in their hair with flowing gowns were on every page. Beautiful.

  I jumped when the phone rang. Again. It had been ringing non-stop all day. I glanced at the caller ID, seeing that it was Nicole this time. I silenced it and tossed it back on my nightstand.

  “Allison,” Gram called from outside my bedroom door.

  I heard the worry in her voice and tried to ignore it. “Come in.”

  She poked her head in, her brow creased with concern. “Supper’s ready, honey.” Gram was using her “cheerful voice.”

  “Okay, I’ll be down in a sec,” I said as I shut off my laptop.

  Gram smiled and tried to make her face look relaxed before nodding and heading back downstairs, leaving my bedroom door open.

  The smoky smell of grilled chicken that wafted in from the kitchen made my stomach grumble. I must have forgotten to eat lunch.

  Oh my god, lunch!

  Ethan had taken the day off so he could take me out for lunch on my birthday. No wonder the phone had been ringing non-stop. I groaned and rubbed my hand over my face. How could I have forgotten? I stood and smoothed my ponytail. I needed to pull myself together for Gram’s and Pop’s sakes. I was sure they had put together a nice supper while I sulked in my room all day.

  I went downstairs, and started when I saw Aunt Jessie and Uncle Dave setting the table.

  “Hey, birthday girl!” Aunt Jessie said as she walked by.

  Pop came in off the deck carrying a plate of grilled chicken. “There she is! Finally showing her face today. Happy Birthday, young lady!” His eyes twinkled like they always did when the family was all together. As he set the plate down, he kissed my mother on the cheek.

  The front door shut with a crash. Uh oh. There was only one person missing from the table.

  Nicole walked into the kitchen, staring at me with her eyes wide and lips pursed, but said nothing. It might as well have been a slap for what it meant.

  Gram saved me by announcing it was time to eat. Everyone loaded up their plates, the typical chatter going on across the table. I was about to take my first bite when Nicole spoke, her voice loud enough to stop all other conversation. “So, Al. I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine, Nic,” I replied without looking up. I knew my family was looking at Nicole for an explanation.

  “That’s really good, you know, because I was convinced you were in some sort of accident or that you’d been mugged...seeing that you haven’t answered your phone all day.”

  “Nope, I’m all right,” I said evenly, fighting the urge to apologize. I had a secret now, something that set me apart from even Nicole, and I had to keep it that way.

  “Fabulous.” Nicole said sharply.

  Gram cleared her throat pointedly, and my head snapped up. My grandparents, aunt, and uncle were quietly cutting the food on their plates, and, my mother was slowly sipping her drink gazing out the back door. Finally, I raised my eyes and met Nicole’s hard stare. I shook my head and looked back down at my plate.

  ***

  I turned on the sink and picked up the sponge. Dinner was over, and helping to clean up was the best excuse I could think of to avoid Nicole. But Gram stopped me.

  “It’s a beautiful evening, and your birthday, so why don’t you go enjoy it on the deck?”

  I sighed. It would be no use to argue. I nodded and gave her a kiss, then took my iced tea out back and sat in a lounge chair. Nicole inevitably followed.

  She leaned back on the railing and folded
her arms. “All right, let’s hear it.”

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “I’m used to this sort of thing from you,” Nicole began, “but I’m family, I have no choice but to accept your weirdness.”

  “Nic—”

  “No, let me finish. You told Ethan you’d go to lunch with him. Now that I see for myself that there’s no catastrophe, I don’t understand why you would blow him off.”

  “First of all, I never agreed. And besides, I haven’t been feeling well, and I just laid down for a minute and...” I trailed off, not wanting to lie but hoping Nicole would come to her own conclusions.

  “This is Ethan we’re talking about, Al. You have been in love with him since you were in the first grade! So, what’s the deal?”

  “It was a mistake, Nic,” I whispered.

  Nicole shook her head and stalked back in the house without another word.

  I closed my eyes, and let my head fall back on my chair. The sounds of the dishes clattering in the sink began to fade.

  I walk into a room. I’ve seen it before . . . the curved ceiling is familiar. A man stands in the center of the space, his black hair pulled back at the base of his neck. His face is all sharp angles, and he smirks at me, a cruel and twisted smile. He looks like he’s been expecting me, but I’ve never seen him before.

  The cry of bird makes me stop, my feet not wanting to enter any farther into the room. A large black bird lands on the man’s outstretched arm, and he looks into the bird’s eyes, then back at me.

  His laughter is as cold and sharp as an icicle as he turns to look at me again. “Do you know where your mother is, girl?”

  “Allie?” I jumped at the sound of my name, and woke to find Ethan gently shaking my shoulder.

  “Where is she?” I shouted.

  “Whoa, Allie, it’s okay. It was just a bad dream,” he said as I stood up. “You were kind of thrashing around.”

  I gulped in the summer air and tried to catch my breath. “I’m . . . I’m fine. I’m just not feeling that great.”