PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  His expression was hopeful. “You must be coming down with something. Nic just told me you slept all afternoon.”

  I nodded and stretched my arms above my head.

  “We were thinking of doing your cake, sweetie,” Aunt Jessie said as she stuck her head out the back door and smiled sheepishly at us.

  “Oh, thanks Aunt Jessie,” I said, grateful for a reason to not have to give Ethan any more explanations. I gave him a halfhearted smile as we headed inside.

  My family was seating themselves back at the table with coffee, and in front of my seat was a beautiful cake with lemon icing—my favorite.

  As I blew out my candles, I wished for the same thing I did every year—to be strong enough, and capable enough, to take care of my mother.

  But, this year’s wish was slightly different. I hoped for a real chance at my mother getting better.

  ***

  When I got up the next morning to go for my run, it was already in the eighties and the sun had barely risen over the trees. The humidity made my tank top stick to my skin, but I didn’t care. My headphones blared in my ears, cares shattered into pieces by the pumping bass line. I welcomed the sweat trickling down my back and pushed harder.

  I walked the last half mile to cool down, and as I came around the corner I saw Liam standing, once more, in the path leading up to his property.

  As I approached, he raised his hand in greeting, and something silver gleamed out from the short sleeve of his shirt.

  “Good morning, Allison.”

  “Hey,” I said, feeling awkward and not sure how to act after all he’d told me a few days before.

  “They’re beginning to clear the property today.”

  I looked up the path to see a group of men pulling chainsaws out of a truck. “I guess I won’t be sleeping in anytime soon.”

  Liam laughed a little, and his lips curved upward. He had a nice smile—I hadn’t seen him smile much since I’d met him.

  “I had another dream last night,” I said, grabbing my ankle to stretch my leg.

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah,” I said, suddenly unsure if I should share it. He waited for me to continue, and I shook off the fear. “I was in that same room where I saw Aoife before. There was a man with long, black hair. He had a black bird on his shoulder.” I looked straight into Liam’s eyes. “He asked about my mother.”

  I didn’t like the way his eyes widened at this. “Breanh,” he murmured.

  “And that means...what?”

  “Breanh is Aoife’s adviser. He’s the one who introduced her to dark magic in the first place. I’m sure he’s trying to find Aoife right now.”

  The way Liam was talking now, fast and without really looking at me, filled me with dread.

  “Wait a sec! That doesn’t really tell me anything. This guy is the one you think will hurt Mom?”

  For a moment, Liam just looked down, his jaw working. When he finally raised his eyes, his expression was tight and reserved.

  “If Breanh discovered why I’m here, he’ll use your mother against me. In order to get Aoife back.”

  “I’m guessing letting Aoife go is out of the question?”

  Liam sighed. “It would just make everything worse if we released Aoife at this point.”

  “Worse for who? How can I keep my mother safe if she’s now some evil fairy’s bargaining chip?”

  Liam sighed again, heavier this time. He looked up at the house where my mother was probably watching the early talk shows.

  “The workers will keep him away for now, I think. But the nighttime is more of a concern. Stay inside today. I think you’ll be safest there.”

  “No way,” I said, raising my voice. “I can’t just stay home and hide. I need to do something, find a way to protect her.”

  “I just need to speak with Niamh, We’ll figure something out.”

  “No, that’s not good enough.” I was nearly shouting, but the words died in my throat as Ethan’s pickup truck pulled up next to me.

  Liam turned and walked quickly into the woods in the opposite direction of the workers.

  Ethan hopped out of the truck, shutting the door with a thud. “Good day for a run,” he said with a smile.

  “Oh, yeah.”

  He turned to look at me then. I felt like he could see past all my secrets, so I quickly looked away.

  “I just have to go over some things with these guys,” he said as he gestured toward the lot next door. “But, after that, I’m free for awhile. You wanna grab lunch?”

  “Actually, I was thinking I’d like to spend a little time with my mother before I take over for Lenny at the store.”

  Ethan nodded slowly, rubbing his hand across his chin. His gaze traveled in the direction where Liam had walked off. “I was hoping to talk to Liam for a minute today, too. Think he’ll be back?”

  I was caught off guard. “I don’t know. He didn’t say.”

  “I had thought...” He struggled to find words, but I already knew what he was going to say.

  “What, Ethan?” I asked, keeping my voice low and cool. “You won a bet. What more do you want?”

  “So, that’s it?” He straightened up. “I think we both know it was more than that.”

  I felt backed into a corner, so, I used the only weapon I had. “I’m sure it’s hard for you to believe,” I said, adding ice to my voice. “But, it’s true.”

  “Fine.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. “I guess I’ll see you around, Al.”

  He narrowed his eyes and stared hard into mine, stripping me of the last of my defenses. Without another word he turned and walked away.

  I headed inside. It really was a scorcher outside. As I headed up the stairs to take a shower I wiped the sweat from my forehead and the tears from my eyes.

  Chapter 7

  The hardware store was slow that night, and it was even harder to get through the hours than usual as I was constantly fighting back tears. When I could finally close up, I went straight home. I hadn’t heard from Liam yet and it was nearly seven, and between worrying about my mother and replaying my conversation with Ethan, I was completely exhausted and beyond emotionally drained.

  Thankfully, everything was quiet when I got home. I walked into the living room to find Gram sitting on the couch folding laundry.

  “Just the person I was thinking of,” Gram said as I dropped my purse on the sideboard.

  “Hi, Gram. Where is everyone?”

  “Your mom is upstairs lying down. Pop is down in the cellar, I think.”

  I sat down in the recliner and leaned my head back for a minute.

  “Are you feeling okay, honey? You look a little pale.”

  I yawned and settled further into the chair, opening one eye to look at her. “Just a little tired, that’s all.”

  Gram stood and hauled the laundry basket up to her hip. “There are leftovers in the fridge, I’m just going to put this laundry away, and I’ll heat something up for you.”

  “I can manage,” I said, stretching one more time before I stood.

  I took the leftover pasta out and heated a bowl in the microwave. As I waited for it to cook, I sliced a piece of fresh Italian bread.

  I wanted to be able to tell Gram everything, to share the weight of all I now knew with someone. But there was no way I could even tell Gram and Pop about who Liam was, let alone all the insane-sounding things he’d told me about his life. Plus, I hadn’t had a chance to come to terms with his arrival yet myself, as my father.

  I took a deep breath and watched the microwave. Now that my mother was in potential danger, I needed to take care of this myself. There could be no more distractions. But the image of Ethan staring into my eyes, his expression cold and angry, was burnt into my memory. He’d never been angry with me before. But—I reminded myself—angry was better than hopeful.

  Once again, I was left waiting to hear from Liam. The hope I’d let myself feel since he’d shown up was being replaced by dread. Liam
had said Breanh was dangerous. But would Breanh even know where we were if Liam hadn’t shown up here? Now he may as well hand-deliver my mother right to the bad guy.

  The ceiling creaked loudly, and I looked up, wondering what Gram was doing up there. It sounded like she was scurrying in and out of the bedrooms. A second later, she bustled down the stairs. Her face was flushed, and strands of white hair escaped from her bun.

  The bread knife slipped from my fingers as she approached me, landing with a clatter on the cutting board.

  Mom. Something was wrong.

  “Gram?”

  She blinked at me before hurrying over to the living room window. “Your mother isn’t in her bedroom,” she said as she turned away from the window.

  “Tom,” she called as she walked toward the cellar stairs and opened the door. “Tom, have you seen Beth?”

  “Coming, Jane,” I heard Pop holler from the bottom of the stairs. “What is it, dear?”

  “I can’t find Elizabeth. She isn’t down there with you, is she?”

  “No,” Pop said, wiping sawdust off his brow.

  “Maybe she wandered out into the backyard again,” I said. Before anyone could respond, I threw open the screen slider and hurried outside. I ran around the entire house shouting her name, but there was no sign of her.

  I climbed the porch steps two at a time and charged upstairs to my bedroom. My hands shook as I scrolled through the numbers on my cell phone, trying to find the one Liam had called from.

  I heard him pick up but was speaking before he had a chance to say anything. “My mother,” I shouted. “She’s missing.”

  After a moment of silence, he finally replied. “I’ll be there in just a moment, Allison. Stay put.”

  I threw the phone down on my bed. Pacing back and forth, I tried to imagine how this could have happened. How could she have left the house without my grandparents even noticing? It just didn’t make sense.

  Pop was on the phone when I came back downstairs, and Gram stood by the slider, wringing her hands, looking out into the darkening backyard. My grandfather hung up and walked over to where Gram stood. He wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned her head into his shoulder. I could see she was trembling.

  “She can’t be far, Jane. I told the police about Beth’s condition—they’ll be here soon. They’ll find her.”

  “I just don’t know how this could have happened,” Gram said in a shaky voice.

  “Mom?” Aunt Jessie walked down the front hall and froze by the side table, looking back and forth between me and my grandparents.

  Gram pulled away from my grandfather and pursed her lips. At Gram’s expression, Aunt Jessie rushed over to her.

  “She’s just...gone,” Gram murmured into my aunt’s shoulder as they held each other for a moment.

  The sound of car doors cut through the tension then, and we were out on the front porch in seconds. A police car was parked in front of the house.

  While the officers spoke with my grandparents, I caught sight of Liam standing on the sidewalk a few yards away. He had his back to me, and it wasn’t until I was just a few feet from him that he turned around.

  “What’s happened?” he asked.

  I inhaled. “I don’t really know. My grandparents thought she was up in her room. But when Gram went to check on her, she wasn’t there.”

  Liam nodded and turned toward the house. His eyes slid over the yard and the vehicles in the driveway.

  “You got here so fast,” I whispered, barely even aware that I had spoken out loud.

  “That’s one advantage of being a Danaan.” He cleared his throat and glanced over at me. “Speed.”

  I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it wasn’t important right now. All that mattered was finding my mom.

  I heard one of the officers tell my grandparents that due to her schizophrenia, they’d be able to file a missing persons report immediately. The second officer walked to his squad car to call into the station, while the other continued speaking to Gram and Pop.

  Uncle Dave stood at Aunt Jessie’s side, rubbing her back as they listened to my grandfather describe my mother’s physical appearance.

  A car door slammed, and I heard the clatter of heels on tar.

  “Al?” Nicole said as she and Jeff walked to the sidewalk. She glanced at Liam and then at me. “Allison? What’s going on?”

  “My mother,” I said, but my voice came out like a croak and I cleared my throat. “My mother’s missing.”

  Nicole’s eyes widened in alarm. “Missing? Oh my God.” Her arms came up around my shoulders, squeezing me with all her strength.

  Jeff spoke from behind Nicole. “Can we form a search party? What are the police doing?”

  Nicole didn’t give me a chance to answer, she half pulled me toward the rest of our family. I looked over my shoulder at Liam, and he nodded, as though he knew just what to do.

  ***

  I hurried down the cellar stairs and over to the map of Stoneville that hung above my grandfather’s workbench. Standing on my tiptoes, I reached for the pushpins that held it in place. My fingers just barely brushed the rounded heads of the pins, and I strained to get my fingernail underneath. The frantic energy buzzing through my body wouldn’t allow me to pop each pin off the board one at a time, and I ended up tearing the map from the wall, barely keeping it in one piece.

  I sprinted back to the kitchen and spread the map across the table. My grandparents sat in two chairs pushed close together. Jeff and Nicole, Joanne and her husband Frank, plus half a dozen friends and neighbors had arrived to help look for my mother. Looking down at the street names, I jabbed my finger into the spot that I knew represented our property.

  “Okay, we’re here. If we divide into groups of four, we can each spread out in all directions...” I looked up to see everyone was waiting for my instructions, as if I really knew what I was doing.

  As I assigned paths for everyone to follow, the front door slammed and footsteps came down the hall. Ethan walked into the living room, carrying an armload of flashlights and lanterns. His mouth was set in a grim line and fear flickered in his eyes. I breathed deeply through my nose and looked back down at the map.

  I felt each step he took as he came to my side. As I spoke to Ethan’s parents and Sean’s parent’s—the Connor’s—I heard the trembling in my own voice.

  “You four can take the old cart road up behind the Connor’s house. Do you have flashlights?” I grabbed the lantern Ethan held out and passed it to Sean’s father, accepting the comfort he offered me with a tight smile.

  Allison.

  Niamh’s voice in my head caused a shudder to ripple across my shoulders. I looked toward the door, but she wasn’t anywhere I could see.

  Ethan touched my elbow. “It’ll be okay, Al. We’ll find her.”

  I looked up to see his brown eyes fixed on mine. He squeezed my arm in reassurance, and I pulled back. I needed to keep my head clear, and his touch was too much.

  “Let’s go, Ethan. We’re going to look behind the old Miller farm,” Jeff said as he and Nicole walked over. Nicole’s eyebrows pulled down as she assessed the situation.

  That’s when another familiar voice spoke behind me.

  “Mr. and Mrs. O’Malley? I’ve heard about your daughter,” Liam said. “I’ll search the woods on the property. She’s sure to turn up soon.”

  My grandparents barely responded, they just gave him watery smiles.

  I closed my eyes and sighed. Liam—in my house, talking to my grandparents. About my mother. I had to hold my tongue and remind myself that this wasn’t his fault, that he was trying to help bring her home.

  I felt Ethan watching my reaction to Liam. I didn’t know what was going through his mind, but I was sure any ideas he had about my relationship with Liam were completely off the mark.

  My father turned toward the door. Each assigned search party was making its own plans now, so I followed him out onto the porch. Niamh stood on the sidewalk, and s
he held me in her gaze as I approached.

  Follow me.

  I didn’t want to, but without hesitating, I followed her to the path leading up to Liam’s property. My feet felt like they were moving without my consent.

  I gave my word to protect your mother, Allison. No harm will come to her.

  I shook my head, not understanding how she could promise that. Or why she would even want to. I got the impression humans meant very little to the Danaans.

  I swore to help your father. We will return your mother unharmed.

  I sighed. This mind reading thing was already getting annoying.

  Niamh smiled wryly. “I can speak aloud if you’d like.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered as we walked farther up the path into the trees.

  It was fully dark now, and the moon was waning. The flashlight helped a little, but I still managed to trip over a rock hidden under some leaves. I blew out a frustrated breath and felt someone grab my elbow to steady me. But when I looked over, no one was there.

  “Allison, meet Tagdh.”

  “What?” I asked, looking at Niamh.

  “Tagdh is Niamh’s guardian,” Liam explained. “He’s wearing a glamour to stay hidden from human eyes.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “What does that even mean?”

  “A glamour is an enchantment,” Niamh said. “It’s like a cloak of magic that keeps your mind from registering his presence.”

  I rolled my eyes, but nodded as if I heard this kind of thing all the time. “I see.”

  The air shimmered in front of me, and a young man slowly came into focus. He bowed his head, raising his solemn eyes to meet mine. Their color reminded me of the bright green buds of early spring, and his auburn hair curled around his ears.

  “Tagdh was able to use glamour to keep hidden.” Liam gestured for me to stop walking now that we were away from the others. “And we have news. The birds we’ve been seeing around your house are confirmed as Breanh’s spies.”

  Liam watched for my reaction, but I was determined to keep a straight face. “Breanh is able to control the minds of all creatures, including humans.”