by Tom Mohan
“How do they keep in touch if they don’t use telephones?” Liza asked.
“They have their ways,” Jacob said. “What if we get Marcas and each of us goes to an Old One’s house with a phone?”
Fallon gave the young man an appraising look. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. We might just make a Finn out of you yet. Mom and Dad could even go to two of their houses if Marcas doesn’t show back up for a while. I’ll go see what Bri thinks about it. If she can even pull it off.”
“What she did with my phone in LA was sure impressive.”
Fallon laughed. “You are easily impressed. I’ll be right back.”
Liza watched Fallon disappear into the house. She was all too aware of Jacob’s presence beside her. This was the first time they had been alone since the night at the lake.
“I wanted to apologize again for the other night,” he said.
Liza looked at the ground. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You couldn’t have known that would happen.”
“Still…I feel responsible. Everything here is so new to you, and I should have known better than to take you out there at night. I just wanted to show you how beautiful our part of the world can be.”
“It is beautiful.” She looked up at him. “Don’t worry about it. I still don’t know why I’m here, but there does appear to be a reason. Maybe that had to happen.” She sighed. “A part of me just wants to go back home to my little world. Not that your police chief will let me.”
“It’s funny to hear you talk about Los Angeles as your little world. It’s so huge. I’d like to see it someday.”
“I’d be happy to show you around. And it is huge. Huge and loud and dirty—beautiful, too, in its own way. Still, you have something here that is larger than most can even imagine, larger than reality. I think that’s why I’m still here.”
There was a crash at the house as Fallon burst through the front door, cell phone to her head. “We have to get out to the house,” she said. “Something’s wrong.” She took the phone from her ear and hit redial. “Come on, Ruth, answer the damn phone.”
“What’s wrong?” Jacob asked.
“Brianna says something’s wrong with Mom and Dad, but no one’s answering the phone at the house. It goes straight to voicemail.”
Jacob pulled out his phone and dialed. “I get the same thing,” he said after a moment. “I’ll follow you out there.”
Liza and Fallon talked little on the drive to the Finn farm. When they arrived, Ruth Yoder was pacing back and forth on the front porch. When she saw them pull up, she raced out to meet them as fast as her squat body would carry her.
“I didn’t know what to do, Fallon. The house phone isn’t working. I can’t find mine or your folks’ cell phones. I know I left mine on the counter like I always do, but it isn’t there.”
“Slow down, Ruth. Take a breath and tell us what’s wrong. Brianna said something was wrong with Mom and Dad, but she didn’t know what.”
“They’re lost, lost in the Mist. I don’t know how it happened, but it’s my fault, isn’t it? I’m supposed to look after them, but I didn’t and now they’re lost in the Mist.”
Fallon left the housekeeper rambling and sprinted to the house. Liza followed a few steps behind. They raced up the stairs and to the room at the end of the hall. Liza entered the room and almost slammed into Fallon’s back.
“Oh my god,” Fallon said. “Oh my god.”
“What’s wrong?” Liza slipped around Fallon and peered at the couple lying peacefully on the bed. At first, she didn’t understand what was wrong, other than that they lay like they were in a coma.
Then it hit her. “Aren’t they supposed to be in physical contact with each other?”
Fallon only nodded.
“Fallon? What’s this mean? Can’t we just put their hands together or something?”
“I…I don’t know.” She lifted Ana’s hand and moved it toward Cullen. It stopped a few inches short. “It’s like there’s something between them.” Her voice caught, and a tear slipped down her cheek. “They’re lost in the Mist, and there isn’t anything we can do to help them.”
• • • • • • •
LIZA PACED THE living room of the Finn house while Fallon tried to reach Brianna on her cell phone. She had managed to get ahold of Marcas, and he was on his way. But so far, Brianna wasn’t answering. Jacob sat silent, as shocked as the rest of them.
“Is it normal for her not to answer?” Liza asked as Fallon hung up the phone for the third time.
“Not normal but not unheard of, either. She could be in the middle of a vision or in the bathroom. Who knows?”
Ruth entered the room carrying three glasses of iced tea. Even in a crisis, the woman remained faithful to her duties. Probably more so, Liza thought. She knew from experience that at times like this, the most mundane actions could be the most calming.
“Don’t be worrying yourself about Brianna,” Ruth said. “Nothing can get to her in that house. It takes good care of her.”
“That’s what we thought about the Old Ones, too,” Fallon muttered.
“Miss Fallon, you can’t be thinking like that. You Finns have got to keep your wits about you. We’re all counting on you.”
Fallon’s face turned red, and she looked about to lash out. In the end, she only sighed. “Sorry, Ruth. I’m running out of ideas.”
“The remaining Old Ones can help. They have more ancient knowledge than anyone.”
“Shouldn’t they have contacted someone by now?” Liza said. “The Old Ones, I mean. They have to know what’s happening.”
“That’s been bothering me as well,” Fallon said. “They’ve always been standoffish, in their own ways, but Brianna, at least, should have heard from them. None of them have ever tried to hide the fact that she’s their favorite.”
Outside, Huck barked, and Ruth went to see what was going on. “Marcas is here!” She opened the front door to let him in.
Fallon ran to him and threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. “Thank god you’re here. I was worried we’d lost you, too.”
Marcas gave her a brief hug in return before hurrying to his parents’ room. Ruth followed after, but Fallon and Liza remained behind. He returned after only a couple minutes. “That’s just weird,” he said. “All these years, I’ve never seen them like that. It isn’t natural.”
“No, it isn’t,” Fallon said. “How could it even happen?”
“I think someone physically moved them,” Ruth said.
“What? Why would you think that?” Marcas asked.
“I could have sworn I heard someone else in the house. I couldn’t find anyone, but I know I wasn’t alone.”
“That isn’t possible,” Fallon said. “Only those we trust even know about what we do. We don’t have any enemies that could have done this.”
“How do you know?” The words surprised Liza even as she spoke them. “I mean, ever since I got here, all any of you have said is that nothing like this has ever happened before. Obviously, something’s changed. Maybe an enemy does know about you.”
“It all started when I met you,” Marcas spat. “Maybe it’s you. Nothing’s been right since you came into my life.”
“Marcas! That isn’t fair. We brought her here,” Fallon said. Liza felt relief that at least Fallon was still on her side.
But Marcas’s comment sent a stab of pain through Liza’s heart. What had happened to the man she’d thought so nice back in Los Angeles? She understood that his family was in great peril, but she was growing tired of him treating her as the enemy. “I didn’t ask for any of this,” she said.
“Well, neither did we.” Marcas’s voice was tight but controlled. Then his shoulders sagged, and his voice quieted. “I’m sorry, Liza. Someone we know is killing the Old Ones and trying to keep us from our purpose. I don’t want to accept it, but it has to be Conall. Nothing else makes any sense.”
“Were you able to catch up with him at all?�
�� Fallon asked.
He shook his head. “No. All the years Conall and I prowled those woods together, and now it is as if I’ve never been in there. He moves like no human, or Finn, I’ve ever seen.”
“Marcas! Fallon!” Ruth said from in front of the sliding door leading out to the back deck. Without a word, the siblings and Liza joined her. At first, Liza didn’t see what the housekeeper was staring at. Then, something bobbed over the top of the grass in the field by the pond. Someone had come out of the forest and was walking across the field toward them. Marcas pushed past Ruth and opened the door. Liza felt the warm, humid air slip in around her as he stepped out onto the deck. Fallon joined him as Liza and Ruth huddled together inside.
“It’s Conall,” Marcas said.
“Are you sure?” Fallon said. “It doesn’t look like him. Or move like him, for that matter.”
“It’s him. He feels different, but it’s him.”
Liza watched with dread as the figure drew closer. If it was, in fact, Conall, he looked horrible. Though he and Marcas were identical twins, she could see nothing of his brother in him. His face was swollen and bruised, his hair so dirty it looked more brown or black than blond. He walked with a limp that didn’t seem to slow him any. His left hand grasped something that drug on the ground behind him.
“What is that?” Fallon whispered.
“A person,” Marcas answered. “A dead one, I’m guessing.”
Liza gasped. Most of the body was hidden in the tall grass, but the hair that Conall clutched—and the head attached to it—was now clearly visible. She stared, shocked but unable to look away.
Marcas moved to the edge of the deck and then down the three steps to the ground. Fallon followed, though she remained on the deck. As Conall approached, he seemed to grow in height and breadth. He was much larger than Marcas. Liza could see Marcas’s back tense, but he remained where he was. What approached was not a man but a monster.
When Conall reached the edge of the field, he tilted his head back and roared like a beast from some nightmare. The sound echoed against the trees.
Huck growled low and ducked beneath the deck.
Conall drew back his arm and launched the body toward them like it was a bag of garbage. This time, even Marcas jumped back as it landed in front of him with a grotesque thud. That it was a man was certain; other than that, it was too mangled to be certain of anything. Liza felt bile rise in her throat and turned away.
“What have you done?” Marcas asked.
Conall remained at the edge of the field. “He was trespassing, brother. Isn’t it our duty to keep them out?” His voice was low and gravelly, though it carried over the distance as though through a loudspeaker.
“We don’t kill them, Conall. We never kill them.”
Conall smiled, a hideous sight on his contorted face. “I’m no longer Conall, brother. Only those worthy of me are allowed in my forest.” He pointed a gnarled finger at the body. “That was unworthy.”
“This behavior is unworthy of you,” Marcas said. Liza could hear the pain in his voice—but also the fear.
Conall stomped forward, a growl emitting from his throat that reminded Liza of the dog. “I am not Conall. I am the Prince, and you will bow to me.”
Fallon muttered a curse. The redhead leapt over the deck railing and sprinted to where the two brothers stood. “Conall, no!” Fallon shouted. “We just want to help you. Please, let us help you.”
For a moment, the thing that was Conall paused, and Liza thought she saw recognition in its bloodshot eyes. Then he swiped at Fallon with one massive hand. The blow slammed her against a tree trunk, and her limp body slumped to the ground and remained still.
“Fallon!” Without thinking, Liza crossed the deck and ran down the other side to where her friend lay. She heard Marcas yell his sister’s name.
She fell to her knees and felt for a pulse in Fallon’s neck. It was there, though weak and hard to find. She dared not move the girl but was afraid to leave her. Turning back to the house, she saw Ruth still standing inside the door. “Ruth, call 911!” She had no idea if the housekeeper complied because, just then, Conall turned his gaze on her. Marcas moved to place himself between them.
“Well, I see you have finally come to me, my Princess.”
Liza was dumbstruck. “What?”
“You are more beautiful than I could have hoped. That human form suits you.” He took another step toward her and then seemed to stagger. He put his hands to each side of his head and squeezed his eyes shut. “No…she must die.” The voice was the same, yet different. His eyes opened and blinked at her through a cloud of confusion. “You must…die…leave. Marcas…help me.” He staggered and nearly fell.
Marcas made a move toward him as a single tear slipped down his face. He reached out to the tormented man.
“No! Don’t touch him.” The voice came from the corner of the house. Liza looked up to see a gray-bearded man in a black hat move into the open. A white shirt, black pants, and black boots covered the rest of him. Amish.
Conall spun toward the voice and staggered back as though struck.
“You already bow to a prince, Conall Finn. You bow to our Lord and our Lord only.”
Conall roared, whether in pain or fury, Liza could not tell. Her blood ran cold.
The Amish man moved closer to Conall. “You forget your place, Conall Finn. You forget your Lord. It has been too long since the name Finn has been associated with our God. You must remember, Conall. You must remember and fight!”
For a moment, Conall did seem to remember. His eyes cleared, and he looked upon his brother with what could only have been love. The look faded as quickly as it had come. Again, he screwed his eyes closed and roared before slamming the ground with both fists. Then he turned and sprinted toward the forest, where he disappeared. One last, tormented roar echoed through the trees, and then all was silent.
Ruth crept from the house onto the deck. “The phone is working again and Jacob is talking with emergency response. How is Fallon?” She hurried to the injured girl’s side. “Oh, Miss Fallon, I’m so sorry. So sorry.”
“’Tisn’t none of your doing, girl,” the Amish man said, though he too looked concerned. He strode closer and knelt beside Ruth. Reaching out with one hard, callused hand, he felt first Fallon’s neck and then her chest. “Heart’s steady if a tad weak. She’s a tough one, Fallon is. She’ll be a’right.”
Liza looked up at the man who had somehow saved them all.
“Liza, this is Tobias Yoder, my grandfather and one of the remaining Old Ones.”
Liza paced the hospital waiting room. She was restless and afraid, both for her friend and herself. She had so many questions but didn’t feel like talking to anyone at the moment. Marcas and Tobias sat against the far wall, speaking little. Liza got the feeling that there was some kind of divide between the two men. At the moment, she had no desire to try to tear down such a barrier, though she had a strong feeling it would need to be done. They needed all the allies they could get.
Have I really tied myself to this family?
The thought did not set well in her mind. She was still the stranger here, the outlier who no one understood. If nothing else had convinced her to run screaming back to her civilized world, the events of that day should have. What was with Conall calling her his princess in one breath and telling her she had to die in the next? Things were only getting stranger—and deadlier.
Fallon had only been in the ER for a little over a half hour, but it seemed much longer. It had taken so long for the ambulance to arrive that Liza had almost given up hope. She’d thought things slow in the city; out here, they moved at a snail’s pace. Then it turned out that Halden’s Mill didn’t even have a hospital, and Fallon had to be taken to another town twenty miles north.
Ruth had been torn between going with Fallon and staying with Cullen and Ana, but in the end had chosen to stay. Her place was to watch over them, and if they somehow managed to get back, the
y would need to be told what had happened.
Fortunately, the ambulance had beat Chief Murphy to the farm, but Liza knew it was only a matter of time before the cop showed up asking questions. Marcas had moved the dead body out of the way before the ambulance had arrived—something else they would have to explain to the police.
Liza rubbed her temples. Exhaustion hit her like a wall. She could not remember the last time she’d slept more than a few hours. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep this up.
Approaching footsteps drew Liza’s attention down the hallway where Jacob Yoder was striding toward her.
“I couldn’t just sit around the house, though I hated leaving Mom alone.” He grabbed her in a tight hug. “How are you holding up?” Liza sagged against him as tears began flowing down her cheeks. She didn’t want to cry in front of this man. She’d always considered herself strong, a loner who could take care of herself, but having this kind man show such caring for her was more than her shattered emotions could handle. He must have felt her sobs because he continued to hold her in his embrace. After a moment, she managed to pull herself together and push away.
Jacob gazed down at her. “How’s Fallon?”
Liza shook her head. “We haven’t heard anything yet. She hit that tree so hard. I’ve never seen anything like it.” The tears began to flow again at the memory of the attack. “It was horrible, Jacob. Whatever Conall has become, he’s not human anymore.”
“Shouldn’t you be at the farm with your mom, Jacob?” Neither of them had heard Marcas approach.
“She suggested I come here to see about Fallon.”
“Don’t you mean to see about Liza?” Marcas’s face was a mask of anger. “You’ve taken every opportunity to be with her since she came to town.”
Liza felt her own anger rise. “At least he’s given me attention. You’ve done everything you could to avoid me. I thought we cared about each other.”
“I do care about you, Liza. That’s why I left. That’s why I don’t want you here now. There’s too much going on that you don’t understand. None of us do. You should go back to your life and forget any of this ever happened.”
