“Blasphemy!” Brooke shrieked, and kicked at Troy’s blobby figure on the floor.
“Whatever, Homecoming Queen.” Troy grabbed
her ankle.
“Get off,” Brooke said, pulling her foot back. “Besides, I haven’t even been nominated.”
“Yet,” Caroline added. She turned to me. “Brooke’s life will be complete when she’s elected Queen of the Homecoming Festivities.” She looked at Brooke. “Right?”
“Very funny.” Brooke made a face and grabbed the remote control, pretending to be concentrating very hard on the digital channel guide.
“If you don’t win, are you going to say, ‘It’s an honor just to be nominated?’” I laughed.
“Well, it is—” Brooke stopped quickly and closed
her mouth.
“Ha ha!” We all laughed as Alex pointed at her. “Gotcha!” he said.
“Speaking of Homecoming, what are you going to dress up as, Leah?” Caroline asked.
My face grew hot as I stumbled over my answer. “Well—I—not sure—if going—uh.” Truth was, I’d just found out last week that Homecoming existed, that it was a dance, that the date this year was Halloween, and that it was a costume party. But that was just from a poster I’d seen. I sort of assumed Alex and I would go together, but he hadn’t officially asked me or anything. I bit my lip and shrugged my shoulders, not daring to look at him.
“You’re not going to make me go alone, are you?” Alex whispered.
I turned toward him, our faces inches from one another. “Really?” I said as my mouth twisted into a
half smile.
“Sorry I haven’t properly asked you yet, but I guess I just figured it was unspoken or something.” Although he was smiling, his eyes were soft, as though his confidence was slightly lowered.
My half smile turned into a full grin. “I’d love to,” I whispered to him.
“So now that you’ve got that all figured out, let’s
discuss important details, Leah. Like what are you going to dress up as?” Caroline impatiently tapped her foot on the ground.
“Still need to figure that out,” I said, shrugging.
“Still need to figure that out,” Kristen mocked under her breath.
Everyone pretended not to hear her, but I poked Alex in the ribs. “What is her deal?” I whispered to him.
Alex shrugged. “Not sure. I mean, we used to go out, but that was a million years ago.”
Ah. So that’s it.
“How long ago?” I asked.
He shrugged again. “Like two months.”
I widened my eyes and raised my eyebrows.
“Yeah, yeah. Right before you. Whatever. Forget about her.” Alex kissed me on the cheek. His hot breath brushed against my ear, and I did. Forget about Kristen, that is.
Not to mention forget about All Créatúir, Light
and Dark.
“Excited for the dance?” he whispered. A buzz traveled across my body and down into my stomach.
“Mmm-hmmm,” I murmured, my pulse quickening. I was sure he heard how loudly my heart was beating.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you since you’re new to this whole Homecoming thing. I’m sure you’re nervous, so you don’t have to pretend to be confident about it.” Alex’s lips brushed against my earlobe.
My body reacted one way to his touch, and my mind reacted another way to his words.
While I physically melted further into him, my brain was repeating Ben’s words: You’re tougher than you think.
I knew if I didn’t intercept my thoughts, they would echo and grow larger in importance. “So what are you dressing up as for Homecoming?”
He smiled at me. “A gladiator.”
An image of Russell Crowe flashed across my brain. “That’s good.” I nodded.
“Everybody okay down there?” Mrs. Nelson called from upstairs.
“Yes, Mom. We’re fine,” Brooke shouted.
“You kids need anything? I’m about to run out for drinks with the girls.”
“No thanks. We’re good!” Brooke said. She turned back to us. “She’s been so lonely lately, since Gregg is always working on the stadium construction.” She stared at me, but I pretended to be extremely interested in the stitching on my jeans pocket. She looked over at Alex. “You know how it is.”
Alex nodded and stretched his arms above his head. “Yeah, my dad’s been working a ton on that project.”
My comfy, safe moment gone, I shifted uncomfortably on the couch, but Alex just pulled me tighter.
“I can’t wait for it to be done soon, so … never mind.” Brooke snapped her head up. “Lindsay!” she called
across the room. “Stop messing around and put on some decent music!”
Lindsay broke apart from making out with one of the football players. Her orange tan was streaked across her face, presumably melting under the heat of the fluorescent lighting in the basement and her make-out partner sweating all over her. “What? Oh, okay.” She fiddled with the iPod dock and turned back to Sweaty Football Man as a song came blaring out of the speaker behind Alex and me.
“Jesus Christ!” Alex jumped.
“Whoops! Sorry,” Lindsay said in a singsong voice, pausing again to turn the volume down. I watched as a hoggle—a Dark Créatúir that was sort of a dwarf ogre—hopped up on Lindsay’s shoulder, waved his hands around until he formed a large air bubble, and shot it into her mouth just as she leaned back to start making out with Sweaty Football Man again.
“Oh!” she said and covered her mouth. “I—hic—have the—hic—cups!” She sputtered through her words as she hiccupped. The hoggle grunted and laughed as Lindsay gasped for breath.
“Just hold your breath,” Caroline called to her.
She stood up next to Brooke and smoothed her long white shirt down over her hips. “You guys want anything from upst—”
A knock came from one of the windows of the walkout basement.
We all craned our necks toward the window, but it was too dark to see anything from the couch.
Brooke squinted and took a step toward the door. “Who’s out there?”
Suddenly, a figure moved from behind the window.
A familiar figure. Tattooed. Dark, shaggy hair. Piercing eyes.
Slade.
“There’s some juvenile delinquent jail man outside!” Brooke shrieked.
“What?” Troy and Alex started to rise and, presumably, go beat the hell out of Slade.
I shot up. “I think that’s my sister’s boyfriend, Slade. He’s probably here to give me a message.” I hurled myself over a bewildered Alex and jogged toward the door. “I’ll just be a second.”
I could see Slade’s smirking face in the shadows of the patio outside Brooke’s basement door. He walked backward and sat down against the stone wall of landscaping. His eyes seemed to glow in the twinkling lights on
the deck.
I carefully closed the patio door behind me. I didn’t have to turn around to know that everyone inside had their noses pressed against the glass like kids at a toy store.
I walked over to Slade and folded my arms across
my chest.
“What?” I said, and tapped my foot.
He didn’t say anything, just met my eyes and curled his lips upward.
“Seriously, what? Nice to see you’re not in costume anymore, Teen Wolf,” I said.
“Shaman,” he hissed at me, reaching up and running a hand through his long, dark hair.
“Okay, fine.” I turned back toward the house. “If that’s all, I’ll be—”
“So I hear you’ve been asking about the Four Treasures,” Slade said.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered. I had a good talk with Myrddin a
nd I’ll definitely find them. It’s all good.”
After meeting with Myrddin, I’d found some information online about the Four Treasures. It was from a book called Ancient Lost Myths and Folklore:
The Four Treasures: Stone of Fal, the Sword of Nuada, the Spear of Destiny, Dagda’s Cauldron. Stone of Fal was reported to come from Falias. It would discern the rightful king, according to the legend, by crying out whenever the king touched it. The Sword of Nuada, from Findias, was the most powerful sword and could never be resisted. The Spear of Destiny came from Gorias. It was used to fight against Balor. Anyone, mortal or ethereal, who dared battle against it perished. And Dagda’s Cauldron: coming from Murias, the cauldron was bottomless, providing food to an infinite army.
At least I knew, now, what exactly the Four Treasures were. But it wasn’t as if I just could just traipse down to “Fal” and pick me up one of those swords. Yet it was not the time or place to discuss that with Slade.
I took a step toward him. “I will talk to you later,” I said, keeping my voice to a whisper and trying to make my body language nonchalant. The last thing I needed was Alex busting out here, thinking I was upset, and having to deal with the whole Normal Awesome Boyfriend vs. Scary Freaky Dark Wolf Man situation.
Slade shook his head, moonlight bouncing off his chiseled white cheekbones. He stood up, unfolding in front of me like a beanstalk. “And what of the construction site? I’ve been following you. I know you’ve seen it. I know you heard the screams of the Créatúir as the humans cut into the sceach.”
“What about it?” I said.
“You are not stupid. Why do you think the Fomoriians have returned?”
I stepped backward a bit. “I don’t think a bunch of construction guys just summoned ancient demons that they didn’t know existed. Sorry.” I glanced nervously at the house. Everyone inside immediately pretended they weren’t just totally spying on me.
“There’s been a slow leak of glamour, of power, of magic, out of our realms, Shaman,” Slade continued. “Our world is getting smaller. And it’s not our doing.” He took a step forward and locked eyes with me. “It’s going to disappear, Leah. You must see it to understand.” The pupils in his eyes dilated and glinted.
I felt myself begin to falter; to feel dizzy, to begin to be swept away.
Rhea, my inner voice whispered.
I shook my head and broke his gaze. “I’ll figure it out,” I said weakly. I cleared my throat and started to walk backwards toward the door.
“There’s something else you don’t know,” Slade called out. “Oran—”
“No,” I said quickly, then opened the door. The light of the basement flooded around me. I faced five people inside, who all were pretending I hadn’t just been talking to a guy resembling an ex-con outside.
“Sorry about that,” I said casually. “My sister’s boyfriend was just asking for some ideas for anniversary gifts for her.” Except my voice was all squeaky and weird-sounding.
Everyone continued to stare at me as I walked over
to the bar and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge next to it.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked as I sat down next to him on the couch.
“Great!” I gripped the water bottle, hoping Alex wouldn’t notice my shaking hands.
“Good.” He put his arm around my shoulders. “Is that really your sister’s boyfriend?”
I nodded. “Yeah. My sister is into … weird guys. But I guess it’s because she’s kind of weird herself.” I laughed lightly, but it came out sounding like a cough.
Alex glanced nervously around the room at all of our friends, who were obviously still disconcerted about the Weird Creepy Dude. “Maybe you should tell him not to follow you places. That guy seems like he could be … trouble.”
I nodded, unsure if he meant trouble for me or trouble for his social life.
If he thinks Slade is weird, wait until he sees Rhea’s collection of ancient Egyptian masks or Morgana’s bottled toad’s eye in the basement. Or the mystical rune symbols etched into the wood floor in the den underneath the rug.
He’d never understand.
I stood back up, lightheaded. “Brooke, bathroom down this way?” I gestured around the corner.
She shook her head and pointed up. “It’s broken. Use the one upstairs.”
“Be right back!” I said cheerfully. I gave a quick glance at the patio as I hustled past it, and thankfully, Slade was gone.
I walked up the stairs to the first floor and steadied my breath. With each step, my inner voice restored my confidence and blood pressure.
I reached Brooke’s powder room and splashed water on my face. There were water sprites playing in the soap dish, and I whispered to them, “I’ll figure this out. Just give me tonight.” They ignored me and continued to skate around on the suds.
I adjusted my shirt and opened the door. As I started to walk back toward the basement steps, a room with a light on and a heavy oak door that was cracked open caught my attention. I could hear everyone busy talking downstairs, so I tiptoed toward the door and pushed it further open. It made a long, quiet creak as it revealed a dark-wood room with a large desk in the center.
On the desk lay construction plans, spread out with a light illuminating the directives. I recognized it as a rendering of the new football stadium. Tall, white pillars like massive Titans waiting to defend the earth surrounded a giant steel bowl filled with rows of stands. There was also a huge promenade with concession stands, souvenir shops, and a platform for taking pre-game pictures with the mascot.
Thousands of square feet of flowers, trees, and nature were to be destroyed and replaced with concrete, steel, and metal bearings.
“The entire area will be destroyed. They’re going to reach through the entire sceach and demolish a huge chunk of the Other Realm,” I whispered to myself. My eyes scanned the perimeter of the blueprint and landed on a design—a symbol—that bordered the drawings. To anyone else, it would’ve looked like a simple artist’s sketch, a graphic design element meant to add artistic flair to the otherwise cold blueprints.
But not to me. It was the spiral glyph with the cross running through it—the symbol of the sworn enemies of the Créatúir, both Light and Dark.
The symbol for the Fomoriians.
My heart began to race as I heard a distant thump of music coming from the basement. I turned quickly and hustled out of the office, pulling the door halfway closed behind me.
My palms sweating, I turned to run back downstairs before anyone discovered me.
Too late.
I slammed directly into a figure in front of me. One that smelled like burnt grass and smoke.
“Ow!” I said, as my body connected and I was tossed backward. I landed hard on my butt, my hands slapping the marble tile of the floor.
“Get up.” Slade stood in front of me, extending a finger with long hands.
I ignored his hand and peeled myself off the ground. “What the hell are you doing back again? Are you insane?”
“Leah, listen—”
“Don’t use my name,” I interrupted. “You don’t deserve to.”
He shook his head. “You must—”
“I must what? What, Slade? Why won’t you just leave me alone?” I hissed, near tears.
“Because King Oran is dead.” Slade grabbed my wrist and a jolt of ice ran through my arm.
“What?” I whispered.
“He’s dead.” Slade released my wrist. “Murdered. That’s what I was trying to tell you.” His eyes softened and his head bowed to the ground in reverence. Then he lifted his face toward me and his pupils hardened. “His death must be avenged,” he said, pointing a long arm toward the study. “You’ve seen the plans.”
I shook my head and took a step backward. “No, no, it can’t�
��” My voice broke and I felt my resolve begin to crack away.
“You may not believe me, but it is the truth. We must defeat the demons. And the only thing powerful enough to stop them is the Four Treasures.”
I nodded and whispered, “I know.”
“Come to Inis Mor and we will look for them,” Slade said.
I shook my head violently. “I’m not going to go there unless I know for certain that I’ll find something. As you might remember, my last visit to the Other Realm didn’t end too well. You look around first, and let me know what you find.” I silently hoped he’d find some other solution and I wouldn’t have to return at all.
Slade pressed his arms to his sides, shoulders squared. Clearly, he wasn’t thrilled with taking orders. But he had no choice. He nodded, and then disappeared out the front door and into the darkness.
Twenty
I made up a lame excuse about not feeling well and left
Brooke’s house after Slade left. I needed some time alone to examine my crappy options.
If I ignore the Créatúir and don’t stop the murders, they’ll all die. Not to mention Slade will undoubtedly make good on his threat to kill Rhea.
And then there’s Alex. Even if his dad is involved, even if Brooke’s dad is involved, I can’t believe Alex knows what’s going on.
Because I don’t want to.
Even if I defeat the Fomoriians, avenge the murders, and manage to keep my social life intact, I don’t want Alex to ever know.
Although it seems that the harder I try to keep my two worlds separate, the more spectacularly they collide.
Not to mention, all of that is assuming I can even figure out where the Four Treasures are. I might go to the Other Realm and the Créatúir will be all, “Whoops! Our bad!
We sold them in a garage sale last week! Try Créatúir Antiques Roadshow!”
After a few days of going round and round like this, logic swaying me one way, emotions another, I decided to head over to Blue Oracle, a New Age bookstore that had just opened, to see if they had anything of value. My mom had been there and said it was mostly candles and pseudo-metaphysical items, but that there was a big book section in the back. I wasn’t sure what I hoped to find, but it was one of my only options.
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