Carrier of the Mark (14 page)

“I’m sorry, Megan; I know this is a lot to take in, but let me try to explain. Have you ever heard of the Celtic goddess Danu?”

I shook my head and leaned forward on the bench.

“She predates all histories. She was the divine creator, and she embodied all the main elements: air, earth, fire, and water. She managed the elements, keeping them aligned to maintain the perfect balance. Now, Danu loved humans above all things on Earth, so she created her Tuatha de Danann, her children of human form, and gifted each with one of her powers—”

“One of her powers meaning each child got one of the elements?” I interrupted.

“Yes, exactly.” Fionn smiled at me and continued. “Danu raised her children carefully, training them in the ways of their powers and making sure they understood the importance of balance and the delicate nature of the earth. Then in their eighteenth year, she completed the transfer of power to them during the summer solstice.

“But what Danu had not accounted for was the weakness of the human mind. Surrounded by corruption, greed, and jealousy, the Tuatha de Danann started misusing their powers.”

Fionn’s deep voice had a hypnotic effect on me. I wondered what exactly they did to misuse their powers, but it was much easier to sit and let Fionn tell the story in his own way. And I figured I’d have plenty of time to ask him questions later.

“Danu was angry at her children for succumbing to the weakness of the human mind, and she left the earth and returned to the realm of the gods, vowing not to return until her children could learn to live in harmony. Until they learned to set aside their differences and come together, the four elements would not be united, and Earth would remain imbalanced. However, even though they had disappointed her so gravely, Danu didn’t want to abandon her children entirely. So she gave them a Sidhe—a spirit guide of human form—who would help them on their path to the elemental alignment.”

Fionn paused and looked up at me with sadness in his eyes. “But that never happened. The Tuatha de Danann fought endlessly with one another, and the more they exposed their power, the more others hungered for it. Battles were fought; many died. Only one Tuatha de Danann survived the first wave of aggression. She became known as the Carrier of the Mark.”

“So let me get this straight. You’re telling me that you’re descendants of one of Danu’s children?” I stared at Fionn in disbelief. “How is that even possible? And what does my mom’s dying have to do with any of this? And … hang on, we’re not related, are we?” I turned to Adam, alarmed.

“No, no, the bloodline is complicated,” Fionn reassured me. “Thousands of years separate you all from the original bloodline. Megan, what you have to understand for now is that you are a Marked One. We had three before. Earth in Áine…”

Áine picked up a sunflower seed that the crow had dropped by the cereal bowl. She held it in her fist for a few seconds, then turned her palm up and opened it. Nestled there was a tiny green sprout. My mouth fell open as it grew before my eyes.

“Water,” Adam said softly behind me. He raised his hand from my shoulder and grabbed at the air. A perfect sphere of water made its way from the sink like a delicate bubble and hovered over the table.

“Fire,” growled Rían.

Before I could turn to look at him a flame shot through the air, engulfing the sphere of water and evaporating it with a loud hiss. I slowly turned in my seat and looked at each of them in turn. Áine and Adam smiled reassuringly, but Rían just stared at me with eyes that burned like embers.

Fionn spoke again after a moment. “The forces that guide the Marked have brought you to us, which leaves us with an interesting and unprecedented situation. A situation I’d hoped to avoid. We have the fourth element.”

“Air,” Áine said with a flourish.

“I’m air? Are you telling me I have magic too?”

Rían thumped the wall. “This is crap. If she was the real deal, the Sidhe would have guided her to us years ago,” he growled at Fionn. “And even if she
is
the fourth, her power would be weak—and let’s not forget her time is nearly up. If we bring attention to her now we draw attention to ourselves. We can’t put ourselves in danger for
her
sake.”

“Shut your mouth!” Adam shouted.

“Why don’t you make me, little brother?” Rían shouted back, squaring up.

“Enough!” Fionn roared. “The significance of this cannot be ignored, and I am bound to protect the Marked Ones. All
four
of them!” He glared at Rían.

“Rían,” Áine said gently, “her power is strong. Adam and I have seen it.”

“That was a fluke, a one-off. She didn’t even know she did it.”

“Rían, she found us. She must have been guided,” Áine said.

“I’ve heard enough of this crap. I’m out of here,” Rían muttered, and stormed out.

“Stay close,” Fionn called. “We have to be extra careful until we’re sure of the lay of the land.”

“Don’t mind Rían. He doesn’t react well to change.” Adam rubbed my back gently. “Your head must be spinning.”

“What did Rían mean about a ‘shee’? What is that?” I asked, trying desperately to keep up with everything. “Fionn mentioned it too.”

“The Sidhe is the spirit guide of the Marked,” Adam answered. “He watches over us. He guided you to us.” He raised his eyebrows. “Looks like a monk with a long gray beard.”

“The monk is the Sidhe?” I gasped.

“You’ve seen him?” Adam asked.

I nodded. So the old monk was a spirit guide. It sort of made sense … at least, some kind of sense when spoken in the same breath as everything else I was hearing.

My hand wandered up to my scar—
no
, I corrected myself, my
Mark
—and traced the faint pattern. “Was my mom Marked?”

“No, but either she or your father must be of royal blood, a descendant of a Marked one,” Fionn replied.

“So why me? Why did I get the Mark?”

Fionn shook his head. “When or why the Mark comes to royal bloods of indirect descent, we’re really not sure. When the direct bloodline is broken suddenly, like in the case of their mother, the Sidhe makes his selection and guides the new Mark to the others.”

“So I’m air,” I whispered quietly to myself.

“Yes.” Áine smiled encouragingly.

“What can I do?”

“Air is a very powerful element,” Adam said softly. “You can pretty much do anything you want.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. You can manipulate air. You can move things with a single command. At full strength, and with training and experience, you’d be capable of controlling the air and anything existing in it.”

“So you’ve known about me and my Mark all along?” I looked him straight in the eye.

“No. At first we weren’t sure what you were. But then all of our powers started acting up and the fourth arc appeared on our Marks. Even then, we weren’t positive. But I was so drawn to you. My element knew you were the fourth before I did.”

“Is it just the Mark that draws you to me?” I blurted out. Was what we had even real? Or was it just some weird mystical force at work?

He studied my face and then shook his head. “It can’t be just the Mark. What I feel for you is real. It has to be. I tried to stay away, but I couldn’t. It would hurt when you were close and I could see you, but not touch you.” He looked sincere, but I could see the same fears in his eyes. I realized he was trying to convince himself as much as me.

“So I made that tornado thing happen last night? How did I do it?”

“Your power is deep within you, looking for an outlet. You have to tap into it to be able to release it,” Fionn said, standing up. “Fear or stress can trigger your power unwittingly. That is why we must act fast. If your power is starting to manifest, you must learn to control it. The Sidhe could have orchestrated your move to Kinsale years ago. There must be a reason why he waited until such a late stage in your development to bring you here. We just need to figure out what that reason is.”

“So it was the
Sidhe
that got my dad the job at the yacht club?”

Fionn nodded. “It must have been. There’s no other explanation. Listen, I’m sorry to leave you like this, but I have to get Rían on our side.”

“Fionn, wait. What did you mean before when you said that this was a situation you’d hoped to avoid? Is it the same reason Rían is so against me?” I asked, dreading the answer.

Fionn’s face softened. “Rían, Adam, and Áine are my life. I’d do anything to protect them. I’d hoped that the elements would not call on them. But it seems destiny has other plans. With the arrival of the fourth it looks like an alignment is necessary.”

“Alignment? What is that?”

“The true purpose of the Marked Ones. It’s a ritual that aligns the elements on Earth. It has to be performed on the Summer Solstice.”

“But surely that’s a good thing?”

“It should be, but I don’t like the dangers it presents to my family. It’s selfish, really. I should be thinking of the greater good.” Fionn smiled gently and walked outside to find Rian.

I turned to Adam. “Dangers?”

“Let’s talk more about that when Fionn comes back. First things first: Are you okay?”

“I think so. But … I really don’t feel like I have any power in me.”

“Oh, you do; I’ve seen it.”

“Last night?”

“Not just then. You use your power all the time. You just don’t notice. I’ve been watching you … stalker style, even when I couldn’t see you.”

“He even had me hounding you,” Áine interjected. “As you surely have guessed by now…”

“The crow!” I looked at her in astonishment. “He
was
watching me.”

“Not so sly, huh?” She laughed and held out her hand, looking toward the window. A moment later my crow flew in and landed on her arm. “He’s actually a rook. This is Randel,” she introduced us. “Randel,” she said, addressing the bird, “you already know Megan.” He bowed his head toward me in recognition and then jumped up onto her shoulder.

“I had poor Randel and Áine working around the clock watching you,” Adam said softly.

“Which, by the way, you owe me big-time for,” Áine said to him.

“I know, I know, name it.” He sighed.

“Oh, don’t worry; I will! But right now I’m going to go help Fionn with Rían; he’s really worked up.” Áine started to head out, but I said her name and she turned back to face me.

I took a deep breath. “So you’re telling me you can speak to Randel, and that he can speak to you?”

“I can speak to and understand all animals, and I have a few other earthly tricks up my sleeve too.” She winked at me.

“My head’s fried at the moment,” I muttered wearily, “but remind me to ask you about them some other time.”

“Sure, we have the rest of our lives. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you have joined our family. Finally, I’m not the only freaky Carrier of the Mark; it takes the pressure right off. Perhaps Adam here will oblige…”

“Get out of here,” Adam told her lightheartedly, throwing a cushion in her direction. She easily ducked out of the way and danced from the room.

Adam turned to me. “Want to go for a walk?” He stood and pulled me up into his arms.

“Yes. I just … I need some time to sort it all out in my head.” I stood there in his arms quietly for a moment.

“Come on, let’s go for that walk. I know a place that will make you feel
much
better,” he said. He grabbed my jacket and wrapped it around me. “Let’s get out of here.”

We climbed into his car and drove in silence until we got to James Fort, an old ruin set on a grassy headland. Then we set off on foot. The grass was long and damp. It soaked my jeans a dark blue around my feet, but I barely felt it. The fresh sea breeze hitting my face felt so good, blowing away the fears and the panic. The raw beauty of this place made the magic seem almost believable.

Adam took my hand and held it firmly. We walked in silence until we came to the abandoned ruins of the fort. Only the ancient exterior walls of the original structure remained. Thick battlements with huge arched windows overlooked the water, facing a sister fort on the other side of the harbor.

Adam lifted me up into one of these windows and tucked me in on one side, with my back to the curving stone frame. Then he pulled himself up and sat on the other side, so we were face-to-face, our boots touching. It had started to rain lightly, but we were well sheltered in the wall. Adam raised his arm and pointed over to the other fort across the water.