Carrier of the Mark (19 page)

Yikes.

After dinner I got up to clear away the plates. “Dad, can I have dinner at Adam’s house tomorrow?”

“Sure, just don’t come home too late.”

“Thanks!” I said, dumping the plates in the sink.

“Dinner was good, Meg. There’s a movie starting at eight if you want to join me.”

“I’d love to, Dad, but I have a lot of homework to do.”

“Okay. It’s good to see you so focused; we should start checking out what the colleges have to offer here.”

Thanks for the segue, Dad
. “Funny you should say that. Adam and I were just discussing Trinity College in Dublin.”

“Wow, Trinity. That’s like the Harvard of Ireland.”

“I know how to pick ’em.” I smiled.

As I made my way up the stairs, I thought about what my future could hold. I hadn’t really thought much about college before, but with the Dublin Order based in Trinity, it seemed like a logical place to set my sights on. I could learn about my heritage while studying for my future. I broke into a grin. The future looked exciting.

T
he next day after school, Adam and I headed over to his car, where Áine was waiting, leaning against the door with her arms crossed, rubbing the tops of her sleeves.

“Come on, guys,” she called. “It’s freezing.”

“We’re coming!” Adam answered. He opened the doors with a click, and we all jumped in.

“Well, did you tell her yet?”

Adam stiffened. “Áine when we get home, will you remind me to kill you, please?”

“Tell me what?” I looked from Adam’s face to hers.

“It’s nothing,” he said quietly, pulling out of the parking space. “Well, I guess it’s not
nothing.
It looks like we might be going to Dublin sooner rather than later. The Dublin guys are eager to set a date for a trial evocation.”

“Isn’t that great?” Áine declared from the backseat. “I haven’t seen the lads in ages, and think about all the major shopping I’ll be able to do!”

“Áine, don’t be stupid. This is a big deal for Megan. Actually, it’s a big deal for all of us.”

“Fionn never lets us into the cities; I’m finding a way to make good use of this trip.” She folded her arms and looked out the side window with a pout on her face.

Adam rolled his eyes and gave me his full attention. “Fionn wants to talk to you about the Order, and the setup in Dublin.”

“This is awesome!” I exclaimed. “I can’t wait to meet the Order. And I don’t even mind that you didn’t tell me right when you found out,” I teased, jabbing him with my finger. “But what’s with the trial?”

“It’s just a test to see how far you can take the power. It will give them a rough idea of when to schedule the
actual
evocation. And there’s something else you need to know,” Adam said, pulling into the yard.

“Oh, yeah,” Áine said. “You’re starting your training today.” She jumped out of the car and ran to the back door.

Adam rolled his eyes again.

“Today? I thought we were still on day two of induction?”

“Yes, but you need to start training immediately. Rían will be starting slow. Don’t worry; you’ll knock ’em dead.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

He gave me a wry smile. “Do you think I would hand you over for training if I didn’t think you were up to it?”

I gave him what I hoped was a confident smile in return. “Of course not.”

“Megan, hello,” Fionn’s voice called from the hall as Adam and I walked into the house. “I’ll be with you in just a second.”

“Okay.”

Adam turned to me. “Hungry?”

“Um, sure.”

Áine was already in the kitchen, making some crackers and cheese. She smiled at us as we walked in. “Want some?”

“That would be nice,” Adam said. He put the kettle on and took down some cups from a cupboard.

“I’ll have one of those if you’re making it,” Rían said, as he sauntered in and sat down on the bench at the other side of the table.

“Hi, Rían,” I mumbled, sitting down opposite him. I stared at the back of Adam’s head, willing him to turn around and rescue me. As if on cue, he brought four cups over.

Rían took his cup and started drinking. Why on earth was he sitting here? Was this his idea of making an effort?

Thankfully Randel flew in, distracting me from Rían. He landed on the table and started pecking up the cracker crumbs. “Randel! How are you?” The big black rook looked up at me. “Have you given up on spying on me in the shower?”

Áine laughed. “I had a word with him—told him it was a tad inappropriate.”

I put out my hand to stroke the bird. “May I?”

“Go right ahead.” She scratched his head. “He loves the attention.”

I ran my fingers over his glossy black feathers. “Well, aren’t you a gorgeous boy?” I asked as he eyed me appreciatively.

“Watch it, Randel; she’s mine,” Adam warned the bird. “Don’t go getting any ideas.”

Randel stretched out his wings and cawed at Adam. We all burst out laughing, easing the atmosphere.

“Right.” Fionn walked into the kitchen. “All of you. Come with me.”

We followed him into the sitting room. I sat down on one of the couches and Adam joined me. Áine curled herself into an armchair. Rían flopped on the other large couch opposite me, beside Fionn. As soon as we were all settled, Fionn cleared his throat and began talking.

“Megan, the visit to Dublin has been moved up and we’re going to begin your training today. I need you to understand that this will be an exhausting and potentially dangerous process.”

I squeezed Adam’s hand. “I understand.”

“I will also have to make arrangements with your father so you’ll be able to travel with us to Dublin next week. Do you see any problems there?”

“It should be fine. I’ve been talking about colleges with him, so I’m sure I can work something out.”

Fionn’s tone turned even more serious. “Megan. Please understand that you cannot tell your father anything about the Mark. The situation is still very fragile, and we can’t risk anyone knowing of our whereabouts or your existence. It is absolutely imperative that we stay hidden. The Dublin Order is not even going to tell the council about you, not until we discover whether you are able to evoke your power. There is no point in drawing attention to ourselves before we need to.”

“The council? What’s that?” I couldn’t believe there was yet
another
group of people involved in this.

“It’s basically the ‘voice’ of the Order. The council is made up of senior Order members from around the world. But you don’t need to worry about them for now.”

I took a deep breath. I could not, and would not, let Adam and his family down.

“We will start training immediately,” Fionn continued, “and then travel to Dublin this Saturday.”

I looked over at Áine, who was nearly jumping up and down in her chair in excitement.

Rían, on the other hand, sat quietly with his head slightly drooped. He leaned his elbows on his knees with his hands under his chin, apparently lost in thought.

“Megan,” Fionn said, pulling my attention back to him. “We will all be helping with your training, but Rían will be your main teacher. He has had to employ specific measures to channel his excesses, and we feel we can use this knowledge to help you find your trigger.”

“Where will we do the training?” I asked.

“Here. It’s isolated enough not to bring attention to ourselves and, more important, it’s safe. If need be, we can move to a more remote location.”

I nodded. “So what do we do first?”

“I was thinking we could start out gently,” Fionn replied. “Maybe Adam, Áine, and Rían can give you a little demonstration and see if you pick up on anything.” He smiled at me encouragingly as Adam pulled me up and kissed the top of my head. The five of us walked to the yard and continued down past an ancient turret and out a small gate into the fields beyond.

“Go on, Áine; show us your stuff,” Adam said.

Áine dropped to the ground, digging her nails into the earth. “Watch this,” she said.

The sun had just about set. The last glow of its fading light illuminated the turned earth of the field that stretched out before us. A cold, gentle breeze blew down the valley, catching Áine’s hair and lifting it slightly from her face. She closed her eyes and started humming a little tune. At first nothing happened. I looked around from face to face, to see if they were seeing something I didn’t, but they just kept looking at her. Then I felt a vibration under my feet and nearly lost my balance.

“What was that?” I asked, righting myself.

“It’s okay. Look.” Adam put his arm around my waist to keep me steady while the earth shook beneath our feet. The rich brown soil that stretched out before us seemed to quiver. Suddenly, a haze of green moved up the valley, like a swarm of locusts charging toward us. I took a step back.

“Keep watching,” Adam whispered.

The green haze crept closer. It wasn’t insects. It was seedlings, millions of them, popping out of the ground at amazing speed. They moved past us and back toward the house. I looked over at Áine again. The seedlings were curling their way around her, entwining themselves in her hair; they seemed to caress her entire body.

“That tickles! Stop that.” She laughed, opening one eye and untangling a sprout that had worked its way up to her ear. She looked up at me. “Well, what do you think?”

I looked at the field of lush growth in amazement.

“You did that?”

She nodded and gently removed the sprouts that were still hugging her. Then she stood up and came back over to us.

Adam smiled at me. “She’s quite something, isn’t she?”

I was awestruck. “That was seriously cool. How did you do it?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I feel warmth in my chest and in my head; then it gets warmer and it just sort of
flows
from me. I let my energy know what I want, and … well, it does it.” She put her arms out and swept them from side to side, then dropped down onto her knees again. She pushed her hands with the palms facing down into the earth. As she did, the entire field of seedlings retracted and disappeared under the soil.

“What did you do?” I asked as the green field turned back to brown in a wave flowing off into the distance.

“It’s not their time. They need to sleep until spring,” she said, smiling fondly over the field before returning to her feet.

I looked at this girl; she had such a strange and awesome power. How could I ever come close to that kind of beauty and effortless control?

Fionn looked to me. “Did you feel anything? Any strange sensations?”

“I don’t think so. But I don’t know what I’m supposed to be feeling or even what to expect.”

Adam rubbed my arm. “Don’t worry. It will probably come to you when you least expect it.” He looked over at Rían. “You want to give Megan a demo?”

Rían shrugged. “Sure.” He closed his eyes and held out his hands to the sides, his fingers splayed and curling upward, as if he were holding something in each of them, gripping it tight. Suddenly his eyes flashed open. They glowed an unusual color, like the green had been tainted with orange. Then twin balls of a strange blue-and-green flame ignited in his hands.

Frightened, I took a step back. He strained out his hands and pushed them up into the air like he was lifting a heavy weight. The fire shot up and out of his hands, then danced in the air in an erratic pattern around him, leaving glowing trails in its wake. His strange burning eyes followed the flames’ every move. They worked their way around us, then filled out until we were surrounded by a roaring, crackling circle of fire. I could feel the sweat running down my skin.

“Rían, that’s enough,” Fionn shouted.

Rían scowled and pulled his arms in toward him. The flames condensed into balls and shot back into his palms. Then he squeezed his fists shut over the flames, and they were extinguished with a hissing sound.