Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy (2 page)

I set my own bag down and headed after my brothers.  They had all crossed over to the other side of the creek, climbing on the pylons of the road bridge stretching overhead.  I chose to cross closer to the shore.  I wasn’t a germ freak or anything, but semi-stagnant w
ater just gave me the willies.

“Meg!” Bradley complained from the rock he perched upon.  “I want to go check out the tide pools, but Logan’s being a turd!”

“Hey!  I said I’d go, I just wanted to wait for Meg!”

A shoving contest ensued as I reached down and scooped Aiden up, grunting a little at his weight.  I couldn’t believe how big he was getting.  Soon I wouldn’t be able to pick him up at all.

“Bradley, you do know it’s Logan’s birthday party, right?  Shouldn’t he choose what to do?  His friends will start showing up at any minute, so we should get back to the picnic table and wait for them.”

Through some miracle of older-sisterhood, I managed to round them all up and bring them back.  Logan’s friends arrived ten minutes later and soon we were all roa
sting hotdogs and eating cake.

About an hour before sunset, Logan insisted on going back to the tide pools on the other side of the creek.  I shaded my eyes and squinted up at the sky.

“I’m not sure, Logan.  By the time we get there we won’t be able to do much exploring.”

Well, if we left before the sun set.  The walk didn’t take long, but I wanted to be close to the fire once darkness started settling in.  I had encountered the faelah in daylight before, but they preferred the darkness, and the worst attack I ever suffered on this side of Eilé had come right after sunset.

“Go on Meg, you have plenty of time before the
sun goes down,” Mom insisted.

I think she wanted the kids to play somewhere else so she and Dad could relax before we started roasting marshmallows.

I squirmed, torn between pleasing my brother and my own, semi-paranoid fear.  Eventually I caved.  I mean, what were the chances of faelah showing up at the beach anyway?  Cade had never mentioned any dolmarehn around the Avila area, and I’m sure he would have if there had been any.

“Alright, but you and Bradley have to help me with Aiden and the twins.”

The small herd of pre-teen boys all cheered in obnoxious unison.  Oh boy, th
is was going to be
so
fun . . .

The rocky shelf that featured the tidal pools teemed with other beach-goers.  I held Aiden’s hand the entire time, pointing out star fish and sea anemones as we carefully walked across the slippery rocks, the deep sloshing sound of the ocean drowning out most of our words.  Logan, Bradley, the twins and all of Logan’s friends started hunting for crabs and after a handful of minutes, I allowed myself to relax a little.  This was actually pretty nice.  Spending quality time with my brothers like a normal, human teenager.  Of course, the delusion didn’t last.

“Seal,” Aiden said, pointing towards the water rushing into the gi
ant fissure between the rocks.

I twisted around and looked down, almost slipping on some seaweed in shock.  It was a seal, sort-of.  A dark head turned to gaze at me, but instead of seeing the cute, whiskered face and big brown eyes of a spotted seal, I caught a glimpse of the deep ocean-blue eyes of a young woman.  I blinked several times, but the vision didn’t fade.  It was as if someone had skinned a harbor seal and now floated around beneath the tide pools, wearing the skin as some sort of gruesome robe.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one to be surprised.  The seal woman’s dark eyes grew wide and she pulled the seal skin over her face.  I had to blink again.  No human likeness remained, but in her place floated an actual seal.  Wait, what had just happened?

“Perty,” Aiden whispered.

I looked at him.  He liked animals, and I’m sure he only noticed a seal.  Cade had once told me about Otherworldly glamour and from past experience, I knew not all the faelah made their presence known.

“Yes Aiden, very pretty,” I murmured.

The sun fell beyond the horizon and no more Otherworldly beasts surprised us.  On our walk back, I contemplated what I’d seen.  I mentally went through the various Irish myths I had read in one of my books.  I knew the seal had seemed familiar, but why?  A faded memory suddenly came back to me.  The Silkies; Irish seal-people.  Had th
e creature been a Silkie?

Now that I’d decided what she was, I wracked my brain for more details.  When Silkies removed their seal skin, they became human, and if another human being got a hold of the seal skin, they could control the Silkie.  I
grimaced
, hoping my obvious recognition would encourage the Silkie to find a much less populated beach to visit.  Glamour or not, that was too high a price to pay if someone managed to steal her skin.

“Ah, there you are!” my dad crooned as we came traipsing back to
the picnic table.

Delight coursed through me when I caught sight of the fire, for we were
all soaked from the waist down.

“Who’s ready for some marshmallows?”

I pulled up a lawn chair and jabbed a marshmallow on the end of my stick as I let the warmth of the fire pour over me.  The boys started sharing ghost stories, but I blocked them out and instead focused on the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.  I remembered Cade telling me once how the ocean soothed him.  On a normal day, I would have been of the same opinion.  The only problem was, he wasn’t here at the moment, and that fact alone dashed away any hopes of feeling truly content.

-Two-

Reunion

A week after Logan’s birthday party, the school year started.  Normally, I would have dreaded the day, for I wasn’t the most popular kid in school, but at least I’d get a chance to escape my room.  Mom had been right; I had become a recluse.  And for some reason, I entertained the idea that the Morrigan and her ilk would avoid harassing me at school.  I hoped I was still right.

Thomas picked Tully and me up at the end of our street in his family’s gold van.  He had already been to Will’s house.  I smiled at my friends as I climbed in.

“So, ready for our senior year?”  Hey, might as well act cheerful, right?

“Yeah, sure, a whole year stressing about filling out college applications and waiting to hear back. 
So
exciting.”

I brushed aside Will’s negativity.  He was under a lot of pressure to get into a good college.  He had spent most of his summer researching one university
after another.  At least he’d

been productive.  What had I done?  Oh yeah, I’d wasted my summer by hiding in my room and avoiding the outdoors as often as possible.  But I had gone into the swamp to practice archery, something I thought I might be improving on.  Finally.

“I’m ready for all the perks that come with being a senior,” Thomas added, answering my question.

I wouldn’t call exclusive lunch rights to the front lawn or the chance to take study hall for one of our class periods perks, but I shrugged anyway.

Thomas reached forward and changed the station before pulling out onto the next road.

We met Robyn in the parking lot, her usual Goth-inspired attire flawless.  The teal streak in her hair had faded and appeared to be a little longer than the last time I’d seen her.  I hadn’t spent much time with Robyn over the summer, only seeing her twice at Tully’s in the first few weeks after school let out.  Despite her hair, she was just the same as always.

“Hey people!  Ready to wreak havoc and cause mayhem?  We’re seniors!”

I would have laughed, but Robyn
would
wreak havoc and cause mayhem, given the chance.  I had enough chaos in my life without even trying, so I merely shook my head, giving her what I hoped was an impish grin.

A few minutes later the bell rang and our talk of the long-lost summer and what our big plans were for the year came to an end.  Shrugging my backpack further up my shoulder, I headed down the hallway to find my first class.

I spotted Adam Peders, Josh Turner and Michaela West along the way.  They all glared at me.  I gritted my teeth, then paused.  These were the people who had tormented me since middle school, but hadn’t I already been through a lot worse than what they’d ever been able to dish out?  Hadn’t I survived an attack from the Morrigan, a powerful Otherworldly being?  Hadn’t I recently learned I was Faelorehn, immortal, and potentially capable of unfathomable power?

I laughed out loud, startling the three lemmings that used to be the bane of my existence.  Key word there;
used
to be.  I lifted my chin, adopted the haughtiest look I could muster, and strolled right past them as if they were nothing more than snails on a wall.  Michaela’s gasp of outrage was particularly enjoyable.

Oh yes Robyn
, I thought,
I am definitely ready to wreak havoc and cause mayhem
.

* * *

That first week flew by and I found myself facing a weekend of homework.  Okay, maybe being a senior wasn’t going to be that glorious after all.  I spent a good portion of my Friday night getting my math done and working on an essay for my literature class.  By ten, my eyes felt like they were caked with glue.  I piled my books onto my desk and headed for bed.  Sighing, I stared at my ceiling and did what I’d been trying to do since before the start of summer break: not think about Cade MacRoich.

Eventually I did get to sleep, but woke with a start several hours later.  I blinked away the bleariness in my eyes.  Had I been having another nightmare?  I couldn’t tell.  I rotated my head to look at my alarm clock.  Four fifty one, in bright red, glowing letters, glared back at me.  I groaned.  Really?  Why couldn’t my stupid dreams let me sleep until at least seven?

I tried to go back to sleep, but I just tossed and turned until it started to get light outside.  Finally, I got up.  In a haze, I walked into my bathroom and turned on the shower.  Perhaps it would lift my spirits.

Once done with my morning routine, I threw on a comfortable pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt (a favorite ensemble of mine) and returned to my desk.  Time to get some more homework done or waste a good hour or two on the internet.

A scratch at the sliding glass door drew my attention.  I leaned back in my chair and glanced over.  Ah, Fergus.  He’d been a common sight at my door all summer, so I blew out a breath and hit the button to turn on my computer.  When the scratching continued, followed by a whine then a sharp bark, I got up to go find out what the spirit guide wanted.  He never seemed to want attention from me before, but there was always a first for that.

I unlocked the door and slid it open.  “What’s up Fergus?”

He backed away from me, panting and doing a little dance.  Weird . . .  Only when he turned to head down the horse trail, pausing long enough to glance back at me with his big brown eyes, did I realize he wanted me to follow him.  My heart jumped into my throat.  Was Cade back?

I threw on a jacket and stepped into some shoes.  The morning was chilly, but I knew by noon it would be hotter.  Not that I needed it to be any warmer at the moment.  My heart raced and I dashed after the wolfhound, my mind abuzz with a million thoughts.  Could Cade truly be waiting down the trail for me?  Would he be glad to see me?  Would he be recovered from the encounter with the Morrigan?  Would he leave right away after talking to me?  Would he have news from the Otherworld?  Would he kiss me again?

I shivered at my last thought.  Although I had convinced myself the memory of Cade kissing me had simply been imagined due to the trauma of coming darn near close to death, I couldn’t help but wish it had been real.  Almost every night, the scene replayed in my mind and I tried hard to remember the satisfaction of being held in his arms; the gentle touch of his lips pressed against mine, but the recollection of those sensations would not surface and I forced myself to accept them as semi-forgotten dreams.

I turned the corner and passed through the willow trees covering the land bridge over the swamp.  A few more steps brought me through to the other side.  And then I spotted him, standing dead center in a wide clearing, Fergus sitting and panting contentedly by his side.  Cade MacRoich.

My knees buckled, bringing me to a dead stop.  Stupid knees.  He wore his trench coat, as usual, his arms crossed over his chest.  As soon as he spotted me, however, he pulled down his hood and smiled.  Oh, what that one action did to me . . .  I took in his height, his posture, his face.  He looked well, much better than the walking zombie he’d been when we last parted ways.  His dark red hair almost glowed in the sunlight and his beautiful face no longer resembled a gaunt, white mask.  But the light in his eyes proved he had finally recovered; dark green and sparking with life.

“Hello Meghan.”

I forgot about my knees.  I forgot about my thundering heart.  I even forgot to keep that safe distance I always placed carefully between us.  Apparently, I forgot to think as well.

Letting out a small squeak of joy, I bolted from where I stood and threw my arms around him, trapping him in a full-body embrace.  I was so glad to see him.  Unfortunately, my mind hadn’t warned me about how foolish I appeared.

Fortunately, Cade hugged me back, making my imprudent behavior seem only a tiny bit ridiculous.  Didn’t stop me from flushing beet red, though.