Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy (20 page)

“There is a dolmarehn in Kellston, a small town located on a lakeshore beyond these hills.  It will take us almost directly to Erintara,” he said.

“Erintara?” I asked as I nudged my mare forward.  She had a sweet temperament and behaved rather well for a horse, thank goodness.

He nodded, not catching my eye.  “The place where your mother lives.”

“Oh, is it a town?”

That grin again, this time accompanied by a glint in his green eyes.  “It’s a town of sorts, I suppose.”

I narrowed my eyes.  “What do you mean?”

Cade turned his face towards me.  “You will see.”

With those final words, he kicked Speirling into a quicker pace.

Grumbling, I encouraged the mare to do the same.  Why did everything have to be such a big secret with him?

About forty minutes later, Kellston came sprawling into view.  The town’s residents bustled about, finishing up morning chores and reminding me a little of the bees who visited the lavender in our front yard.  I couldn’t help but smile at the scene.  The only other gathering of people I’d observed in Eilé had been the Wildren of the Weald.

We led the horses down the main road that parted the center of town, and as we passed I noticed several booths draped in colorful fabrics and ribbons.

Cade must have sensed my curiosity because he leaned over and whispered next to my ear, “They are preparing for their spring festival.  The event usually takes place midway between Imbolg and Beltaine.”

Thanks to Robyn’s obsession and my spending half of last summer pouring over the information I’d found on the Celts, I had a decent knowledge of the four major Celtic holidays: Imbolg, Beltaine, Lughnasadh and of course, Samhain.

“The spring fair is a time for young men to show off their skills in order to impress the young ladies.”

Cade grinned and pointed over towards the lakeshore where a group of boys competed in a contest: discovering who could throw giant rocks the furthest, from what I could tell.  Several girls stood around watching, clapping and giggling as the young men either cheered on their friends or teased them for their lack of skill.

I grinned.  Not too different from high school in the mortal world, apparently.

“It’s also the time for lovers to take part in the bonding ceremony.”

I glanced in the opposite direction now and spotted a young man and woman in their best clothes standing side by side, a ring of friends and family gathering around them and singing a pleasant song.  The participants performed a simple, woven dance around the couple and little girls wearing garlands streaming with ribbons threw flower petals.

A bonding ceremony?  Ah yes, a
wedding
.  An Otherworldly wedding.  I followed the ritual for a few moments longer, smiling at the happy participants and arching a brow in interest when the bride and groom exchanged what appeared to be decorative bracelets instead of rings.

“And,” Cade continued, his voice growing amused and taking on a slightly deeper tone, “if a young man should have the luck of having a beautiful lady by his side, he is obligated to be a good sport.”

I choked on a gasp of surprise as Cade laced his fingers with mine, loosening my grip on the mare’s reins.  He lifted my arm up for all the curious eyes to view and drew my hand to his lips.  The crowd gave a boisterous cheer, waving colorful ribbons and banners and brilliant bouquets of flowers.  After kissing my hand, Cade continued to hold it as the shouts and suggestive whistles continued to follow us down the road.

I was mortified.  Thrilled and mortified.  What had Cade been trying to prove to these people when he had kissed my hand?  Was he simply being a good sport as he claimed, or might his actions mean something else entirely?

I bit my cheek to keep from grinning like an idiot. 
Stop Meghan, he only wanted to show the townspeople his appreciation for the holiday
.  Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder: might I be more than just friend to him?

Before we broke free of the town, a boy and a girl, both wearing crowns of flowers and ivy, skipped up to us and presented us with garlands of our own.  Cade accepted them, smiling down at the children.  First, he set the ivy crown on his own head, then reached across the space between our two horses and placed the floral garland on my own.

I sat still, knowing the townspeople continued to scrutinize us.  Cade took his time to settle the wreath, pulling the ribbons free of my hair.  Once all the leaves and ribbons were to his liking, he lowered his hand but allowed his fingers to rest against my cheek.  I suddenly found the act of breathing to be a challenge, and the sounds of Kellston faded from my hearing.

His hand lingered for several moments more, and when I worked up the nerve to meet his eyes, what I discovered there astounded me.  His irises had changed again, but this time some gray shone through the green, as well as something else, something far beyond color alone . . .  Sadness?  Desire?  Regret?  And then it dawned upon me, what emotion lingered in those haunted eyes.

I knew that look, had seen
and
felt that look before, long ago when I was young.  Bradley, Logan and I had been playing in the backyard when the neighbor’s cat came strolling over, a newly hatched baby bird in his mouth.  We managed to get the bird away from him and spent the day cleaning it up.  We made a nest in an old shoe box and quickly fell in love with the hatchling.  When Dad got home he told us the baby bird belonged with its mother, so he helped us find the nest and got the ladder out.  My brothers and I watched as he gently placed the bird back in the nest.  All three of us had a sad glimmer in our eyes by the time he climbed back down.  It was as if our hearts had been torn out.

Eventually, my surroundings became real again and I could hear the people of Kellston getting back to their preparations.  The noise seemed louder, the smells stronger, and the colors brighter.

“Come on Meghan,” Cade said softly, his voice stiff as he let his hand drift from my face.  “Let’s get you to your mother.”

Almost the exact words my dad had spoken those many years ago.  The irony was so cold I actually shivered.

* * *

The dolmarehn acting as the gateway to Erintara lay at the base of the foothills across the tip of the lake.  The trip from Kellston to the dolmarehn had only taken thirty minutes, but it seemed like hours.  Cade remained silent the entire time, his shoulders tight and his seat in the saddle stiff.  I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth.  I couldn’t be that baby bird to him.  Yet, if I was, why did it mean he had to give me up?  Would my mother, whoever she might be, take me in and not let me go again?  I never considered that to be a possible scenario, but the longer I reflected on it the more nervous I became.  Or perhaps I was reading too much into everything.

The dolmarehn on the far end of the lake was big enough for the horses to pass through, but Cade waited for me to catch up nonetheless.

The cold silence grated at me, and finally I had to say something if only to shatter the strained atmosphere.  “Cade, who is my mother?”

He turned and gave me a haunted look again, yet remained silent.

Speirling stepped closer to the dolmarehn.

“You could at least tell me her name!” I shouted, allowing my irritation to pour free.  I was tired of being left in the dark.  Exactly what game did he play?  Lead the poor, ignorant Fae strayling on a wild goose chase like a donkey chasing after a dangling carrot?

Cade and his horse disappeared beneath the shadow of the stone gateway and I entertained the thought of riding my mare back to the mortal world where I could brood in my anger and fear.  Only when I registered Cade’s voice whispering back an answer to my demand did I change my mind.

“Danua,” he said.  “Your mother’s name is, Danua.  The high queen of Eilé.”

-Thirteen-

Danua

No.  He was lying.  My birth mother couldn’t be a queen, let alone a high queen.

I sat motionless while a heavy dose of shock numbed my nerves.  The brown mare cropped grass as I continued to stare into the stone portal set into the hillside, just like the one linking Eilé to the mortal world.  No!  If my mother was a queen, like Cade claimed, she would’ve found a way to keep me, unless she honestly didn’t want me.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I nudged the mare forward.  I’d come this far, I might as well go the entire way and get the answers I wanted, despite my frustration with Cade.

I found Cade and Speirling on the other side of the dolmarehn, both of them standing still and grave, as if expecting the dead to rise up all around them and drag them into the afterlife.

A deep sigh left me as I wiped at my cheeks and turned to study our surroundings.  Yes, I’d let my emotions get the better of me, and I needed a moment to recover.  Too bad the beautiful scenery didn’t help.  A massive lake spanned the distance in front of us, and behind us were more small mountains.  A broad road stretched along the shore in either direction and to the east I spied the edge of a sprawling city with a glorious castle standing atop a centrally-located hill.  My mouth dropped open and I forgot my worry, my lingering shock and brewing fear.

“Erintara,” Cade murmured beside me.

I flinched, not realizing he’d guided Speirling closer to my mare.

“And this is the other side of Lake Ohll.”

A long silence ensued where neither one of us spoke a single word.

Finally, Cade drew in a deep breath and said, his voice tinged with sorrow, “I’m so sorry Meghan, I should have told you sooner.  I had my suspicions, that Danua might be your mother.  Only recently, though, did I become convinced of the truth.”

I nodded, the tears still spilling out, but there was something I needed to ask him.

“Why does it seem like I’ve heard that name before?”  I asked quietly, my throat tight.  An old memory perhaps?

Cade remained quiet for several moments before answering.  “Because you
have
heard it before, a variation of it at least.  The Danube River and the Tuatha De Danaan, the tribe of Danu . . .  They were named for Danua, only, the Celts of the mortal world called her Danu.”

A hard punch to my stomach would have been more welcoming at the moment.  So not an old memory after all, but the name Danu had come up a few times during my research.  Of course, I had been pretty preoccupied studying the Morrigan at the time and for good reason.

“And I’m her daughter,” I said out loud, my voice sounding disembodied.

“Meghan, I should have investigated sooner.  I might’ve been able to tell you this months ago, if only I’d put more effort into it.  But I didn’t.  I knew if I’d been right, that if Danua truly was your mother, it would mean I-”

He cut himself short and raked his hands through his hair, fighting some internal battle I wasn’t permitted to be a part of.

What Cade
? 
It would mean what
?  I wanted to scream.

“Come on,” he finally murmured, “she is expecting us.”

We reached the city a half an hour later, and if I hadn’t been so distracted by what I had just learned, then I might’ve appreciated the spotless, paved streets, the towering trees lining the paths or the quaint little restaurants and shops with their brightly painted signs.  Thoughts of a well-manicured theme park, without the swarming tourists of course, came to mind, especially when the sound of light, cheery music met my ears and the faint scent of sweet spices filled the air around us.

The castle rose up above the city on a little hill surrounded by trees and open space.  The paved road leading up to the castle’s entrance proved to be an easy walk for the horses, and when we reached the outer gate the guards let us pass without too many questions.  Cade spoke to them in the language of Eilé, his voice never betraying his emotions, whatever those emotions might be.

Several stable hands in crisp uniforms took our horses and we were escorted into the castle by more guards.  The palace, like the rest of the charming metropolis, was beautiful, the tall spires and stained glass windows making me think of fairytales and princesses.  I grimaced at the thought as we crossed the enormous marble entrance hall.  According to Cade I was one of those princesses, though I didn’t feel like I belonged in a fairytale.  Well, not a happy one.

“Her majesty is just finishing up with her diplomats.  You may see her shortly.”

I swallowed hard and Cade took my hand.

Fifteen agonizing minutes later, the tall doors opened up and a flurry of finely dressed men and women poured out, all chatting animatedly to one another.  To my immense relief, they didn’t notice Cade and me standing to the side.

“Her majesty will see you now,” the guard from before acknowledged only me.  I would be meeting with the queen alone.

My stomach fell to the floor, my frightened gaze searching Cade’s.  His smile was grim, but he nodded, giving my hand one last squeeze before unlacing his fingers from mine.  The tears had long since dried up, but my broiling emotions made me unsteady on my feet.  The guard led me into the vast room, yet I barely had time to take in the high vaulted ceiling and the magnificent dais at the end of the hall before my eyes locked on the woman sitting languidly in the throne far ahead of me.  I caught my breath.  My mother.  Danua, Queen of Eilé.