Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy (27 page)

I turned those words over in my head.  Trust him.  Despite my better judgment, I did trust him.  Did he trust me, though?  I was tempted to ask him why Drustan and the others shunned him, especially after what the Dagda had said, but I kept those questions at bay.  Now didn’t feel like the right time.

Cade took a deep breath and held out a hand.  I stared at it for a moment.

“I suggest we head back inside, especially now that I’ve managed to extricate myself from the talons of that little blond harpy,” he said, shuddering in what I liked to think was disgust.

I looked at him with wide eyes and he smiled back at me before continuing, “It’s nearly midnight and we don’t want to miss the spectacle my foster father has planned.  Besides, don’t you want to practice dancing for your prom tomorrow night?”

Forgetting my worry, I grinned back and took his hand.  The moment we entered the loud hall, Cade pulled me into a fast jig and from that point on I forgot about my earlier jealousy, about Drustan’s rude behavior, about what the Dagda had told me, about my worry over Danua.  I was completely absorbed in the music and Cade’s every word and lingering touch.

The Dagda’s musicians played three more songs, one being slower than the rest, and Cade didn’t give me up for any of them.  All the awful events of the night seemed to melt away as he hugged me close and led me in a slow dance.  I leaned my head against his chest, breathing in his unique scent and letting the smooth rhythm of a Celtic tune sweep me away.  I felt, for the first time in weeks, as if this was exactly where I belonged.

Midnight rolled around and the Dagda had everyone clear away from the center of the room.  He invited those who wished to display their talents to step up and give us their best.  Cade and I watched in amazement and humor as several people tried to impress us with their juggling, acting or mimicking skills.  We were encouraged by our host to boo the ones who failed at their task and cheer on anyone showing an unusual talent.  By the end of the show, my face hurt from laughing so hard.

Partway through the performance, Cade left to get us some more refreshments.  On his way back, one of the Dagda’s guards entered from a side hallway and made a bee line towards him, intercepting him before he could reach me.  The man gave a polite bow and handed Cade a rolled parchment sealed with wax.  The guard returned to his post in silence as Cade studied the seal with a slight frown.

“What’s the matter Cade?” I called out.

He didn’t seem to hear me.  He cracked the wax on the missive and started unrolling it.  A sudden flourish of music pulled my attention back towards the dance floor and I laughed out loud when I saw the Dagda, his huge form, leaping from foot to foot, as limber and agile as a gymnast.

A light touch on my shoulder jerked my attention back towards Cade.  He had moved closer to me, the piece of parchment held tightly in his hand.  His face had turned grim and all the joyous light in his eyes had vanished.

I eyed the crumpled paper and spotted a small symbol on one corner.  My heart stopped when I recognized the image.  A black bird.  A raven.  I gestured towards his hand.  “What does it say?”

Cade took a breath and ran his fingers through his hair, a sure sign something was distressing him.

“Cade!” I repeated, becoming frantic as I stood up and knocked the goblet I’d been drinking out of to the floor.  The cup made a dull crack against the ground, spilling mead on the carpet as well as the stone.

Cade looked up at me, his eyes darkening as his anger rose.  “A message from the Morrigan.  She is on her way to the dolmarehn that leads into the swamp behind your house.  She intends to enter the mortal world with the purpose of killing your family.”

-Seventeen-

Disclosure

I didn’t even pause to tell the Dagda I was leaving.  The moment Cade told me what the message said, a roaring of some internal emotion flooded my senses.  My fingers began to tingle and the little pit of magic next to my heart started glowing again.

I grabbed Cade’s hand and tugged him down the great hall.  He came easily with me, his own steps long to match my fast pace.

“If we push Speirling, we should arrive at the dolmarehn in half the time it usually takes.  The missive said she was still several hours away from the castle, so with luck and speed, we’ll reach the dolmarehn before she does.”

I was glad Cade was talking, because I had lost the ability to speak.  All my body knew at the moment was that we needed to race as fast as possible, back to my family before anything happened to them.  If the Morrigan used her power against them, they wouldn’t stand a chance. 
No Meghan, don’t think
, I told myself as the first sob broke free,
don’t think about anything.  Just get home
.

Cade realized my anguish and stopped abruptly, pulling me around by the hand he still held and locking me into a close embrace.

“We’ll get back in time Meghan,” he breathed against my hair, “we’ll get there before she does.”

I returned his embrace, wrapping my arms around him.  His heartbeat matched my own, and I wanted nothing more than to lean into Cade; let his simple presence will away my fear and sorrow.

He held me for a few moments more, then just as briskly as he had scooped me up, he released me and pulled me through the huge door of the entrance hall of the Dagda’s home.  He darted back inside to grab a cloak, then threw the thick material over my shoulders and wrapped it tight in front of me.

A small group of boys loitering near the bonfire jumped at our sudden burst through the doors.

“My horse, please.  The large black stallion,” Cade said sternly.

One boy nodded and darted off.  As we waited, I watched the flames of the fire dance and flicker in the breeze.  The night would be cold and windy, and I sensed a storm blowing in. 
My whole body
quiver
ed and Cade pressed me close again, smoothing his hand over my hair and murmuring words in the ancient language of this world, none of which I understood.

The young boy returned, tugging Speirling behind him.  Fergus trotted silently after him and I heard Meridian’s distressed cries somewhere above us.  Before I could so much as take a breath, Cade climbed on top of Speirling’s back and pulled me up to sit in front of him.

“Tell the Dagda we give our apologies, but something urgent has come up,” Cade called down to the startled boys.

He didn’t wait for a reply, but dug his heels into his horse’s sides and we went tearing across the ground, Speirling’s hooves kicking up the dirt of the smooth road.

Cade kept one hand on the reins and one arm around my waist.  His grip was protective, possessive even.  If we were racing through the dark countryside for any other reason than to save my family from the Morrigan’s wrath, I would have been tickled pink.  Well, and a bit terrified of falling and being trampled.  I took what little comfort I could in Cade’s arms and tried not to let my mind descend into hysteria.

Unfortunately, my mind paid no attention to me. 
Mom, Dad, the twins . . . Bradley and Logan.  Aiden
.  That’s when I lost what remained of my feeble composure; thinking of Aiden.  My baby brother, the one who looked most like me even though we weren’t blood related.  Aiden was the most helpless of them all.  Not able to help myself any longer, I turned my head and buried it in Cade’s shoulder and simply let the tears come.  He started murmuring to me in those ancient words again as we sped through the night, but the agony in my heart just wouldn’t go away.

Speirling ran the entire way, never seeming to tire.  Thank goodness he was an Otherworldly horse or else he might have died from the effort.

Dawn’s first light touched the horizon as we came up over a final rise in the rolling countryside, and the dolmarehn leading to Cade’s castle towered into view.  Cade gave his horse another nudge and we went flying down the hill, Fergus and Meridian, miraculously, still on our heels.

I must have dozed off during the night, despite the jarring ride and bite of the wind and rain that had finally caught up to us and despite the gnawing worry over my family.  I felt stiff and groggy, and grit gathered at the corners of my eyes.  Cade didn’t slow Speirling as we entered the large dolmarehn.  The familiar strangeness that always overcame me when crossing through these portals tugged at me, but the transition was quick and in the next breath we were thundering down the trail running alongside the stream behind Cade’s home.

“Not long now Meghan.  Only ten more miles or so and we’ll be at the dolmarehn that will take us to your family.”

I nodded, tightening my grip on the arm wrapped around my middle and trying to ignore the horrible dread coiling up in my stomach.  What if we were too late?  How could I live with myself if the Morrigan killed my family?  I dashed those thoughts from my mind.  They only fed my anxiety and I needed to be clear-headed right now.

The early morning sun bathed the countryside in golden light, doing its best to warm the land before the storm arrived.  We had jumped ahead of the clouds by passing through the dolmarehn, but they would reach us soon.  I hoped we’d be in the mortal world by then.

“Just beyond those hills Meghan, only a little further,” Cade murmured, his voice no more than an inch above my ear.

We broke free of the woods and I spotted the castle below and to the left of us.  I gazed out across the wide valley, remembering the first time I’d found myself in the Otherworld.  It seemed like ages ago, when I’d been foolish enough to fall into the Morrigan’s trap and come so close to dying.  I shook my head, forcing those awful thoughts away.  I was with Cade now, and with any luck we wouldn’t even see the Morrigan today.

My skin began to crawl.  It had been a long time since she’d bothered to harass me, and even on the few occasions she sent her reminders (the demon bats and the strange pig), the resulting injuries barely left a mark.  Okay, maybe the cut I got from the evil bat was bad, but in general, I managed to escape relatively unscathed.  I should have realized she was preparing something far worse.

“Come on,” Cade growled, kicking Speirling into a faster pace.

We descended the hill beside the castle and Cade’s horse picked up his gait once we reached the fields, breathing heavily because of his efforts.

Speirling turned a final bend and when the trail leading up to the dolmarehn came into view, Cade released something between a horrified gasp and a curse, jerking on the stallion’s reins in his state of shock.  Speirling let loose a distressed whinny, rising up onto his hind legs and falling back to keep his balance.  Fergus started barking and Meridian’s fearful screeches rained down from above.

I clung to Cade and the saddle, trying to stay seated.  I made an attempt to figure out what was going on, but the hood of the cloak obscured my view.  Once the horse lowered his forelegs to the ground, I glanced up, drew the hood back, and trained my eyes ahead of us.

I nearly fell from Speirling’s back as my face drained of all color.  There, curling around the base of the hill like some menacing fog, stood an army of dark, terrifying faelah.  But what drew my attention the most was the woman who blocked our path several hundred feet away.  I was confused for a split-second.  The message claimed she was on her way to kill my family, so why would she be standing here below the path to the dolmarehn, waiting with her minions?  Why wasn’t she climbing up the trail to pass into the mortal world?

Cade’s arm tightened on me for a mere second, and in that moment I knew. 
Of
course
. . .  My brain was worse for the wear right now, after spending the entire night playing freeze tag with my emotions while flying across the countryside on horseback, worried sick about my parents and my brothers.  At least, that’s the excuse I made for myself.

The Morrigan never planned to kill my family.  She’d set this up, just like last time.  She’d drawn me, and Cade as well, into her nice, neat little trap.  She guessed I would come to save my family.  She pieced together exactly what to say in order to draw me out into the open, far away from the Dagda, the one Faelorehn (besides my uncaring mother) who possessed the most magic to protect me.  Now we were alone, terribly outnumbered and miles upon miles away from anyone who might help.

I gritted my teeth and kicked myself mentally.  She’d done it
again
.  She had tricked me again.  And this time I couldn’t even blame it on my own ignorance.  I now understood what the Morrigan was capable of and I had a terrible feeling the price for my foolishness would be far greater than what I was willing to pay.

* * *

The soot-grey clouds that followed us from the Dagda’s started gathering overhead and the rugged hills framing the valley seemed to cower in anticipation for what was to come.  I tried to find solace in those hills; in the scattered trees growing on their peaks, but the small valley we now stood in brought to mind a bear trap, ready to snap shut and cripple me.

The faelah moved quickly and orderly, making a quarter mile wide semi-circle to enclose Cade and me, with the largest of them standing guard at our backs.  Yes, the trap was set.

Neither Cade nor I said a word, nor did we look at each other.  What could we say or recognize in one another’s eyes that we didn’t already know?  The Morrigan had won.  Her patience had finally paid off, and she’d won.  I’d forgotten about Cade’s hold on me, but then he loosened his grip and leaned forward.