Finn Finnegan (10 page)

Finn let out a long breath. He wiped the knife clean of sand before tucking it away. A few yards upstream, Gideon whirled around and started back toward him, anger still plain in his stiff walk. Finn fought the desire to back away when his master drew even with him.

“Truck. Now.” Gideon stabbed a finger toward the path.

They were silent all the way home.

The Journal of Gideon Lir: June 16

We hunted with Mac Roth and young Asher last night. Only one goblin accounted for. I certainly wish we could do more than just slow them down. Mac Roth and I both believe we are fighting a losing battle. There are simply too many of them.

As Mac Roth so bluntly put it this evening, “They breed like rabbits.” Except he used another word for
breeding
. I had to remind him that there were young ears nearby.

My old friend then reminded
me
that those ‘young ears' were thirteen-year-old boys, and they already know all about the rabbit-breeding thing. At least in theory.

Poor Finn. I lost my temper with him after he disobeyed me. I hauled him over the coals quite severely in front of the others.

Better for him to be embarrassed than dead.

The next morning, Finn swallowed as he tugged at the hem of his tee shirt. Stalling for time, he pressed his fingers against the stone in his pocket for courage, then forced himself to step into the kitchen. He hesitated when he spied his master at the table writing in his journal, steam rising from the morning mug of tea at his elbow

“Uh—'morning, Gideon.”

The Knight grunted in response. He paused to turn the page before resuming his task. A rock-heavy silence followed; the scratching of the pen filled the room. Finn cleared his throat and tried again.

“Sorry about last night.”

Gideon threw the pen down and twisted around, hooking an arm over the back of the chair. He stared at Finn, eyes blue ice. “Disobey me again, Finnegan MacCullen, and the Amandán will be the least of yer worries. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

Gideon rose and walked over. “Because if I lose ye to those monsters, ‘twill not be due to the stupidity ye demonstrated last night.” He cuffed Finn affectionately. “Now, be a good lad, and go fetch the newspaper.”

“Yes, sir.” With a lighter heart, Finn turned and hurried through the house. Easing out the front door, he walked down the steps and along the path, leaving the gate ajar. As he reached the sidewalk, he heard a low rumbling. He squinted into the morning sun and stared at the house across the street.

A lanky boy about his age trudged down its driveway, rolling a large, plastic garbage container behind him. Wheeling it into place along the curb, he glanced up and noticed Finn.

“Hey. How's it going?” He secured the lid with a thump of his fist.

“Um, okay.” Finn noticed the newspaper lying in the street. He walked over and picked it up.

“Did you just move here?” the boy asked as Finn hesitated in the middle of the road.

“Yeah. Well,
I
did. About three weeks ago. Gideon has lived here for a long time. He's my new guardian,” Finn said.
Good thing Gideon and I came up with that cover story
, he thought.
Just in case
.

“Cool!” The boy grinned. “It'll be nice to have another guy around. I'm Rafe Steel.”

“Finn MacCullen.”

“Like a fish?”

Like a fish?
he thought. “Oh, I get it. No, Finn's short for Finnegan.”

Rafe's black eyes grew wide. “I can see why you go by Finn,” he said, then winced. “Sorry. I shouldn't have said that.”

Finn laughed. “It's okay.”

“Hey, doofus! You forgot this.” A girl, a few inches shorter and with Rafe's lanky build and ebony skin, walked toward them, her shoulder-length black curls pulled back with a headband. She carried an empty pizza box in one hand. Flipping open the container, she tossed it in. “Hi,” she said, noticing Finn for the first time.

“Uh, this is my little sister, Savannah. Savannah, this is Finn MacCullen. He just moved here.”

“Hey, Finn.” She smiled, the dimples in her cheeks matching her brother's. “And I've told you to stop introducing me as your
little
sister,” she added as she punched Rafe in the arm. “You've got like, what, six minutes on me?”

“Let me guess—twins?” Finn looked from one to the other.

“Yeah. Twins.” Rafe made a face. “Why couldn't she have been a brother?”

Finn grinned at Savannah's chuff of exasperation. “So, why haven't I seen you two around before?”

“Oh, we go to South Africa every year for a few weeks. As soon as school's out. To visit our grandfather,” Savannah said. “We just got back yesterday evening. In fact, we're still unpacking our—”

“Finnegan?”

All three looked over as Gideon strolled across the yard toward them. Pausing at the end of the path, he nodded politely at the Steel children.

“Good morning.” He opened the gate wider. “Come, lad,” he called.

Finn's face burned at his master's tone. And choice of words.
Dude, I'm nota dog!
“I've gotta go.”

Rafe grinned in understanding. “Later, Finn.” He waved a hand and headed up the driveway, his sister on his heels.

Finn whirled around. “Why did you have to embarrass me like that?” he grumbled as he stomped home and handed the paper over. “I was just talking to them.” He yanked the gate shut with a clang before following his master up the porch steps.

“Well, I'd rather ye not,” Gideon said over his shoulder. “Relationships with mortals cause nothing but complications for our kind.” He opened the screen and went in.

Finn paused, one foot on the lowest step. He glanced back across the street. “Says you.”

Pulling the bronze wire tight, Finn wrapped another strand around the gatepost, then twisted the ends together with a pair of pliers. The reddish metal twined around the bars like the stripes on a candy cane.
This should slow the Amandán down
. Taking a break, he gave a nod of satisfaction as he straightened up and pulled his sweaty tee away from his body.

“What's all that for?”

He spun around. Rafe was walking toward him holding a soda pop can in one hand. Reaching behind, Finn yanked his shirt down over his sheathed knife.

“Just something to keep out…you know, animals.” He grinned, pleased to see the other boy again after only a few days.

Rafe took a sip, then nodded. “Mom tried aluminum foil once, but the rabbits still did a smackdown on her geraniums.” He ran a finger along the wire. “Is this copper?”

“Bronze.” Finn wiped his face on a sleeve.

“Here.” Rafe held out the can. “Want some?”

“Oh, thanks.” Finn drank gratefully, then handed it back. They both laughed when he burped. “Sorry.”

“You should be. That was totally lame. Here, listen to this.” Rafe chugged the rest of the can, then let loose a drawn-out rumble.

They laughed again, Rafe pinching his nose to keep soda from spraying. As the boy held his arm up, Finn's eyes widened with curiosity.

“Hey, what's that?”

“What—this?” A slender bracelet, woven of coarse black hairs intermingled with tawny ones, encircled Rafe's wrist. The ends were tied together with leather thongs. “Oh, this is from a ceremony I did with my grandfather. In South Africa. It's made from real lion's hair. From the tip of its tail.”

Finn peered more closely. “What kind of ceremony?”

“Like an initiation. First step into manhood, and all that. They used to have the teenage boys of the tribe kill a real lion to demonstrate their bravery. Nowadays, we just spend the night in the bush by ourselves with nothing but a campfire and a spear. Grandfather said it was still a test of bravery. So, I did this summer while I was there. And he gave me this afterwards.”

Like the tore we earn when we bag our first: Amandán
, Finn thought. “Was it scary? Or just boring?”

Rafe hesitated for a moment. “Okay, don't laugh, but I almost pissed myself when a herd of antelope wandered by in the middle of the night. They were making all this noise in the bush on their way to the watering hole. I couldn't see them. All I heard was this loud breathing and snorting and branches breaking.” He fingered the bracelet. “But I stuck it out. I must have fallen asleep under that tree, because the next thing I knew, it was getting lighter and birds were squawking. And then I watched the sun rise over the savanna.” He looked up at Finn. “It made me feel…” His voice trailed off.

“Made you feel like you were part of something. Something really old, but really powerful.”

“Yeah.”

They looked at each other. An unspoken recognition passed between them. With a grin, Rafe gestured toward his house.

“Hey, do you want to see my African stuff? I got to bring back the spear and even a shield.” He snorted. “After we filled out about a million forms and promised not to hijack the plane with them.”

Finn glanced at his empty driveway.
Gideon won't be back for awhile
, he thought.
I'll just: stay a few minutes
. “Sure. But then, I've got to finish up here.” Leaving the pliers and the coil of wire by the gate, Finn followed Rafe across the street.

The boys hurried up the walk toward the tall brick house and through its front door. Finn eyed the stylish foyer, complete with an antique entryway table and gleaming marble floor.
It's sure fancier than ours. Must be nice to have a lot of money
.

“Rafe?” called a woman's voice. A tall, dark-skinned woman, her face elegant with high cheekbones, appeared. She pulled on a white lab coat as she approached, heels clicking in a rapid staccato. “I'm needed at the hospital and your father ran to the hardware store, so I want you to—” She stopped, noticing Finn.

“Mom, this is Finn MacCullen. He moved here while we were gone. I was going to show him the stuff I brought back.”

“Hello, Finn. I'm Susanna Steel,” Mrs. Steel introduced herself, her smile warm. “Welcome to the neighborhood. Rafe will be thrilled to have another boy around.” She picked up her purse from the table and began rummaging for car keys. “Which house is yours?”

“The small green one with the stone wall around it. Kind of across from here.”

Mrs. Steel paused in her search. “Gideon Lir's house?” A faint line appeared between her eyebrows.

Finn nodded. “He's my guardian. Do you know him?”

“We've spoken a few times.” She studied him intently for a moment, then her face relaxed. “And how do you like Colorado, so far?”

“Oh, I'm from Denver. I used to live with my aunt and uncle up there.” Finn shifted from foot to foot. An odd reluctance to give more details crept over him.

“Would you mind me asking what happened to your parents?”

“They died when I was five. In a hunting accident.”

“Oh, I'm sorry, Finn.” Mrs. Steel tilted her head to one side. “And so, now you live with Mr. Lir? Not your aunt and uncle anymore?”

“Mom!” Rafe rolled his eyes. “What's with the third degree?”

“No, it's okay.” Finn glanced over at Rafe, then back to his mom. “Um, Gideon is an old friend of our family. Plus, my aunt and uncle have nine other kids, so this just worked out better. And I am learning a ton of stuff from him.” Finn grinned.
Stuff like how to peg a monster between the eyes with a hunting knife
.

Mrs. Steel smiled back. Glancing at her watch, she sighed. “Okay, I'm off. Rafe, fifteen minutes with Finn, then you need to get the backyard mowed and your bag unpacked. Your dad will be back shortly. Finn, I hope to see you again soon.” She hurried out the door.

Rafe shook his head. “Now that we're through the security check with Dr. Steel, I'll show you my spear.” He led the way along the hall and up a curving flight of stairs. Reaching the top, they hooked a right into the first bedroom. Rafe shoved a partially unpacked duffle bag out of their way.