Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy Read online

  Taking a deep breath, I stood with him as my other brothers kept at their game with my spirit guide. I set my quiver down and leaned my bow against the house, then bent over and pulled Aiden into a rib-crushing hug.

  “I know buddy, I know,” I whispered as he wrapped himself around me. I managed to hold on a little longer before a tear escaped. “I’ll miss you too.”

  -Two-

  Recovered

  The next morning I woke up feeling groggy and slightly dejected. I didn’t know exactly when I’d be going back to the Otherworld, but I knew it was inevitable. I wanted to go, don’t get me wrong, and not just because it meant more one-on-one time with Cade. There had been something about feeling the full extent of my very own Faelorehn glamour that urged me to return, almost like a drug I couldn’t get enough of. Despite the terror and anguish I had felt when facing down the Morrigan, the whole experience had been exhilarating. It was almost as if the magic of Eile itself was crying out to me; coaxing me to cross over into the Otherworld and soak it in like warm sunshine.

  Yet, there was also that part of me that hated leaving my friends and family. Not that I would disappear and never come back, but to not wake up and see my brothers every day? To find my dad reading his newspaper while the house erupted in chaos? To wake up without the smell of my mom’s cooking filling the kitchen? The ache that swelled next to my heart threatened to overwhelm me, but I quickly got a hold of it and banished it away. All children left their parents’ homes at some point in time, whether to go to college or start a life of their own. How was this any different? Okay, most young adults weren’t going to live in a different dimension full of magic, monsters and goddesses bent on destroying them, but hey, most people my age were human.

  Sighing to dispel some of my negative mood, I rolled out of bed and headed to my shower. I took my time this morning, letting the steaming hot water pour over me, imaging it was washing away all of my worries. After the shower I brushed my teeth, combed out my unruly hair and threw on a pair of old jeans, a t-shirt and a sweatshirt.

  It was still foggy out and I planned to go down into the swamp to get some more practice in with my longbow. I wasn’t about to slack off, despite the fact that I’d found only the one faelah creature the day before. I located the torque and mistletoe charm Cade had given me on my desk, placing them around my neck as if they were pieces of armor. Ever since the day I’d returned from Eile in late spring, I’d been wearing them almost constantly. I had been questioned by Robyn almost immediately about the torque (let's face it, the piece of jewelry kind of stood out and Robyn knew her Celtic stuff), but I had merely brushed her off and told her that Cade had given it to me. She was still the only one of my friends who had actually met him. Of course, she thought he was human, a conviction I wasn’t about to correct. Soon I'd have to tell them the truth, or at least some version of the truth, but for now I'd let them go on believing the lies as long as possible.

  I sighed and placed my hands loosely on my hips, scanning the room for my spirit guide. Meridian, another gift from Cade, snoozed in the corner, making soft chirruping sounds as she slept. I grinned. I hated to wake her, but she was my bodyguard on mornings like these.

  Meridian, I sent to her.

  She snoozed on. I smiled and tried again.

  Meridian!

  She woke with a snort, well, her version of a mental snort. Up! she sent as she ruffled her feathers and tried to act as if she had been alert the whole time.

  I laughed, threw my quiver over my shoulder, grabbed my bow with my left hand and held out my forearm to her.

  Ready for practice? I asked

  Yes. Hungry.

  She landed on my sleeve, then crawled up my arm to settle herself on my shoulder, tucking her head back under her wing.

  I turned towards my sliding glass door, expecting to see the fog-dimmed vista of our backyard and the eucalyptus trees that trailed down into the swamp. But something else was waiting for me and my heart nearly leapt out of my chest. There, standing on the concrete slab that served as a small patio stood a huge, white wolfhound.

  My bow thlunked to my carpeted floor as I dropped it, my eyes wide and my jaw hanging open in shock. The dog panted and scratched at the door, his tail wagging. But all I could do was stand there, frozen. The memories of the month before flashed through my mind: the Morrigan, the faelah, Cade dying, Fergus nowhere to be found. He had fallen somewhere during the battle, dying when his master had, and we’d been forced to leave him. But if he was here now, alive and eager to get my attention . . .

  “Cade!” I cried out, barely even a whisper.

  My senses returned to me in a rush and I bent down to scoop up my bow, nearly tripping over its length in my rush to get to the door. Meridian dug in with her claws as she got jostled about on my shoulder. I dove for the handle of my door, flipped the latch, slid it open and tumbled out. Fergus took a few steps to avoid me, but he wasn’t fast enough to escape the hug I threw around his great neck.

  “I’m so glad to see you!” I proclaimed as he panted next to my ear.

  I let go and he gave me a quick canine grin before trotting towards the horse trail. I didn’t even hesitate to follow him, my heart lurching once again when he didn’t stop at the oak tree to indicate Cade had left me a note. Could Cade really be here? I shook that thought from my mind before I tripped over myself in a jumble of nerves, but the idea wouldn’t leave me alone. My heart sped up even more. The last time I’d seen Cade, he’d been lying in bed in one of the Dagda’s rooms, barely alive. Would he be glad to see me? Would he regret what he had done? I bit my lip and tried to move faster to keep up with Fergus.

  We came to the point in the trail where the path led over the small land bridge and between two thick rows of willow trees. On the other side was the small meadow where my normal, well, somewhat normal life had all started to go downhill. I passed it without giving the memories of my first meeting with the Cumorrig a second thought. I walked a few steps further down the road, and then stopped dead in my tracks. Leaning against a tall eucalyptus tree stood a tall young man. Cade.

  For a few breathless moments I merely stood there, my eyes taking him in, my heart galloping in my chest as my emotions tried to settle. He wore the clothing of the Otherworld; brown leather pants with knee-length boots and a loose, cream colored shirt beneath a beautifully worked leather vest. Instead of the old trench coat he had worn when we’d first met, he wore a long green cloak lined with fleece, the hood thrown over his head. But I could see his face well enough. He was pale, but not as pale as he had been after fighting the Morrigan’s - his mother’s - monsters. His green eyes met mine and he smiled, but it was guarded, as if he was unsure of how I would react to his presence. He looked worn down, weary, older almost, but I had never seen anything or anyone more beautiful in my entire life.

  Finally he spoke, only one word, but it was enough to make my scattered emotions burst forth.

  “Meghan,” he said, his tone so quiet I barely heard it.

  That was all it took. The sob that had been hovering in my throat broke free and I dropped my bow and quiver. Meridian took off in a flurry of white feathers and irritated chattering as I sprinted across the small space that separated us.

  Cade straightened just in time to step into my aggressive embrace. I buried my face in his shoulder and threw my arms around him, forcing myself to be gentle when he rocked back against the tree. He was still recovering from death, after all, and squeezing the life out of him might not be the best thing for his health at the moment.

  I cried into his cloak and held on. I could hear him murmuring words in the ancient language of Eile as he stroked my hair. I was pretty sure I could stand like that all day, but at some point I pulled myself away, or maybe he somehow pried me off of him. Either way, I found myself gazing up into his face, wanting so badly to kiss him but not having the gall to make that move on my own.

  He grinned, his eyes tired, and brushed a loose curl away from my f
orehead so he could kiss it. I shivered.

  Somehow, I managed to find my voice. “How are you? Are you okay?”

  He lowered his hand to take mine and squeezed it, grinning. It made his expression seem less grim, so I smiled back and relished the feeling of his hand in mine.

  “I am,” he said.

  An awkward silence fell over us, as if we were two strangers or casual acquaintances meeting for the first time. Finally, Cade spoke again, his demeanor stiffening. He dropped my hand and leaned back against the tree once more.

  “Meghan, the Dagda wanted me to come see you, he thinks-”

  He paused and took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair and pushing back the hood at the same time. “He thinks you should come to Eile as soon as possible.”

  My heart nearly stopped its erratic sprint. Go to the Otherworld. I knew it was coming, heck, I’d been planning on it. But so soon? I had just received the Dagda’s letter less than two weeks ago.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but all I did was croak, “Why, why so suddenly?”

  Cade cringed and I could almost feel him withdrawing somewhere deep inside of himself. I didn’t like that feeling.

  “We think the Morrigan is planning something, and now that your geis is broken, we don’t want to risk her getting to you here.”

  I blanched. It was my own fault my geis was broken. Two years ago, when I had first met Cade, the Morrigan had tricked me into entering the Otherworld. At the time I had just learned I was Faelorehn, from the Otherworld myself, but I didn’t know that my mother had placed a geis on me. Apparently I was safe from all Otherworldly creatures, as long as I never entered their domain. Now I was as vulnerable as a popsicle on a hot day.

  “Can I . . . can I at least say goodbye to my family?” I whispered harshly, retreating into my own emotional bubble.

  Cade flinched, then reached out a hand to me. Reluctantly, I took it, slightly ashamed at how much comfort that one act brought me. He brushed his thumb over mine and my unease melted.

  “We don’t have to leave right away. I was hoping,” now he paused again and looked away. He heaved a great sigh and forced himself to look me in the eye. “I was hoping I might stay with your family for a time, perhaps a week or so. Get to know them, let them get to know me, so they don’t feel as if I’m just tearing you away from them.”

  Immense joy, then terror, shot through me at the thought. Cade? Stay with my family? So he could be glared at by my father, studied by my mother, and harassed by my brothers? Part of me tingled at the thought of having him staying under the same roof as me, but another part was petrified that my family might actually drive him away.

  While I was slowly panicking, Cade turned away and reached behind the tree, pulling a large bag and his own longbow and quiver of arrows from where they had been sitting.

  “I’m prepared to stay for quite some time,” he said, somewhat uncertainly.

  I cleared my throat. “Of course you can stay with us, it’s just-” My dad will probably interrogate you at gunpoint, my mom will most likely ask you embarrassing questions under the pretense of making small talk after she’s coerced you into helping her in the kitchen, and my brothers will launch an all-out attack.

  I cringed at the image of Cade stirring a pot of gravy while Mom prattled away about starting a family and settling down properly while my dad stood looking on, his arms crossed and his expression grim. Then, when Cade went to move the pot of gravy off of the burner, my brothers would burst out from behind the kitchen island and attach themselves to his legs, causing him to spill the hot sauce all over my dad while my mom tsked at his poor domestic skills . . .

  “Meghan?”

  I snapped myself away from the horrifying image and felt my face turn pink. Oh, this was such a bad idea . . .

  I smiled and said, “I think that would be wonderful. You staying with us for a while.”

  The look Cade gave me made me think he didn’t quite believe me, but he smiled anyways. He set his bag and bow back down and crossed his arms, looking me over carefully. I squirmed, but inside I was glowing. The old Cade had returned and he no longer looked so uncertain. And, despite my fears about immersing him in my family, he was coming to stay. With me. I could have hopped up on the closest log and done a jig. If I knew how to jig. And if I didn’t mind embarrassing myself to death.

  “How’s your archery coming along?” he asked, changing the subject.

  I smiled, a genuine one this time, and said with utmost confidence, “I’ve practiced all summer, and I think I might just be able to beat you now.”

  He lifted an incredulous eyebrow, so I picked up my bow, strung it, and proceeded to prove my claim.

  As we practiced together, I tried to forget about what my parents might say when I walked through the door later that morning with Cade in tow. I tried to block out the uncomfortable images of my brothers and my father and their own version of welcoming my guest. Most of all, I tried to block out the niggling feeling that something wasn’t quite right. There was so much Cade and I needed to discuss: the Morrigan’s attack, my outpouring of magic, the fact that he had told me he loved me . . .

  I'd let my joy of seeing him alive and well overwhelm me, so I hadn't noticed that Cade greeted me like an old friend, not as someone he was in love with. Hadn’t he said those words to me? Just before sacrificing himself so that I might have one last chance to escape the Morrigan? The memory was still so strong for me; his declaration of love, the way he had held me, his kiss . . . I nearly lost my balance as I remembered that kiss. Had it all been an act? Or worse, had he just said those things on a whim? Had he just kissed me to make me feel better because he knew we were going to die?

  I bit my lip and focused on the target far ahead of me. After all, I had just boasted that I could beat him at archery, and the last thing I needed to do was fall apart and lose my concentration. I took a deep mental breath, centered my arrow on the bull’s eye of an old target from our last practice, and released the bowstring. Funny how the glorious sound of my arrow hitting the central red dot was an eerie reminder of just how I felt at the moment.

  * * *

  After over an hour of target practice, I ran out of ways to stall the inevitable. I’d tried small talk and telling jokes, anything to avoid the one thing we both didn’t want to talk about: the Morrigan’s attack. We could have easily called it a day and headed back up to the house, but I was trying to avoid that as well. Unfortunately, small talk was called small for a reason, and honestly, I wasn’t that good at telling jokes, so we gathered up our things and headed up the equestrian trail.

  It wasn't long before Cade and I were standing outside the front door of my house. At first I was just going to walk in with him, but I had given it some thought on the way up from the swamp. My family knew the truth about me now; I had told them at the end of the school year, when I had gone missing for the weekend. As soon as I had returned home and after the police department had been called and informed that I was fine, I had burst into tears and told them everything I'd learned about my heritage.

  Now, once again I stood on the threshold of another one of those situations where I was going to hit my parents and brothers with another whopper.

  I licked my lips, took a deep breath and said, “Let me go in first, okay?”

  My hand reached for the doorknob, but I paused before turning it. So Meghan, what to say to them . . . Hi guys! Guess what, Cade’s back! You know, the guy I told you about? The one who enlightened me about who I am? The one that was so sick? Yeah, he’s better, and guess what! He wasn’t really sick. Nope, he was murdered by his mother's Otherworldly monsters and I took him to the Dagda’s Cauldron . . . what’s that? Oh, long story, but it basically brings people back to life. So here’s Cade, standing here before us now. And he’s come to take me back to the Eile with him! Yes. That would go over very well.

  I blinked up at Cade and found him giving me an odd look. Oh, oops. Must have let my mind wander aga
in . . . what had I just said? I was going to go in first, right.

  I shrugged. “I think it’s best that I let my family know what's going on before we both come bursting in.”

  I looked him up and down, biting back a grin of admiration. Oh yes, he sketched a fine image indeed, but my family wasn’t used to seeing anyone quite as, uh, striking, as Cade. His broad shoulders and unusual height, his perfect face framed by dark auburn hair, and those changeable green eyes . . . Combine all that with his Otherworldly clothes and he looked like some fairytale prince who'd just stepped off the pages of a book.

  He relaxed a little and nodded, setting his bow and travel bag down next to the old rickety bench that guarded our front porch. He crossed his arms and sat down, the wood creaking in protest against his weight. I feared the bench might break, but I had more daunting things to worry about. Steeling myself, I tried the doorknob, grateful it was unlocked. I cast Cade a final, nervous smile before slipping inside.

  The energetic melody of a video game soundtrack greeted my ears and the smell of Mom’s pancakes infused the air as I stepped into the great living room. The quick snap of folding newsprint told me that Dad was sitting in his recliner, catching up on the local news.

  “Logan! You just shot me!” Bradley complained as his digital self crashed down in flames.

  “Meg, is that you?” Mom called from the relative area of the kitchen. “Want to come cut the tops off of the strawberries?”

  I took a deep breath. Keep cool Meg, this doesn’t have to be so difficult. Despite the fact that it was almost eleven, the Elam family was just getting started on breakfast. During the summer months, morning in our household generally began anywhere between nine and ten in the morning, sometimes later.

  I walked into the kitchen, taking note of where everyone was located. Bradley and Logan were glued to the TV and Dad was absorbed in his paper. Aiden was watching the video game commence as if it were a cartoon, and Jack and Joey were busy constructing something out of blocks, presumably a city for their toy T-Rex to destroy. I could see the green dinosaur waiting in the wings, a mouth full of white, plastic teeth ready to do some damage. I shivered and told myself that it didn’t remind me of some of the faelah I’d seen.