Ehriad: A Novella of the Otherworld Read online

  Finally, I got my feet under me, but in the next second a sharp pain ripped through the muscles of my shoulder. I shouted in anger and agony, trying my best to shake the faelah off. Fergus was barking like mad, snapping and growling at what I could only assume were more monsters. My attacker was too close and I couldn’t get my sword around to cause any damage.

  I panted and reached down for my dagger. The faelah dug its teeth and claws in deeper, and it took all my strength to keep from blacking out. The glamour that rested beside my heart flared, bearing its own teeth as it demanded to be set free. No . . . no I couldn’t let it out. This was another part of me, one I kept hidden unless all other options failed. If I let it break free, I would lose all control and might not have the strength to return to my car once this was over . . .

  Grinding my teeth together, I fought the pain in my shoulder and the angry demand of my power. I worked my dagger free and brought it up, slipping it under the ribs of the faelah and driving it directly into its heart. The creature released its hold and gave a guttural gasp before falling to the ground.

  Fetid blood stained my shirt and cloak, but I bit back the pain and turned to see how Fergus fared. The shadows of the night hindered my view, but I was able to count three more faelah still moving. Fergus had killed two, and I one, not including the first one.

  Kill? Fergus asked, his teeth bared as he panted.

  Yes, I sent, my sight almost going red with fury. All of them.

  The final three faelah were easy to dispatch, now that I didn’t have one clinging to me and turning my arm into mincemeat. I waited until all the bodies turned to ash, then sent Fergus to scout for any more we might have missed. By the time we returned to the car, the eastern horizon was awash in the pale turquoise of dawn.

  Three times I almost fell asleep on the way home, Fergus barking every now and then to keep me awake. The fight had taken far more than I expected and despite the need to see to my wounds and the desire for another shower, I parked in my garage and started out across the highway. Thank goodness the swamp was only a thirty minute walk away. Fergus trotted ahead of me, checking for cars and other obstacles. My glamour was dangerously low and I was beginning to suspect that the chupacabra-like faelah might have been venomous.

  The air was cold and damp and grew even more so as I descended into the swamp. When I took the first step into the culvert that housed the dolmarehn, I stumbled. I gritted my teeth and clutched at my shoulder, fighting the waves of pain that threatened to overtake me. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and my knees felt like rubber. This wasn’t good.

  “Just a few more steps Fergus.” My voice didn’t sound like it belonged to me. It was dry and raspy and it hurt my throat to speak.

  Fergus yipped.

  They didn’t bite you too, did they? I sent.

  No. Tried, though.

  I nodded. Even that hurt.

  The dead trunks of eucalyptus trees crisscrossed the gorge ahead of me and I let out a shuddering breath. Not much further. Crossing between them took more effort than it should have, and just when I thought my legs wouldn’t carry me another step, I spotted the cave entrance. I collapsed to my knees just inside and exhaustion overtook me.

  Fergus whined again and I felt something tugging on the hood of my cloak.

  Twenty feet, he sent. Rest when in Eile.

  I didn’t want to move twenty feet; such a distance seemed too far, but Fergus wouldn’t stop tugging on my cloak. And this was my good cloak. Didn’t want him to tear it. Groaning, I dragged myself up onto my hands and knees and crawled deeper into the cave. I didn’t dare stop until I felt the familiar tug of the Otherworld’s magic. After that, I gave in to the fatigue and lost consciousness before reaching the other side.

  * * *

  I woke up to the sensation of Fergus licking my face. Grumbling, I shoved him away with my left arm, sighing in relief when I registered no pain. I blinked several times, removing the sleep from my eyes, and caught a glimpse of oak trees layered in moss, a gray sky and several stone monoliths gazing down on me.

  I sat up, scratching Fergus on the head to let him know I appreciated his loyalty and slowly removed my cloak and shirt. The misty air of Eile was cold against my bare skin, but I had to make sure my wounds had healed. I ran a hand over my shoulder, feeling the small knots of new scarring, but no festering wounds. My arm proved to be in the same condition. I shrugged my shirt back on, frowning at the tears and bloodstains. Oh well. Perks of the job. One couldn’t complain when they had the magic of the Otherworld to revive them.

  I stood and stretched the stiffness away, yawning and running my fingers through my hair. It was slightly tangled and disheveled, but that didn’t surprise me.

  “How long was I out?” I asked my spirit guide.

  He panted and flicked his ears forward. Three days.

  I winced. Those bloodsucking faelah must have been more venomous than I had thought.

  “I guess we’d better head back. There’s no telling how many faelah have crept over into the mortal world while I’ve been napping.”

  Fergus yipped, as if to tell me I thought too highly of my own importance. I shot him a wry grin and turned towards the cave that was framed with the stones of the dolmarehn.

  * * *

  The next several weeks passed this way, with Fergus and I darting back and forth between the mortal world and the Otherworld. Every now and then, after tracking a faelah and either killing it or herding it back into Eile, I would detect a tiny hint of the strange magic that had overwhelmed me the day I destroyed the bloodsucking faelah. And every time, the magic would fade away into nothing and I’d be left grasping at straws.

  One autumn morning as Fergus and I were hiking up the equestrian trail behind the swamp, an invisible stream of power slammed into me. I stopped dead and shook my head, leaning over and resting my hands on my knees. What in the world . . . ? My own glamour flared in response. I rubbed at the spot on my chest and took a few deep breaths. It was the same strange yet familiar magic I’d felt those several weeks ago, but fresher. Where was it coming from? I had to find out.

  Being what I was, being Ehriad, meant that it was my responsibility to keep tabs on anything Otherworldly that existed on this side of the dolmarehn, faelah or not. An idea came to me and I closed my eyes. Perhaps if I simply felt for the magic . . . In my mind’s eye I saw a faint, crooked string of pale turquoise blue twining off into the distance above the horse path leading to one of the neighborhoods.

  Fergus whined softly next to me.

  “Hold on Fergus, I’ve found a trail of weak glamour,” I murmured, my eyes still closed.

  I breathed in deeply through my nose, drawing on a small amount of my own power, pushing and pulling it into a shell that would erase me from view. Opening my eyes, I left the path running to the road and followed the thread of magic instead. Fifteen minutes later I stumbled upon a house perched at the edge of a small hill overlooking the swamp. The yard backed up into the woods and small spots of vibrant blue glamour pooled around it.

  “It’s as if something from the Otherworld has sprung a leak,” I mused.

  At that very moment, a door slammed shut and someone walked from the house. I stayed put, relying on my magic to keep me hidden. I couldn’t see the girl very well; she wore a light jacket with the hood pulled over her head, but she carried a backpack and looked too old for middle school.

  I should have turned around then and gone back to my apartment. I could have written down the address and looked the girl up later on the internet from the safety of my garage, but I felt compelled to follow her, if just for a few minutes.

  Fergus, hide yourself with glamour. We’re following the girl.

  The white wolfhound obeyed without a sound and we continued silently up the path, staying several feet behind her. I may have been invisible, but I could still scrape my boots against the asphalt and give away my presence, so I used the distance to help hide any sounds I made. As I walked, I
shut my eyes for a split second and noted the ribbon of blue unfurling behind her. So, the glamour was coming from her, but how? Perhaps she’d had an encounter with some faelah or carried an object from the Otherworld.

  I gritted my teeth. I didn’t like the idea of following her around. It was intrusive and it went against my personal honor to be intrusive, but I also had to know where the glamour was coming from. It was never a good idea for Otherworldly and mortal things to mix.

  Once at the end of the street, the girl stopped and chatted with another girl her age. I heard them say something about a high school, one I knew was only a few miles away. Before turning to leave them in peace, I picked up on the shorter, blond girl calling the other girl Meghan. So, I had a first name now. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned around and headed back down the street. When I reached the end of the road, and before disappearing down into the swamp, I glanced back up at the house the girl had come out of. Above the front door was a carved wooden sign that read The Elams.

  So, miss Meghan Elam, I won’t have to work too hard to discern your identity after all.

  Shaking my head, I tried to dispel the knot of guilt that was growing in my stomach. I didn’t make it a habit to stalk young women, but when someone was so obviously shrouded in Otherworldly magic, I couldn’t just ignore it.

  Pushing uneasy feelings aside, I continued on, seeking the path I knew would lead to the high school. The faelah had mostly stayed put in Eile this week, and whether I wanted to or not, I needed to learn more about this girl with a string of blue, Otherworldly magic trailing after her.

  * * *

  I reached the outskirts of the high school within fifteen minutes of leaving behind the swamp. As I caught my breath, I studied the students pulling into the parking lot and reluctantly spilling out of their cars. I shied away from the barrage of smells and sounds that attacked my senses. Several dozen perfumes and colognes clouded the air, along with the high-pitched laughter and false promises being thrown from one person to the other. Combine that all together with the general angst and unavoidable desperation that permeated the atmosphere and it was enough to give one a headache. I was very glad I never had to attend high school in the Otherworld. I would not have survived it.

  Fergus and I had been in this area only a week or so ago, checking into a possible faelah problem. I’d been wearing my old trench coat and had used my glamour to adopt the guise of an elderly homeless man. Most people left me alone when I took up that particular costume, so I wore the same cloak of glamour now: one of a decrepit, retired veteran down on his luck, lingering in the woods for no apparent reason.

  A few more minutes ticked by before I caught a glimpse of that brilliant blue magic again. It trickled out of a gold minivan. I felt my muscles tense as the van pulled up and parked. The door rolled open and the girl, Meghan, stepped out with her friend. I took a small moment to wonder why I hadn’t detected her strange magic here last week, but then brushed that thought aside once she started moving across the parking lot.

  I focused my attention on the group of teenagers, especially the girl I had discovered earlier that morning. They were a good distance away, so I sacrificed a fraction of my glamour, pulling it away from my disguise and using it to enhance my vision just enough to get a clear picture of my quarry. The girl turned and looked in my direction. My relaxed pose stiffened. Pretty little thing, but not in a typically human way. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if her peers thought her to be strange-looking. Humans were often a bad judge of real beauty, in my experience.

  I continued to study her, grateful my hood covered most of my face. She was tall with dark, curling brown hair and high cheek bones, but it was her striking eyes that gave me pause. Hazel, flashing to gray, then green and blue, and back to hazel. My heart sped up and I felt my own well of power begin to burn, like a coal coaxed to life by a bellows. Not just a human tainted by glamour. Oh no, this girl was Faelorehn. Suddenly I felt winded, as if someone had punched me in the stomach.

  There were plenty of Faelorehn and half-Faelorehn people living in the mortal world. Some chose to live here, some merely liked to visit. But there was something different about her; something I couldn’t quite place. Most Faelorehn wore their glamour like a mantle, hiding their true identity in the mortal world. But this girl . . . Hers was locked away and almost impossible to see, like something lurking beneath a sheet of dark water. Yet the magic that trickled off of her was as visible as the stars in a moonless night sky.

  The girl and her companions glanced away and I took the opportunity to slip behind the trees. I would look into who this girl was, this Faelorehn with hidden glamour. And while I was at it, I’d try to forget those eyes and her alluring face, too.

  * * *

  I visited the high school the next day to catch another glimpse of Meghan, just to make sure she was real, but the following day I had to return to Eile. The Otherworld greeted me with the cool caress of fog and ancient magic. I sighed, shivering a little as the sensation poured over me. The mortal world’s magic was much more subtle than this; much more concealed and gentle. The glamour of Eile took hold of your senses and demanded that you pay attention, and if you chose to ignore it then more likely than not, that same magic would find a way to make you pay attention, and usually not in a pleasant way. Fortunately for me, I had lived a very long time in my homeland and I knew how to show respect to its raw, natural power.

  Fergus and I traveled from the dolmarehn through the wooded hills, past the collection of ponds dotting the rolling fields, and on to Luathara, the castle that was left in my care. It more closely resembled a ruined pile of old stones than anything else, but there were a few rooms that were habitable with working fireplaces. The largest room on the third floor was where I often slept. It had a comfortable bed and a full-functioning bathroom (not a rarity in Eile, but definitely an uncommon luxury at Luathara). I had dreams of one day returning the castle to its former glory; of settling down, to some extent, if I ever found a way to break free of the Morrigan’s geis. As I thought about making a life at the castle, for some odd reason Meghan Elam’s image flashed through my mind.

  I stopped, just as my foot was about to hit the first step leading up to my rooms. Oh no. I shook my head. None of that now Cade, I told myself. Currently, I couldn’t risk the luxury of thinking about young women in that way, and I most definitely couldn’t think of the young Faelorehn girl I’d discovered hiding in the mortal world, either. First of all, she was too young for me and secondly, I knew nothing about her.

  You know some things, my annoying conscience crooned. She is very pretty, and she has strong magic, like yours . . .

  I growled and continued my progress upstairs. I would not think about Meghan Elam, and not only because it was a bad idea for my own sake, but for her sake as well.

  “Stay here Fergus,” I threw over my shoulder at the white wolfhound who followed me like a shadow. “I’m going to see the Morrigan.”

  My spirit guide whined softly and paused, watching me as I strode past my rooms and through the great gaping hole in the castle wall. I crossed the patio on the other side, my coat growing damp from the spray of the waterfall to my left. I took the stairs at the end of the terrace and descended into the caves that housed the dolmarehn to every imaginable destination in Eile. I could take one to the edge of the Weald to visit Enorah, my sister, or I could take one that would bring me to the other side of my foster father’s abode. But no, today I had to travel to the Morrigan’s realm. My geis required that I check in with her once a month. And that was another reason why I had to stop thinking about Meghan, because if the Morrigan found out about her, her life might as well be over.

  * * *

  Eile was a very large place, and many Faelorehn would tell you that it had no boundaries. They would also tell you that Erintara, the city of our high queen, was located in the exact center of our world. All the old kings and queens, the gods and goddesses of the ancient Celts, had their own realms, or
large expanses of land they considered their own. The Morrigan’s dominion was located on the easternmost stretch of land that nestled up against the endless mountains just on the other side.

  I stepped through the dolmarehn and all of my muscles immediately seized up. The air was so frigid here it felt like a layer of ice coated my lungs every time I drew breath. I had walked out of another cave and into a small, rocky canyon devoid of anything living. The stones and skeletal trees that surrounded me reminded me of the bones of the dead. I gritted my teeth and made my way towards the mouth of the culvert where there stood a crude stone circle. Beyond that circle was a diseased forest full of dying trees, and even further past that were miles upon miles of desolate land littered with stones and shallow bogs. The Morrigan’s kingdom was a place of death and despair.

  I had been hanging my head as I walked, the sadness of this place acting like a weight to pull me down, but as I came upon the clearing and the stone circle, I glanced up and winced. She was waiting for me, the Morrigan, standing utterly still and wearing a dark blood-red cloak with the hood drawn over her head. An entourage of ravens sat scattered in the bare branches of a dead tree just behind her, watching me with baleful eyes. A pair of Cumorrig, the Morrigan’s personal hellhounds, stood by her side, their rotting flesh and putrescence making me gag.

  As I closed the distance between us, she lowered her hood and crossed her arms casually. Though she stood more than a foot shorter than me, the very sight of her made my blood turn cold. Beautiful, like all the Faelorehn, with pale skin, black wavy hair and eyes that flashed red to reveal her powerful fae magic, the Morrigan was the most terrifying and dangerous person you could meet in Eile. Her only desire was to cause war and strife and gain immeasurable power. Therefore, she had no concern for the feelings or well-being of others.

  “Have my pets been misbehaving?” she asked in her seductive voice.

  “Yes,” I said shortly.

  She sighed and rolled her eyes to a gray sky that threatened snow.