Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy (6 page)

Another cheep interrupted me.  I peered down at the white fuzz ball.  She continued staring at me again.  Out of curiosity, I lowered my hand and gave her a little pet on the head with my index finger.  Immediately, she started chittering enthusiastically, trying to cuddle up against my palm.  Oh.  She wanted attention.

Smiling, I carefully lifted her up and set her in my lap.  She cheeped some more and scuttled around in a circle, making herself comfortable.  I returned to my book when she stopped moving.  She made a pleasant warm spot up against my stomach, and every now and then she let out a tiny cheep of satisfaction.  As she dozed, I read.  At one point I turned the page in my history book and glanced at a world map denoting the different routes early explorers took.  I studied it for a while, marking the equator and the Prime Meridian.

Something in my mind shifted into place. 
The Prime Meridian
.  I knew about the Prime Meridian, the invisible line that ran from pole to pole.  Why did that particular name stand out to me?  I lowered my gaze only to find my merlin chick f
ocusing on me with alert eyes.

Almost against my will, I said, “Prime Meridian.  Meridian?”

The merlin cheeped once and lowered her head, going back to sleep.

Meridian, huh
?  I tried it out a couple of times and grinned foolishly. 
Meridian it is then
.  I caught a glimpse of my little merlin, full grown and flying through the sky, pure white except for her rusty colored ear patches.  Yes, Meridian was a wonderful name for such a creature.

* * *

The next morning I woke up to find another dead animal lying just outside my bedroom door.  This time the creature might have been a normal, earth mouse, but I couldn’t say for sure.  I fed Meridian, smiling every time she cheeped in happiness.  Of course, I only assumed it was happiness.  After tending to her, I set the merlin on my desk and took a shower, emerging twenty minutes later, wrapped in a towel and humming some ridiculous song I’d listened to on my radio alarm only an hour before.

“What’s in the fancy box?”

I screamed and almost dropped my towel.  One of these days I really was going to kill my brothers.

“Bradley!” I hissed in irritation, “What are you doing down here?!”

I scowled at him, but he was unperturbed.  Every now and again my irksome siblings managed to sneak into my room, but they normally had the decency to leave me alone while I was taking a shower.

Bradley shrugged.  “Aiden kept waking me up, so I went into the kitchen to get something to eat and I heard you were up.”

Like that was a legitimate excuse . . .  He could have put on his favorite cartoon instead.

“So, what’s in the box?”

He stared at the wide-open box with a rather curious Meridian gazing right back at him.  To my immense relief, she remained as silent and still as a statue.  So, he couldn’t see her.  Good, but I prodded him anyway.

“Why do you want to know what’s inside?”

“Well, I tried checking myself, but the lid wouldn’t come off.”

A mixture of relief and annoyance coursed through me.  Clutching my towel and grabbing Bradley’s arm, I herded him back to the staircase.

“It’s my box and my business.  How’d you like it if I snuck into your room and started going through your stuff?”

He shrugged.  “I have nothing to hide.”

I winced inwardly.  Oh, I had plenty to hide . . .

“Look, girls have certain things they don’t want their brothers poking their noses in, so please stay out of my room.”

There, that should appease his curiosity.

“What could you have to hide?”

I groaned.  He wasn’t going to give this up.  So I distracted him with a question.

“How did Aiden wake you up anyway?”

Bradley rolled his shoulders once more.  “Nightmare I guess.  He started acting funny after our walk in the swamp.  I think he said something to Dad about seeing monsters or something.  Meg, you okay?”

I stopped dead in my tracks and tightened the grip on his arm.  My face paled and I sensed my eyes shifting color.

“Yeah, fine,” I recovered, “just don’t like the idea of Aiden having nightmares.  He’s never had them before.”

I managed to get Bradley out of my room, and once he’d disappeared up the stairs I leaned against the wall, still clutching the towel around myself.  My head wouldn’t stop spinning.  Had Aiden seen a faelah? 
Impossible
!  They used glamour to hide themselves from mortals.  Then again, enough of the ancient Celts had to have noticed at least a handful of Otherworldly creatures in order to build their mythology around them.

I finished drying off and got dressed quickly, returning Meridian to her spot in the bathroom with a few more pets and words of affection.  Next, I plopped down on my bed and contemplated writing a note to Cade.  I still had half an hour before I should leave for Tully’s, so I had plenty of time.  After considering it for a minute, however, I decided to wait.  Aiden probably hadn’t seen anything.  If the nightmares continued or if he said anything to me about seeing monsters, I would send a message to Cade right away.

Shaking off the weird sensation that had almost taken root, I gathered my things and headed upstairs.  Thick fog hung heavy in the air and as I made my way down the street, I caught a glimpse of Fergus, disappearing down the equestrian trail.  I loved having him around, but soon I wouldn’t need his guardianship any longer.  I was saddened by that thought, for he had become like a pet to me, but Cade needed him in the Otherworld.

A deep breath helped ease my mind.  I continued on towards Tully’s, forcing myself to focus on the school week ahead.  I had two tests, a paper due and Tully and Robyn had talked me into going to our homecoming football game with them.  I flat-out refused to go to the dance (there was only one person I wanted to dance with and I was too chicken to ask him and he was stuck in Eilé making up for his geis violation), so in order to appease them I’d agreed on the game.  I didn’t mind football.  In fact, I watched a pro game on TV with Dad every now and again.  High school football was another thing entirely.

I sighed, my breath tingeing the air white and joining in with the fog.  I doubted we’d be paying much attention to the game.  Besides, our reasons for going had everything to do with showing our support for Will and Thomas.  I didn’t know if cheering for the band was socially inacceptable at a football game, but I didn’t care.  It’s not like I could get any weirder, and unlike last year, the popular kids
didn’t intimidate me anymore.

-Five-

Danger

By Wednesday, I welcomed the approach of the weekend.  My essay was turned in, one test was out of the way, and Meridian found some sick joy in keeping me up half the night with her chattering.  Somehow I managed to stay awake during class, but lunchtime was a whole other story.

Tully, Robyn and I reclined beneath the shade of a tree perched beside the track.  Will and Thomas had lunchtime band practice, what with the game coming up and all, so the three of us decided to eat away from the crowd.  Not that I worried about being pestered by the lemmings.  At least not anymore.  Adam Peders hadn’t bothered me since the day Cade picked me up in his Trans Am.  I grinned to myself at the recollection as I nodded off.

A sharp snap just in front of my face jerked me back awake.  Robyn eyed me like a ruthless hawk; a look that made her appear quite fearsome.  The black eyeliner only added to the effect.

“What’s with the Sleeping Beauty act?”

I scowled at her.

“Haven’t been able to sleep much.”

“Guy problems?”

My scowl hardened and my face warmed.  Ever since ‘admitting’ to being interested in a guy outside of our high school last year, Robyn had been interrogating me like some caffeine-injected detective.  Only one problem there: the guy
wasn’t
imaginary.

At least for now I allowed myself to tell the truth.  “No, not guy problems.” 
Bird problems
.  Yeah, that would be fun to explain.

“Well, what then?” Tully asked as she balled up her paper lunch sack.

“I just haven’t been able to sleep.  Restless, I guess.”

I had considered telling my friends who,
what
, I was at some point in the future, but that consideration only lasted for a few ridiculous seconds.  True, it would make my life a whole lot easier if they knew of my Faelorehn ancestry, but they would never believe me.  And I’d no idea what the repercussions might be for flat out telling mortals about the Otherworld.  Finding out on their own was one thing, laying it all out in front of them was quite another.  Besides, I didn’t want that to be another tool the Morrigan could use against me.

A brisk wind rustled through the eucalyptus trees and forced a few of the remaining leaves on a sycamore to break free from their branches.  I tilted my head back and shut my eyes again.  My friends were free to form their own ideas, as twisted and inaccurate as they might be.  At least it would keep them safe for the time being.

The bell sounded in the distance and I groaned.  I just needed to survive the next few days of school and the game, and then I could sleep all day Saturday.  Well, as long as Meridian did the same.

* * *

Friday night held a crisp chill, typical early November weather on the Central Coast.  Robyn picked Tully and me up that evening, all three of us wearing long jeans, a jacket and our warm shoes.  We had made some effort to wear our school colors, pale turquoise and black, but on the whole, we valued comfort over style.  Definitely not the most school-spirited lot, my friends and I.  That sort of enthusiasm belonged to the jocks and popular crowd.

The parking lot was jam-packed so we parked a block away from campus.  Robyn grumbled the entire five minutes it took to walk from where we’d left the car to the stadium.  Tully and I only hid our grins.  Perhaps complaining made Robyn warmer.

The stands brimmed with people, the Black Lake High fans on one side, our opponents, dressed in red and silver, on the other.  The fact that I didn’t even know the identity of our team’s rival should have been a good clue as to how much I wanted to be at the game. 
You’re here for Thomas and Will
, I told myself.  Robyn’s aptitude for tardiness brought us in just as the floats drifted by.

Michaela West, wearing a tiara and what appeared to be a red robe some long dead king might wear, stepped down from a convertible, grinning like an idiot and waving to the crowd.  I snorted.  Homecoming queen.  Big surprise.  I paid little attention as she shed her royal attire and joined the cheerleading squad moments before the whistle blew for the kickoff.

“How about the top?” Tully asked, jerking her thumb towards an empty section on the far end.

I nodded.  Not only would we be furthest away from the spirit section, but we would also be a bit closer to the band.  I grinned and waved at Thomas and Will as we climbed the steps.  Finally we were settled and the game started.  I tried to pay attention for the first half, following the plays and giving my own, subdued cheers whenever our team earned a first down or stopped the other team’s offense.

By halftime neither team had scored, so we found ourselves staring blandly at a basic routine from our own cheerleading squad.  We shouted the loudest, however, when the band spread out on the field.

The third quarter rolled around and I went back to watching the game and trading remarks about the lemmings with Tully and Robyn.  What we would usually do on any weekend, except tonight we happened to be sitting out in the cold with stadium lights glaring in our eyes and hundreds of other high school students cheering and taking part in some form of drama all around us.  I let my mind wander after the opposing team scored their third touchdown, although that fact made me smirk a little.  Adam Peders may be the best track athlete we had, but his quarterback skills were definitely lacking.

Being in my self-directed haze, I didn’t notice anything odd until I caught the edge of Robyn’s horrified gasp.  “What the hell?”

I blinked, temporarily blinded by the lights, and gazed in the direction her finger indicated.  I almost fell off my bench.

“Are those
bats
?!” Tully gasped in disbelief.  “But, bats wouldn’t do that, would they?”

No.  Certainly not bats.  They were easily the length of my forearm, and no bat I’d ever heard of purposely swooped down on people, especially not in huge numbers.  I understood why Tully thought they were bats, though.  They did have leathery wings, but when they passed in front of a stadium light I caught a glimpse of red, a shade that conjured up thoughts of dried blood.  No, I didn’t know what they were, but I knew one thing for sure: they were Otherworldly.

Either their glamour was minimal, or they hadn’t spent enough time recharging in the Otherworld.  The screams and shouts of confusion around me suggested other people could see them, but apparently everyone believed they were bats. 
Perhaps they’re merely disguising themselves by using the image of an earthly animal
, I thought.  Regardless, they made my skin crawl and my mouth dry up.