***
When Airy passed a group of girls on her way to class, one of them called out, “What are you, a witch?” The other girls looked fearful, moving off the walkway.
“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.
“What do you think I mean?” the girl answered pointing to the butterflies circling around Airy’s head, the bees that had landed on her hands and arms. A line of chirping tree frogs followed behind her.
Airy laughed. “They’ve been trying to tell me something but I’ve been too distracted to get their message. Can you understand them?”
The blonde girl gawked at her and then turned to her companions. “What did I tell you? She’s definitely a freak.” She rejoined her friends and then they all hurried away.
“I’m sorry, slow down,” she muttered as a butterfly landed on her nose. “You’re being poisoned? Is that what you’re trying to tell me? What can I do?”
11
Rain poured down, heavy storm clouds piling up, one on top of the other. Fehin wondered if this was a normal storm or had something to do with all the fear and anger the people carried. On Thule out-of-control emotions caused hurricanes. If it was the same here this place should be having torrential downpours and tornadoes on a daily basis.
He tried to respect what Gunnar had told him but he couldn’t stop the crowd of disturbing thoughts that assaulted him from nearly every person he passed. It was as though his filtering system didn’t work here. He felt like screaming half the time. He chuckled at the image of yelling nonstop to keep thoughts from coming into his mind and what might happen as a result. He’d probably be dragged off campus and stuck in prison or somewhere worse. He shook his head. There was no escaping it.
He had yet to get one of the devices that most listened to. He’d thought at first it was music but from what he overheard it sounded like cats being strangled. Sometimes he could hear a deep rhythmic boom in the background. Drums were ancient instruments, used in times of war to rally people. The steady sounds connected to man’s primal instincts. Was that why all the guys were teetering on the edge of self-restraint? He’d already seen two brawls begun over race differences that ended with no resolution. Nerves were like bows strung too tight. He decided he would have to borrow a disc from Brent to get the full gist of it. But the idea of even talking to the guy gave him a bad feeling. Brent reminded him of Wolf.
Fehin watched the sheet of silver pouring off the roof, his thoughts turning to Airy. He’d seen her in class this morning but hardly recognized her. She’d cut her hair, which now stood up in spiky tufts. Silver hoops hung from her ears, and her clothes—well, let’s just say they revealed a lot more than her others had, with low cut T-shirts and jeans that hugged her slender body. She’d also taken to wearing shoes with heels that made her wobble when she walked. And now her eyes were lined in the same way as her roommate.
He’d planned to talk with her after class but her appearance had scared him away. He couldn’t imagine what this girl and he had in common. But when he saw her again beneath the oak tree he changed his mind. He hurried across the courtyard. “Talking to trees again?” he asked, coming up beside her. The rain was lighter here, stopped by the wide boughs and leaves still clinging to the branches.
She started and then turned to face him, the green of her eyes even more dramatic with the dark lines she’d drawn around them. “They’re wise beings, Fehin. I asked about the poisons the butterflies and bees told me about. Pesticides are killing them. There aren’t many left. Why do people do this?” Her eyes filled with tears before she turned back to the tree.
“There’s a lot about this place I don’t get,” he said, responding to her question. “It’s so crowded everywhere and everyone’s so upset all the time. I don’t really know what pesticides are, but I can guess. We don’t use them where I come from. Did the tree have an answer?”
“They don’t answer in English, silly. I have to decipher the particular aromas they send out—chemical messages I guess you’d say. It doesn’t always work since they’re so old and what they want me to know doesn’t resonate because I’m another species. They didn’t respond at all about the poisons and my other question about failing my history class is not a concept they understand. Why did those girls call me a witch?” she asked suddenly, her eyes wide.
“What girls?” Fehin asked, looking around.
“They’re not here now. The butterflies were asking questions but I couldn’t decipher them. I know they want me to do something about it. The girls wouldn’t help.”
Fehin smiled. “You’re different from them. That’s why I said you should keep these things to yourself.”
“But why?”
The look on her face was so open. This girl was either crazy or like him. “Airy, you may be the only one who can do these things.”
She sighed and her shoulders drooped. “I was afraid of that. Now I really want to go home.”
“Where is home? And don’t tell me Europe because I know that isn’t true.”
“You won’t believe me.”
“Try me,” he said, moving closer and picking up the scent of her lemony perfume. At least she hadn’t changed that.
“My mother is a seer and I think I am too.”
“A seer. You mean you can look into the future?”
“Something like that.”
“Where did you get that ring?”
Airy looked down at her hand. “It’s a moonstone that belonged to my grandmother. It was magical way back when.”
“Magical? In what way?” Fehin asked, bending to examine it. The stone was oval and smooth, the surface opaque, but when he touched it, it gave off a little spark and began to glow.
Airy seemed unconcerned as she waved her hand around. “Back when my Nana first had it, it showed her how to get to the Caer Sidi. She gave it to my mother and now I have it. It’s a family heirloom.”
Fehin frowned. “The Care City?”
“It’s a place.” When she noticed the expression on his face she looked stricken. “I shouldn’t have told you. I’m not supposed to share any of this.”
“It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone as long as you don’t share what I’m about to show you.” The rain had finally stopped, and the clouds were drifting away. The air had turned cool and breezy. Fehin grabbed her arm. “It might help with the history test. Is that the class you’re worried about?”
Airy nodded. “I don’t get any of it.”
“Follow me,” he said leading the way across campus and into a park on the other side of the football field. After walking single file down a narrow path he came to a stop in the middle of the woods in a place where the trees had thinned out. Fehin glanced at her and then began moving his hands in patterns.
When a tiny perfect medieval village appeared on the ground in front of him she clapped her hands in delight. “I knew it!” she said, smiling. “You’re like me.”
Fehin grinned. “This is a typical European town from the mid 1200’s, the time period on the test. I thought it might help to visualize it.”
Airy stared in fascination at life going on below her. Carts filled with produce were being pulled along by miniscule horses. A high-pitched shout drew her attention to a small boy running away after stealing an apple. A man ran after him brandishing a club. There were soldiers marching across the drawbridge, their helmets shining in the sun. She turned to Fehin, her eyes bright. “You must be the one from the island—the boy I was supposed to meet. Corra said our destinies were connected.”
Fehin pushed his hair back with both hands, trying to focus on the over-excited girl. Gunnar would be furious that he’d revealed his magic. “I don’t know any Corra,” was all he could think to say as the tiny village disappeared in a puff of smoke. What he showed her was only the beginning of what he’d planned. He muttered a few words under his breath and then Airy lowered herself onto the ground and closed her eyes.
Fehin hurried away. He’d been a fool to trust her with this. What she’d said about destinies disturbed him considering the conversation he’d overheard between Gunnar and his parents before he left. Was she right about the two of them? Something was definitely drawing them together. And what about the butterflies and bees? This was no normal girl.
By the time he got back to campus he was late for his math class, slinking in to find a seat in the back. The professor ignored him, continuing to write numbers and undecipherable symbols on the blackboard. This was Fehin’s most confusing class. And today, with his mind on the girl asleep under that tree, he was even more distracted than usual. He’d probably caused her to miss her next class. He had to steer clear of her until he could determine who she really was.
12
Airy opened her eyes and gazed around, wondering why she was here. Where was Fehin? She looked down at the wristwatch her mother had forced on her and jumped up.
By the time she reached campus and looked at her watch again she decided to skip the class. There was no point in arriving five minutes before it ended. Turning her mind back to how she’d come to be in the woods made her feel light-headed. Fehin wouldn’t have just left her there. She must have imagined it. Was talking to trees and animals so unusual? Maybe she’d had her ‘powers’ all along and didn’t know it. The medieval village appeared in her mind, complete with cows and sheep and carts pulled by horses. It
did
help to visualize it, but she needed a lot more if she was to pass the test. And she knew in that moment that it wasn’t a dream.
She waited for Fehin outside the student union but he didn’t show up. Maybe he didn’t like her new look. Storm had assured her it was very ‘now’, especially with her newly pierced ears and the earrings she’d borrowed. But was it wise to take advice from a girl who dressed all in black day in and day out? She frowned. If this change in her appearance ruined her relationship with Fehin he was shallower than she thought. But then again, some of this new look didn’t even fit for her. Even so, she had to try it out.
When she reached into her back pocket her fingers curled around the small envelope from her grandparents. They had invited her to Halston for Thanksgiving and had even offered to come down and pick her up. She wondered if Fehin had any place to go for the holiday.
***
It was the week before Thanksgiving before she saw Fehin again. He’d skipped the World History class they shared and hadn’t shown up at the student union for several days. The only reason she noticed him this time was because of his plaid shirt. The bright reds and blues caught her eye as he hurried away from her. She took off after him, nearly falling in her haste to catch up. Heels were not meant for running.
“Are you avoiding me?” she asked, trying to catch her breath as she grabbed hold of his shirt.
When Fehin turned he stared right through her. “No. I’m just busy,” he answered.
“Fehin, what’s wrong? Is it my hair? It’ll grow back.”
“It’s not your hair, Airy. I just have to buckle down and study. I can’t spend my extra time talking to trees.”
Airy blanched. “The way you said that sounded like you don’t believe me.”
“Maybe I don’t.”
Airy frowned. “I thought you were my friend.”
“Do friends have to believe every crazy thing the other one says?” He moved away from her, continuing on his former route across campus.
“You are a horrible person!” she yelled, anger boiling up inside her. How could she have trusted such a jerk? A moment later clouds massed and roiled in the sky, and a jagged streak of lightning struck a pine tree less than two hundred yards away.
Fehin stopped in mid-stride and turned back, his eyes wide. A second later he was by her side, his fingers digging into her flesh. “What did you just do?”
“I…I didn’t do anything,” she said, wrenching away from him. “Why don’t you leave me alone!” she screamed. Above them the dark clouds opened, sending torrents of rain down and within seconds they were both drenched.
Fehin dragged her across the slippery flagstones and under an overhang. “You caused this storm,” he said, watching her. “What else can you do?”
Airy stared at him angrily. “ I certainly did not cause this storm. The only thing I can do is talk to trees, oh, and animals and birds and insects and frogs and snakes. Other than that I’m perfectly normal. Every single thing on the earth has a spirit, you know.”
“You are anything but normal, Airy. Maybe you were right about the destiny thing.”
“You mean on the day you pretended you weren’t even there?”
Fehin’s face turned beet red and he couldn’t meet her eyes. “I’m sorry about that. I thought you were…”
“You thought I was like any other girl here. Well, I’m not. I come from a long line of seers and apparently I have skills that I didn’t think of as skills. I lied when I said I lived in Europe. The truth is I come from a place called the Otherworld. I thought everybody could do what I do.”
“The Otherworld? That’s where you live?” Fehin looked about to cry as he reached out and touched her cheek. “I’m so sorry, Airy.” He reached for her and then she was in his arms and felt his heart beating fast under his plaid shirt. It felt so good until he pulled away. When she looked at him he seemed worried, his eyes clouded as he gazed at her.
“What does this mean?” he asked. “Are we supposed to be doing something together—some destiny that I don’t know anything about?”
She reached for his hand, not wanting to lose the connection. “I don’t know,” she said, twining her fingers through his. “All I know is that my destiny is linked with a boy from an island that only I can see and that somehow we are supposed to be a bridge—but a bridge to what I have no idea.”
“A bridge.” Fehin looked over her shoulder into the distance. He shook his head. “I come from the future. I live on an island that I conjured. And even though I haven’t been there, I know all about the Otherworld. I can do a lot of magical things. I can read minds. But building a bridge? I have no idea how to do that.”
Airy shushed him with her hand and then leaned close, placing her lips on his. She’d never kissed a boy before and when he kissed her back with his arms tight around her, she trembled. Once they pulled apart they stared into each other’s eyes for several long moments. Finally Airy broke the silence. “At least we like each other again. So tell me about this island you made. What year do you come from?”