Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy (24 page)

“Is Cade here?”

I hadn’t seen him or heard from him since returning from Danua’s court over a month ago.  I had worried that she’d somehow gotten to him; convinced him to stay away from me or threatened him in some way.  Hopefully, Fergus’s presence could be counted as a good sign and not a bad one.

Clenching my teeth, I hurried after the wolfhound only to stop in front of the oak tree when he did.  I furrowed my brow and reached around to the spot where Cade and I exchanged our letters.  As I pulled the note free, Meridian swooped down from her perch, chittering happily as she playfully dive-bombed Fergus.

The parchment I held in my hand wasn’t Cade’s customary, plain white sheet of paper, but a heavier piece of stationary rolled into a tube, tied with a sheer gold ribbon and sealed with a fancy logo resembling the Greek letter omega.

I broke the seal, pausing only for a moment to admire it, and read the gilded letters, smiling by the time I reached the bottom.  It was an invitation from the Dagda to join him and his fellow revelers this coming Friday for a Beltaine Eve celebration.  And yes, Cade would be going as well.  My birth mother may not have accepted me, but at least there were some people in the Otherworld who wished me well and enjoyed my company.

After returning to my room, I quickly penned a reply to the Dagda and wrote a separate note to Cade, to remind him he promised to attend prom with me, then brought them both back to Fergus.

After tying them securely to his collar, I patted him goodbye then showered and got dressed.  Afterwards, I went upstairs to spend some time with my pesky brothers before Robyn and Tully came to get me so we could go shopping for prom dresses.  It was looking like the beginning of a good day indeed.

* * *

“I still can’t believe Robyn’s met him and I haven’t,” Tully pouted as she plucked at the taffeta skirt of a magenta gown hanging on the clothing rack in front of her.

Since Cade had agreed to go to prom with me, I finally caved and told all my friends about him, emphasizing that he was just a friend.  Robyn had only snorted at me, but I ignored her.

“Oh, it was only because she happened to be in the right place at the right time,” I answered Tully’s question.

I grinned at Robyn and she returned the gesture.  She had been a good friend, keeping my secret for so long.

“I can’t wait to see what he looks like in a tux,” Robyn sighed dreamily as she picked up a turquoise dress and held it up to herself.  “What do you say, Meg?  Think I’ll be able to snag your boyfriend away from you if I wear this?”

She twirled around and Tully and I snorted with laughter.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I insisted after I stopped giggling.  “We’re just friends.”

“Sure he isn’t, and sure you are,” Robyn teased as she continued her dance.

Eventually we all found a dress, but I needed something for the Dagda’s Beltaine party as well.  I couldn’t wear my prom dress since it was a bit too fancy, and I didn’t really have anything at home, so we stopped in one more store before leaving the mall.

When I got back to my room I laid both garments out on my bed, admiring them each for different reasons.  The prom dress was a teal green with a long skirt and spaghetti strap sleeves.  The cocktail style dress I’d picked out for the Dagda’s party was black and white with a shorter skirt that flared out at the waist.  Sighing, I hung them both up in my closet and went out to check the oak tree for a response from Cade.

As I walked to the tree, I thought about my busy plans for the weekend.  On Friday after school, I’d leave to go to Eilé, but my parents would think I was staying over at Robyn’s.  From what I calculated, I had plenty of time the next morning to return home from the Dagda’s Beltaine party and get ready for my prom night.

I grinned.  I would be exhausted and probably not in the mood to mingle with my fellow classmates, pretending I harbored regrets about high school coming to an end, accepting false apologies and claims of ‘no hard feelings’ from those who had never been kind to me.  But I didn’t care.  Even if I knew the entire school had planned a prank to ridicule me, Meghan the weirdo, at my senior prom, I still wouldn’t give a damn.  They could laugh and offer their false smiles and fake comradeship all they wanted.  It didn’t matter because I would have Cade by my side.  I smiled wistfully, imagining myself the inept heroine in some badly written stage musical.  Once again, the very thought hardly fazed me.

The knothole in the oak was empty, but by the next day I had a response.  Cade told me to pack what I needed for an overnight stay at the Dagda’s and he would meet me Friday after school.

I clutched the note close, then headed back to the house.  I decided to walk around the front this time since I heard Logan and Bradley playing basketball in the driveway.  I grinned when I spotted Aiden watching them with keen interest.

I went and sat down on the retaining wall next to him, ruffling his dark hair with a free hand.  He wiggled away with a smile, but made sure he didn’t move too far away so that he could still touch me.  I sighed.  This was Aiden’s method of finding comfort.  He always had to be touching me.  I didn’t mind.  Our special way of consoling one another comforted me, too.

Once Logan led Bradley by ten points, I stood up and went back inside, carrying Aiden with me.  A twinge of sadness shot through my heart, making my well of magic warm a little.  If I left to live in the Otherworld, who would take care of Aiden?  I mean, I knew my parents would take care of him and love him, but we had a special bond.  What would happen if I wasn’t there to offer the comfort he always sought from me?  I shook my head, telling myself to worry about the future later.

“Snow bird,” Aiden murmured in my ear.

I glanced over my shoulder to see what had caught his attention, but didn’t notice anything.

“What do you mean Aiden?” I asked.

He pointed.  “White.”

I looked again.  Perched up in the eucalyptus, in her usual spot, sat Meridian, napping in the late afternoon sun, but I didn’t see any other white birds.

I shrugged.  “Probably a dove.”

“Perty,” he sighed as he clung tighter.

Once inside, I set him down on the couch with the twins and went to help Mom with dinner.  She had a dish towel thrown over her shoulder, humming some nameless tune as she stirred what I suspected to be cake batter.

I leaned my elbows on the island and started flipping through a magazine.  I often found it wise to wait and get instructions from her when it came to helping out with whatever culinary creation she was working on.

“So,” she said, moving to the stove to check on dinner, “when do we get to meet this boy you’re taking to the prom?”

I paused in my perusal of recipes and ads.  I wondered when this conversation might come up.  I took a deep breath and tried to sound casual.

“Saturday night.  He’s going to pick me up here after I come home from Robyn’s.”

Mom tasted the sauce for the chicken.

“Is he cute?”

I felt myself flush a little.  “Yes.” 
Very cute
.

“What did you say his name was again?”

“Cade MacRoich.”

Should I be nervous about this interrogation?  These were the normal questions a mother might ask her daughter, right?  I cringed at that.  My birth mother wouldn’t care, but Mom, well, she did care.  She stepped away from the stove and wiped her hands on the towel.

“I don’t think you ever told us how you met him Meghan.”

Oh, good, I was ready for this one.  I took a deep breath, closed the magazine, and rolled my eyes, trying to act annoyed at being burdened with so many questions.

“I met him in town one day when I was out with Tully and Robyn.  We were at the bookstore and we both reached for the last copy of the same book, but he let me have it.  We started talking and found out we had a lot in common.”

There, that should suffice.  I picked the magazine back up.

“So are you guys an item then?”

I blanched, rumpling the glossy pages between my fingers.  “Uh, no, we’re just friends.” 
Meg the broken record
.

My mom stopped her stirring, put her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow at me.

“I thought you said he was cute?”

Yes, well, doesn’t mean he returns the sentiment
.  I found it rather ironic that my mom should be thinking along the same lines as Danua.  Perhaps they were picking up on some vibe I was oblivious to.  Maybe Cade
did
want to be my boyfriend.  My nerves prickled at the thought.  But if he did, why hadn’t he said anything?  Why, when he kissed me that time he’d first taught me about my power, did he withdraw?  Why hadn’t he tried to kiss me again?  I ground my teeth and forced all those stray thoughts away.

“Doesn’t mean we’re an item,” I grumbled at Mom, answering her question.

She merely beamed at me.  “Oh, I think it’s only a matter of time honey.”

I released a long breath as the magazine provided refuge once more.  I hoped she was right.

-Sixteen-

Beltaine

On Friday morning, I woke early and packed my duffle bag with my party dress, shoes and change of clothes for the journey home in the morning.  I was supposed to be going over to Robyn’s after school to stay the night, so I dragged it upstairs with my backpack.

Thomas pulled in the driveway fifteen minutes later and I called a goodbye over my shoulder as I left the house.  I was tempted to skip school and leave early to meet Cade, but I knew we would have plenty of time to make it to the Dagda’s party, and I didn’t want to risk getting caught skipping class, not on the day before prom when I had the kind of parents who wouldn’t think twice of banishing me to my room for the rest of the school year.

I found Cade waiting in the parking lot for me after school, just as his note had said.  I made my way to his black Trans Am, throwing my backpack and duffle bag in the back seat before Tully or the boys got a chance to find me.  I glanced at Cade and he smiled, his gaze lingering.

My heart skipped a beat as I recalled the conversation with my mom the night before.  Talking so casually about being Cade’s girlfriend was easy when he wasn’t around.  As soon as I caught him eyeing me like that however, I felt self-conscious once again.

“Ready?” he asked, shifting his car into first gear.

I took a deep breath and smiled.  Time to have fun and forget about unrequited crushes, uncaring mothers and any trouble the Morrigan might be brewing up while I wasn’t paying attention.

“Yup,” I said.

Speirling greeted us when we stepped out onto the other side of the dolmarehn.  Meridian, in her usual fashion, had joined me right before we left the mortal world and I watched as she fluttered off after Fergus to explore.

We took our time traveling to the Dagda’s, since the party didn’t start until later in the evening.  Nevertheless, we managed to arrive before most of the guests.  The Dagda was delighted to see us and his lady friends quickly took a hold of Cade and dragged him inside.  I shot a glance over at them and laughed.  I should be jealous about the way they fussed over him, but they acted more like proud aunts than anything else.  Besides, I was distracted with our host.  The Dagda stood dressed in his finest, his hair combed back and his beard trimmed.  His rugged handsomeness didn’t look a bit faded today yet I was certain his magnetic personality would only improve his appearance by the night’s end.

The Dagda opened his arms wide and without a second thought I walked into them, accepting his bone-crushing hug.

“Hello little Meghan, I’m so pleased you accepted my invitation.  Are you ready for a night of feasting and dancing and making merry?”

I laughed into his gold-trimmed tunic.  How could I be so comfortable with a person I had met only once?

“I hope we don’t party too hard.  I need to look my best for my senior prom tomorrow night.”

I smiled up at him, waiting for his confused expression, but he merely beamed and set me at arms’ length.  “Ahh, yes, this mortal world coming of age dance Cade has told me about.”

That surprised me.  Cade had told the Dagda about going to prom with me?

“Uh, yeah, that’s right,” I answered with an awkward grin.

The Dagda chuckled.  “Well, as glorious as it may be, I’m certain that it won’t hold a candle to my Beltaine Eve celebration.”

He started to lead me inside, his entourage, still fussing over Cade, close behind.

“Now,” Cade’s foster father said in a lowered voice, “I am expecting many fine young men tonight, from all over Eilé, so I don’t want you to think that Cade has exclusive rights to you my dear.  It’s high time you start getting to know more of us.”

He winked, making me blush, and another thought surfaced in my mind.  What if some of those young men were the same ones from Danua’s court?  I shuddered inwardly.  If they were, I’d find a way to deal with it.  Perhaps they had forgotten me by now.  After all, it had been several weeks since I’d made my visit.

Eventually I was led to the room I’d be staying in.  It was smaller than the one at Cade’s castle or the suite in Erintara, but very cozy nonetheless.  A cheery fireplace stood empty, waiting to be lit for the night, and a small, round window built right into the hillside offered a view of an enclosed garden.  By the time my things were stored and I was in my black and white dress, Cade had arrived at my door.