Doing my best to drive away my sudden nervousness, I narrowed my eyes and watched the large bird. The creature it ‘spoke’ to looked somewhat like a squirrel, but its tail was more like a rat’s and its face was, in a word, grotesque. Strange, I didn’t even notice that it was bright red until after I observed those other details.
I blinked and suddenly found two sets of eyes upon me; the raven’s dark red ones and the demented squirrel’s yellow ones. Shivering, I clutched my binder and spun on my heel, walking up my driveway as swiftly as possible.
* * *
I didn’t see any other strange Otherworldly things for the rest of the week and on Saturday morning Robyn pulled up in her small car with Tully.
“Where are Thomas and Will?”
“Band practice,” Robyn answered with a sniff.
I smiled and climbed in the back with Tully.
“What am I, your chauffeur?” Robyn asked as she twisted around to look at us.
I smiled. “Yup.”
“Whatever.”
Tully laughed as Robyn hit the gas. She always drove too fast. We never said anything to her about it because the last time we did she got mad and drove faster. If it hadn’t been for the speeding ticket she’d received five minutes later, I’m sure she would have forgiven us by the end of the day. Instead, she spent a whole week giving me and Tully the cold shoulder. It was a really calm week.
Robyn pulled onto Highway One and quickly bypassed the speed limit as we headed into town. She pushed a CD into her car stereo and soon we were listening to the shrill screech of the latest punk band she was into. Ten minutes later we pulled into the quiet dirt parking lot of the tiny post office. I stretched my back once I was out of the car and eyed the newest stained-glass peace sign hanging from the store’s window. I smiled. It would be nice to have a weekend jaunt with my two best friends that didn’t involve running from faelah or stressing over an identity crisis. Of course, the day was still young.
I looked back towards the store, seeking a distraction from my wayward thoughts. The post office itself was a minute, old Victorian home that had seen its share of wear and tear. It was painted brick red with a large wooden sign bearing its name written in a dated script perched above the door. A set of concrete steps stood in place of a wooden porch and a planter full of exuberant succulents spilled onto the walkway.
We shuffled our way to the front door, an elderly lady giving us a kind grin and mumbling something about ‘darling girls’ as she walked past. When she saw Robyn, however, she stopped and stared. Robyn, in her old army boots, black fishnet tights, tattered mini jean skirt and T-shirt featuring a skull and cross bones, only made a face and flashed a popular rock and roll hand gesture as the poor old woman gave her a wide berth.
“Robyn, do you have to be so crass?” Tully hissed as the tiny bells hanging above the door jingled.
“Oh come on!” Robyn snorted. “If you are going to shop at this store, then you shouldn’t be shocked to see a genuine pagan just outside of it!”
“You’re not a genuine pagan,” I said without thinking.
Both Robyn and Tully stopped and looked at me as if I had sprouted mushrooms all over my face. But I couldn’t blame them. Out of everyone in our small group of friends, the boys included, I was probably the one who was the least interested in Robyn’s ‘religion’. Sure, I went to her celebrations and took part, but everyone knew it was only for Robyn’s sake that I did it. Of course, that was all before I had met Cade, done my research on the Celts, or learned that I was one of the Faelorehn.
Robyn crossed her arms and gave me her most condescending look. “Come again?”
I took a deep breath, getting a good sampling of the eighteen thousand types of incense the cashier had burning, and shrugged my shoulders. “I was just kidding. Jeesh, don’t be so sensitive.”
Robyn shrugged and headed to where the crystals were located, but Tully stuck by me. To my great relief, no one dug further into my bizarre remark.
We spent a good thirty minutes poking around the dusty little store. I made sure to look at everything, in case I found something my brothers might like. I didn’t think any of them would be interested in Tarot cards, glittering statues of fairies, or books on how to find your inner Chi, but I did find a nice pair of amethyst earrings that my mom would love.
At some point in time Tully decided to join Robyn in the crystal section of the store and I wandered back over to the books. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, just wasting time until my friends were ready. As my eyes passed over the spines of the books, they froze on one title in particular:
Irish Folktales
.
Looking up to make sure Robyn and Tully were still distracted in the opposite corner, I slid the book out and flipped to the table of contents. A list of stories, all having names that looked impossible to pronounce, glared back at me. A few of the names I recognized from what Cade had told me and from what I had seen on my website search. I closed the book and looked at the cover. I almost dropped it as my heart leapt into my throat. A few months ago, I would have thought nothing of it. I would have admired the fine Celtic knot work before returning it to the shelf. But this image seemed too familiar to me. It was a stone carving of what looked like a wild man, and at his side was a wolfhound. Cade and Fergus came immediately to my mind and I hurriedly flipped back to the copyright page to see who the image depicted.
Cuchulainn
was all it said. Cuchulainn? That name didn’t look familiar. I would have to check those sites again and make a note to visit the library.
I closed the book and looked up to see what my friends were doing. Still distracted by the crystals. Good. As nonchalantly as possible, I slinked over to the cash register where a tall lady with fading strawberry blond hair looked up at me over her glasses.
“Hello there, all ready?”
“Sure,” I said as quietly as I could.
If Tully and Robyn saw me purchasing a book on Irish myth, I wouldn’t be able to brush them off so easily. I would have to explain to them why I would want such a book. I decided early on, when my life started barrel-rolling out of control, that they wouldn’t know about who, no,
what
, I was unless absolutely necessary.
The woman slipped the book and the amethyst earrings into a bag as I nervously drummed my fingers against the glass counter. When she gave me a questioning look, I smiled and forced my fingers to stop. Instead, I pretended to admire the knickknacks that sat locked away beneath the counter. I paid the lady, then stuffed my bag into my purse and walked over to Tully and Robyn.
“You guys done?”
“Yeah, I think I’ll wait on the crystals,” Robyn said.
Tully lifted up a stained-glass candle holder. “Think I’m going to get this.”
Before either of them could ask my opinion, I said, “Okay, I’ll just wait outside if it’s alright with you two.”
They shrugged and I headed straight for the door. A few minutes later they joined me in front of Robyn’s car.
“So did you find anything for your brothers?” Tully asked.
Drat. “Um, nope. But I found some nice earrings for my mom.”
“Oh really, can I see?”
Double drat. “Hang on.”
I turned away as I rifled through my purse. I slipped my hand into the bag and managed to remove the small box without removing the book with it.
“They’re amethyst,” I offered with a grin, relieved that my new book would remain a secret.
As my friends admired the earrings, I cast a glance at the old walnut trees growing in the vacant field next to the store. I half expected to see the raven again or some other creepy crawly, Otherworldly thing, but luckily the only thing I saw was a calico cat sitting patiently over a gopher hole.
Tully handed me my box and we piled back into Robyn’s car. I opted to sit in the front seat this time.
“I didn’t get any Christmas shopping done in there,” Robyn griped. “How about a trip into town?”
“Sounds good to me,” Tully offered.
Robyn arched a black eyebrow at me. I shrugged. “Hey, I have five brothers and the only thing they want for Christmas is candy, video games, and toys. Can’t get any of those things at a local gift shop that caters to the spiritual crowd.”
“Okay, town it is.” Robyn grinned and pulled back out onto the road.
The rest of the day passed by in a whirlwind of store hopping, lunch at a local diner, and an afternoon spent lazing in the park in Arroyo Grande’s old village square. The Village was probably one of the most popular hangouts for those who attended both the local public high school and Black Lake High. With its diverse collection of old vintage shops, a cafe, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and plenty of mom and pop restaurants, it was the place to waste time on a nice winter afternoon.
When we’d had enough of lying around in the sun, Tully, Robyn, and I crossed back over the Village’s famous swinging bridge to the side street where we had parked. The cables creaked in protest as we crossed over the small canyon the Arroyo Grande creek had carved out, and when I reached the middle of the bridge I paused to look over the edge. I had always had a slight acrophobia, but I felt secure enough to lean against the edge of the bridge and peer over.
“C’mon Meg!” Robyn called out from the other end. “I promised my mom I’d babysit tonight!”
Letting loose a sigh of contentment, I moved to straighten from my bent position. Unfortunately, I never got as far as fully standing up. Three things happened at once. First, I heard Tully and Robyn screaming my name and telling me to watch out. Secondly, I remember hearing them and registering that they were concerned about something. And the final thing I remember before nearly being thrown over the side of the bridge was the presence of some great shadow just behind me.
The shadow slammed into me with a force equivalent to a football player intent on tackling me. Yet, it didn’t feel like it had made contact; it was more like the force of a shockwave spreading over me. It made my ears ring and I had definitely felt it, but it hadn’t been enough to throw me over the bridge. Tully and Robyn were screaming, my shoulder and the left side of my body felt like it had been beaten with a baseball bat, and my fingers hurt from clinging to the chain link railing of the safety fence of the swinging bridge. I felt dizzy, confused, and terrified all at once. Only when I heard a low, angry grumble did I think to look up. Blinking away my fear, I just caught a glimpse of a huge black shape as it disappeared into the canopy of the trees lining the creek.
My stomach lurched. No, it couldn’t be . . . But another harsh, angry caw confirmed my suspicions. The raven. Had it just tried to
kill
me? Why? For what purpose?
The pounding of Robyn and Tully’s feet as they came running up to me sent all my questions scattering away. I would definitely be talking to Cade about this. That is, if I ever saw him again.
“What the
hell
was that?!” Robyn breathed as she tried to find the raven in the treetops.
“Come on Meg, let’s get off this bridge.” Tully was pulling on my arm, but my weak legs were having trouble moving.
“Was that a crow? A vulture? It was way too big . . .” Robyn was saying as she hurried along behind us.
“I don’t know,” I barely managed as I clutched my shoulder. It hurt where the raven had hit me, but already the pain was fading away.
We made it to the car in record time.
“Whatever it was, it looked like it was trying to knock you over the bridge,” Tully muttered.
I shrugged. I knew that was exactly what it had been trying to do. For weeks the bird had been spying on me and now that I knew Otherworldly beings, faelah, existed, I had no reason to second guess my first instincts. But there was no way I was going to tell my friends.
“Let’s just get home before we’re attacked by any other mutant birds.”
I nodded my agreement and soon we were heading back towards the Mesa, silent in thought the entire way.
That evening I made sure my sliding glass door was locked before I went to bed. As I tried to get myself to fall asleep, I sent up a secret prayer that Cade would come back soon and teach me how to defend myself against the supernatural creatures that for some reason or another, wanted me dead.
Smitten
The winter break came swiftly and as the weather grew cold and wet, I found myself spending much of my time indoors with my brothers, most often playing their video games or some of the board games we had stored away. Ever since that day in the Village, I had been reluctant to spend any time outside. Cade still hadn’t indicated he was back from his business in the Otherworld, and until I had someone who could show me how to avoid being annihilated by some demented, supernatural demon, I was going to stay out of their way.
When I wasn’t distracted with my brothers, I was down in my room, reading through the book I had found at the store in Halcyon. It turned out that Cuchulainn was some sort of godlike hero from ancient Ireland who was famous for outsmarting and outplaying his opponents during any challenge. He made me think of some sort of Celtic version of Hercules or Achilles. Although the book provided me with an interesting read, it wasn’t the best source for the information I sought. Even my few visits to the local library proved fruitless. It was time I got back to my internet searches.