Carrier 02: Shadow of the Mark (26 page)

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Authors: Leigh Fallon

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I looked deep into Hugh’s forlorn, tear-filled eyes and knew immediately we could trust him. “It’s okay, Caitlin. Go with Hugh, I’ll be with you in a second.”

As Hugh led Caitlin away from the chaos I glanced warily at Petra. “Who are you?”

“I am the same person you’ve always known.”

“You’re Order?”

She shrugged. “Sort of. I’m a member of the Ciorcal na Fírinne, the Circle of Truth. We’re a side of the Order who believe it’s time to let the circle come full, like Danu intended. To allow the Cluaín to return the elements to their rightful place.”

“What about the alignment?”

“The time for that has long since passed. The Council has been preventing the inevitable for centuries. As soon as you’ve done your job, the alignments will no longer be your concern. I’ve been watching the DeRíses since the Order killed their parents. The Order was too hasty in their disposal of the new Cluaín. She hadn’t been born yet, so there was still a chance for the Cluaín of this generation. The Sidhe had the opportunity to activate a Mark and hide the Cluaín in you until the time had come for the full circle. I gave up my old life and moved with the DeRíses, knowing that someday the Cluaín would show up.”

“You knew this would happen?”

She looked around sadly. “No, not this. But we knew the age of the fifth was upon us, and we had to be here to protect you from the Council and those in the Order who are loyal to them. They’ll do anything to stop the full circle, even let Anú in to do their dirty work. That one backfired on them, though.”

“How so?”

“They thought she just wanted to drain your element. That she’d steal your power and leave you for dead the way she did with all the other Marked she’d taken. They were willing to sacrifice you, the DeRíses, and their precious alignment if it meant the continuation of the Marked line on Earth and the existence of the Order. But what they didn’t know was that Anú was seeking the very thing the Order was trying to avoid. The release of the fifth.”

I glanced over at the distraught faces of the DeRíses. Áine was crouched over Fionn’s body. I felt what was left of my heart shatter into a million pieces. “What does this all mean?”

Petra sighed. “This means everything has changed. Everything.”

Twenty-nine
EPILOGUE

P
etra was right. Everything did change.

Within two days, the Order had removed all trace of the Knox and Fionn’s death. The hurricane debris had been cleared, repairs were underway, and power had been restored to town.

Cú decided to stay in Kinsale for as long as Adam, Rían, and Áine wanted him there, and Sebastian and Chloe stayed too. Chloe was working through what had happened to her, but we still hadn’t spoken about it. There were whispers of a split in the Order and sides being taken, but I had more pressing worries. Adam had yet to come out of his room, and school was starting again the next day.

I knocked on the door and walked in before Adam answered. He sat on the side of his bed with his shoulders hunched forward, gazing out at the fields beyond.

His element hung heavy in the air like a cloud of humidity. I perched on the windowsill that was just outside the reach of his power.

“Afraid to even sit with me now?” Adam asked, his eyes still fixed on the horizon behind me.

“Of course not.” I got up and moved toward him, forcing his eyes to focus on me. His face was like stone, chiseled in anger. “Adam, please don’t be mad at me.”

“At you!” A bitter laugh escaped his throat. “I’m not mad at
you
.” The air grew heavier. The humidity cloud moved closer to me, and beads of moisture began to form on my skin. “I hate them—the Order—for what they did to you, to my parents, to F . . . Fionn.” His voice broke as his chin dropped to his chest. “I miss him,” he whispered. He hugged himself tight, breathing deeply and slowly as the cloud of element magic around him shrank, pulling closer and closer to him until it was just the slightest haze that dusted his skin.

I kneeled on the ground in front of him and put my arms next to him, feeling the tickle of warmth from his skin. “Me too.”

I moved my face close to his. Just the gentle caress of his breath on my face made me feel better. But it was too pleasant, too familiar. The urge to throw myself into his arms was overpowering. I pulled away and made my way to the door, feeling the tears trickle down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Adam, I’m so—”

“I know,” he snapped as his element sprang back out around him. I could taste the bitter taint of hurt, sadness, and revenge that infused the air as it followed me out of the room.

The door slammed behind me as I left. I leaned against it, swallowing back the sobs I felt rising in my throat. Tears welled in my eyes, and I quickly wiped them away, not allowing myself the indulgence of crying. I took a deep breath and felt a resolve come over me. My future was uncertain, but the one thing I was sure of was that the pain and hurt had to stop. And if I could do that by being the Cluaín, I was going to do everything in my power to make the circle come full. This time, the Order would lose.

The Marked line would end with me.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

H
uge thanks to my editor, Erica Sussman, for believing in me and inviting me into a world beyond my wildest dreams. Thanks also to Tyler and the team at HarperTeen. I’ve adored every minute of working with you.

To my agent, Tina Wexler, thank you for your wisdom and gentle guidance. Your encouragement means so much to me.

Thank you to all the bloggers, reviewers, fans, and my online friends who have cheered me on from the start, you guys shine so brightly and carry me through the tough times. Honestly, you’ve no idea how much your enthusiasm means to me.

To my critique partners and readers, especially Morgan Shamy, Wendy Higgins, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and my sis, Jen Galvin, thank you for putting up with my horrible first drafts. You guys rock my world.

Thanks to my street team, Mom, Dad, Jenny, Denis, Betty, Emma, Kate, and various extended family and neighbors who have been on hand to help out while I’ve been away from home. I couldn’t have done it without you all. And of course to my ever-amazing husband, Michael, and my children, Chloe, Megan, Fionn, and Rían, thank you for your endless support and love. I adore you all.

Lastly, thanks to my neighbors, the Morins, who kindly donated the use of their garage and generator after Hurricane Irene robbed me of power for a whole week just as my deadline approached. Never again will I laugh at people who store just-in-case water, tinned food, weapons, and fuel in a fall out shelter. I know where I’m running to when the zombie apocalypse strikes.

About the Author

Photo by Jennifer Conroy

LEIGH FALLON
was born in South Africa, raised in Dublin, Ireland, and moved to Cork in her twenties. Leigh and her family now share their time between Ireland and the United States. She is also the author of
CARRIER OF THE MARK
. Visit Leigh online and read her blog at www.leighfallon.com.

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Also by Leigh Fallon

Carrier of the Mark

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Credits

Cover photographs:

Figure © Getty Images

Ink © Alberto Seveso

Clouds © Aaron Foster/Getty Images

Cover design by Ray Shappell

Copyright

HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

S
HADOW OF THE MARK
. Copyright © 2013 by Leigh Fallon. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fallon, Leigh.

Shadow of the Mark / Leigh Fallon. — 1st ed.

p. cm.

Summary: As the power of the Air element continues to grow in sixteen-year-old Megan, she learns that her relationship with Adam DeRís—and the combined power of their elements—could ultimately cause widespread destruction.

ISBN 978-0-06-212800-3 (pbk. bdg.)

EPub Edition May 2013 ISBN 9780062128010

[1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Love—Fiction. 3. Ireland—Fiction.]

I. Title.