Carrier 02: Shadow of the Mark (4 page)

He sighed into my hair. “I don’t know.”

We sat in each other’s arms until the bell for the end of the first class rang. Then we went inside, hand in hand, to face the rest of the day.

At lunch, Chloe stepped over a disappointed-looking Darren and made for Adam. “Are you feeling all right? That was pretty scary this morning.”

“I’m fine. Thanks,” Adam replied.

Áine noticed Adam looking uncomfortable and came in for the save. “Chloe, didn’t you say you forgot your lunch?”

“Oh, um, yeah, I did. I’ll walk home and collect it.”

Darren jumped to his feet. “Hang on there. I’ll go with you.”

“Only if you’re sure,” Chloe said, looking a little put out.

Darren winked theatrically at Killian and Adam. “Oh, I’m sure, all right.”

“She’s really nice,” Áine said when they were out of earshot. “She used to do a lot of horseback riding in the UK. She said she would love to come out with us sometime.”

“What else did she tell you?” Adam asked.

“Her dad is a freelance writer. He’s working on something about the south of Ireland, so he based himself here for a while. They’re renting an apartment down on the marina; you know, the new ones overlooking the water. She lived in Sweden before that for a time.”

“Interesting,” Adam mused. “What about her mother?”

“I didn’t get her
entire
history, Adam.” Áine turned to the rest of us. “Apparently she loves shopping and has a bit of a weakness for shoes. What do you girls think about some retail therapy this weekend?” Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Oh,” Jennifer squealed. “All the summer stuff is in. I want to stock up so I’m not stuck with the dregs. What do you think, Meg?”

“Sure, whatever.”

“You could at least pretend to sound enthusiastic, Megan,” Jennifer said, rolling her eyes and turning to Áine to discuss her preference for peep-toes. I nestled back against Adam and tried to get involved in the conversation. Luckily, we weren’t stuck on the topic for too long—Darren and Chloe were back in a record-breaking fifteen minutes.

“That was fast!” Caitlin exclaimed.

Darren, who was trying to catch his breath, just nodded.

Chloe looked as fresh as when she had left. “So what were you talking about?”

“Shopping, maybe Saturday,” offered Jennifer.

“Ooohh, that sounds fun. Can I come?”

Adam continued to eye her suspiciously. “So what’s with your accent? I lived in the UK for years, and I never heard one quite like that. It sounds like Surrey with a bit of Dutch or something,” Adam pressed on, ignoring my digs into his side. “Where exactly does it originate from?”

“I lived in Sweden for a few years.” She made full eye contact with him, as if to tell him his questions didn’t intimidate her. “We’ve moved around a lot since then, so I guess my accent has . . . evolved.”

Adam nodded, holding her eye contact. I noticed the others shifting uncomfortably and was about to break in and change the subject when thankfully Adam let it drop and turned on his charm. “I love Sweden. It’s an amazing country. Where did you live, Stockholm?”

She smiled back at him, probably relieved that she seemed to be off the hot seat. “I wish! No, my dad isn’t one for cities—we stick to the smaller towns, mainly west coast.”

“How long are you staying here?” I asked.

She shrugged. “We’ll see.”

Luckily the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, before Adam could pounce on her again.

Later that evening, Adam and I came clean to Fionn.

He freaked out, of course.

“What on earth were you thinking? How could you not tell me something this important?” He paced across the kitchen, rubbing the back of his head. “After everything we went through to get the Dublin Order to accept your relationship! They’ll be quoting passages from the Druid Scribes and announcing the end of the world!”

Adam and I sat quietly. We had no defense. We knew all along that we should have told Fionn.

“Of all the irresponsible, stupid things you’ve ever done, this has got to be the worst.” Fionn spun around and pointed his finger at Adam.

I blushed and kept my eyes firmly on the table.

“And you!” Fionn continued.

I looked up and was relieved he was now pointing at Áine and not me.

“What were you doing when all this was going on?”

Áine pouted. “I’m not their chaperone! If you want to point your finger at someone, point it at Megan.”

I glanced over at her with my mouth open.

Fionn turned his steely gaze to me. “I thought you were more responsible than this, Megan. I’m very disappointed in you.”

I shrank back into the bench.

“I don’t know how we’re going to handle this.” He walked back to his chair at the head of the table and sat down heavily. “We’ll have to be very careful in how we break this to the Dublin Order.”

Adam leaned forward. “You’re not going to tell them, are you, Fionn? They’ll fr—”

Fionn slapped his hand on the table. “You gave up your right to an opinion when you failed to inform us of the problem!”

Adam sighed and threw his arms up in the air. “What’s the point in talking about this if you’re not going to listen?”

“It’s your turn to start listening! You have put me in a terrible position. I’m the one who has to face the Order and try to spin this so they don’t send you off to boarding school in Outer Mongolia!”

Áine smothered a laugh.

“This is not funny, Áine!” Fionn exhaled sharply. “Go, do something. And you two keep your hands off each other. If I so much as see you puckering up, I’ll book the Mongolia flights for the Order myself.” Without another word, he spun on his heel and marched out of the kitchen.

“Man, there’s never a dull moment around here with you two, is there?” Rían chuckled, walking into the room.

“Rían!” Áine squealed, running to her brother. “You came home early!”

“Of course. Someone’s got to be around to kick the shit out of this intended guy tomorrow.”

Áine playfully shoved him. “Don’t be mean; he could be nice.”

“We’ll see,” Rían said, holding his hands out and producing a ball of orange, glowing flame. He threw it up in the air and caught it on the top of his finger, where it spun, resembling a miniature sun.

“Good to have you home, man,” Adam said, flicking his hand and producing a blue orb of shimmering water that caught the flames and swallowed them, before evaporating into thin air. “The house is too peaceful without you here.”

“Peaceful? It didn’t sound too peaceful just now.” He glanced over at me. “Megan, I trust you’ve been keeping up your training—when you’re not trying to kill my brother, that is.” He winked and pulled me in for an awkward hug.

I tensed. We’d come a long way since his initial loathing of me, but Rían embracing me was way out of character, and this hug felt . . . strange. My element buzzed in my chest.

“Rían,” Adam said, pulling him off. “Fancy doing some detective work?”

Rían looked dazed for a second, then burst out laughing. “Shit, did I just hug you, Megan? I must be delirious. Sorry, bro, what did you say?”

Adam shook his head in irritation. “I said I have a job for you.”

“What’s up?”

“It’s this new girl in school, Chloe Nielsen. She’s latched on to Megan and all our friends. There’s something not right about her.”

“Adam, that isn’t necessary,” I said, but he ignored me.

“Will you look into it for us?” he continued.

“What’s her story?” Rían asked, leaning forward.

“She’s too eager. She looks older than she claims to be too. I don’t trust her.” He handed Rían his phone.

Rían let out a long whistle. “She’s quite the looker, isn’t she?”

I leaned over and glanced at the photo of Chloe on Adam’s phone. She was smiling, chatting to the others. “When did you take that?” I asked, my eyes darting to Adam.

“It’s just a precaution, Megan. This is standard when someone new comes into our lives.”

“I see what you mean,” Rían said. “There’s no way this chick is seventeen.”

“I’ve had enough,” I said, my anger flaring. “Áine, do you want to pick out an outfit for tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that would be great,” she said. “I’m sick of this topic too. Not everyone is a psycho trying to kill us, and the point you’re all missing here is none of us have picked up on any negativity or danger from her. Adam, if she was here to harm us, we would know.”

Rían looked at the picture of Chloe again and smirked. “Still, I think it’s in everyone’s interest for me to check her out.”

J
ust as I was unwrapping my lunch the next day, a familiar face came down the school path.

Adam looked up, feigning surprise. “Rían, what brings you to the school?”

Very subtle, Adam
.

Rían’s eyes darkened as they bore into mine. “Áine forgot her lunch. I thought I’d drop it off.” He broke eye contact with me and waved a bag.

“Oh yeah. Thanks, Rían.” Áine flushed. She surreptitiously pushed her lunch box back into her bag and covered it with a book.

Chloe looked up at Rían with a broad smile on her face. “So you’re Áine and Adam’s brother?”

Rían cast a scrutinizing glance over her. “Yep,” he finally said. “And you must be Chloe.”

“I am,” she said, seeming thrilled that he knew who she was. “So you’re in college?”

Rían shook his head and sat down beside her. “Not yet, I start in September.” Something changed in his eyes, softened somehow.

Adam kicked him in the ankle, but Rían seemed oblivious. He didn’t even glance in Adam’s direction.

I noticed Killian and Darren exchanging horrified glances. What chances would they have against an older guy, especially one as hot as Rían? I thought it was hilarious and so did Áine, but I could tell that Adam was livid.

Rían spent the rest of the break chatting up Chloe. “If there were girls like you at school when I was here, I might have tried to stay longer.”

Chloe looked up at him from under her lashes and smiled indulgently.

“Ugh!” Adam groaned. “Time for you to sod off; we have to go back to class.”

Rían reluctantly got up. “Good-bye, Chloe.” He offered his hand to help her stand.

“See you around?” she hinted softly.

“Yeah, definitely.” He waved at the rest of us, his eyes lingering on mine. The skin prickled on the back of my neck, and my heart skipped a beat. What was wrong with me? This was Adam’s brother!

Caitlin rolled her eyes at me as we watched Chloe float toward the school building with a dreamy expression on her face. “What is it about the DeRís boys that makes intelligent women go all doe-eyed?”

“You’re talking to the wrong person.” I laughed. “But have you ever seen Rían like that before? Too funny.”

Caitlin glared after Chloe. “I’m not sure about her.”

I turned to face her. “Oh, not you too!”

On the drive home, Adam was still seething.

“Adam, you have to let it go,” I said gently. “Rían will look into it for you. This could be part of his plan.”

“That was not it. He’s gone to the dark side.” He stared out the windshield. “And what is with him and all the staring at you?”

I cleared my throat. “What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean. First it was the hugging. And now his eyes follow you around the place. He’s acting weird.”

“You’re just mad that you’ve lost your ally. If it’s any consolation, Caitlin also thinks Chloe is trying too hard.”

“Interesting,” Adam said. “Caitlin is very perceptive.”

“Ugh. Enough!” I turned to face Áine in the backseat. “So, Áine, are you psyched up for tonight?”

“I am,” she said. “I’m going to keep it lighthearted and casual. Will you come for dinner?”

“Of course. As long as you’re sure you want me there.”

“Definitely. You’re the only one who understands.”

Adam pulled into my driveway and leaned over for a kiss.

“Um, aren’t we banned from kissing at the moment?” I reminded him.

His face dropped. “Yeah, I guess we are.” He glanced back at Áine.

“Oh, go on. I won’t say anything. Just don’t blame me when you drop dead.” She turned away and looked out the window.

I bit my lip, hesitant.

“Don’t mind her. A quick kiss isn’t going to kill me.” He laughed and pulled me close.

I leaned in and kissed him, but pulled away as I felt him slump. I immediately put my hand to his face and concentrated on pushing the energy back. His body reacted instantly.

“See.” He smirked. “I hardly felt that one. Besides, it’s worth it.”

I shook my head sadly and got out of the car. As I turned to wave, I caught Áine scowling out the window at me. Was she mad that we had kissed? But an instant later, she blinked and shook her head, like she was trying to clear it, and then waved cheerfully at me as they drove away.

Dad wouldn’t be home for a while, so I let myself in and headed to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. I was just sitting down at the table when the doorbell rang. I glanced out the window, surprised to see Chloe there. I was pretty sure I’d never mentioned my address to her.

“Hey, Chloe. What are you doing here?”

“Sorry for calling in like this. I was bored and thought we could hang out for a while. I have chocolate!” she said, holding up a bar and smiling.

“Sure. Come on in, I was just making some tea. Do you want a cup?”

“Yes, please, that would be lovely.” She sat down at the table and glanced out the window. “What is the story with the crows in this town? I swear that one has been following me all day!” She pointed out the window to where Randel was perched on a low branch in my garden.

I hid my smile as I flicked the switch on the kettle. “I thought the same thing when I first moved here. The birds are just a bit
friendlier
in Kinsale than they are in most places.”

“Yeah, well, nothing that a rifle and a few shells wouldn’t sort out.”

I gasped and looked back at her.

She held her hands up and laughed. “Just kidding.”

With the ice broken, we chatted for hours; she wanted to know all about my life in the US, and she told me about Sweden and the UK. She also subtly pumped me for information on Rían, which I guessed was the main purpose of her visit. It looked like someone was developing a major crush. Before I knew it, Dad was clattering in the front door.