Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy (15 page)

Cade looked at me again.  “I didn’t see the damage Meghan caused that night the Morrigan corner
ed us, but from what my foster father told me,
it was something to behold.  We should have had more time than this-”

He cut himself short, his eyes glimmering with worry as his gaze lingered on me.

“For the Morrigan to be able to bounce back from such an attack so soon . . . it makes me think she is receiving help.”

Briant gasped.  “From who?”

Cade gritted his teeth and shook his head.  “I have my suspicions, but that is all they are, suspicions.  Until I know for sure, I need to get Meghan somewhere safe.  The rest of you should return home.  The Morrigan isn't after any of you and I couldn't bear it if any of you were hurt while her monsters tore the castle apart looking for us.”

Goose bumps broke out along my skin as Cade's words registered.  The Morrigan, getting help from someone else?  She was terrifying and volatile enough
on her own
.

“Is it safe for you to go now?” Briant murmured.

Cade stood up and ran both hands through his hair, then dropped them to rest on his hips.

“The dolmarehn that leads to the Weald is in the caves, and I doubt there will be any faelah waiting for us on the other side.  As soon as we’re done here, we’ll pack what we need and go.”

Briant nodded and I remained quiet, my mind reeling.  Just this morning, I had been making cookies with my mom and brothers, looking forward to the Otherworld and seeing the Dagda’s friendly face again.  Now Cade and I would be taking off in the middle of the night to go to the Weald, the huge forest that covered much of the western edge of
Eile
, a place dripping with wild magic
. 
But
I knew why Cade had chosen
the magic wood
, and it wasn’t just because his sister lived there with the
w
ildren, the unwanted children of this world, but because the
Weald
was the one place in
Eile
the Morrigan could not reach us.  And since I still needed to recharge my magic, it would be the best place for me to be at the moment, especially if the bane of my existence had found someone to nurse her wounds and assist in
quickly
refurbishing
her army of monsters.

Cade gave his steward a few more directions on how to proceed with Luathara’s construction and what to do with any more faelah that might show up
before turning
towards me.  His eyes were
cheerless
, but a fierce determination shone
through
.  Briant glanced between Cade and
me
, then excused himself to give us some privacy.

The moment the door snapped shut, Cade let loose a deep sigh.  “I cannot even begin to apologize Meghan.  I hoped to show you the progress here at Luathara before heading to the Dagda’s, but instead you’ve been met with violence and fear.”

He dropped his gaze and took another rattling breath.  Quietly, so much so that I almost didn’t catch it, he added, “I had hoped we would be able to avoid this for a little while longer.”

I cleared my throat and decided to speak for the first time since entering the room.  “I knew the Otherworld would be more dangerous than the mortal one, so you don’t need to make apologies
,
Cade.”  I leveled my eyes with his.  “I made the choice to come here with you, and despite what happened tonight, I won’t change my mind.”

I smiled, despite my rattled nerves.  The encounter with the puca and
the
other faelah had been terrifying, but I
couldn't help but
admit, the pulse of my magic mixing with adrenaline as I helped defend the castle had been intoxicating.  It felt good to finally have the means to fight back.

“Are you up to traveling to the Weald tonight?”

I shrugged.  “Sure.  Besides, if we stick around here that puca might come back.”

The very thought froze my blood, and although
wandering
into the caves and then through the dark trees of the Weald was just as
daunting
, it was better than listening to that demented goat-man speak to me about the Morrigan’s hatred again.

Cade nodded, his eyes softening a little.

“Very well, let’s go pack and be on our way before my mother's servants have a chance to tell her where you are.”

I was out of the chair and through the door before Cade even finished speaking.  Apparently, it didn’t take much to motivate me
when I though the Morrigan might be arriving at any moment
.

-Eight-

Departure

The caves were dark, darker even than the night sky we had just left behind, so I had to rely on Cade’s guidance to lead me to the dolmarehn.  It had only taken me fifteen minutes to pack since most of my stuff was still in the suitcases I'd brought along.  The short time it took us to
cross
the
space between the third floor
doorway
and
the cavern's mouth seemed
minutes longer than usual
.  I kept waiting for the faelah
to return and
overwhelm us.  Meridian clung to my shoulder, as usual, and Fergus
remained a
silent g
uardian
at our sides.  Didn't matter.  I was still jumpy after what had happened earlier that night.

Cade led me by the hand through the caves and I had to trust that he knew his way in the darkness.  Eventually, he stopped and pulled me closer.

"Ready?"
 
His voice was a rasp against the rough, damp cavern walls.

I swallowed hard and nodded, then remembered he couldn't see me.

"Yes," I whispered back.

I felt a small tug as the dolmarehn pulled me into its depths.  When the magic spit us out on the other side, the black, towering beast that was the Weald loomed before us.  The air was co
ol and
held the
sharp
smell
s
of
a summer night
.  Thankfully, there were no corpse hounds with glowing eyes or other zombies waiting to ambush us.  We didn’t linger long, quickly making our way to the edge of the Weald and finding the trail that would take us to
the
village where the
w
ildren lived.  Cade had borrowed a torch from Luathara and sacrificed a few minutes to light it, so at least we weren’t tripping around in the dark.

Fergus led us, always moving at an easy lope and staying well ahead.  Meridian clutched my shoulder, grumbling in her avian mind about traveling at night.  I spotted many eyes, flashing in the shadows as we passed.  My bow was in my hand, an arrow ready just in case, but I drew closer to Cade when the eyes started following us.  He had told me before that the Weald was safe from the Morrigan’s henchmen, but it was clear my nerves were suffering hearing loss.

When I crashed into Cade for the fifth or sixth time in the same number of minutes, he held up the torch so I could see who the eyes belonged to.  I smiled with relief when I recognized the twig people through the flickering
light, the
t
wigrins, trying to spy on us from the trees.  Their tiny arms and legs were covered in
lush, green leaves
.  I looked back at Cade
,
who was just a step ahead of me.  His mouth curved in a small smile, his eyes lighting up and making the night seem less dark.

At Spring Solstice, I’ll bring you back and you can see them when they’re in bloom.

My smile
chased away any lingering, dismal thoughts
.  He knew what I was thinking without even asking me.

Our nocturnal trek eventually brought us to the edge of a small community
,
and we were greet
ed by some of the older
w
ildren
standing guard.  Cade quickly explained to the young man and woman that he needed to see his sister immediately.  The woman left to wake Enorah, and Cade and I joined the other guard around
a
small
camp
fire.  By the time Enorah came marching up in all her determined glory, several of the cabins closest to us had started showing signs of life.  Despite the early hour, it looked like word had spread about our arrival.

Enorah, taller than me by a few inches, her softly curling brown hair pulled back in a neat braid, stopped a few feet in front of us and drew herself into a domineering pose.  She wore an outfit similar to the one
she'd been
wearing the last time I saw her: leather pants and vest, an old worn cotton shirt, and knee-length boots.  The string of her longbow cut diagonally across her torso and I suspected that that was the hilt of a sword peeking over her shoulder.  If I hadn’t met her before, I’d be shaking and cowering behind Cade.  I had half a mind to do so anyway.  Enorah pursed her lips, her sharp eyes running over the two of us like a wolf assessing a possible threat.

“So, you’ve come to visit again have you?  And at such a horrendous hour.”

Her voice sounded casual, but I could tell she was suppressing her joy at seeing her brother.

Cade smiled and strode over, scooping her up in a bear hug.  Enorah actually squeaked and spluttered, surprised at her brother’s show of affection.

Eventually, Cade put her down and she punched him.  “What is wrong with you?!”

Cade only smiled as he rubbed his arm.  “Glad to see you too,
s
is.”

At that moment, she glanced at me, her look of irritation disappearing.  “Meghan!  Have you no sense girl?  What are you still doing hanging around my oaf of a brother?”

She strode over and gave me a hug, though not as powerful as Cade’s.  I returned it, truly glad to see her despite our relatively new friendship.  A moment slipped by and she held me at arm's length.  I almost gasped at the look on
her face.  Her grey-green
eyes were swimming with unshed
tears
.

“Thank you,” she whispered harshly, “for bringing Caedehn back to the Cauldron.”

Ah.  I had been so swiftly swept back to the mortal world after taking Cade to the Dagda that I had forgotten there were people who cared about him in the Otherworld.  And with everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours, I was sure it wouldn’t be the only thing that slipped my mind.

I smiled tentatively and grasped her elbow with one hand.  “You don’t need to thank me,” I glanced over at Cade.  He had his arms crossed and was watching us closely in the bright light of the campfire.  “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”  I took a breath and carefully added, “Your brother means a great deal to me.”

Enorah blinked, her tears fading away as her eyes grew wide with joy.  “Did the idiot finally admit that he’s crazy about you?”

I bit my lip
, trying not to smile, and nodded once.

Enorah snorted and threw an arm around my shoulders.  “It’s about time!  Oh, we shall be like sisters now!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cade stiffen.  Uh, this could be disastrous if not handled properly.

“Well,” I said, clearing my throat and pulling away from Enorah.  I methodically hooked my hair behind my ears as I fished for something to say.
 
“We’ve just-”

Just what Meghan?
my conscience asked me. 
Started dating?
  Did the Faelorehn date? 
Okay, he had just started courting me.
  Eww, no, that sounded lame. 
Uh . . .

“Oh, calm down you two!  I’m just teasing.  Now, do tell me
,
what on
Eile
possessed you to come stumbling into our village before dawn
?
”

I released a great breath, feeling intensely better.  I braved a glance at Cade and was pleased to see he had relaxed again as well.  Despite my relief, something must have been bothering me about the whole exchange because I could feel a little prickle of pain in my heart.  What could I be upset about?  It was the truth.  Cade and I may have admitted we loved one another, but it wasn’t like we were a serious couple.  It wasn’t like we were . . . engaged.

The very word sent prickles of fear and joy through my nerves. 
Whoa Meghan, you’re only eighteen.  Way too young to think about marriage.
  But why did it make me feel so giddy to imagine myself engaged to Cade?

I glanced up at
him
once more and noticed the shadow
s
in his eyes.

“The Morrigan has decided she doesn’t want to wait," he said in a glum tone.  "A contingency of faelah attacked Luathara several hours ago and a puca gifted with the power of speech threatened Meghan.”

The joy that had lit up Enorah’s face vanished and her smile disappeared.