It snarled at me, snapping as it approached slowly, its pitch-black hooves clacking against the ground as if they were made of iron. I couldn’t move; I was frozen in fear. It lurched towards me and I ducked to the ground, covering my head. I was certain that at some point I screamed.
Nothing happened, but I could hear the creature growling in anger. I risked a glance. It was pacing again, and then it lunged for a third time, faster than anything I had ever seen. I didn’t have time to cover my head this time, but before my brain could force my lungs to produce another scream, the animal sidled back. I was dumbfounded and confused. It tried to get at me once again and was once again thwarted. It was as if some invisible force field had established itself around my body. The nightmarish animal was angry, but no matter how hard it tried to tear at me with its claws, it couldn’t get to me.
I was so wrapped up in my own terror and fascination that I didn’t at first hear the barking. I saw Fergus before I really heard him, leaping like a white blur onto the fetid, black haired back of my attacker. My relief hit me like a tidal wave. The demonic creature screamed in pain and anger, and before I knew it, Fergus was chasing it back into the trees that led down into the swamp. I hoped he nipped its heels all the way back to where it had come from. Some hellish part of the Otherworld, probably.
“Meghan? Meghan! Goodness girl, are you alright?”
I blinked up to find my neighbor, Mrs. Dollard, hovering over me, her gardening sheers hanging loose in her gloved hands. I choked back a sob. Dear lord, did she see that thing? She was a kind old woman, I hoped with all my heart that Fergus had chased it off before she rushed out here to see what all the commotion was about.
She blinked at me over her thick glasses. She looked utterly confused, but although she was well over seventy she was renowned for her sharp mind. It wasn’t like she would have been oblivious to what had just happened. Then it hit me. Of course she didn’t see what had happened. She was human and these horrible apparitions were only revealing themselves to me.
“Uhm,” I looked at her skirt, grass stains where the knees should be. “Bee,” I blurted.
She made an effort to stand up straight and push her glasses back onto her nose. She pursed her wrinkled lips and adjusted herself so that she stood, elbows akimbo, and glared down at me.
“Well, of all the silly nonsense. Really girl, a bee? You do know they are extremely beneficial insects, pollinating our flowers for us and making honey . . .” she mumbled as she shuffled her way back into her house.
I cringed. I liked bees, really I did, but how else could I have explained my strange behavior? Had she seen me running and then diving for the ground? Screaming as I covered my head? Maybe not. It was getting dark after all.
Reluctantly, I stood up and brushed the gravel from my jeans. The heels of my hands were scraped, but not too badly. I cast a nervous glance down the road, towards my house and in the direction of where that nightmare had disappeared to. Was it still out there? Would it come back? Was Fergus alright? Had Cade come with him?
Before thinking much longer about it, I began to walk briskly towards home. Once there, I waved a quick hello to my mother and brothers, mumbled something about laundry and homework, and went down into my room. I double checked to make sure my sliding glass door was locked, recovered the mistletoe charm Cade had given me months before from among the necklaces hanging from my bed post, and curled up in bed with a pen and some paper.
Cade,
I lifted my pen and thought about what I should say. I knew he was preoccupied; busy with whatever he was busy with in the Otherworld. But it couldn’t hurt to try. Eventually, I got back to work.
Cade,
I know it has been a long time since I’ve seen you, and I know you are concerned about my heritage and what trouble it might cause, but I need to talk with you. I was attacked by something Otherworldly today. Not the raven or the Cumorrig or even the gnomes, but something much worse.
I thought about describing it and telling him about its strange behavior (how it couldn’t really attack me) but my hand was shaking too much and I needed to write something that would entice him to come and see me.
Please send Fergus to my door when you are ready to meet. I would feel safer if he were there to escort me.
Sincerely,
Meghan
Okay, that wasn’t all that enticing, but perhaps he would come anyway. I glanced out my door, debating whether or not I should place the note in the knothole tonight. When a flash of crimson eyes glared back at me through the growing dusk from the trees in the distance, I quickly checked the lock on my door one more time and drew the blinds.
My heart pounding in my throat, I dug through my closet, tossing my empty suitcase and several boxes of old photographs out of the way. When all of the clutter was cleared out, I scooped up the bow and quiver of arrows Cade had given to me. I didn’t care if my mom or my brothers stumbled upon it in the night. There was no way I was going to sleep without some form of protection within reach. And honestly, I didn’t think I was going to sleep at all.
Betrayed
Just as I had predicted, I spent the night tossing and turning, waiting for that grotesque goat-man to break through my sliding glass door and maul me in my sleep. When my alarm went off at six, I merely groaned and got up. I didn’t feel like going to school, but I knew it would be safer than staying at home all day, waiting for that monster to make its move. I figured being surrounded by hundreds of other students would work in my favor.
The one good thing that came out of my terrifying ordeal from the day before was that I wasn’t thinking too much about Cade. Well, at least I
hadn’t
been thinking too much about Cade . . . Of course, I had to somehow get that letter into the knothole in the oak tree, but I wasn’t going a hundred yards near the swamp until it was full light out. Right after school would be a good time.
I spent the day in near silence, and Robyn and Tully thought I was still moping after Clay. Good. It meant they would leave me alone. Not that I didn’t want the company of my friends. More like I might burst into tears or snap at them because of all the stress I was under. I didn’t need to ostracize myself even more.
Tully drove me home that afternoon, and I was glad that she took me all the way to the end of the road.
“Thanks Tully,” I mumbled as I climbed out of her dad’s car.
“Hey Meg,”
I paused. There was real concern in her voice. She never let her concern show. I turned, trying to put on a nonchalant face. I think I might have failed a little.
“You know you can talk to me, about Clay, about anything.”
Tully was reaching out, and as much as I wanted to just fling myself against her shoulder and cry, I couldn’t. I couldn’t confide in her. It was too dangerous. I had no idea, really, what was out to get me but there was no way in hell I was going to let it get Tully.
Taking a deep mental breath, I shrugged and said, “No, I’m okay Tully, really I am. There are some things going on right now that are just stressing me out. I’ll be fine. I promise.”
Tully grinned, her pale green eyes looking a bit sad. “Okay, but you know where to come if you need a shoulder.”
I smiled, despite my sudden melancholy. I knew I could always count on Tully.
I watched her car disappear down the street before I dug my hand into my backpack and pulled out the note to Cade. I shaded my eyes and looked up into the canopy of the eucalyptus trees. The sun was far from setting and it wasn’t going to get any brighter. Leaving my backpack on our front porch, I ran to the end of our street, slipped past the fence marking the dead end, and sprinted to the oak tree several yards away.
Stepping up onto the roots and reaching around the back, I located the knothole and quickly shoved the note in. I didn’t even check to make sure the end wasn’t sticking out. I raced back up the equestrian path and out onto the road, turning left up our driveway. Breathing heavily from my frantic run, I scooped up my backpack, fished out my house key, and let myself in.
I waved to my mom, who was sitting on the living room floor with Aiden, Joey, and Jack, helping them put together a giant jigsaw puzzle.
“Hi hon,” was all she said. “Frantic day at school?”
Oh. She must have been referring to my disheveled look.
I shrugged and grinned. It was hard keeping all my secrets from my family, but luckily I was in high school and they expected some level of aloofness.
“Yeah, had a pretty strenuous P.E. class today.”
Mom waved me on, knowing I would have homework to do. I headed downstairs and once there I pulled out my books. But once again, homework was the furthest thing from my mind. I wondered when Cade would get my message,
if
Cade would get my message. I sighed and got back to my geography. Best not to think about Cade or the Otherworld right now.
* * *
Three days later I got home from school to find Fergus sitting at my door, panting and grinning like always.
I cried in surprise and delight. The note! Cade must have left me another message. For a minute, I was giddy. Then my spirits dropped. What if he didn’t want to meet with me? What if he had received my note, but was only writing back to tell me to leave off?
I bit my lip. I dreaded going down to the oak tree now, but not because I feared the faelah that could be waiting for me. I was afraid Cade might have rejected me.
Stop it Meghan. Rejected or not, you need to know.
Steeling myself, I grabbed my shoes and shoved them onto my feet. I threw open my door and jogged after Fergus as he loped down the horse path towards the oak tree. I nearly tripped on a tree root in my haste to get to the note. Must have been my nerves.
I slipped the note from its hiding place and with trembling fingers I unrolled it, scanning my eyes across the sparse words.
Meghan,
I will meet you tomorrow afternoon in the clearing.
C.M.
I slumped my shoulders in disappointment. Okay, well at least it wasn’t a rejection. But I had hoped there would be more to it than that.
The note’s brevity had my mind occupied all the way to my room, so I didn’t notice the looming raven until I was just outside my door. It startled me at first, like it always did, but this time it seemed only to be watching me. I wanted dearly to throw a rock at it, but I had no idea what powers this particular faelah might possess and the last thing I wanted to do was anger it. Quickly, I stepped inside my room and locked my door behind me, closing the blinds as an extra measure.
The next day, I got a ride home with Thomas right after school. I had tried to present a more cheerful face during the day and Tully seemed to be a little more relaxed. That was a good sign, I thought. I had contemplated just walking home that afternoon, taking the back way and waiting for Cade, but as silly as it was, I wanted to go home and make myself more presentable first.
I stepped into my bathroom and pulled out the makeup I kept stowed in the top drawer. The last time I’d used any serious amount of it had been for the dance on Halloween. I carefully applied some mascara, lip gloss and eyeliner. I tried to ignore the changeability of my eyes, if only for the simple reason that their inability to make up their mind on a single color was dizzying. It was a good thing that on a normal day they didn’t change this frequently. People were more comfortable accepting that it was the lighting that made them seem to switch from hazel, to grey, to blue.
Once satisfied with my makeup, I fiddled with my hair a little. It had a bit of a curl to it today, and I opted to keep it down. I didn’t leave my hair down that often because it got in the way. This afternoon I thought it might make me look more fetching. Ha.
Me,
fetching . . .
Finally, I changed into my good jeans and a nice blouse, not my usual T-shirt. Perhaps if Cade were thinking of disappearing for good I might be able to change his mind. I glanced at the mirror hanging on the back of my door.
Well Meghan, it is an improvement, but I don’t think you’re going to impress Cade.
I heaved a sigh. It was worth a try at least.
Fergus was sitting outside my door when I stepped out of the bathroom, patient as a marble statue. I smiled, despite myself. The dog, um,
spirit guide
, had grown on me, even if he never really showed any emotion.
Our trek into the swamp was a slow one, what with me trying to smooth my nerves and Fergus retreating into his silence. About halfway down, he pulled ahead and started sniffing around in the bushes. To flush out faelah waiting to ambush us? I didn’t let it worry me too much. After witnessing his attack on the goat-man, I felt quite safe when Fergus was around, even when he was out of eyesight.
Eventually, the path curved and the small land bridge crossing the swamp came into view. Just a hundred yards or so more. My heart started to flutter and my legs suddenly felt weak. How could Cade have such an influence over me? The willows acted like a screen as I moved closer to the clearing, but just before I stepped out into view I spotted something that made me stop dead in my tracks.