Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy
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Authors: Jenna Elizabeth Johnson
Dolmarehn
Book Two of the
Otherworld Trilogy
by
Jenna Elizabeth Johnson
Copyrighted Material
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. All material in connection with Celtic myth has been borrowed and interpreted for use in the plot of the story only. Cover image is the sole property of the author. The
Faelorehn
font on the cover image and interior of this book was created by P.A. Vannucci (
www.alphabetype.it
) to be used for the
Otherworld Trilogy
. Any resemblance to actual persons is entirely coincidental.
Dolmarehn
Copyright © 2012 by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson
All rights reserved.
No part of this book or its cover may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from its creator.
For more information and to contact the author, visit:
For Stacy and Jen
May this story conjure up memories of the hours
we
spent in cafés, poring over the tales of a land rife with myths and legends.
Contents
Absence
Reunion
Surprise
Meridian
Danger
Visit
Dolmarehn
Power
Solstice
Cauldron
Wildren
Heritage
Danua
Erintara
Unworthy
Beltaine
Disclosure
Ríastrad
Miracle
Confession
Sneak Peek of
Luathara
, Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy
Dolmarehn
Absence
Fifty one days. Fifty one days ago Cade MacRoich walked out of my life like a ghost passing into the hereafter. And no, I’ve not been obsessive enough to keep track of the hours and minutes, or even the seconds, but I’ve noticed every single one of them. I probably wouldn’t have been so fixated on his absence if he hadn’t up and left the way he did. Of course, at the time I’d been too distracted by my recent trauma to truly grasp what was going on.
Nearly a year ago, I was certain I was just a slightly abnormal teen. Sure, I’m tall and gangly and insecure like everybody else my age, but now I know exactly
how
different I am. One day this gorgeous boy shows up, out of nowhere, with a simple explanation for all of my eccentricities: my changeable eyes, my tendency to hear voices and notice odd things, and the fact that I’d been found parentless as a toddler, roaming the streets of Los Angeles like a young girl who’d been separated from her mother in the women’s clothing section of a super mall . . . He had come to tell me that I’m Faelorehn, immortal, from the Otherworld.
Shaking my head, I got back to work. Of course, watering Mrs. Dollard’s plants didn’t require much brain power. I had considered getting a part time job in town this past summer, but when the old lady had come over to ask if I might feed her cats and keep her yard alive while she toured Europe, I accepted right away. She was loaded and she always over-paid me. Besides, working in a café or at a local clothing store meant dealing with the public. I d
idn’t do well with the public.
The sharp caw of a crow made me hit the ground like a soldier avoiding gunfire. If acting like an idiot wasn’t bad enough, the hose got loose and soaked me. I glanced up and released a sigh of relief. Only a normal crow. I climbed to my feet and tackled the errant hose before shutting it off. Yes, freaking out at the sound of a crow would be considered weird for any normal person, but when you’ve spent the last several months dodging a Celtic goddess in raven form, well, any large black bird woul
d give you the heebie-jeebies.
The garden was watered, Mrs. Dollard’s five cats were sleeping off a food coma, and the afternoon sun dipped low in the sky. The giant wet spot on my t-shirt was making me cold, and it was time I headed home. Didn’t want to be caught out after sunset. That’s when the faelah are the most active.
A short bark greeted me as I made my way around the house. I smiled. A great white wolfhound with rusty colored ears sat patiently, panting and grinning.
“Hello Fergus. When’s your master coming back?”
I placed a hand on his head and gave him a good scratch. He didn’t answer my question, but I hadn’t expected him to.
Mrs. Dollard’s was only a few houses down from my own, but before I stepped inside, I kept on walking to the end of the street, bypassing the
Dead End
sign. I’d developed the habit of checking the knothole in the oak tree every day, hoping Cade had left me a new note.
I frowned in disappointment when the knothole proved empty, but it didn’t surprise me. Cade’s absence was understandable. A few months ago I crossed into the Otherworld, bent on saving him from some cruel fate. Turns out the Morrigan, one of the most powerful of all the Otherworldly deities, merely wanted me where she could conveniently kill me. Still being rather ignorant of my roots, I believed her when she told me Cade needed my help. Hey, she’d been pretty convincing, and well, I kind of had a huge crush on the guy, still do. As a matter of fact, I can admit that it’s turned into something far more severe than a simple crush.
Pushing the hair out of my face, I climbed back up the slope and headed towards my bedroom on the basement floor of our house. I didn’t like how much time I spent thinking about Cade; it couldn’t be healthy, but he
had
saved my life after all. And he’d been the one to tell me the truth about where I’d come from.
My room greeted me with its usual chaos: various items of clothing spread all over the floor and furniture, computer screen saver glowing blue and green, comforter and sheets wadded up into an unintelligible mess.
“Meghan!”
I jumped, then grumbled. “What Logan?”
My younger brother, oldest of the five, stuck his head through the trap door leading up into the main part of the house. His blond hair fell to the side. I grinned. He looked like some miniature version of a pro surfer.
Logan’s eyes found me and he piped, “Dinner! Oh, and we’re going to the beach for my birthday party tomorrow, remember?”
I cringed. Ah, yes. Forgot about that one. Logan had turned eleven a week ago, but he hadn’t had his party because most of his friends were still on their summer vacations.
“Alright,” I said, “be up in a minute.”
Logan disappeared and I shot a glance back through my sliding glass door. Fergus was gone, but I merely shrugged. He tended to vanish like that a lot. I had no idea if other people were able to see him or not (I didn’t know if he could be seen by mortals), but maybe he didn’t want to take the chance.
After quickly changing into a dry t-shirt and a pair of old sweat pants, I made my way up the spiral staircase and out into the circus that was the Elam family.
Mom darted about the kitchen, getting the last minute dinner items ready, Dad sat in his recliner, as usual, reading the paper, and all five of my brothers, Logan, Bradley, Aiden and even the twins, Jack and Joey, stared at the TV, thoroughly engrossed in some science special. I rolled my eyes. It was one of those ‘deadliest insects’ things and it included a detailed description of what sinister attribute made them so dangerous. My stomach churned when they started describing internal parasites.
“Boys, could you turn that off? We’re about to eat dinner!”
Thank goodness for Mom.
We all sat down and tried to commence as a normal family would at mealtime. Too bad we weren’t normal. One of us was a Faelorehn from the Otherworld. Of course, none of them were aware of my true identity. Like the adoption agency who found me those many years ago, they thought I was just another abandoned human child. I knew if I told my mom and dad what I’d learned over the past year, they wouldn’t be able to accept it. Or they would drag me off to a new psychologist who would only prescribe mind-numbing medication. No thanks. I’d like to have all my wits about me when the Morrigan decided to attack again, thank you very much.
“Meg, you are coming with us tomorrow, correct?”
Dad’s voice snapped me out of my train of thought. I grimaced. Honestly, I didn’t want to go. Not that I had anything against Logan or birthday parties or even the beach, it’s just that ever since my ordeal at the end of spring, I’d been extra wary about wandering too far from home. This is what made Mrs. Dollard’s offer so appealing. Only four houses down the road, pi
ece of cake . . .
“Sure,” I shrugged and stabbed at some green beans.
“
Sure
?
” Mom gave me one of her looks. “Meg, you’ve been practically cooped up in this house all summer. You only ever leave to take care of Matilda Dollard’s cats, take those walks down into the swamp, or to visit Tully.”
Okay, I had good reason not to wander far, reasons having nothing to do with my fear of the faelah creatures creeping out of the dolmarehn hidden deep in the woods. Up until a few weeks ago I had been in a leg cast, and that really limited my mobility. She couldn’t count visiting Tully, my best friend, as ‘never going out’. Tully lived all the way at the head of our street. A good fifteen or so houses down. And my walks in the swamp had the potential to be rather exciting. An Otherworldly creature might show up at any minute and cause quite a stir. And if that Otherworldly cre
ature happened to be Cade . . .
I swallowed and put him as far out of my mind as possible. No need to get all dreamy-eyed at the dinner table. Regardless of what my parents thought, my walks were productive. If Mom knew I practiced with my longbow and arrows during my walks, maybe she would change her mind. Of course, I only went down there alone because Fergus always accompanied me. Should Cade’s spirit guide suddenly disappear, I’d gladly admit defeat and take on the guise of a recluse.
“You have to go Meg!” Logan whined.
I glanced over at him, his blue eyes shining with unshed tears. My heartstrings tightened. How could I deny my little brother anything?
I released a sigh. “What beach again?”
“Avila,” Dad said. “We’re going to have a bonfire and everything, so be sure to bring your warm clothes. It’ll get cold after dark.”
I gritted my teeth despite my smile.
After dark
. . . I had been lucky the past few months. I’d only seen a handful of faelah wandering around in the swamp; small, demented rodents that often met their end in the jaws of a certain white wolfhound. My own intuition assured me Fergus would not be accompanying me to the beach. Time to face the truth: it had been too long since anything of noticeable significance had happened. I was well overdue for a good haunting.
* * *
The sunny weather in Avila made me forget about my troubles for a while. I helped my parents drag our gear down to the sand and we propped the fold-out chairs, extra towels, bags of food and various water boards and toys against the picnic table closest to the creek fanning out across the shore. Almost immediately, my brothers went tearing off into the wide mouth of the stream, kicking up brackish surf as they screamed and splashed one another.
I looked at my parents and they nodded before they started setting up. We shared a silent agreement between the three of us. Since Aiden, my youngest brother besides the twins, had autism and had a tendency to pay less attention to his surroundings than the others, I made it a point to keep an extra eye on him. Jack and Joey, despite having turned three over winter break, were actually quite self-sufficient. Besides, my other two brothers stuck to them like glue.
Aiden, well, Aiden was different. We’re not sure what caused his autism, but Mom and Dad always suspected it had something to do with the stress he was under during his birth. It had been a difficult delivery, and they had been terrified he wouldn’t make it. He had to stay in the intensive care unit for a few months before we were allowed to bring him home. Perhaps he’d missed out on some vital element and was now trying to compensate. None of that mattered, though. I still loved him dearly; we all did.