Dolmarehn - Book Two of the Otherworld Trilogy (11 page)

Cade smiled, relaxing back against the stone on his side of the fire ring.

The Dagda, like the Morrigan, was a legend of Celtic lore.  I recalled reading about him in one of Cade’s books or during one of my internet hunts.  He was said to be one of the few gods who excelled at many things, and he had a reputation for being . . . I guess saying he was friendly with women was a civilized way of putting it.

I snorted as I conjured up the image I had of him: an older, pudgier man with an unkempt beard and mustache.  Now that I knew he existed, I wondered if the picture in my mind matched the reality.

“And yes, he does live up to his wild reputation,” Cade said cheerily after a while.

My face must have given me away, so I covered it up with a blush.

“I wasn’t thinking so badly of him,” I insisted.  “But what is he really like?”

Cade straightened up again and leaned forward, staring into the empty fire pit as if expecting the wood to burst into flame on its own.  I scrutinized his face once again.  He seemed to be thinking carefully, as if picking and choosing what he thought would be best to tell me.  I stifled a laugh.  The Dagda must be notorious indeed.

Finally, Cade spoke, “He has a rather overwhelming personality, there’s no denying that, but he is a gracious soul and is willing to get to know a person before passing any kind of judgment.  He will be the first to defend a companion if they are wronged, though, and I wouldn’t get on his bad side if I were you.  His forgiveness isn’t easily earned.  Oh, and he is famous throughout all of Eilé for throwing the most lively parties.”

Cade smiled up at me and I had no choice but to return the gesture.

“Don’t worry Meghan, I’m certain he’ll love you.”

“Wait, what?  I’m going to be meeting him?  The Dagda?”

I felt my face drain of color for a moment, but Cade’s laughter helped ease my harried thoughts.

“He isn’t nearly as terrifying as the legends make him out to be, I promise.  And you won’t be going alone when you meet him, so if he tries anything I’ll be able to come to your rescue.”

The expression I gave him conveyed my horror, but the glint in his eye sobered me almost immediately.  Oh.  He was teasing me.

I thought about that for awhile: meeting the Dagda.  I’m sure the experience would be a bit intimidating.  However, it would be a pleasant change to meet someone friendly.  Well, at least someone who didn’t consider my death their highest priority, like the Morrigan.

“So,” I said, clearing my throat a little, “how did you come to be the foster son of one of the Celtic gods?”

“Luck.”

A glimmer flashed in Cade’s eye, but I knew he wasn’t going to give away anything more.

He squinted up towards the sun again.  “I think we had better gather some firewood before the sky grows too dark and the frost settles in.”

I shook my head and made to stand up, but Cade, the quicker one to rise, reached down a hand to help me up.

I graciously took it, expecting him to lift me to my feet.  Instead, he tugged hard enough to pull me up against him.  My surprise kept me from pushing away immediately, so when I blinked up at him in astonishment, I found his face mere inches from mine.

I opened my mouth to say something, and nothing came out but a small squeak that got caught in the back of my throat.  His eyes seemed to burn into mine and as I watched them, they changed from pale silver to dark green.  He leaned his head closer and . . .

A sharp bark followed by the annoyed chatter of a bird broke the strange enchantment.

“Whoa now,” Cade murmured in a soft tone, wrapping one of his arms around my waist and pulling me away from the place I’d been standing.

Fergus went tearing by, his ears pinned back and his tongue lolling as Meridian chased after him, diving at his tail.

Cade said something in his native tongue, scolding the animals for playing so recklessly in such a small area, I assumed.  I had trouble deciphering anything, especially since I was still flabbergasted about what had just happened.  Wait, what
had
happened?  One minute Cade was talking about his childhood, then he mentioned something about firewood, and in the next second he pulled me close in an almost embrace.  No, I wasn’t complaining.  Only a bit confused.

Eventually, Cade realized he still held on to me.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, releasing me before turning his head away.  “Fergus forgets how big he is sometimes.”

He offered a half-hearted grin and I decided, given the situation and the lack of a private, quiet corner where I might sit and untangle this latest mystery, that perhaps shrugging and raising my arms in a gesture I hoped stated,
silly spirit guides
, was the best thing to do for the moment.

“So, firewood.”  I clapped my hands together and looked around.

For the next thirty minutes we scoured the hilltop seeking out dead branches.  Cade stayed further away from me than usual, and I was certain his distance had something to do with the earlier interruption from our spirit guides.

But, what
had
almost happened?  Now would be a good time to rifle through those thoughts from before.  If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn he was about to kiss me.  The very thought of his lips brushing against mine caused me to
tremble
with delight, and I ended up dropping most of the kindling I’d gathered.

Cursing inwardly, I fought off my jumbled daydreams and snatched the branches back up. 
Cade MacRoich did not drag you up to this hilltop to make out with you Meghan, so stop your fantasizing!

Oh?  Then why had he pulled you so close, hmm?  Why had he bent his head just so?  Admit it, if his dog hadn’t almost trampled you, you two might still be lip-locked at this very moment.

I gritted my teeth and grabbed on to the closest log I could find.  Sure, the heavy branch was way too big for me to lift, but I needed a distraction so my stupid conscience would shut up.  I hated that it had multiple personalities.

On the third yank, I managed to free the half-buried log, only to scream when I saw what went skittering out from underneath it.  That wasn’t a snake, or a lizard.  More like a salamander crossed with a centipede.  Or a giant, elongated spider with slimy skin.

I dropped the log with a small screech and backpedaled, tripping over one of the many stones in the clearing.  I went down cursing, but Cade was standing over me before I could so much as flip over and make a crawl for it.

“What happened?”

Cade sounded concerned and he leaned down to help me up.  Oh no, no more of that.  I didn’t want my conscience to start up again.

“I’m fine,” I insisted.

When Cade knelt down to get a closer look at me, I scooted back and held up an arm.

“Something startled me is all.  Some creepy thing living under a log.”

I pointed over my shoulder, hoping he might go investigate and leave me to recover on my own.  I wasn’t normally spooked by creepy-crawlers.  You couldn’t afford to be when you had a house full of brothers.  But that thing was enormous.  And I’m pretty sure it hissed at me.

“Ah,” Cade merely said, “probably only a litter bug.”

I shot him an incredulous look.  “Are you making a joke?”

He grinned and shook his head.  “Litter as in leaf litter.  There are all different types of them, but we refer to all of them as ‘litter bugs’.  Most of them aren’t dangerous, and they only bite if you try to grab them.”

I cringed.  Well, at least I knew the giant bug wouldn’t hurt me, because there was no way in this world or the mortal one that I was going to touch it.

“We can stop gathering firewood now.  I think I found plenty.”

I glanced over at the pile Cade had made and grimaced.  We’d have enough wood to last us a whole week.  What did I have to show for myself?  The two pieces of kindling I had managed to hang on to while being hunted down by the litter bug.  Wonderful.

Cade didn’t seem to notice, or comment, and in no time he had the fire lit as well.  We ate the food from the bag he had stored: beef jerky, thick bread and a rather tasty soup he’d made with some dried supplies and water from a half-frozen spring a few dozen yards from our campsite.

After throwing more logs on the fire, Cade slipped into his bedroll, fully dressed, and sighed.

“Using and detecting your natural magic works best early in the morning, so we should probably both get to sleep as soon as possible.”

I blinked in surprise.  Oh yeah, the real reason for being here.  To gauge and recharge my magic.  I sighed and glanced up.  Late twilight settled around us, but it couldn’t be later than six o’clock.  Meridian had long since fallen asleep and Fergus still roamed the woods.

When I turned my eyes towards Cade, I found his back facing me, his own breathing deeper.

Biting my lip and taking the blanket in my hand, I followed Cade’s lead and snuggled in as best I could.  I had told myself I didn’t want Cade to try anything else with me, but of course that wasn’t entirely true.  Yet, his interest one minute and then his distance the next was rather jarring, and I wish he’d just make up his mind, one way or the other.  Judging by his quiet demeanor during dinner and his terse goodnight, I’d say he planned to keep his hands to himself.  I tried to ignore the tiny sting of disappointment.

The fire continued to crackle and an owl cried out in the distance.  As I slowly fell asleep, I hoped to convince myself the ache in the pit of my stomach was fear for what might attack us in the night, and not a r
esult of Cade’s cold dismissal.

-Eight-

Power

The next morning I woke to the sharp tang of smoke and the sting of icy air on my face.  For a moment I tried to figure out why my room would smell like a campfire and why I shivered.  My eyes shot open when the thought of a fire flew through my mind, but in the next heartbeat the memories from the night before came flooding back.

Someone clearing their throat snagged my attention from my thoughts.  I turned my head and caught sight of a cloaked figure standing against the pre-dawn light.  At first I tensed up, but drew a calming breath when I realized the stranger was Cade.

“The fire went out last night and I thought a new one would be a good idea this morning.”

He gestured towards the stone circle where a healthy crop of flames, and smoke, stirred.

Yawning and stretching my stiffness away, I curled out of the blankets, reluctant to leave their warmth behind and cringed as I heard the distinct crackle of frost.  A film of white coated my sleeping bag.

I stretched again,
teeth chattering
at the cold, and wondered how scruffy I appeared, but a need to find somewhere to go to the bathroom quickly erased those thoughts.  I peered over my shoulder at Cade and blushed, voicing my concerns.

He shook his head and glanced off to the side.  “You’ll have to find a patch of bushes or group of stones to your liking.  I’m sorry.  I don’t often have a young woman with me when I’m sleeping outdoors.”

Was it my imagination, or were his cheeks turning pink?  Knowing Cade was capable of being embarrassed warmed me and helped dash away my own discomfiture.

While I was gone, I thanked my lucky stars I’d had enough sense to pack a toothbrush.  I couldn’t think of anything worse than bad breath, especially when you were alone with a guy.  Not that anything was going to happen, but you never know.  Of course, after yesterday evening I’d thoroughly convinced myself nothing ever
was
going to happen. Ugh, I needed to focus on the reason for my being here: to appraise my glamour,
not
to moon over Cade.

Magic Meghan, you are going to learn to use your magic!  Isn’t that more exciting than some guy
?  Too bad I wasn’t ten and still under the delusion that boys had cooties.  It would make my current predicament so much easier.

When I returned to our campsite, I discovered Cade had rummaged up something for us to eat.  I sniffed at the pot over the fire and my stomach grumbled.

“What’s for breakfast?”

“Oatmeal with walnuts and honey.”

My stomach complained again.

We ate in silence as the dark sky turned pale gray, revealing a thick blanket of fog covering the forest and hilltop.

After cleaning up and gathering Fergus and Meridian, Cade led us through the trees once more, and once again I wondered where he was taking me, but I kept my questions to myself.  Eventually, we came upon another clearing, this one littered with ancient, tall stones, similar to the ones scattered near the dolmarehn that connected Eilé to the mortal world.

“What is this place?” I whispered.

A secret sacredness seemed to cling to the air around us and I imagined that if I spoke too loudly, my voice would shatter this serenity and some fae spirit would come seeking revenge.

“This used to be one of the sacred henges, similar to the one near the dolmarehn leading to your home.”

“You mean, like Stonehenge?” I asked, feeling a bit silly.