Heir of Earth (Forgotten Gods) (21 page)

But it wasn’t really working.

The rational parts of me argued there was just no way. Plus, I had a doctor’s expert medical opinion as proof it was all in my head. The real parts of me? The parts that knew first hand how unexplainable things could hide in our world— knew it was possible. Which forced me to admit that what I hoped was a dream, might actually be real.

It was an unsettling thought, but oddly comforting—like maybe I wasn’t the only freak after all. The only terrifying detail I couldn’t wrap my head around was the fact that if Dayne was real...so was the stranger.

On the last night of my convalescence I woke up in a panic, sweat dripping down my neck and pooling on the pillow underneath me. The weight of a warm hand rested on my brow, and for a moment I didn’t think I was alone in my room. My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and I saw it was just Cotton and me. But the memory of my nightmare lingered.

Every night since the accident my mind had focused on that day, replaying every detail so vividly I was forced to relive it night after night. The fall, the fear, the fight. It came roaring back to me, in ways too realistic to seem like dream.

I argued with myself that such an insane nightmare could be dismissed with the doctor’s diagnosis, and wanted to believe that rather than the alternative.

But there was one detail of the dream that couldn’t be explained away by a concussion.

The eyes. Cold, calculating aquamarine orbs that flared hungrily when they’d found mine. I’d seen those eyes weeks ago. And my visions, hated as they were, always came true. Always. Which meant the man had to be real. And scarier still? He was obviously after me, though I didn’t have a clue why.

The blood ran cold in my veins, ice water chilling me to my core. I snuggled the covers and Cotton closer.

I thought about Christine and the secrets locked away in Phin’s box.

It hadn’t all been a dream. There was a secret hiding in the Irish countryside. A dark secret, that preyed on innocence and youth. And I feared that secret was after me.

I was so ready to be free
from the crushing thoughts swirling in my head I ran into the barn the moment Phin pulled the truck to a stop that next morning. I had to see Dayne. If there was a secret, he obviously knew what it was.

“I’m glad you’re better. It was getting pretty boring around here with only Phin to talk to,” Lucas said, greeting me with a huge hug that lingered longer than friend’s hug should. I managed to keep up a light conversation with Lucas, but my mind and ears were flicking around the barn like a gadfly, searching for any sign of Dayne.

Despite looking for him everywhere I could without raising suspicion, Dayne was mysteriously absent. The only sign of his presence were the saddle marks on LeSheen’s back—proof that Dayne had been for a hard ride early that morning.

The afternoon found me all alone at the barn cleaning tack. Lucas had finished earlier than normal and Phin had gone to the feed store. I told Phin I would walk home, thinking the exercise would be a good thing to work the remaining stiffness from my muscles.

I was putting away the leather soap when I heard his voice.

“Oh, I thought everyone was gone,” Dayne said, startling me so I dropped the soap. He bent down to pick it up before I could bend over.

“Thanks,” I said and took the soap, studying him. I knew there was something he wasn’t telling me, but I couldn’t come right out and ask him. The only proof I had was my vision—a revelation that would inevitably demand further explanation, and
that
would never happen.

“Are you okay?” He asked, looking at me with concern.

“Yeah, I...umm...my brain is still trying process the other day.” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him, hoping he would read my expression and know I knew something was up. The only reaction from him was a confused grin, as if he thought the fall had done some irreversible damage to my brain. My cheeks flushed and I turned to retrieve a fresh bucket of water and give them time to return to a normal color. “Thanks, by the way.”

“Not a problem.” He leaned back against the doorway and looked up at the ceiling.

“So, I didn’t make a total fool of myself, did I?” I winced with my eyes safely focused on the task at hand, not really wanting to hear the answer. At some point in time I had been completely passed out in Dayne’s arms as he carried me back to the barn. And I cringed every time I thought about it.

“What do you mean?” He stepped into the room with me, casually running his finger down the smooth leather reins I had just cleaned.

“Um, the doctor said it’s really common with concussions,” I explained before I confessed, “But I’m having some really weird dreams about that day.” I chewed at a fingernail, immediately spitting it out when the taste of soap filled my mouth. I peeked at him through my lashes. Nothing.

“You were fine.” He shook his head and stepped closer. “What kind of dreams?” He didn’t smile, instead looking at me with a suspicious sideways glare.

I laughed and shook my head, squeezing the soap from the sponges. “No way. It’s embarrassing…” I shook my head again and looked back at him. “Those secrets are staying with me.” I said emphatically.

“Good,” he said with an approving look.

“Why is that good?” I dropped my sponge and narrowed my eyes again, thinking I’d finally stumbled onto something.

“It’s nice to meet a girl who can keep a secret. Most can’t.” He grabbed a towel and handed it to me a second before my own hand reached out for it.

“Thanks,” I whispered slowly, wondering if he really could read my mind as I dried my hands. “Hey, Dayne? Was anyone else there when I fell?” I couldn’t look at him when I said this. I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.

He didn’t give me one, not really.

When he said nothing, I peeked at him through my lashes, unsettled by his silence. His jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes were dark. He shrugged and shook his head. The lightness returned to his face when he saw my eyes flare wildly. He licked his lips and they rolled into a smile as he turned and left the little room.

“Why are you still here? It’s late.” He turned back to me and asked.

“Phin had to run to town and I wasn’t finished with this,” I said holding up the last bridle I had cleaned.

“How are you getting home?” He asked.

“Walking.”

He rubbed a hand over the stubble at his chin, obviously considering my answer, and bit at his lip, like he always did when he was deep in thought.

“I have to run to town, too. I’ll give you a ride home.”

I dropped the towel in my hand at the thought of being alone in a car with Dayne DeLaney inches away from me. He picked up the towel and handed it back to me. I realized my mouth was hanging open and quickly shut it.

“Yeah, sure,” I said, hoping to sound cool, calm and collected—everything I was not at that point.

The engine of his old Range Rover roared to life outside the barn, and I jumped in my skin. After everything was put away I made my way to the end of the barn’s aisle.

He was sitting in the car with the windows down and the haunting strains of Celtic bagpipe music floating through the air.
You’re a big girl! You can do this!
I thought to myself as I approached.

He turned the music down when I opened the door and slid into the leather seat without looking at him. The inside of the car smelled amazing—like I was rolling around in a pile of clothes Dayne had worn all day. It was like a drug to me.

We drove along in silence for no more than five minutes, but it felt like an eternity. I didn’t know what to say. I was so nervous I was sure the words I thought in my head would never make it out of my mouth without twisting around one another. So I just kept quiet.

He pulled to a stop beside the little fence bordering Rose’s flowerbeds.

“Thanks,” I managed to say as I turned to face him. I knew I needed to get out of the car now, but not one part of me wanted to leave him.

“You’re welcome,” he said and reached up and brushed a piece of hay from my hair. The warmth of his hand brushed against my brow and another memory came charging back to me. My eyes flew open in recognition of his touch. Was it my dream or was it real? Had his hand actually touched me like that?

He took a quick gasp of startled breath and stared at me intently with an emotionless glare as I struggled to process the memory in my mind.

“Dayne are you sure something more didn’t happen when I fell from my horse? Things about you are too familiar, like déjà vu or something.”

He continued to stare at me as he tapped his thumb nervously against the steering wheel.

“Nothing you need to know about,” he finally answered and stared down the road in front of him with hooded eyes.

“But, I do. I mean, if something happened, I
do
want to know about it. My dreams are just too weird...” I leaned up in my seat to get a better look at his expression.

“What happens in your dreams?” he sighed as if he were asking for my benefit, but I saw his muscles tensing and releasing from his temple to his jaw like he was nervous, too.

“Well, most of it I’ve convinced myself is just lingering delusions from the concussion. But there’s one part I just can’t make sense of.”

“What’s that?”

“The guy from the dance. The one you stopped me from dancing with? He was there. I know he was.”

“How do you know that?” His eyes flared dark green, piercing into me, searching for my answer. I gasped, quickly shaking my head.

“It just seems that way,” I lied to cover my own secrets.

“And I’m there too?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. A crimson blush tinted my cheeks as I realized I had just confessed to dreaming about him. The setting sun glowed bright orange against his face as he squinted into the rays like he hoped to find an answer in their fading glory. His shoulders shook in an amused laugh and he turned to me. The concern was gone from his eyes and a reckless smile twisted his lips.

“You dreaming about me, Faye?” He teased with a wicked grin, his green eyes dancing with mine as he reached up and twisted his fingers in the tangle of curls around my face.

Utter and total heart failure.

I couldn’t move, trapped in the curve of his smile, wishing he wanted me like his expression suggested.

“I gotta go,” he whispered softly, as if he didn’t want to interrupt the effect he was having on me. It was obvious I was incapable of moving, still held by his gaze. He reached across me to open my door, and I slid from the car.

Standing there, I feared I was as foolish as every other lovesick girl in Clonlea, watching his taillights disappear in the setting sun.

Dayne hadn’t so much as breathed in my direction since I stepped out of his car.

The only problem was, I didn’t know if he was avoiding me because he did, in fact, have some secret about that day he was keeping from me, or if he was steering clear because he now knew I had a raging crush on him and he didn’t want to lead me on. Either way, I wasn’t prepared to spill my secrets to learn his. Nothing was worth that price. So I kept my lips shut about the whole ordeal and tried to forget.

I distracted myself with Lucas, who was only too happy to accept my attentions.

At the end of the week Lucas and I sat on a hay bale in the barn watching Phin work with little Ali—a name I had chosen in honor of the great American boxer since he’d proven himself to be such a fighter the night of his birth. He was getting so big and turned out to be quite a little prankster.

Phin rubbed his hands all over Ali, getting him used to being touched. He ran a hand slowly down Ali’s front leg, bending at the waist until his hand was over the tiny little hoof. He pulled it upward, gently, asking for Ali to raise his hoof. Ali craned his neck around, looking at what Phin was doing. He finally picked up the little foot, but reached over and nipped Phin’s rear end at the same time. Phin straightened up and dropped the little hoof back to the ground.

“Why you mangy little beast!” Phin rubbed his backside, where the little teeth had bitten him. Ali shook his head, mimicking Phin and driving the man absolutely mad. He stomped his little hoof on the ground and caught the tip of Phin’s boot. Lucas and I roared with laughter to see Phin bested by the tiny black colt.

“Are you coming out tonight?” Lucas asked me as he leaned over and nudged my shoulder with his.

“Out where?” I asked, leaning away so Phin wouldn’t see the exchange between us.

“Full moon. It’s a
thing
here.” Lucas was playing with a piece of straw.

“What kind of thing? Like a party?

“No, more like an extended curfew. The full moon is so bright this time of year you can see just like the daytime. There’s a group hiking the cliffs.” He tossed his sandy blonde hair to the side as he continued to twist the piece of hay. “The Banshee of Banshee Pointe cries out to her lover when the moon is full.” He said this last part in a spooky Dracula-like voice. I rolled my eyes, wanting to ask him if he believed in Santa Claus, too.

“Um, I’m not really sure. Rose hasn’t said anything about it.”

“So you need permission?” Lucas taunted me, but I knew he was joking.

“No,” I said, hitting his arm.

“You should come. It’ll be fun.” He placed the little piece of straw in my palm before he walked away. Lucas moved differently than when we first met. There was a confidence, a swagger almost, that hadn’t been there before.

I looked down in my hand at his gift. He had twisted the straw into a perfect flower. I tucked it quickly into my pocket before Phin saw and turned my head to hide the blush on my cheeks. Lucas was going to kiss me tonight if I could talk Rose into letting me go.

Rose was fussing
over her herbs when Phin and I got home that afternoon. She studied the little glass jars over half rimmed reading glasses and jotted down notes after each inspection.

“There you two are. I’m glad you’re home early. I need your help tonight.” She tucked her chin so that she could see me over the top of her glasses.

“Sure, what’s up?” I grabbed an apple and took a big bite.

“It’s the full moon. Time to harvest my herbs!” Her giddiness reminded me of April.

“You mean in the garden? Can’t we just do that now?” I had planned to ask for permission to go to the cliffs with Lucas.

“No, silly. I need to get the wild herbs tonight. They are the most potent when picked during the full moon and much easier to find growing in the bright moonlight. There’s a bunch of evening primrose I’ve seen growing along the road to the cliffs. The best time to catch it in bloom will be tonight.”

“The cliffs over by Banshee Pointe?” That sounded interesting.

“Yep.” Rose made another note on her list, thinking my sudden excitement was about helping her.

“Cool. Count me in.” I was sure in a town this small I would bump into Lucas’ group somewhere in the night. “But, Rose?” I turned back to her with sarcastic concern widening my eyes as I headed upstairs with apple in hand. “Aren’t you scared of running into your
Fairy People
?” I whispered the word for dramatic effect, poking fun at her crazy beliefs. She immediately dropped her pen and pressed her finger to her lips with an incredulous look, as if I was in danger of waking a sleeping dragon.

“We simply don’t talk to beautiful strangers in the moonlight, Faye,” she answered as if she were repeating the cardinal rule of midnight herb picking. “And I warned you about the f-word. So don’t blame your bad luck on me!” She finished with a saucy shake of her head that made me giggle all the way to my room.

I had to admit I was kind of excited about our adventure. I had certainly never done anything like this before. As the sun sank behind the darkness of the ocean’s horizon, a moon, larger than any I had ever seen, began to rise in the eastern sky. It hung low, casting a glow over the earth. The usual shadows that played on the surface of the moon were gone. It shone, bright white, silver almost, in contrast to the black sky around it, hiding all the stars with its milky brilliance as well.

A little group of women gathered in Rose and Phin’s front yard, woven baskets and scissors in hand. The women peppered Rose with questions, and she proved to be a patient and diligent teacher.

Someone tugged on my basket and I turned to see April smiling at me.

“You didn’t think I’d let you have all the fun?” She said. “You know the boys are going to climb Banshee Pointe tonight,” she whispered in my ear as she looped her arm through mine.

“I know,” I said under my breath and returned her excited smile.

Mary was there. Rose had insisted her best friend come along, thinking it might get her mind off Christine’s disappearance. I saw her staring at April and me from across the little group with an aching look in her eyes. Guilt punched me squarely in the gut. I managed a weak smile. Mary returned the sweetest smile, the same smile I had seen on Christine’s face the night she disappeared. Mary didn’t know it was my fault her daughter was gone, that I could have kept it from happening. I shook the thought away.

April reached out for my hand, and the moment she touched me, my vision went black and white and the world ceased to exist around me. I stumbled over my own feet and crashed, face first, onto the dirt road.

“Faye! Are you okay?” April’s voice seemed to be millions of miles away, though her hand still held my arm.

My tunnel vision focused on April, sitting in a booth at the tavern, the sting of betrayal wrinkling her face. I knew I was the one who had hurt her.

“What did I do?” I whispered, tears springing into my eyes, and my chest constricting with grief. I couldn’t imagine doing anything to April to hurt her so. But seeing her in that vision, I knew I would.

“You tripped. Are you okay?” April’s hands hooked under my arms and hauled me to my feet, snapping me out of my vision. She stared at me, in full color, the light from Rose’s porch bouncing off her hair.

I nodded my head, wiping at the tears that had fallen.

“Are you hurt?” April asked, full of concern over my tears. I shook my head.

“I’m fine. Just a little clumsy.” I answered, and linked my arm back with hers, scrambling to appear normal despite the vision wreaking havoc on my insides. I wasn’t sure what bothered me more—the fact that my visions had just found a way into my consciousness while I was awake, or that now I knew I would do something horrible enough to hurt my only friend. The thoughts consumed me all the way down the road. I held her arm tightly in the crook of my elbow, and promised myself that vision would never come true.

When we arrived at the field below the cliffs the moonshine on the tall grass turned it from green to silver. It swayed in a gentle breeze, just begging for me to run through it. But my heart was too heavy for such things. April was beyond excited, practically levitating at my side, my elbow the only thing keeping her on the ground. Looking at her, I knew I’d never hurt her. So I pushed the vision away and smiled at her silliness. I had no experience with waking visions. It might never come true.

Rose smiled, seeing how excited we both were and handed us lists with pictures attached.

“These should be easy to find. This typically grows on the north face of a rock, and this one likes to be in the shade, so look under bushes,” she pointed to the list as she instructed.

“Um, what about snakes?” I didn’t like the thought of poking my hand into dark places.

“Hello? You’re in
Ireland
?! St. Patrick, remember? No snakes,” she shook her head.

“Duh!” April couldn’t resist joining in.

“Okay, okay. I believe you.” I threw up my hands in fake surrender and started off through the grass. St. Patrick, really? I wondered if the Abominable Snowman would be joining us tonight as well.

Violets were first on my list. I found a patch growing near the base of an old tree trunk. The purple and white faces basked in the moonlight like sunbathers on a beach. They looked so lovely I hated to pick them. “Sorry guys,” I apologized before I dropped them in my basket.

Comfrey was next on Rose’s hand-written list, the herb she said grew on rocks. I searched through the field trying to find a stony surface. Finally locating a small out cropping of stones, I began to search for something that looked like the picture. Lucas had been right. You could see just like the daytime.

I was almost to the top of the hill when I spotted a nice big rock that looked like it would make a perfect resting spot. The moon danced in perfect harmony with Mother Nature all around me, as I took in the beauty of the night. The silhouettes of the women, bending and stooping to find their herbs dotted the field below. They called to one another, asking questions about the best way to clip chamomile and what color of violet made the best tea.

A shout echoed from the other side of the cliff, and I knew it must be Lucas’ group. I turned my head and strained to see into the shadow of the cliff, but the moon’s light was far too bright for that.

“Comfrey.” Rose appeared beside me, holding a simple looking little leaf. “Isn’t it beautiful out here?” She sat down and we looked at the silver field that swayed down the hill.

“Yeah.” I took the little leaf, held it to my nose, and quickly pulled it away. It smelled like dirty socks. “So, which one is Banshee Pointe?”

“That’s right. You’ve never seen it. Come on,” Rose grabbed my hand and began to lead me further up the hill.

“So legend has it that many years ago, maybe even before Clonlea was built, a beautiful woman threw herself from these cliffs after she heard her lover had been killed at war.”

“Which war?”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s not an important part of the story,” Rose stepped delicately around the rocks at the top of the hill. “Her lover returned from the war, having been mistaken for his twin brother who was actually killed. When he learned that his fiancé had jumped over the cliffs, he would come here every night, begging for her to return to him. One full moon he disappeared, never to be seen again.”

“Um, I think I’ve read that story somewhere else?”

“No, it’s the Banshee story of Clonlea. Anyway, quit ruining it. I’m trying really hard to scare you right now and you are not cooperating,” Rose said with sarcastic annoyance. “Anyway, if you sit here on a full moon, you can hear the two lovers call to one another, crying out for their lost love,” she ended with a dramatic note. “Besides the story, it’s really beautiful on a full moon.”

We stood silently against the ocean’s breeze when we crested the hill and met the breathtaking view. Banshee Pointe was actually a cliff, hundreds of feet above the sea. The waves crashed loudly onto the rocks below us, hidden in the cliff’s shadow to everyone who wasn’t brave enough to risk their life stepping out to the edge.

In front of us, the ocean ran out as far as the eye could see, an ebony sheet racing out to meet an onyx sky. They merged together somewhere in the darkness, further away than I could see. The black of the sea was tipped with thousands of little white crests as the moon reflected on the waves bouncing back and forth along the tide. It looked like the stars had fallen from the sky and landed on the vast ocean surface, the waves blinking as they danced like millions of supernovas from far away galaxies. It was a glorious sight.