The Maebown

  I cackled and fought for air. “Ronnie…don’t make me laugh.”

  “Oh, forgot. Sorry, Mags.”

  When I managed a bit of composure, I added, “I’m not sure who they dislike more, each other or us.”

  “I sorta get why they don’t like us, but why hate each other?” Ronnie shook his head. “They’re so similar. Except for Billy, Gavin, and Sara, they all talk exactly alike. They’re all hot, well, except for Bastien.”

  Candace nodded. “Yeah, he seems above it all. I really like that about him.”

  “Me, too,” I said. “But I don’t know their history that well. Sara was always really vague and Billy never talked about it—he was Kobold, you know.”

  “If you could answer that, you could probably tell us why people hate one another,” Candace said. “Their reasons are probably as asinine as ours.”

  Ronnie exhaled, “Well, true enough. But the Fae seem more similar to one another than even my brother and me. They wear different robes, sure, but all the Sidhe are life-sized Barbie and Ken dolls, the Kobold clan looks like a frat party, and the Ohanzee all look like freakin’ Native American supermodels. I feel like I’m at a fashion show where all the models showed up wearing one of three things.”

  I nodded, “I know, seeing them together…it doesn’t make sense.”

  “So, how are you going to fix it?”

  Candace’s question was a good one, and for the time being, I didn’t have an answer.

  “If I’m going to figure that out, I need to practice reining in my emotions. They need to be able to trust me. Dana’s right about me, you know. Right now I’m a loose cannon.”

  Candace raised her eyebrows. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’ve never seen you act like that before.”

  “I know. It embarrasses me, and of course, because of the Aether, I’m mortified. It’s so frustrating.”

  “Yeah, Mags, you humiliated Dana. I thought you might punch her for a minute,” he said.

  Sweat ran down the small of my back and I groaned. Dana was keeping an eye on me. I didn’t like her, or trust her, but I did regret making her look weak in front of the Sidhe. My gut told me it was a mistake. Where was my little voice when I needed it?

  Rain trickled in rivulets down my barrier. We stood in the same place until darkness settled on the countryside. Gavin, Sara, and Sherman joined us, but the rest of the Fae stayed frozen in place like so many statues.

  “Where are we sleeping tonight?”

  I looked at Ronnie and shrugged shoulders. “I haven’t thought about it.”

  Sara cupped my shoulder in her thin but steely fingers. “We have a cottage not far from Knoc Aine—where we met last time. The three of us will stay with you when the elders are done.”

  Candace glanced over at Bastien, Dana, Caorann, and Volimar, as they talked to Tse-xo-be, Sinopa, and Victoria. “What are they doing?”

  “Trying to settle nerves, I’d imagine,” Gavin said, pulling me to him.

  His simple gesture, innocuous to human eyes, caught the attention of every Fae on the field. I turned the Air to Clóca and growled, upset that a simple display caught so much attention. The looks of disdain they had for him cut me to the core. None of the Fae focused on me. They were judging Gavin—judging him as something less than he was for loving me. Fury momentarily gripped my body, but once again he ignored them and worked on soothing my nerves. They didn’t understand us, but that didn’t matter to him.

  The intense emotion disappeared when I noticed Sherman. Like a child, he poked his finger at the thin film of energy that hid us from the disdainful looks. “Remarkable substance. Truly remarkable.”

  “Sherman, you’re quite old for a Fae and you were a Seelie elder—“

  Sherman cut Candace off. “You’re undoubtedly wondering why I am not included in with the rest of the elders?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, what you are witnessing is nearly unprecedented among my kind. Not since the Parlay at Salastrau, some sixty-two hundred years ago, have so many elders gathered in one place.”

  “That was before the first Fae war, wasn’t it?” I asked.

  “Yes, that was before we—and by we I mean the Seelie Clan—forced the Ohanzee out of the Weald. Even that meeting wasn’t as important, as Bastien did not attend. The truth? I’m young compared to them.”

  Sherman’s words sent a chill down my spine.

  “Gathered over there by Lough Gur—”

  Candace gasped, divining some meaning in the name Lough Gur that was lost on me.

  “Yes,” Sherman acknowledged Candace, “gathered across this field are five of the ten oldest beings on the planet. Bastien and Tse-xo-be were the first two of our kind. Dana was the fifth, Caorann the ninth, and Sinopa the tenth. The Fae do not have rock stars or actors like humans, but we do have icons. This night will be remembered in our history—so long as we survive.”

  “I wish I knew what they were talking about,” I said.

  Candace shot me a knowing look.

  “That cat’s out of the bag. If I closed my eyes and projected, they’d know. Volimar has been watching me.”

  “At the moment, they are talking about you and Gavin—old prejudices die hard, I’m afraid,” Sherman said.

  It was dark to human eyes, but not to Fae. Sherman put his hand on my shoulder. “I’ve heard every word, well, after you dropped that remarkable Air screen. They are speaking softly, Maggie, but they intend for us to listen…Caorann is trying to convince the others that there is no danger…Volimar is concerned about Caorann’s state of mind, and she’s telling him to be patient for…Oh…impossible…” Sherman’s voice trailed off in disbelief.

  I felt Sara turn just before she grabbed my hand and pulled it to her chest, cupping it in both of hers. After a sharp breath, she muttered, “I was right…”

  “Maggie, drop the barrier, you’ll want to experience this without…” Gavin’s voice cracked, and he stopped mid-sentence.

  “What?” I asked.

  Each of them turned and stared at a small billowing shape in the trees just beyond the stone ring. I dropped the barrier and let the damp, cool Irish air come rushing in. The Ohanzee parted, their faces reflecting the silvery white light of the energy as the ghostly shape passed between them. It appeared to be an oval of shimmering, translucent light from a distance. As it drew closer, the opalescent quality became more visible, and I could just make out the shape of a person.

  Sara struggled for breath, sobbing quietly at my side, and muttered, “Astonishing,” over and over.

  She wasn’t alone. All the Fae seemed captivated—awestruck. It was as if they were seeing something in the physical world for the first time. The being glided past us and I knew it had to be Fae, but what I felt was not Fae. The soft, radiant energy caressed my naked skin with warm, delicate effervescence. Face, shoulders, legs, it looked like a young man, and drew energy from Caorann. She was not casting energy—I could feel it clearly, and so could the Fae. It…he…was drawing it from her. I knew the energy, but had never felt it like this before. It was Aether and something else.

  Tears blurred my vision when I recognized the presence I’d felt in the woods. It was Ádhamh. Like a breeze softly blowing through leaves, every Sidhe whispered his name. At the lake edge, he stopped and Caorann turned to him. The Fae drew close, clans intermingling.

  “You see, my kin, I have not deceived you and I am not mad,” Caorann said just above a whisper.

  Tears fell from Gavin’s eyes, his breath uneven. I leaned into his chest, wiping my eyes. Caorann dissolved into her natural form, and gradually materialized into the same silvery-white essence, a combination of her and Aether. Their sublime fingers interlocked, and the reflection glimmered across the surface of the black lake. They were the same.

  FIVE

  OPENING SHOTS

  The aftermath of seeing Ádhamh and Caorann would have a lasting effect on Gavin and me. I knew that much. And I knew it had a profound i
mpact on the Fae, like Sara and Sherman, who already felt a strong connection to humans, but it didn’t impact the rest of the Fae as much as I’d hoped, or assumed. By virtue of their immortality, I hoped the Fae as a species were endowed with more wisdom than people were. Wishful thinking.

  Sherman and Sara escorted our little party away from Lough Gur a few minutes after Ádhamh stopped channeling Aether and disappeared from their senses. I say their senses, because while imperceptible to the Fae, I felt his essence linger at Caorann’s side before fading like Aunt May always did. Vanna, the Kolbold elder who seemed the least open to opposing Ozara, was among the few who seemed moved by the experience. Volimar, her superior, was not. A few minutes before we left, Volimar challenged Caorann.

  “I do not question the authenticity of what I just felt, but I must ask, where are the billions of humans who died before him?”

  Caorann informed him that she had felt and, on occasion, communicated with others.

  “How many?”

  “Only a few remain here. Where the rest go, I do not know. They pass into another form, I suspect. One that is unrecognizable to me.”

  “Or their consciousness simply disintegrates,” he countered.

  Bastien laughed at him. “You mean, Volimar, like we have always assumed? A rather illogical argument, since we now know that assumption to be incorrect?”

  “Do we? Ádhamh might simply be an anomaly among their kind, or even, if you will forgive me, Caorann, an echo manifested by her ability with Aether. The apparition is gone now,” Volimar said, smiling like he’d said something profound.

  “I still sense him,” I said.

  Each of them turned to me.

  “He is still at Caorann’s side, and he’s as real to me as you are. Not believing in something because you can’t see or feel it—well, it’s a very human response. After all, most of my kind think you are nothing more than the figment of an overactive imagination. I am unique among humans because I can sense you in Naeshura, so it is easy for me to dismiss their ignorance.”

  “That is true, but unlike humans, we are Naeshura. Suggesting that a form of energy exists, let alone a consciousness, that we cannot detect—that is the product of an overactive imagination.”

  I saw the flaw in his argument and pounced. “Isn’t it just as possible your perception is more limited than Caorann’s. That, because of Aether, she is to Fae what I am to humans?”

  Volimar did not answer, but Vanna smiled at me for the first time. Txe-xo-be nodded at me, and if I understood his meaning, he was politely telling me I’d made my point.

  Whether that was his intention or not, my gut told me to shut up and leave. “I appreciate each of you for letting me speak, but since I am human and need some sleep, I would like to leave, if I have Dana’s permission. Please,” I said projecting sincerity.

  Dana seized the opportunity. “Yes, you…and Gavin, are free to stay for the time being.”

  “Thank you, Dana,” I said.

  It was too dark to see her face, but I felt her nod and then turn her back to me.

  “Shall we?” Sherman whispered to me.

  He and Sara began walking across the field as though it was bright and sunny. I combined the elements to form an orb of glowing white Lithrel and pushed it across the field as Candace, Ronnie, and I followed them with Gavin. We were on a nearby road when I heard the debate continue with new ferocity. And I thought politicians were bad.

  * * *

  The cottage was small and dark, but much nicer than the other one we’d visited at Cnoc Aine—Sean’s decrepit shelter. Sara and Sherman seemed anxious to catch up with me, but I told them I had to check on Doug. They both seemed concerned that Chalen had been stalking him in such a public way, which ratcheted my fears even higher.

  I didn’t bother to go to a separate room. Instead, I settled back on the lumpy sofa in the small living room and closed my eyes. I floated to the timber and plaster ceiling, passing through an intricate lacework of dusty cobwebs, and shot away.

  Doug’s screams registered in my mind.

  He was sprawled and nailed to a wood desk in an office, bones broken and sticking out of the muscles in his arms. Chalen stood above him, screeching something over Doug’s agonized cries.

  “I don’t know where her family is. I haven’t seen them in weeks.”

  Chalen shook in anger, his milky blue eyes bugging out of his pockmarked face. “I don’t believe you. You love her, do you not? Where is her family? Don’t make me ask again.”

  The tether ripped me back to my body in a violent slam that left me disoriented. Sherman pushed his way past my barrier and kept me from screaming. I wanted to scream. Instead, I set the room on fire.

  “Maggie, where is he?” Sherman asked.

  Sara fought the blaze as Gavin and Sherman tried to calm me down. I could still hear Doug screaming in my head, but forced the words, “His dad’s office,” out of my throat while blasting them with an image of the building on the University of Arkansas campus. Sherman transformed to Naeshura and shot toward the Seoladán at Lough Gur. He disappeared with Caorann and Tse-xo-be.

  Desperately, I tried to project. I wanted to help Doug, but I couldn’t calm down. Candace and Ronnie bolted into the room. Both looked horrified, as I screamed and fought with Gavin and Sara trying to get them off of me. I’d let Gavin into my mind, so I felt it coming. Before I could stop him, I felt a charge of energy course through my body. Then I felt nothing.

  * * *

  The first thing I felt was Caorann. Wherever I was, she was there with me. For a long time I noticed nothing else but her, and not really all of her, just the feeling that she was close. It was comfortable in that place. There was no pain there, no hot or cold either, just silky nothingness. I think I was happy with it, too. I think. I had a vague impression that I should wake and open my eyes, but that seemed like too much trouble. It was too comfortable. So I drifted away.

  * * *

  “Maggie?”

  Ah, Caorann.

  “Wake up now, Maggie.”

  My eyelids didn’t want to open and I didn’t really feel the need to force them, but she persisted, calling me gently. Each word she spoke dragged me a little closer to her. I could hear a rustling all around me; and the light was uncomfortable on my eyes, but still, they opened. Blades of tall grass danced just inches from my face, and when I concentrated, I could smell them. Reluctantly, I sat up and tried to make sense of everything.

  “Maggie,” Caorann said.

  I coughed to clear my throat. “Yeah?”

  “How do you feel?”

  I exhaled and concentrated on the obvious answer. “I’m groggy. Where are we?”

  “The hill of Cnoc Aine.”

  “How did I get up here?” I asked, after glancing over the expansive patchwork of green fields around us.

  “I carried you up a few minutes ago.”

  “I feel so disoriented.”

  “I’m going to release you and everything will clear up.”

  She pulled out of my mind and as she did my senses came rushing back in. I sensed the energy in the grass I could only see and smell a few minutes before. I felt connected to the wind that swirled in waves up the hill around us. Beyond us, there were a few people in the stucco cottages, several animals and birds, but no Fae.

  “Where is everyone?” I said, getting to my feet.

  “Maggie, do you remember what happened last?”

  My heart began to pound in my chest, and breathing became more difficult.

  “I see that you do,” She said. “I need you to follow my instructions very carefully.”

  “What happened to Doug? Is he okay? Did Gavin blast me?”

  “Soinneán? Yes, Gavin performed the soinneán on you.”

  My anger began retaking its hold on me in hot waves.

  “Do not be angry, Maggie. Had he not, you might have killed him, Sara, and your friends. The truth is, you might have killed yourself.”

 
That was hard to believe. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. You are Maebown. You cannot afford to lose your temper. Not ever again. His actions also prevented the clans from learning that you’d lost control. Right now, nothing is more important than keeping the agreement in place.”

  I concentrated on calming down and I managed to regain control. “Agreement?”

  “Yes. Tenuous, but an agreement nonetheless.”

  My breathing slowed, but I also noticed that she had not answered my question about Doug. The look on Caorann’s oval-shaped face was pleasant, but her sapphire eyes were wet.

  “It was a trap, Maggie.”

  “What do you mean?” I said, my voice much louder and higher pitched than I intended.

  “Maggie, you must calm down before I go on,” she said with just enough force to drive the point home.

  I closed my eyes and sat back down, breathing evenly. When my heart slowed, she sat in front of me and took my hands.”

  “Ozara and several Alliance guards were waiting at the Seoladán at the Weald. We knew it was a risk to use it, but it was closest to your friend, Doug.”

  I let the words drift in and out of my mind, and tried to wait patiently for her to continue.

  “Sherman went first…”

  The tone in her voice caused my heart to drop out of my chest. I tried to be strong and looked up to the sky, blinking my eyes in a futile attempt to keep the tears off my face.

  “He was gone before I emerged.”

  “Oh my god, Victoria?”

  Caorann pressed her eyelids tight and dropped her head forward. “She’s…not well. After she learned…”

  “What?”

  Caorann slowly opened her eyes, lifting her deep blue irises to my face. “She left…through the Seoladán. She hasn’t returned.”

  “You don’t expect her to, do you?” I said.

  “No.”

  The air rushed out of my lungs and I couldn’t seem to pull enough back in to replace it. “What happened?”

  “I don’t believe they were expecting me.” Her cheeks flushed pink and the muscles in her jaw clenched. “Only Ozara remained when I finished. She retreated to the west.”