Astray

by J F Rogers

  Declan’s arm grazed mine as we walked. Warmth emanated from the spot and radiated throughout my body. He bent to whisper in my ear, sending a tingle down my neck. “I love this time of year because we eat outside instead of in the dining hall.”

  Strangers watched as we neared. My grandmother approached. Her cheeks held a tinge of pink, and her eyes sparkled. “My most sincere apologies for dismissing you prematurely, child.” She planted a kiss upon my cheek. “I’ve been ill of late.”

  The kiss lingered, sticky. I fought the urge to wipe it away. I hadn’t been kissed since I was seven—before Bumpah died.

  Mirna faced the crowd and cleared her throat. Oh no. Here comes an announcement. Why did I suspect it had something to do with me? If only I could shrink into a water molecule and evaporate into the air.

  “Everyone!” Her voice cracked, straining for volume. “Please welcome my long-awaited granddaughter, Fallon!”

  The three hundred or so people present cheered. Many rushed to greet me. Some grabbed my arm; others hugged. All tossed their names at me, which I promptly forgot. But their eyes struck me—brilliant greens, blues, or purples, ranging in lightness and depth.

  For the first time, I sympathized with celebrities swarmed by adoring fans. Hands with no sense of appropriate boundaries groped at me. The air seemed cut off. My head swam. I searched the faces for Declan.

  “Fallon, come, let’s eat.” Declan spoke louder than normal.

  I turned toward his voice. Relief washed over me when he grasped my hand.

  My admirers took the hint. Unlike star-crazed fans, the crowd respectfully withdrew.

  I took a deep breath.

  Once disentangled, we moved to the tables. Declan had become my lifeline, and I held on. He led me to a seat at the table and let go of my hand before sitting next to me. My hand already missed his.

  The places were set with gorgeous stoneware—shiny, gray with black specks, hand-painted in intricate blue and green patterns. I touched one smooth surface. “This is amazing.”

  Mirna sat in the empty seat beside me. “We are known throughout Ariboslia for our pottery.” She glanced about as others settled into their seats.

  I gaped at the presentation on the table before me: platters of roasted meats, baskets of breads, trays of cheeses, tureens of soups, piles of baked potatoes, and tubs of leafy salads. When Mirna handed me one of the latter, it was so heavy I almost dropped it. I hurried to put some on my plate, pass it, and take the next bowl from her.

  Once my plate overflowed, I grabbed a fork, about to dig in. It grew silent. Uncertain, I surveyed the crowd. They clasped their hands together, bowed their heads, and closed their eyes. I didn’t know what to do. I bowed too, taking quick peeks at Declan and Mirna, waiting for movement. When they lifted their heads and picked up utensils, I did the same.

  Silverware clinked against stoneware, and individual conversations converged into a monotonous hum.

  Mirna sliced some soft cheese, spread it on a piece of bread, and handed it to me. “Try this.”

  The bread crust crackled and flaked in my hand. The inside was still warm and soft. I took a bite. “Oh. This is amazing.” The bread didn’t have much flavor on its own. Paired with the nutty, salty cheese, it was an entirely new experience. A party of flavors danced in my mouth.

  “We are known for our cheeses too.” She smiled as I relished the taste.

  Declan leaned in to talk over the din. “’Tis unusual to have this much food all at once.” The way he gazed at me as he smiled made my skin tingle. “We’re celebrating your arrival.”

  “Why?”

  He laughed. “We’ve waited a long time.”

  “Waited…for me? Why?”

  The smile fell. He cast his gaze downward and shifted in his seat. “Well, because you’re family.”

  “That’s all?”

  He muttered and nodded without meeting my gaze. He was hiding something, but I didn’t press him. I probably wouldn’t like the answer.

  After dinner, men lit a bonfire a few feet from the tent. Musicians played drums and wooden flutes, while others sang and danced. A chaos of people milled about, tons of kids and animals. An occasional sheep, pig, dog, chicken, or duck ambled past. One goat in particular kept following me, rubbing its head against my leg.

  Declan laughed. “I’ve never seen her do that to anyone before.”

  “There are so many animals. How do you know which ones are animals and which are those shape-shifter people? What are they called again?”

  “Gachen. In this village, we know everyone, including the animals. She’s a goat, nothing more.”

  “So, outside the village you wouldn’t know?”

  He shook his head. “But most gachen prefer their human form. Except the selkie.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A shape-shifter like us. But they change into seal form. Or they would say they are seals who change into human form. They prefer to remain in the ocean as seals. But they do have underwater cities where they live in human form.”

  “Whoa, like Atlantis?”

  Declan cocked his head and scrunched his eyebrows at me.

  “Oh, right.” I waved my hand. “Forgot where I was. Never mind.”

  The fire grew. Wood popped, sending sparks flying. Shadows bounced with the leaping flames. Haunting melodies from the flutes wafted through the air, intermingling with the tribal beats of the drums, sending shivers up my spine. Cael of all ages danced hand-in-hand in a circle, laughing and singing, sometimes tripping and falling down.

  Talk about culture shock—shape-shifters, underwater cities, vampires, amulets…but more: family. Family I never knew, and people who seemed truly happy. Which concept most boggled my mind? All ideas were equally bizarre.

  Declan ushered me toward a group of people sitting on a grassy hill out of the dancers’ way. One girl saw us approach and motioned for her friends to push aside. “Fallon. Declan. Won’t you sit with us?” She patted the ground beside her.

  I searched Declan for confirmation. He nodded.

  Once we’d seated ourselves, the girl who’d spoken placed her hand over her heart. “I’m called Ryann.” She pointed to the others, introducing them. I only caught two names: Shonna, the girl with long, red hair, sitting on the other side of Ryann, and Garvey, the boy who’d moved over for us. “So, Fallon, what do you think of our little village?”

  What did I think? I couldn’t pull together a comprehensive thought, but I had to say something. “It’s nice.”

  “Nice? Well it is that, I suppose.” She laughed, brushing away loose strands of golden hair from her face, tossing a chunk of long locks over her shoulder. “Has Declan here been a good host?” Ryann nudged him with her elbow.

  The way she teased made me wonder if they were an item. “Yeah,” I answered, checking Declan for his response.

  “Was there any doubt?” He was hard to read, but he didn’t seem to be into her.

  “Do you really want us to answer?” Garvey punched him in the shoulder. Declan slugged him back.

  Ryann shook her head at them. “So, Fallon, how much do you know about our world?”

  “Um. Not much. I know you’re gachen. This is Notirr. I have an inhuman grandmother who’s still alive. That’s about it.” Then I remembered Drochaid and the fasgadair. What else had my overwrought mind forgotten?

  Ryann’s jaw dropped. “That’s all? Do you know about the other people in our land?”

  “The fasgadair.” I tried to recall what else Declan had told me. “Declan mentioned something about pech.” What was the other one? “Oh yeah, and selkie.”

  “How much do you know about selkie?”

  “They turn into seals and live underwater.” I turned to Declan. “Right?”

  He nodded.

  Ryann swatted Declan’s arm. “You didn’t warn her?”

  “Warn me about what?”

  Declan groaned. �
�Chances are she’ll never see one. Have you?”

  “Nay. But our elders raised us with the stories. They knew the importance of being prepared. Don’t you think she should be prepared? What if she saw one?” Ryann asked.

  “If you think she should know, go ahead, tell her.” Declan’s hand swept the air as if giving it all to Ryann.

  “I’ll tell her.” Garvey scooted forward to see me past Declan. With his baby face, he appeared a bit younger than the others. “The selkie prefer their aquatic underworld to land. So, as Declan said, you’ll probably never see one. They emerge from time to time, in human form. But there’s one problem.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Selkie are like magnets, and we,” he leaned forward, his eyes bulging so his wavy blond hair nearly fell into them, “are metal.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When they come in contact with one of us, we drop everything to be with them.” He shook his head. “We remain under their power until the selkie returns to the sea.”

  “Which they probably will eventually.” Shonna moved closer. She, too, appeared younger, but older than Garvey. “Gachen who’d gone missing decades before have returned brokenhearted. We’ve seen it, haven’t we?”

  The others nodded.

  Garvey cleared his throat. “The selkie don’t intend to cause us harm. Their elders try to keep the young with wanderlust at home. But it doesn’t always work.”

  “So I’d never want to go home again if I saw one?” I’d never see Stacy again? What must she think has happened to me? I had to return, if only to calm her fears.

  Declan laid a gentle hand on my arm. “Not to worry. It rarely happens.”

  His touch sent warm shivers up my arm. And his eyes. So full of concern.

  “But the power the selkie have over us differs from the fasgadair.” Garvey’s voice grew louder, stealing my attention from Declan.

  Declan pulled his hand away, and I tried to focus on Garvey.

  “Did Declan tell you that? The power the fasgadair have?” Garvey asked.

  “The power to drain all my blood, you mean?” I half chuckled.

  Garvey shook his head at Declan. “You dunderhead. What did you spend all afternoon talking about?” He faced me. “This you definitely need to know. The fasgadair have the power of suggestion. They can make us do their bidding. But it’s something those with the aid of the One True God can easily overcome. God can give us strength to overcome the selkie’s power, too. The problem is, most gachen won’t even ask. Their desire to remain with the selkie runs too deep to reach out for help.”

  I ran my fingers across the grass tips. “Well that’s depressing.”

  “Aye,” Shonna agreed. “But it’s important that you know. The selkie are the reason Ariboslia is in peril.”

  “That’s not entirely true, Shonna.” Ryann placed her hand on Shonna’s shoulder.

  Now I was thoroughly confused. “I thought the fasgadair were the problem.”

  “They are.” Declan leaned back on his hands, making his triceps bulge. “But the selkie played a part in why they’re here.”

  “I’ll tell her.” Garvey hit the crook of Declan’s elbow. Declan caught himself from falling. He sat up and swung his fist toward Garvey’s jaw. Garvey flinched. Declan stopped short, smiled, and gave Garvey’s cheek a gentle pat.

  “Boys…boys.” Ryann shook her head.

  “Anyway.” Garvey straightened. “Ariboslia has twelve gachen clans. At one time, we were all united. All twelve clans were part of the co-cheangail, the committee of United Clans. But the northernmost clan, the Ain-Dìleas, turned their back on God. Worshiping false gods, delving into dark arts.”

  Shonna clicked her tongue. “Not good.”

  “Nay.” Garvey agreed. “The other clans couldn’t unite themselves with such evil. They had to sever alliances. Dissent arose among the clans. Some remained loyal to God. Others thought it was more important to remain united, no matter the cost. The co-cheangail fell apart, and clans waged war against each other.”

  “That’s when the Ain-Dìleas purchased the zpět,” Shonna added.

  “What’s the zpět?” All these foreign words were losing me.

  “An amulet forged by a dark pech called Miloslsv,” Declan said.

  “Like Drochaid?” I asked.

  “Nay.” Garvey threw Declan a look as if to say ‘I’m telling the story’. “Drochaid is an amulet forged by a pech. Their beliefs are wrong, but they don’t practice dark arts. The zpět contained the darkest of unholy powers—the ability to resurrect the dead.”

  A breeze swept through, and sparks flew toward us. An owl hooted.

  “The clans still in God’s favor formed a union called the Ionraic. The Ionraic feared the Ain-Dìleas would invoke the powers of the zpět to resurrect those they’d lost in the clan wars. They sent Cairbre, a gachen warrior, to destroy the zpět. Cairbre was a fearless leader, and cunning. He avoided the seas since the Ain-Dìleas heavily protect the coast. Instead, he planned to sneak up from behind by braving the treacherous Cnatan Mountains. But it is thought that dark powers sabotaged his quest. His men died. All of them. Some fell from steep cliffs. Others starved. Many froze in unseasonably severe weather. Cairbre was the only survivor.”

  “And here’s where the selkie comes in,” Shonna added.

  “Aye. On his way to the village, he came upon a selkie named Deirdra—”

  “Keep in mind,” Ryann cut Garvey off, “this was before any of us, the gachen or the selkie, fully understood the power they have over us.”

  “Yeah…yeah. She fell in love.” Garvey groaned.

  Was the story over? “What happened?”

  “Have you been listening to what we’ve told you?” Shonna asked. “Nothing. Cairbre stayed with Deirdra. He was so close to the zpět but never bothered going after it. He stayed under her spell.”

  “How do you know it was a spell?” I asked. “Maybe he was in love with her.”

  “Maybe he was.” Ryann nodded. “We can’t know. We do know this—many a poem and song reflect their immeasurable feelings for one another. Her love overshadowed the power of the sea she longed to return to. Perhaps it was meant to be. Perhaps God willed it to be so. His ways are a mystery. Deirdra never returned to the sea, and Cairbre never fulfilled his mission.”

  “And the Ain-Dìleas resurrected Morrigan.” Garvey shook his head.

  “That’s how we know there’s something unnatural between us and the selkie. A curse, perhaps.” Declan sounded disgusted. “Who in their right mind would give up such an important mission for a woman?”

  “True.” Ryann sighed. “Because Cairbre failed to destroy the zpět, the first fasgadair entered our world. Many lives have been lost. Many have been enslaved. And many have become one of them. But,” her voice brightened, “with the fasgadair as a common enemy, the remaining free clans of Ariboslia have returned to the co-cheangail. There is hope.”

  I squirmed. It didn’t sound hopeful. To allow such evil into the world because you can’t take your eyes off a girl—ridiculous.

  “Did Declan tell you about the Bogle?” Garvey grinned.

  “Shut your gob, Garvey. Don’t you think the girl has had enough for one night?”

  “What’s a Bogle?” How many more creatures did I need to fear?

  Garvey scrunched his face, curved his fingers to appear like claws next to his head. “It’s a monster who snatches those who misbehave.” He dropped his hands and chuckled. “It’s not real—just a story we tell little ones to make them obey.”

  “Sounds like the bogeyman.” If anyone heard me, they didn’t respond.

  “Speaking of the Bogle and making kids obey,” Ryann stood and smoothed out her dress, “it’s time to round them up and get them to bed.”

  Shonna jumped up. “I’ll help.”

  The crowd dispersed. Declan rose and reached out a hand to me. “Come. I’ll bring you back
to Mirna.”

  I took his hand. The moment my fingers touched his, a tingle shot up my arm. Heat rose to my face. The faint echo of the sensation remained after I released his hand. I turned and walked back toward the homes, hoping I headed in the right direction.

  Behind me, Declan grasped my elbow and directed me to the right. “This way.” He chuckled. “I hope those stories didn’t overwhelm you.”

  I viewed him askance. “Is all this true? The selkie. Cairbre. All of it?”

  He nodded.

  “What about the Bogle?”

  He laughed. “Naw. That’s just to scare kids.”

  “Is there anything else I should know?”

  “I think the fasgadair are our biggest concern at the moment.”

  Chapter Ten

  ◊◊◊

  HAMMERING WOKE ME. I groaned. The knocking increased, pulling me into reality. “What?”

  Mirna opened the door, spilling light into the room. Like a creature of the night, I recoiled from the brightness as she deposited clothes at my feet and picked up the clothing I’d left on the floor. Oops.

  “Please get dressed and come out.” She lit the lantern by my bed. “I’m going to take you to see Sully.” She retreated and began to close the door behind her.

  I rubbed my eyes. “Wait. Who’s Sully?”

  Mirna poked her head back inside. “Sully is a seer.”

  “A seer? What’s that?”

  “He has the gift to see things most of us cannot, like the future.” Mirna attempted to duck out and close the door again.

  “Whoa. Is he, like, a fortune teller?” I propped myself up on an elbow.

  “Nay.” Her face reappeared, a faint smile playing on her lips. “I’ll be outside.” She closed the door before I could utter another word.

  Reluctant to leave the bed’s coziness, but eager to bask in the glow of Declan’s gorgeousness, I slid out like a slug and dressed. Perhaps, after the visit with the seer guy, I’d get to see him.