by Jaclyn Weist
By the time we pulled into the shopping center, I’d figured out the basics I’d need for shopping, and a few other phrases I thought I’d need. Mom paid the driver, and we turned to face the mall. It was … wow. The Forum des Halles stood in front of us, and the hallways seemed to go on for miles.
“Um, where do we even start?” I asked.
Mom laughed. “We’ll go inside and decide when we see what they have.”
“Fair enough.” I headed inside and took in the views. The shops looked a lot the same as what I was used to, except the space was about ten times bigger. There were people everywhere. And the shops were fantastic. We had to be careful where we went so we didn’t kill our bank account, but I got some great skirts and shorts and tops. Beth would be so jealous when I got home.
We were just leaving a shop when I caught sight of Eoin. My stomach dropped. I thought I’d be rid of him for a while. Mom saw him too and quickly went the other way. Yes, we needed to get my bags back, but I wanted to wait until we were alone before we talked to him.
We hopped into another taxi, and Mom directed the drive to our hotel. She checked us in while I looked around. It was old and crowded, but it had a comfortable feel to it. We were given the key to our room and told to use the stairs because the elevator didn’t work.
I smiled at Mom and clicked the elevator button. “What do you think? Should we try it?”
Mom laughed. “Why not?”
The doors opened and we climbed inside, ignoring the protests from the receptionist. I pushed some luck into the elevator, and then tried the button to our floor. The worst that could happen was that we’d be stuck on the elevator for hours. But with my luck? The elevator kicked into gear, and we laughed again as we rose to the third floor.
Hannah and Shelby were just coming out of the room when the elevator doors opened. “Hey, how did you get that to work? We were told it’s broken,” Hannah said.
“We just decided to try it.” I picked up my bags and walked toward our room.
Brinley caught up to me. “Did you guys just get here, then?”
“Yeah, we went shopping.” I held up the bags to show them. “My luggage is still being found.”
Shelby squealed. “I want to see what you got. I mean—sorry they haven’t found your luggage yet.” She and Hannah followed us down the hall, and waited for me to set the bags down. We squeezed into the small, rundown room, and Mom walked over to her bed so she wouldn’t be in the way.
I showed the girls each piece as they commented on them. Just as I held up a shirt, I heard a pop, and Eoin showed up in a chair in the corner of the room. Mom stood up quickly.
“Megan can show you the rest later. I could really use a nap before we go find some dinner.” She headed toward the bathroom.
Hannah stood. “Dinner’s in about fifteen minutes. I’ll see you guys in a bit. I want to change really quick.” She left and Shelby followed her out, but not before I promised to let her borrow a skirt sometime.
Once the door was shut, I turned to Eoin. “So, did you find my luggage?”
“Yes. Well, kind of. I mean, I found your uniforms because the mermaids threw them away.”
“Wait—so you were telling the truth? You really did throw them in the ocean?” I asked, eyes wide. When it came down to it, I’d hoped he was joking, or wrong, or something.
“No, I didn’t. Or, well, I didn’t mean to. I was trying to get them to your house, but my powers aren’t all the way here yet. Your luggage kind of ended up in the middle.” His sheepish grin dropped when he saw the look on my face. “Hey, I tried.”
“So my clothes are going to come floating up to the top and end up on the beach, or what?”
“Oh, no. They’re down in Atlantis.” Eoin rested his feet on the stool and leaned back with his arms folded behind his head.
“Atlantis? It really exists?” I raised an eyebrow.
Mom came out of the bathroom and froze. “What?”
“Of course it exists. After everything you’ve seen, you’re going to tell me you didn’t believe in Atlantis? Where do you think all the Greek gods went when they left this place?” Eoin rolled his eyes.
My mind was blown. Like, seriously blown. I stared at him for another minute before I could say anything. “So … okay. The mermaids have my clothes. How would they even wear them?”
“They don’t always have fins. Man, Megan, you need to brush up on your mythology. Anyway, so what I was saying is, I know where your clothes are, and I’m not sure you’re going to get them back.”
“Fine. I just replaced the clothes. I just need my other stuff back. Shoes, books, stuff like that.” Mermaids had my clothes. How was this possible?
Eoin sat up. “Oh, right. I forgot that part.” He snapped his fingers, and a pile of my belongings popped onto my bed. “I would’ve brought back your bags, but I wasn’t allowed.”
“Whatever. Thanks for getting this for me.” I wanted to strangle him, but pushed down my temper. He was trying to help, even if he was just making things worse. I pulled out my uniform—relieved that I had it back—and the other clothes I’d need tomorrow and put them away. My new clothes went into drawers until we could get more suitcases.
“No problem.” He hesitated for a second. “Now will you go home?”
I sighed and sat on the bed. “Why do you want me to leave so badly?”
“There are bad things going on. Something got loose, and it got my mammy.” Big tears ran down Eoin’s face.
“What got loose?” Fear gripped me. If it was the grey man again, I was going to lose it. I could still feel his icy fingers on me.
Eoin sniffled. “Da didn’t tell me. Some dark thing is all I know.” He shivered. “Just please leave before you get taken too.”
My stomach dropped. Dark thing? I glanced over at Mom. Her eyebrows were knit together, and she bit her lip as she stared at her phone—most likely debating whether or not she could call Dad again. I didn’t just want to leave, though. I needed to be here. Eoin had only mentioned that someone had grabbed his mom. If it was the grey man … I forced myself to calm down. I needed to think. Usually it was Jared and Beth who planned things, but they weren’t here.
“Eoin, do you remember Beth?” I needed them now more than ever, and I was on the other side of the world.
“Aye.” He stood. “Want me to take you to her?”
“No!” I shouted. The last thing I needed was to end up in the Atlantic Ocean. “I need you to take her a message. And then one to your dad.”
He sank back in his seat, defeated. “What would you like me to say?”
“Tell Beth I might need her soon. Have her tell Jared. Then, when you’re done with that, tell your dad I might need him to bring them to me if things get bad.”
Eoin studied me for a moment. “You’re really not leaving, are you?”
I shook my head. “I can’t. I’m stuck here. But I need Beth and Jared, and I need my sword.”
Eoin perked up. “You have a sword?”
Mom looked over. “Eoin, is Megan in danger?”
Eoin grumbled. “We don’t know.”
“You don’t know? You try to stop me from leaving and throw my clothes in the ocean, and you don’t know?” I could’ve pulled my hair out.
“It isn’t a good time to have magic. Your luck is very similar, as Da has said before. It’s merely a precaution.”
“Okay, that’s all I wanted to know.” Mom took a deep breath, thinking. “Send those messages, and we’ll just have to be extra careful.”
Eoin nodded. “Very well.” He snapped his fingers and disappeared.
JARED
Jared looked at his watch. Megan had only been gone for a day, and it had dragged on forever. He brought the cake from the back of the bakery and handed it to the waiting customer, took the money, and counted out change without really paying attention to what he was doing.
“Here you go. Have a nice day.” He smiled and turned to grab some more cupca
kes for the display.
“Hey, wait. You gave me three extra dollars.” The woman held out the money, and Jared took it back from her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s up with me today.” He really needed to get his head back into work. Having Megan gone shouldn’t make him this flustered, but he was used to having her working next to him.
“Girl troubles?” The woman raised an eyebrow.
“What?” he asked, surprised.
She smiled. “I’ve seen you and your friend together. She’s not here now. I just …” She blushed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Jared shook his head. “No, things are good. I just … miss her.”
The woman smiled sympathetically. “Ah, summer vacation is killer on relationships. Good luck.” She walked away, and Jared chuckled to himself. That’s exactly what he needed.
He pulled out his phone to text her just as Uncle Jerry came around the corner. Jared sighed. The text would have to wait.
“Hey, I need you to grab some flour and sugar at the warehouse. Can you do that for me?”
“Of course. How much?”
“I called in the order already.” His uncle handed Jared his business credit card. “Hurry back. We have five dozen cupcakes to make for tonight’s party.”
Right. Jared’s dad always liked to start the summer off with a big party. It had been delayed because of weather and an unexpected business trip. Jared was pretty sure his dad had also planned it for when Megan would be gone. The last party she’d come to had ended with a golem crashing through the parking lot and scaring away all of the guests.
He’d been wanting to skip this one since Megan couldn’t come. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Jared pulled out his keys and ran to his truck.
He drove into Twin Falls with the music blasting. He watched the skies for dragons, like he did every time he made this trip. It’s not like he’d seen one for a few months, but it never hurt to be prepared.
Jared’s phone buzzed, and he grabbed it off the seat next to him. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“I need you to grab a couple of things before the party tonight. When do you get off work?” His mom’s voice sounded tired, something he’d noticed a lot lately.
“I’m grabbing stuff for Uncle Jerry, so I’ll need to grab them on the way home. What do you want me to pick up?”
“Oh! Great. I’ll text them so you have a list. Drive safely, okay?”
“I will.” Jared switched lanes to get around a semi.
“Also, I need you to let Uncle Jerry know I wanted two dozen cupcakes for Abby’s birthday on Sunday.”
“I’ll tell him.”
“Thank you. Bye, Jared.”
Jared shut his phone and set it back on the seat. He stopped at a stoplight and glanced over at the car next to him. He looked back at the road and then did a double take. He could’ve sworn he’d seen … no. There’s no way the driver was a leprechaun. He hadn’t seen any in months.
The warehouse was just up ahead. That’s all Jared was going to concentrate on. When he was done with that, he could text Megan to see how she was doing. She should be landing in a few hours, and he wanted her to have the text as soon as she got there.
Mark Jensen smiled and nodded when he saw Jared come into the store. “Hey, Jared. You’re missing someone.”
Jared smiled. “Megan’s gone right now. I’m here on my own.” He pulled out his wallet to find his uncle’s card.
“Ah, that’s right. She’s heading to her All-star thing. Just hope she doesn’t end up with a European boyfriend while she’s there.” Mark winked and took Jared’s card.
Jared just laughed, even though it was a sore spot for him. He wasn’t worried about her. Not really. But what if she found someone cuter, or taller, or funnier? He pushed the thought away and followed the workers out to his truck to load the supplies. When the last bag of flour was in, Jared slammed the tailgate shut and thanked the guys for helping him.
After running the errands for his mom, Jared headed back to the bakery. The place was packed, so he drove around to the back and unloaded quickly so he could help out. His uncle took the orders, and Jared filled the boxes with cakes, cupcakes, and breads.
When there was a small lull in customers, Uncle Jerry slipped into the kitchen to make the cupcakes for the party that night. Jared wiped down the counters and waited for the next customer. Beth came into the bakery and slapped her wallet down in front of her.
“Are you going crazy too?” she asked.
So he wasn't the only one. “I’m bored out of my mind. The time has passed so slowly, I think I’m seeing things. I could’ve sworn I saw a leprechaun driving through Twin Falls today.”
Beth perked up. “Really?”
“Yeah, but there’s no way, right? We got rid of them.” He took out a blueberry muffin and handed it to Beth, knowing exactly what she wanted. She ordered it every time.
She handed him some money. “Not necessarily. It’s June. Midsummer’s Eve isn’t all that far away.”
“I thought the celebration was banned.”
“Dude. We’ve fought leprechauns for the last year. I don’t think any of the creatures care.” She took a bite and chewed it thoughtfully. “Have you seen August lately?”
“Nope, not since the battle. Have you seen July?” August and July were their guardian fairies. They were annoying, but helpful to have around.
“I thought I saw her last night. It was just a flash in the sky, but it felt familiar somehow.” She took another bite, then moved when the bell over the door announced another customer.
Jared took the order, lost in what Beth had just said. The fairies were back? They hadn’t been around since January when they’d fought O’Malley. He wondered if April had been able to find Megan. He handed off the bread and waited for the customer to leave before turning back to Beth.
“So what does it mean?” He wanted it to be an adventure. Normal life was boring.
“I don’t know. It’s not like July to just leave without saying anything.” She shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe it wasn’t her.”
“Maybe.” He wasn’t going to give up hope, though. This was the most action they’d seen for months. “Are you coming to the party tonight?”
She sighed. “I guess so. There’s nothing better to do.”
Jared laughed. That’s exactly how he felt about it. “Well, I hope you do. I need someone to hang out with.”
“Me too. Adam’s too busy babysitting. I’ll meet you there?” Beth grabbed her wallet.
“Sounds great. See you there.” He watched her leave and then headed back to find Uncle Jerry. It was closing time.
“There you are. Why don’t you take over while I close out the register?” Jerry handed him the frosting tube.
“Okay.” Jared checked the other cupcakes so he’d know what to do and started making more. The menial task of adding his dad’s business logo to each cupcake was just what Jared needed. He could do it without concentrating too hard. He’d seen the logo for as long as he could remember. As he worked, what Beth had said stuck with him. He wanted so much to believe that the fairies were back.
He was almost done with the last cupcake when he heard a popping sound. He jumped, messing up the logo, but he didn’t care.
Standing in the center of the kitchen was a leprechaun Jared had never seen before, but who looked familiar somehow.
“Hello. Are you Jared?” the leprechaun asked.
Jared nodded. His eyes flicked toward the front of the store in alarm. He didn’t want his uncle coming in right then, even if he couldn’t see the leprechaun. He’d wonder who Jared was talking to, and that would be hard to explain.
“Megan wanted me to give you a message. Bad things are happening. People are missing, including my ma, and I’m worried about Da.” His eyes filled with tears.
“Da?” Wait. That red hair, and those eyes … he had to be Louie’s son.
“Did you say some
thing?” Uncle Jerry asked, peeking around the corner.
“What? Oh. No. I mean, I’m done. That’s what I meant to say. I’m just finishing this last one.”
“Okay, great. You can go then, and I’ll head over to the center to drop them off.”
“Awesome.” Jared turned his back on the leprechaun and quickly fixed the logo, then washed his hands. He didn’t want his uncle asking any more questions, so he gestured for the leprechaun to follow him outside.
When he got to his truck, the leprechaun appeared inside. Jared started the engine and left the parking lot. “Okay, talk.”
“I realize you probably don’t know me. I’m Eoin, Louie’s son.”
Jared nodded. “That’s what I thought. Your parents are gone? Again?” Beth and Adam had just saved them not long before. They didn’t stay saved for very long. “Was it O’Malley?”
Eoin shook his head. “No, O’Malley won’t be coming back any time soon.”
“Good. So, what’s going on?”
“We don’t know, but something wants Megan. I tried to get her to come home, but she wouldn’t.”
Jared gripped the steering wheel tighter. Megan was in trouble? His mind immediately began making plans for how to get to Europe.
“I can’t take you.” Eoin's voice was sad.
Jared sighed. That’s exactly what he’d been planning. “What do you mean? You’re a leprechaun, right?”
Eoin glowered. “I’m also five months old. I’m still getting my powers under control. It took me a few jumps to get here. I’m still cleaning water out of my ears from the Great Lakes.”
“Oh. Right. Maybe you could do that with me and Beth? Just take us there a little at a time?”