by Jaclyn Weist
The rain hadn’t let up at all by the time we got to the airport. The employees helped us grab our stuff as we ran inside. Water dripped off our jackets and bags as we walked toward security. Once everything was checked and we were inside the airport, we found a place to sit until it was time to board.
Eoin showed up and stood in line with me as we waited to climb onto the plane. The rain had finally calmed down to a light drizzle, and the sun peeked through the clouds every few minutes.
“Was that you?” he asked, pointing out the window.
I nodded, but didn’t say anything. I didn’t know if he was invisible, and I didn’t want to be seen talking to myself. But I was dying to know how things had gone with the other leprechauns.
“Thought so. Next time, don’t use so much power. You drenched the whole forest.” He cackled and moved forward in line.
If it was always going to go crazy like this, playing with the weather was something I definitely didn’t ever want to do again. I just hoped everyone was okay.
Once we were seated by the gate, I leaned over to Eoin.
“Did you meet anyone?” I whispered.
Eoin smiled. “Yes. I met some cousins, and my aunt and uncle. They’re having me over for dinner after we get you home safely.”
“That’s great. But they don’t know where your parents are?”
“No.” He frowned. “But they know something’s wrong. The darkness went through the village a few days ago. It took a few people.”
I didn’t like that thought at all. “I’m sorry.”
“You said you’d save them. You will, right?” Eoin looked up at me hopefully.
“I’ll do my best.” One more day and I could stop them. One more day, and I’d be home with my friends, and we could go find this darkness and stop it.
Soon, it was time to board the plane. I was sitting by Shelby, so Eoin climbed up in the luggage compartment again and made himself at home. We only had an hour to Scotland, and I was anxious to get it over with. They had won all but one of their games so far.
The flight was bumpy because of bad weather (oops), but we finally landed in Scotland. We were almost into the terminal by the time Eoin caught up to me. He seemed agitated, but wouldn’t say anything. I’d just have to figure out what was going on when we got to the hotel.
Since it was our last full day in Europe, Coach Peterson let us tour the city instead of practicing. The city of Edinburgh was beautiful. I couldn’t help being on edge because of Eoin, but after we’d managed to spend half the day without a single fairy-tale creature in sight (besides the leprechaun next to me), I was able to relax and enjoy myself.
Coach Peterson took us on a bus tour up to Edinburgh Castle. The tour was amazing as we listened to the history of this place. Every room was filled with rich colors and beautiful décor. Armor lined the walls in the hallways. I loved the fireplaces in every room, and the stone passageways. Except in the prison. I had bad memories of being stuck in the dungeon in Ireland.
We stopped at the gift shop on our way out, and then hiked back up to the bus. It was quite a trip on the steep hill, but the views had been totally worth it. I’d even remembered to get a few pictures for Beth while I was touring.
Next, we visited the Holyrood Palace. It had been around since the 1100s, and had gone from being a monastery to the meeting house for State ceremonies. They were busy preparing for the festivities, so we weren’t able to stay long, but I hoped to go back someday. The décor was a mix of Victorian and Baroque architecture. Even Eoin seemed fascinated by everything inside. I had to slap his hand when he reached for gold place settings or candlesticks, but for the most part, he behaved.
Later in the afternoon, Coach Peterson herded us onto the bus to get ready for our game. He promised we would be able to come back to the Royal Mile to shop when the game was over. I’m pretty sure that’s the only way he was able to get Shelby and Brinley back on the bus.
The gym was at the university, not too far away from Edinburgh Castle. We didn’t move when we pulled up. This was a college? It looked like a castle, with the stone buildings and the architecture.
Coach Peterson chuckled. “Welcome to the University of Edinburgh.”
“You’re sure we’re not at Hogwarts?” Shelby asked, eyes wide.
“Yes, I’m sure. Come on—we need to get warmed up. You can all tour the school when we’re done.”
Oh, right. Volleyball. The university had completely wiped all thoughts of sports out of my head. Last game. We could totally do this.
JARED
By the time Jared’s mom was able to leave the hospital, Jared had played house, tea parties, and zoo about a hundred times. And she’d only been in there for a day. It wasn’t that Jared minded. It gave him time to think about what his mom had told him.
Jared had just sat down to play dolls yet again when the front door opened and their mom and dad walked in.
“Mommy!” Abby yelled and ran to her mom with her arms out wide.
Jared’s mom smiled and held out her arms. “Hey, sweetie. How are you doing?”
“Good. Jared played with me.” She beamed up at Jared.
“Jared’s a good big brother.” His mom stood back up.
“Come on, dear. Let’s get you to a couch.” Jared’s dad led her into the living room, and Jared followed, trying to keep Abby from tackling their mom.
“How are you feeling, Mom?” Jared pulled Abby onto his lap. She squirmed off and ran out of the room.
“I’m fine. They gave me some medicine to help with the sickness, and your brother looks healthy.”
“Oh, that’s great—wait. Brother?” It had taken a second for her words to soak in. “I’m getting a brother?”
Jared’s dad grinned. “Yes, you are. We were going to wait to find out if it’s a boy or a girl, but the nurse slipped while we were doing the ultrasound.”
“That’s great! Although Abby will be sad she didn’t get a sister to play with.” And Jared wouldn’t get to be around much for his brother. This college thing was getting harder all the time.
“I’m sure she’ll be just as happy with a little brother.” His mom smiled. “The other good news is that I’m far enough along that the baby has a good chance of surviving.”
“Awesome. Are you going to tell Abby?” Jared asked. He watched Abby run in with a handful of dolls.
“I’ll tell her after my nap. I’m pretty exhausted.” His mom yawned.
Jared stood to help her up. “Need me to watch Abby again?”
His dad shook his head. “No, you’ve done enough. I’m going to take Abby to work with me. She’ll have fun, and you need to get to work. Jerry called to see if you could make it in.”
Jared raised his eyebrows, surprised that Jerry hadn’t called him. He wasn’t going to argue, though. He’d take whatever chance he had to get out of the house. “Thanks. I’ll be back later tonight.”
“Thanks again, Jared. You really helped us out,” his dad said.
“No problem.” Jared left, surprised. His dad wasn’t usually so willing to give out praise, and this meant a lot to him.
Jared drove over to the bakery and headed inside. It was good he came—it was full of frazzled moms with lots of little kids running around them. One mom chased her little girl through the store as her daughter shrieked with laughter. Another mom looked like she was ready to nap.
Beth sat in a booth with Adam, eating a cupcake. They hopped up when they saw him come in. He waved and went behind the counter, where his uncle was filling orders.
“Hey, Uncle Jerry.”
“I was hoping you’d make it. Your mom’s okay?”
Jared nodded. “She just got home, and everything looks great.”
“Excellent. I’ll call her after I close up tonight. Look, I need to make some more bread. You can grab the orders, okay?” He started for the back before Jared could say anything.
Beth leaned against the counter, leaving enough room for customers. �
��We’ve been wondering when you’d get here. You didn’t answer your phone.”
Jared tied on an apron. “I hadn’t even looked at my phone. Sorry. Abby kept me busy.”
“I’m sure. Is everything okay?” Beth grabbed two napkins and handed one to Adam.
“Yep. Mom’s home, and Dad is taking Abby to work so I could take a break. One sec.” Jared took an order and handed off a cake to a customer with a few screaming kids surrounding her. He pulled out suckers from under the counter and handed them to each of the kids, smiling as they all walked out quietly.
Beth watched them leave. “Wow, impressive. Were the suckers your idea?”
“Yeah. After watching Abby calm down at the grocery store, I figured I’d pass the idea along to Uncle Jerry. We’ve had many moms thank us ever since.”
“Cool, can I have one?” Adam asked.
Jared laughed. “Are you ten? Besides, you just had a cupcake.”
“Fine. I’ll bring Maddie and William next time. William doesn’t like suckers.” Adam ducked away from Beth’s punch. “So, what are you doing tonight?”
Jared shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting the night off, so I haven’t decided.”
“We’re heading to a movie if you want to come.”
“Thanks. I—” Jared stopped just as he spotted August. The fairies hadn’t come near them for a few weeks. He nodded toward the fairy, and quickly took an order from an older man who had come in to pick up a cake for his wife. He forced himself to smile and pretend like there wasn’t a fairy fluttering around in the bakery.
Uncle Jerry came around the corner. “Hey, Jared. It’s about time to close up. I need you to bag up those rolls and donuts. Anything extra, share with your friends.”
Adam perked up. “Seriously?”
“We need to do something with it, right?” Uncle Jerry went back to the kitchen, and Jared started cleaning up.
He bagged everything up and handed a donut each to Adam and Beth. “My favorite part of the job.”
“Thanks. We’d better get going so we can talk to you-know-who.” Beth gestured toward August and left, waiting for August to follow.
Jared finished up and went to find Uncle Jerry. “Hey, I’m heading out. Need anything else?”
“Nope, go ahead.” Uncle Jerry dried his hands on a towel. “Take the rolls. Let your mom know I love her.”
“Thanks. I will.” Jared grabbed the bags and headed out to find Beth and Adam. “So, what’s up?”
August flitted closer to Jared. “The fairies are on the move. Or at least, they will be soon.”
“Um, what does that mean?” Jared backed up a little. He’d never seen August so distressed, and they’d been in plenty of bad situations before.
“Queen Oona never moves. Ever.” August paced back and forth in the air. “She makes people come to her.”
Jared looked at Beth and Adam before looking back up at August. “And this is bad?”
“Yes! I just had to warn you because April can’t find Megan. Is she at home?”
“No. She’s in Europe. She won’t be back until the day after tomorrow,” Jared explained.
August sighed. “That’s good to hear. I will let April know. You three be on alert.”
“Um, okay.” Jared sent a quick text to Megan, not knowing if she’d get it before taking off. They were several hours ahead.
“I’ll report back to the other fairies and return. We are to watch over you.” August saluted and disappeared.
Jared stared at the spot where August had been. “I wonder what’s going on. I thought Mrs. Lincoln said the queen was a good person.”
“She did, but people change. Maybe fairies do too.” Beth bit her lip.
Adam put his arm around Beth. “She’ll be fine. She’s halfway around the world, right? If this queen is heading our way, she’ll be fine.”
Jared could tell that Adam didn’t really believe what he was saying, but he decided to play along. For now. “Right. I’m going home. I need to make sure my mom is okay and have things ready in case Megan needs our help.”
MEGAN
Mom threw my shirt into my bag. “I think that’s it.”
“I think so too. Let’s get out of here.” I helped Mom do one last check, and then we left the room. I’d barely slept the night before—I don’t know why. We were leaving on an awesome note. We’d won the game last night, and we each got a medal. Ethan and Jakob had left me alone, and Eoin had found some friends. He’d promised to be back to visit once I was home safely.
We headed off to the airport and said good-bye to Edinburgh. Eoin appeared next to me and sat back in his seat.
When we arrived at the airport, Eoin stopped suddenly, and I almost tripped over him.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
“Something’s not right.” He whipped around, almost waiting for something to happen.
“Well, we can’t just stay here. People are behind us.” I nudged him forward.
Eoin was on alert the whole time we checked our luggage and went through security. He was so busy trying to keep me safe, we were barely moving. He kept twitching and jumping in front of me at the slightest movement. It would have been comical if we didn’t have dozens of annoyed people giving me dirty looks.
“Relax. There’s nothing here.” I patted him on the head.
“Yes. There is. I can feel it.” He whipped around again. “There.”
I looked where he was facing, but I didn’t see anything. “All I see is the car rental place.”
“It’s in the sign. Don’t look. Just go forward and get on the plane. Keep your head in a book or look at your friends. That’s all.” The fear in his voice made my stomach clench.
“All right.” I grabbed my bag and headed for the gate to wait for our flight, trying to do exactly what he said. I turned to look for Mom. She stood there, staring at the signs. “Ready, Mom?”
She jerked and blinked. “Sorry. Yes, I’m ready.” She paused. “Do you see the lights flickering?”
“What? No. I—” There it was. It was a nice green glow that made it so I couldn’t stop staring, even though I knew I was supposed to avoid them. But wait—it moved. It was at the next sign in the airport. This time, it was a light blue. It was so … pretty. Then a yellow light showed up on the next sign. I was vaguely aware of Mom beside me, and the angry shouts from people as we pushed past them. But I needed to get that light.
Something suddenly barreled into me, sending me flying. I landed hard, and it took a moment to catch my breath. When I could finally focus, it was like I’d awakened from a dream. “Wh—what happened?”
“I told you not to look at those lights. They’re dangerous.” Eoin tried to shield my eyes, but I brushed his hands away.
“Okay, okay, I get it. What are they?” I wanted to look again, but every time I did, Eoin covered my eyes. I knew there was something wrong with looking at those lights, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to anyway.
“Those are Will o’ the Wisps. They will trick you and lead you to your death. I warned you that you would find things like this in Scotland. Next time, listen.”
“Fine. Now would you get off me?”
“Oh, sorry.” He scrambled up.
I stood and picked up my backpack. And then my stomach plummeted. Where was my mom? “Eoin, Mom is gone.”
His eyes widened. “You follow me, and don’t pay attention to the lights. Got it?”
“Got it.” But while my brain knew Eon was right, all I wanted to do was take off running right then to find her. She’d been hooked on the lights before I was.
Eoin and I followed the lights. Every once in a while, we would have to stop and wait for them to blink again. Sometimes they would go two different ways when we came to areas where the hallways split off. Eoin would wait until one disappeared, and then we’d take off again.
The lights suddenly stopped at the end of a long hallway.
“Did we miss a turn?” I looked around for
any other hints. This couldn’t just be the end. My mom had to be here somewhere. I felt panic seeping in, and I tried to shove it away.
“No.” His voice broke.
“How do you know?” I saw the anguish in his face, and my knees went weak. “What’s wrong?”
Eoin pointed down at a circle of toadstools on the floor. In the airport. “That is called a fairy ring.”
“And why do I get the feeling I don’t like fairy rings?” I swallowed hard.
“Because they transport you somewhere else.” He looked disgusted. “I should’ve been watching both of you. I’m so sorry.”
I stood there in shock, ready to collapse. Mom was gone? I turned and ran back the way we’d come. At every hallway intersection, I tried both ways, just hoping Mom was there, but with no luck. Oh. Right. Luck. Maybe I should’ve been concentrating on that instead of those stupid lights.
I stopped, wiped my eyes, smiled at those who were staring at me, and started walking. I was going to let my luck take me exactly where I needed to go.
Except it didn’t take me to my mom. I ended up at the gate with the rest of the team. Coach Peterson stood there, checking his watch.
“Hey, Coach. My mom got stuck in the bathroom. She must have eaten something bad. We’ll just catch the next flight.” I tried not to let my nerves show, and concentrated on making him believe me. I didn’t want them postponing everything for us. They couldn’t help anyway.
He raised his eyebrows. “Your mom can’t get on the plane when she’s that sick.”
“I know. We’ll be fine here.”
He hesitated. “Maybe I should stay too.”
“No!” I stopped. “No, we’ll be fine. We have our tickets. Thanks so much for everything.” I turned and ran back the way I’d come before he could say anything else. I’d have to ask Dad to find a way to grab our luggage once it got to Twin Falls, but at least Coach wouldn’t be waiting around for us.