Mum furrowed her brows and looked at me. We shared a shrug. “Go put Ermie in his stall. I’ll see what that is.”
CHAPTER
2
When dealing with my own dad concerns me more than a killer faery horse.
Ermie (I kinda liked the nickname) and I said quick goodbyes, and I told him to stay in his stable and turnout until I said otherwise. It wasn’t until I was already on my way back to the castle that I realized I’d given him a good nose-rub, and hadn’t even thought of his tentacle fur when I’d done it.
This would work out. It really would!
Mum was standing beside the access road that led behind the castle gardens to an enclosed, discreet area we used for storage or family parking. Her arms were folded and her face pursed as if she had just bitten into a lemon. A dump truck was spilling a pile of what looked like salt onto a tarp spread over the packed dirt. My dad was gesturing directions to the driver. Our greyhound, Isis, sat by his feet, tail wagging nervously. She saw Mum and me and gave a short bark.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’m not exactly sure.” Mum’s voice was flat and distinctly Not Happy.
I waited with her until the truck was gone and Dad came over to us. “Good, you can help me and we’ll get this done before the sun sets.” He gave us a huge smile.
Mum glanced at the sky. “The sun sets well after any of our children’s bedtimes, sweetie. What are you planning they help with?”
“It’s summer. We can be a little lenient. At least with Heather and Rowan, since it’s important for them, too…” Dad, undeterred, was just about bouncing on his toes, and was talking almost twice as fast as he normally did. If that wasn’t enough of a clue, he had this brightness to his eyes, which always signaled he was in a manic mood. And if I had missed that, Isis’s nervously protective jittering also gave me a clue as to what was going on.
“What are we doing with…I assume that’s salt, my love?” I could also tell Mum was holding back her impatience. She was picking up the same stuff as I was.
“Yes! I was reading. If we put a full perimeter around the castle’s foundation, along all the windows and doors, that’ll do for tonight—”
“Hold up a second, Michael.” Mum held up both hands like she was trying to physically push him back. “You read what and want us to do what, now?” Mum is American and spent a bunch of time in the southern states, especially Texas. You can hear that pretty clearly when she’s upset. At that moment, she sounded very American, a trying-very-hard-to-stay-patient American.
Dad seemed to notice Mum’s emotional state and possibly my agitation. He’d just gotten over a depressed mood that had been one of his worst ever, possibly due to being near Ehrwnmyr, and now he was changing gears really quickly. More quickly than I’d ever seen him change before. He took a deep breath, made his body relax, and addressed my Mum in a more normal pace. “You lent me a pile of your books so that I could learn more about the fey since…” He glanced at me now, and I saw the worry in his eyes. “It seems we should know what’s going on. I went through most of them. Creating a perimeter of salt around our home and at all levels of entry will keep out anything that could harm us, possibly all of the faerie, so we’d be safe from any attack and have a safe place to retreat to if needed. Especially if we’re going to have all those kids here in your camp, we need to make sure all of them are safe.”
Mum took a deep breath. “Okay, I understand you now and what you want to do. I really wish you’d spoken to me first before you’d moved forward with the plan. There are a few problems with that, which probably didn’t come up in any of the books I lent you.”
The lines on Dad’s face, especially around his lips, deepened a little. “Like what?”
“Well,” Mum said. “What would all our neighbors in the villages have thought if we’d moved in and put up a ten-foot stockade fence and great big ‘Keep out!’ signs?”
Dad frowned at her. “Last I checked, no one who lives in the villages murders or endangers anyone’s children.”
“Like all the beings that share our land, I doubt all who live in the villages are human. And even if they were, not every human is good.”
Another glance at me seemed to soften my dad’s face, but only a little. “You’re right that we should still keep the kids’ bedtimes. I can work on this myself. I’ll give Lily a call shortly and make sure she doesn’t stay up too late with Jenna.” (Lily is my older sister, who was spending the night with our friend, Jenna Garrity.) Dad leaned down and gave me a hug and kiss. “Goodnight, love. Sleep well.”
I kissed him back, but wouldn’t release him from the hug. “I love you, Daddy.”
He hugged me even tighter, understanding. “I love you, too. And don’t you worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you seeing Dr. Grey again?” I asked.
He pulled away enough to look me in the face. “Aye. I’m driving out to Edinburgh next week.” He kissed my nose. “All right?”
“Are you going to tell him about Ehrwnmyr this visit?” He pulled away a little more, frowning. “I wasn’t planning on it.”
“Maybe you should?”
He shook his head. “He said I was doing fine last week. We made an adjustment, and that can make things odd. I’m okay, I promise.” He kissed my forehead again. “Besides, I’m not sure exactly… You do realize most people don’t believe in…faery things and magic, right?”
I pursed my lips. I knew that, but it seemed like a whole lot more people were okay with it than I would have thought. My best friend Joe’s family—Prince Christopher, next in line for the throne, and his wife, Princess Maryan—had hardly batted an eye when they came to see the kelpie. Then again, they weren’t regular people. “You could show him…”
Dad paused. “Not right now. I don’t think he’ll drive down here. I’m fine, though. I promise. Please, don’t worry.”
Like that was going to happen. I just kissed him back and gave Isis a scritch between her ears. “I love you, Daddy. Good night.”
He sighed, and I knew he knew what I wasn’t saying. After one more kiss and a very tight hug from him, then a hug and kiss and “goodnight” from Mum, I headed back in the house and got ready for bed.
But I probably wouldn’t sleep for a while.
Once upon a time, according to my dad, he could keep his mood swings in check with meditation, exercise, and, well, other, more problematic, methods—but I’ll get to that. Anyway, as he got older, his bipolar condition got worse, and he had to start taking medicine, which he hated because he felt he wasn’t as good of an actor for not being in touch with his extremes. I don’t know if that’s true, but he hasn’t had as many TV and movie roles as I remember him having when I was younger.
Besides his own brain chemistry, sometimes outside things can trigger his mood swings or make them worse. Like weather and pressure. When Ehrwnmyr had “moved in” to the nature reserve that abuts our property and killed two kids, Dad had gone into a serious downswing. Part of that could be because the kelpie’s presence had affected the weather. When Ermie hadn’t been able to kidnap our friend, Sarah Beth, he’d ended up causing a storm that seriously damaged the coastal villages nearby.
Which means his presence probably affects my dad. Like really badly.
Dad’s mood was so bad after the storm that he was adding both caffeine and pot to his prescription medicine. When he was in University, he’d used caffeine and pot as a way to avoid going on medicine. He was really bad off, though, like I said. I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t overheard Mum and him arguing. And then smelled it on his clothes once. I think he felt even worse about it, knowing I knew. He did stop and work things out with his doctor about his meds after that. And he promised Mum and me that he would never do that again.
But that doesn’t mean his mood swings got better. And the fact that they were so bad was partly my fault since we had to keep Ehrwnmyr here.
Dad kept trying to tell me not to feel
guilty. He’d rather know my soul and me were safe and everything, but still. And he’d also promised, because he knew how I felt, to keep me included on how he was “feeling.”
Thing is, with an upswing, he’s not lying when he says he’s doing all right. People with mania are very happy. They feel amazing. And with Dad, an upswing could be really awesome, sometimes, because he could make anyone around him feel like they’re on top of the world with him.
On the other hand, when he’s not specifically happy during a manic phase… Well, I’d only seen that once, and except for this most recent depressive period, I’d never before felt so terrified for my dad.
So, obviously, I was scared about what would happen with another manic swing when all he was thinking about was that his children were in danger from Faerie.
CHAPTER
3
Let’s go visit Faerie! Wait, I’m not allowed. Let’s do an astral projection spell to Faerie…because that totally won’t get us into trouble.
Heather!
I rolled over, trying to place the “voice” in my dream about riding Ehrwnmyr in a horse show for the Lord and Lady of Faerie. We were just about to finish our dressage round with a pirouette when he stopped. There was a strange padding sound that distracted us. The crowd was dead silent, and Lord Cadmus and Lady Fana narrowed their eyes at me. I’d done something terribly wrong, and I wasn’t sure what.
Swishpitpatswishpitpatswishpitpat!
What was that noise?
Heather!
Tom!
Tom was the fey cat who “lived” in the stables. We’d become friends trying to stop the kelpie, and Tom had brought me to see Sarah Beth in Faerie, where she’d been taken to keep her from getting killed. He could tell me what I’d done wrong…
Except the riding ring was fading as I blinked my eyes open and started to recognize the bedroom I normally shared with Lily—the small rocking chair with my teddy bear on it, the wing chair I sat in, my desk, the window, yellow-green eyes reflecting through a gap in my curtains—
I bolted upright, gasping.
HEATHER!
It was Tom. When he looked like a cat (because sometimes he could look mostly human), he spoke in my head, the way Ermie did. And I could tell he was distraught about something.
Glancing at my sister’s empty bed, half-wishing she were here and not at Jenna’s house, I went over to my window and opened it.
He meowed pitifully at me, balancing on the very edge of my windowsill.
“Well, come in!”
He meowed again. I would. He sneezed in the direction of a line of salt over my sill.
Dad must have come in while I was asleep. I frowned, hesitating half a second because I was obviously defying him by letting a fey cat in, and brushed the salt aside into a neat pile. Tom leapt over my arm and landed on my floor, breaking into a bathing fit around his paws.
What’s that all about?
“My dad. He’s been really nervous about anything fey. He doesn’t want anyone hurt.”
Tom paused in his cleaning to give a hiss towards my bedroom door and then took a few more good licks around his shoulders. When he was done, he walked over to the door, tail waving anxiously.
We must hurry. I didn‘t know this was happening tonight! I think they were trying to keep me from finding out. He looked over his shoulder at me, eyes full of the rare concern cats could show when they wanted. I don‘t think they wanted me to tell you, but you have a right to know as human liaison.
Oh yeah, in dealing with the kelpie, I kind of made myself the liaison for my family and all of humanity—it seems—to Faerie. Or at least the part of it that was on our land. I’m not exactly sure how that works, and they’re not exactly open to telling me.
I started to follow, then paused. “Wait, what? What are we doing?” If nothing else, I had learned to be extremely cautious when dealing with faerie. Even the ones whom I felt were friends.
You need to follow me to a council meeting. Now!
My mouth hung open for a second. “You mean, back to Faerie? To the castle?”
It’s not as far as the castle. One of the wooded sections—they’ve made it neutral ground for all to meet. Come quickly.
My feet didn’t move. Then my mind caught up with itself. “Let me get my parents.”
Tom froze now, eyes turning hard. WHAT?!
If nothing else, that confirmed how bad an idea it might be to do this alone. “I made a big mess of things with the kelpie. I’m not doing this alone again and making another big mess!”
You didn’t make a big mess. You saved your friend, and you even—in a sense—saved the kelpie. You are perfectly capable of attending a council meeting—
“No. I promised my parents that I wouldn’t go off and deal with anything faery-related by myself again. I gave them my word, and I broke it before, and I feel awful. Do you really want to have a friend and liaison who regularly breaks her word?”
Tom swished his tail, growling.
I folded my arms, scowling, hoping I looked somewhat imposing despite my pink, ruffled nightgown.
He looked away first, turning around tightly, tail whipping back and forth. What if we don’t leave the castle? If you stay here, would that be breaking your word? We must hurry if we are to do this! He paused. And if your father is salting the house for the sole purpose of keeping us out, he certainly should not attend this meeting!
I considered. “I’m telling them what happened in the morning.”
Fine, whatever! Where’s that book you use for spells? The one you tried to summon me with before?
“Mum’s office, I think.”
Let’s go there.
We went down to Mum and Dad’s office. I glanced over my shoulder at my parents’ bedroom door and Rowan’s door, feeling guilty. As if that guilt wasn’t bad enough, I got a good picture in my head of Joe when he found out I’d snuck out to Faerie. He’d chided me as badly as my dad had, and made me promise him I wouldn’t do something that thick ever again. Ever!
I wasn’t leaving the castle, though, I told myself. I would definitely tell my parents in the morning. Depending on what Tom wanted to show me, or the nature of the spell, I could even run back upstairs and wake them if I had to.
I kept quiet going down the stairs. I didn’t want to wake the twins, Ivy and Ash, either. Five-year-olds would be difficult to deal with at the moment.
I carefully put Mum’s desk lamp on the floor. No one else would be up at this hour, I thought, but I didn’t want to be interrupted if any of the McInnises, our nanny, or Ginny saw the light on. Mr. McInnis, our groundskeeper, loved this castle as much as my family did, so it wasn’t that unusual for him to walk around the grounds, making sure everything was secure, if he couldn’t sleep.
Fortunately, Isis wasn’t around anywhere, either. When my dad wasn’t doing well, she (and her brother Osiris, who’d been killed when we fought the kelpie) had always slept in my parents’ room. My stomach twisted, remembering it was my fault Osiris had been killed by the kelpie. Isis tolerated the two cats we owned, but who knew what she’d do to a fey cat.
The book Tom wanted was A Wicca Guide to Faerie, and it was well-used. Besides writing fiction about faery-anything, Mum also wrote research articles about folklore, history, magick, and the like. But I knew she’d used spells in here before.
One time, when Rowan had gotten scared by a movie with goblins, she had the family help her with a spell that would keep goblins away from him. It worked really well. So well, in fact, it worked on all faerie, not just goblins. Tom still didn’t like even going near Rowan. After seeing how Dad was with the salt, I counted my blessings he hadn’t made Mum do that spell on all of us!
The book was near the top of a precarious pile between my parents’ desks.
“What am I looking for?” I looked at Tom as I carefully leafed through it.
A projection spell of some sort. I know where we’re supposed to go.
I found a spell for a medit
ation that was supposed to take me on a walk through Faerie.
That’ll do.
I skimmed the description. “So, I need—”
No time. Just read over the incantation. He paused. And…let me give you a vision of where we need to be.
I frowned. “What exactly does that entail?”
Tom hesitated. You know how you and I speak? It’s like that, only…more.
“So, I need to let you into my head?” My lips tightened even more. It was bad enough Ehrwnmyr seemed to get in and out of my head easily enough. And I knew it was bad to let in any daoine síth, the “Folk of the Hills,” who seemed to be faery nobility.
Yes. He paused, as if sensing my discomfort. You have my word that I will not take advantage of your trust. I still hesitated.
Have I ever broken my word to you or left you in danger when I promised otherwise?
“No,” I said softly, then considered how much danger I could have been in if something had gone wrong when he’d brought me to the faery castle to visit Sarah Beth. Nothing did, but…
Tom paused. I’m letting you in my mind, too. I’m trusting that you won’t go poking around past what I invite you to see.
That made me feel a little better. “I promise. How do we do this?”
He nodded. Let me sit on your lap? It’s easier if we’re touching.
“Um, okay.” I sat cross-legged, and he crawled on my lap. For as big as he looked, he didn’t weigh much. His fur was very long, and I wondered how he kept it so smooth, living in the stables like he did. He circled between my legs and then settled in a curl, front paws draped over my folded shins, shimmying a bit to adjust himself. I was struck with a desire to scritch around his neck, like I’d do with one of our house cats. “Can I, um, pet you?”
That will help, actually. We should both be relaxed.
“Okay.” I carefully arranged myself so as not to put him out of place, and set the open book on the floor. Edging my left hand under his scruff, I started to scratch, while I adjusted the lamp so it shone on the book.
The Earl's Childe Page 3