Heir of Earth (Forgotten Gods) (22 page)

I felt like I was standing on the edge of the world. From what I remembered of geography, there was nothing after Ireland but a vast expanse of ocean. Maybe I really was standing on the edge of the world. The wind whipped around me, blowing my hair in every direction. I held it back with my hand, not wanting to take my eyes off the beauty of the sea just yet.

“Primrose!” Rose exclaimed beside me and she headed off to pick her prize.

I stayed on the cliff, mesmerized by the view. I could see how a girl might give up, standing there. If her heart was broken and she had nothing to return to, she would be tempted to slip into the beckoning waves below. To lie back on the rolling tide, staring up at the big beautiful moon and just start swimming, as far as she could go, the friendly little waves carrying her along.

The moon slipped behind a cloud, and suddenly the whole world went dark. I cautiously stepped backward from the cliff’s edge, my eyes straining in the darkness to readjust to the absence of light.

“Rose?” I called out. No answer.

I tried to calm myself and think. The cliff was right in front of me. I knew we had walked straight up the side of the hill to get to the cliff, so if I turned around and walked straight, I would be back at the bottom of the hill with everyone else. A low moan kicked up over the cliff and was answered in turn. My eyes grew even wider and the breeze prickled goose bumps down my spine.
No way,
 I thought. That is the same sound the wind makes whistling by my window.

I closed my eyes, trying to use my internal sense of direction to find my way. With one giant turn, I swiveled my body an exact 180 degrees. The ocean breeze sent my ponytail spilling over my shoulders, confirming my change of direction. I took a few tentative steps forward and the ground under my feet returned to the soft grass of the field.

A wave of relief flowed over me, and I continued down the hill, carefully placing one foot directly in front of the other. Little bushes that I hadn’t remembered seeing on the walk up began tugging at my jeans. I reached my hand out in front of me and felt the rough bark of an unfamiliar tree. The cloud cover blew away for a second, and I saw I was in the forest. I looked around, not recognizing anything. I had been in a huge field full of people. Where had this forest come from?

“Rose!” I screamed. Nothing.

Walking forward again, I made a few steps before I tripped over a tree root. Luckily, I caught myself and pulled my knee way up to step over what I could not see. A few steps further, a tree limb scratched across my face and tangled in my hair. I yanked my hair out of the ponytail holder and shook the limb away. The sting of the branch still cut across my cheek. I was really starting to freak out, but I tried to keep calm.

If you find yourself lost, stay where you are, and let help find you.
The advice from my old Daisy Scout troop leader came back to me. I reached my arms out into the darkness. My fingertips brushed against the rough bark of another tree trunk. I pulled my body in its direction, feeling my way along, and turned so my back was against the tree before I slowly slid to the ground.

“Rose! April! Help!” Still no answer. The sounds of the forest were amplified in the dark. With my sense of sight gone, my ears strained to pick up the tiniest of sounds over the pounding of my heart. Tree limbs creaked overhead as they blew in the breeze; a faraway knocking echoed through the darkness and the flutter of a moth’s wings buzzed my ear.

All I could think about were the piercing ghostly eyes from my nightmares, but I shook my head to force those away. I couldn’t let my imagination run away with me.

The sound of a twig snapping underfoot—the most dreaded sound to anyone lost in the woods—echoed all around me, much too close. Fear instantly made my hands tremble and my breath catch in my throat. Beads of sweat popped up on my forehead. My mouth went dry and my stomach felt like it had disappeared.

Two black and white images flew into my mind— Christine’s missing poster and the photo of Phin’s first love. Both quickly followed by the cold aquamarine glower that now haunted my waking thoughts. I whimpered in the darkness, shaking my head again to make it all go away.

A bright flash of white appeared in the distance. My heart swelled with relief—a flashlight! Had to be. Straining through the black expanse of night, I forced my eyes to find the light dancing with the trees again. Nothing.

“Rose? Lucas? Who’s there?” I managed to get out, in a high-pitched, whiney voice. Nothing. If the light had been a flashlight, the person carrying it would have heard me from that distance. Hot fear flooded back into my depths.

Tears washed down my cheeks in swollen rivers. I was terrified. I had never been lost before. I had lived a safe little life.

My heart beat so loudly it deafened my ears to anything but the blood rushing like a racehorse through my veins. I closed my eyes, leaning back against the tree, balled as tightly as I could.

Another twig snapped, this one much closer than the last. My feet instinctively backpedaled against the forest floor, but there was nowhere to go. The tree’s bark dug deeper into my back, and I could do nothing but let my body be racked by the sobs of fear bleating from my chest. Running was useless. I couldn’t see, and whatever stalked me obviously knew right where I was. I squeezed my knees into my chest and tucked my head down into the little space that was left. Resigned to the fact that whatever hunted me, was about to find my hiding place.

I didn’t move a muscle, frozen there in the darkness, not even wanting to breathe for fear of being discovered by my hunter. My ears strained in the quiet, searching for any sound I could find.

“This is certainly no place for a lady.”

The deep breathy voice was no louder than a whisper, but to my ears it boomed like thunder and rattled around my eardrum. The exhale of his voice stirred the hairs on my neck. He was right beside me.

An ear-bleeding scream burst from my lungs that could’ve been heard in Shannon.

Faster than a strike of lightning, I bolted from the voice, the need for self-preservation overtaking me. I jumped from the ground and flung myself forward, not knowing where I was going but knowing I had to get away. I launched headlong into a branch, stumbled, but had my feet back under me in a second. A root caught my foot on the next step, and I was falling through the darkness.

My fingers touched the mushy dampness of the forest floor first. For several steps I scraped and scrambled my way along, gathering decaying forest matter in my hands as I blindly grasped for anything that might help me regain my footing again. The jagged surface of a rock bit into the knuckles of one hand and I managed to push against it, forcing my body back up right.

I got in a few good running strides before two hands closed around my waist and began pulling me back. I screamed, kicked and clawed at my attacker. I fought him with everything I had. I wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

“Easy, Faye! It’s me.”

The voice that purred through the black cloth covering us was somewhat familiar, stirring hope in my heart. My body stopped struggling but remained rigid as the arms hugged tighter around me, pinning my own arms down, stopping my assault. He must’ve heard me calling his name!

“Lucas!” I shouted his name so loudly it bounced off the treetops. His arms relaxed. Though the black canvas of night made it impossible to see his face it had to be Lucas, coming to my rescue. I twisted in his grip and threw my arms around his neck.

“Oh, Lucas.” There were so many emotions running through my body. I didn’t know what to do. Adrenaline rushed around in my veins and flowed out through my muscles. My quivering arms squeezed his neck, pulling him so close to me I could feel his heart beating in my own chest. My muscles ached from the grip I had on him, but I didn’t let go. I was afraid to lose contact with him, afraid he might slip away from me, and leave us both lost in the utter dark again.

Cold, wet tears stained my cheeks, rubbing against whiskers on his chin. I never wanted to leave his arms. I felt so safe, so protected from the dangers of the night. He rubbed his hand soothingly along my back and whispered, “Shhhhh, Shhhhh.” My mind began to calm and I could think again, but I still stayed in the safety of his arms, but unable to see him.

“Lucas, how did you find me?” His group had been over on the far side of the cliffs, I thought.

He didn’t answer me. “Lucas?” I asked, wondering why he was being so quiet.

“No.” The voice whispered in my ear.

Fear gripped my body again, I tried to push away but the arms held close around me.

“It’s Dayne.”

A different kind of panic seized me. Forgotten were the creepy things in a darkened forest that wanted to harm an innocent young girl. Now it was the giddy and uncertain fear of my crush on Dayne that snatched my stomach and hurled it down to my toes like a discarded toy. It was Dayne I held in my arms. Dayne’s own arms that held me to him—something I had dreamed about for weeks.

Dayne was my white knight. Something I would have known immediately had I not been ravaged with the fear of my imminent death, and blinded by the black of night. The stubble scratching against my cheek was too thick to be Lucas. The shoulders my arms draped over were much too tall.

A rich, woodsy scent filled my nostrils. I had heard his soothing, honeyed voice before, but never when I was awake. I wondered for a moment if this was another dream.

The realization it wasn’t flooded into my mind and everything else flowed out. My arms felt like strangers, hanging there around his shoulders. I was aware of my stomach, still pressed so firmly against his that our lungs fought for the space to breathe. It was like there was a magnet inside his body, and I was suddenly made of steel and completely unable to release myself from his grasp.

The cloud passed from in front of the moon and a single beam of softly glowing light found its way through the branches overhead. It shone down on us like a spotlight on a darkened stage while an audience of trees blew in the breeze.

Finally, I saw him. His head hung down and to the side, the mirror image of my own. My eyes flickered away from his for just a second and landed on his lips, which were so close I could smell the waxy sweetness of his chap stick.

Still, he didn’t move. Still, I couldn’t move.

His arms were wrapped tightly around my back, pulling at the loosened strands of hair just slightly. The ground quaked gently under my left foot. I ignored it. His tongue poked out between his lips, wetting them so they glowed in the dark. He bit at his bottom lip, gently releasing it in a slow wave of motion I studied in a spellbound way. Again the ground under my foot moved, more vigorously this time. I was standing on his foot.

“Oh!” The gentle movement was enough to snap me back to reality and make me realize my mouth was hanging open as I stared up at him with a trance-like gaze. Reluctantly, hating every muscle that moved, I released my embrace. I stepped off of his toe, slid my arms from his shoulders and somehow managed to look away from his eyes.

“Sorry,” I whispered, suddenly embarrassed by my behavior as reality began to find its way back to my brain. “What are you doing out here?” I asked, hoping to take the attention off of myself.        

“This is Ennishlough property. I should be asking you what you’re doing?” His hands lingered on my shoulders, offering support while I found my footing on the uneven forest floor.

“I was picking herbs with Rose before I got lost,” I tried to make my voice sound as cool and unaffected as possible, brushing my hair to the side in an effort to cover my face and give myself a little more time to process the situation. The moon shone brightly now. The blackened forest of my nightmare became an enchanted, dreamlike jungle of soft blues as silvery light filtered down through the canopy of tree limbs overhead.

“Because they’re stronger in the moonlight?” He asked with a teasing laugh and half-cocked eyebrows.

“Yeah.” I stuck my chin into the air defensively at his taunting.

“You weren’t sneaking off to meet Lucas in the woods?” He tucked his head down so I had no choice but to look at him.

“No, he was hiking the cliffs with some of his friends. I just thought…”

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” he said before I finished talking. He grabbed my hand and began leading me through the woods. I followed obediently along behind him. What choice did I have?

“So are you two a thing now?” He asked. My stomach fluttered when I thought I heard a sarcastic undertone of jealousy he was trying to hide in the darkness.

“No,” I said, my voice soft as I struggled to keep pace with his sweeping stride. A well-worn path lay before us, like curling steam from a hot cup of tea, it wound its way through the woods. The moonlit night really was beautiful, but all I could focus on was the strong grip of Dayne’s hand holding mine.

“Good,” his voice was harsh. Too harsh for such an innocent answer, almost confirming the jealousy I suspected earlier.

“Why is that good? Lucas is a nice guy,” I said, confused by the obvious contempt in Dayne’s voice. His hand reached out to steady me as my foot slipped on a small patch of slick moss.

“Yeah, and he’s already been a
nice
guy with every girl in town.” He stepped over a log and held out his hand to help me over it laughing as we progressed, like he was letting me in on some joke the entire world knew. He was making me feel stupid, and I felt my temper start to flare.

How dare he say something like that?
I thought as the same fire began to burn in me I had felt the night I danced with him. Dayne’s reputation as a heartbreaker was far worse around town than any other guy, especially Lucas.

At some point, Dayne had strung along the heart of every girl around—each of them hoping that they would finally be “the one,” finally be worthy enough to tie him down. Lucas didn’t play with hearts like that. Dayne was wrong about him.

“Well, at least I know where I stand with him,” I said fiercely, hoping my words were stinging him somewhere that hurt. I was sick of always feeling like the ugly little sister around Dayne. In the silence that followed, Dayne stepped on a twig that snapped so loudly it sent a sleeping covey of quail chattering into the night sky. I jumped behind him, not knowing what the racket was at first. He looked over his shoulder at me before he continued on.

“And where is that exactly? From all I’ve seen, he just stares at you like a piece of meat.” I was shocked that Dayne paid enough attention to Lucas and me to have formed his own opinion. But the truth was I didn’t really know where I stood with Lucas. We were flirting, but so far that was it.

“That’s none of your business,” I snapped quickly to cover my tracks.

“Whatever, Lucas wouldn’t have a clue what to do with a girl like you,” Dayne said calmly as he held a branch to the side for me to step under.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked bending under the branch and then turning to face him. I stopped in my tracks and put my hands on my hips defiantly, daring Dayne to say what he meant by a “girl like me.”

“I’m just saying he’s not what you think he is. He’s going to break your heart. He’s nothing but a flirt.” I could tell Dayne found my anger amusing and was trying not to laugh at me by the way he spoke in interrupted bursts. His laughter made me even more furious. My cheeks blushed hot in the cool night air as he stepped around me, knocking my shoulder back as he passed me on the narrow trail.

“Oh, and you aren’t? Everyone in Clonlea talks about you.” The shrillness of my voice echoed in the treetops as I fought him with the only weapons I had—the nasty, and clearly untrue, rumors April had told me the first day we met. I was so unnerved at this point that I didn’t really think about what I was saying. He stepped around a mud puddle shining brightly along the path and waited patiently as I followed his lead.

“I’m sure they do,” he said, his voice suddenly sober. I was surprised that he actually sounded a little hurt by my callous remark. “But I would never lead a girl on like he does.” The laughter was gone from his voice. He turned away from me and continued walking in the night. I stumbled along behind him, grabbing onto branches to steady myself as we went.

“What about Tara?” I accused vehemently, enjoying the focus of our conversation moving away from me.

“What about her?” He asked, glancing back at me with the cool blue moon shine on his face. “I have never uttered one word of encouragement to her. I don’t like how she follows me around, but what can I do about it without being a total jerk?” His words were cool, calm and collected and made total sense. I hated him for being so untouchable. He grabbed a leaf from a nearby branch, pulling it down and sending it flying violently back into the air when the leaf broke free. I ducked to avoid the branch and reached my boiling point as he carried on along the moonlit trail as if my attacks meant nothing to him.

“I…I think you’re just jealous of Lucas!” I shouted because I was shaking with anger and couldn’t think of anything else to say. I knew how ridiculous I was. I felt like one of those annoying mocking birds that pecks at you when you get to close to its nest, running down the trail behind him, trying to keep up with his long stride and injure him badly enough to make up for my own wounded pride.

Of course my luck would have it that at that moment another cloud passed in front of the moon and the world around me went black again.

My foot caught on another unseen snag and my body began falling through the air. In an instant, Dayne’s hand grabbed mine and jerked up toward the sky, pulling mine with it as he held on tight. His other arm found its way under me and he caught me before I fell to the earth below.

He gently placed me back on my feet in front of him. The night was as dark as a black hole spinning in an abyss around us. The solid heat of his body lingered in front of me, blocking the chill of the night. His hand traced down my arm and grabbed my hand again. He turned and took two steps. My feet stayed planted where they were, pulling him back to me.

“I can’t see,” I said through clenched teeth in the dark when his motion stopped and turned back.

Leaves crunched under his footsteps. In one quick motion, he scooped me up and cradled me against his chest like a baby. He walked on, holding me against him. My heart beat so wildly in my chest I was sure he could feel it.

“How can you see where you’re going?’ I was terrified, staring into the black world like my eyes weren’t even open, but I trusted him.

“This is my home. I could walk it blindfolded. Lean in.” I curled into him as an unseen branch brushed through my hair.

I immediately felt horrible for the unfair things I had said. As soon as his arms encircled me, the anger of my embarrassment had caved in.

He had managed to remain completely calm during our argument while I resorted to the unfair, emotionally charged attacks of a child. Here he was, helping me out of what could have easily been the most terrifying experience of my life, and I was doing nothing but beating him up with the same unfair accusations Clonlea had used against him for years.

“Listen, Dayne, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re right.” His shoulders shrugged against me. “I am jealous,” he said, staring straight ahead, and not turning to look at me.

“No way.” I let out a disbelieving laugh at the absurdity of his words. Was he trying to get me started again? “You have the world at your fingertips. How could you be jealous of a stable hand?” He sucked air through his teeth and bit his lip in the darkness as he thought about how to answer my question.

“Faye, having everything sometimes leaves you with nothing of your own. I do envy Lucas, and you and everyone else in this town because you all have the freedom to decide what your life will be. That is something I will never have.” I couldn’t believe my ears. Was he actually confiding in me? After everything I had just said to him? My mouth hung open in the darkness as I realized that I was learning things about Dayne that I was pretty sure no one had ever known before. I didn’t want him to stop. I wanted to be the one he told his secrets to, the one he shared his life with.

“Oh, come on,” I cooed, suddenly worried my flippant remark may have struck a fragile underbelly I never would’ve guessed he possessed. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him. “Do you not realize the life you live? Everyone’s jealous of
you
. There’s not a man in Clonlea that wouldn’t trade places with you.” I said, hoping to reassure him.

“Not if they knew the truth. I have obligations, Faye. Obligations to family and other people that chain me to a life I would love to escape.” I thought about the protective little bubble most people in Dayne’s situation lived in. The privacy they had to keep that kept them from forming true friendships. The duties a life of privilege gave them and the normalcy it took in return. It seemed everyone always wanted something from these great people, but offered them nothing in return.