Luathara - Book Three of the Otherworld Trilogy (20 page)

It wasn't long before sleep crept up on me, but before I lost complete awareness of my surroundings, a cool, inviting voice as old as the earth itself whispered against my mind,
so gentle I wondered if I imagined it:
Rest now Meghan, for you will meet many trials before you can truly rest again . . .

* * *

I woke to the sound of metal clanging and a male voice shouting, “Breakfast!”

Groaning, I sat up and placed a hand to my forehead.  Had I slept straight through the night?  Feeling somewhat sheepish, I crawled out of my cot and slipped on my shoes
, then
pushed the door open onto a scene of rambunctious chaos.  Children, young and old, were scattering everywhere.  Some squealed in delight, abandoning their morning chores, while others grumbled as they dragged themselves from their cabins, still in their pajamas.  I followed the stream of children to the town center where a great fire heated the bottom of a pot-bellied cauldron.  It wasn’t as big or
ornate
as the Dagda’s, but the vessel reminded me of Cade’s foster father anyways.  I smiled, a bit ruefully, wishing that the attack on Luathara had never happened.  I could be at the Dagda’s house right now, enjoying his company and warm hospitality.

I stood behind the others, not sure what to do, until a small girl thrust a wooden bowl and spoon into my hand and took off running, giggling as she continued passing out her wares.  Small hands, belonging to a gaggle of boys no older than five, gently shoved me forward and I realized that I had somehow joined a line.  Eventually I found myself face to face with a boy about my age.  He lifted up a large ladle, dipped it into the cauldron, and pulled up a heaping portion of oatmeal.  The smell of cinnamon and sweet spices hit my nose, making my stomach growl and my mouth water simultaneously.  I blushed a little as I smiled.  The boy emptied the thick oatmeal into my bowl and jerked his head to the side.  I turned to find a group of young girls offering up baskets of steaming biscuits.  I grabbed one from the smallest girl, holding her basket up with all her might as if the fate of the world depended on it.

“Meghan!” a familiar voice called.

I turned my head.  Enorah was sitting on the great log of a fallen beech tree, surrounded by a few others I'd seen the day before.  I side-stepped a few more of the
w
ildren and made my way to
wards
them.

“Feeling better?” Enorah asked.

“Much,” I responded as I dipped my spoon into my breakfast.  I took a bite and my eyes grew wide as the sweet, crisp flavors of
late summer
filled my mouth.

I quickly dug in, hardly noticing Enorah’s dancing eyes as she watched me.

“Were you not feeling well last night?” one of the boys asked me.

I glanced up, my mouth closed over the spoon, and thought of an answer.  He was tall, but looked a little younger than me.  He had the natural beauty and grace I had come to expect from the people of this world, something that would have caused me to gawk a year ago.  Being around Cade had raised my standards, apparently.

Enorah
swallowed a mouthful of oatmeal,
then waved her spoon around like the drunken conductor of a band.

“She isn’t sick.  She simply had a run in with Cernunnos when we visited the Tree of Life.”

The comment had been nonchalant, but by the way everyone’s eyes widened, I could tell my so-called run in wasn’t something that happened every day.

I glanced up at Enorah.  She merely grinned and winked.  At the time of the incident, she had been rather floored herself.  Obviously she’d had time to let the surprise wear off.

Eventually everyone got back to their breakfast, and by the time I was scraping the last bits out of the bottom of my bowl, it had grown brighter.

A flurry of small children scurri
ed through the scattered diners, collecting
dirty bowls.  They were quick, too.  One minute my bowl was in my hand, the next it was gone.  I blinked as a young girl disappeared into the darkness like a twilight sprite.

“So, are you ready to start using that magic of yours?” Enorah asked, planting her hands on the trunk of the beech as she shoved herself back down to earth.

I froze, and for a split second I thought she was talking about the new magic Cernunnos had gifted me.  Fortunately, my brain jumpstarted itself and I remembered Cade had left his sister with the responsibility of training me.

"Yes," I said, relaxing a bit, "I'm so ready to learn about my glamour."

"Excellent," Enorah piped.  "Why don't you go back to your cabin a
nd change and meet me back here.
"

I nodded, pushing away from the giant log and headed back towards the small cottage that had become my new, temporary home.  I quickly pulled on a pair of pants, a clean shirt and a different sweatshirt than the one I'd been wearing the day before.  I considered the small pile of dirty clothes before me and wondered if there was a way to get them clean.

I hope so
, I thought
,
because I only had a few more spare sets with me.

Grabbing my longbow and quiver, just in case we met up with anything creepy, I pushed open the door and stepped out into the early morning light.  Meridian, who'd made herself scarce the past several hours, dropped from the treetops somewhere and landed on my shoulder.

Hunt?
she sent.

Not planning on it.  Magic practice
, I returned.

Meridian grumbled her contentment and tucked her head under her wing
for a snooze
.  Sometimes I thought I must have the
laziest spirit guide in Eile.

* * *

“Now I hope Ca
edehn
has at least taught you how to find your magic,” Enorah cast over her shoulder as she came
to a stop at the top of a hill.

We'd left the
w
ild
ren'
s village about a half hour ago, taking one of the many paths
trailing off into the forest. 
The day was sunny
and pleasantly warm
,
just as any mid-summer day should be
.  Enorah led the way, her stride strong an
d confident,
reminding me so much of her brother.  I bit my lip as a pang of longing hit me, but just as quickly
I
shook
the thought from my
head. 
Honestly Meghan, he's been gone two days . . .

Readjusting the quiver of arrows on my back, I tried not to think about it anymore.  If I dwelled too long on
what could be happening with Cade
,
then
I was certain
to
drive myself crazy.  Instead, I tried to remember what Enorah had just asked me.  Oh yeah, if Cade had taught me how to find my magic.  Taking a breath,
I answered her, “Yes, he has.”

I felt slightly winded from climbing the hill, but
then
the land leveled out.  Enorah nodded towards a small clearing and started setting her own gear next to a large stone.  She gestured for me to join her in the meadow, and once we were standing
opposite
each other, she crossed her arms and studied me for a moment.

“We’ll start with just getting used to
the feel of
your magic and how it works
," she said.
 
"
I want you to locate the source of your
glamour
, then let it expand to its furthest limits.  Don’t go too fast; you want it to suffuse your blood slowly.”

I nodded and closed my eyes, picturing the small flame burning next to my heart.  I almost gasped when the image of a pale blue rose jumped into my mind
with it
, but then I remembered that the extra magic had taken up residence next to mine.

The magical rose petals
started
to peel back and the glittering, pale blue power of Cernunnos's gift began to spill
forth
, hungry to be released. 
No, not yet.  You have to stay closed inside the flower until you’re needed!
  I bit my lip and thought about how I was going to do this without letting it all escape and without giving away its presence.  I gritted my teeth and willed the petals to close just a little.  Reluctantly, the new power obeyed and the bright blue magic dimmed.  I took a deep breath and winced at my pounding head.  Ignoring the ache in my temples, I shifted my internal view just enough to catch a glimpse of my own magic.  The flame greeted me like an old friend, and to make sure I had the right magic, I made it dance and flicker ever so slightly.

“Got it,” I hissed past the pain.

“Good, now let it grow.  Fan the flame until it can’t get any bigger.”

Taking a deep breath, I carefully willed the flame to grow.  Slowly, the fire next to my heart grew brighter, bigger.  As my own magic flared, the blue rose of Cernunnos began unfurling again.  This time it was harder to coax it into submission.

When it seemed like the rose wouldn't obey me any further, I quickly capped my own magic, not allowing it to grow any larger.  The rose stopped blooming, and with sheer willpower alone, I forced it to close back up.  Sweat beaded on my forehead and my jaw hurt from clenching my teeth so tight.  The power in the rose tickled my senses, but I refused to let it go.  I could feel more than tell the amount of magic that still wished to be released.  Like the heavy weight of a massive lake pressing against an unstable dam.  Well, I just had to figure out how to reinforce that dam.

“Okay,” I said, my mouth feeli
ng parched, “I’m at my limit.”

Technically, I felt like I could release loads more of my magic, but I was afraid it I did, the rose would burst into full bloom and join it.  I'd just have to make do with what I had control over at the moment.

“Good,” Enorah answered.  “Now, all I want you to do for today is practice expanding and drawing in your magic so you get used to the
sensation
.  Hopefully by the end of the week, if you practice every day, you’ll be able to do it without consciously thinking about it.”

I nodded, then drew my magic back down into a tiny flame and opened my eyes.  A sharp pain cut across my vision as the rose tried to crack open once again, but the glamour obeyed me more quickly this time when I forced it down.  A slight thrill of triumph shot through me.  I was certain I could learn to balance both my sources of power with enough practice.

I made a mental note to wander off on my own whenever I could to practice that particular drill in full force.  I wanted to be prepared when the Morrigan struck, but I had no idea what letting my magic flare to its full strength might do.  Best to do it where no one could see.

For the rest of the morning, Enorah simply taught me some basic spells I could cast using my magic.  As I practiced fluctuating my own glamour, she helped me memorize the words and actions that went along with these simple charms.  For instance, by speaking the ancient word for 'sleep' and whispering it into someone's ear,
or pointing my finger to my own
while gathering a small bit of my magic, I could put someone or myself into a deep sleep.

When I arched my eyebrow at her, she merely shrugged.  "It might come in handy some day.  I've used it many times on myself when I didn't want the
ch
ildren disturbing me after a long night standing guard."

Once I felt like I had a good grasp on the expanding and contrasting exercise
s
for my magic, she showed me how to gather up a small bead of glamour to use in the spells she'd taught me.

For another hour, I worked on drawing away small beads of my magic.  It was simple, really, once Enorah explained the concept to me.  First
,
I had to let my magic grow to a large flame, then I would simply pull away a tiny fragment of it, like gathering cotton candy on a paper cone, only instead of making a beehive of spun sugar, I was concentrating the glamour into a tiny pebble of magic.  It took me a few tries to get it just right, but after several minutes I was whipping out beads of magic like I'd done it all my life.  By the time we headed back for the village, I was glowing with confidence.  Enorah couldn't stop telling me how well I'd done and that she was certain by the end of the
month
, I'd be a force to reckon with.

We made it back home just in time for lunch, and after I finished eating with the others, I sought out a quiet spot just beyond the edge of the village to think.  I wanted time to let my thoughts wander, without any distractions.

Despite my determination
, and so far, success, at hiding my new wealth of magic, I was still terrified that somehow I'd let it slip that an antlered being of power had placed a god's share of glamour into my hands.  Yes, it was only my first day of practice and so far Cernunnos's gift had obeyed me when it tried to flare, but I had also only been able to expand my own magic to half its potential before I couldn't control that other source of power any longer.