[English] CARRIER OF THE MARK

Carrier of the Mark
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Áine picked up a sunflower seed that the crow had dropped by the cereal bowl. She held it in her fist for a few seconds, then turned her palm up and opened it. Nestled there was a tiny green sprout. My mouth fell open as it grew before my eyes.

“Water,” Adam said softly behind me. He raised his hand from my shoulder and grabbed at the air. A perfect sphere of water made its way from the sink like a delicate bubble and hovered over the table.

“Fire,” growled Rían.

Before I could turn to look at him a flame shot through the air, engulfing the sphere of water and evaporating it with a loud hiss. I slowly turned in my seat and looked at each of them in turn. Áine and Adam smiled reassuringly, but Rían just stared at me with eyes that burned like embers.

Fionn spoke again after a moment. “The forces that guide the Marked have brought you to us, which leaves us with an interesting and unprecedented situation. A situation I’d hoped to avoid. We have the fourth element.”

“Air,” Áine said with a flourish.

“I’m air? Are you telling me I have magic too?”

Rían thumped the wall. “This is crap. If she was the real deal, the Sidhe would have guided her to us years ago,” he growled at Fionn. “And even if she is the fourth, her power would be weak—and let’s not forget her time is nearly up. If we bring attention to her now we draw attention to ourselves. We can’t put ourselves in danger for her sake.”

“Shut your mouth!” Adam shouted.

“Why don’t you make me, little brother?” Rían shouted back, squaring up.

“Enough!” Fionn roared. “The significance of this cannot be ignored, and I am bound to protect the Marked Ones. All four of them!” He glared at Rían.

“Rían,” Áine said gently, “her power is strong. Adam and I have seen it.”

“That was a fluke, a one-off. She didn’t even know she did it.”

“Rían, she found us. She must have been guided,” Áine said.

“I’ve heard enough of this crap. I’m out of here,” Rían muttered, and stormed out.

“Stay close,” Fionn called. “We have to be extra careful until we’re sure of the lay of the land.”

“Don’t mind Rían. He doesn’t react well to change.” Adam rubbed my back gently. “Your head must be spinning.”

“What did Rían mean about a ‘shee’? What is that?” I asked, trying desperately to keep up with everything. “Fionn mentioned it too.”

“The Sidhe is the spirit guide of the Marked,” Adam answered. “He watches over us. He guided you to us.” He raised his eyebrows. “Looks like a monk with a long gray beard.”

“The monk is the Sidhe?” I gasped.

“You’ve seen him?” Adam asked.

I nodded. So the old monk was a spirit guide. It sort of made sense … at least, some kind of sense when spoken in the same breath as everything else I was hearing.

My hand wandered up to my scar—no, I corrected myself, my Mark—and traced the faint pattern. “Was my mom Marked?”

“No, but either she or your father must be of royal blood, a descendant of a Marked one,” Fionn replied.

“So why me? Why did I get the Mark?”

Fionn shook his head. “When or why the Mark comes to royal bloods of indirect descent, we’re really not sure. When the direct bloodline is broken suddenly, like in the case of their mother, the Sidhe makes his selection and guides the new Mark to the others.”

“So I’m air,” I whispered quietly to myself.

“Yes.” Áine smiled encouragingly.

“What can I do?”

“Air is a very powerful element,” Adam said softly. “You can pretty much do anything you want.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. You can manipulate air. You can move things with a single command. At full strength, and with training and experience, you’d be capable of controlling the air and anything existing in it.”

“So you’ve known about me and my Mark all along?” I looked him straight in the eye.

“No. At first we weren’t sure what you were. But then all of our powers started acting up and the fourth arc appeared on our Marks. Even then, we weren’t positive. But I was so drawn to you. My element knew you were the fourth before I did.”

“Is it just the Mark that draws you to me?” I blurted out. Was what we had even real? Or was it just some weird mystical force at work?

He studied my face and then shook his head. “It can’t be just the Mark. What I feel for you is real. It has to be. I tried to stay away, but I couldn’t. It would hurt when you were close and I could see you, but not touch you.” He looked sincere, but I could see the same fears in his eyes. I realized he was trying to convince himself as much as me.

“So I made that tornado thing happen last night? How did I do it?”

“Your power is deep within you, looking for an outlet. You have to tap into it to be able to release it,” Fionn said, standing up. “Fear or stress can trigger your power unwittingly. That is why we must act fast. If your power is starting to manifest, you must learn to control it. The Sidhe could have orchestrated your move to Kinsale years ago. There must be a reason why he waited until such a late stage in your development to bring you here. We just need to figure out what that reason is.”

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“So it was the Sidhe that got my dad the job at the yacht club?”

Fionn nodded. “It must have been. There’s no other explanation. Listen, I’m sorry to leave you like this, but I have to get Rían on our side.”

“Fionn, wait. What did you mean before when you said that this was a situation you’d hoped to avoid? Is it the same reason Rían is so against me?” I asked, dreading the answer.

Fionn’s face softened. “Rían, Adam, and Áine are my life. I’d do anything to protect them. I’d hoped that the elements would not call on them. But it seems destiny has other plans. With the arrival of the fourth it looks like an alignment is necessary.”

“Alignment? What is that?”

“The true purpose of the Marked Ones. It’s a ritual that aligns the elements on Earth. It has to be performed on the Summer Solstice.”

“But surely that’s a good thing?”

“It should be, but I don’t like the dangers it presents to my family. It’s selfish, really. I should be thinking of the greater good.” Fionn smiled gently and walked outside to find Rian.

I turned to Adam. “Dangers?”

“Let’s talk more about that when Fionn comes back. First things first: Are you okay?”

“I think so. But … I really don’t feel like I have any power in me.”

“Oh, you do; I’ve seen it.”

“Last night?”

“Not just then. You use your power all the time. You just don’t notice. I’ve been watching you … stalker style, even when I couldn’t see you.”

“He even had me hounding you,” Áine interjected. “As you surely have guessed by now…”

“The crow!” I looked at her in astonishment. “He was watching me.”

“Not so sly, huh?” She laughed and held out her hand, looking toward the window. A moment later my crow flew in and landed on her arm. “He’s actually a rook. This is Randel,” she introduced us. “Randel,” she said, addressing the bird, “you already know Megan.” He bowed his head toward me in recognition and then jumped up onto her shoulder.

“I had poor Randel and Áine working around the clock watching you,” Adam said softly.

“Which, by the way, you owe me big-time for,” Áine said to him.

“I know, I know, name it.” He sighed.

“Oh, don’t worry; I will! But right now I’m going to go help Fionn with Rían; he’s really worked up.” Áine started to head out, but I said her name and she turned back to face me.

I took a deep breath. “So you’re telling me you can speak to Randel, and that he can speak to you?”

“I can speak to and understand all animals, and I have a few other earthly tricks up my sleeve too.” She winked at me.

“My head’s fried at the moment,” I muttered wearily, “but remind me to ask you about them some other time.”

“Sure, we have the rest of our lives. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you have joined our family. Finally, I’m not the only freaky Carrier of the Mark; it takes the pressure right off. Perhaps Adam here will oblige…”

“Get out of here,” Adam told her lightheartedly, throwing a cushion in her direction. She easily ducked out of the way and danced from the room.

Adam turned to me. “Want to go for a walk?” He stood and pulled me up into his arms.

“Yes. I just … I need some time to sort it all out in my head.” I stood there in his arms quietly for a moment.

“Come on, let’s go for that walk. I know a place that will make you feel much better,” he said. He grabbed my jacket and wrapped it around me. “Let’s get out of here.”

We climbed into his car and drove in silence until we got to James Fort, an old ruin set on a grassy headland. Then we set off on foot. The grass was long and damp. It soaked my jeans a dark blue around my feet, but I barely felt it. The fresh sea breeze hitting my face felt so good, blowing away the fears and the panic. The raw beauty of this place made the magic seem almost believable.

Adam took my hand and held it firmly. We walked in silence until we came to the abandoned ruins of the fort. Only the ancient exterior walls of the original structure remained. Thick battlements with huge arched windows overlooked the water, facing a sister fort on the other side of the harbor.

Adam lifted me up into one of these windows and tucked me in on one side, with my back to the curving stone frame. Then he pulled himself up and sat on the other side, so we were face-to-face, our boots touching. It had started to rain lightly, but we were well sheltered in the wall. Adam raised his arm and pointed over to the other fort across the water.

“Have you been to Charles Fort?”

“No. I’ve been meaning to since I got here, but never quite got around to it.” I gazed around the crumbling walls of James Fort, with trees growing out of walls and floors blanketed with brambles and grass. “This place is like the poor relation to her rather fine sister over there,” I said, eyeing the well-preserved walls and manicured grass of the other fort.

“Yes, but I prefer the real thing. This place has sat here undisturbed all these years. It feels alive. The other fort has been restored for the tourists. It’s lost its soul.”

I could see his point. It was comfortable here, deserted; the only sound was the rain hitting the leaves and the damp earth, and the waves breaking on the rocks far below us. I wrapped my arms around my knees and hugged them to me.

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“I love this place. It feels so like Newgrange,” he murmured softly.

“What’s Newgrange?”

“It’s a temple in the Boyne Valley, in Meath, built for the Marked Ones, back in the beginning. It was perfectly positioned for the winter solstice and, of course, the alignment. It’s never been used by us, since there has never been a successful alignment, but the tourists and archeologists get a kick out of the winter illumination. There’s a magical serenity to the place. I get that same feeling here. Do you sense it?”

“I think I do. Everything seems to make sense here.” I paused. “Isn’t there some sort of ghost story attached to this place?”

“Not here. The White Lady haunts Charles Fort. Her husband was killed on her wedding day, so she jumped to her death, mourning her lost love, and now she walks the battlements each night.”

“Well, that’s cheerful.”

“Ah, yes, these stories usually are.” He smiled over at me. “Would you like to hang out and see if she appears?”

“I think I’ve had my fill of the supernatural for one day.”

“I guess you have. How are you feeling now?”

“Weird and … a little scared.” I looked up at him. “And happy, actually. I feel like I could take on the world when I’m with you.” I got up onto all fours and crawled over to him and he took me in his arms.

“Try not to feel too overwhelmed,” he said into my hair as he hugged me tight. The warmth from his body gave me goose bumps and sent shivers down my spine.

“You should know,” he began softly, “that if this is all too much for you, if you don’t want this, you don’t have to accept the Mark. If you don’t evoke the element before the summer solstice, it will skip you and move on to the next generation.” He paused, and let his words sink in. “I wouldn’t blame you. I wonder what any of us would have done, given the choice.”

“Is that what Rían meant about my time running out?” I asked, trying to remember the details of the conversation.

“Yeah. But you don’t have to worry about that right now.” He rocked me back and forth. “Let’s see if we can spot the White Lady.” He put on a ghoulish laugh.

I snuggled in closer to him. I don’t know how long we sat there, but the sun was on the other side of the battlements when he nudged me awake.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” he said softly in my ear. “Fionn called. It looks like Rían’s been talked down. We’d better get back.”

Eleven

THE ORDER OF THE MARK

When we got back to the house they were waiting for us in a sitting room off the main hall. Two threadbare sofas faced each other in the center. Fionn sat on one with his elbows on his knees and his hands cradling his face. Beside him, Rían slouched into the corner, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Áine came in behind us and shut the door. She walked past Rían and curled up in an armchair by the ornate fireplace.

“Megan, welcome back,” Fionn said as we walked into the room and sat on the couch opposite him and Rían. “I want to apologize for our reactions earlier. You are, of course, very welcome in this family, and from now on, you will be thought of as one of us.” His pleading eyes met mine. “Can you accept our apologies?”

“Um … sure,” I said. “We were all under a lot of pressure.”

He smiled. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

The warmth of this smile caught me off guard. I had turned this man into a hard military type in my head; I now struggled to unravel my opinion of him.

“I’ve been in contact with the Dublin Order—” Fionn started.

“What? I thought we were going to keep them out of this until we’d assessed the situation,” Adam interrupted with an irritated edge to his voice.

“It’s time to act, Adam,” Fionn said. “It’s obvious from what we’ve seen that Megan is ready.”

“What am I ready for? And what is the Dublin Order?” I asked, looking from Fionn to Adam.

“Megan,” Fionn began, “I’m a member of an ancient order, the Order of the Mark. We have been in existence for millennia and we exist for one reason: to hold and protect the secret of the Marked. We originated from a group of druids who came together in an attempt to guide the world out of the chaos it was left in after Danu went back to the realm of the gods. When the first three Marked Ones perished, the Order put the remaining Marked One into hiding to protect her from those who sought her power.

“Her Sidhe—who was a mortal monk back then—died sometime later, leaving us alone to figure out the secrets of the Marked. The Order had to ensure the continuation of the bloodline, but for a long time they were not very successful. It turns out the Marked gene is recessive. Pairings rarely produced Marked children. The Order managed to maintain one or two Marked over time, but it was hit-and-miss. Then some children who were descended from royal Marked blood started growing Marks in their teens. The Order could not understand what was happening until the children spoke of an old monk who appeared to them. It soon became clear that the Sidhe was continuing his calling from the spirit realm.

“So the elements were maintained, but in order to perform elemental alignment, the Order needed four elements fully evoked at the same time. The strength required of the four elements to connect and balance Earth is substantial. A failed alignment is more harmful to Earth’s delicate balance than no alignment at all.”

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“I still don’t really understand how that’s possible…” I said, but Fionn smiled at me, and the look in his eyes made me realize that this was another question that he would be able to answer later.

“The royal blood spread out across the world,” Fionn continued. “There was no way of knowing which royal bloodline the Sidhe would activate and when and if he would at all. It was rare for the Sidhe to activate the royal bloods, and they were always male, which didn’t help. The Order needed Carriers. So the Order abandoned the royal bloods and concentrated on the children of the direct lines, hoping to aid the creation of new Marked Ones. They sought out neutral gene carriers as matches for the Marked Carriers, in order to allow the recessive Marked gene to pass to the next generation—”

“Hang on,” I interrupted Fionn, feeling like my head was about to explode. “So royal bloods are descendants of Marked ones, but don’t bear the Mark.”

Fionn nodded.

“And they didn’t get the Mark because…?”

“They were either born to an unmarked mother and Marked father or to a Marked mother and a father who did not carry the neutral gene,” Fionn finished for me.

“So who carries the neutral gene, and how do you know?”

“This isn’t all hard science, Megan; there is an element of magic here. Danu never thought her Tuatha de Danann would fail; she never intended for the line to continue. So she didn’t exactly leave a user manual. Through trial and error the Order discovered that it was a recessive gene, and that it only manifests in certain families, so the Order paired the female Carriers with partners from those lines. But getting the right combination does not guarantee Marked children. That’s what made the DeRís family special.”

“You mean because all of the children were Marked?” I asked, looking around the room.

“Because they had a Carrier of the Mark for a mother and a father who carried the neutral gene. So now Áine is a Carrier of the Mark and Adam and Rían are Marked royal bloods.” Fionn waited for me to continue.

“Adam is water, Áine is earth, and Rían is Fire, so their mother must have been…”

Fionn smiled sadly. “Air.”

“Like me.” I swallowed nervously. “And you said the Sidhe only activated male royal bloods. What does that make me?”

“It makes you unique,” Adam said slowly.

“First and foremost it makes you a Carrier of the Mark,” Fionn added. “It also makes you less detectable. Nobody would suspect you of being an activated element. I believe the Sidhe was trying to protect the fourth element by hiding it in a female.”

“What does it need protecting from?”

“The world is a very different place now,” Fionn said, rubbing his forehead. “Things have changed over the centuries, and the Order has been forced to retreat into a very secret world. Knowledge of the Marked tends to be handed down through families of the Order, all educated in their history and power. Order members are based around the world now, in small pockets, living normally in communities with families and jobs. We do stay in contact, but we meet only when necessary. Ireland is the ancestral home of the Mark. We have hidden chambers under Trinity College in Dublin. The three members of the Dublin Order watch over our archives and artifacts there.”

“But the Order has an agenda. We don’t have many dealings with them,” Adam interjected.

“What’s the agenda?” I asked.

“Let me tell the story, Adam, please.” Fionn gave Adam a warning look. “As Adam says, the Order has an agenda, and quite rightly so. Its ultimate goal is to perform the alignment ritual. It is, after all, the very reason for your existence—and the reason that Danu created the Marked Ones in the first place.”

“You said before that alignment was dangerous,” I said, thinking back to this morning.

“Yes, the ritual itself is very draining. That’s why all four Marked Ones need to be at full strength in order to even attempt an alignment. They’ve attempted the ritual throughout the ages, sometimes with three elements, sometimes with elements at varying stages of development. They all failed, doing more harm than good—”

“But what do you mean?” I interrupted. I wanted a straight answer here; my head was still swirling.

Fionn gave me an apologetic look and went on. “I mean the attempted rituals threw off the balance in the world even more, sometimes at the expense of a Marked One. But quite honestly, even beyond the dangers of an alignment ritual, there are more immediate dangers that the Marked Ones face. There are those who want the powers of the elements.”

“Seriously? There are people still fighting over the Marked?” I asked.

“Yes, and they are as determined now as they have ever been. That is where my loyalties divide. My first priority is to my family.” Fionn looked around the room. “The Order would gladly sacrifice any of the Marked if they thought they could perform their alignment. But I will never allow that to happen. Not with me as your guardian. I’d forfeit the alignment in a heartbeat if it meant keeping you guys safe.” Fionn fell silent for a few moments, and his eyes glazed over. He looked far away in his thoughts. “When they had four Marked Ones the last time, the Order got sloppy. They became obsessed with the alignment and let their guard slip. The Knox found us. They were after Rían, Adam, and Áine, of course. They had little interest in the children’s mother and father, and they were unaware that their mother was pregnant at the time. I escaped with the children, but their parents, Emma and Stephen, and their baby sister perished. We couldn’t even attend their funerals.”

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The silence in the room hurt my ears.

Fionn pinched the bridge of his nose and continued. “We moved around for a while, outrunning the Knox, and we eventually found safety and a home here. Emma came from the most successful line of Carriers, and this was their ancestral home. It’s protected and keeps us safe. But the Knox is still looking for these three. They don’t give up. I swore to protect their mother and I failed her. So I pledged my life to protecting her children.”

“The Knox,” I said, mesmerized by the story and hungry for more information. “Who are they?”

“The Knox,” Fionn began darkly. “Well, there were always those who coveted the elements, who wanted to take the powers for their own use and benefit. But they were disorganized, untrained, and unskilled. Then, in the sixteenth century, all that changed. The Order had a female Carrier of the Mark—Éile Knox. She produced three Marked children. The fourth child was a girl, Anú Knox. Anú wasn’t Marked, as there were already four elements. She was obviously born of royal blood and, like all other royal bloods, had the potential to be Marked, but she would not receive her Mark unless Éile renounced her power and released it to Anú. Ideally the four elements should be from the same generation, where their powers are of similar age and strength. Anú—being of direct descent—was the rightful heir. But Anú was a strange child who leaned toward the darkness, and the Order feared that she would not use her power as it was intended. It was decided that Éile would retain her power and perform the alignment with her three children when they were evoked to full strength, in the hope that it would be balanced enough to achieve a full alignment.

“Anú resented the Order for their decision and craved the power that she believed was rightfully hers. Bitterness ate away at her sanity. On the eve of the summer solstice, when the alignment ritual was to take place, Anú killed Éile and claimed the power. However, having no experience with the element and unable to control its strength, her power, fueled by anger, wreaked havoc on the Order. She killed indiscriminately. Her brothers perished, but the Order managed to save her sister. At that point, the members of the Order were forced to do the unthinkable. They stripped Anú of her power.”

“They can do that?” I gasped. “The Order can remove the power?”

“They could back then because they had the Amulet of Accaious. Before the goddess Danu ascended to the realm of the gods, she gave her children the amulet and the Cup of Truth to help them in their task. The amulet enabled any Marked One to renounce his or her power and pass it on to the next generation. But the amulet could also be used to strip a Marked one of his or her element. The catch was that with it, their life essence would also be removed.”

“You mean they’d be killed?” I was stunned.

“Not quite, but close,” Fionn said. “The Order had no choice. They couldn’t kill Anú—the Order is bound to protect the Marked. But Anú’s element was out of control, and the only option left was to strip it from her.

“They fled with the last Carrier. Three Order members stayed behind to perform the ritual. They watched in horror as the process began. Anú went from a sixteen-year-old girl to an old woman in minutes. She lashed out at the three men, killing two, but the bearer of the amulet was immune to her failing power. In her final throes she ripped the amulet from his neck and broke it into pieces. She grabbed a shard of the amber stone from the amulet, swore vengeance, and fled.

“With the Order’s numbers diminished and their number one priority being the last Carrier, they let Anú go. Most of the Order left Ireland after that, leaving only a small group to watch over their crypt. They set up bases around the world, tracking down the lost royal bloods in the hope of discovering the three lost Marks.

“Anú bided her time. She recruited an army of followers to do her bidding, all hungry for the power of the elements. They called themselves the Knox, after their leader. Anú also realized she could use the amber shard from the amulet to track the Marked, as the amber was sensitive to the elements and glowed when they were near. Since then, the Marked have been going missing.”

I flinched. “You mean…”

Fionn shrugged. “We have never found a trace of any of the missing Marked. Ever. These days, the Knox is a complex and well-funded organization. Stop and think of the power one would have if he or she controlled the elements. The food sources of the world could be controlled. And who would need weapons of war if he controlled fire? Whole countries could be wiped out if you can control the water. And then there’s air.” He looked directly at me. “What is the world without air? A dead, lifeless planet. If the Knox held the power, they’d hold the world to ransom.”

“How have they not found you here?” I asked.

“This land is protected. It’s what we call ‘echoed’ lands. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories,” Adam said. “There were no witches, of course, but there were the Order members, descendants of the original druids. You see, land touched by Danu holds echoes of her power. The druids searched Ireland for the echoes. They were strong here, so they took control of the land. It protects the Marked from detection, but only within its boundaries.”

“But the Order knows where you are?” I asked.

“Only the Dublin Order,” Áine said from across the room. “The other Orders aren’t safe.”

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“What does that mean?” I turned around to her.

“The Order is riddled with traitors. How else do you think they got my mom and dad?”

“That’s not entirely accurate, Áine,” Fionn interrupted. “The Order is hardly riddled with traitors. But yes, the Knox has infiltrated the ranks of the Order. Unfortunately we don’t know who we can trust.”

“But the Dublin Order is on our side. We can trust them,” Áine said, smiling reassuringly.

“Yes, they are the good guys. We need them,” Fionn said, looking at Rían, who was staring at the floor. “Which brings us back to you, Megan. The Dublin Order members are eager to get you into training. If you choose to follow your Marked path, you need to evoke your power before the summer solstice in June.”

I turned to Adam. “Did you ever think about not accepting it?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t have a choice. I was born with my Mark, and my mom was a Carrier. I evoked my power well before I could have even comprehended stopping it. You’ve been selected, and your power has only been growing since the selection. If you acted quickly, you could suppress it.”

My head was spinning. Terror mixed with a magical feeling of being part of something … huge. I could walk away from this. Have a normal life. But did I want that? I looked over at Adam and a warm feeling wrapped around my heart. “I don’t want *****ppress it. I want this.”

“You can’t want this!” Rían exclaimed, letting his eyes drift up from the floor. “Haven’t you heard a word Fionn has told you? It’s dangerous. There are people who want to capture you, torture you, and use you for your element. Do you really want that?”

“Rían,” Fionn growled. “We talked about this.”

“What? You’re the one who wants her to know all the facts. Well, here are some facts.” Rían stood up and pulled his T-shirt over his head. An angry red scar ran down his back from his shoulder blades right down to his waist. “This is the reality we live with.”

“How did you get that?”

“Having these powers isn’t all rainbows and moonbeams. We’ve had our run-ins with the Knox.”

“They found you? When?”

“Four years ago, just before we left the U.K.,” Fionn jumped in. “It happens, but we’ve been safe here.”

“And if you think Rían looks bad you should have seen the other guy.” Áine smiled a little. “Or what was left of him,” she said, scrunching up her face.

“You have your chance to walk away,” Rían said quietly. “If it were me, I’d take that chance and start walking now.”

I looked at Adam’s face and felt the warm glow radiate through me.

“Thanks for the warning, Rían. I get what you’re saying, but if this Sidhe guy guided me here to you, he had good reason. Something about this feels right.”

Rían stared at me for a few moments, then looked defeated. “All right, then, crazy girl. Just remember, you were warned.”

“Good. I’m glad to see you setting your differences aside, Rían,” Fionn said, standing up. “Because the Order has put you in charge of her training.”

“What?” Rían and Adam said in unison.

“They feel that Rían is the most qualified when it comes to control. I tend to agree with them. Training will begin next week.”

“But—” Adam began.

“But nothing, Adam.” Fionn held up his hand. “You know that Rían is the man for the job. I’ll need you on the ground watching out for her. We can only guarantee her safety on the estate, and we can’t keep her here. She has to maintain her normal life. I want you, Áine, and Randel running watches. Keep your ears to the ground.”

I stood there watching them discuss the plans that were taking shape. “What will I do?” I said quietly from the couch.

They all looked at me.

“You stay safe,” Adam said.

“And you learn,” Fionn added. “You have two weeks to put your element to the test before you meet the Order. You have some serious work ahead of you.”

With that, the family meeting seemed to be at an end, and everyone stood up and started to walk away. I held out my arms and Adam pulled me into an embrace. “Is that it? Don’t I need to hear the rest?”

“You have enough to mull over for now. I think part two of your induction is scheduled for Tuesday,” Adam said into my hair.

“What about tomorrow?”

“Fionn’s going to Dublin tomorrow. We have to wait for him to get back.” He pulled back and looked at me. “You’re very eager.”

“Do you have any idea how amazing all of this sounds? And to think I’m part of it! I want to know everything.”

“You will; I promise. But now I need to get you home. I told your dad I’d have you back after dinner. Oh, crap. Dinner.” He gave me a rueful look.

I laughed. “Don’t worry. I couldn’t eat now even if I tried.”

Twelve

GOING PUBLIC

I was wide-awake the next morning at six a.m. After tossing and turning for fifteen minutes I finally gave in and got dressed for school. I couldn’t stop thinking about how much had happened in just one weekend.

Adam was picking me up at eight forty-five. That way my dad would be gone, and we would get to school at the last minute, with as little fanfare as possible. Too bad it was still only seven fifteen.

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Dad was up; I could hear his shower running. I went downstairs and poured myself a bowl of cereal. I ate it slowly, one flake at a time, and watched the minutes tick by. I couldn’t wait for Adam to get here. It was weird how much more in control I felt when he was with me.

Yesterday, everything had made perfect sense. Well, sort of. But during the night, the logic had gotten messed up. My head was all over the place. I also felt guilty about blowing Caitlin off after I had promised her I would fill her in. I could not—and would not—jeopardize that friendship.

My dad came down whistling.

“You’re chipper this morning,” I said, glancing up from my cereal bowl.

“Well, life is good.” He tapped his stomach. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Cornflakes,” I deadpanned.

He cringed and poured himself a cup of coffee. “You’re up early.”

“There’s a lot going on at school today. I wanted to make sure I was on top of it all.”

“Anything exciting?” he asked, flipping open his laptop.

Well, actually, I can control air. “Nope, nothing too exciting. Just lots of schoolwork.”

“Don’t overdo it,” he said, frowning. “You have plenty of time until exams.” He checked his e-mail, and then gulped down the last of his coffee. “I’m off,” he said, grabbing his coat. “See you later.”

“Later,” I called out after him.

I cleaned up the breakfast dishes and got my bag ready. Finally eight forty-five rolled around and Adam’s car swung into my driveway. My heart flipped. I walked out to him and locked the door behind me.

“Adam.” I smiled as he got out of the car and walked up to greet me.

“Megan,” he breathed, and pulled me into an embrace.

“Hello! You kids want to break it up so we can get to school sometime today?” Áine said out the back window.

Adam pulled back and rolled his eyes. “You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

He opened the passenger door for me and ran around to the driver’s side and jumped in.

“I’ve been relegated to the backseat,” Áine announced with a big grin.

“We can swap if you like,” I offered, turning to look back at her.

“God, no,” she declared. “I’m happy to hide out back here. You have your weird connection vibe going on, and it’s uncomfortable to be between you two. No … it’s nauseating, actually.” She laughed, stuck her finger in her mouth, and fake-gagged.

When we arrived at the school, Adam pulled into one of his regular parking spots. I looked nervously out the window toward the school gates. Caitlin wasn’t there. Shoot. She must be really angry.

“What’s up?” Adam looked at me thoughtfully.

“I think Caitlin’s pissed off at me.” I sighed. “I blew her off last night—completely forgot I was supposed to meet up with her.”

“She’ll come around. She’s a good friend,” he said softly.

“I hope so. I never meant to hurt her feelings.”

Áine got out of the car and crossed the road, and Adam squeezed my hand.

“We’d better follow her lead and get in there before I drive off and keep you captive for the day.”

“Feel free,” I said, laughing.

A smile crossed his face, but his focus was beyond me, out the window toward the school.

“Looks like Caitlin’s a better friend than you imagined. I’d say she’s ready to forgive and forget.”

I followed his gaze and saw Caitlin standing inside the gates on the green. “Caitlin,” I squeaked.

We got out of the car and he took my hand again as we walked toward the school. People were looking at us, but I couldn’t care less. I went straight up to Caitlin, grinning at her wide eyes.

“Hey,” I said. “I’m so happy you’re here. You’re the best.”

“I know,” she replied, never taking her eyes off Adam.

“I’ll see you in class,” Adam said, giving me a quick kiss. He turned to Caitlin with his most captivating smile. “Thanks for understanding.”

“Sure,” she mumbled as Adam walked away.

I turned back to her with an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry about last night! I got carried away and didn’t realize how late it was.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’d have dumped me too if I was on a romantic date with that! But I need details! You owe me that much.”

“That I do,” I agreed, laughing, thrilled to be forgiven.

“Thank goodness we have maths today, since I have you all to myself in that class. Too bad I have to wait through three other classes! Now come on or we’ll be late,” she said, grabbing my sleeve.

We ran to our first class and made it just in time. Adam was there sitting in the second row with two seats beside him. He surreptitiously tapped the one closer to him and I rushed to claim it. Caitlin gave me a meaningful look and sat in the seat on the other side of me. Jennifer turned around and took in the seating arrangement with wide eyes. Then she half smiled and flicked her hair over her shoulder as she turned around to face the front of the class again. Adam seemed to be enjoying the attention.

Finally, fourth period rolled around, and Caitlin and I headed to math. I couldn’t wait to tell her everything. Well, almost everything.

Caitlin was eager to get me to class early, so we could talk before we had to resort to writing notes. She ushered me into the back row. As I sat down, my stomach twisted a little. I wasn’t looking forward to lying to my best friend. It was made so much worse when her excited eyes looked at me and she smiled her gorgeous, open smile.

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“Well?” she prompted, waiting for the floodgates to open.

“I don’t know where to start,” I replied honestly. I guess lying by omission isn’t as horrible as all-out lies.

“Start with how on earth you ended up arriving at the party with Adam!”

After everything that had gone on yesterday, I had completely forgotten about the egg attack on Saturday night. I retold the story about the boys, of course carefully e***ed, leaving out the part about me actually creating the tornado that ripped through the lane.

She started laughing. “I heard Blánnaid Flynn telling a story about her boyfriend, Tom O’Donnell, and his friend Mick. Apparently, they were found walking around the town all bloody and windswept, saying Adam used voodoo on them.” Suddenly she stopped laughing. “He didn’t, did he?”

“Definitely not. Adam arrived after that freakish wind kicked up.”

“It’s weird. There was no wind like that down at the bonfire.”

“Yeah, really weird. I couldn’t believe it myself,” I said, not quite meeting her eyes.

“Tom and Mick had been drinking cider since dinner, the idiots.” Caitlin frowned. “They must have been smoking something stronger too, if you ask me, with the stories they were telling. They made such eejits of themselves, everyone’s laughing at them, and Blánnaid even broke up with Tom over it. If her dad heard about what happened, she would be in serious trouble. Did they scare you?” she asked, concerned all of a sudden. “I shouldn’t have let you walk on your own.”

“No. Don’t worry about it. They were just acting like drunk morons,” I reassured her.

“Well, they won’t be bothering you ever again. They’re so freaked out.”

Just then Miss Moore, the math teacher, walked into the room along with the stragglers late for class, and Caitlin and I moved our conversation to paper.

That was totally true. I’d let her take from it what she liked.

I flushed and caught her eye. She took the paper back.

Time now for some serious e***ing. I thought for a moment, my pen hovering over the paper.

I felt like that sounded casual enough. If I told her the truth about how intense our relationship was she would think I was crazy.

“Caitlin, have you something you would like to share with the class?” Miss Moore inquired, peering over her glasses.

“No, Miss Moore,” Caitlin said sweetly, as she hid the sheet under her book.

We both tried to look suitably interested for the rest of the period.

As we walked to geography class, Caitlin gave me a play-by-play of her weekend. Killian joined us at one point and Caitlin nearly exploded with happiness. I was so excited for her, and I was thrilled the spotlight was off me for a little while. It was a relief to have a break from lying. Then, when we got to the door, there stood Adam leaning against the wall, smiling at me. I had to use every ounce of my willpower to stop from diving into his arms. I seriously had to get control of my emotions—and fast; otherwise I was going to flunk my exams. I forced myself to pay attention to the teacher, but I couldn’t help feeling hyperaware of Adam’s very warm and muscular thigh right next to mine.

After class Adam turned to me. “Was that as hard for you as it was for me?” he asked with a cheeky smile. “Lunch?”

Lunch. Shoot. Adam and Áine normally went home for lunch. I felt my mood plummeting, though I told myself I was being silly. After all, he’d be back in an hour, and I’d survived one class period without him already.

“Oh, right. I guess I’ll see you later,” I muttered, trying to hide my disappointment.

“Actually, I thought I might join you and your friends. If you don’t mind, that is.” He fumbled around in his bag and pulled out a lunch box. “Fionn made me a sandwich,” he added with a smile.

“You’re kidding.” I laughed. “Fionn? Sandwiches?”

“I swear,” he said, opening the lunch box. There was a limp-looking cheese sandwich in it with a big handprint stamped into it where Fionn had held it down to cut it in half.

“Wasn’t that sweet of him?” I grinned. “Come on, then,” I said, standing up. “Let’s do lunch.” I held out my hand to him, he took it, and I pulled him up. I wished, not for the first time, that kissing weren’t against the school rules.

After the bell rang at the end of the day, I headed out to meet Adam. Lunch had been wonderful, but I hadn’t seen him since then, and my mind was swirling with questions that I needed answered.

“Is everything okay?” he inquired as I approached him.

“I need to talk to you,” I said. “Alone.”

“Sure. Let me just ask Rían to pick up Áine.” He took out his phone and quickly called his brother, who I could tell from Adam’s end of the conversation wasn’t very happy with Adam’s request.

When Adam got off the phone he turned to me again and took my hand. “Thanks,” I said. “So, Rían doesn’t like me much, does he?”

“It’s not that,” he began thoughtfully. “Rían has a tough time accepting who we are and our purpose. He blames the elements for our parents’ death and he resents his particular power most of all.” He looked at me. “We had to move quite a bit before we settled here and Rían had to work very hard to learn how to control his power. When we were younger it ended in a lot of houses being torched. I think he’s just finding it hard to accept that you would opt in when you have the chance to walk away.”

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“Wow. That explains a lot.” I wondered how Rían had learned to master his power, since it seemed like the hardest one to control. Maybe if he ever let his guard down I would ask him about it.

Adam and I walked in silence to his car and drove to my house. I didn’t want to bring anything up while he was driving—I wanted to have his full attention for all of my questions. Once we got inside, I made two cups of tea, grabbed a box of cookies, and led Adam up to my room. We sat down on my bed and he put his arms around me and hugged me, bending his head to mine for a lingering kiss.

“I can’t be distracted,” I said, breaking away, but then kissed him again. “Okay, I guess I can be distracted, but I don’t want to be.”

“You want to talk element stuff?”

“Yes. Seriously, I need to know everything.”

Adam looked thoughtful. “I don’t know everything, really, but Fionn does. I’ll tell you what I know, but we’ll have to talk to him again about it too, okay?”

“Of course. But I want to hear what you know first.” I handed him a mug and faced him, ready to drink in the stories behind my ability.

“You’re more Irish than you know,” he said, indicating the tea.

“Well, this tea-drinking habit is totally addictive.”

“I got quite fond of it myself when we first moved here.” Adam smiled, looking like he was lost for a moment in the memories.

“How old were you?”

“Fourteen.”

“So you’ve only lived here three years?”

“Nearly four.” He lay back on the bed. “So where do you want to start?”

“With the whole ‘my time running out’ thing,” I replied firmly.

“Thought you might.” He scratched his head. “Well, Rían, Áine, and I were born with our Marks. And, of course, we were born into a family that was groomed in the way of the Order. Our powers were apparent almost from birth, and they were fostered and cared for by people with extensive knowledge of the elements. We never had to evoke, in a manner of speaking, because we had done so without knowing, when we were children. We were bound to, really, since the elements grow stronger when they’re together. You, on the other hand, received your Mark when you were six, and while your power may have surfaced at times since then, you were too young to understand what was happening, and there was no way it could have been recognized by those around you.”

I racked my brain, trying to think of other weird windstorms or minitornadoes that I might have caused, but couldn’t come up with anything concrete. Adam paused as though he could sense that my focus had wandered, but as soon as my eyes met his once more, he picked up where he had left off.

“Anyway, your element has only really started growing since you came into contact with us. And from what I’ve seen so far, it’s growing fast, so you need to learn how to harness your power right away; otherwise you could do a lot of damage, and even possibly hurt yourself or other people. As for the possibility of the power passing you over, the element hits maturity just before we turn eighteen. If you don’t perform the evocation ritual before then, the element will pass you.”

“So if I don’t evoke the power before my birthday, it’ll be gone forever?”

“Well, technically it’s not your birthday; it’s the summer solstice in the year following your seventeenth birthday. But yes, that’s the general gist.”

“The summer solstice? When is that?”

“Next year it’s June twentieth,” Adam answered patiently. “You have a lot of time to make your choice.”

“What’s the evocation ritual like? Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt. It’s simply surrendering yourself to your element, so that you coexist. Your element is being suppressed at the moment and the ritual helps you free it. But your element needs to be strong first, in order to evoke. That’s why you’ll be training.”

“Training with Rían, you mean.”

“Yeah.” Adam shrugged, making it clear that while he still thought the arrangement was far from perfect, he didn’t think he could fight it. “Fionn has been working with the Dublin Order to work out a schedule for your work with Rían, and to try to estimate a date when you’ll be ready for evocation.”

“The Dublin Order. They’re the guys up at Trinity College, right?”

Adam nodded. “We call them Watchers, and there are three of them who are based in Dublin: Hugh McDonagh, William White, and M. J. O’Dwyer. They lecture in theology and philosophy at Trinity and they protect a crypt there where much of our history is stored.” He put down his empty cup and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“Any more questions?” he asked.

“Yeah, one more thing. I think I understand the whole Carrier of the Mark genetic line thing now, but Áine said something about not being the only ‘freaky Carrier of the Mark.’ What did she mean by ‘freaky’?” I watched as a pink tinge worked its way up his neck to his cheeks.

“So you understand that as a male Marked, I can’t pass on the Mark?”

“Yeah, I think so. You just pass on the royal blood, right?”

He nodded. “So the continuation of this line has always been dependent on Áine. I guess you share that responsibility now.”

Suddenly I understood what Áine meant when she said “Perhaps Adam would oblige.”

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Flushing wildly, I pressed my face into his shirt, and only looked at him again once I was sure my face had returned to its normal color.

“So all the babies that a Carrier of the Mark has will be Marked?” I asked.

“Well, not necessarily. It all depends on timing. There can only be four elements at any given time. If there is an opening, a baby would get the Mark. If not, the baby is born a royal blood, but first in line for the Mark. It’s actually just like any royal structure, really. In the event where the direct line of royal blood comes to an end, like in the case of what happened to us, the Mark has nowhere to go, so that’s when the Sidhe steps in and makes his selection from the royal blood pool out there—someone just like you.”

“So let’s say for argument’s sake that Áine got pregnant now by a partner who carried the neutral gene. That baby wouldn’t be Marked?”

“No, because there are already four elements. But the child would be royal blood of direct decent and first in line for the Mark. One of us would have to die, or give up our element. But if neither of those things happens before the child’s seventeenth birthday, then that child gets passed over in favor of the next in line.”

“My head hurts,” I said, snuggling back into his arms.

“I know it’s a lot to take in. But it’s something we don’t have to worry about. There are four Marked ones. We are all alive and well. It’s not even an issue right now.”

“Yeah, I know. I just need to understand. What happens if a Carrier of the Mark falls in love with someone who isn’t from a gene-neutral line? What then?” I felt Adam tense.

“It doesn’t really work like that.”

“What do you mean?”

He pulled me closer. “The Order hand-selects gene-neutral males to … you know…” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “They pick who the Carriers will marry. It’s basically like arranged marriages.”

I turned to face him. “What? That’s crazy!”

“I know. We don’t talk about it much—it freaks Áine out.”

“Will she have to do what they say?”

“She won’t be forced to, but there’s a deep-rooted sense of responsibility in her, just like in my mother.”

“I can’t even begin to understand that kind of pressure,” I said, and then I noticed the clock on the nightstand. “Uh-oh. My dad will be home soon. I’m not sure how happy he would be finding you lying on my bed.”

“You’re quite right, O wise one. Best not to fall out with the in-laws so early on in our relationship.” He laughed. “Anyway, I’m going to go.” He stood up. “Can you ask your dad if you can come over for dinner tomorrow?”

“I will.” I stood up and fell into his outstretched arms.

“Sleep tight,” he whispered in my ear.

“You too.”

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

After Adam left, I started putting dinner together. Spaghetti Bolognese. It was quick and easy. A few minutes later, my dad came in.

“Hi, Meg,” he called, as he hung up his coat.

“Hey! Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Spaghetti’s almost ready.” I smiled at him as he came in the door.

“Did I see Adam DeRís coming down our road just now?”

“Yup. He dropped me off after school.”

“Hummmm,” my dad mumbled, as he peeked into the saucepan simmering on the stove. “So what’s the story with you two?”

“Dad.” I groaned, embarrassed.

“You really like him.”

“Yes, Dad, I really like him. Now, no more questions, please.”

“It’s just … I worry about you,” he continued in a softer tone. “I wish you had a mother to talk to about, you know, girl stuff.”

Oh, no. I could hear it coming.

“You were never one for boyfriends, so I got away without needing to have the Talk with you, but that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned.”

“Dad!”

He held up his hand. “No, Megan, this is my job. We need to do this.” He took a deep breath. “Now, there is much more to *** than mere mechanics.”

I cringed into the boiling pot of spaghetti.

“There’s nothing wrong with ***, and I don’t necessarily believe in saving yourself for marriage, but *** is precious and should only be shared with a person you love. Just bear that in mind, please, for me? I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

I glanced up after a few seconds. He seemed to be finished. “Thanks, Dad, but honestly, you don’t have to worry about anything like that yet. It’s a long way off. Speaking of which, should I be giving you the same lecture?”

He flushed.

“Oh, I see. I’m too late,” I said, a bit shocked. His flush deepened. I was thankful the timer started going off, and I ran to drain the pasta. “Saved by the bell,” I exclaimed. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be horrified. My father? ***?

Yikes.

After dinner I got up to clear away the plates. “Dad, can I have dinner at Adam’s house tomorrow?”

“Sure, just don’t come home too late.”

“Thanks!” I said, dumping the plates in the sink.

“Dinner was good, Meg. There’s a movie starting at eight if you want to join me.”