See Me

CHAPTER FIVE

THE PARTY WAS IN full swing when we made it out that night. My eyes did a quick scan of the clearing until finding McKale among the musicians. As we entered the gathering, people began to approach and introduce themselves. I’d met a few people that day, but most had been busy working.

I stood with my family, shaking hands or hugging each male and female who bounded up to greet us. Brogan stood nearby, receiving claps on the back and hearty handshakes of congratulations from the men. I’d never be able to remember all of the names just yet, but they were all so friendly that my face hurt from smiling by the time we were through.

We found an open spot at a table near the musicians and sat, watching McKale on his fiddle and the people dancing. Other Irish instruments were played: wooden flutes, tin whistles, and even a small harp. McKale caught my eye between songs and held it for a few beats before giving me a bashful grin, turning me all toasty warm and confused inside. Maybe I’d made too much of our conversation that morning. Maybe he’d just been giving me an out if I wanted it. Cass saw the exchange and bumped my ankle with her own.

Across from us, Dad took a sip from his wooden mug and slapped a hand to the table, shaking his head before letting out a “Woo!” He leaned over the table and whispered, “Girls, do not drink the moonshine!” And then he took another drink.

“It’ll put hair on your chest,” Mom said, patting Dad’s pec.

“Ew.” Cassidy pulled a face.

Two Little Men with short blond beards approached Cassidy and me, asking us to dance. We looked at one another, hesitating.

“I don’t really know how…” Cassidy stammered.

“Och, not to worry!” said the one closest to her. “We’ll teach ye the steps.”

“Sure, why not,” I said. We’d most likely make fools of ourselves, but we were going to spend the summer with these people and we needed to make an effort. Better to look like fools than snobs. The men held out their small hands and we took them, allowing ourselves to be led onto the “dance floor,” which was essentially a circle of stamped down grass.

We lined up with the others and took their hands. I peered over at the musicians and McKale gave me a slight nod of approval as he raised the fiddle under his chin.

The dance required us to skip to the side, then skip to the other side. Our partners were supposed to spin us around, which was funny because we had to squat down and pivot. By the end, we’d gotten the hang of it and we were laughing and breathless. The song ended and everyone cheered. It took a moment to realize they were cheering for Cassidy and me. When I glanced at McKale again he was half grinning, the fiddle resting on his knee.

Cassidy and I smiled at the people and one another, but declined a second dance because we were thirsty. She and I headed to the corner of the field where a Little Man stood on a stool scooping drinks from barrels with a fire roaring at his back.

“Fine dancing!” he said when we approached. “What will ye be drinking? We got ale, mead, and a bit o’ fire water.”

Fire water sounded bad. It had to be the moonshine Dad warned us about.

“What’s mead?” Cassidy asked.

“Fermented honey,” I said. “You’ll learn all about it when you read Beowulf next year.”

She didn’t look excited.

“Refreshing after a good dance, it is.” He filled two wooden goblets and handed them over. We thanked him and tasted the mead. There was slight bitterness from the alcohol and a light, sweet aftertaste. I expected carbonation, but it was flat. All together not bad. He smiled at our approval and refilled our mugs before we walked away.

As we made our way back to the table I wondered what time it was. I’d always used my phone for the time, but I didn’t bother to turn it on here. No signal. No electricity to charge it.

The crescent moon was high in the night sky and there seemed to be a million more stars than there were back home. I felt content and sleepy, especially after my first glass of mead.

I wasn’t the only one who was tired and still jet-lagged. We hadn’t been out there very long before our parents retired for the night. I guess the firewater did Dad in.

Cass and I stood for a while and clapped to the music. I was admiring McKale’s swift movements of his bow across the instrument until someone from behind tapped our shoulders.

“Hide me from Brogan, would ya?” asked Rock in full form.

“Hey!” Cassidy’s face lit up and she bounced on her heels.

“Hallo again, gorgeous.”

And with that she was mush. In all honesty I couldn’t blame her. There was something fun about being in his mischievous presence. The three of us stood there bantering at the far edge of the clearing.

“So, what’s your real name?” I asked him. “It can’t be Rock.”

“Nah. Pop used to say me head was full o’ rocks and just as hard.” He knocked on his skull for effect and Cassidy smiled. “The real name’s Ronan, but ‘tis far too proper.”

When Cass giggled I rolled my eyes at her. She lifted her hands and mouthed, “What?”

Before I could respond, a burst of magic stronger than any I’d ever felt flashed through the field. It sizzled my skin and I almost lost my balance. Cassidy fell back onto the bench. The music stopped and people ran, shouting about Fae and the Portal.

Rock whispered something in a sneering tone under his breath and took off.

Cassidy hurried back to my side and we grasped hands, freaked out as we stared in the direction of the field where the Clourichaun Men had arrived last night. I watched in horror as an invisible knife seemed to stab the air and slice downward to the ground, opening a dark slit between our worlds. I looked to McKale, but he simply stared at the portal like everyone else, his instrument dangling from his fingers as he stood.

“Pssst!” A hissing call came from the woods beside us, not ten feet away. Cassidy and I looked to see Rock stick his curly head around a tree trunk and urgently wave my sister to him. She ignored my efforts to cling to her fingers, letting go and running.

“I’ll be right back!” she whispered.

I stayed where I was and crossed my arms, chilled to the bone. I was too terrified by the unnatural sight of the portal to worry about what Rock might be up to.

A murmur swept through the crowd and people lowered their heads in reverent greeting as five beings came through the portal. I couldn’t make them out completely, but I was awestruck. They moved in our direction, two smaller creatures flying around them.

Whispering stopped as they got closer, and tension filled the surrounding air. I was able to see them now—four males and one female, though the faces were still unclear from this distance. The winged creatures flew ahead of them and began to flit around above the Leprechauns, snatching off hats and dropping them on other people’s heads, even pulling hair. They had naked green bodies with fat bellies, and they cackled in high-pitched voices that hurt my ears. I heard someone near me whisper, “Bloody pixies.” Everyone looked annoyed, but nobody spoke out against the pixies’ behavior.

A little woman sidled up next to me, seeming terrified with big eyes and hands on her cheeks.

“Can the Fae just come and go whenever they please?” I whispered to her.

“Aye. We cannot stop them.”

I looked back toward the Fae, who had reached the edge of the field now, and my abdomen tightened. Each of the four men had long, shimmering hair of metallic colors that fell to their shoulders: silver, gold, bronze, and copper. Their skin gave off eerie, iridescent glows. Their bodies and faces were symmetrical to the point of being unnatural. Too sharp. Too perfect. Like life-sized animated dolls.

It was the petite Fae girl at their side who stole my attention. Her tiny oval face was made of delicate features that would break any girl’s heart with envy. I was mesmerized by her big, almond shaped eyes of icy blue and her round, innocent flower of a mouth. Her hair was amazing: long, past her hips, straight and thick without a single hair out of place. The color was like white gold: the ultimate platinum blonde. I was utterly humbled by her beauty. All of the Chaun were on their feet now.

Brogan stepped forward through the crowd and bowed at the waist.

“Good evening, sires and miss. We welcome ye. To what do we owe this pleasure?”

“This is to be a special summer for the Leprechauns.” It was the bronze-haired male who spoke. His voice reverberated with power. “Has the betrothed of your son arrived as sanctioned by Lady Martineth?”

My stomach plummeted and for a split second I contemplated diving under the table. I hadn’t expected the Fae to show. I did not want their attention, and I suddenly yearned for my parents’ presence. The entire field was stiff. Music had stopped and everyone peered around, large-eyed, unmoving, eyes stopping on me. I looked at McKale, who stood tall. His eyes flashed to me for one seemingly paranoid second, then turned back toward the Fae, rapt. I peered toward the trees and found the faces of Cass and Rock peeking out from the shadows, watching.

“Why, y-yes, she has arrived,” Brogan confirmed. “’Tis a special time, indeed. We hope the binding will commence soon.”

“Very well. We bring goodwill from our realm, Brogan of the Leprechaun.”

“Oh, thank ye.” Brogan bowed again. “We are very much obliged.”

“Should there not be music and dancing on this momentous occasion? Please, commence the festivities.”

The bronze-haired man snapped his fingers and the pixies flew to him. He looked toward the Faerie girl, as if seeking her approval, but her freaky eyes were busy scanning the Chaun people. Brogan signaled the musicians who exchanged glances before raising their instruments. All except McKale, who had moved further into the clearing away from the musicians, appearing dumbfounded and dazzled. He’d left his fiddle next to the stump. The other musicians began a song.

Watching McKale, a knot slowly formed in my stomach. I followed his stare to the Faerie girl who was intently watching him in return. The knot grew larger and curled inside of me.

The four Fae men dispersed as the music began and the girl drifted seamlessly through the clearing, straight toward my betrothed. I watched, frozen, as she approached and stopped in front of him, not ten feet away from me.

“It has been too long, McKale of the Chaun.” Her voice was a soft caress.

He bowed his head and said, “Indeed, Khalistah.”

She held out a dainty hand and McKale hesitated. When he took her fingers in his palm, he shuddered and closed his eyes, but it wasn’t pain he was experiencing. His expression was euphoric. The knot in my stomach exploded like hot lightening. Warning sirens blared in my head. Every cell in my body desperately wanted to get him away from her. She gave the smallest smile of satisfaction before releasing his hand.

The Fae girl, Khalistah, looked past him to where I stood. Her lips tightened as her eyes took in every detail, from my flip-flops to the top of my head, which surely had stray hairs and frizz.

“This is her?”

McKale, who didn’t seem to want to take his entranced attention from the Fae girl, turned enough to verify that I stood there, and confirmed who I was with a nod.

“Wait,” he said, blinking when she stepped around him and moved closer to me. A small crowd formed, their faces worried.

Khalistah’s eyes reached the top of my tall frame.

“I didn’t realize human women could grow so large.” There were a few gasps from the crowd as Khalistah laid down the ultimate insult by Leprechaun standards. I already felt like a gigantic oaf here, so the smack-talk was unnecessary. She continued to speak to McKale about me, right to my face.

“You will bind with her?” she asked in a distasteful way.

I looked to McKale, imploring, but he appeared dazed. He blinked again and swallowed hard.

“I will do my duty for the clan,” he said quietly. Bile rose in my throat.

“Hmph,” Khalistah breathed.

Yeah. I didn’t like her. And I wasn’t his biggest fan right now either.

I clamped my teeth down hard. As visions of violence danced in my head, I had to remind myself that this Fae witch had the power to curse my family and me.

I didn’t feel so good.

“Excuse me,” I said. With a humble bow of my head, I turned on my heels, and pressed my way through the crowd. I heard the tinkle of her laughter behind me. Onlookers gawked as I passed, picking up speed as I headed toward our bungalow. I contemplated going to my parents, but decided I’d tell them everything in the morning. Right now I needed to be alone to think this through.

Something was going on with my betrothed and a beautiful, cruel Faerie. I wouldn’t go so far as to say he was in love with her. It looked more like infatuation. He’d better not be in love with her. Infatuations were bad enough.

Could she be the reason he’d brought up our binding the way he did this morning?

Acid burned the back of my throat. How was I supposed to compete with that?

Wait, compete? I didn’t want to compete for a guy! It went against my basic morals. If a guy didn’t want me, then screw him. But this was different. I couldn’t just walk away from this like some silly crush in high school. My family’s lives depended on McKale and I together. If this binding didn’t work out, the Fae wouldn’t care about the reasons.

I walked into my bungalow and shut the door a little too hard. I kicked my flip-flops across the dark room. Then I pushed down my shorts and yanked off my blouse, throwing them to the floor and falling into the squishy bed in my tank top and panties. I curled up small, and my bra dug into my sides, but I was too ticked to move. I willed the bile back down to my stomach.

I wanted to go home.

I regretted leaving Cassidy in the trees with Rock, and I hoped she’d come to me soon. I felt stupid and out of place here. I needed my sister.

The memory of McKale kissing the Faerie’s hand kept resurfacing, making me ill and something else—something bitter. Jealousy. He’d seemed so… overwhelmed or something.

After seeing that, I felt apprehensive of what else I might find out about McKale. I was scared of his possible secrets and past. But getting to know him was the only chance I had in this battle. Khalistah had taken the first round, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Unfortunately, I had a feeling Faeries wouldn’t fight fair.