I Belong to the Earth (Unveiled Book 1) by J. A. Ironside
My mind whirled as I ran from the cottage. Barely stopping to close the gate behind me, I picked up speed and hit something warm and solid. Ciarán caught me as I bounced back off his chest, warm hands on my shoulders steadying me.
"Easy..." He held me at arm's length, gaze moving over my face. "A walk," he decided, based on whatever expression he saw there.
I nodded numbly. May as well. The only other place I was going was my attic. I didn't see how sitting at my piano not playing it was going to help.
We walked along the main street through the village this time. I came round enough to clutch at Ciarán's arm and hiss 'N-not the ch-church yard!" I couldn't face another attack of nausea at Kate's grave.
"Course not." Ciarán smiled but it lacked his usual devil-may-care ease. I wondered what he looked so worried about. We passed St Martin's and without warning the village gave way to the moor. The breeze was cool on my clammy forehead. I took what felt like the first really deep breath since going to see Mrs Cranford. Then I realized that we'd just walked all the way through the village holding hands. My cheeks burned and I tried to pry my hand away. Ciarán pretended not to notice.
Mortified, I stared at my feet as they crushed through the heather. In reality it was probably the best way to lead me, since I was seriously spaced out. It didn't mean anything. It couldn't. No way he actually liked me. I doubted whether it looked that way to any observers though. Would it get back to Mrs Cranford? Or Dad? Oh hell.
"Are you hot?" Ciarán glanced at my burning face, tugging me along. "Nearly there."
He led me down a small dip in the moor where the land formed a natural cradle. It felt good to sit on the slightly damp ground, like sitting in the palm of the earth's hand. Comforting and solid. Slowly, I unwound, muscles relaxing. The breeze and the faint humming of the earth I swore I could feel beneath me, chased away the sour taste of fear in my mouth.
I gave Ciarán a grateful smile. I needed this sense of connectedness. It was the most peaceful I'd felt since we moved here. Funny to think I'd been afraid of the moor. There was no sense of vertigo now. Maybe it was always the watcher who frightened me. However little I knew about Kate and her dark man, I could see the appeal of running wild on the moor. Especially in a time where women were so constrained by social mores and manners. It must have been even more gossipy than it was now.
I felt a spark of admiration for Kate. She had done what she wanted and answered to no one. That was the crux of the whole problem, of course. I grimaced. Now my temper wasn't flaring, I realised that I hadn't asked Mrs Cranford anything I'd meant to ask. It was all very well for me to throw a tantrum and refuse to play, but I hadn't been given much choice so far. Even if there was a way for me to break the Pattern, I needed allies and information. And Mrs Cranford hadn’t really deserved me yelling at her. I cringed internally. One way or another I owed her an apology.
"You still with me?" Ciarán smiled at me crookedly, one eyebrow raised in concern.
I nodded. The sense of rest was still with me, despite my discomfort over his god-mother.
"The old lady gave you a lot to think about did she?" And like that, the sense of peace evaporated. I yanked my hand away from him. Somehow we were still holding hands and I hadn't even noticed.
"Yuh you w-were listening?" I said, horrified. On the off chance that he missed the fact that I was a stuttering freak, he must now either think I was mad or attention seeking. No way would he believe there was anything special about me. If seeing the Dead counted as special.
"Oh relax. Me mam has seen some rare strange things herself. I’m an open-minded lad." His hand snaked out across the heather towards mine. I moved my hand away. I wasn't at all ready to forgive him. He stopped and looked stared at his hand as if he'd never seen it before.
"Emlynn?" He peered at me. I scowled back. "Em? I'm sorry. I was curious."
"Y-you nuh know what they say about eavesdroppers don't you?" I muttered darkly.
"Ah, there's no bad to hear about meself! Besides eaves is where all the interesting stuff is said." Something about his slightly too innocent expression made me think he wasn't repentant at all, as long as I wasn't too angry. I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"Huh how much did you h-hear?" Oh God, did he hear about me not being able to read? I rolled onto my stomach and pressed my face into the heather.
"I only heard the bit that sounded like an old tale. You know the star-crossed lovers on the moor bit."
"Ruh really," I mumbled through a mouthful of heather.
"Really. I was in the shower…"
I burrowed further into the shrubbery. Still didn't need that image in my head.
"…then I heard a bit about spooks and a curse and then it got personal so I went out of earshot."
I raised my head an inch. "Wuh why?"
"I don't pry on personal stuff. The legend though, now that was interesting."
It's muh more than a luh legend. It's d-dangerous," I warned.
"Then you'll need my help," he said irrepressible cheer and my stomach flipped over. No one should be able to do that to another person with just a smile. It wasn't fair.
"I d-don't know…" I began. I didn't see how Ciarán would be in danger but surely it was better not to bring in anyone else. Propping myself up on my elbows I noticed two figures standing in an embrace down the moor from us. Apparently Ciarán and I weren't the only ones using the privacy of the moor for a date. Not that we were on a date…
But no…Those people were familiar…
I recognized Haze even before the cold-dark gripped me. Which meant that the girl with him was Grace. I froze.
"Em? What is it?" Ciarán distracted me by sweeping a lock of hair out of my eyes.
"Luh look." I pointed, trying to ignore the trail of warmth left by his touch.
"That's your sister?"
I nodded.
"No time like the present." He leapt to his feet and took off towards them.
"W-wait!" I cried in alarm but he wasn't listening. "Bugger!" I stumbled after him. This was a bad idea. Look what happened last time I confronted Grace about Haze. And I didn't want to face Haze at all.
The cold seeped into my marrow as we got closer. Neither of them looked up. They were in some kind of wordless communion that I couldn't break into. The flickering presence around Grace was worse than ever. I could barely see her. Ciarán didn't appear to see anything stranger than my sister meeting up with an undesirable on a motorbike. He had no idea what he was rushing into. This was wrong. I wasn’t strong enough to tackle Haze head-on. I already felt the shadows reaching for chinks in my mind, places to slip in and influence. Sweat prickled on my forehead as I pushed them back. With a wrench, I willed myself closed. It was strange. Like coating my mind in glass.
If only I knew what I was doing.
"Hey there," Ciarán called in a cheery voice. "You must be Emlynn's sister, Grace." It was as though he didn’t feel the cold. Did this look normal to him?
Haze whipped his head towards us. His face was full of savage disappointment. His black eyes slid over me and the expression tightened. Then his gaze fixed on Ciarán and everything changed. If I was cold before, now I was plummeted into an icy lake of shadows. An absence, not only of light, but of everything. It had weight and form. There were things in the dark. Something old, with oozing scales that scraped heavily on the ground. And hunger…hunger beyond anything I had ever felt…
"YOU!" The snap of Haze's voice brought me back. My heart leapt in fright, blocking my throat. He wasn’t looking at me. His black gaze was fixed on Ciarán.
I darted a look at Grace. She was white and swayed on her feet. I didn't like the blue tinge to her lips. Her eyes were dark and unfocused. The flickering had stopped, though. For now.
Oh God, her hair…
"Aye, me. What's it to you?" Ciarán looked sneered scornfully at Haze. Their gazes locked eyes met and a crackle of electricity flared out and hit all four of us. Connecting
Grace groaned. Her eyelids fluttered. I lurched to her just in time to break her fall as she fainted. I knelt, cradling her head in my lap, her rich chestnut tresses spilled over my knees. I desperately want the colour to be a style change but I knew it wasn't.
"You! You've a nerve showing your face around here! What have you done to her?" Ciarán's face was unrecognizable with fury. His words made no sense and there was something wrong with his voice. His accent had changed.
"Nothing she didn't want, I assure you. Nothing that she could have got from you." Haze's voice had too much hate in it to sound like a purr but the smug tone was unmistakable.
"She knows you are bad for her. Look at her!" Ciarán waved a hand towards Grace without turning. He didn't know Grace. So why was he acting like that about my sister? Almost territorial. Proprietary.
In that moment I knew that whatever was going on, I had been forgotten. I tasted bile in my throat. The shadows finally had something to catch hold of. My glass shield disintegrated; the darkness rushed in just as I shouted, "Stop it both of you, now!"
Except I didn't scream it aloud. I screamed it from my mind and sinew and gut. The moor rang with the soundless cry and something burst free of my mind. An invisible force blindly seeking targets. Ciarán broke away from Haze, folding in half as though punched in the stomach. He had grabbed the front of Haze's jacket but something had pulled them apart. Haze rocked back on his heels, a look of surprise passing swiftly over his flawless face. He narrowed his eyes as though a blast of wind swept over him.
Barely three minutes had gone by. We were all frozen in the ringing silence. The air smelled of hot metal and ozone. Then I felt the shadows peel away. Ciarán straightened up clutching his head. Grace murmured, stirring in my arms. I looked up to find Haze's eyes boring into me.
I was dead. Or I would be.
In that brief moment, I knew. He would let nothing ruin his chance this time. And he knew now that I was a threat. His full lips twisted in a sneer as he raked all three of us with his gaze. Then he swung onto his bike without further comment. Except to me. One silent communication. Thrown into my mind with savage speed that made me gasp.
Be seeing you.