The Forgotten Ones

Chapter 9

I'm standing at the top of the Magliaro's driveway, watching Ethan walk out his front door. He starts toward his truck but turns around, as if someone called his name.

I see myself walk out the door and over to where he's waiting. He wraps his arm around me and gives me a gentle squeeze. But when his fingers make contact with my skin, my form wavers. It's not me at all. It's a tall, ivory-skinned girl with long, brown hair and sapphire eyes.

Ethan hooks his finger in hers, and her features turn back into mine as they walk together toward his truck. When he turns his back to her, the corners of her mouth turn up into a grin, wicked and predatory.

I jerked awake to find myself propped up on an old wingback chair. Aodhan knelt on the wooden floor in front of me, his thick arms held out like he was about to shake me. I wasn't sure if his expression was fear or astonishment. He raised his eyebrows at me but didn't say a word as he rose to his feet.

The sitting room at Niamh's house was straight out of a museum of 18th-century living. There was a huge fireplace in front of me with a mural painted directly onto the wooden paneling above the mantel. The shelves held all manner of crockery, and on the various tables sat brass oil lamps.

I stood up slowly, wringing my hands as I walked to the window that looked out onto the barn. I could feel Aodhan watching me from the sofa across the room. I ran through the dream of Ethan in my mind, trying to make sense of it.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice gruff but not unkind.

"I had one of the dreams I told you about," I said.

I looked down at my clasped hands before continuing, "It was of a fr-friend of mine, Ethan. I saw him walking with...with me. Only, it wasn't me. The girl he was with was glamoured to look like me."

"Does that mean anything to you?" Aodhan asked.

"Well, I don't know. These dreams never really make much sense," I said.

"The Danaans don't think like humans. You must second-guess everything. Their actions often don't make sense, but they always do things for a reason. And if one of them has your friend, my guess would be they are trying to get your attention."

I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I had to call and check on Ethan. To my surprise, I actually had service. But his number went straight to voice mail. That wasn't a good sign.

I decided to try his parents' house. His father picked up, and I asked if Ethan was home.

"No, I haven't heard from him." He paused. "But didn't he leave with you not too long ago?"

My breath caught in my throat. He hadn't left with me, but if my dream was turning out to be true, he thought he had. I had to think fast.

"Uh, yeah. He just dropped me off, and now his phone is going to voice mail," I lied. "I can text him. Thanks, Mr. Magliaro."

I hung up and looked over at Aodhan. "They think Ethan's with me. I think Breanh really has taken him."

"Eithne and Diarmuid went back through the portal a few hours before we arrived. Your father needs a healer immediately, so I've arranged to go with him to Tír na n'Óg to find Eithne. We'll find your friend and bring him home, too."

He stood and gestured for me to follow him. I exhaled, and swallowed back my fears. I had to be stronger than that. "And what am I supposed to do? Just sit here and wait?"

Aodhan didn't answer. Instead, he led me outside, where Tagdh was opening the weathered wooden door of a flat-stoned entryway. The structure was dug into a low hillside, assembled with moss-covered stones held firmly in place by the earth surrounding them. A still unconscious Liam lay in the grass just to the left of the hill. Niall was talking in a low voice to Bláithín just a few feet away.