Carrier of the Mark

I started huffing and puffing my way up the hill. When I was halfway home, I leaned against a tree to catch my breath. There was a squawk from the branch above my head. I jumped and looked up into the silver-ringed eye of a familiar crow.

“And what are you looking at?” I said to him. I took another deep breath and battled the last of the steep hill to my house.

“Hi, Dad! Wait until I tell you what I saw,” I shouted as I let myself in. “Dad?” There was nothing.

I went into the kitchen and flicked on the lights just as my phone beeped with a new text.

Having dinner at work. Order pizza. See you later.

“Oh, Dad.” I sighed. “Of all the nights for you not to be here.”

My stomach was still in knots, so I decided to skip the pizza. I picked up the remote and turned on the TV for some much-needed background noise.

The sound of a cracking branch drew my attention to the window. There, in the tree just outside, was the same weird crow. His beady eyes glared at me in the half-light of dusk.

“Yah!” I shouted at the window, but the bird simply jumped to another branch. With the hairs standing up on the back of my neck, I hastily pulled the curtains.

Four

SAILING LESSONS

couldn’t believe a month had passed since we moved to Kinsale. Time had flown by, and I had settled into a comfortable routine: Monday to Friday I did the whole school thing, and then on the weekends I hung out with Caitlin and Jennifer, either at one of our houses or in one of the coffee shops in town.

I hadn’t ventured into Cork City yet, though there was a trip planned for a week from Saturday. Caitlin had even been given a pass on her usual cleaning duties in the B and B. I was really looking forward to it. As much as I liked Kinsale, it was hardly Rodeo Drive, and I was desperate for new clothes. My pursuit of Adam might be futile, but I needed to look good anyway. Making myself a tad more visible couldn’t hurt either.

It was funny: When I first arrived here Adam seemed to be everywhere. True, besides the odd looks and furtive glances, he generally ignored me, but he was a regular presence. Lately, though, Adam had been keeping a lower profile. He was in school, but I was seeing him less and less.

I had even asked my dad about him. He said Adam was still working at the yacht club, and sailing and instructing more than ever. Strangely, Rían, who’d graduated last year, still skulked around the place. It was creepy. What on earth was he doing lurking around the school anyway? Shouldn’t he have been in college or something?

And while Adam had been pulling a disappearing act, Áine had become more approachable since our meeting at the equestrian center. But though she was always nice and friendly, she never got too close. One day in art, I plucked up the courage to ask her about the moths.

“Áine …” I chickened out at the last minute. “Could you pass me a red oil pastel?”

“Sure,” she replied, handing it to me. I noticed she avoided touching my hand, though. Weird.

I swallowed hard and tried again. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

She looked at me, half-wary, half-surprised. “Sure.”

“What happened with the moths that night at the equestrian center?”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” she said quietly, and turned back to her drawing.

“They were all around you, dancing. I saw them covering you.”

She laughed, not making eye contact. “That’s a good one.”

“But I saw—”

“I don’t know what you saw, Megan, but whatever it was, it had nothing to do with me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just …” I felt my face redden. She must think I’m deranged.

She looked at me with pity. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. The light can play tricks at dusk.” She tapped her hand on mine in a reassuring way.

We both jumped. The zing that passed through us was short, but strong. It was like a static shock, and the tingling that had been flickering through my arm before was gone. I looked at her now pale face.

“Was that static?” I asked, looking from her hand to mine.

“Yeah, ouch. I gotta go …. I’m not feeling too well.” She turned to the teacher. “Miss, I feel sick. Can I be excused?”

“Of course, Áine,” she replied, and Áine fled the room.

She hadn’t sat next to me in art since then, but Caitlin told me not to worry about it, that Áine was, after all, a DeRís, and oddness was to be expected.

My Adam drought came to an abrupt end the first day of our sailing course. While most students were excited that they would be getting out of gym for five weeks, I was dreading it. Boats, water—ugh! The only thing keeping me from dropping out of the whole charade was the thought of seeing Adam, being close to him.

When school broke for lunch, people who were signed up for the sailing course were allowed to go home to get their gear. Once home, I changed, grabbed the bag containing my new wet suit (yeah, attractive! But a must with the freezing Irish waters), and set off to the marina. Now that I was so close to seeing Adam, my body was fizzing with excitement. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves, but it didn’t really work.

Caitlin and Jennifer were waiting for me at the club.

“Hurry, Meg. Dump your bag,” Caitlin said, pointing at the clubhouse.

Jennifer looked at her nails, oozing a lack of interest. “Yeah, Meg, come on; let’s get this over with.” She flicked her blond hair over her shoulder. The appeal of the hair flick was lost with the very unflattering gray-and-pink wet suit. I suppressed a smile.

“I’ll be right there,” I called, running up the steps. I glanced back at them and ran slap into Adam’s hard chest at the door. Winded by the collision and teetering on the edge of the step, I grasped in vain at the handrail. He put out his arms behind me and caught me before I fell, pressing me against his solid body. He looked down at me with an inquisitive glance, and I tilted my head toward his face, then jumped back from him, realizing I had paused a second too long, giving away far too much. Get out of here quick, I thought to myself, and ran for the locker room. I poured myself into the wet suit, then dashed back down to Caitlin and Jennifer. They were chatting in excited voices with Darren and Killian. Nausea washed over me. I wasn’t sure whether it was the impending sailing or my run-in with Adam, but I could feel the bile stir in my stomach.

Caitlin and I paired up and we were assigned a tiny two-person boat. We were instructed to drag the boats, which were on little wheels, down the slipway and into the water.

I can’t believe I signed up for this. What was I thinking? We started walking down the concrete slipway. The water lapped up at us halfway down. Green slime and seaweed swirled around my feet. My stomach churned uneasily. I needed to get out of here. I was looking around for a private place to puke when Killian came up to me and put his hand under my elbow.

“Jeez, Megan, you okay? You look like you’re about to hurl.”

Caitlin turned from the front of the boat at the sound of Killian’s voice. “You do look awful. Do you need to sit this out?”

Killian put his arm around me. “Come on; I’ll help you back up to the club.”

At that moment Adam walked down among us all and stopped at the end of the slipway. I shook my head back and forth; I had to snap out of it.

“No, Killian, thanks. I’ll be fine.” I felt myself cool almost instantly. Then the prickling started working its way through my body. The sensation no longer startled me. In fact, I found it soothing today. I could feel my stomach settling and my color returning to normal.

“Only if you’re sure,” Killian said in a worried tone.

“Honestly, I’m fine. Caitlin, tell him I’m fine.”

“Thanks, Killian, but it looks like your knight-in-shining-armor skills won’t be needed,” Caitlin said, glancing at Adam.

“Well, if I can be of any help, just give me a call.” He smirked and winked at her.