Page 10 of Rise of the Melody
“Back room,” she told him firmly. And to me, “Don’t move.”
They went to the back, him still limping, and you can bet your booty I moved straight to the doorway, glad I’d forgotten to turn on the overhead music so I could eavesdrop better.
“…doesn’t know?” I heard him whisper.
“She doesn’t need to be involved in any of this shite! Let her live a normal life.”
“Normal?” He let out a harsh laugh. “If she’s seventeen she’ll be feeling her power, cuff or not.”
Holy shit. ‘Her power?’ Like, my power as a woman? Or…I shook my head, panic rising in my chest.
“I was already planning to make her a new, stronger one,” Aunt Lorna said. I looked down at my cuff. I was trembling all over.
“You have to come back,” he told her gravely. “I need her help.”
Whose help? Wait,myhelp?
“Since when? You’re the one who bloody banished us! You don’t get to ask for help now!”
Banished?!
“I’m notasking, Lorna.” His voice went icy and hard. “There’s a kelpie somewhere on Benn Shehan National Park. And you know Colette is the only one left. We had a deal.”
Aunt Lorna sucked in a gasp, and my brain officially exploded. I was nothing but an overloaded pile of mush and goo. My mind went fuzzy and my skin flushed hot, then cold, a buzzing going through my blood. This conversation was very real, but I didn’t understand any of it. I just knew something perplexing was happening. Because I knew what a kelpie was. I’d studied plenty of Celtic and Gaelic folklore for fun. And kelpies weren’t real.
They were shapeshifting men/horses that could breathe underwater. A faerie creature that liked to drown and kill innocent victims. I mean…what the heck? And CooShee? I moved quickly to a stack of books on magic and mythology, fingering the spines until I found what I was looking for. I flipped through the pages until I got to “C.” I quickly scanned the words.
Cù Sìth, pronounced Coo-Shee. A monster—Monster!?—of Scottish Gaelic origin. Fairy dog. A wolf hound with shaggy, dark green fur. A harbinger of death. If a Cù Sìth sounds three terrifying barks, which can be heard up to a mile away, someone is about to die. Also said to attach themselves to a higher fairy creature on rare occasions.
Harbinger of death?
My head jerked to CooShee, who watched me with ancient, knowing eyes. My eyes roamed his greenish fur and for the first time I saw him as a monster. A strange sound accidentally burst out of my throat, like an animal who’d had its tail stepped on. My head spun and I fumbled the book, nearly dropping it.
“Letty?” Aunt Lorna shoved the curtains aside. “You all right?” She glanced at the book and her forehead crinkled.
“No,” I whispered. Part of me wanted to crumble to the floor and blank all of it out, but a small part of me, deep down, had always known there was more to this world.
“Are you a witch?” I whispered.
She blinked rapidly. “You know I practice wicca, love?—”
“Stop.” My voice was forceful, making her stiffen. “Don’t lie! What is happening? You need to tell me what’s going on!” CooShee nuzzled into my side, and when I pushed my fingers into his fur I felt a smidge stronger.
Aunt Lorna nodded, not meeting my eye. “I’ll make some tea.”
“Tea?” I shouted.
“I need you to sit and try to relax.”
The book nook area had a tiny round table with four metal chairs like something you’d find outside at a café in France. I collapsed into a chair, and CooShee lifted a heavy paw onto my lap. I continued to scratch behind his ear as my mind spun. Minutes later Aunt Lorna and Bryant MacCray came out and sat with me. She laid out the teacups while the man sat on the opposite side from CooShee, the monster and man having a staring contest.
When they were finally done, CooShee winning, Mr. MacCray pinned me in place with a look.
“Colette—”
“Letty,” I corrected. I braced myself.
“Letty, then. You’re the last known land siren on Earth.”
