Page 34 of Rise of the Melody
She took my hands, which made me feel better immediately. “Gaia gave you this power for a reason. Nothing about you, or any of us, is inherently bad. Understand? Bad is only a choice.”
I nodded slowly and she released my hands.
“Your father had very strong telekinesis. He could move things with his mind. At first, he needed to say the Gaelic commands out loud. And as he got stronger, better, he could say them in his mind. From there, he said he would just imagine what he wanted to happen and not bother with any words.” I nodded, thrilled and terrified at the thought. “Bryant mentioned that you will be luring the kelpie into a cage, so let’s focus on learning how to close the cage’s door using magic to keep you far from the beast.”
I nodded and shook out my arms as we walked to the front of the house. CooShee came trotting up from the trees. He did something he’d never done before. He came straight up to me and pressed his nose to my arm, then sniffed me carefully. Finally, he sat and looked right up into my face, letting out a sneezy sound that made me laugh.
“He definitely feels you,” Aunt Lorna said, smiling. “Okay. We’re going to focus on the front door. It’s currently unlocked. You’re going to imagine that you’re turning the doorknob and pushing it open as you say these words:fosgail an dorus.That’s ‘open the door’ in Scots Gaelic.”
I said it a couple times until I got the pronunciation.
Over and over, I tried.
“You’re shaking,” Aunt Lorna said. “Are you feeling scared?”
I swallowed and nodded. “A little.”
“You have to say the words and imagine the action with complete confidence. No doubt or fear. As if you’re walking up the door on a normal day.”
CooShee licked my hand, something he rarely did, and it made me giggle as I wiped it on my sweatshirt. I inhaled and let it out slowly. No big deal. Just opening a door.
“Fosgail an dorus.” Holy crap. The door opened.
All at once Aunt Lorna and I grabbed one another’s shoulders and were jumping up and down screaming as CooShee ran around us in a circle of celebration. We laughed so hard. I’d never felt such elation, like I’d just done a series of backflips. She hugged me tight and then pulled back, grinning.
“Okay, now you close it.Dùin an doras.Close the door.”
I stared at the open door, and realized all of my fear was gone, that quickly, replaced by confidence. I imagined walking up, grasping the doorknob, and pulling it closed. “Dùin an doras.”
Bam. It closed with a click and we celebrated again.
“You’re a natural, little nix!”
“Really?” I beamed, feeling good. The only other thing I’d ever been a natural at was singing. But this…this was an engrained part of me that I’d never been allowed to know or embrace. I touched my bare wrist. “I don’t want to put that cuff back on.” Just the thought turned my stomach with an ache of dread. I understood now the powerlessness Mayor MacCray wanted me to feel.
“Oh, love. I know.” She entwined her fingers with mine. “When we leave this island you’ll be able to control your powers and never have to wear it again.”
I sat on the step, my mind whirling. The thought of going back to a normal human life after this seemed almost depressing. I’d spent one morning with other mystical teens and felt more at home than I’d ever felt in my life. Attending a school of music? Ha! I’d never be able to sing in front of people again! Years of working toward that dream were squashed.
A sob rose in my chest. Everything I had worked for was slipping away. The life I thought I’d have on stage. All of that was dead now. As if understanding, Aunt Lorna sat beside me and rubbed my back.
“What are we supposed to do?” I asked. “Go back to New York City and pretend we’re not fae-blooded? Keep working like humans?” She looked so sad, and I realized that’s exactly what she’d been doing all these years to protect me. I felt like a jerk. “I’m sorry.”
She simply shook her head. “We’ll figure this out together. One task at a time. We have options. There’s always Scotland and Ireland. Even Wales or England. France. Pods of fae-blooded are in a lot of places.” That wouldn’t be so bad. I’d always wanted to travel. But there was one problem.
“Will I have to pretend to only be a nix?” I asked.
Her eyes got lost. “Unfortunately, yes. And hope word doesn’t spread from the few who know here to wherever we go.”
“Do you really think the mayor will let us go without telling anyone what I am?”
“I honestly couldn’t say,” she admitted. “I can only hope once we fulfill our end of the deal we can go in peace.”
It wasn’t fair. And though I knew life wasn’t fair, this seemed especially cruel.
* * *
Evening crept up on us.We sat in silence and watched fog tiptoe across the surface of the ocean and roll over top of a barrier island in the distance, covering it as if it were never there. Just as it was getting too chilly and we were about to go inside, a small car came up the driveway.
