2 Deja Blue Read online

  That did it. I was pissed. “It’s not my freakin’ fault that you guys are listenin’ in on my head. Stay out of it! I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, so cut me some slack!” I gave Brennan the evil eye and focused on my Fairy-talk, directing it right into his pea-sized, little brain. “Okay Mister Nosey-pants Eavedropper. How ‘bout listening in on this, you obnoxious, cocky, smug… stupid… motherfu…” Before I finished the thought, Brennan jumped up from the table shouting at me in some foreign language. I think it was Fairy…or…something. It sounded kind of Irish. Maybe Celtic? But whatever it was, it sounded like something from another time. And, it sounded harsh. He was definitely using worse words than I was. I didn’t know what he was saying, but I knew it wasn’t nice. He was so mad that I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head.

  Jeremy interrupted, holding up his hands, like he was the cop approaching some scary, whacked-out-on-crack nut job, “Okayokayokayokayyyyyy...why don’t we all just calm down. Let’s just dial it down a notch, shall we? Chill. Your. Grill.” I got the sinking feeling that I was the whacked-out nut job. I slumped down over the table, burying my head in my arms and let out a big sigh. I was on the verge of tears and felt overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the past two days. So much for that calming spell Anya placed on me. She’d better give me a double dose of another one, and quick.

  Anya spoke up again, reaching across the table to rub my arm. I looked up at her with my teary eyes. “It’s okay, Ruby, really. It’s not like we hear everything you’re thinking. It’s only happened once or twice before. Please, please, please don’t even worry about it.” She shot Brennan a look and he spoke up, quickly calming his demeanor. “Yeah, yeah. Forget it. Do you wanna hear my stellar idea about how you’re gonna pay back the Mermaid?”

  I let out a big sigh. (Not really, I thought to myself…hopefully.) “Okay,” I said as I sat back up and wiped my eyes. “Lay it on me.”

  Chapter 13

  Brennan’s pale ice-blue eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief as he smiled wide, showing off his dimples. Huh. I never really noticed those before. “Before I tell you my plan, I’ve gotta fill you in on Celestine’s problem.”

  “Right, I remember,” I nodded, “You said she was in love with a Troll, and that’s forbidden because he’s a Troll and not a Mer-person or whatever, right?”

  Brennan nodded, “Yes. She is in love with the Troll Bexin. His brother is Grobel. That’s why she came over to investigate near the jetty the other day. From a distance, she thought Grobel was Bexin. Instead, she found you being crushed under the boulders.” He grimaced at that last part.

  I looked over at Jeremy, “Yeah, apparently Merpeople don’t like to ruin their bloodline by hookin’ up with a lowly Earthener.” I spoke the last words with fake-disgust.

  Jeremy shook his head, “So eighteenth century, doncha think?” He tsk’d tsk’d his tongue.

  “Tell me about it!” Anya exclaimed. “No fins, no wedding. Unless…” she trailed off, looking to Brennan to finish her sentence. “…Unless the Challenger to the Grá mo Chroí Dúshlán is triumphant.”

  At exactly the same time, Jeremy and I said, “Huh?”

  Brennan smiled that mischievous grin again. “When a Mermaid or Merman wants to marry outside of their own kind, they must go through the Grá mo Chroí Dúshlán.” Jeremy and I sat there, staring blankly at him. Brennan sounded it out slowly for us. As he said the words again, it sounded like Graw-muh-Khree Doosh-lahn. He continued, “Loosely translated, it means the Love of My Heart Challenge. It’s pretty simple actually. The next of kin to each betrothed must compete or choose a competitor from their own Court to compete in a swimming competition. If the competitor from the Water Court wins, then Celestine cannot marry Bexin. If the competitor from the Earthen Court prevails, then Celestine is free to marry Bexin.”

  “That’s it? They have a swimming competition? Big whoopdee-doodley-doo!” Jeremy answered, surprised.

  “But, wait a minute,” I interrupted, “If it’s a swimming competition, doesn’t pretty much anyone in the Water Court always win? Anya said members of the Water Court are the fastest swimmers. And, couldn’t the person from the Water Court just throw the competition so that Celestine and Bexin can get married? I mean…Celestine could just, like, payoff the Water Court competitor, ya know…to lose. Then she’d be free to marry Bexin. If the Water Court loses, and the Earthen Court wins, Celestine can marry whomever she wants…right?”

  Brennan was sternly shaking his head as he answered my question. “Well, yes. In a way you’re right. But, I doubt that would happen. First of all, as I said, the next of kin compete for the betrothed. But, just because someone from her family is competing doesn’t mean that they’re automatically going to throw the Challenge on purpose. Many Merpeople feel the same…that marrying outside of their own kind is wrong and should be forbidden. To have any Water Court member marry outside of their own Court is considered a black mark, not only in the eyes of the Royals of the Water Court, but on the family’s honor.” I snorted and rolled my eyes. What were these Merpeople thinking? It’s the 21st century for Pete’s sake! These Water Court people were some high and mighty racists if you ask me.

  Brennan ignored my obvious irritation and continued on, “Celestine’s family is most likely against her choice to marry the Troll. But, if the King and Queen of the Water Court feel that Celestine’s competitor will be sympathetic to the couple and throw the competition on purpose, they will simply choose another to compete. It is, after all, their Court. They have final say on the Water Court competitors. The binding ties of our magic is very strong within our own Courts. The Royal families have a special link directly to each member of their Court and they will sense whether or not a chosen competitor will attempt to throw the competition. It is true that most members of the Water Court usually prevail in the Challenge. But, some members of other Courts have won in the past. It’s not very common, but it has happened.” Brennan looked like he knew something we didn’t. A touch of arrogance was reflected on his face.

  “Well, what if whoever Bexin chooses doesn’t win?”

  “Remember, it’s not Bexin who chooses his competitor. It’s the next-of-kin or someone else of their choosing who competes for the love birds.”

  I rolled my eyes, “Details, details. Whatever. So what if whoever competes for Bexin loses? What happens to Celestine and Bexin?”

  Brennan uncomfortably cleared his throat and hesitated. That’s when Anya spoke up.

  “Well, there are two choices. They end the relationship and go their separate ways, or they get married anyway and become exiled.”

  Confusion spread across my face, “Exiled? You mean, from like the Mer-world or whatever? Like, her parents kick her out of her house?”

  “Ha,” Jeremy chortled, “No different from here. Tons of kids get kicked out of their houses.”

  “Not exactly.” Anya said slowly, “They are exiled not only from their home, but also from Fey itself. The portals are sealed to them forever, and they are forbidden to ever speak to anyone – Fairy, Troll, Merperson, or any other creature, from our world – forever.”

  Brennan spoke up, “It’s a pretty big sacrifice…to never be able to return home again. Devastating to some. Anya and I are stronger because we are Royalty…but most Fairies and other creatures of Fey need to return home to…to…re-energize so-to-speak. We are connected to our world in a very unique way, and if we are cut off from it, survival could be pretty grim. It weakens our spirits. I’m sure Celestine and Bexin could live…to be with the one you love, that is…well…I suppose it’s phenomenal. But, our world is not like your world. For someone from Fey to have their connection permanently severed…” He shuddered at the thought, then he continued, “I don’t know if they could really thrive after a time.”

  There were only two other times I had ever seen Brennan this serious in the twelve years I’d known him. The first was when we were trying to figure out what to d
o about Sirrush. The second was when he came to rescue me from nearly drowning. His mischievous twinkle had faded as he obviously mulled this fact over.

  Anya spoke quietly, “It would be like sending you to the moon and telling you that you could never go home to Earth.”

  “Well. That just sucks rocks.” I stated grumpily. “Why in the world would your people do that? Just block off the portals because somebody is in love with someone from another...ah…Court?”

  Brennan stuck out his chin and answered defensively, “It is not our people who do this. It is the way of the Merpeople, not the Fairies.”

  “So, back up a sec,” Jeremy said, “You said the next of kin competes for Celestine and Bexin. So…who exactly would that be?”

  “Celestine has a sister, Freya, so she will be competing for her. Bexin, as you know, has a brother. Grobel will be competing for him.”

  “Ughhh!” I said. “That craptastic creepy stalker Troll is gonna compete for Bexin? He’s so rotten he’ll probably lose the competition on purpose just so they can’t get married!”

  Brennan’s twinkle came back in his eye again. “Wellllll...maybe not…” he slyly smiled.

  Uh-oh. I didn’t like the sound of that. I also didn’t like the way Brennan was looking at me. “Wait. You still haven’t told me your ‘brilliant’ plan of how I could pay my debt to the Mermaid…please tell me I don’t have to go anywhere near Grobel! I hate that boof-nut loser! He tried to kill me!”

  Brennan smiled, but there was a hint of concern in his eyes, “No, no, no. Don’t you worry about that. I promised we would keep you safe from him, and we will. But, again, bribery is involved. Grobel is a greedy little mongrel.”

  “Bribery?” Jeremy lifted his chin and squinted at Brennan.

  “Yep. But first I’ve gotta…uh…secure some items. And that’s where you come in, Ruby. Once I get what I need, I’m going to need a safe place to store them. Since we have cast protective spells around you and your house and we’ll have several trustworthy Fairies on guard, your home is the safest place for me to store the...items…until we need them.”

  “Just how long are we talkin’ here? A day? A week? A month? I don’t wanna be considered an accessory to a crime or anything! I’m already in enough trouble for killing old Sirrush. I’d hate to think that I’d piss someone else off in Fey ‘cause I’m hiding something in my house. The last thing I need is someone else coming after me.”

  Anya spoke up, “Oh no, no, no. Don’t even worry. Nobody will even know you have anything there. It really is the perfect hiding spot.”

  Just then, Jeremy’s cell phone rang, blaring Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” for his ringtone. He quickly picked it up, “ ‘lo? Yeah, Ma….Okay. Yeah….Okay, I’m on my way home now.” Jeremy looked apologetically at us, “Sorry guys, I gotta bail. My Ma’s got shit for me to do, and she needs her car back to run some errands. Do you want me to drop ya off on the way?”

  I shook my head, “Nah. It’s okay. We can walk back. And, Jer?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You should really consider ditching the “I’m bringing Sexy Back” ringtone. It’s kinda gross when your mom calls.” I giggled.

  Jeremy gave my shoulder a big shove, “She’s not bringing sexy back…I am! Fashizzle!” He snapped his fingers and smiled flirtatiously at me and continued, “Alrighty then!” Jeremy clapped his hands together and jumped up from the picnic table and pointed at me, “You. You fill me in later, okay? And I’ll want details,” he gave a warning look to Anya and Brennan, trying to be serious and waving his fingers in front of their faces. “Details. You hear?” Then he trotted off to his car, honked, and peeled out of the parking lot doing about 70 miles an hour.

  I shook my head and smiled as I watched him go. I let out a big sigh and then turned my attention back to the situation at hand. I looked back and forth between Brennan and Anya, “So. If I do this, if I…keep this, whateverthehell it is you’re going to steal, in my closet, it will repay my debt to Celestine?” I looked between Brennan and Anya questioningly.

  Brennan answered, “I’m not technically going to steal it. And… Ah. Sort of.”

  I rolled my eyes. Could Fairies ever give a straight answer? “What do you mean, ‘sort of?” I demanded.

  “Well. It sort of will. But there will be something else you have to do.”

  Gahhh! Fairies and their cryptic replies!

  “And what is that something else that I’ll have to do? I’m not gonna have to kill anybody or do some hocus pocus flower magic again, am I?” I screeched. The thought of having to decipher some cryptic old Fairy spell and concoct a magic potion out of some rare flower like we had to do to send Sirrush back to Fey was not something I wanted to attempt again anytime soon. Just the thought of it was giving me a migraine.

  “No, no! Of course not!” Brennan promised. “It’s better if you don’t know all the details as of yet. After all, I haven’t even secured the items. Do you have a safe place in your house we can use?”

  I nodded, knowing just the place. “Yeah. I’ve got a closet in my room that’s right next to the attic. It’s too small for me to put anything in it and there’s no light in there either. The door is locked, but I’m sure my mom or dad has the key.”

  “Perfect,” Brennan looked satisfied. “I’ll get the key from your parents, and when I secure the items, I’ll lock them in the closet for safe-keeping. You are not to go into that closet under any circumstances, do you understand? The less you know, the better. I will send you the key with instructions when we have everything else ready.”

  “How are you going to get the key from my parents?” I asked.

  Anya shook her head, giving me the “I’m sorry” look, and Brennan started to speak when I cut him off, “Lemme guess. It’s better if I don’t know, right?”

  Chapter 14

  Nothing too scary happened over the next three weeks. My Fairy friends kept a close eye on me. And, with their protection spells and calming spells, I only had a small twinge of nervous knots in my stomach. I no longer felt like I was going to vomit all the time, like I had when I got back from Traverse City. Although, I did seem to be a little jumpy. I was always looking around to make sure nobody was watching me or following me. But, of course, there usually was. Anya and Brennan really meant what they said when they told me they would protect me. I had Fairy bodyguards all over the place. Not that most people could see them. Some of them stayed small, hidden in the gardens, grass, and nearby trees. When Fairies are small like that, they are invisible to most humans. Only humans with the gift of Fairy Sight (as I had) could see them. There weren’t too many humans who could see Fairies. In fact, no one that I’ve ever met could see Fairies. When Fairies are in their human form, they have a way of blending in…chameleon-like abilities that make them unnoticeable to most people. Sure, people see them, and they may even talk to them, but Fairies could appear very nondescript and would often play with people’s memory, making them unsure of their exact appearance, or where they even saw them. Many people may even see the same Fairy disguised as a human over and over and not remember seeing them to begin with. They just seem to get a feeling of déjà vu… They know they’ve seen that (Fairy) person before, and their voice or conversation or appearance seems familiar, but they just can’t place them or remember the past encounter completely. In fact, I wouldn’t completely disregard the idea that Fairies posing as humans are really the Men in Black…those rumored government secret agents that nobody really seems to know about.

  I think the only time I felt entirely alone was when I locked myself in the bathroom. Thank God for small favors. Even when I slept, I had small Fairies perched on my window sill, keeping silent guard. Their glittery wings would flutter and glisten in the moonlight, reflecting around my room. Sometimes I had a hard time sleeping because I was mesmerized, watching the miniature light show on my ceiling. Between my lack of sleep, my only-slightly nervous stomach (I needed to thank Anya again for those calming sp
ells), and my cautious awareness, I was still a tad jumpy and on edge.

  I hadn’t seen too much of Brennan, but Anya was around quite a bit. All she would say of his absence was, “He’s getting those items we talked about and keeping Grobel in line.” He’d soda-pop fizz in once or twice, but mainly to hang out with my dumb brother, Leo. As long as it kept Leo out of my hair, I didn’t really care what they were doing. Thankfully, I was too busy to be bothered much by Leo lately. Between my boring job at the Craft and Hobby shop in town, swimming in the lake behind the woods at my house (which was even more fun to do now, since I was so super-fast) and hanging out with Nick every spare moment I had, time was flying by…even with my secret Fairy security detail watching my every move. Nick was working a lot at his family’s pizza place, and I was fast becoming a permanent fixture there. Nick loved having me come to the restaurant and hang out with him on his break. I’d often get there a bit early and sit in the corner booth, right near the kitchen, and chit-chat with him while he worked. His break times weren’t always regular. There were some really slow days, and some super busy days. It was one of those really busy days when I walked into Martino’s Pizza at lunchtime on Friday.

  Martino’s Pizza was the only Italian restaurant in town. Nick’s grandparents owned it before Nick’s parents, so it’s been around for a while. The place hasn’t changed much in the past 20 years or so. Dark paneled walls with red-vinyl booths line the perimeter, and red and white checkered tablecloths cover the ten or twelve tables in the center of the dining room, offering a vintage, yet homey feeling to the place. There is a long counter across the back wall of the restaurant where people could also sit. Carry out orders were placed and picked up at this counter. Behind the counter was the long, narrow kitchen with the big pizza ovens. That’s where Nick often was, wearing a baseball hat and an apron that was dusted with flour and marinara sauce.