Carrier of the Mark. Leigh Fallon

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СКАЧАТЬ the vase, picked up a daisy that had fallen to the floor, and gently placed it on my desk. Giving me a cautious smile, she walked out.

      Caitlin was right. Weird. I grabbed my bag and glanced at the flower she’d left on my desk, doing a double take. I could have sworn it had been a tired-looking white daisy when she picked it up, but it was most definitely a healthy-looking pink daisy now. I chucked it into my bag with my things and went to my next class.

      After math (I couldn’t imagine ever feeling comfortable calling it “maths”), Caitlin and I went outside for lunch. Jennifer, Killian, and Darren were already there, stretched out in the sun. Everyone was chatting happily, and I munched on my sandwich and listened intently, catching up on the gossip. At one point, Darren turned to me, then looked back in the other direction, and then at me again. I watched him, bemused.

      “Darren, what are you doing?” Jennifer asked.

      “I was just wondering who Rían DeRís was glaring at, and it would appear to be you, Megan. Bloody hell, what did you do to deserve that look?”

      “Ree-in?” I glanced up and found the face in question. It was the guy who’d been fighting with Adam yesterday, the guy with the motorcycle. He was Adam’s brother! His eyes boiled with such intensity that I had to look away. “Why would he be looking at me? I’ve never met him,” I said uncertainly.

      “He shouldn’t even be here. He finished school last year. I’d watch out if I were you, Megan. Rían will put the evil eye on you. People around here think the DeRíses are witches, ya know,” Darren replied, standing up and waving his hands around like a magician.

      “Darren, that’s rubbish. You listen to too many old wives’ tales.” Jennifer gave Darren a look and tugged on his shirt to make him sit down. “And anyway, the rumors are of their being druids, not witches.”

      Darren leaned closer to me. “My granddad reckons they’re related to the old Killeen coven that hexed the town back in the eighteen hundreds.”

      “What! You’ve got to be messing with me. Is that what you meant by ‘odd,’ Caitlin?” I asked.

      “Darren, shut up. You’re going to scare her,” Caitlin said with a slight edge to her voice.

      They all looked at me with serious faces. Then they burst out laughing.

      “Don’t mind us,” Caitlin said, gently rubbing my arm. “Yes, there are rumors, and there have been ‘incidents,’ but none of us actually believe the stories. Do we, guys?”

      “What stories?” I pressed.

      “Tell her the one about the cat!” Jennifer exclaimed, elbowing Darren excitedly.

      “Ooh, that’s a good one,” Darren declared, leaning into me. “A long time ago, there was a woman who lived here. Her name was Elizabeth Killeen. Rumor has it she’s, like, the DeRíses’ great-great-grandmother or something. Anyway, she was a bit of a babe, and all the menfolk of the town had a thing for her. Of course, all the women blamed Elizabeth for the wandering eyes, and one unfortunate lady actually went to confront Elizabeth. When she did, Elizabeth morphed into a ferocious cat and lashed out at her, plucking an eyeball right from her head. The cat reportedly ate the eyeball, and then morphed back into Elizabeth. At least, that’s how One-eyed Lily tells the story.”

      “One-eyed Lily?” I asked.

      “Yeah, she’s the great-granddaughter of the woman who had her eye swiped out. One-eyed Lily says her family is now cursed, and since that day, all the female children have been born with one eye.”

      Caitlin threw the crust of her sandwich at Darren. “What rubbish. One-eyed Lily is a crazy alcoholic who fell asleep drunk on the pier and lost her eye because a fisherman accidentally lodged a hook in it. Don’t listen to him, Meg. He’s only winding you up.”

      I glanced around at their faces. Darren smirked at me, and Jennifer had gone back to inspecting her hair for split ends.

      “So who’s signing up for the school’s sailing classes?” Killian asked, changing the subject.

      Caitlin looked excited, while I cringed and pretended not to hear. I personally couldn’t think of anything worse.

      Caitlin eyed me. “Would you be up for it, Meg?”

      “No way,” I replied, laughing nervously. “Water and I are not friends!”

      “Oh, you should,” Killian begged. “It’s going to be fun.” He looked pointedly at Jennifer and Darren.

      “It’s a tad remedial for me.” Jennifer sighed, sticking her nose in the air.

      Darren snorted. “Come on, Jen. Sitting on the deck of your dad’s day cruiser in a bikini does not equal a qualification in sailing!”

      She pouted at him as Killian looked back to Caitlin, his eyes pleading. “Come on, Caitlin; will you?”

      Caitlin melted under his gaze. “I’d love to, but I’ll have to run it by my mum.”

      “Excellent.” Killian smiled at her.

      “Who’s running the course?” Darren asked.

      “The yacht club and the outdoor education center; I’m sure the alleged druid himself, Adam DeRís, will be doing some instructing,” Killian replied.

      I felt a flicker of interest register on my face. I fought to hide it, but Caitlin didn’t miss a beat. She immediately went to work on my weakness.

      “Oh, come on, Meg; it could be fun, and we’d get to miss Friday-afternoon PE for five weeks.”

      I groaned inwardly. I was totally witless around water, and here I was being coerced into a sailing course! You know you want to, a voice in my head chirped. One-on-one time with Adam DeRís.

      “I’ll think about it,” I said.

      “I guess you can count me in too,” Jennifer added, not to be left out.

      Caitlin was bouncing up and down. “Come on; let’s get inside.” She looked like she was going to explode.

      “We still have ten minutes before class starts,” I said as I ran after her.

      “Will you really do the sailing course?” She turned to me.

      “I hate water,” I replied, cringing, “but if you need me to …”

      “Oh, I do need you. I do,” she said in a gush. “Killian will be there, and he seemed to want me to be there, didn’t he? Maybe it’s time to up the ante on Operation Snag Killian.”

      “Operation Snag Killian?” I repeated, laughing.

      “Oh, shut up. I nearly have to mop up the drool that pours from your mouth every time Adam comes within ten feet of you.”

      “You’d better be nicer to me if you want me to do this sailing course,” I warned.

      “Okay. I promise, I won’t mention Adam again!”

      “Fine. СКАЧАТЬ