“Yeah, maybe.” I chewed my grainy roll. “We just need to get to know each other. Right?”
“Mm-hm.” Cassidy glared across the field to where McKale walked, head down.
I knew she was thinking the worst. That he didn’t want me. And that hurt more than I cared to admit.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE PARTY WAS IN full swing when we made it out that night. My eyes did a quick scan of the clearing until finding McKale among the musicians. As we entered the gathering, people began to approach and introduce themselves. I’d met a few people that day, but most had been busy working.
I stood with my family, shaking hands or hugging each male and female who bounded up to greet us. Brogan stood nearby, receiving claps on the back and hearty handshakes of congratulations from the men. I’d never be able to remember all of the names just yet, but they were all so friendly that my face hurt from smiling by the time we were through.
We found an open spot at a table near the musicians and sat, watching McKale on his fiddle and the people dancing. Other Irish instruments were played: wooden flutes, tin whistles, and even a small harp. McKale caught my eye between songs and held it for a few beats before giving me a bashful grin, turning me all toasty warm and confused inside. Maybe I’d made too much of our conversation that morning. Maybe he’d just been giving me an out if I wanted it. Cass saw the exchange and bumped my ankle with her own.
Across from us, Dad took a sip from his wooden mug and slapped a hand to the table, shaking his head before letting out a “Woo!” He leaned over the table and whispered, “Girls, do not drink the moonshine!” And then he took another drink.
“It’ll put hair on your chest,” Mom said, patting Dad’s pec.
“Ew.” Cassidy pulled a face.
Two Little Men with short blond beards approached Cassidy and me, asking us to dance. We looked at one another, hesitating.
“I don’t really know how…” Cassidy stammered.
“Och, not to worry!” said the one closest to her. “We’ll teach ye the steps.”
“Sure, why not,” I said. We’d most likely make fools of ourselves, but we were going to spend the summer with these people and we needed to make an effort. Better to look like fools than snobs. The men held out their small hands and we took them, allowing ourselves to be led onto the “dance floor,” which was essentially a circle of stamped down grass.
We lined up with the others and took their hands. I peered over at the musicians and McKale gave me a slight nod of approval as he raised the fiddle under his chin.
The dance required us to skip to the side, then skip to the other side. Our partners were supposed to spin us around, which was funny because we had to squat down and pivot. By the end, we’d gotten the hang of it and we were laughing and breathless. The song ended and everyone cheered. It took a moment to realize they were cheering for Cassidy and me. When I glanced at McKale again he was half grinning, the fiddle resting on his knee.
Cassidy and I smiled at the people and one another, but declined a second dance because we were thirsty. She and I headed to the corner of the field where a Little Man stood on a stool scooping drinks from barrels with a fire roaring at his back.
“Fine dancing!” he said when we approached. “What will ye be drinking? We got ale, mead, and a bit o’ fire water.”
Fire water sounded bad. It had to be the moonshine Dad warned us about.
“What’s mead?” Cassidy asked.
“Fermented honey,” I said. “You’ll learn all about it when you read Beowulf next year.”
She didn’t look excited.
“Refreshing after a good dance, it is.” He filled two wooden goblets and handed them over. We thanked him and tasted the mead. There was slight bitterness from the alcohol and a light, sweet aftertaste. I expected carbonation, but it was flat. All together not bad. He smiled at our approval and refilled our mugs before we walked away.
As we made our way back to the table I wondered what time it was. I’d always used my phone for the time, but I didn’t bother to turn it on here. No signal. No electricity to charge it.
The crescent moon was high in the night sky and there seemed to be a million more stars than there were back home. I felt content and sleepy, especially after my first glass of mead.
I wasn’t the only one who was tired and still jet-lagged. We hadn’t been out there very long before our parents retired for the night. I guess the firewater did Dad in.
Cass and I stood for a while and clapped to the music. I was admiring McKale’s swift movements of his bow across the instrument until someone from behind tapped our shoulders.
“Hide me from Brogan, would ya?” asked Rock in full form.
“Hey!” Cassidy’s face lit up and she bounced on her heels.
“Hallo again, gorgeous.”
And with that she was mush. In all honesty I couldn’t blame her. There was something fun about being in his mischievous presence. The three of us stood there bantering at the far edge of the clearing.
“So, what’s your real name?” I asked him. “It can’t be Rock.”
“Nah. Pop used to say me head was full o’ rocks and just as hard.” He knocked on his skull for effect and Cassidy smiled. “The real name’s Ronan, but ‘tis far too proper.”
When Cass giggled I rolled my eyes at her. She lifted her hands and mouthed, “What?”
Before I could respond, a burst of magic stronger than any I’d ever felt flashed through the field. It sizzled my skin and I almost lost my balance. Cassidy fell back onto the bench. The music stopped and people ran, shouting about Fae and the Portal.
Rock whispered something in a sneering tone under his breath and took off.
Cassidy hurried back to my side and we grasped hands, freaked out as we stared in the direction of the field where the Clourichaun Men had arrived last night. I watched in horror as an invisible knife seemed to stab the air and slice downward to the ground, opening a dark slit between our worlds. I looked to McKale, but he simply stared at the portal like everyone else, his instrument dangling from his fingers as he stood.
“Pssst!” A hissing call came from the woods beside us, not ten feet away. Cassidy and I looked to see Rock stick his curly head around a tree trunk and urgently wave my sister to him. She ignored my efforts to cling to her fingers, letting go and running.
“I’ll be right back!” she whispered.
I stayed where I was and crossed my arms, chilled to the bone. I was too terrified by the unnatural sight of the portal to worry about what Rock might be up to.
A murmur swept through the crowd and people lowered their heads in reverent greeting as five beings came through the portal. I couldn’t make them out completely, but I was awestruck. They moved in our direction, two smaller creatures flying around them.
Whispering stopped as they got closer, and tension filled the surrounding air. I was able to see them now—four males and one female, though the faces were still unclear from this distance. The winged creatures flew ahead of them and began to flit around above the Leprechauns, snatching off hats and dropping them on other people’s heads, even pulling hair. They had naked green bodies with fat bellies, and they cackled in high-pitched voices that hurt my ears. I heard someone near me whisper, “Bloody pixies.” Everyone looked annoyed, but nobody spoke out against the pixies’ behavior.
A little woman sidled up next to me, seeming terrified with big eyes and hands on her cheeks.
“Can the Fae just come and go whenever they please?” I whispered to her.
“Aye. We cannot stop them.”