Among the Unseen by Jodi McIsaac Page B

I’ve shown you how to speak to the Eden inside you whenever you want and access her power…I want you to use your ability to send me home.”
    Eden had been leaning forward, soaking in Helen’s words, but at this last part she sat up straight. “Home where?”
    “To Dublin, Ireland. I’m a prisoner here, you see. Your mother is very angry with the druids because of something a friend of mine did. But I have done nothing wrong. Still, your mother insists on keeping me locked up here. Would you like it if you were being punished for someone else’s mistake?”
    “No,” Eden said. “But if you’ve done nothing wrong, why won’t my mum just let you go home?”
    “Sometimes people don’t think as clearly as you and I, especially if they are angry or hurt,” Helen said. “And, to be honest, the Tuatha Dé Danann usually do whatever they want, without thinking about others. But if you promise to let me go home, then I promise to help you.”
    Eden frowned. If Helen hadn’t done anything wrong, why shouldn’t she be able to go home? There was a clatter outside Helen’s door, and Eden jumped. She had to go before she got caught.
    “Okay,” she said. “It’s a deal.”
    Helen held out her hand, and they shook on it.
    “I’ll have to do some thinking about your lessons,” Helen said. “Can you come back tomorrow?”
    Eden nodded. “Yes. But I have to go now; I think the guards may have seen me.” She opened a sidh in the air, glancing up to make sure Helen had noticed.
    “Very impressive,” Helen said with a small smile. “Oh, and Eden? I’m sure you already know this, but best not to say anything about this to anyone. We wouldn’t want them to keep you from coming to see me. It will be our little secret, okay?”
    “Okay!” Eden said. “See you tomorrow!” She made a sidh to her bedroom and poked her head through it. She looked around, and—with a final wave at Helen—stepped through and closed it behind her.

    “What do you plan to do?” Finn asked softly, once they were back home. They had stayed with Maggie for the rest of the day, listening to her stories about Logheryman and their wonderful, unexpected relationship. Then they’d walked her safely back to her own house before leaving.
    Now she and Finn were sitting by the pond in their bedroom, their feet dangling in the cool water. Eden was out with Riona, picking berries. Cedar was glad, because it gave them a chance to discuss their plans without a hundred questions from their inquisitive daughter. She took a deep breath before answering Finn’s question. She still found it difficult to accept the truth of Logheryman’s death. Suddenly, the situation with the Unseen felt much more real—and much more urgent.
    “I think we should go directly to the selkies,” she said. “Irial said that the pixies are gone, and the púka who helped him disappeared. We know for sure the selkies are sick—he never made it to the Merrow, so we don’t have any confirmation about them. I suppose we’ll have to warn them, anyway, although I’m certainly not looking forward to that encounter.” The last time they’d visited the Merrow, one of the Danann had killed their queen, and the Merrow had killed him in return. She didn’t know if they would even talk to her, but she supposed she’d have to try. The Merrow had only been defending themselves; they didn’t deserve to succumb to whatever illness was afflicting the Unseen.
    Finn stayed silent for a long moment.
    “You still don’t think I should go,” she said, feeling her stomach twinge. Cedar waved her foot in the water and watched as the fish swam past, oblivious to the sudden tension above them.
    “I told you that I’m going to help,” Finn said. “I was just thinking about Eden.”
    “I know,” Cedar said. “If we tell her where we’re going, she’ll want to come…but I don’t know what we’ll run into out there, and she’s already seen too much death. I think you should