Free Rua (Rua, book 1) by Miranda Kavi

door.
    She followed him down a long dusty hallway that crowded against a steep staircase.
    He stopped in front of a door underneath the stairs. It was a small entrance, maybe four feet tall.
    “Seriously?” She paused in front of the door.
    “Trust me.” He opened the door. Dark dirt steps went down into the darkness.
    He shut the door behind him then flicked on the overhead light. It was a small space, filled with packed dirt held back by crooked wood beams. Handmade wood shelves lined the walls, some stacked with old preserve jars. He followed her eyes as they traveled around the room, finally resting on him.
    She sank to the floor. Her mind stretched past her “okay” capacity. She was close to losing it, and she knew it.
    “Most of them have a hard time coming through the earth,” he said.
    “The earth?”
    “Underground. Traveling underground.”
    “What is this?” She thrust her palms in his direction. The purple flames rolled around her hands and wrist.
    He took her hands in his, running his finger down her palms. “This, I’m not sure. I’ve not seen this before.”
    “You have no idea?”
    He pulled her off the ground until they stood across from each other underneath the naked light bulb. “It’s a manifestation of your power. I’m just not sure what that is, exactly.”
    They stood in silence. She was sure she was blushing, and the flames danced in delight on her hand.
    He dropped her hand abruptly then walked away from her, as far as he could in the small space.
    “What am I?” she asked.
    He picked up a preserve jar off the shelf, rotating it in his hand. “I’m pretty sure you’re Tuatha de Dannan. ”
    “What?”
    “ Tuatha de Dannan . The People of the Mists.”
    She shook her head. “I’m not getting this. Signal not received.”
    He put the jar down. “This is worse than I thought. No one, um, said anything to you? Contacted you? Explained this to you?”
    “No.”
    He paced the room.
    “What does this mean?” Tears ran down her face before she could stop them. “I feel sick. I’m followed by birds and shadows and nightmares. And then there’s this!” She thrust her hands out.
    He stayed where he was.
    She dropped her face into her hands. After a few minutes, she calmed down enough to lift her head.
    He was sitting next to her again. “It means you help the Sidhe cross back and forth to the other world. It means you keep the bad ones in other world. It means you have a great power.”
    “What does that mean? What are Sidhe ?”
    “Those that can cross over between this world and the next. Some of them look human, some look quite different, like the ones in your room. Most are benevolent. Some are not,” he said.
    “Why are they around me?”
    “Because you are Tuatha de Dannan . Your ability to open the portal between this world and the next was activated when you turned seventeen. They are following you because some want your help to get out of the other world, others want to go back.”
    “What? This doesn’t make any sense. This isn’t right.” She scooted away from him. “No. Not happening.”
    “Stay calm. I’ll explain everything I can,” he said.
    She jumped away from him. “Wait a second, how can I tell who wants in and who wants out? This is crazy.”
    He was still crouched on the floor, even though she wasn’t there anymore. “I don’t know. I don’t know how it works.”
    “Then how do you know what I am?” she asked.
    “Because I can sense it, just as you could sense me. You know, with your headaches.”
    “Sense what?” she asked. “What exactly are you?”
    He didn’t respond.
    Her feet tapped with the urgency to move. She made a perimeter around the room with her feet, heel to toe. She closed her eyes, relaxed her arms at her sides, palms up. When she completed the circle, she opened her eyes.
    Rylan stared at her.
    “What?”
    “How did you know how to do that?” he said.
    She looked down. Purple flames had traveled from her