Daughter of the Mara (The Mara Chronicles Book I)

Chapter 21

Jay settled herself on the bed and sighed, staring at the journal in her hands. She wasn't sure how to feel about the prospect of going to her mother's court. She was excited by the idea of attending a ball and meeting more of the mara but the thought also filled her with anxiety. Sure, she would have Harvey to protect her but she didn't know how much that was worth and, more importantly, letting Harvey protect her led to another set of questions she wasn't sure she was ready to deal with. Questions centering around the reality of her, Harvey, and Edmund all being in the same room at the same time.

She flipped open her father's journal in search of escape. Her feelings for Harvey and Edmund were too much to deal with at the moment. She needed distraction and thankfully Harvey had provided it.

When she agreed to take me to the mara court, I expected to find many things: someplace fanciful, mystical, and unlike anything I had ever seen before. These were creatures of folklore and my imagination ran wild with images from fairy stories. My hopes were high and I was riddled with anxiety.

The first surprise came when the car picked me up from the house and we headed further out of town. The silent driver and I took a ride that lasted about a half hour, winding further east along the Columbia River Gorge. We were following the old highway until suddenly we stopped in the empty parking lot of Multnomah Falls. I opened my mouth to ask the driver what was going on but before I had a chance my door opened.

"This can't be right," I said. "There must be some mistake."

"No mistake, sir," the driver replied. "The entrance to the estate is at the falls. Follow me, please."

Despite being convinced that this invitation to court had all been a ruse that I would immediately regret, I decided I needed to at least see this through. I exited the car and followed him across the parking lot and up the path to the falls. I glanced up at the towering cliffs the falls tumbled over, studded here and there with evergreen trees and rocky outcroppings. The falls were broken into two parts: the upper part was longer and tumbled down into a pool where a small bridge overlooked it while the shorter part fell into an even larger pool before making its way to the Columbia River through a small creek. We made our way up to the bottom of the falls where a large platform allowed visitors to view the falls. I stopped against the barrier between myself and the water, gazing upwards at the tumbling rush of the falls. The driver, however, did not stop and hopped over the barrier, continuing towards the pool at the bottom of the falls.

"Where are you going? We can't...," I started.

"The entrance is behind the falls," the driver replied as if it was obvious and he continued down the rocky shore toward the water.

I was about to call him insane before realizing that everything about this had been insane. This was just another thing to add to the list and there was no point in turning back now. I hopped over the barrier and followed the driver to the rocky edge of the pool at the bottom of the falls.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Now we wait," he replied, approaching the water. A moment later a delicate arching silver bridge emerged from the pool, leading directly from where we stood to the base of the falls. I rubbed my eyes, convinced I was seeing things, but the bridge didn't disappear. The driver moved forward across the bridge and towards the falls, motioning for me to follow.

Clenching my fists, I tuned out the rational thoughts currently flooding my mind telling me that this was ridiculous and I was about to get very wet, as I stepped onto the bridge. It was surprisingly solid for how delicate it appeared and I followed the driver across it and into the falls. As I stepped in I felt the water brush against my face for an instant before I somehow moved easily through the rushing curtain of water. I opened my eyes to see the driver standing beside a large wooden door.