Read Dirt (The Dirt Trilogy) for Free Online Page B

slightly unsealed, I plead with him, “Please tell
me what’s going on?” He looks at me and sees fear branded on my
face. He has one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on my
shoulder. This is the one time I wish he wasn’t touching me.
“What do you know about your mother?” he asks flying down
the abandoned highway as if it’s no big deal. I can’t bear to look at
the speedometer again.
“My mother? Only that she’s dead. She died when I was one, I
think. That’s it. That’s all I know.” My eyes close again as I hold
on, pressing my back into the cool black leather seats while holding
my breath. He takes a turn down an old gravel road without
hesitating on the bend, and the back tires spin in an effort to grip the
loose gravel. He competes with the speed of light and at this point, I
think he might win.
“What do you know about my mother? Let me rephrase that.
Why do you know anything about my mother?” I ask waiting for
that moment when we will crash. He doesn’t answer. His speed
increases heading the car straight for the trunk of a gigantic tree.
My trust in him wavers. I scream. “You’re going to get us
killed!”
I cover my eyes with my hands as we race toward the tree.
Yards turn into feet, feet to inches. No crash. No sound. No
eruption. There’s only light, bright light for a split second. I feel
like I’m floating. Then, it happens.

8
    There
’s a loud booming blow when the car slams onto the
ground. No blood. No broken bones. Rowen throws on the brakes.
As I peel my hands away from my face, I can feel my heart
pounding in my chest. I’m moving and breathing. I’m not dead.
    Rowen is out of the car before I realize I can feel my skin. As
he opens the door he reaches for my hand. I step out onto a plush,
grassy field. The sweetness of the air opens my lungs. It’s like
Rowen’s scent times a thousand. For a moment I’m speechless.
“Where are we? Is this heaven?” I ask with a strained voice.
    “
No, but the next best thing,” he says with pride. “A place
between heaven and earth.”
He grins a little. I guess I’m sort of amusing. This place feels
comfortable, like home, until I look into the distant sky. That’s
when I know I’m not in Darby anymore. Two perfectly round, full,
lavender moons sit side-by-side beyond snow-capped mountains.
The sky is blue and pink with highlights of yellow peeking out
through the white rolling clouds. Peace fills me, my hand still in
his. He guides me from the car bringing me to a large boulder. I’m
dazed. If I’d ever been intoxicated, I guess this is how it would feel.
I sit down knowing he’s in full control. He sits down next to me.
“Are you sure my Dad’s okay?” I ask.
“Yes, I’m sure. Rest a minute. The portal can make you a little
shaky
when you’re
not accustomed to passing
through.”
He
hesitates for a moment.“Are you sure there’s nothing else you
know about your mother?”
“Only her name. Nuin.”
“Really? No one has told you anything?”
I shake my head.
“That’s unbelievable and so unfair,” he remarks.
“My father didn’t handle her death very well.”
“Your mother wasn’t human,” he blurts.
I turn to him in shock. “W...What? If she wasn’t human, what
was she? What am I, an alien?” A vision of her photograph gushes
through my mind. The one that sat on the mantle. Realizing my
home has been burnt to the ground makes my chest feel heavy. Was
that even her? I study Rowen’s face to see if a bit of unhumanly
details reveal themselves. He appears human. Well, not really, he
looks better than human.
“Your world refers to us as faery folk. This is our home, Durt,
the homeland of your mother.”
“None of this is making sense.” I shake my head trying to
absorb every word. He stands up with his broad back facing me.
He begins to explain. “Thousands of years ago, our kind lived
on earth, but when humans started to destroy the earth with all their
toxic ways we had to leave.