She waved her hand in dismissal. “I have a problem you’re uniquely qualified to help with.” I don’t know why, but I pictured Eamon. Was she going to make me help him with his lines? “Julian Young is a mess. When I finally got through to him that he’s no one’s love interest, he started playing Evyn as a pathetic child, which is just…” Her voice dwindled to a growl. “If he doesn’t turn this around, I’ll have to fire him.”
I stopped walking. “You can’t fire Julian! You’ve already filmed so many of his scenes!”
Cate kept going, and I had to jog to catch up. “I will do what I need to do. I am directing this film and will not be bullied by any big-shot producer.” The conviction in that sentence had little do with me. What was going on behind the scenes of Elementia, the major motion picture? “I want you to talk through his character with him, Iris. Make sure he understands the story.”
“How? I don’t even understand the story.”
“Evyn—Julian’s role—has been kidnapped by a damaged creature,” she said. “You have some experience in that department.”
I searched the horizon for a focal point—anything to avoid the sudden mental picture of Felix Moss. We were getting close to the pinnacle where the sun lit up a massive tree. Part of me wanted to say, How dare you, Cate Collins, but a larger part was relieved to be surrounded by people who didn’t shy away from what had happened. They asked questions. They wanted me to face it. Which was…what, exactly? Refreshing definitely wasn’t the right word.
“Will you do this?” Cate asked. “It’ll mean quality time with Julian Young, which seems like something you’re mighty interested in.” I couldn’t say she hadn’t pinned me there.
I looked at Cate anew. She was short and so skinny the black spandex suit made her look like a luger. My gifted imagination now pictured the weight of this production across her shoulders. She was the new Atlas—a fantasy globe about to crush her. No matter my hang-ups and desire for this movie to disappear, I didn’t want it to come at her expense. “I’ll help Julian.”
“Good.” She took my shoulder with one hand. “And so you know, that boy is head over heels in love with some girl. Don’t let him lead you on.”
Crap.
“Men. Always keeping secrets,” I said, a joke to cover my sudden letdown.
She sighed and seemed even more disappointed in me than ever. “This is why you have to read the books, Iris. Your father is wrong. The story isn’t about punishing a king who makes a sexist choice. It’s about a girl who discovers the sheer power of her courage.”
“As if courage is that simple.” Jaded Iris had come back strong, the words scalding my throat. “You can’t order courage on Amazon Prime and simply unbox it.” I thought about Grandma Mae. About me. “Some people have it. Some don’t.”
Cate Collins looked like I’d spit at her, and I waited for her to correct me. Scold me. Even say my name in that motherly way. But she didn’t, and my dad’s voice whispered, Nice one, Iris.
I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
IF I’M BEING HONEST, I HAVE SOME INTEREST IN BEING HONEST
When Cate and I reached the great old tree, I gasped. The base was hollowed out while the ancient branches reached high and huge. Beautiful skeletal arms grasped for the heavens.
“Hello.”
I jumped. Eamon stepped out from inside the tree with a grin on his face. The grin was aimed at me, and my body flushed with mixed signals. I felt like smiling back and turning around and sprinting away.
“Did you get a few shots with the sunrise?” Cate asked.
Eamon nodded. My eyes trailed down to his handheld camera, and I had a strong desire to toss it off the cliff. At least that squashed my crush for the moment.
“Design has been building this tree for eighteen months,” Cate said to me. She knocked on the side and it made a hollow sound. Then she stepped inside and showed off the small living space within. “This is Maedina’s home.” I recognized it from Ryder’s drawings. Cate stared lovingly. “Tonight we’re going to burn it to the ground in one take.”
“Why?” I asked, startled.
“Because that’s what happens in the book. Sevyn can’t control her affinity with lightning, and when she finds out that Maedina was the one to curse her, she calls down the mighty bolt.”
That would probably be pretty cool on screen. I tried not to look too impressed.
Cate turned to Eamon. “You’re the director right now. Tell me where.”
“Ah, here?” He motioned to the gnarled roots. “I can get the tree and the ocean in the shot.” Cate sat where Eamon had pointed, and Eamon set up his camera on a small tripod.
“Should I leave?” I asked.
Cate looked at me with those hard, blue eyes. “I think you should stay and hear the story of how your grandmother’s books saved my life. Eamon is recording it for his blog series.”
I laughed, falling headlong into one of my dad’s favorite sayings. “The only way my grandma’s books could save your life is if you were in a Wild West gun fight, and you had the book in your vest, and it stopped a bullet from entering your heart.”
Eamon and Cate stared like I’d grown horns. “Not a morning person?” he asked.
“She’s parroting her father’s beliefs. Let’s move forward.”
How did she do that? I thought about storming off but didn’t want to appear even more petulant.
Eamon started recording and scurried around the camera to sit beside Cate. “Here we are on gorgeous Inishmore with wonder director Cate Collins. Cate, fáilte and go raibh maith agat.”
“My pleasure,” she said.
“You have said in several interviews that M. E. Thorne’s Elementia books saved your life.” Eamon tossed a brief but potent look at where I stood off camera. “Care to elaborate?”
“Well, twenty years ago when I
