The Forgotten Ones

By Laura Howard

Allison O'Malley's plan is to go to grad school so she can get a good job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She has carefully closed herself off from everything else, including a relationship with Ethan, who she's been in love with for as long as she can remember.

What is definitely not part of the plan is the return of her long-lost father, who claims he can bring Allison's mother back from the dark place her mind has gone. Allison doesn't trust her father, so why would she believe his fairy tale about a long forgotten Irish people, the Tuatha de Danaan? But truths have a way of revealing themselves. Secrets will eventually surface. And Allison must learn to set aside her plan and work with her father if there is even a small chance it could restore her mother's sanity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Laura Howard
• Release date: Apr 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310680373

Book preview

Book One of The Danaan Trilogy

By

* * * *

Smashwords Edition

* * * *

The Forgotten Ones

Book one of The Danaan Trilogy

Copyright © 2013 by Laura Howard

Formatting by JT Formatting

Published by Finding Bliss Publishing

ISBN:

All rights reserved.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Pronunciation Guide

Acknowledgments

About the Author

For Mom,

for never telling me I couldn't.

I miss you every minute.

I caught a glimpse of my mother staring out the den window. She held her violin loosely under her chin, and the bow dangled from her fingertips. Her jaw was slack, her eyes locked on something in the trees beyond me. I knew that haunted expression. I froze.

I swallowed hard as her eyes shifted to me. The violin fell from her chin, and I could see her bottom lip trembling.

I should have been used to that reaction from her when she saw me during an episode. It happened every time. But I wasn’t.

I flew into the house as fast as my feet would carry me. The screen door crashed behind me as I came to a halt outside the den. My mother clutched fistfuls of her blonde hair, garbled words spilling from her lips.

I have to. I have to go out there, she said. He’s waiting for me.

She stood in the semi-darkness, mumbling, the only other sound the hum of the ceiling fan. I clung to the doorjamb as I watched my grandmother approach carefully. She placed her hands on my mother’s shoulders, and on contact my mother’s body stopped quaking. Gram crooned, rocking her back and forth, as she pulled her into her arms and led her away from the window.

My stomach tightened, and I backed away to leave them alone. If she saw me again, who knew what would happen.

I cringed as the floor creaked beneath me, and she jerked her head in my direction. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and the shaking began again. Breaking away from my grandmother, she stumbled backward toward the window. She raked her fingers down her face and hair as she moaned. Liam… Tears streamed down her cheeks, causing thick strands of hair to stick to her face.

I entered the room slowly, desperate not to step on another squeaky floorboard. Her green eyes burned into mine, and I locked my eyes on hers. No matter how many times she fought my attempts to soothe her, I had to keep trying. She was my mom.

I reached for her shoulders. Mom, I whispered. It’s just me.

She flinched. I knew she recognized me. I’d never met my father, but under my mattress I hid the only scrap I could find with his image on it. The picture—a strip of them actually—was taken before I was born in a photo booth in Ireland. I looked just like him. Considering how she often spoke his name when she was like this, my gut told me that she saw my father in me.

She writhed as I touched her and clawed at my hands. Gurgling sounds came from somewhere deep in her throat, but I knew she was still saying my father’s name. I placed my hands gently over hers, my gaze steady, as though approaching a wounded animal. I took deep, soothing breaths the way Gram had taught me.

I could feel the weight of Gram’s stare, watching as I got closer than ever to my mother actually letting me comfort her. I focused on my mom, ignoring the panic rising in my chest.

Shh..you’re okay, I said. You’re okay. I repeated it over and over, softly, until her breathing became even, more normal. It felt like hours, but the tension in her fingers loosened eventually as she stopped trying to resist me.

My grandmother walked out of the room as I continued to make shushing sounds, the panic in my mother’s eyes fading. I couldn’t see it, but I knew Gram was probably smiling, at least a little.

I exhaled and led my mother to the couch. The same woman who had just been in the throes of a schizophrenic episode was now completely unresponsive as she sat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Gram standing just outside the doorway. I released my mother’s hands—she’d stay that way for a while, and there was nothing any of us could do—and got up to follow Gram down the hallway to the kitchen. The air wafted toward me as she moved, smelling like oranges and cloves—familiar and comforting.

I opened the refrigerator, snagged a bottle of water, and slouched down at the kitchen table. I tried to smile as I unscrewed the cap, but inside I was struggling with the gratification of being able to bring my mother down from her episode versus the pang of guilt for being the one who caused her condition in the first place. Before I was born, she’d been a bright, happy college student. Her spiral into schizophrenia didn’t start until I showed up.

She had met my father during her last year of college. She had traveled to Ireland for her final semester to study music at Trinity College in Dublin. She’d been fine when she left, I’m told, but when she came back she was heartbroken and pregnant. She’d never been the same since.

Have you eaten, honey? Gram asked, nailing me in place with her eyes.

I flipped the bottle cap in my fingers. No, but I’m fine.

Oh no, you don’t. We had a nice steak for supper, cooked just the way you like. You’ll have some, won’t you?

I had to laugh. With Gram there was no choice, even if she asked. I sat down at the table while she whirled around the kitchen. In minutes I had a steak dinner in front of me, complete with steaming mashed potatoes and green beans.

You spoil me, you know, I said between bites. I’m never going to be able to take care of myself if you keep this up.

Gram smiled at me. You’ll have plenty of time to take care of yourself. Let me spoil you while I still can.

I swallowed down the guilt, knowing she didn’t see raising me—and Mom—for the past almost twenty-two years as the burden it felt like to me.

As I ate, my mother walked into the kitchen. She sat down at the table quietly without looking at either of us.

Hi, Mom… I spoke as softly as I could, not wanting to alarm her.

Hello. Her voice was barely more than a whisper. She chewed on her fingernail and stared absently out the window. Even with the hair framing her face in knots, my mother looked lovely. Her eyes sage green, her skin flawless. She was forty-three but didn’t look a day over thirty.

That was a beautiful tune you played earlier, Beth, Gram said as she took my mother’s hands in her own. I could practically smell the breeze blowing in off the Irish sea.

Mm hmm, my mother answered, mostly detached, but a tiny smile lifted the corner of her mouth.

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out quickly before it startled my mom. I opened it to find a message from my cousin, Nicole:

I need ice cream tonight

I gave a small laugh as I put my phone back into my pocket. I’d worked all afternoon at my grandfather’s hardware store, but it was Friday night—I should’ve known I wouldn’t be able to just relax with a good book. Nicole was twenty, only a year younger than me, and we were as close as sisters. But our ideas of a perfect Friday night couldn’t be more different. If only we didn’t live next door to each other maybe I could get out of this.

I glanced out the window to Nicole’s driveway. When I’d gotten home, it had been filled with cars—her friends had been taking over the place. But now I was grateful to only see her little Jetta. Hanging out with Nicole I guess I could handle.

Her friends were a different story. Especially when Ethan Magliaro was around.

Nicole and I sat down at a table on the patio with two of the biggest sundaes on the menu at DeeDee’s. The sun was hanging low in the evening sky, and the heat from earlier in the day had settled into pleasant warmth on my skin. The last fingers of golden light caused the pink and blue umbrellas to cast a glow across Nicole’s pale blonde hair. She licked a puff of whipped cream off her spoon and eyed me.

What? I said through a mouthful of ice cream.

We’re going to the beach tomorrow, she said before taking her own bite.

Have fun, I mumbled.

She wiped her lips with a napkin and narrowed her eyes at me. You’re coming. I opened my mouth to argue, but she held a slender finger up at me and pursed her lips. It’s the first Saturday you’ve had off in months. School’s over, at least for the summer. You’re coming.

I sighed and looked up at the pattern of our umbrella. You really know how to ruin a perfectly good sundae.

Her eyes shot daggers at me. We’ll have a great time, Al. Her expression changed as she seemed to change tactics. Her green eyes widened and her lip stuck out just the tiniest bit.

Cranky Nicole was a challenge, but pouting Nicole was impossible.

Fine, I sighed. We’re going to the beach. I looked at my sundae, which had made me so happy a minute earlier and a thought came to me. She hadn’t said anyone else was coming, but Nicole and her boyfriend Jeff were practically inseparable. Wait, who else is going?

Nicole grinned, clearly smelling her victory. The usual crew: Jeff, Rachel, Sean and—her eyebrows inched up—Ethan.

I nodded, trying to breathe evenly. I hated the way my pulse spiked at just the mention of his name. Handsome, cocky Ethan. His smile had the power to break down every one of my defenses. But, I didn’t have space in my life for that. I had a plan—to focus on taking care of my mom. My grandparents had done it by themselves for long enough. I needed to find a way to help, to unburden them. That was my priority. But Ethan…he was so hard to resist sometimes.

Just as I began to get lost in thought, a quick movement caught my eye as Jeff snuck up behind Nicole. He held his finger to his lips and planted a kiss on Nicole’s cheek.

She jumped and instinctively smacked him, but a smile overtook her face when she realized who it was.

Hey, babe. Jeff took the seat next to her and looked over at me. Hey, Al.

The chair next to mine scraped the patio, and it was my turn to jump. Ethan dropped into the seat and grinned at me, his dimples out in full force. I tried to concentrate on my sundae.

Hey, he said, nodding at me. A brown curl slipped down his forehead, adding to his annoying charm.

Hi, I muttered before shoving a glob of half-melted ice cream in my mouth to avoid conversation. Must. Not. Fall. I reminded myself.

Ethan was tall, olive-skinned with dark, messy curls. Easily the best-looking guy in Stoneville. And also the biggest player in town. He knew the effect he had on girls, and he used it to his advantage.

So, we’re all set for the beach tomorrow, Nicole told them. She sounded a little too smug, and I rolled my eyes.

Something in your eye, Allison? Ethan asked, seemingly amused at my attempt at indifference.

I clenched my jaw and almost rolled my eyes again. That must be it, Ethan.

Oh, come on. I know how bad you want to see me with my shirt off.

I knew it didn’t warrant a response, but I could never keep my mouth shut when Ethan provoked me. And he knew it.

"The entire female population of this town has seen you without a shirt on. Not that exciting."

A slow smile spread across his face—he saw through me.

Reviews for The Forgotten Ones

[turtlesleap · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Superficial characters, a convoluted story line which, all too often, does nothing to move the plot forward, topped off with a truncated, conclusion all combined to insure that I won't be bothering with any more of this series or, for that matter, any other work by this author. I

[artfullee-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received an ARC copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I have not read any books in this genre before so I thought it was a good opportunity to give a really honest review and I have to say I really enjoyed it.
Laura has written a well balanced and intriguing story that pulled me in straight away. I found it very easy to read and wished it was longer. I liked the characters and their interactions and I was able to easily picture the scenes and feel what the characters felt through Laura's descriptive writing. I thought that Laura seamlessly wove the two worlds together and I would recommend The Forgotten Ones for anyone venturing into fantasy for the first time. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next in this series.

Well done Laura on your debut novel

[sszkutak_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When the tour came around for The Forgotten Ones, I was very excited. It had been on my To Read list for a while, I had even downloaded it when it was free for Kindle at one point, so I knew it would be up my alley. It honestly took me a little while to get into the beginning of the story, I would say the first 20-30% was a good amount of set up got the plot to begin. Allison is out main character and she is strong but very stubborn and set on a single path, taking over the care of her sick mother. And she does not want to deviate from that path for anything or anyone. Not friends, boys, school, work…yes she works and goes to school but it is all set up for taking care of her mother later. I found this to both an honorable trait but also frustrating. She continually blames herself for everything and as a strong female, which you can see if in her potential it was defeating.The other characters in the story were interested but did not overtake the story. Ethan, who is Allison’s long time crush that she will not pursue and not for his lack of trying. It was kind of pathetic the way he flirts and asks her out all the time but he is built up as a male flirt who can have all the girls anyway. Nicole is her cousin and best friend for the most part and she is your typical secondary character, she is a bit bossy and wants to make sure Allison lives her life rather than sitting around with a book. As for the plot, I was super excited to get into it! It is about Danaan or fairies ☺ I looooooove fairies and most of the time love to read books about them. This was no exception to that either; I was intrigued by their abilities and the characters that revealed themselves to Allison. I think this was a great set up to the series and will continue to read them as they become available.

[punkfarie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Kindle Edition (edit)review Allison’s mother, Beth, is schizophrenic and has been since Allison was a child, though her condition has grown worse over the years. Allison blames herself, because she’s under the impression that her mother wasn’t this way before she was born. Allison lives a quiet life with her cousin Nicole as her best friend. She rarely socializes, focusing on work, school, and most importantly, her mom. She only wants to be able to properly take care of her mother. She even denies herself a relationship that she clearly desires with Ethan, a boy she’s known since they were both children and has loved just about as long. She thinks he’s a player and that dating him will distract her from her goals. He surely tries hard enough to get her to change her mind. Strange things begin to happen, her mother’s fits are getting worse and crows had suddenly started showing up in the yard. The strangest is Allison’s father that she’s never met randomly showing up on her doorstep, not looking a day older than Allison’ is herself. Liam claims he didn’t even know Allison existed until recently. He also claims to be fae and that he can cure Beth. She doesn’t know whether to believe him but when her mom goes missing, she has no choice but to ask for his help.I’ve heard a lot about this book, and I’ve had it on Amazon loan since it came out. I have to say that I was ever so slightly disappointed. First, we know next to nothing about Allison. We know she has a mom with a mental illness, her cousin is her best friend, and that she crushes hard on Ethan. Other than that? Nothing. We don’t know her interests, what she’s going to grad school for, what she wants to be when she’s done with school. There is a mention that she and Ethan kissed once before and she seemed to regret it but we don’t know why or what happened between then. She calls him a player but he pretty much ignores other girls when she’s around. She constantly turns him down so it’s only natural he would date other girls. Overall, Ethan seems pretty nice, though a bit cocky at times. It’s obvious that he’s really into Allison. The first half of the book was more like a romance and the second half is where it starts getting into the fantasy. The fae part was pretty interesting, using some Irish mythology. There were a ton of fae secondary characters introduced that I couldn’t keep straight. It was really fast paced, but it was under 200 pages. It felt a bit too fast, I felt like Allison accepted things too easily. Also, it just kind of suddenly ends. Based on the ages of the characters (early twenties) it could be a NA book, but it reads more like a YA. So why am I giving a 3 Star rating when there seems to be so many flaws? Because FAERIES. I love Faeries. Plus, the book did keep me engaged. It’s a quick read, and I will continue the series (more to see how things turn out with Ethan than anything. Lol). There were some things that hopefully will be explained in the next book (which I already bought!).

[roomwithbooks-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard was a good book but in an attempt to create a cliffhanger and transition into the second book, Ms. Howard stopped the story in a very awkward place to me.

I admire the main character for her willingness to do whatever she could to help her mentally ill mother, but she truly needed to learn some balance between caring for her mother and caring for herself.

The glimpse into the Danaan world was interesting and I would like to read the next book to see if the characters continue to develop as I hope they do.

A good book that I would recommend more for YA fantasy readers than adults.

~ Patricia, Room With Books ~ © Dec 24, 2014

[willowstarserenity · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just finished reading The Forgotten Ones. It is a novel written by Laura Howard. It is about a girl who struggles to help take care of her mother on top of trying to lead a normal life. Her father comes back into her life after being absent since before she was born. His showing up and his news turns her world upside down.I got hooked immediately and kept reading to the very end. This was a very well written book. I felt like I could fully relate to the main character. This is especially true when it comes to social situations. She’s really cautious when it comes to opening up to people. She feels like she is to blame for many things. She feels anxiety over being perfect even though nobody expects it of her. I can’t wait to read the rest of this trilogy. I am really curious to see how it plays out from here. It’s amazing how well the author can grab your attention. It’s even more amazing that she has the talent to keep your attention until the very last page. I fully recommend this book. It’s an amazing book! I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to read this book. It is truly an amazingly written book. I fully encourage everybody to give this book a chance. I promise you wont regret it.

[livvvy75 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Complete with beautiful descriptions of the faerie world, The Forgotten Ones will not be forgotten.I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I practically read it in an hour, maybe less. Totally worth it though. Who can pass on a short faerie read, anyway?The descriptions were breath-taking. One of my favourite things about faerie books is the descriptions because faeries are these mythical beings that are glamorously evil, complete with magic. The Forgotten Ones did not disappoint me in this area. There weren’t many world descriptions as such, but certainly a lot of faerie description.I loved the author’s take on faeries because she introduced some newer elements while keeping the ones that I read faerie books to witness. I liked the way the world had managed to worm it’s way into the life of just some family who could otherwise be normal.If felt that the story was more character driven because, of course, there’s the mother/cousin/boy/dad issues and I definitely felt like I was reading more for the characters. I felt sorry for Ethan but I really loved his character and would certainly love to see his and Allison’s relationship develop a bit further.The reason why I am docking off half a comet/star, however, is because I felt like the characters were just given any random Irish names. Yes, they are nice names but I just kind of thought that it would have been better if maybe the names sounded a bit more old fashioned and Irish faerie like. There were a few in there beginning with A that I can’t remember off the top of my head in the book that were good. Some people may think I’m being a little unfair here but it genuinely did annoy me and the little things really do count. Plus I would have loved to see more world descriptions.I would definitely recommend The Forgotten Ones to people who enjoy reading faerie books that have a few Irish mythology references. If I get a chance to read the sequel in future, I will probably take it. 4.5/5 cometsKABOOM! That only leaves one continent. One little flaw.