by Lenore Wolfe
TWENTY-THREE
TARA
Tara had been sitting on the back deck, drinking a warm lemon tea and soaking up the last of the warm weather before all the rest of flowers died, and the weather turned cold again. She’d been sitting there, gazing at the trees and flowers, enjoying a few minutes of peace and quiet.
She’d glanced out across the pasture, quite by accident, when she’d spotted Sophia and her daughter walking directly toward the woods.
How odd.
“Well that can’t be smart,” she’d said out loud. After all, they had some unseen warlock stalking their every move.
Morgan chose that moment to come out, standing there and talking to her about Sophia, as they both watched mother and daughter heading straight for the woods. Morgan had then tried to convince Tara to mind her own business, and not go after them. But Tara got up out of her chair anyway, setting her mug down and leaving it sitting on the table, and taken off at a run to catch up with Sophia before they got so far ahead, she couldn’t catch up.
As Tara drew closer to where she’d seen Sophia and Kira disappear into the woods, she quieted her steps. At the last second, deciding that if she caught up with her, she would follow her at a distance, making sure she didn’t get too close. Biting her lip, Tara decided she would just follow her for a bit. Just to see, she told herself, not to spy.
When she spotted her, she did just that for about fifteen minutes, then suddenly came up short as Sophia stilled and whispered something, putting up her hands. Then, before Tara could even think, both Sophia and her daughter vanished right before Tara’s eyes.
Tara blinked. “What the hell?” she said, looking wildly around her.
As if her mind couldn’t accept what she’d just seen, she jumped and then went a bit nuts for a moment, running up to look around all the nearby trees and bushes—as if she could make sense of what she’d just seen—as if she’d actually find them hiding there.
“This is ridiculous,” she said out loud. “You know full well what happened,” she said to herself. “And here, she’s got you out here looking behind all the trees,” she gestured wildly, then stopped, disgusted. “And talking to yourself….”
Well, okay, then, I’ll just sit here and wait for her to reappear, she decided.
For a moment that made her smile, as she imagined the expression on Sophia’s face when she came out of wherever she and Kira had gone—to find Tara sitting there watching for her. Excited by the notion, she looked around for a good place to hunker down, wondering how long she’d have to wait.
Thinking about Sophia’s shocked face made her giggle. Well,” she sniffed. Serves her right—keeping a secret like this from her family, all these years.
The first hour, waiting for her went quickly, as she tried to remember all the things Sophia had done back then. All of which now made sense—knowing what she now knew about her. At the time, nothing had seemed that out of the ordinary—though sometimes things did get a little scary.
Like when Sophia had disappeared for three days in the woods when she’d only been about twelve years old. Now, Tara realized where she’d gone. But at the time, they’d all been scared out of their minds, thinking the worse had happened to her—thinking wild animals had gotten her—especially since they’d already lost Morgan.
Tara shook her head. “How could you, Sophia?” she said out loud.
But common sense prevailed. Really, what could Sophia have said to them? Look how they had reacted to the Gargoyle. They’d run off screaming like that thing had ripped them apart, terrified out of their minds.
Any hope Sophia might have had for telling them about herself likely vanished, as she watched her friends run scared from her people. Any chance she might have harbored for telling them the truth had probably been destroyed—by how they’d responded to someone from the Fae world, that day.
During the second hour, Tara looked for a more comfortable place to sit. She settled on a patch of grass, surrounded by flowers and bushes, as she tried to keep her eye on the place where Sophia had vanished. But, by then, Tara realized they could reappear anywhere in the woods.
In the end, they did just that—showing up right behind her.
Sophia jumped forward and grabbed her, and Tara screamed, then they both went down into a fit of giggles, while Sophia’s mother stood watching, smiling at their antics.
When Tara finally contained herself enough to look up at the Faery woman, her mouth fell open.
Sophia sobered. “Tara—she said,” her voice quiet now. “This is my mother, Shantra.”
Tara scrambled to her feet. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said. She didn’t know whether to extend her hand or give her a curtsy. On impulse, she settled on inclining her head.
Sophia seemed pleased. So, did Shantra. Tara couldn’t help but feel relieved.
“I am happy to meet such a good friend of my daughter’s,” Shantra said.
Tara eyed Sophia, then back at Shantra, frowning as something occurred to her. “I figured out that Sophia’s Fae, but I didn’t realize she’s actually Faery,” she exclaimed. “You have beautiful wings.” She walked around Shantra, then frowned again. “Why doesn’t Sophia have them?”
Sophia laughed. She seemed to enjoy realizing Tara hadn’t figured everything out. “I glamour, silly.”
Tara’s mouth fell open, again. “Really?” She walked around Sophia. “May I see?”
Sophia laughed. “Soon. But, right now, we’d better get back. I sense Claire with Morgan and Alex. They are heading this way.” She closed her eyes. “They’re worried, and they are searching for us.”
Tara glanced at her in surprise. She turned toward the direction, where the edge of the woods lay a full fifteen minutes away. “How on earth?”
Sophia grinned. “My senses are keener than humans,” she said, giggling. “And, it would seem, keener than witches.”
Tara stuck her tongue out, then chuckled.
Saying goodbye to Shantra, they headed down the trail that would take them out of the woods, to meet Morgan and Alex, but Tara stopped at the woods edge.
“What?” Sophia said, picking up her daughter and looking around. “What is it?”
Tara leaned forward to eye Sophia. “I don’t know. I just had the most peculiar sensation like someone's watching us—and not the winged man. Nor does it feel like the evil shadow.”
Sophia smirked. “That would be, Drake,” she said. “He watches over you, you know.” She shrugged. “Well, they all watch over us—but Drake likes to watch over you.”
“He what?” Tara said. She glanced around wildly. “Where?”
Sophia only smiled at her, walking out on the meadow’s edge and into the sunshine.
They met up with the rest of the group, who looked especially relieved to see them if the questions they asked gave any indication, as they all headed back toward the manor since the sun would soon go down. When they reached the house, the rest of them went inside, but Tara decided to sit back in her spot on the back patio to think about what she’d learned.
So many things made sense now.
Tara felt relieved. She couldn’t help it. She’d been having issues with trusting Sophia for quite a while now, because while she’d figured out that Sophia kept a secret, she’d only just begun to realize what Sophia hid was only about her heritage—and not anything more sinister. Not knowing what kind of secret Sophia kept from them had slowly eaten at her, over time. It was painful for her.
Tara had trust issues already. Her family had done that for her. Especially when she knew someone she loved hid something from her.
Now, she felt bad for not trusting Sophia enough to reveal her secret in her own time.
What she had learned today made sense, and she could see why Sophia couldn’t bring herself to tell them. She didn’t blame her. Even though they were all witches, she hadn’t known how they would react to her own big secret—when they continued to freak out about the Gargoyle.
&nbs
p; She’d probably thought they’d never get where they could handle her secret.
Tara’s head jerked up, realizing. Now, she understood about Sophia’s father. Tara had never been able to get why he was always so mean. She still didn’t—but at least she’d begun to. She breathed in, feeling an incredible sense of relief. She straightened as something else occurred to her.
They were far more prepared for this battle than they’d realized. Thanks to the Faery tribes.
They had friends and allies that they hadn’t known they had. They had—powerful friends.
For the first time, she had a more positive view of this war. The scales didn’t exactly tip in their favor, but they did feel more balanced—and not so tipped clear in favor of the warlock who’d hunted them since they were children.
Tara honestly hadn’t believed they stood a chance of surviving this—though she’d never told the sisters. Even so, she knew the sisters felt the same.
For the first time, she considered that they might stand a chance after all. A slim chance. But a slim chance was better than no chance at all.