Of the Woods

by J A S Bennet

  Something strange was happening and she hated that he was on her mind when there was her whole life being changed to deal with. There was nothing she could do but give him her attention when he was the one to speak.

  “Shawn was fast and powerful for an oval. Having been part of a triquetra, he knew what he was missing, but he never let it slow him down. The woods are not what they were in his prime. He worked himself literally to death trying to save them. As a wood nymph, he could control all the elements of nature. But he couldn’t control the people determined to destroy it. His efforts never stopped. He died in the arms of his favorite tree. You remind me a lot of him.” His eyes locked on Sheridan’s. “When I saw you hug that tree when ye first got here, I swear I could see him smiling on you. But I think what I actually saw was the wood nymph in you finding its home.”

  Sheridan let those words soak in. Really let them steep while her eyes refused to look away. He just told her she was a wood nymph. He didn’t have much to say to her at the bar last night and maybe this was why. He had something important to say and that was neither the time nor the place.

  “Did he have wings?” Sheridan had said it before she could stop it.

  Derek’s head pivoted to her. Deaglan nodded. “So you know?”

  “I know now.” Sheridan looked sad. “Jenny, Ava, I’m staying. I want you both to stay here so we can be powerful and protect these people and these woods. Either way, I’m seeing this through. That’s all I have to say.”

  “Just like that? You learn you’re going to sprout wings and decide that’s a good enough reason to dedicate the next year of your life to this? That’s what you get for being a tree-hugger, Sheri.” Ava was lashing out in her own fear of change and not being in control.

  Sheridan gave her a look that could stop traffic. She rarely got angry, but when she did, you could see it on her face and literally feel it in the air. “Not just the next year of my life, but my whole life, whatever I have left. This is my calling. I can feel it thrumming though my veins with each beat of my heart. I’m home now.” Her face then took on a calmer, but even more frightening look as she continued to speak to Ava. “I promise you, calling me Sheri will not work out well for you. I asked you nicely not to call me that. Please don’t make that mistake again.” She turned to look out the window. Her heart was racing and she wanted to punch someone, probably Ava. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to center herself.

  Deaglan’s smile at those words could have stopped traffic, too. This quiet “tree-hugger” had some fire in her. This lady was no doormat.

  “So, if I stay, am I going to grow wings too?” Jenny’s question stopped Ava in her tracks.

  “Actually no,” Derek answered her. “There are many stories of protectors, but never have any shared the same power. You will each develop a specific power to aid in the cause, but not the same power as one another. You will find that the power you receive has been lying dormant in your system, waiting for the power in this castle to call it to the front.”

  Jenny knew what that could mean for her. Sheridan’s love for trees was matched in Jenny’s life by her love of the ocean and sea life. “Am I going to be a water sprite or something?”

  “If water is what you’re passionate about, then yes, your power will probably be something like that.” Derek was certain.

  “I’m staying.” Jenny was so excited about the possibilities. “I’m definitely going to see this through. I can already feel something changing in me. I want to know what it is so I can learn to use it to help. Won’t it be fun to feel like a superhero?”

  Ava wasn’t a fan of peer pressure and that’s exactly what this felt like. She had real concerns about what her role here would look like. “What happens if I go home? I have a whole life in America waiting for me, what happens if I just go back to it?” She might not ever admit it, but she definitely sounded scared. “Besides, the only thing I’m passionate about is fighting for what I want.”

  “If you leave, your mark will disappear and life will go back to normal for you. Sheridan’s and Jenny’s marks will change and they will never reach their potential as protector level one and one because the three of you would be most powerful together at protector level three.” Derek smiled at Ava, the kind of smile that might have made her panties wet and aching for BOB a week ago. Now, it had no effect of the kind. “But we all hope you choose to stay. If you stay, you could know what it feels like to be one of the most powerful beings on earth.”

  That was kind of a low blow, feeding into her need for control by promising her more power than she could ever achieve outside of these walls like that. “Well, I’m not saying I’m staying, but if I did, can a bitch get some fucking wifi so I can do my damn job?”

  13

  Training

  Turns out, Rosin was already scheduled to meet with the women to discuss their contact with the outside world going forward. Ava was sure Rosin was going to be her best friend, but it didn’t seem to be working out that way.

  “Basically, there is absolutely never going to be any service of any kind inside the castle. Your best bet is to access the internet from the Auld Triangle. They have wifi and it’s pretty fast for these parts.” Rosin said this like she was delivering good news. Ava did not receive it that way.

  “What you’re saying is if I want to check my email, I have to hike through the woods a mile each way or count on Deaglan to pick me up?”

  “If all you need is the ability to send and receive emails, you could type them all up, put them in your outbox, and send your computer with Deaglan each morning. He could just connect it to the wifi and the machine will do the rest. We could even get you two computers so you are never without one.” Rosin was thinking outside the box to solve this problem and damn if that didn’t make her Ava’s best friend again.

  “Let’s try that for a few days and see how it works.”

  “Okay, now about your phones. There will never be any service here at the castle or on the grounds. We have satellite detection blocked for our protection. If you want to use your phones, you will have to go to the pub. I suggest giving your important contacts the number for the pub for use in case of serious emergencies only. They are not your answering service, they have their own job to do.” As she said that last part she was making raised eyebrows-type faces at Ava and nobody was curious about why. Their best friendship was on the rocks again.

  Rosin nodded at Deaglan. He took that as a sign she was done with all she had to say; that meant it was his turn. “All right, now that the business of communication is settled, it’s time to discuss your training. It starts today. You’ve got a great responsibility in securing these grounds and protecting them can only be done if you know how. Let’s go.”

  “Who died and made you boss?” Ava wasn’t used to being told what to do and when to do it.

  The mood in the room sank to the depths of the deepest ocean. Ava’s eyes grew wide as she realized what she’d said. “I didn’t think before I spoke. I shouldn’t have said that. Shawn was the one who died and it was disrespectful to make light of it.” Silence reigned in the room, suffocating the mood and allowing Ava to reflect on her choices. When she couldn’t take the looks aimed her way, she added a solemn, “I’m sorry.”

  Nobody moved or spoke, letting that apology hang in the air for a while.

  Naturally, Jenny wasn’t able to endure the quiet that had settled over everyone for long. “I think it would be good for all of us to get some exercise and keep our minds off all the serious stuff. This will be fun.”

  “Everyone, get ready and meet us in the guard house. We have some basic stuff to train you in before your powers manifest and then we can pair you up with more specific coaches for training.” Deaglan made a lot of sense.

  “I’m ready.” Ava made to follow Deaglan straight out to the guard house. He stopped her.

  “I’ve never trained anyone in a skirt and heels, and I am not about to start now. Go change.”
/>   Ava walked into the guard house ten minutes later and every head turned to see what she was wearing. She had changed into a pair of dress slacks and pumps. Looking around the room, she saw a group of young guardians of both genders. She took it as a good sign that nobody shook their heads at her. Placing both hands on her hips, she took a Wonder Woman stance until it was her turn.

  Jenny was doing some power kicks with Deaglan when she noticed that his eyes went to the door that had just swung open. She looked at Ava standing there, then she watched Deaglan as his eyes traveled up and down to take in her new outfit. Immediately, his eyes rolled and then returned to Jenny. “Who is she trying to kid in these outfits? Doesn’t she know that she can’t train in that shit?” Jenny looked back over in the direction of Ava and how she was standing.

  “Well look at her, she’s so confident. I’m not going to be the one to tell her any different. I’ll leave that up to you trained professionals.” She gave him a huge smile and started doing kicks again; this time she was kicking the huge punching bag instead of Deaglan. He shook his head and turned his attention back to Jenny.

  “Ye think I’m crazy? I’m not going to tell her she can’t do something she’s set her mind on. I’ll let her find out on her own that a business suit isn’t going to work. Bet ye one hundred euros that she will not be wearing that the next time we train. Especially after I get finished with her today.” Jenny’s eyes roamed back over to Ava and stayed there for a few moments, noticing how comfortable she was wearing that outfit. Confidence dripped off her every muscle. She turned back to Deaglan, “I’ll take that bet.” Jenny smiled as they shook hands. There was no way she would lose this one.

  Sheridan was standing farthest away from everyone else. She wasn’t sure practicing with a guardian every damn day was going to work for her. Especially if that guardian was Deaglan. Whenever he was around, her feet didn’t seem to want to work right. Well, nothing seemed to want to work right. It wasn’t easy being awkward. She hated it. She decided to do some stretches to make it look like she knew exactly what she was doing. She didn’t want Deaglan to think she needed help and come to her rescue.

  She lifted up her foot to perch it on the bar that was attached to the mirror she was standing in front of. She knew that this stretch would help with the muscles that always locked up on her when she hiked too long in the woods. She went to make contact with the bar to balance her leg on it and misjudged the distance. Right before she landed all the way down to the floor in what was sure to be a noisy crash, she felt arms grasp around her waist and hoist her back up to a standing position. She didn’t even have to look to see who it was who caught her. He had caught her every time she lost control of her clumsy body since the moment before they met.

  She turned to remove herself from his grasp and his grip tightened. “Let go of me Deaglan, I can stand now.” She could feel his breath on her back. It was a rhythmic beat she felt all the way to her toes. She pushed away from him and turned so they were standing face to face. “When a woman says to let them go, you let them go dammit.”

  Sheridan wasted no more seconds in calling it a day. She started the march back to her room with no further thoughts of training. Being man-handled was simply never going to be an option.

  Deaglan knew he had fucked up. His hands just wouldn’t listen when he told them they could let go. She was pissed and she had every right to be. Signaling to the group, he let them know Patrick would be running things until he returned. He had to go immediately and apologize.

  Footsteps behind Sheridan were getting closer; it made her feel even more anxious about the situation. She turned around and put her hands up, palms out. “Do not even think about touching me.”

  “I won’t, I promise ye that.” Deaglan was wringing his hands, like a worried mommy. “I’m so sorry I offended ye. That was not my intent.”

  “I’m used to falling on my face. I am not used to being touched.” She looked so matter of fact about those two statements that it made Deaglan feel even more protective of her. This woman had walked through the door of that pub and changed his life. Now she was changing his heart. He was a protector by genetics, but he had never felt like this for another being. She was a quiet storm and she was alone, somehow wounded. Looking at those green eyes that matched his, he decided then and there, he would not let anything ever touch her.

  He would let her fall from then on, but he would offer his hand to help her rise again. He would let that be her choice as she wished. Maybe she would learn to trust him and he would be able to touch not only her body, but her heart.

  Jenny took a long, hot shower when she finished training for the day. Deaglan found another guardian to train Ava and her while he talked with Sheridan. He seemed really concerned, but it was all just an afterthought now—they must have worked something out. The new guy, Patrick, was hyper-focused on form. “Strength will come, correct form must be rehearsed.”

  Several different guardians took turns holding the bag for her and challenging her in different ways—do ten jumping jacks, then strike, etc. It was exhausting, but as she predicted it made her feel alive and capable. That was a nice feeling.

  Jenny was somehow drawn to her window every night before bed. It was like the sea was calling to her. Playing her music that only she could hear. A smile slowly flitted across her face as the tune danced in her head. It made her start to think of the beautiful music that Tadhg played when they were at the pub the other night. Right before Ava got them thrown out, he played a soft, slow Irish tune and she just stopped dancing to listen. It was like she had heard it before, but at the same time it was brand new. The music lapped around her like the water in the sea below. She managed to crawl into the bed before Tadhg’s melody lulled her asleep.

  Ava felt alive. She had a fantastic workout this afternoon and her body was loving every minute of it. She never had time to work out properly at home because of her tight schedule but, when she could, she always took the stairs, usually two at a time. People would ask her if she was an athlete, she would just laugh it off. Perfection was what she was, not to mention awesome. There was no helped needed for her to get things done. Even Patrick today told her there were bets being laid down about her. She didn’t care what they were about, people’s opinions were worth nothing to her. Whatever she did, she just wanted to be the best at it.

  It didn’t matter that she had spent the majority of the afternoon sparring with and taking down one guardian after another; she was revved up. Doing some more push-ups was what she needed before her body was ready to rest for the night. Jumping in the shower, she thought about who else may be training them in the coming days. She would not wish that one of them was Cian, nope. Never crossed her mind at all.

  Sheridan stood at the edge of the window seat, where she sat every night since she first arrived. The pillows were the right shade of green that matched perfectly with the foliage she saw outside her window. She grabbed the book that she borrowed from the library this afternoon and opened it to the page she left off at. Glancing down at it for a very short time was all she could manage before her focus returned to the trees.

  Deaglan said he would take her into the forest tomorrow for a proper introduction. He wasn’t going to touch her, and he was taking her to the place she most wanted to be, so she shouldn’t be as freaked out as she was. The forest tour wouldn’t last long, then he would leave her there in her happy place. Alone. As it should be. Before she took the book to her bed to read, she looked out the window one last time with a promise to greet the trees in person in the morning. Eventually, she fell asleep with her light on.

  14

  The Woods

  Jenny rolled out of her bed, and as soon as her feet hit the floor her body told her how much it didn’t appreciate all the different muscles she used in training yesterday. They had previously been woefully neglected. So had her writing muscles. Not her fingers that hit the keys, but her storytelling muscles. Her aching body reminded her of the importan
ce of regular workouts. On that note, she made a commitment to write before she fell asleep tonight. She didn’t want those author muscles to get too rusty.

  Patrick had said he was going to be on duty today, so she wondered who would be in the guard house when she got there after breakfast. It wouldn’t be served for over an hour, so she decided to try out her enormous bathtub to start her day. Soaking her aches was just the thing she needed to prepare mentally for another day of kicking, punching, and jumping.

  Ava’s first thought when she opened her eyes was about how grateful she was for the opportunity to train yesterday. Or, as she called it, practicing kicking someone’s ass. Training was a challenge and she always enjoyed conquering those, but it made it even more fun when she imagined one of her ex-assholes’ faces wherever she was punching or kicking. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t looking forward to another round today. The exes would just have to take turns.

  A sly smile graced her lips as she picked out her outfit of the day. A little physical activity wasn’t going to change her style if years of chasing her dream hadn’t done so already. Which reminded her, she needed to draft some emails about the possibility of her taking a leave of absence. Rosin had already brought her a second computer. She had gone ahead and set it up exactly like Ava’s so there would be no difference between the two laptops. That woman was a computer guru and more than accommodating. If Ava had known her in NYC or LA, she would have paid her big money to be her personal assistant. The incompetent losers she had ended up with instead could have learned a lot from Rosin.

  A quick shower and Ava was ready, putting on her normal attire of dress slacks, business-ready shirt, and high heels. She wasn’t going to change her attire just because the guardians didn’t think it was suitable for training. She proved yesterday that she could work out in just about anything and make it look damn easy. Hell, it was damn easy for her, because there was some kind of force that held her shoes on her feet, supported her ankles, and gave her sure footing when she got in the fighting mindset. The heels she wore today were almost double the height she had on the day before, and she wanted to know if that force could handle it. Challenge accepted. This personal challenge was stupid and petty, she knew that, but that didn’t mean she gave two shits. This was all fun and games for her.