by Beth Caudill
“Umm, to give the priest his photo and take my daughter.”
“Really, you think it will be that easy? He will just hand her over?”
“What other choice do I have?” Lawke didn’t know if he’d survive if Zoe died.
“I’ll be there to help.”
Evelyn’s quiet confidence settled something inside him. She was willing to support him. Rachel never had. It was all about what could be done for her. It felt right having someone there for him.
“You will not be useful tonight. He needs physical backup, and your bird can’t help.” She smiled. “No, I have a much better proposal. That I give him the tools to keep his daughter safe.
“Absolutely not. You will not enslave any more of my family,” Stanford yelled, his face red.
“It has to be done,” Daphne said.
“What are you talking about?” Lawke was confused.
“I can release the magic inherent in your genes. But the price is that you will have to come back here and serve the town.”
“You want me to quit my job and move here?”
“Yes. Once you live here, you can never leave. Just like your brother.”
He stared at Stanford. “That’s why you haven’t been home? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what? That I gave myself to a tree and now I can’t leave?”
All right, maybe that did sound too odd to be believed.
“Will these powers you give me save Zoe?”
“I can’t guarantee anything, but it will give you a better chance.”
“Very well.”
Annabel nodded to Daphne and a blanket was laid out with candles, stones, and a dagger. She clapped a beat and the old woman sang:
“From the world we hide
Locked away we prosper
Together we build a community
But to survive, we need more
To grow we need protection
Goddess, answer our plea
To this man, I request a gift be given
Within his nature, unlock that which he needs
To save those most precious to him”
A silver glow emanated from the old lady’s hands. She walked over to him and placed them on his cheeks. Immobile, he saw a purple sky and, in the distance, a woman. Silhouette only, she held out a hand. He took it.
Power knocked him out.
“Lawke, can you hear me?” His brother shook him.
“An elephant could hear you.” He looked around. “Why am I on the floor?”
Stanford helped him stand. His balance was a bit wobbly, but he didn’t feel much different.
“Did it work?” Whatever it was.
“You will find out when you meet the priest.” The old woman looked outside. “You must hurry to meet his deadline. Good luck.”
Practically shoved out the back door, Evelyn clutched the photo container and led the way into the woods.
Starlight sparkled through the trees. For a moment, his eyes crossed and he thought he saw a green energy emanating from the trees.
Too much talk of magic. He was hallucinating. There was no way he could believe plants had an energy.
“Wait. I’m coming with you.” Daphne raced to join them.
“Stanford let you come?”
“He has no say in how I live my life.”
He stared back, wishing he could catch a glimpse of his brother. “What happened between you two? He loved you with his whole heart.”
She looked down at the ground. “Things didn’t work out.”
Yeah, whatever happened, it wasn’t Stanford’s fault. And that pissed him off for his brother’s sake. “Did you trap him here, too?”
A fierce glitter emanated from her gaze. “That is none of your concern. Don’t ask again.”
Power washed over him and for the moment, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t ask her a question. He wasn’t sure being ordered to be quiet was any better than this mess with his daughter.
10
Lawke walked unarmed into the clearing, his steps hesitant. He’d left his weapon with his brother at the priest’s instruction. Not an ideal situation, but they had little in the way of bargaining power with Zoe’s life in danger.
The priest stood behind a fire, facing the waterfall. The dark night hid everything else from her sight. She hoped Lawke could keep his cool.
Pressure built in her chest. A wave of immense dread swept through her, caused a shudder of despair. The glee in the priest’s eyes didn’t bode well for their chances. They were going to lose unless they had help.
Ancient and powerful assistance.
Legends and tales exist as warnings, to keep the humans safe from the dangers of magic and the creature who use it. Summoning a dragon was the easy part, dealing with one was a whole lot harder than dealing with a flock of sprites.
“I’ll be back,” she told Daphne. Magic shimmered around her and she transformed.
Launching into the dark sky, she flew toward Murmuring Springs. Angling her wings, she rode the fastest currents, raced to find the mini waterfall near the gazebo. With the new moon only a day away, her sight was limited in range.
The gurgle of a stream caught her attention. She circled in a wide arc. Starlight twinkled off the water before it disappeared over the shadow-filled cliff. Folding her wings, she dove for the ground.
She resumed her human form and ran up the hill. Under the trees it was dark, not threatening, but still impossible to find the small purple flower she needed. Tinkles of laughter surrounded her and then bright sparks of light flitted in the night.
Sprites danced all around. Their magic essence drizzled to the ground like glowing confetti. Soft pastel-colored petals illuminated the area. She searched but couldn’t find the one flower she needed. A cool breeze circled and lifted the fallen leaves into the air.
A single purple blossom glimmered, and the sprites swirled around it, dancing on air. She waited until the fairies moved on before she plucked the Dragon’s Heart flower. It tingled in the palm of her hand. She lifted it to her mouth, closed her eyes, thought of the help they needed to save Zoe and to stop the priest. She gently blew across the bloom.
Cast her wish for a dragon to lend its power, to assist them. And then she waited. Tried to keep her impatience at bay.
Time crawled forward. She yearned to return to Lawke. Should have been there with him. Maybe this was a mistake, a wild goose chase. She stared at the flower in her hand, willed something to happen. No longer willing to wait, she tilted her palm and let the bloom fall to the ground.
Her heart beat wildly. Anxiety for Lawke hastened her transformation. In seconds, she rode the currents back to him.
Behind her, the flower flared dark purple before disintegrating.
A strong headwind impeded her flight back. She flapped her wings, pushed to soar higher, move faster. A sudden downdraft disrupted her path, and she dropped but recovered. She looked up into the orange eyes of an enormous beast. Its iridescent scales shimmered in the starlight.
The dragon answered her wish.
“Hello little friend.” Her powerful voice boomed in Evelyn’s head.
“Thank you for coming. What are the consequences for your assistance?” Her shortness of breath had nothing to do with the height they traveled.
She glided behind the dragon’s wings, drafted in its wake. They traveled faster than she could hope for. But the dragon’s continued silence unnerved her.
“I’m not sure you can give me what I want. But I will help you anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because some gods should not be in this time and place.”
The dragon’s words did not instill Evelyn with hope. But they needed the dragon. “What do you wish for?”
“A home.”
Evelyn’s heart ached at the longing infused within those words.
Shadows hid much from Lawke. He couldn’t see his daughter, only the priest facing the waterfall. A twig snapped under his we
ight and echoed through the night. The priest turned, and a brown, malicious glow appeared to consume him.
His sight wavered and Lawke shivered.
“Ahhh, you’ve arrived. Do you have my prize?”
“Where’s Zoe?” He didn’t care if his voice sounded like a plea. “You get nothing until I see she is all right.”
The priest held out his hand and the fire leapt higher. In the flickering light, he saw his daughter laid on a stone altar, her hands tied in front of her, tape over her mouth. “What is going on?”
“Let me see the photo.”
He pulled the parchment from the container.
Gleeful anticipation shone from the man’s eyes. A queasy feeling settled along Lawke’s spine.
The man threw dark liquid on the fire, which intensified the blaze. “Hold it up to the light.”
He stretched the paper, so the image appeared illuminated from the flames. The two people in the background emanated the same glow as the priest. But now there was also a ghostly image being sucked into them.
A stiff wind yanked the photo from his grasp at the same time his daughter cried out. He saw a knife sticking from a stomach wound. Anger coursed through him and trees bent toward the priest.
The photo landed on the burning wood. The fire flared, sending the tree limbs backward, away from danger. The photo disintegrated, and two people appeared in a blinding flash.
“Free at last,” the man said.
The priest coated a finger in Zoe’s blood and then swirled that same finger inside a goblet. A golden glow emanated from the cup, He repeated the ritual with the second cup. The new arrivals drank from the shining goblets.
“Ichtaca, you remembered how I like my blood.” The man raised his hands and chanted as the wind swirled around him. His body melted, stretched, and then shifted into a flying serpent with wings.
Lawke glanced at where Evelyn and Daphne stood. His hopes plummeted when he didn’t see Evelyn.
He rushed to get Zoe but pulled up short as the priest stepped in his way.
“She serves another purpose now,” the priest said.
Coils wrapped around his daughter and lifted her into the sky. The clouds overhead formed a vortex only to come up short as the serpent wrapped around her and lifted her into the sky.
“Zoe.” Her name ripped from his soul.
“Your daughter will be the sacrifice that allows the Goddess Tlaltecuhtli into our plane of existence. She will devour your world and we will rebuild our great cities.”
Lawke watched helplessly as his daughter grew distant.
A fierce shriek and a loud roar disturbed the night. Evelyn’s falcon form rushed in to attack the face of the serpent. An enormous dragon went for the wings. Around they flew until his heart was in his mouth when his daughter fell.
Evelyn raced after Zoe, snagging her shirt, but only marginally slowing her descent. Zoe weighed too much. They dropped together despite the effort Evelyn put into flapping her wings.
Daphne stepped forward and drew symbols in the air. The pair slowed until they drifted gently to the ground like a floating feather.
The dragon plunged the snake down to the earth. The ground shook with the impact. Two claws kept the creature in place while he snapped at the priest and woman.
Lawke raced to his daughter and the woman who’d saved her.
He hugged them both.
“Daddy, you need to let go now,” his little girl said. Power glowed within her eyes. She limped over to the dragon, her chest heaving.
He stumbled back. What had happened to her?
The dragon bent its head at her approach.
“Time has pressed forward. You no longer have a place here.” She lifted her arms, and the ground rumbled. A seam split the dirt and grew larger until it engulfed the three people who caused all the trouble.
The trio fell into the chasm, and a three-fingered claw held onto the edge. The thump of the creature’s tail shook the ground.
Lawke’s eyesight changed. A greenish glow emanated from the life around him. Beneath the dirt, deep within, roots from the trees slumbered. He directed a thick taproot from a nearby oak tree to grab the snake and let it join his friends in the abyss.
When the creature was gone, Zoe closed the opening. Quiet blanketed the area, the silence as loud as the roaring dragon. His daughter wobbled. He raced to her side and caught her before she fell.
“I’m tired, Daddy.” She passed out.
Daphne whispered with the dragon, although he caught a bit.
“You cannot hide from the destiny that awaits you. We will chat some more after I have settled within the lake.” The large creature took off and he turned away.
“Is it over?” Evelyn asked.
“For now.”
She didn’t look relieved. Sadness settled around her shoulders like a heavy cloak.
Once he had his daughter settled, he’d talk with her. About what happened. About the two of them.
11
Evelyn shook the gallery owner’s hand. Her display featuring duel images of a distant focus and a micro close-up was a hit. Only the ominous clouds had not been sold, and that was because she couldn’t bear to part with it.
It reminded her of Lawke.
She drove to her apartment.
Almost magically, an immediate transfer for him to Gracelynne State Park had been initiated. The police were skeptical about Zoe’s return, especially when the kidnapper couldn’t be found.
He’d asked Evelyn to stay with them. But she couldn’t say yes.
He was so grounded. Practical. Heartwarming.
She was cold and distant. She didn’t know how to let him into her life.
It hadn’t mattered before.
Closing the door to her room, she looked around at the sparse décor. She’d never noticed how cold, how empty the rented rooms were. Unlike the cabin she’d shared with Lawke. A cozy refuge where she’d found a surprising serenity in his presence.
The old woman’s words whispered through her head. The choice to stay doesn’t cost you your independence.
Could she linger? Having a place to return, people who welcomed her would be nice. Being loved would be even better. She’d never know if she didn’t give it a try.
The crunch of gravel drew Lawke’s attention from Zoe’s math homework. An unmarked car drove up to the cabin. Captain Simmons stepped from the vehicle.
“All settled in?”
“Yes, sir.” Lawke stared at the policeman. Zoe slipped her hand in his and gripped it tight.
The other man smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m only here to tell you we’ve closed the case.”
“Good.”
His eyesight blurred, and for a moment the captain had an eagle head and golden wings. Then Lawke’s normal vision returned. He couldn’t have possibly seen a griffin.
“I think you’ll settle nicely into the town.” The captain held out a business card. “Give me a call if you need anything. Sometimes an outsider can provide unique help.”
He took the card. Heat radiated from it, almost hot enough to burn. “Thank you, sir.”
The policeman nodded before he left.
Lawke and Zoe stood silently on the porch as the dust of his passage settled. “Dad, what is he?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I hope he’s on our side.”
He wrapped Zoe in a hug. “Let’s go inside. We can do more equations tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” She jumbled the books together and then raced inside with more energy than she’d shown for homework.
He shook his head, entranced by her antics. Nothing in her behavior indicated any ill effects from the kidnapping, but he still wanted her to talk with a psychologist. There was one in Willows Haven who could also handle the magical aspect of her encounter.
Despite moving in only a week ago, this two-story cabin was becoming a home for both of them. Zoe already had a poster of her favorite boy band on the wall and a framed photo of the Blue Ridge Mo
untains taken by Evelyn. His daughter insisted the shapeshifter would come back.
He doubted Evelyn could embrace the idea of a family who relied on each other. Someone she could trust with her heart and who knew when she needed to soar.
A flutter of wings drew his gaze. A large grayish-blue falcon landed on the porch. Light shimmered around her. Within a heartbeat, Evelyn stood before him. He had to be hallucinating, because she’d left him.
“I was wondering if you had space for one more?” She studied the front porch boards. “I’m thinking of staying in town for a while.”
A while. An indeterminate length of time. Yet she reached out, a cautious overture.
Zoe stood at the door, her eyes glowed. She mouthed “Say yes. Y-E-S.”
More reserved than his daughter, he said, “I’m sure we can find you a place to sleep.”
The spark in Evelyn’s eyes dimmed before Zoe grabbed Evelyn’s hand and tugged her inside. “My room’s this way.”
For the rest of the afternoon and through dinner, Zoe’s laughter lightened his heart. Now the quiet of night blanketed the cabin. From the doorway, he watched her sleep; more for his peace of mind than hers.
His nightmares were not so easy to dismiss.
Thumps and odd creaks from down the hall drew him away. Evelyn had retrieved her car and he’d help carry her stuff upstairs. For someone so long lived, she had a distinct lack of stuff.
Despite the open door, he didn’t enter her room. “Settling in?”
She twirled around, her eyes widened. “Yes.” Gulping in a breath, she sat on the bed, practically on top of the pillows. “You can come in.”
In a few strides, he crossed the room. Wary of frightening her, he sat at the foot of the bed. “There are places you can stay in town.”
“I’d like to remain with you.” Her words were so quiet he could barely hear them.
He scooted closer, took her hands in his. “You’re free to leave when you need to. I want you to find a home here, not a trap.”
“I didn’t think it would be so hard to move in. It should be exciting, like exploring a new town.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “But it’s not.”