Ripples in the Shadows

by Kathy Dexter

  “Don’t ever sneak up on me like that again,” Hunter murmured in her friend’s ear.

  “I didn't want you to lose your concentration.”

  Hunter grimaced. She’d done more than that and almost killed her best friend. In order to play with magic? Hunter dropped to the grass and pulled Ally next to her. “You aren’t surprised and shocked? Utterly incredulous about what just happened?”

  “I thought you could do some strange stuff when we roomed together in college.” Ally flung her arms out. “But nothing as exciting as this.”

  Hunter thought she’d been discreet and not revealed her secret. Careless. “What did you see me do?”

  “Once in a while I’d catch your amulet glowing. I thought it was a trick of the light and didn’t pay much attention. Then one day I happened to glance out the window as you left for class. Winter winds blasted across campus. A tree limb cracked, broke off, and almost clobbered you. Just like today, a ray of blue light zapped out of your pendant and shifted the limb away from you.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  Ally ran fingers through her short, dark brown hair, tousling the already disheveled strands. “I tried a couple of times, but couldn’t get through to you, so I figured maybe it was all in my head.”

  “You and me both.” Hunter rested her back on a fallen tree trunk and sighed. “I wanted to confide in you but thought you might think me crazy and clear out as fast as possible. I couldn’t lose you as a friend.”

  “That won’t happen.” Ally squeezed her hand. “Pretty potent stuff you did today.”

  “The dragon’s powers seem to be even stronger in Mystic Lake.” Particularly since she had so recently discovered how to mind link with it. “I don’t know why. It saved Theo and me at the museum.” She told Ally the details. “I figured with a little practice I could get a handle on controlling the energy. Then you startled me, and I almost killed you.”

  “And saved me instead.” Ally punched Hunter lightly on the arm and glanced around the woods. “Pretty private. No one should spot you here.”

  Hunter’s lips twisted sardonically. She managed to keep her voice even. “Except nosy stalkers.”

  “Your aunt gave me orders before she skedaddled, woman. If anything happens to you, I'll have to answer to her. Brrr.” Ally exaggerated several body shudders. “Scary prospect.”

  Hunter rubbed the back of her neck and stared at her friend. “Don’t you find this whole idea of magical powers unbelievable?”

  “Yeah, but hey, I certainly felt the wind pitch me toward the tree and the blue cushion catch me.” Ally pinched Hunter.

  “Ow! What was that for?”

  “Had to see if that would wake us up from this eye-popping, mind-boggling dream.”

  Hunter groaned. “Shouldn’t you be pinching yourself instead of me?”

  Ally pulled several blades of grass and shredded them. “Didn’t you say the amulet was a family heirloom? Does Miranda know what you and the dragon can do?”

  “I haven’t told her. Visions of her calling in more doctors to check out the psycho niece stopped me.”

  “Yeah, or she’d send you to the nuthouse.” Ally stood and put her hands on her hips, a Superman stance she copied from the movie poster on her living room wall at home. “Then I’d have to break you out.”

  “Or I could use the dragon to fly me to safety.” Hunter fingered the amulet. “Just like Henry rescued Syrena from the enemy in my book.”

  “You never take that off. How come?”

  “I wish I could tell you. A couple of times when I first woke up in the hospital ten years ago, the nurses wanted me to remove it, but a voice in my head whispered that I must keep it on, no matter what.”

  “Not your aunt Miranda’s voice?”

  “No. She’s nagged me about putting the heirloom in her safety deposit box before I misplace it.” Curious how Miranda’s prodding had increased during the past year.

  “A voice from your past?”

  “Maybe. One of the reasons we’re here.”

  “You have your grandmother’s journal. She might have written something about the blue dragon and what it can do.”

  “Or the Museum of Magic could give us some answers. My grandparents collected magical artifacts from all over the world. I wonder if any of them have the same capabilities as my pendant.” Hunter grabbed Ally’s shoulders. “Could that possibly have been a motive for the robbery?”

  Ally shrugged. “Seems a stretch to think thieves steal objects for their magical capabilities.”

  “Why? What if others can use relics like my amulet to manipulate the elements?” Hunter touched her dragon again, now an integral part of her. Fear trickled along the back of her neck at the thought of someone stealing it. “I can’t be the only one who can do this.”

  “Might be a good idea to consult with that handsome cop of yours.”

  “He’s not mine.” But Hunter couldn’t stop the heat from rising to her cheeks. “Perhaps I’m getting carried away after writing a fairy tale for children.”

  “Too much immersion in the world of Syrena and her blue dragon?” Ally scratched her ear. “I think we better check all the possibilities. Even though I tend to be cynical, I’ve seen what you can do.”

  “Maybe a few folks in Mystic Lake have some magic of their own.” Hunter thought of Clarissa and her special herbs, then the little boy who could mind link. She really must have a talk with Theo, make sure she hadn’t imagined their mental conversation.

  “People believe psychics can foretell the future and communicate with ghosts. Witches have built quite a reputation over the years. But I do find it hard to believe in vampires and werewolves.” Ally glanced at her sideways. “Though I've begun to wonder about some suspiciously hairy beasts I’ve encountered on the beach recently.”

  Hunter sputtered with laughter. “Thanks for the dose of reality.”

  “It’s also a reality that many of the authors I represent, including you, have done extremely well writing about fantasy worlds and magical characters. Readers gobble up those books as fast as writers can turn them out.”

  “Very lucrative for me and my agent.”

  “You haven’t told your aunt about the moolah you’re making from The Sapphire Dragon, have you?”

  “I took your advice and deposited the publisher’s checks in a new bank account. Miranda knows nothing about it.” Hunter had reveled in the independence the money had given her. But guilt and freedom warred within her.

  Ally whooped. “Finally.”

  “But I owe so much to my aunt for all she’s done.” Hunter’s throat thickened and her chest tightened.

  “I give Miranda credit for taking you in when you didn’t even remember who she was,” Ally said. “But now she’s finding it hard to let the young’un leave the nest. And those steel apron strings of hers can cut off circulation to the brain.”

  Hunter tugged her scalp in different directions. “Guess it’s still functioning.” Hunter had to admit she’d allowed her aunt to have too much control. Maybe a hacksaw would cut those strings. For now, she was grateful for a friend like Ally who kept her on a steady path. She stood and brushed off the back of her pants. “Why don’t we walk to the other side of the woods? See if I really have a lot of privacy to use the dragon.”

  They chattered about the costume party, the people they’d met in Mystic Lake, plans for research in the library and a trip to the newspaper for back stories on the deaths of Hunter’s parents.

  As they emerged onto the sandy shore of the lake, Hunter scanned the area. One house up on a hill, more woods further south. “Pretty isolated.”

  “Good for practice, I’d say.” Ally picked up a rock and skipped it across the lake’s surface. “Whee! Five hops.”

  Hunter joined her. “Let me try.”

  They spent about five minutes laughing and hollering. The house on the hill remained silent. Ally grinned. “Guess no one’s going to hear you messing in the
woods.”

  “We better get back,” Hunter said. “I haven’t finished unpacking.”

  They wandered among the trees and approached the clearing. A movement among the pines snagged Hunter’s attention. “Look at Shadow.”

  The cat crouched close to the ground and sniffed. Then she twisted in circles. Yowling, she leaped toward the two women.

  Danger! The word popped into Hunter’s head as the cat stared at her. A mind link with a cat? I really have fallen down the rabbit hole.

  Splintering, followed by hissing snaps and pops. The maple where Ally had ended her magical flight now plunged to earth, its huge branches lunging for them. Hunter pushed Ally toward the cat, who scampered in front of them, guiding them away from trouble.

  Almost.

  Wood again collided with wood. Boughs cracked and crunched. Leafy branches shrouded them.

  Breath rasping, Hunter struggled against the weight. She couldn’t move it. Her body shuddered uncontrollably. She had to get free. Ally needed her. Choking back the stomach contents which tried to surge upward into her mouth, Hunter snaked her hand through the leaves and branches until she could grasp her dragon, which had slid inside her shirt. Why hadn’t it worked to protect them? The moment she touched the amulet, however, a blue haze wrapped around her, thrust upward against the greenery and created enough space for Hunter to crawl out.

  Breaking branches and clawing at grassy dirt, she squirmed her way to freedom.

  “Ally! Ally!” she cried.

  “Here,” came a muffled response. An arm poked out from the foliage.

  Frantic, Hunter pushed away leaves and wood until she freed her friend from the clutching branches.

  Ally lay on her back and coughed. “How’d we get the forest angry enough to attack us?” she wheezed.

  Was this Hunter’s fault? Had she weakened the tree by sending gusts of air whirling through the woods? When the blue radiance of her dragon had caught Ally among the maple’s branches?

  CHAPTER 6

  H UNTER’S HANDS SHOOK as she helped Ally sit up.

  Tousled dark hair dusted with gray, a middle-aged man barreled into the clearing carrying an ax. “Are you all right?” He hurried to them, gulping air before speaking again. “I didn't know anyone was in the woods besides me.”

  Ally groaned as she changed position. “Ooh! That hurt.”

  The stranger squatted next to the two women. “May I check? I won’t hurt you.” When Ally nodded, he lay down his ax and prodded with his fingers along her arm. “You have a bad cut, little lady. But no bones seem to be broken.”

  “Trees have been after me today.” When she saw the dripping blood, Ally’s face lost color.

  “Don’t look.” The ax man pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it against the wound.

  Hunter held Ally’s other hand. “We should get her back to the cottage. I’ll drive her to the hospital.”

  The stranger glanced at Hunter, then pointed toward her amulet. “You’re Hunter Sloane, aren’t you? Author of The Sapphire Dragon, my son’s favorite book. My name’s Ben West.”

  “Theo’s father?”

  “Yes. He explained what happened at the museum last night. Thank you for keeping him safe.”

  Hunter fiddled with the dragon, a heated flush rising from her neck to her cheeks. How much had Theo told his father?

  Ben’s eyes twinkled. “Everything.”

  “You mind link, too?” she whispered.

  “A genetic trait.” Ben lifted the handkerchief to check Ally’s wound. “The bleeding has stopped temporarily. Let’s get to Theo. He can take care of this injury faster than a trip to the doctor. Lean on me, miss.”

  “Ally. Friend and literary agent of the esteemed author.”

  “Ally it is.” He handed his ax to Hunter and assisted Ally to her feet.

  The moment Hunter touched the ax, a tingling sensation percolated along her fingers and up through her arm until her dragon glowed. “You used this to cut down the maple tree?”

  “Yes.” He took the brunt of Ally’s weight and moved steadily through the woods toward the shore where Ally and Hunter had skipped stones across the lake.

  Hugely relieved she hadn’t caused the tree to fall, Hunter had more questions for Ben. “Do you own these woods? We didn’t mean to trespass.”

  “No, I don’t. But I have permission from the owner to chop wood for my business.”

  “Are you a lumberjack?” Ally asked.

  Ben's laugh rumbled up from his belly and burst joyfully into the air. “Not quite. I'm a woodcarver by trade.”

  “You make a good living at it?”

  “My, you're full of questions, aren't you?”

  “Keeps my mind off nasty wounds,” Ally said.

  “Plus she’s nosy,” Hunter added.

  “Sometimes the only way to find answers,” Ben said. “But curiosity can also get you into a hash of trouble.”

  “Or one step ahead of the bad guys,” Ally countered.

  “I consider myself one of the good guys.” Again that deep, rolling chortle.

  Hunter wasn’t finished with her questions. The ax intrigued her. “Why didn’t we hear you chopping? And wouldn’t a chainsaw do the job faster?”

  Ben glanced toward her as he rearranged his hold on Ally. “You sense. . .peculiarities in my ax, don’t you?”

  “Feels like pulsating electrical charges.” Hunter shifted the ax to her other hand and flexed her fingers.

  They emerged onto the sandy shore of the lake. High up a hill, the same silent house winked with sunlight.

  Ben stopped a moment to check Ally’s wound.

  “Is it worse?” Her voice wavered.

  “You’ll be fine.” He smiled before continuing to explain the ax. “In order for my carvings to maintain certain. . .qualities, I must connect to the original wood source’s vein of energy. A chainsaw would destroy that. Being as accurate as possible, I cut with an ax like this one.”

  “Which has functions like my amulet?” Hunter asked.

  Ben nodded. “And makes no sound in order not to mar the tree’s magic flow.”

  “We were darn lucky the cat warned us. Otherwise, I’d have more than a cut to worry about,” Ally said.

  Hunter had forgotten about Shadow. She whirled around, hunting for that life-saving ball of white fur. “Where is she?” Not under the tree!

  “There.” Ally pointed to the shoreline where the cat sat, Buddha-like on her haunches, facing them.

  Shadow leaped to all fours and yowled in their direction.

  Hunter waved and shouted, “Thank you!”

  The cat appeared to nod, then lowered her head and prowled north as though stalking prey.

  The humans continued their journey south through a stand of oak and maple to a glade where a stone cottage nestled among pines. Ben led them up the few steps to the deck on the back of the house.

  Theo opened the door. “Dad! What happened?”

  “A tree fell on me,” Ally answered as they made their way inside.

  After settling her on a chair at the kitchen table, Ben pivoted toward Theo. “She has a bad cut on her arm. We can call Clarissa, but you would be faster.”

  “You want me to use my magic, Dad? Mom won't like it.”

  “We won't tell her.”

  “Like we don't tell her about your carvings.” Theo nodded solemnly, then giggled like the boy he was. He sat next to Ally. “Where does it hurt?”

  Ally turned her arm so that he could see the cut, now oozing bright red blood as well as an ugly reddish-brown liquid. She blanched. “Ugh! Just call me a wimp.” She leaned back and kept her gaze focused on the ceiling.

  Theo signaled to Hunter. “We have to use the dragon, Syrena.”

  Mouth dry, Hunter licked her lips and squatted next to him. “How?”

  “Both of us can mind link with it.”

  When Hunter concentrated as she had in the clearing, the boy touched her pendant and Ally's wound at the same
time. Just as Clarissa's herbal medication had repaired Hunter's shoulder, Theo used the dragon to heal Ally's laceration. The blood dried and the cut dwindled until it disappeared.

  “Thanks, Theo.” Ally inhaled deeply. “You done good.”

  Hunter blinked, trying to right a world which seemed to slant sideways, to alter its normal patterns. She shrugged. When Alice fell down the rabbit hole, she adjusted to Wonderland. Hunter could do the same in Mystic Lake, couldn’t she?

  “We know lots of people who have the gift of magic,” Theo blurted. “Like––”

  “Son,” Ben said. “Why don’t you get some of Clarissa’s tea to make sure Miss Ally is all better.”

  “Sure, Dad.” Theo tapped Ally gently on the arm now completely healed. “Can you keep a secret?”

  She ruffled his hair. “I won’t blab about your . . .unique skill.” She glanced at Hunter, eyes gleaming. “It’s become a habit.”

  “Thanks.” Theo grinned and hurried toward the refrigerator.

  “He’s a good boy,” Ben said. “He still has a lot to learn about being discreet.”

  “And who to trust,” Hunter murmured.

  Ben took the women to the living room and invited them to be comfortable on the couch, while he hauled a chair to sit in front of them. “You two have become immersed in the magic of our community fairly quickly.”

  “I have to,” Hunter said, “if I’m going to recover my past. My family.”

  “And how you came to have certain abilities?”

  “You mean my amulet?”

  “Your magic is more than the amulet.” Ben patted his chest. “It’s inside, in your core. You simply meld with the power which resides in both you and the dragon.”

  Hunter was confused. “But it’s much stronger since I came to Mystic Lake.”

  “Something in the water around here?” Ally quipped.

  Ben smiled. “More like in the people. Over the years, many of our ancestors sought sanctuary, a place where they would feel safe from persecution.”