by Tom Larcombe
“I think you were having a nightmare and used magic in your sleep,” she said.
He shook his head.
“No, I was back at Todd's house and the men shot you and came after the rest of us. I couldn't keep them away, even with the electrical shock you taught me to use. I opened my eyes and everything was dark. I thought they'd locked me away in a closet or something.”
“It was just a dream,” Rynn said. “But you have to be more careful with your magic.”
She pointed to the scorch marks on the dresser.
“See? You did that by using magic in your sleep.”
“I'm sorry Rynn,” Sean said, then burst into tears.
He spoke between his sobs.
“I think I had a bad dream... because it was totally dark in here... when I fell asleep. I don't think... I've ever gone to sleep... without at least a little light from someplace.”
“Well Sean, this is a crystal mine, so maybe we can do something about that.”
She turned to Michael.
“Do you have any smaller crystals? Maybe about an inch long and half as big around as your pinkie?”
“I've got buckets of smaller ones. I'm sure there are some about that size.”
Rynn drew a small crystal on a chain out from under her shirt. She triggered the spells she'd placed on it and the room was faintly illuminated by a reddish-orange light.
“Well Sean, how about I leave this here with you for now. We'll make one just for you before it gets dark tonight and you can let it shine through the night. Does that sound like a good idea?”
Sean reached out and took the crystal from her. He stared at it for a moment.
“Why doesn't it look like sunlight? The others I've seen like this do.”
“Because I charged it with my fire magic instead of sunlight. You can get all different sorts of colors if you do it that way. Blue for water, reddish-orange for fire, green for earth, a much lighter blue that's almost white for air. Spirit magic is really cool. They get a combination of colors, kind of like a prism.”
“Can I keep this?” Sean asked.
“For now you can. I'll want it back when we make you your own though. You'll have to let us know what color you want. I know we could do fire, earth, air, or water. I don't know about spirit though, you'd have to ask Eugene if he's learned how to do that yet,” she replied.
Sean was examining the crystal closely.
I wonder if he's trying to figure out how to do that himself, Rynn thought. I don't think he's quite ready for it yet, but if he's interested we can build up to it.
She and Michael slid out of the room while Sean was engrossed in the crystal.
“So was it like that all the way here?” Michael asked.
“Oh no, he did have one crying jag, but that was right after he watched me burn a man down and Andi clog another man's rifle so it blew up in his face. I'll cut him some slack on that one. This time? I think he's just finally reacting to more of what he saw and experienced on the way here. I'd rather he did it now than not let it out and have it keep bothering him. I hope he didn't disturb anyone.”
“Only the people in the house. There aren't any neighbors close enough to have heard him. We probably ought to let Anne know what it was though. She might be freaking out thinking it was one of her own children.”
They went back up the stairs and found Anne staring out into the back yard. She spun when she heard them.
“Where's Liz? What was that scream?”
“Liz is out near the stream,” Rynn said. “The scream was one of my students having a nightmare. We had some unpleasantness on our way here and I think he's getting it out of his system.”
Anne relaxed.
“Michael, did you know that you have some amazingly large butterflies around here? Liz was following one,” Rynn said.
Michael grinned.
“Well, yes and no.”
Anne looked uncomfortable.
“That... thing, last night? Is that what she's talking about?” Anne asked.
“That thing is a little Fae,” Michael said, “and it warned me that Deputy Jacobs was approaching. It was trying to protect Liz. It also has a name, which I can't pronounce so I'm going with what Liz calls her. Her name is Gerry. She's willing to answer to that anyhow.”
Anne twitched slightly. Rynn watched as Anne's uncomfortable look changed to one of bewilderment.
“Is Liz safe with it?” she asked.
“Didn't you hear what I said a minute ago? She warned me that Jacobs was on his way here, coming after Liz. She warned me because she wanted to keep Liz safe. What do you think?” Michael asked.
Anne sank into a chair.
“I don't know what to think anymore.”
Rynn looked at Michael and rolled her eyes. Michael barely managed to catch the chuckle that tried to make its way past his lips. He gestured towards the back door with his thumb. Rynn followed him as he walked outside.
“Mundanes,” she said softly. “It's always so hard for them to discover that the world isn't what they thought.”
“Tell me about it,” Michael replied.
Liz's voice floated to them from out near the stream.
“Michael? Can I have a basket again?”
“I see. Gerry wanted to show her that the strawberries were back. Probably because she watched Liz eat her way through half the patch last time,” Michael said. “I'll get her a basket. Do you want some more coffee while I'm up?”
Rynn nodded and Michael gathered their cups and went inside.
* * *
When Michael delivered the basket to Liz, he made a stop at one of the mine buildings. When he came back, he was carrying the bucket full of smaller crystals that he'd already drained. He set it on the porch next to Rynn.
“Help yourself. We've got plenty in the size you wanted,” he said.
As the day progressed, Rynn and Michael slowly renewed their acquaintance. Fortunately Rynn understood that when Michael appeared to tune her out, he was in the grasp of his Water magic. She knew he'd need to renew his acquaintance with that as well. Whenever he succumbed to that fugue state she'd sort through the crystals and choose a few. Then she'd turn them into miniature sun crystals. On crystals this small, the power expenditure was minimal. They'd be better than a nightlight, but nowhere near as useful as a normal flashlight.
After lunch Michael called Jeff over.
“Hey Jeff, want to take a bike ride with me?” he asked.
“Where to?”
“We'll keep more of the food from the garden here now, since we have lots of people, but I'll still take the rest down to Father Anderson.”
“Sure, I'd love to.”
“Ask your mom if it's okay then.”
Jeff ran inside and Michael caught Rynn looking at him oddly.
“You really like the boy, don't you?” she asked.
“Yeah, I keep thinking that if the Board had allowed me to develop any sort of relationship in town here, I might have a son of my own now. I think I'm transferring some of that to Jeff.”
Michael decided to change the subject, quickly.
“So, what are you doing with all those?” he asked, pointing towards the small crystals that lined the rail.”
“I set all of those up with the spell to store sunlight. I promised one to Sean and I can get mine back as soon as I have one for him. I figure if he doesn't want daylight and wants something colored, we can run one off for him later on.”
Michael was counting to himself.
“Yeah, but you've got thirty-seven of the things set up.”
“Well, I was looking for something to do when you spaced out on me. So I just made a few each time you did,” Rynn said.
If Sean was having nightmares, I wonder if any of the local kids are also? No power, probably not very much food, he thought.
“Would you mind if I took some of them?” he asked.
“Not at all, they're your crystals,” Rynn replied.
; “You were working on them, so I wanted to ask.”
“What are you going to do with them?”
“I've been taking the excess from my garden to the local priest. He runs a soup kitchen type of deal. I was thinking that if any of the people that are eating there, and he said there's a lot now, have young kids, I could ask Father Anderson to give them one of these to use as a nightlight.”
“Oh, that's a good idea actually. Are you willing to lie to him when he asks how they work?”
Michael bit his lip and thought for a moment.
Would Father Anderson believe me if I told him they were magic? I don't know him well enough to make a guess even.
He nodded reluctantly.
“Yeah, I pretty much think I'll have to.”
“You've matured. It used to be you'd try to shove the truth down people's throats in a situation like this,” Rynn said.
“Maybe, but if I tried that they won't get distributed. They wouldn't do anyone any good that way.”
“Like I said, you've matured. I suggest you tell him that they're a new type of solar light. Then people won't think twice about leaving them in the sun to charge all day.”
“That should work. It isn't really a lie either, except for the part about them being a new type.”
Rynn sat down in her chair and fiddled with another crystal.
“What is it with you and that crow anyhow? I called him your pet and he freaked out on me.”
“Calvin isn't anyone's pet. But he is my friend. He's good company when he wants to be.”
Calvin heard his name mentioned and flew over towards the porch. He kept a good distance between himself and Rynn and landed on the railing, at the far end of the porch from her. He watched Michael for a bit until a glimmer from one of the crystals caught his attention.
Calvin stalked the crystal. Michael saw what he was doing and put his index finger to his lip, letting Rynn know she should stay quiet. The two of them watched as Calvin, ever so slowly, approached the crystal. When he was close enough to reach it, he froze. The crow looked up at Michael and saw him and Rynn watching intently. As soon as Calvin knew he was being watched, his beak darted down and grabbed the crystal. Then he took off into the air with it.
Michael burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that he fell back into his chair. Rynn just looked at him.
“Calvin chased the little Fae when they showed up,” Michael said. “I thought he was guarding the garden. But now I think he just liked their shimmer and glitter. You see how the crystals glimmer a bit? The little Fae look kind of like that when they're flying around during the day.”
Michael chuckled some more.
“So, I think I was wrong. I think Calvin just wanted some of their glitter and he wasn't actually after them. He saw something like it, grabbed it, and ran off. Well, he actually flew off, but you get the idea.”
“You've still got a strange sense of humor Michael,” Rynn said.
“If Calvin ever warms to you, you'll get it. He tries very hard not to act like the other crows. But he still goes to roost with them every night, and he still has a crow's instincts.”
Liz came back then, her lips and face were smeared with berry juice.
“Do you have a bigger basket? I can't get them all in this one,” she said.
Michael chuckled some more.
“Tell you what, should I bring some of these down to Father Anderson so he can share them out with other children? I'll empty this basket, then you can take it back out and fill it again,” he asked.
Liz looked thoughtful for a moment. Then she plucked a handful of berries from the basket.
“You can take the rest of them. I want to make sure Mamma and Jeff get some.”
Michael schooled his face to look serious.
“Alright then. I'll go put these in something else and give you back the basket. I'll put a bowl on the table. You can put those berries in it and tell your mom and Jeff that they're for them.”
Rynn was hiding a smile behind her hand and Michael mock glared at her for a moment. Then he took the basket into the house.
Father Anderson was overjoyed to receive the 'solar lights'. Even as small as they were he claimed that they'd do a world of good keeping people's spirits up. He was still excited, and curious, about the food Michael kept bringing in. Michael distracted him by asking what days would be best to hold the gardening class. They settled on a schedule starting in about a week. Michael insisted that he be allowed to post the contents of each class before he held it since he'd cover some things he hadn't in the previous classes he'd been giving. That way any of his former students could attend any classes that contained things they hadn't already learned.
When he returned to the house Michael realized he hadn't done his normal gardening for the day. When he went out to weed and check on the plants, there was nothing that needed to be done. He settled for digging another bed in the new area he was working on.
Rynn kept making more of the tiny sun crystals, especially after Michael told her how well they'd been received. Twice over the course of the day, the count on the crystals dwindled by one. Each time Calvin had been nearby recently.
After dinner Michael rearranged the bedrooms. He told Anne that she and her children were welcome to stay as long as she wanted, but that she'd have to move the children downstairs with the other kids if they stayed.
“I'd like to stay a few days. I know that the man that was after Liz is gone. Someone picked up the body while you were at the church. The other man is still out there though,” Anne said.
“The other man wanted nothing to do with kidnapping Liz. And I turned him over to the sheriff. I don't know what happened to him after that though,” Michael replied.
“Then we'll stay a few more days, if that's okay.”
Michael nodded.
Rynn left Michael alone for a while in the afternoon, working with the students she'd brought with her. She also told him that she'd be spending some more time with them after dinner. She wanted to make sure they were handling themselves okay after the occurrences on their trip here. Sean's nightmare had her worried since she hadn't seen it coming.
Anne volunteered to clean up the kitchen and Michael decided that his day had been full enough. He went to bed as soon as it got dark enough for him to sleep.
* * *
Chapter 17
The next morning Michael and Jeff started off the day by working in the garden.
“I can't believe how fast these things are growing,” Jeff said.
“That isn't normal, just so you know. The little Fae are helping both our gardens along.”
Michael got a thoughtful look on his face.
“I wonder how many of them are here now and if they might like to spread out a bit. I know other people in the area have gardens too. Maybe the little Fae would like to have more than just ours to work with. I'll see if Liz can get Gerry to talk to me later on today. I'd like to have them start with Father Anderson's so he stops asking me—”
Michael was interrupted by someone pounding on the front door of the house. Everyone but he and Jeff had been asleep when they'd come out to garden, so he ran around the front of the house in hopes of stopping whoever it was before they woke anyone up.
When he got there, he found Darren on the front porch.
“What do you want? Why are you pounding on the door?” Michael asked.
“Good you're here and awake. The sheriff sent me to warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“There's an oily looking man showed up at the sheriff's office real early this morning. He's got a couple of bruisers with him too. He asked questions about you and requested deputy assistance in evicting you from the house here.”
“What?”
“He said he's with some board or something. That they want you out of here, but think that you're going to resist and maybe turn violent. The sheriff told him that all his deputies were out responding to problems, at least the ones that stil
l show up for work. Oily guy wasn't too happy about that, but the sheriff told him to wait a while and they'd see who showed up for the seven AM shift.”
“So, the sheriff sent you to tell me all this?”
“Yeah, he told me to go out the back door and come tell you. I don't get it though. There isn't a seven AM shift, the next shift doesn't start 'til eight-thirty.”
Michael grinned at Darren.
“The sheriff doesn't want to give him any help. This way he can say no-one showed up for work and the oily guy is on his own. Thanks for the warning. You'll want to make yourself scarce though, it's almost seven now.”
“No problem, the sheriff has me working around the office and running errands as probation. He's making sure I get some food too so I want to get back there.”
Michael waved and headed around back. He found Jeff peeking around the corner of the house.
“Isn't that the other guy that kidnapped my sister?”
“Yes, but he's the one that protected her also. The sheriff is using him as a runner. You need to get your mom and Liz, either get down in the basement or back to your own house. Things are about to get nasty here.”
“This that Board I've heard you talking about?”
“I haven't talked about them to you,” Michael said.
Jeff looked at the ground.
“Sorry. I hear what I hear. I want to help.”
“Jeff, what would you do in a magical fight? That's what this is going to be most likely, although Darren said he had bruisers with him so there might be gunfire also. The best thing you can do is get your mom and sister someplace safe.”
Jeff sighed.
“I mean right now Jeff! They'll be here any minute. I don't want you or your family to get hurt. I've got to wake Rynn and the other kids, get them safe too.”
Michael and Jeff sprinted around back and into the house. Michael heard Jeff pounding on his mother's door yelling for her to get up.
His own pounding on Rynn's door got a quick response. She opened the door in just a few seconds, looking calm and collected.
“I heard,” she said. “The front door's right under my window. Let's get the kids safe and then see how I can back you up.”