“Khlorie Lethestone,” Linus said in his deep and hoarse voice. “What a treat to have the daughter of the great Morrigan here in my home.” A smile crossed over his face and his blue eyes twinkled.
Fear filled me and my instincts kicked in. I needed to get out of the farmhouse...now.
What do I know about Linus Boreas? I asked racking my brain for details from the papers, searching for anything that could help me get off of this farm alive. The Salem Standard had a profile on the terrorist to help aid in his capture. The details came back to me in pieces. He dropped that building in NJ with a sinkhole. He has power over soil. I need to get off the farm and back to the water.
“Tell me, Khlorie, are you proud of your mother’s position in the Council of the Harvest Moon?” He stepped closer to me.
“Father, please,” Perry said pleadingly, stepping between his father and me. “The smile on Linus’s face changed as he saw his son stand in my defense.
“For what reason would you possibly bring this witch here if not to ransom her?” When Perry didn’t respond, Boreas unleashed a cold laugh. “Don’t tell me you have feelings for her? She is the enemy. Have I taught you nothing, son? Her family and people like them are the reason we cannot be together.” Linus put his bowl down slowly on the counter. “Don’t worry. We can correct your youthful indiscretion and turn your treachery into something useful.”
“Dad, no!” Perry shouted fiercely. A blast of air knocked his father against the wall.
Pomona walked back into the room, placing her items on the table. “He is her dieramai. That makes her part of this family.” She spoke in a quiet, but firm voice. “Now, I suggest you leave. You know you are not welcome. The Inner Circle is here, and they would love to get their hands on you.”
“Only fairies can have a dieramai bond, Pomona.” She nodded, and realization slowly came over his face. “Are you telling me that Morrigan Lethestone’s daughter. The child of two of the most bigoted witching families in the ACC is part fairy?” His laughter was so menacing that the sound hit me, causing a wave of nausea. I looked around. Now that Perry and his mother were in front of me, I had a clear shot of getting out of the farmhouse through the front door.
Perry stretched towards me and tried to reach for my hand. There was no chance that I was letting him touch me right now. I needed to get out. Preparing, I shifted my weight to the balls of my feet. With a deep breath and a quick pivot, I took off as fast as I could towards the front of the house. Instinctually, I caused a huge blast of air behind me and hoped that it knocked everyone down long enough for me to get out of there. The blast pushed me forward like a rocket off a launchpad.
As I left the dining room and ran through a maze of living areas and hallways, my feet barely grazed the floor. Past a table with a half-done puzzle was the screen door leading out onto the porch. Hurling myself outside, I tripped on my long skirt as I ran down the stairs. Swearing under my breath that I would never wear a long, black skirt again, I pushed myself up to standing, holding my skirt up with a hand. My breath was heavy as my boots were pounding against the packed soil walkway. I made my way to the barrier shielding the house from the orchard. If I could get outside the cloaking spell, maybe there would be people at the farm who could help me. Pushing myself hard, I was now only steps away from the public area of the farm.
The ground beneath my feet began to rumble. The soil began to rise, lifting me into the air and tossing me back towards the house like a wave crashing on shore. Pain seared through my body as I collapsed hard on my shoulder. I could feel it pop as the ball came out of the joint, but that would have to wait. Grunting in pain, I worked to pull myself up. Before I could reach my feet, however, the ground beneath me sank and I landed in a grave 6 feet deep. The pain in my shoulder, made worse by the drop, was sending my body into shock and I began to shake uncontrollably. Fighting through it was the only option. I was not going to be taken prisoner.
Linus was not an Inner Circle member. He was a lowly natural resources fairy. I may not have been using my powers as long as he had, but I knew that if the soil had to choose between listening to me or him, it would choose me. I closed my eyes and called every power I possessed, witch and elemental, to my hands. With a quick first aid spell, I popped my dislocated shoulder back into place. The adrenaline surged through me as I made the decision to fight. My will to survive overtook the shock. I stared up at the surface waiting to make my move. Sure enough, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed fairy peeked his head over the hole he had created. He smiled as he shouted down at me.
“Doesn’t have a lot of fight in her, does she? I guess she is used to a team of marshals keeping her safe,” he sneered down at me.
“I don’t need marshals to protect me from the likes of you,” I heard my voice shout with more strength than I thought it possible to possess at that moment. I watched his face change to anger. As he bent over to reply, a gust of wind hit into him hard. Perry was keeping him busy. I moved the soil beneath my feet upwards quickly until it was level with the rest of the ground in the meadow. As soon as I raised myself out of the pit, I took off running. Out of my periphery, I could see Perry keeping his father from getting back up, allowing me some time.
“Paroikodomēma ,” I shouted behind me. Instantly, a wall of ice appeared around the farmhouse. It wouldn’t hold him for long, but it would give me a chance. I just had to hope that Linus Boreas would not hurt his own son.
From behind the wall, I could hear Linus screaming to Perry. “Son, use your power to fly me over the wall. Now!”
I didn’t look back. I couldn’t stop. All my energy was being used keeping the soil underneath me from following Linus’ commands. Every once in a while, I felt it rumble or sink ever so slightly and I realized that I had lost focus. As I crossed out of the meadow in front of the farmhouse and into the orchard, I did not allow myself even a moment to give a sigh of relief. The place was now eerily desolate. I was not going to be any safer out here. I ran into a particularly dense group of trees to take a quick break to catch my breath.
Scouting out the terrain, I realized what I would have to do next. The orchard was providing me cover, but to make it back to the boat, I would need to make it all the way back up the hill. There would be no way to do that without being seen. Spell travel was my best bet, but it was only allowed at the entry dock. It was worth a try, however. Maybe Pomona let the blocking spell expire by accident. I concentrated on the backyard at my mother’s house, picturing my father’s garden, the outdoor hearth, and the view of the harbor.
“Makroporeō ,” I whispered. For a moment, I felt the spell hug my midsection and elation filled me. It’s going to work. Then, however, the magic let me go and I was still in the orchard. Quickly, I tried to run through my options. I could run and hope that I could overpower whoever came after me. That seemed unlikely. I could tunnel under the soil, but that would make me very vulnerable to Linus. I could fly and try to make it up the hill quickly enough to spell myself home. I was sure that at least one of the Inner Circle fairies would be able to fly though. I knew that Perry could and certainly better than me. Perry wouldn’t hurt me, but he would try to stop me from going back to Spindlewick.
Perry , I thought. He can sense where I am! I needed to move quickly. Flying was my only option. I just wished I had practiced it. If I ever spoke to Perry again, I was going to yell at him for not training me sooner...among other things.
“Homikhlē , “I commanded. A dense fog descended on the farm. If I was going to make it out of here alive, I needed every spell in my arsenal. I hoped that the cover would be enough to keep anyone from spotting me. Calling on my wind power, I lifted myself high into the sky and shot up towards the top of the hill. Hurtling forward, I rolled end over end in a swift, jerking motion. At the pace I was going, though, it would only take seconds to make it to the entrance of the farm. From there, I could spell myself home. Freezing cold and desperate, I was almost to the entrance.
Now over the do
ck, I pictured my backyard in Massachusetts again “Makro -”
“No Khlorie!” The familiar voice distracted me from completing the spell. Perry came flying up behind me at speed. I started to say the spell again, but Perry tackled me to the ground before I could finish. We landed violently on my left shoulder again. This time the pain was just too much, and I knew that I had dislocated it again, maybe even broken my collar bone.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I heard Perry crying with me in his arms. He held me like a limp rag doll across his lap. “It’s not safe for you to go back to them now, Khlorie. I’m so sorry.” He placed me on the wet grass and ran off out of my field of vision. After what felt like an eternity in searing pain, my vision grew blurry and the shouts of a nearby skirmish were fading into muffled background noise. When a man finally leaned over me and picked me up, I could barely make out the details of his face.
“It’s her shoulder,” the witch said as he placed his hands over my body taking an assessment of my injuries. “It’s dislocated. Pomona, get the pain banishing salve out of my kit. It is labeled.”
I know that voice , I thought. I squinted and tried to make out the features of the man who was holding me.
“Finch, we need to get out of here now,” I heard Aella’s voice say. “We have Linus, but anyone could have spotted him coming on to the farm. This place is going to be crawling with marshals any minute.”
“Finch?” I croaked weakly.
“Khlorie,” the man with the familiar voice said. “We need to move you now. Nod if you understand me, Little Witch.”
I nodded weakly.
“Good girl,” the man replied. “We are going to take you, Perry, and Pomona somewhere safe. I will fix your shoulder on the way.”
“Ok, daddy,” I replied as my body gave into the shock, and I passed out.
Up Next in the Council of the Harvest Moon Series…
Elements of Opposition
Available Early 2022
Her father is alive.
Her lineage is in question.
Her world is turned upside down.
Join us in Book 2 to explore the world of the Inner Circle!
For an extended blurb, cover reveal, and launch details, sign up for our newsletter at: www.katestoessel.com.
Acknowledgements
Writing this book meant so much to me and I have so many people to thank for helping me along the way.
I have to start with my husband, Jack, for his endless support. When I told him that I wanted to write this story, he bent over backwards to help me with anything that I needed.
Next, I must thank my son, Augie, for putting up with Mommy coming home from work and spending time writing. He even listened to a little bit before bedtime. He thinks that the story would be better with pictures and dinosaurs. I guess 4-year-olds are a bit out of my demographic.
Thank you to my mother for her constant support and for teaching me to love reading.
So much gratitude goes out to my Beta readers who spent time reading this story and giving me amazing feedback. Khlorie is a stronger character because of you all. Thank you Mimi, Lottie, Nicole, Lainey, and Anusha.
About the Author
Kate Stoessel is a Middle Grades and Young Adult author specializing in Fantasy. She wrote her first novel, Erine Pershings and the Golden Lyre, because she could not find interesting and informative historical fiction that explored the daily lives of women and children in Ancient Athens. The Council of the Harvest moon series represents Kate’s first foray into Young Adult Fantasy, her favorite genre as a reader. She knows how transportive a fantasy story can be and hopes to give her readers the same experience of wonder and escape. Whether Middle Grades or YA, Kate is committed to creating characters that feel as authentic and real as the students she works with every day as a classroom teacher.
She has a B.A. degree in Classical Civilizations from Colby College and a M.S.Ed in Museum Education and Childhood Education from the Bank Street School of Education. Kate lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband, Jack, son, Augie, and two dogs, Artemis and Apollo.
Stay up to date with all of Kate’s news at: www.katestoessel.com
Elements of Power (Council of the Harvest Moon Book 1) Page 26