“Hey, Dad. How are things there?”
“Not great. Nothing new with Blake and Josh is doing as well as can be expected,” Dominic said.
“He didn’t take it well, then…” Anton inquired.
“No. There’s a rather big hole in the hospital waiting room now,” Dominic admitted.
“Hmm. Is there anything I can do?” Anton asked.
“No, Son. Just keep trying to get a hold of Devon and Darby. Anything going on there?” Dominic said.
“Mark and Alyssa moved into the cottage today. We had dinner together and I updated them on all that is going on. They send their condolences to Josh and their well wishes to Blake and Rowan,” Anton answered.
“That’s sweet,” Dominic said.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a number for any relatives of Bernard’s, would you?” Anton asked.
“No. Not anymore. His sister died a while back. I don’t think there is any other family. Why? Is something wrong?”
“Well, I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him since this morning,” Anton said.
“That’s not like him. That’s very odd indeed. Keep me posted if you hear anything,” Dominic said.
“I will,” Anton said.
“I know it is off topic, but on the plane, Josh and I seem to have made some progress on that piece that comes off of the artifact,” Dominic said.
“Oh really? What’s that?”
“It’s quite amazing. It appears to be some sort of key. I hadn’t noticed it before, but when the seal is turned it morphs into some sort of odd looking key,” Dominic explained.
“Really? How amazing. What do you think it goes to?”
“Truthfully, I think it has something to do with the altar room. I just don’t know what,” Dominic admitted.
“How strange that you would say that. I wanted to talk to you about another one of those strange dreams I had where I was inside that vampire’s head,” Anton said.
“Yes. The one when the vampire killed that business man,” Dominic remembered.
“Yes. I had another one and we were in the altar room. The vampire went straight to a very specific place in the hearth looking for something but it was missing. Do you think the vampire was looking for the artifact you found?”
“Quite possible. Just wish we knew who the vampire was. It would be nice to know whether the Black Orchids were trying to come to power again,” Dominic said.
“Well, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. If the artifact is what the vampire was looking for, then you might be in some danger,” Anton said.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I know who the vampire is,” Anton admitted.
“You do? How?”
“I saw our reflection in some glass.”
“And?” Dominic prodded.
“It’s the Dark Angel.”
“Oh!” Dominic exclaimed.
“Oh, is right! And it’s not just the artifact the Dark Angel wants, I think it was the Dark Angel that somehow poisoned Blake with this Deadman’s Blood,” Anton said.
“Ah yes. The dead businessman you saw the Dark Angel drain. I suppose its possible, but why Blake?” Dominic wondered.
“Maybe it wasn’t Blake that was supposed to receive it?” Anton thought.
“What are you saying?” Dominic asked.
“I’m saying, it may have been intended for you.”
“Me? How is that possible?”
“Don’t you remember?” Anton asked. “Blake took some of the blood supply home right after we received the latest shipment.”
“But that would mean the Dark Angel knows where we get our blood and all kinds of things about us!” Dominic said, alarmed.
“Exactly, Dad. Just to be on the safe side, if our supply has been tampered with, I’ve disposed of what stock we had and had a new shipment sent from Dr. Rowe,” Anton said.
“Good thinking, Anton,” Dominic stated.
“Thanks. Send my well wishes to Blake and Rowan, Dad…and be careful.”
“I will. You too, son,” Dominic replied.
*****
In the bed alone, Darby woke to voices downstairs. She listened for a moment, realizing one of the voices was Devon when she remembered he had said the electrician would be coming this morning. She swung her legs to the side of the bed, wiggling her toes, yawning, and stretching. Her feet searched for her slippers only to find the cold wood floor. Where have my slippers gone? Sleepy eyes searched the floor to find nothing. She knelt down to look under the bed, finding nothing. Still not quite awake, she stood up, only to trip over her slippers at the foot of the bed.
“What are you doing here?” she said to the slippers. They were turned with the toes pointing away from the bed like she would have left them if she had been just getting into bed, but that was not possible with the tall footboard. Her feet quickly took their happy, soft place within the slippers as she walked to the bathroom to wash her face.
She ran the water to get the iciness out of it, then cupped her hands and splashed her face clean of sleep. With her eyes closed, she reached for the hand towel with her left hand to find nothing but wall. Squinting one eye, she searched for the missing blue towel only to find it strewn over the shower curtain rod on the right side of the bathroom. She grabbed a larger, closer towel to dry her hands and face and, suspicious, turned back to the towel rack where the towel should have been.
What the heck is going on here? Am I totally losing it? I know I put that towel on the towel rack last night….or did I? Frustrated already after only having been awake for a few short minutes, she slipped on some jeans and a hoodie and proceeded downstairs.
The smell of fresh brewed coffee wafted up the stairwell as she descended. “Coffee…that’s what I need,” she said quietly to herself as she headed for the kitchen. A large, barrel-chested man was speaking with Devon in the living room as she passed the doorway into the kitchen. She yawned as she opened the cupboard door, grabbed a cup, and poured coffee. She reached to her left blindly and grabbed for the sugar, which too, was not in its place as her other hand reached in the utensil drawer and grabbed a teaspoon. She looked down the length of the counter for the sugar bowl only to find it on the stove top between the burners.
Okay, I know I didn’t put that there. Hmmm. Maybe Devon was using the sugar when the electrician came and he just sat it there on his way to the answer the door. It’s possible.
She shuffled over to the stove with her coffee and teaspoon in hand and picked up the sugar bowl on her way to the kitchen table. She rubbed her eyes and yawned once more after she took a sip only to spit it out as her taste buds informed her that the sugar was not sugar at all but salt.
Devon walked in just as she spewed coffee all over the table. “Well, at least it didn’t go through your nose,” he laughed.
“Ha ha, very funny. You are hilarious today, but you really shouldn’t mess with a person’s coffee, no matter how funny you think it might be. Or for that matter, messing with slippers and towels. What is it? April Fools Day?” she said grumpily.
“What are you talking about?” Devon asked.
“I’m talking about switching the sugar for salt, moving my slippers to the end of the bed, and moving the towel in the bathroom.”
“I haven’t a clue as to what you are talking about…I didn’t do any of those things,” he said, sitting down at the table as she wiped it clean of coffee. He put his fingers into the sugar bowl and took a small pinch of the white crystals and sprinkled it on his tongue.
“Tastes like sugar to me!” he said, confused.
“I’m not falling for that twice,” she said.
“Suit yourself,” he said as he spooned some sugar into his coffee, stirred, then took a big swig of it, reading the paper all the while. She watched him do this and was astonished when he made no reaction. She stuck her finger into the sugar bowl and set some crystals on her tongue, finding it to be sweet and delicious. Then she cautious
ly took a sip of her coffee, to find it not salty but absolutely perfect.
“What is going on?”
“Maybe it’s the Wee Folk,” he said laughing then continued more seriously, “Maybe you are coming down with something…You weren’t feeling well before we left the US; maybe your taste buds are just off from an oncoming cold or something.”
“Maybe! But I feel fine - starving, but fine,” Darby answered with a puzzled expression.
“You have been very hungry lately. I don’t recall you ever really eating much in the morning, but the last few weeks you’ve been ravenous,” Devon said.
“Are you saying I’m putting on some weight?” Darby baited him.
“No…I said you’ve been very hungry – it’s an observation, not an insult,” Devon said in his defense.
“Sure,” she said sarcastically.
“Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Sweetness?”
“Why? Are you saying I’m being crabby?” Darby asked defensively.
“Uh…no…but you’ve been accusing me of moving things and playing tricks on you,” Devon replied.
“I just…I don’t know? Something weird is going on. I swear I hear you talking to me in my head, yet the couple of times I’ve asked you about it, you weren’t. Then there are things I swear I put in one place and find them in another. I don’t know. I feel like I’m losing my mind,” Darby admitted.
With a concerned face, he reached out and patted her right hand lovingly and said, “Maybe you are just more tired than you thought with jet lag or maybe you really are coming down with something. You should relax. Don’t try to get so much done.”
“Maybe…oh by the way, did you get that envelope that I left in the living room? I found it leaned up against the front door. Must have come when I was in the potting shed,” Darby asked.
“No. I didn’t see anything,” Devon said.
“Really? I thought I put it on the little table by the chair you like to read in at night,” Darby said rather puzzled.
“I didn’t see it. I’ll go look.” He got up and went into the living room for a moment. After a minute he came back empty handed. “No…I don’t see any envelopes. Did you see who it was from?”
“No. I hadn’t really looked at it, just picked it up outside and laid it down on the table,” she said as she walked through the scenario in her mind.
“Hmmm. I’m sure it will show up,” Devon said, not too concerned.
“I know, but this is happening so much. I put something down and a minute later I can’t find it. It’s making me crazy,” she said.
“Maybe you should just take it easy today and relax. The electrician will be working in the attic, basement, and the front bedroom we’ve decided will be the office. I have to run into town to get some things for him, but there is nothing you need to do today. Just get some rest,” Devon said.
“I’ll think about it. I didn’t really think I was all that tired, but maybe you’re right,” she agreed reluctantly.
“Good. I won’t be long and I’ll bring you back some of that peppermint tea you like so much. That should relax you,” he said.
“That would be great. You are so good to me, Sweetie. I’m sorry I was crabby,” she said remorsefully.
“Not a problem. The electrician’s name is Ryan, oh and by the way…we should be getting a shipment of my special diet today. I must say, I’m a bit famished myself. If it comes, can you put it in the basement fridge for me? The fridge is locked and the key is in an empty coffee can in the cupboard over the stove.”
“Yeah. No problem. I forget sometimes that you are a vampire,” she said, chuckling.
He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.
Chapter Sixteen
Though she tried to rest as Devon had suggested, she couldn’t so she decided to do some gardening. Out the back door she went to the weeds that were threatening their encroachment of the back door. She worked diligently for a half an hour or so. The sun was peeking out behind passing clouds, making it not too hot for such work. The sun would be blocked just long enough to cool her off when it would poke its glorious head out just in time to warm her before she became chilled.
She turned around to work on another area when she came across a patch of clover meandering its way between the stepping stones that headed for the potting shed. Their tiny, pinkish purple flowers had already bloomed and dropped their heads. Darby thought it must have been a beautiful picture to see a few weeks before.
Thinking back to her childhood and her grandmother’s stories, she thought she would hunt for a four leaf clover just for fun. It was tedious and the task grew tiresome after a few minutes. When she was about to give up and head for another area to pull weeds, she spied a possibility. Squatting down with only her mud clogs touching the damp ground; she reached out and picked her prize, holding it between her thumb and forefinger.
As grandma Lorelai had always said, “If you are lucky enough to spy a four leaf clover, you should pick it, close your eyes and kiss it making a wish, then throw it over your left shoulder.”
“Why, Grandma?” Darby and Rowan would ask.
“Well, girls, kissing it and wishing on it as soon as it is picked will double your luck. You know you can’t keep it! The Faeries collect them when they are tossed and make magic Faerie dust from them. Not giving it to the Faeries to use is just selfish. Besides, like all living things, once you pick it, it quickly dies - wilting first, then drying out and turning brownish green until all its magic is gone and it crumbles and mixes back in with Mother Earth’s blanket of soil.”
Remembering what her grandmother had taught her, she quickly brought it to her lips, closed her eyes, and kissed it. Before she opened her eyes and right after she made her wish, she tossed the four-leaf clover over her left shoulder and opened her eyes.
To her amazement, a face that she could only describe as cherub-like was just inches from her own face. She fell back on her butt in shock. The world seemed different somehow - brighter, more colorful, like having had very dark sunglasses on all her life and finally taking them off. The childlike figure stared at her, studying her.
Darby noticed she had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. They were a mixture of blue and purple making her look unreal. The girl cocked her head slightly trying to take in all she could of Darby and as she did so Darby noticed her skin seemed to sparkle very slightly. But it was when a set of transparent, iridescent wings fluttered behind the childlike girl, that Darby felt her eyes might pop out of her head. Am I dreaming? she thought to herself. Finally finding words to use, Darby asked, “Who are you? What are you?”
At first the girl seemed confused, but suddenly she looked behind as if to see if someone was standing there, and realized that Darby was speaking to her. That’s when SHE fell back onto her butt. As she did, a tiny plume of what Darby could only assume was Faerie dust permeated around the girl then fell tinkling to the ground and disappeared as if they were raindrops being absorbed into the soil.
The girl asked, “You can you see me? Hear me?” She seemed flabbergasted by the concept and slightly scared.
“Of course I can. It would be hard to miss someone with wings,” Darby said.
“But…I’ve been here off and on for days and you couldn’t see me then. Why can you see me now?” the girl asked.
“I don’t know, unless the stories my grandmother told me were true,” Darby said.
“What did she say? What did she say?” the girl asked excitedly, clapping her hands together as she jumped to her feet.
“She said if you were lucky enough to find a four-leaf clover that your luck would abound and all that was hidden would be seen, but I thought it was just an old wives tale,” Darby said as she stood brushing herself off.
“Your grandmother was right, of course, but it doesn’t work for just any human…you must be a Seer for the four-leaf clover’s special magic to work. We were so worried, you’d not been taught the ways of a Seer. We’v
e been waiting for you for so long and finally you are here,” she said, swinging back and forth, her beautiful dress swishing and sprinkling sparkling dust around her feet.
“What are you talking about? Who are you?” Darby asked.
“I thought it would be obvious, I’m a Faerie, silly,” the girl answered.
“A Faerie. Am I still in bed sleeping and this is all a dream?” Darby wondered.
“No. But if you’d like me to pinch you….” The girl said eagerly.
“No, no…that’s okay. So what is your name, my little Faerie?” Darby inquired.
“My name is Yanna,” the girl answered.
“Well, Yanna, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Darby,” Darby said.
“Oh, I know who you are. We all do,” the girl admitted.
“When you say we, who are you referring to?” Darby asked.
“All the Faeries in the Everworld. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time,” Yanna clarified.
“ALL the Faeries…in Everworld.” Darby shook her head as if somehow that might make some sense of what Yanna was telling her. “Where might the ‘Everworld’ be?”
“Right here, it’s just on another plane,” the girl explained.
“How do you enter a plane?” Darby wondered.
“Well, you can be guided by one of the fae or use magic. There are doorways here and there, they just have to be opened,” the girl told her.
“You said that the Faeries have been waiting for me?” Darby asked.
“Oh, yes. Some very anxiously,” the girl exclaimed.
“And the others?” Darby wondered.
“There are those that hoped you would never find your way here, but you did, just as Mother Earth said you would,” Yanna relayed.
“Mother Earth…you mean she’s real?” Darby asked.
“Of course!” the girl said matter-of-factly.
“Is she a Faerie?” Darby wondered.
“Are you teasing me? You know all this already…why are you asking so many questions?” the girl inquired.
Darby looked at her blankly in confusion.
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