Crow - The Awakening

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Crow - The Awakening Page 43

by Michael J. Vanecek


  Steven felt something and turned just in time to see the wolfman jump at him, fangs bared. Steven's indignation flared and suddenly fire engulfed the monster as Steven sidestepped its attack and watched it slam to the ground and writhe in agony. The buzzing was overwhelmingly loud now and the ground and air were full of catastrophic energy as the plants started to burn up and even the tree caught on fire. The jungles around the meadow were also catching fire and Steven looked around crying. He walked to the wolfman and roared at him, focusing his animosity and fear onto the creature until it exploded, throwing burning flesh in every direction.

  The whole world seemed to be sharing his fury and fear, and he watched the fires consume the forests around him as a vortex of fire formed above him. Soil and ash started to get pulled up into the air, then burning trees were uprooted, followed by boulders that defied gravity. Steven's anger turned inward as it was replaced with fear and agony over Asherah and helplessness to fix her. Tormented, he walked over to her, leaving puddles of molten soil in his footsteps. His tears were hot on his cheeks, flaming as they fell to the ground and Steven cried out to Asherah, not knowing what else to do. She was in trouble but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

  As he approached her sleeping form, he noticed someone else kneeling beside her, touching her head. Alarm filled Steven and energized his anger again as he ran toward the figure, intent on destroying anything that was a threat to Asherah. The man stood up and looked at him as he approached. His visage looked like living mercury and his eyes were completely black. Steven ran even faster as the ground around him rocked and cracked. Steven roared in unbridled rage as he approached the strange man. The air around him was even catching fire and the ground was heaving in massive swells as Steven ran to save his life-mate from whatever threat was trying to snare her.

  Just as he reached the stranger, the man put a hand up and touched his chest and suddenly Steven was standing in a calm tropical meadow on a cool, humid night. Asherah moved a little but still remained snoring. The man cocked his head as he looked at Steven, appraising him. Steven was in complete shock over the sudden change, stunned that his fury and fear were simply suddenly not there anymore. He shook his head. If nothing else, he felt at perfect peace as his rage evaporated. He looked at Asherah as she moved and he sobbed, overwhelmed by the vast range of emotions that had flowed through him. He fell to his knees next to her and grabbed her up, crying into her neck as he held her. She was there. He could feel her now. Still asleep, but there with him. He shuddered as the stress was lifted from him.

  Catching his breath, "What...?" Steven looked up at the man who knelt down beside them.

  "She was given a sedative, but they overdosed her." The man’s voice seemed to reverberate inside his head and at the same time come from everywhere around him.

  "Who?" Steven sat down, cradling Asherah in his arms while staring at the strange man. He looked at his hands, that had the same properties of his face - as if it was made out of chrome, or mercury.

  "You will find out soon enough, Steven." The man turned his attention to Asherah. "I have fixed her and she will be okay but will sleep for a bit longer."

  Steven's heart nearly exploded with joy and appreciation as he embraced Asherah tightly. The man stared at him, as if looking deep into him. Steven looked up then around. "What happened here?"

  "I stopped you. You are restored now," the man said simply.

  "Restored from what?" Steven asked, but the man only smiled and looked down at Asherah.

  "She is your center," he stated, more an observation than anything else.

  "Yes. She is. I can't imagine life without her." Steven brushed her unruly hair out of her eyes and kissed her eyelids.

  "There will come a time when you will be without her." The man warned. "You will need to find a new center so this doesn't happen again."

  Steven was speechless, not wanting to even contemplate such a time. But if she was okay now, that's all that mattered, the now. He smiled at her. "How can there be any other center but her?" he whispered, as much to her as anyone.

  The man got up and started walking away. Steven looked at him for a second then put Asherah down and stood up, running after him. "Wait, please."

  The man turned around and looked at him, expecting a question.

  "Who are you?" Steven ran up to him, looking into his face. He could swear he could see stars in the blackness that made up the man's eyes.

  "She has already told you, Steven." The man smiled kindly. Steven noticed that he was ageless, his skin was so smooth and reflective. "I am the Elder."

  Chapter 18

  Sarah chewed on the tip of a paintbrush as she flipped the pages of the phone book. She had already called all the places she could think of and was now just flipping through the book to give her something to look at while thinking of what else she could do. She was worried for Steven but running out of options. He was missing and she felt she was the only one making any sort of effort to find him.

  "You know, their directory is online, honey," Charley said as he worked on an article at his little workstation, trying to be helpful. "I can email you the link if you want."

  "No, that's okay. I've already called all of the hospitals." She sat back, looking at Steven's wallet. Richard had stopped by that morning looking for him when he didn't show up for work. She found his wallet and phone in the little apartment on the roof, something he had never gone out without before. It was like he just disappeared into thin air. "I just don't know who else to call."

  "Did you call the police?" Charley asked as he tapped away on the keyboard, trying hard to make his deadline. He was a little concerned for Steven, but felt that he would show up okay sooner or later and have an interesting story to tell about why he forgot is phone and wallet.

  "Mm hmm. Yeah, I tried to file a missing person's report. You want to know what those idiots told me?" Sarah fumed, frustrated from the endless dead ends she was bumping into.

  "I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway." Charley grinned, looking over his shoulder at her as he tried to write. Sarah was not hesitant at expressing herself in the least. That's what made life so interesting around her.

  She gave him a look, waggling her paintbrush at him, then continued, "They said he has to be missing for twenty four hours and I have to be a legal guardian or spouse." She kicked her easel in frustration, then had to reach out to stabilize her painting to keep it from falling. "What a bunch of bureaucratic morons." She turned to Charley, holding out her hands in exasperation. He decided it was prudent to stop his typing and give her his undivided attention, given her mood. She pointed her paintbrush at him and continued, "And furthermore, they said he probably just partied late or ran away!"

  "Well, he stays up late and parties with us," Charley said, trying to inject some logic into the discussion. "And, he is a runaway." The look on her face made him regret saying anything.

  "Oh, shut up! You know what I meant." Sarah crossed her arms and turned back to glare at her painting. She was thinking it was going to be a lot of red today, with big splashes and mean strokes. "If there's one thing he's been, it's consistent. He always shows up early to work, never leaves his phone or wallet laying around, and he always is there to tend the gardens. Now he's simply not here. Without a call."

  Charley sighed. Getting up, he walked up behind her and embraced her, putting his chin on her shoulder, grinning as he ended up having to blow a strand of her hair out of his face. "Sarah, he'll turn up later on and you'll get to yell at him or something. Maybe he's out doing something stupid and will drag himself home soon. I'm sure he's okay."

  "I'm not!" Sarah sniffed and wiped her nose. "He would never just run out on us like that."

  "But you're not responsible for him, Sarah." Charley hated broaching that subject because Sarah had become so attached to the boy. Steven may have made it easier for her to adjust to being without her baby brother, but it was incurring its own set of complications.

/>   "What is that supposed to mean?" She turned around to face him. Sarah expected Charley's support, not this.

  "He can come and go as he pleases. It's his life and he's his own person," Charley responded a little defensively. Steven has been a lot of fun to have around and has definitely made their family life better, perhaps if for nothing more than distracting his wife from thinking about the loss of her younger brother, but he was still old enough to make his own decisions and do his own thing.

  "He's part of our family, Charley. Maybe not legally, but he's our friend and something is wrong." Sarah wiped her tears as she turned back around. She had a bad feeling in her gut and just knew that something wasn't right, but no one seems to be taking it seriously. Charley thought she was overreacting, but how do you tell that to someone who is overreacting?

  "We don't know that, Sarah." Charley tried to soothe her, rubbing her tense shoulders.

  She held up his wallet and wagged it. "He could be out there somewhere, hurt and all alone, and no one cares." It was her younger brother all over again and she leaned against Charley. He really hated seeing her tormented like this but was at a loss of what to say, so he just sat there holding her and running his fingers through her hair.

  The house appeared to be empty and silent. Sally sat in her car for several minutes watching it. The garden had become an overgrown mess but other than that the property looked pretty good. She needed to get to her shop to get some pottery supplies. Jonah had forbidden it, but she snuck out anyway. They were going crazy in their cabin and driving each other nuts. If she had her portable turning wheel, some tools, and a few blocks of clay, that would make things so much easier for her.

  Taking a deep breath, she put the car in drive and rolled slowly up their drive, behind the house, and parked just by Jonah's shop. She got out timidly, looking around to see if anyone noticed her. The door on Jonah's shop was slightly open and she walked to it carefully, peeking in. Except for some leaves that had blown in, it was still the same sawdust mess that Jonah usually leaves it in, so she closed the door, jumping in surprise at how loud the hinges creaked. She looked at the house to see if anyone was there but it was empty and quiet. She missed that little home, and missed her son.

  Her pottery shed was the same as she left it, closed up and tidy. She walked in and grabbed her mobile potter's wheel and took it to the car, then went and grabbed a few bricks of clay and a bag of clay powder and plopped them in her trunk. Her shaping tools were all kept in a little toolbox since she would often take the wheel to the market and show off her techniques to customers so they were easy to grab and put in the car. Sally really missed the market and hoped to be able to set up their booths again someday soon. She went back and looked at her kiln. That was much too big for her car so she may have to sneak back there to do her firing. She walked along the shelves of her unfinished pottery, also waiting to be glazed and fired. She remembered how hard it was to adjust to living out there after growing up in the big city, but now she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. As an afterthought, she grabbed a few packets of glaze and closed up the little shop.

  As she walked past her husband's workshop an idea occurred to her. He would certainly be mad that she went there, but maybe an olive branch would smooth things over. She ducked into his workshop and went to his main workbench. He had a rack of wood carving tools that he used for artistic carving. She grabbed it, his mallet and a sharpening stone and made her way back to the car with her arms full. That should make him happy. He had been trying to carve with his pocket knife and it wasn't working out as well as he had hoped. This little gift will surely make him happy and most importantly, less mad at her. Sally grinned, feeling a little mischievous.

  As she went back and closed up her husband's shop she looked at the house again. It looked so quaint and small now, with no one living there. She loved that house. They had built it with their own hands together, with young Steven eagerly helping. Sally put her hand on her chest to still her heart as she relived the memories. Her family, that is what that house represented. The best years of their lives, even if they were spent in hiding. Unable to resist, she walked up and peered through the rear porch window. All was dark and quiet in there. She opened the door and peeked her head in.

  "Hello?" she said loudly. "Is anyone here?"

  Only silence responded. She walked in and closed the door behind her. Looking around, she couldn't help but remember all the fun they had in that house. She could see them sitting by the fireplace playing their guitars and the piano, having a good time. Or dining at their heavy table. Steven would often do his lessons on that table then take his homework out into the forest to complete. She missed her kitchen, which was perfect for her. She went to the refrigerator. It was still on, but she was certain there were probably things evolving in there so she decided not to open it and kept walking to the pantry. They had cleared out a lot of food already so there wasn't much left except for their large barrels of unground wheat and other grains and beans. No one seemed to have tampered with those. Perhaps Jonah can go over there and grab them. She hated to see that good food go to waste.

  Sally closed the pantry door and went back to their bedrooms. Steven's was a mess, as usual. More so since it had been so thoroughly searched. She walked in and picked up a stray drawing of Asherah from the floor. She couldn't help but think how cute the Elf girl looked. How much like her mother she appeared, but distinctly different. Under any other circumstances, Sally would be so proud of Steven to have this girl capture his heart. She decided to take the drawing with her too. Steven had various other drawings scattered about as well. Mostly they were drawings of plants and a meadow that looked like it belonged in the Amazon rainforest. Smiling, she picked up a few of those too. She always adored Steven's creativity and his ability to capture his subject so vividly on paper.

  There was a drawing of his parents sitting on the bed. Sally sat down and looked at them. She was jealous of them. For even though she had raised Steven from infancy, they were his obsession. She was still Sally to him. She so wanted to be Mommy. Sally wiped her eyes and left the drawing there as she walked out of the bedroom.

  Deciding she had been there long enough, Sally prepared to leave. She found a canvas bag and put the drawings in them. She also grabbed her favorite coffee cup and rooted around for Jonah's. He would be happy to get that big mug of his back. Maybe another excuse for him to be less mad at her for taking the risk to come here.

  As she picked up the bag, the phone rang. Its intrusion into the silence of the moment was so sudden and cacophonous, Sally yelped and put her hand on her chest, afraid her heart was going to jump out. It rang again and Sally went to it then hesitated. After another ring, she decided to answer it.

  "Hello?" she said timidly. She looked around and through the windows, fearful that maybe someone had discovered her presence here and were coming to get her.

  "Have I reached the Crow residence?" the voice on the other end asked. It was a very professional sounding woman.

  Sally hesitated. "Yes."

  "This is Brianna of the Seattle police department. Am I speaking to... Sally Crow?"

  "Yes." Sally put her bag down and sat down. A call from the police department did not bode well and her heart started beating rapidly as all the worst fears she had regarding Steven surfaced in her mind. She found it hard to breathe all of a sudden and tried hard to keep her composure on the phone.

  "I'm just following up on a missing persons report placed by a Sarah Windsong earlier today. Are you familiar with Sarah?"

  "No." Sally sat still, hoping it may have been a mistake or wrong number or something. Sally took a deep breath, fears of being informed of his body being fished out of the bay abating, but a missing persons report carried its own terrifying baggage for her. Had Lohet found him and finished him off? Or those that were hunting for them? Did he fall into some unfortunate circumstance? And who was Sarah? A new girlfriend?

  "She indicated that a Steven Crow
went missing yesterday. His emergency contact number on record is this one. Is Steven there or do you know his whereabouts?" Brianna asked politely.

  "He's been gone for several weeks. He..." Sally hesitated, not wanting to use the words 'ran away', "...moved out early after graduating."

  "Thank you, ma'am. If you hear from him, would you mind giving us a call so we can clear this ticket?"

  "Uhm, sure," Sally answered as her mind raced, trying to think of what Steven was up to in Seattle. They used to live in Seattle. Sally suddenly felt her legs go numb. They had worked with Steven's parents in Seattle shortly before they were abducted.

  "Have a nice day," Brianna interrupted her thoughts and was about to hang up.

  "Wait!" Sally tried hard not to yell into the phone. "Can you give me Sarah's contact information? Please?"

  "Yes ma'am," Brianna replied.

  Sally grabbed a pen and notepad from her purse and scribbled the number and address down as Brianna recited it to her. Hanging up, she stared at it for a long moment. Her mind was made up. No matter what Jonah said, they were taking a trip to Seattle. She was going to find her son.

 

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