Explosive Resistance

by Linda Jordan

  “Me too,” said Evangeline, thinking again of her hot bath. She’d made that happen one of these days. Her muscles always ached from the cold now. Maybe hot rocks in a tub of water.

  They kept moving through the meadow, the sun beaming down, but not heating up the day like it had a few weeks ago. She’d been spoiled by warmth growing up and spending all her life farther south. Then again, sometimes the heat in the south had been so much she’d felt like a limp rag.

  There was a movement across the meadow and Evangeline saw a being appear that had the upper body of a man and the lower body of a deer. He had deer horns on his head and long dark hair. He spotted the two of them and disappeared back into the shadows of the forest.

  Jackie was squatting down, looking at another plant. She’d missed him.

  Evangeline had no idea what or who the being was. This world mystified her so often now. She no longer felt sure of anything. Ever since Yemaya had claimed her, everything was new.

  3

  Cady

  Cady stood in the middle of the village, watching Ryan, Tank, Sam and Beth tear apart the remains of Beth’s burned house. The four of them stood outside the ruins, tearing down the outside walls on two sides. Then carrying the charred wood to the fire pit in the center of the village. The area around the house still smelled strongly of smoke, even a week after the fire.

  Mazzy stood beside Cady, watching their progress. The woman vibrated with nervous energy.

  “It’s good this is coming down. Good that Beth wants to rebuild in the same place, isn’t it?” asked Mazzy.

  Three phoenixes emerged from the cold ashes in the center of the house where no humans had walked. They fluffed their red orange and yellow feathers, then took flight. The long tail feathers stretching out gracefully behind them.

  Everyone stopped to look. The phoenixes were apparently visible to everyone.

  “Now that’s something you don’t often see,” said Onyx, coming up behind Cady and Mazzy.

  Cady couldn’t even speak. She watched them fly higher and higher until they became so small as to disappear.

  “Have you ever seen one phoenix, let alone three?” asked Mazzy.

  “Once,” said Onyx. “Only once. Magical, it was. Just like this.”

  “Phoenixes reborn. I’m taking that as a good sign,” said Mazzy.

  Indeed it was. Cady had to remember to breathe after that.

  Enchanted Lake had been chaotic ever since the fire. Much change going on. As everyone came forth with their magical abilities it was as if the sun had come out from behind the clouds.

  Magic became even more abundant. People became freer in talking about what they could do or what they’d seen. The transformation felt liberating. There was an ease in the village that hadn’t existed before. Gia was relentlessly cataloguing everyone’s gifts so the right people could be called in an emergency.

  Cady spent the mornings with the children trying to teach them some manners around using magic. Which she was making up on the spot. After each session, something occurred. One of Sarah’s young sons told another child that they’d break their arm soon. Then it had happened. Cady had to talk to the kids about what sort of information to share with others and what not to. What if the child had told another about their upcoming death? No one needed to know that.

  Other children’s magic seemed to shift, as if the universe was trying out a grand experiment. One day a child would be able to hear when someone somewhere mentioned their name. The next day they couldn’t, but they could sense when an animal was sick. The next they lost that power, but could see into the future. Had Cady gone through that as a youngster and she just couldn’t remember it?

  Or was this something peculiar to Enchanted Lake? She had a sense it was. That the area was strongly influencing the villagers’ magical abilities.

  In the afternoons she worked with adults who’d just come into their own power, especially those who felt at a loss as to how to deal with it. She felt inadequate to teach anyone anything. All she had was a lifetime of observing everything and not much knowledge about anyone else’s magic. Onyx came to these sessions and he often had good advice to give. So did some of the other villagers who’d had gifts all their lives, even though some of them had spent a lifetime keeping their powers hidden.

  When Brady suddenly developed the ability to call fire, he couldn’t stop. He was afraid to even speak. Onyx taught Brady how to turn his magic off, so he wouldn’t set things on fire accidentally. Cady stood watching and marveled at Onyx’s wisdom.

  “You’re a farmer, right?” asked Onyx.

  “Yes,” said Brady.

  “Then your magic will be useful to burn the fields after harvest. To purify them, kill any plant diseases and burn dead plants, so the soil can be easily fertilized by them.”

  “I guess.”

  “You need to speak to your magic. To the part of yourself that can call fire. Tell it what you need from it as a farmer, and that the rest of the time your magic needs to sleep. Calm it. Sit down, right here on the ground and find that part of yourself.”

  “How?” asked Brady, sitting down and pushing aside his dark hair, which immediately flopped back into his eyes.

  “Close your eyes and breathe deeply.”

  Brady did as he was told.

  “Now, go into the darkness and find the flame that exists inside you.”

  Brady was quiet for a moment, then said, “Okay.”

  “Talk to it. Tell the flame what you need from it. Thank it for coming to you to help. It just wants to help.”

  “This is silly.”

  “Yes, it is. But your magic is a child. It needs your guidance, kind and loving guidance.”

  Brady sat silently for a very long time. Then tears began to trickle down his cheeks and his breathing deepened.

  Cady knew he was going through a vast emotional experience. She and Onyx stood silently and waited.

  After awhile, Brady said, “Okay.”

  “Does your fire understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you can tell it that you’ll come back and check in from time to time. Thank it again and tell it how much you love and appreciate its presence in your life.”

  Brady was silent for a bit longer, then he opened his eyes.

  “Is it that simple?” he asked.

  “It can be. You need to do all the work of acknowledging and accepting your gift. It’s difficult emotional work and some people can’t do that. Or won’t,” said Onyx.

  “Thank you,” said Brady, his voice hoarse with emotion.

  “You are welcome,” said Onyx, bowing. “I am honored to be able to help.”

  Brady left to return to the silence of his fields.

  “That was astonishing,” said Cady.

  “It was, wasn’t it? I didn’t know if he could do that.”

  “Brady’s always seemed a little unemotional and cold to me.”

  “Those who seem that way often feel deeply. Their feelings just don’t make it to the surface for others to see,” said Onyx.

  Cady spent early mornings tending to her garden. Battling slugs and snails for her salad greens. Tank had used part of the crop of apples that Mazzy found to brew a hard cider. He’d given Cady a couple of bottles. She disliked the stuff, but the slugs liked it, so she used it as bait, drowning those who dared to enter her garden. She didn’t tell Tank that though, he probably wouldn’t understand.

  The day after Brady had magical problems, Cady had harvested a batch of greens for her lunchtime salad. She felt tense and rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen them.

  For some reason, many of the villagers had been angry the previous night. Cady had gone to sleep hearing two angry rows going on at the same time. The sounds had carried to her open window.

  Sarah and Sam had been arguing about some misunderstanding. Will and Mateo had been drunk and arguing as they often did. They seemed to like to occasionally get drunk and fight about whatever they were curren
tly building.

  She had been feeling out of sorts all morning. As Cady headed back to the house, the greens in the metal bowl she carried erupted into flames. She dropped it, the metal hot on her hands. And stood there, watching the salad greens burn. How could lettuce and mustards burn? It made no sense. They were mostly water. And water didn’t burn, did it?

  Cady’s hands felt hot, her skin dry and flaky. She stared at her hands. Had she done that? Tense from the anger rolling around the village?

  Cady walked alone near the lake shore one evening. The sun had dipped below the tree line and the clouds glowed salmon, a dark gray-purple and pumpkin orange. A glorious show. The air had turned cool and she could feel the moisture on the breeze.

  The ache in her bones told her rain was coming. Water spirits danced on the surface of the lake tonight, completely unconcerned with human activity. Their lithe forms trailing a pale blue colored fog.

  It was a good thing that Beth’s house was up and enclosed, although it wasn’t finished inside. She and her children were all still staying with Sarah until the house was completed.

  The village had been working hard preparing for winter. Those who had free time had gathered fruit and dried or preserved it however they could. The same with vegetables.

  Other people had found hazelnut and Ginkgo tree nuts and harvested those. All would be shared by the entire village.

  The goats were nearly done producing milk until spring, but during the bountiful season of milk people had been busy making cheese. There was enough to last until spring.

  A few people had built a small boat and spent time out on the large lake fishing. They caught some rather large fish: trout, bass and perch. These were cooked over a fire and shared about. They also smoked some fish and dried the rest.

  The commons had the largest working refrigeration system and the bulk of perishable food had been placed there for people to share. There would be enough for everyone this winter. Cady felt grateful to live in this village, not all towns were as compassionate towards each other.

  As she walked along the shore, Cady was surprised to see fish jumping. Catching insects. She startled a large heron who took off, somehow folding its clumsy looking bulk into a graceful form as it flew off.

  She heard a deep buzzing sound and then was nearly encased by a swarm of bees. They swirled around her, landing on her arms, braided hair, shoulders and face. Cady had to stop herself from pushing them away. She felt panicked. Frightened. The feeling of them crawling all over her skin in such an invasion, was horrible.

  Breathe, she told herself.

  She was able to do that, but kept her mouth closed. The bees weren’t stinging. They were simply sitting on her. And buzzing. Her entire body vibrated from their sound.

  She held out one arm and looked at it. Completely covered with bees. They looked like honeybees. Why had they left their hive? Were they Joe’s bees? Maybe she should walk slowly to his house.

  Cady moved as slowly as possible, not wanting to crush any of them. Some of them flew off of her and then resettled, rolling with her movement. It seemed to take hours to get to Joe’s house.

  She passed Sharine in the center of the village.

  “Cady?” he asked.

  Cady nodded slowly and gently.

  “Can I help?”

  She opened her mouth and in a croaking voice, said, “Joe.”

  Sharine ran towards Joe’s house and returned with him.

  “My goodness,” said Joe. “They’ve absconded for some reason, left their home. Not my bees, but I made an empty hive for next spring. Let’s see what we can do. Can you follow me slowly?”

  Cady hadn’t stopped walking, she just continued on, following Joe. By the time she got to his house, he had a box open.

  “Sharine, can you get a light?”

  Sharine ran off, returning with a battery powered light which she shone on Cady.

  “Now, I need to find the queen,” said Joe.

  He walked around her, shining the light, until he said, “Ah there you are, lovely one.”

  Cady felt a pressure on her thigh as his fingers gently brushed her pants.

  The buzzing on her increased. She kept trying to breath calmly.

  “It’s going to be just fine,” said Joe. Whether to the bees or to her, Cady couldn’t tell.

  Not long after Joe put the queen in the hive, the other bees lifted off her and funneled inside the hive, following the queen. Cady stood silent and still, not wanting to hurt any of them who might still be on her. Joe circled around her with the light again. Then he poured some honey inside the hive and closed the lid.

  “Poor things. They must be starving. I’ll need to feed them till they can build up a comb. Not much pollen at this time of year.”

  “Can I move?” asked Cady.

  “I think they’re all inside the hive, but move slowly in case there’s still some inside your clothes.”

  Cady walked a ways away from the buzzing hive. She gently shook out her long sleeved shirt and hair. Two more bees flew off her, heading for the hive. They landed and crawled inside to join the others.

  “Good thing you kept your head. Those bees will come in useful in spring. Where did they find you?”

  “Down by the lake. Why did they all land on me?” asked Cady, her heart still pounding.

  “You’re warm? I don’t know. I’ve never seen such a thing. Heard of it happening once though, some myth. Thought it was just one of those stories people tell to entertain themselves.”

  “Are they going to be all right?” asked Sharine.

  “Maybe,” said Joe. “If they left their home at this time of year, they must have been disturbed. By some animal or maybe the hive had a disease. Sometimes, I’ve heard of bees doing that if there wasn’t enough food for them in an area and they’d used up all the food in their hive. If it’s a disease problem, they might have brought it with them. I’ll look at them in the morning when I feed them, to make sure. Don’t want them to give it to my bees.”

  Sharine asked, “Have you ever had anything like this happen to you Cady?”

  “No,” said Cady, beginning to shake. “Never. I’ve never been scared of bees before, but being covered with them was frightening.”

  “You did good,” said Joe. “Saved them probably. It’s going to rain tonight. If they hadn’t found a home and food soon, they wouldn’t have made it through the winter. Even I would have been scared covered with that many bees.”

  Cady, Joe and Sharine had moved farther away from the hives. By now a crowd of people had gathered near Joe’s house.

  Gia came up to Cady and said, “I can’t believe that happened. You told me that you could light a fire by just thinking about it. And now attracting bees .… you know, Brighid is a fire goddess who’s also associated with bees.”

  Cady looked at Gia. Was that what this was about? Had a deity caused this? Cady hadn’t seen any of them while she was down at the lake. Although that probably meant nothing. Their energy flooded the entire area surrounding the valley.

  She gave a deep sigh, her shaking had lessened somewhat. A bee buzzed angrily and flew out of her shirt pocket, hopefully going to the hive where its family was.

  “That was far more excitement than I wanted for tonight. I was just going for a walk, minding my own business,” said Cady.

  Gia laughed.

  “Magic does seem to come to us at the most inconvenient times, doesn’t it?”

  “Did you get stung?” asked Joe.

  “No, I don’t think I did. It was just the feeling of all of them crawling on me. All those tiny feet. And the threat of being stung if I did the wrong thing.”

  “You’re going to be all right,” said Joe, patting her on the shoulder.

  Cady took another deep breath and said, “I think I’m done for tonight. I’m going home and putting myself to bed.”

  She walked off into the darkness towards her house. She should have brought a light. Well, she’d go slow, whi
ch was about the only way Cady did anything these days.

  She only stumbled once. Tripped over a tree root, but managed to right herself without falling. The woods looked so different at night. She was able to hear the small stream and after a time, find her little bridge.

  Then something furry wound itself around her feet and mrowed. Monster. He kept talking to her, scolding her for being gone so long.

  “I know, I know. I couldn’t help it. Good thing you weren’t there. You probably would have tried to eat the bees. That would have gotten both of us stung.” She reached down and petted the soft fur along his back.

  When she got to her front door, she could see the lake down below. It glowed with all the activity from spirits. Maybe the magic was more active at night. She should limit her walks to the daylight.

  Whose thoughts were those? When had she become so old and afraid? Playing it safe all the time. That wasn’t how she used to live her life.

  Tomorrow, instead of working in the garden, she should do some inner work in the morning. Journey and see what her guides had to tell her about all this. Try to make some sense of it all.

  As Cady stood watching the lake, rain began to fall. Cool water splatted on her skin. Monster meowed again and she opened the door, letting him inside.

  She stood in the darkness and let herself feel the balm of the heavy sprinkles soaking through her clothes, cooling her skin and removing the disconcerting tingling she’d felt ever since the bees landed on her.

  By the time Cady went inside, her clothes were drenched all the way to her skin. She felt no closer to having answers about much of anything.

  4

  Damon

  It was just past dawn and Damon stood in the misty rain on the edge of the village. In front of him were five guards, all armed as heavily as they could be and still able to move quickly. There was a tension in the air. An excitement. They were ready to get on their way.

  “You’ve got the map with the route Jack decided to take. Remember if you are outnumbered, come back and get more people. Don’t take on too much yourselves. We don’t want to lose you as well. Watch out for traps and ambushes. We don’t know if they’re still alive, dead, lost or continuing to hunt for animals to bring back. I want you to report back in five days regardless of whether you’ve found anything or not. We need to keep tabs on our people.”