Touch of Shadow

by April Aasheim

  He looked at his watch, then smoothed his hair. “It doesn’t sit right with me to leave this alone, but maybe it’s not our business. Mr. Bites has proven he can at least keep them out of the house.”

  “This isn’t my idea of fun, either, but we’re in too deep.”

  Alex scrutinized me with sleepy eyes “I suppose, between the changelings and Gus…”

  “Yes, I’m still trying to figure out how he fits into this.”

  “Here’s how I fit into this.” A gruff voice said from directly behind me.

  I felt three sharp points nudging me in the back.

  “Don’t turn around,” Gus said. “If you make so much as a peep, you’ll regret it.”

  Twenty-Five

  We were marched through the graveyard at the points of Gus’s pitchfork. “Hurry now!” he prodded. “I got my eyes on you.”

  I considered protesting, but the pitchfork was pressed tight against my back. In a move of shocking agility and speed, Alex leapt into the air, his arms wide as he roundhouse kicked the tool from Gus’s hand. The old man blinked as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Before he could recover, Alex grabbed the man’s hands and held them behind his back.

  “Still think my Dominant Crane Dance is silly?” Alex asked me as Gus wrestled to get free.

  “Still silly, but quite useful,” I agreed. I stood eye-to-eye with Gus. “What are you doing out here?” I demanded.

  “What do you mean what am I doing? Ain’t it obvious? If you don’t let me go, those things will be all over the place.”

  “You’re trying to stop them?” I asked.

  “What else would I be doing with them? Having them over for high tea?” Gus coughed so hard I was worried about him. Reluctantly, my brother released him. With his hands free, he adjusted his floppy golf hat. “I’d be making better progress if you people didn’t keep getting in my way.”

  “So you’re not their master?” Alex asked, dubiously.

  Gus’s laugh morphed into another coughing fit. “Master? Now I’ve heard everything. I don’t even know what the hell those things are.”

  I pressed my lips together, reluctant to tell him what I knew. After all, it was all so preposterous! “Gus, those things are called changelings. They are old Faery folk, looking for newborn human hosts to trade bodies with. I know it sounds ridiculous but- “

  “Changelings! Of course! I should have guessed! That’s why they hate iron so much! But where did they come from? There’s never been changeling sightings in Reed Hollow, as far as I know.”

  I was both surprised and relieved by the man’s easy acceptance of the creatures.

  “I’ve been trapping them in this cemetery for the last week or so,” he continued. “Luring them in, then locking them up. I’m not so young anymore and the herding isn’t easy. That’s why I was so upset when you let that last one go! Took me darn near an hour to get it rounded up.”

  “And once you have them in here…they just wither away?”

  “After a while. They suck on the stones for a bit, like its food, and dig around looking for treasures. But eventually they just starve. That’s the best I can describe it. They just disappear.”

  “Yes, I suppose a cemetery wouldn’t have much life energy to draw from,” I said offhandedly.

  I shivered at the thought of a changeling sucking the remaining life force from my mother’s gravestone.

  Gus reached into his pocket and produced a pack of cigarettes. He offered us one, which we declined, then lit one for himself. He drew in a long breath, releasing three puffs of gray smoke that spiraled as they ascended.

  “I first spotted them little monstrosities two weeks ago. I was doing some midnight gardening. Not many people know this, but plants tended under the moon always grow better.” He nodded towards the pitchfork. “I was harvesting my tomatoes when I spotted two of those things digging up my squash. I chased after, thinking they were ugly rabbits. Then I saw their faces, and I knew they weren’t nothing of the sort.

  “Seen them all over since, and not just in my garden. I noticed they seem to be attracted to the Senior Center, so I tried to warn Garett. But he acted like I was crazy, so I gave up. I don’t need to give him any more leverage in the election.

  “I’ve been keeping tabs and taking notes. Got rid of a handful of the buggers already. They’re thieves and hoarders, stealing anything not tied down, then they hide the crap like they’re saving it for winter. If you dig up their stuff, they’ll go hunting for it again, not stopping until they return it to where they had it. Most I can figure, they’re storing it for later use. Funny thing though, they won’t run off with the vegetables.”

  Gus paused to finish his cigarette. “Garett wants to paint me as crazy, but I’ve seen him out looking for them, too. Him and some redhead. My guess is he wants to clean them up quietly.”

  “Why exactly do you want to be mayor?” Alex asked, keeping one eye on the pitchfork, still lying on the ground. “You’ve been running against Elmer for decades.”

  “The same reason he did, I suppose – because I love this town. But unlike Elmer, I don’t have a young wife I’ve got to keep happy. I suspect something fishy was going on these last few years. His extravagance seemed to outweigh his government paycheck.”

  “Garett’s not any better,” Gus continued, stamping out his cigarette. “In fact, he might be a whole lot worse. He’ll smile to your face, but he doesn’t give a damn about Reed Hollow. He’s got big plans for himself at the expense of everyone else. Mark my words.”

  Gus wiped his hands together. “I better get back to work. You mind if I take my pitchfork back now?”

  Alex nodded warily.

  “And we’re coming with you,” I said. I didn’t entirely trust him, but it seemed he was our best chance at figuring all this out.

  Gus grunted, producing a flashlight from his pocket, and a handful of batteries. “The little bastards drain everything.”

  We left the cemetery, this time latching the gate behind us. Gus led us down a faint path, and soon we arrived at a large garden plot in a wide clearing. I realized we weren’t far from the Senior Center.

  “This land is mine,” Gus said. “So far, the changelings have only ruined my garden, but it’s only a matter of time before they get into my house.”

  He gave us a tour of his ransacked garden. The vegetables had mostly been picked, then discarded amid hastily dug holes. He began collecting strewn tomatoes, tossing them in a basket.

  “Is that yours?” I asked Gus, spotting a leather glove half-buried in the dirt. I recognized it, since its mate was included in the bag of clothes that was dropped off at the antique shop a few days ago.

  “Never seen it before,” Gus said. “Maybe it’s one of the treasures they collected.”

  I picked up the glove before my brother could advise me against it. It wasn’t a jolt that followed, more like a jitter:

  “Jesus, Rachel, it’s not here, either.” Garett said.

  “We had to look. You don’t see those creatures eating tomatoes, do you? Audrey’s your girlfriend. You should know better than I do where to look.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend. She’s just a girl… who is a friend…”

  “That you seduced and knocked up.”

  “She knew we were just having fun.” Garett kicked a rock, hard. “If you hadn’t…” his finger quivered as he pointed it, inches from her nose.

  Rachel shed the lone glove she was wearing, dropping it to the ground. “If I hadn’t what, Garett? I was trying to help her. It’s not my fault she can’t pick a man with working parts. And in my defense, Audrey wasn’t exactly forthcoming about your involvement.”

  “But you felt comfortable giving her that seed, didn’t you, when you thought she was still with Elmer. Maybe I should be grateful.”

  Rachel’s face reddened to the color of her hair. “Audrey never loved Elmer. The man was twice her age and used her for her youth and beauty, the way she used him fo
r his money and status.”

  Garett clicked his tongue. “Is that how you’re justifying it? The first rule of magick is that you don’t take gifts from one-eyed witches you’ve never met before. Second rule, you don’t pass those gifts off to your friends.”

  “I didn’t know you were such an astute student of Ella’s. Too bad she didn’t teach you anything we can actually use right now. Let’s just find the Faery seed.”

  “Then we can put all this behind us.”

  “You can,” Rachel said forlornly. “But my baby will always have the Fae mark, and will always be hunted. I don’t want Audrey’s baby to suffer the same fate.”

  The image faded. Fae Mark? Faery seed?

  “Gus,” I said. “Do you have a car?”

  Twenty-Six

  (Alex)

  Alex watched Baylee and Gus drive away in an old Cadillac. He didn’t like letting her go, but he knew she was right – if they were spread out, they could cover more ground.

  But why they needed to find this seed was anyone’s guess. Even separated, they were on a fool’s errand. Rachel and Garett had been looking for weeks, and they at least knew what they were looking for!

  Alex set off by himself, dragging Gus’s pitchfork behind him. It was an irritating sound, and would either attract the changelings or drive them away. If it was the former, he’d be ready.

  “Oh, Elmer.” He walked passed the Senior Center. Audrey may not be directly responsible for his death, but she certainly contributed. The mayor had to suspect his wife’s infidelity, especially after finding her on a dating site. Whether or not he suspected Garett was another story.

  And after all that, with his heart weak and possibly broken, Elmer had been confronted by a changeling. No wonder he had a heart attack. Did the creature steal his last few breaths, as the book suggested? It was a terrible thought, and Alex shut down the image that was trying to play out in his mind: His friend, lying beside his computer desk, his life essence being siphoned away by a hideous little creature.

  Alex heard a crack of thunder, followed by a flash of turquoise light on the horizon. The trees rustled in response. I’d better get moving. There might be a storm coming.

  He thought more of Elmer as walked.

  “I love the woods,” Elmer would say with a smile, his hand on Alex’s shoulder as they walked. “We need to preserve it for future generations.”

  Had his dedication to Reed Hollow been a lie? Gus seemed to imply it.

  Alex allowed his mind to wander further, remembering a particular walk on a rainy morning:

  “

  I fell in love the first time I saw Audrey,” Elmer said as they approached a creek. “I found her out in the forest alone, one early morning, sitting within these strange stone circles. She was so beautiful – an angel on earth. Her hair was loose and her chin was raised up. I was sure heaven had sent her, just for me. You know… it had been a few years since my marriage… and she was younger… but it all seemed like fate.”

  Alex paused, realizing he was heading for that same stream. His brain tickled. There was more. The memory didn’t come on its own, so Alex quickened his pace, hoping to jar it lose:

  “I asked her what she was doing out in the middle of nowhere,” Elmer said. “She smiled and told me she was giving thanks to the sun for another beautiful day. She told me she could handle herself. Her face lit up as she spoke.”

  At the time, Alex had smiled. It seemed like a wonderful love story. But now that he knew the ending, it only angered him. He lowered his head and proceeded on, nearing the stream.

  “I visited her every day, after that,” Elmer continued. “We became friends. She was such a free spirit, Alex. I wish you could have known her then.”

  Elmer had sighed and removed his hat, looking into it like a collection plate he didn’t have a quarter for. “Maybe I spoiled her. After a few months of marriage, she stopped going to her nature retreat and started hitting the stores.”

  He put his hat back on, his brows and mouth turning down together. “She grew unhappy so quickly. Alex, I gave her everything I could… spent every dime I had. She had it all, except…”

  A baby.

  But Garett had taken care of that.

  The lightning cracked again, only now Alex realized it wasn’t lightning. He also knew the rustling in the trees wasn’t from the wind.

  Gripping the pitchfork firmly, he ran ahead towards the stream.

  Pulling out his phone, he texted Baylee as he ran: I know where the seed is buried!

  Twenty-Seven

  (Baylee)

  Pick up the phone, Dave!

  I frantically punched cellphone buttons as Gus rocketed down the road. We were headed towards The Whispering Pines, which had been around since before my parents. I was surprised that Rachel would stay at such a dated and desolate property, given her outwardly expensive tastes.

  Pick up! Pick up!

  We pulled into the vacant parking lot. Only one street lamp was on, casting a tight circle of light on the bare pavement. Otherwise, the entire property was dark. There wasn’t even a neon sign announcing a vacancy. I looked down the long gloomy line of rooms that faced the parking lot, unable to read any room numbers.

  “You sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Gus offered, pulling up beneath the street lamp. “I got a pickaxe in the trunk.”

  “No, please just stay here and keep the car running. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  I got out and headed for the walkway, passing a small plastic sign stuck in the ground that read: G.R. Enterprises. Garett Reid. I had seen several of these signs around town the last few months, at ramshackle gas stations and in empty parking lots. But only now was I putting it together. Was this the lucrative business Ella thought her stepson was involved in? And was it a coincidence that Garett owned the property where Rachel was staying?

  I rushed passed several rooms, noting that while the paint on the doors was chipped and old, the knobs were brand new and… black iron.

  I kept moving, searching for #13. When I passed by another room, a light came on in the window behind me. Room #6. Another light came on ahead of me: Room #7. Then they all lit up: #8, #9, #10…

  I ran now, trying to outpace them. #11… #12…

  Miniature shadows appeared in the windows, moving behind the curtains.

  I stopped abruptly at Room #13.

  I beat on the door once, then tried the knob without being invited in. It opened easily. Dave stood with his back to me, looking into another room. He turned, startled to see me, then smiled broadly.

  I was overcome with relief, perhaps because of Garett’s cryptic words about something terrible happening to Rachel’s husband. I closed the door behind me and ran to him, hugging him as if we hadn’t seen each other in years.

  “What was that for?” he asked, grinning as he quietly closed the door to the adjoining room.

  “I’m just glad to see you.”

  “I’m happy you came by. I still haven’t heard from Rachel.” He sat down in a leather chair beside a writing desk. Despite the motel’s dilapidated outward appearance, this room, at least, was spacious, well-furnished, and surprisingly clean. “I just put the little guy down for the third time tonight. He’s missing his mama.”

  I spotted the iron keys on a side table. “Other than missing Rachel, is he doing okay?”

  “Little P’s perfect. I’m the one that’s a wreck.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “This is embarrassing, but I found her online dating profile.”

  “Oh that!” I said, relieved. “Don’t you have one too?” I blushed, knowing that I’d just confessed to seeing it.

  “I deleted mine.”

  “Can I take a look at her baby?” I asked.

  “Why? What’s going on?” He lifted a baby monitor, revealing a grainy image of Little P, sleeping curled up on his side in a blanketed crib. Everything appeared fine.

  I breathed out a sigh.


  “Baylee, you’re scaring me. Are you going to tell me why you’re here? I suspect it’s for something other than watching bad cable TV with me.”

  I sat down on the corner of the bed, facing him. How did I begin? Tell him that his ex-wife had made some terrible deal to get pregnant? And that she was trying to stop Audrey from doing the same thing. “We’ve known each other our whole lives, right?”

  “Yes,” he answered, “give or take the last few years.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  It was a question I hesitated to ask, and rightly so. I saw doubt flicker in his eyes. We had been engaged, and I had left him for another man. How could I dare ask for trust, after such a betrayal?

  “Yes, Baylee, I trust you,” he said, sincerely.

  “Where was Rachel before she came back to Reed Hollow?”

  “Scotland. She wanted to spend time with some distant relations and find her roots. She almost got married, but that obviously didn’t go through.”

  Are you sure?

  So, Rachel Morgan had returned to her ancestral home in Scotland. It must have been there that she made the deal. Had she really bartered with a one-eyed witch, as Garett suggested, or was that just a jab? The pregnancy obviously took – was the price now coming due?

  “Dave, from what I can piece together, Rachel met someone with… abilities. She was given a seed that she believed would help her get pregnant. But I think she was tricked. Once the seed bloomed, she began to attract… things… things that are after her child.”

  “Things?” Dave squeezed one eye shut, then the other. He stood up and I stood, too. “What the hell?”

  “They are changelings, actually. Stay with me, please.” I told him what little I knew about the ancient Fae creatures. “I believe they go after all infants, but baby’s propagated with the help of this seed are extra-shiny to them, marked, if you will.”