The Changeling's Source (Evedon Legacy Book 1)

by Sarah Lynn Gardner

  Asher joined me, and I handed the paper to him.

  He whistled. “That’s not a cheap home.”

  “Mom and Dad were both well-to-do doctors.” I shrugged, feeling a little awkward. I didn’t know what Asher’s parents did, but I knew they weren’t well off.

  Jack was getting out of the car, but he was on the phone, talking to Lydia. He waved at us to keep going.

  Asher held out his arm. Slipping my hand through the crook of his elbow, we began the steep trek up the drive. The midday sun glowed in the orange and red leaves. Squirrels scurried up and down tree trunks.

  The natural setting caused positive source to swell inside me. No wonder I’d been so happy during the time we lived here.

  I kind of felt like I was bringing Asher to meet my dad. His presence felt so close.

  “This is beautiful,” Asher said.

  There were no cars parked up top. The house looked abandoned.

  The basketball hoop was gone. We had played countless games as a family. Sometimes I was on Dad’s teams, other times with either Mom or Holden. Then, there were the times all three of us played against Dad.

  All the old trees, now taller and older, still surrounded the house, enclosing it with their strong protective branches.

  “Ignore me for a few minutes,” Asher whispered in my ear. His breath tickled, sending pleasure chills through me, and I smiled as I ducked away from him.

  Asher stepped back and took out his phone. As he opened the camera on it, I decided to do my best to follow his suggestion. Ignore him.

  Enjoy being here, feeling Dad close.

  I placed a hand on the trunk of a tree that Dad had hung a swing from. Closing my eyes, I felt like it remembered me. A flashback of Dad pushing me on the swing overtook my internal vision. I could hear his voice.

  “Look at Tara flying.”

  My laughter filled the air.

  Next, I walked onto the front porch, which was long and ran the length of the house. When I rang the bell, no one answered. The door was locked as it should be. It felt weird not being able to walk straight inside.

  I returned down the sidewalk toward Asher, who held up his phone to take my picture. Holding out my arms, I indicated the house. “Well, this is it.”

  He snapped a picture and looked at me with a huge grin. “It’s lovely.”

  “Yeah. My mom was insane to move.” I walked to the side yard to where the edge of the hill looked over the forest behind it.

  One summer, Dad and I had voyaged through the expanse, searching for deer, raccoons, and other creatures. The way the sun glowed in the leaves and the sound of the birds chirping rushed back to me.

  Nothing about this place had ever been an escape. It had all been real. The years Mom, Dad, Holden, and I lived here had felt like Christmas morning every day where the gifts I received were my family.

  I looked over my shoulder in time for Asher to photograph a tear slipping down my cheek. “You should erase that one.”

  Asher captured my tear on his finger. “Are you all right?”

  October sunlight resonated in his eyes, pulling blue to the forefront of the green.

  “I’m perfect.” My cheeks warmed, and I looked away. “This is the first time I’ve been back. I always thought I was the luckiest girl in the world because I got to live on top of it.”

  I stepped around him and headed down the back hill through the woods.

  Leaves crackled under my feet, and I stooped to push them into a pile.

  Every autumn, Holden and I used to rake a huge pile of leaves at the bottom of the hill, where we could run and leap into a dry, poky world.

  Holden’s shout filled my ears. “Blast off.”

  Slipping his phone into his pocket, Asher caught up. Stooping, he scooped up leaves and tossed them on my head.

  “Hey!” I laughed and grabbed my own pile to throw straight at him.

  Asher’s deeper chuckles echoed my higher-pitched giggles as we chased each other around. I kept tripping on my dress, which enabled him to get the better advantage of me.

  He caught me in the crook of his arm, his hand gripping my waist, so that I came up face to face with him, our bodies colliding. The nearness made me breathless.

  “Hold still for a minute,” he whispered.

  Pulling out his phone, he held it up behind me.

  “What are you doing?” I tried to look.

  “No peeking.” He held me more firmly.

  A guitar cover of Don’t Stop Believing streamed from his phone—Dad’s favorite song. Chills raced through me. There was no way Asher would know that. A burning sensation filled my body as my heart pounded, and I felt like I was part way between earth and heaven.

  Asher took my hand. Setting the phone in his pocket, he straightened, placing a hand on my waist. “Shall we dance?” he whispered.

  I nodded.

  Keeping an inch between us, Asher led me around in a slow circle. Dad’s voice, floating to me from a past memory, sang the words as the guitar played.

  I held Asher’s gaze, awestruck, wondering how I was even here with Asher Scoville and almost convinced Dad was watching. That he was happy for me.

  “You’re glowing,” Asher whispered.

  I smiled. This would have been the perfect moment for that kiss he wanted. But it didn’t happen. Asher didn’t even tease me for it.

  The song ended. Asher spun me around once.

  “Time for lunch!” Jack shouted from the porch. His call brought me down from heaven and back to earth. ”Mom wants to know if you already have plans?”

  I looked at Asher. Our original had been to get pictures quick then go on a date. That hadn’t happened.

  “What do you want to do?”

  “She’s not going to take no for an answer, I should add.”

  Asher smiled. “There’s our answer.”

  I had barely stepped into the Spalding’s home when Jack’s sister Rosalind was in front of me.

  “Look at you!” Rosalind squealed.

  Next second, I was overwhelmed by her hug, then she held me at arm’s length. Her hair was darker than the auburn I remembered, but it was still down to her waist. Holden had loved her long hair.

  “It’s hard to believe you’re the little girl I used to babysit.” She looked accusatively at Jack as he entered the house behind me. “Someone never mentioned you two were hanging out again.”

  “You just don’t listen very well,” Jack said.

  Asher entered the home next.

  “And who…” Her voice trailed.

  “Hi, Ross,” Asher said, using her nickname.

  “Sculley?”

  Jack purposely bumped her.

  Her eyes narrowed as her gaze flitted between Jack and me.

  Mrs. Spalding hurried down the stairs. She was still as plump as she used to be, but had silver streaks through her chestnut locks.“Tara-bear, it’s so good to see you.”

  Hearing my old nickname, I smiled.

  She reached out her arm around my shoulders. “Look at how beautiful you’ve grown.”

  I stepped into her hug, relishing how stereotypical “mom” she was.

  Smiling, she patted my hair in the release, then she looked at Asher. “Asher, dear. I don’t remember you being this tall. Did you grow another foot?”

  “Huh?” With a smirk, Asher looked at his feet. “I hope not.”

  With how serious the day had been, his response was doubly comical. I peeled out in laughter, along with the others. Asher pulled me into a side hug.

  “I’d forgotten, you used to be funny,” Jack said.

  After lunch, while I visited with Rosalind, Asher disappeared upstairs to play a video game with Jack.

  It surprised me how easily Rosalind pulled from me the history of my last six years. I kept trying to ask if she kept in touch with Holden, but she was such a quick talker, I never got a question in.

  She told me my dress was beautiful, and I mentioned only having two. Without
explanation, her eyes grew with excitement, and she disappeared, returning a minute later with a tub full of dresses.

  It was a flashback from the past when Rosalind and her sister Jill would pass on the mountains of clothes they no longer needed to Lydia and me.

  “Oh, thank you, Rosalind.” But I didn’t need all of these. “Could I share them with Lydia?”

  Rosalind lit up again, and she leaned to look at the clock on the microwave. “She’s probably home now. You could head over, and I’ll let the boys know.”

  Mrs. Spalding drove me over to Lydia’s. Until we were sure someone was home, Mrs. Spalding waited as I approached the door and rang the bell.

  Anxiety twisted in my stomach, making dark source trickle through me. Should I say anything about the miscarriage? Let her bring it up? Even when we were little, Lydia and I hadn’t spent a lot of time together, the two of us alone. We always had Jack, or our other friend, Benny, with us.

  I wondered where Benny was. He’d moved away not long after I had.

  Lydia opened the door, looking at me with a confused smile. Her gaze immediately searched around me. “Where are the boys?”

  “Gaming.” I grinned. “Rosalind was trying to get rid of some dresses. Want to go through them with me?”

  Lydia’s grin widened. “I’d forgotten how fun it was to have you nearby. Come in.”

  Thirty minutes later, we’d divied up the tub of dresses. She didn’t seem inclined to bring up her and Jack, so I didn’t either. Instead, Lydia was telling me all about how Benny now travelled Europe with his parents. Both he and his parents had created viral videologs about their adventures.

  “I can’t believe you haven’t seen these.” Lydia pulled out her tablet and brought up her online video account.

  Sitting next to her, I leaned closer to watch Benny giving a mountain bike guided tour of a forest in Switzerland. His natural humor and gimmicky mishaps had us laughing.

  “Have you kept in contact?” I asked.

  “Oh, no. It’s been years since we’ve talked.”

  “You should message him!” I said. “I’m sure he’d love hearing from you.”

  “We were ten,” Lydia said. “I’m sure he’s—”

  I stole the tablet from her.

  “—forgotten about me. What are you doing?”

  “We’re writing him a comment together. Obviously.” I scrolled to the comment section of his most recent video and began writing, “Lydia and Tara say hello! Message us. XOXO”

  “Uh—that’s my account you’re using.”

  Grinning at her, I tapped the send button. “I know. You’re welcome when he emails you.”

  The doorbell rang downstairs.

  “That’s my cue.” Jumping up, I grabbed my smaller pile of dresses. “This was nice,” I said to her.

  “Oh my—he already commented back.” Lydia squealed. “Says he’s going to email us.”

  I laughed. “Have fun.” I headed toward the door, hoping I was leaving her to an hour long texting conversation that wasn’t arguing with Jack.

  “But he wants to email both of us.” Lydia looked up. “Not just me.”

  “Lydia, what does it matter? Go on, be your bold self. And make sure he knows it’s just you. That I had to leave.”

  “But he’s famous now.”

  I rolled my eyes. “So maybe he’ll fly you out to Germany to join him for his next video. I’ll talk to you at school tomorrow.”

  “That would be amazing.” Waving me off, she lay on her pillow, attention now glued to her tablet.

  23. Changeling

  Asher dropped me off at home. Inside, it was quiet for Sunday afternoon. Seeing Daniel at his laptop, I stopped in his office. “Where’s everyone?” I asked.

  “Mom took Nathaniel and Oops to Chicago to check on Gran.”

  I sat in the extra chair across from him. “She usually tells me when she’s going.” For years, Mom quarterly visited my grandma. It still struck me as odd, since the feeling between them hadn’t been positive. Mom claimed it was to ensure the money she sent my aunt for Gran’s nursing home was being used correctly.

  “It was last minute,” Daniel said, “and you had plans.” He took off his glasses and set them on the desk, giving me a serious look. “Tara, what happened today? You were gone a lot longer than you said you’d be.”

  I squirmed under his gaze. “This is when I usually get up and leave.”

  “But you aren’t going to this time.” He hid a smile while putting on his glasses, then resumed his fatherly glare of disapproval.

  With a sigh, I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I know I should have messaged, but with what happened, I guess I was too distracted.” I paused, then told him about running into Price and Emma’s at Jack’s.

  “You’ve had your own trauma this year, Tara. I don’t know how wise it is for you to spend so much time with someone else who has.”

  “But maybe that’s why we need each other,” I said.

  “I thought you’d say something like that.” Daniel sat back, folding his hands in front of his mouth in thought. He leaned forward. “And what happens when something goes wrong and your friendship fails? What happens if he abruptly changes his mind? What then?”

  “He won’t.” My anxiety turned into irritation. I wanted to go back to the old Tara and storm out of the room without listening to a word he said. I forced myself to sit still and take a deep breath. He had my best interest in mind, and I wanted to change.

  Daniel closed his eyes, muttering to himself.

  “What are you doing?” I whispered.

  “Talking to your dad.”

  “Really?” I leaned closer. Was there a chance Dad was in the room?

  “When you’re driving me crazy,” Daniel looked at me, “which you are right now, I often have hypothetical conversations with your father, asking him how he would respond to you.”

  Tears burned in my eyes. “Oh.” How had I ended up with such an amazing stepfather?

  “Okay,” Daniel said, “A few things, and then I’ll leave you alone for now.”

  “More rules?”

  “Not rules. Suggestions. First, don’t base your happiness on Asher. Keep your friendship with Jack. Create others. And maybe, this is my second thought, though I can tell you want to, don’t pair off with Asher yet.”

  “Uh…”

  “You’re only sixteen. Barely into your junior year. That leaves you with quite a bit of time still before you become independent adults. If you do pair off, don’t spend too much time alone. Trade off time with your family and friends. ”

  I nodded slowly. “We kind of did that today.”

  “Yes, but be conscious about it. Not reactive.”

  “I’ll think about it.” I stood to leave.

  “And don’t sleep with him.” He threw that one in like it was awkward for him to even bring up. “Sex shouldn’t be about personal gratification. It’s an expression of love and commitment. ”

  My cheeks heated up. We hadn’t even kissed yet. I lifted my brows, tempted to make it even more awkward, or even bite back with a comment about how he was one to talk, but I really appreciated this conversation. “Not planning on it. Pretty sure his mom has a rule for that one, too.”

  As I reached the door, Daniel spoke up again, “I was serious about that first suggestion, Tara.”

  “What was it again?” I really couldn’t remember. My thoughts were fixated on not wanting to date anyone other than Asher, while also feeling squeamish about the thought of having sex with him.

  He smiled. “Don’t base your happiness on your relationship with Asher. It could end, but you have to keep living. There will be plenty of happy memories to create for yourself tomorrow.”

  I thought of Dad dying, devastating Mom’s world. My world. Holden’s, too. Holden had done a better job living than Mom and I had. I knew he treasured his memory of Dad, thinking far more highly of him than his own, but he’d stayed golden to my darkness.

&nbs
p; “I’ll write that on a paper and put it on my wall,” I said.

  Daniel smiled crookedly. “Are you decorating your wall again?”

  “Maybe.” It used to be a huge collage of pictures and phrases that I’d collected over the years. “Can I help with dinner?” I asked on a whim.

  “That sounds wonderful.”

  “I need to make sure I spend time with family before I ask if I can go over to Asher’s.” I smiled cheekily at him, and he laughed.

  “You’re pushing your limits.”

  “I’m pretty good at that.”

  Wearing my backpack stuffed with a blanket and a bag of Daniel’s cookies, I stood on the grass curb assessing whether or not I wanted to face the jungle blocking me from Asher’s backyard. Ugh. Not quite as easy as walking straight into his backyard. At least, I couldn’t see the way in. Maybe there was a hidden path.

  One street over, the way was clear, so I backtracked to cut across a patch of common ground and onto the street.

  Now, my dilemma was whether I should cut through someone’s side yard or walk all the way around. I decided on the walk, since I was feeling apprehensive about showing up to Asher’s unannounced. I knew he would be home because we’d mentioned the possibility of him coming to work on our project.

  I’d come up with a different plan that I wanted to surprise him with, since I’d derailed our lunch by going to Jack’s, and I wanted to make up for it. But I worried his parents would say no. We’d already spent more time together than planned.

  The extra five minutes it took to hike down one street and back up his was refreshing. Positive source from the natural setting balanced the dark from my anxiety.

  I climbed the cement steps to the pad landing and hesitated. Maybe I should stick to being lit partners where it was safe.

  Taking a deep breath, I walked up the wooden steps and rang the doorbell, then paced, waiting for him or worse, his mom to answer.

  Instead, the changeling police officer I’d run into at school answered. My eyes widened. Was he a friend of Asher’s brother, William?

  This time, instead of a dark blue uniform, he was clad in a Chicago Bulls sweater and Levis.

  He smiled. “You must be Tara.”

  If he was a friend, then how does he know my name?