Rising Moon (The Rune Stone Trilogy) (15 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

             
They followed Terra’s jeep out of downtown, climbing the steep hill rising away from the lake. They hadn’t gone far when the road made a gentle curve, and a few cabins were barely visible through the trees. She pulled into a driveway lined with a log wall that protected it from the steep incline of the lawn. A long wooden stairway led from the driveway up to the front door. Built as a sprawling rambler, the house had dark wood siding and a bright red front door. An addition at some point gave the house an ample living space.

             
Terra led them into a tiny entryway that opened to the living room. The furniture arranged around a large stone fireplace had a hand crafted look. The couch had overstuffed cushions and the two chairs on either side of the fireplace had worn leather seats and backs. A leaf quilt and fuzzy yarn throws softened all the wood in the room.

             
Terra walked them around to the right, into the dining room. It was a long narrow room that held a table large enough to be a picnic table. A swinging door off the dining room led to the kitchen and to an outside door that opened onto a deck.
"
Terra, this is a nice home.
"
Unlike the house Terra had on the island, this home was full of personality. Frames cluttered the bookshelves, books were neatly stacked everywhere they would fit, and bits and pieces of Terra’s life was evident everywhere. Aylin approved.
"
It looks like it belongs in the middle of the woods.
"

             
"
Before my family moved here my grandfather used this as a cabin. My dad and uncle lived here after college. Once dad got married he built a new house, using this for guests that came from out of town. When he died he had left it to me.
"
Terra shrugged.
"
It made Blake pretty mad, until he bought his own home. My dad and grandpa made all the furniture.
"

             
She led them back through the living room toward the hallway, and pointed out the two guest bedrooms. The first one’s door practically opened into the living room, and the second was on the other side of the bathroom. Terra’s room was at the very end of the hall. Aylin let El have the one with the larger closet. Her bedroom was large enough for a queen-sized bed, dresser with a mirror, and a chair in the corner. There was a small nightstand beside the bed and a closet in the opposite corner of the chair. The bed had a colorful quilt spread out and a down blanket folded on the end.
"
It can get pretty chilly at night here,
"
Terra said when Aylin ran her hand over the blanket.

             
"
So, we’re going to have to share a bathroom?
"
El called from the hallway.

             
Terra raised an eyebrow at Aylin.
"
Sorry, it’s not very big.
"

             
"
Don’t listen to her. I think it’s perfect Terra. I just love the handmade furniture.
"
She gestured to the four-post bed, each post was a small glossy log.

             
"
Is there food in that kitchen?
"
El asked from the doorway.

             
"
A little.
"
Terra flushed.

             
"
I’ll see what I can do for supper,
"
El said.
"
I’m no miracle worker, but I’m sure I can make something edible.
"
She winked at Terra, who glared at her.

             
"
Good, then Terra can tell us everything that has been going on.
"
Aylin stepped between them before Terra could protest.
"
For now, I’ll teach you how to protect your home.
"
She led Terra outside.
"
I’m sorry, I should have shown you this before you left, but I had no idea they’d come out so quickly.
"
Aylin touched Terra’s shoulder.

             
"
That’s okay.
"
Terra shrugged.
"
You’re here now.
"

             
"
Right. Well, let’s take a short walk into the woods.
"
She led her out to the backyard and into the woods. As Terra watched, Aylin directed her focus at the ground. After a few minutes she stopped and bent down.
"
Here we are.
"
She picked up two twigs.
"
Just need…
"
Her head whirled around until she spotted another twig a few paces to her left. She snatched it up and pulled out a small strand of bright red ribbon from the pocket of her jeans.

             
"
There are certain types of trees that we favor. Three of them are in your backyard: oak, ash, and elder. Take a twig from each, from the ground, never break it off the tree, bundle it together with red ribbon and bury these bundles around the perimeter of your property. Anyone that is unwelcome to you won’t be able to cross this line.
"
She reached in her pocket and handed Terra several short strands of the ribbon.
"
The more bundles you have the better.
"

             
"
So no witch could come here?
"
Terra asked.

             
"
Well, not necessarily. We’ve been fighting against only one coven of witches. There are other covens in the world that are good, and they are harmless to us. So it’s not a protection to all witches, no. It works against humans too, you know. Anyone that you don’t feel is welcome, and now that El and I are here it would be if we thought they weren’t welcome either. The protection will feed off of our combined emotions. It can sense if we feel we are in danger.
"

             
Terra’s yard was rather large, so they buried five bundles on each side of the property. Once done Terra could immediately feel the cloak of protectiveness stretching over them like a large invisible dome. She felt safe.

             
"
That’s perfect. Plus, in a week or two some thorn bushes will appear around the property also. It’s a sign that this house is of the fae, and only the welcome may cross onto it.
"
Aylin surveyed the yard.

             
"
Like at your home? I noticed it the first time walked through your entrance. It felt like it was finding out if I were a threat or not,
"
Terra said, the memory very clear of her breath quickly leaving her.

             
"
Yes.
"

             
"
Aylin, I’ve lived her for a few years now. Why haven’t they grown yet?
"
Terra frowned, looking around the perimeter.

             
"
It all comes down to acceptance. For the first few years that you were a faerie, and didn’t know it, it meant that you were confused and unfocused. Now that you are more aware and gaining power things will fall into place.
"
Aylin said.

             
Terra chewed on her lip for a few moments.
"
I still have a lot to learn.
"

             
"
In time Terra.
"
Aylin put a hand on top of Terra’s.
"
I promise to teach you every little trick and spell I know.
"

             
El couldn’t find anything worth making into a meal, so Terra was sent to the Blue Sister’s Diner to pick up dinner. She returned with salads, broiled chicken, and potatoes. Once they were all fed and leaning back against their chairs, they began questioning Terra.

             
There had been quite a bit of unusual happenings in town. There were hikers that would come into town and ask the locals about strange rock formations that could be seen from some of the trails that went deep into the woods that hadn’t been there before. Another hiker reported she saw a few women around campfires lighting incense and arranging the rocks. The hikers didn’t disturb the women, only thought they were a bunch of aged hippies starting a new cult.

             
Several residents reported a man in town asking a lot of questions about religious formations or something else that couldn’t be explained. He came into the bookstore one day on Terra’s day off and sat down with her mother, and for an hour he pestered her about the history of the town and if there were any formations in the woods that couldn’t be explained. He was looking for families that have ancestors from the area, and any kind of ancient local histories.

             
A few days later Terra was in the bookstore, repairing books in the stock room, when she heard her mother becoming very upset. She went to see what had been going on, and the man had returned to ask Mary, her mother, more questions. The man seemed terribly confused as to why she seemed so upset.
"
I told you already, I’m not answering any of your damn questions!
"
Mary stormed around the counter, shaking her fist.

             
"
But you sat down with me the other day, and said I could come back anytime.
"
The man frowned.

             
Terra was peaking through the crack in the door, and Mary didn’t see her when she snuck a glance at the doorway.
"
You’re making things up. I don’t have time for this.
"
She pushed the man out the door, and less than an hour later she left claiming a pounding headache. Terra couldn’t explain why, but it was sending alarms off in her radar.

             
Rising early the next morning, Aylin wandered out onto Sable’s Point near the Trading Post. The thin peninsula consisted of irregular sharp boulders. The end of the point slipped in and out of the water with the crashing waves. The chiseled look of the rocks made perfect seats or steps with their natural formations. Some areas of the rock held small pools of glassy water. The point offered no protection from the cold wind that blew off the lake, but it gave a boater’s perspective of the town.

             
It was cold, and she had goose bumps under her sweater, but she stayed where she was. The waves crashed into the rocks, making her feel at home near the water’s edge. She laid her palms on the cold stone on either side of her and let the earth speak to her. The rocks here were old, years of taking the beating of the water, polishing the surface into smooth worn stone. She allowed her energy to pass through her into the rocks, and she was given the same in return. The motion of the water sent waves up her arms, filling her heart with its happiness and it’s sorrows. The rock had been lonely as of late, no other being had connected with it for a long time, and its energy was overwhelming to her. She had to push down the feeling of excitement that traveled through her along with years and years of memories of shifting and movement, of erosion and it’s most treasured of being warmed by the sun, she was used to the slow laziness of the trees around her cottage.

             
She tried to move through the rock, to the water. The lake was calm, and soothing, as opposed to the stone around her. The water was deep and cold, with layers and layers of creatures moving around in it. Aylin’s eyes flew open as her current had reached a distant shore. She couldn’t visibly see it, the distant shore was hidden by the curve of the earth, but she had felt something. Something that she hadn’t expected, another faerie. By the motion of the shield around her, she was a water faerie, possibly a lake faerie.