Rising Moon (The Rune Stone Trilogy) (23 page)

             
El, Terra, Owen, and Mary had moved into the living room by the fire with the wine. El had both Terra and her Mom laughing about something, no doubt she had distracted Mary with her natural clever charm. Owen, however, watched Terra intensely. He glanced at Blake who gave a quick shake of his head. Aylin sat on the floor near El, and smiled apologetically at Terra, who did the same to her.

             
"
Well, I brought something for you, Terra. I’ve been going through the
attick
where I had boxed up a lot of your father’s things, and I found something you might be interested in. Blake, honey, bring my bag?
" Mary said to Blake who was standing behind the couch
. He
walked
to the front door and grabbed a large tote bag.
"
Thank you.
"
She smiled. She reached in and pulled out an object that was wrapped in brown craft paper. It was large, rectangle, and looked heavy. She heaved it onto Terra’s lap.
"
I don’t know why he had it, since he wasn’t a book collector, but seeing how you like those old books I thought you would be interested.
"

             
Terra unwrapped the book carefully and let the paper fall to the floor. The cover of the book was thick leather, with an intricate gold
tree
on the front. She lifted the cover and stifled a gasp. The paper looked to be aged parchment from what Aylin could see, but she couldn’t see what was on the page to surprise Terra so. Terra cleared her throat and closed the cover and smiled at Mary.
"
Thanks Mom. This is great.
"

             
"
Like I said, I never understood why he had it, but it’s yours now. Blake, honey, I think it’s time for me to retire. Would you drive me home?
"
She reached over and laid a liver-spotted, wrinkled hand on his smooth skin.

             
"
Certainly.
"
He helped her off the couch. Owen stood and followed them to the door, pulling on his coat.

             
"
Blake, can you stop by again before you go home?
"
Terra asked after she gave Mary a hug.

             
"
Oh, sure.
"
He nodded.

             
"
I’m glad you came, Owen.
"
She smiled to her old friend.

             
"
Me too. Great cooking.
"
He leaned down to hug her.
"
It was good to meet you all. I’m sure we’ll see each other again.
"

             
Aylin stepped forward with her hand outstretched to Mary.
"
It was wonderful meeting you, Mary.
"

             
"
Oh, come here.
"
Mary held out her arms. When she wrapped her arms around Aylin’s neck she whispered in her ear,
"
Protect my children, Aylin. I know you can.
"
She patted her back and let go.

             
Aylin’s smile froze on her face. Mary and Blake were gone before Aylin blinked again. Mary couldn’t have hinted at what Aylin automatically assumed. She must only think that she was helping Terra through whatever she was in. That had to be it, there was no other possible explanation. But Mary had specifically said children, which brought Blake into the picture.

             
"
Come on Aylin, let’s clean up the kitchen.
"
El tugged on her arm.

             
"
When Blake comes back we all need to talk,
"
Terra said after them.

             
"
About what?
"
El asked.

             
"
You’ll see.
"

             
"
So, what’s with you and Owen?
"
El trapped her in the corner.

             
"
What do you mean?
"
Terra frowned.
"
He’s Blake’s best friend.
"

             
"
Yeah, and he’s really into you. He couldn’t stop looking at you.
"
El smiled at Terra’s blushing.

             
"
Whatever, we just haven’t really seen each other in awhile. That’s all.
"

             
"
No, El is right. He was watching you,
"
Aylin agreed, trying to forget Mary’s comment for now.

             
"
And you should take advantage of that, he is gorgeous!
"
El flung her arms up.

             
"
Then you go take advantage of that. He thinks of me as a sister.
"
Terra shrugged.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

             
Once they were all gathered again in Terra’s living room, Terra put the book on the coffee table.
"
Dad knew,
"
she said as she looked at Blake.
"
There is no other way for him to have this.
"

             
"
What is this?
"
El pointed at the book.

             
"
I believe it belongs to The Rune,
"
Terra said, very excited.
"
Look at the title!
"
She opened the cover carefully. On the first page it was written in old English letters
"
Seanchai.
"
Underneath were replicas of the rune symbols.

             
"
Terra, it can’t-
"

             
"
It appears to be journals of previous protectors, previous fae on how they protected it, for how long, and who it was next passed on to,
"
Terra interrupted El.

             
"
I can’t believe it.
"
Aylin scooted closer to the book and lightly ran her finger over the text.
"
I’d heard of such a thing, but since I’d never seen it I thought it was a myth. You’re father was a Storyteller.
"
She looked at Terra.
She had only heard of Storytellers in some of her mother's stories that she told her. They were merely bedtime stories of great adventures and faerie princes saving faerie princesses.

             
"
What is it? Just protecting the book?
"
El raised an eyebrow.
"
No offense, but if he just left it out in the open at his house, that’s not doing such a good job.
"

             
"
Well, he didn’t know he was going to die,
"
Terra snapped.

             
"
Stop it,
"
Aylin silenced them.
"
The Storyteller isn’t just another protector, he writes down the events in the book. Writes the history.
"

             
"
So I’m a Storyteller?
"
Terra frowned.

             
"
No. You can’t be the Earth faerie and the Storyteller. The Storyteller was someone that was close, but an outsider.
"
She looked at Blake.
"
I think you are supposed to be the next one.
"

             
"
You’re kidding.
"
Blake shook his head.

             
"
If I’m right, then I’m not kidding. If I’m right, you would be the only one that can write in the Seanchai.
"
She stood and grabbed a pen off the desk in the corner and held it out to Blake.
"
Prove me wrong.
"
She dared him.

             
He took the pen from her and opened the book toward the end. There were only a few blank pages left, and he held the pen at the top of one of them. He sighed and wrote the date down. Nothing else happened. He looked back up at Aylin.
"
Watch.
"
She took the pen back from him and ran the pen straight across the page, leaving no mark.
"
Storyteller.
"
She held the pen back out to him.
"
You got your wish,
"
she said sullenly.

             
"
What wish?
"
El was leaning over the book, clearly fascinated by earlier journal entries.

             
"
He wanted to help and now it seems he has a place with us,
"
Terra said.

             
"
Keep it safe, you never know who you can trust now.
"
Aylin crossed her arms.
"
You are in just as much danger as the rest of us.
"

             
Blake was dumbstruck. Being a Storyteller didn’t sound to be a great job at all. It sounded like something Terra would love, not him. He hadn’t read a book in years, although he did read the Sunday paper every week. He certainly had never kept a journal before, and he couldn’t think that it was his destiny to write down his and the three faeries everyday occurrence.
"
So you’re saying it’s my destiny to write a story?
"
Blake asked skeptically.

             
Aylin snorted.
"
It’s a little more than that. You won’t be writing down things like what we had for dinner and such. Take it home, read some of the previous entries and you’ll understand.
"

             
"
I’m still a little lost here. What is The
Rune
? What is a Seanchai?
"
Blake looked from Terra to Aylin.

             
Aylin grimaced
. She had left out the specific details from him to keep him safe. Now the floodgates were open and there would be very little he wouldn’t know about them.
"
The
Rune
is an object that holds something very ancient and powerful. What it holds is what we are fighting to protect
it from a group of witches that want to use it for their own power
. What’s held inside is the power of the elements. We refer to it as The Rune,
and
the witches call it the Duile. It’s a very old Celtic term for elements. Same with Seanchai. It is basically the book of the history of the Duile. But I don’t really know enough about it to tell you much more than that.
"

             
He watched her carefully and let this information sink in for a moment.
"
Let me get this straight, you three are keeping the elements out of harms way? From witches?
"

             
"
Yes. They want to control the elements to do their bidding. We are the only ones who can find The Rune. I am guessing that since you are the Storyteller, you will be able to find it also. It’s in the woods. It appears when you need it, when you call for it,
"
she stopped talking when his frown deepened.

             
"
I still don’t think I get it.
"
He shook his head.

             
"
Maybe I’m not saying it right. Try reading, Blake. It might explain it better for you.
"
She gestured to the Seanchai.
"But be warned, you might be in as much danger as us three now. If the witches find out you can get to The Rune without one of us, then they might go after you."

             
Blake snorted. "No offense, but I can protect myself."

             
El raised an eyebrow in amusement. "No doubt, if it comes to physical blows. But how exactly are you going to protect yourself from a spell that, let's say, turns you into a spider with a few words?"

             
He paled. "That can happen?"

             
Aylin sighed impatiently at El. "Our world doesn't hold the limitations that yours does. Yes, find the right witch and she might have the power to be able to transform you into something else."

             
He raked a hand through his hair. "What's stopping them from doing the same to you?"

             
"We are a little more protected, being faeries. We can use our own magic to protect us. You aren't a normal human, but you can't perform magic." Aylin stood up. "I think you'd have a much better understanding to all of this if you started reading previous entries."

             
"Okay, okay." Blake also stood, carefully lifting the book into his arms. "I'll give it a try."

             
It was after midnight when Blake finally sat down on his couch and looked down at the Seanchai on his coffee table. His head felt like it would explode from the turmoil inside. So many unanswered questions, like could he really believe that there were faeries and witches in the world, but not magical books? Did his life hold no boundaries anymore? There still had to be things that aren’t possible. Instead of opening the Seanchai he picked up his glass of scotch, the ice cubes long melted away, and leaned against the back of the couch. Above his television was a collage of family photos, and he focused on one of Terra and him, with their father’s arms around them. They were all laughing, having just finished whacking each other with snowballs, acting like a normal family. All that time his father knew that his children wouldn’t have normal lives, and didn’t hint to them what they were in for.

             
Blake’s hand tightened on the glass. If he had only given them some type of warning then all the pain that they had endured with Terra in the last year would have been avoided. She could have known before any of this and she wouldn’t have run away. Then Blake wouldn’t have been terrified everyday that he would forget that no one was as strong as him and had to pretend that he was weaker.

             
"
Careful Blake,
"
Aylin said behind him, making him jump off the couch. Scotch poured down the front of his shirt and onto the couch.

             
"
Jesus!
"

             
She stepped out of the shadows in the doorway to the kitchen.
"
You were breaking your glass.
"
She pointed to his hand. He looked down and there were hairline cracks in the glass around his hand.
"
I meant to save you from a mess, when I might have made it worse.
"

             
"
Thanks,
"
he grumbled and went into the bathroom in the hall and grabbed a towel. He sopped up the couch as best as he could and tossed his shirt into the laundry basket. By the time he came back into the living room she was sitting in his recliner.
"
How did you get in here without me hearing?
"
He put his hands on his hips.

             
She shrugged.
"
A benefit of being a faerie, we can move silently.
"
She smiled at the shock on his face.
"
Are you actually surprised?
"

             
He shut his hanging jaw and sat down on the opposite side of the couch.
"
I shouldn’t be. But I have no idea what you’re capable of, or if you even have limits.
"

             
She leaned back and crossed her legs.
"
Oh, everyone has their limits. Even you.
"

             
He put his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together.
"
Tell me.
"

             
She shook her head.
"
Some other time, maybe. Anyway, if you read that you will probably know more than me.
"
She pointed to the ancient book with the worn leather cover and yellowed crinkled pages that sat on the table. The Seanchai was thicker than any book he had seen.
"
Are you afraid of it?
"