Rising Moon (The Rune Stone Trilogy) (27 page)

             
"
It’s almost sunrise.
"
Aylin smiled and winked at El.

             
El blinked a few times at her, and then sighed,
"
Okay okay.
"

             
"
What?
"
Terra was close to yelling.

             
"
You’ll see.
"
Aylin nudged her toward the deck door off the kitchen.

             
"
Outside? It’s cold!
"
Terra whined.

             
"
You won’t even notice,
"
Aylin said behind her and nudged her again.

             
The air was crisp, and a breeze traveled through the forest, rattling the dead leaves and underbrush. She led them down to the backyard, near the forest. It was dusky gray out, and the sun would be peaking around the hills soon. Aylin sat down on the hard earth and folded her legs under her. She patted the spot next to her for Terra, and El sat on the other side. Aylin put a finger to her mouth, to keep Terra from asking questions.

             
She held her hand up, with her palm facing Terra, and waited for the slow heat to come. It spread to her fingertips giving her hand a slight glow. She placed her hand, palm down, onto the earth and closed her eyes. She counted to five and cracked open her eye to peak at Terra, who was placing her hands on the earth. El was already breathing deeply, off in her own thoughts.

             
Aylin lifted her hands off the earth and silently moved in front of Terra. She placed her hands on top of Terra’s and closed her eyes again. She wanted to see what Terra would feel.

             
It took a few seconds to clear away the clutter of thoughts in Terra’s head. They slowly ebbed away, and her breathing deepened. A pulse traveled through her hands, up her arms, and into her heart. Terra gasped, but Aylin held her hands firmly to the ground. As quickly as she was startled, she was searching now. That pulse opened her to the earth.

             
First she felt the trees, tired and sleepy from a hot summer, waiting to go dormant. Some clung to their leaves dearly, afraid to let go, afraid they wouldn’t wake again from the harsh winter. She let the power she felt in her travel into the trees, promising them to awake in the spring, full and fresh. No damage would come to them, they would awaken refreshed and alive.

             
There was something close and it had a steady heartbeat. Terra moved on from the trees, through the thick brush, onto a tiny opening where a deer was sleeping. It was a buck, and its antlers stood heavy on its head. Its sleep was light, waking slowly with the sunrise. The heartbeat was picking up and the eyes fluttered under the lids. Any second now, it would wake to spend another day grazing the last bit of greenery it could find.

             
Something shone through the trees, something that held a deep glow. She moved on from the deer, toward the crest of the hill. There, over the treetops was a deep pink and orange glow. The sun was seconds away from rising. The earth held its breath the last seconds, and the tip of the sun peaked out. Spears of light shot through the tree branches, and landed on the ground in front of them. The current ran through the ground and up their arms, awaking their hearts. A sweet melody sang in her head and the birds began chattering, carrying her song throughout the forest.

             
Terra let out the breath she was holding.
"
Wow,
"
she whispered.

             
Aylin smiled and touched her finger to Terra’s tip of her nose. She looked at El, who was smiling at them.
"
All right, I suppose that was worth getting up for.
"

             
Unable to stay away, later that morning Blake sat in Terra’s kitchen tucked in the corner at the small round wooden table. The bright morning light striking the counter tops and wood cabinets lit the kitchen. Blake always liked this house, with its handmade furniture and cabinets. Terra had been generous when he bought his own house and gave him a few pieces that he had always admired. One was an armchair that had many worn spots and scars on the armrests. It was their father’s favorite chair. Terra hadn’t hesitated when she parted with it because she knew what it meant to Blake.

             
Blake always liked the feeling in her home. She kept it clean and it had a warm cozy feeling to it. She didn’t have anything big and expensive to her name, mostly hand-me-downs and handmade items. She had an eclectic style with the mix of pottery platters and wood, glass vases and metal candle lanterns.

             
The smell of frying eggs and bacon and coffee filled the entire house, and he enjoyed it while sipping on the black coffee. Under El’s watchful eye, he felt a little more confident that they would be edible. Aylin walked in, her hair wet from the shower and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling when their eyes met.
"
Good morning.
"

             
"
Morning.
"
He nodded.

             
"
What brings you around?
"
She opened the cupboard and found a mug for coffee.

             
"
I thought I would let you all know what I have found so far in that book.
"
Blake watched her. Her eyes widened and he gave her a slight shake of his head. She let out a breath and continued pouring her coffee.
"
It has been more interesting than I thought.
"

             
"
Oh, really?
"
El set napkins down on the table.

             
"
Yeah. It seems history keeps repeating itself over and over. There has always been three that guard The Rune,
"
his eyes moved to Aylin again.
"
The witches have been around for centuries, and I am guessing your kind has been even longer.
"

             
"
I don’t think any one really knows how long we’ve been around,
"
Aylin said, looking at El who was watching her and Blake with curiosity.
"
It’s not documented anywhere. What I heard was that our ancestors were conjured by a tribe that had previously held the task of The Rune. When the tribe realized they were not strong enough for this responsibility, they turned to their shaman who summoned them, or us.
"
She shrugged.
"
But that’s only one out of many legends of our kind. I’ve even heard that some believe we came from the depths of the ocean, released after a large earthquake.
"

             
"
You’re forgetting my favorite myth,
"
El said from the counter.
"
That we are evolved maggots that came from a giant’s rotting corpse.
"

             
"
Gross!
"
Terra wrinkled her nose.

             
"
Damn it Terra!
"
El cursed from near the sink.

             
"
What?
"
She walked over to peer into the sink.
"
Oh gross! Get them out of here!
"
she screamed.

             
"
What?
"
Blake jumped up and was at the sink in two short strides. Wriggling around the bottom of El’s empty juice glass were a few maggots.
"
You have maggots?
"

             
"
Terra can’t control herself sometimes.
"
El scowled at her and grabbed the glass and headed for the door.

             
"
I think I’ve lost my appetite.
"
He turned to look at Aylin, who was covering her mouth to keep from laughing.

             
"
Come on, be a man. It’s just some bugs,
"
El said when she came back inside, glass empty.

             
"
Are there bugs in those eggs?
"
he motioned to the frying pan.

             
El walked over and stuck her nose over the eggs.
"
Nope.
"

             
"
Interesting.
"
Blake shuddered and sat back down. He took a drink of coffee and forced the gag reflex down that he felt rising.
"
I think it would help if we could get some more solid information.
"
He frowned into his mug.
"
I mean The Seanchai does have a lot of history in it
. Some of it is pretty interesting. For example, after the last of the three protectors die, whether it is of old age or by the witch's hand, The Rune seems to disappear. Not even the Storyteller can get to it until the new protectors are chosen. And, in a few entries they mention that there is a definite leader of the witches. But they have no idea who it is, but they get the feeling the leader isn't a witch
.
"

             
"What gives them that impression?" El asked.

             
Blake shrugged. "It was said to be a feeling the faeries got."
He looked down at the breakfast that Terra had put on his plate.
"
This smells good.
"
He peered up at his sister,
"
Who are you?
"

             
Terra giggled.
"
Shut up Blake.
"
She turned to wash the pans.

             
"
Did you find someone to cover the store this weekend?
"
Aylin asked Terra.

             
"
What’s happening this weekend?
"
Blake lifted his head.

             
"
Girls weekend in Duluth,
"
Terra said over her shoulder.
"
Yes, a friend of mine said she would help Mom out if she needed it.
"

             
Blake and Terra ended up leaving together, off to work, which left Aylin feeling awkward in El’s company. El had been shooting her questioning glances all through breakfast, and Aylin didn’t have to stretch her mind too far to guess what she had been thinking.

             
Aylin went into her bedroom and powered up her laptop to check email. She was reading one from Jordan, talking about how business is doing just fine and she brought on a part time florist to help her out, when she could feel El lurking. Aylin looked up from the screen and saw El standing in the doorway.
"
Hey.
"
Aylin smiled.

             
"
Did you two do it yet?
"
El crossed her arms.

             
"
God El!
"
Aylin’s cheeks flushed.
"
You are so discreet.
"
She shut her laptop.
"
Sit down.
"
She patted the bed in front of her. When El settled down on the bed with her feet tucked under her Aylin told her about touching Blake’s hand.
"
It’s kind of like an electrical current, but not painful. It tingles, and feels warm and it makes me so nervous.
"
She laughed nervously,
"
I’ve never felt like this.
"

             
"
Wow. You really are unsettled. You’ve had a boyfriend before, though.
"
El frowned.
"
You didn’t get this from them?
"

             
Aylin shook her head.
"
No, not such a deep rooted feeling. It’s scary El.
"

             
"
Oh my God. Aylin, you’re in love with him!
"
El bounced on the bed.
"
This is great! He obviously feels the same toward you too.
"