by Vega Lizzie
After a quick wink to Karly, Terra set about picking up the mess in the studio.
After a quick goodbye to Olivia and Liam, Terra drove Karly home. While the first few blocks were quiet, Terra was sure to thank Karly for her efforts that afternoon. “That’s quite a gift that you may want to develop, Karly. Sight, or with you, deep insight, you could make a great career out of that.”
“I’m not sure if it’s a gift or not. I don’t know how to sort stuff out very well.”
“When I told Ollie that what you had seen was helpful, I meant every word. She can be, well…”
“Clueless?” After a deep sigh, she apologized, “Sorry, that wasn’t very nice.”
Terra shrugged, “Nailed it. You could add occasionally bratty and a snarky pain in the butt.”
Karly snorted, then apologized again, “She’s told me little bits and pieces about you and her mom.” There was a long pause, “Once in a while, she talks about when she lived with her dad. I try to understand, but it really sounds awful.”
“Well then,” Terra said in surprise, “she has opened up to you quite a bit. It’s rare she talks about him. To say that he was mean to her is maybe…you know, it’s absolutely right. I’ll also say that because of how he misinterpreted his gifts with magic, he was greedy and I think that’s partly the reason Ollie can be so…clueless.”
“It’s frustrating,” the young girl sighed again, “doesn’t help that I'm not sure of myself.”
The next two blocks were silent in the car. As Terra pulled up to the next stop light, she turned to see Karly staring out the window, a single tear caught in the glare of the streetlights. “You like her a lot, don’t you?”
Karly just sniffled and nodded.
“Be patient with her, sweetie. In the magic world, she is so advanced, we actually worry about her. But as far ahead as she is in that regard, she is way behind emotionally.”
“I figured. I’m not real good being patient,” she sighed, “I think I get that from my Dad.”
“What are your parents like? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“They’re pretty cool. My Mom is stay at home for now. When my brother is older, she’ll go back to teaching. Dad is more…conventional but goofy in his own way. Gets emotional at the littlest things. It’s embarrassing to take him to the movies, cries like a six-foot-tall baby. Mom loves him, that’s what matters.”
Terra snickered, “That is adorable, what’s he do for a living?”
“He’s a cop, but he just became a detective, so Mom is way calmer these days. She used to be really scared for him. Me too.”
“I’ll bet,” Terra agreed suddenly found herself contrasting his career with his emotional level, “That’d be scary. I wonder if I’ll meet him through the courts.”
“I can’t imagine you being scared of anything.” She pointed to Terra’s leg, “Don’t be mad at her, but Ollie mighta shared a little. I’m good with secrets. I really get it.” She repeated her statement with an extra emphasis, “I watch you with Ollie’s mom, I…um…never mind.”
Terra nodded, “I used to be scared of almost everything, Karly, then I met Shannon. Little by little, I wasn’t afraid anymore. It will be different for you, it’s different for everybody. There’s no handbook for how to fall in love.”
“My Dad already talks about walking me down the aisle. I never know what to say to him. He does it in front of his friends too.”
“He’s proud of you. I’ll bet he tears up when he talks about you.”
“No pressure, right? It’s exhausting and I’m just barely fifteen.”
“So, there’s lots of time for good things to happen for your whole family.” She pointed to next turn, “You’re down this way, correct?”
“Third one on the left. Thanks for bringing me home. It was quite a day.” As Terra pulled into the driveway, she handed Karly her phone, “Put your number in there. Feel free to talk if you want.” She saw Karly’s mother wave from the front porch, “I’m not going to try to influence you one way or another, but I’m a pretty good listener.”
“Ollie says that too about you,” the young girl said as she typed in her number, “she tells me that you are the one that keeps things in balance. That’s pretty cool.”
“That’s debatable on occasion,” Terra grinned, “does she also tell you that I’m not that good with patience either?”
Karly grinned shyly, “Yeah, she does. Thank you for everything today. It was very helpful for me.”
“I’m meeting Shannon tomorrow. I’ll tell her about your new abilities. I’m sure she’ll want to talk with you.”
“Cool. Say good night to Ollie for me. Thanks for the ride home and the helpful words.”
“You’re welcome,” Terra said happily with a wave to the front porch, “And remember, patience.” Karly started to laugh just before Terra began, “Yeah because we’re both so good at it. Night.”
Chapter 17
After the second ping, Shannon smiled as she drew back the covers. Terra would materialize shortly. Propping herself up on an elbow, she gasped as Terra stepped from the void and started to laugh. “I wanted to be all sexy and alluring and I still go all teenager when you do that. It’s weird to say how attractive it is.”
Terra quickly set her bag to the side and pulled her layered tanks over her head, “I thought about Traveling naked, but on the off chance I end up someplace else…”
“Yeah,” Shannon snickered, “after what I’ve been told about, that would not be a good thing.” She reached out as Terra climbed in next to her, “Plus, I’m not sharing your body with anyone. Let’s not talk shop for a couple hours.”
Kissing Terra deeply, Shannon pulled her in closer, snaking her arm around Terra’s back to grasp the back of her neck. Terra gasped at the aggressiveness, as a thick hunk of her hair found its way into Shannon’s hand. Terra leaned back as Shannon buried her head in Terra’s neck. Her happy squeal only served to provoke Shannon more.
“Somebody woke up early,” she whispered into Shannon’s ear, her hands racing down Shannon’s body, “Mmmm, you might have started without me.”
“Blame these thin walls,” Shannon said breathlessly, surfacing only to kiss Terra hard on the lips. “I had to listen to my neighbors for…three hours last night…very vocal, I woke up at five and I’ve been thinking about you since then.”
Terra reached out and nibbled on Shannon’s lower lip, “Really,” she whispered as her hand traveled down Shannon’s belly, “Let’s see.” Shannon’s hips thrust up to meet Terra’s inquisitive fingers. She groaned against Terra. “I’m going to explode.” Terra flicked her tongue across Shannon’s full lips, “I’ll alert the bomb squad...later. Relax,” she cooed, “lay back and enjoy. I was maybe thinking about this too.”
An hour later, Terra rolled over with a satisfied grin, “Different than my regular morning smoothie.”
Shannon laughed, “Aren’t you funny. God, my heart is still racing. Give me a few minutes to catch my breath.”
“Hotel rooms,” Terra giggled, “Told ya.” She cleared her throat, “It’s payback, bitches,” she bellowed in the quiet room. Shannon’s eyes went wide, and she followed with an uncharacteristically loud cowboy yell, “Yee hah.”
Now it was Terra’s turn to be shocked, “That’s different for you,” she said quietly, “I like it. You feel good, don’t you?”
Shannon smiled, but waited a moment, “I do. I want to talk to about something.”
Terra nodded, “Of course. Am I the big spoon or little spoon today?”
“No, face to face,” Shannon whispered, “This is important. I want to see your face when I tell you. I have a theory. Plus, I still want to kiss you a lot.”
The early morning playfulness shifted as Terra read Shannon’s expression. She sat up and leaned off the bed to pick up a pillow. Nestling in beside Shannon, Terra felt her heart begin to race. For a moment, it was quiet. A soft and loving smile shared between them only added to the int
imacy.
Shannon only had to move an inch to kiss Terra on the lips, “I love you. There’s something I want you to see today.”
“I love you too,” Terra whispered, returning the kiss. “You seem a little different right now, I mean that’s a good thing. Something from yesterday?”
Shannon nodded, “It was suggested by a little bird that I visit a certain location up in the foothills.”
“Better I don’t know who the little bird is, right?” She kissed Shannon again, then rolled her eyes, “Okay, I’ll play nice.”
“There were some questions back and forth and then she sorta, spilled the beans and told me about a rock formation I don’t ever remember seeing…until I got there.”
“From before you left town, oh wow, this is exciting,” Terra grinned, “You’re almost pulsing.”
“Oh, believe me, parts of me is still pulsing for sure,” Shannon kissed Terra again, “I’m beginning to think that we should take this up another level. It’s time.”
Terra took a short breath, but it came out as a short gasp, “I’m going in a couple of unusual ways here, Shan. You need to help me out. Define level.”
“We’ve been quiet,” she said, “we’ve played by rules we barely know and as a result,” she took a deep breath, “We’ve been lucky so far.”
“I can’t disagree with that,” Terra said softly, still not sure of the direction, “What happened yesterday has me worried but after your call last night, about your grimoire, it kinda made me laugh because you have control of the situation and somebody has no idea.”
“Right, we have control. We don’t need to take a backseat and be spoon-fed information, but it means that I will maybe break with the Third Council.”
Now Terra gasped for real, “Oh fuck me, that is a big deal. What is going on with you?”
“With pleasure by the way,” Shannon winked, “I’m still working on a few ideas. The loft thing will maybe help. We feed out information a little at a time. Some real, some not so much. Just enough to get our bearings.”
“What are you planning, Shannon. This could be dangerous.”
“From day one, Colin has always said that he wishes that someone would shake up the Third Council.”
“Wake up the old guard,” Terra said, “He’s said much the same to me. You’re gonna take him up on it.”
“Not him. Someone higher up. We are the little fish in this pond. So is Colin.”
“Slightly bigger fish, I’d say,” Terra added.
“I don’t think age has anything to do with magic. Look at Ollie, she’s off the rails.”
“Because she’s your daughter, that’s easy. How soon are you planning on doing this?”
Shannon reached up and took both of Terra’s hands, “I’m only going to do it if you’ll help me. It might cause you to…” she looked away for a moment, “to adjust your stance on alignment. Hence the big deal.”
Terra smiled, squeezing Shannon’s hands, “Okay, done.”
“It might not be that simple, Terra. There could be bridges burned.”
“And bridges built. If you put out a call, oh my God, Shan, you’d get a small army. You already have one.” Terra’s expression shifted to a frown, “I have a slight issue with what happened yesterday. Karly was able to sense the path of whoever took your grimoire.”
“My fake grimoire, okay. We pay them a visit, ask a few pointed questions.” She grinned, “pointed, I’ll explain that once you’ve been up to the rocks.”
“Right, but Liam showed me traces of both blood and, get this, traces of some weird turpentine or something. Liam is doing research.”
“So, there’s a project for when I get back on Friday. We can scheme until then.” Shannon rose off her pillow, “I have a little meeting with Chloe in a couple of hours. After that, I want you to come with me into the mountains. You need to see this.”
“Is this a good thing?”
Shannon nodded, “At first, I was shocked to realize what I was seeing but after I was there for a minute or two, a few things fell into place.” She grinned, “It’s the shape of things to come. I want you to share it with me.”
“I’m in, you know that, right? I always have been.”
Shannon peered over Terra’s shoulder at the clock, “Come shower with me, then we can grab breakfast before I meet with Chloe.”
“Ahh, can I go with…” Terra caught herself, “Nope, I’ll stay incognito for now. Let’s not be too public as we gather your information. I am intrigued about the mountain site. Anything to do with the bone circle?”
Shannon traced her fingers down Terra’s back, “Let me get you all soaped up and then I’ll tell you.”
After a quick and playful few minutes in the shower, Terra stepped out to allow Shannon a few minutes to rinse off. Thankful for a large water heater, Shannon let the water pound on her head then shut the faucet off to pull a fluffy towel down from the shower rod. Terra had closed the bathroom door and the steam in the bathroom felt wonderful. As Shannon toweled her hair, she glanced at the mirror above the vanity and froze.
With a glance at the closed bathroom door, she studied the scribbled images drawn in the condensation on the glass and sighed. Shaking her head, she wiped the towel across the mirror leaving a clear swipe as she looked back at herself. “That’s twice now,” she said softly, knowing full well Terra hadn’t been the source of the impromptu artwork.
“This is so…” she looked at Shannon after they had entered the opening in the rock face, “spiritual. I mean, the first one was spooky cool being under that big granite cap stone.” Terra grinned, “This is so you.” Terra moved to kiss Shannon and stopped, “Maybe not. It’d be like we’d be making out in church.” She frowned, “I just creeped myself out.”
Shannon smiled but pointed to a jog in the almost vertical rock faces, “It gets creepier. Remember the rocks by the bone circle?” She pulled out her phone and flipped on the flashlight, “Follow me.”
After a minute of following Shannon, Terra had to twist to squeeze through a crack in the rocks, “Do I want to know how you found this?”
“I did get a little hint, but I didn’t realize how obvious it is until I came out the first time.”
“Okay, I’ll let it go,” Terra said as she looked back from where they had come, “is it getting brighter in here? The air seems fresher.”
“Yep. It’s not too far now.”
“One shift of these rocks and we’re squished and lost forever, ya know.”
Shannon snickered, “I know. We’ll be fossils.”
“Comforting.” The path suddenly widened, and Shannon turned to Terra, her body framed by the light streaming in from what seemed to be another entrance. Terra gasped and pulled up her phone, “Stop. You can’t see this, but I can. I don’t think this is a coincidence.”
“The triangle?” Shannon said quietly, “I didn’t think so either. Look where we are.” She pointed out the opening from where they stood. “Watch your step. It’s a long way down.”
Terra crept forward, careful to keep one hand on the rock wall beside her, “Jeez, you can see for miles.” She took a careful step to the edge of the opening and looked down, “Is this one of the rock faces for the bone circle?”
When Shannon didn’t immediately answer, Terra took an exaggerated step back and turned around. Shannon was leaning against the back wall. Off her right shoulder was a fully illuminated diagram of the three peaks as well as the location of the bone circle. Carved into the rock was a triangle and a crescent moon.
“Take pictures,” Terra said excitedly, “This is huge…whatever this is.”
“I tried the first time,” Shannon smiled, “My phone didn’t exactly shutdown, but I don’t think this is supposed to be made public.” She pointed to a line of hieroglyphs that led to the center point, “I’ve seen these images before, and…now again this morning in the bathroom. It’s frustrating because there’s no how to guide.”
Terra snickered, then he
r expression soured, “I hate to even suggest this but what if the crazy old…sorry.”
“Augusta?” Shannon offered.
“Yeah, her. Maybe she knows what this is. This is her area, right? Looks to me as if the bone circle does something.”
“She lives a few miles back, yep.” Shannon ran her hand along the intricately detailed etching, “Something big.”
“I’ll pass,” Terra smirked, “You can tell me about it later.”
Weird fix this
Chapter 18
The quiet knock on the loft door startled Shannon. Opening it surprised her more. Colin stood on the back step dressed smartly in a black suit. “Good morning,” he said formally, “Can we talk for a few minutes?”
“Yes, of course,” Shannon said, opening the door wide. By the time she closed it behind him, she’d had time to ponder the reason for his arrival, “Am I in trouble for some reason?”
He smiled, then got an odd look on his face, “Should you be?”
“Well, no but…you’re here and all dressed up. I feel like I’m about to be sent to the principal’s office.”
He grinned, “So, as you’re the Principal…” He let his little play on words hang for a moment, “Not in trouble per se. Skirting the edges without additional needed information is a more accurate description. I apologize for showing up unannounced...I’m here to help with that.” HE shrugged, ‘That is, if you’re interested.”
“Oh,” Shannon said quietly, then “Oh, like good, okay. I’m feeling better.” She took a deep breath, “Is there another gathering of the Third Council?”
He shook his head, “Nope. Just you and me for now.”
“Thank God,” she sighed again, “I mean I enjoyed the first meeting for sure. But I have a lot going on…suddenly. It would be…a lot to think about.” She grimaced at her hesitancy, then looked up to see him smiling as usual, “Sorry, Sir. I’m rambling.”
