Mythic Mysteries

by T K Eldridge

  “Hey there,” I said as I came into the space. Teagan and Reagan ran to the baby gate and waved at me, so I stopped to give hugs and kisses before I went to find a stool and sit out of the way at the edge of the lab.

  “How’d it go?” Mira asked.

  “Well, Orion showed up,” I replied.

  Both of them stopped what they were working on.

  I took a swallow of my beer.

  “Well?” Mira asked.

  “Sinclair James Boudreau, don’t you dare leave us hanging like this,” Mom said.

  “Sid and I aren’t even sure how to move on from what he said. He told us that within a week’s time, something would happen that made the ferry accident look tame and could, if we didn’t all work together, wipe our community from the face of the earth.”

  They both just stared at me.

  “He also removed our so-called blessings – at our request. He said that we could get through this, if we all worked together like we did during the ferry accident. That our gift, and our strength, was in getting everyone to pull together.”

  Mira wiped her hands on a towel, then came to give me a hug. “I’m glad you got that blessing thing removed. I know how much it worried you.”

  “I didn’t want true immortality, and I don’t want to become a manipulative asshole, so yeah, I’m glad, too,” I said.

  We all froze when the sound of a loud crack came from outside, and one of the big pines along the side of the property came crashing down across the gardens, with the top of it landing over the in-ground pool.

  “Good land,” Mom breathed. “That’s a big one.”

  “Guess we’ll need to get Ezra and some of his friends out there with the chain saws again,” Mira said. “That’s the fourth tree to come down since these winds started.”

  “I think the storm is only going to get worse,” I said. “I believe that is what Orion was warning us about.”

  “I think you might be right,” Mom said.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Sid

  After Sin dropped me off, I went in and took a shower to warm up. I felt chilled to the bone. Flannel-lined jeans, a silk thermal shirt with a heavy flannel shirt over it, then a sweater over that. I even took the time to blow-dry my hair before I braided it because the thought of going out in that weather with it still damp made me shiver. My work boots over thick wool socks went on my feet and I found my all-weather coat, gloves, and a hat. I grabbed the big bowl of salad, my contribution to dinner at Grams’, and got on the road. Driving with the wind meant fighting the wind in certain places where it tried to blow your car off the road, and in other places it meant dodging fallen branches or sections where trees had been cleared and left wet sawdust on the pavement. Rain fell in icy sheets and if I hadn’t already promised I’d be there, I would’ve turned around and stayed home.

  Grams’ house glowed warm in the dark and I made a dash for the door, salad in hand. The foyer was already filled with wet boots and coats, so I added mine to the collection. The kitchen held Grams, Auntie Sett, and Grandma Maggie, so I slid the bowl of salad onto the counter, gave my aunt a hug, and dodged out of the way.

  Lucia, Sett’s partner, met me in the hallway and gave me a hug. “Nice to see you, Sid. How’s the new place?”

  “It’s great, Lucia. How’s Rosie doing?”

  “She just fell asleep. We fed her early because she was cranky all day. The weather has had her all out of sorts.”

  “I understand that. I have my noise-canceling headphones when it gets to be too much, but I guess that wouldn’t work for a toddler.”

  “Not really. So, Grams said you guys did the Creator summoning spell today?”

  “Yeah, can I wait and just tell everyone together? Everyone’s going to want to know, so it’d be easier if I could do it once and get it over with. Short version, it worked and I’m at the ‘okay, now what?’ phase of things.”

  “Of course, I get the wanting to tell it once thing. Do you want to see if they need any help?” Lucia asked.

  “Nope. That kitchen is full and I’m staying out of the way. If they need us, they’ll yell,” I replied and went to take a seat at the table. “From here, we can watch, help, or stay out of the way.”

  “Good plan,” Lucia said and joined me. We chatted about the classes she taught at the Academy and how the weather had caused more than one virtual training day when the two roads into the grounds were blocked by fallen trees.

  “And now the ground is getting saturated from all of the rain – we’ll be losing more trees,” Grandma Maggie said as she put another bowl of food on the table.

  “We already have enough wood for the next three years with all of the trees Drake and the guys have had to clear on our land,” I said. “It’s been rough, seeing some of these giants come down.”

  “The wind hasn’t fully stopped in over two weeks. This isn’t normal,” Grams said.

  “No, it’s not,” I replied and gave Lucia a look. She looked back at me with her mouth in a ‘O’ of surprise.

  “Foods ready, I don’t want to yell and wake Rosie, could someone go get the menfolk?” Grams asked.

  Sett left the room and soon came back with Grampa Walsh and Grampa Fionn.

  I got hugs from both, then the Commander said “Drake just called and said he’d be a little late. They got a call just before the end of shift.”

  “Oh, that sucks,” I said.

  “I’ll make sure to fix him a plate,” Grams replied as we took our places at the table.

  Food was passed around and everyone took a few minutes to eat before I put my fork down, wiped my mouth, and let out a soft breath. “So, Sin and I did manage to summon Orion today. He, thankfully, removed the so-called blessing he gave us, so we don’t have to deal with true immortality, or that manipulative magic he gave me.”

  “Well that’s good,” the Commander said. “I hear a ‘but’ in your voice, though.”

  “We asked him straight out what the last bit of the prophecy meant. He said that while the ferry accident was ‘most unfortunate’, and while we all acted in ways never before seen among the supernatural community, it wasn’t the ‘fragile hour’ they spoke of.”

  I watched as they all put down their utensils and focused on my words. “He said that there would be more to come, but it would come soon – within a week’s time. That we, Sin and I, would have to hold tight and pull everyone together as we did with the ferry situation, or the community we’ve all built here will be wiped from the face of the earth.”

  “It’s a good thing that Orion is not here right now,” Fionn said. “I’d like to punch him a few times, just to let him know how it feels to get that kind of information.”

  “He did say that we’d already done more than the Creators had expected and if we continued to prepare and act when it all comes together that we should be able to survive it all. Not much comfort, I’m afraid,” I said.

  “We can take a few steps in anticipation of whatever this event is that he’s alluding to, but until we have a better idea of what might happen, we’re stuck,” the Commander said.

  “We both agreed that whatever it was, had something to do with the weather,” I said. “Sin will work with Mom, Mira, and Dad and the staff at the Estate to make sure they’re prepared for anything. The ladies are pulling together crisis packs of healing supplies, since the ferry tragedy, so they’re ready. I’ve made sure my gear is prepped and I’ve got a go-bag by the door, but the mountain house is too far out of the way to be of much use, so I’m ready to go wherever I’m needed.”

  “The farm is already secured and battened down for the weather. Evelyn is up at the Academy tonight, tending to a badly injured cadet, and she can safely stay there if need be, but she expects to be back on the farm in a day or so,” Grams said.

  “The weather has caused a lot of flooding on the isles,” Maggie said. “Some of the smaller islands have evacuated to the main island and the palace school rooms are filled with people
who needed shelter.”

  “I believe this weather is the fault of that group of rogue elementals,” Fionn said. “You had asked, Siddie, why they were throwing rocks and firebombs, and not using their magics? If they were saving up the magic for a sustained attack, that would be a reason why.”

  “It hasn’t felt like normal weather at all,” Grams said. “With the Nor’easter coming through, they could really do some damage if they harnessed that and whipped it into a frenzy.”

  We all got quiet after that and started to eat once more. The food was good, but I didn’t really taste it as my mind whirled. Conversation turned to things that happened at the various jobs, or what they were trying to work on in their spare time, but I really wasn’t listening. I didn’t realize it until I heard the door, but I’d been waiting for Drake. I excused myself and left the table to go greet him, while Grams heated up his food.

  “Careful, Sid, I’m soaked. Think you could get me a towel?” Drake said as he kissed me hello.

  “Sure, leave your coat and boots there, and follow me. We can get you some dry things to wear and put your clothes in the dryer while you eat.”

  I heard him pull off his socks with a squish, his bare feet squeaking on the wood floors. Grams lived on a farm and sometimes having a spare outfit or two was needed. She kept a range of sweat pants, socks, t-shirts and sweatshirts in the bathroom closet, so I took him in there and helped him get out of his dripping clothes.

  “I’ll take these, you grab a hot shower and get dressed. Grams is heating up your food,” I told him.

  “Thanks, I appreciate it,” Drake replied and I slipped out to put everything in the dryer.

  “He was soaked through, so his clothes are in the dryer and he’ll be with us shortly,” I said as I returned to the table.

  “I put the kettle on, so he can have a cup of tea with dinner to warm him up,” Grams said.

  “Thanks, Grams. Being a dragon, he’s usually quick to warm, but his clothes had ice crusted on the dripping wet cloth. Dragon or no, he could use a little warming,” I said.

  Drake joined us a few minutes later and gave Grams a kiss on the cheek when she handed him a mug of tea before he sat down. “You’re the best, Grams,” he said and she beamed.

  Conversation picked back up while Drake ate, then the Commander spoke up. “What was that call you guys took?”

  Drake wiped his mouth and took another swallow of tea. “We were called out to the yacht club. While they’d managed to dry dock most of the boats, there were two still in the water that people called home. One of those was thrown into the dock and smashed most of the platform, while the other landed in the yacht club’s dining room. We got the people on the boats out and the club had been closed anyway, but the docks are no longer safe and there’s a lot of damage.”

  “Incredible,” Grams said. “In all my years in Belle Cove, hurricanes and storms aplenty, I’ve never heard of waves in the cove that were strong enough to lift boats that high. That proves to me, more than anything, that this is an unnatural storm.”

  “The cove is a natural shield from this kind of extreme weather,” Sett said. “Anything that can cause waves large enough to lift boats that high, is clearly not natural. Air and water both have to be used to do that.”

  “It also means the islands are cut off,” Fionn said, voice quiet. “Small boats with powerful engines are the only craft that could brave the waters right now, and even then it’d be a huge risk. Drake, we might need you to gather the dragons and griffins to help until things settle down.”

  “We’re all willing to help, Your Majesty,” Drake said. “But if the winds are strong enough, even we can’t fly safely.”

  “By the Fade,” Sett breathed as the severity of the situation truly began to sink in.

  The rest of the meal was pretty quiet. Things did lighten a bit when Grams brought out a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting – with ‘congratulations Sid & Drake’ written on it. Yeah, one of the disadvantages of being from a multi-magic family is that someone will always notice if your magic changes. When Drake and I had bonded as Chosen, both of our magics changed enough that those who knew us, would see it.

  “Thanks, Grams,” I said as I blushed.

  Drake grinned and pulled me against him to kiss me, in front of everyone. “Yep, she’s mine for life, now. Thanks, Grams.”

  Cake, coffee, and a few laughs ended the night on a much better note than I had expected, with what I had had to share. Drake got his dried clothes and changed while Lucia used magic to dry out his boots before we left to head home.

  The drive to our mountain home was slow since the freezing rain had made the roads slippery. We passed more than one sander truck before we got to our own front door.

  When we got home and tucked into bed, I told Drake what I’d told the rest of them, about our little chat with Orion.

  He waited until I had finished, then reached a hand over to squeeze mine. “Whatever comes, we’re in this together, Sidonie. Come closer and let me warm you while we sleep.”

  I tucked my back against his chest and sank into sleep. My dreams were plagued by wild storm gods that grabbed fistfuls of trees and ripped them up by their roots, then flung them at houses and vehicles. Cloud-swirled faces blew rattling breaths of ice and snow, freezing me to my bones.

  When I woke, the power had gone out again and snow had layered over the ice storm from yesterday, burying us in nearly a foot of snow with more coming.

  Orion’s statement of ‘within the week’ seemed to be already on our doorstep.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sin

  Two days after our meeting with Orion, I woke to Ethan shaking me awake once more. At least, this time, it was after five in the morning, so I woke more quickly.

  “Da, Biggie says the islands are flooding and people need rescuing,” Ethan said and pressed the coin into my hand once more.

  “Okay, Ethan. I’ll take it from here. You help your mom and grandparents today. They’re going to need you to help keep the kids safe while they do what they can to save people, alright?”

  “Hurry, Sinclair. Four of the smaller islands are flooded. Only the main isle is safe.” Sir Cedric told me.

  “I got it, Da. I can take care of them all. Rohan and Reina are good helpers with the twins, too. We’ll be fine,” Ethan said.

  “I heard him,” Mira said as she pulled on her robe after Ethan left us. “I’ll grab a shower while you pull out our clothes, then you can shower and I’ll get the troops mobilized.”

  “I think I’ll wait on the shower. Going out in this while damp is not my idea of fun. I will pull out our cold weather gear, though,” I said and got moving. I called Sin and Drake while I dressed, then the Commander.

  Ethan had the twins in their boosters at the table, cereal and juice set out for them while he microwaved oatmeal for him and Reina. “See, Da? I can help,” he said and I tousled his hair as I started the coffee. “You’re a huge help, son. Thank you,” I told him, then called my folks and woke them with the news that we were all on deck for a new crisis.

  Thunder shook the house and I looked out the window to see snow falling in near white-out conditions, while lightning danced through the dark clouds and more thunder rolled through.

  “Thunder snow?” Mira asked as she joined me in the kitchen.

  “Yeah. I don’t know how the flyers are going to manage with these conditions. I think we’re going to have to hope the search and rescue crews can get to those stranded.”

  Dad stayed home with the kids and coordinated teams from the house while Mom and Mira brought their supplies to the council building, now designated as the shelter and rescue center. It was one of the buildings that sat on the highest ground and had been considered safe from any potential flooding.

  Drake joined me in the command center truck, parked on the road above the docks. Search and rescue had tied off a floating platform to the pilings that remained, and the flyers brought the rescued up
from the platform to the medic truck to be checked out.

  “Flying out to the islands themselves is not happening. One of the younger dragons decided to be a daredevil and ended up nearly fried by a lightning bolt. He’s going to be under medic care for a few days until his hearing regenerates,” Drake said.

  “How bad is it?” I asked him.

  “Flying blind while lightning tries to fry you out of the sky, and then when you do get to where the rescues are needed, the waves are doing their best to knock you off of a roof or a balcony. Luckily most of the island residents had already relocated to the palace or the mainland, so there aren’t a lot of people that need rescue – or who were killed. All told, it sounds like maybe fifty souls were lost.”

  The sound of the truck engine kicking on and a yell to hold on were all the warning we had as the semi rolled forward. One of the team grabbed the stairs and pulled them up, while another member grabbed his belt to keep him from falling out of the open door.

  Through the open door, we saw the wave that was coming and I heard a couple of the team whisper a quick prayer.

  “If that hits us…” Drake said.

  “Yeah, it’s been a fun ride,” I told him and we held on tight. The truck sped up and we heard the crash of the wave making landfall. The back of the truck fishtailed a bit, then straightened as it crested the top of the hill, then pulled into the shopping mall lot.

  “Everyone okay back there?” came over the radio and I reached out to punch the button.

  “Yeah, we’re here. Might need a few clean pairs of shorts, though,” I said and everyone laughed.

  “Sin, you and Sid are needed. Seems there are some folks that took up residence in the old school about a mile from the Estate. One of the elementals that had been there with them, just came into the Fade. She’s really pissed off and said they’re the ones that are pushing the storm.”