by J. C. Diem
With a doubtful expression, Asha tentatively stepped closer to the oak. She reached out, paused, then placed her palm on the trunk. Her brow furrowed and her eyes went distant. The rustling grew louder and the trees began to sway slightly. Their branches leaned towards the dryad, stretching out as if trying to touch her.
“Can you understand them now?” I asked. She shook her head and was about to remove her hand. Trusting my instincts, I closed the distance between us and put my hands on her narrow shoulders. She flinched at the contact. “What about now?” I asked and funneled some of my power into her.
Letting out a gasp, she went rigid. “I can understand them,” she said hoarsely.
“What are they saying?” Rudy asked. He was almost dancing on the spot in curiosity.
“We’re in danger,” she said in a faraway tone. “The whole town is in danger. When the monster comes back, it’ll begin slaughtering the townsfolk in earnest.”
“So, it’s gone?” I asked and took my hands off her shoulders. She instantly slumped and dropped her hand. The disappearances had stopped a few days ago and we’d begun to think the mysterious creature had moved on.
“So the trees said,” she replied and ran a hand through her hair. Pru had trimmed the blonde locks for her so it was only waist length and was far more manageable now. “They know where it’s lair is, but they don’t want to show us. They didn’t say why.”
“Why did it leave?” Rudy asked.
“They don’t know,” she told him. “They just know it’s coming back soon.”
“Where did it go?” I asked.
“North,” she replied. “They said it was moving really fast. Faster than it had travelled to get here.”
“It originated from the north,” I mused. “I wonder why it’s going back there?”
“Can the trees describe this creature, girly?” Rudy asked.
Asha reached out to touch the trunk again, then shook her head in defeat. “Their voices are an indistinct murmur again,” she said. I put my hand on her shoulder to lend her some of my power again and she stiffened at the contact again. She either didn’t like to be touched, or she wasn’t used to it. “The trees aren’t good at descriptions,” she said after listening for a few moments. “They’re saying this creature looks a bit like a human, but is a lot bigger and has hair all over its face and body.”
“Is Bigfoot real?” I asked Rudy. It sounded like that was what we were dealing with. If so, it should be easy enough to kill.
“They’re real, lad,” the leprechaun replied. “But my gut is telling me this is something else.”
“There’s an Archives not far from here,” I said. “I’m thinking we might need to do some research.”
“We should wait until Pru and Harley return,” my sidekick suggested. “They should know where the Archives is in case they need to visit it in the future.” It didn’t seem at all strange when he bowed to the oak tree in thanks before heading for the house. Asha and I did the same. We didn’t want to offend the tree after it had been so helpful.
“Is this a dream?” Asha asked when we entered the house. “Am I crazy and I’m just imagining all this?” She waved her hand around, encompassing us and the newly refurbished house. “You can tell me, I can take it.” She looked so earnest, yet also terrified of the answer.
“Let’s take a seat, darlin’,” I said and gestured at the couch. She sank down onto the plush cream seat and I sat beside her and turned to face her. “Will you allow me to delve into your mind?” I asked, holding out my hands. “I might be able to see if there’s anything wrong with you.”
She looked at me doubtfully, but held her tiny hands out. Goosebumps appeared on her arms and legs when I touched her lightly with my power. Just as I’d suspected, she had a block in her mind. It was something she’d created long ago from the looks of it. It had been her attempt to shut off the incessant whispers from the trees. “I can help you, sweetheart, but you won’t be able to shut off the noise from the trees until you learn to control it.”
“I’m not sure I want you to fix me,” Asha said uncertainly.
“You need to be whole, lass, or you’ll never become what you were meant to be.” Rudy was uncharacteristically somber as he told her that.
“What am I meant to be?” she asked.
“Powerful. Strong. A force to be reckoned with.”
Leroy drifted into the room and snorted out a laugh. “The girl is as timid as a mouse. She’s no fighter.”
I was glad she couldn’t hear him. She needed encouragement, not derision. “How about it, honey?” I prodded gently. This had to be her decision. I couldn’t force it on her.
“Will it hurt?” she asked in a small voice.
“I don’t think so,” I replied, but I really had no idea. This was usually Ari’s area of expertise. My foster daughter had torn down a similar barrier inside me and I knew the general basics of how to do it. It hadn’t hurt me, but Ari’s power was vastly different from mine. Holding Asha’s hands gently, I prodded the barrier that she’d erected. Her fingers tightened on mine and she flinched. She could feel my power probing hers.
I gathered my force and flung it at the barrier. Proving she wasn’t human, my bones were in danger of being crushed when she clamped down on my fingers. Squeezing her eyes shut, she fought me mentally, trying to hold onto the protection she’d created decades ago. Untrained, she couldn’t match my fae abilities. The barrier cracked, then dissipated. The dryad let out a despairing cry and let go of me to clutch her head.
“You need to help her control her power, lad,” Rudy warned me as her glamor washed over us.
I put my hand on her knee, ignoring the throbbing pain in my fingers. The bruising was already fading, but if I’d been human, she would have turned my bones to pulp. Delving her again, raw power thrummed now through her. She’d suppressed it all behind the barrier and now it was free. If there had been any plants nearby, they would have responded to her and come to her aid.
Spreading a blanket of magic over her mind, I knew it had worked when her shoulders slumped and she took a deep breath. “What did you just do?” she asked, opening her eyes to look at me.
“I’m still learning about my abilities, but it’s a temporary shield that enables me to dampen my power,” I told her.
“Can you show me how to do that?”
“I can try, darlin’.”
She offered me her hand again and I took it gingerly. Our powers were similar enough that she quickly picked up the idea of the magic blanket when I repeated it a few times. Instead of forming a barrier that she couldn’t penetrate, it enabled her to block the whispers of the trees down to a dull murmur. “I think it’s working,” she said and gave me a smile that turned her from beautiful to impossibly stunning. I was glad I could counter her innate glamor enough not to become besotted with her like Harley was. Now that her barrier was gone, she was even more powerful than she had been.
“While we’re at the Archives, we should do some research on dryads,” Rudy suggested. I nodded in agreement, already way ahead of him. We needed to learn as much as we could about our newest team member. The Archives would be the best place to achieve that goal.
Chapter Eighteen
I’d learned the locations of the Archives that were spread throughout the US from Quin, the leader of the Hunter Elite. It was good to know where they were in an event like the one we were currently facing. Even with all my experience, there were monsters out there that I’d never encountered before.
The Archives had existed for hundreds of years. They’d originated in Europe and were later introduced to America once it became more populated. Archivists gathered information on all things that went bump in the night. Most of the monsters people thought were mythical were actually real. The bulk of the truly dangerous ones had been eradicated. Others had mysteriously disappeared. Some of them were now reappearing and we still didn’t have an answer as to why.
Pru and Harley returned from t
heir jaunt to town. As soon as the kid stepped into the living room, his gaze went straight to Asha. From the way his eyes glazed over, she wasn’t dampening her power enough. She could turn men into drooling idiots just by being in their vicinity. Her barrier had offered them some protection, but it was gone now. The blanket I’d shown her how to use did nothing to hide her innate allure.
“Something feels different,” the witch said as she bustled in carrying some paper bags that were presumably full of ingredients. “What happened?” she asked. “Why does Asha seem even stronger in power now?”
“Jake got rid of a barrier the girl had erected in her mind,” Rudy replied. “Unfortunately, Harley is going to be a vegetable around her until she learns to control herself.” Leroy had been watching us and grinned at the leprechaun’s quip.
Asha shot him a dour look. “I’m trying,” she said defensively, then gave me a pleading look. “Can you put your spell on top of mine until I learn to smother my glamor?”
“That’s probably a good idea,” I agreed. I’d been about to suggest it myself, but she’d beaten me to it. Crossing to her, I took her hand and used a small amount of power to create a shield over top of hers.
Harley shook his head, suddenly far more alert. “What happened?” he asked, looking around to see us all staring at him.
“He’s so weak,” Leroy said with a nasty chuckle. “He has no defense against the dryad at all.”
“Neither would you if you were still alive,” Rudy pointed out.
“That’s it,” Pru said crankily. “I’m going to cast that spell that will let us all see and hear the ghost. I’ll need some hair from you two kids.” Asha blinked when she realized she was one of the kids the witch was referring to. In dryad terms, she was barely past infancy. Since she looked so youthful, we all had a habit of thinking of her as being far younger than she actually was.
Harley and Asha obediently raked their hands through their hair and handed over a few loose strands.
“I’ll be in my den,” Pru announced. “I might need your help, Jake,” she added.
“Keep watch over the children and make sure Harley doesn’t regress to a vegetable again,” I said to Rudy. He snapped me a sarcastic salute, then I followed Pru to the stairs that led to the basement.
Flicking the light switch on, Pru descended the stairs carrying her bags full of goodies. The front half of the basement had been turned into a gigantic armory. Harley and I had stored all of our weapons on hooks and shelves that had been mounted on the walls. A long row of cupboards held ammo, knives, grenades and other equipment. We had everything from handguns to flamethrowers on display.
I’d warded the stairs to the basement so only we could enter it now. None of the others knew about my magical barrier. Except Rudy of course. The leprechaun knew everything. If anyone who didn’t belong in the house attempted to enter it, they would find themselves walking away without remembering why they’d wanted to enter it in the first place.
Pru’s den was at the back of the basement to the left. A short hallway separated her room from Leroy’s cell. I’d managed to activate his prison myself using a blood spell. While I couldn’t cast enchantments like a witch could, this was fae magic, which I’d been born with. Blood magic was tricky and it could be dangerous to use. If even a small mistake was made, it could blow up in the caster’s face. Literally, or so I’d heard.
I followed Pru into her den and we crossed to her sturdy wooden desk. An old black cast iron cauldron took pride of place in the center of it. A small blowtorch could be used to set ingredients on fire if needed. I’d moved the newly restored wardrobes down here and installed shelves inside them for her to store her components and spell books inside. She placed the bags on her desk, then took a book out of the wardrobe to the left of her desk and flicked to a page she’d already marked. Leroy drifted into the room and took up a spot off to one side to watch.
I’d seen Ari cast this spell a few times and knew it was a fairly minor one. Even a witch with Pru’s moderate power should be able to cast it without draining herself too much. “Is Leroy here?” she asked. The ghost had to be present for the incantation to work.
“He’s here,” I confirmed. Leroy gave me a nervous grin, but looked like he was on the verge of fleeing.
“Here we go,” Pru she when she read through the incantation. Following the instructions, she added ingredients to the cauldron, then dropped Harley’s, Asha’s and her own hair into the mix and recited their names. Calling out a foreign word three times, she used the blowtorch to set the contents of the cauldron on fire. Bright green flames whooshed into the air and she drew back from it in momentary fear. It burned merrily for a few seconds before the ingredients were consumed. Then the flames winked out and only a thin layer of ash was left.
Knowing what would happen next, I steadied her when she slumped in exhaustion. I funneled some of my force into her to help her replace what she’d lost. Thanks to my fae genes, I had a huge pool of energy to call on. It wouldn’t hurt me to share it with others in such small doses.
“That took more out of me than I’d expected,” the witch murmured, then peered into the cauldron. “Did it work?” she asked.
Leroy spoke as he presumably made himself visible to her. “You tell me, she-honky,” he said. “Can you see me?”
“What did you just call me?” the witch asked, rounding on him with a glare. “It’s rude to call white people that.”
“I’m guessing you won’t like it when I call you a mahfa, then,” the phantom added cheekily.
Gasping in outrage, Pru’s face went red with anger. “There will be no filthy language like that spoken in this house!”
“That’s what you think, honky mahfa,” Leroy retorted. “I’ve lived in this house for decades. To me, you’re a bunch of squatters.”
“Why are you dressed like a pimp from the eighties?” she demanded, hands on her ample hips.
“He was a pimp from the eighties,” I told her. “Didn’t you see that in your vision?”
“I didn’t take much note of what everyone was wearing,” she replied tartly. Clearly, she wasn’t happy about having a former criminal on our team.
“Are you two going to be able to get along?” I asked.
“I ain’t got no beef with the she-honky,” Leroy replied, laying it on a little thick.
“My name is Pru,” she said icily.
“No offense, but that’s a horrible name.”
“I was named after my grandmother.” Her tone was nearly arctic now.
“That doesn’t make it any less horrible,” the ghost pointed out.
“Why don’t you go and see if the kids can see you?” I suggested when Pru sucked in an offended breath.
“Are you trying to get rid of me, boss honky?” Leroy asked with a grin.
“Yes. Go. Before Pru fries you with a spell.” Giving me a sardonic look, he used the veil to transport himself upstairs again.
“Surely, you can’t expect us to work with an insufferable, rude ex-criminal like that!” Pru said when he was gone.
“You saw him in your vision,” I reminded her. “We work with the tools we’re given.”
“Some tools are faulty and need to be replaced,” she said. Taking a deep breath, she let it out again, releasing some of her rage and insult with it. “He’s going to try my patience. I just know it. He’s going to curse and use foul language just to spite me.”
“Only if you react to it,” I said. “Think of him as a child, testing his boundaries.”
“That’s one reason I never had children,” she replied dryly. “I don’t have the patience required to rear children to adulthood.”
“Well, now you have four of them, darlin’,” I said cheekily, adding Rudy to the bunch.
“Five, including you,” she countered.
“You’ll fit in just fine,” I said with a grin. The witch didn’t take any crap from anyone and she could hold her own. She would gain power with practice and sh
e would become an invaluable asset to our team. Everyone had specific skills, we just had to learn what they were and make sure they had the training to utilize them to their fullest.
Chapter Nineteen
Harley and Asha were staring at Leroy in amazement when we returned upstairs. The ghost was preening and lapping up the attention. It was something most spirits tended to do after remaining unseen for several decades. “Your suit is pretty sharp,” Harley managed after searching for something to say.
“The ladies loved it back in my day,” Leroy replied, smoothing a hand down his jacket. “Do you like purple, honey?” he asked Asha.
“Sometimes,” she replied dubiously, eyeing him as if she wasn’t sure what to make of him. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a suit quite like that.”
“They went out of fashion long before I was born,” Harley added.
Leroy sniffed in affront. “At least I died wearing something stylish. If either of you died right now, you’d be doomed to wear those rags for the rest of eternity.” He pointed at their outfits as if they were something to be ashamed of.
“How far is it to the Archives?” Rudy asked before an argument could break out.
“It’ll take us an hour to get there,” I replied. At least it would if I was driving.
“Are you going to warn the Archivist that we’re coming?”
“Nope,” I said with a grin. “I’m going to surprise him.”
“What is an Archivist, exactly?” Asha asked as we headed for the door. My truck was large enough to hold us all, especially with Rudy and Asha being so small. They wouldn’t need to squish together to fit inside.
“They’re in charge of buildings where knowledge about the supernatural world is stored,” the leprechaun explained. “The Archivists are trained to know about the various creatures and other beasties that we face. They allow human hunters to peruse their books to search for information when they need to.”
