by Pax M
“I made arrangements with Scott to get you to Bend. He’ll be in front of the mercantile at sunup. Dante is expecting you.”
“Why do I have to forget again? I’m almost not confused.”
“The leather journal Sabina left you will open. At the end is an oath where you swear to stand against all enemies of the Governors. They’re the folks who regulate the portal and set the rules. Your sister broke almost all of their rules and you know it. With that knowledge and knowing Dante, you’ll be rejected by the Governors. If you have no memory, then you can join.” He rubbed at his shoulder. His shirt had torn and a dark bruise showed. “You don’t have to forget everything, just what you overheard at the sandwich shop, and seeing the portal open because that triggers remembering what you overheard Dante and I say. You can’t remember ever meeting Dante, and you’ll have to forget seeing your sister tonight.”
The last item on his list made Daelin’s heart ache. She didn’t want to forget her sister in need of her help. “Why would I want to join a group that considers my sister an enemy?”
“Because you can’t help her if you don’t.” He shifted his legs, groaning. “The other Rifters are her friends. If they know what she knows, they’ll be put in the same peril. They’re not her enemies. It’s the people on the other side. You get it?”
“I think so.” Daelin winced with him, knowing exactly what he felt. “I’ve some pain reliever—”
“Got my own. Start reading the journal. I’ll holler when it’s time to go.”
She limped to her desk, opened the drawer, and took out the leather-bound journal. It fell open at her touch, no sign it had ever been stuck. She fished Charming’s flashlight out of her coat pocket.
Cursive letters ran across the pages. 20th Day of June, 1888. Lightning erupted near the volcanic core, shaking the house. I handed Lilah the shotgun before going out to investigate. The lantern and my rifle kept me company along the trail, which the locals keep clear. They say the volcano’s core is sacred ground. A native called Chuck told me so. Chuck! I’m not sure I should believe him. He loves to tell jokes.
Oh, by the way, on the trail I met a thing, some sort of creature. It resembled a man with blue-silver skin and silver leaves for hair.
The entry ended there. Daelin read several more pages. Patrick Swit had an annoying habit of writing at length about trivial things and the bare minimum of what mattered, like creatures who traveled here from other worlds. “You’d never be published, old man, except the subject matter is fascinating.”
The next several entries revealed the creatures, mostly unfriendly, came through a gateway that formed between two obsidian pillars near the volcanic core. The natives had legends of it in their lore, Grove of the Gods, but reported the rift had been silent for hundreds of years.
Patrick suspected the junction hadn’t always been on this world or in Settler. He surmised the other worlds were places of imagination since he couldn’t travel to them, but their residents could travel here. They are all born of nightmares. Thankfully, the rift only opens in the summer months. Why they have to impede on our short season of great weather is irksome as a bee in my shirt.
He wrote nothing more about his theories, getting lost in the details of summer before laying out his plan of how to protect this world from the others. The Rifters. At the end was a simple oath. I swear to guard and protect this world from all enemies who mean it harm and from all things born of the rift. To unswear is to die.
From 1892 until present-day, names filled the lines. Only one blank space remained, right under the signature of Charming Moon Knight. Her name glared in red like the others, as if signed in blood. If Charming hadn’t of pleaded for her help, Daelin would walk away, would leave Settler and never come back.
Earl rolled Haw Shot’s crystal across the floor. “It’s time to go.”
Closing the cover, she set the book in her desk drawer. “The journal stirs up more questions than it answers. Did my sister unswear the oath? Will I be her enemy?”
“Charming wants you to be a Rifter. Either you trust her or you don’t. See you when you get back.”
“Do it,” Cordelia whispered.
Daelin glanced at the portrait. The first librarian smiled today, and her signature had been scrawled under the oath. Otherwise, listening to ghosts made no sense.
Daelin grabbed the jewel and tiptoed outside. The gem stemmed the pain, making her giddy. She locked up and made her way two blocks down to the mercantile. The pickup sat in front as Earl had promised. She climbed into the truck bed under the tarp and let go of the jewel. Earl had explained how it suspended time. She tapped on the window to signal Scott.
The truck rumbled down the road. Daelin watched the sky pass. Outside of town, Scott pulled over and helped her into the cab. She put the seat down so she couldn’t be seen if anyone passed by. Any car on this road most likely belonged to a resident of Settler.
Scott wore a cowboy hat as brown as his complexion. It made his body appear more square. He spoke of cattle and horses then sang with the radio. When they reached Bend, the truck slowed in front of Dante’s sandwich shop. Daelin grabbed the gem, stopping time. For awhile she stared at cars and drivers that didn’t move. She made faces at a few and considered messing with a few people. Fun wasn’t on the agenda, though. Saving family and worlds was.
The Inferno Grill sign said Closed, yet the door yielded to her touch. Dante sat at the table nearest the counter, reading the local paper. She set the jewel down in front of him.
“We meet again,” she said. “If Charming didn’t swear I could trust you, I think I’d knock you into the next county.”
A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Quit tempting me. Turn the lock then meet me in my office.” He picked up the gem and disappeared. Daelin frowned, unsure whether Dante stood in front of her or had gone to Timbuktu.
The three deadbolts slid easily into place. “You can’t keep the ghost stone.” She found him in his office. He reappeared sitting cross legged on his messy desk piled with bills and newspapers.
“I know. I won’t deny Earl his escape.” His dirty-blond hair curled at the ends, brushing against his toned shoulders. His cool blue eyes raked over her toe to head.
She ran a hand over her dark straight strands, the same length as his, only her ends didn’t have adorable curls. “Escape? Where will he go?”
He scooted to the edge of the desk, papers flying, placing his booted feet on the floor. “Where he can’t be found. Same for me. Earl and Dan will disappear just like your memories of us and your sister. You disappointed by that?”
As if he were a male Siren, she couldn’t help but move closer. Maybe he was. He wasn’t from this world. “I need to remember Charming is all right.”
He tugged at his white button-down shirt, pulling it away from his throat. “Sorry. The oath will reject you with the slightest glimpse of that memory. Forgetting is only temporary.”
She perched beside him on the edge of the desk. “The oath will punish me? You talk as if it’s alive. What are the other worlds? Aliens? Where are you from?”
“When the time comes, I’ll tell you everything. Absolutely everything. You have my sworn word. You can’t know now. The less of your memories I have to suspend, the better.” He stood and pulled her against him. He waved his bracelet before her eyes. The stones sparked blue. “Are you ready? You’re awful tense.”
“It’s not so easy. It’s my mind and my sister’s life.”
“I’m not taking away your mind, just a few select memories: your overhearing Earl and I, the whole bullet and the gate evening, seeing Charming after defeating the ghost, and most of what happened after defeating the ghost. You’ll think you fell asleep in the library reading Patrick Swit’s journal. Please agree. Way more is on the line, Darlin Dae Long. You need to trust me, or we’re all done. That includes your sister.”
She stared into his blue eyes. They shifted to yellow. “I understand.”
Te
nderly, he brushed her hair behind her ear. “You don’t fully, but you will soon.”
“I will do whatever it takes to help Charming.”
“So will I. Give me your hand. When you see my face again, I’ll return your memories.”
What choice did she have? Daelin gave him her hand.
The honk of a horn shook Daelin awake. She blinked at stacks of books and at the journal she had used as a pillow.
Earl stood in the doorway, his back to her, waving. “Thanks for the ride, Scott.”
“You vanished last night.” Deep down she wasn’t surprised to see him.
Dressed in a khaki shirt and jeans, Earl tipped the brim of his brown cowboy hat. “You were in good hands. There was no need for me to stick around. I needed time to think.”
The odd postman, Culver, who didn’t seem so strange anymore, had tended to her and seen her home. How could anything seem bizarre after last night? She had killed a ghost and punched lifeless heads. “It wasn’t a nightmare?”
Earl’s eyes narrowed. “Afraid not. It’s life in Settler, dar… Daelin.” He came closer, smiling in a lumpy way. “I owe you my life for clearing my name.” Swelling distorted his nose and eyes. Bruises marred his lips. He had risked himself so she could sink a knife into Haw Shot.
Her fingertips patted over her aching cheeks. She couldn’t look any better. “What happened to the crystal in the ghost’s neck?”
“Someday I’m sure your new colleagues will tell you.” His bruised chin nodded at the journal on her desk.
Instinctively, Daelin placed her hands over it and shut the cover. “They don’t seem to like you much. Does that mean we can’t be friends?”
“Your new colleagues don’t like me because I’m a thing from the rift.”
“Culver mentioned it.” Did the whole town come from another world? It would explain a lot.
“The portal sent me here from another time. The Rifters don’t know what to think other than they don’t trust me.”
Daelin had some reservations of her own, but felt she could rely on Earl. She couldn’t name why. “Should they trust you?”
“You and your sister can depend on me.” With finesse, he made a sweeping bow. “Until we meet again.” His hand clasped over the green jewel on his belt buckle, and he disappeared.
Hawley’s jewel! Daelin jumped to her feet, limping to where Earl had stood. She waved her arms over the area then the whole library, finding no trace of him. She opened the storage closet, staring at books, paper, and cleaning supplies. “Huh.” She shut the door, leaning against it, knowing she had seen the last of Earl Blacke until he wanted to be found.
“What am I doing? A secret society that protects this world from others filled with monsters. Really?”
Cordelia Swit climbed out of her painting to stand before Daelin. “There is no bigger monster than not believing in yourself.”
Advice from a ghost. Life in Settler wasn’t ordinary. “You were a Rifter. Should I join?”
“I’m still a Rifter. We protect Settler. Sign the oath and become my ally. The world needs you.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You’ll see me no more, and you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering about the rift.”
True. “Curiosity kills, they say.”
“Once unleashed, curiosity can’t be caged.”
The phone from the 1980s on the librarian’s desk rang. After three botched attempts, Daelin picked it up correctly. “Caslow County Library.”
“Hey, Wald here. It’s time to return the journal to Sabina. Can you come over?”
The library had no guests, and Cordelia returned to her portrait. “Yes.”
“Bring the journal to Sabina.” He hung up.
“Save the world,” Cordelia whispered.
Daelin had fought a good fight last night. “I defeated a ghost who collected heads.” She stood tall. The journal in hand, she left the library.
Crisp air with the aromas of cedar, pine, sage, and juniper sated her inhales. Snow-capped mountains greeted her with stunning majesty, a sight that still surprised her. She liked it much better than the canyons of skyscrapers in the city. She strode around the corner and started up the walkway to the county offices.
Sabina waited at the entrance holding out a fancy bronze pen with wires and gears on it. “I’m so pleased you’re joining us.”
In all the ways Daelin had expected her life to change by moving to this remote town, she had never expected to become a slayer of ghosts and a protector of worlds. Not in all the dictionaries.
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♦About M. Pax
M. Pax-- Fantasy, science fiction, and the weird beckons to me, and I blame Oregon, a source of endless inspiration. I docent at Pine Mountain Observatory in the summers and have a cat who has a crush on Mr. Spock. You can find out more by visiting my website: mpaxauthor.com
If you want to connect, I enjoy getting to know my readers. You can contact me through my website, mpaxauthor.com, or by email, [email protected] I’m on Twitter @mpax1 and on Facebook / http://www.facebook.com/pages/M-Pax/115874581852313
Thank you to: Husband Unit, Kimberly Nicole, Mike Rettig, Ruth Colter, Dennis Strachota, Ella Zane, Paty Jager, Marie Harte, Karen Duvall, Diana McCollum, Kai Strand, Alison Wells, Linda Berry, Kristin Gonzalez, River Fairchild, Cherie Reich, Christine Rains, Ellie Garratt, Misha Gerrick, Graeme Ing, Angela Brown, Gwen Gardner, Julie Flanders, Catherine Stine, and Darlene Sassone. A big huge thanks to you and to my fans.
I also want to thank the special places in Oregon inspiring Settler: Fossil, Ashwood, Antelope, Shaniko, and Newberry Volcanic National Monument.
For Oregonians—although Settler is based on places I’ve visited, it is fictionalized and I took some liberties to create the ideal setting. Therefore, some details will ring true and some are not the same as reality.
Sneak Peek: The Initiate, Rifters Book 2
You’re Never a Hero Until You Are
A junction erupts between the worlds in Settler, Oregon, a rift from which horrors attack our world. The Rifters defend us.
To trust unquestioningly is the first lesson Daelin Long must learn as the newest Initiate of the Rifters.
Her first day is a disaster. To protect her missing sister, Daelin finds it necessary to lie, causing her to fail at her lessons. Worse, the rock sample she digs up near the rift flies away and grows into a swarm of carnivorous bees.
While she struggles, Earl Blacke grapples with his troubles, running far and fast from Settler, Oregon. He must atone for his past before he can have a future. If he can succeed at gold mining and love, two things he previously failed at, perhaps he can salvage his soul. Before he can find out, Daelin’s sister calls for help, forcing him back to Settler.
There, he and Daelin must work together to preserve family, the town, and tomorrow. They must believe in themselves and each other before there is nothing left to save.
The Initiate
Rifters Book 2
by M. Pax
hapter
Ink burrowed under her skin, blue and purple snakes, the needle nipping incessantly forming stained windows. Daelin Long grit her teeth, thinking of old times, of stealing maraschino cherries from the parade of bars her mother had worked at, running off with her younger sister and brother, squealing and shrieking out into the night, all to get her mind off the pain. The ink gripped, searing, chew
ing up a more innocent version of herself, one that didn’t know about the horrors lurking in the woods.
Sabina Staley, Daelin’s new boss, sneered at the glowing pigments working their way into Daelin’s hand, managing the needle and ink. “Just a little more. Glad you’re not being a baby.” She yanked Daelin’s wrist straight, her black bubble-framed eyeglasses sliding down her steep nose, her green eyes glinting under the glaring utility light. “You’re off to a fine start in the Rifters and will be standing beside your sister in no time.” Her lips pursed as they usually did.
Praise. Daelin might not ever get used to it. Mostly she ached to get close to her sister again. They’d grown apart, evident by the secret life Charming led. “It’s not every day a girl gets to behead a ghost.”
“You’re not a girl. You’re a thirty-year-old, six-foot woman with a healthy wallop.”
“Not yet. I’ve another year until thirty.” The single brash bulb in the task lamp hanging from the ceiling blinded Daelin to the curiosities beyond the recliner she lay in. Shelves of leather-bound journals locked by crystal clasps. Cabinets of gadgets constructed from crystals, coils, and gears. Aviator goggles rimmed with inductor coils winked, creating enigmas within mysteries.
Daelin had sworn an oath to protect the world against monsters, the same one her sister swore. Charming remained missing, presumably on a dig with the Paleo Institute, but the reason didn’t sit easy in Daelin’s mind. She couldn’t name why. A wild four days involving phantoms and murders had passed since Daelin had moved to the dinky wilderness town of Settler, Oregon, from New York City. Her sister had persuaded her to take the county librarian position. Not that it took much convincing. Shaken after being laid off, robbed on the subway platform where she lost her severely needed severance pay, Daelin had no choice but to accept.
