Crystal Beach (Crow Hill Book 1)

by Tom Larcombe

  “This is Michael. You all heard me talk about him.”

  Cindy and Eugene both vied for his attention straight off, trying to talk over one another.

  “I read your paper and I've been using your techniques,” Eugene said.

  “Rynn told me you were an incredible healer, can you teach me?” Cindy asked.

  Michael held up his hand, palm out, and shook his head, momentarily overwhelmed.

  “Later,” Rynn said. “We've barely gotten here and you're already pestering him? Give the man a chance to breathe, and maybe get to know you some, before you're all over him.”

  Rynn glanced apologetically towards Michael. For his part, he was already exhausted from lack of sleep, in shock from shooting a man, and fearful about the Board's upcoming visitors. The questions were the final straw.

  “I'm sorry, I can't talk right now,” he said. “It was a rough night and I hardly got any sleep. Let me show you to your rooms and maybe we can talk later on.”

  He turned and walked towards the house. When he tried the front door, it was locked. He'd left the keys inside.

  “Sorry, got to go around back. Been keeping the place locked and I left the keys inside. The back door's open though.”

  Michael reversed direction and headed around back, hoping no-one noticed his blush.

  “Calvin!” he called.

  The crow came flying down to the garden fence when Michael called him.

  “Calvin, these people are okay to be here also. They can be in the garden or wherever they want, alright?”

  “Caw!”

  Calvin flew over towards the new group of people. He examined the children first. Even with them being tired, he caught their attention. Sean, especially, was entranced. He reached his hand out towards Calvin, who had landed on the ground beside the children. Calvin took a short hop back and shook his head.

  “Maybe later, Calvin had a rough morning too, almost got himself shot,” Michael said.

  “What happened?” Rynn asked. After a moment she continued. “You know what? Don't answer that right now. You need to get some sleep. You look like you're about to fall over.”

  When Rynn spoke, Calvin turned his attention to her. He hopped over and gave her a careful examination. When she turned to look at him and he caught sight of her eyes, he exploded into the air with his feathers puffed out, making him appear twice his normal size.

  “Not to worry Calvin,” Rynn glanced at Michael to ensure she had the name right. “You're safe with me, just ask Michael.”

  Michael glanced up wearily.

  “What's wrong Calvin? Rynn's good people.”

  The crow elected to stay atop the garden fence as Michael led his guests towards the house.

  “I'll put you in the basement rooms for now. There are a couple of spare bedrooms upstairs that are currently occupied. There's two more beyond those but one's mine and the other still has a lot of stuff from my last guard in it.”

  “The mine needs a guard?” Rynn asked.

  Michael shook his head.

  “No, the Board housed guards here to watch me, kind of like my own personal jailers. Like they needed it between the wards and stripping me of my power.”

  Rynn's eyes opened wide.

  “They did what to you?”

  “They've got wards up, if I try to go more than twenty-five miles away from the house, they physically stop me. Then they put jailers here too so I couldn't go letting the town know that magic is real. It's been a kind of cushy but comfortable prison. Even so, it is still a prison,” Michael said.

  “No, I meant stripping you of your power. I didn't think that could be done. Even if it could, I'd be amazed if the Board had anyone that could do it. They can't find their own asses without a map and a tour guide. Although, I recently found out that they'd done something to me that I didn't think they were capable of either, so...”

  Michael became more alert.

  “What did they do to you?” he asked in a voice that was nearly a growl.

  “They blocked away some of my memories. As a matter of fact, they blocked away almost all of my memories of you. I hadn't thought of you in years until Eugene showed me a copy of the paper you tried to get the Board to disseminate. Then I remembered a little. Some later events helped me find the block they'd put up. So I removed it and remembered the rest when we were halfway here,” Rynn answered.

  “If I needed another reason to hate them, now I've got it. I got a tip that they're sending someone here soon to take over the mine. What they're planning on doing with me, I don't know. But I think it's finally time to stand up to them. We can talk about it more after we've all had some rest. I'll understand if you don't want to be here when they arrive, and I'll do what I can to find you a place down in town if you'd rather.”

  Rynn shook her head.

  “We'll talk about it, and maybe the kids should go down into the town, but I've had enough of the Board. They won't dare try to kill me. If my dad found out, he'd eat them alive. When I remembered everything, I found out that dad threatened the Board. He said he'd kill them all if you ended up dead at their hands. So we might have a hole card to play. I bet they weren't expecting to find me here and they don't expect you to know about dad's threat.”

  Michael's head drooped again. Even the news of another one of the Board's misdeeds wasn't enough to keep him alert.

  “Here, let me show you the rooms before I collapse,” he said.

  When he opened the back door, Jeff was right there.

  “What happened Michael? I heard gunshots, then you talking with the sheriff, but I thought I should stay inside.”

  “Problem's taken care of Jeff, Liz is safe now. Oh, this is Rynn and... I can't remember the other names right now. They can introduce themselves to you. I need to get them to their rooms before I fall over.”

  He led them down into the basement and told them they could each take whichever room they wanted.

  “Some of the cots are in worse shape than others. You'll need to check them. After I get Joshua's room cleared out, you can have that one Rynn. Lots more space than these little ones.”

  Michael staggered up the two flights of stairs with Jeff trying to help him. He told Jeff to get some more sleep and then threw himself onto his bed. He left the Garand leaning against the nightstand, in easy reach. With the unique scent that was distinctly Rynn filling his nostrils, he was asleep in seconds.

  * * *

  Rynn took charge as Michael headed for bed assisted by the boy he'd introduced as Jeff.

  “Alright, there are ten rooms and five of you. I want you to each take two rooms, fold out the cots in them and see if they're in good enough shape to use. Leave the ones in good shape unfolded, fold the others back up. The sooner we get settled into rooms, the sooner you can all get some sleep in something a little closer to a bed than the backseat of a car.”

  There was some minor grumbling, but when Sean claimed the two closest rooms to check, there was a rush as the other children each tried to claim the rooms at this end of the hall.

  Rynn peeked into the room that Sean entered. The walls were rough-finished wood and the room held the aforementioned cot, a dresser, a chair, and a small desk. There was no space for any more furnishings than the room contained. With the cot folded up, it looked as though there were, but Rynn was sure that with the cot unfolded, it would be necessary to dodge furniture to get in and out of bed.

  Like I said though, it beats the hell out of the back seat of a car, she thought.

  There were three cots that were beyond repair. Of the other seven, four were fine and three needed some minor work. There was nothing that needed to be fixed on those three before they could be used though.

  “Each of you choose a room, we'll go youngest to oldest. Sean?”

  Sean, of course, picked the room closest to the stairs. Randall and Cindy ended up with the next two while Andi and Eugene picked rooms at the far end of the hall. Rynn chose the room next to Andi's.
<
br />   “Horribly thin walls,” she said to Andi. “I hope you don't snore. I'm sure I'd hear it if you did.”

  Andi looked at Eugene and blushed. Rynn hid her grin.

  Ah, to be young again and think you're sneaky enough to pull the wool over an adult's eyes. Ouch, when did I start thinking of myself as an adult?

  She helped the children get their belongings down into the rooms they'd chosen. The kids were almost as beat as Michael and, once they had their belongings in their rooms, tried out their cots. Rynn wasn't all that tired. She'd have to pay for her exertions, but not with sleep. She scratched the area a few inches below her belly button and felt the hard surface of the scales that were forming over her flesh.

  Already? Normally it takes a day or two for them to show up. I guess stress makes that happen faster, or something. Maybe I triggered it when we were at Todd's house. No use for it, I'll have to find a time to change soon or it's just going to get worse.

  She went upstairs and out the back door. Michael's garden greeted her eyes. Calvin sat on the fence, staring at her.

  “Yes, Calvin, I'm a predator. But I won't eat you, you're Michael's pet.”

  Calvin cawed indignantly.

  “Okay, or maybe not a pet. But Michael knows you and seems to like you. So you're safe with me. Besides, you're way too small. You haven't seen me in my predator form yet.”

  She wandered into the garden under Calvin's watchful eye. A tomato caught her eye, it was plump and deep red. As she looked down the row, she realized that there were lots of ripe tomatoes. She plucked one, brushed a bit of glitter off of it, and bit into it like an apple.

  No wonder Michael and dad got along so well. They both like gardening and they both tinker with electronics, trying to make them usable by wizards. I'm sure Michael enjoys gardening or these plants wouldn't be nearly as healthy as they are.

  Her curiosity took her out of the garden and up near the mine buildings.

  I'm pretty sure this is the place dad took me back when I wasn't even a teenager yet. But he didn't call it a mine, he called it a cache.

  Rynn shook her head, deciding to ask Michael about that later on. She looked down towards the lake that gave the town its name and something on the slope caught her attention. She started to walk closer to it before realizing it was a corpse.

  Shit! No wonder Michael was clutching that rifle and said he had a bad night. I'm guessing this took place recently or the body would've been gone by now. I think I'll just go back in the house.

  Rynn returned to the kitchen and noticed the coffee pot. She hadn't had any coffee since before they evacuated the school so she started looking through the kitchen, searching for it. She was opening cupboards when she heard a footfall behind her and spun to find another woman in the kitchen.

  “Who are you?” Anne asked.

  “I might ask the same,” Rynn replied.

  “I'm Michael's guest. He didn't tell me anyone else was here.”

  “So am I. He didn't tell you because we just got here a little more than an hour ago. He went to bed right after we got here, evidently he'd been up all night.”

  Anne's eyes flashed with guilt.

  “He was standing guard because someone wanted to kill my daughter. She's upstairs, still asleep.”

  “That sounds like the Michael I remember. I'm Rynn.”

  “Anne.”

  “Do you know where Michael keeps the coffee?” Rynn asked.

  “No, but I could use some also. I'll help you look.”

  Good, Rynn thought. She isn't around here much or she'd know where it was. Wait a second, am I jealous?

  Rynn found the coffee and suppressed the little flash of glee she felt because she'd found it before Anne. She stayed silent as the coffee brewed. When it was done, she poured two cups and handed one over.

  The two woman talked over their coffee, much of it about Michael. Anne revealed more than she'd intended and Rynn hoped that she hadn't done the same. She could tell herself she wasn't jealous, that there was nothing between her and Michael, but despite the thirty years that had passed since they'd seen each other, she'd still reacted strongly to him.

  So, Anne was trying to flirt with him and he didn't even notice. That sounds like Michael. Or maybe he did notice and was just being nice. It seems that Michael is friendlier with her son than with her though.

  “I think Jeff did say something about Michael expecting more people. I thought there would be more than one though,” Anne said.

  “I've got five of my students crashed out in the rooms in the basement,” Rynn replied. “But I couldn't sleep if I tried, so I've been wandering a little. Don't go on the slope out back.”

  “Why not?” Anne asked, slightly belligerent at being ordered around by someone she'd just met.

  “Well, from what I saw out there I think the man that was after your daughter isn't going to be troubling anyone from now on.”

  “I thought I heard loud gunshots earlier, but by the time I was fully awake, they'd stopped. I wasn't sure if I dreamed them or they really happened,” Anne said.

  “They really happened. You don't want to look at the back slope, trust me on this.”

  Anne thought for a moment then nodded curtly. Rynn claimed another cup of coffee and wandered into Michael's living room. The bookcase caught her attention. She looked through the books, noting that their reading tastes still overlapped quite a bit. Then she settled on a book by an author she hadn't read before and took it and her coffee out onto the back porch where she'd noticed some comfortable chairs.

  * * *

  Michael woke with the sun shining in his eyes. Since he'd never gone to bed the night before, he'd never drawn the curtains. He glanced over at the alarm clock.

  Ten AM, I wonder if I can get by on this much sleep. I feel like I abandoned Rynn right after she got here. Wait, Rynn's here! I need to get up.

  He dragged himself out of bed and changed his clothes. Then he stumbled downstairs. There was coffee in the pot that was still warm, if not hot. He poured himself a cup and went out to the back porch.

  “Calvin, breakfast!” he called.

  Motion to one side startled him, he turned to see Rynn sitting in a chair with a book in her hand and a coffee cup alongside of her.

  “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you,” he said.

  “That's okay, I didn't think you'd be up yet. It's only been a few hours,” she replied.

  “I got two hours of sleep in the middle of the night while Jeff kept an eye on things. Then I got another four just now. I can manage on six hours worth as long as I don't try to do it all the time.”

  Calvin came in for a landing on the other side of the door from Rynn. He kept an eye on her as he hopped down to the floor and made his way through the pet door. Michael followed him.

  “Sorry Calvin, no eggs left,” Michael said. “We'll need to go visit Miriam to get some more. I have enough of the kibble to last you for a few months at least.”

  Calvin gave a soft cry and started pecking at the dog food. Michael wondered what he'd have for breakfast himself and started looking through his cupboards.

  The door opened as Rynn let herself in.

  “I hope you don't mind, Anne and I made some coffee,” she said.

  “That's not a problem. I stocked up on as much of it as I could so there's plenty, for a while at least.”

  “Thank you for letting us come here Michael. I know you hate the Board and since they run the school...”

  “Yeah, well I couldn't just leave you stuck there, could I?”

  Yes, you could've, she thought. But you probably didn't even consider that, did you?

  “Still...” Rynn said.

  “When I heard your voice I realized how much I'd missed you. I'd convinced myself otherwise but... it's kind of lonely here. I stopped trying to be friendly with anyone in the town since the Board came by every few years and removed all their memories of me. It made it hard to build any kind of relationship with them si
nce I wasn't willing to put out the effort to do so over and over.”

  Rynn's face held a look of shock, and pity.

  “They did what? I wouldn't have thought they could do that. As in, I didn't know they had anyone competent enough to do that.”

  “Well, after they stripped me of my primary ability, my water magic, I knew that they could do it and wouldn't hesitate to do it. They left me my earth magic though, because it's useful in working with the mine,” Michael said.

  “I still say there's no way they could totally remove your water magic.”

  “It isn't totally gone. I can do some very minor things with water still, but nothing compared to what I used to be capable of. I can do less with water than I can with earth now.”

  “Then it isn't stripped. It might be blocked or redirected, but if you can still do some then they didn't sever you from it entirely. Maybe we can do something about that,” Rynn offered.

  “You're welcome to try, when I look for it inside myself there's just this tiny trickle instead of the raging river that used to be there.”

  The silence stretched out for several moments.

  “I saw your garden, it's beautiful,” Rynn said.

  “Thank you, I direct a lot of my excess energy there. It's a useful way to keep myself occupied.”

  “I also saw what was on the back slope.”

  “Oh, did the sheriff send someone by to clean that up yet?”

  Rynn shook her head.

  “Not that I know.”

  “I'd better go out there then. He had a gun and some Molotov cocktails, I think. I don't want any of the kids to get a hold of those.”

  “Good plan. I don't think it would be a problem for the older kids, but I wouldn't want Sean or Randall getting their hands on those.”

  “I was also thinking about Liz and Jeff, she's even younger than the two young ones you have. You met Jeff, he can be a handful and I think he'd bring them to me, but I'm not a hundred percent sure.”

  “You're right. Besides, having an extra gun around wouldn't be a bad idea. I've got a few in my trunk that we recovered after a fight on our way here,” Rynn said.