No one has seen Esme since she threw the sulfur into the vortex and collapsed it. And she didn’t just destabilize the thing –- she collapsed it. There is no longer a vortex in Orla. We have no idea how long it will last, but we’ve already heard that the vortexes in Sedona, Arizona, are losing their energy, and since they are on one of the same ley lines, it seems that she set off a chain reaction. Whether that was her intention or not, no one knows. Well, maybe Gram knows, but she still won’t talk about Esme’s “politics.”
“It’s on a need to know basis,” she says, and I don’t need to know.
And finally, Thompson and his friend have split. The garage is up for sale again, and I’m thinking that maybe Matthew will buy it back, but to be honest, if I never see the place again it will be too soon, so I’m hoping he picks something on the other side of town. As to why Thompson and his friend with the strange eyes were there in the first place, Gram says that they were up to no good and that’s all she’ll say about it. I did manage to get her to admit that they might be something other than strictly human, but it was very late and she was feeling very tired. When I tried to get her to tell me more the next morning, she just gave me chores.
It’s not the same around the house without Gramps, and I feel his loss keenly. Not only was he my mentor in this new crazy life I lead, he was the only father I’ve ever had. But we still have Tara’s Spirit Board out in the clubhouse – sorry, Matthew’s place – so maybe I’ll sit down and give it another shot one of these days, and see if maybe Gramps is still hanging around.
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Acknowledgements
Gabby, I could not have done this without you.
My daughter was there at the beginning, when the concept was first being born, to the moment I finally put my fingers on the keyboard and let the ideas flow out of my head. She’s patiently hashed out the finer plot points with me over coffee and roadtrips and she’s read every page I asked her to – multiple times. She’s given me her expert opinion on all matters teenager whenever and wherever it was needed. And most of all, she encouraged me even when I didn’t ask for encouragement. Thank you, baby girl.
Another great influence on this story early on must be acknowledged: between the Universe and Maggie Stiefvater I knew I was on the right track due to myriad synchronicities that occurred in the early stages of the draft. You see, I was researching vortexes and ley lines in Texas when I came across the information on Orla, TX in Dan Shaw’s book The Vortex Field Guide. It was at this time that I picked up a copy of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. To my utter amazement I discovered that her book was about ley lines and that one of her characters was named Orla.
I thought this might be a coincidence, but it wasn’t. A few months later as I was finishing up my draft, Maggie produced a beautiful set of tarot cards to complement her Raven Cycle series and I was utterly dumbfounded to see the same landscape I had used several times in Sam’s iconic road trip dreams depicted clearly and with eerie familiarity on her major arcana card ‘The World’. By the time I saw the card, I had encountered so many synchronicities that I had no doubt that I was writing something that was meant to be written by me. What a journey! So thanks, Maggie. Even though I’ve never met you, and possibly never will, you impacted me at an important time.
Loa Ledbetter and Kristi Hutson must also be named. These two intrepid ladies threw their lots in with me for the vortex hunting road trip. We drove and drove and drove for hours, to see if we could find signs of actual vortex activity in Orla, TX. Without these two, I would not have ventured on such a significant trip on my own. I would have missed out on much more than vortex-sign. I would have lost the opportunity to cement a friendship that until then had been jovial acquaintance at its best.
We camped like bohemians, drank moonshine like rednecks and found what we were looking for: a vortex, a friendship, an experience we will always share between us. Loa – you found the arrow building, you were the one who knew we had to go there. Kristi, your feedback proved we found what we came to find. I miss you guys. We should do another trip soon.
Thank you especially to Dan Shaw, who not only answered my email when I inquired about Orla and the vortex there, but talked to me on the phone for a good ninety minutes, and answered every question I had and then some.
Thank you to my beta readers: my daughter Gabby, Kiara Tomlinson, Loa Ledbetter, Kristi Hutson, John Brewer, and Carl and Moralee Wendtland, my parents.
Also, many thanks go out to Carrie Vaughn and the FenCon 2014 Writing Workshop for letting me know that I was onto something; to my editor Leslie Karen Lutz of Elliott Bay Editing, and to my cover artist James T. Egan of Bookfly Design. Thank you for your words of wisdom and criticism, your mad editing skillz and your cover design kung fu. Because of you guys, this book looks amazing.
Finally, thank you to my husband Jason, who put up with my manic research, my road trip proclivities and my incessant chatter about ley lines, orgonite, crystals, energy sensitivity and other metaphysical subjects ad nauseum. Without you babe, this would have been a lonely road.
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A Quarrel Called: Stewards Of The Plane Book 1 Page 28
