by Anne Haley
She did a double take when she saw a second car pull in behind him. A man got out and waved at Blake and his mom.
Aylin rid herself of the lighter and turned to check herself out in the mirror. As she smoothed out her hair she smiled to herself. She was actually concerned about how she looked. She had carefully picked the dark denim jeans and a teal cardigan over a white collared shirt. It was only Terra’s brother and mother. But somewhere deep inside she was looking forward to seeing Blake again. She knew he would find a way to talk to her alone to offer his help again, but they wouldn’t have shouting matches with each other.
Friends. That’s what he had called her, and she liked the idea. Maybe more…
Aylin steeled herself before her mind wandered anymore. No, she was only going to have a friendship with him, and not a close one at that. She had no time and no need for anything more than that. She hurried to the front door and when she opened it she watched Blake walk up the front steps with the older woman. The woman seemed steady enough to walk on her own, but she had a hand wrapped around Blake’s upper arm. Aylin opened the screen door and smiled at them. "Hello!"
Blake and the woman looked up. "Hey." Blake nodded at her, and his smile was slow and when it reached his eyes they twinkled. The stranger walked behind them, and it set her comfort level down to the minimum.
When they made it to the door Aylin held out her hand. "You must be Mrs. Bronson?"
"Please, call me Mary." The woman smiled up at Aylin and took her hand. "You must be Aylin. This is Owen," She gestured to the stranger.
"I hope you don’t mind that we invited him along." Blake nodded to her. "He’s practically family."
"No problem. It’s nice to finally meet you, Mary. I’ve heard so much about you from Terra." She took their jackets. Mary was a slight woman, and her white hair had been tied into a tight bun at the base of her head. Her eyes were bright blue, and it seemed age hadn’t reached them yet.
"All good, I hope." Mary sat down on the couch.
"Of course. And Owen, nice to meet you." She stretched her hand to him. She had to look up to him, since he towered over her at the same height as Blake.
"You too," he smiled. "I’ve heard so much about you," he said quickly before he received an elbow from Blake.
"Well I know that can’t all be good," she said quietly, with a smile. "Let me tell Terra you’re here." Aylin excused herself. She stuck her head into the kitchen and found Terra slicing bread with a shaking hand while El sat on the counter drinking wine. "They’re here and they brought Owen." Aylin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh God!" Terra looked ready to cry. "Why are they doing this to me?"
"What’s the problem?" El asked.
"Owen is Blake’s best friend, and has been around since I was five. If the dinner is horrible I will never hear the end of it from either of them."
"Can I do that for you?" Aylin held out her hand for the knife.
Terra looked relieved and handed her the knife. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"The dinner is going to be wonderful. If how it smells says anything, you have me starving. And you look great," she nodded in encouragement. El had lent Terra a cream sweater dress and paired it with brown leggings and boots.
"I feel odd." Terra tugged at the hem of the dress. "I’ll just go say hi." She disappeared into the living room.
"How are the cooking lessons?" Aylin asked.
"Great, she catches on fast." El jumped off the counter to check on the roast.
"Surprising since you only make demands."
"If you were in here earlier you would have seen me teaching her properly. Always a critic." She crossed her arms and looked Aylin over. "You’re even wearing lipstick. For anyone in particular?"
Aylin didn’t look up from the bread. "No one needs a reason to look good," she imitated El.
"And you just happen to take that advice the night Blake is coming for dinner. Interesting." El grabbed another bottle of wine to set on the table.
Dinner was delicious, surprising everyone but El. The roast was so tender that it fell apart with the touch of a fork, and the roasted potatoes had the same herb flavoring as the roast. The buttery string beans still held a slight crunch and were glazed with olive oil and lemon. The citrus was a sharp contrast to the richness of the meat, making it an exploration to their pallets. Even Terra couldn’t stop giggling from her success. "You must have a way of teaching. I tried with Terra, but it never stuck," Mary said after finishing the chocolate mousse.
"Mom, you handed me a cookbook and said to just follow the directions!" Terra laughed. "El did everything with me."
"I might be eating here every night if the dinner’s are like this. I’d also have to run about ten miles a day, too." Blake refilled his wine glass. "I never thought something so delicious would come out of that kitchen." He pointed at the door.
"Oh stop it. You’re no chef either." Terra hit him on the arm.
"I second that," Owen said, who just finished his second helping. "Terra has turned into an amazing chef." He raised his wine glass to her.
"Aylin, Terra tells me you run a floral shop on Willoughby Island?" Mary piped up.
"Yes, it was my mother’s, and when she passed I took over the store."
"Well, depending on how long you’re planning on staying, I do know that Lisa is looking for a florist for her shop. Her last florist married this past August and moved to Wisconsin."
"Oh, thank you," Aylin nodded. She missed working with flowers, and she often thought of her shop. It was in good hands; Jordan ran the business very well without her, but she still missed it. "I might look into that."
"So you are planning on staying awhile, then?" Mary was only looking at Aylin, and her steady gaze had Aylin shifting in her seat.
She looked over at El and lifted a shoulder slightly, "Maybe. It’s hard to say."
"What is keeping you here?" Her eyes had turned icy, raising Aylin’s defenses.
"Mom," Terra stopped her. "They can stay as long as they like. As long as it takes," she said and shut her mouth tight knowing she said too much and her eyes shot at Aylin.
Aylin’s eyes widened momentarily, and she busied herself with stacking the plates. "Are you finished Blake?" She reached across the table.
"Ah, yeah." He handed her his plate, and his fingers brushed hers sending a warm tingle down her arm. "Let me give you a hand." He stood and collected everyone else’s plates.
"What do you mean, dear? As long as what takes?" Mary directed her eyes to Terra.
"It’s nothing Mom," Aylin heard Terra reply before the kitchen door swung shut behind her. She placed the plates in the sink and put her hands on the edge, giving herself a moment to lean against the counter. Her heart was racing, from Terra’s slip, but more from Blake’s touch.
"Don’t worry about it," Blake said quietly behind her. "Mom will soon forget what she said. Terra will distract her with something else." Aylin’s hands had tightened on the counter, turning her knuckles white. She heard him set the plates down on the counter, and then he touched her arm, pulling her around. His hand was so warm and her skin tingled wherever he touched her. "Hey, it’s okay." He was looking into her eyes.
"Yes, I know," her voice was raspy. She cleared her throat and stepped out of his reach. "It just took me by surprise is all." She gave him a smile and headed back into the dining room.
El, Terra, Owen, and Mary had moved into the living room by the fire with the wine. El had both Terra and her Mom laughing about something, no doubt she had distracted Mary with her natural clever charm. Owen, however, watched Terra intensely. He glanced at Blake who gave a quick shake of his head. Aylin sat on the floor near El, and smiled apologetically at Terra, who did the same to her.
"Well, I brought something for you, Terra. I’ve been going through the attick where I had boxed up a lot of your father’s things, and I found something you might be interested in. Blake, honey, bring my bag?" Mary said to Blake who was standing behi
nd the couch. He walked to the front door and grabbed a large tote bag. "Thank you." She smiled. She reached in and pulled out an object that was wrapped in brown craft paper. It was large, rectangle, and looked heavy. She heaved it onto Terra’s lap. "I don’t know why he had it, since he wasn’t a book collector, but seeing how you like those old books I thought you would be interested."
Terra unwrapped the book carefully and let the paper fall to the floor. The cover of the book was thick leather, with an intricate gold tree on the front. She lifted the cover and stifled a gasp. The paper looked to be aged parchment from what Aylin could see, but she couldn’t see what was on the page to surprise Terra so. Terra cleared her throat and closed the cover and smiled at Mary. "Thanks Mom. This is great."
"Like I said, I never understood why he had it, but it’s yours now. Blake, honey, I think it’s time for me to retire. Would you drive me home?" She reached over and laid a liver-spotted, wrinkled hand on his smooth skin.
"Certainly." He helped her off the couch. Owen stood and followed them to the door, pulling on his coat.
"Blake, can you stop by again before you go home?" Terra asked after she gave Mary a hug.
"Oh, sure." He nodded.
"I’m glad you came, Owen." She smiled to her old friend.
"Me too. Great cooking." He leaned down to hug her. "It was good to meet you all. I’m sure we’ll see each other again."
Aylin stepped forward with her hand outstretched to Mary. "It was wonderful meeting you, Mary."
"Oh, come here." Mary held out her arms. When she wrapped her arms around Aylin’s neck she whispered in her ear, "Protect my children, Aylin. I know you can." She patted her back and let go.
Aylin’s smile froze on her face. Mary and Blake were gone before Aylin blinked again. Mary couldn’t have hinted at what Aylin automatically assumed. She must only think that she was helping Terra through whatever she was in. That had to be it, there was no other possible explanation. But Mary had specifically said children, which brought Blake into the picture.
"Come on Aylin, let’s clean up the kitchen." El tugged on her arm.
"When Blake comes back we all need to talk," Terra said after them.
"About what?" El asked.
"You’ll see."
"So, what’s with you and Owen?" El trapped her in the corner.
"What do you mean?" Terra frowned. "He’s Blake’s best friend."
"Yeah, and he’s really into you. He couldn’t stop looking at you." El smiled at Terra’s blushing.
"Whatever, we just haven’t really seen each other in awhile. That’s all."
"No, El is right. He was watching you," Aylin agreed, trying to forget Mary’s comment for now.
"And you should take advantage of that, he is gorgeous!" El flung her arms up.
"Then you go take advantage of that. He thinks of me as a sister." Terra shrugged.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Once they were all gathered again in Terra’s living room, Terra put the book on the coffee table. "Dad knew," she said as she looked at Blake. "There is no other way for him to have this."
"What is this?" El pointed at the book.
"I believe it belongs to The Rune," Terra said, very excited. "Look at the title!" She opened the cover carefully. On the first page it was written in old English letters "Seanchai." Underneath were replicas of the rune symbols.
"Terra, it can’t-"
"It appears to be journals of previous protectors, previous fae on how they protected it, for how long, and who it was next passed on to," Terra interrupted El.
"I can’t believe it." Aylin scooted closer to the book and lightly ran her finger over the text. "I’d heard of such a thing, but since I’d never seen it I thought it was a myth. You’re father was a Storyteller." She looked at Terra. She had only heard of Storytellers in some of her mother's stories that she told her. They were merely bedtime stories of great adventures and faerie princes saving faerie princesses.
"What is it? Just protecting the book?" El raised an eyebrow. "No offense, but if he just left it out in the open at his house, that’s not doing such a good job."
"Well, he didn’t know he was going to die," Terra snapped.
"Stop it," Aylin silenced them. "The Storyteller isn’t just another protector, he writes down the events in the book. Writes the history."
"So I’m a Storyteller?" Terra frowned.
"No. You can’t be the Earth faerie and the Storyteller. The Storyteller was someone that was close, but an outsider." She looked at Blake. "I think you are supposed to be the next one."
"You’re kidding." Blake shook his head.
"If I’m right, then I’m not kidding. If I’m right, you would be the only one that can write in the Seanchai." She stood and grabbed a pen off the desk in the corner and held it out to Blake. "Prove me wrong." She dared him.
He took the pen from her and opened the book toward the end. There were only a few blank pages left, and he held the pen at the top of one of them. He sighed and wrote the date down. Nothing else happened. He looked back up at Aylin. "Watch." She took the pen back from him and ran the pen straight across the page, leaving no mark. "Storyteller." She held the pen back out to him. "You got your wish," she said sullenly.
"What wish?" El was leaning over the book, clearly fascinated by earlier journal entries.
"He wanted to help and now it seems he has a place with us," Terra said.
"Keep it safe, you never know who you can trust now." Aylin crossed her arms. "You are in just as much danger as the rest of us."
Blake was dumbstruck. Being a Storyteller didn’t sound to be a great job at all. It sounded like something Terra would love, not him. He hadn’t read a book in years, although he did read the Sunday paper every week. He certainly had never kept a journal before, and he couldn’t think that it was his destiny to write down his and the three faeries everyday occurrence. "So you’re saying it’s my destiny to write a story?" Blake asked skeptically.
Aylin snorted. "It’s a little more than that. You won’t be writing down things like what we had for dinner and such. Take it home, read some of the previous entries and you’ll understand."
"I’m still a little lost here. What is The Rune? What is a Seanchai?" Blake looked from Terra to Aylin.
Aylin grimaced. She had left out the specific details from him to keep him safe. Now the floodgates were open and there would be very little he wouldn’t know about them. "The Rune is an object that holds something very ancient and powerful. What it holds is what we are fighting to protect it from a group of witches that want to use it for their own power. What’s held inside is the power of the elements. We refer to it as The Rune, and the witches call it the Duile. It’s a very old Celtic term for elements. Same with Seanchai. It is basically the book of the history of the Duile. But I don’t really know enough about it to tell you much more than that."
He watched her carefully and let this information sink in for a moment. "Let me get this straight, you three are keeping the elements out of harms way? From witches?"
"Yes. They want to control the elements to do their bidding. We are the only ones who can find The Rune. I am guessing that since you are the Storyteller, you will be able to find it also. It’s in the woods. It appears when you need it, when you call for it," she stopped talking when his frown deepened.
"I still don’t think I get it." He shook his head.
"Maybe I’m not saying it right. Try reading, Blake. It might explain it better for you." She gestured to the Seanchai. "But be warned, you might be in as much danger as us three now. If the witches find out you can get to The Rune without one of us, then they might go after you."
Blake snorted. "No offense, but I can protect myself."
El raised an eyebrow in amusement. "No doubt, if it comes to physical blows. But how exactly are you going to protect yourself from a spell that, let's say, turns you into a spider with a few words?"
He paled. "That can happen?"
&
nbsp; Aylin sighed impatiently at El. "Our world doesn't hold the limitations that yours does. Yes, find the right witch and she might have the power to be able to transform you into something else."
He raked a hand through his hair. "What's stopping them from doing the same to you?"
"We are a little more protected, being faeries. We can use our own magic to protect us. You aren't a normal human, but you can't perform magic." Aylin stood up. "I think you'd have a much better understanding to all of this if you started reading previous entries."
"Okay, okay." Blake also stood, carefully lifting the book into his arms. "I'll give it a try."
It was after midnight when Blake finally sat down on his couch and looked down at the Seanchai on his coffee table. His head felt like it would explode from the turmoil inside. So many unanswered questions, like could he really believe that there were faeries and witches in the world, but not magical books? Did his life hold no boundaries anymore? There still had to be things that aren’t possible. Instead of opening the Seanchai he picked up his glass of scotch, the ice cubes long melted away, and leaned against the back of the couch. Above his television was a collage of family photos, and he focused on one of Terra and him, with their father’s arms around them. They were all laughing, having just finished whacking each other with snowballs, acting like a normal family. All that time his father knew that his children wouldn’t have normal lives, and didn’t hint to them what they were in for.
Blake’s hand tightened on the glass. If he had only given them some type of warning then all the pain that they had endured with Terra in the last year would have been avoided. She could have known before any of this and she wouldn’t have run away. Then Blake wouldn’t have been terrified everyday that he would forget that no one was as strong as him and had to pretend that he was weaker.
