“I know it,” Ellie agreed.
They were silent for a long while. Ellie was thinking about Thane’s situation. She could not imagine having to attack his family and run the risk of hurting him on accident, not after everything they had been through together. The possibility had never felt more real. At least she knew Neveah would never include her in the fighting. Neveah thought too little of Ellie for that.
Thane finally broke the silence. He had not risked sneaking into her shack just to mope or whine about his confliction. They had shared their moment in the woods. Their confliction had been aired out there. There was no point dwelling on it. He pointed at the book she had placed on the table; the one she had been reading when he arrived.
“What are you reading?” Thane asked.
Ellie smiled at the question. She knew it was a distraction, but it was a welcome one. It was a silent agreement to put aside the feud and create another neutral space in her shack. There was no feud when they were together, only two friends discussing whatever they wanted. She started telling Thane about it, her excitement for the story and the writing palpable across the small space. They talked until it was very late, too late for anyone but the moon to be up.
Ellie curled up in a chair she had crafted as they talked. It was Thane’s turn to show his exhaustion first, however. He leaned back against the sofa and shut his eyes between one of Ellie’s words and the next. His breathing was slow and steady as he dozed off. It was calming. Ellie listened to it for a long time before the rhythm of it soothed her in to a deep sleep.
When she woke up the next morning, Thane was gone. Ellie was not sure how he had parted the vines, but the curiosity did not last long. In his place was a book she had never seen before. It was slender and had a binding that was worn and tattered. It was small enough to fit in a pocket. There was no title on the outside, but the inside cover had a picture and small lettering. The lettering suggested it was a collection of stories. Ellie smiled when she saw the title of the first story: Cinderella. She shut the book and put it into her pocket. Like her boots, it was proof of an adventure. It was proof she could keep on her at all times.
“Why are you humming?” Neveah asked.
Ellie looked up from the floor she was scrubbing and realized her sister was right. She had been humming. Ellie looked around the kitchen for a quick answer. Cousin’s banjo was in the corner of the room.
“Cousin was playing songs when he was here earlier. One got stuck in my head,” Ellie said.
Neveah put a hand to her temple, her face pained. “Keep it down. I got a headache,” Neveah said.
“Sorry,” Ellie said.
Neveah started to turn away. She thought of something and turned back. “Family’s coming over tonight. We got things to discuss. Be outta the way when they get here. I don’t want you distracting them.”
“Fine by me,” Ellie said.
Neveah frowned at Ellie’s tone, but did not say anything. She turned away with a flick of her hair, her hand moving back to her forehead. Ellie heard the squeak of the sofa as Neveah sat down.
“Bring me a cool cloth!” Neveah yelled after a moment.
Ellie sighed and put her scrubbing brush down. She pulled a cloth out of the closet and wet it. She wrung out the excessive moisture and brought it to Neveah obediently.
“What took you so long?” Neveah asked as Ellie handed her the cloth.
“You won’t let me craft,” Ellie pointed out.
“Damn straight,” Neveah said.
Ellie kept her face neutral despite her irritation and tried to turn away from her sister. Neveah caught her wrist, forcing Ellie to face her again. Neveah’s eyes were enigmatic as she looked at Ellie. There was a strange expression on her face. It was almost like concern. Concern mixed with suspicion.
“You haven’t been crafting have you?” Neveah asked.
“No…” Ellie lied.
“Well, something’s different,” Neveah said.
“About me?” Ellie asked.
“You’re spending less time daydreaming and more time hurrying to get your chores done. I’ve never seen you so focused on work,” Neveah said. Her face hardened as an idea occurred to her. “I think you’re practicing your crafting at night.”
“I’ve been reading at night,” Ellie said. “Momma brought me…”
Neveah held up her hand. She was not interested in Ellie’s excuses or mention of their Momma. She knew Ellie had to be practicing. A Bumbalow knew craft like a farmer knew seed. It was impossible to stop craft just because it had been forbidden.
“You know it’s dangerous to craft, right?” Neveah asked. “I wouldn’t tell you not to for no reason.”
Ellie was startled by her sister’s tone. It was full of worry – unlike her. There was a hidden meaning in her words. It was a meaning Ellie had enough sense not to ask about. It was a meaning Ellie knew would be a stretch of the truth. She knew that most of the Coopers could not sense craft. Thane had told her as much.
“I suppose…” Ellie said halfheartedly.
“Some of the Coopers can feel crafting,” Neveah said. “They’ll sense you crafting, even from town, and know you’re a threat to 'em. Then they’ll come after you. They already kidnapped you once. You won’t be so lucky next time.”
“I don’t think that would matter to them,” Ellie said. “My crafting, I mean. A Bumbalow is a Bumbalow to them, just like a Cooper is a Cooper to us. We fight regardless of feeling. It’s what we do, right?”
“No sense in painting a target on your back,” Neveah said. “Not now.”
“Why now?” Ellie asked.
Neveah realized who she was talking to and what she was saying. Her eyes hardened, and she adjusted the cool cloth on her forehead to make up for the slip of the tongue. Ellie could tell there was more going on than she knew. Neveah was planning something. There was an attack on the Coopers in the works.
“Mind your business. And get back to your chores. I don’t want the house filthy when the family comes over. The cousins’ll be talking about it for weeks…you know they ain’t got nothing else to do.”
Ellie obediently turned away. The tone of Neveah’s voice suggested the attack would be major. It was an attack Ellie was not sure she wanted to know about. It would only cause Ellie more worry. She would not be able to keep the worry from Thane.
Neveah did not talk to Ellie for the rest of the day, not even to make fun of her. Ellie took that as a positive change, though Neveah’s words weighed heavily on her mind. Ellie could not figure out if it was really the Coopers Neveah feared, or if she feared Ellie figuring out how to craft on her own. The truth was blurred behind Neveah’s harsh demeanor.
Ellie worked hard to finish her chores and get away before the family came to visit. She did not want to spend the evening fetching drinks and listening to the old people talk about the ‘good ol' days.’ She would be trapped then and leaving would be seen as offensive to the family. Ellie did not want the hassle or the company. She wanted peace and quiet. She went to her shack.
Caw was gone. He had used his trapdoor to search out bugs and fly over the forest in the sort of freedom Ellie envied. His absence made her shack feel lonely, lonelier than it had ever felt. She collapsed on her sofa with a sigh and pulled out the book Thane had left her.
As she opened it to the first page of the story, she noticed a strange irregularity in the writing. The letters shifted and moved, rearranging themselves in a way she had never thought possible. After a moment of the letters moving around, a message formed. It was from Thane.
‘Let’s meet next Friday, at midnight. Our place.’
The words moved back to their original state and the story of Cinderella formed on the page once more. Ellie smiled at the clever craft. She had never seen craft so complex and so mischievous. It was a perfect way to hide a message. No one would think to read her book for a clue. Not with the hundreds stacked around her shack. Her family hated books. She was glad for a way to communicate with Thane th
at would not run the risk of discovery. Ellie settled on her sofa and read the story eagerly.
That week there was another attack on her family. It was on her cousin’s farm. Her cousin and his three children had gotten away without injuries, but his wife was not so lucky. Dark craft maimed her once beautiful features. It was the sort of maiming not even Eugenia knew how to fix. Neveah had flown in to a rage unlike any other at getting the news of the maiming. The house had quaked with her anger. Ellie fled her wrath, but even in her shack, she heard the screaming. She knew that screaming would not be the end of it. Neveah would not let such an attack lie. The Coopers would pay.
When the shouting died down, Neveah left the house to go hunting for blood. A maiming for a maiming. Neveah would get her vengeance.
For the first time in her life, Ellie was worried about what would happen to the Coopers. Would it be another death? Would Neveah go too far? More importantly, who would be on the receiving end of the vengeance? Ellie could not help but worry that Thane would be caught up in Neveah’s anger. There was no telling who she would pick in her vengeance.
When Neveah got home, there was another party, though this one held less mirth. The pain of their cousin’s maiming was still fresh. Ellie listened from the kitchen as Neveah told her story in the living room. She had attacked an older man, a man that did not fit Thane’s description. Ellie’s fear for Thane was tempered by the description, but she could not help but wonder how much violence it would take for her and Thane never to want to see each other again. What if the man was Thane’s father or uncle? Would he forgive her for Neveah’s attack?
When Ellie and Thane met Friday, Thane was happy. There was no hint of the brutal nature of Neveah’s attack on his mind. He did not come to blame Ellie for the attacks or to discuss what had happened. Ellie’s suggestion to leave the feud outside their meetings was followed. Thane was almost vibrating from his happy mood.
“You got my message?” Thane asked.
“I got it,” Ellie confirmed.
Caw flew off her shoulder when he saw Thane and landed on his knee to say hello. Thane patted the bird’s black feathers familiarly. He smiled at Ellie. His expression was smug.
“Pretty clever, right?” he asked.
“Yeah. How’d you do it?” Ellie asked.
“I’ve been going through my mother’s things,” Thane admitted. “There was a book in her study. It was something she collected when she was trying out different magic. It lets people send messages over a long distance, kind of like the way Neveah calls for you. It took me a couple of tries to get it right.”
“I've never seen nothing like it,” Ellie confessed. “Your momma must’ve done a lot of researching to find something like that.”
“I told you, she was pretty determined to end the feuding,” Thane said.
“I reckon that can drive a person to find almost anything…” Ellie said. “Determination, I mean.”
“I reckon,” Thane said.
“We ain’t back to the teasing, are we?” Ellie asked.
“I was just playing,” Thane said. “We can play, can’t we?”
“Coopers can be playful?” Ellie asked. “I didn’t think their ego would allow it.”
“Hey!” Thane exclaimed.
“I was just playing,” Ellie said. “We can play, can’t we?”
Thane smiled at her teasing. Then he went back to fidgeting. He was wound up. He could not sit still for very long. Ellie noticed his excitement. It was impossible to miss. She had never seen him so worked up.
“You gonna tell me why you’re so excited?” Ellie asked.
“My dad told me I could stay home next year,” Thane said. “I can go to school here and not be shipped off.”
“Oh,” Ellie said.
Ellie could understand his excitement. She knew he wanted to be a part of things. He wanted to feel as if he belonged. She had a moment of excitement as well. Their friendship could continue beyond the summer. Her excitement turned to doubt. She realized what he was saying and what that meant for him.
“You sure you wanna do that?” Ellie asked.
“What do you mean?” Thane asked.
“It’s harder being here than you think. It’s a vacation for you. You come, fight a little, and go back to your school. You get a break from the fighting that way...you don’t see it all year. You don’t live in it.”
“We’re not having this conversation again, are we?” Thane asked.
“I’m not insulting you,” Ellie said. “I’m just saying…it's not so easy being around it all the time. It wears on you. The fear, worry and doubt aren’t easy to live with on a fulltime basis. On top of that, you’ll be forced to fight. You know it’ll be expected of you. Can you do that?”
Thane lost some of his happiness. He had not contemplated the feud; he had forgotten there would be more than his share of fighting. His father would expect it of him if he stayed home. It was ridiculous to think otherwise.
“I guess…I wasn’t really thinking about that,” Thane admitted.
“You’re just happy to be around your family again?” Ellie guessed.
Thane blinked at her as if her question had surprised him. He fixed his expression quickly. “My father can be a pain, but he is my family. And my mother…it would be nice to be there for her. I think I’d like to have as much history as you have.”
“I’d like to have less,” Ellie said.
“We should trade,” he said.
“Yeah, maybe,” Ellie said.
Ellie thought that he would not like the sort of history she had to share. She doubted he would wish for it if he knew the truth. The weight of their conversation hung between them. Ellie could not shake off the feeling that Thane would be better off staying away for school. She did not want him to leave in the fall, but it seemed like a better option than getting involved in a blood feud. Thane was not eager to let the truth weigh his good mood down.
“Let’s go somewhere,” Thane said.
“I don’t know…we almost got caught last time,” Ellie said. “I feel like we keep pushing our luck.”
“This time we won’t break in anywhere,” Thane said. “We’ll go someplace no one can see us.”
“No one can see us here,” Ellie pointed out.
“Yes, but here we have to worry about your family noticing us,” Thane said.
“What do you have in mind?” Ellie asked.
Thane thought about it for a moment. His thoughts turned certain, and he smiled. He put Caw on his shoulder and stood. He grabbed Ellie’s hand and pulled her in the direction of his car. Ellie started giggling as they all but ran through the forest. Her worry disappeared as they ran. Thane laughed with her.
Thane’s car was parked in the same spot as before. He moved to the driver’s side while Ellie tried to catch her breath from running and laughing. Their conversation had not left Thane’s mind.
“You know, if I do go to school here, we could stay friends,” Thane pointed out in a quiet voice.
“In secret,” Ellie pointed out.
“Well, yeah,” Thane said.
Ellie lost some of her mirth. She did not mind being his friend in secret, but she also knew the longer they kept up their friendship in secret, the more chance it had at discovery. They would not be able to hide the truth forever. What would happen if they were expected to fight each other?
Ellie kept up her smile, but she was worried. She was worried that Thane was not thinking through his decision clearly. Their friendship was clouding the issue. Ellie realized with his words that he wanted to stay because of their friendship. She was glad he thought so much of her, but staying complicated things. She was convinced it was a bad idea.
Ellie got into the car, holding on to her opinion for later. She did not want to bring Thane’s good mood down. She would let him have his moment. Ellie settled Caw on her lap. She considered turning Caw into her necklace, to protect him, but she found she could not. The weight of her thoughtfulne
ss made her want him near her. She stroked his feathers as she turned to Thane.
“So where are we going again?” Ellie asked.
“The ocean,” Thane said.
“Isn’t that near town?” Ellie asked.
“No, it’s a bit farther away…the real beaches I mean,” Thane said.
“You mean to say, there’s more than what I saw in town?” Ellie asked hopefully.
“Course,” Thane said. “The ocean is huge. That was just part of the sound.”
“Oh…of course,” Ellie said.
Thane started the car and drove them down the weed-choked road to the narrow interstate. Ellie looked out at the rushing waves of trees and grass. They flew by in a blur of dark color. She was excited at the idea of seeing the ocean, but her mind lingered on his plans to stay. Part of her wanted him to stay. Another part wanted to convince him of what he had in school. There had to be a way to make him see reason.
“You said you had friends at your school, right?” Ellie asked.
“Yeah. My two best friends are there,” Thane said.
“Tell me about them,” Ellie said.
Thane’s good mood made talking about his friends easy. He told Ellie about his friends, their adventures, the trouble they got in together and all the good times, oblivious to the point she was trying to get across.
“Do they know you can…you know?” Ellie finally asked.
“Do magic?” Thane asked. “No…I’m not supposed to tell anyone.”
“Not even your best friends?” Ellie asked.
Thane shook his head. “It brings a whole lot of trouble when you admit to doing things like that,” Thane said. “It’s best to keep it quiet. There’s no need to make people reach for their pitchforks and light their witch-burning fires.”
“I read about the witch trials,” Ellie said. “Though I don’t think those people had real craft. They could have just crafted the flames away…or something similar, if they had any real talent with craft.”
“They weren’t witches,” Thane said. “But that’s what regular people did to people who they thought had magic. Imagined what they would do to us.”
Craft Page 19
