The tremor lasted scarcely a few seconds, although to Jen it seemed far longer. She found herself crouched on the ground, her hands sweating and resting on the footpath, as if she had dared not trust her feet to keep her upright. Standing, she trembled a little, perhaps from reaction, or perhaps it was that her body now contained the earth tremor. It took her several minutes to calm herself enough to walk back to where she had parked the car.
At least there had been no apparent damage to the town. From what could be seen through the swirling fog the buildings, all seemed intact, although some retaining walls had gained a few new cracks that hadn’t previously existed. From fear, grew excitement, and people milled around talking animatedly about what had happened. Earthquakes were a rare phenomenon in South East Queensland, so this one would surely make it onto the nightly news, along with the abductions, murders and fog that was now the recent feature of Emerald Hills.
Jen put the newspapers on the passenger seat beside her and sat, trying to calm her ragged breathing. The practical, pragmatic part of her scolded her for thinking that anything other than natural causes caused the tremor. However, given the incidents of the last few weeks, Jen wasn’t sure. By now, Jen was ready to attribute paranormal origins to everything that had gone wrong lately, even to the cyclonic storm that had hit weeks earlier. Jen told herself that she wasn’t being rational, but she didn’t care. There were just too many things happening now that she hadn’t seen in all her years of living here.
Finally, Jen made up her mind to speak to someone in authority about it, someone who might listen and lend a sympathetic ear. She thought immediately of the local councilor, but then dismissed the idea. She suspected the underground power lines lay at the heart of the problems, but the Council was working hand-in-glove with the power companies, and the last thing they would want to hear was Jen’s half-formed theories - theories born of gut feeling and her Sight, and not from factual scientific observation.
Who else then? Certainly not the media. She would be hailed as a crackpot and lampooned across the nation. She would probably end up on the internet as a laughing stock. The police seemed a good idea, then she remembered that they knew she had had a car accident and they would pass off her imaginings as brain damage and she’d likely end up committed into some institution somewhere. She shook her head. Every avenue seemed a dead end. There was only one person who would believe her, that person was Tom. Perhaps, he knew what to do. Jen resolved to see him that afternoon, after she completed her shopping.
*
Jen drove out of town, her groceries in the back of the car. She had planned to drop off her purchases at home and then go onto Tom’s place, but once on the road, she just kept going, anxious to put Emerald Hills far behind her. As Jen neared the Delany property, she discovered that Tom’s farm was just outside the mist barrier. As she turned off the main road and drove over the cattle grate and down the long driveway to the homestead, she could see to her left that the far grey wall that was the outermost extent of the fog. It really was a disturbing sight, it was almost as if the fog stated, ‘Here is where the real world ends.’
Jen pressed her foot harder on the accelerator. She was keen to speak with Tom, get his thoughts on the matter and offer her some advice. Suddenly, she slammed on the brakes. A dozen or more kangaroos and wallabies had bounded out from the scrub and fruit trees just ahead of her, hopping across the dirt road and out of sight. It was rare to see a big mob of kangaroos so close to the coast, rare to see them moving at speed and in a densely scrubby area. It almost seemed as if they were fleeing the mist.
Jen pursed her lips and watched the scrub at the mist line. Sure enough, more animals that are native were visible. This time a big flock of cockatoos flew out silently. Instead of roosting in the nearby treetops, they instead wheeled and headed west, away from the mist. Jen shuddered, if the animals were fleeing Emerald Hills, then something was clearly amiss. She put her foot down on the accelerator; it was high time she spoke to Tom.
As the homestead came into view, she saw a number of cars parked out in front, including a police car and an ambulance. Her heart in her mouth, Jen quickly parked and walked up the front stairs to the door, which was open. Quickly, she rang the bell and waited. As she stood on the front verandah, she could hear voices inside the house. For a moment, she thought no one had heard her, and then just as she was about to repress the buzzer, she caught sight of Cathy, her eyes red and puffy as if she had been crying.
“Jennifer! Did you hear?”
Jen shook her head in bewilderment, “What happened? Was there an accident?”
Cathy shook her head, drew Jen outside and shut the door behind her.
“Tom passed on this morning.”
Jen drew in a shocked breath, “I came over to see him! I’m so terribly sorry.”
Cathy drew a deep, shuddery breath, “We think it was a heart attack, although there’s been no indication of anything wrong before. He was out in the orchard helping Matt, when suddenly he clutched at his chest and keeled over. Twenty minutes after that he was dead, we have the coroner here. He’s been up in Emerald Hills since the last murder and came in with the police when we rang emergency.”
Tears leaked from her eyes, “It’s just so sudden. We all knew he was getting on, but he’s always been so hale and healthy. This is just completely out of the blue.” She sobbed out her grief into her hands. Jen, shocked beyond words, could only put an arm around her shoulders, her own eyes welling with tears.
Eventually, Cathy drew away, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“I’m sorry; it’s just been such a shock. I should go to Matt, he’ll need me.”
Jen nodded, “I understand, I should be going too.”
Cathy looked at her and gave her a woeful smile, “Any other time you’d be welcome to visit; it’s just not a good day today.” She fussed with her hands, “I’d best go inside, thanks for dropping by, Jennifer.”
“Let me know when the funeral is,” Jen said. She scribbled her telephone number on a piece of paper and handed it to the other woman. “I’d like to go, if I could.”
Cathy inclined her head, “We’ll see what can be done. I know Tom would want you to be there. Anyway, goodbye, Jennifer.”
Jen lifted her hand in farewell and walked back to the car. She felt shattered. Her only lifeline was gone. She felt devastated, adrift. She had no idea what to do. Mechanically, she got into the car and drove home, her thoughts filled with her last conversation with Tom, and missing him as a friend. She felt utterly alone.
*
A pair of leaf-green eyes watched Jen as she drove into the yard and parked the car. He could feel waves of grief and despair radiating off her, but he could get no closer, even though he longed to take her in his arms to comfort her and love her. The protections she had put in place kept him and the others of his kind at a distance. Even here, standing amongst the bushes on the perimeter of her property he felt the burning. Salt was anathema to his kind and the mortal woman called Jenny had spread it liberally on the trees that the rebels had sent to overwhelm the town.
The Seelie Court had been disgusted with him for falling for the mortal woman. However, he did not care, it was in his nature to love and be loved, and over many generations, he had chosen thousands of lovers from the mortal realm. This one however was different, it was the first time he had chosen a Sighted woman and her stubbornness in continuing to refuse him meant that he was frustrated. For one such as him, frustration was a new emotion. Usually women went gladly to him, seeking out his attention and affection. It had amused and flattered him to see such behaviour and amusements were always to be welcomed, for boredom was the one thing that soured an eternal existence. Like a moth to a flame, he hung about the edges of Jen’s garden. He was invisible to mortal eyes, even most times to hers, yet he was always drawn to the mortal woman in the building.
Reluctantly, he turned away. He would return, no doubt about that, but there were other
new humans who had come to the town that had to be investigated and reported back to the Seelie Court, especially if they were found to be allies of the rebels. He could not act against them, but if Jen could stop what was going on, then the two Courts would finally be freed to seek revenge, on not only the rebels, but their human agents also. As quick as a thought, he melted into the mist, and using the invisible flows of the natural power, travelled almost instantly to the town.
Wearing the mortal face of an attractively, trustworthy mature man, he stalked the streets of mist-filled Emerald Hills. He did not trouble to hide himself. Just a hint of glamour was enough to render him humanlike enough to pass through crowds, and of all the faces he wore, this one had allowed him entry through so many doors and into so many private meetings and trysts. He even ensured his glamour clung when visiting the mortal woman Jenny. He had not bothered so in the past, but for this mission as a messenger, it was important not to allow what he truly was, to influence her. He could have unleashed considerable power at his disposal to manipulate her into doing his will, yet had he done so, he would have broken the Laws. No, she alone had to make the decision to aid the courts. Once, she had made that decision, he would reveal himself and take her for his own. He knew how desirable he was to human females, his nature was elfin, Sidhe. His true face and body one that many mortal women in the past had in their lust killed to possess. Jen would be no different; she would fall into his arms like an autumn leaf. He felt himself growing aroused at the thought.
He looked around him. The saplings were growing strongly, and even he who rightly should be ripping each one from the town, inwardly rejoiced to see their presence. He did not like the settlements of men, they were an affront to the natural order, but the old Laws and Covenants bound him. He could not act, only the mortal woman could raise her hand against the machinations of her fellow kind, even when they aided the rebels.
Closing his eyes, and opening his senses fully, he could feel the pulsing of the electricity running through the ground under his feet. The electricity was fouling the Fae path, disturbing the natural flows, making it circulate as water heated under fire. It was bad enough when it ran through the wires overhead – At least that could be endured, be travelled past, but underground, its presence was even stronger. The path here had once flowed as straight as an arrow’s flight, now it looped, double-backed, and in places, it became as a whirlpool. The great Courts, when they moved were tied irreconcilably to the path and the Great Ones even more so. When the courts processed, as they were due to in just a matter of a week or two, they moved with it as naturally as leaves carried by a swift mountain stream. Due to the new currents and eddies, both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts would be trapped here, and such a concentration of natural power was not a good thing, and worse still for the humans caught in it. There would be heavy reckoning for not only this town, but others too, for the interference and power would grow, feeding upon each other, until the entire area could no longer be habitable for humanity.
He frowned, knowing that would only be the start of the problems. Always the Courts had strived to keep a low profile, content to be regarded as myths and legends. If humans in power were to suspect they actually existed, then he knew that there would be war. It was in the nature of humanity to embrace conflict, and the weapons of humans were now so great that, extinction would result either for the Fae or for humanity – and that was not even taking into account the rebel court that had set in place this entire process in order to achieve domination over the other two courts.
He shook his head, no balance must be restored, and the mortal woman Jen was the only one fated to do it. He wished he could tell her outright what had to be done, but he could not. The rebels worked outside the Laws, but they on the other hand bound him.
He moved as quickly as a phantasm, drawing his awareness tighter into himself, away from the corruption below his feet. The Seelie court had chosen him to be their messenger to the mortal woman, chosen him because of his past associations with humanity. For he out of all of them now had the closest bond to them, and was less bound to the flows of the Fae path, and he could move upon it even whilst it lay corrupted.
Pausing for a moment, he sniffed, his senses again alert. There was a whiff of something... unwholesome. He had come across this stench in the past and in the old lands, but did not think to find it here, in the new, southern lands.
‘Warlocks,’ he hissed to himself. Like carrion crows, they would often gather upon the meeting places of the Fae. They would steal power and infuse items with it, in order to gain power in the mortal world. This group had come far, so obviously the word was spreading. There would be more of their kind before long. He watched the sleek grey car pass and pulled his glamour tighter about him, fading completely back into the mist and the shadows. He did not think they could harm him, but it would be prudent if they remained unaware of his presence.
*
Chapter 17
After sleeping badly that night, Jen woke late. Bad dreams had troubled her, causing her to wake several times in a cold, drenching sweat. Perhaps, she was paranoid, but it occurred to her that Tom’s seemingly natural death might not be so natural after all. Perhaps the rebel Fae knew of his association with her and failing to lay a hand on her, now sought to punish those with whom she had a close association. Perhaps now, she was considered a threat. All Jen wanted to do was pull the covers over her head and wish the world away, but she knew that was not an option. The least she could do was ring Cathy to tell her to get her family to some place safe, somewhere off the Hinterland.
Reluctantly, she rolled out of bed and headed into the shower. Time to wash off the dark clinging dreams and the dried sweat; it was time too, to make some phone calls. If she was being targeted, then she had to start telling people to be careful. She was past the fear of ridicule - Tom’s death had ensured that.
Just as she was towelling herself down, the phone rang. Hastily, she pulled on a cotton robe, and dashed to the study where the landline telephone was located.
“Hello.”
“Jennifer?” the male voice seemed hesitant, tired.
“Yes, speaking.”
“Matt Delany, here, I understand you called yesterday to speak to Dad?”
Jen surprised at the phone call, started to choke up, but with effort, steadied her voice.
“I did, Cathy told me what happened. I’m so terribly sorry for your loss.”
The voice on the other end of the line paused, as if he too was finding it difficult to express words, let alone emotions.
“Thank-you,” he finally managed. “Our only consolation is that he went quickly. It would have been distressing for Dad if he had been left in a state unable to...”
His voice wandered off, Jen heard a muffled sound, and she imagined him brushing away tears with the back of his hand. “He was always a strong, independent man, you see. Hated to be a burden. He drove up to almost a year ago, until the Government told him he was too old to have a license. It was his eyes, his macula was degenerating you see.”
“How old was he?” Jen asked quietly, gently.
“He would have turned eighty-five this year,” Matt replied sadly.
There was silence for a few moments, and then he continued on, “Anyway, the funeral is scheduled for Thursday morning. Cathy said you wanted to come.”
Jen nodded, “Yes, if that is fine with the family?”
“Of course.”
He gave her the details that Jen noted down on a scrap of paper. Tom was to be buried next to his wife Anna at the local cemetery. It seemed both right and fitting. It was clear that Tom had loved her dearly.
“Jennifer?”
“Yes?”
He cleared his throat, “Yesterday, just before Dad passed, he pulled me close and whispered some words in my ear. He told me to ring you. Told me to ask you about Anna, I figured it must have been important.”
He fell silent and then with a hesitant catch in his throat went o
n, “Did Dad ever speak to you about Mum, about Anna and her...ehm, gift?”
“He did, I don’t know how to say this, but your mum and I...well, I’m Sighted just like she was.”
“Dad told you?”
“In a way,” Jen admitted. “However, things have been happening to confirm it. I was going to speak to Cathy about it, but since you rang...well, all the things that have been happening in Emerald Hills, all the bad things. I don’t think it’s natural. I think we’re in for a world of trouble.”
There was an uncomfortable silence on the other end of the line.
Jen hastened to add, “I know it’s hard to accept, but you must believe me, and you must take your family away for a while.”
“Why?” His reply was almost terse.
Jen struggled to explain, “Because it’s not safe. I don’t want to upset you, Matt, but I think it’s dangerous for your family to remain here.”
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