pallor.
“N-o-o . . . ” she stammered in a painful ratcheting series of sounds that were more cough than word. “Nurs-seee.” Her eyelids flickered rapidly over orbs that were milky with decay. Her small shoulders lifted in frustration, and one arm flipped back and forth slightly. She was angry. “Grooooowwww.” The last word came out in a fetid blast of air. Her lungs were ripe, and I began to feel the beginnings of a dangerous rage. Someone had done this to the girl.
I leaned back on my haunches, rocking in thought. She wasn’t a nurse, but she was growing. Or had grown.
I snapped my fingers. “Nursery? Like babies? You worked with babies?” I watched her eyes dim again, followed by a slackening of her facial muscles. She was fading away from my spell. I needed an answer, and fast.
“No bay-beees.” One last jerk of her small chin.
Okay, no babies then. I looked around, feeling the chill air of the night descend on me as my heart slowed. The shadow of the forest loomed not far from Brendan’s house. I pointed to the bulky trees that stood in silhouette against the stars. “Trees? Plants? You worked in a nursery?”
A look of triumph crossed her stiffening features, then the skin of her lips began to flake like shale. She was almost gone. With a last push of her calcified chest, the girl pushed air out into the night. Her epitaph was only four words.
“He maaade me therrrre.” Then she was gone.
I rose, wiping my hands across the sweaty fabric of my shirt. The girl was rigid in true death. In a few moments, my spell would fail and she would revert to what was a more natural state. Tears filled my eyes, and I couldn’t stop the sense of waste. It was always like this when innocent people were killed by magic, and I had no doubt that this girl had been a mere bystander. Something bad was in Thendara, and I knew the nursery would be there, in the deepest recesses of the forest. Somehow, there were chestnuts soaring over a place of such blackness that I feared what might happen if their seeds were taken into the wider world. I had to question everything I knew—which was precious little—about all the players in this search for secrets. Was Ava a willing agent of evil? Who the hell was Major Pickford, or was he just a common thief? If Ava knew what she was seeking, and the risks associated, could Jim Dietrich be far behind?
Just how far from shore were these people, and before I began using my magic indiscriminately, who could get hurt? My head pulsed with the possibilities, and I rubbed my temples in small circles as I tried not to get sick. I’ll never find death acceptable or common. I pride myself on that.
“Carlie?” Brendan’s hesitant words sifted across the porch from the back door. I turned to see the white oval of his face and two dark smudges where his eyes should have been. He was pale with fear.
“Everything’s okay, Brendan, you can come out.” I sat next to the wight in total disgust. Actually, it was more like defeat, because everything was most certainly not alright. A girl had been murdered, and I’d been given yet another tantalizing clue about the evil waiting for me in the woods. “Oh, Thendara. It’s really me.” I spoke our safe word with relief.
Brendan’s footsteps were hesitant. “Who is that?” He hovered a few steps away, then approached at my encouraging wave.
“You may as well sit down.” I called a small light spell to the fingers of my right hand. Brendan folded his legs with the ease of a longtime reader, and tried not to look at the obviously dead woman less than two feet away from his knee. All things considered, he was doing remarkably well, probably due to his curious nature and intellect. Brendan was interesting, and a friend. I decided to treat him as such.
“Let me see your hand.” I gestured to him with all the kindness I could muster. The moon was just bright enough that I felt my heart grow brave.
He gave me a measured look, his head
“N-o-o . . . ” she stammered in a painful ratcheting series of sounds that were more cough than word. “Nurs-seee.” Her eyelids flickered rapidly over orbs that were milky with decay. Her small shoulders lifted in frustration, and one arm flipped back and forth slightly. She was angry. “Grooooowwww.” The last word came out in a fetid blast of air. Her lungs were ripe, and I began to feel the beginnings of a dangerous rage. Someone had done this to the girl.
I leaned back on my haunches, rocking in thought. She wasn’t a nurse, but she was growing. Or had grown.
I snapped my fingers. “Nursery? Like babies? You worked with babies?” I watched her eyes dim again, followed by a slackening of her facial muscles. She was fading away from my spell. I needed an answer, and fast.
“No bay-beees.” One last jerk of her small chin.
Okay, no babies then. I looked around, feeling the chill air of the night descend on me as my heart slowed. The shadow of the forest loomed not far from Brendan’s house. I pointed to the bulky trees that stood in silhouette against the stars. “Trees? Plants? You worked in a nursery?”
A look of triumph crossed her stiffening features, then the skin of her lips began to flake like shale. She was almost gone. With a last push of her calcified chest, the girl pushed air out into the night. Her epitaph was only four words.
“He maaade me therrrre.” Then she was gone.
I rose, wiping my hands across the sweaty fabric of my shirt. The girl was rigid in true death. In a few moments, my spell would fail and she would revert to what was a more natural state. Tears filled my eyes, and I couldn’t stop the sense of waste. It was always like this when innocent people were killed by magic, and I had no doubt that this girl had been a mere bystander. Something bad was in Thendara, and I knew the nursery would be there, in the deepest recesses of the forest. Somehow, there were chestnuts soaring over a place of such blackness that I feared what might happen if their seeds were taken into the wider world. I had to question everything I knew—which was precious little—about all the players in this search for secrets. Was Ava a willing agent of evil? Who the hell was Major Pickford, or was he just a common thief? If Ava knew what she was seeking, and the risks associated, could Jim Dietrich be far behind?
Just how far from shore were these people, and before I began using my magic indiscriminately, who could get hurt? My head pulsed with the possibilities, and I rubbed my temples in small circles as I tried not to get sick. I’ll never find death acceptable or common. I pride myself on that.
“Carlie?” Brendan’s hesitant words sifted across the porch from the back door. I turned to see the white oval of his face and two dark smudges where his eyes should have been. He was pale with fear.
“Everything’s okay, Brendan, you can come out.” I sat next to the wight in total disgust. Actually, it was more like defeat, because everything was most certainly not alright. A girl had been murdered, and I’d been given yet another tantalizing clue about the evil waiting for me in the woods. “Oh, Thendara. It’s really me.” I spoke our safe word with relief.
Brendan’s footsteps were hesitant. “Who is that?” He hovered a few steps away, then approached at my encouraging wave.
“You may as well sit down.” I called a small light spell to the fingers of my right hand. Brendan folded his legs with the ease of a longtime reader, and tried not to look at the obviously dead woman less than two feet away from his knee. All things considered, he was doing remarkably well, probably due to his curious nature and intellect. Brendan was interesting, and a friend. I decided to treat him as such.
“Let me see your hand.” I gestured to him with all the kindness I could muster. The moon was just bright enough that I felt my heart grow brave.
He gave me a measured look, his head
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