expected them to pile into the Audi, but instead they went marching through the back of the house.
Before she took another step she shouted, “Wait a minute!” Dropping her bag, Ro ran back through house to the kitchen. She poured some sugar onto a plate and traced her finger in it, drawing a picture of a flower. There, not a “thank you” note in the traditional sense, but it was something sweet and happy. She hoped Nora would take it as a sign of appreciation for all the cooking the little Brownie had done.
Rowan ran back out of the house and towards the group. They trudged through the woods until Rowan was sure that she had missed a memo on this travel situation. When they finally stopped in front of a large scarlet oak tree, Rowan marveled at its beauty. The trunk was at least 80 feet tall and its branches filled out the span of 45 feet or so. It was a magnificent testament to Mother Nature’s beauty. The bark had nubs that twisted and climbed. The leaves were the color of dark rubies. Rowan wished she had thought to pack her camera. She loved taking photos of trees and had quite a collection of them saved on her laptop at home with the hopes of one day creating brilliant frames for each of them and turning a section of her studio into a photography art gallery. She sighed in disappointment. All those dreams were getting left behind now.
Adam turned to face the group, his serious face slapped on tight. “Hold hands,” he commanded. Ava, looking bored, grabbed Adam’s hand and then reached for Rowan’s. Rowan held on with the woman on her right and then clasped hands with Devlin. Devlin closed the circle with Adam and something bulky wiggled under Devlin’s fleece. Before Rowan could ask what it was, Adam announced, “Hold on tight. Whatever you do, do NOT let go and break the circle, Rowan.”
Ro felt a whoosh of wind and then all the air was knocked out of her lungs. The trees, grass, sky, dirt, faces all swirled and melded together into a ball of blur and chaos. Ro tried to let out a scream but no sound came out of her mouth, probably because there was no air to let out of her lungs. She felt like she was being spun around on the fastest rollercoaster on earth. Ro didn’t do roller coasters. Ro didn’t even try the carousel, the girl had major motion sickness with anything that spun, dipped, or twirled.
With a thud and an “Oomf!” she landed on her ass and rolled back to crack her head on the ground. Dazed and confused, she moaned and rolled over just before the contents of her stomach heaved up and splattered the mossy terrain. Well, so much for a hearty breakfast to get your day started, she thought.
Spitting the putrid from her mouth and wiping the water from her eyes, Ro sat up and looked around. Definitely not in Kansas anymore, but this was so much greener than the Emerald City would ever be. Everyone else was standing and looking at her with a pathetic look on their faces. Ava and Devlin quickly crouched down to lend her a hand. The world still seemed topsy-turvy when she tried to stand, but Ro did her best to not act as awful as she felt. “What the hell was that?”
“Traveling Sidhe-style, love!” Ava laughed. Ro took one look at the woman who was helping her stand and was very much confused. Ava had flaming red hair that she had pinned up on her head a few minutes ago, but the woman now helping her up had black curly hair that reached down the middle of her back. Same eyes though. As if knowing what Rowan was thinking Ava answered her inquisitive look with a slight shrug. “Hey, a girl can change it up can’t she? I hate looking the same way for too long.” With a smile, she escorted Rowan towards a small path carved into the woods.
“What are you?” Rowan asked, willing to believe just about anything at this point.
“Och, I’m half Sidhe sweetheart.”
Ro thought that out for a second, “What’s the other half of you?”
Ava
Before she took another step she shouted, “Wait a minute!” Dropping her bag, Ro ran back through house to the kitchen. She poured some sugar onto a plate and traced her finger in it, drawing a picture of a flower. There, not a “thank you” note in the traditional sense, but it was something sweet and happy. She hoped Nora would take it as a sign of appreciation for all the cooking the little Brownie had done.
Rowan ran back out of the house and towards the group. They trudged through the woods until Rowan was sure that she had missed a memo on this travel situation. When they finally stopped in front of a large scarlet oak tree, Rowan marveled at its beauty. The trunk was at least 80 feet tall and its branches filled out the span of 45 feet or so. It was a magnificent testament to Mother Nature’s beauty. The bark had nubs that twisted and climbed. The leaves were the color of dark rubies. Rowan wished she had thought to pack her camera. She loved taking photos of trees and had quite a collection of them saved on her laptop at home with the hopes of one day creating brilliant frames for each of them and turning a section of her studio into a photography art gallery. She sighed in disappointment. All those dreams were getting left behind now.
Adam turned to face the group, his serious face slapped on tight. “Hold hands,” he commanded. Ava, looking bored, grabbed Adam’s hand and then reached for Rowan’s. Rowan held on with the woman on her right and then clasped hands with Devlin. Devlin closed the circle with Adam and something bulky wiggled under Devlin’s fleece. Before Rowan could ask what it was, Adam announced, “Hold on tight. Whatever you do, do NOT let go and break the circle, Rowan.”
Ro felt a whoosh of wind and then all the air was knocked out of her lungs. The trees, grass, sky, dirt, faces all swirled and melded together into a ball of blur and chaos. Ro tried to let out a scream but no sound came out of her mouth, probably because there was no air to let out of her lungs. She felt like she was being spun around on the fastest rollercoaster on earth. Ro didn’t do roller coasters. Ro didn’t even try the carousel, the girl had major motion sickness with anything that spun, dipped, or twirled.
With a thud and an “Oomf!” she landed on her ass and rolled back to crack her head on the ground. Dazed and confused, she moaned and rolled over just before the contents of her stomach heaved up and splattered the mossy terrain. Well, so much for a hearty breakfast to get your day started, she thought.
Spitting the putrid from her mouth and wiping the water from her eyes, Ro sat up and looked around. Definitely not in Kansas anymore, but this was so much greener than the Emerald City would ever be. Everyone else was standing and looking at her with a pathetic look on their faces. Ava and Devlin quickly crouched down to lend her a hand. The world still seemed topsy-turvy when she tried to stand, but Ro did her best to not act as awful as she felt. “What the hell was that?”
“Traveling Sidhe-style, love!” Ava laughed. Ro took one look at the woman who was helping her stand and was very much confused. Ava had flaming red hair that she had pinned up on her head a few minutes ago, but the woman now helping her up had black curly hair that reached down the middle of her back. Same eyes though. As if knowing what Rowan was thinking Ava answered her inquisitive look with a slight shrug. “Hey, a girl can change it up can’t she? I hate looking the same way for too long.” With a smile, she escorted Rowan towards a small path carved into the woods.
“What are you?” Rowan asked, willing to believe just about anything at this point.
“Och, I’m half Sidhe sweetheart.”
Ro thought that out for a second, “What’s the other half of you?”
Ava
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