Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Because your land wouldn’t perceive the bodies as murdered, just dead.”
“Exactly,” I agreed, just as we saw headlights approaching.
I sat in the car as Lorne got out to speak to his deputies and I was pleased for all of them that the rain had stopped. Being out in the cold was one thing. Being out in the cold and the rain was an entirely different matter. I waved since they were both friends of mine, and then watched as he talked to the fire department. He’d called them because they had sturdy extendable ladders to get down into the hole so the skeletons could be covered with tarps until the state police and the FBI arrived.
I was the anomaly on site, not any part of law enforcement, and I thought about everything and realized I needed to be at home, going through books, figuring out the next step.
The state police showed up, the entire area was sectioned off, and suddenly there were lights everywhere. It was far brighter than my fireballs had been.
When the FBI arrived, they had a crane with them, and they set up tents with tables and an enormous tent went over the hole, which they draped in plastic. Sandbags were stacked around the sides so no water could run into the hole. They had to be wondering how long the remains had been down there and how the bones and clothes were in such pristine condition, both without any signs of insect or animal predation. I was betting it would be concluded that it was due to the barn being enclosed with a roof for all those years. That made no sense, but from their perspective, what else could it be?
The CDC arrived next. Lorne explained that they were tasked with figuring out why the people had died. Was it a plague? A measles outbreak? What could have killed the citizens of Osprey? That was vital information to learn.
Finally, I couldn’t sit anymore and went to find Lorne. Both deputies were answering questions and directing people to areas on the property. Lorne, when I saw him, was under a tent with the special agent on site, and the two of them were surrounded by an entire crowd of people.
I waved, getting his attention, then made the motion of taking off, letting him know I was going to fly home.
He shook his head adamantly, but I nodded just as emphatically and turned to go.
I needed to be at home. It had started as a whisper of a thought, turned quickly into nagging, anxious need, but now I was basically shivering with the understanding that I had to reach my land. Something was happening, and I had to go.
I ran back to the Jeep and stripped fast, then slipped out of the passenger side, thrilled that everyone else had parked closer to the site but realizing I was still within the perimeter. I didn’t have incantations for becoming invisible or for people to look away. That wasn’t the kind of magic that lived in me. But what I did have going for me was the fact that people were moving with determination. They had a job to do, they had somewhere to be, so I waited a few moments, hugging the side of the Jeep, shivering in the wind, and as soon as I could, I seized the opportunity. I ran and leaped and was circling above them in moments. I checked on Lorne, saw him see me, clock my progress, and then I flew toward Corvus.
I flew by my cottage, saw that it looked fine, and then checked the rift and saw others there but didn’t dip down to see who. I was far too vulnerable in my current state, and if I needed to be human, standing there in nothing but my skin seemed like a bad idea.
At the back door of the cottage, I shifted, slipped inside, and was immediately confronted by a woman I’d never met before in my life. The clothes, however, were a dead giveaway.
“How are you here, Mattie?” I greeted her.
“I am only released from the veil for a short time. This was my home then, just as surely as it is yours now, so all of us, all your ancestors, may come to you in times of great need.”
Which I knew. I’d seen my grandfather speaking to many people over the years, who only he could see, who appeared when needed. Sometimes, like with my grandparents, they had appeared in a dream. But I suspected that at the moment, Mattie was the one who could offer me the most guidance.
“I need to put on clothes,” I told her. “Stay with me.”
“For as long as I am able,” she assured me.
She followed me to my bedroom, and as I pulled on clothes, she looked around. “Does it look different?” I asked her.