Smashwords July Booksale

For those interested, Smashwords is having a July book sale Starting July 1st all of my stuff is 50% off.  Roses for Juliet is Free. I've posted the coupon code for Haven below.  Enjoy.  val

Promotional price: $1.50
Coupon Code: KU46X
Expires: July 28, 2012   

Haven is out

My latest Book Haven, Book Four of the Channel Riders series is now out on Smashwords. You can find it as an e-book on http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/175714 By the end of the week it will also be available on Amazon as both an e-book and a paperback. Now that that is out I plan to get back to the blog.  There should be a post by friday. Thanks for your patience.  valerie

Time Lapse

Sorry for the time lapse.  I'm in the process of finishing Haven, the 4th channel rider book.  Also I'm not quite sure if I'm going to continue this blog as is or if I'm going to make changes.  Also I might switch to a different site.  Not sure. Hopefully everything will be settled by the first of june. Any thougts or comments are welcome.  val

Keeper 2: Chapter 2

As an FYI next week I'm going to go back and start to delete chapters of Pilot and Storm Chaser, leaving only the first three of each. v.

Chapter 2

Jamie snagged another triangle sandwich and headed back to the study upstairs.  He ate the sandwich as he walked and finished by the time he settled himself behind the desk.  Jamie slid open one of the deep desk drawers and extracted a thick file from its depths.  He set the thick file in the center of the blotter and opened it.  Jamie had only made it about halfway through the inventory as he kept getting sidetracked by events.  He figured that if he was lucky he might make it through the inventory about the same time he left the position of Keeper.

“And then the next Keeper can start again with checking things off,” Jamie told himself as he turned to the section dealing with the library. “It’s a vicious cycle.”  He found the library section and smiled.  For the first time, the fact that the books were listed alphabetically by author actually helped him out.  As the books were grouped by category on the shelves, it had been more of an inconvenience than anything the last time he was searching for something. Jamie scanned down the long list of names, using his finger to keep track of the thin spidery handwriting. The black ink had faded to sepia tones and was hard to read in places. As charming as the hand written inventory was, he suspected it might fall to him to have the entire thing typed up.  Parts of it were nearly illegible.

“Hayes, Howard, Huffington, Ha,” Jamie said in triumph. “Huffington comma Reginald Foster.” He read aloud.  The name was listed twice.  Huffington, Reginald Foster, Jr. was listed below and that was followed by Reginald the fourth.

“Apparently Reggie three didn’t feel the need to write a book, or Albe didn’t see the need to keep it.” Jamie slid his finger to the side reading the title written by Reggie IV. “The Art and Science of Distance Communication and the Practical Application of Mechanical, Esoteric and Alchemical Means in Both the Ancient and Modern realms.” Jamie let out a low whistle. “Sounds like fun. At least Burr got the distance and communication right.”  Jamie looked up from the inventory and at the shelves.

“If I were a pretentiously titled book written by a pretentiously titled man where would I be?” He couldn’t recall seeing any section of the library dealing with transportation or communication. Jamie stood up from his desk and began to walk around the room looking for titles that looked like they might be in a similar category or bear the name Huffington on the spine.  He doubted the title would even fit on a book spine.  Jamie walked around the room, looking at all of the books that were eye level or lower.  When he had completed the circuit he climbed a few steps up on the ladder so that he could look at the upper shelves.  Both the Library and study had sixteen foot high ceilings and book cases that reached them.

The book wasn’t in the study so he moved to the library to continue his quest. He had only had to search a few shelves before he found it.  The large tome had been shoved into a corner as if whoever had put it there had hoped it would be forgotten.  Jamie almost passed it over as it had nothing written on its spine.  He pulled it from the shelf just in case and found it was the book he was searching for.  With a sense of accomplishment Jamie took it to his favorite reading chair and set it on the side table. 

The wood and kindling was already laid for a fire and  all Jamie had to do was strike one of the long matches and set the kindling ablaze.  This he swiftly did as he realized that the room had grown chill as the world outside moved further into evening.  As the kindling caught and began to lick flames over the well placed logs, Jamie wondered when Del had managed to scoop the ashes out of the grate and set the logs just so.  Jamie could have sworn that the fireplace contained only the cold ashes from the night before when he went down to meet with Burr. As Jamie settled himself into his reading chair, Del appeared in the doorway.  This time it wasn’t to announce an unexpected visitor but to bring him a large mug of rich hot chocolate and a plate of shortbread cookies.

“I figured it was about that time,” Del said placing the cookies and mug on the table next to the chair.

“Am I that predictable?” Jamie asked with a smile.

“Not in everything,” Del assured him. The little man noticed the heavy book Jamie’s hands.  “That seems quite substantial.” Jamie turned the book over so the title was facing up.

“Burr recommended it when I asked about the visilore.”

“That’s that hoop thing to contact other Keepers?”

“Yup,” Jamie confirmed. “Just a little light reading.”

“The Art and Science of Distance Communication and the Practical Application of Mechanical, Esoteric and Alchemical Means in Both the Ancient and Modern realms.” Del read the title. “Better you than me.”

“Thanks.”  Del left him with his book and Jamie took a tentative sip of his hot chocolate before opening the book.  The drink was still too hot to drink and Jamie licked the whipped cream from his lip and set it back down on the table.  He opened the book and heard the old leather crack a little.  He winced at the sound and wondered when the book had been printed.  A glance at the flyleaf told him it was 1822. Above the date was scrawled a note. 

“To my dear friend Dr. Edwin Fulton, I offer this humble tome for your collection.” Jamie read.  “Well perhaps I misjudged Reggie,” he said.  Jamie looked for an index in the back and found none.  There was likewise no table of contents. He turned to the introduction hoping it would provide some sort of guidance.

The introduction was written in the same pretentious style as the title. Jamie promised himself a cookie if he could make it through the introduction.  He made it through the introduction without learning much and bit into his shortbread with a sense of triumph.

“Apparently at some point Reggie managed to eat a thesaurus, found he didn’t like it and spit it back up on some conveniently placed pages,” Jamie muttered as he finished his cookie.  He took a sip of his drink and with a sigh started in on chapter one. Twenty pages in all of Jamie’s cookies were gone and his mug was empty.  He was also having a hard time keeping his eyes open.  Jamie noticed the fire was dying down and he stood, stretched and began to add more wood.  Soon the blaze was once again high.  Jamie settled back down into his chair.

“Perhaps a different approach,” Jamie said to himself.  He quickly flipped through the pages looking for the word visilore.  He read the first couple of paragraphs of the first page of each chapter to get a sense of it before moving on.  In chapter twenty five, close to the middle of the book, Jamie found what he was looking for. Slowly, Jamie began to work his way through the chapter.

The fire crackled and began to die sown again.  The words began to blur and Jamie lost the sense of them.  Admitting defeat, Jamie placed a marker in the book, closed it and set it to the side.  The mug and plate were gone and Jamie couldn’t remember if Del had come to retrieve them or not.  He shook his head and stood.  Jamie rubbed a hand over his tired eyes and let it fall back to his side as he began to walk to his room. 

Apparently the directions enclosed with the visilore were only a part of the instructions.  If he was reading the Huffington book correctly the visilore could do so much more. As Burr had mentioned the visilore was capable of acting as a portal.  So far though Jamie had only found references to stepping though, not of coming back. Finding himself stranded in some other Keeper’s house was not high on his list of things to do on a Tuesday.

“I don’t even know where the other Keeper’s houses are,” Jamie said as he sat down on his bed and began to unlace his sneakers.  He let them fall to the floor, dropping each onto the carpet with a dull thud. The idea of starting back in on the Huffington book first thing in the morning made him frown. “Maybe I could start by looking into finding out where the other Keepers are located first.  Jamie let his clothes fall into a small pile and he climbed into bed wearing only his boxers. The idea of looking for a map sounded much better than reading more of the dry book.

“And I even know where to look,” Jamie though t as he snuggled beneath the blanket.  Albe had long ago converted the dining room into a map room. “If there is a map of Keeper’s houses, there is a good bet that it is there.”  With the happy thought of searching Albe’s maps running through his head, Jamie drifted off to sleep.

Keeper 2: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jamie stared at the books lining the walls of the study.  He shifted his eyes to stare out of the study and into the library proper.  After a few minutes of silent study, Jamie looked down at the legal pad he had placed on top of the desk.  The problems he needed to investigate were listed as bullet points.

The first item on the list simply said faux human. While investigating the death of Albrecht Fulton, Jamie’s great uncle and former Keeper of the crossroads, he had come across a goblin like creature wearing a skin suit that made him appear to be human.  He had run from the house, upon learning that Jamie had not died in the night as expected and once tracked down was found dead, his human skin split open to reveal a goblin with clan markings no one had seen before. None of the goblin tribes recognized him or the tribal markings. Later Jamie and Del, his brownie housekeeper, had come across a lab of sorts in one of the abandoned out buildings left from the days when the house had functioned more as a farm.  The lab contained a vat where they suspected the human suit was grown. The contents were still being analyzed.

Currently Jamie was trying to figure out where to start his investigations. The information he knew about goblins amounted to, green with scales and not fond of sunlight. “Or maybe that’s trolls,” Jamie said to himself.  Jamie shook his head.  “Apparently general goblin information wouldn’t be a bad idea.” He wasn’t quite sure if the library contained a book on goblins.  He picked up a pen and scrawled ‘look into goblins’ as a notation under the Faux human heading.  He added ‘chemical components’ underneath that.  The High Talbot who acted as the clearing house for those of the Fae who wanted to work on the human side of the crossroads had promised to deliver the list of ingredients from the vat as well as a list of folks who had applied for permits for any of the chemicals used.

Jamie did not know if any of the chemicals were common or if they were special.  He had mental visions of questioning thousands of research scientists and found himself wondering if the Fae had research scientists or Universities or large scale pharmaceutical facilities.  The thought made his head hurt. 

“Besides,” he said. “I would rather not start out with accusatory interviews.” Jamie tapped his pencil on the notepad, the eraser making a slightly hollow sound as it thumped down.  Below the mentioned chemicals, Jamie scrawled first Fairy Queen and then Levas. Jamie leaned back feeling rather proud of himself for his list. The fairy Queen, Genivia by name, had given him the information leading him to the abandoned lab in the first place.  Although he had also found evidence of the Brotherhood of Shadows on that visit to the woods and he thought that might be what she had wanted him to see. In an effort to overthrow Queen Genivia’s rule, a rebel faction had sided with the Brotherhood and tried to kidnap Jamie.  He had escaped and the Queen’s forces triumphed.  He wondered if that cut him some leeway with the Queen.

“I doubt I could summon her to an interview,” Jamie mused.  Somehow summoning royalty didn’t seem like something that would go over well. He imagined there would be a raised eyebrow and dismissive laughter.

“Maybe I could invite her to tea?” He thought that might be a better plan anyway as she had taken great pains to hide the fact that she had given him the information about the woods in the first place.  Jamie scrawled ‘tea’ next to queen.  Levas might be a different matter.  When Albe died, he left Jamie the position of Keeper and a book that resembled a field guide to the world of the Fae.  One of the drawings in the book was for a tomte or nisse named Levas who had once worked on the property when it was a working farm.  When Jamie took up residency in the house one of the calling cards left behind was from Levas.  With all of the activity that followed, Jamie had little time for social niceties. 

“House,” Jamie said aloud, addressing the somewhat sentient building around him.

“Yes Keeper,” Came the reply.  As always the voice was strangely androgynous with a slight wisp of an English accent around the edges.

“There was a calling card left by Levas.  It had only his name but no contact information.  Do you know how to contact him? Or really any of the people on the cards?”  Unlike business cards, calling cards held only names and not contact information.

“Yes Keeper,” Came the reply.

“How would I contact them,” Jamie asked realizing he had not expressed the full question.  Hose had the tendency to take questions at face value and not expand until prompted.

“You would ask me to send a message.” House said.

“Ah,” Jamie said.  “Would I have to write them down like when I ordered books or would this be like when you sent a message to the High Talbot requesting a meeting?”

“That would depend,” House replied.  “Are you inviting them to a specific event or not?  A specific event requires an invitation.”

“I don’t have a specific event in mind,” Jamie said.  “I would just like to speak to each of them.  Over tea perhaps.”

“Should I send a message asking when they might be available to join you for tea?”

“Yes,” Jamie replied.  “Separately, though, not together.  I don’t want them all at the same tea.” He had visions of a grand tea party orchestrated by House and shook his head.

“Yes Keeper,” House replied.

“Thank you.”  Jamie felt pleased, as though he had actually started to make some progress. He decided to move on to the second bullet point. It was simply labeled Michael. Jamie frowned. Michael was his brother, or that is what he had grown up believing.  Step-brother would be a more accurate term as his older brother had been around two and he had been a babe in arms when Jamie’s father Rudy had married Bella. Jamie scrawled the word Mother under the heading.  Jamie had always believed that Bella was his mother and had never been given any reason to doubt that.  There were no pictures of another woman or paperwork saying otherwise. 

“Did she die?” he wondered. Perhaps she had just walked away. Jamie didn’t know enough to begin asking.  Rudy had been close to Albe as well and Jamie wondered if any of the old man’s journals mentioned Jamie’s mother.  So far her had searched through the older journals located in the house but had not scanned the more recent ones that Albe left behind.  Somehow it felt more like snooping than research. Jamie put journals on the list next to mother.

“Of course that’s not the big issue,” Jamie told himself.  While finding out about his mother was something he thought important.  Michael was still the main issue.  A while back Michael had tried to break into the house.  He wanted to sell the land to developers and Bella wanted to sell the contents of the house to the highest bidder.  They each had dollar signs in their eyes and had taken Jamie’s refusal to sell with ill grace. On one of Michael’s solo trips, he had been bitten or scratched by something and now seemed irresistibly drawn to the property.  Jamie had found him wandering the woods in a daze shortly before Albe’s funeral as though something had called him there.  Jamie wrote video footage on the list.  Several of Michael’s arrivals at the gate had been filmed and while they hadn’t yielded much information before, he  thought another look couldn’t hurt. 

Jamie tapped his pencil on the tablet and decided to move on.  He wasn’t sure what to add to the list and dealing with Michael was never really high on his list of priorities. “Perhaps it will go away on its own,” Jamie suggested.  He didn’t have much hope for that outcome but at the same time still couldn’t think of what else to add.

Moving down the list Jamie came to the next bullet point.  “Other Keepers,” Jamie read aloud.  He had recently found out that he was not the only Keeper of the crossroads.  There was apparently an entire world wide network to watch over the interaction between the world of the humans and the world of the Fae.  The crossroads were where the two worlds intersected and where people could pass from one to the other.  While Jamie was glad he was not the only Keeper, the only thing stopping a bad interaction from occurring.  He had never met the others and was curious to do so.  He knew that the Keepers occasionally interacted and he thought the sharing of information might be a good thing.  “Especially as I am the nubie,” he said.  Before Jamie could add anything more to his list, Del his housekeeper stepped into the doorway.  The small man stood about chest high to Jamie but as Jamie had found out, he was incredibly strong.  He had curly brown hair and a tanned and somewhat leathery face.  His cheeks were often apple red.  Del normally dressed in a plain pair of brown canvas pants and a tan linen like shirt that Jamie was fairly certain was called homespun.  When traveling the browning liked to dress nice and had an eyepopping purple suite complete with purple snake skin shoes and a large brim purple hat with a long trailing feather.  That combined with the fact that Del was actual sort for Delta Harmony, the name he had chosen to be called by humans always made Jamie smile. Tonight Del was wearing his plain brown working clothes.

“Please excuse the pardon but Burr Alverson has just popped in to see you,” Del said.

“Oh,” Jamie replied, pushing to his feet and running a hand through his hair. “Please show him into the parlor and let him know I will be right down.  Offer him refreshments or something.”  Del smiled and gave a half nod as he turned and went back downstairs.  Jamie knew that Del held Burr in the highest regard and would do whatever was proper.  Jamie wondered where he had kicked off his shoes.  There was a hole coming out in the toe of his right sock and Jamie didn’t think that set the right level of appropriateness.  Jamie found his shoes lurking by the fireplace and remembered he had kicked them off there the night before while reading.  He said in his fireside reading chair and began to put them on.

“I wonder why he is here?” Jamie asked himself. He knew the question was pointless as he would find out once he went downstairs but he was still curious.  Burr was one of the architects who had designed House and helped make it an sentient structure. When House’s defenses had gone on the fritz through tampering, the Fae architect had taken the tampering personally. Apparently he did not approve of people tampering with his work.  Jamie finished tying his laces and stood.  He brushed down his shirt in case any crumbs still clung to the fabric and went downstairs.

In the parlor, Jamie found Del wheeling a tea cart in front of the seating area.  How he had managed to assemble a teapot full of piping hot tea and several plates of assorted sandwiches and pastries was a mystery that Jamie figured involved some aspect of brownie magic.  He had learned that questioning things like that was not a good idea.

“Good evening,” Jamie said entering the room. Burr started to rise but Jamie waved him back into his seat. “This is a nice surprise.”  Jamie took the available seat as Del poured two cups of tea and handed one to Burr and one to Jamie.  Until taking up residency at the House of the Keeper, Jamie had thought of tea as something to be given to sick people propped up in bed with runny noses.  In the few weeks he had come to live her, Jamie had managed to consume more of the stuff than he had in his entire lifetime.  He couldn’t say he was developing a fondness for it but he had to admit it was nice to be holding a cup of something warm while the November wind howled around the house and through the woods.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Jamie asked.  Burr smiled.

“I thought that as things have settled down a bit I might have another look around to make sure everything is functioning properly.” Jamie nodded.

“Of course,” he said.  Jamie glanced towards one of the windows.  While the sky was gray and looked like it wanted to become night soon, there was still a little daylight left. “Would you like to look before it becomes dark?”

“That would be best,” Burr said.  He downed his tea in one long drought and picked up a sandwich.  The small triangle disappeared in three bites and Jamie smiled. Burr had drunk and eaten of the offerings of Jamie’s table and by Fae custom could not offer him any harm while on the premises. It was a custom Jamie appreciated, and the reason for his consumption of so much tea.  Jamie took a healthy swig of his own tea but was unable to get the hot liquid down as well as Burr had.  He set the half empty cup down.

“Where would you like to start?” Jamie asked.

“Outside first, before the light fails, and then to the basement, I think that should cover it.” Burr replied.  Both men stood and Del retrieved their coats for them.  Jamie slipped the warm garment over his shoulders and shoved his arms in the sleeves.  He led Burr back to the front door and they stepped out onto the porch.  From there Jamie followed as Burr poked and prodded first the defensive perimeter and then the foundation of the house.  Jamie saw runes light up and fade away as Burr worked.  They flared a blue-ish color and then faded back to black lines carved into the stone on which they were placed.  Some of the stones were placed in the yard, near the perimeter and others were a part of House’s foundation.

“Is the blue good?” Jamie asked.  Burr looked at him, somewhat startled by the question.  Despite the coat, Jamie’s ears were getting cold and he wished he had grabbed a hat before leaving the house.  “Sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Oh no that’s not it,” Burr said,  “Its just that most folks can’t see them at all.”  Burr pointed to a rune carved on one of the foundation stones.  “What do you see there?”

“It’s a symbol carved in the rock and stained black,” Jamie replied.  “Do you want me to describe it’s shape?”

“No I don’t think that will be necessary.”  Burr turned back to the stone and made movements with his hands as though conducting an orchestra.  There was a low humming sound and then the symbol flared blue and appeared to float off of the stone. “And now what do you see?”  Jamie told him and asked about the humming.

“Interesting,” Burr said.  He gestured towards the stone and the symbol faded back to black. “That was the last of the outside ones,” he told Jamie.  “We ought to get inside and check the others, but I think they should be fine.”  They turned and started walking back to the front door.  The light had faded and shadows covered the world.  The woods were a dark blur. 

“Yes the blue is a good color,” Burr said, answering Jamie’s original question. “It’s when they glow red or don’t glow at all that you have to worry.”

“Okay,” Jamie said.  He followed Burr back inside and they went to the basement. The basement had been part of the previous house and Jamie found that when he spoke inside the basement, his voice triggered the former House’s memories and he was treated to a recorded event that had taken place inside.  The basement seemed to be waiting for him to speak.  It was not as insistent as it had been the last time but Jamie did not want to risk seeing anything tonight.  Watching centuries old events take place before his eyes was one thing and he didn’t mind sharing them with Del as he fully trusted the little man.  But Burr was an outsider and as much as he trusted him, Jamie found there was a limit to that trust. 

Burr checked the similar runic markings placed throughout the basement.  Each one flared blue and Burr seemed satisfied.  Jamie kept quiet while he worked.  If Burr noticed the waiting tension, he made no comment.  Jamie wondered if he could.  Del certainly hadn’t been able to.  Finally Burr was satisfied and the two of them left the basement.  Jamie locked the door behind them and led Burr back to the parlor.  Del once again took their coats and Jamie was pleased to see that despite the two hours it had taken to search the perimeter and both the exterior and interior of the foundation, the tea was piping hot.  Jamie poured Burr a cup and the architect took it gratefully.  Jamie poured his own mug and felt the warmth sinking into the bones of his fingers.  He sighed as his body warmed.

“I am pleased that nothing has disturbed the protections placed on the house,” Burr said. He reached for a triangle of sandwich,  this time he ate it slowly since he was not trying to prove his worthiness quickly. Jamie reached for his own sandwich.

“That is very good to hear,” he replied.  As the last time the protections were compromised a large boulder had fallen from the ceiling and crushed Albe’s bed to splinters, Jamie was relieved on multiple levels.  He still couldn’t bring himself to move into the room that he still thought of as Albe’s but he didn’t think anyone needed to know that. They ate in silence for a few moments.

“Tell me,” You don’t happen to know anything about visilores do you?” Jamie asked, realizing Burr might just be the person to get his working.  Burr frowned.

“Visilores? Sounds familiar but I can’t quite place it.”

“They are supposed to allow Keepers to talk to each other.” 

“Oh,” Burr said. “I have heard of something like that, but it is human magic not Fae.”

“Oh,” Jamie said with a frown.  “I can’t seem to get it to work.”

“Hmmm,” Burr said thoughtfully as he sipped his tea.  “Did you try to communicate with someone or did you try moving through it?”

“I didn’t know you could move through it,” Jamie said with surprise.  “I just tried to use it like a telephone.”

Burr chuckled. “But even a telephone requires that there be a phone on the other end for someone to pick up.  The visilore at the location you were trying to reach could be broken or inactive or lost to time.  These things happen. As I understand it they are designed in such a way as to let you step through them so that you could go to the other Keeper’s house even if they do not have a visilore that is active.”

“Really?” Jamie said.  “That would be handy.”  Burr appeared to be in thought. 

“There was a book…” Burr said.  “After a few hundred years of life things start to blur in the memory,” He told Jamie.  “Let’s see, the title had  the words Distance and Communication in it but I can’t remember what else.  It was one of those long and overly pretentious titles.  Rather like the author.  Hmmm.”  Burr drifted into thought again for a few minutes while Jamie sipped his tea.  His ears were starting to warm up and they felt itchy.  Since he normally couldn’t feel his ears it was an odd sensation and he resisted the urge to rub them.

“Reginald Foster Huffington IV,” Burr pronounced finally.  “That was his name.  Can you imagine four people stuck with that name? Humans are such odd creatures sometimes.”

Jamie smiled.  He supposed that to people who lived for several hundreds of years without aging a day, the concept of passing down a name would seem very peculiar.

“If its any help, I doubt all four of them were ever in the same room,” Jamie told him.

“I certainly hope not,” Burr told him.  Burr finished his tea and stood. “I had best get going.  Snow is on the way and I’d like to get home before it starts to fall.”

“Of course,” Jamie said.  “And thank you for checking on House for me.”  Burr slid back into the coat Del brought him.

“Can’t have the Keeper’s house on the fritz,” he said as he opened the front door.  “What would people think?  I’ve got a reputation to uphold you know.” 

“Of course,” Jamie said.  “Have a good night.”  Burr left and Jamie closed the door behind him.

“Reginald Foster Huffington IV,” Jamie repeated to himself.  “I wonder if your book is on my shelves.”  Jamie decided it might be a good idea to look.

Delay

Had some issues so the next section of Keeper will be up next week. Sorry about that folks, life just sort of caught up with me. v

Keeper: Chapter 51

This is the final chapter of the first book of the Keeper of the cross roads.  New chapters of the next book will be posted beginning February 7th. Thanks everyone for all of your input.

Chapter 51

It was early when Jamie wok the next morning and he got out of bed quickly dressing in a pair of jeans and a warm sweater.  He tugged on his hiking boots, knowing the ground would be rough.

“I just hope no one throws anything at my head this time,” Jamie muttered to himself as he laced his boots tight.  In the kitchen, Jamie found Del wiping down the platters that would be used for the funeral feast in the afternoon.

“We should have time to get to the Lustan and back before we need to get ready for the funeral guests,” Jamie said.  On our way back in I’ll run up to the gate and unlock it so they can drive up to the house.”  Del also seemed dressed for an outdoor adventure and Jamie wondered if he missed wearing his spiffy purple suit.  Jamie opened the front door and before he could ask Del about his clothing preferences, his attention was caught by the woods in front of them. Everything seemed to glitter as though diamond dust had been mixed with the morning dew.

“Wow,” Jamie said, feeling that anything he said would be completely inadequate to the situation.  He slowly walked to the edge of the porch and took the few steps down to the ground. “Just wow.”

“What is it?” Del asked, following behind him.  Jamie stepped aside and with a sweeping gesture of his arm indicated the woods. Del peered at the woods and seemed to study them for a moment.  He glanced at Jamie.

“I think you’ve been cooped up inside too long,” Del said.  Jamie frowned.

“You don’t see anything different about the woods today?” he asked.

Del looked again at the trees and the pathway. “No,” he replied.  “Should I.”

“But everything is glowing.  Can’t you see it? It looks ... shiny.” Jamie let his arm fall to his side as Del shook his head.

“It just looks like the woods in the morning to me. A little dew still on the grass, most of the leaves gone for winter.”  Jamie looked at one of the trees.  The bare branches looked like they had been lined with silver.

“Maybe it’s a Keeper thing,” Del said.

“Maybe,” Jamie said hesitantly, still marveling that Del could not see what his eyes were showing him.

“We had better get a move on if we are going to be back in time,” Del reminded him.

“Yeah,” Jamie agreed, shaking himself as though waking from a dream.  The world didn’t change as they took the road towards the Lustan. At the spot where Jamie and Del had watched the buildup of power the night before, Jamie stopped again and looked at the ground.  There was a small brick pathway embedded in the ground that he had not noticed before.  The bricks formed an x and looked a little like a section of a crossroads.  Although the brick x only extended about eight feet in all four directions before fading into a dirt path. Each brick was lined with silver as if someone had mixed quicksilver into the mortar between them.  The bricks themselves had a faint sparkle to them.

“Tell me you see that?” Jamie asked, pointing to the ground.

“I see the pathway, a dirt track, same as before,” Del replied. “I take it that is not what you see?”

“I see bricks,” Jamie said.  “Forming a crossroads.”  At his words Del seemed to relax a little.

“See there,” he said with a grin.  “I told you it’d have something to do with you being keeper.”  The two of them continued towards the Lustan and Jamie glanced at Del as they walked.

“What exactly did you see last night?” Jamie asked finally.

“I saw a light in the distance,” Del said. “It flashed and came towards the house but stopped, about where you saw the bricks.  After a while there was a flash and it was gone.”

“You didn’t see the second flash of light when the crossroads sent the power back?” Jamie asked.

“No,” Del said shaking his head.  “I only saw the flash as the light went out.”

“Maybe that’s a Keeper thing too,” Jamie mused.  They walked in silence the rest of the way to the Lustan.  Jamie gasped when the building came into view.  If the trees had looked lined in silver than the Lustan looked as though it were carved entirely of the precious metal.

“It’s still stone and mud to me,” Del told him before Jamie could comment.  “And I’d like to continue thinking of it that way if it’s all the same to you.”  Jamie mutely nodded, his eyes watering in the reflected sunlight bouncing off of the gleaming silver. They circled around and Jamie was glad he had Del with him.  Jamie could hardly bare to tear his eyes away from the building but Del kept a sharp look out in case any more rocks were thrown.

“That’s new,” Del said.  Jamie turned to see what Del was looking at.  It appeared to be a small pile of black dust.

“Charcoal?” Jamie asked.  “Maybe they burned something as part of the ritual.”

“Maybe,” Del said.  “But they must have burned a lot if they did.” When Jamie frowned, Del pointed out the other piles of what looked like crumpled charcoal.  The piles were not neatly heaped.  Some formed neat piles, while others were spread out like elongated ovals.  As Jamie looked the piles seemed to multiply.  Now that he was looking for them instead of gazing at the silver, he saw the piles everywhere.

“There must be thousands of them,” Jamie said.

“Seems like,” Del said.  They continued looking around but found nothing else significant and decided to turn back.  The various piles of burned matter gave Jamie a somewhat creepy feeling.  Del seemed to feel the same way and they were quiet all the way back to the house.  Del followed Jamie up to the gate so he could unlock it and then they returned to the house.  Del began assembling platters and Jamie pulled on a pair of dress slacks and a nice dress shirt.  He fastened the one tie he owned around his neck, thankfully it was also black and slipped on his jacket.  He thought about putting on his dress shoes but realized he would be tramping through the woods to get to the cemetery.

“At least my boots are dark brown instead of that light tan,” he thought as he laced them back on his feet. Shortly after he was dressed, the funeral home, bearing the coffin arrived.  Jamie was surprised at first to see that each of the men hauling the coffin was at least part troll.  It made sense however when the funeral director ordered them to pick up the casket to carry into the woods. They lifted the long wooden box as though it weighed nothing and waited for Jamie to lead them.  Jamie was surprised to see that each of the partial trolls had a shovel strapped to his back the same way a soldier would carry a rifle.  Jamie led them into the woods.  He expected to hear crashing and mutterings as they moved but instead heard nothing.  The three men behind him made virtually no sound.  It was somewhat eerie and he wondered if all trolls moved like that. Somehow he pictured them making a lot of noise.

At the cemetery they set the coffin down and began to dig. The stone had arrived a few days earlier and it seemed odd in its factory fresh perfection next to the weathered stones of those who had been buried here before.

“Give us two hours,” the funeral director said.  “We’ll have everything ready by then.”

“Of course,” Jamie said.  He turned and left them, the sound of their spades digging into the half frozen earth filling his ears.  He had no clue how they would dig a hole deep enough for a burial in two hours but was willing to give them the space to try.

At the house, Jamie tried mostly to stay out of Del’s way.  He grabbed a small sandwich and retreated to the library.  After a time, guests began to arrive.  Jamie could hear their tires crunch on the gravel and headed down to meet them.  A steady stream of mourners came and Jamie was quite surprised by the number.  He did notice that most of the people had at least a portion of Fae blood in them but could more or less pass as human.  Jamie supposed it made sense that these were the people who would know the Keeper of the Crossroad’s best. 

No one commenter on the fact that the world still seemed dusted with diamonds and lined with silver. He wondered if he was the only one who could see it. Jamie was surprised to see Erin the bank teller among the crowd. He had thought of her as pixie like when he had first seen her.  Now with the abilities of the keeper, he could see that she had a smattering of pixie blood running through her veins. Jamie shook his head and did his best to serve as the gracious host.  The few folks that looked to be fully human were either a part of Jim’s family or were married to those who had a mixing of Fae blood. As the two hours the gravediggers had requested passed and Jamie started to lead the group into the woods, Bella and Michael arrived. 

Bella pursed her lips and frowned at the crowd as she slid out of her car.  Michael followed and Jamie thought that he looked as though he had a slight fever.  Even at a distance, his skin looked pale and sickly.  Jamie did not stop to speak to them, rather he continued leading the group into the woods.  At the cemetery, everyone fanned out to form a circle around the new headstone.  Jamie was pleased to see that the grave had been dug and a tan canvas tarp had been placed over the mound of dirt waiting to be piled over the coffin.  Jamie noticed that the coffin was held over the hole by three boards laid across the grave.  He could see where ropes were discretely tucked under the casket as well.  He could easily imagine the boards being removed and the ropes lowering the casket down.

“We are all gathered here today to say goodbye to our dear friend Albrect Fulton,” The minister began.  Jamie noted absently that the minister bore a striking resemblance to the High Talbot. As he spoke generic words of praise for Albe’s long life, Jamie wondered if any of the gathered knew how much Albe had accomplished in his long tenure as Keeper of the Crossroads. Jamie had started to skim through the volumes containing Albe’s thoughts and experiences while waiting for the Lune Merdos.  After barely surviving his first week, Jamie had marveled at his length survival.

The simple words continued, but not long.  At the house people would share more personal memories of Albe. The short formal service wound to a close and Jamie bend to place the flower he carried on top of Albe’s casket.  He stepped away as others began to place their offerings on his grave.  He stood to the side as the line of mourners passed him, heading back to the house for warmth and refreshments.  Neither Bella nor Michael placed a flower.  Jamie noted that the two grave diggers were standing in the shadows.  They remained there after the mourners had filed away and Jamie was left in the clearing.

“I’ll do my best, Albe,” Jamie said in lieu of a farewell, knowing Albe would have appreciated that more than goodbye. Jamie turned and walked back to the house as the gravediggers came out of the shadows and began to lower the casket into the ground.  Jamie emerged from the woods to see Bella and Michael driving away.  Apparently they did not see the need to join the other mourners for refreshments.  Jamie shook his head and continued on to the house.

Keeper: Chapter 50 and request.

If anyone has any problem viewing this post can you let me know?  Someone commented they were missing various sentences and I want to see if it is a common problem.  I'll try messing with the format over the weekend to see if it can be fixed or not.  Thanks v.

Oh and BTW, Rabbit is now available on smashwords for those of you interested. v

Chapter 50

Jamie spent the time before the Lune Merdos holed up in the house.  He knew that word had spread regarding his decision but felt it was safer to keep a low profile in case the decision upset anyone. Well anyone who might retaliate. He made a conscious decision to not think about his family or the faux goblins until after Albe’s funeral. Thankfully, no one tried to force themselves against house’s defenses and things remained pretty quiet.  Del happily perused cookbooks and seemed to be planning an elaborate funeral feast for Albe.  Jamie only hoped that enough people showed up to eat it.

Instead of dwelling on the many mysteries surrounding him, Jamie began working on the inventory during the day, picking up where he had left off and grabbing books at random from the library to read at night.  He felt he had earned himself a little breather.

In his studies, Jamie found out that it once was more common for Keepers to speak and that there was something called a visilore that enabled them to do so.  A few more days with the inventory and Jamie found that the visilore gifted to this Keeper’s household had been stashed on the hidden floor.  A few more days of searching and Jamie managed to find the visilore and haul it to the living room. It resembled a full length mirror but shimmered oddly as if instead of silvering a rainbow hued oil had been suspended inside it.  Unfortunately no matter how closely he followed the instructions, Jamie was unable to get it to work. After each try he was left with a somewhat colorful and slightly blurry view of himself staring into the mirror as though he were Snow White’s evil step mother.  Jamie resisted the urge to ask after the fairest in the land. He instead put it to the side and looked for more information.

The morning of the Lune Merdos dawned bright and cold. The air had a snap in it and Jamie could see his breath puff out in a cloud around him.  The air had a weighty feel to it and Jamie felt like insects were crawling on his skin.  Jamie stepped out onto the front porch and looked out towards the road that led to the Lustan.

“Don’t even think about it,” Del said as he joined Jamie, handing him a large cup of steaming coffee.  Jamie smiled.

“I wasn’t really,” Jamie said.  “I was just wondering if anyone was going to try to sneak over to the Lustan and try the ritual despite being told not to.”

“Wouldn’t do them much good if they tried,” Del said with a snort. “Without permission the magic would turn back on them as a powerful and dangerous force.”

“They might consider it worth a try.”  Jamie personally had misgivings on the bounce back theory.  The air seemed to grow thick around them and Jamie saw the hairs on his arm stand up. Del also seemed nervous and together they watched the road.  The sky was dark and Jamie began to wonder if it was going to rain. With the temperatures where they were, he was pretty sure the rain would have ice around the edges.

In the distance they saw a glow.  It seemed to rise from the ground and grow steadily brighter as they watched.

“Is that the signal for the Lune Merdos?” Jamie asked.

“Not a clue,” Del replied as the light began to pulse.  The strange pulsing light continued through the day and both Jamie and Del found themselves watching the horizon in fascination. The sky grew darker as evening began to fall and Jamie was not sure if the light got brighter or if nightfall made it seem to have more of a contrast.  They watched the pulsing light and all of a sudden Jamie was startled to realize that it looked as though it was coming closer.

“Um, Del?” Jamie said, a little nervously. 

“I think we might want to be going inside now,” Del replied.  Jamie wondered what would happen if the house was destroyed with him in it. The light raced towards them, filling the landscape and obliterating any sign of anything else. Even the outlines of the trees disappeared.  It was as though someone had erased the world, leaving behind only a blank sheet of paper. Del tugged the door to the house open and Jamie started backing towards the open door, unable to take his eyes from the light even though it’s brightness made his eyes tear up.  The light came to a sudden stop as though it were a wave hitting a wall.

“Del look,” Jamie said his voice a whisper. Del turned and they watched as another wave of light rolled forward and slammed into the same barrier.

“Is that House’s defenses?” Jamie asked.  Del shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” he said slowly.  Jamie noticed that he too was whispering as though afraid to disturb what was happening. “The defense line was even with those trees there and there.”  Del pointed to the trees and Jamie nodded, remembering walking the line of Houses defenses.

“Then what...” Jamie started.

“I think that’s the line where the crossroads start,” Del said. His whisper held a tone of awe. “I think the crazy bastards tried the rite.”  The two of them watched as wave after wave of light crashed into the crossroads. As time passed the light began to crackle and turn red.  Each wave left a layer or two behind, like sand washed onto a beach from the incoming tide.  The layers left behind got deeper and deeper.  As Jamie and Del watched they began to accumulate at a faster rate than the waves came. Jamie remembered one of Albe’s lessons telling him the threefold rule of magic.  Jamie squinted at the light and as he watched the white wave of light left behind a glow.  The glow then increased before the next wave hit.  He thought it might have grown by a factor of three but wasn’t sure.

“I think the light is coming slower,” Jamie said finally after studying the phenomenon for a while.

“I think you might be right,” Del replied. The both waited, wondering what would happen next.  The left over light glowed a deep red color and as the yellow waves of light slowed and then stopped, the red seemed to grow brighter and to pulse like a beating heart.  The glow began to die in the distance and all that was left was the red.  It pulsed in the darkness for a few minutes and seemed to grow three times larger.  With a burst of energy that Jamie felt rather than heard the glowing red light shot off into the darkness towards the Lustan.

“Was that the crossroads fighting back?” Jamie asked.

“I think it might have been.”  They waited in the quiet. It was completely silent and Jamie felt as though he had gone deaf.  All he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat. Slowly normal night noises began to occur and Jamie heard the last of the season’s crickets chirping in the grass. He let out a shaky breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“What would you say to an early morning visit to the Lustan,” Jamie asked.

“I think you’d be hard pressed to leave me behind,” Del replied.

“Good,” he told the smaller man.  The two of them stepped into the house and closed the door against the night. As they settled in for the night, Jamie wondered what they would find at the Lustan in the morning.

Keeper Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Jamie and Del walked back to the house, each lost in his own thoughts.  When they approached the house, Jamie noticed that he had some of Michael’s blood on his shirt.  Comments about Michael not being his brother flashed through his mind and Jamie decided to keep the shirt safe just in case he ever needed to get the blood tested.  At the house Jamie went to the kitchen, took out a large zip lock bag and took off his t-shirt.  Del watched with amusement as Jamie stuffed the t-shirt into the bag and then zipped it.

“It has Michael’s blood on it,” Jamie explained.  “I figure in case we need to test it...” Jamie trailed off as he wondered if there would be anything in Michael’s blood from the woods.

“That’s not a bad thought,” Del said pouring them each a cup of tea. Jamie sat in one of the chairs and sighed tiredly.

“You know, there was a time not long ago when I didn’t need to think of blood samples or of what lab wouldn’t mind if fae contamination was part of the sample.”

“True,” Del said. Jamie rubbed his hand over his eyes, feeling the sleepless night settle in on him. They drank their tea.

“Do you have any guesses as to what’s going on?” Jamie asked.

“There is a thought but it isn’t a nice one,” Del responded.  Jamie looked at him.

“Well,” Del continued.  “If something did infect Michael when he was out here and got bitten, It might be calling him back.” Jamie thought about it and was chilled by the potential implications.

“He didn’t say what his latest plan was,” Jamie said slowly.  “He could have just been too shook up to mention it or he never really had one and just thought that’s why he wanted to come out here.” They finished their tea in silence and Jamie wondered if there was something in the woods calling for his brother.

“Damn,” he said finally.

“You aren’t really going to get much done until you get some sleep,” Del said.

“True but I might have a look at the surveillance footage before I go to bed. Who knows, maybe the sight of a    real monster will banish all of the imaginary ones that would give me nightmares.” Del snorted but followed when Jamie went to look at the video footage.  Jamie could tell he was curious and not a little bit nervous as Jamie rewound the tapes and found the right section. 

In silence they watched Renee’s car arrive.  Renee and Michael got out and Michael seemed agitated and angry.  He grabbed the gate and tugged it a few times, trying to rip the lock from the gate with his bare hands.

“That doesn’t look right,” Del said.  Jamie nodded in agreement.  This did not seem like typical Michael behavior.  If he hadn’t known better he would have sworn Michael was jacked up on some sort of drug. Renee seemed to have her doubts as well.  She walked over and put her hand on Michael’s shoulder.  She said something to them and Jamie wished there was audio on the cameras.  Whatever she said seemed to enrage Michael further and Del sucked in air through his teeth with a hiss as Michael reached back and backhanded Renee.  She fell against the hood of the car and Michael hauled her to her feet by her hair.

“Son of a bitch,” Jamie said.  Del nodded as Michael hauled Renee to the gate and forced her to climb over.  Michael followed and the two of them moved out of camera range.  There was nothing on screen after that, just the car waiting as they had found it the morning after.

“He seemed rather ...excited,” Del ventured.

“He looked hopped up on something,” Jamie replied.  “He gets angry and yells but he is always convinced that eventually he can talk you out of anything so he never loses it like that.” Jamie shook his head and stepped away from the monitors as the phone began to ring.  Jamie answered it.

“Jim hi,” he said, hoping that yet another disaster had not occurred.

“Jamie,” I got word this morning that I was to arrange things for the funeral, you know talking to the funeral home about the special circumstances and getting the coffin and headstone ordered.”

“Right,” Jamie said thinking fast.  The term special circumstances caught him at first and then he realized that as Albe looked like a 2000 year old mummy, sans wrappings, someone well versed in the outré would be useful. “Is there a separate funeral home?” he wondered out loud.  Jim laughed.

“Of course,” Jim said.  “Just like there are special lawyers.”   

“Makes sense I suppose,” Jamie told him. Jamie relayed the details of his plans to hold the funeral in the small cemetery the morning after the Lune Merdos and asked Jim to spread the word on the off chance anyone else would want to come. After settling the details, Jamie decided he ought to be the one to tell Bella and he dialed her number before he could put it off.

“So, finally decided to call,” his mother snapped when she answered, proving she had checked the caller ID.

“I called to tell you that Albe’s funeral will be on November 3^rd in the small cemetery out here.  We will have a small service and then some food and drinks at the house.  A few of his friends will be stopping by and I wanted you to know you are welcome to attend.”

“Well that is mighty gracious of you,” she said in a cloyingly sweet voice.  “I’ll be sure to clear my social calendar.”

“If you want to bring Michael, let him know,” Jamie said with a sigh, too tired to rise to the bait.

“Did you have a fight with your brother?” Bella asked.  “He’s only trying to do what is best for this family.”

“Is he really my brother?” Jamie asked, the question slipping out before  he realized he was going to ask. On the other end of the phone Bella sputtered indignantly.

“That’s what this is about isn’t it?” She finally demanded.  “That old man left you a letter or something telling you were weren’t your real family and now you think you can just cut us off.  Well you were just a baby when I married your father and I took care of you even after he died.  I could have sent you to live with that crazy old man out there in the woods but no, I raised you as if you were my own, with only a pittance sent my way for your upkeep, and I will not be cut out of my share. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you,” Jamie replied softly. Bella continues on her tirade of how she was short changed but Jamie had the gist of the situation.  Bella was not his mother and Michael was not his brother.  Jamie wondered who his mother was. He hung up on Bella mid rant and tucked the phone into his back pocket.

“I think I’m going to go take a nap,” Jamie told Del.

“Sounds like a good plan.  Did I hear you say we’d be having folks up to the house after the funeral?”

“Yes,” Jamie said.  “If it’s too much trouble I can order something...”

“No trouble,” Del told him, cutting him off mid sentence.  The small man seemed excited by the prospect of company. Jamie left him planning his menu and wandered back up to his room, head full of unknowns and odd situations, he never expected to fall asleep.  To his surprise, sleep pulled him down quickly.