Keeper: Chapter 50 and request.

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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.