Valerie Gaumont

Keeper: Chapter 51

2012-01-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

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.

2012-01-25T09:54:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-18T14:53:00.001-08:00

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.

Preview of upcoming book

2012-01-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

I've just created a preview of an upcoming book release. The book is called Rabbit and it is the first in a series of four Fantasy novels. The book is available on Kindle at the moment but will also be available as a paperback in a few weeks. Please click the link below and let me know what you think of the preview. Thanks. v.

https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1093950

Keeper: Chapter 48

2012-01-04T10:15:00.001-08:00

Chapter 48.

The inspection was more difficult than Jamie thought. In his mind he pictured dozen’s of crumpled bodies lining the perimeter of House’s protection. He also somehow suspected there would be a line on the ground marking the edge of House’s perimeter.

“House said the perimeter extended to the tree line on this side,” Jamie told Del as the two of them tromped through the yard. “I don’t see anything. There ought to be something if people kept throwing themselves against the perimeter all night.” Dimly Jamie wondered if House had been mistaken and had some sort of glitch in the system.

“I think I might have found something,” Del said. Jamie walked over to where the smaller man stood looking at the ground. He looked down and for a moment saw nothing. Then a gust of wind stirred the leaves and something more along the ground.

“Is that dust?” Jamie asked. Del shook his head.

“Ash,” he confirmed. “Apparently your House is quite thorough.” Jamie stared at the shifting ash on the ground. He kept his eyes focused on the ground but shifted his line of sight to look along the tree line. Now that he knew what to look for, he couldn’t stop seeing small piles of ash. The wind was stirring the ashes, but Jamie noticed that no matter what direction the wind blew, none of the ashes crossed the perimeter.

“Even in death they are denied entry,” Jamie said softly.

“That would keep even death magic out I expect,” Del commented.

“Death magic?”

“Just scary stories from what I know,” Del said with a shrug. “Never saw anyone use it but if it isn’t just something to scare children with then it seems like a good thing to keep out.”

“Oh,” Jamie replied, not quite sure how to comment. A soft rustling sound in the trees distracted him and Jamie focused his attention on the underbrush rather than on the accumulated ash. He wondered if it was the wind. Del grabbed his arm, the small fingers feeling like bands of iron.

“Whatever it is,” Del said softly, in a voice barely above a whisper. “Make it cross the perimeter first if it is able.” Jamie nodded at the wisdom of that thought and took a large step away from the perimeter and towards the house. Del nodded his approval and stepped back as well. The rustling sound came again.

“Hello,” Jamie called. “Is anyone out there?”

The rustling stopped and they heard a tentative, “Jamie?” called out. Jamie frowned. The voice sounded familiar.

“Michael?” He asked. The rustling sounds increased and Jamie saw a hand reach out to part the underbrush. Slowly, his brother crawled forward into the open. He crossed the perimeter with no problems and Jamie helped him to stand. Del still eyed Michael warily as he regained his feet. Michael looked much worse for wear than Jamie had ever seen him. His hands and arms were scratched and dirt was imbedded in his fingernails so that they looked like little black crescents above his fingers. There were scratches along his face as well and it looked as though his nose had been bleeding. To Jamie’s eyes it didn’t look broken, just bloody. The biggest change in Michael was his eyes. They were wide and frightened and darted around as though looking for an attack.

“Michael, what happened?” Jamie asked.

“Where am I?” Michael asked. His fingers bunched in Jamie’s shirt. “Where,” he repeated, a trace of the old Michael’s demanding tone coming back.

“You are at Albe’s place,” Jamie told him. “Were you trying to break into the house?”

“Albe’s place?” Michael repeated. “How did I get here? I was with Renee. Did she bring me here?”

“I don’t know,” Jamie said frowning. He let his eyes scan the underbrush, wondering if Renee, his brother’s sometime girlfriend, was somewhere in the woods as well. “We can call her house and see if she knows how you got here,” Jamie suggested. ‘Of course if she doesn’t answer we will have to search the woods.’ He avoided looking at the piles of ash.

“Do you have your cell phone?” Jamie asked Michael. Michael fumbled his phone from his pocket and Jamie could see that his index finger was swollen and might be broken. Jamie looked to Del, who had noticed the finger as well.

“Might as well get that looked at while you give the girl a call,” Del said a little reluctantly. Jamie nodded and got Michael to let go of the front of his shirt and move to where Del could inspect him. Jamie pulled Renee’s number from Michael’s contacts list and pressed the call button. The phone rang. Tinny music came from the underbrush. It was not in the same place Michael had crawled from, but off about twenty yards to the right. Jamie started to step forward.

“No,” Del said. Jamie stopped, looked at Del and nodded. Del stepped forward, crossing the perimeter and entering the underbrush. Jamie let the phone ring.

“Found her,” Del called. Slowly he escorted a small brown haired woman out of the trees. She looked nearly as scratched up as Michael and had a bruise coming out on her left temple. Del was muttering the sort of nonsensical comforting comments one normally said to those in shock. Jamie noticed however that when they approached the perimeter, Del let her go and had her walk across the line on her own. Apparently House deemed her safe. Once across the line, Del once again began escorting her. Jamie put a hand on Michael’s elbow and Jamie and Del guided the two unexpected guests towards the house.

‘This should be interesting,’ he thought. He didn’t know if their condition was due to their other late night visitors or House’s protection. Jamie brought them into the house, leading them into the kitchen rather than either of the parlors. Once seated at the table, Del began seeing to their various cuts and bruises, cleaning out the dirt and bandaging when necessary. Both looked wide eyed and somewhat shocky. Jamie stepped back into the hallway, shutting the door to the kitchen so that he couldn’t be heard. Somehow he didn’t think adding someone who talked to a house into the mix would help either of his visitor’s mental state.

“House,” Jamie asked. “Did the two of them come in contact with the perimeter last night?”

“No Keeper they did not come in contact with my perimeter last night.” Came the reply. Jamie paused.

“Did they come in contact with the perimeter anytime prior to when Del and I found them?” Jamie asked, figuring they might have reached the border in the early morning.

“No Keeper.”

“Good,” he said. “Do you know anything about them being here?”

“No Keeper,” House replied. “They were not within my sight so I could not see them.”

“Well that rules out Michael trying to break in.” Jamie said half to himself. He wondered if the Brotherhood of Shadows had something to do with their condition. “After all it seems highly suspicious for everyone to be running around last night in roughly the same area without running into each other.”

“Thank you House,” Jamie said and he opened the door, stepping back into the kitchen. Both his brother and Renee were cleaned up with smears of antiseptic goo covering various cuts and scrapes. Del was bandaging Michael’s finger as Jamie stepped back into the room.

“The finger’s broken,” Del said, both to Michael and Jamie. “But it is a clean break. Keep it straight and it will heal that way.” The kettle Del had put on began to whistle and as Jamie slid into one of the empty kitchen chairs, Del moved to make the tea. Both Michael and Renee started at the sound of the kettle. The sighed with relief when they saw what it was.

“So is there anything you can tell me about last night?” Jamie said.

“It a blur,” Renee said softly. ‘I don’t...I...” Jamie covered her hand with his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Do you remember how you got out here?” He asked softly.

“I...drove, I think,” Renee said.

“You think or you know?” Jamie asked. “Do you remember driving?”

Renee closed her eyes as though trying to picture it. “Yes,” she said. “I drove. We were at the bar, The Silver Star,” Renee began. Jamie nodded, knowing that Renee worked there at least part time. “I was working,” Renee continued and Michael came in. He said he had figured out a way to make you sell the land but that he needed my help. So after my shift was over I drove us out here because he didn’t want to bring his car for some reason.”

“I see,” Jamie said. He tried not to get angry about whatever his brother’s latest attempt to get Albe’s property was. Del settled the mugs of tea in front of the two people. Jamie noticed that the mug set down in front of Michael was set down rather forcefully and Del’s lips were compressed in a thin line. He kept his own council however and said nothing.

“Do you remember what happened next?” Jamie asked, keeping his voice calm and deliberately not looking at Michael.

“We had a fight,” Renee said. Her hand fluttered towards her bruised temple almost without thought. “I think...” She started to trail off. Del placed the honey pot gently in front of her and she added a spoonful of honey to her tea. Michael started to reach for the honey, but the look on Del’s face stopped him cold. Michael’s hand retreated and he picked up his mug, taking a sip of the hot, unsweetened beverage.

“I think we had stopped at the gate,” Renee continued. “But everything is vague. I remember getting out of the car, but nothing solid after that, you know?”

“I know,” Jamie said softly to her. She wrapped both of her hands around the mug and brought the mug up to her mouth. She inhaled the scent of the tea deeply before taking a tentative sip. Jamie turned towards Michael.

“Well,” he said, not nearly as gentle as he had been with Renee. “What do you remember?”

“I remember wanting to come out and see you,” Michael said. “After all you have been holed up here all week doing god knows what and I was concerned, what brother wouldn’t be?” Michael began, regaining some of his normal tones. Apparently the shock was wearing off.

“And?”

“And,” Michael repeated sarcastically. “I figured since you had not been very polite last time, you might feel more hospitable if I brought Renee with me. Her being company and all.”

“So she drove you here and you parked at the gate?” Jamie asked, ignoring the side commentary.

“Yes,” Michael said. “And we got out because that gate of yours is always locked. Really Jamie, how are you going to have any friends if you lock yourself away out here and then bar the only entrance?”

“So you jumped the gate?” Jamie asked, trying to keep Michael on track. He made a mental note to check the video surveillance footage of the gate as soon as Michael left. He didn’t feel the need to alert his brother about the gate being under surveillance, especially if Jim decided he wanted to take Michael to court for the damages to his car.

“You don’t need to make it sound so nefarious,” Michael snapped.

“What happened next?” Jamie asked.

“Next,” Michael began. “Next...,” his voice faltered and Michael frowned.

“You can’t remember?” Jamie asked.

“Of course I remember,” Michael said. “I must have run into a tree or something because there are no lights out there at all, I could sue for that you know, I got knocked out by a tree because you didn’t properly light your driveway.”

“Do you remember running into the tree?” Jamie asked.

“Who remembers getting knocked out by a tree,” Michael said dismissively. “Don’t be stupid.”

“You weren’t found anywhere near the gate,” Jamie said.

“So I walked in my sleep,” Michael shot back. “I was having nightmares.” Fear flickered across his face for an instant.

“What sort of nightmares?” Jamie asked.

“That’s none of your business,” Michael snapped, his fear edging into anger. Jamie knew that if he pushed, he would get nothing more.

“Renee wasn’t too far from you.”

“So she followed me,” Michael said. “Unlike you, I have people who care about me.” Michael stretched a hand across the table towards Renee. She stared at it for a moment but kept her hands wrapped around the mug. Michael cleared his throat and pulled his hand back.

“Clearly that’s what happened.” Michael pronounced.

“Did she get knocked out by a tree too?” Del asked dryly. Michael frowned but did not bother to answer.

“Is that everything?” Jamie asked.

“Yes now I think it is time we go,” Michael said standing. “You will of course hear from my lawyers unless you want to make a financial settlement out of court. I’ll give you a few days to think it over. Come Renee.” Renee stood slowly, placing the mug back down on the table.

“Do you still have your keys?” Jamie asked her. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and extracted the keys with a jangle. “Then we will walk you back to the gate.” Renee seemed relieved by the offer.

“Thank you,” she said softly. Michael also looked somewhat relieved by the offer.

“If you feel it necessary,” he said. Del led the way back towards the front door and the group of them trouped off to the front gate. It was a quiet march, with Michael somewhat sullen and Renee listening nervously to the sounds in the woods. They reached the gate and found Renee’s car parked just where she thought they had left it. She quickly unlocked her door and got in, locking her door behind her. She started the engine and Michael had to scramble to get into the passenger’s side before she took off and left him. Del and Jamie watched the car recede into the distance.

“How much do you want to be those dreams weren’t exactly dreams,” Jamie asked Del.

“That’s a sucker’s bet,” Del told him with a rather grim smile.

“True,” Jamie admitted as they turned and began walking back towards the house. “Do you know of anything that could affect their memories like that?”

“Not personally, no,” Del said. “But I might know someone I could ask.”

“I think asking might be a good idea,” Jamie said softly. Even without Michael’s sham of a lawsuit he had the feeling whatever this was would not fade away anytime soon.

Keeper: chapter 47

2011-12-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

Chapter 47.

Del settled himself in one of the chairs by the fire and closed his eyes. To Jamie’s eyes he looked less like he was planning to sleep and more like he was hyper-focusing and found his eyes a distraction. Every line in his body was tense and he seemed to be almost carved from stone. After a few minutes of study, Jamie reminded himself that staring wasn’t exactly helping matters and began to scan the library shelves for books that looked like they might contain information on human magic.

‘I wonder if there will be silver stars and pointy hats in the margins,’ he thought with a smile as he searched. Somehow he couldn’t see Albe wearing a pointy hat and velvet robe while waving a magic wand. He finished searching the shelves in the study. While many interesting books begged to be taken down and studied, none of them appeared to be magic.

Del hadn’t so much as twitched when Jamie’s search was complete. Realizing that the library was just as secure as the study, and with the connecting pocket doors wide open it wasn’t very far from Del, Jamie continued his search. He scanned the lowest shelves of the library first, realizing he would need to climb up and down on the small step ladder to reach the higher shelves.

As there were more books here, his search took much longer, but yielded the same results. By the time he had finished, Jamie noticed the light in the hallway had changed. He climbed down from the step ladder and walked over to the doorway, risking a cautious peek. Sunlight was beginning to warm the edges of the window at the end of the corridor. Jamie returned to the study.

‘I wonder if the Keeper of any crossroads actually gets to sleep through the night on a regular basis?’ he thought as he moved. Jamie settled himself behind the desk and once again picked up the book that spoke of the development and maintenance of the crossroads.

‘Apparently communication between Keepers is allowed but it is rare for Keepers to stray too far from their homes,’ Jamie thought sometime later, rubbing his tired eyes and leaning back in his chair. ‘I wonder if Albe had a way to do that.’ Jamie was startled from his thoughts by a knocking on the front door. Del leapt to his feet, cleaver clutched in his hand.

“Did they break through? Hose didn’t say anything,” Jamie said.

“I didn’t think so,” Del said. “At least I didn’t feel the perimeter break.”

“House,” Jamie said quickly. “Who is at the front door?”

“It is the High Talbot, Keeper.”

“The High Talbot,” Jamie said. He looked at the small clock placed discretely in the corner. “And apparently right on time too.” Del muttered and raced out of the door, no doubt to escort the High Talbot into the parlor. Even thought Jamie had never heard the language Del had used, he had the feeling they were obscenities. Jamie ran a hand through his hair, trying to settle it. He retrieved his shoes from under the desk and quickly laced them on. Jamie headed downstairs and passed Del in the corridor. He was still muttering to himself.

“Good morning High Talbot,” Jamie said, entering the receiving parlor. “My apologies for the delay, we have had a rather interesting night and are running a little behind schedule. I hope you won’t be offended.” Unlike Terrell, Jamie had no wish to offer a slight to the High Talbot.

“I see,” the High Talbot returned with a raised eyebrow. “This would not be the same sort of interesting night you had before the architect was called?”

“Not exactly,” Jamie said settling himself in the available seat. “The House’s defenses remained in tact but were tested throughout the night.”

“And when did these attacks cease?”

“Good question,” Jamie said. “House, when did the last intruder try to break in.” Jamie ignored the odd look that the High Talbot gave him as he spoke to House.

“Shortly before your housekeeper opened the door to the High Talbot, Keeper. And I sense no more massing of others outside my perimeter.”

“I suppose that means House doesn’t keep track of time the same way we do,” Jamie muttered mostly to himself. “Apparently the attacks stopped with your arrival and those that were left, have gone.”

“Left?”

“Yes apparently the House tends to permanently eliminate unwanted intruders.”Jamie said. He kept his voice neutral, but the concept made him very uncomfortable. He realized that those intruders had intended to permanently eliminate him, but he still felt bad about it and intended to see if House could make some adjustments in protocol.

“How interesting,” The High Talbot said studying Jamie with an intense gaze.

“I have the suspicion that they wanted to prevent you from giving me my verdict regarding the use of the Lustan during the Lune Merdos.”

“It was your use of deadly force I found interesting,” The High Talbot corrected. “I find most modern humans to be a bit... squeamish regarding final solutions. At least off of the battlefield. I do agree with the reasons behind the attempted attack though. Sadly predictable actually.”

Jamie could detect no trace of anger or disgust in his visitor’s speech, nothing to denote either approval or condemnation, only the slight lilt of surprise. Luckily Del saved him from surprise by wheeling in the tea cart. Jamie offered to pour and soon the two of them were sitting back in their chairs with their respective cups. Jamie made a mental note that the High Talbot spurned cream but added one sugar cube and one slice of lemon to his tea.

“So you have reached a decision regarding the use of the Lustan during the Lune Merdos?” The High Talbot finally asked.

“I have,” Jamie replied. The High Talbot sipped his tea as Jamie organized his thoughts, seemingly content to wait for an eternity. “It is my belief that the last time the Lune Merdos rite was performed by the Gedran, it raised enough power to destroy the house of the Keeper of that time. It is also my belief that the combined power that could be raised if both the Gedran and the Federan are allowed to use the Lustan for the Lune Merdos could destroy both the house of the Keeper and damage, if not destroy the crossroads themselves. Clearly I cannot allow this. Therefore my decision is to deny the use of the Lustan during the Lune Merdos by either faction.” For a moment it felt as though the world sighed around him. He wondered if it was in relief or disappointment.

“This is your final judgment?” The High Talbot asked.

“It is,” Jamie said with a nod.

The High Talbot closed his eyes for a moment and then flashed, as though his entire body gave of one pulse of blue-white light. The light was gone so fast Jamie almost doubted that he had seen it. The high Talbot opened his eyes and smiled.

“The decision is now officially recorded,” he told Jamie. “And a very complex on for a very new Keeper.” Jamie sipped his tea and remained quiet. When he saw a response was not forthcoming, the High Talbot smiled and continued. “And now that the matter is settled, there are other issues that demand your attention.”

“Of course,” Jamie replied.

“The first would be that small laboratory you found on the property of the Keeper. I have searched among the goblin tribes and found no such markings. As this poses more of a threat to the human population I leave the matter in your court.”

Jamie caught a note of worry hidden in the smooth lines and realized that the High Talbot had no idea what to do about the problem. He stared at the High Talbot, studying him the way he had studied Jamie. The High Talbot averted his gaze.

“Is there a way to get copies of the permits for anyone who was doing either similar work or work that required the same ... ingredients?” Jamie asked. He wasn’t quite sure what went into making a human suit for a faux goblin but he had the suspicion it was more than the components of a basic chemistry set.

“Of course,” The High Talbot said. Although his voice remained neutral, there was a subtle relaxing of his body that signaled relief.

“Then please send them. It will be the second matter that I attend to now that the Lune Merdos is settled.”

“Second?” The High Talbot asked.

“Keeper Albrect needs to be buried. His funeral will be held in the small cemetery to the east on the day after the Lune Merdos.” Jamie felt that while the danger may lessen after his decision had been finalized, it might take a little while for the word to be passed among the many conspirators. Waiting until after the Lune Merdos would help ensure that he did not actually join Albe in the cemetery.

“Funeral.” The High Talbot repeated. “Charming custom of course.”

“I realize this is more of a human rite, but should you know of anyone you feel might wish to attend, please let them know that they are welcome.”

“I will do so, Keeper James.” The High Talbot stood with Jamie following suit. They walked towards the front door. “I will have the papers with the permits you requested sent over so that they will be waiting for you after your time of ... burial... is complete.” Somehow Del managed to reach the door before either of them and whisked it open in time for the High Talbot’s exit. The High Talbot took his coat and hat from the brownie and stepped onto the porch as he settled his overcoat around his shoulders.

“I must say I am pleased by your speedy and tidy resolution to this Lune Merdos business,” The High Talbot said in a voice designed to carry. “I look forward to working with you for many a year to come.” With that he turned and walked away. Del shut the door. He seemed relieved.

“Well, there’s that done.” Del said. “Those that was lurking have now heard directly in case they weren’t attached to the High Court. And with the High Talbot fairly giving you his blessing, well that should cut down on a lot of the potential assassination attempts.”

“Always good to hear,” Jamie said with a smile. He looked towards the closed front door. As though guessing what Jamie was thinking, Del shook his head.

“Best have a good breakfast first. Then you can go look at what remains after the House’s perimeter has done it’s job.” Realizing he might not be hungry after the inspection, Jamie followed Del back to the kitchen.

‘At least if I have to see a bunch of dead bodies, I’ll have something in my stomach that I can throw up,’ he thought.

Free short stories available

2011-12-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Late christmas. Took a bit more of a break than I anticipated. Another chapter of Keeper will be up by late thursday-early friday and for those of you wondering, Keeper will still be posted here. The links to the 4 free short stories are below. Or you can go to www.smashwords .com. They are available in all e-formats. I'm trying to get them to work on Amazon but they seem to have a problem with listing them for free. I'm sure the kinks will be worked out soon. Happy Holidays! v.

Mirror, Mirror is a story about a girl who takes home a magic mirror and gets more than she bargained for. http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/118011

The Caller is a tale of a sedate academic who, after a mysterios caller wakes him from a deep sleep, finds himself the star player in a spy game. http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/118016

Blues Bar Valentine is the story of a woman who finds herself far from the one she loves http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/118013
Morning Ritual is the story of a man with an interisting morning routine. http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/118015

New website

2011-12-20T11:19:00.001-08:00

My new website is up and running, check it out http://valeriegaumont.yolasite.com

Keeper: Chapter 46

2011-12-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

Chapter 46

Jamie settled in to read. His self imposed assignment wasn’t exactly much of a hardship though. He had always enjoyed reading and the events and details he was reading now were more fantastical than any history book he had ever encountered, becoming more interesting with each page he turned. Apparently he wasn’t the only Keeper. And Jamie found himself wondering if there was ever a meeting between Keepers.

“Now that would be an interesting conference,” Jamie said to himself with a laugh. He continued on and realized that such a meeting wouldn’t be as amusing as he thought. Apparently the other Keepers only met when all of the available Keepers for one particular crossroads had been decimated. For this reason it was recommended that any Keeper search for a designated heir as soon as possible. Finding a suitable apprentice apparently took a great deal of time. The Keeper was cautioned to not look for an apprentice until he was at least two years into his tenure so that he could be fully vested in his duties before training another. Until that time, a younger family member could be designated. The book specified a good mind, a caring nature and a stout heart as the requirements.

“Still interesting, but more war council than cocktail hour,” Jamie amended his earlier statement. According to the book he was reading, all Keepers had some touch of human magic about them. Jamie frowned at that. He certainly didn’t have any magic. “Perhaps Albe left off looking for too long and had to go with me as the best of the lot,” Jamie said. As he flipped the pages, he wondered if Albe had been disappointed at not finding a magician as his successor.

“Because there certainly was something magical about Albe,” Jamie muttered. He paused wondering if Albe had been capable of true magic, like the kind in fairytales. While he couldn’t exactly see his great uncle rushing off into the woods to save a fair maiden from a dragon, he could easily see the old man enchanting a sword that could kill a dragon and making sure the eager young hero took it with him.

“Of course that would only be after he had a talk with the dragon and realized that the dragon was just going to be stubbornly unreasonable about the young woman in the first place,” Jamie said, smiling. “And assuming the woman didn’t need to be locked up for some reason.” Jamie shook the thought away. Turning the pages he found the instructions for testing a potential apprentice. Jamie scanned them with a bit of a frown and he wondered if he would be able to conduct the test if he had no magic of his own.

“Perhaps Del could sit in on the testing,” he mused, then snorted in derision of his own thoughts. “There is the strong possibility of me being killed in the next few days, worrying about training an apprentice is something I can do later.” Although given the danger of his first few days as the new Keeper, he could understand the advisement to choose an heir quickly.

“I wonder if the others started their tenure with quite this much of a bang.” Jamie’s thoughts on the subject were interrupted by the mad jangling of bells. To Jamie’s ears it sounded like hurricane had struck a warehouse full of Christmas decorations. Jamie clapped his hands over his years.

“What the hell,” he shouted, not quite sure who he was asking. It didn’t seem to matter as he could not hear his own voice. He could only feel the vibrations in his throat and his jaw muscles moving. It was deeply un nerving. He moved towards the door and ran into Del. The small man was armed with a cleaver and an angry expression. Jamie saw Del’s mouth move but couldn’t make out the words. He shook his head. Abruptly the sound stopped. Jamie cautiously removed his hands from his ears. The silence remained. He wondered if he had gone deaf.

“What was that?” he asked Del. His voice sounded softer than he thought it should and wondered if it was his voice or his ears that were the trouble.

“I was hoping you’d know,” Dell said. His expression faded a bit more towards neutral but Jamie noticed he was still holding the cleaver in a white-knuckled grip. Jamie shook his head.

“House,” he asked, realizing belatedly that House might actually know.

“Yes, Keeper.”

“Do you know what that noise was?” Jamie asked. Del watched him intently, waiting for Jamie to relay House’s response.

“Of course Keeper.”

“Would you mind telling me what it was?”

“It was the perimeter alarm. I wanted to make sure that it was loud enough so that your housekeeper could hear it as well.” Jamie realized that Del might not have been treated to the mad cacophony that he had heard and made a mental note to ask later.

“Did you say perimeter alarm?” Jamie asked. Del stiffened beside him.

“Someone is trying to break in?” Del asked. He looked towards the nearest window. Realizing that the study, where Jamie had been had no windows, Del gestured for Jamie to return to it, leaving the less secure corridor. Del followed him in and stood watching the door into the corridor.

“Is someone trying to break in?” Jamie asked House.

“No Keeper.”

“No?” Jamie repeated. “So this was just, what, a systems test?”

“No Keeper,” House replied. “Someone was trying to break in. They no longer are.”

“Did the alarm just scare them off?”

“No Keeper.”

“So what happened to them?”

“They died, Keeper.”

“I see,” Jamie said slowly.

“Well I don’t,” Del said tersely. “Are we under attack or not?”

“Apparently someone tried to break in and House sounded the alarm and possibly killed them.” Jamie told him.

“Does the House know who?”

“House,” Jamie asked, feeling silly for repeating Del’s question. “Do you know who tried to break in?”

“Someone with ill intent,” House said, sounding somewhat proud of itself. “Otherwise the wards would have just deflected them back into the road or the woods, depending on how they approached.”

Jamie had a mental image of the house being encased in a giant bowl of jell-o and bouncing intruders back into the woods. He wondered if a boing-ing sound like a bouncing cartoon spring would accompany the gesture. Jamie let the image go and frowned in thought.

“So the fairy who came to my window the other night did not have ill intent and so no alarm sounded?” he asked.

“My perimeter was not active when the fairy arrived. The architect fixed it.”

“Burr fixed it,” Jamie said slowly, working things through in his mind. “So now when someone tried to approach the house, the alarm sounded when it touched the window?”

“No Keeper.”

“No?” Jamie asked. “Why, no?”

“My perimeter when fully active encompasses the garden in back and front yard as well as to the tree line on either side.”

“So why didn’t the alarm sound when people came to the front door?”

“A pathway has been left open for those wishing to properly visit the Keeper.”

“Of course,” Jamie said. “Thank you. Where along the perimeter did the ... intruder appear?”

“Near the tree line, to the east.”

“Same direction as the small laboratory,” Jamie said. Del cocked an eyebrow and Jamie relayed House’s information to him, in a more condensed form.

“So whoever came here did not know that Burr had repaired the damage to House.” Del said with a nod, picking up on the important bits immediately.

“Apparently not. Which leaves out the High Talbot and whoever he uses to arrange such things,” Jamie mused. Del frowned. “It just means his office is clear of blame.” Del relaxed a little at the comment.

“I suppose,” Del admitted. Jamie knew that Del held the High Talbot in such esteem that it would never occur to him to place him on a suspect list. Jamie however was pleased to have some indication of innocence ion his part. The High Talbot may not bear the symbol of the Brotherhood of Shadows on his cheek, but from what Jamie had learned he was still High Court. Jamie opened his mouth to comment but was cut off by another round of bells.

“House,” he yelled, please turn the bells off.” The bells ceased immediately.

“As both Del and I are awake at the moment, could you just tell me that there is an intruder at the perimeter and let me tell Del instead of the alarms?”

“Of course Keeper.” House sounded vaguely affronted by his suggestion and Jamie could easily imagine a more animate being adding the words ‘I was only trying to help.’

“Just for the moment,” Jamie said in what he hoped was a consoling voice. “We can go back to your clever bells later.” He realized that he was setting himself up for a rude wakeup call later but as he didn’t know if House could sulk, he thought that placating seemed wise. Del grinned at him but didn’t say anything.

“As you wish Keeper.”

“Thank you. Did you stop another intruder?”

“Yes Keeper,” House said, pleased with his phrasing. “They are attempting the same spot on my perimeter. I can feel others just outside the perimeter but can tell you nothing more as they are outside.”

“Of course,” Jamie said. “Thank you.” He turned to Del. “They are attacking the same spot and House thinks there are more of them in the woods.”

“I think they are testing the perimeter,” Del said, frowning. “Before the bells I thought I caught the sound of something, but lost it in the alarm. I would bet that they are attempting to see how strong the defenses are.”

“House has agreed to leave off the bells and just tell me when someone tries for the perimeter.”

“That will help with my listening. Can the House also tell you when the defenses are close to failing?”

Jamie relayed the question and received a “yes Keeper’ In response, which he passed on to Del. The news seemed to help Del relax.

“I’ll see what I can trace then,” Del said. He looked around. “Aside from the basement, and that hidden floor of yours, this is one of the most secure places in the house.”

“Then I suppose we had better make ourselves comfortable then,” Jamie replied. He watched as Del tensed.

“An intruder was stopped at the perimeter,” House said. Jamie nodded but stayed quiet until Del relaxed.

“Another intruder,” Jamie passed along. “Thank you House.”

“They are trying different things to get past the perimeter,” Del said. “Even though I only caught a bit of the first, this one was a little different.” Del walked over to one of the chairs set by the fire and seated himself. He placed the cleaver down on the floor. Jamie took it as a sign that the small man did not believe a conflict was imminent. “It odd though,” Del said as Jamie joined Del in front of the fire.

“That someone would attack?”

“No,” Del said with a smile. “That we could almost anticipate. At least until your decision is turned in. No the odd bit is that there is strange magic in the perimeters.”

“Strange as in something is tampering with it?”

“No,” Del said shaking his head. “Strange as in it isn’t pure fae magic. I believe there is some human magic mixed in. The combination is quite powerful.”

“And since most believe that the fae alone were the architects, it might make it harder to break?” Jamie guessed.

“It would be unanticipated,” Del said. “There is no record of human magics being added to it, even on those drawings you brought up. All of the magics were too complex for the likes of me to comprehend, but they were all of the fae. I could see that at a glance. Burr himself might not have known they were done.”

“Wouldn’t he... you know, sense them or something when he fixed House?”

“He might not have,” Del said. “Whatever this is, was not active when Burr came to fix it and when I was with him, he only tinkered with the fae bits. I have the feeling one of your ancestors decided to add a little bit of the extra after he was gone.”

“Non-factory standard, “ Jamie muttered to himself. He waved off Del’s puzzled frown. “But wouldn’t they be separate things then? Fixing one wouldn’t fix the other. And tampering with one wouldn’t tamper with the other either, would it?”

“It would depend on when the magic was added. If it was added as soon as Burr left, the fae magic might have been fresh enough to partially merge with the human additions.”

“Huh,” Jamie said. “Like still wet paint.”

“Very much so.” Del’s face went blank again as he listed to something in the distance. House warned him of another intruder.

“I have the feeling this is going to be a long night,” Jamie said to himself. “I wonder if we have any books on human magic around or if Alexander contracted out.”

Kindle is up and running

2011-12-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

All three of my books are now available for Kindle. Ah the happy dance is a thing of beauty. Well maybe not beauty. It is actually quite distrubing to watch. But it is fabulous to do. And new chapters of Keeper will start again next week. Thanks for the patience. And extra thanks for those who have already bought and commented on Allaince. Thanks! v.

Allaince is now available!

2011-12-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, The third book in the Channel Rider Series is now available as an e-book. You can get it at www.smashwords .com. It is called Allaince. It is available there in all e-reader formats or for download to your computer should you not have an e-reader. It should also be available from Amazon for Kindle by monday. http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/114837
Woot. v

Quick update

2011-12-14T08:00:00.001-08:00

Move took longer than I thought. New posts will begin next week, probably on wednesday. I will have an update on Allaince being out by friday. Thanks for the patience and encouragement! v

still moving...

2011-10-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

Still in the process of moving. But on the plus side, made it to Texas in one piece. Found a place but still living in a hotel until the first of the month. I'm using the time to finalize Alliance (still arguing about the cover of all things) and will get back to posting as soon as it is sorted and I get my computer back. More soon. v

Keeper: Chapter 45

2011-08-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

Chapter 45.

Jamie closed the door after escorting the representative of the Gederan out. He sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. “I take it back,” he muttered. “That was not fun at all.” If anything the representative from the Gederan had been less forthcoming than Terrell had been. “Terrell at least gave me a name to call him.” The Gederan representative merely stated he was the representative of the Gederan. Jamie shook his head and walked back to the kitchen. Del was, for once not present and Jamie could see him doing something in the garden with the few sprigs of green that had yet to die off for winter. Jamie let him be, poured himself a mug of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table to organize his thoughts.

Overall the Gederan had given him the same answers Terrell had given to him. He suggested that both the Gederan and the Federan could share the space. He had a particular memory blank when asked what the power raised during the rite would do and he denied any knowledge of the Brotherhood of Shadows involvement. Jamie had noticed, however that a similar scar marked his cheek, uniting both him and Terrell.

“He also looked extremely nervous and slightly guilty at the mention of the last Keeper’s house.” Jamie sipped his coffee. As the Gederan’s presentation of why they should use the Lustan was nearly identical to Terrell’s, Jamie had asked nearly identical questions. Neither side was happy with him at the moment. “Not that I blame them.” He was meeting with the High Talbot in the morning to give him the final verdict on the use of the Lustan during the Lune Merdos.

“I wonder if anyone will try to kill me tonight?” Jamie asked himself.

“Have you managed to provoke them already?” Del asked from the doorway. Jamie gave a little start, nearly spilling his coffee down the front of his shirt. Del calmly reached back and pulled the door leading to the kitchen garden closed against the wind. In his other hand was held a bundle of fresh herbs. While Jamie couldn’t tell one herb from another, he knew that nothing in the close to winter garden behind the house would produce anything that fresh. He decided not to mention it.

“Well I suspect they each thought me a push over before they got here and are now having to re-evaluate,” Jamie told him. “As they wanted to kill me before they met me on the off chance I wouldn’t be a pushover I suspect the thought to try again may occur to them.”

“I see,” Del’s face darkened with the words.

“I plan to stay inside for the rest of the day and my morning meeting with the High Talbot should settle the matter for good. We will need a tea cart for that meeting.” Jamie maintained a blank face but at the last second his lips twitched up at the corners. While Del’s face didn’t exactly brighten, it did loose some of it’s darker aspects.

“They told me looking after a Keeper was a bit more work than an ordinary household. Stupidly I chalked it up to dealing with highborn guests.”

“We get those too.”

“Yes, yes. We get those too.” Del noticed the time was edging past one and he darted a look to Jamie. “Do you have time for lunch then?”

“I do,” Jamie said realizing the act of feeding him would help settle Del down. Del began putting sandwiches together and Jamie turned his thoughts inwards again as he drank his coffee. He decided looking into the Brotherhood of Shadows was probably a good plan.

“They could have disbanded,” Jamie said, forgetting Del was there.

“Who disbanded?”

“The Brotherhood of Shadows.”

“That lot?” Del snorted. “Not likely. At least not until they achieve their goals.”

“Goals?”

“Well one goal really,” Del said walking a plate filled with a sandwich over and setting it on the table in front of Jamie. Jamie thanked him as he turned and went back for his own plate. Del settled himself across from Jamie. “The Brotherhood wants the fey, High Court of course, to be free to rule the earth with humans more or less as subjugated chattel.”

“Only the High Court want this?” Jamie asked.

“Of course.” Del said firmly. “It wouldn’t do much good for those of us who aren’t high court. As a rule we have a tendency to move to the human side of the crossroads in order to escape the high courts.”

“So the high court can’t really migrate past the crossroads while it is still in tact?”

“Exactly,” Del said. “The crossroads separate the Human world and the Fey world. For the High Court Lords to take over the Human world the crossroads would have to dissolve by mutual agreement.”

“Mutual agreement?”

“Yup,” Del said. He paused to take a bite of his sandwich and gave a look to Jamie that suggested he ought to do the same. Jamie picked up and began eating his sandwich. Del swallowed his bite and washed it down with a swig of tea. “If the High courts didn’t have permission from the Keeper then the power they threw at the cross roads would just bounce back at them. It would sizzle them pretty well. I’d say like sausages on a grill but considering how much power they would need to destroy the crossroads, even with permission it would be more like sizzling the sausages with the assist of an active volcano. Of course that’s assuming they could raise the power in the first place.”

“So they would need my permission,” Jamie said as something deep in his mind clicked.

“Personally I think it’s just spit in the wind,” Del told him.

“Really? Why?”

“Well the high courts have been sequestered like in the lands of the Fey for a long time, with only a few jaunts out to the Keeper’s house now and then. And to be honest, not much changes here. And even the parts that do aren’t the parts they see. They don’t see the kitchens so they don’t see the food made with gas or electric instead of fire. For the most par t they don’t see much ion the way of changes. And since they know that Burr Alverson and his lot helped create this place they would assume anything more advanced than the humans they remember would be the result of that. The high court is pretty convinced of it’s own superiority.”

“That I have noticed,” Jamie thought his mind adding the High Talbot into the mix. Even if he wasn’t of a piece with Terrell, Jamie had the impression that the High Talbot did not consider him an equal.

“The first of the cross roads was established about the time Rome started to rise. Mostly as a means of keeping the Fey from the more densely clustered areas of human settlement. Of course there is some debate about that.”

“Oh, what sort of debate?”

“Well some say that the first of the cross roads were set up in Persia or Egypt but if you want my opinion those were less like the crossroads we have now in the system and a bit more like fences. Kind of as an intended separation, but nothing a horse with a running start couldn’t clear.”

“System?” Jamie asked.

“Of course,” Del said. “As your lot spread out we had to keep building them and anchoring them sort of like a border or the Great Wall of China. The crossroads are the only entry and exit points between the human world and the Fey world. You wouldn’t think we’d depend on just one doorway did you?” Del’s eyes sparked with good natured amusement.

“I suppose I hadn’t really thought it through.” Jamie confessed. “But that does make sense. “I suppose there are other keepers then?”

“I suppose. Never really met any of them. But I suppose there must be.” They sat in silence for a minute, each eating their lunch.

“So before the system was fully up and operational, there was more mingling?”

“I wouldn’t call it mingling but there was more contact.”

“Contact?” Jamie felt slow and somewhat stupid. Hopefully the book of the crossroads would help him fill in more gaps later. Mixed in with the stupidity was a wondering of why this had not been a part of Albe’s lessons. Was the lesson waiting until more urgent lessons were learned?

“The high court liked to go on raiding parties and bring human’s back. Mostly musicians if they could manage it.”

“Why musicians?” Jamie asked, picturing a gang of armed horsemen raiding one of the larger concert venues like the Family Values tour or even some random State Fair’s bandstand and carrying off musicians. The image was both amusing and disturbing.

“Because the music is different. Fey music is lovely but somewhat... limited. Probably because we live so long. The theory is that human mortality gives human music a bit more...vitality to it. Whatever you call it our music lacks it and your music has it. So if you want human music you have to have human musicians.”

“Now they could just go raiding for I-pods. I suppose.”

“For what?” Del asked.

“I can show you later if you’d like,” Jamie told him wanting to follow the threat of thought before it snapped. “So when was the system of crossroads completed?

“Well the system was completed around the same time the Doomsday book was written. Since then it’s just sort of expanded. Like adding links to a chain to make a bracelet into an anklet and then into a necklace.”

“If I remember my highlights of history that would be 1066 right?”

“Sounds about right.”

“So the High Court has not mixed with Humanity since then?”

“Exactly,” Del said proudly, as though his slowest pupil had finally understood that two plus two equals four no matter what time of day the math is done. “And humans have changed a bit since then. You may have a lot less magic, but you have a lot more firepower. And there are a lot more of you. I can’t say for certain who would come out the victor in a fight between the human world and the courts but I know it would make a great big mess if either of you tried.”

“On that we agree,” Jamie told him finishing off his sandwich. “Hopefully it will never come down to it.” Jamie pushed away from the table, thinking that he might want to finish the book about the crossroads before delving into the Brotherhood.

“Thanks for lunch,” he told Del. “I’ll probably be in either the library or study the rest of the day. It seems I have a lot of reading to catch up on.”

Keeper: Chapter 44

2011-08-18T18:23:00.001-07:00

Chapter 44.

“Very strange stuff,” Jamie muttered to himself as he walked through the family parlor. He stepped into the hallway and was surprised to see a stack of books waiting on the hall table beside the brass calling card holder. Frowning, he reached for them. He picked up the top one off the stack. The cover was leather but it was showing no signs of age. The leather was smooth satin beneath his fingertips and the bold black letters of the title seemed burned into the leather like a brand rather than something typeset. He recognized the title as being one of the books he ordered. Jamie looked at the next one down on the stack and realized it too was on his list.

“I suppose the books were just delivered,” Jamie said. He wondered if Del had brought them in or if someone else had placed them there. He knew that House whisked calling cards that had been slipped under the door into the brass holder but the books looked a little heavy to do any whisking. “House,” Jamie asked.

“Yes Keeper?”

“How did these books get here?”

“You ordered them.”

“Does all mail come here?” he asked with a frown.

“Yes Keeper.”

“I see. Thank you.” Jamie picked up the stack. Apparently the coat rack and calling card holder was also a large scale mail box. “I wonder if it is on the fed ex approved list or if it is viewed as a post office box,” Jamie mused as he took his stack of books up the stairs and into the study. He placed them on the edge of the desk and sat down. Jamie glanced at the wall clock as he took his notebook out of the drawer. He had about two hours before his meeting with the representative of the Federan. He assumed the representative would be Terrell. Terrell would have one hour to explain his case and then he would leave. The representative of the Gederan would then have one hour to explain his version. He looked at his closed notebook and thought about both his dreams and the vision in the basement. Jamie reached for his journal, opened it to the next blank page and described the event for the record.

“Terrell seemed to be pushing for allowing both the Gederan and the Federan to use the space and the Keeper at the time seemed inclined to think that they had agreed to work together for a common cause.” Jamie wrote. “Having met Terrell, I find myself agreeing with the statement that Terrell would not willingly share power.” Jamie tapped the pen on the page, carefully avoiding the still wet ink. He stopped and drew a line down the center of the page. One side he titled, things I know and the other he titled things I need to know before making a decision.

“I know the Lune Merdos is a rite that raises power.” He added that to the things he knew column. Across from it he began to list questions.

“How much power would be first, I suppose,” he wrote down although he was not really certain he needed to know that. “Even a small lever can move a mountain,” he said aloud, repeating Albe’s favorite phrase. “So I guess I would need to know what the power would be used for and what effect that would have. It would also be nice to know if there were different powers for the daytime version of the rite then there wore for the nighttime one.” Jamie frowned. From Albe’s lessons and what he had learned so far, the job of the Keeper seemed to involve arbitrating disputes. “If one group can conduct the rite at night and one during the day then there is no dispute as they aren’t using it at the same time. Yet they were still trying to get the Keeper to make a decision.” Jamie thought about the scene in the basement. “What agreement was the Keeper talking about?” He wrote down the question. There were other questions but Jamie pushed them away for later. He put his pen down and set the notebook to the side, leaving it open so the ink could dry rather than because he had more notes to add. He reached for the book on top of the new stack and began to search for answers to his questions.

The two hours he had allotted before Terrell’s arrival flew past. Most of the information he gleaned in that time was information he already had but it was nice to have his dreams and random visions verified by a more concrete source. Jamie glanced at the clock and stood up to stretch. The book he was currently looking through actually dealt with the cross roads itself as well as the Keeper and was quite a fascinating read.

“Apparently the crossroads was the result of the agreement between humanity and the fey. I suppose we each have reasons to fear each other.” Jamie felt a small pop in his spine as he straightened. He had ten minutes until Terrell’s arrival and wondered if he should change clothes or head downstairs. Jamie sat back down in his chair, deciding against both options. Let Del show Terrell into the receiving room and wait while Del came to inform him.

“I think Terrell is a little too accustomed to having people jump for him.” Jamie looked at his list of questions. He realized he had actually answered a couple. The agreement was the formation of the crossroads to serve as a bulwark between the realms of the humans and the Fey and the answer to how much power was raised by the rite was a boat load.

“And there are separate strengths from the day and from the night that can be combined to form one giant-mega-super-colossal power. Making the ordinarily boatload look miniscule.” There was a soft knock on the open door and Jamie looked up. Del stood in the door frame.

“Lord Terrell is here to see you.” Del told him.

“Ah,” Jamie said standing. “Right on time.”

“I put him in the front parlor. Would you like me to bring a tea tray?”

“No,” Jamie said. “I think we will skip the hospitality this time.” Del lifted an eyebrow but didn’t comment. Jamie headed down to the parlor to see what the representative of the Federan had to say. He stepped in and smiled politely at Terrell. Terrell looked surprised by Jamie’s appearance.

“Did I come at the wrong time?” Terrell asked letting his eyes take in Jamie’s worn jeans and faded t-shirt.

“No I believe you are on time. Please take a seat,” Jamie said, gesturing to one of the guest chairs. Terrell walked to one and took his seat. He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Jamie continued.

“The High Talbot explained the situation to you I take it?” Jamie said as he settled himself in his chair. “You have one hour in which to explain your need for the use of the Lustan. The representative from the Gederan will then be allowed one hour to present thier reasoning. Your hour has begun.” As expected, Terrell was somewhat thrown by this approach, expecting an entirely different scenario.

“Should I wait until your housekeeper has served tea?” Terrell asked somewhat stiffly. Jamie noticed his eyes darting around the room somewhat nervously.

“As you neither drank nor ate the last time you visited and I am not in the mood for tea I have asked Del not to bother. You may proceed with your case.” Jamie watched as Terrell blinked hard and he could practically see the gears spinning.

“I see,” Terrell began. “The Federan require the Lustan for the Lune Merdos.” Jamie placed his hands lightly on the arm rests of his chair and leaned back. He said nothing. Terrell shifted. The silence stretched. “It is our right.” Jamie still said nothing. Terrell frowned. “Have you no comment?”

“It is your hour to present your case. It is my place to listen. I will then afford the Gederan the same courtesy. Once I have listened to you both I will then make a determination.” Jamie once again fell silent as though ready and willing to listen to whatever Terrell chose to say.

“You aren’t even taking notes.” Terrell groused.

“I can remember what you say.”

“Well then as I said it is our right to use it. We use it at night. I know the Gederan use the Lustan for a daylight observance. We would be happy to share the space with them as long as they allowed us to conduct our evening ceremony.” Jamie noticed that Terrell avoided using the word rite. Terrell lapsed into silence. Jamie allowed it to drag out and Terrell began shifting in his chair.

“Is that the bulk of your case?” Jamie asked.

“Yes.”

“May I ask a few questions then?” Terrell seemed relieved.

“Of course Keeper. I would be happy to answer any of your questions.”

“When was the last Lune Merdos?”

“The Lune Merdos comes once but every few hundred years.” Terrell seemed at ease with the question as if the conversation had finally gotten back on track.

“And who used it last?”

“Last?” Terrell asked, stumbling over the question.

“Yes during the last Lune Merdos who used the Lustan?”

“Ah it is not a trade off sort of scenario,” Terrell said. “We do not alternate.”

“I did not ask if you alternated. I asked who used it last Lune Merdos.”

“I believe the Gederan used it last Lune Merdos.”

“Too bad it isn’t an alternate sort of situation then,” Jamie said. “It would only serve to benefit you then as you did not. Unless of course you used it after them. You did not share it at all?”

“No we did not share it.”

“Have you ever shared it?”

“You credit my memory too greatly Keeper. I cannot remember every Lune Merdos and the outcome at a moment’s notice.”

“But the last Lune Merdos was about two hundred years ago and the Gederan used it then?”

“Ah, yes Keeper that would be correct.” Jamie noticed that a small line of sweat had formed along Terrell’s hairline.

“And what was the outcome of their use?”

“I do not understand.”

“It is a simple question. What was the outcome of the Gederan’s use of the Lustan during the Lune Merdos?”

“I do not know.”

“The last time the Lune Merdos occurred was the night that the previous house of the keeper was destroyed wasn’t it?” Jamie was watching Terrell closely as he voiced his question and saw the blank look of surprise flit across his features. Somehow Jamie had the feeling that the power from the Lune Merdos rite had gone into the destruction. It seemed to be a recurring thought.

“Was it?” Terrell asked. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t know. I tend not to keep track of things of that nature as I rarely have need to visit the Keeper.”

“But you had visited him shortly before, just after the big ice storm to ask about his decision regarding the Lune Merdos.” Jamie kept it as a flat statement, refusing to make it a question.

“I suppose I must have. Amazing how you forget these things.” Terrell leaned back in his chair as though remembering. “Ah yes, I believe the Keeper at that time was planning to allow us to share the space. He thought it seemed fair that way. He was very much in favor of fair. In that sense he reminds me of you.”

“I am surprised. I thought you spent a great deal of time here.”

“Did you?”

“From the way you spoke of Albe as such a good friend...” Jamie let the sentence trail off.

“Ah you misunderstood me. I would often see Keeper Alberect...Albe as he was conducting his duties.”

“Of course,” Jamie replied with a smile. “What was your planned outcome?”

“Excuse me?”

“For the Lune Merdos. Last time I mean. When the Keeper was planning to allow you and the Gederan to share?”

“I am afraid I don’t remember.”

“So your planned outcome is not the same as last time?”

“I would not be able to say.”

“So what is your planned outcome for this Lune Merdos?” Jamie could see the jaw muscles in Terrell’s face clench. Whatever the Federan had planned, he did not want shared.

“That would be a matter for the priests.”

“I see.” Jamie said. “Is there anything else you feel that I need to know?”

“No, there isn’t.” The words were quite terse.

“Will you be sending a priest to me?”

“Of course not.”

“Then will you return once you have spoken to them about their plans?”

“I do not know if I will have the time.”

“Of course,” Jamie said with a smile. “Then if you have nothing else to add, I should not keep you.”

“Yes, well then,” Terrell said rising. “I shall leave you to your day.” Jamie stood and walked Terrell to the door.

“Oh by the way,” Jamie asked as he opened the door for Terrell. “Are the Brotherhood of Shadows involved directly or just as periphery proponents?” Terrell’s eyes went wide. But he covered quickly.

“I’m certain I have no idea.” Terrell swept out before Jamie could make a further comment.

“Well that was fun,” Jamie said. “I wonder if the Gederan will react the same way?”

Keeper: Chapter 43

2011-08-04T12:16:00.001-07:00

Chapter 43

After breakfast Jamie laid out his plan to Del, who agreed to act as Jamie’s living anchor with a bit of amusement showing on his face. Jamie shrugged it off and led Del to the closed basement door. Jamie frowned at it for a moment. It looked exactly as he had left it the night before.

“Could you try opening it again?” Jamie asked Del. Obligingly the small man stepped forward and turned the doorknob. It turned but the door would not open. Del flipped the lock and made certain it was not stuck and then tried again with the same results. He stepped away with a shrug. Jamie, a frown still creasing his forehead, reached forward and turned the door knob. The knob turned and the door swung open. Del’s eyebrows shot up and the amusement that had tinged his features before disappeared.

“I’ll go in first,” Del said, stopping Jamie with a wave of his hand when Jamie tried to start down the stairs. “I’ll be the first down the stairs so if there is a nasty surprise the basement can’t lock me out once you are inside. And on the way back up the stairs you will be the first out with me following behind so that again the door can’t close with me on one side and you on the other.” Jamie nodded admitting that the plan seemed sensible. He didn’t want to become a permanent fixture in the basement. Somehow he didn’t think the house actually planned to eat him, but he had seen enough horror movies that knowing he wouldn’t be the last to leave the basement gave him some measure of comfort.

‘Conditioned by Hollywood,’ Jamie thought as he followed Del down the stairs. ‘Or wherever the B-movie capital of the world is.’ The basement was the same as yesterday. As it contained no movable objects, Jamie couldn’t see how much would change. There was still no dust and the sense of waiting seemed the same. Jamie closed his eyes a moment. It was almost the same. It felt a little more ... excited than it had the day before. As if it had higher expectations than earlier. Jamie frowned and opened his eyes. There was still no sense of menace. Del watched him expectantly.

“It feels the same as yesterday,” Jamie said aloud. “Like it is waiting but without any malice.” The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the basement seemed to change. Jamie stepped away from the center of the room and Del followed. Jamie couldn’t put his finger on exactly what had changed at first. It felt as though someone had taken a deep breath or there was a slight pressure change but nothing dramatic. Del was frowning now and looking around him. There was a light breeze that swirled around the room.

‘Or at least it feels that way,’ Jamie thought realizing he could feel the wind but neither his or Del’s hair or clothes were moving as they would in a wind. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and Jamie rubbed at the goose bumps that had risen on his arms. The light from the flashlight seemed to dim and Jamie realized it was because a window had appeared in the wall and sunlight was streaming into the basement. Slowly Jamie’s eyes scanned the room. The edges of furniture appeared and became more solid as he watched. A shadowy form became a table. The table solidified and Jamie could see bowls such as the ones Del used in the kitchen scattered around. One had a rounded lump rising from the center and was covered with a dish cloth.

‘Bread dough?’ Jamie thought, noticing the scattered bits of flour still on the tabletop. He heard a small scraping and watched as an older man settled himself in a large chair placed before the fire. A man more or less Del’s size stepped from the shadows and seemed to be mixing things in yet another bowl. Jamie recognized him as the brownie, called Robin in his dream. Jamie looked back to the older man and realized that despite the age, he had a similarity to the younger man of his dream and as he saw the chain of the Keeper around his neck he realized it was the same man, only time had passed. A lot of time. His hair had turned snow white and receded , the remaining wisps dancing around an age spotted scalp. Age spots stood out on his hands as well and seemed the emphasize the stiffness of the joints as he moved his fingers. He was about to share this information with Del when the aged Keeper began to speak.

“It is going to be a cold one today, Robin,” The old man said. “Half the trees in the forest are still bent with the force of that ice storm last night blew in. I’ll be surprised if we don’t lose several of them. Most of them hadn’t readied themselves for their winter sleep yet.”

“Definitely a good day to be indoors,” Robin said. He handed the Keeper a large mug with steam curling on the top. Jamie inhaled, even as the old man did and was surprised to be able to smell both Lemon and honey in the air. A knock sounded on the door and Jamie jumped even as the old man and Robin turned their heads towards the sound.

“I don’t know who could be out on a day like this but we best let them in before they freeze to death,” The Keeper said. Robin wiped his hands on a towel dangling from his belt and walked towards the door. A stream of icy air blew in as Robin opened the door and Jamie shivered. A cloaked form stepped in, the hood hiding his features. Snow was melting on his shoulders, leaving dark patches of moisture to match the wet hem that had picked up moisture from the ground.

“A thank you my good man,” the newcomer said as he slipped his cloak from his shoulders and tossed it to Robin. Robin frowned but the newcomer paid no attention. Alerted by the voice, Jamie was not surprised to see Terrell once the cloak was removed. Like Robin he had not aged. The scar on his cheek had healed and it was more like the scar Jamie remembered seeing rather than the raw mark he had worn in Jamie’s dream. Jamie noted that the Keeper, while not being happy with Terrell’s presence, did not seem overly surprised.

“Ah Keeper, So glad I caught you at home.” Terrell said.

“Are you now?” The Keeper asked, with a raised eyebrow. “And why would that be? Or should I guess.” The Keeper’s tone was dry and flat. It was obvious to Jamie that he knew why Terrell had come calling.

“I was wondering if a final ruling had been made. After all the Lune Merdos is approaching and it doesn’t come that often you know.”

“I am aware of that Terrell,” the Keeper said with a sigh as Terrell seated himself in the extra chair by the fire. Robin remained close to the door as if aware this meeting would not take long. “My answer is the same as before. Until you answer my questions I can not make a ruling.”

“But the Lune Merdos only comes once every few hundred years and we need time to prepare...”

“Then it would be beneficial to you to answer the questions quickly rather than try to dissuade me from asking them.” The keeper said firmly. Jamie found himself smiling at the firmness in the old man’s voice even as Terrell’s face darkened in anger.

“It is not your place to question the inner workings of the High Court Houses.” Terrell snapped.

“The Lune Merdos is a ritual that when conducted grants an enormous amount of power to those completing the ritual. Power is not raised for the purpose of watching the pretty little lights,” the keeper said wiggling his fingers in the air as though mimicking fairy lights.. “It is raised for a purpose. Neither The Federan nor the Gederan have told me what purpose they wish to put the power to. How then can I decide who best the power serves?”

“Perhaps then as the Gederan conduct their rites during the day and the Federan by the light of the moon it would be best if we share the space and the power.” Terrell said. Jamie noticed the rather sly look that had come across his features, replacing the dark anger. Jamie noticed the old Keeper caught the change as well. The elderly man smiled; it was not a pleasant expression.

“Perhaps then neither of you should use it.” At the keeper’s words, Terrrell leapt to his feet, sending his chair crashing to the floor.

“Humans have no place meddling in things they don’t understand,” Terrell hissed through clenched teeth.

“Then perhaps you should take up the matter with the High Court Tribunal,” the keeper said, his calm words a counterpoint to Terrell’s anger. “Assuming of course that you could find an advocate to speak for you since the ban on your participation in court affairs is still in place.” Terrell stared at the Keeper, eyes bulging and breath coming hard with his anger. Jamie had the feeling that if looks could kill his predecessor would be an ash stain on the stones. Robin, would you be so good as to see Terrell out? Thank you.”

“Of course Keeper,” Robin answered. He held Terrell’s cloak out to him and ducked as the taller man swung it on to his shoulders. Without another word, Terrell staled out of the door Robin held open for him and disappeared into the cold night. Robin shut the door.

“That’s a bit of a nasty mess,” Robin said shivering a little.

“It is indeed,” the keeper said as Robin returned to his mixing bowls.

“Do you think the two of them could share for the ritual?” Robin asked. “They’ve never been keen on sharing before.”

“Terrell does not share power. Nor do any of his kin, regardless of which House they stand with. If they are willing to share the space it is because they have reached an arrangement, perhaps pooling both sides of the power of the lune merdos rite, giving them the power drawn by light and the power drawn by dark. As neither is willing to say what the power raised will be used for and both Houses fatten the ranks of the Brotherhood of Shadows I am loathe to see either of them in possession of it. I have the feeling it would not bode well for the rest of humanity and would thus violate the agreement.”

As Jamie listened the keepers words began to fade away. When he finished speaking Jamie could see Robin’s mouth moving in comment but could no longer hear the words. The items in the room also seemed less substantial and he realized that this vision, or whatever it was had reached its conclusion and was fading away. The scene began to fuzz around the edges. The light from the window faded. In a blink Jamie was staring at the empty basement illuminated only by the beam of the flashlight. The sense of waiting had vanished with the scene.

The basement was now just a basement. Jamie turned to Del. The smaller man’s eyes were wide and he was breathing fast. Jamie touched his shoulder and Del started as though he had forgotten Jamie’s presence. As Jamie had forgotten him as he watched the scene unfold he figured it was only fair. Jamie tilted his head towards the stairs, not really wanting to say anything just yet. Del nodded and gestured for Jamie to proceed him. Jamie walked up the stairs, Del following. They left the basement with no problems and Del closed the door behind him, turning the lock to secure it.

“That was certainly interesting,” Jamie said. Del looked at him and shook his head.

“Human magic is very strange stuff indeed. I think I need a bit of a sit down after that.” Del said He headed towards the kitchen as if seeking a more familiar realm.

Keeper: Chapter 42

2011-07-08T11:50:00.003-07:00

42.

Nebulous plans began to circle in Jamie’s head as he stifled his yawns and headed towards his bed room. His head felt full to bursting and he wondered how his poor brain would manage to deal with another night of Albe’s released lessons.

“Perhaps the basement nightmares would counter that,” he muttered as he began to undress. Alexander had been vague about his nightmares. Over all he hadn’t seemed to be the type of person who put much stock in dreams. “At least at the beginning,” Jamie said with a grin. As Alexander came into his role as keeper he had begun to pay attention to his dreams as one of the tools in a Keeper’s kit. Unfortunately he had only visited the basement when he was very new to his position and the nightmares rated only a brief mention. He had actually attributed them to the new cook’s fondness for spicy curries.

“At least I can’t blame whatever I dream on the details of someone else’s dreams.” Jamie slipped between the sheets and snuggled into his pillows. The sheets were cool and raised goose bumps on his exposed flesh where it touched. Gradually his body heat warmed the sheets and he drifted off into sleep.

The fog was the first thing he noticed about his dreams. It felt thickly around him shrouding the world in a gray haze. He could tell he was outside by the scent of the forest. Jamie looked at his feet and realized he was standing on a dirt path. Looking around he could see darker shapes in the fog. From the size and regular shape he guessed them to be trees. Nothing moved in the fog. There were no sounds and Jamie found himself listening to his own breath and hearing his own heart beat.

‘I suppose I should move,’ he thought. The thought of walking blindly into the fog was daunting and Jamie felt his mouth go dry. ‘I seem to be on some sort of path, if I move slow I might be able to get somewhere.” He wasn’t sure why he felt impelled to move. Nothing was chasing him or calling to him. It felt instead as though the world were waiting. Holding its breath to see what he would do. It was almost as if by moving he would be setting something in motion.

‘Kind of like a live action choose your own adventure story,” he thought with a half smile. Dimly he wondered if he would get a different adventure if he turned around on the path and walked the opposite direction. ‘Probably,’ he decided. “But there is probably a reason I’m facing this way. Might as well see what it is.” Jamie looked at his feet and took one hesitant step forward. The mist began to thin as though some invisible giant had taken a deep breath and let it out slowly. The trees became more distinctly outlined and the fog began to shred on their branches like torn cotton batting. The bath was dark, hard-packed earth and was easy to follow. Jamie looked up from his feet to see where he was heading as he hesitantly moved forward. The fog seemed intent on blocking that from him as it remained clear only about three paces in front of him. Jamie frowned as a thought hit him. He glanced over his shoulder. Already the fog was spilling back over the path behind him.

“Apparently once you make a decision here you have to stick with it.” He thought. Jamie resumed walking. The trail meandered around curves, up slight rises and down slight descents. It was nothing terribly taxing. He had the impression of an artistically arranged walking path created so that someone could stroll and remain interested without feeling too taxed. ‘Probably quite enjoyable on a spring afternoon,’ he thought to himself. ‘Not much to see now though.”The fog had lifted enough so that he could see the trees but they remained little more than black outlines. It reminded him of walking through a coloring book that had yet to see a child’s crayon. He found himself vaguely wishing he had an electric blue crayon to smear color on this black and white space.

There was something a little eerie about a world without color. He realized his eyes were straining to find some even as he began to pick up the sound of water. The sound increased as he walked and eventually the path he was on led up to a small bridge. Seeing nowhere else to go, he stepped onto the bridge. Unlike the bath, the fog did not encase the bridge. He reached the center of the bridge and could still see the footings on either side. The fog everywhere else had thickened obscuring the lines of the trees so much that it looked like he and the bridge existed on a sheet of white paper.

He could still hear the sound of the water flowing and he walked to the edge of the bridge and looked down. The water was inky black. Although he had heard it running and sounding as if the water was rolling over stones, he could see nothing in the liquid blackness, even though he could still hear the babbling. There was no sign of rocks or stones or even a wind driven ripple to mar the water, in fact Jamie stared down into the water unable to tell what direction the water was flowing. As he watched a small white dot appeared in the center of the river. Jamie leaned forward a bit to see what had caused it. The spot in the water looked as though someone were holding a small intense flashlight just beneath the water’s surface. Slowly it began to get larger. Jamie frowned, not sure if the light was coming closer or getting bigger. When the light was about two feet in diameter it began to take on a bluish tinge. Jamie watched as it pulsed for a moment and then with a flash it was clear, as though he were looking through a window. One the other side of the window a scene played out.

Jamie watched as a group of men used axes to clear a spot in the forest. They wore loose cotton like shirts and pants that ended in a cuff just below the knee. Their shirts stuck to them in places and Jamie could see one man wipe sweat from his face with a large linen square that seemed nothing like the dainty handkerchiefs he had seen before. He watched as muscles bunched and axes swung.

“Take only the trees that have been marked,” a man called. He was close to Jamie in age and he could see the medallion of the Keeper looped around his neck. Jamie absently tugged it from his own shirt and ran his fingers over the surface as he watched. “We don’t want to anger the forest.” There was a round of ascents and the scene faded. The blue glow took over and then cleared once again as the same man who had spoken of the forest as a sentient thing looked over the raw stone foundation of a house. The stones were all the immense ones he had seen in the basement. Stone chips and tools Jamie assumed would be useful to a stone mason were being gathered up as a few men moved around the sight, cleaning up the larger debris. Jamie found himself vaguely disappointed that he had not been shown how the large stones had been brought in and placed.

As the man Jamie thought of as the keeper of the time surveyed his new foundation with a pleased expression on his face a small group left the edge of the forest and walked towards him. Hearing their approach he turned to look at them. The smile faded from his lips. He did not frown but he no longer looked pleased. Jamie studied the group with a bit of a surprise. The men in the group were wearing the same cloaks as the watchers had on the night of the fire. The leader of this group pushed his hood back and Jamie realized it was Terrell. He looked much the same as he did the day he visited Jamie with one exception. The mark on his cheek was red and raw. It had not had time to develop into a scar. Jamie shook his head. It was one thing to know that the fey did not age. It was another thing to watch them conversing with your ancestor, even if it was only a dream.

“Although dreams never seem to be just dreams here,” he thought.

“Keeper,” Terrell said in his round well modulated tones. “I see the plans for your new abode are moving forward.” He favored the keeper with a dazzling smile.

“They are,” the keeper answered in a no nonsense tone that did not invite further comment. “Is there a reason for this visit?” The words were said politely but there was little warmth to them.

“Just wanting to see the progress,” Terrell said, his smile never dimming. He turned towards the stones. “I must say this does seem a bit over done though. A bit more...permanent than your previous dwelling.” There was no response to his comment and Terrell’s smile finally slipped, letting his irritation peek out. The silence stretched and finally Terrell turned to the Keeper. The man continued to wait as the silence deepened into akwardness.

“Well I suppose I should let you get back to it then,” Terrell said finally breaking the silence. “Good day to you Keeper.”

“Good day,” came the reply. Terrell left, followed closely by his three hooded flunkies. The Keeper watched them go. When they were out of sight he turned away from the path they had taken.

“Robin,” he called. A man dressed nearly identical to Del and standing about the same height stepped into view.

“Yes Keeper?” Robin said walking up.

“We’ve just had a visit from the Brotherhood of Shadows. Could you see if the High Talbot would be willing to look over the foundations before we go over them, just to be safe.”

“Of course Keeper but surely even the brotherhood...” Robin’s words stumbled to a halt as the Keeper favored him with a sardonic look.

“The brotherhood believes that all humans are chattel and take it amiss that a human is allowed to mediate their disputes. I am not accusing them of anything but I prefer caution.”

“Of course Keeper, I’ll see if he is available.” The scene faded. Jamie leaned forward to see what the next scene would hold. To his disappointment the light contracted into a small point and disappeared beneath the water. Jamie opened his eyes and found himself laying in bed, with the edge of dawn pressing against his window and the smell of freshly baked bread rising from the kitchen.

“Not sure that counts as a nightmare,” Jamie muttered, sitting up in bed and rubbing sleep from his eyes. Somehow he didn’t feel rested. “At least I have some talking points for the Gederan and Fedran representatives as well as the High Talbot.” Wondering if the Brotherhood of Shadows had anything to do with Lune Merdos, Jamie showered, dressed and headed down to breakfast.

Keeper: Chapter 41

2011-06-21T10:16:00.001-07:00

Chapter 41.

Jamie made sure the basement door was both shut and locked before heading up to the upper floors. The lock was just the kind that was turned at the doorknob and required no key. Jamie frowned a little at it. Somehow a key seemed more secure than just a lock on the door knob. Something in him wanted to lock the door and hide the key in a deep drawer. He thought about it as he hung up his jacket, tucked the flashlight back under the sink and went upstairs. The basement hadn’t felt, for lack of a better term, bad. It wasn’t like a house of horrors that claimed it’s victims. The only fear he felt was the thought of not being able to get out. The basement had been insistent when he was in there and disappointed when he left.

‘I wonder if Alexander felt the same way?’ he thought to himself as he entered the hidden floor and made his way carefully to Storage room three. Jamie thought of the way he had been almost compelled to speak his thoughts aloud and wondered if there was something live voice activated magic. He thought of the smoke thing that the High Talbot battled in Albe’s room and how it reacted to his voice and presence.

‘So that would be a yes,’ he thought. ‘Although admittedly it doesn’t’ take much encouragement to get me to talk aloud to myself.’ Once in the storeroom Jamie skirted the boxes, still wondering how many of them had come from the first house. With the image of the fire in his mind and reflected in the mirror he was quite surprised that anything could have survived the destruction. Jamie reached the shelves with the journals and chose the one with the same date as House’s construction on it. With a start he realized that that was also Alexander’s first journal.

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said aloud. “Everyone said the old Keeper died in the fire.” Jamie thought of the past week and his first days as keeper and wondered if Alexander had been so constrained in his memories and confused about what his new job entailed even as he watched the House being built and magic being poured into the foundations.

“If tradition held, he would have been as confused as I would be,” Jamie thought, wondering how he would react to seeing a sentient house being built by fairytale creatures. He shook his head and decided to take Alexander’s journal into the library to read. After all he wasn’t just scanning pages this time but actually reading more than just events pertaining to Lune Mertos.

“Might as well be comfortable for that.” Jamie went up to the library an found a fire buring in the grate, chasing back the October chill. As he settled himself he heard footsteps behind him and found Del holding a small tea tray.

“Heard you leave the basement and thought you might need something to warm you up,” he said setting the tray on the side table.

“Del, did you feel anything odd in the basement?”

“Odd?” Del asked his face looking like he was suppressing a laugh. “I went into the basement with Burr to assist in removing death magic. I think odd would be about expected.”

“Were there any traces of death magic left when you were done?”

“No,” Del said firmly, all traces of his amusement fading. “Burr removed everything. There wasn’t a trace of anything left. After I left him with you for a restorative tea I checked the basement again to make sure we had removed every trace and that there was nothing in there that made it feel...unwholesome, if you will.”

“And when you checked then did you find any sort of magic traces down there?”

“Nothing that wasn’t tied to the House.” Del frowned as though he weren’t really sure what Jamie was asking.

“So nothing compelling you to speak out loud or wanting you to stay in the basement?”

“No nothing at all of that sort,” Del answered. “Was that what you felt?”

“Yes,” Jamie said. “It didn’t feel ...unwholesome, just disappointed that I was leaving.”

“Well now,” Del sat back and thought about it. “I can check again and see if you’d like.”

“Would you mind?” Jamie asked, feeling a little silly about the request. “And just so I know you are okay and out of the basement could you come back up here after.”

“I’ll do that don’t you worry,” Del said, amusement at Jamie’s concern dancing in his eyes.

“Thanks.” Jamie told him. Del left, no doubt to investigate the basement and Jamie felt a little tense as he opened Alexander’s first journal to the first entry as Keeper and began to read. In less time than he would have thought reasonable, Del returned to the library. Del was frowning.

“What’s wrong,” Jamie asked.

“Did you do anything to the basement door?” Del asked.

“I locked it with the little turn lock under the door knob.”

“Anything else?”

“No,” Jamie said puzzled, “What else would I have done?”

“I don’t know but the door won’t open. The lock turns as easy as you please but the door will not open.”

“Well I suppose that answers the question about there being magic in the basement.”

“I suppose so,” Del replied looking a little nonplussed. “And I suppose it must be some sort of Keeper related magic as well. Like the kind that keeps me off that floor you were talking about. The one that needs a proper cleaning.” Jamie smiled at the response, remembering that Del’s first question about a hidden floor was how it got cleaned.

“Speaking of,” Jamie asked, remembering the very clean basement. “Did you clean the basement when you went in there with Burr?”

“No,” Del replied. “It was clean already.”

“Huh,” Jamie replied. He frowned. “When the first house was destroyed, do you remember if it was just the Keeper who died there?”

“It wasn’t,” Del said, his chest puffed with pride. “When the Keeper died his Housekeeper died with him refusing to abandon him to the flames.”

“I see,” Jamie said aloud. “I wonder if that has anything to do with it.”

“Do with what?”

“Why it is so clean.”

“I can’t see why that would matter,” Del said. Jamie shrugged.

“It probably doesn’t but as I have no clue how magic of any sort works it is the only guess I have.” Jamie sighed. “I don’s suppose they have a magic for dummies book anywhere?”

“I would suspect not as most clans and houses have their own special brand they practice.”

“That would make it easy to trace should it go wrong I suppose.”

“Which would be one of the jobs of the High Talbot,” Del told him.

“Well maybe Alexander has some insights,” Jamie replied holding up the book. “Us befuddled humans ought to stick together.”

“I’ll leave you to it then,” Del said with a smile. “If anyone knows how Keeper magic works it would be another Keeper. Humans would know best about human magic.”

“Human magic?” Jamie asked. Del paused in the doorway.

“Its rare,” he said with a shrug. “Always was, even before humans started killing anyone they suspected of having it.” He shrugged again. “It tended to be unpredictable and rarely helpful from what I understand but it’s been so long since any of it surfaced that I doubt anyone could tell you much about it that wasn’t just superstition.”

“Superstition?”

“Of course,” Del said with a laugh. “Fairies and goblins may be a part of human superstition but human magic are a part of ours. A fair trade I suppose. Except for the fact that fairies and goblins still exist.”

“Makes sense I suppose,” Jamie said, wondering if there were any books about it in Albe’s library. Del left and Jamie shook off wondering to dive into Alexander’s journal. The distractions quickly faded as he read Alexander’s words and thoughts.

“Apparently I am not the only one who struggled,” Jamie mused as he read. Somehow feeling that his ancestor was as confused as he was at first made him feel somewhat comforted. “Especially since he eventually got his head together enough to make the Field guide.” The day began to wear thin as Jamie read on and he absently reached up to turn on the side lamp for more light. The tea grew cold and the fire died to ash. Eventually his eyes began to blur from too long staring at the looped handwriting of his forebearer. Jamie leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to process what he had learned.

Apparently Alexander had had similar problems as he had in the basement although his reaction to it seemed to be stronger. Alexander felt the pull to stay in the basement and the urge to speak aloud as though it would give something leave to begin but he had also felt pins and needles all over his body as though his limbs were trying to wake up from falling asleep. Jamie tapped the cover of the journal in thought, wondering if the power in the basement had simply weakened over time.

“No one else could feel it but the Keeper,” Jamie muttered to himself. In addition to the housekeeper who, like Del was a brownie, Alexander had a rather large family living with him. Neither his wife nor children could sense anything of what he felt in the basement.

“Perhaps Del is right and it is magic tied to the Keeper.” While it was interesting to think about Jamie shifted his thoughts back to the house itself. The first house had not been the first house but the house that the keeper at the time had built. Apparently the older house had not been much and had been relegated to the status of an outbuilding. The Keeper at the time, also a Fulton, had built the house with the aide of friends and family. He had been quite elderly when it was destroyed and everyone seemed to believe that when he died, the hose simply went with him. Alexander had tried looking for further details but had always come to a dead end and the unshakable belief that no one would ever try to destroy the Keeper of the Crossroads.

“As I have several attempts under my belt at this point I think that foul play is an option,” Jamie muttered, thinking of the watchers in the woods. Were they merely watching or were they doing something? Jamie walked to the desk and picked up the journal he had begun. Even though he felt like he was treading old ground, he still jotted down what he had learned in the hopes that seeing all the facts lines up would present him with some sort of pattern. In addition to noting his findings about Alexander and what destroyed the older house, Jamie also noted a new and somewhat surprising fact. House had not been created sentient but had developed the ability to communicate with the Keeper over time. A thought occurred to him.

“House?” he asked looking up from his notes.

“Yes Keeper.”

“The older house that was destroyed and used as part of your foundation,” he began carefully choosing his words. “Was that house able to speak to the Keeper who lived there the way you are speaking to me?”

“Yes Keeper,” House replied, sounding as if he should have known that.

‘Gotta wonder when the talking house thinks you have gone crazy,’ he thought. Out loud he thanked the house and let it fall back into doing whatever it did when he wasn’t talking to it.

“I wonder if what I feel is the former House trying to communicate with the present Keeper,” he wondered, jotting his thought down even as he said it. “Alexander wouldn’t have known that as House didn’t start talking to its keepers until his son took the role of Keeper. Maybe if I take Del with me as a safety net I could actually talk to the older house. Now that is something to think about.”

Keeper: Chapter 40

2011-06-08T10:36:00.001-07:00

40.

Jamie shrugged into a light jacket and waved to Del as he headed towards the door leading to the basement. As he turned the door knob Jamie frowned. For nearly all of his child hood he had spent summers at Albe’s. When the weather was bad he would explore the house, sometimes with Albe sometimes without. Before Albe’s death he would have sworn he had covered every inch of the house in his searching. Now he had found there was at least one entire floor he had never investigated and with a start he realized that he had never been in the basement. Jamie let his hand fall away from the door knob as he thought. He couldn’t remember Albe ever telling him not to go into the basement. He could remember seeing the door when he was a child but he could never remember opening it. Considering how many of the doors he opened without thinking he found it odd that he had never even peered inside.

“House,” Jamie said.

“Yes Keeper.”

“Is there anything special about the basement?”

“I am the House of the Keeper of the Crossroads. All of my rooms are special.” House replied sounding a little bit offended.

“Of course,” Jamie said quickly. “I merely meant is there a reason that someone other than the Keeper wouldn’t be able to go into the basement? Like the hidden floor upstairs.”

“No Keeper.” Jamie thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to phrase his question in a way that the House would actually understand him. He thought of how he would ask the question of a very small and less than intuitive child.

“Is there anything that makes the basement different from the rest of the house?”

“It was part of the House before me.”

“How does that make it different?”

“It is not the House of the Keeper. It was the House of the Keeper.”

“You mean it was the House of the Keeper but it isn’t any more?” Jamie asked speaking slowly, trying to not only understand what House was saying but to ask in ways it would understand.

“No Keeper. It was the House of the Keeper. It can not cease to be the House of the Keeper. And I am the House of the Keeper.” Jamie stared at the basement door as if memorizing the grain of the wood as he tried to work through what he was being told.

“So once a House is the House of the Keeper it is always the House of the Keeper?”

“Yes Keeper.” House seemed pleased as though he were a slow student who had finally managed to realize that not only did two plus one equal three, but one plus two also equaled three. Jamie realized that he was thinking of House as still a building, a sentient and somewhat intelligent building but a building nonetheless.

“Perhaps I should think of it as a living organism,” Jamie thought. “In that case the previous house and this house are two separate and distinct beings with separate lives and personalities...”

“House,” Jamie said aloud. “Can the basement speak to me the way you can?”

“No Keeper,” House said. “It was the House of the Keeper. I am the House of the Keeper.”

“So you said,” Jamie mused. “So there is no way to communicate. All right then.” Jamie reached for the doorknob and turned it, pulling the door open smoothly. “I suppose if Albe didn’t have a problem then it can’t be all bad.”

“Keeper Albrect didn’t have a problem with the basement,” House told him. “It was Keeper Alexander who had a problem with the basement.” Jamie paused on the top step of the basement staircase.

“The Alexander who watched you being built over the ruins of the older house?” Jamie asked.

“Yes,” House clarified.

“What sort of problems did he have?”

“He had nightmares.”

“What sort of nightmares?”

“I do not know Keeper, he did not tell me.” House sounded put out by the fact as though it felt that since the nightmares occurred within its confines it should have access to them.

“Nic to know there are some limitations,” he muttered. Jamie stared down the dark stairwell, suddenly not so certain he wanted to tour the basement. “There is the possibility that he wrote about his nightmares in his journals and I do have those upstairs.” Jamie thought about going back to the hidden floor and spending the rest of the day searching Alexander’s journals. It seemed like a safe and fairly rational idea. It still made him feel like a coward. Jamie tapped the edge of the doorframe with his hand. He really didn’t need his dreams to be any wierder.

“But Del said the basement wasn’t that large,” Jamie told himself. “I could do a quick tour and then go look at the journals. Dusty tomes and potential nightmares combined.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Right then, down we go.” Jamie started down the basement steps. He had descended less than three stairs before needing to switch on the flashlight he carried. The rectangle of light showing from the open doorway seemed to dim quicker than he thought it would. “But it could just be my paranoia talking.”

It was not a long flight of stairs and when Jamie reached the stone floor he was pleased to realize the ceiling was high enough that he did not have to stoop as he walked. As both Burr and Del reached only shoulder high on him, it had been a concern.

“No spiders, cobwebs or dust,” Jamie said as he turned, shining the light around the room. “I wonder if Del cleaned it?” Somehow he didn’t think he had. While Jamie could easily see Del finding his way into a dusty room and not leaving until it was dust free, the basement didn’t have the just cleaned feel to it. Jamie couldn’t exactly say why he felt this way, just that he did. For the moment he put the thought aside.

“I can always ask Del later,” he thought. The same instinct that told him the basement had not needed to be cleaned was also telling him not to speak aloud. He decided to trust the instinct and continued to scan the basement in silence. The floor and walls were composed of stone. He could see where the stones from the old house and the new house met. The older house had been composed of a light gray granite that still showed flecks of silver Jamie identified as mica. The blocks were large and cut square with no mortar to hold them together. In many places they were smoke stained. The mica winked from the blacked granite like stars trapped in the night sky. The newer house was also composed of stone. The blocks were a great deal smaller, measuring an average of the length of his forearm rather than the height of his body as the older stones did. There was some variation in the stones as well as though they had been composed of locally gathered river stones rather than the quarried stones of the first house. In addition they were held together by mortar, the white lines gleamed between the stones and shone bright in the light of Jamie’s flashlight.

The room was a large open square and Jamie could see all of it from where he stood. The only feature in the room was the remains of an old fireplace built into the far wall. It looked like someone had taken a giant ice cream scoop and taken a heaping helping of one of the stones. The surround looked to be all of one piece. There was a rectangle shaped piece of stone above the scooped out fireplace that looked as though it had once been a mantle but had been snapped off. Part of the former mantle gleamed bright gray while half was smoke stained.

“Maybe half was damaged before the fire gout out of control and the other half crumbled when the fire finally stopped.” Part of him wanted to run his hands along the roughly broken stone but for some reason that sounded like a really bad idea. With a start Jamie realized he had taken two steps towards the mantle and had extended his hand. Jamie balled his hands into fists and lowered them to his sides. He felt a weight surround him, pressing in on him as if he were swimming deep under water.

“I think it’s time to hit the books,” He decided. Jamie turned back to the stairs and began to climb back towards the rectangle of light. He climbed two stairs and felt his steps slow as if the air around him had suddenly thickened and he couldn’t move quickly through it. He stopped and half turned back before he caught himself. Jamie grimaced and turned back towards the open door. He took another step. The pressure increased around him. He grit his teeth to keep from exclaiming aloud and forced himself to take another step. Sweat popped out on his forehead and began to run down his hairline making him shiver. He forced himself to take another step. His heart was racing with fear and he was pretty sure the adrenaline rush brought on by the terror of being trapped in the basement helped him force his way up the staircase. The pressure around him did not feel malevolent but it did feel persistent. With a final heave of effort Jamie pushed his way to the top and stepped out onto the main floor. Jamie turned to just the door to the basement and what felt like a wave of disappointment flutter around him. Jamie frowned and closed the door to the basement. He swallowed hard a couple of times as though popping his ears after a long swim.

“Next time I think I’ll start with the books.”

Keeper: Chapter 39

2011-06-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

The evil plot monkies have been made to see reason. v
Chapter 39.

Jamie made his way back through the woods. He lost his way a few times on the nearly invisible path but finally stumbled out into the clearing near the road. He left the woods in a different place than he had entered them but as he was still near the gate and in the clear he didn’t worry too much.

“It isn’t as though I am going to have to pass a survival skills training course,” he muttered. Now that he was free of the woods he tugged some of the remaining strings from where they had become caught up in his clothes.

“Starting with the ones around my neck,” he said. Several times the loose threads had caught on branches and pulled, threatening to choke him. He was certain he would have some marks around his neck from the experience. He let the strings fall to the ground as he walked back to the house. His thoughts were dark he found that he was just as angry with himself as he was with the fairies. He realized that they had send three pretty little things giggling smiling and flirting with him and he had just followed them off into the dark woods.

“At least they didn’t offer me candy,” he said sourly. He rubbed the marks on his neck as he climbed the steps to the porch and let himself in. Del stepped into the kitchen doorway.

“That took longer than I thought it would. Did Mr. Evers get his car taken care of then?”

“Yeah,” Jamie said. “Jim got off okay. I had a run in with some fairies trying to stage a coup.” Jamie entered the kitchen and watched as Del set a bowl of dough in a warm spot away from drafts to rise.

“A coup?” Del asked, not seaming very concerned.

“Yes apparently Janerous wants to overthrow the Queen.”

“Janerous?” Del snorted a laugh as he wiped flour from his hands with a clean towel. “He’s wanted to over throw the Queen for generations. He’ll never get the support for it though. Did they ask you to throw in with them?”

“No I think they asked the gederan to throw in with them.”

“The gederan?” Del asked. He frowned and then his face cleared into something resembling shock. “You mean they...”

“Yup,” Jamie said. “But luckily they didn’t secure their ropes.”

“If Genivia ever found out about it things could go badly.”

“Well she did find out about it actually. She and her merry band took Janerous and his people into custody.”

“And I just thought the tow truck was late,” Del said shaking his head. Jamie patted him on the shoulder.

“And I learned that I shouldn’t go into the woods with strangers, no matter how small and pretty they look,” Jamie said ruefully.

“A good lesson, that.”

“I think so.” Jamie frowned and looked over to Del. “Janerous said something after he captured me.”

“Oh?”

“He said that they would have to wait for six weeks for a blood test for Michael.”

“How long to blood tests normally take?” Del asked. Jamie shook his head.

“I have no idea but it sounded like Janerous didn’t think they could administer the test for six weeks and that sounds odd. I’m pretty sure there is a full moon before then.” Jamie caught the odd expression on Del’s face. “What?” he asked.

“What does a full moon have to do with a blood test?” Del asked.

“Well if he is infected with something that would make him change into something wouldn’t a full moon...” Jamie trailed off as he realized Del was trying hard not to laugh.

“You mean like a werewolf?” Del said, his laughter almost escaping him. Jamie felt the heat crawl up into his face.

“Maybe,” he said feeling slightly ridiculous.

“Like in the movies,” Del said. The edge of laughter was stronger and his cheeks had turned red.

“Oh go ahead and laugh,” Jamie told him. Del let his laugh loose.

“I don’t think you will have to worry about werewolves,” Del said once his laughter had calmed into a chuckle.

“But why six weeks then?” Jamie asked. “I know when you catch a cold it can take up to two weeks for symptoms to show but I’m sure you could still find traces of the virus before the sniffles begin. And what is it that he could possibly have?” Del’s chuckles stopped at Jamie’s question and he frowned.

“I don’t know about a cold virus but there are several things he could have been infected with, depending on what attacked him and if it was natural or not.”

“Natural?”

“The fey are just as natural as humans,” Del said with a shrug. “But with that nasty set up we found in the woods, I’m not so sure we can count on natural.”

“You mean the place where we found the bubbling vat of ooze?”

“That would be the one.”

“IO suppose they could have done more than just make a human suit there. I suppose I could ask the High Talbot about that as he is investigating it. I also have to set up a meeting with a representative from each of the houses, Gederan and Federan so they can state their cases for the use of the Lustan during the Lune Merdos. Perhaps I can ask them during their interviews. I don’t suppose the books I ordered as replacements came in yet?”

“Not yet,” Del said. “I believe they are supposed to be in tomorrow morning.”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to see if I can find any back up information,” Jamie said thinking of the storage room, in particular the mirror and the dream that had come after. “I have the feeling this has happened before.” He didn’t know that the destruction of the older house and the death of that keeper were tied to the Lune Merdos but the coincidence was too much to ignore. “Are House’s defenses fully functional?” Jamie asked.

“Yes,” Del said. “Burr managed to fix everything so that it is in working order.”

“Including the basement?”

“Well yes I suppose. What do you need to go down there for?” He asked. “There really isn’t much down there.”

“Maybe not but according to the notes the basement was a part of the house before this one. I’d kind of like to see it.” Jamie didn’t add his hope that like the mirror it would spark a dream that might help answer some questions. After the werewolf comment he didn’t feel like sharing. ‘After all,” he thought. “Being laughed at twice before lunch might be a bit more than I can take.”

“Well shouldn’t be a problem with the defenses up,” Del said with a shrug. “But you might want to take a light with you. No one thought to run the electric down there.” He eyed Jamie for a moment. “The stone is a bit chill as well so I doubt a jacket would go amiss.”

“I’ll grab a flashlight and jacket then,” Jamie said with a smile.

“Keeper,” Del said.

“Yes?”

“You might want to bear in mind that if either the Federan or the Gederan know details of a possible infection, they might use it as leverage during negotiations.” Jamie frowned at Del’s words.

“The thought had crossed my mind,” Jamie replied. “I’ll just have to come up with something better than rubbing alcohol and paint before it comes to that. Not sure what that would be exactly.” Del reached under the sink and pulled out a large flashlight and checked to make sure the batteries still worked. They did and he handed the flashlight to Jamie.

“Just so long as you know,” Del said. “Have fun in the basement.”

Storm Chaser now available as an e-book

2011-06-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

Storm Chaser is now out as an e-book on Smashwords. Just go to, http://www.smashwords.com/ and look for Storm Chaser.
New post of Keeper of thje Cross roads will be posted on friday. v

Keeper: Chapter 38

2011-05-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

Chapter 38.

“How may I be of assistance,” Jamie asked the lead fairy, Denas. A breeze set the tree limbs waving and the three fluttering fairies seemed to have trouble staying balanced in one spot. “Perhaps we could go up to the house?” Jamie suggested remembering that fairies were sensitive about their size and standing in the world and demanded courtesy. “Perhaps with tea in the parlor?” Denas frowned at him as though she were not expecting that response. She shook off her frown and smiled coquettishly at him.

“That will not be necessary Keeper,” She said. “The assistance our chieftain requires is better seen before it is dealt with. If you would follow me? It won’t take long.” Without waiting for an answer she turned and fluttered off towards the woods. Jamie shrugged and followed the trio. He hoped it would not take long enough that Del would start to worry over his absence.

Thankfully they stuck to an established path rather than gliding between trees. Jamie was grateful for the consideration but as the path was somewhat overgrown he still ended up with scratches on his arms as he tried to keep up.

Even though Denas and her friends could easily fit in the palm of his hand, they moved so fast it was like chasing a hummingbird. He was out of breath when they finally stopped in a small clearing. Several fallen logs were arranged around the clearing, roughly forming a circle. There was one smaller log placed in the center and on this log stood another fairy, a male this time. Denas fluttered up to him and took her seat to his right. To Jamie’s eyes they shared a similarity that marked them as family.

“Greetings to the Chieftan of the Hestwalana line,” Jamie said, taking a guess. The man looked startled, his wings folding closed quickly making him look like a butterfly had perched on his back. He opened his wings again slowly. Jamie wondered if this was a nervous tic like biting fingernails or if it had some significance Albe’s teachings had not yet revealed. Realizing he was towering over the fairies, Jamie took a seat on the ground.

“Greetings Keeper Fulton,” the chieftain said.

“I was told you needed my assistance?”

“Yes,” was the reply. “I’m afraid I do. It is rather unfortunate actually.” The last sounded a bit rueful but before Jamie could comment, he felt a tickling on the back of his hand. Jamie looked down to see a string lying across the back of his hand. He noticed several more that appeared to have fallen around him. He had not felt them as they were as light as spider silk and had landed on his clothing instead of his bare skin.

“What...” He began but was cut off when all of the strings tightened at once. He tried moving against them but found he couldn’t. He was as effectively trussed as though he were a fly in a spider’s web. He looked to the fairy chieftain. The man was shaking his head ruefully.

“I’m afraid there is no other choice at this point. The deal has been struck.”

“What deal?” Jamie asked. He felt several more loops drop around his neck and tighten a little. Out of the corner of his eyes he caught the movement in the brush as other fairies moved to help secure him. Their wings were not rainbow prisms but looked like they had been camouflaged so they wouldn’t stand out in the winter woods.

“For the Lustan of course,” he said.

“I don’t understand how this helps you with the Lustan,” Jamie said, thinking hard and fast. The chieftain looked at Jamie as though he were incredibly stupid.

“We chose a side,” he told Jamie slowly.

“I understand that,” Jamie said, trying to keep both the fear and the impatience from his voice. He tried shifting his hand and found he could move it a little to the side even if he couldn’t lift it. With luck he might be able to slide it off of his knee and gain some slack. He also realized that as he was sitting Indian style, the loops would loosen if he just stood up and straightened his legs. The thought brought him some comfort. He could get up and run if he had to. The trick would be keeping the fairies with their sharp looking swords away from delicate bits like his eyes while he was trying to get his hands free. “But harming me will not help either side, regardless of which one you’ve chosen.”

“Don’t talk nonsense human,” Denas said scornfully. “We help the Gederan and the Gederan help us. The Fedalas line will come to an end and Queen Genivia’s rule will be over. The Hestwalana can take their proper place and not be confined to...”

“Denas,” the chieftain said. “That is enough.” Denas quieted although she still looked angry. “Why would harming you help neither side?” he asked Jamie.

“Given the problems that have arisen regarding the use of the Lustan, including the death of the Keeper before me, I left instructions regarding its use should anything happen to me. If I am killed or unable to perform my duties as Keeper the message left behind will be considered my final decision on the matter. I have decided that if I am killed over this, no one gets to use the Lustan for the Lune Merdos. Therefore if harm comes to me it doesn’t matter which side you chose. You will still have lost.” The chieftain looked thoughtfully at Jamie as though he were reassessing his intelligence. Jamie had the impression that he did not have a high estimation of humans in general.

“But perhaps he doesn’t like much of anyone,” Jamie thought trying to remain calm while the fairy thought through his options.

“The new keeper could overturn the decision if the decision was just made through written means,” he finally said.

“Do you think a new keeper would be chosen before the Lune Merdos?” Jamie kept his voice even and tried to sound rational. The chieftain frowned.

“You have a brother, by default he would stand in the interim until the new keeper could be chosen. From what I have heard he is much more amiable to suggestions as long as they are profitable ones.”

“Actually he would not be the interim Keeper.” Jamie said, thankful that Jim had gone over the paperwork covering that contingency the last time he was in the office. To his surprise the Chieftain looked thoughtful.

“No I suppose after last night they would have to wait for the blood test,” he mused, mostly to himself.

“Do you know what attacked Michael?” Jamie asked, heart thudding in his chest for an entirely different reason.

“No,” the fairy said shaking his head. “I was not in on the details. It could be harmless or not, either way contamination could take six weeks to show up in the blood, by then the Lune Merdos would have passed.”

“And my decision will have stood. Was your arrangement with the Gederan contingent on them actually getting to use the Lustan for the Lune Merdos or just on getting me out of the way?” Jamie asked. The chieftain frowned.

“My arrangement is of no concern to you,” He snapped. “You will still need to be disposed of.”

“Because I know too much.”

“Yes if our plan to over throw the queen leaks out it would not go well.”

“No it wouldn’t go well at all, Janerous.” Came a female voice from the side. The chieftain, Janerous spun around at the sound of the voice. Jamie looked around and was in time to see all of the camouflaged fairies subdued by ones that appeared to be wearing some sort of military uniform. A small contingency of the winged soldiers swarmed Janerous and Denas. Once they were subdued a female fairy with wings of silver and blue fluttered out from the tree cover. Her dress looked like liquid silver and moved almost like a living thing. Jamie recognized Queen Genivia from the images in the guidebook. He also knew he did not want it to look as though he had been rescued. Owing his life to her would not be a good thing.

“Queen Geniva,” Jamie began. She turned her attention to him, her face a mask of royal imperiousness. “As Keeper I do not get involved in internal disputes such as succession. I was asked here for assistance and as It is not my place, I feel I must leave.”

“Of course, Keeper,” She said. “This is not your concern.” Her tone was mocking and she looked as though she wanted to signal someone to cut him free.

“Then I bid you good day,” Jamie said. He stood and as he had suspected, with the straightening of his legs, the cords were loose enough to slide over his skin and fall to the ground. He twisted his arms and in a moment he was able to get free. The look of surprise was evident on all of the faces around him, regardless of what side they had taken. Jamie nodded once, stepped free from the cords and turned to walk back to the house.

“Luckily they aren’t used to holding something of my size,” Jamie thought as he left the clearing and headed back to the house. “Good thing for me. I wonder what I should do about Michael?”

Pilot out as an e-book

2011-05-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hi for all those interested, Pilot is now out as an e-book. Just go to http://www.smashwords.com/ and search for Pilot. It should come up. Hopefully Storm Chaser will follow shortly. There will also be a new chapter of Keeper out here on wednesday. I'm having a hard time deciding how bad I want my faries to be. Ah, such problems we face... v

Keeper: 37

2011-05-10T11:29:00.001-07:00

37.

Jim and Jamie returned to the library to finish their drinks while Del readied one of the guest rooms for Jim. Jamie’s apologies for the extra work were waved off and Del seemed content with the extra work.

“God knows it is more in his line of work than assassination attempts,” Jamie muttered as he seated himself. Jim chuckled.

“Still not used to having staff?”he asked with a grin.

“Not so much,” Jamie admitted. He grinned back at his friend. “So you had minor car trouble, huh? What is your wife going to say when she actually sees the car?”

“I plan on having it towed directly to the garage and only telling her the real damage when I am safe and sound in front of her.”

“She doesn’t like you coming out here?”

“She has no problems with the daytime visits,” Jim said with a sigh. “It is the night time ones that bother her. After all the bad things don’t come out until dark.”

“So you aren’t supposed to meet with the fay of the dark?”

“I am as long as it is in my office where I’m safe.”

“Because your office has mystical magical life saving properties?” Jamie asked with a chuckle.

“Something like that,” Jim said. “I think it is the fact that it is a modern office building and ancient bad things can’t hurt you in a modern setting. Although some of my late night sessions caused issues. Her sister was getting a divorce because of an affair that started with him working late.”

“Ah,” Jamie said. “I can see how that might be suspicious.”

“Well until she decided to surprise me on one of the nights I was working late. I’m not sure if she or the troll whose will I was augmenting was more surprised.” Jamie laughed and Jim smiled at the memory. “He was quite gracious about it. Later he made several comments that I thought might be inappropriate.”

“Was he trying to eat her or steal her away?” Jamie asked, wondering as with trolls there was always a chance of both.

“Neither actually,” Jim said. “All his comments were about the way she smelled. I finally got a bottle of the perfume she wore as a gift for him, hoping to end the comments. He was thrilled. He kept spraying it in the air and sniffing. I had to air out the place for three days to get rid of the smell. I also asked my wife to change perfumes.”

“So he didn’t get any ideas about taking her home and hanging her up like an air freshener?”

“Something like that. Besides after the office, I couldn’t actually stand the smell any more. I still think there is some residual in the air vents.”

“Will she worry about you out here tonight?”

“Not so much,” Jim said. “As long as she doesn’t think something attacked me it should be fine. I plan on telling her it was Michael that did the damage”

“And that next time you come out here you can call so we can open the gate for you,” Jamie added.

“That too.”

“Although I am pleased to see you are still able to jump a gate when you have to. Not as well as you could in High school of course.”

“Well I didn’t have Mr. Anderson’s bull as incentive this time,” Jim answered. They slipped into reminiscing until Del informed them that Jim’s room was ready. Jim stood and stretched.

“That would be my cue for bed,” Jim said. “I’ll call the tow truck first thing in the morning.” Jim left and Jamie stared into the firelight for a few minutes more.

‘Still need to deal with the Lune Muertos,’ he thought staring at the flickering flames and sipping the last of his drink. ‘The replacement books should arrive in a few days. That will at least give me some references for Albe’s notes.’ With a sigh he finished his drink and went to his room. He could feel the beginnings of a headache but figured it was more of Albe’s years of lessons unraveling and demanding attention then anything migraine based.

If Jamie had wished to sleep dream free he would have been sorely disappointed. His dreams were full and filled with more detail than even his vivid imagination could call up. He woke up feeling as though he had spent the night cramming for finals.

“At least there were no werewolves,” he thought blearily. Jamie showered and dressed and went down to the kitchen, noticing that the guest room Jim had occupied the night before had it’s door open and was empty. As he descended into the kitchen he heard Jim’s voice. He also smelled bacon and that made him smile. He may not be used to ordering staff around but he was rapidly coming to adore having breakfast ready for him when he woke.

‘And not just any breakfast,’ he thought his eyes going wide at the selection placed on the table. Del had decided to go all out it seemed since they had company. There was bacon and biscuits, pancakes and eggs, oatmeal, coffee, tea and Juice. There was even a bowl of fruit that seemed to gleam with radiance in the early morning light. Jim was talking on his cell phone and from what Jamie could hear, arranging a tow truck to pick up both him and his car. Jim completed his call and hung up as Jamie took a seat at the table. Despite having not packed for an overnight visit, Jim looked pressed and ready for the office. Jamie shook his head. He had never understood people who woke up ready to go instead of blearily fumbling for the coffee. There was something unnatural about it.

“Well the tow truck should be here in about two hours,” Jim said. Jamie gestured towards one of the empty seats.

“It will take us at least that to do this food justice,” Jamie said. “Del this food looks amazing.” Del joined them at the table.

“It’s nice to have a bit of normal for a change,” Del said. Silence reigned as the three of them began to eat. Eventually they all leaned back satisfied.

“That was real bacon,” Jim said almost dreamily.

“As opposed to faux bacon,” Del asked.

“At home we switched to turkey bacon . It’s healthier but god I miss the real stuff.” Jamie laughed and poured himself some more coffee while Del huffed at the indignity of turkey bacon. Jamie had the feeling that any kind of food substitution would be viewed as a sacrilege by the brownie. They sipped their coffee, digesting enjoying the morning for a while. At length Jim shuffled his feet.

“Well as delightful as this is,” he began. “I should get up to the gate to meet the tow truck.”

“I’ll go with you,” Jamie said. “I want to see if there are any traces of what attacked Michael. Besides, a good bit of walk will help me burn off some of this breakfast. Are you interested in joining us Del?”

“No you two go on,” he said shooing them out of the back door. As they left they heard him mutter something about turkey bacon under his breath.

“I have the feeling better heart health through leaner meats is not on his repertoire?” Jim asked as they walked, eyes alert to disturbances on the ground.

“I doubt it,” Jamie said. “Of course Albe did live to 98 eating like this and didn’t exactly go out with heart failure.” His eyes scanned the ground. “Considering we had a large group in the yard last night and there wasn’t a single footprint left in the dirt, I doubt we are going to find anything.”

“Unless it was something purely natural like a dog or an angry wombat,” Jim said.

“An angry wombat?”

“I’m sure wombats get angry,” Jim said. “And I can’t imagine there are many creatures out there that actually like Michael.”

“There is that.”

“You know I was kidding about the werewolf last night.”

“I know,” Jamie told him. There was a stretch of silence, filled only by the sound of their feet crunching on the gravel.

“There aren’t werewolves are there?” Jim asked.

“I don’t know,” Jamie replied. “But as last week I would have told you there were no such things as trolls and fairies and now I know several by name I’m not willing to take anything for granted.”

“Shit,” Jim said softly.

“Yeah,” Jamie said with a sigh. They reached the gate, seeing no sign of anything that might have attacked Michael. Jim scrambled over the gate and Jamie laughed.

“What?” He asked. “I know I’m not the most graceful man in the world but I don’t think it was that funny.” Jamie held up his keys.

“I was planning on unlocking it for you.” Jamie unlocked the gat, swung it open wide enough for himself to pass and stepped through. He hooked the lock back in the gate but didn’t clamp it shut as he knew he would be going back through once Jim left. The lock in the gate just kept it from swinging wide.

“Oh,” Jim said a sheepish look across his face. “Well I needed the exercise.” Jamie leaned against the gate. Around them birds sung and they could hear squirrels scampering and chattering their way through the trees in their race against winter. The tree limes shifted in a light breeze and there was not a cloud to mar the bright blue of the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day. In contrast Jim’s car looked like it belonged in the aftermath of an urban war zone. All of the windows were spider webs of glass and the tires had leaked enough air that the rims looked like they were resting in small black pools. The car’s hood was completely concave. Somehow the damage looked worse than it had on film.

“Everything looks better in black and white,” Jamie said as the old song began to play in his head. In the bright morning the beaten car looked almost obscene.

“Insurance is going to be fun,” Jim said. His mouth was compressed into a thin line.

“I’m sorry,” Jamie said.

“Not your fault,” Jim said crisply.

“Even so. I’m sorry it happened.”

“Long as you don’t think your responsible.” They were saved from further conversation by the rumbling arrival of the tow truck. After a few surprised comments the two men who came with the truck, got down to work loading the vehicle on the flat bed, with Jamie and Jim doing their best to stay out of the way. When they were done, Jim joined them in the cab of the truck. He waved to Jamie as they took him and his beaten car back to Centerville. Jamie returned to the other side of the gate, making sure it was locked and tugging twice on it to check. He started on the path back to the house , still vaguely looking for signs of anything that might have attacked Michael. He was stopped by the sound of a giggle coming from the side of the gravel drive. He stopped and turned to study the area he thought the giggle had come from. Hidden in the shadows he saw three fairies, doing their best to hide behind the winter bare branches. Their jewel toned wings looked like flowers, out of season.

“Good morning ladies,” he said with a smile. “Lovely day isn’t it?” Slowly the three fairies slid from hiding and fluttered towards him. One seemed to flutter in the front with the other two hiding shyly behind. She had a brown short and pants on with some sort of braded belt around her waist. A sword hung from the belt and to Jamie’s eyes it looked rather sharp.

‘Might not be able to cut out my heart but she could definitely blind me,’ he thought. The lead fairy’s hair kept blowing into her eyes as though she had forgotten to get it cut recently. As he often had the same problem, he found he had some sympathy for the woman.

“Good morning Keeper,” the lead fairy said with a slight bob of her head. Her light voice was almost lost on the breeze. “I am known as Denas of the Hestwalana line and our Chieftain requires your assistance.”

Keeper: 36

2011-05-06T12:41:00.001-07:00

36.

The group went inside the house and Jamie led them to the family parlor, thinking it was more comfortable than the formal one. He was thankful that Del had retrieved the cart with a pot of coffee and all the accoutrements and was passing the cups around. He wasn’t quite sure how Del had managed to have a full pot of fresh coffee available but was too busy trying to listen to House without looking crazy to pay it much attention.

“The security stuff is set up in the back, would you like to come with me to see it or just have me bring a tape?” Jamie thought a second. “”If it has a tape, it might be a digital thing. To be honest I haven’t looked into it too much.”

“Understandable,” The Sherriff said. “Perhaps we had better go along.”

“All right,” Jamie said nodding. “Everyone set for coffee?” Jamie led the parade through the house to one of the back rooms. Here Albe had converted one of the closets to a security station. With the closet doors shut there was nothing noticeable about it, which is why Jamie had passed the closet without thinking about it until House pointed it out. The room was one he had not gotten around to inventorying yet. Inwardly he sighed. If events kept coming at him the way they had been then it would be up to the next Keeper to complete the inventory.

“And that’s not even counting the hidden floor,” he thought to himself. As they walked Jamie noticed both the Sherriff and his deputy looking around with interest.

“Did you know Albe, Sherriff?” He asked as he swung the closet door open. Everything looked as House said it would.

“I’d met Mr. Fulton a time or two,” the Sherriff answered. “Mostly he kept to himself and didn’t cause too much trouble.”

“Heard the stories though,” the younger officer said. This earned him a glare from the sheriff and caused him to utter a mumbled apology.

“No problem,” Jamie said. “Albe was a bit of a character.” Jamie studied the monitor and flashing lights of what looked to be recording equipment. “I don’t suppose anyone knows how to work this stuff?” he asked.

“Billy,” the Sherriff said. Billy stepped forward.

“It’s a lot like the warehouse in Denerton that got broken into a few months back,” He looked at the machines for a moment and then glanced at Jamie. “May I?”

“Sure,” Jamie said gesturing to the equipment. Billy handed Jamie his coffee mug and started fiddling with the equipment with the air of someone who truly enjoyed playing with electronics. “Well,” he said after a few minutes. “It looks like it was recording.” He looked to Jim. “What time did you get here, sir?”

“Around six thirty, maybe seven,” Jim answered.

“And Michael’s van was not there?”

“No,” he replied.

“Then it would have had to come after, then,” Billy mumbled turning back to the electronics. On the screen they could see Jim’s car pull up and Jim get out. He pulled to the side of the road, parked and got out of his car. He jumped the gate and walked off screen. The camera just showed the car sitting by the road side.

“I think we can speed it up,” the Sherriff said.

“Yes, sir,” Billy replied. The screen remained the same but Jamie could see the numbers on the digital display speed up. Suddenly Michael’s van appeared. Billy slowed the speed to normal time and they watched as Michael stopped his van at the gate. In eerie black and white silence, they watched Michael attempt to open the gate. Once he discovered a new lock had been put on the gate he retreated to his van and removed the bolt cutters from the back. He tried using them on the new lock Jamie had installed and Jamie felt some vindication when the bolt cutters he brought were unsuccessful.

“Ha,” Jamie said. All eyes turned to him. “The guy at the hardware store said ordinary bolt cutters wouldn’t work.” He explained. They turned back to the screen. Michael was not pleased that his bolt cutters were not working. He slammed the gate with the cutters, looking for all the world like a kid having a temper tantrum. The gate seemed unaffected although Jamie was certain there would be some dents and dings in the gate if he looked closely. Seemingly stymied, Michael turned his rage upon Jim’s car. They watched as glass shattered and tires deflated under Michael’s assault. Michael hefted the bolt cutters over his head like a club and began to hammer on the hood of the car.

“Michael has a bit of a temper doesn’t he,” The sheriff said.

“He is used to getting his own way,” Jamie said softly. On screen, Michael seemed to tire. He returned the bolt cutters to his van, and as Jim had done, hopped the fence and walked off camera.

“That does seem to cover both the trespassing and the damage to the car,” The sheriff said. “You claimed he broke in before?”

“Yes,” Jamie said, I don’t know if it’s still on there but there were witnesses.” Jamie gave them the time and Billy rolled back the recording to the appropriate time.

“This thing has about a month’s worth of recording time on it,” He told Jamie. “And then it looks like it switches to another disk. You probably have several months worth of images here.”

“Good to know,” Jamie said. “Hopefully it won’t be needed as often.” They watched as the car pulled up and Michael used his bolt cutters to open the gate. While he did not think that Bella would go against Michael the investor had no real reason to lie.

“Especially not when he is on film,” Jamie thought. The investor, George Jennings could be seen stepping out of the car, a frown on his face at Michael’s bolt cutters and a question on his lips. They couldn’t hear the question or Michael’s response but it didn’t look like the answer completely satisfied George.

“That certainly covers that,” Billy said, pleased with himself.

“Can you make copies for evidence?” the Sherriff asked him. Billy nodded and a few moments later was removing a memory card from the machine. That task complete the group moved back towards the front of the house. Jamie offered refills on coffee but they were declined. Jamie walked them towards the front porch. The sheriff stared at his vehicle with Michael in the back. Billy stared into the woods. The sheriff gestured for Billy to move to the car, which he did, carefully not turning around. The Sherriff frowned.

“Is he always this jumpy,” Jamie asked.

“The stories are interesting regarding this place. Tends to spook a lot of people. Personally I think Old mister Fulton liked it that way. Certainly kept the local teenagers from sneaking onto his property with a keg in tow.” The sheriff glanced at the woods. “The case against Michael is pretty good. Off the record, do you keep any dogs? Dachshund or otherwise?”

“No,” Jamie replied. “I tend to like bigger dogs and before I moved out here I lived in a small apartment. I might think of getting one if I stay out here though.”

“I see,” the sheriff said. “I’d be interested to know what grabbed Michael. After all there might be some truth to some of those stories.” He glanced one more time at the woods and then looked back to Jamie. He smiled, shook hands with both Jamie and Jim and then walked to his car. Jamie and Jim watched him drive away knowing Del had already left to take care of the gate.

“I wonder what did get Michael,” Jim asked.

“I don’t know but the way the shirt and pants were ripped I doubt it was a branch.”

“Or a dachshund,” Jim added. He looked into the woods and frowned. “I wonder if the sheriff believes in werewolves.”

“You are joking,” Jamie said. Jim shrugged and turned back towards the house. Jamie followed him back inside.

“That’s all we need, Michael as a werewolf.”