growled at them both petulantly.
"What do I deserve to know?" Rain said. "Is this about- " she stopped, unwilling to make herself say it.
"Go on," Myra urged.
Rain opened her mouth, shut it again. "I- there's something strange here. I see...things."
Myra smiled. "Tell me. What do you see?"
Rain ran a hand through her hair. "This sounds crazy."
"Who cares?"
"Sometimes I think people have scales. Or wings. Or I blink once, and they're green, and again, and they're normal. Sometimes I think I'm seeing a dog out of the corner of my eye and I turn around and it's just - "
"Just?"
"Just a person."
Jim sighed and scowled at his wife. "Woman, you know she didn't deserve to find out like this." Then he tapped Rain's forehead and her vision exploded.
It was like she took everything in at once. Everything seemed more real, more tangible. The cozy warmth of the cabin was suffused with tones of copper and gold, gleaming brightly. Myra's hair, a whiteness she'd always admired, suddenly shone silver, richer, more somehow; her walking stick looked some fabled magician's staff. Jim's face was wizened in a way it wasn't a moment ago. And when she looked down at Jamie, rich ruby threads connected their bodies before they vanished into thin air. "Wh-what happened?" she whispered.
"You're seeing things as they really are," Myra said gently. "We're not human, and you're not human either. Well, not completely, anyway.
We were so surprised when you came into town. Humans can't see the town, you see. You thought we were one of those new eco-villages that the humans have, and we never corrected you. The truth is, we are a village of people who live close to the earth. We're just made up of fey and shifters."
"Don't forget the dragons," Jim reminded her.
"And dragons."
"And Jamie?"
"Shifter."
"But I've never - he - have I met him?" Rain asked.
"He hasn't taken two legs in thirty six years. He might not even be able to anymore," Jim said regretfully.
"But, why?"
"It's not my place to say."
Rain coaxed her stiff fingers to move. She felt numb, frozen in place, but she reached out, trembling, buried her fingers in Jamie's fur. His head was ducked, his posture rigid beneath her skin.
"We can get you to her faster," Myra said firmly. "If Jamie will act as your tether."
*
Rain wasn't sure why Jamie needed to act as her "tether" - she was told that it usually only applied in spirit world travel, but not why it applied here, although it was implied that it had something to do with the amount of distance she would need to be moved. Myra went to fetch Romhilda - the only mage in the village - after saying regretfully that had she been a couple hundred years younger she could have taken care of it without any problem, but that she didn't want to take any chances, now did she?
The whole business was taken care of very quickly, and the details were fast becoming a blur to her. The visions Jim had given her with the tap on the head had faded, and very soon she was handed a necklace containing an intricate circular pendant with moving parts and instructed on the movements and spell she needed to say to take her to the hospital, and the one which would take her back to Jim and Myra's cottage. "Just be careful," Romhilda winked. "Those two can get into some crazy shenanigans in the middle of the night."
Despite the gravity of the situation, Jim puffed up his chest.
The necklace was fastened around her neck, the backpack secured to her shoulders, and Jamie nudged his nose into her hand. Rain knelt down on her knees, fastened her arms around his neck, and smiled a watery smile when he licked a broad stripe over her neck and up to her ear.
*
As Rain power walked down the hospital corridors, she realized that she would most likely have a bit of a mental breakdown as soon as she had the time for one. She was amazingly calm.
"What do I deserve to know?" Rain said. "Is this about- " she stopped, unwilling to make herself say it.
"Go on," Myra urged.
Rain opened her mouth, shut it again. "I- there's something strange here. I see...things."
Myra smiled. "Tell me. What do you see?"
Rain ran a hand through her hair. "This sounds crazy."
"Who cares?"
"Sometimes I think people have scales. Or wings. Or I blink once, and they're green, and again, and they're normal. Sometimes I think I'm seeing a dog out of the corner of my eye and I turn around and it's just - "
"Just?"
"Just a person."
Jim sighed and scowled at his wife. "Woman, you know she didn't deserve to find out like this." Then he tapped Rain's forehead and her vision exploded.
It was like she took everything in at once. Everything seemed more real, more tangible. The cozy warmth of the cabin was suffused with tones of copper and gold, gleaming brightly. Myra's hair, a whiteness she'd always admired, suddenly shone silver, richer, more somehow; her walking stick looked some fabled magician's staff. Jim's face was wizened in a way it wasn't a moment ago. And when she looked down at Jamie, rich ruby threads connected their bodies before they vanished into thin air. "Wh-what happened?" she whispered.
"You're seeing things as they really are," Myra said gently. "We're not human, and you're not human either. Well, not completely, anyway.
We were so surprised when you came into town. Humans can't see the town, you see. You thought we were one of those new eco-villages that the humans have, and we never corrected you. The truth is, we are a village of people who live close to the earth. We're just made up of fey and shifters."
"Don't forget the dragons," Jim reminded her.
"And dragons."
"And Jamie?"
"Shifter."
"But I've never - he - have I met him?" Rain asked.
"He hasn't taken two legs in thirty six years. He might not even be able to anymore," Jim said regretfully.
"But, why?"
"It's not my place to say."
Rain coaxed her stiff fingers to move. She felt numb, frozen in place, but she reached out, trembling, buried her fingers in Jamie's fur. His head was ducked, his posture rigid beneath her skin.
"We can get you to her faster," Myra said firmly. "If Jamie will act as your tether."
*
Rain wasn't sure why Jamie needed to act as her "tether" - she was told that it usually only applied in spirit world travel, but not why it applied here, although it was implied that it had something to do with the amount of distance she would need to be moved. Myra went to fetch Romhilda - the only mage in the village - after saying regretfully that had she been a couple hundred years younger she could have taken care of it without any problem, but that she didn't want to take any chances, now did she?
The whole business was taken care of very quickly, and the details were fast becoming a blur to her. The visions Jim had given her with the tap on the head had faded, and very soon she was handed a necklace containing an intricate circular pendant with moving parts and instructed on the movements and spell she needed to say to take her to the hospital, and the one which would take her back to Jim and Myra's cottage. "Just be careful," Romhilda winked. "Those two can get into some crazy shenanigans in the middle of the night."
Despite the gravity of the situation, Jim puffed up his chest.
The necklace was fastened around her neck, the backpack secured to her shoulders, and Jamie nudged his nose into her hand. Rain knelt down on her knees, fastened her arms around his neck, and smiled a watery smile when he licked a broad stripe over her neck and up to her ear.
*
As Rain power walked down the hospital corridors, she realized that she would most likely have a bit of a mental breakdown as soon as she had the time for one. She was amazingly calm.
Similar Books
Worlds Enough and Time
Joe Haldeman
Say Yes
Mellie George
The Unexpected Guest
Agatha Christie
The Devil—With Wings
L. Ron Hubbard
Acrobat
Mary Calmes
The Wheel of Darkness
Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Secrets of a Summer Night
Lisa Kleypas
Life on the Preservation, US Edition
Jack Skillingstead
