Chapter 42 #8
The Ladies Three. Probably not the ones currently working in the pavilion, but how could she be sure?
Some of the sketches had a stylized A in the bottom right corner.
If she brought this sketchbook to Wyrd, could they tell her the name of the artist?
Could they tell her why it had been passed down to her?
What would it cost to ask the question?
Beth put the sketchbook and the prints back in the box, then tucked the box inside the closet.
As soon as she could, she needed to spend a night on Wyrd.
12
Charles Forrester arrived home almost on time and weary to the bone.
He sympathized with Darren Palmer’s father and understood the man’s anger, but there was no use blaming anyone else for what happened.
The boy had ignored the rules and warnings posted in Destiny Park and made a careless choice, thinking there would be no consequences.
The Isle of Wyrd was a place unto itself and wasn’t governed by human laws or morals.
People had been crossing the river for decades, maybe even centuries.
The Arcana were not responsible for what humans did when they arrived on the island or the bargains humans chose to make, either with the Arcana or within themselves.
Darren Palmer’s father was hurting. Charles sympathized. But spewing about retaliation and burning the ferry’s pier or getting his gun and crossing the river to do what the cops didn’t have the balls to do? That kind of action was suicidal at best.
The Arcana were very good at protecting themselves and their land.
He kissed his wife and held her close for a moment. “Smells good.”
“Dinner?” Aisha asked.
“That too.”
She leaned back and studied his face. “Colin is worried about a friend. Is that why you have that look in your eyes?”
“Two boys. Good news, bad news.” He tipped his head. “Colin?”
“In his room.”
“Do I have time to talk to him before dinner?”
Aisha nodded. “I think he’s been waiting for you to get home.”
Charles knocked on his son’s door before walking in. Textbooks were open and fanned out at the end of the bed, a token effort toward doing homework since Colin was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and there wasn’t any indication that any assignments had been completed.
Not something Charles would argue about tonight.
Colin sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Charles moved a couple of the books and sat beside his son.
“Ted made it home,” Charles said.
Colin met his eyes for a moment before staring at the floor. “Is he okay?”
“Physically, yes. But he witnessed some things that I suspect will give him nightmares for a long time. Hopefully he’ll get some counseling to help him come to terms with what happened.”
“What about Dare? Darren?”
“He was careless, and he didn’t survive.”
“Did Dare really change into a rat-faced chicken?”
“There is no reason to doubt what Ted claimed he saw.”
Charles studied his son’s expression. A bit horrified, yes, but more than that, there was curiosity that would stifle common sense in the face of temptation.
Or, being a fan of Star Trek, was it the allure of meeting a different race and being the person who could bridge the distance between their cultures?
He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Listen to me, Colin. People cross the river all the time, and they talk about Wyrd like it’s a combination of a carnival and a park.
If they’re lucky, they don’t see more than that.
But Wyrd isn’t a carnival. It’s a convergence of the uncanny, and there is power there that our kind of people don’t understand.
Things happen there. Words and intentions have power there—and people can disappear for a very long time because of a flippant remark.
If you want to go to Wyrd, I will take you, and we’ll explore Destiny Park together.
” He could almost feel the wheels of fate turning, possibilities realigning into a different future—a future without his son.
“If you do cross the river with other boys, remember what I said about the power of words and intentions. You cannot afford to be careless when you’re there—especially if you’re around one of the moon gates that can take you somewhere else.
But if you are threatened and in imminent danger, I would rather know you were lost but alive than to have someone bring your body back across the river. ”
Colin said nothing. As Charles pushed to his feet, the boy said, “You would really take me to see Wyrd?”
“Yes.” I should have known better than to offer.
This was the boy who wanted to see dinosaurs at the history museum and was disappointed that there were only bones that didn’t move; who wanted to ride the elephants at the zoo; who could spend hours watching the sharks at the aquarium—and who had wondered more than once if Wyrd was a way to boldly meet the unknown without needing a spaceship.
Maybe what he can see on Wyrd during the daylight hours will satisfy his curiosity enough. Maybe.
“Soon?”
Charles tried not to sigh. “I’ll talk to your mom about what we have on the family calendar next month, and then you and I will pick a day to visit before the park closes until spring.”
Aisha would have a few things to say about him making that promise, especially when she found out what happened to Darren Palmer, but she would realize that Colin going with his father would be safer than his going with a pack of teenage boys.
“It’s time for dinner.”
“Mom didn’t give the dinner holler.”
He smiled. “It was understood that dinner would be on the table when you and I finished talking. Besides, you know your mom’s rule.”
Colin sighed but stood up. “Come to the table while the food is hot, or eat it cold.”
“Yep.”
Aisha gave them both a look when they reached the dinner table, but she must have already had a talk with Jazz about not pestering Colin tonight because the girl chattered about her triumphs and failures at school that day.
The call didn’t come until he was helping Aisha with the dishes.
“Hello?”
“Come to the pier at eleven p.m.” Lucas Frost’s voice had a depth that made Charles think of old-growth forests and primal places that held ancient truths and didn’t welcome humans. “A vessel will take you across the river.”
“Why?”
“Eleven p.m.” Frost hung up.
“Charles?” Aisha asked when he tucked his cell phone into his pocket.
“I have to go out later. A meeting with Lucas Frost.”
She looked alarmed. “Why?”
“I don’t know.” But I can guess.
13
The vessel was a small fishing boat with a motor and tiller on the back and a couple of boards across the width for seats.
The pilot sat in the back next to the motor, saying nothing.
A second individual held the boat close to the pier so that Charles could climb down a wooden ladder attached to the pier and come aboard.
Charles couldn’t tell if the Arcana were male or female, since they didn’t speak and their heads were covered with oversized hoods—a necessity when they dealt with humans after dark.
He pulled a watch cap out of his jacket pocket and put it on. The days in late September still held a hint of summer warmth, but the nights held a touch of winter.
“Where are we going?” he asked when it became apparent the boat wasn’t heading to the dock on the Wyrd side of the river.
His companions didn’t reply, but the answer became apparent when he saw a figure waiting for him on the sandy beach.
The pilot shut off the motor and tilted it out of the water as the front of the boat’s hull scraped on the sand.
The other Arcana jumped out of the boat and pulled it farther up the beach and gestured for Charles to jump out.
He obeyed, landing in water up to his ankles, and moved quickly to reach the sand.
Lucas Frost wore no hood to hide the truth about what he was.
Charles tried not to stare at the delicate antlers that rose from Frost’s head. He’d seen the antlers before, but the reminder that he was dealing with a different race of beings still unsettled him. “Mr. Frost? You wanted to see me?”
Frost withdrew a cell phone and slim wallet from a pocket of his leather jacket and held them out. “The boy made it across the river?”
Charles took the cell phone and wallet. He wasn’t sure if Frost didn’t know the outcome of Ted Ocampo’s attempt to get home or if the Arcana leader was testing his honesty. “He made it across with some help.” Charles pocketed the items. “Ted’s clothes?”
“Let’s call the clothing a finder’s fee.”
In other words, whatever had found Ted’s possessions had use for the clothing and relinquished the other items in exchange.
Charles looked at the box at Frost’s feet. Cardboard, but it looked like there was a plastic garbage bag inside. And whatever was in the bag smelled…funky.
“Apparently, the meat didn’t taste enough like chicken,” Frost said quietly. “That’s why there was something left to find.”
Charles swallowed hard. “Does he look human now?”
“No. But when your people do their tests, the meat will come back as being human—and it will match the human who ignored our rules when he went through the moon gate.”
God have mercy on me. What am I supposed to tell Darren Palmer’s father? How can I show him these remains and say, “This is what is left of your son?”
One of the Arcana picked up the box and put it in the boat, then stood by the boat, waiting.
“Something else, Captain Forrester?” Frost asked.
Even here on the beach, he had to choose his words with care. “Human children that age can be careless.”
“Then they should stay away from Wyrd. Age has never been a criteria for meeting one’s fate.”
“I don’t think Darren Palmer’s father will see it that way.”
Quiet anger, like fire burning beneath the ground until it bursts through a crack and consumes everything on the surface. “Then he should stay on his side of the river.”