intensity of light that made her eyes ache. What was it? Some secret message pressed against her heart till she could barely breathe. Then she suddenly understood, without knowing how or why, that the other world hadn’t come to her, rather she herself had entered it; and instead of falling under a spell, she had woken to the truth that Faerie was all around her.
Then came the second shock.
Both Gabriel and Aradhana were frozen in their places, stopped in mid-motion as if turned to stone. And so, too, was every man, woman, and child in the park and everything else besides. The waterfall hung like sculpted ice. Not a trickle of water plashed. Nor did a single leaf on any tree stir. And no birds sang.
It was time to go.
For a moment Dana balked. Here was the price to be paid for her hopes and dreams. The sacrifice to be made. She would have to leave her father. Without warning or explanation, she would have to abandon him even as her mother had. The thought of the pain this would cause him was almost unbearable.
Now a sighing sound surrounded her, though she couldn’t see anything.
Follow the greenway .
Invisible hands began to tug at her clothes. When she didn’t move, they grew more insistent, pushing and pulling her.
“Stop it!” she hissed.
She stood up to beat them off, but she couldn’t see what she was fighting. As she spun around, she caught sight of a slight figure above the waterfall. It was the Lady, waving at her! There was something urgent in her movements, as if she were entreating Dana to hurry.
“All right, I’m coming,” she muttered to the air around her.
She grabbed her knapsack. It was already packed for a journey, with jeans, sweater, running shoes and socks, a waterproof jacket, matches, and a flashlight. She shoveled in some leftovers from the picnic, plus the bottle of cola and the box of chocolates. Now she turned to her father. Frozen in mid-act, he was passing a glass of wine to Aradhana. Dana’s heart tightened as she saw the look in his eyes. In real time he could hide it, blinking shyly. Caught in that moment, his love shone like a beacon.
Dana didn’t want to look at Aradhana. She was afraid for Gabriel, who might be rejected; afraid for herself, not wanting the complication; and afraid for her mother who might be replaced forever. Yet look she did. And there, like the sun on the surface of a lake, the same love was reflected in the young woman’s eyes.
Any last doubts in Dana’s mind disappeared in that instant. She had to find her mother before it was too late. Before things progressed. Before people got hurt.
She hugged her father’s still body and kissed him good-bye. “Love you, Da. Be back as soon I can. I promise.” Then she whispered in Aradhana’s ear. “Look after him for me.”
Dana had only begun to climb the ridge when she heard footsteps echo from the parking lot. Someone else was moving in the park! She couldn’t turn around to see, as the invisible hands were dragging her upward. She didn’t fight them off this time. The cold prickles at the back of her neck told her all she needed to know. Whatever was coming behind her wasn’t good.
he demon was beginning to remember. Though the fire in its head still caused it agony, torturing it into fits of madness, it grew stronger and more knowledgeable each time it fed. The host body it possessed was aiding it too, nourishing it with the essence of human wickedness .
An image had already taken shape in its mind, a faint imprint of the memory of what it was sent to murder. A dormant power. A sleeping giant. One who must be destroyed while still weak and defenseless .
It knew it had to act furtively, to use its ability to creep and hide. In its own maimed and vulnerable state, it could not risk being captured or killed .
Everything rested on the mission. The final step of the Great Plan. All else had been put into place. This shedding of blood, the red rite of slaughter, would seal the beginning of
Then came the second shock.
Both Gabriel and Aradhana were frozen in their places, stopped in mid-motion as if turned to stone. And so, too, was every man, woman, and child in the park and everything else besides. The waterfall hung like sculpted ice. Not a trickle of water plashed. Nor did a single leaf on any tree stir. And no birds sang.
It was time to go.
For a moment Dana balked. Here was the price to be paid for her hopes and dreams. The sacrifice to be made. She would have to leave her father. Without warning or explanation, she would have to abandon him even as her mother had. The thought of the pain this would cause him was almost unbearable.
Now a sighing sound surrounded her, though she couldn’t see anything.
Follow the greenway .
Invisible hands began to tug at her clothes. When she didn’t move, they grew more insistent, pushing and pulling her.
“Stop it!” she hissed.
She stood up to beat them off, but she couldn’t see what she was fighting. As she spun around, she caught sight of a slight figure above the waterfall. It was the Lady, waving at her! There was something urgent in her movements, as if she were entreating Dana to hurry.
“All right, I’m coming,” she muttered to the air around her.
She grabbed her knapsack. It was already packed for a journey, with jeans, sweater, running shoes and socks, a waterproof jacket, matches, and a flashlight. She shoveled in some leftovers from the picnic, plus the bottle of cola and the box of chocolates. Now she turned to her father. Frozen in mid-act, he was passing a glass of wine to Aradhana. Dana’s heart tightened as she saw the look in his eyes. In real time he could hide it, blinking shyly. Caught in that moment, his love shone like a beacon.
Dana didn’t want to look at Aradhana. She was afraid for Gabriel, who might be rejected; afraid for herself, not wanting the complication; and afraid for her mother who might be replaced forever. Yet look she did. And there, like the sun on the surface of a lake, the same love was reflected in the young woman’s eyes.
Any last doubts in Dana’s mind disappeared in that instant. She had to find her mother before it was too late. Before things progressed. Before people got hurt.
She hugged her father’s still body and kissed him good-bye. “Love you, Da. Be back as soon I can. I promise.” Then she whispered in Aradhana’s ear. “Look after him for me.”
Dana had only begun to climb the ridge when she heard footsteps echo from the parking lot. Someone else was moving in the park! She couldn’t turn around to see, as the invisible hands were dragging her upward. She didn’t fight them off this time. The cold prickles at the back of her neck told her all she needed to know. Whatever was coming behind her wasn’t good.
he demon was beginning to remember. Though the fire in its head still caused it agony, torturing it into fits of madness, it grew stronger and more knowledgeable each time it fed. The host body it possessed was aiding it too, nourishing it with the essence of human wickedness .
An image had already taken shape in its mind, a faint imprint of the memory of what it was sent to murder. A dormant power. A sleeping giant. One who must be destroyed while still weak and defenseless .
It knew it had to act furtively, to use its ability to creep and hide. In its own maimed and vulnerable state, it could not risk being captured or killed .
Everything rested on the mission. The final step of the Great Plan. All else had been put into place. This shedding of blood, the red rite of slaughter, would seal the beginning of
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