Leyla's Locket

Rainbow - Chapter Four

Leyla's Locket
Chapter Four
Paige Jackson


Cressida woke up the next morning with her stomach grumbling from the smell of cooking that was wafting up the stairwell. She jumped out of bed, ran a brush through her hair, and threw on jeans and a t-shirt. Bounding down the stairs, following her nose, she was at the kitchen in no time. She paused in the doorway, her breath catching in her throat.

Weldon was hard at work by the stove, wearing sweats and a long-sleeve t-shirt. He’d pushed the sleeves up past his elbows. His attention was entirely focused on his current task – whisking a bowl full of eggs. The entire stove top was covered with skillets, and she could smell sausage and hash browns cooking. He finally noticed her presence and a smile spread across his face.

“Good morning sunshine. Thought I’d make myself useful and cook up some breakfast. Hope you’re hungry enough for my famous breakfast burritos.”

“I’m hungry enough to eat a horse. Ah, no offense to your culinary talents intended. How about I squeeze us some orange juice?” She hurried over to the pantry, mentally scolding herself for being such a dope, and pulled out a dozen oranges.

Meanwhile Weldon was finishing up the eggs. He emptied the contents of each skillet together into a bowl, adding fresh cut tomatoes. Weldon carried the steaming bowl to the table, along with a stack of warm flour tortillas. As a final touch, he added a small bowl of Pico De Gallo and they were ready to eat. With expert skill he filled the tortillas with the mixture, wrapping them up so they wouldn’t unfold and none of the juice could escape.

Cressida carried over the pitcher of fresh orange juice and joined him at the table. For the next twenty minutes the only sounds in the kitchen were from the two of them eating. Finally they both pushed their plates away and leaned back in their chairs, satisfied and sluggish.

“I could go back to sleep so fast it would make your head spin,” admitted Cressida, ruefully holding her sides.

Weldon, also looking a little worse for the wear, nodded agreement. “I can’t remember the last time I ate so much, or so fast.”

Cressida forced herself up, carrying the plates to the sink. She was just about to start cleaning up when he placed a hand on her arm.

“Uh uh, ma’am. I’m perfectly capable of cooking AND cleaning up. If you’d be so good as to make us some coffee while I finish up, then we can get started.”

The pot had just started brewing when there was a light knock on the front door. They both froze in place. Cressida started down the hall chuckling, Weldon right behind her with a frown on his face.

“I can’t remember the last time someone knocked at my front door. In fact, come to think of it, I’m not sure anyone ever has.”

This thought slowed Cressida’s stride, and she now approached the door with caution, sensing Weldon behind her, readying his defenses. She flung the door open so fast that the girl on the other side jumped back, dropping a basket of muffins, and tumbling down to the bottom of the steps. From nowhere a ghostly white cat appeared, placing himself in front of the fallen girl and glaring up at the two adults who were both now turning beet red.

“Oh good heavens, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” cried Cressida as she rushed down the steps to help the girl up. “Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself? Oh, I am terribly sorry.” Cressida was half-carrying the protesting girl up the steps while Weldon picked up the basket.

“No really, I’m okay. I’m so sorry to have disturbed you. My name is Seraphinus Ulric, my friends call me Sera. We moved in next door. My mom made you some of her Lemon Poppy Seed muffins, and I volunteered to bring them over. This is my cat, Nimbus.”

By the time Sera paused to take a breath, she found herself in the kitchen, perched on a bar, while the man scrutinized the scrape on her knee.

“My name is Cressida Hammund, and this is my dear friend Weldon Ward. He’ll fix up that knee in no time. Oh, what a gorgeous cat, Nimbus is it? It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sera.”

Weldon had found a band-aid, placed it on Sera’s knee with a flourish, and declared her all better. Cressida was busy placing a small saucer with milk on the floor. Nimbus ran over and started lapping it up, while Cressida absently stroked his back.

“I used to have a cat,” began Cressida, her eyes glazed over. “He was a tortoise-shell and his name was Samson. He was my best friend, could always cheer me up no matter how sad I was. I sure do miss him,” she sighed.

“What happened to him?” Sera asked kindly.

“He died a long time ago, shortly before the rest of my family was killed,” Cressida replied, her voice flat.

Sera turned pink, “Oh no, I’m so sorry Ms. Cressida, if I had known . . .”

“It’s okay Sera, you didn’t know. Plus, it happened a long time ago. Please call me Cressida, sweetie. No titles are necessary in this house. How long have you had Nimbus?”

Sera giggled uncontrollably at this last question, leaving Cressida and Weldon looking puzzled. She finally got herself under control enough to catch her breath.

“Sorry, it’s just so silly. I got Nimbus yesterday, for my twelfth birthday. The funny thing is my parents swear they didn’t get him for me. I know one of them did. I mean honestly, am I supposed to believe he appeared out of thin air? I can’t understand why they won’t admit it.”

There was a sudden thump as Weldon’s legs gave way and he dropped into a chair. Cressida had gone completely pale. Sera blinked up at them, wondering why they looked so serious.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Cressida recovered first. “No, no dear. I was just thinking how important a twelfth birthday is. I wish I had known.” Her eyes swept across the room, lighting on a large ivy plant on the counter. “Aha, just the thing. It’s not much, but will you accept this ivy in lieu of an official birthday present?”

Sera was delighted, “You don’t have to give me anything. That’s a beautiful plant though, and it will go perfect in my room. I’ve gotten so strange about greenery. It’s almost like I can’t breathe well unless there’s a plant nearby. Thank you so much Cressida. Well, we better get going before my mom comes looking for me, sure I’m causing you trouble. Come on Nimbus. It was nice meeting you Cressida and Weldon. Is it okay if I stop by to visit every now and then? I won’t make a pest of myself, I promise.”

Weldon and Cressida both beamed down at Sera as Cressida opened the front door for her.

“You can come by any time you’d like Sera, it was a pleasure to meet you and Nimbus. Please tell your mother thank you for the lovely muffins. I’m sure I’ll be snacking on them all day.”

“Sure, no problem. See you soon.” Sera skipped down the walk to the front gate, Nimbus prancing along behind her. She stopped to wave as she closed the gate back and then raced for her house.

Cressida closed the front door and leaned against it. Weldon was standing there with his arms folded; a sure sign a lecture was eminent in her future. She waggled a finger at him and cut him off before he could say a word.

“Let’s take the carafe of coffee up to the library. We can have this discussion up there, much more comfortably.”

He allowed her to lead him down the hall, but his manner suggested her reprieve would not last long.

***

Cressida had barely settled into her favorite leather chair when Weldon started in.

“She has the Gift, Rainbow Magic.”

“Yes,” Cressida nodded absently, staring down at the arm of her chair, “she does. What’s more either her parents do not or they are choosing to ignore it. I tend to believe it’s the former. I’ve watched them and it’s obvious how much they love her. They would not intentionally put her in harm’s way. She’s already coming into the Green power, you heard her talk about plants?”

It was Weldon’s turn to nod. “I agree with you, I don’t think her parents have power. Yes, I heard about the plants, she’s come into her power very quickly if she just turned 12 yesterday.” He groaned in frustration, beating his hand against the chair, “What does it mean? What are we missing?”

“Okay, let’s go about this logically.” Cressida got up and walked over to a large dry-erase board and wheeled it to the center of the room. “If you’ll start up the laptop, maybe we can get to the bottom of this,” she sighed.

Weldon pulled the laptop out of the travel bag and set it up on the desk. After plugging in the power cord, he began rifling through the travel bag. He dumped out the entire contents, while Cressida watched with growing amusement. Finally, as his face began turning red from frustration, she relented.

“Why are men so stubborn about asking for help?”

Weldon fixed her with a steely glare, “Where’s the internet connector” he growled.

“It’s already hooked up, all you had to do was turn the laptop on – it’s wireless.”

As she was turning away, she caught movement and spun around, catching him in the act of sticking his tongue out at her. “Oh now that’s mature,” she muttered, turning back to the board. She had just picked up a marker when a ball of wadded-up paper hit her on the side of the head. She put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot, and fixed Weldon with the sternest face she could muster, “Are you quite done?”

Weldon eyed her for a second, took one more piece of paper and flicked it at her, grinned and said, “Now I am.” He settled back to work, while she shook her head, muttering darkly about the antics of men.

Weldon pulled up the list of recent mysterious deaths and disappearances, calling them out to her as she wrote them on the board. When the list was completed they had eighteen names from the last month. Then they started adding in other details, such as whether Cressida had spoken with them recently, where they resided, and if they were active politically. Once finished, they sat back to look over their work, hoping a pattern would present itself.

After a few moments they realized this would be tougher than they thought. Of the eighteen names listed, Cressida had dealt with five of them recently. So it was evident that she was not the common thread. They all lived in different areas of the state, and two lived outside Texas. There was a mix of young and old as well as male and female. Six were animal attacks, five were disappearances, four seemed to be natural causes, but were suspicious in some other way. The other three were definitely foul play as signs of a violent struggle had been evident at the scene. There was no readily apparent pattern.

Weldon stretched, got to his feet, and walked over and put his arm around Cressida. “Why don’t we give it a rest for a day? I’ll come back tomorrow afternoon and we’ll take a fresh look at it, alright?”

“I think you’re right, sometimes it helps to walk away. I’ll see you back here tomorrow.” She grabbed the book she’d been reading the day before, and followed him to the door. Once she’d seen him off, she fixed a glass of water and headed out into the back to get some fresh air while reading.


***

Sera stared up at the one tree that had survived the building process. She was lying underneath it in the backyard, marveling at how high it towered. It was an old pecan tree, with huge branches which split out from the main trunk in every direction. One of the branches stretched out to within a foot of the ground next door, halfway up the hill. Nimbus was amusing himself, as well as Sera, by racing up and down the tree and nimbly leaping off the branch onto Cressida’s property. Once on the ground he would chase around in circles, or disappear into the brush. Then he would reappear, jump back on the branch, and return to Sera.

The two of them had knocked on Cressida’s front door earlier, but no one had answered. Sera’s dad was at work and her mom was running errands, so she was killing time until supper. Tired of lying down, Sera hopped up and whistled for Nimbus. The cat rolled out from under a bush in Cressida’s yard. He arched his hind end, stretching out his front paws as far as they could reach. With little effort he leapt back on the branch, padded down the tree, and dropped lightly to the ground next to Sera.

“Come on Nimbus, let’s go explore out back.”

Sera opened up the back gate and stood there for a moment transfixed. From the front of their house city life droned on, with traffic noise and the buildings readily visible. Looking out the back, with acres of untamed land before her, it was possible to believe they were in the middle of the wilderness. A small stream ran through one corner of Cressida’s property, looping part of the way down Sera’s back fence before turning back into a wooded area.

Sera laughed out loud as she remembered her father’s face as he told her that the residents of this town called this trickling stream of water the Mesquite River. The water itself was a dusty brick color, stained from the red clay that was indigenous to this area. Sera found a place low enough that it was possible to hop across in one step by jumping on a large, flat rock protruding from the red froth. Careful not to get her shoes wet, she jumped on the rock and then over, Nimbus following closely at her heels. Together they started into the trees, quickly disappearing from sight.

They wandered aimlessly for a time, careful to stay away from the prickly cactus plants that covered the area. After her father’s warnings of snakes, scorpions, and spiders, they stayed away from the tall grass as well, keeping to the well-worn paths that webbed through the trees. Sera was just marveling about how well-behaved Nimbus was, the cat had barely left her side the whole time, when he suddenly dropped low to the ground, his back end shaking with excitement. Without a sound the cat suddenly pounced on a clump of grass, scaring a small brown field mouse out of hiding. Before Sera could blink the mouse sped away into the underbrush, Nimbus hot on its tail. Sera, forgetting all about creepy-crawlies, tore off after them.

“Nimbus, come back. Here kitty, kitty. Oh you silly cat. Nimbus, you get back here right now.”

Sera kept calling as she chased after him, every now and then catching a streak of white ahead. Finally she burst out of the brush onto a large path, panting. She was covered in leaves, as well as scratches. A little further down the path sat Nimbus, calmly licking his front paw, oblivious to his master’s annoyance.

“Don’t you ever do that again, you scared me silly.” Sera was still grumbling as she walked towards him, pulling leaves out of her hair and wincing as she realized just how many scratches she’d actually acquired on this romp. Just as she got near him he trotted off the path towards a giant oak tree.

“Oh no you don’t, Mister. We’re not doing that again!”

Sera sped up, reaching down to grab the cat when he suddenly vanished from sight. Unsure what had happened, she took another step forward calling to him.

“Nimbus, where are you?”

She was pursing her lips to whistle, her legs still carrying her forward, when her foot scraped against something metal. She squatted down to get a closer look and lost her balance, falling forward. Her hands landed on smooth metal that sloped down. Already off-balance she slid head first into the darkness. At the bottom of the slope, she fell onto something soft. Clouds of dust had flown up in the air on her landing. She sneezed just about the same time that something else in the dark did as well. Frozen in place she listened to the silence, alert for the slightest noise. Just as she was able to start making out vague shapes in the darkness a light snapped on. Sera blinked rapidly, desperately trying to adjust her eyes to the light.

She found herself in a large room. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled to brimming with books, photos, drawings, and knick-knacks. Arranged in a circle in the middle of the room were two green and yellow overstuffed chairs with ottomans and a large burnt-orange sofa. Beside each was a table with a lamp and sitting next to the lamp that was lit was Nimbus. A quick survey of the room revealed that she and Nimbus were the only occupants.

“Well then, who turned on the light?” Sera, baffled, spoke out loud.

Sera pushed the pile of pillows she had landed on out of the way and gingerly got to her feet. She didn’t seem to be hurt and was as curious about where she was and how she got there as she was about the mystery of the light. Nimbus, tired of waiting for attention, meowed loudly and got to his feet, winding himself around the table. The light went out. The light came back on. Sera laughed out loud as the trick finally dawned on her. She walked to the nearest table, reached out and touched the base of the lamp. The light clicked on. They were touch lamps. Nimbus had turned the light on initially when he jumped up on the table. Emboldened by having one mystery solved, Sera turned on the other lamp so that she could examine the room more closely.

It was obvious that no one had been here in a very long time. Dust covered everything, and the only visible tracks belonged to her and Nimbus. From the number and size of the cobwebs draping the room, it housed a large spider population. Turning her attention to the entrance revealed a steep, metal slide from the ground above. She realized she’d have to figure out how to get back up that slide before too long. Next she walked over to the wall, running her hand along the rough surface which seemed to be rock. Evidently this was a natural cave that someone had turned into a play room. From the manner in which it was decorated, Sera guessed it belonged to a girl.

Something behind the couch caught her attention so she went to get a closer look. In the area behind the couch, books and papers were piled high on the floor. She looked at the shelves on the wall, so orderly and organized and then looked back at the mess on the floor. Something didn’t feel right. She moved in closer and caught a faint smell. Leaning over close to the books Sera could smell smoke. She picked up a book from the top of the pile and the pile collapsed, sending waves of dust up and out through the room. Sera dropped the book and covered her face just in time for another sneezing fit. When she finally regained control of her sinuses and the dust had settled back down, she surveyed the damage. Haphazard to begin with, the books were now in a state of total chaos. Nimbus picked his way carefully across to her, stopping to sneeze a few times and then gazing reproachfully at her.

“Sorry Nimbus. I’m not crazy about the dust either. Let’s see if we can figure out how to get out of here and get some fresh air.”

As she turned towards the entrance, Nimbus leapt from the pile sending more books flying and dislodging a large rolled parchment that tumbled to the ground at Sera’s feet. She picked it up and unrolled a portion of it, draping it over the back of the sofa. It appeared to be a family tree, a tree of one very large and complicated group of relatives. There were hundreds of names on it, elegantly imprinted in calligraphy with multicolor lines tracing back up towards the top. Just the portion she was looking at dated back to the late 1800’s. It was absolutely beautiful and only another sneezing fit kept Sera from unrolling the entire piece and studying it. With a sigh of regret, she rolled it back up and placed it on the couch for safekeeping.

Nimbus sneezed again, shook his head, and then raced up the slide and out of sight. Sera, astounded by how the cat had just run up a smooth metal surface without slipping, decided to give the entrance a closer look. The slide, about 5’ wide, was slick steel for most of the surface. However there was about 1 ½’ on the left side covered in carpet the same color as the slide. She’d had to look really close to spot it. Satisfied that she’d found an easy out, Sera rearranged the pillows at the bottom, turned all but one lamp off, and started up the slide to the exit.

She reached the top and stepped back out into the woods. Blinded by the dazzling sunlight she leaned against the ancient oak. When she could see again, she made her way back to the path looking for Nimbus.

“Nimbus? Now where have you run off to? I’m not ever bragging about how well-behaved you are again. Nimbus! Come on now, it’s time to head home.”

Frustration turned to worry as Nimbus still didn’t appear. She kept whistling for him while she turned in a slow circle, hoping to see a flash of white. Finally she heard rustling to her left and turned to face that direction, whistling louder. She stepped back in surprise as Greg pushed his way out of the thick vines.

“Lost something little FlameTop?” His voice drifted towards her, mocking her. “Hmm, maybe I could help,” he added, breaking into a malevolent grin, his face hardening like stone. He raised his arms, showing Sera the furiously struggling white cat that he was holding captive. Nimbus began meowing loudly, his back claws struggling to find some purchase that could aid his escape.

“You should’ve been nice to me FlameTop. Now I’ll have to teach you a little lesson. Don’t worry; I’ll try not to hurt him too badly.”

“What are you doing Greg? Put my cat down right now.”

Greg’s grin turned to a scowl and he tightened his grip on Nimbus, who squirmed even harder and was now loudly announcing how unhappy he was with this situation.

“They say cats always land on their feet, should we test that theory? What say I throw this white sack of fur as hard as I can at that tree – if he lands on his feet he shouldn’t be hurt too badly, right?”

“Greg, are you insane?!? Put Nimbus down, please?” Sera stood there, pleading with the bully, her body shaking from fear and adrenaline, tears building up in her eyes.

“Well, isn’t that sweet. Let me think about it for a minute . . . umm . . . no. I think my answer is no. Next time you’ll think twice about giving me any lip, won’tcha FlameTop?”

As Greg raised his arms higher a tidal wave of rage engulfed Sera. Her hands closed into fists, fingernails biting into her skin hard enough to raise blood. The wind suddenly kicked up, sending leaves and debris dancing across the path in a miniature tornado. Without knowing she meant to do it, Sera raised both arms even with her shoulders, palms facing out towards Greg.

“Put him down RIGHT NOW,” she roared.

Greg was startled into silence, frozen in place. The wind was now tearing through the area with a whistling that was deafening. The vines surrounding Greg and Nimbus were now whipping so violently that Greg started forwards toward the path in an attempt to escape their fury. Sera stood still, hair flying wildly around her head, unaware of anything but Greg. Her complete attention was on him, her eyes narrowed in focus.

The vines behind Greg suddenly came to life, wrapping around his feet and winding up his legs. He yelped in fear and pain. Dropping Nimbus he reached down to claw at his legs. Nimbus raced to Sera and began looping around her feet, his meowing growing in urgency. Sera, lost in her focus of Greg, didn’t even hear the cat. The vines had now pulled Greg to the ground. Thin branches from a nearby bush were stretched out and lashing at the boy, who now had his arms crossed over his head protecting his face. His whimpers had turned into cries of real pain and tears washed tracks down his dirty face.

Sera’s vision had tunneled until Greg was the only thing she saw. Red curls beat across her face and still she didn’t blink. Greg suddenly screamed as the vines contracted, dragging him back towards the thick underbrush. Nimbus was now on his hind legs, claws embedded in Sera’s jeans, desperately trying to get her attention. Greg was fighting wildly now, hands digging deep in the dirt trying to pull out of the clutches of the greenery. He was losing the battle and his ankles had already disappeared into the brush.

“Sera stop it. Get control of yourself. STOP!”

The woman’s voice did the one thing Nimbus couldn’t – it got Sera’s attention. Sera blinked and the wind died. She shook her head, finally feeling the pain in her legs and looked down. Nimbus was still on his hind paws stretching up her leg. She scooped him up and hugged him tightly, the tears hanging at the corner of her eyes breaking free at last. Greg surged forward on the ground as the vines melted back into the woods. He jumped to his feet, staring wildly at Sera. He sensed movement across the path and snapped his head around just as Cressida broke out onto the path.

“Witches! You’re both . . . and you . . . I’m telling my DAD!” Greg turned tail and ran, legs pumping furiously as he disappeared around the bend.

Cressida watched the boy’s rapid departure, a shrewd expression on her face. The she turned to Sera, who was white as a ghost and still shaking, clutching Nimbus close to her chest.

“Oh Sera,” she sighed, walking over to the shaken girl, “what happened?”

Sera looked blankly up at Cressida, tears still running down her face. She shook her head unable to speak. Cressida pulled the girl into a hug, cat and all. This act of kindness undid Sera, who began wailing like a lost calf.

“He . . . Greg . . . he was going to hurt Nimbus. He said he was . . . going to . . . throw him up against a TREE! All because I wasn’t nice to him. What is wrong with him?”

At this she dissolved again, burying her face in Cressida’s shoulder. Cressida waited until Sera had calmed down a bit, then she gently forced the girl’s head up. Looking directly in Sera’s frightened eyes, Cressida asked her to tell her the whole story, from the beginning. Sera took a few deep breaths and then started from her and Nimbus in the back yard. When she reached the part about the hidden room with the slide entrance Cressida turned pale.

Sera stopped, watching in astonishment as Cressida jumped to her feet spinning in a circle and looking carefully around the clearing. Sera followed Cressida, who was now stumbling towards the entrance of the underground cave. She stopped just short, dropping to her knees on the fallen leaves carpeting the ground. Sera settled beside her, finally letting Nimbus down. The cat sat beside her, his back side pressed up against Sera’s leg, both seeking and giving comfort. Cressida looked at Sera, her face reflecting her anguish.

“How did you find it? It’s invisible if you don’t know it’s there. You never should have been able to get in.”

“I didn’t actually find it, Nimbus did. I just went in after him. So the room is yours? You haven’t been here in a long time, have you?”

“Not since shortly before my family was killed. My dad made it for me. It was our special place, my safe house.” Her voice cracked at this last, and she took a deep steadying breath.

“We’ll talk about this later, Sera. Right now we have a more pressing concern. Greg will be telling his father what happened, glossing over his own role I’m sure. I need to know what happened so I can plan a response.”

Sera, calmer now, told Cressida everything she could remember about the encounter with Greg. When she finished she looked fearfully up at Cressida, fully expecting to be called a liar. Instead Cressida was eyeing her with something akin to awe.

“You called out the vines and bushes? It took me 3 years of formal training to be able to get vines to respond. Whew, remind me not to make you mad! Seriously though Sera, you could have really hurt him. I want you to promise me you won’t use your powers again until I’ve trained you properly.”

Sera gravely nodded agreement. Cressida gave her another brief hug and pulled her to her feet.

“Okay, let’s head back. On the way I’ll figure out some way to deal with Greg, and Greg’s father, who will be beating on your door shortly.”

The two walked into the woods, heading home. Behind them on the path in the clearing, a wisp of black smoke appeared. The smoke thickened, trailing towards the ground. It began to collapse, compacting down into a solid mass. Legs and pinchers formed, followed by a long tail with a sharp point at the end. The smoke finished molding into the shape of a deadly black scorpion. It flexed its tail experimentally, and then let it fall back into an arch over the scorpion’s back. Within seconds it scuttled into the woods, following the path of the two females.

***

Sera sat in the living room, curled up in a chair with Nimbus in her lap, distancing herself from the argument that was raging. Cressida knew Greg and his father, Lance, very well. Sera had barely made it back in the house before they were beating on the front door. Her parents had welcomed them in, eagerness to meet their new neighbors quickly fading to disbelief tinged with anger as the purpose of the visit came clear.

Galen Ulric, normally a mild-tempered man fluent in political byplay, was growing red in the face. He was facing Lance, who was pacing in agitation, relaying the story his son had told him. Greg was standing by the wall, arms crossed, glaring at Sera. Sera finally tuned in to the end of Lance’s speech, curious to hear how Greg had painted the encounter.

“My son was just walking in the woods and your daughter attacked him.”

Galen’s reaction was instantaneous, “Do you really expect me to believe that my daughter beat up your son? He’s twice her size for crying out loud.”

Lance laughed, “As if size matters with you people.”

“What exactly is THAT supposed to mean? Us people who?”

“You know what I’m talking about, witches.”

“Witches?!? Have you gone completely outside of your brain? There’s no such thing and I’m finding this conversation utterly ridiculous.”

Lance paused, sensing Galen’s reaction was genuine. “Do you mean to tell me your family does not practice magic?”

Galen had backed away from Lance, positioning himself in front of his wife and daughter in a protective manner. He was regarding Lance as if he were a madman. “I have no idea what you are talking about and this conversation is over.”

Lance, unsure of himself now, had actually started towards the door when Greg suddenly shouted, pointing at Sera.

“Ask her! Ask the little witch what happened.”

Galen, looking at Greg with real distaste, turned towards his daughter. “Do you mind telling us what happened, Sera?”

Sera looked up at the adults, and one angry boy, who were now all staring at her. She kept her voice soft, gently stroking Nimbus’ back.

“Nimbus and I went to explore the woods. He saw a mouse and chased after it and I lost sight of him. I came out in a clearing and Greg was standing there, holding Nimbus. He was threatening to hurt him to teach me a lesson about how important it was to be nice to him. Out of nowhere the wind went crazy. Leaves and branches were flying everywhere. They scratched me pretty badly.”

Here Sera held up her arms, showing the bleeding scratches that ran up and down.

“I’m not sure what happened, but I think Greg fell. He freaked out, dropping Nimbus, and took off through the trees just as the wind stopped. I came back home. That’s about it,” she finished.

"That's not all that happened, Dad," Greg yelled. "The witch from next door was there too. They're in it together. Ask her! Ask her about that why don't you?"

Sera looked up at Lance, her face the picture of innocence. "The nice lady from next door did show up. She called after Greg, but he had already run off. She helped lead me back home. I was so upset I was afraid I would get lost and not be able to get back here."

During her story Lance’s face had turned an alarming shade of purple. He walked over and knelt down in front of Sera.

“What you experienced is called a Wind Burst, Sera. It’s similar in nature to a tornado and can be just as destructive. They are quite common around here and Greg should have known what it was as soon as it happened. I’m truly sorry about this incident, I’m sure it must have been quite terrifying for you. As for the lady next door, her name is Cressida and she is an absolutely wonderful person. I'm glad she found you and helped you back home.”

He stood and approached Gwen and Galen, putting out his hand to Sera’s father who, after a brief hesitation, grasped it and shook.

“I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience folks. I hope to meet you again under better circumstances. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to have a long talk with my son about the consequences of lying and bullying. Greg, let’s go.”

Greg didn’t move, torn between wanting to argue and fear of his father. Lance, deciding Greg wasn’t moving fast enough, strode over and grabbed Greg’s arm. He dragged the bewildered boy out of the house and down the street, chastising him the entire way.

Sera fell back in her chair, the tension in her body released. Her parents were standing there shocked, her father’s hand still outstretched from the handshake. He shook his head and followed his wife over to check on Sera.

“Are you okay honey? We need to get something on those nasty scratches to make sure they don’t get infected.” Gwen pulled Sera out of the chair and hustled her down the hall to the bathroom.

Her father called after her, “Hey Punkin’, how about we cook out in the backyard tonight? Hotdogs and hamburgers? I’ll run to the store real quick and then we can get started.” He kissed the top of her head before being pushed out of the way by Gwen, who had an armload of band-aids and scratch cream. He stopped long enough to scratch Nimbus behind the ears before heading out the door.







What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
- unknown