Ravenswood Ch. 06

"Shush...shush, he's tougher than he looks." Lisa pulled up a small chair from the corner of the room and sat down next to the bed. "I guess it's time to explain a few things about your boyfriend."

"First of all, I'm not really his sister, although he treats me like one most of the time," she smiled gently and took Maura's hand. "I'm actually his cousin. Jason's mother died when he was seven and his father, a very powerful guardian, spent most of his time away protecting our village."

"So Jason grew up with his aunt, my mom, and me. When he was twelve and coming of age, his father was killed violently. It was a bitter time for Jason. He swore on his father's grave that he would never follow in his father footsteps. He never wanted to develop his gifts."

"So it's lain dormant all these years. But power can be a dangerous thing when left unchecked and triggered by emotion rather than wisdom." She reached over and caressed Maura's cheek, wiping away the tears. "Last night those men were taking you away from him. I know how much he cares for you and wants to protect you."

She turned to Lisa as hope filled her heart. "You do?"

Lisa nodded. "I can see it in his eyes, the way he looks at you. He's never looked at anyone else like that. I know that look; he'd give his life for you."

Lisa sighed. "Until now he has refused to accept that there are forces in the outside world that would seek to destroy him without some sort of protection. We all thought he'd eventually see the truth and come back to us but he's so stubborn."

"The charm..." Maura murmured softly.

Lisa nodded. "A small protection to keep him safe."

Maura felt her mouth again. "But it was removed."

"Once my grandmother met you and saw into your heart she knew that there was no need for a barrier between you and Jason. She believed that you could do a better job of protecting him than a simple charm. But she didn't count on you becoming so careless and others coming so soon to drag you off."

Maura leaned on her elbow to prop herself in her bed. "I let my guard down. That was stupid of me. I guess I should have expected that there were going to be others after the incident at the bar. When I met you and Vera and all the others I felt so safe, especially with Jason."

Lisa stood up and grabbed Maura by the shoulders. "So start using your head, damn it! You're a Terrian. You're a born hunter; it's in your blood. Until he's better and begins his training you're going to have to help us out here. If nothing else comes of what happened tonight at least he should finally realize that he has to do something more to protect you both. He should finally realize that he can't rely on others anymore."

Maura sat silent for a moment. She remembered the feelings that welled up inside her as Jason nuzzled her neck and shoulders. Her face felt warm as she turned to Lisa. "Can I talk to you about something? I mean, my mom died when I was young and...well, there are things I just don't know anything about, you know, girl stuff...and, well...I really don't have anyone else I can talk to."

Lisa's eyes began to glisten. "Oh, wow...okay, wow, absolutely!" She grabbed Maura into a big hug. "I've always wanted a sister I could talk to!"

"Me too!"

Lisa continued to hold Maura tightly. "I can't believe I'm hugging a Terrian!"

"I'm glad you are!"

Lisa sat back down and smiled as Maura sat up and wiped the drowsiness out of her face. Maura's face felt warm again. She took a big breath then let it out slowly. "When I was a little girl, I never thought about the things like I do now, when Jason is around. He makes me anxious, and excited, and...oh Lisa, he makes my heart flutter and my chest feel tight."

Lisa reached forward and squeezed Maura's hand. "I know the feeling."

"I don't know what to do, how to act, anything. Since I was ten my father was all I've ever been with. Of course I could never ask him, he wouldn't understand. On Terrus, we kept to ourselves and trusted no one. My mother died when I was very young and then the D'liache clan started hunting us. There was no time to do anything but run. Then I came here and met Jason...I-I never thought these thoughts before, but now..."

Lisa offered a melancholy smile. "Shush, shush, I know. I've been there, too many times to count." She patted Maura's hand. "When I was barely a teenager I was devastated by my first love, he..." She turned as the bedroom door opened.

Vera peeked in. "Hi." She turned to Maura. "Jason's awake and he's asking for you." Vera stepped back and softly closed the bedroom door.

Maura leaned up in bed. "I need to see him."

Lisa stood up and held Maura's arm. "I know. Can you stand?"

Maura smiled bleakly then hugged Lisa. "Yeah, a bit wobbly, but I'm okay." Maura's feet touched the floor. Lisa steadied her a moment and then she carefully crossed the bedroom floor towards the door. She turned back to Lisa. "Thank you. You don't know how much it means to me to know that you are here. Can we talk some more later?"

Lisa smiled. "Sure...after lunch?" Maura nodded as she walked out her bedroom door.

The door to Jason's bedroom opened slowly and Maura peeked her head in to see him lying quietly on the bed. Vera sat across the room in an old stuffed chair, her lap filled with knitting yarn. She turned to Maura standing in the doorway.

"Come in dear," Vera whispered, "he's awake."

Maura tiptoed over to the bed and paused. She reached out and gently laid her hand on his chest. His breathing was strong and steady, and both of his hands were covered in bandages.

"I made a salve to heal his burns then Lisa and I wrapped his hands. He'll be fine in a couple of days, he's very strong and heals fast."

Maura turned to Vera. "I'm so sorry, Vera, I've been totally stupid. It would never have happened if I hadn't let my guard down."

Vera leaned back, tilted her head slightly, and looked at her serenely. "Nothing happens by chance, my dear. Providence sets tasks before us so that we can learn and grow. The challenge is to discover the lesson. You must trust yourself. Jason does and so do I."

"Thank you." Maura turned towards Jason, her eyes glistened and her cheeks were damp. But what would have happened if she did bite him?

Vera's now familiar voice drifted through Maura's mind. She turned to Vera. "I'm not quite sure, but I do know that you wouldn't hurt him even if you did bite him. You heart tells me that much is true. You have a special bond with him that none of us have ever seen before. Right now I'm watching your beautiful aura blend with his. The energy that surges between the two of you is truly remarkable. Trust your heart dear; it won't ever lie to you."

Maura turned from Vera to Jason, still in a peaceful slumber.

Vera smiled as she stood and walked over to Maura. "You'll work it out, Maura; I have no doubt."

There was a twinkle in her eyes as her words drifted into Maura's mind again. "Besides, I'm expecting great-grandbabies to spoil someday!" Maura's face suddenly felt hot. She turned to Vera's inscrutable smile and took a big breath only to let it out slowly, still flustered.

"How about something to eat, you must be starving after all that excitement." Vera's subtle smile faded as she picked up her knitting and walked to the bedroom door. "Sit here a while, Lisa will call you when it's ready."

The latch on the door clicked as Vera closed it. Jason's eyes fluttered open briefly and then closed. He sighed and then opened them again. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Maura whispered, laying a hand on his chest.

"You had me worried, I thought I was going to lose you."

"They were from Terrus. I wasn't thinking clearly and got careless. They walked in right behind me and had me before I could escape." Maura gently touched his bandaged hands, "I'm sorry for all of this."

"Why did you run away, was it something I did wrong?"

"No, well, yes, I mean-." Maura paused a moment to gather her thoughts. It was time for the truth. "When you kissed me I couldn't...I felt like I couldn't control myself. I felt like...if I stayed I was going to bite you. I was losing myself. If that happened I...and if I lost control, I thought I might kill you. I had to run away."

"I'm tougher than I look," Jason said meekly, lifting his two bandaged hands, "even for Terrians." He spread his arms and beaconed Maura into them. She climbed into bed and settled in beside him, snuggling close to his chest. "Next time if I nibble on your neck you get to nibble on mine...okay?"

Maura let out a big sigh. "Okay, but we need to talk about this..."

"Shush, later," Jason murmured as they both fell into a deep and peaceful slumber.

Twenty minutes later, the bedroom door opened slowly and Lisa peeked her head in. Maura was nestled in Jason's arms and both were asleep. She turned to Vera. "They're both sound asleep."

Vera nodded, motioning Lisa away from the door. "The stew will keep until later. It's best they get their rest. They will need it for what lies ahead."

Lisa quietly closed the door and turned to Vera. She knew the answer even before she asked it. "Do you think others will come?"

Vera walked to the couch and picked up her coat. She turned to Lisa. "I'm sure of it. We need to make plans to move them to the village for safe keeping until Jason can defend himself."

"What can I do?"

"When Jason called for help after Maura ran away, I found his father's books and brought them here to get him started with his training. I think he realizes that he can no longer keep his vow and hide in the human world. Maura has changed all that. For now, keep watch while I prepare my home for two unexpected guests." Vera grabbed her hat and walked towards the door.

"Grandmother, I like her."

"I do too, a lot." Vera turned and walked out the apartment door. Lisa held it open as her grandmother descended the steps and walked to a waiting car. She walked out to the porch railing. Across the street that ran in front of the parking lot, two sets of eyes, hidden behind bushes, watched intently as Lisa's grandmother got into a car and drove off.

Lisa turned to run down the stairs when suddenly, there was a flash of steel in the sunlight. The two watchers slumped against the tree, their heads cleaved from their bodies. A lone figure emerged from the shadows. His stout frame shielded their lifeless forms from the morning sunlight. He wiped his blade and returned his long sword to a scabbard, then slipped it into a long slender case that normally would carry a carpenters level.

The lifeless watchers were quickly placed into large black trash bags and carried out of the bushes one by one. They were flipped into the back of a city work van parked nearby. The street was quiet; no one seemed to notice an ordinary city worker just cleaning up some clutter at the edge of a city park.

As the stout, bearded man closed the rear doors of the van, he looked up and down the street. A symbol emblazoned on the right breast of his coveralls looked like a golden dragon encircling the earth. As he neared the driver's side door, he waved to Lisa standing at the third floor porch rail. She tipped her hand off her forehead in a mock salute as the man slipped in behind the wheel of the van. The van pulled slowly away from the curb; turned the corner, and then disappeared with a pop.

Lisa smiled subtly and gently closed the front door to Jason's apartment.

Maura walked out of Jason's bedroom. "Hi, I guess we missed lunch."

"Not really, you guys were so sleepy we didn't want to wake you, here sit at the counter and keep me company."

Maura moved over to the counter and joined Lisa standing at the stove to ladled up a bowl of stew and set it in front of Maura. She filled one for herself and joined her.

"Hmm, this stew is good, did you make it?"

"No, grandmother, her cooking is yummy, isn't it." Lisa took a few more spoonfuls then set her spoon down. "When he wakes up, there is going to be an argument, and I want you to back me up, Maura."

"About what?"

"His father's books, grandmother brought them down for him to begin studying."

Maura looked confused. "And that's what the argument will be about?"

Lisa nodded. "He's stubborn. But he has to see now that he just can't hide in the human world any longer, not and keep you safe anyway. He has to see that."

Maura nodded and finished her stew; she took Lisa's and her bowls to the kitchen sink as Jason emerged from the bedroom wiping sleep from his eyes. Maura stood in the kitchen; she crossed her arms and smiled as Jason stumbled across the floor, barely awake, heading for the kitchen refrigerator. "Grandmother made you stew, you should have some."

Jason peered at her from sleep-ridden eyes and grimaced. "She was here?"

Maura nodded. "She made the suave that's healing your hands."

"Oh boy, I guess I'll get an earful later," he groaned.

Lisa slammed a wooden box onto the island counter. "Not until I'm finished," she added with determination, "start studying, mister."

Jason brushed past her and opened the refrigerator door. "What are you talking about? It's too early for a fight and my hands hurt."

"Jason, you can't hide from this anymore. Merlin's Fire is dangerous even for those who have trained to use it. It's a wonder you didn't take out the library building behind them." She stood defiantly with her arms crossed. "Grandmother and I can't keep running down here every five minutes because you have gotten yourself into another mess."

He glared at her then grabbed a carton of milk. He sat on a stool next to the island counter and offered her a sad puppy dog look as he rubbed his forehead with a bandaged hand.

"Grow up Jason! If you want to protect Maura then you're going to have to learn how to protect yourself. So here, these are your father's books. Grandmother brought them down when she heard what happened. You have homework to do, bucko." Lisa set her jaw and looked sternly at Jason. He raised his head, smiled sheepishly, and her countenance melted.

Lisa took his bandaged hands in hers. "Oh Jason, please. I don't want to argue about this anymore. Please. You can't avoid this any longer."

"Alright, but only because of Maura and not because of your needling. You know, you are a frustrating woman." He sloshed another gulp of milk from the cardboard carton. "Leave them there and I'll look at them later today."

Maura set a bowl of grandmother's stew in front of him.

"You promise?" Lisa demanded.

"Yeah, I promise," he added with a sigh.

"And I'll make sure he keeps his promise," said Maura leaning against his back and kissing his neck.

"Thank you...both." Lisa turned with a wink towards Maura.

Jason grinned sheepishly and set the milk carton on the counter. "Hey, how's your head?"

"Better now, how's your hands?"

"Healing quickly, my grandmother is a miracle worker." Jason moved towards the stove. "That stew looks good, I'm hungry. Lisa, want to stay for dinner? We have a full refrigerator now."

Lisa walked over to the couch and picked up a leather bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Thanks Jason but I want to go home. I haven't seen Carl in months and I miss him a lot." She wrapped a shawl around her neck as she turned to Jason with a stern look. "Remember, you promised. I'll be back soon, so there had better be progress, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I love you, too." Jason held his bandaged hands up in mock surrender as he crossed the distance between them and gave her a big hug and kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you in a couple of weeks."

Lisa walked over to Maura and hugged her firmly. "Keep watch over him for me," she whispered in Maura's ear. "We'll talk more when I get back."

She held Maura at arm's length and smiled. She grabbed her coat, and with a flurry of red hair, was at the front door. "I'll be back in two weeks to check on your progress...don't believe for a minute that I won't tell Grandmother if you're slacking off!" With a wave she was gone.

"She is a force to be reckoned with!' Jason pulled Maura into a big hug.

Maura looked up at him with a wisp of a smile. "How about more of grandmother's stew? I'm famished."

On the surface, his father's books looked rather non-descript. They looked old; beyond old, they looked ancient. On the cover of each leather-bound book was a strange and fantastic symbol that to Maura's eyes appeared cryptic. It looked like a golden dragon circling a planet - sort of like earth, but not. Inside, the words and images seemed to be jumbled without rhyme or reason. In some respects they sort of looked like a children's picture book and yet the images were smudged and distorted. Like they had been poorly printed.

After breakfast Maura sat on the couch and began to thumb through one of them. "Honestly, I can't make heads nor tails out of any of these books. The language appears to have a pattern but the words are jumbled and blurry so nothing makes sense."

"Hah," he chuckled, finishing his bowl of stew, "you're right. Even human books of nonsense make some sense, if only through their patterns of sound. Here watch what happens now." With a wave of his hand the symbols swirled on the page replacing the benignly jumbled words and images with an ancient text and illumination. The entire book seemed to rearrange itself.

Maura looked on. "That's one way to keep it out of the wrong hands. How did you do that?"

He returned the book into her lap. "I don't know. It's something that Yaol taught me years ago. I just move my hand a certain way with the proper thought in my mind and everything becomes clear."

The morning became noon and soon it was evening as Jason and Maura skimmed through one book after another, exploring the ideas and captivated by the imagery. As the last of the books were retrieved from his father's wooden box a small envelope slipped from inside the book cover and landed on the floor by her feet. She opened the envelope and read the note out loud. "Jason, these books have been handed down through fourteen generations of guardians to find their way into your life. Guard them well, my son. Richard." Jason sat quietly as Maura re-read the letter.

She turned her attention to the last book that sat in his lap. "Is that a bookmark?"

A marker extended from the book that sat open in his lap. Jason slipped his fingers around the bookmark and opened to the marked page. As he scanned down the page his eyes found a small entry near the bottom. "This is a warder charm. It's used to create a temporary barrier of protection. Look and see if there is a small pouch with stones inside the box. It shouldn't look to be anything special."

"Found it." Maura sat down next to Jason on the couch. "What are they?"

"Warding stones. They're much stronger than Grandmother's charm because they work locally. You place them about when we're here or carry them with you when you go out."

Maura touched her mouth. "I'm familiar with your grandmother's charms."

"Here's the incantation." He pointed to a line of text near the bottom of the page.

"That's okay, I'll leave that sort of stuff to you." Maura turned the bookmark over in her hands. "Jason, there's a note on the back of the bookmark. It says: 'Jason, Yaol is waiting for his apprentice to return.' Your grandmother signed it." There was that name again. "Who's Yaol?"

He held up the worn leather pouch and let four stones fall into the palm of his hand. "A guardian master. He trained with my father." Jason took a big breath then let it out slowly with a sigh. "Grandmother wants me to return to the village. Lisa does too. I've fought against this ever since I was twelve when I vowed I would never follow in my father's footsteps."

Jason closed his father's book and placed it on the floor beside him. He tumbled the black stones gently between his fingers as he studied them. "My father's funeral was different than all of the others that I had seen because my father didn't die quickly. I was told it was a slow and painful death. His body was mutilated beyond recognition."