Page 27 of Whispers of the Elderoak

She obeyed and swallowed the pills, chasing them with a cool gulp of water, realizing how thirsty she was. Her head was pounding incessantly, forehead especially tender near the injury.

Setting the cup on the nightstand, she took a shuddering breath. “What happened?”

“I was worried about you in the storm,” he explained. “When I got here, the front door was open, and you were on the floor. It looked like you had fallen and hit your head. You were unconscious so I carried you upstairs and treated your injury.”

Ava looked around and then back at Henry. “Did you see anyone else? Someone in the house?”

“No, it was just you.” Henry scrunched his brow. “It looked like you went outside and then when you came back in, you slipped.”

No, that wasn’t right. She never went outside. She was running away from the kitchen, the creature chasing her. Then she fell and everything went black.

“What about footprints? There were footprints leading from the front door all the way to the office.” She fidgeted with the comforter. “Did you see them?”

“No. I saw muddy footprints from when you went outside. The rest of your house was clean and untouched.”

“But IknowI saw something.” She shook her head. “Someone was in my house.”

Henry pondered, obviously not believing her. “I think you hit your head so hard you don’t remember exactly what happened. You were in and out of consciousness for hours.”

“No, I remember it very clearly. I saw it,” she insisted. “It had claws and sharp teeth and chased me!” Her voice rose, hands starting to shake.

“The power was out. You couldn’t see well in the dark and between the lightning and noise of the storm, your eyes must have been playing tricks on you.”

“Don’t patronize me, Henry. I know what I saw,” she spat, anger making an appearance at his apparent disbelief.

Henry put his hand on hers. “I’m not patronizing you. I’m just saying sometimes when we’re scared, we can’t trust our memories.”

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. He wasn’t going to believe her. It wouldn’t help the situation if she took her frustrations out on him.

“Have you seen Luna?” she asked, changing the subject.

She had told Henry about her companion not long ago, and while he had caught glimpses of her every so often, she seemed to remain hidden from everyone except herself and Eleanor. Though sweet and affectionate, Luna still came and went as she pleased and Ava assumed she was wary of most strangers, including Henry.

“No.” He shook his head. “She wasn’t here when I got here.”

“I hope she’s okay…” she wondered.

“I’m sure she’s fine.” He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at her. “She’s a wild animal. They know what to do in a storm.”

“I guess so,” she said, looking out the window as if she could will her friend to appear in the yard.

“You need to stay in bed today,” said Henry, voice soft. “I can stay with you for a little while if you’d like.” Brushing his fingers over her jaw, he planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll get ready to go make you breakfast.” He rose from the bed and left the room.

She lay back down and mulled over last night. The dream where Luna spoke to her and the invader in her house. Though she was shaken by the events over the last few weeks, a small part of her wasn’t surprised. There was a deep truth that had been hovering just below the surface ever since she was a child, and it was on the verge of revealing itself.

It was all connected somehow but she couldn’t quite puther finger on it. Whatever was going on seemed to be escalating and after Luna’s urgent warning last night, Ava was determined to find the map.

She’d invite Eleanor over to help in a couple of days and together they’d try to figure out the clue and search the property. If there truly was a map that led to a portal on her acreage… Well, she’d figure out what to do then.

“Is thereanything I can help you with?” Henry asked as he followed Ava into the house after they finished the morning chores on the farm.

“No, I think I got it,” she answered.

Eleanor was coming over later tonight and Ava wanted to clean up and run to the store before she arrived. They made their way down the hallway into the kitchen and Henry reached for his keys on the counter.

“Okay, then,” he said as he leaned in. “I need to get going. I have some errands to run.”

He kissed her, winding his hands into her unbound hair as she returned the fervor, arms around his neck. She moaned into his mouth, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss.

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