Page 31 of Whispers of the Elderoak

“Good idea.”

Though the crickets had resumed their song, and the breeze once again whipped their hair, there was a nervous energy in the air. Eleanor pulled her blanket closer and followed Ava inside.

They sat at the kitchen table, a reminder of the night they discovered the book, and looked at each other.

“What if you get sick again?” asked Eleanor.

Luna leapt onto the table and pawed at the metal cylinder as if indicating it was safe to open. “Then I guess I get sick again?” Ava shrugged, trying to hide her nerves.

Heart racing, she ran her fingers along the sides and found the top, prying it open. As she slid out a rolled-up piece of parchment, she was relieved no supernatural sensations washed over her this time.

With shaking hands, she unrolled it, revealing a faded map of the farm.

There was the house, the flower field and forest beyond. A winding dotted line representing a path led deep into the forest from the side of the house, twisting and turning through the woods. Along the path were several landmarks. Stones or oddly shaped trees to mark the way. The path ended far into the woods, deeper than Ava had ever dared venture, opening into what looked like a clearing.

There it was. The portal.

Eleanor was looking over Ava’s shoulder and gasped. “There it is.”

“Yeah,” Ava replied, throat dry, unable to look away.

Eleanor pointed at the picture. An archway covered in symbols with a black abyss in the center lined in blue that seemed to leap from the paper.

“It’s true,” Eleanor whispered. “Like in the book.”

Ava set the map down and paced the room, the new information immediately sobering her. “I—I don’t.” She ran her shaky hands through her hair. “This can’t be real.” Eleanor watched her silently. “I’m just going crazy,” she rambled. “I haven’t been sleeping…. And—I just—I miss my mom… and this is my subconscious brain trying to make sense of things…. And?—”

Eleanor cut her off as she approached. “Stop. You’re not crazy. I’ve seen it all too, remember?” Ava looked at her and swallowed. “Your mom’s magic. The creature. The book and now the map,” Eleanor encouraged. “If this was some elaborate prank then kudos to whoever pulled it off.”

Ava sighed, sitting down at the table and placed her head in her hands. “What now?” she whispered.

“We go check it out.”

Ava’s gaze snapped to her friend. “We?”

Eleanor sat down beside her. “Sure. Indiana Jones, remember? Let’s explore.”

“What if it’s dangerous?”

“Then we plan.” Eleanor grasped her hand. “This is supposedly your home, Ava. Aren’t you a little curious?”

Ava bit her lip. “Well, yeah. But… we can’t just go through a random portal…”

“Why not?” Eleanor asked. “I’ll come over tomorrow evening and we’ll plan. We’ll just go through it and look around and then come right back.”

“I don’t know…” She closed her eyes. “What do I tell Henry?”

“Invent an excuse why you can’t hang out tomorrow. We’ll be back before he even realizes you’re gone.”

Ava narrowed her eyes at her friend. “I think this weed made you brave.” She laughed softly.

“Probably… but let’s do it before we chicken out.”

10

Ava sat on the porch, lacing up her tennis shoes as she waited for Eleanor to arrive. She couldn’t believe they were doing this. Couldn’t believe it was even real. It was impossible to wrap her mind around the fact that she was from another realm. She didn’t even know other realms existed until recently.

Ava wondered if her grandfather had been talking about this other realm when he told his mystical tales. Eorhan, Luna had called it. Were the fae actually real? Could they manipulate gravity and shoot lava from their fingertips like her grandfather had said?

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