Page 17 of The Mating Frenzy
The first two pages of the manuscript she’d already translated. It went on and on, a message of warning and doom about a terrible darkness seizing the land and destroying souls ofinnocents.
The words made her feel nauseated, as if she’d been reading prophecies. When she’d asked Danica, her friend and the head librarian at the university about the books, she’d shrugged and said they were a work of fiction penned by ancient Irishpoets.
Yet there was nothing poetic about these ominouspages.
Pen and paper on her desk, she concentrated. And then, at the very end of the page, there was a word sherecognized.
Dóchas.Hope.
Her eyes went to the word as if drawn by a lodestone. Ella struggled with the translation, saying the words aloud, writing them down and consulting her vocabulary list. Then she sat back and read aloud the entiretranslation.
“When the crystal of Calmach is claimed by the Wyld one, she will possess a power never before seen in the land. Only through bonding with the crystal of Calmach will the Wyld one defeat darkness and champion the feeble and unknowing. Fangs will tear and claws will rip, but until the Wyld one joins with the crystal, she will remainpowerless.”
Darcy meowed, and swished her tail, her green gaze regardingElla.
“What does it mean, Darcy? What is a wyld one? It soundshideous.”
The cat jumped off the bed and onto the desk. Ella petted her. “Don’t worry, my friend. I’ll protect you from thebeast.”
Her mother called out that dinner was ready. Ella shut off the laptop, locked it up and left the room, Darcyfollowing.
In the kitchen, she sat at the table, not hungry, but wanting to please her mother. Nellie set before her a thick steak. Ella’s mouth watered, but all she saw was dancing dollar bill signs on theplate.
“Mom, we can’t afford beef,” she saidgently.
“Yes, we can.” Nellie dished out a smaller piece on another plate, and sat down toeat.
Appetite gone, Ella toyed with her fork as Darcy wound around her legs and purred, as if to offerreassurance.
“Screw the bills. We don’t really have the money to pay for them. Maybe I should move out and go to Denver. I could find a better job, send you money and you wouldn’t have to live likethis.”
She’d voiced this idea in the past, and before, her mother always looked pale andfaint.
Not today. Nellie drew herself up. “I bought the steak with a small advance on my firstpaycheck.”
Ella sat up. “What?”
“And the cosmetics, I need the cosmetics, Ella. It’s an investment in my newjob.”
If her mother told her that she’d won the lottery, Ella couldn’t have been more stunned. “What job? You’re too frail towork.”
“Work at most jobs, which require me to stand for hours.” Nellie beamed. “I applied for a part-time position at a hotel in town. They need help with billing. And I have years of experience in accounting. It’s mostly desk work, and sitting. It’s only 20 hours a week for now, and from 5 to 10 at night. If I prove myself, it will grow to full-time. The pay is real good, honey. $16 anhour!”
Ella felt faint herself. With that much money, she could work less hours at the restaurant. And with the fall season nearing full swing, tips would cover therest.
We could finally start climbing out of debt. Maybe even buy a secondhandcar.
It was too good to be true. “How are you going to get there?” Their car had been sitting, dead in the driveway for six months, in need of a newbattery.
“Stan promised to drop me off in town and I can get a ride home from one of the girls at theoffice.”
Ella’s hopes sank. Stan. Not him. “I can get a new battery for the car,” she mused aloud. “It won’t cost thatmuch.”
Nellie frowned. “Stan said he wants to help. Please, Ella, try to be nice to him. He might end up being your newstepfather.”
I’d rather be nice to Jack the Ripper. She set down her fork and voiced the words she’d been gathering the courage to say forweeks.
“Mom, maybe it’s time I moved out. I don’t like Stan, and he doesn’t like me. I can get a good job in Denver, and send money to you when I getsettled.”
