Witch of the Wild Woods

Epilogue - "What Planet is This?"

Epilogue - "What Planet is This?"

Taking the last good piece of advice his sister offered him, Lane actually gave himself a vacation. He hated every minute of it. 

 He'd spent the last two weeks at the Edgefield McMenamins' just outside of Portland lazing about in a suite on the second floor. Ordinarily, securing a reservation at this odd combination of a spa, winery, and resort would be impossible to book on a whim. Fortunately, the management had owed him and his family a favor after a particular 'supernatural complication' a few years back. Those were the perks of the life he lived. And while Lane had finally accepted the inescapable pattern of life as a paranormal problem solver, such a life wasn't without its disadvantages. Over the last few days, the disadvantages had finally begun to weigh on him.

The price Lane paid for living the life he'd been fated to endure was a double-edged sword. He'd traveled the globe well before his mid-twenties, gained otherworldly knowledge, skills, and a loving adopted family. But, knowledge and skill came at a heavy cost. As Lane sat at what had become his usual barstool at the Black Rabbit Cafe, he figured the bill had come due. He felt the heft of his Journal in the inner breast pocket of his vest. As heavy as that tomb of knowledge had become, it was lighter by far than the weight of losing his sister.

"A little early in the morning to be hitting the sauce, eh, kiddo?" Spoke a familiar voice.

Lane didn't raise his head from the cup he'd been staring at for the last half-hour, "It's coffee. Black. Glad you could make it, Uncle Dan." He didn't feel the need to mention the two-finger measure of Jack Daniel's he'd added to his second cup. As the onset of depression began to settle firmly on the young man's shoulders, seeking counsel seemed to be more productive than a rather costly bar tab over the last few days. Calling Uncle Dan had two advantages; one, he intimately knew the hardship of losing someone under supernatural circumstances. And two, he was available.

"Well, you won't begrudge me if I pour myself something from the top shelf then," Uncle Dan withdrew a flask from his tweed coat pocket. With the other hand, he'd reached over and poured the contents of the silver flask into Lane's cup of coffee, sipped it, and set it back down on the bar. "Where's your better half?"

Lane offered a small smile, grabbed the cup back from his uncle, and downed the remainder of the contents.

"Oh," Uncle Dan said quietly. "I see..."

Lane let out a breath that reeked of aged whiskey, coffee, and sorrow; "I know it's a sore subject, loss, but I thought you could offer some perspective?"

Uncle Dan looked his nephew up and down. The boy's shoulder's looked as though he'd traveled a hundred miles with the yolk of grief strapped upon them. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hands twitched sporadically. For everything he and Luna had been through, Daniel knew the crucible one's heart went through after losing someone so loved.

"Why don't you take it from the top then?" Uncle Dan suggested calling over the waiter, "I'll take care of Breakfast."

Over the course of eggs, pecan waffles, and another round of coffee, Lane recalled the whirlwind weekend at Camp Trillion Pines. At the time, seventy-two hours felt more like a month of a non-stop, all-out assault on his senses. All that death? It came back to him in waves of nightmares that made for many sleepless nights over the past two weeks.

Uncle Dan for his part seemed to take it all in stride. After another sip of coffee, he gestured for Lane to continue; "So, Luna, um, 'bonded' with this forest spirit to keep Mount St. Helens from blowing. What happened afterward?"

"Alice, the girl who'd previously been, to use your word, 'bonded' to the entity, we buried my friend, Aiden. There were a handful of others that we also managed to locate and pay proper respects to; Korri, Zoe, Cole, Brandon, and the groundskeeper, Doc."