Sanctuary: Grove Haven Commune, Book 1

Tara Snow

Amy and Greg slept in one of the guest houses that crawled up one of the streets. Tara slept in another Pom, ready to wake if Kendall did. She'd been lethargic and cranky that evening and Amy was tired and had a lot to think about. Tara took Kendall and rocked her to sleep singing in some haunting language.
She sat next to Kendall, a golden haired woman slim and tall. Her robe of silver grey silk hugging her form. Her wings which she'd shown to Amy and Greg were now out and lay ivory and Lavender to either side of her. "You should go." She said, "Take a walk, go eat at the cafe." "I'll be here if she wakes up." So Amy and Greg had gone out into the early evening air touched with the cool crispness of an autumn evening.
They'd sat at a table drinking white wine and eating appetizer's. The Hearth Cafe said the sign out front run by a kitchen witch of some skill Morgana had said.
There was the meeting house, the hall for communal meals, but sometimes the cafe was open every day for those who were tempted by the food. Greg ate another stuffed mushroom and sighed. "Its never going to be the same for us is it?" He asked. "No it won't." "We're Witches and that's something I want to explore." Said Amy.
Greg looked up from selecting another mushroom, "Me too." "Maybe we can still do our jobs, keep earning money." "But even if we don't and we can get jobs here, well I want to know." Amy's head lowered, "I want to practice medicine, I need to practice, whatever else happens." Greg nodded, "I think though that we should live here." "Link to a house or whatever." "Or to somewhere." "But we can't take Kendall back."
"Our families will want to see Kendall." Said Amy, "But how do we, I mean." "I know." Said Greg. "But they turned their backs on her." "On us." Said Amy. Grief filled her eyes for a long moment. "They told us just that when we left." "Either way it would be cruel to make whatever's happening to Kendall be hidden again." Said Greg. "What do you think of Tara?" Asked Amy, "She seems gentle with Kendall almost as if she were Kendall's other mother." Said Amy. "Morgana says that Tara has been doing this Haida thing for years, something she trained in." "She's been a Haida for seven families." "She almost quit after." Said Greg, "That poor boy." Said Amy lifting her glass.
A boy came over two plates of food hovering midair. He let them land gently without so much as a thump. "Hello." Said Amy, "Hey." Said the boy, all brown hair and brown eyes, gangly as a colt, looking to be about fourteen. "Neat trick." Said Amy, "Oh yeah." "I, well I have magic." Said the boy before he ducked his head, "I'm Carter."
Once he was gone Amy said, "That will take some getting used to." Greg dug into his burger and fries, moaned at the first taste of beef and tomato. Amy cut a sliver from her salmon and sighed in contentment. "I'm going to tell Morgana we want to be unblocked." "Or at least I do."
Greg nodded, "What do we do about Kendall?" "She needs to go to school but she's an Elf." "Aoife goes to regular school." Said Amy. "But Aoife is a human, well she's a witch but she can pass for human." Said Greg. "I get the feeling that once Kendall purges the iron that she'll never pass." "Even if Tara could cloak her wings or whatever, it would be cruel."
"Enjoying your meal?" Asked Seamus as he and Morgana walked through the door and veered toward their table. "Yes its good." Said Amy. "The sensitives around here are picking up on your worry." Said Morgana. "What's worrying you?"
"Kendall." "Once she's, healed or whatever how can she?" Greg asked. "She can't go to a regular school, there's iron everywhere, hell our car is steel which is mostly iron."
"Ah Morgana Seamus will you be eating?" Asked the waitress who'd been so kind to Amy and Greg, "We shouldn't." Said Seamus, "Oh please." Said Amy trying not to be desperate. Morgana nodded. "We'll join them." "I will have what Amy's having." "And I'll have the steak." Said Seamus sliding across from Greg. "The fact is." Said Seamus as he swirled a fry in the cafe's fry sauce, "Kendall can't go to a regular school." "You're right about that."
"But she can't stay at your apartment either." Said Morgana. Amy's head lowered. "Either we leave or." Greg sighed, "Why not let Tara take her?" Asked Morgana, "You can let Kendall stay here while she's purifying, and even after." "You can come back here next weekend, and we'll have a house for you both." "That fast?" Asked Amy.
"Houses are magically built." Said Seamus, "With a portal that you can use to get from here to the mundane world." "Or." Said Morgana. "You can let Tara keep her here, and you can visit on the weekends." Amy sighed, "And her school?" Morgana huffed, "Please, all that will take is a simple glamor spell." "The fact is." Said Greg, "We've agreed to be unblocked."
"If you have." Said Seamus, "That comes with benefits." "Unless you want to practice law, or medicine." "As part of a witch clan you will have entitlements to funds, as much and as often as you want them." "Most witch clans are so wealthy that everyone gets a stipend once a month." "Many choose to invest it, ensuring their children will be well cared for."
"What would I do if I didn't practice medicine?" Asked Amy, "You do what kind of medicine?" Asked Morgana, "I'm an ER physician." Said Amy, "As to that we need more healers." "You might be a healer." "What would you do if you didn't have to work?" Asked Seamus, "I'd bee an artist." Said Greg, "Illustration's."
"Well." Said Morgana, "There is time to thing about it." "All we know." Said Greg  "Is that we want to be unblocked."
Amy sighed, "I know Tara is capable." "But Kendall's your baby." Said Morgana, "I know." "But so does she." "She sees herself as caregiver, helper, guide, second mother yes, but she knows who the parents are." "I think." Said Greg, "We need to see her each weekend, at least for now." "We'll unblock our powers, but we'll stay in the Mundane for a while longer." "We don't discourage, everyone has his or her free choice." Said Morgana.
"I'll miss Kendall." Said Amy, "Bt  she needs to be here, or in the Elven realm, or wherever makes her most comfortable."
When they entered the house it was quiet. Tara was sitting sipping some tea, her eyes always on Kendall. "You both sleep." She said, "I don't need sleep, not for another five or six human days anyway." Amy nodded, "Is she sleeping?" "Yes but newborn Elves can sleep a great deal."
Amy nodded and she and Greg went into the bedroom laid out for them. They got into bed and moved toward each other. Quiet sighs, gentle hands, waves of desire filled the night. Their breathing rose, lowered as need filled them both. Greg's whispered moan was followed by Amy's soft sighing one. They lay together in the darkness, curled up and replete with their love between them.
Tara sat by Kendall, stroking her head and murmuring a quiet chant of Arvaylian. She lifted her hand as the first roll of thunder filled the air around the small house. She rose, walking to the window and looking out into the night. Rain fell in a torrent of drops as she lifted her face to the rain scented air, "Ogahri Shula!" She chanted and watched as a puff of air widened in front of her. It shimmered and Nina's face appeared, "How is she?" Asked Nina. "She's doing well, quiet she is and sleeping." Said Tara. "Good." Said Nina, "The parents are reasonable about her need for Elven things." Said Tara, "Its not like last time." Nina sighed with relief. "Well that's good at least." "So you'll be there then?" "Yes, but if I get their permission I'd like to take her to our homeland, so she can see where she hails  from." "If not that at least to the Elven enclave where you rule." Nina smiled, "We'd be happy to see you both at Everall forest house." "Keep me updated." Tara nodded, "I will Majesty."
With a shimmer the air closed and her contact broke. The scream had her bolting toward Kendall. She was sitting up in bed rocking before she fell back with a high moan.
Amy came bursting from the room followed by Greg. Tara was talking mind to mind with Kendall, stroking, cooing, gently rocking her. She saw what the girl saw, and blushed. She let the vision slide away from Kendall who quivered, went still and fell back to sleep. "She's just had a vision, it was more startling than frightening." "We Elven folk wander in spirit when we, sleep." "Hers wandered and when we do that, we see more, feel more." Tara explained. "What was it?" Asked Amy.
Tara blushed again, "You'll be having twins in April." Said Tara. "Kendall only felt your pain as you gave birth." "She didn't see it, but she did feel it." Amy goggled, "We never." "Your magic is going to be opened, it, brings forth life if thee." Tara cleared her throat, "Opportunity presents itself." Greg blushed then and Amy cleared her throat. "Thank you for being here for her." Said Amy instead. "That's what I'm here for." Said Tara settling next to Kendall again." "Her diaper needs changing." "I'll do that." Said Amy.
Tara rose and lifted her hands, "All right." "Then I'll just take a walk." "In this rain?" Asked Greg, "I like the rain, besides, Elves need to be able to fly in all weathers." Tara said, voice choked. she dashed out the door, unfurling her wings and taking to the rain sodden air.
She streaked toward a clump of trees and landed in one who's branches shielded her from the worst of the rain. There she howled her misery. "How could her beloved son and daughter be gone?" She asked herself, "How could her life now consist of taking care of Elven children who's parents were duds when it came to the richness of Elven power?" She sighed though as tears fell, thinking about the Chambers. They were at least good people. But she felt her own body quiver with love for that child. That's why she had to get away. The grief was raw. The pain fresh on this night.
Her life bonded mate and son and daughter had perished in a forest fire trying to save children. Fire as one of the few things that could kill Elves had taken her life along with the ashes that rose like clouds. She should have gone to a healing retreat afterword to deal with her grief. But she'd continued with her Haida training. Done weeping she called some of the air toward her, the water following to form a small waterfall of cold rain. She washed her face, hollowed out inside but able to keep herself together again.
Once in a while she had to do that, bleed off some of the poison inside her before she fell apart. She walked into the house and watched as Amy lay with Kendall, passed out on the couch. Sighing she went into the guest bedroom and lay down.