After Dusk

Chapter Four

The drive to wherever Mckenzi is taking me takes at least three hours. By the time that we arrive, I'm groggy and homesick. My parents must have found my absence by now. Are they looking for me? Do Josh and Becky know? I shake the thoughts from my head. I can't think about that now. It hurts too much.

After I park in a seemingly packed parking lot filled with everything from rusty cars about to fall apart to top of the line cars that you'd expect to see in some sort of action movie, I pocket my keys and sling my bag over my shoulder. The chilly night air nips at my cheeks as I glance around, afraid to move away from my car. There isn't a building of any kind in sight. There's just forest as far as the eye can see, dark and foreboding.

"Uhm, Mckenzi?" I ask skeptically, fear rising in my throat, "where's the place that we're going?"

Mckenzi raises her eyebrows at me as if sensing my fear -or hearing it in my quivering tone. I try to calm myself down. Her expression doesn't read of malicious intent, though I'm hardly the best judge of character. She seems to expect my uncertainty and softens her expression to counter it. I see what I hope is sincerity in her eyes.

"In the forest. It helps us hide from human curiosity," she says already walking with a brusque pace into the woods. The words have barely come out of her mouth before she disappears into the thick of trees, leaving me standing uncertainly in the parking lot with my keys clutched in my hand.

I'm hesitant to follow her. I mean, what if she's only pretending to help me and she's really planning on killing me in those woods? Images of axe murderers in movies chasing down a screaming heroine flash before my eyes. A shiver runs down my spine. Maybe I should just leave . . . But what if she's only trying to help? She didn't see all that threatening, though I'm sure most people who die after following some stranger into the woods alone say that.

Resolutely, I hike my bag farther up my shoulder and march into the forest after Mckenzi. Leaves crunch under my feet as I try to catch up to her. The darkness is unnerving. Every sound is screamingly loud in the dark silence. An owl hoots in a nearby tree. I have to choke back a scream. I pause for a moment to catch my breath. Of course it had to be the woods in the middle of the night. Just my luck. I push on despite my fear, eager to be done with this nature hike from hell. Mckenzi proves to be a hard person to find. When I do find her, she's leaning back against a tree, tossing a ball of flame back and forth like it's the most natural thing in the world. Seeing me, she smiles kindly, "honey, your mouth is open."

Embarrassed though still relieved to be done with my solo hike, I snap my jaw shut. I try to squelch the curiosity that bubbles up inside of me but curiosity prevails.

"Who are you? I mean -who gave you your power?" I ask trying to remember all of the fire goddesses I read about in my moments of boredom. Thank goodness for the internet. Pele, Vesta, and Hestia come to mind, though I know there must be more. I allow myself a moment of silent praise for remembering that much.

Mckenzi smiles at me patiently, "my sire goddess is Brigit, Celtic goddess of fire and healing."

The name sounds familiar, I think I may have heard of this goddess before. A sudden worry hits me. Am I going to have to remember the names of all those gods and goddesses? I can't remember all that! There's a reason I'm failing math. . .

"Who're my sire gods?" I ask, intrigued. Maybe she'll tell me since the gods themselves had been less than forthcoming.

Mckenzi gives me an appraising look, pursing her lips. "I'm not sure. You could do some research in our library. It's quite impressive. We have many artifacts from the gods that may be of some use to you. You could also ask your sire gods, but good luck with that," she snorts, "usually gods decide to let us figure out our problems on our own. Between you and me, I think they just enjoy watching us scramble around for answers."