Of the Shadows

Chapter 2: Safe for now

The tiny humanoids buzzed in frustration. Several of them fanned out and walked the parameter of the protection circle. The circle stretched over roughly two acres. My mother worked under the guidance of my grandmother to make it. They were also the ones who made it clear that it was adamant that I let no one know that I could See. The creature I almost hit with my car stared at me and huffed before screeching a slightly different cicada noise, causing the others to disperse and dissappear into their firefly facade. I marched into the house and slammed the door behind me. My hands shook from the adrenaline.
"The salt, love." My mother spoke from her spot on the livingroom floor. I was already reaching for the bag to reconnect the line I had disturbed in front of the door. Mum sat cross- legged, her hands were working tediously on whatever craft project she was engaged in today. She muttered quietly to herself as she rocked softly side to side. Her wild red hair nearly touched the floor and hid what she worked on. She was beautiful and I loved her freckles and glass green eyes like an almost translucent piece of jade stone. She looked at me with those eyes, blonde brows creased with concern.
"They know?"
"Yes ma'am" I replied and nodded my head a couple times before I ran into her arms and cried. The security I felt in her arms allowed me to become overwhelmed in the terror I had felt and her shirt quickly became damp with my tears. My mother stroked my dark hair and kissed the top of my head as she coddled her grown child.
"I thought they were going to catch up to me before I could get home. They acted like they were trying to kill me!"
"They still might." My mother gripped my shoulders and held me away from her. "Okay, you've had your moment. Now breathe with me." My mother breathed in deep and I followed suit fighting the tears flowing from my eyes. We breathed out through pursed lips and repeated the action until my breath was steady and my body was calm. The item she had been crafting was a necklace made of hemp cord with little stones and iron beads woven into it. In the center was a good sized turquoise stone, it was larger than the rest and sat heavy on my chest. When I first put the necklace on a calm came over me and I felt suddenly grounded. Different runes that my mother had etched into the walls seemed to glisten like moonlight now, easy for my eyes to read. There was also one carved into the stone. Algiz; a strong protection symbol. It was a vertical line with two little arms sticking out of it like a stick figure's hand with 3 fingers.
"What fae were they?" My mom asked, going to her herb cabinet. She began shiffling through jars of dried plants and liquids.
"Little ones. They looked like grown people but were all around a foot tall. They had long hair on their heads that was as long as they were tall. Their eyes glowed yellow and they made insect noises."
"Small folk with long hair that get angry when they are seen. It reminds me of a story your father's mom once told me."
My dad's mom was full- blooded Cherokee. What I remember of her was long sleek hair as white as snow and wrinkles that rest on her face like they had been etched in clay. Her laugh lines were my favorite; when she threw her head back to cackle those lines would ripple from the corners of her mouth to her ears. She was a sweet, superstitious woman who loved me dearly. She passed before I hit double digits in age.
"They punish those who admit they've seen them. When you are outside of the protection of this house you will not speak of the little men. You will not acknowledge them. Keep that necklace on at all times, Love. Keep your guard up and your eyes open. The beings of the fairie realm will do their best to trick you into revealing your Sight to them. Just be careful Maura." My mother was shaken to her core. Those glass green eyes were glossy with tears.
"I fear life is about to become more chaotic than we are accustomed."
Mom let out a sharp sigh and began muttering to herself again. It made my heart heavy to see her like this. She would have such amazing moments of clarity where she is my mother, an awesome, able-to-do-anything kind of woman, with a alluring smile and a kind heart. Other moments, she is like a mental patient escaped from Woodstock . She blames her "spells" on the fairies, though my dad blames it on one too many acid trips.
As my mother warded the house repeatedly I picked up around the house calming my nerves. Insects chattered outside as if they were the rhythm to my mother's chanting. Only now I knew some of them weren't bugs. I wondered how long I would be safe here. As I rinsed the last dish in the sink and placed it in the drying rack my mom gently placed her hand on mine.
"Thank you but thats enough, child, its time to get some rest." My mother looked pretty tired herself. The night had brightened into the grey of twilight before dawn. I nodded at my mom and kissed her forehead goodnight before I drug my feet to my own bedroom and fell upon the bed. I knew then, as I drifted into uneasy slumber, that I could not stay and risk my family's safety for long.