In the Flesh by K D Grace

Author:K D Grace
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2016-09-19T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-three

“This is where I leave you, hon.” Talia laid a gentle hand on mine, and there was a tingle that felt a great deal like sympathy. “She won’t welcome a spectator, and I’m not all that keen on being one.” She squeezed my hand and turned back toward the tunnel.

I stood for a second, gathering my courage. The rain had stopped, but the forest was shrouded in mist and though there were bright bursts of light coming from inside the bothy, the surrounding fell side was sunk in false twilight.

I could smell heat, almost like a forge before I approached the bothy, but the place was icy cold. There was no smoke rising from the roof. In fact, the place felt deserted, in spite of the trail in the high grass which, to my surprise, was littered on each side with a menagerie of stone garden sculptures—woodland creatures of all sorts; from mice and voles, to rabbits, rats, even a fallow deer. Many were nearly lost in the high grass, and all were so realistic that the deer and the fox both startled me before I realized the gray in which they slunk was not shadow, but the stone from which they were carved. Walking softly through the wet, recently flattened grass, perhaps on some unconscious level fearing I’d startle the stone creatures, but more than likely because, no matter how much I wanted to clear the air with Magda Gardener, I really wasn’t looking forward to the woman’s company—especially after my conversation with Talia.

The closer I got to the door of the bothy, the colder I got. Though the ice I felt in the pit of my stomach had nothing to do with the temperature, which was rather mild under the circumstances, the temperature around the bothy, however, appeared to be its own little microclimate, for which I knew the Lake District was famous. But this was no valley, no dale; this was a place of magic. Though my breath came in icy clouds as I drew nearer, the scent of heat permeated the air. Flashes of pale light from within played havoc with my vision. The grass and the stone creatures nearest the entrance were coated in hoarfrost, hoarfrost that I felt coating my lungs as I breathed, chilling me in places that had never known cold before.

In spite of the chill, the bothy door was wide open. In fact there was no door at all and yet I had the very distinct feeling if I were not invited to enter, the lack of a door would not have mattered. I would have been forced to wait outside for eternity.

“Come in, Susan.” As though she had read my thoughts, I heard Magda’s voice before I actually saw her. But as I stepped across the threshold, I shivered as though I’d just walked through a very large spider web and, though the room was icy cold, the smell of hot metal grew stronger, as did the dance and glare of bright light.

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