Photos and Prophecies by Michael Anderle

Author:Michael Anderle [Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Paranormal; Occult & Supernatural, Young Adult Fiction, New
ISBN: 9798888785171
Google: 46Yo0AEACAAJ
Amazon: B0CB6HTMWQ
Goodreads: 198595347
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2023-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“You may return now,” Artemis called after Thea watched her father go.

Thea turned and wiped the tears from her face. She peered beyond the gate, unable to see anything past it. Not Charon’s boat, the ferryman himself, or Anwen. She hoped they were still there. “Yes,” she murmured. “It is time to go.”

The goddesses parted to let her through the gate. She walked past it without looking back until she felt the absence of light from the gates and assumed they were no longer there. She peered down the hillside toward the river and saw something unexpected.

The river ran past, black and quiet. Yet what had been an empty vale was not so empty anymore. A cottage stood between two low hills farther down the shoreline. “That wasn’t there before,” she muttered. There was also no sign of Charon’s boat.

“What the hell happened?” She started to think something had gone wrong. She took off toward the cottage at a quick pace. Her clothes had reverted to what she’d worn on the voyage here. No more white dress and golden sash. Not that she minded. She only wanted to figure out what the hell was going on.

As Thea neared the small, thatched cottage, she saw a vegetable garden beside it and a small stone path leading to the entrance. Whoever lived here was alone in a dismal place. The sky was as overcast as when Thea first saw it. No other life beyond the garden, not even a bird in the sky.

She noticed something else by the cottage. At first, it looked like a cairn. She had seen many of those in Scotland. Yet the closer she came, the more detail she made out. Glass or some other transparent material covered the cairn, and something lay inside it. She approached with the wariness of a mouse fearing a cat around every corner. Her heart beat faster, but she remained calm.

She gasped when she made out the figure inside the cairn. “It’s me!”

Her body lay on the other side of the glass, eyes closed, propped upright and perfectly preserved. “If I am here, Anwen must be nearby,” she told herself aloud. A fae could not break their oath. “How the hell am I supposed to get back into that?”

She heard a rustling behind her and turned. A hunched figure moved among the sprouts in the garden. “Anwen!” Thea called out in surprise and joy. The dark fae did not turn, and she realized Anwen could not hear her. Well, I’ll have to find a way to make her.

Anwen turned slightly, and Thea waved both hands. The fae was not able to see her, either.

Thea stopped short. Anwen appeared older. More so, she looked tired. The fae didn’t age as fast as humans, so her aged physical appearance seemed impossible.

Thea’s heart pounded faster as fear settled into her. Anwen must have built this cottage and planted the garden. How long had she been here?

Thea rushed forward. In her desperation, she made several futile attempts to get Anwen’s attention.

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