Chapter 17

Rosemary

I sat on the edge of the porch and stared at my paint-speckled hands like they were those of a stranger. Chardum was pacing behind me with my phone against his ear. For a man who’d been stuck under rubble for twenty-six years, he seemed to have no trouble quickly learning and understanding new technologies.

He was calling the mayor, with Grandma Liz, to inform her of the situation. Turns out, this kindly old lady was really the powerful Alpha of the local werewolf pack. That was information I was struggling to imagine. That old grannie could turn into a hairy wolf on a full moon? She wrangled not just a nearly abandoned town but a small pack of wolves, many of them male. It was crazy to think about.

The sound of a car arriving wasn’t nearly as ominous as it was last time, this one was expected. Chardum had called the garage in town for a tow for that flattened Lexus, and he’d also called the sheriff. I hadn’t met any of them, but Char had known their numbers from memory and they still freaking worked.

The police cruiser arrived first, parking a little down my drive to leave space for the tow truck coming in behind them. Two men in uniform stepped from the car, one late thirties but dashingly handsome, the other an eager young guy who looked like he was fresh out of the police academy. Neither could be old enough to be on the force twenty-six years ago when Char was around.

Naturally, that turned out to mean absolutely nothing around here. “Char! Good to see you,” the Sheriff said heartily, his hands looped into his belt as he approached. He whistled as he circled the damaged car, and then he glanced at the giant boulder a dozen or so feet away and nodded.

His eyes found me on the porch, piercing me with a bright, unnaturally yellow glance that faded to a deep brown so fast that I thought I imagined it. “I see Zachary’s daughter is up to his old tricks. Scared off that cold-hearted bitch real good, huh? Write the accident report, stray boulder.” He aimed the last words at his completely baffled-looking deputy.

I felt warmth flush through me at being called that, at the Sheriff correctly assuming that it had been me that did that. His obvious approval radiated from every single word. I rose, no longer feeling like I was a stranger in my own skin, something unfurling deep inside of me and raising its head toward the light.

Yeah, that was me. I did that. I scared off the vampire with my earth powers because I was a nymph and a total badass. I was the guardian of this land, and with it, that damn evil prison. This was who I was born to be, where I’d always been meant to end up. I had found my home, my purpose, and my identity.

Chardum had walked over to greet the two men, shaking their hands, slapping the Sherrif’s shoulder like he knew him, which he probably did. I rose to my feet and joined them, wriggling my bare toes in the dirt with every step I took and feeling the earth reach up to greet me. Who the fuck cared if I preferred taking off my shoes whenever? I didn’t, because it felt right and the earth beneath my soles would never hurt me. I knew that with unshakable faith.

“Hello,” I said, offering my hand, “I’m Rosemary, but you can call me Rosy. Everyone does.” The Sheriff’s hand was warm and calloused when he shook my fingers firmly, the corners of his eyes crinkling when he smiled. The deputy glanced at Chardum and then just nodded my way, not daring to step closer to grasp my fingers.

“Welcome to Hillcrest Hollow,” the Sheriff said kindly. “It’s good to have both of you back. Things have gone to hell in a handbasket in the last couple of years. I hope this means Sunworld is done with their shit.” He glared at the flattened car but didn’t look convinced of his own words. Neither was I; they would definitely try again.

The deputy offered more quietly, “You made good headway painting. Want some extra hands tomorrow to finish the house? I can round up the boys.” Neither had been introduced with a name to me, but the Sherif’s uniform had a tag declaring him a Jackson by last name. That didn’t give me much of a clue as to who these ‘boys’ might be, but Chardum grinned and happily agreed.

Sheriff Jackson nodded, “Maybe you can come look at my sister’s fields tomorrow, Rosy? She’s having trouble with her corn lately.” What now? For a moment, I slipped into my old life and was baffled by the request, but then I realized that it wasn’t as weird as it seemed. The town folks knew, especially the werewolves. He was asking me to help his sister’s crops, something that was probably exactly the kind of thing a nymph did around here.

“I’d be happy to help… but I’m still really new at this.” I figured I’d better give him that disclaimer, but it just made the three men chuckle and glance at the giant boulder again, like that said it all.

When the tow truck arrived not much later, the man getting out was outright laughing, and he continued to do so the entire time he worked to get that wreck onto the back of his truck. Cackling as he shook his wild black hair when he was strapping the wreck to his truck to tow it. It was clear that nobody, except the deputy at first, was all that surprised, and nobody in town liked the vampire and her cohorts.

Once the truck was loaded, the driver came over to introduce himself as Gregory and to insist that the next time I was at the diner; the pie was on him. Then he was gone and soon after, the Sheriff and his deputy departed too. Leaving us with a giant boulder as a lawn ornament and a few extra furrows along my yard.

“So,” I said as I watched the taillights of the police cruiser disappear, “That just happened. Now what?” There was some damage to the yard, and I wriggled my toes in the dirt beneath my feet as I imagined smoothing that out. In a heartbeat, the earth seemed to ripple and then gently do exactly that. That was followed by a wave of mild exhaustion, though nothing as severe as I’d experienced the day before when I restored the cliff.

“Now you rest while I finish painting the house,” Chardum said. “And then I’ll fly a patrol to make sure there are no intruders on our land.” I liked that, ‘our land’. It sounded right. It sounded so definitive, like he and I were already a couple who’d lived here for years. As I wandered back to the porch, I watched him pace around our yard, staring off into the distance.

When he shifted and took to the sky, I realized that the urge to patrol had won out. I watched with awe as his giant golden dragon form sailed through the sky like it was nothing. He didn’t go high, which he’d told me was because he didn’t want to show up on any human radar. So I could still see his gleaming black claws, the texture of his scales, and even the glimmer of his golden eyes.

He disappeared behind the trees, headed toward the prison he’d taken me to earlier that day. Thinking about that place gave me the willies; I’d never come in contact with anything that felt as evil and vile as that. But even a few hundred feet away, I could no longer sense it, not here at the farm, and when I walked around the house to stand in the by now completely cleared vegetable patch, I didn’t sense it there either.

I was tired, but I felt hot like a live wire, my head spinning with all this new knowledge. Most prominently, I kept circling back to my feelings for Chardum, and the bond he said was between us. Was I ready for that? That we had lust between us was undeniable, but was I ready to open myself up to more?

Truth was, it felt so comfortable and right to spend time with him. I enjoyed our conversations, was scintillated by our steamy moments, and honestly intrigued by the way he could project his touch to me. When I threw in the bit about how he thought we were made for each other, perfect soulmates… I really just wanted to believe that. Believe that giving in to loving him would be choosing happiness for the rest of my life.

Standing in the vegetable patch, I held out my hands and focused on the plants instead of my wild thoughts. Could I bring this to life? Find the kernels of seeds and plants left here from previous harvests and start my own garden again with just a nudge of my mind? I wanted to try the moment the idea had sprung fully-formed to the forefront of my thoughts.

Could Chardum and I nurture this land, this place, together? Just like I was now bringing life to this little patch of a garden, could we work together to restore the farm and the town? I’d discovered a box with old pictures when I was cleaning out the upper bedroom. I knew how verdant and beautiful the town had once been. Could I bring all that green back? Was that my father’s work? And could I really follow in his footsteps?

I wanted to try. So I let that powerful, endless source fill me up through the soles of my feet, and I let that power seek out the kernels of the seeds I wanted. I stood for a long time, rooted in place, while the earth crawled up my legs and held me, steadied me, welcomed me.

When I felt like I was ready, I opened my eyes and witnessed rows of tomato plants sprouting delicately to my left, and cabbage and squash on my right. And ahead, entire rows of raspberry plants eagerly pushed for the sky. Each plant was still fresh and young, just past sprouting from their seeds, but already proudly unfurling their first little leaves.

Now I felt truly exhausted, and with no sign of Chardum yet, I went inside for a shower and a nap. I figured I’d earned those, and when he came back, I’d convince him to nap with me. That sounded lovely.