I am The Keeper - Dale McMurray (i read books txt) 📗

back scooped them up and got out before she was noticed. From her own hut she saw the cleasing fire and the hut disappearing in flames. Bethra looked at the papers and secreted a few pieces for her protection. She knew what Tontra was capable of.

A new Day.

As I drove away The wind seemed to sigh sadly thru the trees. Birds sang what sounded like sad tunes and the animals all seemed to come out into the open to say good bye.
When we had cleared the trees I could no longer see the road to the Coven. I remembered as children we all went into the village to buy goods and that the road was straight and true. But now it seemed dark, crooked and hidden in shadows. Trees seemed to hide the coven . As the wagon moved farther away from the only home I had ever known it seemed to vanish. The sky over the trees seemed dirty and dark. I could see the cleansing fire from my home as it burned. Things were changing and I was headed towards what? Suddenly I felt so hurt and angry. I was alone in this world and about to follow to where my destiny may lead. I still had not finished grieving the loss of my closest friend, my Mother. But I knew Tontra and I would meet again. I would be ready.


The Journey Begins.

I traveled for days. sitting by the fire each night I thought about my childhood.
The flames took a golden red color that remimded me of Placia, who spent time teaching me about all things magical.
She told about so many creatures like Sprities, Pixies, Fairies, Trolls and Elves. She also told of evil things that use black magic. And of creatures that haunt the night such as Vampires, Banshees, Werewolves and Gremlins. She said all these magical beings could die and their magic would be left behind good or bad. I sighed remembering In the early days that fairies would come to see the Coven mother, Kamilana along with other magical beings. Their young ones all would play with us . We would play hide and seek, Statues, a game where we would try to stand still while others tried to make us move. We had so much fun and I learned so much about our magical friends. But since Tontra has taken over They have refused to set foot back in the coven. I followed the road knowing I was alone. I passed through valleys and forests on this journey. There were cities, towns and villages but I chose to go around them . Only entering as I needed to buy food for me and my only companion the horse that pulled my current home along the roads. I had so many conficting thoughts and needed to be alone to work out my life's new path as The Keeper. My skin would tingle as I passed places that any magical being called home. It was a warm and soothing sensation that seemed to comfort me. I would call out a greeting as I passed. Sometimes they would show them selves and follow the wagon. At night a few brave beings would come to see me. It seems that they knew of my gift and wanted to see what I looked like. We would talk and I would listen to stories of their People. I would get chills when Evil beings lurked in the shadows. They would never show themselves But I knew they were there following me as a faint smell of rotten souls rode on the breeze.
A few days into the journey a Fairy came to me and asked that I follow her . She was a light forest Green. Hair the color of the clouds, eyes the color of moss, and wings the color of Corn. I left the wagon in a small grove of White Birch and followed. There laid on a bough of fresh pine was a fairy man. He was dying and his mate asked that I bless him. I told her That I would do that and I also would take the left over magic when he died to my crystal to keep it safe from evil. She understood. and I said a small blessing for those who are passing into the next life..
" To you I give the gift of happiness as you enter the next life. May you be joined with your kinsmen." With that he smiled and his soul left his tiny form. I placed my hands on his now empty body and felt the heat of the last of his magic enter me like a small bolt of lighting. I floated for a moment then fell on my knees until the sensation passed. The female Fairy thanked me for the blessing and gave me a ring made of her fairy hair as a gift to use as protection. I knew that others would hear of this and some of them would stop at nothing to take the crystal buried deep in my heart. I thought of Tontra and wondered what she was doing now? That night I dreamed that the guardians were smiling and felt that they were telling me to keep on my path . I Made a pledge to follow my heart and help those who suffered from evil be avenged.


Tontra
The coven had fallen under dark skies now that Tontra ruled. The river no longer ran clear as it passed the prayer site. No one was allowed free thought and slowly all the first members of the coven took sick and disappeared. Only those who followed Tontra were allowed to perform spells and travel. They had to bring back what Bethra called tihtings. Monies required by Tontra to keep them safe from evil. She was gaining fame as a evil and cruel Wiccan. No one dared to cross her. Those who did suffered dearly. It was said that a landownwer's wife refused to pay. They almost lost their newborn daughter to a strange malady. When the landowner paid the Tithing the girl got well. The reach of her evil knew no bounds. She twisted her claws into everything.

A Place To Rest

My heart was still heavy with grief. My whole world had been ripped apart and I was not fit company. Wrapped each night in a blanket by the fire I cried as though I might die, but I rose each day determined to carry on. There was still so much to learn. But now I had to find the answers by myself. I felt numb and wondered if I ever would feel happy and warm again. I looked at the fairy ring and felt some relief.
It had been weeks and until now I had avoided mortals. This foggy morning I saw a mortal woman walking with a crippled cow. She was tall and thin with dull yellow hair pulled tight against her head. Her brown eyes seemed filled with sadness and old beyond her time. I stopped beside her. "Tell me Mother where are you bound?"
" To the Butcher." With sadness in her voice," My poor cow has gone lame she cannot pull the plow and no longer gives milk. I hate to do this but if she cannot pull the plow we cannot feed her and my children will go hungry." Thinking for a moment I called to her as she continued on her way.
"Wait. I can heal her If you will let me. For I am a Healer. Do not be afraid."
Wide eyed, she nodded. I got down from the wagon and laid my hands on the cow's swollen joints. I could feel them heat up and the pain became almost unbearable. The cow was shaking and looking at me with eyes so wide that I thought they would pop. As the heat and pain subsided I smoothed the palms of my hands over her legs and stepped back. The cow moved closer to the farm woman. The woman watched as the cow circled away from me.
"Look no lameness!" She walked her a little ways and still the cow did not limp.
"Thank you. You are a wonderous woman. How can I repay your kindness?"
"It is what I am to help others." I said as I bowed to her. The cow walked up to me and stuck her tongue out and laid a slooppy kiss on my face. We both laughed. Something I felt she had not done in a long time. She thought a moment then removed her only adornment .
"It would give me great peace if you would take this necklace it was a wedding gift from my husband. I have no money to pay you." she said taking it and laying it in my hands. I nodded. How could I refuse.
" Where are you bound?"
"No where in particular," I answered. She thought a moment then asked me to come to the farm . I accepted as I was truly tired of being alone. We tied the cow to the wagon and I followed her directions. Her name was Geaina. She said her husband had been taken by the king's men and she was left with her five children to work the farm. The oldest was a girl named Kayla she was fifteen,then there was Bolten a boy aged twelve, Garr aged nine, Liam age seven and Dawn age four. They did their best to help scratch out a living. The children were happy to see the cow return especially Dawn, she ran over and hugged the cow who turned her head and gave her a long slobbery kiss. They were all amazed that she was no longer lame.
I learned the ways of the farm as I rested. The work was hard and I enjoyed the way it made me feel. I helped clean the barn and weed the garden. I even helped plow the fields. We all worked together and made the time go fast. The days went quickly and I felt that maybe I could stay here awhile. One evening a few weeks later we all were sitting and watching the fire in her modest home. The flames danced and the children asked if I could tell a story. So I told a story my mother had told me.
"Long ago A loney woman wanted a child. A Fairy king said that he would give her one but when the child turned fifteen summers he would come to take that child back to his kingdom because that child would turn into a fairy princess. When the child was born The woman named her Chrysta. You could tell she was different than the other children of the village. Her shin was shimmering like the pink roses in her garden. And she was small just like the fairies. When Crysta turned fourteen she began hearing the voices of fairies call to her. Her mother called for the fairy king. She begged him to change his mind but he refused. But her mother had decided when she was born that the Fairy king would not get her child. Crysta's mother went to the old Wiccan who lived at the edge of the water and asked how she could break the bargain with the King. " you must weave a rope with your child's hair and say these words, I revoke the bargain three times" So for a year she secretly kept her daughter's hair and while the girl slept her mother weaved the spell in to the rope in order to keep her from following the fairy king. Her mother would tie her ankle to the fire place. Crysta would cook and clean so that her mother could work the fields.