Craft (27 page)

“You know it’s dangerous to craft,
right?” Neveah asked. “I wouldn’t tell you not to for no
reason.”

Ellie was startled by her sister’s
tone. It was full of worry – unlike her. There was a hidden meaning
in her words. It was a meaning Ellie had enough sense not to ask
about. It was a meaning Ellie knew would be a stretch of the truth.
She knew that most of the Coopers could not sense craft. Thane had
told her as much.

“I suppose…” Ellie said
halfheartedly.

“Some of the Coopers can feel
crafting,” Neveah said. “They’ll sense you crafting, even from
town, and know you’re a threat to 'em. Then they’ll come after you.
They already kidnapped you once. You won’t be so lucky next
time.”

“I don’t think that would matter to
them,” Ellie said. “My crafting, I mean. A Bumbalow is a Bumbalow
to them, just like a Cooper is a Cooper to us. We fight regardless
of feeling. It’s what we do, right?”

“No sense in painting a target on your
back,” Neveah said. “Not now.”

“Why now?” Ellie asked.

Neveah realized who she was talking to
and what she was saying. Her eyes hardened, and she adjusted the
cool cloth on her forehead to make up for the slip of the tongue.
Ellie could tell there was more going on than she knew. Neveah was
planning something. There was an attack on the Coopers in the
works.

“Mind your business. And get back to
your chores. I don’t want the house filthy when the family comes
over. The cousins’ll be talking about it for weeks…you know they
ain’t got nothing else to do.”

Ellie obediently turned away. The tone
of Neveah’s voice suggested the attack would be major. It was an
attack Ellie was not sure she wanted to know about. It would only
cause Ellie more worry. She would not be able to keep the worry
from Thane.

Neveah did not talk to Ellie for the
rest of the day, not even to make fun of her. Ellie took that as a
positive change, though Neveah’s words weighed heavily on her mind.
Ellie could not figure out if it was really the Coopers Neveah
feared, or if she feared Ellie figuring out how to craft on her
own. The truth was blurred behind Neveah’s harsh
demeanor.

Ellie worked hard to finish her chores
and get away before the family came to visit. She did not want to
spend the evening fetching drinks and listening to the old people
talk about the ‘good ol' days.’ She would be trapped then and
leaving would be seen as offensive to the family. Ellie did not
want the hassle or the company. She wanted peace and quiet. She
went to her shack.

Caw was gone. He had used his trapdoor
to search out bugs and fly over the forest in the sort of freedom
Ellie envied. His absence made her shack feel lonely, lonelier than
it had ever felt. She collapsed on her sofa with a sigh and pulled
out the book Thane had left her.

As she opened it to the first page of
the story, she noticed a strange irregularity in the writing. The
letters shifted and moved, rearranging themselves in a way she had
never thought possible. After a moment of the letters moving
around, a message formed. It was from Thane.

‘Let’s meet next Friday, at midnight.
Our place.’

The words moved back to their original
state and the story of Cinderella formed on the page once more.
Ellie smiled at the clever craft. She had never seen craft so
complex and so mischievous. It was a perfect way to hide a message.
No one would think to read her book for a clue. Not with the
hundreds stacked around her shack. Her family hated books. She was
glad for a way to communicate with Thane that would not run the
risk of discovery. Ellie settled on her sofa and read the story
eagerly.

That week there was another attack on
her family. It was on her cousin’s farm. Her cousin and his three
children had gotten away without injuries, but his wife was not so
lucky. Dark craft maimed her once beautiful features. It was the
sort of maiming not even Eugenia knew how to fix. Neveah had flown
in to a rage unlike any other at getting the news of the maiming.
The house had quaked with her anger. Ellie fled her wrath, but even
in her shack, she heard the screaming. She knew that screaming
would not be the end of it. Neveah would not let such an attack
lie. The Coopers would pay.

When the shouting died down, Neveah
left the house to go hunting for blood. A maiming for a maiming.
Neveah would get her vengeance.

For the first time in her life, Ellie
was worried about what would happen to the Coopers. Would it be
another death? Would Neveah go too far? More importantly, who would
be on the receiving end of the vengeance? Ellie could not help but
worry that Thane would be caught up in Neveah’s anger. There was no
telling who she would pick in her vengeance.

When Neveah got home, there was
another party, though this one held less mirth. The pain of their
cousin’s maiming was still fresh. Ellie listened from the kitchen
as Neveah told her story in the living room. She had attacked an
older man, a man that did not fit Thane’s description. Ellie’s fear
for Thane was tempered by the description, but she could not help
but wonder how much violence it would take for her and Thane never
to want to see each other again. What if the man was Thane’s father
or uncle? Would he forgive her for Neveah’s attack?

When Ellie and Thane met Friday, Thane
was happy. There was no hint of the brutal nature of Neveah’s
attack on his mind. He did not come to blame Ellie for the attacks
or to discuss what had happened. Ellie’s suggestion to leave the
feud outside their meetings was followed. Thane was almost
vibrating from his happy mood.

“You got my message?” Thane
asked.

“I got it,” Ellie
confirmed.

Caw flew off her shoulder when he saw
Thane and landed on his knee to say hello. Thane patted the bird’s
black feathers familiarly. He smiled at Ellie. His expression was
smug.

“Pretty clever, right?” he
asked.

“Yeah. How’d you do it?” Ellie
asked.

“I’ve been going through my mother’s
things,” Thane admitted. “There was a book in her study. It was
something she collected when she was trying out different magic. It
lets people send messages over a long distance, kind of like the
way Neveah calls for you. It took me a couple of tries to get it
right.”

“I've never seen nothing like it,”
Ellie confessed. “Your momma must’ve done a lot of researching to
find something like that.”

“I told you, she was pretty determined
to end the feuding,” Thane said.

“I reckon that can drive a person to
find almost anything…” Ellie said. “Determination, I
mean.”

“I reckon,” Thane said.

“We ain’t back to the teasing, are
we?” Ellie asked.

“I was just playing,” Thane said. “We
can play, can’t we?”

“Coopers can be playful?” Ellie asked.
“I didn’t think their ego would allow it.”

“Hey!” Thane exclaimed.

“I was just playing,” Ellie said. “We
can play, can’t we?”

Thane smiled at her teasing. Then he
went back to fidgeting. He was wound up. He could not sit still for
very long. Ellie noticed his excitement. It was impossible to miss.
She had never seen him so worked up.

“You gonna tell me why you’re so
excited?” Ellie asked.

“My dad told me I could stay home next
year,” Thane said. “I can go to school here and not be shipped
off.”

“Oh,” Ellie said.

Ellie could understand his excitement.
She knew he wanted to be a part of things. He wanted to feel as if
he belonged. She had a moment of excitement as well. Their
friendship could continue beyond the summer. Her excitement turned
to doubt. She realized what he was saying and what that meant for
him.

“You sure you wanna do that?” Ellie
asked.

“What do you mean?” Thane
asked.

“It’s harder being here than you
think. It’s a vacation for you. You come, fight a little, and go
back to your school. You get a break from the fighting that
way...you don’t see it all year. You don’t live in it.”

“We’re not having this conversation
again, are we?” Thane asked.

“I’m not insulting you,” Ellie said.
“I’m just saying…it's not so easy being around it all the time. It
wears on you. The fear, worry and doubt aren’t easy to live with on
a fulltime basis. On top of that, you’ll be forced to fight. You
know it’ll be expected of you. Can you do that?”

Thane lost some of his happiness. He
had not contemplated the feud; he had forgotten there would be more
than his share of fighting. His father would expect it of him if he
stayed home. It was ridiculous to think otherwise.

“I guess…I wasn’t really thinking
about that,” Thane admitted.

“You’re just happy to be around your
family again?” Ellie guessed.

Thane blinked at her as if her
question had surprised him. He fixed his expression quickly. “My
father can be a pain, but he is my family. And my mother…it would
be nice to be there for her. I think I’d like to have as much
history as you have.”

“I’d like to have less,” Ellie
said.

“We should trade,” he said.

“Yeah, maybe,” Ellie said.

Ellie thought that he would not like
the sort of history she had to share. She doubted he would wish for
it if he knew the truth. The weight of their conversation hung
between them. Ellie could not shake off the feeling that Thane
would be better off staying away for school. She did not want him
to leave in the fall, but it seemed like a better option than
getting involved in a blood feud. Thane was not eager to let the
truth weigh his good mood down.

“Let’s go somewhere,” Thane
said.

“I don’t know…we almost got caught
last time,” Ellie said. “I feel like we keep pushing our
luck.”

“This time we won’t break in
anywhere,” Thane said. “We’ll go someplace no one can see
us.”

“No one can see us here,” Ellie
pointed out.

“Yes, but here we have to worry about
your family noticing us,” Thane said.

“What do you have in mind?” Ellie
asked.

Thane thought about it for a moment.
His thoughts turned certain, and he smiled. He put Caw on his
shoulder and stood. He grabbed Ellie’s hand and pulled her in the
direction of his car. Ellie started giggling as they all but ran
through the forest. Her worry disappeared as they ran. Thane
laughed with her.

Thane’s car was parked in the same
spot as before. He moved to the driver’s side while Ellie tried to
catch her breath from running and laughing. Their conversation had
not left Thane’s mind.

“You know, if I do go to school here,
we could stay friends,” Thane pointed out in a quiet
voice.

“In secret,” Ellie pointed
out.

“Well, yeah,” Thane said.

Ellie lost some of her mirth. She did
not mind being his friend in secret, but she also knew the longer
they kept up their friendship in secret, the more chance it had at
discovery. They would not be able to hide the truth forever. What
would happen if they were expected to fight each other?

Ellie kept up her smile, but she was
worried. She was worried that Thane was not thinking through his
decision clearly. Their friendship was clouding the issue. Ellie
realized with his words that he wanted to stay because of their
friendship. She was glad he thought so much of her, but staying
complicated things. She was convinced it was a bad idea.

Ellie got into the car, holding on to
her opinion for later. She did not want to bring Thane’s good mood
down. She would let him have his moment. Ellie settled Caw on her
lap. She considered turning Caw into her necklace, to protect him,
but she found she could not. The weight of her thoughtfulness made
her want him near her. She stroked his feathers as she turned to
Thane.

“So where are we going again?” Ellie
asked.

“The ocean,” Thane said.

“Isn’t that near town?” Ellie
asked.

“No, it’s a bit farther away…the real
beaches I mean,” Thane said.

“You mean to say, there’s more than
what I saw in town?” Ellie asked hopefully.

“Course,” Thane said. “The ocean is
huge. That was just part of the sound.”

“Oh…of course,” Ellie said.

Thane started the car and drove them
down the weed-choked road to the narrow interstate. Ellie looked
out at the rushing waves of trees and grass. They flew by in a blur
of dark color. She was excited at the idea of seeing the ocean, but
her mind lingered on his plans to stay. Part of her wanted him to
stay. Another part wanted to convince him of what he had in school.
There had to be a way to make him see reason.

“You said you had friends at your
school, right?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah. My two best friends are there,”
Thane said.

“Tell me about them,” Ellie
said.

Thane’s good mood made talking about
his friends easy. He told Ellie about his friends, their
adventures, the trouble they got in together and all the good
times, oblivious to the point she was trying to get
across.