Fort Morgan by Claudia Hall Christian Page A

the mention of
Heather. They shared a look with Tanesha and went back to staring
at their tea. The atmosphere in the living room held an
undercurrent of doom. Aden sat next to Sandy on the loveseat. Sam
gestured for Delphie to sit in the armchair. She smiled and shook
her head. Delphie walked over to stand near the fire.
    Over the baby monitor, they listened to
Heather settle Mack in one of the cribs in Jill and Jacob’s
nursery. Tink said something that no one could make out. Heather
encouraged her to stay with Ivy. Tink insisted on staying with the
babies, and Ivy agreed with her. Heather’s voice, heavy with
exhaustion, seemed to not have the energy to argue about it. A few
minutes later, the door to the loft closed, and they heard Heather
heft herself down the long stairwell to the kitchen.
    Jill looked up at Jacob, and he nodded. He
got up to help Heather into the room. Heather stood in the doorway
for a moment. She looked at each of them. Jacob gestured toward the
couch. Heather came over, lifted Katy’s feet, and took a seat. She
set Katy’s feet on her knees, as her lap was full. Heather glanced
at the people in the room. Tanesha got up to give Heather her cup
of tea. Heather smiled her thanks, and Tanesha went back to sit
down.
    “ We grew the chamomile.”
Facing the fire with her back to the room, Delphie responded to
someone’s silent question. “It grows wild here in Colorado, so it’s
very easy. The tea was made by a tea master specifically for us.
Can you taste the lavender? There’re borage flowers in there,
too.”
    Everyone nodded, but no one dared break the
silence. Delphie had to turn around to see the response to her
question.
    “ It’s my favorite,”
Delphie said. “It’s great for inflammation, pain,
and. . .”
    Delphie stopped talking. The very air seemed
to absorb her words. She scowled. The room became thick with unsaid
words and anxious thoughts.
    “ Where do we start?”
Delphie asked.
    No one replied.
    “ I guess I’m
not. . .” Aden said at the same time Jacob started, “Are
we sure. . .?” A breath behind them, Sam said, “Well, I
for one. . .” and Jeraine piped up with,
“What. . .?”
    The men stopped talking and looked at each
other.
    “ How are
we. . .?” Jacob started at the same time Jeraine said, “I
don’t think. . .”
    Sam and Aden just looked at each other. The
women laughed.
    “ I’m cold,” Delphie said,
and everyone stopped laughing. They turned their attention to her.
“I wonder if I’ll ever feel warm again, or if the Sea of Amber has
taken that away from me.”
    “ I can turn up the heat.”
Jacob got to his feet.
    “ Are you cold, Jacob?”
Delphie asked.
    “ I’m. . .” Jacob
stopped talking. He glanced at Jill and then said, “I understand
what you mean.”
    “ Where do we start?”
Tanesha gave voice to their thoughts. “We each feel as if we need
to go back to the Sea of Amber, go back to fight the serpents, but
we have no idea . . .”
    Tanesha’s shoulders went up in a shrug to
finish her sentence.
    “ And the fairies,” Sandy
said. “Edie said . . .”
    Sandy gestured toward Jill and Jacob. Jill
cleared her throat.
    “ Edie said that the king,
Fin, and Abi were on the Isle of Man,” Jill said. “They are not
fighting the serpents. Edie had no idea what I was talking
about.”
    “ For now,” Heather
said.
    “ What does that mean?”
Aden asked.
    “ We
have . . . well, it’s Tanesha’s idea,” Sandy
said.
    “ Heather and I were
wondering about time,” Tanesha looked at Aden. “When Jake and
Delphie were in the Sea of Amber, were they also in this time frame
— you know, now?”
    “ Because the Sea of Amber
became so small,” Aden said.
    “ Exactly,” Tanesha said.
“Or was that the future?”
    “ How does all of this
relate to that creepy financier?” Jill asked.
    “ Financier?” Jeraine
asked.
    “ The one behind the
website that sold the child porn videos and the ones from the