Tuesday Tales: From the Word GREASY

Welcome to Tuesday Tales. This week, our word prompt is GREASY. This will be my last post from Listen to the Stones as the book is set to be released next week, just before Halloween. I hope you’ve enjoyed my convoluted tale of magic, mystery, and unusual standing stones. I apologize if the scene I’ve chosen to leave you on is a few words longer than usual. I’ll be back next week with a new cozy mystery for your enjoyment.

“I don’t feel well,” she mumbled, dropping down onto a stone in the center of the ring, her palm sliding against a greasy substance. Had she absorbed too much energy, or were the strange clouds drawing energy from her? Had Jerome led her into a trap? Had he drugged her? It would’ve been easy to drop something into her coffee or her soup. Was he the one who’d performed that rite? He certainly knew all about it, and he’d been with Bronagh when she died. He was determined to get the stones, but would he really kill her for them? How could she have been so stupid? Seduced by a pretty face, just like Merrow.

Before she could say or do anything else, the world around her spun the way it had in the tornado, the ground rippled, and everything went dark as if someone had turned off the sun. The colorful clouds vanished replaced by a sky devoid of stars, and mist crept along the ground, filling the space around her, blotting out everything.

“Jerome,” she cried, but the man who’d been standing next to her, the man she’d trusted, the man she’d thought might be the one she could love, was gone.

“Don’t be afraid, Lady Máire.”

She gripped the amulet and turned toward the voice.

The woman, dressed all in black, came around the stone. Was she the one who’d been cleaning the croft with Mhara? In the dim light, it was hard to tell, but her hair was black as coal. Aware that this wasn’t a dream and on the verge of panicking once more, Marina stood and raised her chin in defiance.

“Whatever you and Jerome have planned, it won’t work. People know I was coming here. They’ll look for me. I don’t know who you are, nor do I understand how you can make places appear and disappear, but is this how you plan to have me vanish without a trace? What have you done with him?”

“I’ve done nothing with the writer. He’s exactly where he was. I had expected you to be less skittish this time, but your mind is more confused than ever. Like this, it will be hard for you to understand what’s expected of you.”

Marina ignored the woman’s last words for the moment.

“If Jerome is where he was, which was by my side, why can’t I see him? As for being skittish, wouldn’t you be? And as for what’s expected of me … it would be nice is someone actually explained what that was. Now, if Jerome is where I left him, where am I? And what does he have to do with what’s happening?”

“Nothing. I’ve pulled your spirit between dimensions so that we can talk freely.”

That’s it. I hope you enjoyed this rather long story. Come back next week for something new. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.