CHAPTER 1: Suspicions
Will Stanton looked up from pulling weeds in front of his family's house. It was summertime, and sweltering hot, but nevertheless he still liked to help out his mom with the upkeep. He had sensed something ahead of him, coming down the road. No ordinary man could have sensed it; the Thing was making no sound or smell. But Will was an Old One, blessed with extraordinary gifts that allowed him to do such things.
Indeed there was someone coming down the street. A rather tall man, with a deeply carved face, hawk-like nose, and a great head of untamed white hair was strolling toward Will. He was wearing a big, thick black overcoat that reached to the ground and was walking with an intent step and determined look. Will grinned and stood up, setting down his small tools and pulling off his gardening gloves.
The walking man approached Will and broke into a small smile in spite of himself.
Will said, "Hallo, Merriman."
Merriman Lyon responded, "Hallo, Will. I haven't seen you in a while. Just coming to see how you were doing."
Will kept on grinning and said, "Merriman, I know that isn't the reason you came here. But you're right; we haven't seen each other since I was 11. Guess how old I am now."
Merriman arched one eyebrow. "Seventeen, with your eighteenth birthday coming up in midwinter."
Will stood proudly on the spot, pulling himself up to his full height of 6'3" and looking Merriman at eye level. "That's right, and then I'm going to move out and find a place for my girl and me."
Merriman arched both eyebrows this time. "Girl? Will Stanton, you mean to say that you have a lady-friend? Have you told her about you?"
"Hey, not everyone can have the Lady, now can they, Merriman? Yeah, I found myself the perfect one, the one, in fact. And yes, I've told her about me, the Old One, me."
"And...?"
"She understands perfectly, and won't tell anyone, even though I don't see why not because it's all over. I promise."
A seventeen-year-old girl came out of Will's house then, just as Merriman was about to retort. She was 5'5", had long dark brown hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a short red summer dress, red and white flip flops, and a dazzling smile.
So this is her, I presume? Merriman used the Old One trick of talking in the Old Speech in Will's mind, a form of telepathy that only Old Ones possess.
Will took his eyes from the girl, looked at Merriman and said aloud and in plain English, "It is." He smirked as the girl came into the garden to meet them.
Merriman looked surprised when Will responded aloud, and wondered why.
The girl stood by Will and gave him one of the two cold lemonade glasses she was holding. "Hi, Will. Hi. Oh, are you Mr. Lyon? Will has told me some things about you. I'm Anne Bet, how are you?" She extended her free hand to shake Merriman's.
He kindly took it and shook it gently. Then he said, in his usual accent in contrast to Anne's American accent, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bet. I'm fine, thank you. And yourself?"
"Oh, just fine. Would you like some lemonade? I have a whole pitcher inside." She said as she offered her glass to Merriman.
"Actually, that sounds very good in this heat."
Anne smiled at him and then Will, and led them both inside to the table where the pitcher of lemonade was perched.
Still wondering why Will hadn't answered his question telepathically, Merriman tried again. Will, is anything wrong?
Will looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "No, nothing is wrong, Merriman. But if you really want to know," they both took a seat at the table while Anne poured herself some lemonade. "Anne can communicate like that too, telepathically and in the Old Speech."
Merriman swung around to look at Anne. She was smiling. It's true, Mr. Lyon. Will taught me and we practiced it a lot. Now I can talk like this normally.
Merriman smiled, also. "I should've known. But that's truly remarkable, Miss Bet. No one has ever accomplished that before. How did you do it?"
Anne sat down next to Will and he put his arm around her waist. "I had a marvelous teacher," she said as she sipped and glanced at Will. "And, please, call me Anne."
Merriman nodded. "And, please, call me Merriman." he said. He, by that time, had picked up on the vibes between Will and Anne. It seemed as though Will really had found the perfect girl for him.
"So, I don't think the only reason for your visit was to check up on me, Merriman. I know you all too well to take that as a reason. Would you care to explain yourself?" Will asked, a faint smile playing about his lips.
"Well, I guess you do know me all too well. I was actually planning on staying in this part of the country for some time; I've rented a house out for a couple of months. I may even stay here permanently; if it really lives up to how good you say it is, Will. I also really do have something I need to tell you- but it won't become important for a number of weeks, and I was originally planning on telling you then anyway, and not right away."
Will looked suspicious. "Alright. Actually, Anne and I were going to go to America to meet her family for the next couple of weeks, so it looks as though you'd get what you want. But we're leaving in a couple of days, so careful I don't grow too curious and weasel it out of you before then." Then he smiled jokingly.
"Ah, that I will. I know you perfectly well enough to know that if you want to know something, I'm going to have a hard time keeping it a secret. But, aha, Will Stanton, I may have more resistant powers than you know. You may not be able to get into my mind to find what you are looking for as easily now that I've had time off to build up resistance." He smiled jokingly also, and then there was a small enjoyable silence. Anne obviously understood everything they were talking about, because she did not look the least bit confused or curious. She had thoroughly learned everything about the Old Ones from Will's teaching.
She smiled. "Well, Merriman, if you would like, since we're not leaving for a couple of days, we could certainly help you move in and get settled a little bit, if you wanted to. We aren't doing anything until we leave, and I'm afraid that the garden won't grow anything anymore from overworking it because Will has been trying to make it easy on his mother."
Merriman smiled. "That would be lovely, Anne. Thank you. I haven't been in these parts for quite a long while, so maybe we could also plan some things to do together. I'm moving here to relax and get away from it all, so I think I'd enjoy picnics and that sort of thing."
They all smiled as they sipped lemonade and chatted on for another half of an hour and Merriman left to settle some business about his rented house. They all arranged to meet back at the Stanton's the next morning. Will went back out to the garden and Anne busied herself making dinner for the two of them- the rest of the family was away on their own little outings for a good long while, at least until Will and Anne left for Washington, probably longer.
Will Stanton looked up from pulling weeds in front of his family's house. It was summertime, and sweltering hot, but nevertheless he still liked to help out his mom with the upkeep. He had sensed something ahead of him, coming down the road. No ordinary man could have sensed it; the Thing was making no sound or smell. But Will was an Old One, blessed with extraordinary gifts that allowed him to do such things.
Indeed there was someone coming down the street. A rather tall man, with a deeply carved face, hawk-like nose, and a great head of untamed white hair was strolling toward Will. He was wearing a big, thick black overcoat that reached to the ground and was walking with an intent step and determined look. Will grinned and stood up, setting down his small tools and pulling off his gardening gloves.
The walking man approached Will and broke into a small smile in spite of himself.
Will said, "Hallo, Merriman."
Merriman Lyon responded, "Hallo, Will. I haven't seen you in a while. Just coming to see how you were doing."
Will kept on grinning and said, "Merriman, I know that isn't the reason you came here. But you're right; we haven't seen each other since I was 11. Guess how old I am now."
Merriman arched one eyebrow. "Seventeen, with your eighteenth birthday coming up in midwinter."
Will stood proudly on the spot, pulling himself up to his full height of 6'3" and looking Merriman at eye level. "That's right, and then I'm going to move out and find a place for my girl and me."
Merriman arched both eyebrows this time. "Girl? Will Stanton, you mean to say that you have a lady-friend? Have you told her about you?"
"Hey, not everyone can have the Lady, now can they, Merriman? Yeah, I found myself the perfect one, the one, in fact. And yes, I've told her about me, the Old One, me."
"And...?"
"She understands perfectly, and won't tell anyone, even though I don't see why not because it's all over. I promise."
A seventeen-year-old girl came out of Will's house then, just as Merriman was about to retort. She was 5'5", had long dark brown hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a short red summer dress, red and white flip flops, and a dazzling smile.
So this is her, I presume? Merriman used the Old One trick of talking in the Old Speech in Will's mind, a form of telepathy that only Old Ones possess.
Will took his eyes from the girl, looked at Merriman and said aloud and in plain English, "It is." He smirked as the girl came into the garden to meet them.
Merriman looked surprised when Will responded aloud, and wondered why.
The girl stood by Will and gave him one of the two cold lemonade glasses she was holding. "Hi, Will. Hi. Oh, are you Mr. Lyon? Will has told me some things about you. I'm Anne Bet, how are you?" She extended her free hand to shake Merriman's.
He kindly took it and shook it gently. Then he said, in his usual accent in contrast to Anne's American accent, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bet. I'm fine, thank you. And yourself?"
"Oh, just fine. Would you like some lemonade? I have a whole pitcher inside." She said as she offered her glass to Merriman.
"Actually, that sounds very good in this heat."
Anne smiled at him and then Will, and led them both inside to the table where the pitcher of lemonade was perched.
Still wondering why Will hadn't answered his question telepathically, Merriman tried again. Will, is anything wrong?
Will looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "No, nothing is wrong, Merriman. But if you really want to know," they both took a seat at the table while Anne poured herself some lemonade. "Anne can communicate like that too, telepathically and in the Old Speech."
Merriman swung around to look at Anne. She was smiling. It's true, Mr. Lyon. Will taught me and we practiced it a lot. Now I can talk like this normally.
Merriman smiled, also. "I should've known. But that's truly remarkable, Miss Bet. No one has ever accomplished that before. How did you do it?"
Anne sat down next to Will and he put his arm around her waist. "I had a marvelous teacher," she said as she sipped and glanced at Will. "And, please, call me Anne."
Merriman nodded. "And, please, call me Merriman." he said. He, by that time, had picked up on the vibes between Will and Anne. It seemed as though Will really had found the perfect girl for him.
"So, I don't think the only reason for your visit was to check up on me, Merriman. I know you all too well to take that as a reason. Would you care to explain yourself?" Will asked, a faint smile playing about his lips.
"Well, I guess you do know me all too well. I was actually planning on staying in this part of the country for some time; I've rented a house out for a couple of months. I may even stay here permanently; if it really lives up to how good you say it is, Will. I also really do have something I need to tell you- but it won't become important for a number of weeks, and I was originally planning on telling you then anyway, and not right away."
Will looked suspicious. "Alright. Actually, Anne and I were going to go to America to meet her family for the next couple of weeks, so it looks as though you'd get what you want. But we're leaving in a couple of days, so careful I don't grow too curious and weasel it out of you before then." Then he smiled jokingly.
"Ah, that I will. I know you perfectly well enough to know that if you want to know something, I'm going to have a hard time keeping it a secret. But, aha, Will Stanton, I may have more resistant powers than you know. You may not be able to get into my mind to find what you are looking for as easily now that I've had time off to build up resistance." He smiled jokingly also, and then there was a small enjoyable silence. Anne obviously understood everything they were talking about, because she did not look the least bit confused or curious. She had thoroughly learned everything about the Old Ones from Will's teaching.
She smiled. "Well, Merriman, if you would like, since we're not leaving for a couple of days, we could certainly help you move in and get settled a little bit, if you wanted to. We aren't doing anything until we leave, and I'm afraid that the garden won't grow anything anymore from overworking it because Will has been trying to make it easy on his mother."
Merriman smiled. "That would be lovely, Anne. Thank you. I haven't been in these parts for quite a long while, so maybe we could also plan some things to do together. I'm moving here to relax and get away from it all, so I think I'd enjoy picnics and that sort of thing."
They all smiled as they sipped lemonade and chatted on for another half of an hour and Merriman left to settle some business about his rented house. They all arranged to meet back at the Stanton's the next morning. Will went back out to the garden and Anne busied herself making dinner for the two of them- the rest of the family was away on their own little outings for a good long while, at least until Will and Anne left for Washington, probably longer.