Trefoil

Trefoil

  by: M C Moore

  Copyright: 2011 M C Moore

  ISBN: 978-1466459670

  Published: November 2011

  The right of M C Moore to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

  Find out more about the author and upcoming books by following her on twitter @mysticmoore.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Aquanis Preview Chapter 1

  Aquanis Preview Chapter 2

  Chapter 1...

  The dreams had started about ten days ago. A single woman running through a forest, as if she were being chased by an invisible attacker. There is a sense of fear and urgency in her movements. She felt no need to pause for the tree limbs or brush that impedes her progress. She was heading for a single point in the trees, an arch of branches. Then with one fluid motion she puts something in her mouth and disappears. Meckenzie knows who the woman is, she would know her anywhere. Even if it had been eight years since she had seen her. The woman was her mother.

  As always, Meckenzie awakens to find herself in her room, feeling out of breath with a killer headache. Always she wants to cry and sometimes she does. Meckenzie stumbles into the bathroom to splash water on her face. Sleep has been elusive. Running a brush through her golden blond hair, she decides returning to bed will only encourage the dream to return.

  So Meckenzie pads quietly down the stairs to the first floor of the grand home that has been in her family since it was built in 1887. It is one of the few homes surrounding Central Park that is still a single family residence. She was always impressed that her great grandmother had taken so much care in designing the home with the architect. The hand carved baluster that ran along the circular stair case through all seven floors. The stained glass of the top floor that allowed rainbows to dance upon the walls throughout the day as the passing of the sun made its way across the sky. Her grandmother had loved so much having her whole family in residence when she was alive, that is why the house was so large.

  Meckenzie had explored every nook and cranny with her brother and sister. Many adventures had taken place here. One would enter the home on the ground floor which housed the living room, dining room, kitchen and a parlor. The circular stair case ended in a dome at the top, allowing light to flood down all the floors to the entryway. The terrace floor was one down from the ground floor and housed the art gallery, ballroom, and a terrace complete with garden. One floor down from that was the gym and swimming pool. Their father had a room and a library on the second floor. Her brother Taggart's room and the media room were on third floor. Meckenzie and her sister Kellan had rooms on the fourth floor. There was a fifth floor that had a guest room and parlor. Meckenzie had always felt like the house was too big for her family, especially after her mother had vanished.

  Being the first born of triplets, Meckenzie was always the first one up, so it surprised her to find her brother Taggart making coffee.

  "You're up early."

  Startled, Taggart dropped the coffee grounds on the kitchen floor.

  "I have a Physics exam this morning, just trying to get in some extra cramming. You look like crap, trouble sleeping?"

  "Thanks!" Meckenzie growled at Taggart.

  "No really, are you okay?"

  "Just been having some weird dreams, well I should say a weird dream. Is there anything for a headache in this house?" Meckenzie and her siblings had never had to take any kind of medication. While other kids struggled with colds and the flu, the Desmond trips, as the triplets were sometimes referred to, had perfect attendance for eight years running. The only thing that had kept them home was that fateful spring after their tenth birthday when their mother had disappeared.

  Taggart gestured behind him, "I think dad has some stashed in the drawer by the sink."

  "You look; I'll get the broom and clean up your mess."

  Taggart was only a minute younger than Meckenzie, but she always felt like the older sister. Always trying to clean up after him and keep him out of trouble. Not that Taggart was prone to any trouble that was all Kellan. Being the youngest of the three, Kellan always seemed to find trouble.

  After sweeping the floor and downing some aspirin, Meckenzie went to wake up Kellan for their morning run.

  Knocking softly, Meckenzie opened the door to Kellan's room.

  "K, wanna run?"

  Kellan mumbles, "Mmphh?!"

  "K, I didn't sleep well. I need to run, so get up."

  "Ok. Be ready in five."

  Meckenzie changed into her running clothes and pulled her hair back. With any luck, they could do five miles through Central Park before needing to get ready to make it to school on time. That was if Kellan was really getting ready.

  Throwing on her running clothes, Meckenzie slipped her iPhone around her arm, setting the run app so it would count her miles and play her run playlist. She made sure she had the pepper spray she kept in a hidden pocket of her running shorts.

  As she came out of her room, Kellan started down the stairs, iPod in hand.

  "Think we have time for five miles."

  Kellan laughed, "I do, but you might not be able to keep up."

  "Keep up? I'm not getting any slower, I think maybe you’re getting faster."

  Kellan took off down the stairs and shouted over her shoulder, "Race you then."

  Passing the second floor, Lawrence Desmond smiled at his daughters as they dashed down the stairs. "You girls be careful and stick together if you’re going into the park at this hour."

  The sun barely had a hold on the morning sky as the girls started their run. They had been running in this park for years and had mapped out a five mile path that led right back to the house. Kellan took it slow at first, letting Meckenzie keep up, but eventually she started to pull ahead. By half way through the second mile, Kellan was far enough ahead that Meckenzie would lose her around bends or bridges. By mile three, she was nowhere in sight.

  Meckenzie listened to Arcade Fire play as she jogged on. As she approached the Trefoil Arch, Meckenzie thought she saw someone hiding in the shadows. It would be just like Kellan to try to scare her, but being cautious, Meckenzie reached for her pepper spray.

  As if the arch entrance was covered with a thin layer of water, it shimmered ever so slightly with the light of the rising sun playing off its surface. Meckenzie thought her mind must be playing tricks on her. The shimmering stopped and the shadow within the shadows was gone. Surely it was lack of sleep and the lingering headache that created this illusion.

  Meckenzie stopped before the arch entrance. Slowly turning 360 degrees, she observed the area around the entrance to see if the person had exited into the grass. No one was around, not eve
n Kellan. Spooked, she began running again. Picking up her pace with the goal of just getting home.

  The burn in her legs felt good, but it reminded Meckenzie of her dream once more. The frantic nature of the woman's run plagued her thoughts. What was she running from? Or maybe, she was running to something. Lost in her deep thought she almost ran into traffic. Meckenzie startled, stepped back up on the curb just in time to avoid the town car with a blaring horn. She crossed at the light, with only the safety of her home and a warm shower in mind.

  Meckenzie found Kellan in the kitchen elbow deep in a bowl of some sugary breakfast cereal. She thought maybe Kellan had seen something at the arch this morning. "Did you see someone under Trefoil Arch?"

  Kellan laughed, dribbling rainbow colored milk from her lips. "You mean like a troll? Did he ask you to answer his riddle before he'd let you pass?"

  "Never mind, it must have been the sun."

  "Not a troll then?"

  "You are a dork. Why would it be a troll? It looked like a person, there one second gone the next. They had to have been there when you jogged through." Lack of sleep was throwing Meckenzie into a bitter mood.

  "Nope."

  Meckenzie grabbed a banana and headed up to her room. She needed to wash the morning off of her and get her head cleared. This was turning out to be a long day and she hadn't even made it to school yet.

  Meckenzie stepped into the bathroom, shedding her iPhone and pulling her hair out of the ponytail she had pulled it up in. She began slowly running a brush through her hair staring blankly at the mirror. Suddenly Meckenzie had a feeling she was being watched so she turned around to see if anyone was behind her. No one was there. As Meckenzie turned back to the mirror, she could’ve sworn that it shimmered like a pool of mercury. Meckenzie reached out and touched the mirror, not really knowing what she expected to find.

  She sat the brush down on the counter and decided that the lack and sleep and headaches were really getting to her. Maybe a shower would solve all those problems. Meckenzie had no way of knowing that her problems were just beginning. No way of knowing that the day was just going to get longer and more complicated.