After writing Coffee with Thunderbolts, I had hoped in 2012 to follow the characters on their journey. That would have meant that I would be in Kentucky and Ohio during the first week of April. Alas, the best laid plans….
Anyway, since arriving at Kentucky, Elena & Rosemarian have met the enigmatic Augustus, proprietor of the Rectory B&B, and Gennaro, his not too nice cousin. On April 5, 2012, Elena has a showdown with Gennaro and a mystical meeting.
Accompanied by a blast of wind, they emerged in a place far removed from the lights and sounds of the city. Augustus immediately threw a handful of crystals into the air. Instead of plummeting to the ground, they danced around the landscape. Aligning themselves above the effigy, they settled into position.
The great oval of the Serpent Mound beckoned. The full moon and the glowing crystals gave the triangular head behind it a silvery shimmer. The twisting coils were ready to unwind in a deadly strike that would allow the snake to devour the representation of the sun.
“The Serpent, as Master of Time and Space, devours everything, even the mighty Sun. That is why he rules the Night,” Augustus intoned.
Unsteady from the shock of an instantaneous translocation from Lexington, Kentucky to Locust Grove, Ohio, Elena clung tightly to her aunt. The ground beneath her toes began to pulse. “Unbelievable,” she said.
“I wish you could have seen the Serpent Mound in the daylight to appreciate its beauty. I promise you that we will drive back, and take the time to do that,” Rosemarian commented.
Her aunt had wisely left the “if you should survive” out of her statement.
“We must act quickly,” Augustus said gruffly. The warning look that passed between him and her aunt made her chest tighten.
“Elena lie down within the circle. Don’t be afraid. Trust in the Universe!”
She scrambled over the earthen lip of the great oval. “Faster!” Augustus warned, and looked about wildly. “Get down now!”
Before the innkeeper could raise an arm in her defense, Gennaro sprang up from beneath the ground that the nearest coil bordered. His red robes whipping in a nonexistent breeze, he hurtled forward shrieking, “No one cheats me!”
