Cassandra Cormack was the daughter of an important noble clan that severed the Rurik royalty family for many generations and became a knight. She became a heroic figure in adulthood, fighting in the Vanahiem Revolutionary War that ended the reign of the wicked, evil, imperial empire. She then married her longtime childhood friend and lover, Alphonse Ferguson. He was from Midgard and they married a year after the war concluded. They conceived a son and named him Edward after her father. Edward received his father’s surname. Their son was nicknamed Eddie for most of his life.

Her heart clenched seeing Eddie in despair. She knew this was not the time to get sidetracked as the bald eagle was petrified after taking several hits of Stone Breath. Its body was eroding. Fortunately, it still had enough body to provide protection and it made landfall before it could fall apart. They left unscathed. The highway was void of life. Eddie was surprised that his mother could haul Woden’s statue over her right shoulder like a sack of flour, as if it was nothing to her. He was certain the statue had to weigh several hundred kilos. His mother was still full of surprises.

They avoided the highway and trekked through the woods with little conversation for nearly two hours. Eddie could not remember the last time he had walked this long. His calves and feet were burning from all the strain, mainly from strolling up slopes and he started complaining. He was silenced by Cassandra’s anger. They cleared the woods by late afternoon and arrived on a dirt path. Eddie discovered that their SUV was parked on the side of the road. Eddie could see gigantic talon tracks left by the deceased eagle earlier in the day. They loaded the statue of the wizard in from the side of the vehicle, folding down the passenger seats. And they were off.

Cassandra filled in some details after he was passed out. A big surprise was that he was no longer in Michigan. In normal circumstances, he would have made a big argument about him going over Jacob’s house, playing video games. However, he knew that Jacob and the children will be rescued, thanks to old man Woden. Cassandra explained that Woden was a wandering wizard who had been good friends with his father’s side of the family for many generations. Cassandra never pressed on about the harsh reality that waited for him in the future. She knew that it would be a matter of time before they discovered the Kentucky Preserve. Eddie learned that they were going to stay over at her in-laws’ place. She told him about his grandparents—that they were hard people and very strict, much more than herself.

She had been driving for hours. Around eight o’clock she pulled over to the side of the road, very sure that no threat was imminent. Cassandra wrote a letter and took a messenger pigeon out of its cage in the SUV’s back. She attached the message with leather straps onto the pigeon’s claw. The pigeon flew into the twilight sky and vanished. Cassandra never wanted to risk using her cell phone or any landline to contact her in-laws. She was exhausted and took a short nap while letting the car’s engine cool off.

Cassandra awoke to the sound of the pigeon pecking on the windshield to get her attention. Her tired eyes flew open with alertness. She thought it was a policeman tapping on her windshield. She sighed when it was her bird that had come back with a message. She looked at the time on her radio and saw it was well past midnight, about a quarter to one. She threw open the door, not caring about making noise, and retrieved the pigeon.

The noise had awoken Eddie from his slumber. He found himself lying on the back seats of his mother’s SUV next to Woden. It was dark, as if it were night. He had no idea where he was. Sitting up proved to be a nuisance as a kink in his neck developed while he was resting in that position. Small rays of light shone through the windshield from the driver’s side. His mood brightened when the light showed the face of his mother hunched over the hood and apparently reading something in the palm of her hand.

Eddie yawned and stretched before letting himself out of the vehicle. As soon as his left foot touched the gravel, an enormous sword swung down just a hair away from cutting him in half. Eddie shrieked and tensed up. Cassandra cringed and dropped her sword as soon as she realized that it was her son. Her heart nearly leaped out of her mouth. She was that close from cutting into her son, missing his cranium by inches. Fresh tears flowed down her cheeks as she quickly embraced him.

“I’m so glad that you are safe and sound,” she snuffled. “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry about everything.”

Seeing his mother crying was a rarity. In fact, he could not recall the last time she has seen her in tears. His heart ached seeing her miserable.

“Mom, I—”

A siren from a state trooper car startled them. While she still had time, Cassandra carefully slid the longsword underneath the SUV, using her foot. She was careful so she would not appear suspicious about it. She knew it was illegal in most states to be carrying concealed swords and daggers in vehicles. The state trooper parked just two car lengths away from them. Cassandra wiped the tears with the back of her sleeve. Eddie was baffled and quite nervous. He didn’t know what to expect from the officer. The state trooper wore the state trooper hat and had a police belt filled with mounted equipment and the typical weapons of a police officer—a handgun and a baton. He flashed his flashlight at them. The officer’s body was hidden behind it.

“Excuse me, ma’am. Do you guys have any trouble?”

“There is no trouble at the moment, sir. We were just resting a bit to give time for the engine to cool down. We slightly overslept. My apologies for the inconvenience. I hope I was not trespassing.”

“Absolutely not. Where are you folks heading?”

“We are going to my in-laws because I have issues with my boyfriend back home in Michigan.”

Eddie shrugged his shoulders. Cassandra avoided her son’s eyes, hoping her son was still young enough to be unaware of the ways of adulthood. It would have been too awkward and mortifying to explain where and when she ever had a boyfriend that her son never knew about, knowing that she was just an ordinary “homemaker” for nearly a decade. And that it was all just a fib to fabricate a story for the state trooper. She could not tell the officer the exact truth.

The state trooper observed them curiously and with a little suspicion. Cassandra gritted her teeth as he shined his flashlight at the license plate. He then observed and inspected the inside of the SUV from the tailgate, where he found the recurve bow next to a duffel bag. Eddie did not like the look on Cassandra’s face. It was pale as if she has seen a ghost.

“Very sweet piece, you have there. Going hunting are we, in this attire, hmm?” The man whistled.

“Oh, that,” she gulped. “I’m training my son to hone his archery skills as a hobby when we arrive at my in-laws’ farmstead. I have his bow in the duffel bag if you want to check it out.”

The officer cupped his chin and seemed pretty sure that her story checked out.

“By law, you are to conceal your bow when driving on highways or urban environment at all times. Fortunately, this is the wilderness, so you won’t be charged with any felony. However, it is very dangerous to park and camp in these woods. There are cougars and other dangerous creatures roaming about. I highly recommend you hit the road. There is a motel about thirty minutes west down the road where you guys can get a little more rest.”

“Thank you very much, officer. We will shortly be on our way.”

“And don’t forget to conceal that bow. Good day to you and your boy.”

The officer touched his hat in a formal greeting like a cowboy before strolling back to his car. They waved at him as he drove past them. Cassandra sighed with relief. Eddie remained silent and was too nervous to speak his mind. She did not blame him. He was too traumatized. She gathered and sheathed her longsword and laid it on the floor behind both the driver and passenger’s seats.

“Please don’t ask me any hard questions about yesterday,” she said. “I promise that I will fill you in on the details along the way and the rest with your grandparents. It’s best we put more distance between here and your school.”