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with her. She’s always so sensible, I forget
that she is still an animal and, therefore, unpredictable.”
    Faen barked.
    “Okay, boy, apart from you. You are
definitely the least unpredictable animal I have ever met in my
life.”
    She sensed that he seemed satisfied by that
remark as he sat down beside her.
    “You know, Fae, I could swear sometimes that
dog understands every word you say.”
    “You’ve noticed, too? I thought I was just
imagining it. Anyway, I’m going to take a bath,” she eased herself
up off the sofa with yet another grimace.
    “There’s some Epsom salts in the cabinet.
That should help ease some of the soreness, but I think you’re
probably going to be a bit stiff for a few days.”
    “Thanks, Dad.”
    “Fae?”
    “Yes, Dad.”
    “Take it easy, darling, I don’t want to lose
you, too.” His poignant statement was not lost on her; she had
always been very conscious to avoid doing anything that would make
her dad worry.
    “You won’t, Dad, I promise,” she said with a
reassuring smile.
    Faedra made it to the bathroom rather more
slowly than usual, reached over to turn on the taps, and sprinkled
the Epsom salts under the steaming flow of hot water. She lifted
her t-shirt over her head with care and peeled off the jodhpurs,
discarding them in the laundry basket. She wasn’t sure if they were
salvageable, but it was worth a try. She turned her attention to
the mirror.
    “Oh, my goodness,” she gasped as her battered
reflection stared back at her. Nearly her entire body was covered
in patches of red, the first stage of a bruise, and she thanked her
lucky stars that she was sensible enough to wear a helmet; it could
have been a lot worse. “Those bruises are going to be sore,” she
groaned.
    After a few more minutes of closer
examination, her bath was ready. She slipped out of her underwear
and dipped her toes in the water to make sure it was not too hot.
It wasn’t, so she eased herself down, letting out a sigh of comfort
as she sank up to her neck in the warm, steamy water. She could
feel the healing warmth envelope her body, seeping into her
muscles. After several minutes the soreness ebbed away.
    The candle she had lit when she started the
bath was flickering in front of the mirror giving the appearance of
there being two of them. She watched the glowing flame send a
soothing warm light throughout the bathroom. A few more minutes
passed, her mind drifted, and her eyelids grew heavy.
    In an instant, she was back in the woods
again, fear coursing through her veins. Her eyes under their lids
darted about erratically and her breathing quickened. Faen, who was
laying on the other side of the bathroom door, could sense
something was wrong. He sat up with an urgency and scratched at the
door.
    She was once again staring at the frightful
yellow eyes, glowing with ominous intent, hiding in the shadows of
the trees. Her body turned ice cold with trepidation once more.
    Faedra, Run!
    Her eyes flew open and she pushed herself up
in the bath sending water splashing over the sides. Disoriented,
she looked around with trepidation, then sighed with relief when
she realized she was still in the security of her bathroom.
    “Mum,” she whispered to herself. “It was
Mum’s voice in the woods.”
    Faen scratched on the door again.
    “It’s okay, boy. It was just a dream.”
    She hefted herself out of the bath. After
drying and dressing into her pajamas, Faedra trudged down the hall.
It was odd how her bedroom was located within the cottage. After
the renovations there was no entrance to her room from the new part
of the house. To access it, one had to walk down the back stairs,
come through the kitchen and dining room, and walk up another set
of stairs that led only to her bedroom. The other original bedroom,
next to hers, would have been accessed through her room when the
cottage was built, but that door had been sealed off long ago, and
had its own access from the new side of the house.