Cradle of Fire

St. Antoni – The Forbidden Colony 5

Gail Daley

Gail's Other Books

SPACE COLONY JOURNALS

Options of Survival

Destiny Rising

Tomorrows Legacy

The Interstellar Jewel Heist

The Designer People

Alien Trails

Quantum Light

Confederation Planets & People

PORTAL WORLD TALES

Portal World Notes

Rulari—Land of Myth & Magic

ST. ANTONI – THE FORBIDDEN COLONY

Warriors of St. Antoni

The Enforcers

The Gaslight Bandits

The Portal Lawman

Cradle of Fire

The Clone Initiative

THE OUTLAW COLONIES

Apex Predator*

Game Theory*

Heirs of Avalon*

Babylon Shattered*

Cloned Ambition*

MAGI OF RULARI

Spell of The Magi

Magi Storm

Paladin

NON-FICTION

The Complete Modern Artist’s Handbook

PAMPHLETS

Introduction to The Internet #1

The Hard Stuff – Handbook #2

Art Show Basics – Handbook #3

Framing on a Budget – Handbook #4

Are You Making Money? – Handbook #5

*Working Title. Release dates TBA

.

Copyright

Cradle of Fire Copyright © 2021 by Gail Daley dba Gail Daley's Fine Art

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed "Attention: Permissions Coordinator," at the address below.

E-BOOK ISBN:  9781393751885

PRINT ISBN- 9781393948025

HB ISBN: 978-1-68489-187-0

ASIN: B0969778CM

Gail Daley

5688 E Sussex Way

Fresno, CA 93727

www.gaildaley.com

Ordering Information: Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the "Bulk Sales Department" at the address above.

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any persons living or dead is unintentional and accidental.

Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

Book Layout ©2017 BookDesignTemplates.com

Cradle of Fire  Gail Daley—1st ed. Copyright © 2021 by Gail Daley dba Gail Daley's Fine Art

Cover Art  by Gail Daley Copyright © 2021 Used with permission

About This Book

"A must read, fast-paced Sci-Fi novel of adventure, suspense and romance."

“A desperate woman takes a perilous gamble to save her family from a brutal murderer.”

They weren't supposed to see their 'kindly' new guardian slaughter three people. But they did see it. Jade knows they can't go to the police—he owns them. The only choice is to run and hide; but where can a woman and two teenagers go to be safe from a crime lord?

Desperate, she risks taking her family through an illegal Portal to St. Antoni. In the Forbidden Colony they are safe from their former guardian. But she may have jumped from the frying pan into the fire. St. Antoni is a dangerous haven; it's a planet whose citizens have created a society poles apart from the dystopian earth they fled.

With almost no resources, Jade needs a way to support herself and her siblings in this strange world. When she is offered a job as an illustrator for a book company owned by the elderly Hortense Jones, she jumps at it. Then she meets Hortense's nephew, the fascinating Levi Jones, a former Enforcer with a dangerous reputation as a gunman. Loyalty to the kindhearted Hortense draws Jade into the deadly feud between the Jones and the Smith families. Can she find happiness on St. Antoni and keep her family safe?

––––––––

Trey of Death

JADE BRENDON scowled at the social worker sitting on her lumpy sofa.

“My parents’ wills clearly named me as the guardian of Liam and Natalie,” she said coldly. Jade was about medium height for a woman. Her entry level job as a graphic designer in a prominent advertising firm allowed her to dress as she pleased, and she had seen no reason to dress up for the social worker’s visit.

Jade’s tight jeans snuggly cupped her hips and nicely shaped legs. The grey tee shirt matched her eyes and was a little tight over her ample breasts. Several costume jewelry rings graced her hands with their short, well-kept nails. To keep it out of the way when she worked, she kept her honey blond hair pulled back in a messy knot.

The social worker, whose card had given her name as R. Tomilson, sighed. She knew this wasn’t going to be easy. She glanced around the neat one-bedroom apartment. A messily made-up cot stood against one wall. Next to it was a bookcase stuffed with books, action figures, and game cards. A weathered trunk, which she assumed held clothes, sat at the foot of the cot.

“I am sorry, Miss Brendan,” she said earnestly. “But even though your parents named you as guardian of your younger siblings, the state demands certain standards be met for their care.”

“Such as?” Jade demanded.

“Well, space for one thing. This is a one-bedroom apartment. While you can legally share the bedroom with your sister, your brother must have his own room. For another, while your job provides adequately for one person, the income from it doesn’t meet the standard required to support three people.”

“We’ve been managing just fine so far,” Jade said. “Besides didn’t you say there was financial aid available?”

“I’m afraid your wages are too high for you to qualify for financial aid.”

“So, I’ll get a second job,” Jade said.

“I’m sorry, but a second job would only cause other issues to be raised. If you are away from home at a second job, who will supervise your siblings?”

“Natalie is sixteen,” Jade said. “She is old enough to keep an eye on Liam while I am at work. I looked it up.”

“Natalie is not an adult,” Tomilson said. “She is allowed to babysit a child for three hours a day without an adult present.”

“So, what do you suggest I do? Quit my job and go on welfare?” Jade demanded.

Tomilson smiled. “It’s not quite as desperate as that. I made some inquiries into your background. Your mother had a brother. I contacted him and Mr. Robert Masters has offered to provide you, Natalie and Liam with a home.”

Jade frowned. “I don’t remember my mother ever mentioning him. Before I agree for us to live with him, I want to meet him.”

“Of course. I’ll arrange for the three of you to meet him.” She rose, concluding the interview. “Please believe me, Miss Brendan, I’m trying to do my best for you.”

“Thank you,” Jade said as politely as she could manage. She gave vent to her feelings by shutting the door behind the social worker with a decided bang.

She had forgotten to lock the door, and it swung open to admit Natalie with a basket of unfolded clean clothes, followed by Liam. Natalie set the basket on the battered couch so they could all help fold.

Natalie was sixteen, with their mother’s tall, svelte figure, porcelain skin, generous red-lipped mouth and green eyes. She plopped down on the other end of the couch and reached for a towel. Before she could start folding it, her two Yorkshire terriers Sparkle and Shine demanded her attention. The two dogs were purebred show dogs and Natalie’s pride and joy. Natalie’s walls at their parent’s house had been festooned with ribbons won by the pair. One of her biggest fears after their parent’s deaths had been not being able to keep them with her.

Thirteen-year-old Liam put the soap and dryer sheets away in the cabinet. Liam had all the markings of a tech nerd; he was small for his age, skinny as a rail, with a shock of blond, almost white hair. Like Jade, he had inherited their father’s grey eyes.

Liam slammed the cupboard shut. “Was that her?” he asked, referring to the departed social worker.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Jade replied.

“What did she want?” Natalie asked.

“She intends to remove both of you from my care,” Jade said grimly.

“She can’t!” Natalie’s voice was shrill. “Mom and Dad’s will names you our guardian!”

“According to her, it isn’t enough,” Jade replied. She could have pretended everything was going to be alright, but she knew if she did, the shock would be even greater if the social worker split them up.

“Why not?” demanded Liam. “It’s none of her business!”

“She doesn’t think so. According to her, you need your own room,” she told Liam. “Also, I don’t make enough money to support all three of us, but it’s still too much to qualify for financial aid.”

“That sucks!” Liam said hotly.

“What can we do?” Natalie asked, clutching Sparkle, who wiggled in protest, uncomfortable in her tight grip. Natalie realized it, and let go, petting her in contrition.

“She wants us to go and live with Mom’s brother, Robert Masters,” Jade said.

“Who is he?” Liam asked.

“Mom’s brother apparently.”

“Why haven’t we heard about him before this?” Natalie was suspicious.

“What does he get out of helping us?” Liam asked, as suspicious as Natalie.

“I don’t know,” Jade said. “The social worker said she would arrange for us to meet him. Maybe we can figure it out then.”

“What if he doesn’t like dogs?” Natalie asked.

“That’s a deal breaker,” Jade assured her. “Sparkle and Shine are our family. They go where we go.” She hoped her inner turmoil didn’t show in her face or voice; Natalie and Liam were depending on her to handle things.

That night after Liam had sacked out in his cot, and Natalie had fallen asleep over her book, Jade sat at the miniscule kitchen table and looked at her parent’s document box. It was a metal box about twelve inches long and four inches deep. It held all the papers her parents had considered important. Slowly she opened the lid.

She had glanced through it hurriedly after her parents died. Inside were copies of their marriage license, birth certificates for the three of them, their wills and an insurance policy barely covering the cost of the double funeral. She shuffled through the documents. There, she knew she hadn’t imagined it, a sealed letter with her name on the outside. Slowly she opened it.

Dear Children,

If you are reading this, I must assume your father and I have both passed on. I can only hope we were together, and we didn’t suffer. Never forget how much we love you.

Jade, I know you have a good start in your profession, but an entry level job in that advertising firm won’t earn much for a long time.

For some time, your father and I have been considering emigrating to one of the new colonies. We know the price for emigration to one of the government sanctioned colonies is far out of our reach. However, there are other options. You don’t have to do this; if you choose to stay on earth, that is your choice. But if the time comes when you need to escape, I offer you this.

Go to Delaney’s Antiques and Collectibles in Laughing Mountain and ask for Grace Delaney. Laughing Mountain is a small community outside of San Demos, California. Grace and I were roommates in college, and we shared many things about each other. She can help you reach a colony called St. Antoni. Don’t speak of this to anyone else; St. Antoni is one of the Forbidden Colonies. It’s a wild place and the laws are very different from those here on earth. If you have time before you need to leave, try to arrange for someone already living there to sponsor you so you can find a job. Don’t take paper money; they don’t use it there.

Godspeed and Good Luck my dears.

Mother.

Jade sat turning the letter over in her hands for several minutes. What had her mother known to make her think her children might need to escape earth? Jean Brendan hadn’t said so, but the portal to St. Antoni must be in or near Laughing Mountain. Like everyone else, Jade knew only a little bit about the Portals. They had been discovered during the worst of the combined pandemics and earthquakes. Big Industry and the State and National governments controlled access to all the legal Portals, but rumors persisted of illegal gateways leading to colonies who existed without the benefit of help from either of those entities.

As her mother had said, there was no need to rush to a decision. First, she would check out this Uncle the social worker had found. She would keep the option of emigrating to St. Antoni in reserve. However, it wouldn’t hurt to get in touch with her mother’s old roommate.

The social worker had arranged for them to meet their unknown uncle in the lobby of one of the new hotels in San Demos. She met them outside and led them to a small area partially shielded from prying eyes by several tall indoor plants.

At first glance, Robert Masters seemed okay. He was about medium height for a man, and he had their mothers red hair, touched with a little grey and her green eyes. His complexion was ruddy from exposure to the sun. A neat goatee and mustache surrounded a mobile mouth with a ready smile.

He was manifestly glad to see them. “I’m so sorry Jean and Maurice passed away,” he said. “But at least I can offer the three of you a home.”

“Why didn’t mother talk about you?” Jade asked.

He chuckled. “Well, your grandparents probably forbade it. You see I was a wild kid. I got into all kinds of trouble and your grandpa and grandma were pretty strait-laced. They kicked me out when I graduated school. I joined up with a militia group after that, and they were pretty secretive. We weren’t encouraged to write home in case we gave away where we were or what we might be doing.”

“Why do you want us?” Liam asked. He liked things neatly laid out.

“It’s a reasonable question,” Uncle Bob said. “I suppose it’s because none of us has any other family; I learned how important family is while I was cut off. By the time I’d made my pile, your grandparents were gone. And I didn’t know how to get in touch with your mother.”

“Are you sure you can afford to take us in?” Natalie asked.

“Yes, I can afford it. I don’t know if Ms. Tomilson told you, but I made a lot of money on Portal technology a few years ago. I can support you.”

“I need to work,” Jade said.

His eyebrows lifted. “Alright, I understand you’re a graphic artist? I’m sure with a little time we can turn something up. I have a lot of connections in different businesses.”

“You do understand I intend to retain legal guardianship of Natalie and Liam?” Jade asked. “My parents would expect it.”

Just for a second, Jade thought she saw a flicker of anger in his eyes, but it was so quickly gone she wondered if she had imagined it. What he replied was, “Of course.”

“How do you feel about dogs in the house?” Natalie asked.

He grinned. “You call those dogs? Sure, bring them along. I have dogs myself. Guard dogs,” he explained. “they have the run of the grounds at night, but they spend their days in a kennel. My security takes care of them.”

Natalie’s chin rose. “Sparkle and Shine live in the house. With us. They are champion show dogs.”

“That’s okay,” he assured her. “You’ll need to tell my housekeeper what food to order for them.”

“May we have a few minutes in private to discuss your offer?” Jade asked.

“Certainly,” he said with a smile.

Jade rose and stepped away from the alcove. Natalie and Liam followed. The dog’s tiny toenails making clicking sounds on the tile floor.

When she was sure they were out of earshot, Jade asked, “Well?”

“He’s up to something,” Liam said. “But I don’t think he means us any harm.”

“Natalie?”

Her sister made a face. “Despite what he said, I don’t think he actually likes dogs. But if we accept his offer, it might buy us time to figure out something else we can do.”

Jade nodded. “That is what I think as well.”

When they returned, she smiled at Uncle Bob and said, “Thank you. We accept your offer to share your home with us, Uncle Robert.”

“Uncle Bob,” he corrected. “I only got called Robert if I was in trouble; of course, I’m sorry to say I was in trouble quite a lot.”

“Excellent,” Ms. Tomilson said. “I have some papers you and Jade need to sign, Mr. Masters, and afterwards I’ll leave so you can make your arrangements.”

Uncle Bob’s estate was an enormous three-story house with a brick façade, set in the middle of three acres. It was surrounded by high walls in the front and a chain length fence in the rear, “for security,” he explained. “I have a lot of valuable items. That’s the guard house,” he pointed to a square building just inside the wrought iron gates. “It’s manned twenty-four seven. You can feel quite safe here.”

A long, sweeping drive ended in a circle in front of the house. “The garage is around back,” Uncle Bob said as the driver opened the doors. “We’ll need to see about getting you your own car Jade, but in the meantime, feel free to drive one of mine. Tom here will let you know which one you can take.”

“Thank you,” she said, feeling a little overwhelmed.

The housekeeper, Sara Michaels, was a tall spare woman in her forties. She greeted them with a smile.

“Welcome home, Miss Jade, Miss Natalie and Master Liam,’ She said. “Mr. Masters, Rathbone is waiting to speak to you in the study. Shall I take your family up to their rooms for you?”

“Yes, thank you Sara. I’ll see you at dinner kids.”

“Who is Rathbone?” Liam, ever curious asked as they followed Sara up the stairs.

“He is head of security for the estate. I expect you will meet him at dinner.”

She led the way to a three-bedroom suite with its own sitting room and bath.

“This will be your private area,” she explained. “Mr. Masters does a lot of entertaining and some of the ‘guests’ won’t be suitable to introduce to family, although I expect he might ask Miss Jade to act as hostess for him sometimes.”

The sitting room had a large, wide screen television and several comfortable chairs. The room she indicated for Liam held another TV, this one equipped with the latest gaming equipment. All of the rooms had walk-in closets, and desks with new computers. “You’ll share the printer in the sitting room. The TVs are hooked into the local satellite company,” Sara told them. “You can get any channel you like.”

The sitting room door opened, and a slim man in his early thirties entered towing a luggage cart. He was followed by a middle-aged woman of Hispanic descent.

“This is Maria Cortez,” Sara said. “Maria is in charge of this floor. If you need anything, just let her know. Leave the cart here Jerry. We’ll put it out in the hall when we’re through with it.”

Jerry nodded and left.

Maria picked up a box of books and headed for Liam’s room with it. At a minatory gesture from Jade, he hurried over. “Here let me help you,” he said.

“Oh, by the way, Mr. Masters does dress for dinner. It’s at six.”

“We don’t have formal clothes,” Jade said in dismay.

“You won’t need formal attire,” Sara said reassuringly. “Unless Mr. Masters is entertaining guests, a regular dress will do for you and Miss Natalie, and for the young master, a pair of nice trousers and a button-down shirt. No tie.”

“Funeral clothes,” Liam muttered.

Jade laughed. “It’s not much to ask. He is giving us a home, remember?”

Uncle Bob smiled as they entered the parlor next to the dining room. “Thank you for changing for dinner,” he said. “I always feel it adds a little something to the meal if one is nicely dressed.”

He gestured, and a blond-haired man with a football player’s build came forward. “Kids, this is Harry Rathbone, my head of security. Harry, these are my nieces and nephew, Jade, Natalie and Liam.”

Rathbone nodded, acknowledging the introduction and retreated to the bookshelves along one wall.

Bob signaled the barman to pour juice for Natalie and Liam and offered Jade her choice of a predinner drink. She chose a glass of white wine.

Mrs. Michaels says you do a lot of entertaining,” Jade said.

“I do a fair amount. I was hoping I could persuade you to act as hostess for me occasionally.”

Jade hesitated. “I would be happy to, but I don’t know if I have the type of wardrobe suitable for formal entertaining.”

“I didn’t suppose you did. I don’t want to offend you, but I would enjoy supplying you with the proper clothes. Natalie and Liam too of course.”

“You are already sharing your home with us. I don’t want to impose—”

“Not at all. I do need a hostess once in a while though.”

“Of course, I’d be glad to help out if I can,” she said. “I don’t have a lot of experience in formal entertaining; what Mom and Dad did was usually informal.”

“My secretary and Mrs. Michaels arrange my parties. All you need do is make my guests comfortable.”

“Alright, I’ll try.”

“Thank you, my dear. Shall we go in to dinner?” he held out his arm and Jade allowed him to lead her into the dining room.

The dinner was excellent, if a little exotic; lobster bisque, followed by roast pheasant, creamy mashed potatoes and new butter peas. For dessert there was a chocolate souffle. Jade was relieved to note that Liam, who like most boys his age, preferred more simple fare, ate it without complaint.

During the next three months, the Brendans slid into comfortable roles. Uncle Bob took them shopping at an upscale clothing store. Jade and Natalie both acquired several dresses suitable for formal occasions, and Liam was outfitted with a few shirts and pants he could wear to ‘dress’ for dinner.

The first party she attended as hostess was a glittering affair. She was introduced to several Vid stars, the local chief of police and several representatives from businesses located in the nearby town of San Demos. The affair began with a smorgasbord buffet the guests devoured like starving hyenas. Liquor flowed freely, thanks to Uncle Bob’s policy of an open bar. Never much of a drinker, Jade asked Joanne, one of the bartenders to serve her tea in a wine glass instead of wine.

“Not a boozer?” Joanne asked. She filled the glass from a pitcher under the bar and handed it to Jade.

“No,” Jade replied. “Besides, a hostess who’s had too much wine can’t do a good job looking out for the guests.”

“I’ll tell the others,” Joanne promised.

While it kept her sober, imbibing several glasses of tea prompted her to use the bathroom more frequently. She was returning from one such trip when she heard giggles coming from her Uncle’s office. Her uncle was fanatical about his privacy; he only let the servants in to clean it if he was present while they did it. Jade bit her lip, debating whether or not to call Rathbone to boot the gigglers out of there or simply try to explain to them no one was allowed access. Not wanting to embarrass anyone in case they were indulging in a little sexual recreation (a situation she had run into more than once in her college days) she cautiously opened the door.

A half-undressed man and woman knelt behind the ornate glass coffee table in front of the antique fainting couch with a small pile of white powder before them. Each of them had a straw up one nostril as they snorted the drug. They didn’t see her in the doorway because they both had closed their eyes. She softly shut the door and went back to the reception rooms.

She found Harry Rathbone helping a guest who wasn’t sober enough to drive into her car.

“Drive her home Joelle,” he said. “Smithers will follow you to pick you up.”

“Too drunk to drive?” Jade asked.

Rathbone jumped. “Yes, it’s policy to drive home guests in her condition. Did you need something?”

“When I was coming back from the bathroom, I heard giggling in Uncle Bob’s office. I thought he kept it locked when he entertained.”

“You’re sure it wasn’t your uncle?”

“I’m sure,” she said. “He was entertaining Councilwoman Sanders when I got back to the party.”

Rathbone nodded. “I’ll take care of it,” he said.

The next morning, her uncle made no mention of finding intruders in his office. She had thought he might mention it to her, but it was as if the incident had never happened, and she said nothing about it to Liam or Natalie.

Uncle Bob went with Jade when she enrolled Natalie and Liam in the local schools. The first prickles of uneasiness about her uncle emanated from the schools.

Jade came to pick up Natalie one day and recognized the troubled look on her sister’s face. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Today Jack Garrett came to me and asked if I could get him some uppers for a party he’s going to have.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him no, of course,” Natalie said, “but he got angry, and he said something about me getting it from my uncle and not wanting to share. Why would he say that?”

“You’re the new girl. Is it possible he was testing you?”

“Maybe, but I don’t like it. Should I tell Uncle Bob?”

“No. Let’s not trouble him with this; it might just be malicious gossip. If it happens again, let me know.”

Liam was blunter. “The kids at school say Uncle Bob is a drug dealer. They say he supplies their parents with drugs for their parties. Is he?”

“I don’t know,” Jade admitted. “Let’s not talk about it at the house, okay?”

“Alright.”

Jade said nothing more, but she was troubled. She had attended enough parties in college to recognize the powdery residue she had intermittently found in rooms used by guests at her uncle’s parties. This, coupled with the scene she witnessed in the office, caused her enough disquiet to decide it was time to make a trip to Laughing Mountain. Looking the town up on the internet, she discovered it hosted events several times a month. In fact, there was going to be a renaissance Faire next week.

That evening, she suggested the three of them take Sparkle and Shine for a walk in the gardens. Most of the gardens close to the house were laid out in formal flowerbeds and shrubs. Near the back fence the plants were less carefully cultivated, and the area was also less likely to be under surveillance.

“I brought you out here to talk about our situation,” she said. “I don’t want to talk in the house, because—well I’m not sure our rooms aren’t bugged.”

Natalie gasped. “Would he do that?”

“If he is what I think he is, then yes he would,” Jade replied.

While Liam and Natalie assimilated this idea, Jade continued, “I looked Uncle Bob up on the net before we came here. Whatever he does to earn his money doesn’t show. It just lists his profession as ‘investor’.”

Natalie frowned. “A lot of businessmen list investor as their occupation.”

“Yes,” Jade agreed, “but there is usually a money trail showing where they got the funds to invest. He doesn’t have one.”

“What do you think he’s doing?” Natalie asked.

Jade shrugged. “There are several possibilities, a few of them are even legal.”

“But you think he is doing something illegal, don’t you?” Liam asked shrewdly.

“Yes, hon, I do. I’m sorry, I know you like your school, but I think we need to make plans to leave.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to go to a renaissance Faire,” Jade said.

Surprisingly, Uncle Bob was in favor of them being gone for the weekend. “It’s too far to drive there, spend all day and drive back,” he said. “Why don’t I have my secretary book you rooms at the hotel? Then you won’t be driving home tired.”

“Thank you,” Jade said. “Please remind her we’ll have the yorkies with us.” She suspected their uncle was planning the kind of party this weekend Mrs. Michaels said would have guests who weren’t suitable to interact with the family. He had already informed her he didn’t need her to act as hostess for the upcoming event and had suggested the three of them stay in their own rooms over the weekend.

On the trip down, Jade explained to her siblings what her mother had said in her letter.

“I’d like to read it,” Natalie said.

“I brought it with me. It’s in my suitcase,” Jade said. “You can read it after we check in.”

The main street of the small mountain town was already crowded with visitors in anticipation of the event. Uncle Bob’s secretary had been apologetic at not being able to get them a room at the Hotel in the center of town.

“I’ve booked you into a local motel,” she said. “I did specify you needed rooms with a connecting door.”

The Comfort Inn was an open U shape. She drove under the wide porte-cochere shielding the entrance to the motel lobby and parked. While Jade checked in, Natalie got out to walk her dogs near the edge of the fenced swimming pool. Liam followed Jade into the lobby where he was soon busy perusing the many flyers in a rack by the door.

Once they checked in, Jade made certain the connecting door was open before she dug her mother’s letter out of her suitcase. Natalie and Liam both read it.

“You’re serious,” Natalie said. “You want us to go to this place, this forbidden colony.”

“Yes,” Jade said. “Providing I can get us a sponsor and have a job waiting when we arrive.”

“Cool!” Liam said.

“Remember, we mustn’t talk about this to anyone,” Jade warned.

“What next?” Natalie asked.

“Let’s go explore the town and see if we can find Mother’s old friend Grace,” Jade said. “The desk clerk said the Faire vendors are still setting up, but the food booths are open.”

“Oh boy! Real food!” Liam exclaimed.

Jade and Natalie both laughed. Uncle Bob’s French trained chef turned out gourmet meals, but they weren’t in high favor by thirteen-year-olds.

Delaney’s Antiques and Collectibles turned out to be a typical antique store. It had the slightly musty odor from all the old fabrics and books mixed with the lemon scent of the wax used to bring out the patina in the furniture. A young woman in her late twenties was behind the counter, polishing a silver teapot.

She looked up as Jade approached.

“Hi,” Jade said. “I’m looking for Grace Delaney.”

“My mother. I’m Lacey Delaney. How can I help you?”

“My mother’s name was Jean Masters. She and your mother were roommates in college. My mother told me if I needed help, I should come to Grace.”

“What kind of help do you need?”

“I’d rather tell her that in person, if you don’t mind.”

“Are you staying in town?”

“Yes, we’re here for the weekend. We have rooms at the Comfort Inn. Room 201.”

“I can’t promise you anything, but I’ll tell my mother you want to speak to her.”

Jade had turned to go when she realized Natalie had come to the counter carrying two items.

“I thought we might get these for Uncle Bob,” the girl said, holding out two ornate brass candlesticks. “And I want to buy this bracelet if I can afford it.”

“How thoughtful of you Natalie,” Jade said. She blinked at the price tag on the candlesticks and took out her charge card.

After she paid for them and the rhinestone bracelet for Natalie, they headed for the food trucks.

Lacey did a search on the account Jade had used. The card hadn’t even flinched at the price tag on the items. Whatever help the Brendan’s needed, it wasn’t money.

She called her mother. When Grace answered, she asked, “Did you have a roommate named Jean Masters in college?”

“Yes, I did. I haven’t heard from her in ages, but I think she got married to an Irishman named Maurice Brendan. Why?”

“Her daughter came in the store today looking for you. She said her mother told her to come to you if she needed help.”

“Is she still there?”

“No, she and her brother and sister are staying at the Comfort Inn. They are here for the Renaissance Faire. Mom, did Jean know about the Portal?”