A story from the Rifters universe…
More houses, more streets, more neighbors graced the lands upon which the town of Settler had been founded in Central Oregon. When Cordelia had first arrived with her brother and mother in 1888 to join their father, she had been so young she didn’t know the meaning of much and only two other families had joined them that first year. Wooden buildings dotted the landscape where there was once just scrub and trees. A few wagons rumbled down the streets, and horses slapped their impatient tails at hitching posts.
Nestled inside the remains of an ancient super volcano, the town was picturesquely set between two placid lakes warmed with the residual energy of the volcano. It’s crumbled crater walls cradled Settler from some of the harsher winter storms, but not all of them. Snow remained on the craggy peaks, and the Cascades in the distance were still entirely white, showing no indication that summer would begin in a mere month. Cordelia was hardly ready.
Her paps built additions to the house like a man possessed. The newest upside-down room made her dizzy, and she couldn’t get him to stop. Neither could his best friend Chuck. Since the loss of her mother, he hadn’t been as coherent. He got worse when baby Wallace died. The baby had no chance without a mother to fight for him. Cordelia had only been six, the town wasn’t populated enough to help out, and her father had been incapable of caring for the infant.
Tragedy aside, the worst part was the rift would open on the summer solstice, and her paps couldn’t be trusted to keep the town and the world safe. Not anymore. She and Chuck had discussed it in length, and he had insisted she take over.
Between the summer solstice and fall equinox every year, the rift opened and brought the potential of monsters visiting Earth. Her father, Chuck, and some of Chuck’s tribe had quietly sent the monsters away every summer. This season, Chuck’s people had been moved away and her father wouldn’t leave the house. Her older brother, Rick, rarely tore his attention away from his guitar long enough to be of any use to her. He just sat in the pasture, singing to the cows. She feared insanity ran in the family and hoped she hadn’t inherited the gene.
She had left the house with the sole purpose to recruit Rifters, people who would watch over the rift with her. Sure, her brother would be at her side, but she didn’t see how his songs could back her up if push came to shove.
Her first stop was the ranch next door. The simple one-story structure had been painted a pretty yellow and had the most inviting porch. The ladies of the house lived here all year round, but Mr. Hessler spent the winters boxing in San Francisco and Portland to supplement what his ranch produced. He generously offered lessons to the townsfolk and didn’t discriminate between young or old, or man or woman. His philosophy was that everyone should know how to defend themselves.
A man with the physical rigor of a rancher and boxer would make a great guardian out at the rift. Cordelia had it in her mind she would not leave until he said yes. When the Hesslers had moved in, his daughter, Dottie, had become fast friends with Cordelia. It was from Dottie that Cordelia had heard Mr. Hessler had returned from San Franciso.
While still walking down the road, she spotted him in the fields with his horses. He was trying his hand at taming wild mustangs this year. She watched him chase the herd around the pasture, never getting any closer to any of them.
“You’re going about it all wrong,” Cordelia advised from outside the flimsy fence, trying to tame the flyaway brown strands escaping her bun.
“Get in here and show me.” He tossed the rope to her.
Cordelia grabbed hold of her brown skirts and slipped through the slats of the fence. “I’m happy to oblige after all those boxing lessons, Mr. Hessler.”
“Too bad Chuck had to move. I could use his wisdom.” He had sandy brown hair and blue eyes like his offspring. Cordelia often envied their blue eyes, but knew she was better off with her sensible brown pair.
“You have me. I’m enough.” She picked up the rope and walked to the middle of the field, setting her sights on a young mare who didn’t have a foal and wasn’t about to foal. She sat down and talked softly to the horses. Sometimes, she whistled and sang. Mr. Hessler brought her lunch and a bucket of apples. “Do you have any books?” she asked. He returned a while later and set The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens in her hands.
“Pardon me for saying so, Miss Swit, but you don’t seem to be accomplishing anything. The horses are ignoring you.”
“Which is a good thing, Mr. Hessler. If they were paying me mind, they’d probably be running away.”
“Okay, I see what you’re getting at. Should I stay?”
“If you sit quietly and don’t scare off the herd.”
“Fair enough. Good thing I brought another book.” He pulled The Three Musketeers out of his pocket. “I brought the Dickens back for you.”
“For me? You didn’t have to go to the trouble.”
“You’re Dottie’s best friend and my best pupil, Miss Swit.”
“Call me Cordelia, please. Let’s not treat each other so coldly.”
“Excuse me if I slip up now and then, but I’ll do my best to oblige, Cor-Cordelia.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you come by for a boxing lesson? I know it wasn’t to teach me horse taming.”
“Hm, yes.” She squinted at the sun before settling her gaze back on him. “I need recruits. Folks not afraid of the dark. Folks who would be good in a fight.”
His eyes widened. “For what purpose? You don’t seem the brawling type, Miss…, er, Cordelia.”
“This town has a deep secret which Paps has kept since he founded this town in 1888.”
“The weird blue lights in the woods in the summers?”
Her eyes widened this time. “How did you know?”
“I don’t know what the lights mean, but most of the town has witnessed them. Chuck’s explanation of the volcano sometimes letting off some steam satisfied most.”
“But not you.”
He shook his head.
“You’re right to be skeptical.” She explained the rift and the potential for monsters.
“You can count me in, and Dottie will want to be part of it. You’re taking on women, aren’t you?”
“I don’t discriminate Mr. Hessler.”
“Call me Gregory.”
“Doesn’t seem proper, Mr. Hessler.”
The young dun mare came up to Cordelia, snuffled her and the bucket of apples. She held one out to the mare. “You’re a beautiful dear, aren’t you.” The mare let Cordelia touch her before trotting off. “You behave just like this until the horses start to trust you, then you move on in the training.”
“Will you come by when I’m ready for the next step?”
“You can count on it. The dun mare will be mine, by the way.”
“I’d have it no other way.” He scratched the back of his neck. “If you’re looking for more recruits, I have a few suggestions.”
“No worries, I have the matter well in hand.
“You always do.”
She left the ranch for the outskirts of town and the blacksmith’s shop. A half open sort of barnlike building, the shop was as utilitarian and straightforward as its owner. Langston Quarles was in many ways as dark as his anvil, and Cordelia appreciated his serious manner. His coal-black eyes didn’t glance up from his work when she walked into his shop.
“What ken I do ya fer, Miss Swit. It be coming up on evening time.”
“I wouldn’t dare keep you from Edna’s supper. No worries, Mr. Quarles.” If there was on person in this town who was as formidable as Cordelia, it was the blacksmith’s wife. “Is Edna keeping herself well?”
“You know. You just had tea will her last week.”
“Fair enough, I’ll not delay my reason for coming any further. I admire your ingenuity with your inventions and creations. You already are a great service to the town, but you could be even greater.”
“How so?”
She told him about the rift and how she needed help with keeping Settler and the world safe. “Will you join me in this endeavor, Mr. Quarles?”
“If you’re so lucky as to procure Edna’s say so, I will.”
“I will stop by your place and ask her for tea.”
“I want to help, though. So, you know where my feelings sit on the matter, but I won’t defy my Edna.”
“Nor should you.”
“She’d make a great addition to the group,” he suggested and returned to hammering on a panel of metal.
Following through, Cordelia popped by the Quarles’s home and invited Edna to tea the next day.
Edna had her dark hair pulled back with a scarf wrapped around her curls, which had a mind of their own. She bounced her young son on her hip. “It’ll have to be before lunching time. You’ve more town business to discuss?”
“Yes, I promise it’s more interesting than discussing infrastructure.”
“I look forward to it, Cordelia. Evening meal’s on the fire. If it burns Langston and my baby boy go hungry.”
Cordelia had no intentions of lingering. Interfering with Edna’s schedule would make her the subject of the woman’s ire for years. Cordelia didn’t need the drama in her life. She went home and tended to her own family, her father and brother.
The next day, she dressed in her fine blue dress and arranged a hat over her more carefully arranged hair. Edna demanded and deserved the respect of making an effort. She strode into the middle of town and inside the bakery, which also served as a tea café for ladies. Cordelia selected the quiet table in the corner and placed the order for a pot of tea, two cups, biscuits, butter, and honey. Edna abhorred too much of a fuss.
She walked in less than a minute later, dressed in her fine burgundy dress to rival the best fashions in San Francisco. Decorative combs slicked back her dark curls and rolled them into a charming updo. A delicate face with cute features belied by the force of her nature.
“Good day, Cordelia.” She sat down and removed her gloves. “Did you order the tea? Today, my time is limited. Langston has to ride out to Pronghorn to deliver an order of nails. What do you need me to accomplish? And for the life of me, with all these souls in this town, why are we the only two who can get anything done?”
“Excellent question, Edna.” Cordelia fell quiet as Bernard set down their tea and biscuits. She waited until he disappeared into the back kitchen before revealing the rift and the proposition she had made to Edna’s husband.
“He knows what’s good for him by telling you to ask me before he answers, but you should have come to me first, Cordelia.”
“I considered it in earnest but wanted to know whether he was interested before coming to you.”
“The courtesy is noted. Thank you. I’m keen to join you too, but not yet. When my boy gets old enough to watch over the babes, I’ll start up with you then.”
“Your offer is generous.”
“It’s no offer, it’s a desire. We make things happen, Cordelia. You make this happen for me. Now, I must go.” She hadn’t touched her tea before gliding out the door. Heads turned as she strolled by. Between her beauty, poise, and demeanor, Edna was a vision few could ignore.
Across the street, the general store had a steady stream of customers. Cordelia knew this hour of the day was one of Millicent Fisk’s busiest. Cordelia enjoyed her tea and biscuit, then another cup of tea. The general store grew quiet. She asked Bernard to box up the biscuits and stepped across the street.
Besides a general store, Milicent Fisk was the town’s apothecary. She had been a nurse in the War Between the States and tended to the folks of Settler as gently as she had once cared for soldiers.
“You need another tincture for your paps, Miss Cordelia?” Millicent wiped her hands on her apron. Her graying blonde hair was neatly piled on top of her head. Her eyes, which were a nondescript shade of brown, scoured over Cordelia, perhaps looking for health issues. “How did he fare with the last one?”
“No better, Millicent.”
“There are others we can try, but they’ll make him dopey so that he sleeps a lot.”
“I’m not sure we’re there yet.”
“Your too young to be shouldering all these troubles.”
“When you were my age, you were tending to severely wounded men in a war.”
“Like you, I’m a doer.”
“You’re also one of Mr. Hessler’s best students. All of your talents I could sorely use.” She told Millicent of the rift and her forming a group of protectors.
“Count me in by all means.” Millicent crossed her arms, leaning back against a partition, hiding her herbs and ingredients. Some accused her of being a witch. The ignorant always accused intelligent women of such nonsense.
“We’ll meet up at Mr. Hessler’s ranch in two days to begin training together.”
“What sort of training will we do?”
“Learning not to scream at monsters.”
