Free Final Solstice by David Sakmyster

bored of the tea-sipping English and wants to come back here and follow in dear old dad’s footsteps, send her my way. We could start her on a nice internship.”
    “I’d appreciate that, really.” Mason thought about it, and all the benefits that would come from her being close by, close to her mother—and maybe even a positive influence on Gabriel. “But for now, I think I’m following in her footsteps. We’re both heading to Solstice.”
    Pam whistled. “Fascinating. You and the twins together at the same place? Fascinating, and dangerous.” She looked up. “Do you remember your first day here? Lauren was two weeks away from delivery and I told you—”
    Mason remembered as if it was this morning. Remembered the wide yellow tie Pamela had picked out for him, the bushy sideburns and cheesy mustache she had begged him to shave. “You told me that in many ancient cultures, especially with the Finns—my own heritage, that twins were highly regarded as conduits to the weather gods, or something like that.”
    “That’s right. Special powers of prediction and sorcery and sometimes even … control .” She shrugged. “Like I said, if she’s ever looking for something else, maybe I can help mold that power, like I did for you.”
    “Again, taking all the credit.”
    Laughing, she stretched out her arms. “All modesty on this side. Now go, begone. And like I said …”
    “Go save the world.” Mason grinned at her, nodded once more and turned away.

Chapter 3
    Solomon arrived at the Fresno Yosemite Airport, in a landing zone bathed in a shaft of sunlight beaming through clouds as if providing a secondary runway. The pilot must have marveled at how the clouds had parted just in time and the fog mystically lifted away, scattering before their approach. They set down two hours before the meeting was to begin, with plenty of time to spare. Still, once they made the turn off onto Route 198, Solomon told the waiting limo driver to take a leisurely drive through so he could enjoy the scenery and take in the sweeping mountain vistas, appreciating how the rugged terrain gave way to the gradual spread of green as the pine shrouded forests invaded and held sway the closer they came to Sequoia National Park.
    The others were surely there already, most likely sipping bitter tea and suffering through their leader’s exaggerated sense of piano skills as a precursor to the meeting. Let them wait for his arrival, Solomon thought. Let them murmur among themselves and wonder if he would even come. They would eventually start without him, he had no doubt, and that suited him just fine. He wanted to make an entrance, and it had to happen at just the right time.
    The semi-annual meeting took place near the solstices and this one, four days before the winter solstice, promised high drama and the discussion of powerful topics, including several key votes.
    After entering the park, driving to Giant Forest, he enjoyed the rise in elevation, and lowered the window to feel the air grow colder and observe the ground cover gradually turn white with a dusting of snow. They parked at the Lodgepole visitor center, and Solomon got out and told the driver to wait. It wouldn’t be too long. He observed the few other cars here off-season and recognized quite a few of the out of state plates as belonging to the other members.
    He breathed a great breath of fresh air, enjoying a myriad of natural scents carried along the crisp early morning breeze, and surveyed the vast and varied land rolling out before him in all directions. He started off down a trail, his feet and staff crunching into the brittle snow as he bowed to the might of the giant sequoia trees standing like mighty and wise emissaries of old, silent sentinels that bristled and trembled at his approach.
    In time, he cleared the deeper forests and emerged on a cliff side, viewing a sweeping panorama of Moro Rock in the distance, and Crescent Meadow down below. His destination. But