Emma Larson moves back to West Virginia when a run of bad luck leaves her nowhere else to go. At night, her dreams are filled with drumming and medieval rituals. During the day, she sends out teaching applications to school districts as far away as Winchester and Hagerstown. She’s got to find a job soon.
Walking in the woods and sketching native plants helps Emma to relax. She wonders into a nearby meadow her late grandma called ‘the Cold Place’, and told her to avoid. At sundown, drumming draws her back there. Girls in hooded cloaks follow the drumbeats and direction of the old Hexa as they dance around a fire. She sketches them and records their rituals. When a menacing fireball chases Emma in her home, she reaches out for help to her only close neighbor, Finn Hanson.
Finn helps her hang her grandma Larson’s hex sign to ward off bad spirits. He knows a little about the runes, and explains their connection to the hex sign’s symbols. Emma remembers her grandma’s letters and mentions of dangerous, blond strangers. When large rune signs start to appear on her font porch floor, Finn interprets them as reflecting family or clan connections. He tells her he thinks the Hexa is preparing Emma for some new job or responsibility.
Impossible as this sounds, Emma remembers the young mother and small boy in her dreams who run and hide from the Norse witch. How can this involve her? She finds images in an old family picture album which only confuse her more. But sheet music for “The Ballad of Lucia Larson” explains her family history. Should she believe that she is fated to play a role in the family tradition? What does the old Hexa expect of her?
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