The Tree and the Tablet (The St. James Chronicles Book 1)

by Kathryn O'Brien

  Bringing forth the sister’s song

  Truth of light and virtue strong

  She who sings the golem’s song

  Can hold the key of divine light

  To wield the words of strength and might.

  Beware the beast that lies within,

  Whose raven’s claws will surely win.

  Only purpose of truth and light

  Will save you from the dragon’s plight.

  Looking up and glancing out the window to watch the scenery passing by, I considered the riddle and its words. What did it mean? What was the dragon’s plight? Shrugging, I decided to come back to it later and promptly placed a small piece of scrap paper in the folds so that I could find it easily. I happened to see Daniel eyeing me curiously but he didn’t speak so I refocused my energy on trying to find more information in the book.

  As I thumbed through the pages, I couldn’t help but notice that there were a multitude of drawings throughout with scrawling handwritten notes next to each. Some of the information was difficult to decipher and understand as I didn’t know what the different symbols meant. As I turned the page, I found myself staring at a drawing of a creature that looked remarkably similar to the one that I saw when I was in my dream state with Andrea. My breath caught in my throat and I choked on my own saliva because I’d inhaled so sharply. The force of my coughing sent me forward, leaning against the dash. Daniel reached over and whacked me on the back. Not helpful.

  Putting my hand up, I waved him off. In a strangled voice still trying to control the urge to cough, I sputtered, “I’m okay. Just inhaled wrong.” He looked at me skeptically and handed me a flask, “It's water.”

  Still lightly coughing and swallowing convulsively to try and stop the process, I nodded and opened the flask, taking a long swig. Slowly, I could feel myself starting to gain control. As I was handing back the flask, I could see a grin on his face that belied his concern and laughing with him, I said, “Thanks.”

  He smiled again and said, “My pleasure.” Glancing sideways at me for a brief second, he quickly looked back to the road and asked, “Is there anything you want to discuss?”

  Playing with my lower lip, I decided to forgo a conversation about the mysterious creature until a later time. Asking instead, “How much further? I kind of need to use the restroom.”

  He smiled knowingly and replied, “There’s a rest stop at the base of the mountain before we head up to Sol Duc, which is about another 10 minutes out. Do you think you can hold it that long?”

  My eyebrows rose in surprise. That was fast. It seemed like we had only left a couple minutes ago, and we were already almost there? Tilting my head sideways, “Do you have some sort of special fuel in this truck?” Looking out the back window, “I mean, I haven't been absorbed in the journal for the entire three-hour ride, have I?” A quick glance at my watch proved the fallacy of my words, but still, it seemed like time was standing still.

  Briefly, he scrunched up his eyebrows in a concerned look, asking, “Can you wait ten more minutes?”

  Nodding, “Sure.” With a sideways glance, “Daniel?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you know anything about the area?” My lower lip started to ache from chewing on it so much.

  “Well, there are some legends, but the language has been forgotten and there are only vague interpretations left because the actual meaning of the words is sort of...lost.” He glanced at me, “Why do you ask?”

  Looking out the window, I wondered aloud, “Well, I read something in the journal about seven sisters and a great warrior chief named Duc who became lost in the forest.” The clouds had parted, and the sun shone through at that moment right into my eyes. Closing my eyes against the glare but rejoicing in the heat that radiated on my face, I continued, “There was a reference to a well of souls and in the corner of the drawing on that page, I saw the word Sol spelled the same as the area.” Glancing at him, “Do you think they’re related?”

  Squinting his eyes against the sudden brightness, “I thought so, too.” His smile beamed at me so brightly, I almost melted right there on the spot. The light glinting in his green eyes made them appear a brilliant soft green like the color of Colombian emeralds. It was fascinating the way his eyes changed color with his moods or maybe it was just different lighting that caused it. Either way, it was one of my favorite features on him.

  A slow blush rose across my face and smothering my need to reach out and touch him, I sat on my hands and asked, “Have you heard of the falls of the seven sisters?”

  Raising his eyebrows at me, he turned back to driving and very quietly, he asked, “How did you know we needed to go to Sol Duc?”

  Still not ready to share everything with him yet, I lied. Well, it wasn’t a full lie, it was a partial lie. I’d convinced myself that it wouldn’t hurt to keep a little to myself and besides, I couldn’t have him thinking I was totally bonkers, could I? A curt smile crossed my lips, “Andrea said that Jaxon had found a sign but when she told me what it said, it took me a bit to figure out what it meant.” Trying to hide my face, I turned away toward the sunshine. “I used to go camping at Sol Duc a lot when I was younger. It was my favorite place to be. That’s when I decided what I would study in college.”

  Smiling to myself, I remembered when Andrea and I got lost in that very same forest. It took us hours to figure out how to get back to the camp, but I’d paid attention to the many books I read about moss growth and how certain trees and plants will grow toward the sun even when they don’t have an actual line of sight to the sun based on the way the trees reacted to the sunlight and the photosynthesis.

  Interrupting my memories, he asked, “What did you study?”

  “Well, initially, I was going to be a lawyer.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw his surprised expression which was accompanied by a short bark of laughter which caused me to chuckle. Turning toward him, I sputtered, “I know. Could you imagine me standing in front of a room full of people, talking?” He didn’t speak but waited for me to continue, “Anyway, I always had a passion for trees, so I changed my major to arboriculture.”

  He nodded as he spoke in a deep and appreciative tone, “I decided to drop law classes to study forestry because of my love of the woods.”

  Facing him, I couldn’t hide the beaming smile and total adoration directed his way. I’m pretty sure I audibly sighed, because he sort of looked at me and tried to hide that he knew why. He was applying pressure to the brakes and turning off the road into a clearing. We pulled up to an area for hiking that had a parks and recreation restroom at the end of the parking lot. A large sign read, Sol Duc National Park. As he put the truck in park, I smoothly jumped out, closing the door behind me. Seeing the restroom sign on a building at the end of the lot, I felt the tingle of urgent need pressing on my bladder as I trekked in that direction. Wondering if he was watching me walk to relieve myself, a flush of mortification crept up my cheeks. Swallowing hard, I put my head down and headed into the structure.

  That was when I heard Tatyana’s voice ring out in her broken English, “Hey, why you are stopping here?”

  Daniel’s deep voice rang out strong and certain, “Because this is where we need to be.”

  She didn’t argue as I heard a door close, she hollered, “Yoseph, get out!” This was followed by the sound of another car door slamming shut, but I didn’t hear much else as I was entering the restroom and the heavy door closed behind me. Once inside, I entered a stall and took care of business. Oh, good Lord. It felt like I’d drunk two pots of coffee.

  As my bladder began to relax, my eyes closed in relief, I started to feel like I was swimming in a murky pool. My world shifted and as I took some deep breaths, I realized that my inner senses were tuned into something. Calmly, I focused my energy outward and was surprised when I suddenly was looking down on the restroom exterior through an interesting set of eyes. It was like looking through one eye and seeing one thing and looking through the other, there was a
different view. Almost like looking through a prism and it made me dizzy. Suddenly, I heard, “Maggie?” I just about fell off the toilet as I realized that I’d somehow made a mind-link with Jaxon while I was using the restroom.

  Almost instantly, I became fully aware of my surroundings and broke the connection. Taking a few deep breaths, I righted my world and exited the stall. After washing my hands, I quickly dashed some cold water on my face and got my angst under control. That was entirely too uncomfortable; however, I now knew that Jaxon was nearby.

  As I was stepping out of the restroom to start back toward the truck, Tatyana was coming in and we ran full into each other. She spun as I hit her and turning on her heel managed to balance herself and me while settling us in the correct positions on the opposite of where we once were. Inhaling sharply, I uttered, “Sorry.”

  She looked me over and nodded curtly with a disapproving expression and said, “I guess I am having to watch out for you if you can’t be watching yourself.” With that, she promptly headed into the restroom without another word. Exasperated, I chuckled and shook my head as I continued toward the truck and Daniel.

  Awestruck, I found myself totally dumbfounded by the brilliant view of Daniel that was before me. For some reason, he’d removed his shirt and was standing in the sunshine like some half naked god. The muscles rippled on his chest and arms as he reached into the back of the pickup and pulled out a backpack. It must have been heavy, as his muscles bulged under the strain and I was totally mesmerized. Joseph had said something to him from the other side of the pickup and he turned smiling at his words. He laughed and his brilliant white teeth sparkled against his beautiful bronze skin. The light glinted off his shiny black hair and made it look like there was a band of turquoise on his head. I was standing there like a lovestruck teenager when Jaxon decided to make himself known to the others.

  Like a bombardier dropping a payload, he swiftly flew across the clearing from a branch in the trees and smoothly dropped a load of poop right in the middle of Daniel’s head. The look of horror and utter astonishment that crossed his face sent me into fits of giggles. He turned toward me and crossing his arms, gave me the sternest look he could muster. Promptly, I fell to the ground and began laughing so hard I could barely breathe. Hysteria soon took hold.

  Tatyana had exited the restroom just in time to witness the entire thing and standing next to me, she let her guard down just enough to join me in my explosion of humor with her own great gulping guffaws that made me laugh even harder. As I was attempting to bring air into my lungs, she suddenly snorted and that sent us both into another fit. Daniel cursed and grabbed a rag, pouring some water on his head while Joseph tried to remove the offending offal from the crown of Daniel’s head.

  Jaxon landed on the back of the pickup and began tweeting and chirping excitedly. Not sure if my brother-in-law did it on purpose or if it were an accident but I just couldn’t get the sheer look of outrage that crossed Daniel’s face out of my mind. Trying to catch my breath, I laid on the ground watching the shifting sky above me.

  The clouds moved in rapidly, darkening the sky and a flood gate opened, which promptly drenched all of us before we had a chance to collect ourselves. That was a sobering experience and soon we were all standing near the truck attempting to gather our belongings so that we could make our way inland toward the lake. After a cursory look at the map and a determined direction, we started our journey into the land of unknown possibilities. Jaxon hopped onto Daniel’s pack and we were soon on our way.

  Looking down at my wet feet, I couldn’t help but feel a little slighted at the sudden gloom that cast its shadow on our journey. Refocusing my gaze ahead of me and deciding that determination would win the day, I said a little prayer as we started our miserable hike. The entire time, I wondered what we would find. Only time would tell, but we were running out of that too.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Trudging along the trail, I pulled the journal out and turned my focus to the intricate writings while trying to keep my eyes on the group so that I wouldn’t get lost, which is extremely easy to do in the dense forest. There were a multitude of smaller, less conspicuous trails that led off the sides of the main trail we were following. The plan was to make our way to the edge of the lake where the seven sisters creek fed into it. From there, we would make camp and determine where to go next.

  Daniel handed me the journal, “You should keep this. So far, your view on things has been a bit different and I think you might bring a new perspective to some of the other areas as well.”

  Beaming under his positive appraisal, I responded, “I’ll do my best.”

  Once again, Tatyana gasped loudly, “Daniel?” When he turned to face her, she spat out, “This is the only clue we are having. You are sure is good idea?” Even though her voice was strong and steady, she sounded very apprehensive, “She is not part of team.” She glanced over to me and then back to Daniel to wait for his response.

  Quickly I offered, “I don’t want to cause trouble, if she wants to carry the journal, I can…”

  Daniel interrupted me, “No, Maggie. You will keep the journal and continue to look through it for clues.” Turning back to Tatyana, he addressed her in a calm voice like he would speak to a child, “Maggie is with us because of her niece. She is more a part of this team than any of us. She will keep the journal for now. Everything else we need to know is right here,” he said tightly as he pointed to his head. “Any other questions?”

  She grudgingly gave in and was quick to shake her head as she turned to stomp off.

  Joseph winked at me when Tatyana had stormed off toward the trail and briefly stopped to deal with her pack saying, “Don’t mind her. Her bark is worse than her bite.” At my doubting look, he laughed and said, “Underneath her rough talk is the heart of a playful kitten. Trust me.”

  Staring at Tatyana who was busy preparing her pack with exaggerated, stiff movements, I shook my head doubtfully, and said, “Yeah, right.”

  He just grinned and shrugged, “You’ll see.” He made his way over to help her lift her ridiculously large pack onto her back. Seeing that she was so petite, the thing looked immense on her. However, she stood to her full height under the weight and I admired her spunk and tenacity. They put their heads together for a moment. It appeared they were talking quietly to each other as if they were the closest of lovers. It was then that I noticed the light in his eyes when he looked at her and the returning expression of tenderness when she looked at him. Ah, ha! They’re in love! They had both turned and looked at me and I immediately busied myself with my own preparations.

  As I walked along, I thought about that revelation as I watched Joseph calmly keep pace behind Tatyana. He would casually reach out a strong hand to steady her every time the weight of her giant pack caused her to begin to sway off the path. It all made sense though. They made quite the cute couple. Two opposites but totally complementary to one another. Kind of like molten lava meeting the ocean. He was the ocean, all calm, cool, and collected. She was the lava, fire, brimstone, and passion. Together, they made an island.

  I want an island, I thought as I glanced up ahead to where Daniel was trekking determinedly toward our destination. My heart skipped a beat and instinctively my tongue darted out to moisten my suddenly dry lips. He turned to look back at me as if he sensed I was watching him. Instantly, I looked back down to my work of studying the journal.

  Following a sound to my right, I never looked up and continued to look through the book in my hands. Lost in my reading of the journal, I skimmed several pages studying every nuance. Something caught my eye on the page in front of me I hadn’t noticed when I was looking at it just a few moments ago. Suddenly, it made sense. Following another sound to my right, I kept trekking along and read the map in front of me. It showed a clawed hand. Between the fingers were what looked like small rivers. Trees were drawn all around them. Below the drawing was a verse that said, between the fingers of the seven sisters lies the
key. Next was a drawing of a rocky outcropping at the base of the fingers. My mind ran through the many different possibilities of things that it could mean. Stopping for a moment and looking up, I was startled to see that I’d wandered off on one of the side trails and that I had lost sight of the team. Surely someone would have noticed if I were too far back and said something? Peering around, there was no sign of the group. How the heck did I manage to get lost? Scolding myself for keeping my face in the book when I should have been focusing on the group ahead, I realized that it wasn’t their fault. They were trying to keep to the trail and probably hadn’t even noticed. The forest was so dense, I should’ve paid better attention.

  Shouldering the blame for becoming lost, fear gripped my heart, and I started panicking. Closing my eyes, I focused my energy on drawing in several deep breaths. Reminding myself that I’d be able to focus better if I was calm, I worked on my breathing for a moment. Once I gained my wits, I turned around and started back toward the main trail.

  After several hundred yards, I came to another small trail that led off to the right of the one I was on. Looking up, I checked for any kind of sign that it was the direction I should go. Not being able to remember what the other trail looked like and seeing that every tree was covered in a thick coating of moss, I suddenly felt overwhelmed. Well, they say, if you’re lost, stay in one place and someone will find you.

  With that thought in mind, I quickly looked around and assessed my situation. There was a large stump of a fallen tree next to where I stood and I decided to make a shelter and settle in under the cover of it. Pulling a rain cover out of my pack, I rigged it up to provide me a roof of sorts, laid my waterproof pack on the ground and promptly sat down to nibble on some granola that I’d found in my pack.

  Either the storm was getting more intense or I’d been walking for a lot longer than I thought I had. Darkness was setting in. Pulling my pack out from under my rear end, I rummaged through it and found a glow stick and some items to allow me the ability to start a fire. Smiling to myself, I started gathering items to build my fire.