“There...in the distance,” Bran said, pointing past the slope. “There are trees, lots of them.” More golden light gathered on the tips of the trees and Teya’s breath caught with excitement.
“That must be the grove,” she said. “The pipes are the handiwork of my people. They have to be here.”
They scrambled up the slope and the vista opened up to a scene of green grass covering the rolling countryside. At the center, stood a magnificent stand of trees, glowing in the last rays of sunset. The grove’s beauty overwhelmed her, but also seemed so small compared to what she remembered. Was this all that remained of the grove and her people?
They found the horses munching contentedly on the green grass, and quickly mounted, urging them toward the trees. As the sun set, the golden light went with it, leaving them in gray twilight. It didn’t take long before they closed in on the trees and found them spread out over a small valley. Nearby, a stream gurgled, but it was the glow of a light inside a small cottage that sent Teya’s heart racing.
She grabbed Bran’s arm and pointed. “Can you see the cottage? Someone’s there!” She didn’t wait for a reply, but urged her mount through the trees. She quickly dismounted and ran to the cottage door, throwing it open.
“Hello?” she shouted. “Is anyone here?” No one answered and she hoped she hadn’t scared them off. She glanced at the simple furnishings, but found nothing familiar. “I don’t mean any harm. Please come out.”
A rustling of hooves marked Bran’s arrival and she hurried back out. “Did you see anyone?”
He shook his head. “Not a soul.”
“Where do you think they’ve gone?”
“Uh...not far,” Bran said quietly, and nodded toward a tree behind her.
Teya twisted around and her breath caught. “Grandmother?” A small woman with long white hair and a surprisingly unlined face stepped into the light. She wore a simple gown of white muslin and her bearing was as regal as a queen. Her azure eyes grew bright with unshed tears.
“Teya?”
“Grandma!” Teya flew into her grandmother’s welcoming arms. Tears ran unchecked down her face and soon she sobbed uncontrollably. Grief for all she’d lost and suffered warred with the joy of seeing her grandmother again.
Her grandmother held her close. “There now, it’s over,” she said in a soothing voice, shedding tears of her own.
Teya breathed in the familiar scent of lavender and sage that was her grandmother. It quieted her ravaged heart, and brought peace to her soul. The tears slowed and she took a deep breath, then pulled away to gaze into her grandmother’s eyes.
“Let me look at you,” her grandmother said. “You’ve grown into a beautiful woman. Just like your mother.” They embraced again and Teya held onto her like a lifeline. A few moments later, her grandmother pulled away. “That’s enough crying for now. Please…we’ve been terribly rude.” She motioned toward Bran. “Introduce me to your friend. I think all of these tears have made him uncomfortable.”
Before Bran could say otherwise, Teya made the introductions. “This is Bran. He rescued me. He’s the reason I’m here.”
Her grandmother took Bran’s hands into her own. “Please, call me Leona. I owe you more than words can say. If there is anything you wish that is in my power to grant, it is yours.”
Bran graciously bowed his head. “Thank you. I’m just glad we made it here alive.”
“That’s right,” Teya agreed. “What’s going on? What was that out there?”
“It is a long story,” Leona said, pursing her lips. “But one that you must know.” She hummed a few notes and a small globe of light appeared in the palm of her hand. “Come with me.”
She led them deeper into the trees than Teya thought possible, but instead of coming out on the other side, the forest seemed to expand. The trail continued until the woods opened into a natural clearing. In the center, an immense tree towered over them.
The trunk was several feet wide. Bending her neck all the way back, Teya still couldn’t see the top. From its roots, a small spring bubbled up, sending water into a pool. Soft, velvety grass surrounded the pool. A beautiful wooden table and chairs sat off to one side with a pitcher and crystal goblets on top.
“Teya dear,” Leona said. “Fetch some water from the spring with that pitcher so you and Bran can have a drink. I’m sure you’re thirsty.”
All at once, a driving need for a drink of water washed over her. As she picked up the pitcher, her grandmother hummed another tune and several hundred small spheres of light shone down from the tree limbs.
Teya’s breath caught with delight. This tree filled the grove with its magnificence and beauty, and her blood stirred with recognition. In sudden clarity, she realized that the tree was the source of her magic.
With reverence, she filled the pitcher with flowing water. As she poured the clear liquid into the crystal goblets, the ache of thirst came over her. She gave the first to Bran, then her grandmother. At last she poured one for herself and took several long gulps.
The cold water tasted sweet and pure, sending a wave of vitality that penetrated every part of her body. She drank deeply and emptied her cup, then poured more and drank. Bran did the same until they were both satisfied.
“Now that you’re feeling better, please sit,” Leona said, motioning them to the sit at the table. Once they were settled, she began. “This is a sacred place. It is the birthplace of our world. As a people, the Kalorians took an oath long ago to protect and guard this grove. In return, we were given special gifts of magic and promised immortality. We have been doing this since the dawn of time. But now, our people are gone and the grove is dying.”
“What do you mean? Where are my parents…” Teya paused to gather her courage. “Are they dead?”
“Oh, my child, I wish I could spare you more pain.”
Teya swallowed, this was not the homecoming she had dreamed of. When tears threatened, she pushed her sorrow deep inside and found her voice. “It’s all right. Go ahead. What happened?”
“Let me start from the beginning. The day you were kidnapped, my younger brother Korban had come to see me. A few years before, he had used his power for evil and deceived and manipulated many of our people. He spread lies and rumors that got out of hand. In the end, he killed one of the elders.
“As a result, he was banished from the grove. All his rights and privileges were revoked and his magic taken from him. But in this he tricked us. During the ritual to strip him of his magic, he managed to hide a small portion of it in darkness, and used it to escape. After that, I never thought I would see him again. To return meant death.
“But that day he came back with a grand plan. These trees form a sacred grove and the spring water is special and life sustaining. It is all one needs to live forever. Korban wanted access to the water, and I am the only one who can lift the veil of magic to this tree.” She motioned with her hand. “But he didn’t know my secret. You see...I knew the water would restore his lost magic, and I couldn’t let that happen.
“So I had the elders bind and hold him for trial. We all knew it would lead to his execution. Even his dark magic wasn’t strong enough to free him, but he was one step ahead of me. He had seen you, Teya, and knew you were special to me and our people. Your gift shines. He knew you were to be the next Songmistress.”
Teya blinked in surprise. “He had me kidnapped?”
“Yes. He threatened your life if we did not let him go and do as he said. After a long debate, the elders were willing to release him if he would return you, but they would not compromise on his request for water. Again, he refused, and it was decided to execute him the next day. Unfortunately for us, he had accomplices and slipped from our grasp.
“Your mother was inconsolable. We searched everywhere for you, but you were not to be found. A few weeks later, Korban took his revenge. We found a box on the outskirts of our grove. Your clothes were inside, soaked in blood and wrapped around a human heart. We thoug
ht you were dead.”
“I always wondered if you had forgotten me,” Teya said.
“Never that, my precious child. I’ve held you close in my heart everyday you’ve been gone, but your mother was never the same after that. She was a gentle soul and felt things deep inside. The strife and pain of this life became too much for her, and she died a year later.”
Teya closed her eyes to hold back the tears. When she was under control, she asked. “What about my father and brother?"
“Your father lost both of you, but he did not give in to grief and pain like your mother. He turned his anger toward revenge and was pivotal in the decisions of the elders during the next few years. I’m sorry to say that Hewson followed your father’s example.
“I had underestimated Korban’s craving for magic and his desire for immortality. During his first years of banishment he used his dark magic to create the kundar. Somehow, it acts as a shield to our magic so we can’t use it.”
Teya nodded. “I wore one until Bran removed it.”
“You must tell me how he accomplished that,” Leona said. “But first I must finish the story. After you were gone, our people began to disappear. Just a few at first, but enough to make us suspicious of anyone who entered our forest.
“Then Korban came later that year with an army of hardened men. Our magic was barely strong enough to stop them, and we were not fully prepared with sword and shield. We won the day, but many of our people were killed or taken prisoner.
“Weapons had long been forbidden, but with your father’s influence it was decided that we should defend ourselves rather than perish or be captured. The forges took the first of the trees. Iron was plentiful, but mining it also changed the beauty of the grove. It was learning how to fight that brought changes within our people.
“After a few years, Korban returned, and even though we were better prepared, more of our people were slain. Your father was one of the first to die. With his dying breath, he made Hewson promise to help our people escape and forget about revenge. Living, he said, was more important.
“Korban tried bargaining with me again, telling me that he would leave us in peace if I would let him have access to the water. He even told me about you, that you were not dead, but alive and a slave to the king. He promised he would return you to me if I would cooperate.”
Leona’s voice wavered with emotion. “I was so tired of the constant provocation. How could we fulfill our covenant to protect the grove if we were always fighting? The grove had withered with our people, and the bloodshed caused the land to dry up. Soon there would be nothing left.”
Leona rubbed her temples, then took a long drink of the precious water. “I met with Korban not far from here, ready to kill him. He was different from the last time I saw him, and it was almost too late before I realized what it was. To my dismay, his magic had returned.
“It wasn’t the same. Not nearly as powerful as it was before, but the combination of the dark magic with the light nearly overcame me. With his beautiful voice, he willed me into complacency, and then tried to capture me with a kundar. Luckily, we were interrupted by my personal guard before he could accomplish his goal and he got away.
“Now I knew it was only a matter of time before he returned, and I was more troubled than ever. How had he regained the magic of our people without the grove water? It is something that I still don’t understand. After his visit, we held a grand council. With our numbers dwindling, we knew this was a war we could not win.
“It was determined that our people would leave the grove and return later when it was safe. It was the only way to survive. A few of our best warriors went after Korban. We prayed for their success. The others began to leave that same night along with your brother. When Hewson heard the news that you were a captive of the king, he was determined to set you free and bring you back.”
Teya straightened. “When was this?”
“Two years ago. Something must have happened. I had nearly given up hope until tonight when I heard your strong voice and I thought he had succeeded.” Sadness shone in her eyes and she sighed heavily. “Now I wonder if any of our people made it to safety.”
Leona’s shoulders sagged with sorrow and she seemed to shrivel with age. “With the loss of our people, the grove began to shrink. We were losing the battle and I needed to do something to protect what remained of the grove. I knew Korban would return and bring others with him, so I released the Destroyer.”
Teya’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. “The dark mist out there is your doing?”
“Yes,” Leona sighed. “I knew it would keep all but true Kalorians out of the grove. What I didn’t know was that it would slowly destroy it. I can’t bind the Destroyer by myself. I’ve done what I can with the pipes, but every day, the Destroyer grows in strength. It kills every living thing in its path and with each death, it grows more powerful. Soon, even I will not be able to hold it back, and the grove will fail.”
“Is there nothing we can do?”
Leona smiled sadly. “Yes, my child, there are two possibilities. If the people return to tend the grove, it will flourish once again, and we can seal the Destroyer away. They must be found and brought back. This will be your burden. If this cannot be done, there is something else.”
She raised her hand to the tree and one of the branches lowered to her. She tugged something away from the branch and held it out to Teya. “This is a seed.” The seed was hardly bigger than an acorn. In oval shape, it glistened with shades of green and blue that swirled around a white pinpoint of light at its center. Teya couldn't look away from the dazzling brilliance.
Leona carefully placed it in a small leather pouch and gave it to Teya. “Safeguard this with your life. If this grove is destroyed, it will be the end of the Kalorians. The time of magic will be over, but this world can still go on if this seed is planted. The new tree will balance the good and the evil. The tree from this seed will not fail because it will not need our magic to survive.”
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Teya said, unsure she could handle this heavy task. “What if I fail? Are you sure it’s not something you should do?”
“I am not strong enough to leave the grove. I’m a lot older than you think. It is only the water that preserves me, and if I’m away from it too long I will die.” She squeezed Teya’s hands reassuringly. “I don’t think it is a coincidence that you are here at this moment. Perhaps all you have been through...was meant to happen, so that you could be here now...when you’re needed the most. You have a great gift, Teya, and properly trained, no one can stand against you.”
“But I’m not trained,” Teya said. “I don’t know what I’m doing or how to do it.”
“I can help you learn. Together we can strengthen the grove before you leave and that will also help. I can teach you the basics and how to open yourself to your gift. After that, you will learn to recognize how to use it on your own.”
Teya sat quietly, absorbed in her grandmother’s words. The grove was hushed and heavy, even the spring seemed frozen, waiting for her reply. In all the years she’d been held captive, the only thing she’d wanted was to come home.
Now, the home she knew no longer existed. There was no choice in the matter. It was only fear that held her silent. Could she save her people and the grove? If she couldn’t do it, no one would. “When do you want to start?”
“Thank you,” Leona said, clasping Teya’s hands. “It won’t be easy, but I know you can do it. We’ll start first thing in the morning. Now...I know you’re both exhausted. My cottage isn’t much, but I have a place where you can sleep.”
****
Bran didn’t mind being on his own the next day, but he hoped Teya’s training wouldn’t take too long. Leona gave him the job of checking on the pipes around the grove, so at least he had something to do, but he figured the real reason was to keep him out of their way.
He shook his head in amazement at Teya’s story and her resilience in the face
of all her hardships. At a young age she had gone through so much. He couldn’t imagine being ripped from her family as a child, only to spend the next ten years in captivity.
The cruelty she’d known enduring time in the ‘box’ was something that could twist a person, and make them unpredictable and unstable. Yet here she was, taking on the responsibility of restoring the grove and her people.
Her grandmother’s story sounded like something out of a fairy tale, but after spending the night in the grove and feeling the effects of the water, he had no choice but to believe every word. Then she’d asked Teya to save her people. He knew that wasn’t something Teya had expected, but what choice did she have? After everything she’d been through and now this? But she surprised him again by accepting this challenge without complaint.
Her courage humbled him in the face of such overwhelming odds. She had come through so much with an indomitable spirit, and his heart swelled with admiration. He knew that hardships often brought strength, but until now, he never understood how deep it could go. Now he was caught up in something he barely understood, and he wondered what he had gotten himself into. Still, he couldn’t desert Teya now. He just hoped they got out of it in one piece.
He reached the periphery between the grove and the wasteland. There was no sign of the Destroyer in the stark countryside, but he couldn’t help the shiver of unease that coursed through his veins. As long as the breeze held, at least the pipes worked.
Spaced ten feet apart, a few of them caught the breeze most of the time. This helped settle his nerves, but he decided not to venture too close to the edge. Already, he could see that the grass around the pipes had turned yellow. How much longer could they hold back the Destroyer?
One thing was certain. His plans had changed. Finding the Kalorians took precedence over everything else. He still needed to find sym, but he felt that the Kalorians were the key to that as well. If Korban had new magic as Leona said, Bran figured that sym was involved. Korban seemed to be the link to everything. Now he just had to figure out how to find him.
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