by Peter Wacht
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, now everyone who buys something in the marketplace knows that if there’s a legitimate problem with it, and the craftsman or merchant won’t make amends, they can come to you for an equitable solution. And the craftsmen and merchants know that if they don’t do good work, or sell a quality product, they’ll be fined, giving them added incentive to do the job right.”
“I never thought of it like that before.”
“It’s just a matter perspective,” repeated Thomas, pleased by her reaction. “What you see as responsibility is really an opportunity. Why do you think your father has you make those decisions?”
“He says it’s so I’ll be ready to rule Fal Carrach.”
“He’s not telling you everything, you know,” said Thomas with a sly smile. “What you see as a burden he sees as a lesson. Your decisions are affecting people’s lives, and though the decisions may not be important to you, they are extremely important to them. Maybe you should think of this responsibility as an opportunity.”
“How so?”
“This is your chance to find out more about your people, and for your people to find out more about you. When the time comes for you to make decisions that can have a huge effect on their lives, they’ll have confidence in you because they know you have sound judgment. You can find out what your people’s hopes and dreams are, their fears and concerns. Don’t waste the opportunity you have here. Your father’s right. You’ll be a queen one day, and a good one, I’m sure, if you listen to your people.”
Kaylie stared in Thomas in shock, not expecting a lesson during their picnic. This champion archer was one surprise after another.
“And just how does someone who spends all of his time in the forest know so much?”
“I had very good teachers,” answered Thomas with an impish grin.
Kaylie decided that it was time to change the subject. So far, despite her best efforts, they had spent most of their time together talking about her.
“So what’s it like wandering around in the forest?”
Thomas settled back on his hands. “It’s fun, exciting. I see something new every day. In a very real sense it feels like home.” Thomas’ voice was wistful for a moment. “I’ve never really felt comfortable behind stone walls. The trees give me all the security I need.”
Thomas saw the way Kaylie was hanging on his every word. He could sympathize with her plight.
“You don’t have a lot of fun at the Rock, do you?”
Kaylie sighed in frustration, remembering all the times she had wanted to go out into the countryside, or just to the shops in Ballinasloe, to do anything but what she had to do.
“No, not really.”
“Why are you so interested in the forest?”
“For the same reason you are.” Kaylie understood now why it was so easy to talk to Thomas. In many ways, they were very much alike. “It gives me a chance to escape. When I’m in the forest, I’m no longer a princess. It’s nice not having those responsibilities for a time.”
Thomas grinned, knowing exactly what she meant.
“Well, when you’re in the forest, what do you see? What do you feel?”
“I see trees and bushes and plants and squirrels and birds.” She didn’t see the point to his question. “What do you mean what do I feel? Like I said, I feel free in a sense—”
“No, no. Sorry, I wasn’t clear.” Thomas paused for a moment, thinking of a better way to phrase his question. “When you’re in the forest, do you feel as if you belong? As if you’re a part of the forest?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I’m still not sure what you’re asking.”
“Come on,” Thomas said, rising from his seat in the grass. He walked to the center of the glade in which they sat. Kaylie followed after him. “If I tried to explain it to you, it could take days. It’s better to show you. You see, the forest is alive.”
“I know the forest is alive,” responded Kaylie, somewhat tartly.
“Let me explain,” said Thomas, not rising to the bait. “The forest is alive, but it’s more alive than you think. It’s a living, breathing thing. Just like you and me, really. And there’s a power in it that only a handful of people can harness.”
“Why so few?”
“I’m not really sure,” answered Thomas. He smiled. He had asked the same question when Rynlin had lectured on the very same topic. “My grandparents say that almost anyone can to varying degrees. They simply haven’t tried or don’t want to. For the people strongest in this ability, it is obviously easier for them; for those not as strong, with time and the lack of use, their ability to harness this power gradually dissipates.”
“Can I harness this power?” Kaylie asked, excitement in her voice.
“Perhaps,” said Thomas. “We’ll find out. Now look around you and tell me what you see.”
Kaylie glanced at Thomas with a question in her eyes, then slowly spun around, taking in everything around her.
“I see the trees and bushes, of course. The squirrels and birds. The earth. The bird’s nest on that branch over there. The brackenberry bushes.” She wasn’t sure if she had answered correctly.
“Good,” said Thomas. “Yet everything you described is just a fraction of what’s going on around you. You saw, but you really didn’t see. Let me show you what I mean.”
Thomas closed his eyes for a moment. It was hard to concentrate with Kaylie standing right next to him. Every time he looked at her his heart beat a little faster. In a flash the Talent flowed within him.
“Are you ready, Kaylie?”
Kaylie glanced at Thomas with complete trust in her eyes, and something more though she refused to admit it. The way he said her name sent a tingle through her body. She nodded in anticipation.
“Then give me your hand.”
At first she couldn’t tell if anything was happening when she felt the warmth of his touch, then in an instant it was like she had pushed through an invisible wall she had never known existed. A scarf had been pulled from her eyes. She gazed around the woods in wonder. Instead of seeing just the trees, she could actually feel their age and knowledge. That one, to her right, a huge silver maple, had been in this particular place for almost two hundred years, and that one next to it just a few years longer.
She could sense the sap running beneath the bark, and pick out the tiny ants using its rough exterior as a road in their constant search for food. Turning to the bird’s nest she realized that several eggs lay there, and that from them two male and two female chicks would hatch. She couldn’t explain how she knew, but she was certain of it. She examined the earth and realized that a mole lived just beneath her feet and that a small underground stream ran through the copse just off to her left.
She turned to look at Thomas, a huge smile on her face, then abruptly realized that she was no longer holding his hand. Losing her concentration, her dazzling new awareness disappeared.
“Was I doing that myself?” she asked, her face flushed with excitement. “After you let go of my hand?”
“Yes, you were,” answered Thomas. “In the end whatever you saw was because of you.”
“Is it magic?” she asked in a hushed whisper. Her voice grew more worried. “Dark Magic?”
She had heard stories of the evil done by warlocks who used Dark Magic, a power given to them by the Shadow Lord. Was she one of them? Was that why she could do this? Fear crept onto her face.
“A form of magic, yes. But not Dark Magic.” Thomas sensed her concern. “Dark Magic can only be gained from the Shadow Lord, and to obtain it you have to pledge your soul to him. I’m assuming that you haven’t done that?” Thomas raised a quizzical eyebrow.
“I most certainly have not,” protested Kaylie.
“Then you have nothing to worry about,” laughed Thomas. “As I said, almost everyone has some type of magic within them that can bring them closer to nature. Yours is obviously still with you. If you practice, yo
u will grow more skilled in its use.”
“Can you show me how?”
“Certainly,” replied Thomas, glad that he would be able to spend more time with her. “When circumstances permit. Right now, though, we should probably head back. We’ve been away for quite a long time and your father probably will be worried.”
Kaylie sighed in disappointment, wanting to stay longer but knowing that Thomas was correct. Still, her smile remained. The thrill of what she had just accomplished — all on her own — surged within her.
“How long will it take for me to learn how to do this without your help?”
“It depends,” said Thomas, shrugging his shoulders. “You’ll probably pick it up very quickly. But, if you want me to teach you, you’ll have to promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” she asked, suddenly wary.
“That you keep it to yourself. As I said before, not many people know of this particular ability, and most normally react with concern, even fear. I don’t think you’d want them to call you a warlock. I know I certainly don’t want that to happen. I’ve gotten into enough trouble already.”
“It’ll just be our secret, then,” she said.
Having something to share with Thomas in private appealed to Kaylie. She latched onto his last comment? What kind of trouble might he be referring to?
“Good. Then let’s head back to the Festival.”
They exited the small copse of trees with Kaylie looking back in delight. This was the most fun and excitement she had experienced in— well, she couldn’t remember when. And she could do magic! She could! All thanks to Thomas, of course. She had the sudden urge to hold his hand, and began to reach for it. She abruptly pulled her hand back before he noticed, uncertain of how he would react. She didn’t want to risk spoiling such a wonderful afternoon. As she walked across the field toward the Festival, she realized she had not learned as much about him as she wished.
“Thomas, do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“Not at all,” he replied with a smile.
Yet, as she looked at him, Kaylie saw the seriousness that never left his eyes. There might be a certain mischievousness there, as well as other emotions such as anger, but there was always a seriousness that she didn’t think ever left those eyes. She was determined to find out the reason for that, but now was not the time. Instead, she had a more pressing question. One that she had wanted to ask since she had first run into him those many years before.
“Why did you help me in the Burren? You put yourself in grave danger, but I doubt you even thought twice about it.”
He shrugged, unsure of how to reply.
“Please, Thomas. I really would like to know.” And give me a real answer this time, she wanted to add.
Kaylie’s beauty again swept him away as he gazed at her. Why did he help her? She was right. He had never thought twice about it, though he probably should have.
“It was a matter of responsibility. Just as you were explaining some of your responsibilities, I too have my own. The simple fact is that you needed help, so I gave it.”
“You state it so simply, yet it is not a simple thing,” said Kaylie, gazing at him as if she were trying to pierce his defenses. “If nothing else, you must give me the opportunity to repay you.”
“And just what do you suggest, Kaylie?”
“I suggest a picnic,” said Kaylie. “I’ll meet you here tomorrow at noon.”
Thomas looked at the beautiful girl standing before him for a long moment. He was supposed to return to the Isle of Mist tomorrow. Yet the idea of spending one more day with Kaylie was too irresistible to give up.
“I’ll be here.”
The smile that lit up Kaylie’s face almost weakened his knees.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
An Opportunity
Ragin waited several minutes for Thomas and Kaylie to leave before moving from behind his tree. Not desiring the company of others, he had stormed off from the festival. And not wanting to have to deal with the anger of his father at his loss, his natural course had taken him to the woods just beyond the contest grounds.
As luck would have it, he had been in the right place at the right time. He had only heard bits and pieces of their conversation, but enough to know that an opportunity had fallen into his lap — a very large opportunity. He smiled wickedly. If he handled things well, he had much to gain, a scheme already forming in his mind. Now all he had to do was pull it off.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Safe
They walked back to the Festival in silence after that, each consumed by their own thoughts. On the outside, Thomas’ response to her question appeared simple. Yet Kaylie knew better. There was a complexity within her new friend that was hard to comprehend. She promised herself that eventually she would breach Thomas’ defenses and discover what lay behind his constant wariness. They had just reached the outer edge of stalls when a terrible roar carried over the noises of the crowd. Thomas immediately ran toward it, a hard expression on his face, Kaylie right on his heels.
“Thomas!” she yelled.
She followed after him in a rush, shocked by his speed. There was no way he was going to get away from her so easily, she vowed to herself.
Thomas ran with little care for what was in front of him, forcing people to move out of his way. Some opened their mouths to protest, but upon seeing his murderous glare, wisely chose to remain silent. Kaylie was just quick enough to stay with him before the crowd closed back up again after Thomas’ passage.
Kaylie almost slammed into Thomas’ back when he slid to a halt in the loose dirt. He had stopped in front of a ramshackle stand, one of its two support beams holding up a large placard that bent precariously to one side. It was clearly ready to snap in two at any moment. The sign read “Falsuto, Dealer in Exotic Animals,” yet just exactly what an exotic animal might be she wasn’t sure. Another roar shattered the rhythm of the Festival. Kaylie found the source to her left.
Off to one side of the wobbly sign a huge bear rose up on its hind legs in anger, its massive claws tearing the air in front of it. The huge animal cried out in fury, allowing the crowd that had gathered around it to see its large, white teeth. A single swipe from one of those paws would easily tear a man in two. The people in the first few rows of the crowd shuffled back in fear from the angry bear, despite the thick steel chain attaching a collar around the animal’s neck to a large stake driven into the ground, thereby preventing the bear from going where it wanted — after the man holding the whip.
“Don’t worry, friends,” said a rather large man whose belly greatly outsized any of his other features. His scraggly beard and sweat-streaked face gave him a dirty appearance. Kaylie assumed that this was Falsuto. “This beast isn’t going anywhere. As I said before, I captured him at the edge of the Highlands single-handedly. He truly is a magnificent animal, is he not?”
Falsuto was not about to let the crowd answer. He had waited for quite some time before beginning the show, until several lords and ladies had wandered close by. The price he was asking for the bear could only be met by people of wealth, people who looked for unique things to make their friends jealous. He sensed that those people had arrived.
“Whether alive or stuffed, this magnificent specimen will fill your friends with envy and enemies with fear.”
Falsuto knew his buyers quite well. The greed and one-upmanship was clear in the expressions of the lords and ladies present, and already they examined one another to judge their competition. Yes, he had timed it perfectly. Someone in this crowd would pay well for the bear, and Falsuto’s whipping the animal into a frenzied anger had probably earned him a few hundred more golds than he normally would have gotten. Falsuto raised the whip above his head. One last crack should be just enough to start the bidding.
Thomas stood in the back of the crowd, his face turning white with anger. As the fat man raised the whip above his head again, Thomas lunged forward, knocking the people in front of him out of
his way. Kaylie reached for Thomas’ arm, but in vain.
Falsuto brought his arm down quickly, expecting to hear the sharp crack of the tip against the bear’s back. Instead, sharp gasps of surprise echoed through the crowd. He felt the whip yanked from his grasp.
Thomas stared at Falsuto with anger-filled eyes, the whip firmly in his grasp. The dealer stepped back until the crowd impeded his progress. He didn’t want to have anything to do with the green flames dancing there. The crowd watched this strange boy intently; some with fear, some with curiosity. Most expected the rage-filled bear to tear him apart, as the boy was within easy reach of those sharp, curved claws.
“Do not fear, my friend,” said Thomas, turning toward the now strangely docile animal. The bear went down to four legs and rubbed his head against Thomas’ shoulder in friendship. The ferocity had disappeared, replaced by trust. “You will be free.”
The crowd stood mesmerized by the display, waiting anxiously to see what would happen next. To Kaylie, it seemed as if a hush had fallen over the entire Festival. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Thomas had walked right up to a bear that easily weighed several thousand pounds, if not more, with absolutely no fear. And even more remarkable, the bear accepted him as a friend. Who was he? Was he really the Raptor? Her curiosity demanded that she find out.
Thomas turned his blazing eyes on Falsuto. “I do not approve of those who sell animals for sport or display. And I particularly dislike those who torture animals. I see that you do both.”
Falsuto tried to step away from those fiery green eyes, yet he had nowhere to go with the crowd packed tight behind him. This had become too good a show for anyone to leave. Thomas looked down at the whip he now held.
“Perhaps you would like to know what it feels like.”
Fear surged within Falsuto as he realized what this strange boy meant. His mouth suddenly dry from fear, he failed to respond.
“I thought not,” said Thomas contemptuously.