by Mary Coffin
Loki and Gwynn slung their bags over their shoulders and tied bed rolls to their horses. Gwynn mounted and waited for Loki to do the same. She kept gazing at the house, afraid the darkness would return at any moment.
“Wait,” Loki said.
“We must leave!” Gwynn urged.
Loki returned to the stable, led her father’s horse out and slapped its hindquarters. The horse bounded forward and trotted into the trees. She glanced at her mother as she mounted her own horse.
“It will give him a chance to survive…until we come back.” Even as those last few words left her mouth, she had a sense that they weren’t coming back any time soon.
Gwynn nodded her understanding and spurred her horse toward the east. Loki followed behind.
Before long, the forest thinned; pine trees scattered farther apart and grew shorter. Then all of a sudden, they broke out of the forest and the land opened up to rolling hills and gulches. Gwynn turned north.
Loki eyed the Great Mountains and thought they appeared even larger than the view from on top of the bluff. She glanced back to see if she could see the bluff poking above the line of trees but they were too close to the forest to see it. She rubbed her back, which still ached from her jolt on Beno earlier that morning.
Her mother hadn’t said a word since they left the cabin. No doubt she was lost in thought, as was Loki. Loki trotted up next to Gwynn and glanced at her. The bruise on her mother’s cheek was more defined already.
“Mother?”
Gwynn didn’t respond at first and continued staring ahead. Then she looked at her daughter. “Yes, Loki?”
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
Lookout, miss! Darkness comin’!
Loki searched the area, wondering what the ‘tweenlings were talking about. Her mother stopped her horse and looked around as well. For the first time, Loki wondered whether her mother could hear the ‘tweenlings.
A startled flock of birds took off from the forest behind them and scattered across the sky.
“What is it?” Loki asked.
Gwynn listened for a moment. “We need to hide.”
She spurred her horse until she reached the first gulch and then dismounted. Loki did the same. Then Gwynn crawled to higher ground but stayed low. A dust cloud appeared in the air near the edge of the forest. Loki crawled beside Gwynn and within moments, two riders came into view. There were two men wearing black capes, heading east, intersecting the path that Loki and her mother had just travelled but far enough away, hopefully, to not see the horses in the gulch. Besides the black capes, Loki sensed an air about the men that felt disturbing and heavy. Of course, the small flock of black birds that flew in a cloud above them certainly added to the foreboding air.
Loki and Gwynn remained low and silent until the riders passed. Then Loki spoke quietly. “Were those Brethren of Darkness?”
Gwynn rolled onto her back, looked at the sky and sighed. Loki thought she looked tired…yet relieved. “Yes. We don’t need any trouble so let’s keep moving.”
“It looked like those birds were following them.”
Gwynn glanced back toward the riders, who were a safe distance away and getting farther by the moment. She studied them and the flock of birds over head.
“Ebonravens. The darkest bird that ever was.”
“Darkest?”
Gwynn’s gaze was penetrating when she responded. “Their eyes are as black as their bodies and can only be seen if the light hits them just right. They feed off the dark energy of the Brethren. When you see one, there’s a good chance the Brethren are nearby. We’d better go.”
Loki wanted to ask where they were going. In fact, she had a lot of questions but she also had the distinct impression that her mother didn’t want to talk. They returned to their horses and continued north.
Loki followed without saying a word, feeling somewhat dazed by the day’s events. She thought back to the sensation in her body when the darkness, in the form of the black panther, directed its attention at her and it made her skin crawl all over again. She was glad they left before it returned to claim her father’s soul.
Loki had felt the presence of the ‘tweenlings swirling around them as they rode but, oddly enough, they had been quiet. It was as though they understood that she had much to think about and so they let her be.
They rode for a couple hours toward the Great Mountains but it appeared to Loki that the mountains were still just as far away. Finally, Gwynn stopped her horse under a group of old trees.
“Let’s eat something.”
Gwynn dismounted and handed Loki a flask of water. Then she retrieved some biscuits and jerky from her bag. They sat on the ground and ate.
Loki watched her mother as she chewed on a bite of biscuit while gazing off into the distance. She didn’t want to wait any longer. She needed to know what was going on.
“Why did father hit you? What happened back there?”
At first, Gwynn didn’t respond as she continued chewing. Then she took the flask and sipped on water. She offered it to Loki but Loki shook her head. Gwynn put the cap on and set it on the ground in between them.
Then, as if she never heard Loki’s question, she spoke. “Loki. It’s okay to be open about it now, to communicate with them.”
It only took a moment for Loki to realize what her mother was talking about but then she remembered her father’s anger and Elwyn and Tannis mocking her when she spoke openly to the ‘tweenlings. She thought she had been discreet ever since she promised her mother to never speak of them but, apparently, not careful enough.
She stared guardedly at her mother. “What makes you think that I still do?”
“I see the subtle shift in your eyes when you’re listening to them.” Gwynn gave a half smile. “I don’t hear them the same way that you do. Your ability came naturally. I had some help in learning how to read the energy. Besides, it was for your safety that I made you promise. It would have put you in danger, had you openly continued. The forces of good and evil, the Guardians and the Brethren, would have eventually found out about your abilities, especially with having a sibling in each order. One who can read the energy of all life, such as you, poses a threat. You can see right through them. They would have taken you.”
“Why?”
“To harness your ability for themselves…or worse.” Gwynn lowered her eyes. “Your father, for one, would have given you away to the Brethren.”
“What?! Why?”
“To gain their favor. He betrayed them once. There’s never a second chance with the Brethren but it didn’t stop him from trying.” Gwynn stared at the dirt on the ground but her distant gaze indicated she was seeing something else. She looked to the north briefly and then gazed at Loki. “Why do you think he’s pressured all of you to join the Brethren? He’s been trying to earn their forgiveness.”
Loki furrowed her brow. “What kind of father would give away his own daughter?”
Gwynn held her gaze but didn’t say anything. Then she lowered her eyes.
Loki shook her head in disbelief. “How could you stay with him all these years?”
“He didn’t used to be this way. It took awhile for him to reveal his interest in the Brethren and it got worse after we had you.” She looked Loki in the eyes. “I wouldn’t have let him give you away. I was just…” Gwynn’s voice trailed off and then she quietly said, “…waiting.”
“For what?”
Her mother said nothing and Loki had the sense she was keeping something from her. Gwynn opened her mouth to say something but then paused and looked like she was trying to be selective about her words. Then she looked directly into Loki’s eyes. “It’s time that you thought differently about yourself. I know your father pressured you to be a certain way and Elwyn and Tannis often badgered you. It’s time to be yourself and to recognize your talents.”
Loki was tongued tied. Through
much of her life, she hid her abilities and put on an air around her family that brought the least amount of conflict and attention to herself. The only time she felt she could be herself was when she went off riding, with her horse and the ‘tweenlings.
Gwynn continued. “We’re going to see an old friend. We’ll go a little farther but we’ll finish the ride tomorrow.”