by Mary Coffin
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“But, I don’t understand,” Loki said as she walked next to Silas. The rest of the team trailed behind. “If Elwyn used a spell to get inside the cave, then what good will it do to just let her go?”
“We don’t know if she put herself in the mountain. I have a feeling she had some help,” offered Silas. He looked past other Overseers and noticed Morten coming toward them in a hurried manner. “And here’s the man who can tell us.”
As Morten approached, he responded to the question he read in their thoughts before they asked. “Yes, I brought Elwyn into the cave. The foolish girl was about to cause a cave-in. She knows just enough to be a danger to herself and others. Though, once her memory returns, I’m hopeful that she’ll have a change of heart, if the Brethren don’t catch her first.”
He looked at Silas and then at Loki. He had first thought of speaking alone with Silas but changed his mind. He preferred the direct approach. Loki would just have to deal with it.
“I need a word with you both.” Morten walked away from the group, obviously too rushed to take time for idle talk. Silas and Loki followed in silence.
Loki wondered what he might have to say that would include her but then she realized she might be in trouble for nearly compromising her position and for intervening where she had no business. She braced for the lecture she was about to get.
Morten led them to a quiet area and then turned to face them.
“Gwynn went to the Northland to retrieve the journal.” He looked at Silas. “I need for you to go after her. There is a member of the Brethren following her and she doesn’t know it. I have a feeling she is going to need some assistance. Take the short route but be careful. It’s a dark night. I’ll continue to watch and do what I can from here.”
Loki spouted, “I want to go, too.”
Morten gazed at her. “Silas is going alone but I thought you should know, since she is your mother.”
Loki’s mouth gaped open slightly as she looked from Morten to Silas and back to Morten again. That’s it? I’m supposed to just sit here and wait? She wanted Morten to offer a more definitive plan of action, one that would keep her mother safe from harm.
She chose her words carefully. “Can’t something more be done? Like...?”
Morten cut in, “Like magic? No. Not in the sense you’re asking. Things happen for a reason. Gwynn exercised her free will to go there. Any effect from that is the price that has to be paid. I can’t stand in the way of that. I will help as much as her experience allows me to help.”
He stared at Loki for another moment. He wished he had more time to instruct her and to help her deal with this but he didn’t. He turned to Silas.
“Please leave right away. I’ll watch her from here.” He turned and walked away.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Silas spun on his heels and walked in the opposite direction. Loki stood in the quiet cavern, suddenly feeling more alone than she had ever felt before. Emotions surged to the surface and she wanted to scream. She felt angry at Morten. She wanted to go with Silas. She was worried about her mother.
She ran through the tunnels and up the stairs, fighting back the rush of tears. She was barely aware of bumping into someone on the way past. A voice called to her but she was too absorbed to notice.
She ran through the cave that led to the northern flank of the mountain, to where they previously had their leisure time outside. She ran down the hill into the pine grove and, before she realized how dark it was, tripped and fell. She stayed where she fell and cried.
Thoughts raced through her head. She was angry at Morten, for not letting her go, and at Silas, for not supporting the idea that she should join him. She even considered running down to Adele’s place, getting her horse and following Silas. But she knew, by the time she did, that he would be long gone and she didn’t know the way. She realized that it was better to stay put; she didn’t want to slow Silas down.
After the initial burst of emotions passed, Loki knew that she couldn’t blame Morten or Silas for this situation. She couldn’t blame them for something that she could have stopped, had she brought it to someone’s attention before it got this far. Why hadn’t she listened more seriously to her dreams? Why hadn’t she acted on her concern that her mother was up to something? Why hadn’t she confronted her mother?
She thought back to how Morten said that he’d had a feeling her mother might need help. He didn’t know for a fact that Gwynn was in trouble. Morten only said that she was being followed but not that she had been captured or injured. So why did she have this dreaded feeling in the pit of her gut? Her emotions surfaced as though something bad had already happened.
She stayed on the ground and continued to look at the situation from various angles and, before she realized it, she had fallen asleep.
FORTY TWO
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