“Cicero,” she continued, unfazed. “Let her at least see that her father is fine.”
“Deal,” I said before she changed her mind. “No writing.”
Cicero frowned as Sonya handed the journal to me.
Sure enough, on the first page was a letter addressed to the Del Contes and signed by Stefan. Next page. A response written by Sonya to Stefan. Another from Stefan. The rest of the book was filled with blank pages. How had I missed this? When had she been writing?
Most of its contents were about things I didn’t understand, but there were certain items of interest I collected to my memory. Dad was fine, his travels were uneventful, he was anxious to see us—see me—and relieved to know we were safely on course.
After looking through the book, I couldn’t understand why the Del Contes—namely Cicero—didn’t want me reading it. But Sonya had put herself out there to let me see it, so I didn’t ask any more questions. I handed the book back to Sonya and warmed myself by the fire Alex had made.
Cicero and Sonya spoke in hushed whispers as far away from us as possible. Considering we were all huddled beneath a tree branch, it ended up being around the distance of a few yards. Whatever dissension I had created was soon settled, and the pair joined us as strong in their unity as ever. How they did that was always a mystery to me. Having one parent didn’t give me the opportunity to witness couples working through differences, and the differences between Sonya and Cicero only seemed to make them stronger.
The rain had picked up, its patter muffling out every other stray sound as if nature was applauding its own beauty. I felt a sort of peace, listening to the sounds of rain and fire, and was thankful for the flames because with the storm had come the cold.
Cicero passed around dried meats and stale bread.
“Aren’t you glad you remembered the firewood?” Sonya grinned at her husband.
He smiled. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I remembered, but your son insisted…”
I didn’t hear the rest of what Sonya’s son insisted, because they were huddled in chatter, their smiles satisfied with each other’s company. They were quite the pair—Cicero and Sonya, justice and mercy. They’d always balanced each other well. When I was younger, I often thought that if the day ever came where I considered marrying someone, I would want a relationship like theirs. They were equals. They were each other’s favorite companion. They had utmost respect for each other, which was also probably why they were able to work through any disagreement, like what had just happened.
My eyes found Alex’s.
For a moment he held my gaze, but then looked back at the fire. A wave of his frustration filtered through me, as if I’d offended him.
No, I wasn’t mad at him. I was furious. Furious at him, at myself, because I still cared.
Chapter 13
Flame
The next few days blurred together.
Since Sonya had let the bindingbook out of the bag, I wasn’t as anxious about dad’s safety. According to the venerable Stefan, Dad was visiting with Lord Commodus. And this Lord Commodus, whoever he was, knew nothing of the Pykans, was disturbed by the news, and planned to travel with my dad to nearby ports in order to ensure the safety of Orindor’s citizens. This extended my dad’s stay by about two days.
Not that I was keeping track.
The forest remained saturated. The clouds nestled themselves on the ground, and droplets of water clung to the trees, making them shimmer when touched by the sun.
I’d grown accustomed to my leathers. They felt like a second skin, doing a fantastic job moderating my body temperature. They always moved just the way I wanted, stretched just the way I wanted. A wardrobe of these might not be such a bad investment. They were practical and durable and pliable; these Gaians might be on to something.
I had wondered how Cicero had been navigating through the homogeneous grey veil until I’d noticed a device in his hands. A compass.
The little bronze object didn’t have the usual directional markers of north, south, east, and west. Instead other strange shapes and symbols dotted the circumference. Every time I’d looked, the arrow hovered over a symbol that resembled the letter “R”. And sometimes when I’d looked, that strange version of “R” would glow a faint gold.
“It shows the direction of one’s needs and desires—if you know how to use it,” Cicero had said. He’d even let me hold it, but the arrow would only spin round and round.
When the fog lifted and the sun began its descent, we stopped.
We had reached the far boundary of the Kirkwoods. A narrow valley spread before us, and there was a denser forest on the other side. From here, the trees looked much too packed with green to actually travel through.
“The Arborenne.” Cicero stared out ahead. “Follow me and keep your eyes open as we cross. I don’t want to be seen entering the forest.”
The four of us tore across the strip of open land, our horses panting with excitement. The cool air ripped through my hair, Calyx’s mane splaying in a thousand directions. He was so happy, his legs bounding with power across the ground, kicking up clumps of soft earth. It was a momentary freedom for us both—open sky above, open land all around—running freely through the lake of tall dried grasses.
As we ran, something cold touched my senses. I looked over my shoulder. Two dark figures stood in the distance. Their cloaks beat in the wind, but they were still, standing like two black pillars, watching us. I looked back at the Del Contes. They hadn’t noticed, being so intent on the approaching green wall, but when I turned back to the onlookers, they had vanished.
Cicero stopped before a net of vines. Everything was so thick, so overgrown. I couldn’t see an entrance anywhere, not even a break in the green.
Air ripped through the valley with such force my eyes stung.
Then the vines started moving. They pulled back like a curtain, revealing a trail that led deeper into the forest.
I didn’t like the looks of this.
One by one we walked through. Hot, sticky air engulfed me, chasing away the chill from outside. My leathers turned soft and damp, sticking to my skin like glue, and my hair clung to the back of my neck. Once we were all inside, the vines wound together again, clearing all trace of our entry and the valley beyond.
But I didn’t think much more on it because something else distracted me.
This exotic jungle felt alive. Everywhere—in everything—all I felt was power, radiating from the trees, the grasses, the earth.
The air was thick with the fragrance of flowers and heavy with humidity. Sparks of vibrant color—pinks, oranges, blues—burst from deep within the green. So many strange flowers, so many strange plants. Things I’d never seen before. Leaves as big as my body swept the ground, belonging to trees the size of a small house. Thick vines draped from branches like tinsel, snaking around trees trunks covered in thick, lime-green moss. The sides of the trail were flanked with grasses, the shortest reaching my waist, making it impossible to wander off. Chimes rang through the air, their melodies reminiscent of those I’d heard our first day through the forests. Except here, they had an ethereal quality, giving the breeze a beautiful voice.
“Stay close. We’ll stop before nightfall.” Cicero led us forward, deeper into the verdant jungle.
Our trail looked like a single black thread, barely wide enough for us to walk single-file.
Sonya paused before a tree.
It reminded me of a willow, but its tendrils of green hair were much thicker and longer, each strand lined with beautiful bright orange flowers, some of which hung over our trail. The tree looked like it was covered in tiny bursts of flame. The flowers belled open into the shape of a star with blinding yellow centers. The air all around was infused with its scent, something passionate and intoxicating and…strangely familiar.
“Cicero, look!” Sonya smiled up at the tree.
“How can I forget?” He smiled at his wife, plucking one of the flowers and smelli
ng it before handing it to her. I didn’t know why he bothered smelling it. I could smell the flowers from here. Any closer and my nose would probably never recover.
The moment Sonya’s fingers touched the petal, the flower flared blood red at its edges. Sonya and Cicero continued on, lost in their memories with each other.
“Ardor’s Flame,” said a deep voice in my ear.
Alex was right behind me, gazing at the tree.
“That flower…it just changed color.” I watched the little flame Sonya was carrying.
He watched after his parents. “The tree is enchanted. It sees the heart. Legend says that if you pick a flower and give it to someone you love, it holds its bloom as long as that love lives.”
“Do they always change color like that?”
“No. The flower feeds off the love two people share. Common thought is the greater the love, the greater the color change. But you never know what to expect—just how they’ll change. My parents still have the flower my dad gave my mom when he confessed his love.”
The flower. The one that floated in the water bowl at their home on Earth. It was from this world. All that time, it was the same flower.
“The water bowl,” I said.
He nodded.
I reached out my hand to touch one of the bright stars. But just as my fingertips touched the soft velvet, the flower retracted into itself. In its place was a tiny green bud sticking out from the strand of the tree. As if that wasn’t enough, it began recruiting all the other flowers so that in a few second’s time, there were no flowers left on the tree. Nothing but clusters of green buds.
I pulled back my hand. “Why did they do that?”
Alex looked humored. “The flowers are afraid of you.”
“Do you enjoy watching me struggle to figure things out on my own?”
He frowned. “No, actually, it’s the most frustrating thing about you.”
He gave Parsec a soft kick, squeezed past me and walked on after his parents.
“I’ll tell you who’s frustrating,” I mumbled.
Calyx whinnied as we walked on. But when I looked back at that tree—that selfish, haughty tree—the flowers were out again in full bloom, and all of them were facing me.
We had been walking parallel with a solid, rock wall when Cicero finally stopped. Except, I couldn’t really be sure the wall was still there. The sun had faded and the mist became so dark and so thick it was like we were walking through a cumulonimbus.
“Ah, there it is.” Cicero said.
I had no idea what “it” was; all I could see was cloud. Before I could ask, Cicero led Nova off to the right and Alex and Sonya continued after him. Calyx hurried to follow so we didn’t lose them.
They stopped before a cave, its black opening just visible through the fog. Cicero dismounted, and led Nova after him through the narrow crack.
Calyx’s irritation surged through me as I leapt from the saddle. I tugged his reigns forward but he shook his head and tugged back.
“Oh, come on. You’re not afraid of a little cave are you?”
He whinnied and pulled harder.
“Fine, then. Want me to leave you out here?”
He stopped pulling, stood tall, and snorted. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his obstinacy. When I grabbed Calyx’s reins again, he still wouldn’t budge. “Well, are you coming or not?”
Calyx whinnied but stepped forward and followed me through the narrow opening. Rough rock wall stood close on both sides, but after a few yards it ended, much to Calyx’s relief, and opened into a single, large domed room. Fuzzy balls of light floated near the arched stone ceiling, casting the rock chamber in an orange glow.
“There, that should do it.” Cicero dusted off his hands and looked back at me with a smile.
“You made those?” I asked.
He smiled, then started shuffling through his pack. I stared at the lights overhead, hovering weightless in the air. How he had managed them was beyond me, as were most things in this world.
“How did you know this was here?” I asked.
“I didn’t.” Cicero pulled a few reddish, round objects the size of softballs from his bag. “But I knew it existed. Alaric told me about it once. Said he used to come out here as a boy when he didn’t want anyone to find him, like me.” Cicero grinned.
“Not that it helped.” Sonya winked at me and turned her attention back to Orion.
“Yes, your poor father. Appointed me as his Aegis because I wouldn’t leave him alone. Figured he might as well pay me for it.”
Everyone knew more about my dad than I did, even strangers like Thad. Funny the most reliable creature in my life should be a horse I met a few days ago. No, it wasn’t funny, it was depressing. Extremely depressing.
There was nothing in all my life I could remember making me feel like such an outcast. Like I was a big mistake, so the world threw me in the middle of the Pacific without a life preserver.
Calyx nuzzled my palm and I sighed.
Wallowing in your woes isn’t going to get you anywhere.
Thanks for understanding, conscience.
I started un-strapping my pack, but Alex placed his hand over mine.
“I’ll do it. Sit down.”
I jerked my hand away. “I don’t need your help, thanks.” I yanked down on a strap, tightening it rather than loosening it. Calyx shifted.
“Daria.”
I was not in the mood for this. “You’re a protector, not a gentleman.”
“Is it impossible to be both?”
“For you?” Snap. “Yes.” I had now broken one of the leather straps, and Calyx was so furious his nose flared and he was showing me his big, white teeth.
“Daria? Would you come here please?” It was Sonya. “Oh, don’t worry about your pack. Alex can handle it.”
I turned back to Alex, expecting to see the fight in him, some sign that he was angry with me, but there was none. In fact, I couldn’t even see his face. He had turned completely away, already busying himself with my things.
Why didn’t he ever fight back?
Frustrated, I joined Sonya, who had piled a few logs in the middle of the room.
“Where did you find those?” I asked.
“Over there.” She pointed to an orderly stacked pile. “Your father was always prepared.”
She was right about that one.
“You were asking how Cicero made the light appear,” she said.
So they weren’t totally ignoring me. “Yeah?”
“I’ll show you,” she continued. “I wanted to show you sooner, but it wasn’t safe. And now, considering where we are, I think it’s safe.”
My curiosity soared. “Safe?”
Rather than answer, she closed her eyes. I felt a strange surge of her power, and a tiny flame appeared. Right in the center of her woodpile. It was small at first, licking and grasping at the air, but grew larger and hotter until it was blazing so hot I had to back away so my skin wouldn’t melt off. “How did you do that?”
She smiled. “Magic. It is a force of its own here. Gaia is filled with it. Some of us can use it; draw on its power. Not without exchanging our own energy.”
“You exchanged your energy to make the fire?”
She nodded. “Now, that’s not what Cicero did. Conjuring light like that takes a bit more practice, but it’s the same general concept.”
“Can anyone do it?”
“Most everyone can tap into its source, but not everyone’s connection is strong, and no two persons interact with it the same way. Those with the strongest connections usually serve the king, but the most gifted are members of the Guild.”
“Wait, if they’re so powerful, why can’t they hunt whoever’s after me instead of my dad?”
Cicero scratched his chin. “Alaric doesn’t trust everyone in the Guild.”
“That’s a high position of power for people you can’t trust.”
I felt traces of Alex’s irritation as Sonya exchanged a glan
ce with Cicero.
“We know,” she said.
No wonder Dad wanted the Del Contes to hide me in a place protected by ancient magic. If someone at the palace—someone with great magical ability—was at all involved with my attempted assault, they might as well just hand me over.
The magical fire snapped and crackled, and a thought struck me. If I expected to make it in this world on my own, I needed to learn how to use magic, and fast. “I want to try,” I said.
“No.”
Alex had moved behind us. His arms were folded over his chest, and he stared at his mom like my request was a personal affront.
Of course he would pick this moment to fight me. “Why not?” I asked.
He ignored me. “Mom, it’s a bad idea. They could still be following us.”
Sonya sighed. “Alex, I understand your concern, but she at least needs to be able to recognize it, for her own safety. Besides, it’s too small an amount to attract anyone.”
“I don’t think you do understand, Mom. She could—“
“Alexander.” Sonya’s tone held warning.
“Help me with dinner?” Cicero looked at his son as he got to his feet.
Alex held his mom’s gaze a long moment. His eyes flashed to me before joining his father, who was already cutting the red softballs into pieces.
Sonya looked after her son and I felt a wave of her anxiety. She returned her attention to me and smiled, but it failed to touch her eyes. “Magic is a skill you must learn, particularly your own limitations. Many great sorcerers have died over-extending their energy, so I need you to do exactly as I say, and you shouldn’t have any problems.”
“All right. I’ll follow directions. So how did you just do that?”
Loud scraping filled the rock chamber. Alex sat on the floor sharpening his blade. His eyes were hard and focused on the metal; his facial muscles taut.
Cicero, however, joined us and handed out fruit. “Don’t be disappointed if you don’t take to it immediately. It takes a lot of practice—some can’t do anything for years, although I don’t think that will be the case with you. Are you ready?”
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