Brint and Logan moved in front of the girls, holding their swords at the ready, as one of the Etrafarians touched down and walked toward them. The fairy stopped and cocked his head.
“Put away your weapons. No one here will harm you.”
Tabitha could see her brother’s mind working, could almost hear what he was thinking. “Brint, we did come looking for them, and they did save us. Besides, if they wanted to, they could pretty much crush us. We’re a little outnumbered. Pointing your sword at them might make you feel more in control, but it won’t do anything for first impressions.”
Brint smiled at her. “You calming me down,” he sniffed. “Mother will never believe it.” Brint sheathed his weapon and Logan mirrored him.
The Etrafarian closed the distance between them and pulled his hood back enough so they could see his face. “Greetings and welcome. We have been waiting for you for a very long time. My name is Liam."
“I am—” Brint started to say, but Liam interrupted him with a piercing whistle, and four white horses came running from the forest.
“Introductions can wait,” Liam said. “Let us get you to more comfortable surroundings first. We can see to the girl’s hurt leg and get you something to eat and drink. There will be time for introductions later. Also, I think that your friends are becoming impatient.” He pointed to the cage of earth and ice, and Tabitha could see that one of the Etrafarians confined within had begun to use fire to melt away the ice that was holding him.
Brint moved to draw his sword.
“Do not be troubled. My brothers and sisters will see to them. Come, put the girl on Spring. She is the most patient.” Liam pointed to a mare that had soft, doe-like eyes and nickered gently at the sound of her name.
The rest of the Etrafarians were already in motion. They had ropes at the ready as the wolves circled excitedly around the mound.
Tabitha was boosted onto the horse’s back by her brother. Logan had tried to help her first, but Brint waved him off. Anyone with eyes could see that Logan didn’t have much left to give, and he acceded willingly enough, though, once mounted, he moved his horse tight to Tabitha’s side.
Tabby sagged on the back of her horse which, thankfully, needed no guidance from her. It followed docilely behind Liam, who walked ahead of them. She looked about herself as she struggled to keep her eyes open. The trees were mostly bare. Winter on Etrafa was more cool than cold, but the trees, it seemed, followed the normal ebb and flow of the seasons, and had dropped their leaves, preparing to bud afresh when spring arrived.
Holly seemed unusually quiet, even for her, and Tabby told herself to remember to ask about it when she had a chance. It surprised her how much she liked Holly now that she'd gotten to know her better. They weren’t confidants yet, but she could see their relationship going that way, given time, which pleased her, especially since her brother was so obviously devoted to Holly. She couldn’t tell for sure if Holly felt the same, but she did notice something had changed in their dynamic. She stood nearer to him, spoke to him more, allowed him to help her. It wasn’t a lot, perhaps, but it was noticeable compared to the cautious distance she had been putting between them since she'd first learned of his feelings for her.
Tabby’s mind wandered, and her eyelids grew heavy. The steady thud of hooves on packed dirt lulled her. She thought of how much she'd give to see her parents at that very moment. Her mother would take one look at her damaged foot and send the healers flying for cool water and soft bandages. Next, her father would lift her into his strong arms and carry her to her room, where her mother would see her into a clean nightgown, and have her nestled into bed faster than a wink. She would be sipping hot tea, with just a hint of willow for the pain, before she knew it. Aunt Zusia would sit at her bedside and entertain her with gruesome and exciting stories of the Breken world, and she would shudder in the safety of her cozy bed at the thrilling tales, never in danger of anything more serious than a stomachache from the piles of delicious treats Katherine and Uncle Phillip would bring her.
A sudden squeeze about her middle pulled her rudely from her dream. Logan had seated himself behind her on the horse, his arms around her midsection. “You fell asleep. You were about to slide right off your horse,” he explained.
“I was thinking of home.”
“I figured as much. You said, ‘Mother’ and you were smiling.”
“I did? I was?”
“Don’t sound so shocked, Tabitha. It is natural you should want your mother when you are hurting and worn out. Comforting their children and making the bad things disappear is what all good mothers are best at, is it not?”
“My mother and I are not very close.”
“That is the way with many mothers and daughters, in my experience. Do you really think you are the first to chafe against the rules and expectations of your mother? You love her, and I don’t have to know her to know she loves you. And do not say that you are not close. If that were true, you would not care one iota what she thought of you. The fact that you do care, the fact that you feel you are a disappointment to her, only proves how close you are. It will all work out in the end, you will see. When it does, you are likely to find you are far more alike than you ever suspected, and I would guess you will be glad of it.”
“When did you get so knowledgeable in the ways of mothers and daughters?”
“I didn’t have a mother or a father, though Grandmother loved me as much as any mother could. Still, I missed what I did not have, and I watched the other children with their parents, almost trying to live through them, sometimes. Though I made sure I was not seen. I was not very popular among my peers. Anyway, when you spend so much time watching, you learn a lot.”
The forest thinned, and they came out of the trees to what looked to be a smaller version of Etrafa. Everything was the same, except that there was no Great Tree at the heart of it, and it was on a much smaller scale.
Liam stopped and when he did, the horses stopped as well. “Welcome to Etrafa.” He began to walk again, and they wound their way between the mounds that served as the Etrafarian’s homes.
“Don’t tell me—let me guess,” Tabitha whispered to Logan. “He’s saying it differently.”
Logan chuckled. “Completely. Don’t you hear it? Etrafa. That is the main city. Etrafa. That is the island as a whole. Etrafa. That is this second city. Now, listen. Etrafa. Etrafa. Etrafa.”
“I think I’m getting a headache. Would it be too much to ask for you people to come up with some different names to avoid confusion?”
“Silly, Tabby. They are different.”
“You called me Tabby; you never call me Tabby.”
“I did? Would you like for me to not do that?”
She had never really cared for the nickname. She had always thought it made her sound like a little girl instead of the woman she now was, but when Logan said it, it sent a little, thrilling, shiver through her. Maybe it was just how near he was to her and the way his arms warmed her straight through.
“No, you can call me Tabby if you want. I…I kind of like the way you say it,” she said, and a blush flashed on her face.
He put his lips close to her ear. “Tabby," he whispered, and kissed her neck.
“Logan!” she hissed.
“No one was watching,” he assured her. “Besides, what if they were? It does not embarrass me. I want everyone to know how I feel about you.”
“I’ll remind you that you said that if you ever meet my mother.”
They came to a stop before a building that had been constructed of wood instead of earth, but it stood out for more than just that reason. It had been made from what looked like every kind of wood the forests of Etrafa had to offer. They had been cut into narrow strips and arranged into a starburst pattern. At the center of the starburst was solas oir wood that glowed warmly, even in the daylight. How that had been managed, Tabitha could not guess, as there was nothing visibly holding the strips of wood together. It looked almost as if it was o
ne solid piece, it was so smooth.
“What is this place?” Holly asked, in awe.
“This place has been built for you. We knew one day you would come, and we know that the others do not live in homes of earth, so we thought that this would make you feel more comfortable. Of course, we have been waiting a long time, so we may have gotten a little carried away with the design, but it is not like we did not have the time. It is pretty, is it not?”
“Stunning,” Holly agreed. “I have never seen anything to equal it.”
They opened the door and saw there were three rooms. The front half was open and bright—the solas oir and large windows saw to that. There were a number of chairs placed about the room, each more elaborately carved than the last. A fireplace along one wall provided what would be a cozy spot to sit with friends. Toward the back, there were two bedrooms, each containing a pair of beds.
“How did you know there would be four of us?” Tabby asked.
“We did not. We expected two. Minxa said there had to be two. We put two beds in each room because we did not know which side you would prefer to sleep on.” Liam shrugged. “As I said, we may have gotten a little carried away, but as always, it seems Rah has guided us, for now there are enough beds for all.”
Tabby shook her head. The thought that these people had waited for her for a thousand years was a little overwhelming. Everywhere she looked there was something else that caught her attention. No detail had been overlooked, from the simple but elegant placement of each and every stone in the hearth, to the polish of the floor.
Liam moved a pretty footstool in front of one of the chairs and motioned for Brint to set Tabitha down. “I will have hot water, a tub, and some clean clothing brought over. There is a board in the center of the room that can be taken up to drain the tub. As each of you finishes, leave the door open, and we will bring fresh water for the next person. Once you have washed and dressed, we will have food brought, and then we can talk.”
“And Kellen and the others?” Logan asked.
“We will see to their needs as well, of course. Although, perhaps not in such pleasant surroundings. Have no concern for them. They are our brothers and we will look after them. All families have relatives that they are not so happy to call kin, but they are family, still.”
Logan looked relieved, and Tabitha thought he was a better person than she, because honestly, she had kind of hoped the obnoxious Kellen would be forced to suffer, at least a little bit.
***
All through dinner, Liam talked and answered their questions, but two hours and mounds of food later, they had moved to sit in a loose circle in the large room and had begun to answer his queries instead. He seemed to have even more questions than they did, and he asked about Brin, his history, and his ultimate release from the sword, with barely a pause between their answer and his next inquiry.
“Marvelous! Absolutely amazing!” Liam said, leaning back in his chair as if the wind had been knocked out of him, which Tabitha thought wasn’t far from the mark. These people had been so isolated in this place. The last information they had was what Minxa had shared with them. She had told them Rah had spoken to her in a dream to share a prophecy. There was a choice to be made, and the choice would be hers alone. If she were to help Brin’du Drak’Tir, the dragon, and be willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good, she would be able to save all her people. If she turned away, the task would fall to two others who would come to Etrafa from another land.
It was a terrible burden to put on one person. Minxa was powerful and gifted with control over all four elements, but she was also haughty. She liked her life. She liked the way people spoke of her and her many gifts. Her life was all she could wish it to be. Why would she throw all of that away? Rah had said she could save her people, but save them from what? Minxa saw no threat. Etrafa was peaceful, prosperous, and happy. And so, she ignored Rah’s call. When she abandoned Brin’du Drak’Tir in the Breken desert and returned home, the Great Tree had been stricken. She saw immediately the doom her selfishness had caused. The Great Tree was more than a symbol. If it died, it would signal the death of Etrafa as they knew it. Rah had not been more specific than that. Her shame and fear kept her silent for a while, but in the end, she confessed to her brothers and sisters. Minxa explained what Rah had told her, and the Etrafarians decided there and then to dedicate themselves to righting Minxa’s wrong.
And there was another group, a smaller one; Minxa entrusted the prophecy to them. They would take it and leave in secret, not telling anyone of their plans. Time and fear has a way of altering the way people view things, and Minxa worried that if the prophecy were not guarded and kept safe until the appointed time, the Etrafarians would be their own undoing. And so, they had set out under the ruse of going in search of anything that might heal the Great Tree, or at least help. And they had waited. Waited and watched, for they knew not when the second chance would come, only that Rah had said it would.
There was a tap at the door and Liam hurried to answer. A woman, with hair the color of the night sky, entered. In her hands was a box made of gold, and on its lid were two dragons facing one another. Their wings were spread and turned up and in so that they met and touched in the middle. There was no lock, but Tabby saw a latch set into the lid to keep the cover closed.
Liam went to the corner of the room and retrieved a short, round table, which he placed in front of the chairs. When the woman positioned the box upon the table, Tabitha noticed the pattern, which had been etched upon the golden case, had also been duplicated on the table, and there was a slight depression on the surface into which the box fit perfectly, as if the table had been made specifically to receive it. Tabby’s lips twitched into a tiny smile. When she thought about it, she realized there was no "as if" about it. The Etrafarians had prepared everything else for their arrival, so it was certain the table was no happy accident.
Liam and the woman stepped back and looked at Holly and Tabitha, obviously waiting for them.
“You do it, Holly. It was your ancestor that started all this,” Tabitha said.
Holly’s hands shook a little as she undid the hook and eased the cover back. She placed her hands under the scroll and lifted it from its resting place. Tabby couldn’t help but compare it to the sword of Cyrus which had also waited a thousand years, give or take.
“Read it, Holly,” Brint urged her.
She unrolled it carefully and exclaimed, “It is written in the common language!”
Liam nodded. “She did not know who would come, but she did know they would not be born of Etrafa. It was thought best to put it into a language anyone could read.”
She cleared her throat, looked nervously about the room, and she began to speak.
At the dawn, there were two
Protecting that which was made.
Betrayal and jealousy separated them,
And summer fled before winter, the prophecy awoke.
When summer’s heat was taken from the Great Tree,
It began its slow descent into eternal sleep.
Death is patient and creeps like shadows at midnight,
Pausing once to look behind, and then steady on.
For the tree to live, so must it die.
The one may gather the seed freely, but if she fails,
The seed of The Tree must be paid for with willing sacrifice.
Once gathered, water it with scarlet and breathe life into it with first fire.
If the story comes full circle in the desert sand,
The crimson blossom may be plucked from a single flower,
But, should the echoes drift across oceans and time,
The petals must fall from the two roses who grow from the thorns on distant shores.
Fire and Ice cannot abide together.
Fate whispers one must yield to the other.
If fire prevails, then all shall be reborn,
But if Ice be victorious, winter’s kiss will remain unbroken,
And all shall fade away.
The beginning of destiny’s circle can be found at the end.
Tabby’s voice shook when she spoke. “Liam, what does it all mean?”
“I do not know,” he answered. “This is the first time I have ever heard it.”
“What?” Tabby said, unable to contain her surprise. “Do you mean others have studied it instead of you?”
“I mean that none of us have ever read the prophecy. We are no better or worse than any of our brothers and sisters. How could we be assured that we ourselves would not fall prey to the same worries and fears we ascribed to them? We were merely the keepers of the prophecy. That much we could do.”
“Are you telling me,” Tabby continued, “that you've had this thing for a thousand years and you never once looked at it?”
Liam shook his head, looking a little guilty. He should look guilty, Tabby thought. They could have helped us figure this out, but now we're on our own. Well, no, not really. Rah was with them. Tabitha had come to believe that in Etrafa, and their time in the wilds had only served to strengthen her belief in Him.
Tabitha sank back in her chair. Her foot was throbbing again, but this time the pain was completely eclipsed by the pounding in her head. This was Tabby’s first prophecy, but it seemed to her that Rah could have helped them with it if He'd spoken plainly and clearly. The tangled riddle she'd listened to sounded more like something Gabriel would say. Why couldn’t anything be simple?
Chapter 30
Siusan walked at the front of the column. She felt it her duty to be in the lead with Aesri. It was their home, after all. Brin had protested endlessly, as she knew he would, but when she had given him a cool and rational listing of all the reasons why it was the right thing to do, and followed that with a kiss, he acquiesced, again, as she knew he would. Behind them came Dearra, Darius, Daniel, and Carly, and behind them, the men and women from the three ships sent by the king. The ships from Maj would wait where they were for the time being. Their fairy escort stayed with them to guard against anyone trying to sneak around the main force and attack their unprotected flank. No one knew what they would find, and it seemed wise to hold some in reserve. Their arrival was not a very big secret, and they couldn’t be sure they weren’t walking into a trap. Brin, unable to take the path because of his size, flew overhead, watching as they progressed. If the situation deteriorated, Siusan or Aesri was to send up a signal, and he would fly back and summon the others to help.
Prophecy (The Destiny Series Book 4) Page 25