He knew with a sinking feeling how impossible the odds were. Her only mission since he’d met her was to return home. The reality of his purpose stung him deeply and he felt a heavy pang in his chest. She needed him to help her succeed in leaving and the truth was he would do anything she asked of him no matter how much it hurt.
He remembered her haste just yesterday morning. Then it was Saturday and she had time to spare. Zeftx wished it wasn’t true but she needed to get home today. Sunday was her last chance before her parents missed her and he didn’t want her to miss them the way he missed his own parents. It was settled long before he came to terms with it. Today was the day. There was nothing else to it.
Even with these disheartening thoughts, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. It was all he had to hold on to. Every memory of her would make a lasting impression. Memorizing the way she looked now so he could immortalize her face forever in his mind would make letting her go easier. Or at least he hoped so.
For the longest time now he had wanted to try one thing. Allowing himself just this one liberty, he leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn’t a passionate kiss, or an earth shattering, wake sleeping beauty kiss either. It was a kiss so delicate and light that it brushed her lips too softly to wake her. It felt like a goodbye kiss.
With a shaky sigh Zeftx decided to get up and check on Jade. In the kitchen he found her note and decided to take advantage of the time alone to wash up and clean the stench of hard work from his skin.
CHAPTER 15
Lara woke up to the sound of splashing water. She stood and walked to the kitchen half expecting the bent spout to have sprung a leak. Instead she discovered the sound coming from Zeftx’s room. Lara assumed he was taking a bath and decided the bathroom must not have been that bad after all.
After she found Jade’s note Lara decided maybe she should take a bath and get cleaned up too. When she went into Jade’s bathroom she discovered there was no running water. Curiously she went back to the kitchen.
“Well, pump, water…pot.” Lara saw the discarded pot and filled it with water. When she carried it to the bath and poured the water in, some of it splashed up and got her wet.
“Yikes!” she shouted. It was freezing! “Well, pump, water, pot…boil.” She needed to boil the water. She took the pot back to the kitchen and refilled it. Outside under the bright sunshine she saw the horna. “Of course,” she told herself.
It took her a few tries, but ultimately she triumphed and lit the horna. Ten trips back and forth with boiling water were all she had the patience for. By the time Lara had filled the tub enough to suit her needs Zeftx came out of his room clean and freshly garbed. He helped her pour the last pot into the tub then fished a towel from the linen drawer on the bottom of Jade’s dresser.
“You can borrow some of Jade’s clothing, I know she won’t mind,” Zeftx said before leaving the room to give her some privacy. Peeling off the cloak and her clothes, Lara abandoned them on Jade’s floor and nearly melted into the eccentric tub. The clean water was a blessing to her bare skin as she scrubbed away the dirt from two days of wandering in the forest.
While her head was submerged under the water, Lara thought she could hear noises coming from the room. Quickly she sat up, covering herself and hugging close to the side of the bath to hide her body from view. She waited in silence to see if she could hear anything else but when nothing happened she figured it was just her imagination.
Lara relaxed, sliding back into the water so that she was submerged up to her shoulders. It was nice to feel clean and relaxed and able to think. Her mind finally slowed down enough to process everything that had happened since four thirty in the afternoon on Friday.
She remembered all the unimaginable things she had seen from Zeftx walking through walls, cupids, and fairies to the stranger in the clearing, breathing magic, and gargoyles attacking at night. None of this existed in Darby Dale. At least, she had never seen it, and the woods around her neighborhood weren’t big enough to hide all of this.
“Emmitaenu,” she recalled. Zeftx told her his parents found Jade by roaming the vast forest of Emmitaenu. It was like another world to her. Now Lara was beginning to wonder how it was possible to get back to the one she came from.
The water had turned cold. As much as she hated to admit it, it was time to get out. She stood and pulled the stopper from the drain. Curious, she stepped out of the tub and peered underneath. There was a small drainage pipe sticking out of the floorboards directly beneath the tub, catching the trickle of water that leaked out from her bath.
“Fascinating,” she couldn’t believe she said out loud, but it was true. So much about how Jade and Zeftx lived amazed her. They were totally self sufficient.
Lara wrung her hair out over the tub to avoid dripping all over the ground and wrapped herself up in the towel before going in the bedroom. She paused; the robe and her clothes were gone off the floor. She had heard someone in the room after all. The door was completely shut so Lara quickly got dressed in the first thing she found and then returned to the kitchen to see what the others were doing.
Zeftx was molding mugs out of clay when Lara stepped out of Jade’s bedroom. He looked up and was stunned speechless. In Jade’s silky white blouse and long white skirt Lara looked exactly like the Immortal Princess he originally mistook her for. If he had to guess her divinity he would have chosen beauty. Jade’s feminine garments showed a whole new level of physical maturity Lara had been hiding behind her blue trousers and figureless white V-neck shirt.
“Good morning Zeftx,” Lara was the first to speak. Although it was noon now, he realized this was the first time he’d seen her fully awake today.
“Good morning,” he replied softly. She seemed nervously aware of his staring and he shook his head to rattle his brain back to action. “Oh, Jade took your things.” He explained, pointing to the room behind her. “She went with our laundry to the river but she should be back soon.”
“Actually, I’m back now,” Jade said, startling them both. “Zeftx dear,” she prompted and he hustled through the window to give her a hand. Lara watched as they worked together to string the wet garments between two trees. She hadn’t noticed the clothes line there before.
Lara blushed when Jade pinned up her underwear and was grateful that Zeftx was a masterful gentleman to avoid looking at them. She was relieved when they were done and returned indoors, although she was still conscious enough of her missing articles to cross both arms in front of her chest.
“Don’t worry dear;” Jade leaned over her shoulder to say, “everything dries quickly under an Emmitaenu sun.” Lara gave a closed lip smile. She believed her in this jungle.
In the meantime, Jade made fresh tea, and they ate fish brought back from the river. Lara was just starting to feel optimistic again by the time Jade whispered to her that she could check her clothes. Zeftx helped her through the window then let her go on her own.
Lara rubbed her shirt between her fingertips. It was hardly damp and she could wear it again already, but her jeans…she groaned. Her jeans would take forever to dry, no matter how hot the sun was. At least her bra and panties were completely dry. She plucked them off the line and balled them up together in her hands.
Zeftx gave her a lift back into the hut and she blushed when he accidentally noticed the bundle in her hands. “Thank you,” she mumbled before excusing herself to Jade’s room for privacy. Once she redressed in Jade’s clothes wearing fresh underwear, Lara rejoined them in the kitchen.
“Before nightfall,” Zeftx was telling Jade, “I’ll have these windows boarded up.” He sounded strange, hallowed out and Lara wondered if it was the memory of the attack he was thinking about.
“Good, good.” Jade replied, patting him on his forearm. Lara looked at them both, not liking how morbid they seemed. “Ah, Lara dear, you look ready. Shall we?” At first she didn’t understand. Then it clicked. They were standing near the door because time was running out and she needed to g
et home.
“Ready,” Lara replied, sounding a lot more certain than she felt.
CHAPTER 16
Something’s not right, Lienkin thought, I can feel it. He was remembering his mother’s circle from the night before. It had started out well, then went from good to great, but turned quickly deadpan.
They had gone to the top of a cliff to the south, mostly for the villager’s peace of mind. He had noticed a long time ago that his mother unlike anyone else had absolutely no fear of the night. He assumed it was because her patron Immortal was Lluenna the Immortal Moon Queen but he’d never asked.
No matter how much it unnerved them, everyone in Opal accepted her decision to have night circles because they needed moonlight to receive the Queen’s blessing. His mother Leann Lucero, daughter of Lars and Lucia Weathers, widow of Alec Lucero and the high priestess of Opal offered them the safest locations for their rituals as her gift to the coven for following her leadership.
On top of the cliff were very few predators and the barren surface left the sky above their heads wide open, allowing the nearly full moon to illuminate the circle in soft light. They were also protected by the four elements when they cast their circle and wove a spell of invisibility around themselves.
“We look to the North for our village, our home on this Earth. We look to the East through the wilderness, from whence magic is carried willingly to us through the Air. We look to the South below this cliff, restraining dangers below with the wrath of Fire. We look to the West where the river flows, for that is where it meets the path and sustains us with Water,” which is how the priestess began the ritual. Four elements from all four directions were called to protect them.
Next she invoked the Immortal Queen and the three surviving elders; Debol Ulgres the coven mediator, Margret Dew the coven treaty, and Charity Brooks the coven initiator offered the supplies he had gathered. Then the entire coven body, Lienkin included, chanted in the old language binding the sweet and green ingredients to their success. The sound of ten mixed voices was overcome by the eleventh. It was the authoritative dictation of his mother signaling the change to this circle from good to great.
At first no one was really listening to the words. They were too distracted by the white mist rising from the ground in a puddle at her feet. She always appeared powerful and timeless when leading a circle but never before like now. Her eyes white-out to look like two matching miniatures of the brightly glowing moon, hiding all natural color behind their illumination.
Awestruck into silence, the voices all dropped off so that hers was the only one left to hear. The singularity of her voice sunk in, allowing their minds to absorb the words after all. The priestess was speaking a prophecy.
“Everything you need to grow, lives already upon your land…but if it is help you need to sow, a fair maiden the Immortals send.”
Lara, Lienkin immediately thought. It had to be. The certainty of his conviction made his heart swell and it felt as if the light now seeping away from his enchanted mother was filling up the cavern of his chest. Suddenly everyone began talking at once!
“By the Immortals,” Arthur Succio, Fartharc’s father exclaimed. Fartharc murmured in agreement.
“The Immortal Moon Queen,” Raye spoke with reverence.
“Lluenna,” Tahj whispered beside her. They both stared up at the moon with beaming smiles on their faces. Tres stood next to them confused, which wasn’t really a surprise. Considering she was the coven scribe, since she was the youngest initiated member, he figured Tres should definitely be taking notes on everything she didn’t already understand.
“It worked,” Juno Withers added. “Our request is answered.” He was the coven summoner and Lienkin wondered if he’d ever heard the man speak before now.
“Let us not get ahead of ourselves,” Leann, back to her normal self, shouted above the chatter. Everyone silenced and looked to Debol, Margret and Charity for guidance. Leann communicated with the three so that no one else could hear. They gave pause to her soundless plea.
“Please, young ones go dance and be merry. We are given a blessing!” Debol instructed. “The council will speak after a short meeting.” The other two nodded and his mother pretended to smiled.
Obligingly everyone went about their business as expected. Fartharc bowed over Tres’ hand and asked a dance of her. She hesitated, staring expectantly at Lienkin but he ignored her. Looking slighted, she accepted Fartharc’s offer and they danced in a circle next to her parents Tahj and Raye. Juno and Arthur talked excitedly among themselves as the council deliberated in the corner alone.
CHAPTER 17
The council consisted of the three elders and his mother the coven leader. As marvelous as Lienkin felt about all of this, his curiosity pulled him away from the revelry and pushed him toward the private discussion of the council. He tried very hard to overhear them without looking nosey.
“I worry,” Leann hissed through her teeth, sending apologetic glances toward the moon.
“We can see that,” Debol stated. Charity nodded stoically, looking down her nose with the same frowning superiority she showed to uninitiated pupils preparing for their rites. Leann rearranged her expression so it gave nothing away.
“This is truly good news,” Margret reasoned. “We are old,” she pointed to Debol, Charity and herself, “and your generation has been thoroughly robbed.” Now she pointed at Leann causing her brows to rise. Margret smiled understandingly to soften the blow.
“We all must open our eyes and accept a gift with good graces when the Immortals take the time to give one.” Charity advised. It was Debol’s turn to nod in agreement.
“Priestess, you see as much as we do,” Margret spoke again. “Juno hasn’t smiled in the seven years since Arieth’s death, and she wasn’t the only one the war took away from us. Arthur’s wife Felicia, my daughter Mitty and her husband Carr Brooks…”
“He was my son,” Charity interrupted flatly “and my Rucker, my husband, he died too.”
“Not just the young, but the old too,” Margret went on. “Our friends Felix Withers and Olivia Lucero. We lost them all.”
“I know!” Leann gritted, suddenly sounding angry. Lienkin sympathized. The only name they didn’t mention was Alec’s, her husband, his father, and their high priest.
“This is what makes the prophecy a good one,” Debol firmly interposed. “Opal has been devastated by one tragedy after another. Remember the plague?” It was a rhetorical question. Lienkin didn’t remember it, he was born after it had passed, but he was told it wiped out half the witches in Opal ten years before the war.
“The point is,” he went on, “we have been reduced to such small numbers. How else will Opal survive if we shun the Immortals blessing? Look at your children.” Lienkin’s heart skipped a beat as he felt their eyes dart to him for a brief moment.
“They are just children,” Leann responded, pushing her long pepper brown hair behind her shoulder and smiling as if they were talking about something much more inconsequential. Lienkin felt the smallest itch of irritation.
“They grow fast,” Margret pointed out.
“Furthermore, there are only five of them, and already three are full witches.” Leann couldn’t argue with Debol’s facts and reason. When she said nothing, Charity took over using her lecture voice which was usually reserved for initiating young ones.
“Let's get right down to it. Fartharc Succio is the oldest, and everyone knows he wants to marry the Dohis girl.” Leann opened her mouth to make an objection but Charity held up her hand against interruptions as she continued. “But the Dohis girl wants your son Lienkin.” This time Lienkin wanted to object but couldn’t risk revealing the fact he’d been eavesdropping.
“Let us make some assumptions,” Leann chimed in smoothly. “If we assume Lienkin marries Tres, then, similarly assume Fartharc marries your granddaughter Jules Brooks after she initiates…I fail to see the problem. Why don’t we focus instead on how dangerous it could be to
bring a stranger into our village? That is what the prophecy is about.”
All three elders were shaking their heads to disagree. “That’s not good enough,” Charity said.
“Where does that leave Fantasia?” Margret asked.
“And what if Fartharc and Jules don’t want to marry each other?” Debol questioned. What if I don’t want to marry Tres? Lienkin thought. Did none of them consider his wants?
“What if they do?” Leann returned.
“Even if they do,” Debol conceded on a heavy sigh, “that still leaves the next generation with two couples and one spinster. Opal cannot continue on this course.”
“I see,” Leann responded after a lengthy pause. “So it is settled, we welcome the prophecy.” She plastered a sweet smile on her face and each of the elders kissed her forehead. The meeting was over.
CHAPTER 18
Lienkin cut in on the dancing couple attempting to look occupied. Fartharc honorably stepped aside and Tres grinned at the attention. Lienkin, however, had no intentions of actually dancing with her. As he expected, the council rejoined the rest of the circle and called them to attention. Leann announced to the coven that the fair one was to be welcomed and thanked the Immortals for her.
He was glad. Even though his mother’s voice was underlined with a dangerous edge, her words weren’t just good news, they were great news! Beyond the shadow of a doubt, now he knew he would see Lara again.
Then something changed; the moon disappeared behind stormy clouds and the last beams of light stretched out to the west on some unforeseen mission. The celebration deadpanned and was over. The coven closed the circle and returned to the village filled with anticipation and in Lienkin’s case, a small sense of foreboding.
Discovery the Forest of Emmitaenu Page 6