The breeze still swirled majestically around them, cocooning them in a miniature vortex and causing her to shiver when it brushed her still damp shirt against her back. Lienkin was keenly aware of her discomfort. Without missing a beat he lowered and released their hands. He walked behind Lara, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and swaying her with him as he continued to sing.
With Lienkin blocking the wind from reaching her, Lara felt a rush of warmth. Her pruned fingertips and toes started warming up and awaking her senses. Now she could feel a very real glowing presence and she knew they weren’t alone anymore just as she had inexplicably known where the young woman had been hiding in the clearing. It came to her with remarkable certainty though this time she couldn’t see it.
CHAPTER 25
Lienkin sang the final note of his song summoning the Immortal Moon Queen and Lara turned to face him. Lightly, he touched her forehead, tracing a symbol and gently kissing the spot where he had drawn it. Lara felt flushed as a chill ran all the way down her spine. Was that kiss for me, or just part of this ritual he’s doing? She wondered.
Realizing it was now her turn, she mocked his actions verbatim, stenciling the footprint of a bird on his brow and kissing his forehead in the same spot. A faintly glowing thread of sky blue glitter outlined the symbol for the briefest moment before sinking into his skin the way a snowflake melts when caught in someone’s hand.
“Algiz, it’s a rune that looks like a fork in the path. It helps promote friendships and offers protection from harm,” Lienkin explained.
“And the kiss,” she questioned, “what does it do?” Lienkin laughed nervously.
“I’ll tell you later,” he promised and Lara wondered if he was slightly blushing. “First, we perform the circle then we can make magic.” He turned with his hand outstretched, refocusing his attention on drawing more runes into the air with his wand. Lara concentrated intensely on his every movement, memorizing each symbol by heart. She absorbed everything like a dry sponge in a fish bowl. She would never forget the first time she learned to make magic.
Jade and Zeftx spent the entire day searching for Lara. The sun was setting before they finally forced themselves to quit. The gargoyles would be flying through the forest soon in search of victims and becoming a victim had never been on their list of “things I want to do before I die.” Even though Zeftx found himself restless and willing to take the risk now as he had never been willing before.
What would they really do if they did capture him? No one knew that he was aware of since no one that he or Jade knew had ever survived captivity to tell the tale. There were rumors of course. There was speculation that gypsies and demons alike turned into bedtime stories to scare children out of wandering the forest at night.
The most popular theory was that anyone who got captured would be flown to the gargoyles nest in the mountains to be brutally eaten. Other stories suggested the gargoyles were hunters and guard dogs for the werewolves, built by the big dogs themselves. Though Zeftx doubted werewolves would need gargoyles to hunt for them. If they had anything to do with the stone beast, he assumed it would serve a completely different purpose all together.
Instead of tempting the truth of the gargoyle legends to find and make an example of them, they reluctantly turned back and headed home. Jade hoped out loud that Lara had found her way home hours ago. Zeftx worried that if she hadn’t found home then she’d be in a much worse condition if the gargoyles found her.
A thought occurred to Zeftx that kindled new hope in his heart. What if she had gotten lost and returned to the hut before them? With a new sense of urgency he dashed ahead of Jade and raced for the hut.
When he arrived he shouted out her name as he ran straight through the door. There was no response and he wondered if maybe she was asleep in Jade’s bed. Imagining Lara lying in bed with the quilts wrapped around her in a deep, harmless, and peaceful sleep, Zeftx rushed in entirely prepared to scoop her up and hug her with fierce relief. His imaginings came completely undone as he raced into the empty room to discover she wasn’t there.
Zeftx’s ears picked up on Jade’s mellow tune being hummed outside of the hut, interrupting his dour thoughts. He walked outside and noticed that night was getting into full swing. There were no clouds in the sky which allowed many tiny stars to shine down on them.
Wordlessly, he helped Jade into the hut and helped her lock up and secure their home. Together they took extra measures to seal the gaping holes where windows should be by boarding them up on both the inside and the outside. No matter what precautions they took they were still at risk for another gargoyle encounter. Deciding not to take any chances, they didn’t bother to light even a single candle.
Although Zeftx had searched the hut many times before Jade caught up to him, he was unwilling to except the fact that Lara wasn’t there.
“Can you find Lara’s aura?” He asked Jade, knowing she could use her gifts to search for Lara. Jade looked ready to tell him it had already been done but when she saw his face she changed her mind.
“I’ll give it a try,” she agreed but the tone of her voice wasn’t very promising. He even wondered to himself what he could possibly expect Jade to find. It wasn’t likely that Lara was standing by invisible and silent, watching as he suffered. Not unless she had been turned into a ghost. He paled more than usual at the thought and suddenly he felt sick.
“I’m sorry Zeftx,” Jade spoke softly with a shake of her head. He pressed his lips firmly shut and his jaw twitched as he held his emotions tightly together. At least she’s not a ghost, he tried to soothe himself but he couldn’t stop the thought from continuing with that one tragic word: yet.
Zeftx could feel the truth bearing down on him and the feeling of having failed her sat in the pit of his stomach like a heavy rock the size of both his fists put together. Unable to stand still any longer in fear that he might self combust, he started pacing the room. He couldn’t go searching for her now during the gargoyles hunting hours and it frustrated him.
If Lara had made it home safely before nightfall the only purpose wandering the forest now would serve is turning him into a walking target. If she hadn’t though, Zeftx knew she would be more vulnerable on her own than him.
The all too familiar sound started in the distance, a common threat that they would never cease defending against. He paused his pacing and looked to the boarded window. Jade crept up silently and briefly placed her hand on his shoulder. She tried to console him without words before slipping away quietly to her room in the dark. Zeftx stood alone in private listening closely to the passing gargoyles for the smallest hint of Lara’s voice among them. He hoped with all his heart he would not hear it.
CHAPTER 26
Leann returned to her cottage just after midnight. She was frustrated and tired. She called an impromptu circle this night with the coven and it went completely untouched by the Immortal Moon Queen’s presence. When the immortal didn’t respond to Leann’s calling hymn, she had to think fast and decided to lead the witches in a charging ritual. Cloaked under anticipation of the fair one’s arrival, Leann started the rites; pulling and supplying all the magic the Immortal would usually send by herself.
It took all of Leann’s energy and power to perform the circle without the Immortal Moon Queen there to charge the members. After the fact it took every last ounce of pretense she had left to conquer her fatigue and hide her weariness behind a façade of revitalization. Charging rituals were made to restore their power…not diminish it. She was exhausted but she was still the coven priestess, and if anyone could pull this off it was she. Her power was enough to substitute in the Immortals absence this time, but she was drained and didn’t plan another circle fearing she couldn’t do it again.
Making their way back to the village, the witches of Opal winked back and forth between glowing visibly with different shades of florescent light and blinking out of view completely behind powerful runes and sigils. Their might was at its most obvious di
splay after a charging ceremony. Magic emulated off of them like moonbeams of violet, green, orange, and red.
Leann radiated beams of smokey black. It was a change from her usual white light that came from being blessed by her patron Immortal, the Moon Queen, ruler of the night Leann loved so much. Keeping her head held high, she refused to give anyone a reason to ask questions. She maintained the same happy demeanor as everyone else.
Halting the coven’s procession on the village tree line leading onto the road, she commanded they ground their excess energy. One by one they kneeled at her feet and pressed their foreheads to the ground with both palms on either side. Once the light seeped out of them, they rose, still smiling full of euphoria but no longer glowing.
The priestess was last and even though she didn’t have any excess energy to ground, she still went through the motions, pretending to send the energy into the earth and inwardly sighing now that she could cease projecting her own black light outside of herself.
The relief of no longer pretending washed over her the moment she stepped inside her own cottage. It made room for her irritation to rise because her own son hadn’t come to the circle. In truth she hadn’t seen him all day. As much as this concerned her, Leann was too spent to search for him now. She washed her hands in the wash basin and collapsed on her bed. In the morn, she thought wearily, if he hasn’t returned I’ll be sure to find him.
Tres skipped down the path to her own cottage in the village feeling strong and energized. The circle had lifted her above and beyond what it ever had before and she couldn’t even consider sleep.
Nothing in the two years since she was initiated had ever compared to tonight’s circle. This was her first charging ceremony and she instantly loved it. Usually she was too weak to perform even the simplest charms without the use of the right aids. Now however, she felt as powerful as the priestess!
When it had been her turn to ground her energy, she kneeled at Leann’s feet. Pressing her palms to the ground, she let her hair fall forward over both sides of her face, concealing the fact that her forehead never touched the earth. Sucking the glowing green light inside herself the same way one would hold their breath underwater, she hoped no one could see what she was really doing.
Now, away from prying eyes, she walked home alone gleefully watching the green beams of light sparking between her fingertips. It was an empowering sensation like none she’d ever felt before and she reveled in her newly acquired power. The Immortal Moon Queen must have favored her this night and she relished feeling special for the first time.
Reaching out experimentally, Tres hovered her fingertips over a wilted flower. A green spark lashed out from beneath her nails and leapt into the stamen of the dead flora. Like watching its life in reverse, the flower was revitalized to its former beauty. Tres beamed a proud smile, glad for what she had done. Unfortunately she knew sooner or later the power would seep out of her on its own. If she wanted to capture and retain the magic she was given this night, there was only one thing she could do. She had to trap it inside an inanimate object.
No longer stalling, she rushed home. Quietly and calmly she walked inside. No lights were lit, her mother and father were already redressing for sleep. Tres sauntered off to her own room and shut the door, whispering goodnight to them as she passed by.
Alone in her room she scattered all her symbolic stones by carefully dumping out her rock box on the floor. Tres sank to the floor next to all of her stones: amethyst, carnelian, citrine, clear quartz, diamond, emerald, garnet, jade, lapis lazuli, malachite, moonstone, pyrite, rose quartz, ruby, and turquoise.
One by one she cupped each stone in her hands and willed a little bit of the magic into the heart of each rock. She lowered her eyes and imagined sending the energy into the stones. She could see a spark at her fingertips and experienced a jolt as the spark of florescent green light jumped into the core of each gem. When she had all but willed it away she picked up the final stone, saving the best for last.
Her rose quartz glittered pink in her hands as she cupped it gingerly. She invested every last ounce of power she had left into this particular stone. It was a special stone, one for attracting love into a person’s life.
It was a bittersweet experience, letting go of the last threads of magical energy, but once it was done, the rose quartz was so hot it burned her hands. She dropped it at last and hissed as she bit her lip to keep from shouting.
Finally feeling tired, Tres took one more smiling look at her newly empowered stones before placing them back into her box and putting them away and going to sleep. In the morning she anticipated testing her new powers, starting with the rose quartz to cast the perfect love charm.
CHAPTER 27
On the plateau, Lara watched fascinated as Lienkin conducted his ritual, walking in a circle always facing inward toward the giant rock that served as his altar. Before she realized it, she was walking beside him, roving in a circle facing inward and closing in slowly. They stopped circling once both had come in close enough to touch the altar with their toes. He put his wand back on the surface and dropped to his knees facing her. Reaching up, Lienkin seized her hand and gently tugged her down to her knees in front of him.
Lara, do you hear me? The words came to her, breaking through her thoughts. It was Lienkin’s voice and she didn’t understand how she heard him without him speaking out loud. She looked at him in surprise and nodded.
I want to give you a gift. The ability to speak to each other with the mind. We call it the witches’ language. It is a talent we usually keep strictly to ourselves, no other creature has it. Again Lara nodded, understanding the significance of the gift he was offering to her. Lienkin smiled warmly at her and looked up into the sky. He spoke a few words in the same unidentifiable language that he’d spoken earlier then dropped his gaze to the level of her eyes. I need you to repeat everything I say, Lara.
She repeated his words carefully, making sure to pronounce each one with the same accent and emphasis. Once more Lienkin smiled at her, a charming smile that made her insides melt into butter. Then, he added a few more words before pausing so she could repeat them.
The process took a while, especially since they had to wait while she repeated the words which were foreign and difficult for her. She sent him a shaky smile when he hesitated to speak any more words. The silence stretched on and she wondered if she had messed it all up somehow. What happens now? She thought.
Now, you can speak the witches language, Lienkin answered her. She jumped, caught by surprise. His grin was infectious as he nodded his affirmation.
Really? Lara thought, trying to direct the thought right at him.
Yes really, he replied. Lara jumped up to her feet and spun around in a circle, completely overflowing with amazement. She took it all in with her eyes to the sky and her arms held out wide. The magic atmosphere was sugary sweet and she drank it in thirstily. She felt so elated by the new talent she was given and how amazing it was to hear and direct her thoughts to another.
I feel like dancing! She exclaimed, hardly resisting the urge to shout out loud.
So dance, Lienkin encouraged her, taking her up into his own arms. With his hands on her waist he twirled her around with her feet floating in the air above the ground. The minute her feet touched the ground again she spun out of his reach, dancing circles around the boulder. Lienkin laughed heartily and chased her around the circle that she danced. After a few playful turns, they both fell to the ground exhausted but laughing.
The moon was moving away from them, reluctantly allowing the sun to relieve her of her watchful post. Lara ran her fingers and rubbed her bare feet through the soft mossy ground. The velvety feel of it was very cool and refreshing, making Lara feel even cozier and more comfortable. Everything about Lienkin’s secret place was perfect.
Lienkin scooted his way closer to Lara, reaching across to brush a strand of hair away from her face and tuck it behind her ear. Her hair had dried and was all wild and feathery lik
e his.
“Lara, you’re so beautiful,” he murmured. “So lovely, I could kiss those starlit eyes of yours,” and to her amazement, he leaned in and she closed her eyes as he branded each of her eyelids with a quick kiss. “And that pretty little nose of yours,” which he acted out his words by rubbing his nose to hers in an Eskimo kiss. “But most of all…” he continued, “I want…Lara,” his voice sounded nearly pleading, “I want to kiss you on your lips.” A shiver of excitement ran through Lara’s body as she imagined them in a movie worthy make-out scene, kissing each other.
That scene never happened. He came so close to kissing her, he was leaning over by supporting himself with an arm on both sides of her, lowering his face close to hers while staring at her mouth intently. Less than an inch away from her lips though, the same thing that happed before happened again. He jerked up, his eyes wide open, and his gaze far away. What, what, what?! She felt like screaming.
Lienkin quickly lifted himself up and turned to gather their shoes. Lara sat up, hugging her knees as she watched him take off. “We cannot stay here,” he told her emotionlessly as he gracelessly tossed her shoes to her. Feeling confused and slighted, Lara put her shoes on under his impatient gaze. As soon as both her laces were tied, he held his hand out to her. She put her hand in his only to be yanked to her feet. “C’mon,” Lienkin insisted, and they took off back down the slope, leaving behind the haven they’d shared on top of the plateau.
“I wonder if it will work,” Tres mused giddily to herself. She held the stone up in the clear morning sun. It was just after dawn and she had used her newly empowered rose quartz.
Tres woke up early to catch the first rays of sunlight so she could cast a love charm while sitting in the same clearing she found the fair one in. Love charms were meant to be anonymous and bring the love into your life that you were already destined to have.
Discovery the Forest of Emmitaenu Page 9