Lienkin IS my destiny, Tres thought defensively, justifying herself for altering the charm she’d cast. Instead of leaving the effects up to fate, she’d directed her charm specifically toward Lienkin. It’s not like I need to bring him into my life anyway, since we’ve already met. She smiled cheerfully, convinced by her own explanation.
How would he react the next time he saw her? Would he stare as if he had never before seen her for whom she really is? Would he dance for her at circles? She delighted in each thought as she skipped gaily through the village back to her own home. The fair one meant nothing now. Tres felt far fairer in the eyes of the Immortal Moon Queen after last night.
CHAPTER 28
Pulling Lara through the woods by her hand, Lienkin lead them back the way they came. Someone was calling him. He didn’t know who or how, but he was being summoned. He released Lara only to cross the creek, but as soon as she jumped to the ground he seized her arm and tugged her back in the direction toward the familiar clearing like a man possessed.
Lienkin! Lienkin! His name came as a muddle collage of whispers in the back of his mind, growing more and more persistent. Lienkin! He didn’t realize he was actually hurting her until Lara cried out in pain. Surprised by the sound and unable to untangle her voice from the whispers shouting his name, he came to a dead stop. He had forgotten that she was with him, following in his wake.
He released her arm and turned to face her. “I’m sorry Lara, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he looked into her eyes and could see the tears forming there. He had frightened her and probably hurt her by dragging her along so carelessly. “Someone is calling out to me and it’s urgent, I can feel it,” he tried to explain, tried to excuse his actions. “I have to leave you here but I will come back. I must go to my village and see what it is.”
She didn’t say anything, and he couldn’t leave like this, not without hugging her at the very least. However when he tried to hug her, she resisted him, wincing in pain before allowing him to pull her into his arms. Her resistance hurt him more than knocking the air out of him could have done. He realized that he would have to win back her affection after what just happened.
Lienkin! That would have to come later, now he had to answer the summons. He kissed Lara’s forehead and squeezed her shoulders. “I will come back for you,” he promised before letting go and running through the forest away from her.
Lara watched his retreating form from where she stood on the edge of the clearing. Once he was out of sight she numbly turned her attention to the ever bright sun shining down on the open clearing. After pulling an all-nighter on the plateau, and spending hours being drug through the forest like a rag doll till she reached this familiar place, the time finally dawned on her and reality came crashing down with every ray of sunlight.
“Oh my goodness!” She shrieked. It was Monday, which meant her parents would be returning today and they would know she had disappeared. She could just imagine the missing child posters taped up around town with her face all over them. She had to get home, now!
Jade tried to wake before Zeftx, but realized it was an impossible endeavor considering he hadn’t slept. She found him in the kitchen sitting backwards in the chair with his elbows on the backrest and his eyes staring out through the gaping window hole. The boards that had covered it during the gargoyles approach were discarded on the table.
“Vampire’s breath,” Jade muttered with a frown, comparing Zeftx demeanor to the stench of death. He couldn’t be left to his thoughts like this. “These windows will need fixing,” She raised her voice enough for him to hear. He didn’t look her way, just nodded his comprehension. “Right,” she mumbled again, ringing her hands and trying to think what to do.
Ten minutes later Jade had brewed two mugs of tea using the only herbs she had to help calm and comfort. Zeftx drank his halfheartedly; well aware of what the tea was made of and intended for. With little else at her disposal for distraction, Jade set him to work on replacing the windows so she could gather more herbs from the forest.
He leapt to his feet when she started making plans and tried to argue against them, insisting on finding Lara instead of worrying about the hut, but Jade managed to get his compliance by telling him that once they found Lara, they would need a safe place to bring her back. Zeftx reluctantly agreed on the condition that while Jade was out collecting, she also searched for Lara in the process. He didn’t intend to stay in the hut for longer than it took to repair the two windows in any case.
In the forest Jade worked without thinking as she collected and loaded her basket with the plants and herbs she needed. To find the distinct types of herbs she preferred, she had ventured a ways out into the woods, far deeper than any of them had gone over the last few days. She went deeper than the cultivated woodland, following her feet mindlessly into the jungle where the plants and trees went wild and she always found the best resources.
A strange sense of deja vous took hold of her and suddenly she stopped on the weary path she walked. Impulsively she pushed her way through leafy plants, toward a patch of tall grass off the beaten path. As un-ignorable as being clubbed by a troll, Jade’s mind was ambushed by clarity.
“By the Immortals, this is it!” She exclaimed. Everything made sense now. She had been hunting for herbs the day she found Lara, and it was in this spot that she’d found her. All they ever had to do was follow her feet en route herb collecting. Jade smiled knowingly, aware she could always find this spot again when they needed to, and they would need to too. She could feel it.
Turning around with a full basket, Jade embarked on the long walk home. She encountered that telltale fork in the path, she wound around like a corkscrew through the forest till she reached the thinner trees where the woods were more sparse, passing that imaginary line between jungle and woodland.
Her mood was uplifted tenfold by the brilliant sunshine and music of the birds as she passed parallel to the clearing from yesterday. An atmosphere of peace and comfort enveloped her here and had felt that way since the day she met Lara. Jade wondered if it would still feel this way when Lara was gone.
“Now that she is gone, I do believe is what I meant,” Jade corrected her thoughts, trying to reason with herself. Then she waved her hands dismissively in the air. “Leprechauns follies,” she squeaked, knowing that her first instincts were usually the right ones. Her suspicions raised, Jade cast her senses, projecting out as far as she could reach. She tested her surroundings for Lara’s aura.
Flooding her mind with all the things her senses detected, she could still make out the unique essence of Lara’s presence. Delighted, Jade jumped and pounded her feet excitedly into the dirt. Honing in, she located Lara on the edge of the clearing, but something was definitely not right. Halting as suddenly as she had animated, Jade focused on her feelings. Lara was in pain.
“Oh no,” Jade whispered, “Oh no, no, no,” she shook her head. Hugging her basket to her chest, Jade began running. She kept her senses locked on Lara, but she raced to the hut to get Zeftx. She didn’t know if alone she would be enough to help Lara.
CHAPTER 29
Zeftx was already working on the second window when he heard Jade humming frantically outside. He dropped what he was doing and ran to her. His mood and temperament had him worked into a frenzy and he doubted he would be able to restrain himself if something out there was causing Jade any harm.
Emerging from the door like a phoenix catching fire, he was stopped short by Jade’s unexpected cheerful smile. He blinked a few times, confused by why he had expected the worst. His nerves were misfiring all over the place and he felt all twisted and tangled inside.
“Come quickly, Lara…”
“Lara?” Zeftx interrupted, his shoulders stiffening and his eyes growing wide.
“I found her,” Jade confirmed, “we must hurry.”
“Is she,” Zeftx didn’t know how to finish his question, but Jade seemed to understand as she simply nodded. His eyes turned stone grey and wit
hout waiting for her to say more, Zeftx began sprinting for the clearing. Without being told he knew in his gut Lara would be there.
Zeftx ran as fast as he could, Jade following in his wake. Lara? Back? Is she safe? Please let her be safe, he begged. She hadn’t found her way home after all. Had the gargoyles found her? Did she run into any werewolves, vampires, leprechauns, dragons or gnomes? Lara, Lara, Lara; her name echoed in his thoughts to the rhythm of his beating heart. Please don’t leave; if she disappeared again he knew he would fall apart. Now that she was found, he couldn’t survive her disappearing again.
His mind continued to race as he ran to the clearing. It seemed like an impossibly long journey and each step he took lasted an eternity. Finally he entered the clearing and saw her standing on the far side staring off into the trees in a trance.
He tried to shout out to her, but he couldn’t breathe and had to rest his hands on his knees and gasp for air. His eyes were glued to her as he gulped in each breath. He didn’t dare blink. She stood across the way in the same clothes that she borrowed from Jade the day before. They were dirty and torn, ripped in a number of places and stained front and back. Her hair was whipping wildly in the wind and her demeanor was forlorn. Something about her was very different.
“Lara!” Zeftx shouted at last. She turned around and gazed at him with tears in her eyes. “Lara!” He shouted again and jogged over to her. Whatever held her tears in place seemed to crumble the closer he came to her until she was crying uncontrollably. Zeftx wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. “Lara, it’s alright, it’s alright. Jade and I will help you, we’re here now.”
He was so relieved to see her. He kissed the top of her head and comforted her the best he could. She shook with sobs and it broke his heart to see her this way. What had happened? Her face was smudged with dirt and her hair had little leaves and twigs caught in it.
Jade appeared on the scene and released her steely focus on Lara. She threw out her senses again to see if there was danger anywhere close by. Sensing none, she joined Zeftx in his attempts to soothe Lara.
Lara knew in a short while it would be noon and her parents would be walking through the door with their luggage in tow. She needed to expedite getting home, but now she felt she had to wait because Lienkin promised to come back for her. She wiped away her tears and Zeftx loosened his hold.
Lara looked at him for the first time since he had arrived. The concern on his face shocked her and she couldn’t believe anyone could convey so much emotion with just one look. His eyes were swirling in royal blue and cherry red. The colors mixed together so much that she didn’t notice them as colors but instead as feelings.
The paleness of his skin reminded her vividly of the moon, and the magic it had shown her. Seeing his eyes like this reminded her of the colors stretched across the sky when she climbed the plateau. Then the feeling of his arms around her recalled the sensation of being rescued from the gargoyles. It hadn’t been that long ago but right now it felt like ages had passed.
“Lara dear,” Jade broke through her train of thoughts. Lara allowed Jade to gently prod her shoulders, back, and forearms. Her arm was bruised where Lienkin had grabbed it and it hurt when Jade touched it. “I’m sorry Lara,” Jade apologized quietly after seeing her flinch. She patted Lara on the hand a few times. “Tell us what you need, dearest, and we’ll help you,” Jade cajoled. Lara watched Jade’s frown increase as she remained silent. She wasn’t sure what she needed.
She didn’t even know what she wanted. Partially, she wished she could stay put till Lienkin came back as promised and explained exactly what was going on. Another part of her only wished she could go home and forget about him completely. To a very real degree she was scared of him, but beyond her irrational fear she knew he didn’t want to hurt her. If only he would come back and explain things. She released a long shaky sigh.
Zeftx brushed her hair away from her face using both of his hands and once again she was snapped out of her inner contemplation. His eyes were changing. She remembered this color, the cherry red with apple green flecks. Under his gaze she could feel her body temperature rising. A flood of warmth soaked through her skin and worked its way from her core to the ends of all her limbs. Suddenly, Lara wanted to cry again. Closing her eyes, she took a few experimental breaths to calm herself.
“Lara,” Zeftx whispered as he watched her closely. “Lara, can you walk?” She nodded with her eyes still closed. He gently held her hand and took a step forward. When she tried to follow him, her knees wobbled and almost gave out. Jade nudged Zeftx, bobbing her head meaningfully in Lara’s direction, and Zeftx picked Lara up holding her tightly to his chest.
She didn’t shout or kick. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and stared over his shoulder as they walked away from the spot Lienkin had fled. She was utterly exhausted and needed to rest.
“Am I going home now?” Lara asked, snuggling her face into the crook of Zeftx shoulder. She fell asleep before Jade or Zeftx could answer. The two of them exchanged glances before making up their minds. Jade led the way as Zeftx carried Lara the entire way back to the hut.
CHAPTER 30
“Twice! That’s twice now I’ve almost kissed her and been halted!” Lienkin grumbled to himself as he ran towards home. He hated leaving Lara, but he had to go back to his village and a sense of foreboding told him it wouldn’t be safe to bring her along. Lienkin! The restless summons continued calling him.
The sun was directly above, indicating the noon hour when he reached his cottage. He came rushing through the door before his mother rose from her bed. For a moment he stopped dead in his tracks, his frenzy momentarily forgotten. It was utterly unimaginable to see his mother still lounging in bed at this time of day. He stood there, trying to shake the weirdness and searching his memory for any past occurrence of her tucked abed in midday. He couldn’t think of one.
Still too stunned to speak out loud, Lienkin asked his mother if she was feeling alright in the witches’ speech. Leann opened her eyes lazily and smiled a fleeting smile at him.
“Good morning Lienkin,” she didn’t seem aware of the hour in the least. “Where were you during our circle last night? It is hard for me to believe you’d willingly miss one.” She rose out of bed and went to wash her hands in the basin she’d used the night before.
Lienkin watched her closely, reaching for that elusive key floating just out of reach that would unlock the mental block, shielding him from the explanation to the oddity that was his mother at this moment. When Leann didn’t speak again, he realized that she was waiting for his answer.
“It would interest you to know I happened upon a maiden of perfection and stole away an evening with her, and had nearly ensnared her by charm and good grace before someone interrupted me with an urgent summons, beckoning me here.” He spoke using a tone of voice to imply that his mother had been the one calling him.
“I assure you, it wasn’t I,” she responded defensively, “but you mentioned you found a maiden, one you would dare call fair?” Leann drawled on a long breath, dragging out the question as to emboss it with as much importance as she could, and Lienkin knew exactly what she was getting at. He smiled cheerfully.
“Yes,” he replied. Leann blinked, and in that instant, all the vice-like focus she’d willed around his answer dissipated and she stood up straight and busied herself nonchalantly with drying her hands.
“Well, if you have snared her as you say you have, then I can rest assured that she is of no threat to us, am I right?” They could just as easily have been discussing his afternoon chores.
“Mother, you have nothing to worry about. But if it wasn’t you calling me, then who?” Leann simply shrugged and slugged back into bed. He was confused and concerned at the same time. His mother was-Lienkin!-acting peculiar.
Lienkin was even more confused than before. When his mother said she wasn’t the one seeking him, he believed her. The feeling he received with the calling was one of unrelenti
ng desire, and not in the maternal sense. The only person that evoked such feelings was Lara, but she was with him when the summons came. He wanted to pretend that it was all his imagination but the feeling remained firm and insistent, and his name was still echoing from that urgently whispering voice. It was maddening and it refused to go away.
Deciding he’d puzzled over it long enough, Lienkin walked out the door on his way back to Lara. He needed to go quickly, or she might not be there when he returned. Already he could imagine the demon or the gypsy hunting her down and dragging her away without hearing a word of her protest or a single explanation for her presence there. He didn’t have time to waste. Not if he wanted to find her in the same place he left her. After all, he’d made a promise, and he refused to break a promise.
Running out the front gate of his cottage he turned down the dusty dirt road away from the heart of the village and back toward the woods. His attention was caught by someone up ahead walking his way. Was it Lara? Had she sought him out? The sun was blazing bright, shining in his eyes, and he couldn’t see. You’ve found me, Lienkin. The voice in his head said, finally sounding soothing. Shielding his eyes from the brilliant rays, he looked down the path at the person walking toward him.
“Tres?” Lienkin wondered out loud. She was wearing a figure flattering yellow dress with matching sandals. She looked especially lovely today. Her curly brown hair bounced and she skipped happily toward him carrying a basket of flowers she had been gathering all afternoon. When they were closer she smiled at him.
“Good day, Lienkin, how are you?” She asked in her singsong voice. It seemed to echo in his mind and he had to think hard of a reply.
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