“It is destiny,” Dralz said in her hag-hiss, though she wasn’t answering my unspoken question-at least not directly.
“Destiny, unlike the cycle of growth, is malleable,” I countered.
The Circle, queued by Helden, began to chant. A minor spell of encouragement, used daily by witches in gardens.
Sherise and Aaron looked equally intent, holding their stones before them, staring into the rocks, and their rocks started to glow. So did Helden’s and Kella’s. Brighter, and brighter. Power laced the air around the teens and children.
Behind us, the sounds of hammering, hoeing, arguing, and conversation faded into silence. Even the birds and the winds seemed to take heed. My skin tightened. Air moved in unnatural ways, swirling to and fro against the normal currents. The earth around the sprout shifted.
A ribbon of copper energy snaked from Helden’s stone into Sherise’s, and around the circle it moved. Each circle member sat up straighter. Rol started forward, but stopped himself at Dralz’s sharp hiss of warning. Beside me, Acaw went stiff, and his crow-brother, too. Quinn began mumbling prayers. Other priests were praying. I readied myself to contain that copper energy if the need arose.
Slowly, Helden drew a loose strand of it back to her and directed it to the sprout. The tiny plant shimmered and swayed, then began to sparkle. Smoke rose from the dirt around it. Helden drew some of the copper energy back, clearly alarmed, but she kept her focus. Her lifelong hag-training, no doubt.
I smelled something like fire and blood mingled with loam and hot oil. Popping and cracking noises issued from the dirt. Strands of energy shot from Aaron’s stone. Running in mad bolts, the energy strands broke the circle and plunged into the ground. The boy started to shake. Rol bellowed from behind him. Kella cried out and collapsed backward. Sherise screamed and slapped a hand over her bruised eye. Copper jets burst into the air above me.
On instinct, I flung a shield of my magic skyward.
Copper lightning struck it and exploded.
The shock drove me backward into grass and dirt. My ears rang. My tongue felt numb, and both my hands. My Shadow wound screamed with pained rage, and my heart—my heart! I clawed at my chest with clumsy fingers, trying to breathe, trying to believe my heart wouldn’t tear loose and explode just like the copper strands.
For a moment, I saw nothing but purple sparks. I heard nothing but that buzzing, then a soft exchange of words. My body twitched.
A woman laughing, whispering, I knew you would find me.
Nire. By the gates of death, I would know that voice anywhere, under any circumstance. Then a man, over the sound of moaning children: The time is almost at hand.
The buzzing in my ears grew louder. The Erlking. The Erlking speaking directly to Nire.
“Goddess help us all,” I whispered, thick tongued. “He’s talking to the Shadowmaster.”
Images pounded me then, a great jungle-like garden, faces I didn’t recognize, Todd holding the sides of his head—Todd!
I sat upright. The visions shattered. My heart settled back to a normal rhythm. Numbness fled my tongue and limbs, and I shook my hands to clear the last of it.
Nire. Oh, Goddess. Nire! Speaking to a being in the here and now. A connection had been forged. A terrible connection—and at what cost? The moaning children. Todd in such pain. Revulsion swept over me, and I wanted to lie back down and cry.
Acaw reached my side in an instant, and not far behind him, Rol, who had Aaron tucked beneath one massive arm. They spoke, but I couldn’t hear them. Just the buzzing. Just the whispering dying away into nothing. Quinn appeared in my range of vision. His eyes had gone stark white, just like his face. His expression shifted between rage and panic.
He said something, and when next he spoke, I heard him clearly. “Should I call for the healers?”
“Not for me,” I said before Acaw or Rol could respond. I got to my feet, using the elfling’s shoulder to steady myself. “I’m fine. But have them check everyone in the Circle.”
Nire’s words played again and again in my mind. I knew you would find me…
Was the Erlking already at her side? Had he already discovered how to release her? I couldn’t believe that, but only patrolling would convince me for certain. If the Path’s energy were intact, if the Sanctuaries were peaceful—surely that would be a good omen.
I glanced from Rol to Acaw to Quinn. Three concerned faces. For now, I would hold my peace.
But, I needed to find Bren and tell him everything. The two of us would figure how best to alert Acaw, Rol, my mother—all the witches—so much to be done! We had to find better protections. We had to help witches resist illusions. Without even thinking about it, I used a spell to clean myself. The act of blasting dirt and grass off my clothes and skin offered me a small measure of comfort.
The Circle stood around Dralz, who was helping Kella to drink a draught of green hag-healing potion. The child’s expression clearly communicated her wish for death instead of swallowing, but she complied, and in seconds, got to her feet. Dralz patted her cheek with a gnarled hand, then in turn patted Sherise and Helden as well.
“Pleeeeaaase put me down,” said Aaron from beneath Rol’s arm.
My training master did as the poor boy bade, but immediately knelt before his young charge. “We must understand more about those stones before we place you at such risk again,” he said gently. Then, much like Dralz had done, he patted the boy’s cheek. “For now, you will come with me.”
Acaw cleared his throat. “The king hoped to speak with the child again today.”
Rol stood and turned on the elfling so quickly that Acaw’s crow-brother leapt into the air and flogged the training master’s ears until Acaw called him back to his shoulder.
Glaring at the bird, Rol rubbed the scratches on the side of his bald, shining head. “You saw it. The boy was almost injured by rogue magic. He requires rest and nutrition.”
“He is not made of sandglass and filigree.” Acaw nodded to Aaron, who seemed about to agree as Dralz, Helden, Sherise, and Kella joined us. Immediately, something about Sherise caught my attention, but I couldn’t place it.
And I didn’t have time to ponder, because Rol’s glare deepened to the point that Quinn gave a nervous cough and backed away.
“You cannot continue to protect him like an infant,” Acaw added. “He is no babe.”
“See to your charge, elfling, and I will see to mine,” Rol growled. With that, he snatched up the boy and stalked off toward the training yard.
Dralz gave a dramatic hiss and flicked a gnarled hand back and forth. “Roosters, all of them. Every last male.” She cackled. “I thank the Goddess we have very few amongst our kind.”
Quinn gave another nervous cough. Everyone looked at him. “Do you know what went awry in the spellmaking?”
“Not for certain,” Helden answered. She pushed back her hood, and it occurred to me that she was growing more beautiful as time passed. “But I believe something is missing. The other seven stones, of course—but more than that. Something structural.”
Sherise nodded, her appearance still troubling me. “It’s like the circle wasn’t quite right. Maybe not the right shape, or something. Aaron thought so, too. He said the energy didn’t want to go in a circle.”
Helden agreed softly, then leaned into Dralz’s side as the hag hugged her with one withered arm.
Quinn brightened. “Perhaps you need a pattern, then? A design instead of a circle. I think I might have some ideas. My priests would be honored to assist you. We will need a day at best. Perhaps two.”
“They should rest and practice.” Dralz kept her grip on Kella. “Meditate to restore themselves and their confidence after the failure.”
I kept looking at Sherise. “I am not certain the spells failed completely.”
Sherise blinked at me. “Is something wrong?”
“Your eye is healed.” I pointed to her face. “And your cut, and your other bruise. As if the injuries were never pres
ent.”
This drew a cluck from Dralz, who turned Kella loose to examine Sherise. When the hag moved, I had a clear view of the scorched earth behind her. The scorched earth—and the mint bush towering above us all.
My mouth fell open.
The sharp, pleasant scent of it wafted towards us.
Quinn followed my astounded gaze.
“Mother of all power,” he murmured. “It’s monstrous.”
Acaw gave a low whistle, and his crow-brother took flight and circled the bush. I saw glimmers of Acaw’s magic touching the ridged leaves. Drafts of spearmint carried on the light breeze each time the elfling probed the plant.
“It is not sentient,” he announced, “nor does it present danger that I can discern. It is, however, fully five times the normal size of a mint bush.”
Unable to contain ourselves, we all crowded around the billowing mint plant. The power it would have taken to permanently alter the natural size of a plant and force it into maturity in a matter of minutes boggled my mind. I felt suddenly fortunate to have only fallen backward with a few moment’s aftereffects. What if we found more stone-bearers? Unleashed, even the strength of those four—Goddess help us if we added Bren to make five—that kind of magical strength could release destruction even Nire could never achieve.
Acaw seemed to understand this. He and I alone remained silent as everyone else chattered and hissed and exclaimed.
The Dana’Kell were immediately delighted with their new plant and with the help of the hags, they set about tending, feeding, and nurturing it, as well as pruning and harvesting for spice and potion and poultice. Mint was, after all, a versatile herb. Dralz took her charges back to the partially built temple, after reminding Sherise to pick up her sword. Quinn took charge of stringing the harvested mint to dry, and at that point, Acaw and I left.
“I need to find Bren,” I said as we headed up through oldeTowne, toward Todd’s zoo. At random, unable to stop myself, I straightened up around me as we went. “If he isn’t tending the beasts, he’ll be at his shed or the training yard.”
Acaw kept his own council as I blasted stray pine needles off the dirt trail, moved pine cones and nuts into stacks, and placed rocks into straight lines.
We passed trees and huts and more huts, all of which required some cleaning, in my opinion, until finally the swells of slither caves came into view. I checked the position of the sun. “He’s probably feeding the shims and checking the locks on their enclosure. If they don’t get a morning meal—well, you know what happens.”
“Yes,” Acaw offered.
I straightened some dust off the seat of his breeches with a tiny burst of magic. He jumped, but said nothing.
“You!” Bren shouted as we neared the lot full of shims. “I’ve been looking for you!”
“Bren,” I called as I saw him leave the harpy barn and come striding toward us. Just the sight of him made me feel calmer, and ridiculously happy. “I’ve been looking for you, too. We need to talk. I’m so sorry for doubting you.”
“Yeah, right,” he snarled as he got closer.
It was then I saw the red face, the stiff posture, the clenched fists. Acaw pulled up short. His crow-brother screeched and took to the air.
“Bren?” I stopped walking, too.
“Quinn!” Bren yelled. “You just had to get even didn’t you? You just had to make out with that swishy, red-robed priest!”
“What?” I barely processed that he was raising his hands, moving his fingers—
Wind smacked my face. My body jerked. Sky turned to earth and earth turned to sky. My stomach twisted inside out, and quite suddenly, I wasn’t where I used to be.
No.
Not at all.
I was upside down, somewhere else.
I was upside down in something smelly, warm, and sticky.
With a yowl of disgust, I righted myself and dug out of the—the—the—
“Muck pile?” I fell sideways as I staggered away from the filth. White-yellow crud coated me, some wet, some dry and flaking. The crud stank of toxic eggs and rotten licorice.
No. No! The compost heap in the slither barn. Bren had stuck me upside down into a pile of animal droppings!
“Oooooh!” The cleaning spell left my fingers with pure golden force. It roared the muck off my skin and clothes, sucked it straight out of my hair, rendered the droppings pile into so much dust, cleaned the entire barn spotless in a matter of seconds, and blew off the barn doors.
As they flew, I saw a small elf-figure climb up from the ground, where he had apparently thrown himself to avoid the door missiles.
“Your Majesty,” Acaw said, making an attempt to block my path as I stomped outside.
“Shut up and get out of my way, elfling,” I commanded. “There is nothing you can do. I will kill him now!”
***
Chapter Nine
I looked at my fingers, more than shocked that the vanishing spell had worked. “Freaking unbelievable. I did oldeMagic. Again—only this time a whole person.”
And then I broke out in a cold sweat. I had no idea where I’d just vanished Jazz to, or how to get her back.
The doors blasted off the barn.
I dropped face down in the dirt and barely missed getting my head sheared off. That door slammed into an old oak, burying itself about halfway through.
Sherise was going to be pissed about that, never mind the hags.
The other door sliced off the roof of the shim hutch. The flesh-eating birds went nuts.
I had barely processed that reality when I heard Jazz’s shout of fury and saw her storm out of the barn.
Crap. By the expression on her face, if I didn’t act quickly, I was going to end up as shim food in about ten seconds.
I held my palm out and threw up a magical barrier at the same time Jazz’s fingers sizzled and a bolt of gold light shot straight to the force field—and rebounded right back at her.
The gold magic slammed into Jazz, hitting her in the belly. It knocked her flat on her ass. The fury and surprise on her face was priceless.
I would have laughed, but for one, I was hoping she hadn’t hurt herself, and two, I was way past angry with her after seeing her making out with Quinn. Just the thought of the two of them lip-locked made my stomach clench. I fisted my hands as I strode toward the barrier.
“I can’t believe you would stoop so low as to kiss that freaked-out priest,” I shouted. “I’m sick and tired of you not believing me, and being so juvenile as to try to make me jealous.”
Jazz pushed herself up to her feet, her eyes wild. She didn’t even stop to blast the dirt off her butt. “Juvenile? You’re calling me juvenile?” Gold sparked at her fingertips. “You goddess-forsaken pile of slither dung!”
The shield between us glimmered as we stared at one another. The heat inside me turned into something else. Something cold and sad that made my throat want to pinch closed. “Why did you have to kiss him?” I asked Jazz quietly. “Is it over between us?”
She stepped back and she looked like she was almost ready to cry. “Did you mean that—that it’s over?”
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I dropped the shield and took a few steps until I was standing just inches from her. “You kissed Quinn. You tell me.”
She shook her head, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “I didn’t kiss Quinn. I wouldn’t do that.”
“This is warped.” I reached up and brushed the tear from her face with my fingers. “Something’s wrong in L.O.S.T., Jazz. And I don’t think it’s us.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “I believe you, that you didn’t kiss Sherise.”
“And I believe you. You didn’t kiss Quinn.”
“I would never.” She slowly shook her head and my fingers slipped from her cheek to her silky black hair. “You’ve been the only one for me, Bren.” Her breath came out in a shuddering sigh. “I truly didn’t realize it until I was dying from the Shadow wound, that you were the only one I wou
ld ever love.”
I captured Jazz’s face in my hands and kissed her. When I drew away, her eyelids fluttered open and then I was staring into her golden eyes. I let my hands drift down from her face to her shoulders and just looked at her. After a moment I reached into my pocket and fumbled for the ring I’d given her at the Winter Solstice, and that she’d thrown at me when she turned me into a plant.
I held out my hand with the ring in my palm, my eyes still focused on hers. “I love you, Jazz. We might not get along all the time, but I would never do anything to hurt you.”
Jazz flung herself at me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and we held one another.
When we finally let go, I took her hand, slipped the promise ring back on her finger, and kissed her again. She smiled when we parted and I brushed another tear from her eye. This one I think was from happiness.
That’s when all hell broke loose.
One of the giant ugly harpies flew straight at us, screeching at the top of its lungs.
I let Jazz go and wanted to clap my hands over my ears as the thing landed and nearly bowled me over with its stench. It kept on screeching, looking like it was going to take my head off
“What’s he trying to say?” I asked Jazz over the noise.
Acaw appeared between us. “I believe three of her nestlings are missing, Your Majesties.”
Before I could open my mouth to ask how that happened, a roar came toward us from oldeTowne. I jerked my head in that direction only to see a group of hags marching toward us, the hags screeching, their hag spirits hissing.
Right behind them were the klatchKovens. All of them, by the look of it. When they reached us they were talking so fast that I couldn’t understand what they were saying.
The slithers started bellowing, and a swarm of shims went flooding up the hill from Todd’s zoo.
From another direction came the girls from the Circle. They were shouting at one another, each one so furious I was afraid they were going to come to blows.
The Dana’Kell marched right behind them, their red robes flowing around their feet as they added their own voices to the mix.
L.O.S.T. Trilogy Box Set Page 57