Lina stopped for a split second, then jumped back to her feet with a yelp. Her three tails flicking through the air, she turned and stared hard at the girl. Wait, wait one minute. You can understand me?!
Calla looked uneasy. “Well, yes—it’s hard for me not to.”
You can hear every word I say?
“Yes.”
Liar! Repeat after me: the squirrels of summer sleep in the soft moss of the silver birch under the shining stars after sunset.
“‘The squirrels of summer sleep in the soft moss of the silver birch under the shining stars after sunset.’” The girl shrugged. “That’s really not a tongue twister.”
Lina blinked. Well, this is unusual.
“I’m sorry if it bothers you. I can’t help it.”
Lina took two steps towards her hesitantly, and then jumped right in her lap. She pawed at Calla’s sleeve. Most unusual, she said, it is usually those Nymphs and tree spirits that try talking to me these days. But you do not smell like any of them—I do not think I have met anything like you. And yet I like you. Very interesting…
“Calla, if you are finished playing with your furry new friend we should get going. Time is running out.”
Calla raised one eyebrow. “I’m not sure if I can.”
Going? Going where?
“Just get her out of your lap so we can go. I would prefer we reach our destination by sundown.” The man—Hiran—stood up. “Come on, before we have to fight her again.”
Lina looked from him to Calla and back again. She got up and walked back onto the grass. Touchy, she said. And just what is your rush to get away from me?
“We’re trying to get to Elenan,” Calla replied. “Some of the Brilken monsters almost caught us at the border.”
Lina blinked. Interesting—so they were running away from the Dead Lands. But why did they run to the enchanted lands of the Nymphs? She had heard rumors from the other birds and beasts of the area that things were not all well among the Malc. What help could these two hope to get from them? May I ask why you go there? she asked.
The two of them exchanged a look, apparently trying to decide if it would be a good idea to tell her. In the man’s eyes she saw anger and suspicion while uncertainty dominated the girl’s emotions. “To prepare for the future,” she said.
“Calla!” Hiran hissed. “You do not know if this creature can be trusted!”
“And there’s nothing that says we can’t, Hiran; it was the same with you. Look at her: do you really think she’s one of Dranl’s spies or some other servant of Bralon? That she apparently knows the Nymphs serving Elenia could prove helpful to us later.”
Hiran folded his arms across his chest, frowning at them both. He didn’t like any of this—it was written all over his face. Lina thumped the ends of her two outer tails against the ground. So they knew about what was causing the darkness that grew further and further across the world with every day. But how could they possibly stop it? The ancient prophecies said a girl-child of the woods who had the power to stop the spreading darkness would someday come.
A girl-child of the woods…
She stopped when she realized she was staring at Calla, and something seemed to click in her mind. She decided to study her with her animal senses. She could detect a kind of magical energy coming off of her with her whiskers, almost like that of the few Nymphs she had met, but older in some way. And Calla could understand her speech, a talent also common among the woodland spirits. But she wasn’t one, she looked nothing like them—no green hue to her flesh and hair, no faint bark-like texture to her skin. She had to be more closely related to humans. But there was something there, some kind of magic.
“We should go Calla,” Hiran said impatiently.
Abruptly Lina stood up. I am going with you, she said.
“Hiran,” Calla said, “she means to follow us.”
Hiran paused. “Are you serious?”
“That’s what she just said.”
I said I was going with you, not following you, Lina said. There is at least a slight difference.
Hiran looked down at her, indecisive. Reluctantly, he agreed. “She had better not cause any kind of trouble,” he warned as he started walking.
Oh please—if anything, I am trouble’s worst nightmare. Lina trotted alongside Calla as they marched through the grass.
XX
Calla
Calla thought it was nice to walk once more in tall, living grass under such a clear, blue sky. She didn’t talk much to Hiran that day, noting how he seemed more determined to keep quiet; she thought it was odd, but chose not to press the issue. Instead she found herself talking more with the Tri-tail, Lina. The large wolf-like creature hopped through the grass by her side as they talked, though they kept their voices down so they wouldn’t annoy Hiran too much.
Calla had heard from Mai how the lands where the ancient world still had a hold were constantly shrinking now; Lina seemed to have felt the effects of that firsthand. She had been witness to the changing of the world for the past few years, watching as the grass shriveled with the moving border; any creature caught in the shadow’s reach died right where they stood; the trees dying when they were touched, standing as somber monuments in the dust that once nurtured them for a while before eventually they too crumbled.
This was Lina’s world; it wasn’t the place of safety anymore like Calla’s world was for her.
Somewhere around the middle of the afternoon Hiran called out, motioning for them to join him. As Calla came up to stand next to him he pointed towards something up ahead. She looked off in that direction and saw a large, white tower standing far taller than any of the trees surrounding its base; it was dwarfed only by the mountain looming up from behind it. The trees stood together in a thick wall, hiding much of whatever land sat behind them save for the occasional glimmer of some light poking through all the green.
Calla looked at Hiran. “Is that Elenan?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied, but for some reason he sounded grim about it.
Lina let out a whine as she yawned. It’s a giant cone of stone in the middle of a forest, she said, apparently unimpressed. What is so special about that?
“The trees are hiding the rest of the city, Lina,” Calla said to her.
I knew that; I have been here before, though at the time I was just passing through.
“I know this is not your ideal terrain, my furry friend. But this is where we must go.” Hiran looked back down towards the trees, a distant look in his eyes. “I should warn you, some of the customs here may seem a little strange to you. In general things have been getting worse here, mostly politically; I have been away for a while, so I am not sure if things have changed any more in that time, for better or worse.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, this means getting you an audience with the Lady will be much harder.”
Calla felt a sinking feeling in her gut. “But Mai was saying there wouldn’t be a problem with that.”
“With Mai, it would not have been a problem. She was a Nymph and didn’t need anyone’s permission to get through; she also knew most of the secret ways to reach Elenia’s seat, if not all of them. What she failed to tell you was that the Malc have stepped away from following the Lady, though many of them would be quick to tell you their efforts bring them closer to Her. Anyone who speaks out against the High Council—who think they are the most blessed of everyone—are severely punished. Only certain elite families are able to escape the Council’s control; my friend Ren and his wife are one of the few families that have not been swayed. They hold too much power in the community, and none of the Council dare to move against them unless they have a very good reason to do so. For that same reason they cannot be forced into following the Council’s orders if they choose not to in the first place.”
“So what can we do?”
Yes, what do we do? Do not forget about me.
“We will go to see Ren—for now that is all we can do. With a little more luck he might
be able to help us come up with another plan. We shall see how it goes from there. Come.” He led her and Lina down the grassy slope.
The sky was a bright orange by the time they reached the edge of the forest. Down here among the trees Calla could just hear the noise from the city as it echoed off the trees only a little louder than the sounds of the night animals, shouted voices rising up from behind the walls. At this point Hiran insisted on silence, since they were so close to a place he seemed to dislike most. Silence was hard to maintain with fallen leaves and ground-up plant life crunching underfoot. As loud as they were, the sounds of early evening seemed to help drown out some of their noise.
The stars were just starting to appear above them when they finally reached their destination. Calla didn’t really see much of the house standing before them, except that it stood as an even darker mass in the moonless night. There were a few yellow-orange dots scattered across the walls, the only evidence that anyone was there. Hiran guided his two companions around hedges and large stones until they stood before a large wooden door barely illuminated by the lamplight from the window next to it. He paused, listening for some sound of anyone moving near to where they stood. Cautiously he raised his hand and knocked lightly on the wood with his knuckles. He had barely taken his hand away when the door swung wide open, light pouring through so brightly it blinded Calla; it took several minutes for her eyes to readjust.
Someone sighed. “Every time,” a man’s voice said quietly. “When you need my help, you sneak in at night like a burglar to ask for it. Why must this always be?”
“There are fewer questions asked, my friend,” Hiran replied. “Especially now, it is better if none in the city tried to know what it is I do.”
“Secretive as always. What is it this time, Hiran? You break the law or something?”
“No, and it is not as simple as that. I need you to help me hide something—something very precious.”
“Precious to you?”
“To us all.” Hiran stepped off to one side and motioned for Calla to come out from behind him; nervously she approached the man.
She could see this stranger a little better now. He stood about as tall as Hiran and had the same double-pointed ears, but the similarities ended there. He was more muscular, but kept a kind of elegance throughout his frame. His shoulder-length dark hair was streaked with gray, yet he still seemed to be a young man. From looking at the robe he was wearing Calla thought they might have woken him up, but he had responded too quickly to Hiran’s knocking on the door; he must have just been getting ready to turn in for the night.
He raised an eyebrow as he looked her over. “A stray?” he asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. “Or perhaps you found her during your wanderings and want to hold on to her for a little longer?”
Even in the dark Calla could see Hiran’s eyes blaze with anger. “You dare?” he hissed through gritted teeth. “Of Elenia’s girl?”
The laughter disappeared from the man’s face instantly. His eyes widened. “For real? The one we have waited for these many years? The one foretold in the ancient prophecy?”
“Now do you understand?”
“That changes everything.” The man scratched his chin. “If the Council found out…”
“They must not—they would only try to use her for their own ends. That cannot be allowed to happen.”
“Otherwise all hell will be unleashed—all would be lost for sure if they got their hands on her.” He sighed. “I will not blame you if we see trouble as a result of this—we are long overdue for our share of it. But my wife and I and all in our house will do what we can to protect her.”
“She will need to see the Lady, and soon.”
“That will be difficult at best. We will need some time to think that through.” His gaze drifted down towards Calla’s feet. “Is the creature going to be staying as well?”
“I am afraid so,” Hiran replied. “We could not get her to leave us.”
Why do you make that sound like such a bad thing? Lina asked, offended.
“We can handle having it around, I guess. Just so long as it leaves my wife’s cat alone.”
As long as it does not annoy me too much.
The man looked up at the night sky. “It has grown so late,” he said. “The Council has eyes everywhere, and we risk being found out if we are not careful. Still, I will watch the girl for you and do what I can for her.”
Hiran nodded his approval. “I will try to find some way up to the mountain away from the Council guards. I will come back for her when I have found it.”
“I hope you do, Hiran. So much is at stake now.”
Hiran walked over and kissed Calla lightly on her forehead. “I will return,” he said quietly in her ear. “As soon as I can.” He pushed her gently towards the door; Calla walked towards the man hesitantly.
When she stopped just inside the front hall and turned to look back at him, he was already gone.
XXI
Elenia
She stood at the top of the mountain, looking down at the city below her. Her heart felt heavy in her chest from her sorrow. She was almost ashamed to look on those people she had protected for so long. Ruled by fools rather than wise men, and not once did they even try to speak up against them.
“Where did I go wrong?” she asked the silence around her.
She knew they were growing more independent and didn’t need her to guide them anymore, but that new independence had gone straight to the heads of some. Now the poor decisions of those in charge would lead them all to disaster. She hated how the Malc leaders thought they alone could interpret what she wanted of them—how arrogant of them! The thought of it made her want to hurl streams of molten rock upon them.
She slapped her own face to check herself, just for even considering that thought. Taking matters into her own hands like that was against the laws she was supposed to obey: she was not allowed to meddle in the affairs of mortals as herself. It would count as trying to direct them towards a specific future—just as the demon Bralon was doing now. She couldn’t help but pity those living in the realm he had claimed; they had known no other possible future after living so long in his shadow, unless she and her chosen champion could free them of it.
But if any of them—anyone in general—knew the truth about the Lord of Darkness…
“It would still accomplish nothing,” she said to herself aloud. “Such knowledge would only fill them all with fear. And it would have done little to change the course of their history.”
All she could hope for now was that the girl, Calla, would still come. She remembered the fear that shot through her when she could no longer sense Mai, after keeping such careful track of the young Nymph for so long. That she still could not sense her could only mean she was no longer among the living; the only way she would know for sure was if someone came forward with the Nymph’s Soulseed. But where did that leave Calla? She was surprised by how she couldn’t keep so good a watch on the girl. She would have to keep looking for her, even send some of the other Nymphs out to patrol the borders of her ever-shrinking domain in hopes that the girl would appear.
Maybe she should have sent someone else in Mai’s place, or even sent two Nymphs instead of one; at least the girl would have had better protection from Bralon’s agents. She sighed. So many what-ifs…
Her thoughts stopped abruptly. She blinked in confusion, then focused her mind a little harder—something had just distracted her, something new hovering on the edge of her awareness that she had never felt before. She focused on it: it felt as familiar as it was strange. It was almost like the energy of one of her Nymphs but stronger, closer to being like her own. But that was impossible; no living creature that inhabited this world could possess that kind of power, not in this era anyway. The only ones who had ever tried to come close were the Druids of old.
“The Druids of old…” she whispered. She felt her heart pick up speed as her own words sank in.
The energy
came from somewhere below her, down at the feet of the mountain, so close she thought she could almost touch it if she just reached out a little more. She felt herself smile as hope filled her once more.
“Calla,” she said, “at last, you came.” There was still a chance for them after all.
XXII
Ren
Why did he have to live to see such dark days? Why couldn’t they have ended either before or after his time? Living with the promise of an uncertain future was the worst feeling anyone could have. Ren sighed and ran one hand through his graying hair; these concerns were constantly giving him headaches. Somehow he doubted he would see an end to them.
He still wasn’t sure how the girl Calla played in to all of this. Hiran had just turned up and said the girl was the source of their hope. Of course Ren knew about the prophecy of the ancient days—the exact prophecy had been retold through the generations with the greatest care along with other ancient tales—but other than her being a Forest Child he still had serious doubts. She just didn’t seem to show any kind of magical talent, even after two weeks in his house. But her presence still gave him a tiny glimmer of hope.
A faint hope was better than having no hope at all.
He stared through the window and watched as Calla walked by through the garden, the Tri-tail wolf—Lina, he had been told—following closely behind her. That creature was strange, from the way it looked to how it followed her everywhere. Ren was still uneasy about having that thing around; he couldn’t help but remember the old tales, how the creatures could be downright vicious when they had a mind to be. He feared for the girl’s safety, he feared for everyone’s safety whenever the enchanted wolf was around.
Then again if Calla was the chosen of the Lady, being around such creatures wouldn’t bring her any harm.
He turned his back to the window. “How much longer do you think, Tal?” he asked his wife.
Tal looked up from her spinning, letting the drop spindle rest in her lap. “Until what?” she asked.
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