Imryll glanced over as if waiting for her response. Eris refused to grant her the satisfaction of knowing she recognized what happened, choosing instead to force a neutral expression onto her face.
Terran didn’t know to hide his response. “I didn’t know you could get the trees to do that,” he said.
Imryll shot him a stern look. “Yes. It was not always so impressive.” She shifted her gaze to Eris and watched her.
“You do yourself a disservice, Imryll,” she answered. “It was always impressive.”
“Hmm.” Imryll turned to the house and stopped outside a curved door made of roots that poked out of the ground and twisted together to form the shape. With a wave of her hand, the roots parted, opening before her. She stepped inside, the monstrous grey wolf loping in behind, leaving Eris and Terran looking after her.
Terran chuckled softly. “That’s not what I expected.”
She frowned. “What had you expected?”
He shrugged. “Not sure. When you described this place, I thought of the Svanth, how we camped under the canopy, propped against arched branches.”
“I told you she controlled the trees.”
“Is this something you can learn?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe. Imryll is a true keeper of trees. They are all she knows.”
Terran touched her arm. “You’re a keeper of trees, too, Eris. You just have other gifts.”
She shook her head. “And not enough time to understand them.”
“Well, that’s why we’re here. So you can learn what having a guardian means.”
Eris looked at the house made of the branches of trees. The svanth stretched higher than the others. Without delving, she knew it would always be that way. The oak was really the only other challenge, but it would take years for it to reach full maturity. And the svanth dipped toward a deeper power, the tendrils of its roots stretching toward the Svanth Forest, drawing hints of the Source.
“I’d be happy if she helped me learn what it means to be a keeper of trees,” she said.
They stepped through the open door and entered.
Inside, pale green light glowed from the tips of branches, like lanterns set into the walls. The light was cool and didn’t smoke or burn the trees. Another trick Eris would like to learn. The house was massive, much larger than the tidy hut that had once been here. A wide entryway greeted them on the other side of the door. Beams of light worked through slats in the walls, creating a rippling effect. A door let off this entryway, and Imryll was through there.
Eris took Terran’s hand and pulled him behind her. He wasn’t as tense as he’d been deeper in the forest, nothing like while making their way along the path, never knowing what Imryll’s guardian might do. Now a sense of wonder came from him. He paused to look at the walls, the lanterns, the twisted branches worked into what seemed like art, coughing a surprised snort with each one.
The house was impressive, but something about it felt familiar as well. Eris wondered if that was due to the svanth tree and how it seemed to impose its will on the structure. She sensed Imryll’s influence, but much of the svanth rippled through the house. Tall support beams were made of its branches. Leaves unfurled to form many of the lanterns. And the teary star flowers bloomed across the ceiling, filling the space with their familiar spice.
At the next doorway, she paused.
This room was even more impressive. A wide hearth grew out of woven branches. Oak and pine twisted, forming pillars on either side. The mantel was made of a long sweep of svanth, a teary star blooming in the middle. A small fire crackled at the center of the hearth, and smoke pushed out through the slats in the walls, billowing up and out of the room.
Imryll sat on a small bench, staring at the fire. The guardian wolf sat next to her, watching them as they arrived.
“Had I known you would change my home, I would never have asked for proof.”
Eris stopped across from her. “Had I known what it would have done, I would not have shown you.”
Imryll harrumphed and made a waving motion with her hand. Another bench appeared across from her. She waved for Eris to sit. Terran remained standing. The sight of the guardian had caused his tension to return, and he stood on edge. His arms might be crossed over his chest, but Eris didn’t doubt he would reach for his sword in a heartbeat if something seemed off.
“So. You did not know what you would do,” Imryll said.
Eris shook her head.
“And you claim to be a keeper of flowers and trees.”
Eris looked over toward the hearth at the branch of the svanth tree. “I am a keeper of flowers and trees.”
“I did not think that was possible,” Imryll said. Her voice was soft, almost hesitant. “But with what happened here, I will not argue.”
Eris stared at Imryll. “Why did you refuse me entry?”
Imryll shrugged. “Much changed since the last time you were here.” She waved her hand around her. “This no longer suits me as it once did.”
“These are still your trees. It is your oak, your birch, and your pine.”
“And your svanth,” Imryll said.
Eris looked at the svanth and the teary star. She couldn’t deny the draw of the svanth, how it pulled at her. It was this tree that granted access to the story woven in the roots of this forest, that allowed her to push past the barrier Imryll placed to prevent such things. And the svanth that had allowed her to reach to the forest and borrow its energy.
“It is my svanth,” Eris agreed.
“I felt it when you reached for it.”
Eris nodded, letting the sense of the svanth draw on her. “I didn’t know. I still don’t know how I managed.”
Imryll sniffed and twisted her head, studying Eris. “You have bonded. Not many keepers do.”
Eris looked at Terran and frowned, before realizing that wasn’t what Imryll implied. She turned and looked at the wolf. “I have bonded.”
“What form did it take?” She did not look away from her wolf as she asked.
Eris shook her head. “It is…hard to describe.”
Imryll frowned at her. “The Svanth has tree lions, yes?”
“It does.”
“That should be your guardian.”
Eris laughed softly. How would Shadow feel being compared to a tree lion? Compared to Shadow, the tree lions found throughout the Svanth might as well be house cats. “Perhaps he is,” she answered.
“And where is he? Where is your guardian?”
“Injured.”
Imryll’s breath caught. The wolf growled softly. Imryll reached toward him and scratched his ear. The growling eased but did not disappear.
“What can injure one of the guardians?” she asked.
Eris took a deep breath. “It was meant for me, I think.”
“What was?”
“A poisoning.”
Imryll twisted her hands atop her lap. The wolf stared at Eris. “There is nothing that can poison one of the guardians. They draw from the stores of your garden. He should be able to heal more quickly than any poison could work.”
Eris frowned. Was that why Shadow had not died as he contained the taint? Could he have been drawing from the flowers as well as the trees of her garden?
Terran appeared to finally relax and stood near the fire. He twisted to watch Imryll and Eris but no longer looked as if he might grab his sword. The wolf guardian didn’t seem bothered by him, ignoring him as no real threat. Probably, to the wolf, he was not.
Eris turned back to Imryll. “It was my garden that was poisoned.”
“I have been to the Svanth Forest. Much power resides there. You should be pleased you have bonded to it.” She shook her head, pushing her dark hair behind her head. “There is nothing capable of poisoning the trees within that forest. Nothing short of…” She hesitated, her eyes widening. She suddenly sat up straighter. “That’s not possible. There have been none for centuries.”
Eris leaned forward, eager
to learn what Imryll might know. “You know what they are?” This was the reason she had come to Imryll. Answers only another keeper like her could provide. If Shadow was unwilling—or unable in his current state—she needed to find answers somehow.
Imryll stood and turned away from Eris. “You are wrong. They cannot have returned. They were defeated. He is gone because of them. They could not have returned!”
Eris pushed off the bench and circled around to face Imryll. “I don’t know what they are, but my guardian calls them Darkbinders.”
The wolf growled again, this time louder. Hackles stood straight on his neck, and his nose sniffed the air. Something seemed to pass between the wolf and Imryll.
Imryll turned to the wolf. “It’s not possible. They haven’t come—” She frowned and spoke to herself. “But there are too few of us. Only a handful of keepers remain, and none other than me…”
Eris touched her arm.
Imryll jumped slightly and turned to Eris.
“You don’t have to be alone in this. I can help.”
Imryll turned from Eris to the wolf. “She thinks to help. She is untrained.” Her face twisted. “Train her? What can I teach?” She took a step toward the wolf. “You think it that simple? All these years we’ve been here and never have we seen sign of them. I’m not the same person I was when I took this on. If he were here, maybe I would have the strength I need, but he’s been gone too long.”
Eris didn’t need to ask who she meant. Her gardener. She didn’t know how long Imryll’s gardener had been gone, but long enough to isolate her and make it so she couldn’t even leave her forest. Was that what Eris was destined to become if she were to lose Terran?
She looked at him standing next to the fire, his mouth twisted into a tight frown. He watched her and shook his head, almost as if he understood her thoughts. But how could he? She had seen through other keeper’s eyes, had seen how their lives went on, long after their gardeners had fallen. Perhaps that was the curse of being a keeper.
Imryll pushed against her, shoving her back toward the door to the house. “You must go. I can’t help you. Not any longer. I’m not the same keeper.”
Eris shook her head. “But you’re a keeper of light.”
Eris grabbed one of the branches to keep from falling. It broke off in her hand as Imryll pushed again. She was strong, and the trees of the house seemed to help. Eris considered drawing strength from the svanth tree, but decided against it.
“I am a keeper of trees. Nothing more. And this is my garden.”
She pushed again. Great power surged through her. Terran came tumbling after her, and they fell through the door to the house, thrust out of the clearing in a surge. The trees pulled back together, closing them out, leaving them standing outside the heart of Imryll’s forest, staring through them. Eris waited, hoping Imryll would change her mind, but the forest didn’t change.
A path opened up behind them, leading away from Imryll, out of the forest.
Eris turned to it and sighed. They would have no help. Not from Imryll. Not from a keeper of light. Whatever she did, it would have to be on her own.
Chapter 71
The walk through the forest seemed to take much longer than the walk in. Terran fell silent for most of the way, leaving Eris to her thoughts. They were troubling thoughts, mixed with fear for what was to come. Shadow feared the Darkbinders, and Imryll refused to help.
“He follows,” Terran whispered after a while.
She looked over and frowned. She hadn’t bothered reaching through the roots to increase her awareness. That wouldn’t matter in Imryll’s forest, not now that Eris knew Imryll wouldn’t help.
“Who follows?” she asked.
Terran tipped his head to the right. The trees were not pulled together quite as tightly as they were on the way in. Gaps opened between the trunks, leaving some light to spill out onto their path. A pair of glowing golden eyes looked out at them.
Eris nearly stumbled. Shadow? But he was back in the Svanth. She felt him still resting, the draw of the forest still holding him comfortably, healing him as much as was possible.
If not Shadow, that meant Imryll’s wolf.
She stopped and turned to him.
Terran pulled on her arm. “What are you doing, Eris?”
She shook him off. “Guardian,” she called into the trees. “You know we need her help. My guardian has been unable to explain the Darkbinders, so I don’t even know what we’re facing, but you do. She does. I need her help, if we’re to stop them.”
The wolf remained hidden at the edge of the trees.
Eris wished there was something she could say it, or some way it could speak to her, but she was not bonded to it, not like with Shadow.
“I will rebuild the gardens of Elaysia. Imryll is needed there. You know she is needed. Please. Help me in this. Help my guardian. Do not leave us alone.”
The wolf watched her for another moment, and then he turned and loped off back into the woods, disappearing between the trees.
Eris watched after him and sighed. Had it mattered what she said? Would he somehow manage to convince Imryll to change her mind and help, or would he be like her and cower within the trees, ignoring the dangers that existed around them?
She wished she could ignore them. They seemed to chase her and find her, regardless.
Eris took Terran’s hand and pulled him from the forest, practically running by the time they reached the edge of the trees. The sun settled toward the horizon, barely a day passing in the time they were within the forest. But it was a wasted day and the journey a wasted trip.
“He said there were others,” Terran reminded.
He stood on the grassy plains outside the forest, staring at the falling sun. Orange and reds spilled around it, swirling in some pattern she could almost make out. A few trees dotted the hills, but none like those within Imryll’s forest.
“You’re right,” she agreed.
“About what?”
“About the gardens. If they can draw the keepers to return, maybe there will be another keeper of light among them.”
“And if not?”
She shook her head. “The gardens should still be rebuilt. The world needs the Order of Keepers. They can no longer hide.”
She knelt and pulled a large svanth seed from her pocket and jabbed it into the ground. The frustration working through her gave her strength. She hesitated a moment, and then pulled energy from the grasses around her, drawing it into the seed. It split open, quickly feeding on the energy around her. She added a cutting from the teary star vine alongside it, taken from Imryll’s home as she tried to force them away. The vine was small, but Eris knew how to nurture it, how to coax it to grow.
The svanth seed and the vine twisted alongside each other, growing together, fed by the flow of energy Eris drew from the grasses. The tree did not grow nearly as high as some she’d planted, but it would have to do. It stood nearly fifteen feet high, tall enough it wouldn’t blow over in a storm. With a last surge, she pushed instructions, telling the roots to reach toward the Svanth and into Imryll’s forest to find other trees like it. Once it did, the tree would grow strong and tall. It would reach toward the sun, like all life did, feeding off the energy it drew from it. And it would serve as a reminder for Imryll of what she was meant to do.
Eris stood and looked at the tree. Terran watched her but said nothing. Then he nodded. Together, they started back toward the Svanth Forest.
* * *
They reached the Svanth by morning. The walk took longer than it should have. Fatigue left her barely able to stand, mostly because she paused every so often to plant another tree. Each one worked like a trail leading Imryll where Eris wanted her to come. Once she came—if she ever came—Eris would let Imryll plant her own garden. Until then, she would see Eris’s.
“What do you plan now?” Terran asked.
“If Shadow is well enough, I will return to the palace for Lira. I’ll need her help wit
h the gardens.”
“And if he’s not?”
She shook her head. “I will still return for Lira.”
“Your plantings have taken more out of you than usual.”
She nodded.
“You don’t use the trees, do you?” he asked.
She sighed. She should have known that he understood. “I’m afraid to.”
“You think the taint might still work through you?”
“I don’t know. Probably not, or all the trees I’ve planted would be affected.”
“What is it then?”
She swallowed. “I don’t want to remember what nearly happened to Shadow.” She hesitated. “I still see it. If I focus, I can see what I did, how I had to trap the darkness.”
“I thought you healed the trees.”
She nodded. “And I did, mostly. But part of it I couldn’t do anything about. I think part of it I could only trap and hold in place.”
“Interesting that you describe it as darkness.”
Eris frowned, thinking of what she had done to help the svanth tree, how she had been forced to wrap a barrier in place to allow Shadow to live. That was the only way she could describe what she’d done. There was darkness—the taint—working through the svanth trees. Even after she had controlled it, part of that darkness still resided in the tree.
“I have to reach Shadow.”
“What is it?”
Eris paused at the edge of the trees. A few tall elms worked together here, creating a circle with a small clearing. A cluster of taranths grew in the middle of the circle mixed with thistlebuds. Eris frowned, surprised to see them.
“Whatever they intended. I don’t think it’s completely gone.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because I didn’t destroy it. I don’t think I could. I’m not even sure Shadow could. What I did only contained it.”
“I won’t claim to understand,” he said. “But why does it matter?”
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