The Guardians of the Forest: Book Two Read online

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  Kiethara was used to the empty, floating feeling the blackness gave her by now. How many times had she fallen unconscious against her will? Too many for her to even feel the slightest desire to count them. She wasn’t really complaining, though. Being disconnected from the world for a few moments was sometimes such a relief.

  Well, well, look who managed to find her way back, a dry, sarcastic voice said.

  Usually, every good feeling seemed to fade in annoyance when the voice sounded in her head, but as for this time, Kiethara felt nothing but gratitude in hearing the familiar voice.

  Aw, don’t flatter me, the voice said sarcastically. Our tearful reunion. Boo hoo.

  Jeez, Kiethara thought. Why so bitter?

  I’m not bitter, it said. I just didn’t enjoy having to put up with your foolishness.

  Foolishness? Images of Navadar flashed before her eyes. Was it really foolish that she was happy that she was home? The voice was beginning to confuse her.

  I’m just not fond of people who overuse their emotions.

  Kiethara frowned. It almost sounded like the voice was hiding something beneath its harsh, sarcastic tones. Maybe this hard voice was hiding a softer weakness of its own.

  Ha! it barked. You really are full of yourself, you know that? He was right, you know: “Just because you are the guardian does not make you better than the rest of us.”

  Kiethara flinched. How did the voice know this? It seemed to have some uncanny clairvoyance to know just were to prick at her thoughts to stir up something she didn’t want to think about.

  So you almost killed Prince Charming, huh? Well done, Kiethara!

  Shut up! she snapped back. It was hard to believe only seconds ago she had been happy to hear this terrible voice.

  Yes, I have that effect on people.

  Kiethara closed her eyes and tried to block out her annoyance. She thought she heard it, once again. An undercurrent to the voice’s tone, one that suggested a deeper problem. Was the voice causing her pain in order to cover for its own?

  You did very well, the voice said suddenly, in a much quieter voice.

  Finally, a kind word. Well, if the voice was proud of her, surely Aaron would be too. Her heart swelled in anticipation to see him. She had so much to tell him, so much to ask…

  Well, I think he’s coming, the voice informed her.

  Coming? From where? Kiethara did not understand.

  Listen.

  Kiethara listened with all her might, but she heard nothing. The silence was so deep she was afraid she would get lost in it. She was about to call out to the voice again when she heard him.

  “Kiethara…”

  His voice was very faint, but happiness exploded inside her. She began to reach up, as though she were swimming to the surface of a very deep lake…

  “Kiethara!” Aaron stressed.

  Kiethara finally broke the surface, remembering nothing from the previous conversation.

  Kiethara opened her eyes and was immediately blinded by Aaron’s bright light. She blinked, waiting for her eyes to adjust before pulling herself into a sitting position. She blinked again, looking around her once. For a moment, all she could do was stare at Aaron.

  And then she burst into tears.

  It took all her strength to keep herself from throwing her arms around him. She didn’t understand why she was crying harder than she ever had in her life now, when she was finally irrevocably safe, but seeing Aaron crouched next to her brought every one of her feelings rushing back. The way the dark jewel had made her feel…the fear a windowless room inspired…the maddening rage of being locked up…Why did a familiar face have such an effect on her?

  Maybe because she was finally looking at a person that loved her unconditionally. She finally felt that it was okay to be weak, because in front of him, it did not matter.

  “Kiethara!” Aaron cried in shock. “Shh, it’s okay, Kiethara, it’s okay.”

  “Aaron, oh, Aaron, they took me! They had this n-necklace, and it t-took all my magic away! I—”

  “Shh,” Aaron interrupted. “It’s all over.”

  Kiethara took a deep, shaky breath and tried to stop the relentless flow of tears. How was she supposed to prove to him how strong she was if she could do nothing but bawl like a child?

  “Kiethara…” Aaron seemed lost for words. “It has been so long…I have been so worried! Day after day, I felt as though I would lose my mind! I had no idea where you were, or what was happening to you! But you’re okay, thank goodness!”

  “They…they had this jewel! It took away my powers!” she repeated. “They couldn’t even use magic themselves!”

  “I know, trust me, I know. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t go anywhere near that cursed necklace myself. Please forgive me,” he pleaded.

  “Of course,” she said, blinking in shock. “I-I don’t blame you Aaron. I didn’t even know something like that existed!”

  “I haven’t seen that necklace in a long time,” Aaron said, his voice telling her that his thoughts were in the past. “How they got their hands on it, I can’t begin to imagine. Kiethara, I should have warned you about it sooner…”

  Kiethara put her face in her hands as her tears stopped and her breathing slowed. Her mind was strangely blank, with Aaron’s words running through her mind much too fast. Usually, they stuck to her like bees on honey, but at the moment she knew she was in no state to receive any new information. She feared it would only spill off the top of her over-crammed head. And she still had so much to tell him, to ask Aaron to explain…

  “Aaron,” she began, looking up, but he cut her off.

  “Kiethara, I am dying to know what has happened to you, but right now you need rest and nourishment. Tomorrow, you must tell me everything that has transpired and, if you are up to it, we must begin training. We must quicken the pace in the matter, because I will not let you be unprepared like that again.”

  Kiethara nodded. It was easier to obey than to argue and, as of the moment, all she could really think about was finally lying down in her hammock and rocking off to sleep. Or sinking into the guardian’s lake at the center of the forest. She was so thirsty, too, and that called for a trip to her washing lake…

  Kiethara could not help but smile at the thought. Thinking about all of her old routines and favorite places brought back the happiness that she had lost for a few minutes.

  “There we go,” he said, thoroughly relieved. “Now eat this.”

  He handed her an apple. It looked ripe and plump, unlike anything she had seen of it in the past few weeks. Her mouth watered as she took it from him.

  When she brought her hands to her mouth she saw that her crystals already had a faint glow to them. They looked the same way they had when she had lost her magic to the fire that had burned through the forest. Huh. She had thought then that she had lost all of her power.

  Kiethara bit into the apple. There were no words to describe the taste, but she ate it with gusto. The feeling was instantaneous—already, she could sense strength returning to her limbs, accompanied with a strong glow issuing from her crystals. With the help of a nearby tree, she pulled herself up to her feet. She swayed slightly, but her crystals glowed—not quite as bright as they usually were—and they gave her the purpose she needed.

  “Can you make it to your clearing?” Aaron asked. Kiethara shuddered at the image of walking all the way to her clearing.

  “I don’t think I can walk that far…”

  “No, I didn’t mean walk, Kiethara,” Aaron said with a sad chuckle. “Fly.”

  She gasped, feeling completely humiliated. How could she have not realized something as trivial as that? What did Aaron think of her now, when she could not even remember to use one of the most basic powers that she had learned? Going so long without magic had altered her fundamental instincts! She wondered if she had worsened in her training. She shook her head, bringing her mind back to the present. Hopefully she still remembered how t
o fly.

  Kiethara kicked off the ground, her crystals glowing brightly. She hovered in the air, feeling lighter than she had ever felt before. She ran a hand through her hair with a rather dazed smile.

  “Which way?” she asked Aaron.

  “Northwest,” he said, pointing her in the right direction.

  “Thank you.”

  “Kiethara,” Aaron said in a very serious tone. “Tomorrow you must tell me everything. Understand?”

  She nodded and, unable to contain herself anymore, she took off. She cleared the tree tops in seconds, a huge smile lighting her face. Her hands brushed the multicolored leaves below them as the wind caressed her face, pulling gently on her long brown hair. She spread her arms out wide and laughed, spinning round and round in the air. Why had she ever bothered walking in the forest when she had magic? Flying took no energy at all. It was exhilarating.

  She wanted to stay in the air forever, but nature had other ideas. Soon the wind began to feel chilly, her hair grew heavy and frizzy, and her eyes stung and watered. She smiled through it all, though. This was part of her home, part of who she was, and she enjoyed it immensely, despite the fact that it took her quite a while to reach her clearing.

  Kiethara almost flew right over it, distracted as she was. She practically dropped out of the sky in her haste to land. Her bare feet hit the cool, solid ground as she gazed around eagerly. Her hammock still swung innocently between the two trees. Now that she could compare it to the clean white sheets she had slept on in Redawn, it was filthy. Not that it disgusted her, but she laughed at the idea of Trinnia’s comments if she could see where Kiethara slept.

  Her vine belt hung in the tree just as she had left it, and everything else looked exactly the same. Kiethara’s hand instinctively rose to her neck, even though she knew there was no locket there. Her heart dropped with the thought of the loss; she knew that she would never see it again. It could be anywhere in the kingdoms and she did not want to return to that world ever again.

  Well, there was no reason to brood over her loss when there was no way to fix it. She was home. Her happiness was fading off and on so fast it was making her head spin.

  Kiethara stood there, torn between two options. She could throw herself down in her hammock and drift off into the most peaceful sleep she would have in a lifetime or she could fly to her lake, where she could get a much needed drink of water. She had never felt so tired or so thirsty.

  She remembered what happened to her when she had been dehydrated in Redawn, but she didn’t feel as dizzy now as she had then. It would be reasonable to go to her lake and then fall in her hammock, really—

  Wait! A new alternative came to mind, one that seemed much more inviting than the other two. Why didn’t she just go to the lake? There was nothing more relaxing than that; she could get a drink there and maybe even sleep there. Not to mention restore some of her magic. A perfect combination.

  Kiethara sped off towards the center of the forest. This time she stayed below the tops of the trees, for she knew the way well; her carved symbols from her childhood were still there to guide her. It was brilliant to zip through the trees, feeling the leaves brush past her cheeks. In no time at all, she was there.

  The center of the forest was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. The grass was such a livid green, rippling in a memorizing way. The lake stood off to the side, glistening in the sun. Kiethara ripped off her dirty robe and garments, threw them into the lake, and dived in after them.

  A soothing numbness took over her as she took a breath of water. Compared to the chilly air above, the water was rather warm. She closed her eyes, letting her naked body drift towards the bottom, her hair swirling around her sensitive skin. It didn’t take long until her back thudded against the bottom, sending up a swirling cloud of dust.

  She lay there for a minute, letting herself feel nothing but the calming pull of the powerful water around her. With a deep, underwater breath, she pulled herself up and opened her eyes. It was time to visit her mother’s grave.

  EARTHAPHORIA

  LIVED FOR 35 YEARS

  “OUR GREATEST GIFT IS LOVE.”

  The purple stone embedded atop the name sparkled eerily, as though there were some magic in it. It was a bright purple, though darker than lavender. Kiethara looked down at her own crystals and frowned. Sometimes her green crystals seemed rather dull in the green forest. They weren’t a deep, emerald green like the crystal she had seen in another tomb; no, her green was much lighter.

  Kiethara sighed, tiny bubbles escaping her mouth. She felt refreshed and rather atoned. By visiting her mother’s grave upon her arrival back, she felt like she was apologizing for losing her locket. Now it was time to get some sleep.

  It scared her how much effort it took her to climb onto dry land once she had pulled herself out of the water. She almost nodded off as she flew back, avoiding what might have been several painful collisions with a tree.

  She dropped right into her hammock, finally falling asleep, not in a strange land with fear of stranger people, but in the forest. Her home.

  Such relief.