Chapter 9 #2
“Hmmm. Not much here, but he might be telling the truth about the Ahknim wizard bit. There was a tree of life in the archaic texts, but that was supposed to be lost thousands of years ago. You’re going to have to convince me you’re that old. I can’t believe it.”
I shook my head. “Neither do I. Magic over time warps an artifact, and the magic seeps out. So super old artifacts are less potent than their modern counterparts.”
Ori’s eyes locked with mine. “And your understanding meets what’s online, which is why I don’t believe he’s been trapped in that bracelet for like a couple thousand years.” Her head tilted toward Ranth. He was rubbing his scar again, contemplating us like we were interesting ants hard at work.
“When were you born?” I asked Ranth, settling the extra herbs and kits in my messenger.
“In what you call January, I think,” he replied, walking around and looking over Ori’s shoulder.
“The year?” Ori asked, typing again.
“It was 332.”
Ori stopped typing. “Wait, that would make you over a thousand years old. Which calendar?”
He rubbed his jaw. “I’m not sure I understand the question. Calendars have months, no?”
“Come on, you speak almost perfect English,” I said.
“That’s because I’ve heard it for decades. You pick things up. But my time in the garden has enhanced my faculties.”
“And reading?” I asked.
“I read over the shoulder of a woman who read aloud. I figured it out.”
I breathed out my frustration. “So, you’ve been sentient and trapped in this bracelet since 332, or whatever?” I ran a finger over my eyebrow. He didn’t look much older than me. This was giving me a headache.
“I wasn’t born in the bracelet, and I wasn’t cursed until years after my entrance to the Garden. I was twenty-four on my last birth day, and when I return, it will be as if I’ve not left.”
“That would mean time is parallel, and that’s only a concept, not even a theory,” Ori replied, sitting back and crossing her arms.
Ranth walked to the back door, pressing on his bracelet.
Agitation rolled off him. “It’s how it works from the spell we wrought.
I am not supposed to speak of it, but very well—since our lives are connected now, I suppose performing my duty relies on you.
” He considered me as my brain swam with the potential disasters.
Ori straightened up, hovering her fingers over the keyboard. “What duty?” She loved the idea of an advisor to the crown as a trope—all Nostradamus and Rasputin.
“Much more important. Kelis, Rei, and I are Keepers of the Trees. It was our position to create a place to keep them safe. The Trees are moved every generation, but something went wrong. We were supposed to return to the temple after the ceremony and be the Keepers to the plane, but instead, the temple must have been lost. To return to the plane, I will need to remake the key.”
Ori stopped typing. “Hang on, what trees?”
“The Trees that grew in the beginning and unlocked all that we know.”
I looked at Ori.
“You mean the Tree of Knowledge or like Yggdrasil?” Ori asked.
Ranth stroked the patchy, coarse hair on his chin. “I don’t know these names. They are ancient trees which hold incomprehensible knowledge and power. It was the Ahknim’s sacred duty to protect them. We maintain the Garden, and only the best of a generation is chosen.”
“Meaning you were considered the best?” I pressed fingers to my forehead and rubbed circles. Fortunately, Ori was here to process all the details. I preferred the present to history. I was still wondering how much of all this we could believe—but I didn’t feel like he was lying.
“And two others as well. It takes three wizards to move the Trees.”
“So, the Trees are in an inter-dimensional plane? Is it in your time or ours?” I asked.
“Those questions are nonsensical. I have told you that planes and time don’t work like you expect them to.” He traced the scar on his neck and exhaled.
“And these two keys, or people, or whatever they are, are also trapped in bracelets?” Ori asked, typing some more.
“I believe the other Keepers are still in the Garden with the Trees. Only I was drawn out. Something must have happened to our temple.”
“Let’s back up to this Garden, or forest, or whatever. You’re guardian of it?” Ori asked.
“We are the Tutelars of it. But right now, none of us can take the position. It requires three.”
My brain was melting. “Tutors? You mean you teach someone? What happened to the Trees, then?”
“And can you spell that?” Ori asked.
Ranth tilted his head down as if he were explaining something to children.
“T-u-t-e-l-a-r-s,” he spelled out, “are protectors, not teachers. I assume the Trees are safe with Rei and Kellis. Unless something has happened to one of them as well, and the Garden is opened, but then we would know. No, they must still be there.”
“You mean if they were cursed like you? If you die, for real, then what?” A tingle crawled up the back of my neck.
“If the plane is accessible, then that which is locked in would be released unto the world.”
“And what else is locked in?” Ori asked, her hand trembling on the keyboard.
“A great Serpent,” Ranth replied.
“You mean the devil—or the Loch Ness monster—OR! Like the serpent from the Garden of Eden?” Ori and I exchanged glances of wtaf.
“I don’t know these things you are speaking of. The Serpent answers to no one. It is as old as the Trees.”
“But whatever this serpent is, it’s on some other plane or planet. I don’t see the big problem, then,” I said, watching Ori type in searches.
“The released serpent can travel. In this world, it would boil the seas and freeze the land. It is not supposed to world-walk, and it could destroy the connections between the planes.”
Ori replied, “But that only happens if you die for real, right? And you say that can’t happen?”
The information in my head didn’t give me a complete picture. “So let me get this straight. Serpent on plane, gets out, goes to Earth—equals bad. But since the Serpent is probably still trapped in the Garden, or that would have already happened, it’s no biggie?”
“I didn’t say that. While I’m bound to the gold, I do not believe I can be dissipated. But now that you’ve partially released me…”
“You don’t know for sure?” I finished for him.
He shook his head.
“That’s not very comforting,” I replied.
The cat door flapped open, and Antimony mewed her arrival.
My heart swelled. I picked her up, burying my face in her fur scented with grass and the sand she liked to roll in.
She squirmed, hating to be held, but I gave her a kiss and set her down.
This time, she walked toward Ranth, then puffed out, growling again.
She hissed showing her fangs. He took a step back.
I crouched beside her, speaking softly, “It’s okay, Ant, he’s not a threat.” Ant hunkered down under my hand and squirmed away. She hissed again, giving Ranth a wide berth as she slunk toward the living room.
“What is going on with her?” Ori asked, giving Ranth the side-eye.
I was concerned too. “I don’t know? Maybe she can sense he’s not really here? Like a spirit?”
“Cats generally like me. Perhaps she thinks I’m more spirit than human since I’m projecting my form,” Ranth replied, stroking his scar in thought.
Ori and I both turned to him. I crossed my arms. “Wait, so, you aren’t really here?”
“I am as here as I can be.” He locked eyes with me.
“So, that’s a no.” But the intensity of his presence was disturbing. I was dealing with something I had no experience with.
Ori closed her laptop. “I hate to say this, but I have an advisor meeting. Being late would be a disaster.” She turned to me. “You gonna be good if I go?”
I nodded, wondering if I was okay. But if we were going out, at least not having to protect Ori was one less risk.
Ori packed up her stuff. “I’ll swing by the library and see if I can dig up anything more.”
I glanced at Ranth, the unsettledness crawling over me like an earth shroud. When she left, we’d be alone.
“Give Rose a kiss from me,” Ori said, pecking my cheek.
“Will do. Stay safe.” I hugged her again and walked her to the door.
Lifting the salt ward, I waited until Ori left the line of the house before resetting it. Then I turned to Ranth.
“I need some stuff upstairs,” I said, texting Rose to avoid looking at him. But his presence was a nettle sting I couldn’t soothe.
Rose didn’t love strangers in her place, and I wanted to give her a heads-up.
Sorrel:
Coming to visit. Bringing a friend? And he’s a wizard. There’s a problem with that, and I’m hoping you might have an idea to fix?
Rose:
See you soon.
I walked past Ranth, clutching my bag as if it might add a layer of protection.
Rose was going to be madder than a wet wasp that I hadn’t already called her and explained about the bracelet and told her about Brenda.
Like any amazing creative, Rose had a deep emotional range, and her highs were only matched by her lows.
An angry Rose was never a good thing. Hopefully, Ranth would charm the crocus out of her.