Chapter 27 #2
Daya grinned as she saw Neka’s gleaming white and gold coat through the veil of rain. The owlcat soared over the new wall, wings beating steadily. Veda looked completely natural, sitting upright as though she and Neka flew every day.
Neka circled around her and touched down gracefully. Veda climbed down from her back and marveled at the changes to the fortress. Which was no longer really a fortress.
“This is amazing,” Veda said. “What do we do next?”
“Regrowth. Something new.”
Veda grinned. Growing things quickly was the skill she’d been working on the most. “Can I lead this part?”
“Yes, go for it.” The earth had settled, the quaking completely stopped. It was safe enough now for Veda to do her part.
A torrent of rain fell, thunder booming as the storm continued around them. It was still directly above them. Veda didn’t look like she even noticed the fact that she was drenched. Gold hair darkened to brown was plastered to her head.
Veda used her own magic, trailing her hand along the new wall as she slowly walked the new perimeter. Vines grew up quickly from the soil, to lace over the top of the wall to the other side.
Reaching out to feel the plants and trees that naturally grew in the area, Daya drew their essence to her. Reclaim. Grow anew. Spreading it along the edges, and to cover the new hillside, she grew the Zamyran and Eldrin plants to cover the land.
Though it was only early afternoon, the sky was beginning to darken quickly. At the former entrance, she grew two trees into saplings. The focused effort of creating the two new gatekeepers drained much of her remaining energy.
Even as exhaustion began to tug at her, peace and contentedness filled her. It had been a long time since she’d worked with the earth so much. The magic flowing through her was deep and old, filling her with a renewed sense of purpose.
Her eyes found Veda across the compound. Neka followed the girl protectively as she finished her work with the vines. Intent shone from her as she began to turn her attention to the center area.
Walking in weaving circles, hands out and face lifted to the storm. If not for the mud, she would have been dancing as she moved in a pattern of steps known only to her. Magnificent amethyst flowers blossomed beneath her feet. A garden growing to surround the seal they’d started the ritual with.
Magic hovered like mist above the surface of the earth. They’d touched everywhere, growing something new to replace what had been. What the earth had reclaimed.
New growth for the future, Daya murmured.
Hope, Veda agreed.
She continued her graceful walk, arms moving around her as her energy turned to joy. Neka stayed with her, weaving through the new flowers that covered the area as she danced around Veda.
Energy began to build again, surrounding Veda with magic not her own. The air thickened and churned, rain flying in all directions within the confines of their new garden.
Daya sucked in a breath as she watched the subtle changes build in the atmosphere. She reached out to Veda only to hit an impenetrable wall.
Veda’s voice strengthened the magic billowing around her as she chanted softly, her words vanishing into the storm before Daya could interpret them.
Energy wove around her like a vortex as the air spun around her body and channeled down into the earth.
The ground began to groan, dozens of small cracks opening at her feet.
Despite the wall, their connection remained, and Daya felt the intensity of channeling so much raw magic. Of being bound to the mountain. She watched the transformation in awe as Veda was consumed with light, her image blurring as sparks lit the air around her.
A haze of blue and green light swirled from the cracks in the ground, pushing to breach the surface. Veda’s heightened voice was swallowed by a boom of thunder. Light lit up the sky to reveal roots growing out of the ground, twisting and twining until a sapling rose that stood as tall as Veda.
The trunk of the tree glowed with light as it took its final shape, the two halves meeting before splitting into a dozen branches of blue and green leaves.
It was just like the trees in the sacred valley. Extending the mountain’s reach and magic to reclaim the area that had been stolen. Transforming Veda into what she was meant to be.
The young guardian wavered, the mass of energy taking everything she had as she channeled the power of the mountain entirely on her own for the first time. Feeling her rapidly weakening through their bond, Daya bolted toward her, catching her just as she started to fall.
The momentum tumbled them both to the ground. Breathing hard with fear for Veda, Daya held the girl close. You’re okay. I’ve got you.
A flutter of feeling along the bond was the only response as Veda lay unconscious in her arms. It was enough. Relief washed over Daya, adrenaline leaving her shaking.
Sitting in the mud with the rain pummeling them, Daya stared up at the newly born tree that still glowed softly with dwindling magic.
A new tree for a new guardian.
They’d both been so wrapped up in the magic of transforming the fortress into something new that she hadn’t realized the shift at first. It had been too late to stop when she’d realized what was happening.
Daya wondered at the timing. At the significance of it growing here, instead of in the grove with the others.
Of the entire ritual occurring here rather than in the mediation chamber at the heart of the mountain.
Worry prickled at her over the difference as she hugged Veda close, the need to protect her rising strongly.
All is well, the mountain reassured her. She is ours now.
Sealed to us? she asked.
Yes. Forever.
Daya stared at the young guardian in her arms. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen. Too young. In the middle of the wilderness, in a storm. A place of recent trauma.
Of rebirth, Hannelore corrected. Her choice.
It was sooner than expected, yet she couldn’t deny the rightness flowing through all of them. Veda was truly one of them now. She hoped the girl wouldn’t regret the choice when she woke up.