Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Captured
Vines That Bind
Bria woke slowly, warmth lingering around her from where Kaelan had held her through the night, though it was soon replaced by that empty feeling she was growing more familiar with when she and Kaelan were apart.
She turned, though knew what she would find.
She was alone in bed and casting a quick glance around, she was also alone in the cottage.
But she had known that as soon as the ache settled in her chest.
She saw that the fire in the hearth had burned low during the night, leaving only faint warmth drifting through the cottage. Pale gray light slipped through the small window, but no rain tapped at it.
Bria rose quickly, anxious to find Kaelan. She splashed cool water upon her face from the basin near the hearth, then hurriedly braided her hair over one shoulder, grabbed her cloak, and stepped outside.
Damp morning air greeted her instantly and as she walked, she cast a quick glance around for Kaelan.
She recalled how yesterday the village appeared ordinary enough, reminding her so much of Willowmere. Cottages, smoke curling from chimneys, herbs hanging to dry, villagers tending daily chores, much like any village throughout Leighfeld or Scotara.
But now she felt as though some unseen veil had shifted during the night.
The difference revealed itself slowly as she walked farther from the cottage. She saw a tiny silver-winged creature perched comfortably upon a young lass’s shoulder, a wreath of autumn leaves resting upon her tiny head.
She had heard talk of the fairies being banished from the forests, but some believed they did not exist at all. Obviously, they did and Bria watched as the lass laughed, chasing after the fairy as she flew off.
Bria shook her head. Was she seeing things or had she failed to see things yesterday?
She took no more than a few steps when she spotted an older woman stirring a black iron cauldron hanging above a fire pit while softly chanting beneath her breath.
Steam rose thickly from the pot, twisting unnaturally through the air before briefly taking the shape of glowing vines that curled upward and vanished.
Bria slowed her steps as nearby she watched smooth stones hover above the open palm of a young lad concentrating fiercely while an older man corrected him patiently.
One stone suddenly shot sideways, striking the man sharply upon the forehead before dropping harmlessly to the ground.
The lad burst into laughter only to receive a quick whack in the back of his head.
Why hadn’t she seen this yesterday? Or had her eyes only just now opened to it.
The realization unsettled her. Had Driochmor awakened something in her as Kaelan suggested?
Bria anxiously searched for Kaelan, spotting him in the distance speaking with Elder Kilham beside the large fire pit.
Relief warmed her instantly and she started toward him.
“Bria!”
Winnie’s voice called out sharply behind her, bringing her to a halt. She turned to find the older woman hurrying toward her with Tibby bouncing excitedly at her feet.
“Take this small pouch and keep it on you always,” Winnie said, then pulled the strings to take out two stones. “The black one is obsidian. It offers protection in a way no weapon can—”
“And makes the sharpest of blades where I come from,” Bria said. “I am also familiar with the purple one. It is an amethyst.”
“It holds a different meaning here in Driochmor. It protects a special part of you that you will come to understand.” Winnie said and returned the stones to the pouch and pulled the strings tight before closing Bria’s hand around it. “Promise me that you will keep the stones close always.”
Bria saw no harm in it. “I promise and I thank you for them.”
Tibby whined, rubbing himself against her legs.
“He wants to say goodbye, and how grateful he is to you for returning him home,” Winnie said with a soft smile.
Bria scooped him up in her arms, hugging him and the vision hit her hard. The man who had taken Tibby argued bitterly with another man.
“Find her or suffer the consequences,” the man who took Tibby said.
“It is said she is a myth,” the other man said. Nervously.
“She is not and he knows it. He grows anxious, ready to strike. Have word next time we meet or else?” the man warned and the vision faded.
“You saw something,” Winnie whispered.
Bria did not deny it. “I did. Two men who don’t belong to Driochmor and have no fear of it.”
“They search for her… the one who can snatch the dying away from death.” Winnie shook her head.
“They are fools and fools can be dangerous. You must be careful. I would weave a protection spell around you, but those stones will protect you more than I can. And Kaelan can protect you even more. Now go, your future awaits.”
Bria placed Tibby on the ground and was surprised when Winnie gave her a quick hug and hurried off, Tibby yapping at her heels. A surprising thought had her smiling. She would miss them both.
She turned to hurry to Kaelan, her eyes widening seeing him approach.
“I got what we need,” he said and held up a sack.
He couldn’t help but notice her freshly braided hair or the soft color in her cheeks or how her lips seemed to shine like the morning dew on the foliage and it made him want to kiss her so badly that he almost did. But not now. They had to be on their way.
“I got food as well. We have a journey ahead of us so we cannot waste time.” He stretched his hand out to her.
She took it, relieved to feel his warm, strong hand closing around hers, feel him beside her, feel whole again. She fell into step beside Kaelan as he tucked the edge of the sack under his belt and started down the narrow path leading away from the village.
“Where are we going?” she asked, glancing back briefly at the cottages disappearing behind them. Strange as the village had proven to be, leaving it unsettled her more than expected.
“To a council member,” Kaelan answered without slowing his pace. “Kilham believes one will receive us.”
Bria frowned. “You speak as though the council does not remain together.”
“They do not.” Kaelan stepped over thick roots crossing the path and made sure she did the same. “According to Kilham, each keeps their own dwelling hidden throughout Driochmor. The council only gathers at a central place when necessary.”
That somehow made them sound even more mysterious.
Bria felt the small pouch Winnie had given her brush against her side from where she had tucked it in her cloak pocket, reminding her, “There is something I need to tell you.”
Kaelan glanced at her briefly, immediately catching the strain lingering beneath her words.
“Tell me,” he encouraged.
Bria hesitated, not comfortable with the village lingering close behind and thick forest hiding who knew what.
Kaelan seemed to sense her uncertainty.
“There is a stream some distance ahead where we can stop and eat,” he said. “You can tell me then. Until then, we keep moving.”
Bria nodded though asked, “Is there a reason for this sudden urgency?”
“Kilham warned me it could take several days to reach the council member. Driochmor rarely offers direct paths to anything.”
“That sounds more like a riddle than direction.”
“It likely is. Kilham warned that there are those in Driochmor who oppose the king sending emissaries to open talks between Scotara and Driochmor. They do not trust him and fear that it is a ploy to infiltrate the forbidden land and bring a final end to it.”
“I don’t think that’s what the king wants,” Bria said, surprising herself and Kaelan.
“Why do you suspect that?” he asked, sending her a curious look before returning his attention to the forest that thickened steadily around them as they walked farther from the village.
The towering trees allowed only pale streaks of morning light to reach the ground. Strange sounds echoed now and again through the woods, distant enough that Bria could not tell if they came from beast, bird, or something else entirely.
Bria stepped closer to him, keeping her voice a bit lower than usual. “The king’s main interest in Driochmor is to find the healer that can battle death and win.”
“Is there a reason you believe this?”
Her voice lowered more. “There are men here searching for her as well. I believe they come from Drogath.”
That brought Kaelan to an abrupt stop. He looked ready to question her, then his glance turned to the forest around them before returning to her. “We will speak of this when we stop.”
Silence remained their companion as they continued and it was hours later before they stopped by the stream.
Bria went straight to the stream when they reached it, thirsty, and hurried to scoop up several handfuls of water. It was only afterward that she glanced around.
The stream was wider than she expected, clear water rushing swiftly over smooth stones while tall moss-covered trees arched overhead, their branches weaving together thick enough to cast much of the forest beneath them in cool shadow.
Morning clouds had given way to partial sunlight that slipped through in scattered beams that danced across the water whenever the breeze stirred the leaves.
Kaelan crouched close by doing the same, quenching his thirst.
Bria settled by the stream ready to eat since neither of them had spared the time to do so before they left the village hours ago.
Kaelan dropped down beside her and rummaged through the sack of food, pulling out a chunk of bread and some smoked meat, which he divided between them.
She chuckled. “I will never eat that much.”
“We have a journey ahead of us. Eat to stay strong.”
It would take a journey there and back to eat so much. Would she ever get home to Willowmere? Or would she find her journey ending elsewhere?
“You wanted to tell me something,” Kaelan reminded her.
Bria nodded slowly, though unease stirred again at the memory. “I had another vision.”
Kaelan’s expression hardened instantly with concern. “When?”