The Beginning (11 page)

“Oh no, they are not yet old enough to understand. We want you to have it Jahrra,” Yaraa insisted.

Jahrra gulped. “Thank you,” she said again as she wrapped the bracelet several times around her wrist.

Yaraa bent to help her secure it, then stood with a happy sigh. “Yes, that is exactly where it belongs.”

Jahrra gazed at her rare gift. The wooden beads felt cool and almost alive against her skin. She looked closely at the runes, noticing that they resembled some of the Krueltish characters she had memorized, but there was something different, something severely ancient about them.

“What do the runes say?” she asked.

“They represent a symbol for each tree,” Viornen answered. Then he pointed to a few. “The Pine, the Alder, the Beech.”

Jahrra nodded with contentment. There were over thirty beads and the bracelet wrapped around her wrist three times. She wondered what the other runes said, but thought it best not to ask.

“Guard it well Jahrra, for it will aid you in the future,” Yaraa continued. “We have one other gift to offer, since you seem to be in the proper mood for receiving them. Both Viornen and I feel that you have earned some time off from your lessons.”

Jahrra’s eyes grew wide and she forgot about the bracelet for awhile.

“Time off?” It was almost a whisper.

Viornen grinned. “How does the last two weeks of summer sound?”

Jahrra’s jaw dropped. Two weeks! Completely to herself? She managed to replace her gape with a winning smile. “That would be wonderful!”

“Then two weeks it is. Perhaps you will have grown used to your bracelet by then.”

Jahrra glanced up quickly and found both elves beaming at her. She smiled bashfully, clutching her wrist where the bracelet’s scratchy fibers rubbed at her skin.

The elves finished the day off with some easy exercises and a list of stretches and maneuvers Jahrra should work on during her vacation.

“We’ll see you the first weekend after you begin school,” Yaraa told her before she trotted down the road on Phrym that afternoon.

Before going home that day, Jahrra bypassed the Castle Guard Ruin and went straight to Wood’s End Ranch. Gieaun and Scede were in the front pasture bringing a small herd of sheep in for the night. Jahrra breathlessly recounted her news and showed them her new bracelet as the three of them formed plans to visit Denaeh the first thing in the morning. Later that afternoon, Jahrra eagerly told Hroombra about her time off, almost forgetting about the armlet Viornen and Yaraa had given her.

“They say that the wood for the beads came from the trees of Ethoes,” she said nonchalantly as she held her wrist out for the dragon to see.

“This is a rare and treasured gift indeed,” Hroombra murmured. “Make sure the strings are securely fastened.”

Jahrra assured her guardian that the bracelet was well secured, then she head off to bed. That night, she slept easily, dreaming of what she might do for the next couple of weeks.

Denaeh was ecstatic to see her young visitors the next day and as soon as they were within arm’s reach, she pulled them over to see her new crop of herbs and mushrooms. She even invited them on a short hike into the forest to seek out more flowers and plants that were starting to bear fruit and seeds.

Gieaun had given Jahrra and Scede a frightened look, but Denaeh simply smiled and said, “Don’t fret girl! Although you cannot see him, Milihn is on a constant lookout in case anything strange or dangerous should come our way.”

Reluctantly, Gieaun followed her friend and brother into the unknown of the Wreing Florenn. As they traipsed through the forest, Denaeh pointed to this plant or that tree and the three children busily gathered whatever she requested. When their arms couldn’t possibly carry anything else, they headed back into the Belloughs. Once there, Gieaun and Scede bid the Mystic and their friend farewell.

“Father and mother want us back early today,” Scede claimed, “to help with the shearing.”

Jahrra wondered if this were the truth but shrugged it off and told them she would see them tomorrow. The day was still young, why should she have to leave as well? Grinning at the sheer existence of free time, she turned to Denaeh.

“Tea?” the Mystic asked lightly, gesturing towards the small pot and cups sitting atop an old log.

Jahrra nodded and soon they were building up a small fire to boil the water. When the tea was ready, the two of them took a seat on the fallen logs that acted as chairs and let the soft summer air settle upon them.

Denaeh took a casual sip of her tea and set it down delicately, leaning her head back and gazing off into the swamp.

“Jahrra, I need you to do me a favor,” she said without preamble.

Jahrra’s teacup was halfway to her mouth. She looked up with quizzical eyes, but instead of finding the usual laughter or cheer etched in Denaeh’s features, she found something odd, something different. There was no amusement there, but apprehension, determination and something else Jahrra couldn’t quite place.

Before Jahrra could say anything, Denaeh pressed on, stone-faced, her eyes not meeting Jahrra’s own, “I cannot travel out of the Belloughs as much as I would like to, being labeled as the Witch of the Wreing, so I was wondering if you could do an immense kindness for me.”

Jahrra set down her tea and stared at the Mystic’s face, trying to decipher the emotions that battled there. The woman sitting before her looked the tone of her voice: agitated and worried.

Jahrra took a steady breath, tried to forget about the troubled look in her friend’s eyes, and asked, “What is it that you need?”

Unbeknownst to Jahrra, the Mystic had been probing her mind since the day she set foot in the Belloughs, trying to figure her out, trying to find a way to get to her. After the successful scheme with the lake monster, Denaeh had only to wait until an opportunity presented itself for Jahrra to pay her back for her help. That opportunity was right now.

The only thing standing in her way was Jahrra’s two loyal friends. Denaeh didn’t dare say anything in front of Gieaun and Scede; they mistrusted her already and they would’ve resisted anything the Mystic asked.
Jahrra trusts her friends, but she desperately needs someone older, besides the dragon Hroombra, to guide her. This I can use to my advantage. The time has come for her to learn more, to know more. I can wait no longer; I’ve waited long enough as it is.

With a slight glint of guilt in her voice, Denaeh continued her request, “There is a certain tree that grows in a gully called Ehnnit Canyon a couple days’ travel south from here. It’s an apple tree and its fruit ripens early, right about this time of year, actually. The fruit is a key ingredient in a knowledge serum I use to stay sharp so I can detect negative energy flowing from those foolish enough to wander into this forest. Without it, anyone could ambush me and drag me away to be burned or tortured for being a witch.”

Jahrra gave a slight gasp, not realizing that Denaeh had truly ever feared any outsiders.

The Mystic cast the girl a morose glance and continued on after taking a quick breath, “I have been hoping you would visit for some time now, for you are the only one I can trust. I need you to travel to the canyon and collect some of the apples from that tree.” Denaeh reached out her free hand and placed it imploringly on top of Jahrra’s own.

Jahrra stared at her with a mixture of curiosity and doubt. Travel to Ehnnit Canyon? She had seen it on one of Hroombra’s maps once, fleetingly as she sketched it down on her own paper, but she couldn’t remember its exact location. Jahrra thought seriously about what Denaeh was asking, and then thought about all the help the woman had given her over the years.
I do have two weeks before the start of school, and a long camping trip would be a great way to spend it.

Jahrra thought about it for a little bit longer and then said slowly, “I’m not sure. Master Hroombra wouldn’t allow me to travel that far away.”

Denaeh stood up and strode over to the edge of her garden, turning her back to Jahrra like she often did, and pretended to gaze thoughtfully into the distance. As she walked, the edge of her worn skirts caught and peeled away the leaf litter pressed into the earth.

“Tell him you are going on a camping trip with Gieaun and Scede,” she said after awhile.

Jahrra allowed her brow to furrow. She had obviously thought of her friends going with her, but would they agree to such a venture knowing that Denaeh had put her up to it? And would Hroombra still let her go with just two of her friends to keep her company?

“And what should I tell Gieaun and Scede? They would surely ask questions as to where we are going and why. We’re friends Denaeh, we don’t keep secrets from one another,” Jahrra answered, trying to cloak the deceit in her own voice.

She had kept some secrets from Gieaun and Scede, but they were nothing compared to what the Mystic now asked her to do.

Denaeh, with her back still turned to Jahrra, closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh as she smiled. The girl may be young and unaware of some things in the world, but she knew her limits. “Well then, invite them on a camping excursion for a few days. I’m sure they would love an adventure.”

“You mean, don’t tell them what my real reason for the camping trip is?” Jahrra asked warily with a tinge of aggravation. Who was Denaeh to ask her to lie to her friends, and more importantly, why?

“If you must.” The Mystic, with her many years of experience, knew how to sweet talk anyone into getting what she wanted. She also knew that simply asking Jahrra to do this for her might not be enough, so she added, “One of my first tasks on the road to becoming a Mystic was gathering specimens for my mentor. Think of all the wonderful things you’ll see on your way. I don’t believe you’ve been that far south before, have you? And besides, you really will be on a camping trip. You’ll just be collecting something for me while you’re out.”

Denaeh turned to face Jahrra, arms crossed in front of her. She looked at the girl, the struggle between wanting to please her Mystic friend and not wanting to disappoint her guardian and Gieaun and Scede, playing out on her face. Denaeh watched the struggle continue, nearly spilling over like a swollen river biting away at its levees.

Before she could feel worse about what she was doing, she threw in the final stone that set the surging waters free.

“Just think about what Ellysian and Eydeth will say when you return with stories and objects from the southland. I think that that, on top of the success with your lake creature, will finally be enough to show them how wrong they are about you once and for all.”

And with that final bit of encouragement, Jahrra promised the Mystic she would go. Anything that might prove the twins to be nothing more than a pair of puffed up peacocks was worth the risk, in Jahrra’s mind. Who else could be brave enough to travel so far away and to such a strange and unknown place? Certainly not Eydeth and Ellysian.

Although Jahrra knew that lying so blatantly to Gieaun, Scede and Hroombra was a bad idea, she couldn’t help it. She really was going on a camping trip after all. So what if she happened to be collecting something for Denaeh along the way, what was the big deal? She convinced herself that she probably would have gone camping to Ehnnit Canyon even if the Mystic hadn’t suggested it in the first place. Jahrra also ached for the opportunity to spend some quality time with her two best friends. Even though they’d been passing their summer in the company of other classmates out of sheer necessity, Jahrra couldn’t help but feel a little jealous that they’d found other friends while she was stuck learning Draggish and sword play all summer long.
A camping trip is just what we need
, Jahrra thought as she left the Belloughs that afternoon.

Denaeh sighed and watched Jahrra disappear over the low hills and into the forest, her arms still crossed as they were before. A shiver ran down the woman’s spine and she pulled her shawl tightly about her shoulders as if it were a cool day. She knew she was sending Jahrra off to an unknown and potentially dangerous destination, but she felt it was her only choice. The Mystic realized that the girl’s guardian would be livid if he knew, but she had a feeling Jahrra would never tell him. Denaeh just couldn’t help feeling irked that Jahrra knew nothing about who she was or how the prophecy affected all of their lives.

“For later times, when she is older, but not now, it is too soon.”

Denaeh knew this is what the old dragon would say if she ever worked up the gumption to approach him. But she had to help Jahrra know, she had always meant to give Jahrra pieces to the puzzle, even if they were very small ones. Telling Jahrra and her friends about the prophecy during the week before Sobledthe had been the first step in doing so.
I must do what I can, and although this new venture might not be much, it is something I can give her.

The girl had plenty of questions, no doubt, but not about what she should be asking. The apples were not important to Denaeh; she could leave and collect them any time. It was something else in that canyon, something that Jahrra needed to see. Something she needed to encounter. Something she needed to
feel
.

Well
, Denaeh decided,
it is time she start learning. Learning about things she should have known about since she was born.
The girl would be fifteen in four month’s time, and she was no longer a naïve little child. She was getting older and needed to know the truth, and Denaeh feared that the old dragon had waited too long.