The Orchard of Hope (26 page)

Nicholas also tried to create
sunshine. This was much easier for him, and he warmed the room
nicely after only about 30 minutes of practice. In fact, he was so
adept at creating sunshine that Moss mentioned how he might finally
be able to dispose of his socks altogether – both the ones for his
feet, as well as other extremities.

“Some things will always come
easier for you than others,” Moss advised when they had finished
the lessons. “That’s normal. We all have talents, even within the
field of sorcery.”

“This was fun,” Nicholas replied.
“I like this so much better than scrying.”

“Scrying is still
important.”

“Do all spells work this way?”
Nicholas asked. “The intent part, I mean. Can the same spell
produce different results depending upon the reason for creating
it?”

“Certainly,” Moss replied. “It’s a
bit like listening to the same spoken phrase in different languages
or with different tone. That’s why it’s important to understand the
languages. Emotions and beliefs color much more of the perceived
world that any one of us can imagine.”

Nicholas thought about this and
then suddenly made a connection. He looked from Newton to Moss and
then back again.

“You made Newton real,” Nicholas
said.

“Yes, although sometimes I regret
it. He’s a bit more stubborn than I had anticipated, but I suppose
I should have expected it with him being made of stone and
all.”

“You made him real because it had
to do with your purpose. How did you do that?”

“Things spoken in love always
become reality.”

“Then … he became real because you
loved him?”

“It’s a little more complicated,
but yes.”

“That’s incredible,” Nicholas said
with wide eyes as he looked up at Newton perched on the cabinet.
Newton was still sitting perfectly still with his breast puffed
out.

“It is indeed incredible,” Moss
replied. “It is the greatest, the simplest, and yet sometimes the
most difficult magic. But it is also the strongest.”

“This is the magic I want to
learn,” Nicholas said with conviction.

Chapter

17

Debating the Merits of
Hope

The hope-filled dreams were a
success. Once the wolves crossed the line of memories that had been
poured over the soil around the trees, the pack became confused and
disorganized. Some of them shook their heads, as if trying to rouse
themselves from sleep. Others stopped walking and stared off into
space. After some in-fighting among the ranks, over half the wolves
had run off with one large dark grey wolf leading the pack. They
sprinted as they left, as if on the scent of some prey. Their
actions were deliberate and gave the impression they wouldn’t be
coming back. The remaining wolves had sniffed the fruit of hope
with uncertainty, but none of them stole or ate any of it. Hope was
still alive on the trees.

The brothers in the abbey were
pleased that Roland had bought them another day to plan a strategy
for defeating the wolves, but they also knew they would need to
consult with the other half of the abbey residents: the Sisters of
Mercy. The main problem with this group, the brothers had
explained, was that the sisters were always interested in giving
someone a second chance. They were pacifists. While the brothers
viewed the wolves as vermin in need of extermination, the sisters
had a very different view.

Kelsey, Maggie and Roland’s first
breakfast in the abbey was quite an extravagance. Kelsey loved the
fragrance of bacon, eggs, and pancakes cooking. These smells always
brought back memories of being at home with her parents before her
life had become complicated. The abbey cooks didn’t normally
prepare such lavish meals, but since there were distinguished
visitors from the king, the Brothers of Discipline and the Sisters
of Mercy had made an exception. In general, they usually ate a
breakfast of plain oatmeal that was typically cold by the time it
reached the table. This morning’s meal was extraordinary, and they
might not have another like it for another year or two.

There were four long but very
durable rustic-looking tables in the dining hall. Kelsey had the
urge to carve her initials into the surface, but she resisted.
Instead, she ran her fingers over the rough wood grain and
concentrated on eating. Maggie was still a bit rattled over the
initial impact of seeing the wolves the night before. The sound of
their teeth gnashing as they raced toward the trees was still
ringing in her ears. She was reminded of it every time silverware
clinked against the ceramic plates. Maggie pulled her shoulders up
close to her ears and slid down in her chair. She wasn’t eating
much.

Kelsey sensed what Maggie was
thinking about. “At least there aren’t as many of them,” Kelsey
said happily as she ate her food heartily.

“But they’re still there, and I do
think that we could talk to them if we tried.”

“Did you see them?” Kelsey asked.
“I know you did. You must have.” She shoved a forkful of pancakes
dripping with syrup into her mouth. The sweet spongy cakes were
heavenly after the coarse meals she’d been consuming on the
journey. The spicy sausage was so tender that it didn’t take much
effort to chew it.

“Yes,” Maggie said as she nodded
her head. “I saw them. I heard them. I think I even smelled
them.”

“And you think they can reason?
Wolves are all instinct. I don’t even know if they can talk.”
Kelsey turned to Roland. “Can they talk?” she asked him as she
stuffed another bite of pancakes into her mouth.

“Yes,” he replied. “But ability
and willingness are two different things.”

“What did he say?” Maggie eagerly
asked after waiting for a few moments.

“He said they can, but that they
might not want to talk.”

“I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t
want to talk,” Maggie replied. “It’s the best way to handle
anything.”

Kelsey wanted to argue, but she was
learning that sometimes the best answer is silence. Silence keeps
friends.

“Do you have a plan?” Maggie
asked.

“Go for the leader,” Kelsey said
as she held one piece of bacon in each hand, alternating bites
between each one.

“What happens when you find the
leader?”

“Kill him,” Kelsey replied with a
shrug. “Standard military practice. Once the leader is gone, the
others will scatter. Most soldiers abandon their mission when the
leader dies.”

“Wolves aren’t soldiers. I don’t
think they’re that organized.”

“You’d be surprised,” Kelsey
replied. “Just because they’re animals doesn’t mean that they don’t
have a social structure or hierarchy.” She continued to take bites
of bacon. “You don’t think they’re organized, but you believe they
can negotiate?”

“Well,” Maggie said as she picked
up her fork and used it to roll a sausage across her plate. “I’m
just saying that we don’t know what they’re capable of if we don’t
know them, and we can’t get to know them if we don’t talk with
them. These aren’t normal wolves, and we need to remember
that.”

Kelsey stopped chewing and stared
at Maggie. She wanted to argue but knew she couldn’t. She stared at
the whitewashed walls for a moment.

“You’re right,” Kelsey said. “We
don’t know them. We’re forming plans in the dark because we don’t
know what we’re up against.” That was as far as her pride would
allow her to go. She couldn’t agree to attempt discussions with the
wolves, but she now understood why the king had sent Maggie. She
did bring a different perspective. “They could have a very good
reason for what they’re doing, but we can’t risk negotiating. It
hasn’t worked in the past, and it’s too dangerous to attempt it
again. We could lose people as well as the hope we currently
have.”

“It just seems to me that hope is
something that everyone wants,” Maggie insisted. I understand why
the wolves or any creature would try to take it. It seems
natural.”

“Which is why we need to protect
it.”

“Why can’t we protect it without
bloodshed?” Maggie asked as she sat up straighter and spoke a
little louder.

Kelsey hesitated, opening up the
chance for another woman across the table to speak up in agreement
with Maggie.

“We all agree with you, dear,” the
elderly woman said. Kelsey quickly glanced over at Brother Michael
to see if he was listening. He was. He quickly stood up to address
the crowd.

“Good morning, everyone!” he
exclaimed cheerfully as he clasped his hands together. “We have a
lot to cover today, and I think we should get started, even though
we’re not all finished eating breakfast. We can begin general
discussions here in the dining room, where everyone has an
opportunity to speak an opinion. After an hour or two of open
discussion, the council will go to a private room to continue the
debate. Then the council will create a plan that we can put into
action before the wolves return at dusk.” He glanced around the
room with a smile on his face that was a little too cheerful in
appearance to be natural. “Who wants to begin discussion?” he
asked.

“I think we should all begin
discussion … with the wolves,” Maggie said loudly as she stood
up.

“It’s been tried,” Brother Michael
said as he waved the suggestion away with his hand.

“None of these people have tried
it,” the elderly woman said as she pointed to Kelsey, Maggie and
Roland. “We have representatives of the king. Maybe the wolves will
listen to them because they have more authority.”

“Thank you, Sister Clementine, but
the wolves don’t want to negotiate,” Brother Michael said. “They’re
wild. They don’t discuss, and they’ve done nothing but lie to us in
the past. They can’t be trusted.” Almost all of the brothers
indicated their agreement by nodding or speaking it
aloud.

“I know they’ve lied. I’m not
saying the wolves are blameless, but we don’t believe in killing,”
Sister Clementine replied. Several of the sisters shouted their
approval of her message. “Killing and then determining who’s right
by who’s left standing is barbaric. It’s no form of justice that
any of us should be a part of. There are better ways to resolve the
issue if we put our minds to it.”

The Sisters of Mercy clapped their
hands in applause. When the clapping died down, several other
members of the group voiced suggestions or spoke their agreement
with earlier statements. The discussion lasted for the full two
hours. Kelsey had become bored during the first 30 minutes and
pulled out her knife to examine the blade. It was still as sharp as
it had ever been. Kelsey admired the well-crafted edge as she
listened to each argument and point of view on the situation
concerning the orchard. There were a lot of opinions in the room,
and Kelsey wished she could cut through them all with her knife to
create a space where she could breathe freely again. Too many
opinions always seemed to make the air thick and more difficult to
breathe.