The Shards (21 page)

“That would be the most dangerous thing that could happen. If control over the Forbidden Places were to be relinquished to the Evil One, it would provide him with a formidable web of tunnels and passages right here on earth from which he could wage his war against us all; places of refuge for him and all of the lost ones. As long as these forsaken creatures are suspended between the living and the dead, they cannot harm us. But if they were to infiltrate the hollows, then they would be both here and gone. They would gain the ability to once more interact and influence the living. The hollows could be a staging ground for their assaults against us,” Robyn explained.

“Are there many such places?” Filaree asked, her concern mounting steadily.

“With the departure of each tree, they grow more expansive. They extend as far as the roots of the Lalas did, throughout the network that once tied all the trees together,” Robyn said.

“Would Colton be able to touch the living trees from these dead places?” Cairn asked, as he began to realize the implications.

The Chosen hesitated before he answered his friend. He gazed at Cairn with a sad and knowing look in his eyes.

“He could possibly, though it would not be easy,” Robyn admitted.

“And ultimately then, the First and the Gem that it harbors?” Cairn inquired, though he already knew the answer.

Gretchen shuddered visibly at the scholar’s words, and the others remained silent for a while, understanding now why Robyn had been so hesitant to inform them of this. It was another threat, another cause for concern, for all of them.

“It is best that we know these things, Robyn,” Filaree said, breaking the silence. “If nothing else, it motivates me even more to fight on.”

“And me too!” Cairn agreed. “I prefer being more informed rather than less. At least I have an opportunity to do something.”

“What of the sisters, Chosen?” Gretchen asked, returning to the original subject. “How much do you know of their situation?”

“Little more than Dav and I have explained already, I am afraid,” he replied.

“I believe too that they are there by invitation,” the boy concurred. “The Drue surely have led them in.”

“Can they be trusted?” Filaree asked.

“There is no doubt about the Drue’s allegiance. They exist for only one reason,” Robyn replied.

“How is it that they have come to be?” Emmeline asked. “What type of people are they?”

“They have always been here, though there was little for them to do until the last few tiels. Whenever one of the great trees departed it was their job to secure the area and to protect it until the living trees restored the gaps that the loss of one of their own created,” Robyn explained. “The Drue were the only living things who could enter the spaces left behind and not be affected by them. When they were called upon to defend a hollow, there was never a question that it would be in jeopardy. They are quite formidable in their own way.”

“Have you encountered any of them yourself?” Filaree asked.

“It would be impossible not to for anyone who enters the Forbidden Places,” Robyn answered.

“What are they like?” Emmeline asked.

“Different than you or I, that is for certain,” Robyn said. “A bit unusual looking, but quite gentle. Their loyalty is uncompromising, and they have no fear whatsoever. In fact, they would not understand the meaning of the word.”

“Fascinating,” Cairn sighed. “We take so much for granted all the time. It never occurred to me that there would have ever been a reason to protect the Forbidden Places. But then again, I do not have the perspective of the trees. I could not have known the danger of negligence or complacency in this regard.”

“Dav?” Filaree questioned the boy. “Do you know for sure that the sisters we speak of are guests of the Drue? How much do these shards allow you to see?”

Davmiran looked at her as if this was a profoundly difficult question to answer. He pondered heavily before replying.

“Yes, I am sure now. Until a few moments ago, I merely carried the pouch at my side. I was unaware. They seem not to tolerate my prodding though, even at this very moment. The communication flows only one way. I must learn,” he replied dreamily.

“This is new even to me,” Robyn said. “When Premoran entrusted the pouch to the boy, he did so with little or no explanation other than that with time the importance of the shards would manifest itself, and now this has begun to happen. Whilst we are guests here, perhaps he will have an opportunity to learn more about what has been bequeathed to him.”

“We are all anxious to assist him in that regard,” Gretchen said. “The full resources of the tower and its libraries are at your disposal as well,” she offered, and Emmeline nodded ardently in agreement.

“Sister Bethany will be most happy to aid you in your studies,” Emmeline said. “She is most knowledgeable, though her eyesight has been failing her of late,” she explained.

“The prospect of freely perusing your library is an exciting one, sister,” Cairn said. “I will be grateful for whatever help she is willing to offer. I have studied in some of the greatest repositories of knowledge in the world, but the idea of actually turning the pages of the Tomes that you have here in the Tower is quite thrilling. They are renowned among scholars everywhere,” he acclaimed. “I am sure that as Davmiran and I settle into our studies, he too will benefit from his proximity to these great books.”

“And I am likewise anxious to begin the charge that was placed upon me by Baladar of Pardatha. We seem finally to have found the refuge that we needed,” Robyn concurred. “Perhaps you can supplement my instruction?” he asked Emmeline.

“I will certainly do whatever I can, though I am merely a novice, Chosen,” she said humbly.

“A novice perhaps, but definitely one with enormous potential,” he stressed. “The boy will benefit from whatever you can share with him.”

Emmeline tipped her regal head delicately to the side in acknowledgment of the compliment.

“I have seen no weaponry here. I have also seen neither hide nor hair of a training ground of any kind. Have the sisters never learned how to defend themselves?” Filaree asked.

“There has never been a need, Lady Filaree,” Emmeline replied. “But as with all else these days, that seems to have changed as well. Though most of us have never trained in the physical arts, I believe that you may find some who are eager to do so, and I suspect that they will be very fast learners.”

“My primary responsibility is to instruct Davmiran, but it will be my great pleasure to work with any of the others who wish to work with me,” Filaree said.

“May I ask you a question, young man?” Gretchen inquired.

“Of course, sister,” he replied. “I only hope that I can give you better answers than I have so far.”

“You have told us much already, my son. We had no knowledge before of the fate of the two who left here, and now we have hope,” Emmeline said. “Facts are not all that provide succor in a time of need, Davmiran dar Gwendolen.”

No one had ever called him that directly before and the boy grew visibly pale at the appellation. Though it was the name bequeathed to him by Baladar, since he had so little recollection of his past, he was unaccustomed to the usage.

“Please call me Dav,” he replied almost sheepishly. “The other name seems not yet to be mine.”

“Very well then, Dav. I will be less formal henceforth,” she replied, seeing how this affected him so. “Dav it shall be. One day perhaps your surname will make you joyful rather than sad. There is much greatness in the line of which you should be proud,” she said kindly. “Tell us then, if you can, what you know of the sisters.”

“As I said already, I know that Tamara and Angeline are alive, but I cannot tell whether they were drawn into or driven into the Drues’ realm, though they have been welcomed. I know also that what they carry is still with them,” Davmiran said.

“Thank the First!” Emmeline said under her breath. “You said before that what they carry none need save one. Can you explain that any further?” she asked.

“No, sister. I cannot,” he answered her. “I barely remember saying it.”

“So you do not know what it is that they travel with?” Gretchen asked.

“Yes, sister. I think I do,” he answered, surprising them all once again.

“If you know my child, is it likely that others know as well?” she prodded.

“Others?” he questioned her.

“Yes. Aside from those of us here in Parth, is it possible that their commission has been discovered by the enemy?” she asked frankly.

“That would explain their presence with the Drue,” Robyn replied for him. “I think it likely.”

“And you, Davmiran?” Emmeline asked him directly.

He closed his eyes once again and seemed to be concentrating deeply. A slight tremor coursed over his body and it was visible to them all. Filaree started at the sight of it and she put her arm around his shoulder.

“It is more than likely, Robyn,” he said, opening his navy blue eyes wide and gazing at the Chosen. They shone deeply in the bright sunlight that streamed over them all. “But they are safe for now,” he said in a tone that made them all instantly confident.

“That is good news indeed,” Gretchen said, sighing with relief.

“They will travel the paths that none dare tread, though I know not what their destination will be,” Dav explained.

“We do not know either,” Emmeline confessed. “Tamara though it best that we remained unaware.”

“She was wise to do so,” Robyn said. “Their quest is fraught with danger, and the fewer people who know of their destination, the easier it will be for them to continue on in secrecy.”

“Would someone please tell me what it is that they are doing? Every one here seems to know but me!” Filaree asked, frustrated by this point.

“You are not the only one in the dark, Filaree,” Cairn said. “I also do not know,” Cairn confessed.

Emmeline nodded. She required no assurances from either the Lady Filaree or Cairn of Thermaye that they would protect the information, for she knew in her heart that they would.

“For tiels untold, the sisters of Parth guarded an ancient scroll which we kept in a vault here in the tower,” she began. “The scroll is a map of sorts, though it certainly is not an ordinary one. We believe that it contains directions to the First, though we have never actually unfurled it and studied it ourselves,” she admitted. “It had been understood from the beginning of our commission that it was here for us to protect, not to analyze.”

“Tamara was instructed to remove it from the Tower by Oleander and Liam,”

Gretchen added. “Until that day, our guardianship of this parchment was what united us in purpose here,” Emmeline recalled. “It was not easy for us to relinquish it, though it was done so without question.”

“We have only recently focused our attention upon the development of our skills in other areas,” Gretchen explained. “We had been quite content with our previous responsibility,” she concluded somewhat sadly.

“Alas, those were simpler days it now seems,” Emmeline concurred with her sentiment. “But, now we realize that our skills are needed, and the sisters have adopted their new purpose with ardor.”

“Needed indeed,” Robyn said under his breath.

“I am confused,” Filaree said aloud. “Forgive me if I am not understanding this clearly, but are we not on a Quest for the very thing that you said you had a map to?” she asked.

“We are,” Cairn agreed. “Was it just a matter of timing that brought us here after it had already been spirited away?”

“Timing?” Robyn asked skeptically. “The fabric weaves of its own.…”

“Yes, we know that,” Filaree interrupted him, though not wishing to sound annoyed or to be rude. “But, maybe we should pursue those two women then, instead of spending time here preparing ourselves and Davmiran to search for something the location of which we have no idea whatsoever,” she said.

“Filaree makes a valid point. If you know where they are,” Cairn addressed both Robyn and Davmiran, “…why should we not go after them. Would not the possession of a map of this sort give us a substantial advantage?”

“I never said I knew where the sisters were. I merely said that they are in the hollows. The area is so vast, it would be virtually impossible to locate them,” Robyn explained.

Filaree and Cairn simultaneously looked at Davmiran, hoping that his response would be different than the Chosen’s was.

“Do you have a sense of where they are?” Filaree asked him.

“No more so than Robyn, I am afraid. But perhaps if I learn how to communicate better with the shards, if such a thing is possible, in time I might learn their whereabouts,” he replied.

“Then I suppose here is where we must remain for the time being, unless of course one of you can figure out where they went rather quickly,” Filaree responded, disappointed. “I just hope that what we need has not slipped through our fingers only to fall into the hands of another.”

They all knew her meaning, and it was not a thought that passed any of them by during this conversation.

“Are you the ‘one’ who needs this map?” she asked Davmiran directly.

“Again, Lady Filaree, I do not know,” Davmiran answered. “I am sorry that I cannot be of more help,” the boy said dejectedly.

“She did not mean to criticize,” Cairn reassured him. “But the opportunity of obtaining directions did seem so compelling.”

“It is not your fault that you know not where the women are. Forgive me if I spoke rashly and without consideration. But as Cairn so aptly said, it was compelling indeed,” Filaree replied. “I actually was looking forward to the beginning of our training sessions more than you might imagine before this thought arose,” she said to Davmiran, and she was smiling once again.

“As was I, my Lady,” Davmiran replied with a smile. “I hope that I will not disappoint you.”

“If your prowess with a sword and bow even approximates your other ‘talents’, I will not be disappointed,” she laughed.

“Well then!” Gretchen said with finality. “It seems we have covered much ground here this morning, and it is high time that you met the rest of the sisters,” she concluded as she rose from her chair. “I can think of no better place to do that than in the dining room over breakfast.”