CHAPTER 3

Kairi hurried along the forest path anxiously; she knew Wybren had not followed her, but she could not shake the feeling of being watched. She looked over her shoulder, but still saw nothing out of the ordinary. After a moments indecision, she decided to take a short detour to visit her mother’s grave. She didn’t feel right leaving without saying goodbye.

As Kairi made her way through the woods, the evening sun created deep shadows in the trees around her. She stayed off the path, moving more slowly than she would have liked, but she knew these woods better than anyone. Occasionally she stopped to listen for sounds of anyone approaching, but always she was met with an eerie quiet. Even the sound of birdsong was absent.

After a short while she turned onto a small overgrown trail that led to her mother’s grave. She gingerly stepped over a tree root, parting the waist-high bushes, and entered a clearing that seemed of a different world. The fading sunlight filtered through the trees, casting an orange glow over the multitude of wildflowers that covered the forest floor. Kairi made her way to the centre of the clearing, careful not to step on any of the vibrant blooms, and knelt down in front of a large, unmarked stone that was bathed in warm sunlight. 

As Kairi reverently brushed the dust off the stone’s flattened top and cleared the weeds from around its base, she heard a twig snap behind her. She jumped to her feet and whirled around, her hand on the dagger at her side, eyes darting back and forth, until out of the corner of her eye she sensed movement. Kairi let out her breath slowly as a small, brown rabbit hopped away through the bushes. Cautiously, she turned back toward the gravestone and lay her hands on its warm surface. The moonstone grew hot on her chest, and Kairi’s throat constricted. Thank you, mother. Closing her eyes she stayed there for a moment in silence, drawing strength and comfort from her mother’s spirit.

***

Tevel watched Kairi from behind a tree at the edge of the forest clearing. As she placed her hands over the rock Tevel again sensed magic at work. Curiously he studied Kairi’s hands, and he could see Mage energy flowing into them where they contacted the surface of the rock. He glanced uneasily around him as the energy continued to build in Kairi, causing her to give off a subtle glow, and wondered if Kairi had any idea what she was doing.

Just as Tevel stepped out from behind the tree to disrupt Kairi’s meditation before the energy grew to a dangerous level, Kairi lifted her hands from the stone and rose to her feet. Turning around, she stopped short as her eyes met those of Tevel, who had remained in full view.

Neither Tevel nor Kairi spoke for a moment, until Kairi broke the silence with a tentative statement. “You know.”

Tevel nodded and frowned, “The guard are coming. Run.” 

The colour drained from Kairi’s face. Kairi turned and ran to the opposite edge of the clearing, Tevel following close behind. As soon as they could no longer see the clearing, Tevel reached out a hand to stop her. She eopened her mouth to speak but was cut off as Tevel abruptly spun around, and without looking back, he raised his hand to warn her to keep quiet. Gradually Kairi became aware of voices, two of which stuck out from the din of the rest, and Kairi strained her ears to discern the words.

“Look ‘ere Gavin. We’re goin’ in circles. I told ya this was a mistake. Wha’ a waste o’ time.”

“Shut yer mouth, Randal. Jus follow yer orders.”

“To chase after some ‘alf-drunken idiot’s fairytale of a girl wif explodin’ light?  More likely he ‘it ‘imself on the head wif ‘is own bottle of ale. That would better explain the explosion, I reck’n.” Randal continued grumbling unintelligibly under his breath, and Gavin silenced him with a contemptuous growl.

Kairi looked toward Tevel as the sounds of the two men crashing through the undergrowth grew closer. Tevel turned to Kairi and spoke softly, almost inaudibly, “Get down and don’t move.” Suddenly aware that they were in plain view should the men breach the thin foliage separating them from the clearing, Kairi eyes opened wide and she began to protest, but Tevel stopped her with a whisper, “Trust me.” Kairi hesitated, but then nodded and held her breath, her heart beating loudly in her chest.

The sounds of the soldiers came to a halt as they reached the clearing. Kairi and Tevel crouched down and watched the soldiers crushing the flowers beneath their hard boots as they made their way to the centre of the clearing. Kairi’s heart hammered as she realised that both were dressed in the heavy black uniforms of the Royal Guard, trimmed in a deep, crimson red. The shorter and stouter soldier scratched himself, leaving a smear of light dust on an already tattered and stained uniform. He looked around disinterestedly, picking at a piece of red cording that was dripping like blood in frayed threads from his sleeve. The taller of the two men fingered a rusty long sword that hung at his side, the cruel glint in his eyes indicating that he was all too eager to use it.

Kairi glanced at Tevel as he slowly raised his right hand, palm towards the soldiers, and muttered something, just as the taller soldier looked in their direction. He looked searchingly for a few more seconds before turning to his partner with a puzzled expression, hidden behind a countenance of ruthless authority, “She ain’t gone this way, Randal. We keep on.”

Kairi let her breath out slowly as she watched him turn back to the path leading away from the clearing, motioning for Randal to follow. “Gavin, somethin' ain't right here,” Randal hesitated slightly, but when Gavin continued ahead while barking orders to the others, he glanced back over his shoulder once, shrugged, and followed his partner back to the main path.

The sounds of the soldiers disappeared quickly, muffled by the thick forest. Tevel curled his fingers into a fist and let his breath out in a long sigh. Kairi looked at him quizzically, but Tevel did not seem to notice. He looked up and frowned at the twilight sky bordered by the dark circle of trees and turned back to Kairi, a concerned expression on his face. “We must hurry. Follow me.”

Tevel picked his way through the undergrowth at the opposite perimeter of the clearing from where the men had left, revealing a long unused and overgrown dirt path. Kairi had to strain her eyes in the swiftly oncoming darkness to avoid stumbling over the abundant tree roots that stuck out like large feet, intent on tripping any who dared pass underneath the towering giants.

Kairi was so lost in thought, her questions racing about through her head in the oppressive silence of the forest, that at first she didn’t notice the strange light flickering through the trees until she bumped into Tevel, who had stopped a few feet in front of her, an anxious expression on his face. “What is it?” Kairi asked him quietly.

Tevel did not answer, but rather looked further down the path, where the shadow of a rough wooden gate danced eerily across the path as it swung crookedly on broken hinges. The sound of shouting filtered through the foliage, drowned out by another, different sound, like that of a distant waterfall.

Kairi’s puzzled expression quickly turned to horror as she realised the path had led them around her home, to a gate concealed across the field in back. With a strangled cry she tried to run down the path, but Tevel quickly caught her arm with one hand and pulled her back.

“Let me go!” Her voice broke as she pulled against him.

Tevel said nothing, and after some time, the soldiers’ shouts lessened as they moved away in the other direction, finally fading into silence.

Kairi struggled frantically to free herself from Tevel’s grasp, her eyes wide and wild with anger and fear. Tevel, after a few moments, walked cautiously towards the flickering blaze, still gripping her arm as if she were a bird who might suddenly take flight. Time seemed to slow, and Kairi felt as if it took ages to reach the gate; for every step they took the path seemed to stretch on and on before her. Kairi reached forward to grip the wooden gate, and as she touched the rough surface a soft moan escaped her throat.

Tevel stood behind her, soberly watching the flames consume Kairi’s small house. A portion of the roof caved in with a great roar, sending glowing sparks flying in all directions, quickly disappearing in the dark smoke that hung over the house like a gathering storm cloud.

Kairi stood by the gate, so still she appeared catatonic. Her face was full of anguish, and her hands clenched into fists at her side, her shoulders tense and hunched, her breath coming in hard gasps.

A tear slowly rolled down Kairi’s cheek, and her body shook with the crashing thunder that suddenly drowned out even the roar of the flames. Tevel turned his eyes away from the burning structure as he heard the thunder, so out of place on the once clear night.

The sky seemed to open up above the farmhouse as Kairi began to cry, rain pouring down with such fury that everything beyond the gate was instantly drenched, and yet none of the rain fell onto their path, leaving Kairi and Tevel dry. Tevel looked at Kairi in amazement, for to manipulate the weather required an incredible amount of power, and he knew now that the rain had come from her; the lightning pulsed with her sobs, and the wind whipped the rain about in torrents in time to her erratic breaths, quickly quenching the flames with an oddly satisfying sizzle.

As the last flame died, Kairi crumpled into a heap, her legs giving out underneath her, quiet sobs wracking her slight frame. The rain slowed to a gloomy drizzle and then abated as Kairi’s tears dried, leaving her staring past the wreckage with unseeing eyes. Tevel sat beside her through the night, letting her grieve, knowing that this was only the first of many obstacles in her path.