work that week, and when Jonas came home at night, exhausted, Caleb was silent and brooding and didn’t ask him any questions about the water. When the villagers celebrated later that week with song and dance, he did not attend.
Shauna found her brother in the kitchen the night after the celebration. He sat alone at the table staring at his father’s crown.
“Everyone missed you at the gathering,” she told him softly. He didn’t answer and she sighed and came to sit at the table with him. “Our house is almost finished, Caleb. I don’t want to leave you alone like this.”
He lifted the heavy crown and placed it on his head. “How do I look?”
“You look terrible,” she told him, sorrow plaguing her brilliant green eyes.
He laughed and put the crown back on the table. He rose from his chair, kissed his sister’s forehead then left the kitchen.
The next morning, when he didn’t come to breakfast, Shauna went to his room to check on him. His bed was empty. He was gone.
Chapter 34
Caleb left Shondravar and rode north, toward Alare.
When he entered the city, the scents of yarrow and peppermint filled his lungs. Many of the younger healers lived in small cottages along the road and they beckoned to him, but Caleb passed them all and continued heading north to the caves of the elders.
The path was rocky and steep, and all around him were massive cliffs, stone walls that rose to the heavens. He lifted his eyes toward the great caves and saw a white robed figure step out from a black gaping hole in the wall.
It took Caleb almost another half-hour to reach the cave, maneuvering his horse around slippery rocks and boulders. When he finally reached his destination, he looked down at the lined face cloaked in serenity and tanned from the sun.
“I need a healer.”
The old man nodded his head and without a word, turned and entered the cave. His robes reached his ankles and he wore no sandals upon his feet to protect him from the hot ground. His hair was as white as the snowcaps in the mountains of Beldar and tied behind his head in a long ponytail.
Caleb dismounted and followed him inside.
“Bring the horse,” the elder said without turning. Caleb obeyed.
Inside the cave dozens of tallow candles burned, illuminating the dark, rough walls with a soft yellow glow. Caleb ran his fingers along the drawings that covered them.
The elder stopped but did not turn to Caleb. “Why have you come here?”
“I need to be healed,” Caleb told him.
The sorrow in his voice was clear to hear and the old man shook his head. “I cannot heal your heart, or your soul. That is between you and God.” He finally turned and studied Caleb with a thoughtful stare.
“Please,” Caleb begged him. “I can’t even pray.”
“Have you searched yourself?” the elder asked him.
“I’ve searched myself my whole life, and I thought I knew who I was and what meant the most to me. But all the things I cared about before don’t matter anymore. I’m filled with emptiness.”
The healer listened. He sat down, crossing his legs in front of him. He closed his eyes and waited until Caleb sat down across from him.
“Your blood carries the scent of the earth. I can smell it seeping from your body.”
Caleb said nothing and the elder continued, “You are a planter?”
“Yes,” Caleb answered. “I was,” he added a moment later.
“Wait here.” The healer rose up on his feet, surprising Caleb with his limberness of body. He disappeared into the shadows and returned a few minutes later with a small pot filled with soil. He crouched down before Caleb, tilting the pot in his direction. There was a seedling growing in the soil, tiny and weak.
“What do you see?” he asked Caleb quietly.
“Life,” Caleb answered with a smile hovering around his lips. He lifted his finger to touch the baby sprout, but before he could feel it, the healer turned the pot upside down, dumping its contents onto the floor.
“What are you doing?” Caleb looked at him, stunned. The old man ignored him and stomped his foot into the dirt, crushing the delicate seedling. Caleb jumped to his feet and pushed the man away. “Why did you do that? Do you know how hard it is to grow something in this country?” The elder nodded. “Then why did you do it?” Caleb demanded.
The old man lifted his eyes to Caleb’s, and with a smile that reflected wisdom beyond