Shadows of the Redwood - By Gillian Summers Page 0,16

what is really happening in the forest. Tell me everything you know, and until you do, we don’t go.” Keelie dangled the key from her hand.

Anger flashed in Grandmother’s eyes. “You’re so human sometimes.”

“Thanks for not calling me a brat, but back to the subject at hand.”

Knot climbed into Grandmother’s lap and curled up in a ball.

Grandmother’s brow wrinkled in disgust and she pushed the cat away. Knot landed on the floor of the truck with a thump and returned to Keelie’s side, satisfied. Annoyed elf: mission accomplished.

“If you must hear it, I’ll tell you now, before we get to the village,” Grandmother said. “Viran, the Redwood Tree Shepherd, has been here for hundreds of years. When the logging began he tried to stop it, but he was too trusting. He thought that the loggers would hear his plea for the forest with compassion. Instead, he was arrested by the sheriff for disturbing the peace. A small charge, but they kept him locked away while the forest, unprotected, was logged.” Grandmother looked out of the window toward the untouched wilderness outside. “The redwood elves discovered that they could only release him by going through the human courts, and thus learned about the importance of integrating themselves into the human world. They helped establish the forest service, and were able to work undisturbed. John Muir stayed with them for a while.”

“John Muir? The man who’s responsible for the start of the first national parks?”

“Yes. Meanwhile, Viran returned to the Redwood Forest, where he performed a Tree Lorem for each and every tree that was felled. The redwood elves then used magic to sequester part of the forest, hiding it from humans, and that is where the village is located. Viran recovered eventually, but the damage to the forest injured him gravely. He is Lord of the Forest, and you know what that means.”

Keelie understood. Grandmother had once been Lady of the Dread Forest. When the Dread had failed last fall and humans had encroached on the forest, the trees were in danger and Grandmother had sickened. Keelie’s dad had stepped in, taking on the soul of the forest so that his mother could heal, and only when Keelie and Alora restored the Dread did Grandmother recover. Dad was still Lord of the Forest, and Keelie had assumed that Grandmother was enjoying her new freedom.

“Viran spent many a year up in the treetops,” Grandmother continued. “In all weather and even during fires, he stayed with the trees and became more and more like them. Even now he rarely touches the ground.”

“Why did he want to contact Zaros?”

“He said the trees were acting strangely.”

“It always starts with the trees acting differently.” Keelie resisted rolling her eyes.

“He didn’t tell me any more, other than he wanted to know how to expand and strengthen the Dread, and that he feared a dark presence. And now he’s gone and no one can find him, not even the trees.”

Keelie shuddered. She turned to her grandmother. Their eyes met. “I can’t save a forest again. It took too much out of me.”

“I don’t think you’re going to be the one to strengthen the Dread. Viran wants to know how to do it.”

The tightness that had squeezed Keelie’s ribs relaxed. She’d help Viran as much as she could. She wondered what he looked like, especially if he hadn’t left the treetops in hundreds of years.

Grandmother stretched a hand out for the key. “Well, we’re here. And we’re committed to the festival for the next three weeks.”

Keelie handed the truck keys over reluctantly.

Cranking the truck back up, Grandmother seemed almost jovial. She patted Keelie on the shoulder. “I don’t think helping the Redwood Tree Shepherd will take that much time or energy.”

Foreboding wrapped itself around Keelie like a shroud. This was not what she had planned.

Grandmother had told Dad that she would handle the forest and the missing tree shepherd, but it felt like she had dumped this magical chore on Keelie’s lap. Keelie had just wanted an opportunity to relax and run the shop, and to say goodbye to Mom’s house. How did one find a missing tree shepherd anyway, when even the trees couldn’t find him? She had a mental image of Viran hiding out on the beach. After four hundred years, a dude needed a vacation.

A few moments later, Grandmother drove up to a tiny, beat-up cabin of weathered logs. Keelie couldn’t believe that anyone lived here, and she hoped it wouldn’t be their home in the