Shadows of the Redwood - By Gillian Summers Page 0,36
with it.”
A small breeze began to blow. The tree spirit flew out of the bush, carried by the wind, then dissolved. Knot walked out from underneath the bushes. The end of his tail was crooked.
Sean made a grim face. “There were always stories about the power of the redwoods, but this goes beyond what anyone imagined.”
“I think it’s just the tip of the branch,” Keelie said. Now that the cloud was no longer following them, she felt free to talk to Sean, although the tree spirits were probably all around, listening. “Tonight, Grandmother, Norzan, and I are going to hunt for the missing tree shepherd. Want to come?”
“Why not do it during the day? It seems dangerous to go out into the forest at night. You could twist your ankle.”
“You are so sweet to worry. But Grandmother has this Queen gig, so we have to work around that. You can come and protect me.”
“What time? I will defend you against any evil ferns and fog.” He smiled down at her.
“Don’t worry, you’re excused. I know that jousting is hard work, and I’ll have plenty of company in the woods. If too many of us go hiking at night, it’ll look weird.”
“Then it will just have to look weird. I’ll be there to protect you.”
Keelie smiled and squeezed his hand, but she had the disturbing feeling that the woods were more dangerous than either of them knew.
“Grandmother, don’t you think it’s weird that the smaller trees don’t talk to us at all?” Keelie sipped from her water bottle and looked down the path at her grandmother, dressed in twenty-first-century hiking togs. They’d been searching for Viran for an hour, senses open, looking for signs of the missing tree shepherd, but feeling none of his essence.
“I think they’re frightened.” Grandmother put her own bottle back into the special holster at her belt and glanced at Norzan, who was frowning up into the canopy far above them.
“There could be another reason, but we don’t know yet. It will take a while to understand,” he said. “The rules of this forest are different.”
“I’ll say.” Keelie replied. The strange quiet extended all the way to the forest floor. Except for the small animals, there was no motion in this forest. No fairies at all, no clicking of the sticklike bhata or humming wings of the feithid daoine. “What’s next, then? It’s pointless to just wander around looking for him, especially if the trees can’t find him either.” Keelie placed a hand against the young tree’s bark and didn’t feel its presence. Tree silence, just as it had been before her gift had grown.
Grandmother frowned. “I believe I may know where he might be,” she said slowly. “But we can’t move too fast, if he’s in danger.”
“So you don’t think he’s just lost or hurt—you think someone has him? If he’s in danger, shouldn’t we move faster?” Keelie looked from Grandmother to Norzan.
“We can’t rule anything out.” Norzan gestured toward the coast. “Don’t you feel it? Something is definitely wrong here.”
Keelie remembered the blinding headache that had hit her when she’d first entered the forest, and the black spots she’d noticed along the edge of the tree magic. Norzan was right. These woods were unlike any she’d ever seen.
“Trees, Keelie,” Grandmother intoned. “These aren’t teenage girls. They are ancient trees. And their ancient tree shepherd moves slowly as well.” The ancient sequoias were like great buildings that rose straight up, the open spaces around them filled with great ferns and smaller trees and bushes. Keelie couldn’t relate to a tree of this size and age.
A dark shape suddenly plummeted down toward them and Keelie ducked, arms over her head, until she realized that it was an owl. It soared through the dark forest, a blacker shadow against the darkness.
They marched on, heading deeper into the forest, with Norzan leading the way. Keelie walked behind Grandmother, listening for signs of tree speak or Viran’s presence. She heard nothing … except, once, the faint, far jangle of bells.
Laurie arrived on Monday as promised, black D&G wraparound sunglasses hugging her spray-tanned face, freshly highlighted blonde hair whipping around her head as she drove her BMW into the parking lot, honking the horn and leaning out the window yelling, “Woohoo, faire people!” She swung expertly into a parking space and hopped out of her car.
Keelie envied her friend, who looked fresh and just out of the salon. As opposed to Keelie, who’d spent the weekend manning the store and trudging