Shadows of the Redwood - By Gillian Summers Page 0,76

locating him, but they were the strangest elves Keelie had ever met. Granted, she didn’t know too many of them. Then there were the Ancients—who were totally different from the old trees she knew in the Dread Forest. Keelie didn’t trust Bloodroot. He gave her the creeps, the way he took over Tavyn’s willing body. It seemed the two were up to something. And Bella Matera said she had come to save Grandmother when she was injured, but still, something was off about Bella Matera.

What she couldn’t forget was the voice warning her to beware. Beware of what? And where did Coyote fit into all of this?

There was only one course of action: she would have to go into the forest, to the hemlocks where Tavyn reported that the tree shepherd had been seen, and find Viran herself. It would be the only way to stop all this craziness. Keelie so desperately wanted it all to be over. She wanted to get to know Sean better, and to run the shop and make Dad proud of her. It would be wonderful to hang out with Laurie more.

Knot meowed, startling her.

“Yeah, I know it’s dark. I needed to think without distractions.”

Loud purrs filled the air.

There went the end of the quiet. Keelie walked into the kitchen and grabbed the tea kettle. The kitchen clock read 11:00—she had been sitting in the dark a long time. She was lighting one of the honeycomb candles when a figure entered the room.

“Is that you, Sean?” He had been planning to escort Risa and Laurie back to the tree house, and if Keelie could ditch the girls, then she would have the time she wanted with Sean. Maybe he could help her decide what to do.

“It is not Sean.” It was a woodsy voice, rough along the edges.

Keelie turned and stared into the bright green eyes of Tavyn, except this time she knew it wasn’t Tavyn she was talking to. It was Bloodroot.

“What do you want?” Too bad this was Tavyn’s own house. In old legends, fairies, vampires, and other magical creatures could not enter a house without being invited.

Tavyn-Bloodroot leaned against the doorjamb. “Why are you so negative about me, Keelie?”

Better to have it out in the open. “I don’t trust you.”

“Considering the company you keep, my feelings are hurt.”

“What company?” Keelie didn’t really want to argue with Tavyn-Bloodroot.

“A coyote. Garbage-eating fae.”

Knot came and sat down between Keelie’s legs. He turned his big kitty full moon gaze up at Tavyn-Bloodroot.

“And this one? Really, if the court were to send a guardian to protect their little prodigy, then they should’ve sent a knight.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I want to talk to you, Keliel. How does a half-human, half-elf girl with a minute drop of fairy blood wield so much power? How were you able to tap into that power plant and restore the Wildewood?”

Keelie hadn’t tapped into the power plant. She’d tapped into the wild Earth magic that flowed under the forest, magic that had surged through the nearby power plant and knocked it offline. But she wasn’t about to reveal that. He’d probably twist the knowledge for his own dark purpose.

Tavyn-Bloodroot’s eyes glowed. “I want to know.” He reached out and pulled Keelie to him. He pressed his lips against hers, and Keelie pulled back. She was ready to kick him in the privates when something yowled like a primordial feline, harkening back to the days of the saber-tooth tiger.

Knot had attached himself to Tavyn’s shin and was hanging on for dear life. The bright green light disappeared from Tavyn’s eyes and a cloud flowed out from him.

Bloodroot’s wraithlike shape floated out of the tree house and ascended into Wena’s canopy. “We’ll talk again tomorrow, Keliel.”

Trying not to act afraid, but on the inside quivering with fear, Keelie raised a fist in the air. “You bet we will, Bloodroot.”

Tavyn stared into Keelie’s eyes. A smile formed on his face. It wasn’t a friendly smile, either.

“So, it seems the chameleon shows his true colors,” said a familiar voice on the edge of the platform. It was Coyote. How had he gotten up in the tree? “I’ve been tracking you.”

The sound of voices echoed through the forest. Tavyn turned to face Coyote. “You’ll have to catch me first.” He disappeared, traveling the sap to the base of the tree.

Coyote leaped off the platform, plunging for several feet before reappearing in the shape of a crow. He swooped out of