Shadows of the Redwood - By Gillian Summers Page 0,87

their comfort?”

Keelie stared at him. “Don’t you know the karma fairy always finds you?”

He looked alarmed. “What karma fairy?”

Keelie shifted her gaze to Risa, who looked puzzled for a second, then nodded.

“I should know,” Risa said. “The karma fairy paid me a visit. Why do you think I’m in love with a cat?”

“See?” Keelie shrugged innocently. “She tried to give my boyfriend Sean a love potion.”

“Then I drank it instead because of a mix-up,” Risa added.

Tavyn-Bloodroot narrowed his eyes. “You’re in love with a cat because you made a stupid mistake.”

“Why do you think there was such a mistake? It was because of the karma fairy. She’s really good friends with Keelie.” Risa nodded toward Keelie.

“There is nothing in the lore about a karma fairy. Why haven’t we heard about it?” Tavyn-Bloodroot looked at Keelie for the answer.

“I don’t know. I didn’t know I was part of a goblin prophecy, either.” That was certainly true.

A sharp pain erupted in Keelie’s head. She winced.

You’re here, Tree Shepherdess. I tried to warn you away. The voice seemed sad. Keelie kept her eye on Tavyn-Bloodroot to make sure he couldn’t pick up on her telepathic communication.

“Why does Bella not know about this karma fairy? I must ask her.” Tavyn-Bloodroot walked toward Bella, who was back in her dark nursery.

If all the bad guys were present, then there was only one person her painful caller could be. Keelie sent a thought out. You must be Viran, the Redwood Tree Shepherd.

I am he.

Bella and Bloodroot have taken my friends and me prisoner. They have my grandmother, too. How do I stop them?

I have no answer for you, Keliel of the Dread Forest. I am fading and cannot help you. I sought only to warn you. Too late, too late. His voice seemed weaker, then vanished.

She looked at Risa, who was staring, frightened, at the treelings and their spectral mother. Somewhere above them, Grandmother floated, stuck in a tea party that would end when the trees were ready to drain her, and Keelie would be next. No help was coming.

She’d have to rescue everyone herself.

Assess the situation. That was what her phys ed teacher had taught them when they did “summer survival” at Baywood Academy. Then, it had been about what to do if your surf board got pulled out too far or if someone tried to mug you. Now, Keelie considered this to be “summer survival” gone way bad.

She didn’t know how to stop a redwood forest gone amuck. In the Wildewood, the trees had been angry and looking for vengeance, but these trees were polluted with dark magic, infested with the taint of a goblin’s blood. They would kill.

Keelie felt alone and powerless. Her dark power was dancing on the edge of her control, ready to erupt again. Control. Balance. Focus. That must be her mantra.

She remembered the calm charm that she’d used on Knot and Laurie. It had worked on them, but would it work on herself? She envisioned bright sunlight, to counteract the darkness of the forest, and felt the magic slowly grow within her. She said the words of the charm silently to herself. For a moment nothing changed … she could hear Bella Matera laughing at Tavyn-Bloodroot, and felt his anger lash out like a knife.

Then the magic bubbled up, filling her, settling into every corner of her being.

Keelie saw that with Bella distracted, the treeling spirits were scooting over to Risa, drawn to her energy. She leaned close to the elf girl. “You’ve got that Mother Goddess thing going on. See if you can use your charm to bring the treelings under your spell.”

Risa looked at the silvery, mistlike tree children. “They frighten me. My vegetables do not have spirits that dance around. I have no wish to befriend them.”

“Try anyway.” Keelie wondered if booting Risa’s curvy backside would help. It would certainly make Keelie feel better.

“You are very harsh.” Tears slid down Risa’s face. “And to think that once I thought you and I could be friends.”

“Yeah? When was that?” Keelie pressed her lips together. Great. “Antagonize your fellow hostages” was probably not in any rescue guide.

The tree-spirit children were watching them as if they were interesting creatures. They’d probably never even seen elves, except for Tavyn.

“Risa, sing them a song or something. Do you sing to your radishes and pumpkins? Whatever you do to them, do it now for these tree spirits.”

The elf girl tossed her head, but the mist had done a number on her hair