Shadows of the Redwood - By Gillian Summers Page 0,88
and the sodden red curls drooped on her shoulders. She sighed, then began to sing. Her voice rose, and Keelie felt power in it, a green, vibrant glow that seemed surprisingly familiar. It was a lot like her own magic.
She watched as one by one the treelings drew closer, relaxed and fascinated by Risa’s song.
Keelie wondered what she was going to do to the treelings once she had them. If they had dark magic flowing through their roots and rings, she didn’t know if there was a way to counteract it. And she didn’t want to hurt them. They were just babies.
It came to her. Fairy magic. She had been using it all along to balance the earth and tree magic, so she should be able to do it with the treelings. But she had no idea how she could do it without Bella or Bloodroot finding out.
Tavyn-Bloodroot strode over. “What are you doing? What magic is this?”
Bella Matera drifted after him. “Growing magic. More useful even than I’d thought.”
Risa glared at Keelie. “Thanks a lot. Now I’ll be nursemaid to the evil trees.”
“My children are not evil,” Bella snapped. She stared hard at Risa, and the girl’s eyes went blank.
Keelie felt deflated. This was a big step backward—and she may have gotten Risa killed. But they were probably all doomed. Tavyn would never allow Scott and Laurie to go free to tell anyone about what had happened here. Panic overwhelmed her. Bella and Bloodroot were too powerful.
She searched her mind frantically for any scrap of knowledge that would help, regretting not studying the Compendium more. The only spell she remembered, other than the calm charm, was a hay-fever charm. Not too useful here. At least, if she died, Elianard would never learn what a slacker she was.
Keelie eyed the little treelings. Maybe she could use the hay-fever charm after all. It was a desperate idea, but she was definitely desperate.
She reached down and yanked out a hunk of moss.
Tavyn-Bloodroot noticed her movement. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing. I’m adjusting the bandage on my ankle. It itches.” She tightened her fist.
“Don’t be clever, Keliel, or your friends will pay.”
Above them, the cages spun like tops, and Scott and Laurie yelled.
“Stop it. They’re not hurting anyone.” Keelie couldn’t bear to hear her friends’ terrified cries.
Bella Matera floated closer. “There is no such thing as a karma fairy. I’ve searched the root archives.” She glanced at Keelie. “Do not be so quick to trick.”
Tavyn-Bloodroot glared at Keelie. She gave him twinkle fingers and a little grin. Gotcha.
Meanwhile, the treeling spirits had drifted away from Risa and begun a dance, swirling in a mist-filled circle. They reminded Keelie of ghostly children playing “Ring Around the Rosie.” She squeezed the moss in her hand, hoping it would do as a substitute for meadow grass. She summoned the memory of Mr. Heidelman mowing his grass at midnight. Now she just had to keep that image close by as she worked the next bit. Instead of curing hay fever, she had to reverse the spell to inflict it. Talk about bad karma.
Keelie leaned close to Risa, who now had a thread of drool hanging from her lip. Too bad she couldn’t keep her like this. She shrugged and reached into the Earth, feeling for the Under-the-Hill that had to be here, as it did under every forest.
She prodded deep until she felt a stirring of the golden magic that signaled fae dwellings. It was frustrating, and it took too long, like using a metal detector on the beach. She kept an eye on Tavyn and Bella Matera as she searched, hoping they would not be able to feel the fae magic. At last, she sensed it—small, cold, dusty places, long-abandoned, but still sparking with fae energy. She pulled a strand of it, yanking hard until it came loose and she could wrap it around Risa.
The minute the strand touched Risa, it dissolved into golden sparkles that disappeared into her flesh. Risa blinked twice as her eyes refocused. She ran the back of her hand over her mouth. “Ugh. What happened?”
“You got whammied. Feeling okay?”
Risa nodded. “You brought me back?”
Keelie shrugged. “I have an idea that might get us out of here, but I need your help,” she whispered.
“What do you want me to do?”
“See if you can attract the treelings to you again.”
“You brought me back. You could have just left me like that forever.” Risa was smiling at her. “You know, if you hadn’t stolen Sean