The Drifting (43 page)

He gives me a silly grin. “Aw, look how far you’ve come
,
little cousin.  See how you know me so well?”

“Shut up and don’t call me
‘
little,
’
” I whisper back as I slowly open the door.  We’re in some kind of large back room or kitchen, but I don’t see a stove or fri
d
g
e
, only a large wooden table in the center that takes up the entire room. 

I lean closer to Julia who’s right next to me
and whisper
, “Where are we?”  She shrugs,
gives me a wide-
eye
d
look and
shakes
her head. 
I look at her in disbelief. 
“You led us here, how can you not know?”

“I only know about the stairs and the door leading outside.”  She leans over and points at a large dark door across from where we’re hiding.

“I know where we are
,” says Mellis from behind us.  We turn around smacking and shushing him.  “Hey,” he whispers back at us, protecting his chest with his arms against any more smacking.  “I live here, remem
ber?  I know where we are.  And
I know there’s no one around.”  He straightens up and pushes past us heading toward the large door.  We make to follow when somewhere near our place of hiding a voice calls out. 

“Mellis, where are you going?”  We quickly
and
silently close the door to a sliver of an opening.  Mellis turns around with his usual smile
,
not letting on that he’s with us.

“I’m going out for a nice walk, Alorn.”  He casually answers his cousin.  Although we recognize the warrior’s voice
,
we’re still unable to see him from where we are. 

“And you’re going alone?” 

Mellis gives a big grin before answering, “Would you like to join me, cousin?”

Alorn is quiet.  That is until the door we’re hiding behind flies open
,
knocking us back
as
we land on our butts.  With an arm stretched out holding the door open, Alorn looks down at us, shaking his head.  Keeping his eyes on us, he says to Mellis, “Yes, I think I will join you for your little walk, cousin.”

It’s another half hour before we walked out of the tower and into the streets.  In the late hour
,
the streets were empty, but Alorn and Mellis kept us in the shadows anyway.  Unlike Mellis who was willing to go without any questions, Alorn wouldn’t allow a foot out of the stairwell until we finally told him about the beautiful eerie voice waking us.  Julia also explained that the voice was calling for me
.  “I have a good mind to wake
Tharin,” he threatened. 

After much pleading from me and stubborn denial from Julia about answering to Tolan, he finally agreed to let us go.  It wasn’t until he followed behind us that we realized he was going with us. 

We walk pass the stables and make our way to the gates.  Standing there is Phoris, cloaked and hooded, but his size and the quiet way he stands makes him easily recognizable.  I run the rest of the way to him
,
hugging him in greeting.  I haven’t seen him since the first shelter at
Crowfoot
Mountain
. 
S
eeing him for the first time since, I realize how much I miss the gentle giant.  Julia walks up behind me and gives Phoris a smile in greeting. 

He’s surprised to see Mellis and Alorn with us, but
he
doesn’t say a word.  He glances down at me and I shrug at him, not really wanting to go through explaining.  Finally, he says quietly, “She’s waiting for you.”

Alorn steps before us, barring our way to the gate.  “Who’s waiting for her, Phoris?” he asks quietly.

“She called to me, Alorn,” answers Phoris patiently.

“Who?” ask Alorn unmoving.

“Jarhan.” 

Mellis gives a low whistle and Alorn says an angry oath under his breath. 

“You cannot deny the call of one of the First Children, cousin.  She came to me tonight asking me to lead Lily to Gastah Point so that she may speak with her.”

“Who’s Jarhan?  And she’s the First of what?” asks Julia.

Phoris turns to her, “She is one of the First Children of Mother Earth, the guardian of the
Gastah
Lake
and a protector of the Oak Clan.  She has called Lily because she has a message for her.”

“A message?” I ask puzzled.  “From who?”

“She didn’t say.  She only asked that I take you to her so she may
personally
tell you.”

I look at Alorn and after he gives the situation some thought, he pulls me aside and walks me a few feet from the others.  “It’s true you can’t deny the calling from a First, but keep in mind that just because she is a guardian and protector to the clan,
it
doesn’t mean she isn’t dangerous.  I’ve only
heard
one other who’s spoken with the leviathan
,
and that was your mother.
  But even that was only a rumor.
”

I look up at him stunned.  “So what are you saying, Alorn?  That a sea monster has a message from my mom?”  I said it half-jokingly, but since I’ve been here I wouldn’t doubt it if that was the case.

“You never know, Lily.  But I do know this
;
Tharin has to know.  If he finds out you were taken to Jarhan without his knowledge, he will kill all of us, you included.”

I shake my head at him desperately, “No, Alorn, please.  She wanted to speak to me alone, but I wouldn’t go without
Julia
; and then Mellis followed us and then you showed up.  This wasn’t meant to be a party.  I was supposed to see her with
only
Phoris.”

“Lily,” he says hesitantly.

“Please...” I beg, grabbing his arms and looking up at him in what I hope to be my most pathetic begging face.  “She may not talk to me if there are any more of us. 
Please
.”

He looks down at me and the usual serious face he wears softens.  He nods slowly, agreeing not to tell Tharin. 

“Great!  It’s settled,” says Mellis.  We turn to find the three standing right next to us, all eager to go.  Alorn sighs heavily and without another word
, he
grabs my hand and turns to lead us to the gate. 

At first, t
he trek to Gastah Point was pleasant.  We made our way through the myriad of oak trees that I saw from the bridge when I first arrived to the island.  It was when we moved out from the trees that the journey took a turn for the worse.  No longer under the protection of the
Oak
Tower
’s umbrella, we were pelted by the rain and wind
as we hike
to an open pathway leading up a steep and rocky climb.  A few times I missed a step, but Alorn was there to pull me up or catch me before I fell.  Even Julia needed assistance through most of the trek and she held on
to Phoris when she would lose her footing.  Mellis went ahead of us as a precaution, keeping in frequent contact with Alorn.

After what seems like hours of hiking, we
are
close to the top when I hear Julia scream
from
behind me. 
I watch as Phoris slip
and hit his
head,
taking
Julia
down with him. 
I
look on
in horror as she rolls to the edge of the cliff.  I remember
thinking I had to get to her and fast.  I focus only on her…reaching for her
.  The next second I’m catching her by the arm as she hangs over the cliff, grabbing on
to me for dear life.  Julia
is
taller
and
outweighs me by at least ten, fifteen pounds.  With the ledge wet and slipper
y
, I can feel myself
being pulled
forward as I continue to pull her up with both hands.  Seconds later
,
Alorn is at my side and pulls the both of us away from the edge
and
a few feet back onto the path. 

Alorn has us in each of his arms and we sit in the mud and rain
panting as we try
to catch our breath.  We
lean
against
the warrior
and Julia looks over at me saying, “I can’t believe you save my life.  You…you saved me?”

I shake my head
at
her also
in
disbelief, shocked at my heroic act, “Yeah…let’s not do that again.” 

She looks toward the cliff’s edge
,
shaking her head still stunned.  Alorn, not happy with the whole situation of being out in the rain, unceremoniously picks us up by the
cuff
of our cloaks and pushes us ahead.  Mellis is with Phoris who has a large lump on his forehead. 
I give him a look and he nods, letting me know he’s okay.  The mood Alorn is in, I stay quiet and close to him incase he changes his mind and hauls all of us back to the tower
.

We finall
y reach the top and Alorn turns
inland taking us through a grove of white oak.  The starkness of the tree trunks stands out like columns of light in the dark night.   The leaves of these wondrous oaks
are
also white, as if waiting for earth’s artists to come and paint them with unimaginable colors only found in this realm.  It was good to be out of the rain and wind, but
it’s
still cold
,
and I shiver as I walk beside the warrior elf. 

We
make
our way to the borderline of the grove and end up several yards from the edge of a cliff.  Alorn
holds
us back within the grove, keeping us out of the storm.  Mellis appears at Julia’s side
,
causing her to flinch.  He gives her a wide grin as she growls at him, shivering as she huddles against Phoris. 

We stare out toward the lake listening to the rain pound at the watery surface
as it forces
its way into the lake’s depth.  The wind howls, whipping the rain into a frenzy and I’m grateful for the oaks keeping most of the storm
outside of
its border. 

I glance up at Alorn and stare at his face as he watches the storm, waiting for the arrival of Jarhan.  I glance over at Julia to find her watching me closely.  I give her a small smile and I’m surprise
d when
she doesn’t react.  I give her a quizzical look along with a wave of my hand, but she continues to stare at me, not really seeing me.  I look at Phoris and Mellis
,
and they too have the same kind of
blank
stares on their faces, all of them unmoving.  I grab at Alorn’s sleeve and tug at it while keeping my eyes on the other. 
When he doesn’t respond, I look up at him and
move to stand before him and touch his cheek, tapping at it to get him to look at me.  But like the others
,
he continues to stare blankly ahead, unmoving.  Now I get it.  That’s why the woman in my head allowed Julia to come with me and didn’t protest when Mellis and Alorn joined us.  As for Phoris, he was allowed to come because
she
needed him to lead me here
safely
and once here
,
this is what they would have done to him anyway.