The Last Druid (18 page)

“Where did I go wrong?” she asked the silence around her.

She knew they were growing more independent and didn’t need her to guide them anymore, but that new independence had gone straight to the heads of some.  Now the poor decisions of those in charge would lead them all to disaster.  She hated how the Malc leaders thought they alone could interpret what she wanted of them—how arrogant of them!  The thought of it made her want to hurl streams of molten rock upon them.

She slapped her own face to check herself, just for even considering that thought.  Taking matters into her own hands like that was against the laws she was supposed to obey: she was not allowed to meddle in the
affairs of mortals as herself.  It would count as trying to direct them towards a specific future—just as the demon Bralon was doing now.  She couldn’t help but pity those living in the realm he had claimed; they had known no other possible future after living so long in his shadow, unless she and her chosen champion could free them of it.

But if any of them—anyone in general—knew the truth about the Lord of Darkness…

“It would still accomplish nothing,” she said to herself aloud.  “Such knowledge would only fill them all with fear.  And it would have done little to change the course of their history.”

All she could hope for now was that the girl, Cal
la, would still come.  She remembered the fear that shot through her when she could no longer sense Mai, after keeping such careful track of the young Nymph for so long.  That she still could not sense her could only mean she was no longer among the living; the only way she would know for sure was if someone came forward with the Nymph’s Soulseed.  But where did that leave Calla?  She was surprised by how she couldn’t keep so good a watch on the girl.  She would have to keep looking for her, even send some of the other Nymphs out to patrol the borders of her ever-shrinking domain in hopes that the girl would appear.

Maybe she should have sent someone else in Mai’s place, or even sent two Nymphs instead of one; at least the girl would have had better protection from Bralon’s agents.  She sighed.  So many what-ifs…

Her thoughts stopped abruptly.  She blinked in confusion, then focused her mind a little harder—something had just distracted her, something new hovering on the edge of her awareness that she had never felt before.  She focused on it: it felt as familiar as it was strange.  It was almost like the energy of one of her Nymphs but stronger, closer to being like her own.  But that was impossible; no living creature that inhabited this world could possess that kind of power, not in this era anyway.  The only ones who had ever tried to come close were the Druids of old.

“The Druids of old…” she whispered.  She felt her heart pick up speed as
her own words sank in.

The energy came from somewhere below her, down at the feet of the mountain, so close she thought she could almost touch it if she just reached out a little
more.  She felt herself smile as hope filled her once more.

“Cal
la,” she said, “at last, you came.”  There was still a chance for them after all.

XXII

Ren

Why did he have to live to see such dark days?  Why couldn’t they have ended either before or after his time?  Living with the promise of an uncertain future was the worst feeling anyone could have.  Ren sighed and ran one hand through his graying hair; these concerns were constantly giving him headaches.  Somehow he doubted he would see an end to them.

He still wasn’t sure how the girl Calla played in to all of this.  Hiran had just turned up and said the girl was the source of their hope.  Of course Ren knew about the prophecy of the ancient days—the exact prophecy had been retold through the generations with the greatest care along with other ancient tales—but other than her being a Forest Child he still had serious doubts.  She just didn’t seem to show any kind of magical talent, even after two weeks in his house.  But her presence still gave him a tiny glimmer of hope.

A faint hope was better than having no hope at all.

He stared through the window and watched as Calla walked by through the garden, the Tri-tail wolf—Lina, he had been told—following closely behind her.  That creature was strange, from the way it looked to how it followed her everywhere.  Ren was still uneasy about having that thing around; he couldn’t help but remember the old tales, how the creatures could be downright vicious when they had a mind to be.  He feared for the girl’s safety, he feared for everyone’s safety whenever the enchanted wolf was around.

Then again if Cal
la was the chosen of the Lady, being around such creatures wouldn’t bring her any harm.

He turned his back to the window.  “How much longer do you think, Tal?” he asked his wife.

Tal looked up from her spinning, letting the drop spindle rest in her lap.  “Until what?” she asked.

“Anything: until we are found out by the Council, until the shadow sits outside our door, until the world crumbles out from under our feet—how much longer until the end?”

She twirled the spindle in one hand, winding the length of newly-spun yarn around the shaft while holding the main tuft of wool in the other.  “You have grown tired of all this, love—we all have.”

“Damn straight.”  He let himself fall into the large chair next to where she sat.

“You know you cannot rush time, although we all wish we could.  We can only sit and wait for whatever Fate has in store for us, and the Lady.”

“This cannot last forever.”  Ren reached down into the basket on the floor by Tal’s feet and picked up a ball of bright red yarn; he kept rolling it around in his hands as the bitter thoughts bounced
across his brain.

Tal clicked her tongue in disapproval.  “Ren, my love, if you do not stop that then the moisture from your hands will felt the wool fibers together.  How can I use
it for anything after that?”

“I am sorry, dearest.”  He let the ball drop from his hand back into the basket.  He sank further into his chair.  “Why has
Hiran not come back yet?”

“Did he say he would?”

“Yes, once he found a way up the mountain the Council is not already aware of.  But seriously, does it really take two weeks to find an unguarded path?”

“With how vigilant the Council is these days it
should not be that surprising—especially if he is around again; you and I both know they will find out about his return sooner or later.  With luck it will be later rather than sooner.  Be patient Ren—everything will work out, you will see.”

“I hope so my d—”

There was a loud crash from somewhere at the front of the house, cutting him off.  Both Ren and Tal jumped in their seats, startled by this sudden commotion.  Everything else forgotten, they froze as they listened to the continuing noise.  It was growing louder with each second, its maker coming closer to this room.  It left Ren with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Something bad was happening.

He got up from his chair.  “Stay here,” he commanded.  Without waiting to hear any of her objections he crossed the room in only a few strides and turned to enter the hall.

Three armed soldiers burst into the room, weapons and armor clanking together.  They deliberately walked into Ren, forcefully pushing him back into the room; he almost fell back on top of Tal.  Both of them glared at the soldiers as fiercely as they could.  Ren spotted the blue and green wolf insignia on the front of their uniforms: the emblem of the Council.

Ren scowled at them, struggling to keep control of his temper as he tried to stare them down.  “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.  “What right do you have to force your way into our house?  Explain yourselves!”

“We have our orders from the High Council,” said the tallest of the men.

“And just what is that supposed to mean?”

“A
monster was seen in the area prowling around your property.  The Council has ordered the search to make sure you are not harboring the beast.  It is also thought to have brought some woman with it.”

Ren fought to keep his face
straight. 
Gods,
he thought fearfully,
they saw Hiran and know Calla is here.
  He straightened up and looked the one guard in the eye.  “And just why would we be hiding such a creature?  It wandering around close to my home is nothing more than coincidence.”

“Perhaps, but the Council wants to make sure.  Do not try to
interfere in our search.”  With that the guard turned and walked back into the hall, motioning for his two companions to follow.  They all disappeared to another part of the house.

Unable to do anything else, Ren and Tal stayed in
that room.  From there they could hear the guardsmen turning over everything in their path as they searched on.  He hoped desperately they wouldn’t find Calla, or any sign of her; hoping was the only thing he could do.

Lady Elenia
, he prayed quietly,
do not let them find her.

Several hours later the guardsmen finally left, abruptly and without saying a single word to any in the house as they walked out.  As they headed down the long path to the front gate the inhabitants finally reemerged to survey the damage.  Ren looked on in shock when he saw the state of his house: furniture
overturned, a few rooms with lots of broken glass, papers and other small items thrown everywhere—his house was in shambles.  But from the way the guardsmen left, Ren could only assume they had found nothing.

So how had they not found Cal
la?  Where had she been while all of this was going on?  The soldiers clearly hadn’t found her during their search, but now that they were gone the servants couldn’t find her either; her room was empty, and there was no sign that she was elsewhere in the house.  Even the Tri-tail was missing.  Concerned, Ren sent many of his servants to search the grounds for them both.

If
the girl wandered off on her own now, there was an even higher risk of the Council getting their hands on her.

At sunset
he went out onto the porch at the back of the house, sitting down in one of the chairs next to the door.  He closed his eyes and let his head drop back. 
The world is about to end,
he thought,
strange creatures from other parts of the world are living in my house, and now the Council is officially knocking on my door.  Is there anything that has yet to come and try making my life any worse?

As if in answer to his fears there was a loud movement somewhere in the bushes, followed by some dog-like creature yipping happily.  Ren sat up straighter, feeling his heart
beat faster as he listened.  The creature continued its strange barking, nonstop, but its volume was rising all the time—it was coming closer to where he sat.  He could hear something bouncing along in the grass.  He grabbed the oil lamp sitting on the table next to him and held it up so its light was cast out across the darkened yard.

“
Ouch!
” cried a girl’s voice; he could barely make her out at the edge of the light.  “Ren that hurts my eyes!”  The bouncing shadow at her side gave a low growl as though to back up her statement.

He sighed with relief—it was Ca
lla and the Tri-tail; the Council guards hadn’t found her after all.  He set the lamp back on the table.  “I am sorry Calla,” he said.  “I was not sure what was coming.”

“Only
us.”  She walked up the two steps that led onto the porch.  She was covered in dirt and there were leaves and broken twigs caught in her hair.  She must have hid herself in the garden when the guardsmen came, probably in some of the larger bushes.

At least she was safe.

Ren stood up and put both hands on her shoulders, almost to reassure himself more than anything else.  “That was far too close,” he said.  “If the Council had gotten their hands on you, chances were that our doom would have been sealed right there.”

“Why?”  Ca
lla was confused; even the wolf-like creature at her side seemed to share that feeling.  “Why would they want to find me?  What about me would draw their attention?”

“That is what concerns me.  Come; let us talk for a while over tea.”

  He led her back inside, guiding her down the main hall towards the sitting room at the front of the house.  He stopped in the doorway, motioning for her to enter first which she did hesitantly.  He couldn’t blame her for feeling more than a little nervous: she had been uncomfortable coming here, and the arrival of the Council Guard didn’t do much to improve her feelings about the situation.  He entered the room right behind her.