The Orchard of Hope (7 page)

“It
is?
”
Nicholas
furrowed his brow as he stared back at Megan.
“Extraordinary?”

“Really.
”
She nodded and then paused to gently sniff his leg where
the wound had been.
“
This is solid work, Nicholas. You should be
proud.
”

“I
should?
”
Nicholas turned his head to one side.
“
How did you
—”
He looked from the leopard to
his leg and then back at Megan again.
“
You really
didn
’
t do
anything to heal me? I did it myself?
”

“Yes.
”

“But how could
you know that I would be able to do this? I didn
’
t even know that I
could.
”

“I can smell
it, just like I can smell how well you healed this wound.
There
’
s not
even a hint of a scorching.
”

“The burn
wasn
’
t that
big,
”
Nicholas
insisted, although a few minutes before it had seemed too big and
much more painful than necessary for a simple lesson
.
However, now that he was thinking about his part
in removing it, he remembered it as being much
smaller.

“I know. But
it
’
s not the
size of the wound. It
’
s the fact that you did it on your own without any
coaching, and you did it on the first try.
”
Megan sat back and stretched
out one of her legs as she smiled with contentment. “This is
excellent news.”

“Does this make
me a healer?
”
Nicholas asked.
“
Like you?
”

“No,
”
she replied as she shook her massive
head
.
“
You
’
re a healer, but not like
me.
”

“How am I
different? And why?
”

“We
’
ll figure that out
together,
”
Megan said with assurance.
“
I think you have a gift that
includes healing, but healing isn
’
t the main focus.
It
’
s more or
less a by-product.
”

“You can tell
this about me just by how I smell?
”
Nicholas understood that
chemistry was powerful, but he had a difficult time believing there
was so much information in fragrance.

“Never
underestimate the power of body odor,
”
Megan replied solemnly, as if
she knew his thoughts
.
“
Especially around someone with a
sensitive nose.
”
She stood up again and stepped away from him as she studied
his confused expression.
“
I think you
’
re ready.
”

“For another
lesson?
”
Nicholas wasn
’
t sure he wanted another lesson like the last one,
especially if he had done so well with this one. He was afraid that
Megan would increase the difficulty level as well as the pain. She
might break something on him to see if he could fuse the bones back
together without help.

“Not with me.
You should be training with Moss.
”

“Who
’
s
this Moss you keep mentioning?
”

“Someone who
uses real dragons instead of trained fire
lizards,
”
Megan
replied. She turned to walk away but then paused to respond without
looking back,
“
Y
ou
’
ll
love him.”

Chapter

Five

First Lessons

Kelsey, Roland and Maggie made
their way down the mountain and out into an expanse of prairie.
They were surrounded by tall grass everywhere except on the narrow
dirt path they were following. The grass tickled as it brushed
their arms, shoulders and cheeks.

The hooded figures they had spotted
in the forest were still following them at a distance. Kelsey kept
watch on them and saw that they had grown in number. What started
as a pair of reapers had quickly blossomed into a group of five,
and then a few hours later, three more individuals had joined the
black-hooded figures. All of them were dressed alike. Now the sun
glinted off the row of scythes poking up above the thick grass and
shrubs. The tips of the scythes were all that could be seen above
the tall grass, and there were too many to count.

“Should we
worry about them?
”
Kelsey asked.

“Yes,
”
Maggie replied with
conviction.

“Not yet,
”
Roland answered at almost the
same time.

“Not yet?
”
Kelsey asked.

“I said
‘
yes,
’”
Maggie
said with
urgency
.

“Roland
said
‘
not yet,
’”
Kelsey explained.
“
Maggie, please let me
talk with Roland and don
’
t interrupt us.
I
’
ll need you
to be quiet for a few minutes.
”

“OK. I suppose
even conversations in your head take time,
”
Maggie answered.
“
Let me know when
you
’
re done
talking to yourself.
”
She shrugged and turned away to look at the scenery, but
the glint of sunlight on the rows of scythes distracted her, and
she couldn
’
t
help looking back at them over and over.

Kelsey was about
to respond to Maggie
’
s comment but realized it would be useless. If Maggie could
neither see nor hear Roland, then she had no reason to believe he
existed. Instead, Kelsey let the matter go.

Turning to Roland, she asked, “Are
they dangerous?
”

“They can be.
But this group is keeping its distance, so I
’
m not too
worried.
”

“Y
ou
’
ve
seen this before? These crazy people follow you
sometimes?
”

“More often
than I would like.
”

“What do they
want?
”

“Mostly just to
be near me.
”

“Why? What do
they want with you?
”

“I
’
m not sure they know what they
want,” Roland said. “Their desire is to get close to me, but I
don
’
t think
they know the reason for their attraction. They could have chosen
any famous or powerful figure, but these people have chosen to
admire and follow me.
”

“Are there more
of them in other places?
”
Kelsey asked.

“Yes,
thousands.
”

“You have
fans?
”
Kelsey
mused aloud and then thought for a moment. She had never seen
anything like this. Then she realized that people who worship Death
probably don’t see him the same way that she did. She glanced over
Roland
’
s plumed
hat and debonair attire and then back at the tips of the scythes
poking up above the tall grass. Occasionally she could see part of
a black hood flapping in the breeze.

“They see you
as someone dressed like them, don
’
t they?
”
Kelsey asked.
“
They see you wearing
a black cloak with a hood that obscures your face, and you’re
carrying a giant scythe.
”

“Yes,
”
he answered.
“
And I appear much taller to them
also.
”

“But
they
’
re not
usually dangerous?
”
Kelsey asked again for clarification. It seemed odd that
they could follow so closely and yet not attack. She wanted to be
prepared for any potential confrontations.

“Not usually,
but they can get out of hand with their desire to be near me.
They
’
ve
occasionally trampled one another, but they
’
ve never been able to hurt me.
More often they
’
ve hurt themselves or one another. Often
they
’
re so
starstruck that they become timid around me.
”

“What do we do?
”

“Ignore them
for now. They usually go away if I don
’
t pay attention to
them.
”

The more she
reasoned through the situation, the more Kelsey thought the group
appeared foolish, but she didn
’
t say anything. Roland had
experience with them, and she knew he was right about trying to
ignore them. She took one more look at the group of reapers,
catching a glance at a few of their faces and noticing that they
had darkened the area around their eyes with black makeup so that
they somewhat resembled raccoons. Their lips were also painted
black, and the effect made the white of their cheeks appear
bloodless. Kelsey thought they looked ridiculous and briefly
wondered why they had so much time to follow Death when they should
be focusing on living their lives. She decided it would be
pointless to try to understand them, so she turned away and back to
the task at hand.

“They do seem
harmless for now,
”
she said.

“Speak for
yourself,
”
Maggie replied. Kelsey had forgotten that Maggie
couldn
’
t hear
anything that Roland had said, so she took a moment to relay his
explanation and assurance that it was simply a group of misguided
admirers.

“That
’
s
how they see your invisible friend?
”
Maggie asked as she gestured
towards the group. Kelsey wanted to reply that at least they saw
Roland, but thought it better to leave that point
alone.

“Yes. People
see Roland differently based on their perception.
”

“Do you see him
the same way as those people down there
?
”

“No.
”

“What does he
look like? What do you see?
”

“A fox.
”

“A silver fox?
”

“A red one.
He
’
s very
elegant looking with fine fur.
”
Roland smiled as Kelsey described
him.

“Does the king
see him as a fox, too?
”
Maggie
’
s question startled Kelsey. She
had taken it for granted that the king saw Roland the same way that
she did, and it had never occurred to her to ask the king what
image he saw when he looked at Roland. Kelsey turned to Roland for
an answer.