Darkwell - Douglas Niles [126]
But the power of this spell! Here, at least, was proof that Genna's faith sustained her, for only the imminent presence of a mighty deity could cause such a change in the natural order. The goddess must be alive!
Robyn noticed that their course took them across ground that was again covered with deep snow, though it was rapidly melting. Behind them swirled a bluster of wet fog as cold air rolled across a patch of suddenly warmed ground. The magic, Robyn saw, created a bubble of warmth around them – around Genna, actually. It moved as she moved, and vanished as she left.
Soon the fissure yawned before them, and they turned to the east, following the edge of the crevasse in hopes of finding its end. They marched in silence. Tristan felt as though they walked through another world, a strange place of warm snow and ever-present death.
Suddenly the Great Druid halted. Robyn noticed that the fissure had narrowed to perhaps thirty feet in width, although farther along it soon widened again to the impassable barrier they had skirted for so long.
Tristan came up behind them. "What is it?"
"I don't know." Robyn turned to Genna. "Why did you stop here?"
"Be silent." The Great Druid held up her hand, an expression of intense concentration on her face. Robyn thought she saw something frightening in that look, but in another moment, Genna spoke. "We can cross here."
"How?" Tristan looked at the gap, its bottom lost somewhere in the depths, obscured by writhing gases.
"Wait here." Genna walked away from the group, continuing along the lip of the crevasse until she was nearly out of sight. Robyn could barely see her through the many tree trunks as the Great Druid turned toward the north and raised her arms.
Tristan stepped to Robyn's side and lowered his voice as the Great Druid stepped away from them. "Are you sure this is the same Genna Moonsinger you knew before?" he asked softly.
"Of course! Don't you think I'd recognize her?"
"Newt's worried. He told me he thinks she's changed somehow."
Robyn quickly explained her hypothesis explaining her teacher's cold nature. "Surely she's suffered enough! The least we can do is offer her our trust and support!"
The king persisted. "We have to be careful, that's all. We don't know what we're -"
"She doesn't need me to betray her now!" Robyn whirled on the king, her face growing white, her voice an intense whisper. "My doubts have already weakened my own faith! Don't ask me to challenge hers!"
Meanwhile, Genna chanted the words to her spell, ignoring the rest of the party. They watched expectantly, fearful and anxious about the result.
Suddenly the earth began to tremble, and two huge oaks toppled into the crevasse, their dead limbs straining skyward like fingers desperate to arrest the fall. Tristan seized Robyn's arm and pulled her back from the edge of the fissure. For a moment, he thought Genna had precipitated an earthquake that would dump them all to their doom, but the temblor eased quickly, except in the area directly before Genna Moonsinger.
The king watched in awe as the ground there twisted and bulged into an odd, misshapen mound of earth. The blob oozed slowly upward into a great pillar of soft mud. The pile loomed high over the druid's head, growing into a solid column of dirt.
An unnatural groaning rumbled through the air. The column shook and trembled as armlike appendages ripped themselves outward from the sides. Then one massive foot stepped free of the crater around it, and another leg pushed upward, twisting and stretching slowly as does a body kept too long in one position. When it was completely formed, it began to lumber toward the companions.
" What… is… it?" gasped Tavish. Yak growled in superstitious fear, brandishing the great club he carried.
"Wait! It's an elemental – an earth elemental." Robyn's voice