Realm of Light - Deborah Chester [65]
“And if the emerald causes another attack?” Caelan asked him. “Each one is worse.”
“Do not blame the emerald,” Moah said. “Such stones as yours are rare. The earth spirits create them. The ice spirits guard them. We Choven cut and set them according to their best purpose. As you grow, so does the emerald. Sometimes growth brings pain.”
“But what is it for?” Caelan asked, ready to veer onto any topic as long as it was not confronting Beloth. “What does it do?”
“It has given you hope,” Moah said, tilting his head to one side. “Is that not enough?”
“But—”
“It is time for us to take the stone and work with it on your behalf. Will you allow that?”
“Yes,” Caelan said, not sure what the Choven was talking about.
“Then there is no more to say. You have taken learning from me. This time is finished, and we must return.”
Caelan looked at him in alarm. He had more questions, specifically regarding Elandra. “Wait! There is the empress and—”
Again he felt the sensation of exploding into glittering bits of light, spiraling down from that lofty center of calm tranquility, returning unwillingly back to the chaos of problems, doubts, and trouble.
With a jolt, he opened his eyes. He expected to find himself back in the Choven camp with Lea bending over him. There would be another chance to talk to Moah and ask him for help.
Instead, he found himself in the forest, standing in the gully near the ice cave where he had left Elandra. He was clothed again. Exoner hung heavy in its scabbard at his hip. His dagger was tucked in its belt sheath. But for the sword, he might never have believed any of it had happened. Even now, he couldn’t be sure.
The conversation with Moah seemed a long time ago and very far away. But his destiny was drawing closer with every passing moment.
Chapter Twelve
Elandra awakened in a strange place. Not certain whether she was dreaming or having a vision, she sat up and found herself in a tiny cave. A circle of black ashes showed her where a fire had once been lit, but had long lain cold. Sunlight shone in from the cave’s narrow mouth, providing faint illumination.
Following it outside, she stood in the bottom of a narrow gully next to a frozen stream. Drifts of snow spilled down the banks, looking white and soft. The air smelled of clean, pungent scents unknown to her. She thought of Gialta with its steamy jungles and heavy fragrances of rot, damp, and exotic flowers. Trau was so different, so cold and austere.
She walked out farther from the cave, her feet unsteady and slow. The clearing beyond the gully lay empty. She heard no sound other than the soft swaying of the trees. Loneliness filled her, and she wondered where Caelan had gone.
Uneasy, Elandra gazed about a moment, then picked up her long skirts to jump the stream. As she leaped, the world seemed to fold itself in half, taking her with it.
Crying out, she fell sprawling and expected to land in the water. Instead, the stream had vanished entirely.
With it were gone the gully, the cave, the trees, and the snow. In their stead stretched a desolate plain of barren soil and rocky outcroppings. A rough wind blew steadily, whistling in her ears and whipping her long hair into her face. Elandra climbed again to her feet and looked around in wonder and rising fear.
In every direction she saw only bleak emptiness. No plants, no insects, no life. She was swept by a feeling of terrible loneliness, as though she were the last person in the world who remained alive.
“Welcome to the future,” said a voice from behind her.
Startled, Elandra whirled around and found herself face to face with Hecati, the malevolent woman who had raised her in her father’s household and made her early life such a misery.
At first Elandra could only stare, stunned by the sight of an enemy she’d never expected to see again. Hecati’s face had grown more sour and wrinkled than ever. She wore a black wimple that blew in the wind. Her eyes burned into Elandra’s with contempt and hatred.