Reign of Shadows - Deborah Chester [52]
The angle of light entering the cave had shifted since they first arrived. He could see better, and he knew the sun was lower in the sky. They had to go soon, he wanted no trouble either for himself or for Lea. He had to see that she was safely home; then he must put as much distance between himself and the hold as he could before darkness fell and he was forced to take sanctuary in an ice cave for the night.
When he reached the back chamber of the cave, the tunnel suddenly seemed too small around him. he stopped, frowning, and looked back. The air grew strangely warm and smelled of sweet fragrance as though flowers bloomed. A shiver ran through Caelan, and he fell the touch of something cool and ancient go through him.
Afraid, he remembered the horror of the wind spirits, but this was nothing like they had been. This was strange but not unpleasant. He sensed no malevolence, only a peaceful presence.
Then the fragrance faded, and the air grew cold again.
Caelan stumbled back as though released. He blinked and shook himself. Suddenly he wanted out of there.
Whirling around too fast, he slipped and fell with a thud. The impact made him grunt. Stunned, he lay there a second in an effort to regain his breath.
As he levered himself to his hands and knees, his fingers knocked against something.
It skidded away across the ice.
Caelan’s heart stopped. For a moment he dared not move; then he scrambled forward on his hands and knees, patting the ground with his hands, searching in the gloom.
He found one stone, rough and angular like Lea’s. A short distance away he found a second. This one was smaller, no bigger than the nail on his little finger, but polished.
He turned them over and over in his hands, unable to believe his luck. It couldn’t happen like this. It simply couldn’t.
Yet it had.
Lea’s good fortune had been extended to him.
His hand closed over the stones and he crawled forward, trying not to whoop with joy.
She was waiting outside. When he came scrambling out, her face lit up. “You found some!”
“Yes!” He showed them to her.
They bent over the stones and held them up to the light filtering through the trees.
“Emeralds,” he said in satisfaction. He wanted to shout, to dance. “I can’t believe it.”
“The spirits here like you too,” she said, skipping around him. “Look at how pretty the little one is.”
“It’s polished, almost cut like a jewel,” he said in wonder. “A miracle.”
“A special gift.”
In sudden generosity, he held out his palm to her. “You didn’t find any today. Take one of them, the one you like best, as your share.”
Her mouth made a little O and she shook her head quickly. “I couldn’t. They’re yours.”
“No, one for each of us.”
“But, Caelan, I have mine,” she said. “Nine is a complete number. Keep these. You must. They’re for you.”
He started to protest, but she pressed her fingers across his lips. “They’re a pair, as we are. This is a special day, Caelan. You have been blessed in this. Don’t let Father or your anger ever let you forget what you have been given here. Believe there is good, and that you are good, just as you have been given good today.”
As she spoke, the sunlight shone down through the treetops and glowed upon her in a shining mantle. Her words seemed to vibrate in the air.
Caelan’s heart nearly stopped. He felt humbled by this child, so wise beyond her years.
Without thought he knelt before her.
She folded his hand around the emeralds. “One is me and one is you. Now you have something to remember us always.”
Her kindness spread over him like a balm. He loved her for it so much he thought his heart would burst. Somehow he held his emotions in. “How do I thank the earth spirits?” he whispered.
She smiled and touched his cheeks with her small hands. “They know.”
He took her hands and squeezed them. “Then I will say my gratitude to you. Thank you for bringing me here, little one. If the spirits have favored me, it is only because of you.”
“Now you cannot forget me, no matter how far away you go.”
He kissed her forehead. “I will never forget you,” he said,