Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [52]
A chill runs down James’ back, “Waiting?”
She turns her attention to him and says, “Yes.”
“For whom?” Jiron asks her.
“For he who bears the Star,” she tells him.
James looks to Miko and Jiron who both give him a startled glance as well. He reaches into his shirt and pulls out the Star of Morcyth. Holding it up, he shows it to her.
“I thought as much,” she says as she nods her head. “After I felt the power of the spell that had been used earlier, I thought it might be you.”
“And that’s why you invited us here?” Miko asks.
“A month ago, I had a dream that a star had fallen from the sky and landed on the shore,” she explains. “In my dream I had gone and picked it up.” Laughing, she says, “That’s more or less how it went.”
“What else did you dream?” James asks, almost holding his breath.
“That when the star left, it would be bigger than when it had arrived,” she replies.
“What does that mean?” Miko asks.
She shrugs but doesn’t answer the question. Getting up, she says, “Please, make yourselves comfortable. You may rest here in safety, naught will disturb you.” She gestures to a corner of the room where several bedrolls and blankets are neatly stacked.
“Thank you,” James says, coming to his feet as well.
“You’re welcome,” she says. She begins to move to the other room when she pauses and turns around, saying, “Until morning.”
“Good night,” Miko says as he goes over to where the bedrolls are and grabs one. He unrolls his by the fire and lies down. Taking several of the blankets, he settles down and quickly falls asleep.
The others get theirs as well. From the other room, they can hear her gentle singing coming through the door, lulling them. Unable to fight off exhaustion any longer, they all fall asleep.
James wakes during the night and can hear her soft singing coming from outside. Getting up quietly so as not disturb the others, he goes to the window and sees Lyria outside sitting on an old tree stump. His eyes open in amazement when he sees little creatures, three altogether and no more than a foot tall, sitting before her. They seem to sway to the music as she sings.
They remind James of garden gnomes his grandmother used to have in her flower bed. These were dressed nothing like them, but the height and general resemblance is close.
He moves to the door and opens it as he walks out. As soon as the door begins to open, the singing stops and when he is again able to see her, the little creatures are gone.
She turns her head to look at him and flashes him a slight smile. “Hello James,” she says.
Coming over to her, he looks around to try to see the little creatures but they’re no where to be found. “Where are they?”
“Around,” she tells him. “But they’re extremely shy.”
“What are they?” he asks her as he comes to sit by her.
“Spirits of the earth,” she explains. “You’re fortunate, very few people have ever seen them.”
“How can I get them to come out?” he asks her, still looking about.
“If they want to, they will,” she replies. “And they rarely want to.”
“They come out to you,” he says.
She gives him that smile again and says, “I’ve been here a long time, they’ve learned to trust me. I think they like my singing too.”
“So do I,” he says before he even realizes it. Blushing, he turns his head away and looks out over the lake.
“Thank you,” she tells him and then reaches out and pats him on the arm.
“It’s peaceful here,” he observes when he at last has found his voice.
“Yes, it’s the reason I’m here,” she says. Then she continues, “Partly, anyway.”
“Partly?” he asks.
“We needn’t go into that now,” she tells him.
They sit there for awhile, enjoying the tranquility of the night when he says, “Have you had any other dreams foretelling the future? Like the star falling?”
“Oh, many,” she says. “Dreams are very important if you just know how to interpret them.”
“Do gods ever talk to you?” he asks.
“No, I’ve never known them to talk to anyone but their priests,” she tells him. “And even they don’t always understand what they’re trying