Part 17 (2/2)

The dryads lifted their pale arms and screamed, then rushed the goblins.

”They'll get hurt,” Keelie cried. ”What have I done?”

”Magic,” whispered Herne. ”They'll come to no harm. Watch.”

She felt the green magic anew, coming from the rus.h.i.+ng horde of dryads, and realized that the weirdness she'd felt in the forest had come from them. They were neither male nor female and were only vaguely human-shaped, with arms and legs and torsos. But they were scaring the goblins.

The ground shook, and Keelie grabbed at the blacktarred roof to hold on, but this was not an earthquake. Below, the trees lifted their roots and started to move, using their great limbs to smash the goblins against the buildings and into the street, guided by the dryads. The elves followed warily, swords at the ready, s.h.i.+elds lifted.

Keelie s.h.i.+fted her vision, looking at the scene through tree sight, and watched the wild magic flow around the dryads and seem to do their bidding. The goblins fled, unable to fight the trees.

As soon as the fight got to the end of the block, Keelie ran down the stairs and into the street, Herne and Knot behind her. Outside, the Healer elves were performing first aid on the fallen. The dryads had all disappeared but one, who seemed to be waiting for Keelie.

”Viran and your grandmother send greetings,” the dryad said, its voice papery and thin. ”They heard your call for help, as we did. We have answered.”

Viran, the old tree shepherd of the Redwood Forest, had grown weary of life outside of the woods. After the goblin threat there had pa.s.sed, he had melded with one of the Great Trees and was now helping Grandmother Keliatiel, the new tree shepherd of the redwoods.

”You heard them all the way from California?” Keelie asked the dryad. That was some reception.

The slender figure nodded what seemed to be its head. ”I will remain, to represent the tree spirits at the meeting of the Councils.”

Keelie looked at Knot, puzzled.

One of the Healer elves turned to her. ”We couldn't find you and called upon the dwarves and the dragon to help us. We meet tonight at the Council building.”

”The dark fae will be there too,” Herne promised. He turned to Keelie and bowed. ”You are indeed a warrior.” He vanished.

A green tickle in her mind told Keelie that the Mother Tree would be there tonight as well. Maybe not in person, but seeing through Keelie's eyes.

The Mother Tree. Keelie wondered where the withered old woman kept her roots. Was she part of the Mother Tree itself, perhaps a more physical manifestation of the tree spirits Keelie had met in the past? Or was she like a dryad, the creatures who lived in the trees? ”Will Queen Vania come too?” she asked.

”She has not answered the call.” The elf on the ground moaned and the Healer elf's attention turned back to him.

Keelie ran to see if Dad and Sean were unharmed. Her racing heart slowed when she saw Dad holding up an elven woman as her leg got bandaged. He seemed relieved to see her, too. He nodded at the Healer elves and stood, just in time for her hugs and kisses.

”Where were you for four days, after you returned from Fairy?” he asked. ”I heard it rumored you were Under-theHill, but that cannot be true.” Keelie's blush told him it was.

Dad pulled her away from the medic's area. ”Are you mad? I send you with a warrior and your fae guardian, and you leave them behind to help Herne, alone? And what about Elia? She bears the hope of our forest, but she is alone among strangers in the Northwoods. These elves have no love for her.”

”I noticed. But it wasn't my fault, Dad. You don't say no to a forest G.o.d.”

Dad didn't seem to hear. ”Dariel is upset-he abandoned his forest to come here to his wife's aid and found her alone in the elven village. Do you know how often a unicorn leaves his forest? Never.”

”Elia was always with us in the beginning,” Keelie said. ”But I tried to ditch her when we went to the Quicksilver-” Oops. She realized her error when Dad turned hot red.

”You did what? You took Elia? To the High Court?” He tugged on his long hair, eyes wild. ”Where's Davey? Why didn't he stop her?”

”Davey's related to King Gneiss, the King of the Dwarves. Did you know that?”

”Don't change the subject. Once you step into Fairy, you cannot control your fate. How did Elia come free of the place? What was the price?”

”I'll tell you everything, Dad. Knot came with me.” Keelie told him about the rift and trying to mend it, and when he started to get angry, she told him about the Mother Tree. He seemed to relax. A little.

Miszrial appeared at their side. ”We've counted one hundred and fifty dead goblins. Many have escaped.”

Dad frowned. ”And our wounded?”

”Twenty wounded, two dead. The wounds are mostly bites.”

”That's good, right?” Keelie looked from one to the other.

”Not good,” Dad said. ”Goblin bites fester quickly.”

”I'm not surprised,” Keelie said. ”They're so gross.”

Dad straightened and looked behind her. ”How could you allow her out of your sight? She went to Under-the-Hill with Herne. Alone.”

She turned to where Sean stood, his face pale, and rolled her eyes. ”Guys, I'm right here. I'm in one piece, virtue intact. And we need Herne's help as much as he needs ours. You sent me here to get us to work together and I was doing my darndest. If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at Queen Vania. She does not play well with others.”

”We'll address that at the Alliance Summit.” Dad looked at Sean. ”We're not done speaking. Don't lose her again.”

Knot walked by, once more in his regular cat form, and Dad glared at him. ”You, too.”

Knot purred and rubbed up against his leg.

A Healer elf came running up. ”Ermentrude's awake and asking for the tree shepherd.”

Keelie and Dad turned to her, both answering, ”Yes?” Dad looked at Keelie. ”My turn. Go get cleaned up. Take her to Grey Mantle, Sean, and don't lose her.”

”Come on, Keelie.” Sean began walking away, his hand on the hilt of his sword, as he did when he was upset.

She ran after him, matching his pace. ”We can't go back to the village yet. I need to find out where Peascod went. He's planning something, Sean. He wants to defeat Herne, and Herne's weak enough that he might lose. He's seriously weak.”

Sean stopped abruptly and turned to her. ”Everyone is meeting in Grey Mantle. Herne promised to be there. You should let other people help now. This is not the mission you were sent to accomplish. It's much bigger, and you can't do everything alone.”

Sean was right. Herne would be at Grey Mantle; in the meantime, she could talk to Ermentrude. The old dragon might have an idea about how to stop the leaking magic without involving Vania.

In the treetops above, Keelie sensed the presence of dark fae. When she lifted her head, afraid of what she'd see, she was relieved that it was only a bhata waving to her. It had something in its sticklike hand that looked like a small present. The bhata moved to where a large limb branched off into smaller ones, and it pointed at another creature in the tree.

”Knot, you can't eat the bhata,” Keelie said. Knot swished his orange tail, eyes fixed on the little creature. ”I think it has a package for me.”

”See, what did I tell you?” Sean said, waving his hands. ”What are you talking about?”

”Knot, come back down here.”

”Meow.” Knot jumped down and stomped over, sitting down next to Sean.

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