13. Declan

Chapter thirteen

Declan

I laughed, unable to contain myself.

órlaith and the old woman glared.

"What do ya find funny, young man?"

"This is insane . She's just a baby owl I found in the woods back home. I'm not even Gifted. Why would some ancient—whatever you say she is—choose me for anything?" I ran the fingers of both hands through my hair. "This is so ridiculous."

The woman stared for so long I thought she might've fallen asleep with her eyes open. She seemed to stare through my head.

órlaith mirrored her, cocking her head to one side, then the other, making the quiet even more uncomfortable.

"What? What are you staring at?" I asked, unable to take the silent scrutiny any longer .

"Bond-Mate, ya are a child wandering in the wild wit' no clue where ya need t' go. Ya t'ink of magic as a tool, some dead t'ing to use, but it is so much more t'an t'at." The woman stood with more speed and grace than might be expected from someone her age and placed órlaith back on my shoulder, offering a small bow as she stepped back a pace. "It's alive . Magic knows and sees and grows . The Daughter is wise and chose ya t' be her champion. Do not be a fool and laugh at what ya don't understand."

órlaith nuzzled my neck.

I fumbled to recover. "I meant . . . no disrespect. This is a lot to take in, and I don't have time to learn all about magic. I came here looking for the Keeper because my people are in danger. I don't know how long we have before an enemy invades, but there's no time to waste. Will you help me find them or not?"

I was beginning to sweat through my shirt—and not from the tropical heat pouring through the garden.

Larinda regarded me a moment, then nodded. "I can't refuse the Daughter and her Bond-Mate, but I don't speak for t' Keeper. He may choose t' help—or not. Come wit' me. What I have t' tell ya can't be said out here."

She turned and led us down a narrow path, stopping before a wall. She reached up and placed her palm on a stylized carving of a flower. It began glowing with a faint light, then a section of the wall shimmered out of existence entirely. Without so much as a glance over her shoulder, she strode through the opening into a room only large enough to hold two chairs and a small table.

Larinda took her seat and motioned for me to do the same, then placed a finger on the wall. The lamps belched azure flame, casting a cool light throughout the space. A heartbeat later, the opening transformed back into a wall.

When Larinda glanced up, I was staring, open-mouthed. I'd grown up surrounded by magic, but we stood on a remote island in the middle of a vast sea, not in the heart of Melucia's center for Mages. And the magic I had known revealed itself through singular Gifts. What Larinda did with her presence, then the wall, now with flames? It defied all logic.

She cackled. "Told ya t'ere was much ya don't understand, child! Ya mainlanders t'ink islanders don't know how t' do basic magic? Ha! Ya t'ink we hardly know how t' talk or t'ink! We live simple lives, sure, but we serve the Phoenix herself, and in her service, we learn many, many t'ings. Magic is all around ya, boy."

órlaith peeped in my ear, then hopped onto my lap, where she fidgeted a few times before settling and closing her eyes. I peered down and smiled at the fuzzy creature who seemed to trust me completely.

Only the Spirits know why.

Larinda cleared her throat, then waved her palm across the air between us. I nearly leaped out of my chair when a window opened, revealing a lifelike map of the island. I reached out to touch it, but my hand passed through the illusion. When I removed my hand, the image reformed before my eyes.

"That's . . . how?" was all I could manage.

"Pshaw! 'Tis magic, child." The woman waved her hand at him and laughed again.

She drew a symbol in the air with her finger, and the image scattered, then resolved into a close-up view of the mountains southwest of the village.

I leaned in, captivated, a child staring in wonder at his first horse or tall building. I could see the trees waving in the wind, birds taking flight, every detail painted on brilliant pink and white flowers and soft-leafed ferns.

"It is a window," I muttered to myself.

Larinda pointed to a nearly invisible path that began at the base of the southernmost mountain. "This will take ya t' the Keeper."

The image shifted with her words, and a small cabin made of rough logs zoomed into view. An old man with dark leathery skin wearing a white robe rocked in a chair on the cabin's front porch.

"That's him. Show him respect, and ya might learn somet'ing. Show him anyt'ing else, and ya might not come back." She raised a brow and waited for me to nod that I understood. "It'll take ya all day t' get t' the trail, so ya best start now."

I was stunned at the sudden dismissal, but I put órlaith back on my shoulder and made to stand.

Larinda's hand shot forward and clamped across my forearm, startling me so badly I nearly threw the owl off.

The woman held me transfixed with her gaze for a long moment before releasing my arm and reached up to place her palm against my chest. "Child, I See the Light in ya. If ya want t' learn anyt'ing, look inside. See the Light for yourself."

Larinda's gentle touch struck something deep within me; though, like trying to grasp smoke, my mind refused to understand. I could feel a door opening inside myself, a door I'd never known existed. The rush of waves rolling toward a shore filled my soul, as the wind whipped inside my mind, warm and wild and free.

I dropped my pack and wrapped the old woman in a tight embrace, lifting her off her feet. She giggled like a young girl and returned the hug with a strength and warmth that only broadened my smile. When we separated, tears escaped her ancient eyes, and a smile creased her cracked lips.

With another touch of her palm against the wall, the opening to the room shimmered into existence. I grabbed my pack and stepped out, glancing back one last time to find the woman had vanished, leaving a cloud of twinkling light in her wake that danced before my eyes .

I shielded my eyes as I stepped through the outer door of Larinda's home and back into the blazing island sun. A gangly man who looked no more than twenty stood at the base of the steps with a pack slung across his back.

"Mother Larinda sent me t' guide ya. I have food and water for the trip." The man tapped the pack on his shoulder.

"Thank you," I said, stunned—and also not—at Larinda's forethought. "I'm glad to have a guide—and some company for a change." órlaith peeped in my ear and pecked my lobe. "Ow! Sorry, little one, I didn't mean . . . uh . . . sorry."

The man's eyes widened at the exchange.

Larinda may have asked for the man's aid, but she must not have told him much about his charges. I remembered Atikus's warning about keeping the mission to myself and decided it was best not to reveal anything to our new guide.

"I'm Declan, and this is órlaith." I scratched the owl's head and earned a coo-purr.

"I am Sabu," the man said, touching his palm to his chest and dipping his head. "I have horses for us at the stables. There's plenty of light today t' get ya t' the mountain. Come."

We walked a block, then left the road to pass by several small buildings before reaching a stable. Two horses waited, one pure white, the other solid black. The beasts stood no taller than ponies from the mainland, but bore bodies as thick and wide as a cow. Long, pointed ears twitched as we approached.

Sabu mounted the white horse, as the black beast's intelligent eyes followed my every move, shifting between man and owl. órlaith's presence seemed to pique the horse's interest. I reached my hand toward the animal's nose and was surprised when the horse met me halfway, closing its eyes and pressing its head into its new rider's palm.

Sabu watched the exchange and whistled. "Never seen Novi take t' anyone like t'at."

"I'm a Ranger; always had a thing with animals. Can't explain it."

Sabu smiled. "Yer Light burns bright, Ranger Declan Rea."

I eyed Sabu, surprised by the second reference to "my Light" that day, and how the man used the last name I hadn't offered.

Was this "Light inside ya" thing an island saying? I had never heard the Mages or the Rangers make mention of it before. I placed órlaith on Novi's neck, then mounted and moved the owl to my shoulder. As we trotted out of the stable, I turned to our guide. "What do you mean when you talk about my ‘Light'?"

Sabu laughed, a deep melodic rumble. "Can ya not see the sun when ya look up, Ranger?"

He nudged his horse into a canter and said no more .

I whispered to órlaith, "What have we gotten into, little one? I don't understand a thing these people say."

The owl made a sound I'd never heard from her, something I swore was a laugh.

I am officially insane.

Less than an hour had passed when the sun began her descent over the far side of the island. That's when I spotted the beginning of a trail. We approached to within a few paces of the first stone, and I saw the trail's stone slabs were tightly interlocked and appeared untouched by nature, unlike the weathered cobbles of the paths that led to the gates. Around the walkway was a wilderness of untended vines, flowers, and shrubs, but no root intruded on the smooth stones.

Sabu stilled. "Ranger Declan Rea, I can go no further. Ya will need t' seek the path from here."

I pointed down. "The stones begin right there. Can't you see it?"

Sabu followed my hand and shook his head. "Not'ing but dirt and grass."

This trip just gets stranger by the minute .

"The Mother didn't tell me what ya seek, but ya must be blessed to follow the Sacred Path. Phoenix guide yer Way." As he said his last words, he again placed his palm on his chest and bowed, this time dipping low and holding it for several seconds.

"Phoenix guide your Way?" Those words are new .

I mirrored the gesture with a little less depth and duration, but Sabu appeared pleased. He gave one last head nod before turning back toward the village.

Now alone, I dismounted and offered órlaith a piece of dried meat. As I chewed my own, thankful for Sabu refilling our supplies, I ambled around the area, trying to get my bearings. Tall palms swayed overhead, while squat thick-leaved varieties clung to the mountain's floor. Other than the clean stone path, nothing appeared unusual or out of place.

For a blessed moment, I savored the peace and beauty of the isle.

I downed the last of my meal and turned to my horse. "The trail doesn't look very steep, even winding back and forth. Let's try taking you with us."

I grabbed Novi's reins and turned toward the path, but the beast resisted. When I pulled harder, the horse whinnied and yanked his head back, tugging the leather straps out of my hands. He pranced backward, ears flattened to his mane.

órlaith pecked at my earlobe again and peeped several times.

"Huh. All right, I guess you don't want to go with us. Let me get the packs off your back so you can go home."

Novi quieted with a few more shushes and strokes and let me remove the packs, only to press his velvet muzzle against the side of my face. Once the packs were clear of his back, Novi danced a couple steps backward, still facing me, locked eyes with me, and offered a deep bow, bending his front right knee.

What the . . . ?

It was almost the exact same gesture that the stag had offered during the Ranger exams.

As the horse turned and trotted back toward the village, I thought I heard Larinda's amused cackle resonating through the trees and bounding off the mountain.

I couldn't help but laugh as well.

When the horse was gone from sight, I stroked one finger over the soft downy feathers of órlaith's back. "Little one, looks like it's time to move forward."

órlaith peeped her agreement from her shoulder perch.

I took a casual couple of steps before my foot struck the first stone.

The world spun around me.

Nausea swelled from my core.

The trees blurred, and I staggered, blinking, desperate to clear my vision.

Everything went completely black, then a face appeared before my mind's eye.

"Declan Rea, Ranger of the Empire of Melucia, son of Kels? and ?rtem Rea," a sonorous voice boomed, sending nearby leaves rattling and me staggering back.

The words reverberated through my chest and drove me to my knees. The man's deeply lined face, sunken cheeks, and piercing brown eyes were all made darker by the brilliant white of his bushy brows, mustache, and chest-length beard. The pure white robe draped about his slim shoulders shimmered in the sunlight, and a golden cloth wrapped many times around his head was unlike any headwear I had ever seen.

I swayed as the scene in my mind threatened to overwhelm my senses.

"You seek with blind eyes, Child of Magic!" the voice thundered against the mountainside.

"What's happening? I can't brea—" I gasped and reached a hand to my throat.

I tried to suck in air, but nothing happened. My chest seized, and flashes of light flooded my vision.

órlaith peeped again and again, hopping from my shoulder to the stone in front of me. It flared cerulean beneath her feet. When I didn't respond, a golden brilliance shimmered around the owl, barely visible through the trick of my mind, and the plumes of her chest and belly twinkled like golden flames. My eyes widened in shock as I struggled to breathe, digging nails against my throat so hard they scored my skin with angry marks.

órlaith grew brighter and brighter, a miniature sun standing before me.

I fell backward, landing hard against the ground.

Before I could blink, órlaith leaped atop my chest. She opened her beak, and a stream of azure mist flowed from her tiny maw and into my mouth. My chest swelled, and the last thing I remembered before the world went dark was lying on my back, staring up at the little bird as she watched from atop my chest, peeping and . . . glowing .