Page 26 of Staff of Nightfall

“Khast doesn’t have a different word for beautiful and handsome.”

“So...you’re mar-ay soom-dear pea-aw-ruh? My beautiful love?”

His pronunciation sounded like someone trying to speak around a mouthful of marbles, but she grinned nonetheless. “Charmer.”

Toward evening, they arrived at the edge of a forest. Wooden signs nailed to tree trunks proclaimed HOLGREN ROYAL FOREST. ENTRY WITHOUT ROYAL WARRANT STRICTLY PROHIBITED in faded white paint. They looked around, but didn’t see anyone, so they continued inside.

Regulus paused. “Give me a minute to get my bearings. We don’t want to waste time wandering about.”

She reined in Zephyr. The fresh air smelled of moss and pine. A couple birds chirped somewhere nearby. Yellow edged in on the leaves of birch trees, announcing that summer was growing old.

A strange prickling ran across Adelaide’s skin from head to toe. Almost like a breeze, but the air remained calm. Something deep inside her made her look to the right. The forest looked the same over there, but a voice—more of a sensation than actual words—seemed to tell her to go that way. As if Etiros himself were prodding her deeper into the forest. The familiar warmth of magical energy shuddered through her, brushing over the empty places in her soul and calling to her. She had urged Zephyr forward before she even realized it.

“Regulus,” she called over her shoulder. “This way.”

“What? Hey, where are you going?” Regulus directed Sieger closer. “Do...you feel something?”

“Yes.” Her voice sounded detached. The pull increased. “I can feel it. Like a current sweeping me along.”

The external pull of magical energy grew until it felt like it would carry her away. Her breaths came sharper and quicker until Adelaide and Regulus broke through the trees and she saw it. The pull stopped, and her jaw went slack. It was...unbelievable.

Clouds obscured the sun, but even so, the leaves on the gigantic tree shimmered like shards of silvery glass. Some of the light bent as it reflected, sending bright spots of color into the forest. Its black branches stretched out over a meadow and trees a half dozen paces away that bent away from its shade. The trunk looked big enough to fit a bedroom inside, and its black bark was glassy, as if the tree had been carved out of obsidian. She had to look up, shielding her eyes against the glaring light on the leaves, to see the top. Who knew trees grew so enormous?

They rode forward, but their horses got skittish, so they dismounted and walked. “Do you hear that?” She moved toward the tree as if in a dream.

“Hear what?”

“The tree.” She couldn’t describe the sound. Soft, nearly inaudible. Somewhere between a deep thrumming and a soft, wordless singing. The sound moved through her, calming and frightening her all at once. She reached toward the shiny bark, then paused, her palm hovering inches away from the glossy surface broken by angular edges that caught the light.

Warmth flowed between her hand and the trunk, and she felt the tree. Its life. Its tremendous age. Somehow, she knew, almost as if she had gotten a glimpse of it in her mind, that this tree had been tall when the rest of the forest hadn’t yet begun to grow. It seemed to both call to her and warn her. She looked up at the glittering leaves above her. So high above the surrounding forest, they swayed in an unfelt breeze, flashing without a sound. A leaf separated from a branch and floated toward her, arcing back and forth like a falling feather. She caught it in her hand and its softness surprised her. No hard edges, despite looking like glass. She let it fall to the ground and looked back at the trunk.

A noise like a stifled groan behind her caught her attention and she spun around. “Reg—” She gaped at the empty space. Sieger and Zephyr shuffled and whinnied near the edge of the trees. But Regulus had disappeared.

“Regulus!”

“Don’t worry,” a quiet, shrill voice said. “He’s all right.”

Adelaide turned toward the voice as she drew a dagger and a throwing knife. Her eyes widened, and she stepped backward. A fairy shorter than the length of Adelaide’s hand flew less than a foot away from her face. A sleeveless dress of pale green embroidered with silver hugged the fairy’s pale skin. Short reddish hair stuck out in all directions around her delicate face. Her wings beat the air so fast Adelaide couldn’t make them out, other than to tell they shimmered with each movement.

“What?” Adelaide’s voice squeaked, and she cleared her throat. “Who are...where is Regulus?” She pointed her dagger at the fairy, but the fairy tittered, her laughter like tiny wind chimes.

“This isn’t about him,” the fairy said. “It’s about you.”

Adelaide shook her head. “What do you want?”

“To help you, of course.” The fairy smiled, showing pearly white teeth with sinister-looking points. Adelaide blanched.

“Where is Regulus?” She put as much force into her words as she could, even as she wondered how one fought a fairy.

“Oh, please. He’s hardly the important one here, my dear.” The fairy flitted side to side. “You’re the mage. You’re the interesting one.”

Her breath caught. “How do you know what I am?”

“I can feel it, dear. Just like you can feel the neumenet tree. And I know what happened to you. I sense that, too.” The fairy tilted her head and gave her a sympathetic look. “You were right to come here. The neumenet tree can help you. Reach out and take it.”

Adelaide lowered her weapons. “Take what?”

“The tree’s magic!” The fairy smiled again, and chills ran down Adelaide’s spine. “You know how to do it, because it’s been done to you.”

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