Page 6 of Must Love Moss and Moonshine
And along with them, the trees too, from pine to oak, all seemed to laugh.
The horse’s hooves thundering, he leaped over a stream and deeper into the woods.
All I could do was hold on.Half of what I owned was strapped to this horse.My saddlebags contained all my gems, metals, wires, and equipment—not to mention my clothes and other provisions.
“Stop, please stop,” I managed to get out, my eyes squinting as I dodged yet another tree branch.When this one hit my cheek, I felt the sting of a cut.But ahead of me…
“Thunderbolt!Thunderbolt!”I called frantically, pulling on the reins.A massive golden oak was on the path before us, a thick branch at precisely the right height to scrape me from my saddle.Working desperately, I tried to change the horse’s direction.“Please!Turn!”
Only at the last minute did the animal turn right.
But it wasn’t soon enough.
Connecting with the end of the branch, I felt the reins slip from my hands as I was hurled backward off the back of the horse.When I hit the ground, I felt something hard under my head.
And then, everything went dark.
CHAPTER4
KELLEN
My spyglass to my eye, I stood watching as the small herd of harts grazed in the glade, nibbling on the tender greens growing from the forest floor.Slants of sunlight shimmered down from the leafy canopy overhead, making dapples on their pure white coats and causing the bucks’ golden horns and does’ silver hooves to glimmer.The harts were only one of dozens of species under my care.But a week earlier, I had seen signs of an autumn vex in a few harts.Today, nothing.
I breathed a deep sigh of relief.
They were fine, just a yearling or two with runny noses that had cleared.
I stood in silence, closing my eyes and feeling the forest around me, trying to sense if any trees or animals needed me.My heart beat slowly, sensing the deep roots of the heart oaks, the swaying willows, and the kaleidoscope of flutter dragons I had spotted living in the briar rose patch.Everything was at ease.Everything was calm.
Everything was...
Overhead, a flock of crows appeared.I felt their desperation to find me, all of them squawking loudly.
“Elf woman in the forest!Elf woman!Elf woman has fallen in the forest,”they called in unison.
“Hurry, dryad.Hurry to her, or she will die,”one called, then added with mirthful laughter,“And a mule is running, and running, and running.The brownies did in his nerves!”
“Where?”I called, my heart beating quickly.
“To the east.By the stream.Run fast, dryad.Run fast, or she will surely die!”
I sprinted, slipping my spyglass onto my belt as I raced across the forest.As I went, the trees gently whispered to me…
This way, dryad.
Over here, Guardian.
In the glen, Forest Lord.
I raced along, hearing the crows’ laughing words in my ears...An elf woman lay dying in my forest?How had she gotten here?It was impossible.My enchantments and protections kept everyone away from this forest—human, gnome, dwarf, pixie, and orc alike.
No one should be here.
But she was.And if the crows were right, I needed to hurry.As my feet flew across the forest, leaping over stones and brooks, I tried to remember.How long had it been since I’d spoken to another person?Maybe since the Autumn Festival last year when I’d delivered moonshine plant to Juniper in Moonshine Hollow?Had I talked to anyone since then?The mere thought of interacting with anyone made me wince, and yet…
The moment I reached the glade, I sensed her.The scent of a horse lingered in the air, but the animal was nowhere to be seen.Instead, I found a woman lying in a bed of violets.Her long, raven-black tresses glimmered blue in the slants of sunlight that shimmered down on her.Motes of dust sparkled in the air above her.She looked so beautiful that my breath caught in my throat.And for a moment, I forgot myself.
Quickly, Guardian.Her head… the ash nearby whispered.
