Page 174 of A Baron of Bonds
We all heard it. The crack of wood.
Byn scrambled out from underneath, just as the wedged shovel gave way, the root crashing down into the silt, splattering the three of us, but leaving everyone unharmed.
“This tree needs rest. We’ve dug here enough today,” Heirah said, motioning to others nearby.
“Something big is under here. I can feel it.” Byn pulled the shovel from under the root, walking around the giant trunk, looking for another way in.
Heirah followed and I could hear their argument, hushed and angry.
Rev poked at the base of the tree, his small spade digging under two roots that wove around each other in tandem, each the same size and width, each holding the other in a spinning weave of the perfect balance.
He jabbed his spade under once more, prying the braided roots from the muck slightly, and peeking underneath.
I saw it, too.
The oddly shaped clump of mud.
He reached in and pulled it out, dropping his spade and dropping the roots, sweeping the silt from the irregularly shaped stone that I knew well.
Revich had found his first rhyzolm.
A yell came from behind the tree and Byn stormed off. Rev dropped the stone and stood, his heart pounding as he searched for his mother.
“Don’t lose it, Little Love.” She came around the other side of the tree, noticing the rhyzolm and cleaning it on her skirts. Sheheld it out for Rev to take and he did, his hand shaking slightly as she bent down to meet his eyes. “This one is yours. Our little secret.” She winked and smiled to the side. The expression was so familiar, my heart broke watching the woman who gave him life and loved him so deeply.
I wanted to know her. I wanted to spend more time here, learning about her life, learning about what kind of woman she was.
But I’d never get to.
She was dead and this was just a memory.
Revich pocketed the stone, saying, “What were you arguing about?”
She rose to her full height and sighed. “This tree. Your father insists there’s something big here.” She paused, her eyes following the trunk all the way to the dark leaves at the top. “If we did find a large piece, the warden would be off our back, and we could rest the next few days.”
“Let’s keep looking then. I can go under, too. I’m old enough now,” he insisted, his voice a show of confidence.
She chuckled and tapped his nose. “Someday, Rev, but not yet. We need you holding the light to lead us back out when it gets too dark.”
He nodded and picked up his father’s shovel.
The looming conclusion to this day slid down my spine, solid enough to make Rev’s body shiver.
I knew what day this was.
This was the day Revich lost both of his parents.
“Just there,see that one? Wedge it right between, and I’ll push down this way.” Byn led Heirah as they continued to pry roots from the expanse of silt under this damning tree.
Rev watched, often shoving his hand in his pocket to squeeze his rhyzolm, curious at how it tried to lead him back to the village.
I would have been chewing my lip if I’d had my own to chew.
I needed to save his parents.
Well, I needed to save his mother at least.
Should I feign an injury and lead them back home?
