Page 19 of Secrets of the Lore Keepers
“The seer?” I wrinkled my nose.
“Sasha, I believe her name is.”
I froze. “You spoke with her? Then she is alive?”
“Did you think she was in trouble?”
I shook my head, relieved. “No, I just hoped she’d find what she was looking for, and it seems she has.”
Kian pointed down the road. “And I believe those creatures have too. If you aren’t having visitors, then perhaps a small troop is headed our way. Mounted riders, since they are kicking up dust.”
“To the house,” I said.
We set off at a run, but before we reached it, Kian grabbed my hand. “We need to board up the windows. I found supplies in the barn. . .”
“I’ll help,” I breathed, and ran after him.
We still had time, I thought to myself as I ran. Hopefully, the dust on the road was nothing. Not an army come to find the goddess and raise her to life. Still, dread filled my heart as we carried boards to the porch.
I burst inside, calling for Maraini and telling her about what might come.
“We are prepared,” she said fiercely.
Chapter Twelve
The doorbanged shut behind me with a finality. Dread seeped around, only lessoning when Kian caught my arm. He pulled me so close my cheek brushed the rise and fall of his chest. “Here.” He thrust the handle of a knife into my hands. “I’ll board up the windows and hold them off, should they come near. But go! Find the buried goddess, stab her, and we will be free of this madness.”
I gulped. My fingers closed around the hilt as I studied the intensity behind his eyes, well aware what the rise of the goddess meant not only for Maraini and I, but also for the inhabitants of the enchanted wildwood. Despite the direness of the situation, I was drawn to Kian and wanted a way to comfort and encourage us both. I brought a hand up to caress his cheek, wondering if he could sense the depths of my emotions in that touch.
“Go,” he insisted, even though he held me firmly, as though he, too, relished our connection.
“What’s all this?” Maraini appeared, her eyes going from the weapons to the boards for the windows.
Recalling the urgency of our situation, I stumbled back, breaking the embrace. As I did, a sharp twinge went through me. A warning. I felt it deep in my gut. Something with ill will had crossed the boundary line. “They are coming,” I squeaked out.
Maraini sucked in a deep breath and pressed a hand to her belly. “I felt it too,” she breathed, striding across the room to the window. “Those with ill will have entered our land but. . .it’s too early!”
“All the same, they come,” Kian’s level voice calmed the frantic air of panic which was quickly invading the peaceful house.
Maraini’s eyes went to the knife in my hand and understanding dawn on her face. “We do this together,” she said, hands on her hips.
My eyes went wide. It wasn’t often that Maraini made demands, but this was one of those times.
“From what we know, the goddess is dark, dangerous. Kian, you volunteered to come help us, to fight with us. We stay together on this. I’m not losing anyone today!”
Kian drew himself to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest. “Go,” he said, gently but firmly. “Staying together will only cause delays.”
“He’s right,” I grabbed Maraini’s arm and dragged her toward the cellar, dread creeping up my spine. Not that I was in a hurry to find what was hidden in the cellar, quite the opposite. But the time for procrastination was over. We needed to do this. It was our task. Our duty.
Maraini came willingly, stopping to snatch a basket of supplies off the table.
I stole one last glance at Kian as he bent and lifted a board. The light shifted as he blocked it and a lump settled in my throat. There was no time for regrets, my path lay before me.
I opened the door to the cellar and Maraini reached into the basket. “Here. I have two lanterns but keep flint handy. I also brought sage sticks.”
My fingers closed around the flint and I tucked it into my pocket as Maraini lit a lantern. A rush of fear rose like a haze around me, and for a moment all I saw was smoke. “Are we really going to do this?” I asked, wanting an excuse, a reason to escape.
Behind me, I heard banging as Kian nailed the boards up. The faint roll of thunder made the walls of the house shudder. A storm was coming, just like the seer promised.
