Lysander shoved between the two, stomping over to where Alexandra had stopped to watch the argument.

"Why are you telling these lies, Spirit Leech?"

"Lies? I speak of what I saw with my own eyes!"

Lysander took a step back in shock. Alexandra moved with him, craning her neck to stare directly in his face.

"Why do you look so stunned? If am a Spirit Leech, would it not make sense that I lived here with the lacarna? After all, I betrayed the other Immortals for them, did I not? There certainly wasn't any other place safe for me. So, I was here the day a human told us the Protectors had paid bandits to chase the lacarna out. I was here when they came too, crouched in the shadows where the chief had hidden me. If it is lies you are worried about, look to your precious Lord Avram. As for me, I will give you the truth. It is my only hope of setting things right."

Alexandra whipped around, striking off farther into the forest, her pace quickened by her anger. Eve stuck her tongue out at Lysander and followed after her. Max and Melody gave him a wide birth and followed Eve. After several seconds, Max tapped Melody on her arm. He kept his voice to a whisper so Alexandra wouldn't hear him.

"Exactly how long ago did the Spirit Leeches betray the other Immortals?"

"Four hundred years."

"Wow, I can't imagine living that long."

"She's older than that, Max. The Immortals age slower than we do. She's nine by their definition of time, not ours." Melody stopped. "I have really met an Immortal. Do you know how many in my order would give everything they have for a chance like this? She's a living piece of history."

Lysander caught back up, brushing by Melody. "She's a criminal who is unlikely to tell you the truth. Keep moving."

Max matched Lysander's stride. "That's something I don't understand. You said that the Spirit Leeches were cursed because they turned against the other Immortals in the war, right?"

"Yes, and it's why, when we are done here, we must arrest her."

"But, Alexandra is a little girl. How could she have willing betrayed anyone?"

"Who knows what part she played, but she admits she's a Spirit Leech. She must have been involved somehow."

"I don't know. Something's not right. Maybe the Immortals made a mistake."

"At the moment it doesn't matter, Max. We need to pay attention to our current situation. If she has lived for as long as she says, she's bound to have learned a few tricks."

"You mean like disappearing?"

Max and Lysander came to an abrupt stop, with Melody running into the back of Lysander.

"Why did you two stop so suddenly?"

Max suppressed a laugh. "Alexandra disappeared."

"What!"

Melody shoved herself between the two. Ahead of them stood Eve in front of a wall of tangled vines. Moving close, they saw that it stretched upward into the branches and to the left and right beyond sight.

Max looked around. "Eve, where did Alexandra go?"

Eve blushed. "I don't know. I was trying to listen to you guys, then next thing I know, she's gone, and I'm in front of this."

Eve spread her arms at the wall. Max pushed his hand against the vines forming the wall, they barely budged.

"She didn't go that way."

Eve sniffed at the air then examined the ground. "But her tracks lead right to it."

Lysander examined the wall himself. "I thought lacarnians were excellent trackers?"

"We are, but there's no scent left. Everything stops at this wall." Eve pushed against the vines with one hand. "And like Max said, it's solid." Eve looked back the way they had come. "Maybe I missed something."

To Max's horror a hand slipped through the wall, latching on to Eve's wrist. "Eve!"

Eve jumped at the touch and tried to pull away. The hand tightened its' grip. A small voice came from the other side of the wall as the hand tugged at Eve.

"Come on already."

Everyone froze. "Alexandra?"

Eve stopped resisting, letting the hand pull her towards the vines. Melody shook off the shock and grabbed Eve's tail just as the vine wall closed around the rest of her body.

"Quick, grab hold!"

Max took hold of Melody's free arm and stretched his other hand out for Lysander. He quickly took hold of it, and in one long chain, Alexandra pulled them through. Once on the other side, they let go of one another.

"Sorry about grabbing your tail, Eve."

Eve held her tail in her hands, rubbing the spot Melody had taken hold of. "It's okay."

Max doubled over laughing. "I don't think I've ever seen you jump like that, Eve."

Eve shot a look at Max; a look he'd only see a few times. Remembering what happened afterwards, he immediately stopped laughing. Lysander shoved past him and stood before Alexandra.

"Where are we?"

A beautiful smiled formed on her pale face. "My and Eve's home."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.

In the recesses of his mind, Max registered Alexandra's statement, but he would ask about that later. For now, he stood speechless as he took in his surroundings, starting with the vine wall Alexandra had pulled them through. On this side, he could see that it actually formed a large dome, the top reaching the height of the trees where it allowed in a moderate amount of light.

Here, the trees grew nearly twenty feet apart. Between them grew a myriad of plants and flowers whose colors had turned a sickly brown. Above, in the sagging branches of the trees, the vines and leaves formed numerous alcoves, many large enough to hold five or six people. A heavy sadness draped over all of it, marring what should have been a beautiful scene.

Max's gaze eventually fell on Alexandra who had waited patiently for them to absorb their surroundings. She managed a tired curtsy.

"Welcome to Urania." She smiled at Eve. "Welcome home, Evangeline."

Eve took a tentative step forward. A joy-filled smile appeared on her face. She spun, laughing in pure merriment.

"I can feel them! They're like old friends."

Max watched in amazement as the plants around Eve straightened and blossomed, their colors shining bright. When she walked to one of the nearby trees, the branches that had sagged a moment before lifted themselves, sprouting new leaves. A tiny giggle escaped from Alexandra.

"The forest is glad to see you, Evangeline."

Melody pointed in awe at Alexandra's feet. "And you."

Like Eve, the flowers had sprung back to life around Alexandra. Max looked at the ground by his own feet, but nothing had changed. The same held true for Lysander, however a few had revived for Melody who slowly spun to see them.

"What is this?"

Alexandra spread her hands. "This is the power your order believed the Immortals to have."

Lysander had the same expression of wonder on his face as the rest of them. "But, you haven't done anything, have you?"

"Not a thing. The spirits are acting on their own. They are happy to have company once again."

Melody bent down to examine the flowers at her feet. "I don't understand. I have always been taught that we need to impose our will over the spirits in order for them to act."

"That is why the spirits no longer respond to you and the other Children like they did for us. You do not control them; instead you speak with them as equals and take care of one another. What your order has achieved has come about only because a few spirits felt compa.s.sionate enough to help you."

"Is that why that old man, the collector, said we are misguided?"

Alexandra took Melody's hand and indicated for her to stand. "Do not feel ashamed. We did not grasp this at first either, but the lacarna taught us. The spirits and the lacarna have always had a special bond. That is why they flourish around Evangeline. She may not remember them, but they know her quite well."

Lysander stared in awe at the flowers. "I've never seen anything like this."

Alexandra's smile disappeared. "Few humans have, though they could if they wanted. The Children have nothing special over any other human, merely a basic understanding of the spirits. If taught properly, all could learn to work with them."

Melody held up her hand. "Wait a second, back up. It is the belief of my church that the Immortals, once called the Creators, made Velrune. If that's the case, why would the lacarna need to teach you how to communicate with the spirits?"

"Because we are not the Creators. In fact, we are nothing more than humans. In other words, I am the same as you."

Lysander's head jerked away from the flowers to face Alexandra. "Blasphemy! You've gone mad. Even the Protectors believe the Immortals created Velrune and all that is in it."

"Ironically, it is the Protectors that have caused so much confusion about our past. If you do not believe me, come, and I will show you proof." Alexandra turned and began walking across the empty village. "Evangeline, come!"

Eve dropped down out of the branches behind Max, startling him. Focused on the conversation, he had not seen her leave.

"Where did you go?"

Eve pointed to one of the alcoves three quarters up a tree to their left. "I think I lived in that one."

Alexandra looked back to follow Eve's finger then smiled. "That you did, but we can reminisce later. Come."

Alexandra led them across the dome floor, along the way pa.s.sing a building similar to the one at Alexandra's camp. Its presence here surprised Max.

"Why is there a Church of the Immortals here?"

Alexandra kept walking, talking back over her shoulder. "Several Immortals lived here at one time. They preferred more than branches and leaves for their homes."

A moment later, they reached the other side of the dome. Before them stood a dark opening in the vine wall. Alexandra paused.

"This is the entrance to a cave in the western mountains. Be careful entering, it will be quite dark until I can get the torches lit."

Alexandra stepped through the opening with the others following. Inside, the light from the domed area quickly faded, leaving them in complete darkness. Max put his hand on the wall as he walked to keep his direction. After roughly a hundred feet, Max felt the wall drop away. He immediately stopped, afraid he would run into either a person or a wall. A few seconds later, a torch flared in front of them, displaying Alexandra and the edges of the circular room they stood in. Other torches lit, their flames growing slowly, allowing time for everyone's eyes to adjust. Beside him, Melody sucked in her breath. "The paintings! This is the cave isn't it? The one with the history of Velrune."

Lysander took in the numerous drawings on the walls of the cave. "Or at least the lacarna's biased version of it."

Alexandra shook her head. "The lacarna never bothered to record their history."

"Then who?"

Eve walked over to the wall and crouched in front of him. Studying a small painting, she reached out to touch it. Melody started towards her.

"Eve, I don't think we should touch anything."

"Even if it's mine?"

Melody and Max moved behind Eve, who had her hand placed flat against the wall.

"I thought I remembered, but..."

Eve removed her hand, revealing the yellow handprint of a child.

Alexandra came and squatted next to Eve. She put her hand on a green print next to the yellow one. It was a perfect fit.

"Unlike me, Eve, you have grown since we made these." A pleasant giggle escaped Alexandra. "We got in such trouble."

She stood. "To answer your question, Lysander, the humans who lived here with the lacarna recorded these. Sit and I will read them to you, just as I did for Maxwell's father."

"My father came here?"

Ignoring Max, Alexandra walked to the edge of the wall next to the tunnel. Pointing to the top she began explaining the paintings.

"Our human ancestors' first memories were of waking in the plains. They recorded their number as sixty."

Alexandra read the paintings downward in a strip then moved to the top right. Everyone else took a seat in the middle of the room to listen.

"Seeking shelter, they entered a nearby forest where they came across a group of large cats. To their amazement, one stood, changing to a form similar to theirs. It spoke, welcoming them to the forest. Frightened by the shape-changing beast, most of the humans fled the forest. A few, however, followed the beasts to their home in the woods.

"The large cats befriended the humans that followed, showing them how to live in the forest. Over time, the cats even shared their knowledge of the spirits, teaching the humans how to communicate with them. The humans named the cats lacarnians, which simply meant friend of the spirits.

"At first, the humans in the forest shared what they learned from the lacarna with the humans that remained in the plains. But, as the plains humans grew in number, they became more and more concerned with their own affairs, losing contact with those in the forest. Each group went their own way, with the forest humans living more like the lacarna, some even mating with them.