Me'shan sighed and also closed his eyes. "Her spirit was always even more beautiful than her face. She must be radiant."

Adesina smiled softly. "Yes, she is very beautiful."

"I wish I could see her again. Just once, to tell her I am sorry for not protecting her as I should have. To tell her that I still love her."

There was so much pain in his voice that Adesina felt tears swell in her eyes. "Perhaps someday we can try to Dream together."

He straightened immediately. "Is that possible?"

Her eyes strayed to L'iam, who was staring into the darkness. "I do not know. Others have Dreamed with me before."

"Why not now?" he asked eagerly.

Adesina quickly shook her head. She didn't want to run the risk of taking him into the field of death that her Dreams showed her. "Not now. Later, when we get home."

They sat and talked for quite a while longer, getting to know each other better. L'iam and Ravi said very little, but refused to leave Adesina's side. When her shift of keeping watch was over, the four of them laid down on the hard ground and tried to go to sleep. Adesina was afraid that she would Dream again, but her sleep was undisturbed.

The L'avan traveled in this manner for several days. They pushed as hard as they possibly could, but Adesina still had the feeling that the Shimat were drawing closer.

Her fears proved to be well founded.

The relief that they felt when the whispering forest came into view was quick to die. A warning cry from the back of the group brought all of their eyes behind them.

A party of Shimat were riding towards them at full speed.

"To the forest!" shouted Adesina as she spurred her horse forward. "The vyala will offer protection!"

Chapter Fifty-two: The Boon.

They rode as fast as they could, but the Shimat were gaining ground. Somewhere along the way they must have switched horses, because these ones ran as though they were fresh.

Adesina turned in her saddle to give instructions to L'iam as they rode. "Take them deeper into the woods, where they will be safe."

As they broke through the trees, she swung one leg over her horse's neck and dropped to the ground. Then she turned, preparing to fight.

L'iam's voice was filled with panic as he realized her intention. "Adesina, no!"

But they had all ridden past her by now. Only Ravi had been able to stop quickly enough to join her.

She called forth her power, which was severely depleted, and waited for the few seconds before the Shimat came upon her. She desperately wished she had not lost her Blood Sword in the fortress. She felt vulnerable without it. All she had now was her father's dagger and what was left of her vyala.

As her limbs were filled with energy, she became aware of the life of the forest. The fringe, where she stood, was not quite as awake as the heart of the woods, but it still felt as if it were conscious of her presence.

She grabbed a low hanging branch and pulled herself up in order to give herself a better attacking position. She crouched on the limb just in time spring forward, grab another low branch and swing around, knocking the lead Shimat off of it's horse.

The other Shimat pulled up sharply, drawing their weapons in preparation of a fight. Ravi gave a frightening roar, sending the horses into chaos. Adesina jumped lightly higher into the trees, using the shadows to hide herself. She s.n.a.t.c.hed two throwing knives from her belt and hurled them with deadly accuracy.

The Shimat saw the source of the knives and Adesina had to move quickly to avoid their counterattacks. She moved deeper into the forest, leaping from tree to tree, and Ravi followed on the ground below. Their enemies were not far behind.

As she moved she saw flashes of white flitting around on the ground below her, and she heard the voices of the spirits that resided in this refuge. She did her best to not be distracted by their presence, but their words filtered up to her ears.

"Dark souls have entered our haven."

"There yonder doth our sister flee."

"We must lend her aid!"

"Nay, we ought not interfere."

Peace.

The silent voice resounded in Adesina's soul.

The time has come. Are you prepared?

Somehow, she knew that the question was meant for her. She had no idea what the forest was talking about, but anything had to be better than trying to defend a group of helpless L'avan against armed Shimat.

"Yes!" she cried as she scrambled through the foliage.

The earth began to rumble and the trees began to moan. A powerful wind ripped through the leaves and threw the pursuing Shimat off balance. Adesina was forced to grip the branches around her to keep from falling.

YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE, CHILDREN OF MEN! FLEE OR BE DESTROYED!.

The words were not spoken audibly, or even in what could be cla.s.sified as actual words, but the meaning could be felt even by those who did not have the gift of vyala. Fear was apparent on the faces of the Shimat, but all of them held to their training, which told them to stand their ground.

The ground opened at the feet of the pursuers, swallowing several of them. Their screams were cut off as the earth closed again. Trees came crashing down like fists upon the heads of the Shimat, and the powerful winds tossed them through the air like dolls.

Adesina clung to a branch and searched frantically for her guardian, who was somewhere on the ground with them. "Ravi! Ravi!"

Her shouts couldn't be heard over the howling gale.

Suddenly, she felt an invisible power take her from the branches as gently as if she had been an infant. At first she struggled against it, but it was as useless as fighting against water.

Peace, my child. I will not harm you.

Adesina stopped straining, but still scanned the ground for her friends. The invisible force wrapped her in a warm blanket of darkness and whisked her away.

The silence was profound, especially when contrasted to the tumult of the moment before. A sense of peace settled on Adesina's weary heart, refreshing it in a way she had never experienced before. Her entire body was filled with a reviving energy, warming it and leaching away every ache and pain.

When she opened her eyes, she was looking up at a forest canopy. The late afternoon sun filtered down through the leaves, warming her face. She could hear the carefree trilling of birds above her head, and she could see b.u.t.terflies fluttering from flower to flower.

She sat up and looked around, trying to figure out where she was.

Ravi lay a few feet away, his eyes closed and his form very still. Adesina crawled over to him, feeling strangely weak as she moved.

"Ravi?"

His eyes opened at her touch. "Ma'eve? What happened?"

She shook her head. "I do not know. I am not even certain where we are."

Her guardian sat up and looked around carefully. He studied the position of the sun for several moments before saying, "I think we are far north."

Adesina frowned in confusion. "Do you thinkathe foresta?"

"Transported us?" he finished for her. He got to his feet. "Perhaps. I have never heard of anything like that, but the old vyala had powers we cannot imagine."

With the help of a nearby tree, Adesina pulled herself up to a standing position. She tested her weight on her legs, and found that her strength was slowly returning. "We need to find the others."

He nodded in agreement and waited while she scanned the area with her vyala.

Once again she felt the life of the forest, but this one was different from the one they had been in before. It was less wild and more peaceful. It felt wise and calm, undisturbed by the troubles of the outside world. It did not speak to her, but it was very aware of her presence.

Adesina pointed in the direction they needed to go, and they began walking. The horses came into view first. They stood in a group, grazing peacefully, as if they had not recently been in the midst of battle. Her sharp eyes spotted the horse she had been riding, and she search for any sign of a rider.

There was no human form in sight.

"L'iam?" she called out with a hint of desperation. "E'nes? Father?"

Her guardian shouted from the trees. "Ma'eve! Over here!"

She ran towards him, ignoring the stings of the branches that whipped her arms and face. She burst through the undergrowth and saw the still figures of perhaps a dozen L'avan. Most of them were the unfamiliar faces of the rescued prisoners, but at the far end she saw the pale face of her brother.

"E'nes!" Adesina rushed to his side and put a hand on his forehead. "E'nes?"

He moaned softly and turned his head back and forth. Finally he opened his eyes, squinting against the light. "Adesina? What happened?"

"The forest sent us north, somewhere."

The others were beginning to stir as well. She searched each face, feeling a sense of panic rise in her chest.

She turned back to her brother. "E'nes, where are the others?"

He was still looking slightly dazed. "What?"

She did a quick head count. There were only fifteen L'avan in the glade, which meant that two people were missing.

"Where are L'iam and Father?"

The magnitude of her question hit him. He sat up so quickly that she had to jerk back to avoid a collision.

"They went back for you."

Adesina was finding it difficult to breath. "They did what?"

"They told me to continue leading the L'avan deeper into the forest, then they turned their horses around to ride back to help you."

In a flash, she was on her feet, calling for Ravi as she hurried back through the woods. "They must be back closer to where I woke up. We have to find them!"

Her sight was tinged light green as she cast her gaze around the trees. A strange kaleidoscope of color caught her attention from the corner of her eye, and she saw that her guardian was the glowing source. She decided against asking questions for the moment, but she knew that somehow he was using his own unique gifts to help her.

"There!" he said, running even faster.

Me'shan lay half sprawled beneath a bush. Adesina pulled him out as gently as she could, checking to see if he was injured.

"Father? Can you hear me?"

He was severely disoriented when he became conscious. "E'rian?"

She shook her head. "No, Father, it is Adesina."

Me'shan sat up and looked around. "Where is L'iam?"

"Do you remember what was happening before you were brought here?" she asked.

Her father focused on clearing his thoughts. He pointed in a direction away from where she had come. "I think he was to my right."

She threw a glance at her guardian as she headed that way. "Stay with him, Ravi."

Adesina used her vyala once more to search for her lost friends. She couldn't look as far as she normally could because of the interference she received from the presence of the old vyala. Even so, it wasn't long until she spotted one more form on the ground.

She almost tripped in her haste to get to him. "L'iam!"

He was already waking up by the time she reached him. He wrapped his arms around her as she fell into his embrace, holding her as tightly as he could.

"You reckless fool!" he said in her ear. "Never do that again! How did you expect to take on half a dozen Shimat by yourself?"

Adesina half laughed and half sobbed. "I had it under control."

L'iam raised himself up on one elbow, looking down at her with the sun illuminating her features. He brushed the hair off of her forehead and cupped her face. "How many times do you think I can bear losing you?"

Her heart gave a quick jump at his words. She looked up into his gold and light green eyes and saw them shimmering with deep emotion.

Suddenly, she realized what it would have meant for her if she had lost him.

"You will not lose me," she said softly. "I promise."

A brilliant smile slowly spread across his face. "Good," he replied simply.

The soft tread of Ravi's feet could be heard approaching them. "Ma'eve, we need to get back to the others."