Forever Misplaced by Heather Michelle

Author:Heather Michelle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heather Michelle

Chapter Eleven

This trek through the forest was different for Kody. Paths seemed to open for them between the trees as if ushering them in, and through an entire day of traveling the forest, not once did Kody trip or stumble on a branch, root, or vine. As the sun dropped and the forest grew dim, they found themselves in a small clearing with a cold fire pit and beds of soft moss circling the perimeter, as if it was exactly where the forest wanted them.

Tristan walked around the perfect campsite and shot Briony a quizzical look. “Is this place for real?”

Briony grinned and dropped her pack. “Kody, help me gather some of this wood and we’ll see if you have the gift to light a fire with your magic.”

Something raced in Kody’s chest, and she dropped her pack next to Briony’s while Tristan pulled dinner things from his pack.

Along the tree line of their clearing was an ample amount of fallen and dried branches, just waiting for them to collect. Breaking some branches down, Briony showed Kody how to build a proper fire when she admitted she’d never built one. Building the fire was logical and easy; lighting it proved harder.

“Not every Elv has the ability to influence the ruakh around them,” Briony said.

“Wait, what’s ruakh?” Kody struggled a little with the odd pronunciation.

“Ruakh is the name for the magic flowing through our world. It’s like the moisture hanging in the air after a rainstorm. It lives and moves in the world and only some can reach out and touch it.”

“So I might not have magic after all?” Kody asked.

“No, you have magic—ruakh—flowing through you. All Elv do, but only some can influence it to perform what you think of as magic,” Briony explained. “Elv come in two kinds, those who can perform magic and those with exceptionally long lives. All Elv have long lives, you understand, but those who can’t touch and influence the ruakh, their lives are several times longer than the others of our people.”

Tristan scooted closer and pulled an apple out of their bag. “So it’s like using magic burns through their life faster?” he asked.

Briony shrugged. “Some would say so, but it’s a long-debated topic. No one knows for sure, only that it is usually so.”

“So I might do magic, or I might live a really long time?” Kody asked.

Briony nodded and handed Kody a small twig, about six inches long. “Now, creating fire is one of the most basic skills learned by those who can influence the ruakh. This stick is wood, and wood likes burning when it’s dead and dry. It’s a part of its nature to break down and return to the eres, and that can either happen naturally over time or through the reaction caused by fire.”

Kody nodded and wiggled in her crisscross seated position on the moss. A looming pressure grew in her chest, a fear that she wouldn’t be able to do this. Would her father, when she met

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