Origin of Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Protector Book 3) by Linsey Hall

Author:Linsey Hall [Hall, Linsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781942085270
Publisher: Bonnie Doon Press
Published: 2017-07-25T16:00:00+00:00

I ran through the forest, leaping over tree limbs and dodging boulders. Tears poured down my cheeks, fear turning my chest to ice.

All around me, the forest died. Trees lost their leaves and grass shriveled to nothing. Elesius was dying, but Mum wouldn’t tell me why. She said I was too young to know, but I was thirteen! Nearly an adult.

I scrubbed the tears from my cheeks, but my blurred vision made it impossible to see the tree root. I tripped, sprawling on my hands, pain shooting through my knee. A rock.

I sobbed, head bent.

The forest was betraying me. As if it were my fault it was dying. I shook my head.

“No,” I whispered. That was crazy.

I rolled onto my butt, sitting with my back against the dead tree that had tripped me. All around, wind whistled past the trees. But there were no leaves to rattle. No grass to wave in the wind.

At my side, there was a tiny, struggling vine. It leaned toward me, as if blown by the wind. But the wind came from the other direction. I reached out to pet it.

A footstep sounded behind me.

I whirled, catching sight of the old man who occasionally visited me when I was in the forest.

“Grandfather Ademius!” I called. I sniffled, shoving back the tears.

He turned his head in my direction and smiled, as if he’d been looking for me. I hadn’t seen him in ages.

“Where have you been?” I asked. Happiness fluttered in my chest.

He approached slowly. He said he was slow because of his old bones, but there was something timeless about him.

“Well?” I prodded.

“Calm down, child.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s harder for old Ademius to get around these days.”

“You could just come live here, you know.”

He tutted. “That I could not. And I have my reasons.” He held up a finger to still my usual arguments. “But it doesn’t mean I can’t visit you.”

I smiled, leaning back against the tree. He sat down to join me, his joints creaking. Ademius had started appearing to me years ago, but only while I was in the forest. I thought of him almost as a woodland sprite, though he wasn’t very spritely at his age. He’d said he was my family, one who’d had to leave Elesius long ago. He looked a lot like my mother, especially around the eyes, so it was clearly true.

I loved his company. Though I had my parents, my grandparents had died before I was born. Ademius was the closest thing I had to a grandfather.

“Have you done your gardening today?” he asked.

“Yes.” He always asked about my garden, giving me tips and tricks. “But I’m worried. Not only has the forest been dying faster, now my garden is starting to look wilted. The herbs are failing. That’s never happened before.”

Ademius’s eyes turned sad, but he nodded knowingly. “It was only a matter of time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Things can’t live forever, child.” He gripped his walking stick. “Not even me.

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