The Raven, The Elf, and Rachel (A Book of Unexpected Enlightenment 2) by L. Jagi Lamplighter

Author:L. Jagi Lamplighter [Lamplighter, L. Jagi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sword & Sorcery, Fantasy & Scary Stories, Teen & Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Children's Books, fantasy, Children's eBooks, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Publisher: Wisecraft Publishing
Published: 2016-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen:

The Magnificent Tree of Roanoke Island

“King of the Big Rock!” Siggy shouted. He leapt atop a lone boulder in the middle of the field. In the gloom of the overcast sky, the rock gleamed with a silvery sheen. He swung his clasped hands to the left and right over his head, like a champion prize fighter. Lucky zipped around him, crowing his victory crow.

Nastasia shook her head and headed for a nearby little pond to search the shore for royal yarrow. Tickled by the enthusiasm of the boy and his dragon, Rachel watched a bit longer. Then, she, too, set out to collect herbs. She left the tall grasses and moved into the trees. Smooth leaves brushed her cheek, and dead ones crunched under her feet. Inhaling deeply, she luxuriated in the scent of forest.

She found a few sprigs of moly growing in a sunny patch. As she bent to pick the long stalks, a strange feeling came over her—of hush and exhilaration. It felt like the mounting excitement before a storm, like the dawning of a long-awaited morning, like the sudden realization that anything truly was possible.

Rachel straightened slowly, brushing aside stray locks of hair. She knew that feeling.

Fairy folk were near.

With eyes honed by hours of wandering through the forests of Gryphon Park and over the Dartmoor, she surveyed her surroundings. Signs of the fey abounded. A ring of toadstools grew just beyond the glade. A faint scent of hyacinth filled the air, despite being out of season. Beside a mossy stone, acorns and thorns rested where wee folk had left their helmets and lances. A tree knot had a hole in it. The Unwary thought such cavities in trees developed by some natural process. Rachel knew better. If a tree contained a hollow, some elfin creature dwelt in it.

Rachel peered into the knot. The hole was filled with water. Three tiny she-pixies with glittery dragonfly wings bathed within, kicking up a spray with their shapely legs. They squealed when they saw a giantess peering at them and scrambled backward in terror. But they flashed bright smiles when Rachel put her finger to her lips and backed up, winking.

She crept farther into the woods. She could feel the Folk of the Forest watching her. Between the knobby roots of a huge oak, she spotted a foot-high cavity splitting the trunk. The edges of the hollow area were thickly rounded where the bark was attempting to grow over the break. Squatting down, Rachel peered inside. Bits of twisted bark littered the sawdust-covered floor, and tell-tale traces of thistledown floated in the cavity. This was the home of a wood sprite. Pressing her lips together to keep herself from making a sound, she took a toffee from her pocket and left it inside the tree for the wee one.

Ahead, a large outcropping of rock jutted up among the trunks. Beside them, a birch grew sideways for three feet before rising skyward. Rachel looked left and right. No one was watching.

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