Beyond the Door by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

Author:Maureen Doyle McQuerry
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Abrams
Published: 2014-02-28T05:00:00+00:00

Sarah felt her face flush. It didn’t seem fair that Jessica, who Timothy said was never nice and never did the right thing, was receiving this honor. She wasn’t sure exactly what the honor was, but it did involve a spectacular necklace.

As if he could read her thoughts, the Greenman spoke. “Remember, Sarah, that you can’t always know the inside by looking at the outside.” He placed a twiggy hand on Gwydon’s head. “You and Timothy have important work to do also, and have already proved that you can do it well.”

Sarah thought of her stray arrow that almost sent Timothy to his death. “But I failed. I hit Timothy and almost killed him.”

“Killed him? As Cerridwyn said, yours was the shot that saved him. If not for your shot, he would have been caught by the hunt. His fall from Gwydon prevented Balor’s eye from reaching him.”

“Balor? The evil man Mr. Twig warned us about?” Sarah asked.

“Yes, Balor of the evil eye. He will go to very great lengths to destroy friends of the Light and stop at nothing to eliminate a future Filidh, once he has gotten what he needs from him.” The Greenman’s voice grew very grave. “Balor’s eye can kill with a glance, but only at a great cost to himself. Once he kills with his eye, Balor is at his weakest. His power ebbs for a time. If he had used his eye against Timothy, even Gwydon could not have protected your brother. Your shot made him fall out of the path of Balor’s eye. So, you see, even mistakes can be redeemed.”

Sarah felt happiness creep quietly in. But every time she heard Balor’s name, she trembled. She tried hard to remember what Mr. Twig had said about a Filidh. “Who is the Filidh?”

“Someone who will learn his place in time.” Leaves rustled as the Greenman spoke. He crossed to Sarah. With twiggy fingers, he withdrew something from his side. It was a long, slender core of wood, fragrant and crossed with many rings. A small hole remained in the side of his trunk where the core had been extracted. “The heart of a tree, to help you remember what others have forgotten.”

He extended the core to Sarah. “Loyalty and bravery are qualities that many in your world no longer value, or they confuse them with blind obedience. You have been very brave. Keep this near you; you will need it in the adventures to come.”

At the words “the adventures to come,” Sarah felt her resentment toward Jessica slip away like a shadow into the night.

“And Timothy, who sacrificed his life for a friend,” the Greenman continued.

Timothy felt suddenly confused. Blood rushed to his face. “No, I just did what it was important for me to do. I didn’t think about sacrificing anything.” And then in a very quiet voice he added, “In fact, at first I really didn’t want to help Jessica at all.”

“Where is the crown given to you by Cerridwyn?” asked the Greenman.

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