Guardian of Ajalon by Joan Campbell

Author:Joan Campbell [Campbell, Joan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joan Campbell
Published: 2018-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Shara was, as usual, the first to wake, but since that frightening day in the clearing, she always stayed in the safety of her blanket. It was not long before Eliad stirred awake. Andreo slept soundly next to them. Shara had the impression that he had fallen asleep much later than they had, for she had woken once in the night to find him pensively staring into the fire. The realization that Lucian and Taus were the same man had knocked Andreo hard. All his life he had worshiped a mere mortal, and a cruel one at that. The disillusionment that had started with his disgracing at the monastery had crept ever deeper. He was questioning the very foundations of his life, growing quieter and quieter as he did so.

Shara and Eliad prepared some food and packed their blankets quietly in preparation for the journey, although Shara still felt some trepidation about setting off again.

“Every day I am afraid to walk deeper into the forest, Eliad,” she said softly as they worked alongside each other. “Are they always there? Or will they leave us alone now?”

“I won’t lie to you, Shara. They are there, waiting for their chance to draw you away. But the One with us is much greater than they are. That is what we need to trust in.”

“The One with us?” Shara tried to make sense of his words. “Tabeal? But she’s just a bird. And she only appears every now and then.”

“A remarkable bird, don’t you think? And never far away.”

Shara nodded, thinking back to the feeling of peace whenever Tabeal sat on her shoulder, of the light and warmth piercing the cold fear, of the direction and comfort the bird gave when she was there.

“When Tabeal is with us, it is as if the king himself is here,” Eliad added.

“I don’t understand.”

“In the Rif’twine, with its confusion and deception, these things make little sense. But one day it will be as apparent to you as your face’s reflection in a crystal-clear pool.”

Shara asked no more questions. Her thoughts already spun with all that she had learned. Nothing is as it seems, Andreo kept muttering lately, and Shara felt the same struggle to make sense of all the new insights.

Once Andreo woke up and they had eaten some breakfast, they set off again. Since leaving the clearing, the monotonous landscape of the forest had started to change. No longer were they making their way across flat land, but the path wound through terrain that became more rugged the farther they went. Initially, Shara had noticed only the increased slope of the ground, slowing them down and tiring them out, but now they found themselves skirting around cliffs and traversing valleys. Once the path had led down to a river, and they had been forced to half clamber, half slide down the steep embankment in order to cross it. This river, which—Eliad said—had its source high in the mountains, was stronger and deeper than the little stream they had followed out of the clearing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.