Read Online Guardians of the Boundary (The Conjurors Series Book 3) by Kristen Pham - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kristen Pham
Ads: Link
said.
Valerie forced herself not to
look away from his direct gaze. “The Fractus are on the verge of sending an
army to Earth. We can’t let that happen, and we hoped you could help us.”
“Come, this is no place to talk
of such matters. The others wait for us in the Sky Garden,” Elden said.
He led the group to a nearby
tree with knobs in the side like shallow steps. He quickly ascended, and
Valerie followed as nimbly as she could. When she reached the top, the first
thing she noticed was the sky. They were at the very top of the trees, and no
branches or leaves blocked their view of the endless blue.
All around her in winding paths
were gold, pink, white, and blue flowers. They grew wild, but somehow the
People of the Woods had interwoven the colors and patterns to form a work of
art. It was like stepping inside a painting. Beside her, Cyrus and Kanti stared,
mouths slightly open. Gideon shut his eyes and tilted his face to the sky,
taking a deep breath.
Valerie wished she could stare
and explore, but she’d come here with a purpose, so she forced herself to focus
on Elden.
He had led them to a bump in the
giant platform of woven tree branches that formed a natural table, and around
it sat five other People of the Woods. They were all dark-skinned, like Elden,
but their skin and hair glinted with different shades of gold, green, and
silver. Valerie recognized Cerise, Ceru’s aunt whom she had met several months
before. She remembered that she hadn’t been friendly, even though Valerie had
helped locate Darling so he could heal her son, Emin, after a bad injury.
Seated at one end of the table,
with flowers wound through her hair, was Cara, Cyrus’s sister. Cyrus moved to
give her a hug, but Cara shook her head slightly, and he stepped back, puzzled.
“Azra sent word that you were
coming,” Elden explained. “She has told us the latest actions by the Fractus.
We will decide as a people what support we will give your quest, but those
gathered today are here to listen and spread your words.”
Valerie couldn’t have hoped for
more. She turned to Gideon to see if he would start, but his head was bowed,
and she knew he expected her to begin to weave the story that would rally
people to them.
She gulped and hoped that the
People of the Woods didn’t notice. But she gathered her thoughts, remembering
the appeal that she had planned the night before as she lay in bed. She’d
tailored it to what she knew of these people and hoped it would resonate.
“People of the Woods, I know
that your lives and values are different from many of the Conjurors on the
Globe, and so you live apart,” Valerie began.
“To escape the taint of
corruption that is rife on the ground,” Cerise said, tossing her long hair over
her shoulder.
Valerie nodded. “We don’t come
to debate our differences today. We come because we not only share an enemy in
the Fractus, but we also share a hope for a future where magic is used to enhance
the lives of the people and animals on the Earth and the Globe.”
“Don’t forget all of the
non-cognizant life, the plants,” Cerise interrupted again, but her tone was
less hostile.
“You’re right. On both the Earth
and the Globe, the need to protect the creatures that cannot protect themselves
is critical. The Fractus seek to use magic to force their way of life upon us
all, human and Conjuror,” Valerie said.
“We’ve seen the truth of that
for ourselves,” Elden said, moving to stand beside Valerie. “They have attacked
our fortresses and stolen our people to harvest our magic against our will.”
“We have to find a better, fairer
way to bring magic back to Earth, if that is what we all decide to do. But
before that can happen, we must drive the Fractus from Earth and stop their
poison from spreading across the universe,” Valerie said.
“She’s right,” the oldest of the
representatives spoke up. “We have battled the Fractus since the Globe was
formed. We can never
Valerie forced herself not to
look away from his direct gaze. “The Fractus are on the verge of sending an
army to Earth. We can’t let that happen, and we hoped you could help us.”
“Come, this is no place to talk
of such matters. The others wait for us in the Sky Garden,” Elden said.
He led the group to a nearby
tree with knobs in the side like shallow steps. He quickly ascended, and
Valerie followed as nimbly as she could. When she reached the top, the first
thing she noticed was the sky. They were at the very top of the trees, and no
branches or leaves blocked their view of the endless blue.
All around her in winding paths
were gold, pink, white, and blue flowers. They grew wild, but somehow the
People of the Woods had interwoven the colors and patterns to form a work of
art. It was like stepping inside a painting. Beside her, Cyrus and Kanti stared,
mouths slightly open. Gideon shut his eyes and tilted his face to the sky,
taking a deep breath.
Valerie wished she could stare
and explore, but she’d come here with a purpose, so she forced herself to focus
on Elden.
He had led them to a bump in the
giant platform of woven tree branches that formed a natural table, and around
it sat five other People of the Woods. They were all dark-skinned, like Elden,
but their skin and hair glinted with different shades of gold, green, and
silver. Valerie recognized Cerise, Ceru’s aunt whom she had met several months
before. She remembered that she hadn’t been friendly, even though Valerie had
helped locate Darling so he could heal her son, Emin, after a bad injury.
Seated at one end of the table,
with flowers wound through her hair, was Cara, Cyrus’s sister. Cyrus moved to
give her a hug, but Cara shook her head slightly, and he stepped back, puzzled.
“Azra sent word that you were
coming,” Elden explained. “She has told us the latest actions by the Fractus.
We will decide as a people what support we will give your quest, but those
gathered today are here to listen and spread your words.”
Valerie couldn’t have hoped for
more. She turned to Gideon to see if he would start, but his head was bowed,
and she knew he expected her to begin to weave the story that would rally
people to them.
She gulped and hoped that the
People of the Woods didn’t notice. But she gathered her thoughts, remembering
the appeal that she had planned the night before as she lay in bed. She’d
tailored it to what she knew of these people and hoped it would resonate.
“People of the Woods, I know
that your lives and values are different from many of the Conjurors on the
Globe, and so you live apart,” Valerie began.
“To escape the taint of
corruption that is rife on the ground,” Cerise said, tossing her long hair over
her shoulder.
Valerie nodded. “We don’t come
to debate our differences today. We come because we not only share an enemy in
the Fractus, but we also share a hope for a future where magic is used to enhance
the lives of the people and animals on the Earth and the Globe.”
“Don’t forget all of the
non-cognizant life, the plants,” Cerise interrupted again, but her tone was
less hostile.
“You’re right. On both the Earth
and the Globe, the need to protect the creatures that cannot protect themselves
is critical. The Fractus seek to use magic to force their way of life upon us
all, human and Conjuror,” Valerie said.
“We’ve seen the truth of that
for ourselves,” Elden said, moving to stand beside Valerie. “They have attacked
our fortresses and stolen our people to harvest our magic against our will.”
“We have to find a better, fairer
way to bring magic back to Earth, if that is what we all decide to do. But
before that can happen, we must drive the Fractus from Earth and stop their
poison from spreading across the universe,” Valerie said.
“She’s right,” the oldest of the
representatives spoke up. “We have battled the Fractus since the Globe was
formed. We can never
Similar Books
