Read Online The Raven's Shadow by Elspeth Cooper - Free Book Online
Authors: Elspeth Cooper
Tags: Fiction
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rise to a new tree in its place. The individual may pass but the forest remains, and so memory endures.’
That made sense, of a sort – as long as she accepted the idea of trees possessing memory. She studied the acorn in her hand again, still looking for something remarkable about it, and found nothing.
‘The fruit of the oak. You said it will protect us.’ She held it up by the bit of twig attached to the cup. ‘Protect us from what?’
‘Lady, would you have me tell all my secrets?’ said the forestal with a laugh. ‘Oaks are the gatekeepers of the forest. There is a reason why I found you at an oak tree, and why all the paths returned you there, just as there is a reason why oaks surround this glade.’
He gestured at the black shapes of the trees around them, whose branches spread so wide they overlapped each other and wove their twigs together like children linking their hands in a ring.
Like one of Masen’s Gates in the Veil. ‘It’s a doorway. A portal to another place.’
‘In a manner of speaking.’ Owyn leaned his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers together. ‘Bregorin is . . . a many-folded land. The ways of the wildwood are deceptive, and it is possible even for we who dwell here to become lost. The oak token ensures safe passage, shall we say. It is important that you keep it with you at all times.’
‘I will.’ Tucking the acorn back into her pocket, Tanith asked, ‘If you go deep enough into the wildwood, can you travel into the past and change the outcome of events?’
‘No,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘That only happens in stories. In the Grove there are trees so ancient they were seeded long before the settlers came out of the east, even before the free peoples ever gave this land a name, so the forest’s memory is long, and the wildwood runs deep, but what is past is past. It is not possible to make a change, only to witness it.’ He unfolded himself and stood.
‘It is still very early. Sleep some more, lady, if you can. We will leave in an hour, and you must be rested before we move on. The next stage of the journey may be perilous.’
More perilous than the memories of the trees?
Tanith lay down under her blanket and gazed up at the roof of the ancient forest, the chinks of pale cloud visible through the branches. Though she tried not to dwell on it, she could not help but wonder whether trees that dreamed could also have nightmares.
6
DECEPTIONS AND DESIRES
As the first light touched the mountains, Ytha left the green-eyed warrior snoring in a tangle of sweaty blankets and walked back through the camp to her own bed. Nothing stirred in the cold blue shadows between the tents but a few twists of smoke from the fires, so there was no one to see her as she let the glamour dissolve. The rolling-hipped, red-headed girl she used to be blurred into the air, but the memories remained, and she strode towards her tent with a smile of lazy contentment on her face.
Gods, but there was little to compare with a young man at his peak. Strong as a Stone Crow stallion and more than willing to be ridden hard – hard enough to satisfy even her long hunger. Once the Scattering was over she would no longer be able to pretend to be some wilful daughter of a distant clan, but until then there was plenty of uisca and darkness to give them both what they wanted. And they’d wanted plenty. She shook back her hair, remembering, and the memories made her purr.
As she neared her tent, she noticed her wolf’s-head standard slumped askew, its bone charms clacking together in the breeze. Ytha frowned. Some drunkard must have blundered into it during the night and the men on guard hadn’t bothered to straighten it. A fine impression that made in front of the other chiefs and their Speakers. The men would catch the rough side of her tongue for that; dung-picking for a week might make them remember their duties in future. She rounded the flank of the tent, gathering breath to berate the
That made sense, of a sort – as long as she accepted the idea of trees possessing memory. She studied the acorn in her hand again, still looking for something remarkable about it, and found nothing.
‘The fruit of the oak. You said it will protect us.’ She held it up by the bit of twig attached to the cup. ‘Protect us from what?’
‘Lady, would you have me tell all my secrets?’ said the forestal with a laugh. ‘Oaks are the gatekeepers of the forest. There is a reason why I found you at an oak tree, and why all the paths returned you there, just as there is a reason why oaks surround this glade.’
He gestured at the black shapes of the trees around them, whose branches spread so wide they overlapped each other and wove their twigs together like children linking their hands in a ring.
Like one of Masen’s Gates in the Veil. ‘It’s a doorway. A portal to another place.’
‘In a manner of speaking.’ Owyn leaned his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers together. ‘Bregorin is . . . a many-folded land. The ways of the wildwood are deceptive, and it is possible even for we who dwell here to become lost. The oak token ensures safe passage, shall we say. It is important that you keep it with you at all times.’
‘I will.’ Tucking the acorn back into her pocket, Tanith asked, ‘If you go deep enough into the wildwood, can you travel into the past and change the outcome of events?’
‘No,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘That only happens in stories. In the Grove there are trees so ancient they were seeded long before the settlers came out of the east, even before the free peoples ever gave this land a name, so the forest’s memory is long, and the wildwood runs deep, but what is past is past. It is not possible to make a change, only to witness it.’ He unfolded himself and stood.
‘It is still very early. Sleep some more, lady, if you can. We will leave in an hour, and you must be rested before we move on. The next stage of the journey may be perilous.’
More perilous than the memories of the trees?
Tanith lay down under her blanket and gazed up at the roof of the ancient forest, the chinks of pale cloud visible through the branches. Though she tried not to dwell on it, she could not help but wonder whether trees that dreamed could also have nightmares.
6
DECEPTIONS AND DESIRES
As the first light touched the mountains, Ytha left the green-eyed warrior snoring in a tangle of sweaty blankets and walked back through the camp to her own bed. Nothing stirred in the cold blue shadows between the tents but a few twists of smoke from the fires, so there was no one to see her as she let the glamour dissolve. The rolling-hipped, red-headed girl she used to be blurred into the air, but the memories remained, and she strode towards her tent with a smile of lazy contentment on her face.
Gods, but there was little to compare with a young man at his peak. Strong as a Stone Crow stallion and more than willing to be ridden hard – hard enough to satisfy even her long hunger. Once the Scattering was over she would no longer be able to pretend to be some wilful daughter of a distant clan, but until then there was plenty of uisca and darkness to give them both what they wanted. And they’d wanted plenty. She shook back her hair, remembering, and the memories made her purr.
As she neared her tent, she noticed her wolf’s-head standard slumped askew, its bone charms clacking together in the breeze. Ytha frowned. Some drunkard must have blundered into it during the night and the men on guard hadn’t bothered to straighten it. A fine impression that made in front of the other chiefs and their Speakers. The men would catch the rough side of her tongue for that; dung-picking for a week might make them remember their duties in future. She rounded the flank of the tent, gathering breath to berate the
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