The Open Sky: Eternal Forest Saga - Book 3

Chapter 24

 The sound of floorboards creaking pulled Ilderra from her slumber. It was still early. The sun wasn't high enough to cast its light upon the forest, but the sky was lightening ahead of the coming dawn. Her night hadn't been very restful anyway, and a quieter noise than that may have yielded similar results. Viyana's house was two-level, a rarity in all the forest; not just in Meadowgold. With no ground beneath the upper floor, every step groaned loudly. Priestess Oakleaf was the only one in the house who could ascend the stairs, given her other current housemates were centaurs, so she assumed it must be her.

She got out of bed and wandered into the hallway to see Oakleaf at the top of the stairs. "You're up early," she said. Ilderra was still groggy, so it took a moment for her to notice that her former mentor had a pack slung over her shoulder. "Going somewhere?"

Oakleaf put her hand on the banister and looked down the stairs. "I am."

"You're not wearing your robes," Ilderra observed. At first, she dismissed it as the Priestess not having finished dressing at the early hour, but everything else suggested she was ready to head out. "I've never seen you without them."

Oakleaf sighed. "I won't be needing them where I'm going."

"And where exactly is that?" Kortath said from the bottom of the stairs.

The centaur's deep voice sounding unexpectedly startled Ilderra a little, which helped to wake her up more. Oakleaf descended the stairs as she followed closely behind. Halfway between floors, both women could see the look of displeasure on his face. Baine was standing next to him. His expression carried more worry than sternness.

Oakleaf knew Kortath was smart. Behind those leering eyes, she could see him putting the pieces together. "Nowhere without having this conversation first," she assured. Oakleaf crossed the room and sat in a chair by the fireplace. She wanted to make it clear she was in on hurry to rush out. "I wasn't trying to sneak away." She laughed a little. "Who could ever move quietly up there anyway?"

Kortaths' unmoving expression told her he was in no mood to joke. "Where are you going?" he asked again.

"The same place I've always been going," she answered, "to look for Sunrise and Firefly. But, this time, I'm not looking to capture them."

"Priestess Oakleaf," Ilderra began hesitantly. "Are you... looking to join the Open Sky?"

The first of the sun's rays crested the tree line and illuminated the window on the far wall. This caught Oakleaf's eyes. She stared through the window to the fields beyond. "Not join," she assured, "just learn. I need to see it for myself. I need the other side of this story."

"The Open Sky are the enemies of your Temple," Kortath grumbled. "You swore to us that Tranquility would take us in and give us refuge, and now you look to be abandoning it. So, was that a lie then?"

Oakleaf shut her eyes tight. She knew that was the worry going through his mind, but it still hurt to hear him give it a voice. "It wasn't at the time," she answered.

"That's far from reassuring," Baine replied.

"My world is turning upside down too," Oakleaf said in her own defense. "Rainstorm has likely reached Tranquility by now. He may be telling the Grand Seryan of my defiance as we speak. I went to put my robes on this morning and I just... couldn't. It felt like I was a Priestess no longer." She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I can't go home either."

"Do you feel you've lost the Lady's favor?" Ilderra asked.

Oakleaf held her hands up about a foot apart. With little concentration, she managed to make a series of sparks shoot between her fingers. "Not the Lady's," she answered, "just the Temple's."