Dragonsong Book 1

Chapter twelve

The forest grew darker as we went deeper in. The fairy on my shoulder quivered in fear. The trees moaned in the fierce winds. Nathan broke the science between the three of us.
"A storm is coming, we better make a camp before we get rained on." He said. I found a good spot and we started a small fire. When the rain, came, it came down hard. Our fire was out within minutes.
"Sleeping in the rain, not exactly my idea of a good time." He said. While he was complaining, I listened to a soft voice coming from the tree I was leaning against.
"They are coming." The tree whispered. Thunder crashed.
"We need to go." I said, pulling Nathan by the collar of his shirt.
"What is it?" The two asked in unison as we sped as fast as we could away from the camp.
"The trees warned me that something was coming. It was so creepy." I told them. Nathan looked alarmed.
"Trees don't usually speak to dryads unless they are in serious danger." He said as an arrow whizzed past my shoulder.
"Dawn! Move!" I shouted to my horse. She got the message and sped up. I looked behind us to see a hooded figure in the path. Nathan pointed in fear to something up ahead. Dawn saw it too. She reared up on her hind legs, sending the three of us tumbling to the ground. Dawn ran off, and the two cloaked men walked slowly towards us.
"Stay away!" I shouted. A flash of blinding light emanated from my palms. The cloaks on the men fluttered to the ground, and I saw what they really were. Elves.
"Why did you run?" The first one said.
"Because you shot at me!" I said.
"You ran before we shot you, young dryad." The second elf said.
"The trees warned me that 'they are coming'. I thought they meant you." As I said that, the two elves drew back their bows. Others streamed out of various hiding places in the woods. They formed a protective circle around the three of us. Then, I saw a strange figure to the right.
"On the right!" I shouted, but no one could hear me over the rain, which was growing heavier by the minute. Then, we heard the unmistakable sound of giant feet on the ground. Thump. Thump. Thump. One horrible bloodshot eye glared down at us. A club the size of a tree swooped down at us. We all ducked. I sent a wave of poison ivy at the location of the unseen beast. Scratch scratch. Thump. Thump. Thump. More were coming. Then, the trees reached out into my mind.
"We will protect you and your friends." They said.
"Don't do this, I am not a real dryad!" I thought. I felt it carry to them.
"When We first tasted your mind we could sense your power. You are destined to to great things. Dryad or not, we will always protect you when you are in need." They said. A dome of roots appeared around us. Something dropped into my palm. A small green crystal.
"What is this?" I thought to the trees.
"The talisman of nature. Keep it close to your heart, and know the spirits of nature will always guide you when you are lost." They said. Their whisper of thoughts became a chorus of sweet voices as I squeezed the talisman. I strung it onto my necklace, where it stopped glowing. The protective dome filled with luminous seeds that floated around. In the light, I could see the tired faces of the elven soldiers. Their commander cleared his throat. All of them forgot their weariness and stood at attention. The commander walked up to me. He smelled of sweet grass and fallen leaves on a fall day.

"I do not know what you are, but you have great power. Tonight once the attackers head back, I will take you and your comrades to the queen. I will send soldiers after your horse if you wish." He said.
"Thank you sir, but I did not do this, The trees were protecting me." I told him. Then, he noticed the green gem on my necklace. Nathan just gaped at it.
You truly are a miracle. We must celebrate." He said. The soldiers relaxed and sang songs of glorious battles and unlikely heroes. I found myself singing along to their happy tune. Nathan just stared at me. During a break from singing and storytelling, I talked to him.
"You are making me uncomfortable." I told him.
"Trees barely talk to real dryads, yet they give you their most powerful possession, and you are a girl. A powerful girl, but I had no idea.." he stopped mid sentence, "When did you get that?"
"A few minutes ago." I told him.
"What did they say?" He asked.
"That when they found my mind, they sensed I was not a dryad. They said I was destined to do great things, and that they would always be there to protect me." I said, fingering with the gem.
"The trees are known for their wisdom. Those who communicate with them are considered blessed. Then, he took something out of his pocket. An identical green gem. The chorus started up again.
"Dragon boy," they sang, "You share the heart of the girl. You are destined for greatness, but you must protect each other at all cost. If one falls, you both fall." They sang. When they ended, Nathan nearly dropped the crystal. It glowed in my hand.
"They want us to share the power." I said. Just then, poppy flew over to us.
"You...." she stared at us in disbelief. "You are not dead." She said, then hugged me.
"Yeah." Nathan said.
"It's getting late." I said. Almost on command, a patch of moss rose up to form a large bed. I fell into it. Nathan curled up beside me, and the tiny fairy crafted her own bed out of dandelion fluff. A few seconds later, I fell asleep to a beautiful elven song.