Paradox - Progeny Of Innocence (bk2) (Paradox series) by Patti Roberts
Authors: Patti Roberts
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they entered the forest. Lord Cerberus, with his Grigorian warlords, had ignored the Treaty, and plundered his way straight through the forest, all but destroying all in his path. The spirits of her dead still swam fretfully in the blue mists from dusk until dawn. The shapely moulds of their discarded bodies, covered now with moss and grasses, still littered the ground where they had fallen. It was the way of her people to allow the bodies of the dead slowly to decay back into the forest floor to rejoin the ancient earth spirits from which they came.
Bakari had cringed the first time he had seen the mossy mounds. It had been Temulun’s quick reflexes that had stopped him from mistaking the mossy mounds for rocks that he was preparing to sit on. Now he knew better, and understood the Forest People and their ways. Born from earth, return to earth. However, the sight of the mounds still made him shudder, and sent a silent chill down his spine when he came across them.
"I am afraid I have let my people down," Willow said with palpable sadness. "We have become too complacent, and our magic has become weak. The Grigorians ripped through our forest without a second thought. Only their hounds turned back. And now, I fear," she thought about the spectre hound that the owls fed on somewhere in the treetops as she spoke, "even the hounds appear to be impervious to our magic. There have been three others to pass in the last six moons, and I fear there will be manymore in the days that follow. Many of our people reside high in the treetops now, for safety. And although happy enough, they yearn to rebuild their village, tend their fields and their herds. Return to their old way of life, with the sacred earth beneath their feet."
"Your mistletoe magic still works to block the Grigorians’ ability to hear one’s thoughts," Bakari said, in a bid to reassure her. "And Keyla assures me that she can restore your magic. She has the gift of the Ancients. I have seen it. Temulun has seen it, too."
Thorn shook his head. "She is but one child, and time is against us, against us all. The Grigorians will stop at nothing; they will continue to forge through our lands while they have the upper hand."
Bakari nodded in understanding. Thorn was correct. None of them was safe.
"Give Keyla a chance, let her show you her abilities, what do we have to lose that we have not already lost?"
"We will listen to the girl, see what-" Willow fell silent and tilted her head.
Thorn rushed to her side, drawing his sword. The blade made a sharp hissing sound as it glided effortlessly from its leather scabbard. They listened to branches, the rustling of leaves and twigs snapping under foot. Three figures fell silently from the branches overhead, their weapons drawn. Several more remained concealed in the treetops, but were ready for battle. The throb, throb, throb of the giant owls, although masked by the heavy canopy of foliage, grew louder.
Willow held up her hand.
Bows remained poised as two of the figures recoiled back up their invisible threads to a fortress camouflaged by leaves. Only one remained, a girl, with bow holstered across her back and sword ready in hand. She was clothed in animal hides and fur; her fair hair was fixed in place by a leather braid crowning her forehead.
"Holly?" Willow asked as a worried frown creased her brow.
The girl shook her head, "It is nothing, Mother." She holstered her sword and walked toward Willow. "It is only our guests, they have arrived," she said, looking toward a dark winding path in the forest.
"I apologize, your highness, for our lateness," Temulun said, as she and Keyla stepped into the clearing.
CHAPTER 5 – Where Was God?
Tanami Desert, NT, Australia
Year: 2004
Wade sat hunched on the end of a crumpled bed in a small airless room. He listened to the message on his mobile phone over and over again until the batteries, inevitably, went flat. A bedside lamp cast a dim sphere of light in the
Bakari had cringed the first time he had seen the mossy mounds. It had been Temulun’s quick reflexes that had stopped him from mistaking the mossy mounds for rocks that he was preparing to sit on. Now he knew better, and understood the Forest People and their ways. Born from earth, return to earth. However, the sight of the mounds still made him shudder, and sent a silent chill down his spine when he came across them.
"I am afraid I have let my people down," Willow said with palpable sadness. "We have become too complacent, and our magic has become weak. The Grigorians ripped through our forest without a second thought. Only their hounds turned back. And now, I fear," she thought about the spectre hound that the owls fed on somewhere in the treetops as she spoke, "even the hounds appear to be impervious to our magic. There have been three others to pass in the last six moons, and I fear there will be manymore in the days that follow. Many of our people reside high in the treetops now, for safety. And although happy enough, they yearn to rebuild their village, tend their fields and their herds. Return to their old way of life, with the sacred earth beneath their feet."
"Your mistletoe magic still works to block the Grigorians’ ability to hear one’s thoughts," Bakari said, in a bid to reassure her. "And Keyla assures me that she can restore your magic. She has the gift of the Ancients. I have seen it. Temulun has seen it, too."
Thorn shook his head. "She is but one child, and time is against us, against us all. The Grigorians will stop at nothing; they will continue to forge through our lands while they have the upper hand."
Bakari nodded in understanding. Thorn was correct. None of them was safe.
"Give Keyla a chance, let her show you her abilities, what do we have to lose that we have not already lost?"
"We will listen to the girl, see what-" Willow fell silent and tilted her head.
Thorn rushed to her side, drawing his sword. The blade made a sharp hissing sound as it glided effortlessly from its leather scabbard. They listened to branches, the rustling of leaves and twigs snapping under foot. Three figures fell silently from the branches overhead, their weapons drawn. Several more remained concealed in the treetops, but were ready for battle. The throb, throb, throb of the giant owls, although masked by the heavy canopy of foliage, grew louder.
Willow held up her hand.
Bows remained poised as two of the figures recoiled back up their invisible threads to a fortress camouflaged by leaves. Only one remained, a girl, with bow holstered across her back and sword ready in hand. She was clothed in animal hides and fur; her fair hair was fixed in place by a leather braid crowning her forehead.
"Holly?" Willow asked as a worried frown creased her brow.
The girl shook her head, "It is nothing, Mother." She holstered her sword and walked toward Willow. "It is only our guests, they have arrived," she said, looking toward a dark winding path in the forest.
"I apologize, your highness, for our lateness," Temulun said, as she and Keyla stepped into the clearing.
CHAPTER 5 – Where Was God?
Tanami Desert, NT, Australia
Year: 2004
Wade sat hunched on the end of a crumpled bed in a small airless room. He listened to the message on his mobile phone over and over again until the batteries, inevitably, went flat. A bedside lamp cast a dim sphere of light in the
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