“Stay away from that one.” I pointed to the Lily farthest southwest. “That’s the Death Lily.”
“How can you tell?” Quain asked. “They all look the same.”
“Death Lilys have a faint odor of anise when you get closer, and Peace Lilys smell like vanilla. If you smell anise, then you’re within range of its vines.”
“Oh, so anise will be the last thing you smell before you’re plant food. Good to know.” Quain backed up a step.
“Now what?” Loren asked.
“I’ll see if any will open for me.” When I had returned to the Peace Lily that held Flea’s body, it had bent down and deposited him onto the ground. Perhaps one of these would drop Kerrick. Every fiber of my being hoped so.
Please be here.
I approached the closest and waited. Please be here.
Nothing happened. Not a twitch of a vine nor a rustle of a petal.
After a few minutes, I moved to the next. Please be here.
And the next. Please.
And the next. Be.
And the last. Here!
The Peace Lilys ignored me. “Please?” I said to it, hoping it would take me and explain as one had after it had refused my sister. I’d gotten the impression that the Peace Lilys were all one being with each flower an extension of it, like fingers. Same with the Death Lilys, but with another being at its core.
Still nothing.
Loren gestured to the flowers. “What’s going on?”
Crushing disappointment and grief, but no need to state the obvious. “I’ll see if I can find out.” I walked over to the Death Lily.
“Uh, Avry,” Quain said. “Are you sure that’s a good—”
A loud hissing drowned out the rest of his words. In a flash, white petals surrounded me, blocking all light and noise. In the darkness, two barbs pricked my upper arms and the toxin flowed into me like a soothing elixir. Escaping my pain-filled body, my consciousness floated free and I connected with the thoughts and contented feelings of the Lily.
Welcome back. A surge of pride. More? Thinking I wanted its toxin sacks, it showed me a mental picture of another cluster of Lilys nearby.
No, thank you. I formed a picture of Kerrick in my mind. Seen him?
A flood of images hit me. Kerrick running through the woods, hunting, walking with Belen, Flea, and the monkeys, holding me in his lap, blending into the woods, using his magic. They tumbled one right after the other, threatening to drown me.
Stop, please! I concentrated on how he’d looked that night without his shirt, feeling sick. Did he come here?
He stopped. Sorrow flowed.
Stopped where? If I could just find his body, I might—
Gone into the green.
Where?
A vision of the entire forest filled my mind. It was empty. However, I refused to believe it. The barbs pulled away and the Death Lily set me on the ground. I huddled there in utter misery for a moment, then gathered every bit of strength I had left.
I still had no proof. Gone in Death Lily speak could mean he left the forest or was in a cave. It didn’t have to mean he... No. Not going to go there. Not yet.
Quain and Loren hovered as close as they dared, their expressions hopeful.
“He didn’t come here,” I said, standing.
I glanced away. Bad enough to feel the grief burning inside me, I didn’t need to witness that same pain reflected in my friends’ eyes.
“What now?” Quain asked in a quiet voice.
“We go back to the infirmary cave. I’ve patients to check on.”
“And Kerrick?” Loren touched my shoulder.
“We keep searching.”
Taking another route back, we reached the cave after sunset. Ryne had arrived. He sat by the fire intently listening to Flea and Odd. I exchanged a glance with the monkeys.
“Did you send a messenger?” I asked Loren.
“Kerrick did when we returned from our...uh, encounter with Tohon and the others. Thought Ryne should know what happened, especially about Cellina’s takeover.”
It made sense. Prince Ryne led our ragtag army. He had the military savvy and strategic acumen to counter Tohon. However, he was the last person I wanted to see right now. His genius tactics had caused me quite a bit of pain and suffering over the past few months.
Before Ryne noticed me, I sent the monkeys over to the fire. “Talk to him.”
“What about you?” Quain asked.
“I need to check on my patients. It’s been—” my sluggish thoughts refused to add the hours “—too long.”
Concentrating on the injured soldiers, I moved from cot to cot, talking to the men and women. No new casualties had arrived since yesterday. The caregivers had done a fine job of keeping everyone comfortable and the bandages had all been changed. I consulted with the head caregiver, Ginger. Her capable and no-nonsense attitude was perfect for this type of work.
The floor wobbled under my feet, and I stumbled. I stared at the ground, trying and failing to understand how it had moved. Then the room spun. Ah. Exhaustion had finally caught up to me. “Wake me if you need me,” I said to Ginger.
Keeping to the shadows, I slipped into my cavern. Still empty. The guys had moved out the night before last to give Kerrick and me privacy. It was just as well. I didn’t want company. Before lying down, I pulled Kerrick’s shirt from my knapsack. I pressed it to my face and breathed in his unmistakable scent—spring sunshine and living green.
Tears pushed and my nose filled, but I wouldn’t cry. Not yet. Not until I had proof. I fell asleep clutching his shirt tight.
* * *
“Avry.” A voice shattered my dream.
With effort, I opened one eye. Ryne knelt next to me.
“Go away,” I mumbled, rolling over.
“Avry, we need to talk.”
“I don’t want to talk to you. Go away.”
“You can’t avoid me.”
True. I sighed. “We’ll chat in the morning, before the search parties go out. Okay?”
“I’ve called off the search.”
I sat up, turning. “What? Why?” Fury blew away the sleep fog.
He reached for my hand, but I jerked back. Ryne settled back on his heels. “He’s gone, Avry.”
“No. You’re wrong.”
“I wish I was, really I do.” Ryne pushed a lock of his brown hair from his tired hazel eyes. Worry lines creased his face and he appeared much older than twenty-seven—the same age as Kerrick. “Remember that book on magicians I have?”
“Couldn’t forget that.” I didn’t bother softening my sarcasm. His school textbook on magicians and their powers had led to Ryne leaving me behind to be caught in Tohon’s nasty trap. I shuddered at the memory.
He ignored my tone. “It reports that forest mages go into the woods when they die. And their bodies disappear.”
“No. Not buying it. What if they’re in a city?”
“Avry,