Curiously, she imagined a pair of eyes watching her from the fire, a pair of depthless, black eyes set in a face of flame.
She jolted to wakefulness, and the face was still there. The others did not appear to see it.
“M-my lord?” Grandmother said.
“THE SLEEPERS?”
“They are awake.”
The eyes shimmered. “EXCELLENT.” The face lost form for several moments, then the fire plumed and the face reformed in a roiling fury.
“SHE HAS DEFIED ME. SHE WILL STEAL THE SLEEPERS! YOU MUST STOP HER.”
He then told Grandmother what to look for as glowing embers showered down from singed trees. The Queen of Argenthyne had existed in some ethereal form all these years protecting the grove in a piece of time. It appeared she planned to awaken the Sleepers in that distant past and lead them to a safe haven.
Grandmother was not in any condition to seek a way to find the queen or figure out how to fight her across time, nor were her people, yet she must obey God’s will. She did have tools. She made a knot, tossed it onto the fire, and sent a tendril of power into the dark of the grove, seeking a Sleeper. Seeking several Sleepers. One or more of them might be willing and capable of doing what she needed.
SLEEPWALKERS
Karigan saw the grove as it was meant to be seen, the trunks of the trees grand columns of silver, not mottled by rot or disease. The full moon shone through the canopy, glistening on the tips of pine needles and casting shadows of interlaced tree limbs on the forest floor. Pale flowers blossomed in the moonlight, suffusing the air with a pleasant fragrance. Crickets chirruped and the fluting song of the wood thrush rose and fell through the grove.
Karigan had not felt such tranquility since . . . She did not know when. She turned to gaze at the castle and understood the legend of Laurelyn’s castle of moonbeams, for the towers gleamed like the extension of moon glow.
“It’s beautiful,” Karigan murmured, and she realized with a start that her vision was no longer doubled, no longer overlain by the darkness wrought by Blackveil. She saw only this one shining world.
Yes, I preserved this piece of time and set it aside so it would remain unmarred, Laurelyn said. From here I shall rouse the Sleepers. They will not be the dark beings you witnessed in your present, but Eletian Sleepers as they should be. You will lead them to safety.
“How am I supposed to do that?”
Laurelyn gazed at the moon, her face aglow in its silver light. I’ve enough strength left to create a temporary bridge. There were once other bridges out of Argenthyne, but those were destroyed long ago.
Karigan began to grow suspicious about where such a bridge would take her.
As though Laurelyn perceived her thoughts, she said, The bridge will take you to an island in a transitional place. I believe you have been there before?
Her words confirmed Karigan’s suspicions. The white world. She sighed, and nodded.
Good. You will know not to become distracted there. When Karigan nodded again, Laurelyn continued. The island is small, smaller than the castle chamber you found me in. There you shall find a second bridge, a more permanent bridge. You shall lead the Sleepers across it to Eletia’s grove.
“Eletia? Truly?”
Laurelyn smiled again. Truly. However, I must warn you, I do not know if Eletia’s time will correspond to this piece of time. If you meet anyone there, it is difficult to know how they shall receive you, for they are intolerant of intruders. Once they see you’ve Argenthyne Sleepers with you, they should prove accepting.
If they didn’t kill her first. “Will the Sleepers follow me?”
Yes, you’ve the light of the silver moon on you. Some would call you Laurelyn-touched. When I rouse the Sleepers, they will not be fully awake, more akin to sleepwalkers, and they will do as I command, which will be to follow you. When they reach the grove in Eletia, some may awaken fully. Others will simply gravitate to one tree or another and continue the long sleep.
It sounded simple enough. Deceptively simple. The white world was never simple.
“Why can’t you lead the Sleepers yourself?” Karigan asked.
I no longer exist beyond the grove. You, daughter of Kariny, are the one who can cross thresholds.
Karigan sighed.
You must maintain your ability the whole time, Laurelyn instructed, or all will be lost. Once you safely reach Eletia, you may let it go and you will be propelled to your present time, but in Eletia. Or, you could hold on to it until you return here. I can maintain the bridge for a while.
“My companions . . .” She swallowed hard. In this place, in this piece of time, she had almost forgotten about them. She closed her eyes. Surely none of them survived, but Laurelyn had said she could change outcomes . . .
Then Karigan suddenly understood. “By my doing this, there won’t be any Sleepers—the tainted ones—to attack my companions in the present because I will have taken the Sleepers away in the past.” It made her head spin, but there was logic to it.
Laurelyn nodded. Be aware, however, that I’ve not been able to preserve the entire grove. My power has waned over these many years while I awaited you, and the fringes of the grove have slipped from my protection, so your companions will still be up against many enemies.
“Still better odds than against all of them,” Karigan murmured.
You should also know that I was unable to protect the Sleepers in Argenthyne’s other groves. I fear one day they, too, shall be a threat to your people.
“Mornhavon destroyed the grove in Telavalieth,” Karigan told her.