“I . . . I don’t understand,” Ella said.
“Listen! Everything is toxic, and small amounts of things considered poisonous can do good, while large amounts of safe substances can kill. For every bad there is good.”
“Please . . .” Ella said.
“You aren’t listening!” the old man roared at her.
Ella turned on her heels and fled. She ran back down the winding passage, gasping as her bare feet slapped against the stone, until she finally stood back in the wide cavern.
Ella leaned against the wall to regain her breath.
Shaking her head, trying to clear it, she resisted the urge to sob. She didn’t understand any of this. What was happening to her?
Ella was frightened of what she would find in the larger tunnel. But she had to find out what was in there.
She walked over to the entrance.
Where the last passage had been walled, this tunnel was rough and jagged, as if naturally formed. Golden light welled from inside, and with each step forward Ella found herself feeling strangely at peace. This tunnel didn’t turn and twist, it continued on straight ahead, but with all the outcrops and hanging formations, she couldn’t see what lay ahead.
Ella heard the sound of masculine breathing, back the way she’d come.
She stopped in her tracks and looked fearfully back behind her.
The man appeared from between the rocky walls. Where he walked the golden light changed to darkness, and every footstep filled the tunnel with shadow. He brought the shadow with him, and Ella knew that if he swallowed her in that darkness, she would never see light again.
Ella began to run, her chest once more heaving. She opened her stride and dashed through the passages, taking cuts and scrapes from the sharp stone. The man ran with her, chasing her, and Ella’s spine crawled at the thought of her unprotected back.
Ella heard her name, and someone suddenly stood in front of her, barring the way.
She saw it was a small woman with ruddy skin and crinkled features. She was nonetheless pretty in a way, and she had a bow in her hands, pointed past Ella’s shoulder. A soft mantle of white fur rested on her shoulders.
“Get behind me,” the woman said. “I will keep him from you.”
Ella rushed to reach safety behind the small woman and turned to look back. The man growled and sneered as he stood in the shadows where the golden light couldn’t reach him. He didn’t come any closer.
Ella realized she knew the woman’s name.
“Layla,” Ella said. “What are you doing here?”
“You summoned me,” Layla said.
“How?”
Layla shrugged, even as she kept an arrow drawn on the bowstring, sighted at the man. “I was enjoying myself, hunting, climbing, swimming, sharing laughter with my people, and then I was here.”
As Ella watched, the man drew away, taking his shadows with him. Layla lowered her bow.
“I’ve missed you,” Ella said. She met Layla’s green eyes, and Ella felt tears well at the corners of her own.
“You need to take better care of yourself,” Layla said. She ran her eyes up and down Ella’s body and raised an eyebrow. “Your hair. Is that a new fashion among your people?”
Ella laughed, though it hurt. “No.”
“I have missed you too. But do not blame yourself. We are each responsible for our own actions.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Ella said.
“If you want to keep running, then that is your choice. I will guard here, and I will keep you safe.”
“What lies ahead?”
“Your destiny.”
“Can I wait here with you?”
“No, Ella. I do not have the power to stay here long. If you choose to run, then you must go now.”
“Will I see you again?”
“You will always see me. If you want to be close, come to the Dunwood, and visit my tree. But I will be everywhere. I will be in the wind that moves through the trees, and the water flowing through the rivers. The clouds will bear my name, and I will be carried down with the rains to continue the cycle. Now go.”
Ella opened her mouth.
“Go,” Layla repeated.
Ella reached forward to touch her friend, but her grasp caught only air. Layla smiled at Ella sadly, and Ella left the Dunfolk healer behind.
The golden light grew stronger the further Ella wandered down the tunnel. She once more felt the sensation of peace, and with it came a feeling of being tired. Ella wanted to sleep, and she knew that when she did, it would be the sweetest sleep she’d ever had. She was weary. Soon, she would rest.
The tunnel narrowed and Ella passed through the close walls to see the tunnel widening once more, forming another cavern.
Ella raised a hand to shield her eyes. An arched opening at the cavern’s end shone with radiant light. The feeling of tiredness and tranquility was now so strong she could no longer resist it, and Ella knew it stemmed from this arch.