She spoke about a change in the world that would affect all of us.
She asked for our help. She wants us to find an Elfstone called a Loden. She is to be placed inside this Stone and taken to a safer place and it is all written down in the histories. I thought someone should tell you, so I decided to—”
“Apparently, my daughter didn’t think she should be the one to tell me this?” the King interrupted suddenly.
Kirisin hesitated. “There was some discussion. I volunteered to come tell you because I think something needs to be done.”
“But not everyone agrees with you?”
Unfortunately. “No, not everyone does.”
Arissen Belloruus arched one eyebrow. “My daughter is one of those who doesn’t, I gather?” Kirisin nodded. “Well, then. How many of the others feel the same way she does?”
Kirisin took a deep breath. “All of them.”
The King nodded. “Did anyone besides you hear the Ellcrys speak?”
Kirisin shook his head. “No.”
“Can you think of any reason why the Ellcrys would speak only to you and not to any of the others?”
Again Kirisin shook his head, not even bothering to answer aloud.
There was a long pause. The King put a hand on his shoulder. “You show the courage of your convictions coming to me like this. But maybe you need to reassess your position.”
“Maybe I do. But I don’t think it will change my mind. I know what I heard.”
The King smiled. “I can’t take this before the members of the High Council and ask for their support without something more substantive than what you’ve told me. I will do as suggested and have a look at our histories.
Perhaps there is something written down about this Loden Elfstone and the three others needed to find it. I will have the keeper of the histories begin right away. If something is found, I will act on it. But if nothing is found, I am not sure what I will be able to do to help.”
Kirisin wasn’t pleased with this answer, but he knew better than to press things further. The King had gotten to his feet, an indication that the conversation was over. Kirisin rose with him. “Thank you for listening to me,”
he said, not knowing what else to say.
Arissen Belloruus nodded. “I don’t want you to speak of this to anyone until I tell you to do so. We don’t want to cause needless panic.”
Needless panic. Kirisin nodded. “I won’t say anything.”
There would be panic enough once they found out the truth about the tree’s predictions, he was thinking as he left the room and walked back down the hallway and out the front door. He was already chastising himself for not being more forceful about acting on the tree’s plea, even understanding that there was nothing more that he could have done. He had to hope the histories would reveal something of the Loden and the history of the Elfstones so that the King could act.
He was well down the trail and out of sight of the Belloruus quarters when he suddenly realized something. The King had said that perhaps there was something written in the histories about the Loden Elfstone and the three others needed to find it. But Kirisin had not mentioned the three seekingStones.
Yet Arissen Belloruus had known about it.
It stopped him in his tracks. He replayed carefully what he had told the King, just to make sure. There was no mistake. He had not mentioned the seekingStones at all. He hadn’t had a chance to finish his explanation before the King had interrupted him. The implications of this were so stunning that for a moment he could not make himself believe them. It meant the King had already known about the other Elfstones before Kirisin had told him anything.
Which, in turn, meant he had already known about everything else, as well.
How could that be?
His face darkened. Well, it was obvious, of course. Only one other person could have told him. Erisha. Despite her insistence on not going to her father about what had happened, she had left the gardens right after he had and done so anyway. That was why the King had left him sitting there for two hours with nothing to do. He was listening to Erisha and then making up his mind about what he was going to say to Kirisin. The boy stared at the ground in front of him, anger building inside. He had been deliberately deceived, and for the life of him he could not understand why.
Kirisin stood where he was for a long time, thinking it through.