Shadows of the Redwood

The sky was darkening when Keelie finished securing the shop for the day. After hours of talking to customers and arranging furniture shipments, she just wanted to crawl under the counter and snooze. Too bad Dad hadn’t sent down any beds to sell.

The sound of laughter and applause drifted toward her, meaning that the evening performance was underway. Keelie wanted to head in the opposite direction, but Grandmother was there and she’d said that they needed to talk.

You bet they needed to talk. Keelie had a thing or two to say to her grandmother. Working in Heartwood alone was exhausting, and though they were supposed to be here to find Viran and help the trees, they had made little progress. The trees here were so powerful and scary that Keelie thought they needed more help than just one old lady elf and one half-elf teenager.

Keelie had known that the redwoods were different from other forests—more intelligent, more evolved. But she was shocked at the elves who allowed tree spirits to take them over as if they were puppets. She wondered if the Redwood Tree Shepherd had simply abandoned his post. Did tree shepherds ever ditch a job?

If even Grandmother was falling under their enthralling influence, as seemed to be the case, Viran could have fallen sway to their powerful magic.

She had to talk to Dad. She tried the elven cell phone again, but couldn’t connect. With all the massive trees around, the tree-powered elven phone should work better than ever, but she couldn’t even get a signal. Disgusted, Keelie headed toward the Globe. Maybe someone there would lend her a phone.

A jangle disrupted the air, except it didn’t sound as sinister as it normally did. Keelie stopped at the entrance to the theater, where several smaller redwoods grew close together. She searched for Peascod, and drew in a breath when she saw him hobbling along the edge of the theater to a back exit. Relief rose in her as he kept moving.

From here, she could see the stage. The nearby trees’ faces were out, lips repeating the lines they heard Hermia and Lysander speak.

“The trees really like Shakespeare.” Coyote was sitting at her feet.

She jumped, then ran her fingers through her hair, trying to pretend that she hadn’t been frightened. “What are you doing here?” The sneaky fairy was too quiet. She wondered how much he overheard when he skulked around.

“I’m observing.”

“I thought you were supposed to protect me.”

“Yes.” He looked up at her with golden-amber eyes. “I am doing so this very moment.”

Grandmother walked stiffly on stage. She had on her pearl-bedecked red wig, which made her look like the real Queen Elizabeth, but the attitude was all she really needed. Keelie noticed that Tavyn was sitting in the audience.

“My, my. She looks the part. I’ve been watching her. She enjoys being amongst actors.” Coyote grinned, showing sharp teeth. “Humans.”

“My grandmother enjoys ruling, even if it’s just pretending to be in charge of humans. She should have been a queen.”

“Perhaps once she was. Have you asked her?”

Startled, Keelie looked down at the fairy. “No. Should I?”

Coyote grinned up at her. “She likes to walk and talk to the trees, especially the ones named Bella and Bloodroot.” He lifted his pointed nose in the air and sniffed. “Be careful, Keliel. Something moves in the forest.”

Like Keelie needed to be told that. It was time to figure out the problem here, so that she could at least still enjoy her time in California. She wanted time for Sean, and time to hang out with Laurie.

Master Oswald walked out onto the stage in ridiculously stuffed pumpkin pants and a doublet with a peascod belly that made him look like a heavy-duty beer drinker. Grandmother said that the outfit was all the rage in 1680, but it was just silly.

“Lords, Ladies, Good Gentles all. It is my honor to present to you, Her Majesty the Queen.”

Coyote tilted his head, bright eyes taking in everything.

A sharp pain hacked through Keelie’s head.

I’m close by. Watch out, tree shepherdess. Beware.

Cold green energy filled Keelie. She scanned the trees. The voice had to be coming from them. Keelie’s eyes locked with her Grandmother’s. She had stopped in mid-wave, her made-up face even more pale than usual.

Grandmother must have heard the voice, too. She must have felt the same brief headache. Something or someone was threatening one of them.

Keelie closed her eyes. She didn’t want to lose the connection.

Cold green filled her mind. Then she felt a caress of dark magic. It was like the seductive dark power that had flowed into her from the book she’d used in the Dread Forest, as if something was delving into her mind and her magic. Time to put up the barriers. She dug out the rose quartz that she’d shoved into her pocket.

Keelie imagined her feet like roots, seeking the power of the Earth. The raw Earth magic surged through her, casting out the invasive darkness. She opened her eyes just in time to see Grandmother crumple onto the stage.

She jumped up, ready to run to her, but tripped when her gown became snagged. She twisted to release the fabric. Coyote had her dress clenched in his teeth.

“Let go. I need to go to her.”

He held on, backing away a step, pulling her with him.

She swatted at him. “Stupid fairy. She’s in trouble. I have to go to her.”

Knot came running to Keelie’s side, hissing, his fur poofed out.

Coyote released her. “You can go now, but stay with Knot.”

Keelie ran, Knot racing ahead of her, ears flat to his skull.

Costumed actors and townspeople blocked Keelie’s view of Grandmother. She pushed her way into the crowd, jostling elbows and using her hips to shove people aside.

“Call 911,” Master Oswald shouted.

911? The human emergency responders would discover that she wasn’t human. Grandmother had to be okay. Keelie shoved her way to a clear spot, then dove between legs, dropping to the ground beside Grandmother. She lay pale and still, her red wig askew.

Knot raced in and hopped onto Grandmother’s stiff bejeweled bodice. She coughed from the impact of the large orange tabby hitting her sternum, then she wheezed and her eyelids fluttered.

She was alive!

Knot started to lick her eyebrows.

“Get that cat off of her,” someone from the crowd shouted.

Keelie wrapped her hands around Grandmother’s scrawny old-lady-elf shoulders covered in stiff quilted sleeves. She pulled on her fairy magic, energy from the Earth, and the power of the fir trees around them. She envisioned light, heat, and green all swirling together.

“Come on, you’ve got to get up,” she whispered into the pointed ear hidden by the soft, silvery hair that the wig had exposed. “Who else knows what I’ve done wrong? You’ve got to be awake to tell me how superior you are.”

A mist gathered on the stage as the trees in spirit form hovered, watching. After a moment, the fog was so thick Keelie could only see the legs of the crowd around her. She envisioned a tornado of power above her, then tried to drive the magic and energy into Grandmother. It started down, then deflected, as if Grandmother had put up a shield to defend herself from Keelie’s healing. Keelie stared down at the unconscious woman in the outlandish costume. What had Grandmother done? Was she wearing a charm against fae magic?

Master Oswald’s deep bass boomed over the muffled and confused conversation. “Ladies and gentlemen, stay where you are. This fog is normal for our area. It will soon dissipate.”

A musical voice spoke in Keelie’s mind. What is wrong, child?

Keelie shivered as Bella Matera’s voice seemed to pour into her ears like honey.

My Grandmother … Keelie couldn’t finish the thought.

Let me help you. A powerful surge of buzzing green magic filled Keelie. It combined with the Earth magic she had summoned, twining like two layers that first stood apart, then slowly melted together.

Magic couldn’t be seen by humans, but if they had fairy blood in them, they might have seen a blanket of golden-green gossamer drift from Keelie to cover Grandmother.

Keelie looked up in the fog and could see Bella’s wraithlike form. Just as swiftly as it had floated in, the fog cleared.

Your Grandmother will be fine. It would do her some good to come stay with me. Bella’s voice faded, as did the green of the magic gossamer blanket.

Suddenly Keelie could once again hear people talking around her, as if they’d been muted before. And close by, a distinct lick, lick, lick.

Knot had resumed administering his personal form of first aid. Grandmother’s eyebrows were tilted at forty-five degree angles. It gave Grandmother a very alien look, like something from Star Trek. Too bad Risa wasn’t here to witness Knot’s healing treatment.

Grandmother moaned and her grip tightened around Keelie’s hand. Knot’s tail swished back and forth, and then he jumped off of Grandmother’s chest. Relief flooded Keelie. One: Grandmother was coming round. Two: Knot had vamoosed.

“Help me up, Keliel,” Grandmother said, her voice groggy. Her eyes opened, and Keelie suppressed a gasp. The whites of her eyes were green. Was she possessed, or was it chlorophyll poisoning?

“My head hurts,” Grandmother said. She didn’t sound possessed, just frail.

“No kidding,” Keelie said. “I think you’re going to need some coffee.”

Master Oswald bent down on one knee. “My Queen, do you need a healer? Mayhap we need to take thee to a hospital?”

Grandmother rose to a sitting position and tucked her dress around her. The regal appearance was ruined by her designer eyebrows. Relieved that her grandmother was okay, Keelie bit down on her lips to keep a giggle from escaping.

“I will be fine,” Grandmother said, pulling her hand out of Master Oswald’s with a sour look. “I need to go back to my cabin and rest. I think I must have become dehydrated.”

Tavyn and several of the elven rangers appeared. Keelie studied Tavyn as he helped Grandmother to her feet.

“You should go back to the tree house. I can’t take you, but I’ll bring your truck around,” he said. His eyes were no longer that bright shade of green. If Bloodroot was here, he was not in Tavyn.

“I appreciate that,” Grandmother murmured. “Keelie, the keys are in my purse.” She motioned toward a velvet pouch which dangled from her waist by a golden cord.

Sean arrived, no doubt summoned by one of his men. Risa and Laurie came with him.

“What happened?” Sean asked.

“Grandmother collapsed. I’m going to take her back to Wena, to the house.” Keelie explained. She gave Tavyn the keys.

Risa walked forward and looped her arm through Sean’s. “I guess you’re going to have to stay with her tonight, Keelie. That’s too bad—you’re going to miss the bonfire on the beach.”

“What bonfire on the beach?” Keelie asked.

Sean glared at Risa. “I’ll stay with you, Keelie.”

“Oh, you can’t miss the bonfire,” Risa said. “Your jousters are looking forward to you being there. Your idea to plan fun outings as a group is so terrific, and I’m sure it will help with camaraderie.”

Sean never talked to Keelie about his jousters or the problems he was having. Their conversations were always interrupted by elves, cats, and other people. They were pulled in many directions, and none of the interruptions pushed them toward each other.

“Keelie, I need you,” Grandmother said. Case in point, as Mom would have said.

“I have to go.” Keelie said. “I wish I could stay.”

“I’ll go with you,” Sean insisted.

Keelie glanced over his shoulder. His men had gathered. She shook her head. “Stay with your men. Maybe you can stop by later before you go to sleep. I wish you’d told me about the bonfire.”

“You mean instead of sharing it with Risa?” He grinned and turned to the elf girl, who was smiling at them expectantly. “Who told you about the bonfire? Was it Bromliel?”

Risa stomped her foot, whirled and walked away.

“I didn’t tell you because I forgot, Keelie. Somehow other things come to mind when we’re together.” He lifted Keelie’s hand to his lips. “I’ll be there tonight. Can we take a walk alone?”

Keelie smiled. “Yes.” She imagined walking alone with Sean, undisturbed. No fairy trickster coyotes to chase them through the woods, no needy grandparent or duties to perform. They would talk. She could tell him about being a tree shepherd, and he could talk about what it was like training his jousters. And they could discuss their past, and their future.

Tavyn strode forward. “Keelie, your truck’s parked outside.” He handed her the keys.

Keelie walked past Risa as she helped Grandmother toward the exit. She leaned close to the elf girl. “Watch out for the sea lions. I hear they love redheads.”

“We’re not going to the tree house,” Grandmother announced as they climbed into Dad’s battered truck. “We need to go deep into the Redwood Forest.”

“No we don’t. We’re going to the elven village. You need to rest. You passed out.”

“Do not contradict me.” Grandmother put on her stern Lady-of-the-Forest voice.

“We’re going home,” Keelie said matter-of-factly. “You need to rest. There is no way I’m going to let you go into the forest tonight.”

“I told Bella Matera that we’d meet her there.”

“If Dad were here, he’d tell you the same thing.” Keelie was tired of putting the trees’ needs ahead of her health and safety, and the health and safety of those that she loved. If she didn’t take care of Grandmother and herself, then there would be no one to take care of the trees.

“I am here on a mission, as are you. If we hide in the elven village, we may doom this forest.” Grandmother frowned. “You have taken risks before, Keelie. What makes you cautious now? We must go.”

“Maybe it’s just scarier in this place,” Keelie snorted. “I can’t believe you still want to go into that forest! Can you tell me what happened on that stage? Whose voice was that? And why couldn’t my fairy magic heal you?”

Grandmother’s expression softened. “You summoned fae magic to help me? Oh my dear.” She touched Keelie’s face with her hand. “Thank you. It didn’t work because I was shielding against the tree magic, and yours was too similar.”

“So you’re afraid of Bloodroot, too,” Keelie said.

Grandmother leaned her head to one side. “I felt someone calling me. He needed me. He was asking for help. He also warned me of danger.”

“I heard the same voice,” Keelie said. “But I was able to block it.”

Grandmother looked interested. “How do you do that?”

“I use a combination of Earth and fairy magic.”

“Then I cannot wield it.”

“Maybe not the fairy magic, but you can talk to Sir Davey. I use rose quartz to call on Earth magic. It helps block out the trees.”

Sighing, Grandmother looked out the passenger-side window, then turned her head. “The trees still need me. I feel needed here. These past few months with Zeke taking over the forest, I’ve felt useless.”

Keelie was silent. Her grandmother had seemed lost since Dad had taken over the Dread Forest. “If you’re going to help the trees, you have to find the balance,” she said finally. That was the key to the Dread Forest. It was finding a balance between the light and the dark.

Keelie watched Grandmother out of the corner of her eye as the old woman sank deeper into the seat cushion. She seemed so fragile. Keelie didn’t know if Grandmother was strong enough to deal with the trees. If she still couldn’t reach Dad, she’d have to talk to Sir Davey. If nothing else, she’d find a crystal so that Grandmother could use earth magic as a barrier against the tree magic.

She parked the truck, and was grateful to see Kalix waiting for them. He carried Grandmother to Wena. Sariela and Keelie helped Grandmother to bed, and there was no more talk about going into the forest. Reason had won the night.

Keelie sat down in the dark. She had to think things through. All of this had started with the Redwood Tree Shepherd, who was still missing. The elves had asked for help in locating him, but they were the strangest elves Keelie had ever met. Granted, she didn’t know too many of them. Then there were the Ancients—who were totally different from the old trees she knew in the Dread Forest. Keelie didn’t trust Bloodroot. He gave her the creeps, the way he took over Tavyn’s willing body. It seemed the two were up to something. And Bella Matera said she had come to save Grandmother when she was injured, but still, something was off about Bella Matera.

What she couldn’t forget was the voice warning her to beware. Beware of what? And where did Coyote fit into all of this?

There was only one course of action: she would have to go into the forest, to the hemlocks where Tavyn reported that the tree shepherd had been seen, and find Viran herself. It would be the only way to stop all this craziness. Keelie so desperately wanted it all to be over. She wanted to get to know Sean better, and to run the shop and make Dad proud of her. It would be wonderful to hang out with Laurie more.

Knot meowed, startling her.

“Yeah, I know it’s dark. I needed to think without distractions.”

Loud purrs filled the air.

There went the end of the quiet. Keelie walked into the kitchen and grabbed the tea kettle. The kitchen clock read 11:00—she had been sitting in the dark a long time. She was lighting one of the honeycomb candles when a figure entered the room.

“Is that you, Sean?” He had been planning to escort Risa and Laurie back to the tree house, and if Keelie could ditch the girls, then she would have the time she wanted with Sean. Maybe he could help her decide what to do.

“It is not Sean.” It was a woodsy voice, rough along the edges.

Keelie turned and stared into the bright green eyes of Tavyn, except this time she knew it wasn’t Tavyn she was talking to. It was Bloodroot.

“What do you want?” Too bad this was Tavyn’s own house. In old legends, fairies, vampires, and other magical creatures could not enter a house without being invited.

Tavyn-Bloodroot leaned against the doorjamb. “Why are you so negative about me, Keelie?”

Better to have it out in the open. “I don’t trust you.”

“Considering the company you keep, my feelings are hurt.”

“What company?” Keelie didn’t really want to argue with Tavyn-Bloodroot.

“A coyote. Garbage-eating fae.”

Knot came and sat down between Keelie’s legs. He turned his big kitty full moon gaze up at Tavyn-Bloodroot.

“And this one? Really, if the court were to send a guardian to protect their little prodigy, then they should’ve sent a knight.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I want to talk to you, Keliel. How does a half-human, half-elf girl with a minute drop of fairy blood wield so much power? How were you able to tap into that power plant and restore the Wildewood?”

Keelie hadn’t tapped into the power plant. She’d tapped into the wild Earth magic that flowed under the forest, magic that had surged through the nearby power plant and knocked it offline. But she wasn’t about to reveal that. He’d probably twist the knowledge for his own dark purpose.

Tavyn-Bloodroot’s eyes glowed. “I want to know.” He reached out and pulled Keelie to him. He pressed his lips against hers, and Keelie pulled back. She was ready to kick him in the privates when something yowled like a primordial feline, harkening back to the days of the saber-tooth tiger.

Knot had attached himself to Tavyn’s shin and was hanging on for dear life. The bright green light disappeared from Tavyn’s eyes and a cloud flowed out from him.

Bloodroot’s wraithlike shape floated out of the tree house and ascended into Wena’s canopy. “We’ll talk again tomorrow, Keliel.”

Trying not to act afraid, but on the inside quivering with fear, Keelie raised a fist in the air. “You bet we will, Bloodroot.”

Tavyn stared into Keelie’s eyes. A smile formed on his face. It wasn’t a friendly smile, either.

“So, it seems the chameleon shows his true colors,” said a familiar voice on the edge of the platform. It was Coyote. How had he gotten up in the tree? “I’ve been tracking you.”

The sound of voices echoed through the forest. Tavyn turned to face Coyote. “You’ll have to catch me first.” He disappeared, traveling the sap to the base of the tree.

Coyote leaped off the platform, plunging for several feet before reappearing in the shape of a crow. He swooped out of sight.

The voices below grew excited. “Hey, Tavyn.”

“Where’s he going?”

“What is that thing?”

Knot sat on Keelie’s foot. She looked down at him. “Do you have any idea what is going on around here?”

Knot jumped off the platform, vanishing with a green glow, a sign that he was traveling the sap. Keelie jumped into the sap after him and rode down, unsurprised that the cat already knew how to do it himself. At the base, she discovered Sean, Risa, and Laurie.

Risa came running up to them. “There’s my Knotsie Wotsie.” She wobbled to the left. “Whoops. We had some mead tonight around the bonfire, it was really great.” Then the elf girl burped and collapsed against Keelie. She was like a lead weight.

A giggling Laurie helped Keelie with Risa. “We need to get her in bed.”

Risa looked up. “I have sand in my shoes.”

It stung to know that Laurie and Scott and Sean and Risa had been out on the beach together, like two couples double-dating, even if there had been a big crowd there. She’d been stuck here with Tavyn-Bloodroot.

Sean stepped closer. “Where did Tavyn go in such a hurry?”

Knot growled.

Keelie shrugged. “The farther away, the better.”

Scott looked up at the building above them. “How do we get up there? There’s no elevator or ladder.”

Keelie saw that he was tightly gripping the rose quartz she’d given him earlier. The Dread was certainly working around here.

Sean regarded her with a slow, appraising glance. “What’s going on, Keelie?’ He stepped closer to her, hovering. “I can’t protect you if you don’t trust me.” He lowered his head until it was level with hers. He smelled like bonfire smoke.

“Tavyn came to see me. Then he ran off, and Coyote chased him.”

Sean stared at her. “Your lips are green.”

“He kissed me. He’s seriously bent, Sean. Bloodroot was riding him.”

Sean swore. “Which way did they go?”

Scott pointed in the direction of the Grove of Ancients. “That way.”

“He thinks I tapped into the power plant to save the Wildewood and wants to know how I did it.”

A sharp pain pierced her skull.

Beware, Tree Shepherdess.

Keelie immediately blocked the voice, but this time it was with her fairy magic. She had felt it surge through her before she had a chance to stop it.

The pain and the voice were gone.

Sean searched the woods with his gaze. “Something is contacting you, isn’t it?” He looked down at her.

Voices exploded in anger. Risa had ridden the sap to the tree house already, but Laurie and Scott were arguing nearby.

“I can’t believe you’re asking me.” Laurie’s voice rose.

“Come on, Laurie. I never told you I felt that way about you,” Scott said in a low tone.

“You ask her yourself, you cretin. You creep. You two-timer.”

“What’s wrong?” Keelie asked. Normally she wouldn’t disturb a private conversation, but there was a lot at stake tonight.

Laurie dashed past Keelie and ran to the edge of the clearing. “I never want to see him again.”

Luminous fog had drifted in while they’d spoken. Keelie turned to Scott. “Okay, what did you do?”

“Why does it have to be my fault?” Scott looked miserable. His shoulders sagged. “I just asked Laurie if she could ask Risa if she liked me.”

Keelie looked down at Knot and sighed. “The forest is full of trees smarter than me, and I’m stuck with Captain Clueless.”

Knot’s eyes gleamed and he laughed, fangs showing.





Keelie wanted to smack Scott on the back of the head. “You are such an insensitive idiot. She likes you. You took her for a walk on the beach—that’s practically a date. And then you ask about Risa.”

“Hey, I didn’t lead Laurie on. Did I, Sean?”

Sean shrugged. “You’re on your own, and so’s Laurie, except she’s going to get lost in the woods.”

Keelie looked out into the darkness. “We need to go after her. We can’t let her wander around the woods by herself.”

“You’re right,” Scott said. “I’ll go.” He held up the rose quartz.

“You can’t go alone. You’ll end up lost or worse,” Sean said. “I’ll come too.”

The Grove … the voice in Keelie’s head reminded her of the dangers out there. A shiver shot down her back. “No time to lose.” She headed toward the Grove.

Sean started after her. “Do you think Risa and your grandmother will be all right here?” He glanced back toward the treetop village.

“They’re both asleep.” Scott jogged beside them. “I’ll grab some flashlights out of the truck. Laurie couldn’t have gone far.”

Keelie hoped he was right. She called on the tree spirts, but there was no answer. Puzzled, she called again, cautiously opening herself to the redwoods. Lancing pain made her reel.

Sean caught her. “What’s wrong?”

“My head,” she gasped, and suddenly the hot needle of agony was gone, replaced by cool green. Her vision was blurry. She thought she could see a yarnlike thread of warm green overlaid in the air, heading into the forest. It pulsed weakly, like a low-watt bulb, but Keelie felt a rush of love from the redwoods toward the source. The thread looped around the trees, fading as it went deeper in the woods.

“What about me?” Scott asked. “I think we should all stick together. These woods are beautiful during the day, but at night, they’re spooky. I swear sometimes I see ghosts walking around, and it’s really terrifying deeper in the forest.”

A thick mist was rolling in from the sea. Sean and Keelie stuck close together, with Scott following behind. She could hardly see him.

“Laurie, where are you? I’m an idiot!” Scott shouted.

Sean touched his pointed ears and looked pained. “You don’t have to scream.”

Keelie reached out to Bella Matera. I need to find my friend, a human girl. She’s lost here.

There was no answer.

She saw the shape of the trees floating in the mist, silently watching them. Maybe they couldn’t hear Keelie when they took on spirit form. The last thing she wanted to do was open herself magically to the trees. She didn’t want Bloodroot in her head. But what if Laurie was in danger? Keelie dropped her magical barriers again.

Ancient Ones, I need your help. Can you hear me?

Silence. But at least the pain didn’t return.

Sean stopped suddenly, and Keelie bumped into him. He bent down, then turned to silently give her Laurie’s gray hoodie.

Keelie’s heart sank. It was no help to know she’d been right. Laurie was in danger.

“She was wearing that.” Scott’s voice trembled. He turned to shout her name again, but Keelie grabbed his arm.

“Don’t. Maybe we don’t need to let anyone know we’re here.” Keelie saw Sean nod at her words. He was taking this very seriously.

“What about Laurie? She needs to know we’re looking for her.” Scott took a few steps toward the foggy hill, then anxiously returned.

“Two people went through here.” Sean was crouched by a broken fern, pointing toward the ground.

Two people. Someone had Laurie.

A voice rang out in Keelie’s mind. Beware, Tree Shepherdess.

Keelie grabbed Sean’s sleeve. He put an arm around her waist.

“Beware of what?” she asked aloud, her voice echoing against the wall of mist. Again, there was only silence in the forest.

“It’s that voice again. It keeps saying ‘Beware, tree shepherdess.’ Beware of what?”

I will show you.

Pain blossomed in her head as Keelie began seeing a scene. It was as if she was watching through someone else’s eyes. Her hands were wrinkled and spotted with dark circles. She leaned on a staff carved from a redwood branch. Her legs ached. Her back hurt when she moved, yet she loved walking among the Ancients.

She was deep in the forest and stood before a tall tree with dark red roots almost the color of blood. Bloodroot. He pushed his face out of the trunk, and his eyes were green, bright green. Good day, Shepherd.

“G’day, Bloodroot. May you grow many rings today.”

In her vision, Keelie walked deeper in the forest, leaving Bloodroot behind. Her bones ached with each step, and she felt as old as the forest. Yet the trees, far older than she, were tall and strong. Their minds sharp and their wisdom deep, like their roots in the Earth. Her time had come.

Soon, Keelie was deep in the forest, deeper than where the rangers, the protectors, dwelled. There, growing underneath the canopy, were the misty forms of small trees. Bella Matera watched over her treelings protectively. There was strong magic in this forest. The little ones were the future, and they would have to be protected. Keelie didn’t know if she had the strength left to do so. She needed help.

She felt herself being whooshed back into her body.

Sean grabbed her hand and steadied her. “Are you okay?”

She flexed her knees. They didn’t ache. Her back was strong and young. “I was inside someone else’s body. I think maybe the Redwood Tree Shepherd’s body. I felt so old, so helpless.”

“Did you guys hear that?” Scott’s face was turned toward the Grove of Ancients. “It sounded like a girl.”

“Stick close to me. We’re all hearing things,” Sean said. “This mist is very strange. I’m glad we don’t have this in the Dread Forest.”

“Me, too.”

Somewhere near her right, she heard a small meow. “Sean, did you hear Knot?”

“Maybe I did.”

He shone the flashlight in the mist, but the light reflected back at them.

A voice spoke softly to their left. “If you keep walking that way, you’re going to fall off the cliff.”

Sean stopped. He pointed the flashlight toward the voice. “Who said that? Are the trees talking to me?”

“I know he’s pretty, I know he’s chivalrous, but he’s missing some smarts, isn’t he?”

Keelie knew that voice. “Sean, lower your flashlight. It’s Coyote.”

He did, and Coyote stepped out of the fog, his eyes glinting mischievously.

“Troublemaker,” Sean said. “Have you seen Laurie, the human girl?”

“Glad to see you, too. So your Laurie is gone?” Coyote lifted his nose high. “The forest is filled with players tonight.”

“What do you mean, ‘players’? If you know where she is, you’d better tell us.” Keelie tried to read his expression, but she wasn’t used to reading canine expressions. Or maybe Knot just made his intentions clearer.

“We’ve lost Scott,” Sean’s quiet voice interrupted. His flashlight beam bounced off the mist. No Scott.

“They’re safe for now,” Coyote said. “But as you say, they too could take a tumble into the ocean. The cold ocean on a dark night, a high cliff, a shoreline piled with sharp rocks.” The coyote shivered. “It has all the elements of a drama. Likely even a tragedy.”

“Quit Spielberg-Shakespearing on me. Did you see Scott leave?” Keelie demanded.

Coyote sighed. “Follow me.” He looked back at Sean. “Shine the light on my tail. I spent all day grooming it, but I’m afraid I missed some tangles.”

“It looks great,” Keelie said through her teeth. “Can you move it? We need to find Scott and Laurie.”

They trudged through the undergrowth, following Coyote’s illuminated tail. Keelie hung onto Sean’s arm in the dark fog.

Scott’s voice rang eerily through the fog. “Laurie, Sean, Keelie?” Sometimes it sounded as if he were right next to her. Then as if he was far off.

But there was no sound of Laurie. Nothing. Keelie was worried for her friend. Laurie had lived through the Wildewood incident, when they’d been chased by rampaging trees, but what if she encountered Tavyn, with Bloodroot along for the ride?

They forged ahead, and she was glad she wasn’t alone this time. She had Sean and Coyote, although she still wasn’t sure about Coyote. She wondered about the little meow she’d heard. Was Knot out here with them?

Coyote stopped. “Someone other than your friends and Tavyn is wandering the woods tonight. This place is like Los Angeles. I thought people came up here for rest and relaxation.”

“Yeah, well, you’re hiking a forest in the middle of the night with a tree shepherd, what did you expect? For us, the trees are a crowd.” Keelie shivered. It was getting colder. She put on Laurie’s hoodie, wondering if her friend was freezing under a tree.

“At least we’re not dealing with goblins.” Coyote’s ears twitched nervously.

Sean whirled around. “Goblins? Don’t even speak of it. They’re supposed to all be dead.”

“Dead, oh no. They’re real, and they’re thriving in the urban areas,” Coyote said.

“The tree at the mall, he said something about gobblers. Do you think he meant goblins?” Keelie asked. She remembered reading about goblins in the Compendium. She turned to Coyote. “Are there goblins in the Redwood Forest?”

Tilting his head to the right, Coyote grinned at her. “Maybe yes. Maybe no.”

“None of your games. A simple yes or no.” Keelie was impatient.

“It’s a little bit more complicated than that.” Coyote sat down. “Would you like my suggestion?”

“Tell us what you know about the goblins.” Sean sounded fierce. He reached out and grabbed Coyote by the scruff of his neck.

Whoa. Sean was usually calm and in charge. Keelie gestured for him to calm down. She wasn’t sure if Coyote could be hurt, but a normal coyote would have been squealing and snarling long before now.

“Let him go, Sean.”

“We can’t let him get away with these outrageous comments, Keelie.” Sean glared down at the coyote, who whined and tried to look pitiful. “If the goblins have come up from underground, humans are in extreme danger. The elves have long feared that the goblins would one day return. Lord Elianard thinks that humans make it easy for them, and if they return, more powerful, more able to wield magic—they would soon rule the Earth, above and below ground, over humans, over elves, and over the fae.”

Keelie thought that Lord Elianard was always quick to blame humans for everything, but the haughty elf was the most venerated Lore Master of the North American elven clans.

Coyote nodded. “Goblins hate the Shining Ones, even more than they hate elves.”

Cold fear sliced through Keelie. She’d never heard about a goblin threat.

“We need to think this through,” she said. “Right now, we’re in an ancient forest, lost in the fog, trying to find two people. That has to be our priority. We’ll figure out this goblin-threat stuff later.”

“So, tell your boyfriend to let me go.” Coyote lifted his upper lip and showed teeth to Sean. Sean lifted Coyote by the scruff, paws dangling, off the ground.

Keelie stepped close, exasperated. She had to try to maintain control over the situation. “Everybody stay calm. Coyote, answer our question—are there goblins here? Then Sean will let you go. And then you’re going to help us find Laurie and Scott.”

Coyote’s tail went all limp and he lifted a shoulder in a twisted shrug. “Okay.”

Keelie figured this was an example of having to be dominant. She was the Coyote Whisperer. Maybe it would work on Knot—she could try to be the Freaky Fairy Kitty Whisperer.

Coyote’s words brought her back with a snap. “What I know is … there once was a goblin here, but he didn’t leave this forest. I feel an essence of darkness.”

“Essence of darkness?” Keelie had never heard of that. “Like a goblin?”

“If something with dark magic dies—if an evil creature dies—then its essence might remain, corrupting the place of its death.”

“It’s like a curse, isn’t it?” Keelie said. Her voice lowered. “A goblin curse.” It had to be connected to this forest’s weirdness, but she didn’t have time to sit and think it through.

“Yes.” Coyote wriggled in Sean’s arms. “Now tell him to put me down.”

“Not yet.” Her eyes met Sean’s, and as if they had a psychic connection, he lifted Coyote a few more inches off the ground.

The fairy creature howled, his voice echoing through the forest. “Not fair.”

“Where are Laurie and Scott?” Keelie demanded.

“Put me down and I’ll help you find them.”

“And you’re going to stick close to me, Coyote, because you know a whole lot more than you’re telling.”

The coyote grinned, which was unfortunate, because it showed off his teeth, long and sharp. Sean lowered him to the forest floor. He yipped and leaped as if he’d fooled them. Sean’s hand clamped back down on his neck.

Keelie smiled grimly and did her best impersonation of her grandmother’s stern voice. “Behave.”

Coyote looked up with wet eyes, his lower lip trembling.

“And that won’t work on me.”

A woman’s voice called from far off. “Knot, my love where are you? Oh, darling, don’t leave me. I don’t think my heart can take it.”

Sean looked over at Keelie. “That’s Risa. What is she doing in the forest?”

“She’s searching for Knot.” Keelie was going to kick Risa on the butt.

“And Knot is following Tavyn. What are you going to do, Keelie?” Coyote asked. “Go after Laurie, help Risa?” He laughed again. “And do you know where your grandmother is?”

Her heart sank as she realized that she had no way of knowing how to find her grandmother if she too, was lost in the Redwood Forest.