Page 32 of Beneath the Earth (Seven Wardens 3)

"We spent some time with Jerimiah of the local kabouter clan," the kelpie began. "According to him, there have been earthquakes in the south, and when we left, there was a small one affecting his home too. But that's not the only reason we're here."

The tree shook its leaves, probably to show that he was still listening, so Macey continued, more confident this time.

"We've been travelling both on Earth and other planes and have fought two evil creatures bent on gaining power, no matter the consequences. One of them was feeding off the Staran, and we managed to destroy it. The other is still at large."

She quickly gave him a roundup of the Mahoun and what they knew about him. "We think the Mahoun is planning to do something to the earth, or maybe already doing it. Those earthquakes could very well be part of his plan."

The tree gently moved from side to side as if he was deep in thought. "And why did you come here?"

This time, Jared responded. "The kabouters recommended we speak with you. Jerimiah said that the kludde have been behaving strangely recently, so we were wondering if you've felt the same evil approaching."

Suddenly, the bark of the tree began to glow and moments later, a man was standing in its place. His skin was like dark brown leather, thick and full of wrinkles, but his pale blue eyes looked surprisingly young. His hair was shaggy, hiding part of his face, yet even so, he had something imposing about him, and not just because he was two heads taller than Macey.

"Is this your real form?" she asked without thinking.

The man laughed. "What is your real form? Kelpie or human?"

She thought for a moment, then smiled. "Touche. I'm Macey and this is Jared."

"They call me Wilg when I'm not the Teacher," the kludde said in a grave voice, his laughter suddenly gone. "But I think I will need to be the Teacher for this." He sighed deeply. "Jerimiah is right. Something has been happening. At first, we thought nothing of it, then we thought it was a coincidence. For the past few weeks though, we've been more cautious - and now here you are, confirming our suspicions. In a way, I'm glad we now have a vague idea of what is the cause of the unrest."

Jared frowned and said what Macey was thinking. "What exactly has been happening?"

"Our young are having trouble shifting. Our old are getting weak and frail. The magic that connects us to the earth and sustains us is troubled, unpredictable. Even I, the chieftain of the kludde, am now feeling the effects."

"We are creatures of the earth. My tribe may live by the water, but in the end, we're bound to the earth. It gives us our unique abilities, the skill to change into whatever form we want. We're like clay that can be shaped into something new every time an artist touches it. Now, it's as if the earth has become too dry to take on new shapes without crumbling."

Macey shuddered at the thought of not being able to shift. It was a nightmare she'd had ever since she was a child, and it terrified her. She was both a human and a kelpie, and she would never want to have decide between one or the other.

"That must be terrible," she said, meaning every word. "Do you have any idea of what's causing it?"

The man shook his head. "I don't. We thought it was something in the ground that only affected us, but then a cousin from the earth kludde about a hundred kilometres from here sent word that they had the same problem. It's happening to all the kludde I know of."

"If it's the Mahoun, then there's not much we can do here," Jared sighed. "I doubt he's here physically; he's affecting too many a

reas at once. The earthquakes, the changes for the kludde, the strange energy I've felt when visiting the kabouters... It doesn't sound like it all has one single point of origin. He's attacking the earth in several ways at once, and the only way I can see us stopping this is confronting him directly."

"What I'm scared of is that this will never end," Macey said quietly. "Even if we defeat the Mahoun, there's so many more of these creatures out there. We don't know where they come from, we don't know how they spread, if they can breed and spread. Maybe all we're doing is blowing out individual candles when a giant wildfire is burning all around us."

Wilg looked at her sharply. "Did you say you killed one of them?"

Macey and Jared both nodded.

"Did one of you touch it?"

Again, Macey nodded. "I fought with it, before. It may have been in my head though, or maybe not, I'm not quite sure."

"Give me your hand."

What? Where was this going?

Gingerly, Macey stretched out her arm and the Teacher took her hand. His bark-like skin was rough but his grip was gentle.

"What are you doing?" Jared asked. She could feel the tension in him; he didn't like Wilg touching her. How was he fine with three other men being with her, but not with a kludde taking her hand? She was going to have a chat with him about that.

"Every death leaves a trace," the Teacher muttered, closing his eyes. Warmth spread through Macey's arm, an unnatural heat that was both uncomfortable and pleasant at the same time.

"The earth is like a library. Everything comes from her and everything ends up back in her arms. Every being has a connection to the earth, as faint as it may be. If I can isolate the trace, I will be able to search for its source."

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